She's a dwelling place for demons...
I have a bit of a soft spot for Avenged Sevenfold. Ok, their name sounds like they should be a Christian emo-core band. And let's face it, they may be evangelical nutcases for all I know. But the tune Beast and the Harlot encapsulates perfectly why I like them. They chorus has this gorgeous melody which floats over the arpeggiating guitar. And yes, I may have just made up a word. The intro is a straight up thrash your head riff, which has a guitar screech out of it and then swaggering section. The drums are pulverising, the little kick flares directly under the chug of the verse guitar. It's spot on. The solo has a lot of tapping and silly bits, perfect for ludicrous shred pretending. Also the video is cool.
Friday, 17 July 2009
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Bad decisions and salaries
The guys who work in the NFL have a pretty unique salary payment structure and position.
In the Premiership the players have contracts which range anywhere from 1 year to a decade, and the wage values you hear about in the papers are the actual amounts they will earn on a weekly basis for the whole of their contracts. They aren't game cheques (amounts per week of the season) they are actual payments.
The same is basically the same in the rugby, except that rugby clubs are operating under a salary cap and recognise that the value of the player contract as an asset is a lot more fungible. This means that even established international players can be playing under one or two year deals. The old amateur ethos of the game means that the players are still at a point where (for the most part) they're glad to be being paid to go to the club, and not having to work the jobs they would otherwise be filling (this excludes the guys like Jamie Roberts, who's studying to be a doctor, and the guys who use rugby to pay for being an eternal student).
In the NFL annual salaries are paid on a weekly basis for the period of the season, with bonus cheques paid in the post season at a much lower rate. The good part of the salary of an NFL star is the up front cash lumps, which are pro rated for salary cap purposes, but are a real pain (one assumes) to manage cash wise. The players who hit it big get a massive influx of cash, and given the 8 years average career of the NFL player, need to invest wisely.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Wednesday-whys-A-good-deal-gone-awry.html
This story from the National Football Post, which I've seen mooched about for the last couple of days, is a case study in what not to do. Of course, the MLB has the same problem (see Moneyball for Billie Beane's sad story).
I'll probably witter on about salary cap stuff later - Profootballtalk is a pretty good place to start with any contract details.
In the Premiership the players have contracts which range anywhere from 1 year to a decade, and the wage values you hear about in the papers are the actual amounts they will earn on a weekly basis for the whole of their contracts. They aren't game cheques (amounts per week of the season) they are actual payments.
The same is basically the same in the rugby, except that rugby clubs are operating under a salary cap and recognise that the value of the player contract as an asset is a lot more fungible. This means that even established international players can be playing under one or two year deals. The old amateur ethos of the game means that the players are still at a point where (for the most part) they're glad to be being paid to go to the club, and not having to work the jobs they would otherwise be filling (this excludes the guys like Jamie Roberts, who's studying to be a doctor, and the guys who use rugby to pay for being an eternal student).
In the NFL annual salaries are paid on a weekly basis for the period of the season, with bonus cheques paid in the post season at a much lower rate. The good part of the salary of an NFL star is the up front cash lumps, which are pro rated for salary cap purposes, but are a real pain (one assumes) to manage cash wise. The players who hit it big get a massive influx of cash, and given the 8 years average career of the NFL player, need to invest wisely.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Wednesday-whys-A-good-deal-gone-awry.html
This story from the National Football Post, which I've seen mooched about for the last couple of days, is a case study in what not to do. Of course, the MLB has the same problem (see Moneyball for Billie Beane's sad story).
I'll probably witter on about salary cap stuff later - Profootballtalk is a pretty good place to start with any contract details.
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Songs of the week
I have been following two blogs
metalhead and proud
ask earache
The former is a great blog where there are exhaustive lists of new records and singles, and quick track listings and reviews. It's an absolute goldmine for discovering new bands.
The latter is an email column from Dig, who is a legend in the metal world and top guy (having done a neat little internship at Earache I can confirm this), where he gives links and views, and is well worth a read if the heavy is your taste.
I've also heard two exciting new songs
Here's one by Amon Amarth
Viking metal! How excited am I? This tune has what I look for in a heavy tune. Driving kick drums and that punchy snare sound forming the heart beat of the track, setting the rhythm for the headbanging. A guitar riff which runs into a yowl. And the main guitar riff is extremely melodic - I think the test for heavy metal of this type is whether you can imagine the guitar being switched out with a choir without losing the menace.
Here's one by Shadows Fall
I just think this is quality dancefloor filler. A punchy opening and then a vocal drop, with a melodic hook which you can pull cool shapes to and puff your chest out like an undead parrot. This is important to me.
That is all
metalhead and proud
ask earache
The former is a great blog where there are exhaustive lists of new records and singles, and quick track listings and reviews. It's an absolute goldmine for discovering new bands.
The latter is an email column from Dig, who is a legend in the metal world and top guy (having done a neat little internship at Earache I can confirm this), where he gives links and views, and is well worth a read if the heavy is your taste.
I've also heard two exciting new songs
Here's one by Amon Amarth
Viking metal! How excited am I? This tune has what I look for in a heavy tune. Driving kick drums and that punchy snare sound forming the heart beat of the track, setting the rhythm for the headbanging. A guitar riff which runs into a yowl. And the main guitar riff is extremely melodic - I think the test for heavy metal of this type is whether you can imagine the guitar being switched out with a choir without losing the menace.
Here's one by Shadows Fall
I just think this is quality dancefloor filler. A punchy opening and then a vocal drop, with a melodic hook which you can pull cool shapes to and puff your chest out like an undead parrot. This is important to me.
That is all
Friday, 3 July 2009
Angela Gossow vs Song of the Week
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Madonna
The "Sticky and Sweet" tour will be on Sky One HD. I can't imagine why anyone would want to see Madonna in HD. I've taken sexier shits after a night out on Hoegarden. Criminy.
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