MFR Is Concerned About Gary Oldman

*MP3: Hold Steady - "Positive Jam"
*MP3: Hockey Night - "Grim Break"
*MP3: Interpol - "Heinrich Maneuver"
*MP3: Justin Timberlake - "Sexy Back"
*MP3: Cloud Cult - "Fairy Tale"
*MP3: Bon Iver - "Babys"
*MP3: Kanye West - "Stronger"
*MP3: Kings of Leon - "Knocked Up"
*MP3: Les Savy Fav - "What Would Wolves Do"
*MP3: Elliot Smith - "Needle In The Hay"
*MP3: Say Hi - "November Was White"
*MP3: Coconut Records - "West Coast"
*MP3: Animal Collective - "My Girls"
*MP3: The Strokes - "Trying Your Luck"
*MP3: Mates of State - "My Only Offer"

The other night, I saw The Unborn. It was bad, just like anyone would expect. However, there was one redeeming aspect of the movie. At about the one-hour mark, Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Harry Potter, Fifth Element, JFK) appeared in the form of a liberal and free-thinking rabbi. I was absolutely pleasantly surprised; in fact, I gave my friend a wee silent cheer. Rarely there is a movie I can disagree with that features Mr. Oldman and his wonderful accent. But as the movie progressed, my mind began to wander. I began to question why Mr. Oldman would take on such a role with the knowledge that the movie would be complete crap; I am, of course, assuming that Oldman is near genius, if not a complete genius. I mean, just look at him and that mustache.

With that in mind, I think it's safe to say the Mr. Oldman took on this role merely for monetary gain, which I normally would fault an actually successful actor like Oldman for doing. But now, I'm thinking that his decision was more responsible, dare I say, economical. As you may have noticed, we are in the midst of a large-scale recession. A recession which I believed only influenced the meak, such as myself. It never dawned upon me that this recession could even take a bite out of the careers of popular actors. Well, to put it plainly, while something was happening in the movie that involved some near-dead zombie child, I was blowing my own mind with this economic riddle within a rhyme.

The fact of the matter is this: Gary Oldman is in trouble. Gary Oldman needs our help.

If I get 100 comments to this blog post, I will start garyoldmanneedsourhelp.com and will begin accepting donations on behalf of the Oldman estate.

In case gold old GO reads this, here's a mix to make him feel better.

Smooches.

LARPERS Caught by Google Street View

Two battling LARPERS were caught on camera by Google Street View. I'm not kidding. Check it out here. After laughing for a good spell, I began to think about LARPing, and what it could mean to me: you know, the swords, the shields, the never-ending lore. So, I put a mix together of songs that I would pipe into my medieval helmet whilst I don the appropriate garb, wield a battle axe, and smite my enemies.

Please, imagine a montage of me running through fields with a sword slaying some shit up while this playlist is rocking me to victory.

Behold, my LARPING mix:

*MP3: The Microphones - "The Glow Pt. 2"
*MP3: David Bowie - "Life On Mars"
*MP3: Animal Collective - "Brother Sport"
*MP3: Fuck Buttons - "Ribs Out"
*MP3: John Vanderslice - "Time To Go"
*MP3: Deerhoof - "+81"
*MP3: Headlights - "TV"
*MP3: Dr. Dog - "My Old Way"
*MP3: Ten Grand - "Fuck You Guyses Teams"
*MP3: Frightened Rabbit - "I Feel Better"
*MP3: Hockey Night - "Style Raiders"
*MP3: Justin Timberlake - "Summer Love/Set The Mood"
*MP3: Les Savy Fav - "The Orchard"
*MP3: Marnie Stern - "Simon Says"
*MP3: The Knife - "Neverland"
*MP3: Deerhunter - "Lake Somerset"
*MP3: Copeland - "Chin Up"

So, yeah, special note. If you're in a larping club and are reading this, please send me a note, I might totally want in.

Hockey Night Officially Breaks Up

It's official. What the rumor mill has been buzzing about has finally occurred: Hockey Night has broken up. With the strange events leading up to the news, like the mysterious leaving of three members and the signing to DFA, this doesn't really come as a surprise.

But frontman Paul Sprangers released a statment to Daytrotter today, who reported this:

"The bearers of bad news, we hate to be them, but this bad news is laced with sugar and sunshine, we assure you. One year ago this week, the slap-happy, goodtime homies Hockey Night were by. We were rushed and they produced one of the most smashing pieces of fun we've assembled for you. There were burger baskets and chuckles all around. Paul Sprangers informed us Monday night that Hockey Night is no longer a real thing, but now joins the ranks of mythology. He and fellow guitarist Scott Wells are forging on with the blazing guitar shenanigans, but they'll be doing it with a different cast of characters. 'It was a long time coming,' Sprangers said. 'I realized I didn’t want to continue on the way we were going. We were operating under that indie rock idea where it was fun and everybody's buddies. We just want to do it right and we couldn't get things done.' Sprangers said that DFA Records — run by Tim Goldsworthy and James Murphy (the latter of LCD Soundsystem) — has signed the pair to continue on. They’re planning on releasing some 12-inch singles in the fall and being all dope under a new name."

In honor of this sad day, here are a few of my favorite Hockey Night songs throughout the span of time, as well as a Sean NA NA song that I dedicate to the HN.

Keep Guessin':
Download: Hockey Night - "For Guys' Eyes Only"
Download: Hockey Night - "Renegades"
Download: Hockey Night - "Grim Break"

Rad Zapping:
Download: Hockey Night - "Battlestar Scholastica"
Download: Hockey Night - "Princess Starcrystal"
Download: Hockey Night - "Syle Raiders"

Dedication Download: Sean NA NA - "Third Life"

Like a phoenix they'll rise again.

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(Ian Anderson)