>> THE STROKES

my new favorite band. sure they've been around since like 2000, but they are new to me. thank you graywhale. thank you itunes genius. thank you wikipedia.

















thestrokes.com. if you like what you hear you probably have the same taste as me.

>> SONDRE LERCHE

as i just learned about his new cd coming out september 8 '09, i come to realize that not nearly enough people know of the talent that is sondre lerche (you may know him from the Dan in Real Life soundtrack). needless to say: i love 'is music. i love 'is style.

"Born and raised in Bergen, a small West Coast Norwegian city, Sondre fell under the spell of the records his older brother and two sisters played - Norwegian pop sensations A-Ha, the Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and Prefab Sprout all made an indelible mark on Lerche’s musical consciousness. “I felt the need to take a step from being a passive listener and get more involved,” Lerche recalls. “I decided to learn an instrument.” Lerche chose guitar.

...Two Way Monologue, another collection of tidy, well-crafted pop followed in 2004. Lerche’s vocals were more confident, swooping from a mellow tenor to playful falsetto ornamentations, with songs marked by lush melodies and expansive pop arrangements.


...Phantom Punch is sparked by Lerche’s initial musical exposure, paying tribute to a wide range of sounds anywhere from 80s pop to Brazilian music. There are sharp edgy rockers like “Face The Blood” and “The Tape;” bright melodic pop tunes like “Say It All” and “She’s Fantastic;” the psychotic disco-waltz of the addictive title track, the acoustic introspection of “Tragic Mirror” and “John, Let Me Go”, a surrealistic tune with a quirky yet infectious bossa nova rhythm.

..Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche lives in Brooklyn these days, but the 26-year old's still writing ambitious, orchestral pop that proves difficult to pin down geographically. Heartbeat Radio, the 12-song followup to the Dan in Real Life soundtrack, comes with string and horn arrangements via High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan, which add to the dramatic feel: The meta title track recalls an imagined Rufus Wainwright musical. There's an oldster throwback quality to it -- Lerche's questioning FM radio, whether or not it's become automatic, if the DJs have drowned in "a sea of reverb," what comes after heavy rotation, and whether or not this particular song's too long to make it onto the airwaves. It makes him nauseous, but because he's a trooper, he wants it to know that his heart still beats for it. He's a better person than I am."

>>MR. SETH MERRILL IS NOW ELDER MERRILL

wow. forget college; nothing like a mission call to really remind you that A) i'm not a kid anymore B) life is definitely coming at me fast, and C) i need a haircut. I am going to be going to Raleigh North Carolina to do the Lord's work from October 2009-2011. ahh i couldn't be more excited!! it's still at that kind-of-weird/kind-of-not-sunk-in-yet mode. I really just can't wait to get to NC, which by the way will be the farthest East i have ever traveled.



"In my mind I'm going to Carolina. Can't you see the sunshine, can't you just feel the moon shining? Ain't it just like a friend of mine to hit me from behind and I'm going to Carolina in my mind."
-John Denver

>>THE FACEBOOK STATUS UPDATERS ENCYCLOPEDIA

just my observation on what is cluttering my feed these days! ha ha not that i'm saying any one of the following categories below is bad (i fall into many of them myself a lot), just observing. we could all do to take facebook a little less seriously, no?.....

