As you might know, a big part of the new Guns’n'Roses album leaked yesterday, and someone posted parts of it on youtube (removed now). I heard it, and I didn’t like it. There were 2-3 songs that were barely listenable, but the rest was just Axl shouting his heart out on songs that had no melody. Their previous 1992 double album had some songs I didn’t like, but there were at least ten of these that were amazing, they had a certain recognizable melody and quality in them that made them timeless. This new album is just yada, yada, yada by Axl.

There’s nothing of interest to talk about, apart maybe some parts of “Better”. On some of the songs you could see the effort of the band to try to sound more modern (e.g. hard alternative rock rather than classic hard heavy rock), but it fails to establish that sound. It soon falls back to the classic heavy rock of the ’80s and early ’90s, which is a kind of music that simply doesn’t sell anymore.

Sure, the Bay Area produced bands like the successful Metallica and Green Day, but there are some real gems in the unsigned harsh world of the music scene. These are my favorite bands in my local scene, at least so far, as I have listened to only about 70 of them. 300+ more to go (as you can see, I went as far as the letter “D”). Thankfully they all have mySpace pages to make it easy to preview their music.

#5. Dangermaker
I love their song “Need”. Review soon up at the OWL magazine.

#4. Dolorata
All-female hard rock band. Best song “The Keys”. I’d love to direct an R rated music video for that song.

#3. BellaVista
These are the most well known guys in the list. Good music, they sell well too.

#2. Cold Hot Crash
Great band, easy listening. Funny thing is that my favorite song of theirs is their rock cover for the Christmas song “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear”.

#1. Drist
Second most well known band in the list. Each one of their songs are amazing. Very talented, if only they could put it together to release their third album…

For those who don’t have the time to watch “Lost”, here’s a simplified summarization:

Season 1: Are there others on this island?
Season 2: There are others on this island!
Season 3: Oh my God, the others on this island are nasty!
Season 4: Hell! There are other others too, and they are even nastier!

The RIAA/MPAA will — at last — solve the decades old problem of piracy: an implant behind the ear of each citizen.

When a person listens to a new song or watches a new movie and the implant detects cannabinoid and seratonin production in the brain (chemicals responsible for euphoria and happiness), they automatically charge the person $0.99 for a song, or $3.99 per movie. The implant is Bluetooth-based and so it can recognize the song/movie via the –also Bluetooth-based– source playback device, and can send usage and chemical response statistics back to RIAA/MPAA via the person’s cellphone.

Efforts to remove or mess with the implant’s chip can lead to permanent hearing and hair loss. On the positive side, the chip is able to induce the right hormones for guaranteed satisfaction during sex, and immediate sleep after going to bed, battling once and for all the age old problem of insomnia.

The “Pro” version of the implant, which adds support for reality shows and porn, comes with the first 25 music tracks free of charge. The pro version is also able to boost the hearing ability by 12%, so this model is certain to prove popular with the seniors.

The chips will be manufactured in China, and this was a point of concern in the US Congress last month as some feared that the implants might be compromised by the Chinese intelligence to do “more” than they are supposed to. A big chunk of money from RIAA/MPAA put these fears to rest and the President’s spokesperson promptly assured the population that any such fears are unwarranted.

The standard version of the implant costs just $49, while the pro version costs $79. Plantation is free of charge, albeit possible technical support might not come cheap — the RIAA/MPAA lawyers are still working hard trying to find a fair price, something that they have successfully achieved in the past numerous times.

Lost’s “Hurley”, Jorge Garcia, singing. Very nicely if I might add. He’s got a nice personal blog too (which gave quite a scare to ABC originally as the suits there were afraid that he would spill the beans about “Lost”). He’s funny too.

Again through The OWL Magazine I got to know the local rock band Dolorata. I love their album, and especially the song “The Keys“. That’s hard, modern, rock ‘n’ roll, performed by a five member all-female band, that don’t sound like stupid cheerleaders (e.g. Avril, Ashlee). That’s real girl/lesbian power, right there, not wimpy crap.

I just saw this picture of the ’70s Hulk, bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno. His nipples are leaking. According to Google, two things are happening: either he has breast cancer (very rare for men), or his hormones are having a break-dance because of steroids.

Steroids are bad for you. Stay away. I don’t understand why people do these kinds of things to themselves. I try to even stay away from aspirins when I have a headache, let alone get any other kind of drugs that I can live without.

One of my favorite indie rock bands is “Rantings of Eva“. These guys write amazing music, and their recent album is one of the best I ever heard. So I made a fan music video for them, made out of a picture slideshow, and featuring samples from four of their songs.

And the obligatory South Park icons. Click for a larger view.

Below I am also re-printing my interview with Dusty Watts, guitarist of the band.

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It occurred to me earlier today, after remembering Locke’s assertion in the season finale that the island “is not an island“. I think it’s a spaceship!

It is not weird the idea of a biosphere to travel the galaxy and appear as of magic by bending space and time on compatible planets. This would explain why the island can “move” itself. It explains why the island has surrounding “walls” (aka force fields) that Desmond could not escape with his boat, unless he was to take a very specific route.

It also explains the four toe statue, which is a remnant of that old human-like civilization that built the island/spaceship. When they arrived to Earth, some stayed in the island (e.g. the ageless Richard), but others scattered around the planet and had children and took a taste of our civilization. The descendants of these aliens are some of the “special” people in the show, e.g. Walt, Locke, maybe even Jack, that the island now “demands back” after thousands or hundreds of years.

This theory doesn’t contradict my other theory last week btw. I still believe we are dealing with an AI entity that keeps the island in shape for the return of its original inhabitants and their descendants. Maybe this is what Charlotte meant when she said that the island is her birthplace. Maybe this is why the island feels like a purgatory, and why the AI computer named Jacob creates lists: because only the worthy will be allowed back.

UPDATE: My theory was posted over at DarkUFO’s “Lost” fan site. You can discuss it there.