Audioslave's Revelations

I got Revelations last week and was holding off on reviewing it until I heard it a few more times, and now's as good a time as any to talk about it since the other news today is pretty quick and not very provocative. This is Audioslave's hardest album yet, and I'd say that it's the Rage Against the Machine part of the group really taking centerstage whereas I felt that Audioslave was probably more of Chris Cornell. This album is pretty masterful in that it was designed to be the music they wanted to perform, not the music they thought would sound nice on some Top 40 radio station, which is probably my favorite part about it. The first track, "Revelations", is a great opener for the album as it's slow for a bit before bringing out the real rock and making you yell out "Yeah!" Track 2, One and the Same, is also awesome simply because of the introductory guitar riff that you'll be sure to get stuck in your head. I guess I had a special liking for "Original Fire" since it's the album's first single, and it's definitely a toe-tapper that you'll enjoy jamming to, but it's not something you'll sing walking down the street, because I don't think Audioslave wants to be that kind of band. You'll recognized "Shape of Things to Come" and "Wide Awake" from Miami Vice if you saw that movie, and the latter is probably my favorite track on the album because it sticks with me more every time I hear it. The chorus is just so beautiful, particularly the background music that leads right into it so wonderfully. The next tracks, "Nothing Left to Say But Goodbye" and "Moth", are also quite memorable (probably because of just how Cornell sings it, but the latter is more because of the fantastic bridge). I think a friend of mine said it best when he said that he just likes hearing this album from start to finish and doesn't feel the desire to have to fast forward through them to certain tracks, which I think is a key sticking point of this album. I liked the other tracks a lot even though I didn't call them out by name, and I'd highly recommend this album to any fans of Audioslave, Soundgarden, or Rage Against the Machine. It's on Ruckus if you want to try it out before buying it.

While I'm on music, another Web 2.0 site to help you find new music has sprung up now called finetune, but its idea is to let you find other people's playlists based on an artist you like to find out what other artists people with similar tastes to you are checking out. It's really neat and even offers artists radio stations, much like Pandora. I'm probably going to be using that next week after ACL is over and done with. Another free multimedia tool is the Democracy player, and they've released version 0.9, which I've downloaded and am quite pleased with. The UI is more polished and things are a little more intuitive and organized, especially with playlists thrown into the music, though I wish that it would remember the pages you were at in the Channel Guide when you click to another part of the program like the Music Store in iTunes. Speaking of iTunes, the Apple special event is still going down tomorrow, and a new version of iTunes is expected, especially since it has been almost exactly a year since the upgrade to include TV shows and music videos. I'll definitely have a recap of what all is announced right here tomorrow night, so fret not if you don't want to look around for the coverage on your own. Any Christians out there will like this site, which allows you to search the Bible and bookmark passages. I think it's kind of neat and useful if you heard something that stuck with you in church, or after the first time you see Pulp Fiction. Lastly, it's important to acknowledge that today is the five year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks (it really doesn't seem like it was that long ago, does it?), and Google still has on record its front page on that very day. I think it's neat to look back on things like that now that we have better technology for preserving such freeze frames. Now we can look forward to the Freedom Tower, which Wired has more great shots of for those of you who are interested.

It looks like MGM is interested in releasing Terminator 4 and The Hobbit in the next few years, and yet Peter Jackson hasn't heard anything about the latter. I'm not sure how interested I am in either movie though, and I don't think that either one of them should be considered a surefire hit just because the dump a lot of money on them. Quint at AICN saw The Science of Sleep and seemed to like it, though he didn't like the ending so much. I can understand the ending not completing the story, but movies that execute that well are just so neat (ala Better Luck Tomorrow). Ang Lee's next movie will be called Lust, Caution and entirely in Chinese about students planning on assassinating an intelligence chief. Sounds pretty neat to me! Rachel Weisz has expressed interest in coming back for another Mummy movie, so it looks like it's even more likely to happen now. Lastly, I have some pictures for you. The first set is from The Departed, and the others are for Jackass: Number Two. One set is disturbing and the other set is pretty stylized, you match it up.

Now for some Monday Madness:

1. How long have you been blogging?
I'm a few months away from my 2 year blogoversary!
2. How many times have you taken a break from blogging?
Not very often. It's really just random days on random weeks if I'm really busy.
3. How long is the longest you've gone, so far, without posting on your blog?
Probably like four days.
4. How many fellow bloggers do you keep in touch with, through your blogs, on a regular basis?
At least three I'd say.
5. Have you ever met, in person, a blogger on your blogroll?
Don't have a blogroll.
6. How often do you update/change the 'extra' stuff on your blog?
I don't have extra stuff. I'm too busy with the NSC site!
7. Do you think you'll be blogging for years to come?
I hope so! And once I get a real job, I'll probably have more totally original posts.