THE ELEPHANT ON MY DESKTOP

There are few things that can bring me joy when arriving at the office on Monday morning. Finding the new Mix Market CD on my desk is one of them.



Courtesy of Young FC, who was on vacation in Fukuoka last week, and who asked that fateful question, “Do you need me to pick up anything for you while I’m there?”

I did. And she found it for me.

Joy.

BACKGROUND: I’ve been a Mix Market fan for quite a few years now since hearing one of their songs on a K.O.G.A. Records comp. It’s hard to explain why – on first glance they’re basically an identikit Japanese pop-punk band with a female singer, and they don’t particularly do anything all that groundbreaking.

But they do it oh so well. I think Ken M of JapanLive has a point – Yutty’s vocals really do make the band stand out from similar acts. I think she just projects a sort of natural enthusiasm that’s hard for me to resist. Not to put down the rest of the band, but sometimes the right front person does make a difference (INXS).

Whatever their secret, Mix Market just has a way of channeling everything good and right and proper about pop-punk in a way that infects yr soul with Chocolatey Goodness. Or whatever the technical term is. It’s chemical, I’m sure of it – like what MDMA does to yr brain, only with sound waves.

Which is my way of saying that no matter how grim of a mood I’m in, a Mix Market song will usually cheer me right up. Or at least make me willing to get out of bed without killing people. When Yutty says, “It’s all right,” I believe her.

Anyway, they’ve been on hiatus for awhile, prompting me to worry that I had once again killed a perfectly good band by liking them (the usual pattern: I discover a band via their latest CD, which turns out to be their last as they promptly break up afterwards). Luckily, they’re back on active duty and the new album came out in November.

And now I have a copy.

To see what all the fuss is about, visit them on the MySpaces. Or view their current single, “Monster!”

It’s all right now,

This is dF

ELECTION 2008: THE RPG

ITEM [via BoingBoing]: In honor of both the passing of Gary Gygax and the most entertaining US presidential campaign EVER, Charles Stross – my new favorite science fiction writer – has drawn up a helpful voter’s guide to the three remaining candidates – as expressed in AD&D Monster Manual profiles.

Example:

Barack Obama (Demon Prince of Upsetting Applecarts.) (Lesser God.)

FREQUENCY: Very rare
NO APPEARING: 1
ARMOUR CLASS:
MOVE: 3" (72" per flight sector on the campaign jet)
HIT DICE: 200 hit points (But first you have to defeat 4d8 Secret Service Agents — unless attacking in Texas, Florida, or other Republican-held states)
% IN LAIR: 0%
TREASURE TYPE: Budget Deficit: -500,000 million G.P. plus compound interest
NO. OF ATTACKS: 0 (He runs a clean campaign).
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Makes his opponents look foolish: -1 Charisma per round engaged in combat polite debate.
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Casts Mass Charm 1 per round engaged in combat polite debate.
SPECIAL DEFENSES: +5 Fundraising, Regeneration, +3 or better weapon to hit.
MAGIC RESISTANCE: 80%
INTELLIGENCE: Genius
CHARISMA: 18(100) (Democrats) / 12 (Republicans)
ALIGNMENT: Law Professor
SIZE: M
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: X/89,950* (* for impeachment)

Handsome, intelligent, charismatic, and he manages to sound absolutely wonderful ... but how do you know what else is lurking under that sleek exterior? The Obama's main advantage in combat is that he makes everyone else in the melee look absurdly aggressive or foolishly short-sighted, sapping their Charisma. Probably the lesser evil, so once you elect him you'll have the luxury of knowing you've been eaten by the right lizard god.

NOTE: I’m mainly posting this because I know some readers will get the humor in lines like “ALIGNMENT: Chaotic evil if under control of Cheney; otherwise Chaotic neutral.” On the other hand, it’s about as useful as anything CNN”s going to tell you about these people, so why not, Jim?

DISCLAIMER: I was a casual D&Der myself – never took it too seriously, couldn’t be bothered with the details, but I do understand the appeal. Champions Of The Galaxy was as involved as I ever got in RPGs. Even started my own competing wrestling league. So I was Jim Crockett to Tom Filsinger's Vince McMahon. Or something like that.

No dice,

This is dF

CAN YOU DIG YRSELF?

The second great album of 2008 (since I haven’t got around to the Mix Market CD yet) is courtesy of Mr Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds, some of whom are still clearly hung over from the Grinderman sessions. This is a good thing. Even if you prefer him in Murder Ballads mode, you can’t deny Cave is one of the greatest orators in rock today. And how many people can make a receding hairline and a 70s mustache look goddamn suave?

Want proof? Not only do you have a killer single in the title track:

You also have a series of promotional videos from Mute where Nick and the band hold charlatan seances.

Like so.

Damn, Jim. What is not to love?

Blindfold me sir,

This is dF