Do you know any Aggie jokes?!?

So this weekend a few things got around to happening in the world. Quiet Company played two shows with a handful of great bands, I saw the new Transformers movie, and Michael Jackson died. No one really cares about the shows unless you were there or unless you're in the band (they were both good), so lets talk about the iconic plastic alien robot and then talk about The Transformers. I kid.

I was on my way home from work when the my coworker called and told me that Michael Jackson was dead. I don't mean to sound cold but, at best, I found this news mildly interesting. I love the early Jackson 5 recordings but I've never had any time for Michael as a solo artist. He's been creepy to me since that "Rock With You" video, and while I feel bad for him and his lost childhood and obviously piece of shit dad, he hasn't really mattered in over a decade. And before everyone crucifies me, I realize that he has sold more records and contributed more to pop music than I could do in seven lifetimes. When I say he hasn't really mattered, I know his early seminal work will always be hugely influential, but he hasn't made anything of importance in quite some time. Instead, anyone born in the last 15 year doesn't know Michael as the incredibly talented singer of the Jackson 5 or as the guy who brought us the moonwalk and Thriller. They undoubtedly know him as this sexually ambiguous, trainwreck of a person who is always fighting charges of pedophilia and who, maybe, used to do music. I don't know if he's guilty of those charges. If I had to bet, I would bet on guilty. I would bet a lot on guilty. I would feel like my odds were strong. I do know that if someone accused me of pedophilia and I was innocent, I would fight tooth and nail until there wasn't a doubt remaining. I certainly wouldn't pay $20 million to shut them up (unless, of course, I was guilty). On the other hand, if anyone ever did that to my child I would fight tooth and nail until everyone in the world knew what they'd done and they were punished to the full extent of the law, I wouldn't stop for any amount (unless, of course, I knew he was innocent and I was just some horrible parasite of a person). SUCH A MYSTERY!

I don't know, I guess I could say I respected him as a musician but let me tell you a secret. "I respect him as a musician" is actually musician code for, "I'm just trying to be nice. In actuality, I couldn't possibly give less of a shit about this person or their art." All musicians say it about someone. I actually do respect Michael but really only because of the Jackson 5, his solo career has never meant anything to me and with all of this hullabaloo about his death all I keep thinking is, "I wonder how many talented, creative, people in the world, who certainly don't molest children, will starve to death today and no one will notice or care because they never proclaimed themselves king of anything."

Another person that I "respect as a musician" is Sting. Once someone told me that he can have sex for something like 12 hours. My response is that its probably just like his music; It goes on forever and nothing interesting happens. Man, I'm talking some shit today!!

I finally saw the Transformers movie this weekend. While I understand what everyone's problems with it are, I will say that I really enjoyed it. Its a movie about 50 ft. alien robots that transform into vehicles, not The Godfather. If you liked the first one, I don't seen any reason that you don't have a pretty good chance of liking this one, as well. There are some pretty ridiculous things going on but overall, its a good time. I could've done without the Twins, but they did fix one of my biggest problems with the first one. In the first movie, Optimus Prime is a nice guy but when he goes toe to toe with Megatron he gets his ass handed to him. In the new film, Optimus is finally the big noble badass that we know and love from the comics. He will shoot you in the face and have no qualms about it, provided that you're a Decepticon, of course.

Don't get me wrong, critically, I could tear the movie apart, but that wouldn't be nearly as much fun. I hope, if they make another one, they take a cue from the critics and reduce or eliminate the twins' roles, just like Lucas did with Jar Jar. I will say that the twins are not nearly as annoying as Jar Jar. On an annoyance scale, he's a 10 and they're like a 6.

This post is sure to make people hate me. I don't care about the guy that everyone loves and I like the movie that everyone loves to hate.

FACT: Return of the Jedi would've been way better if the Ewoks had worn jerseys.

Perhaps you're aware of this, but I'm into a lot of "nerdy" things. I have mild to dangerous obsessions with Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Spider-Man, Transformers, GI Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, etc. So its no surprise that I'm really pumped to see the new Transformers movie. Yesterday, I spent a lot of time at work reading reviews for the new film and apparently, its one of the worst films ever made. I couldn't find a single positive review. I really liked the first one, even if it is a somewhat mindless summer flick with a lot of destruction and explosions. Let's face it, that's what any movie about giant alien robots is going to be, and that's the only kind of movie Michael Bay makes. Perfect, right? Apparently not. I guess this movie features robot testicles, gay dog sex, and a couple of "Jar Jar Binks" Autobots. All that low brow humor mixed with the same convoluted robot fighting from the first movie has every critic in America vomiting energon. But still, I plan on seeing it and I expect to enjoy it, despite it's obvious flaws. I just wish that Seaspray was one of the 40 Transformers in the movie. He was, after all, the only Transformer to fall in love with a humanoid. I don't know why he's always been a personal favorite but he is. Anyway, if anyone has seen the movie, please post your thoughts on it in the comments.

Quiet Company was recently invited to participate in Channel 8's rooftop summer music series, so last night we headed downtown, carried our gear up a few flights of stairs and played a somewhat stripped down version of "My New Year's Resolution is to Cope With My Mortality," on the Channel 8 roof. I think it probably went OK, though there weren't any monitors, so who knows if we sang on key. Leah, Betsy, Paul, and Jason (from Jets Under Fire)came and sang backup for us and I think that that's what's going to make it cool. I'll post a link to it once it goes up online.