THE EMOTICON-OMIST - after you get past all the cute symbols and smilies and frownies, there may actually be something there. "Seth Merrill~~~~;););););) best night ever!!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D~~~

~~~~~"

THE LINKER - no status is complete without a super long hyperlink or video. "Seth Merrill funniest thing i've seen all day! check it out. www.video.com/irirnlslk539;llekht'--eiro3ijo/dlfihalilkn2343><;'''odfapi.htm

THE QUOTER - may be inspirational, may be witty, may be wise. you never know. "Seth Merrill 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

THE LYRICIST - song lyrics that mean usually nothing to anyone but the updater. "Seth Merrill p p p p poker face p p p poker face. can't read minds, can't read minds."

THE NEWS ANCHOR - breaking news straight from the tv to facebook updates! if it's epic enough (michael jackson, swine flu) you become.....

THE BANDWAGONER - "Seth Merrill ...OMG. Michael Jackson RIP. the music lives on."

THE OBSERVER - observation on something that has happened during the day, often sarcastic. "Seth Merrill funny how the lady in front of me at the grocery store checkout had no money even after she checked her purse three times. i didn't mind standing there for half an hour."

THE ONE WORD-ER - ...short and to the point. "Seth Merrill pizza."

THE VAGUE - ....short and not to the point... "Seth Merrill...wow......just wow......"

THE VAGUE AND LENGTHY - telling your whole life story without ever using a proper noun. truly an art. "Seth Merrill doesn't know why he acts this way. I'm done, i'm just done with the whole thing. i can't stand feeling this way about that person anymore. What they've done...i never thought that would happen. I think the thing is over, and then somethng happens to someone and everything is back to the way it was before it happened..." well you get the idea

THE VAGUE AND HEARTBROKEN - sharing every detail of your personal life without really saying anything at all. "Seth Merrill misses her, so much...." or "Seth merrill...why do these sort of things always happen to me?"

THE ETERNAL OPTIMIST - the happiness sure rubs off:). "Seth Merrill had the best day ever!!! oh i don't want this week to end!!!"

THE COMPLAINER - ooooo the negativity rubs off worse. "Seth Merrill has the suckiest life. wow the only thing that could make my day better is if i pounded myself in the head with a medium sized rock."

THE CAP LOCKER/ WORD EXTENDER - similar to the emoticonomist. you find it's not really as long a read as you anticipated. "Seth Merrill WOOOOOAHHHHHH YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH THAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT WASSSSSSS AWWWWEEEEESSSSOMMMMMMEEEEEE!!!!"

THE COUNTDOWN - hm. "Seth Merrill ...3 days left till college!"

THE VAGUE COUNTDOWN - "Seth Merrill.....can't wait for 5 days from now!"

THE INSIDE JOKE-STER - are we supposed to understand? no. "Seth Merrill the llama isn't hungry anymore:) hahaha! oh man!"

THE BORED - apparently telling everyone on facebook that you have nothing to do qualifies as something to do. "Seth Merrill has nothing to do...."

THE CONSTANT UPDATERS/ FACEBOOK OBSESSED - you know the people. excited by the day's normal activity. Again. and again. and again. "Seth Merrill totally just got done chopping broccoli for dinner tonight." "Seth Merrill totally just got done driving home from Centerville to go to my aunts house." "Seth Merrill okay i'm home now. i think i want some ice cream. what do you guys think: ice cream or smoothie? mmm they both sound good."

THE MATHEMATICIAN - one fun thing + one fun thing + one food item = one really really fun event. "Seth Merrill john burning his hand in the fire + having to run away from that bear + s'mores = best campout ever!!!!"

THE FRUSTRATED PARENT (submitted by Colton Packard) - "Seth Merrill anyone want to borrow three children to tear up their house for the night?" No. no one does.

THE LONELY AND DESPERATE (submitted by Adam Jones) - i could call a friend to hang out. or i could ask all 284 of my friends on facebook, one of them is bound to want to do something. "Seth Merrill okay i have an extra ticket to the fair, and i don't know why but my girlfriend doesn't want to come. Who is free from 3-8:30 today? Also i'm thinking of throwing a party tomorrow, if i can get 8 people to come."

THE SARCASMASTER/ DRY HUMOR (submitted by Clark Nielson) - no one understands your humor, so everyone takes you seriously and you come off like an insensitive jerk. "Seth Merrill bad news - michael jackson died. but just look on the bright side - michael jackson died."

and the ultimate facebook conundrum: is saying you have nothing to say qualify as saying something??? "Seth Merrill has nothing to put in my status update."



-seth macbeth

>>SWINE FLU SAYINGS

lest we forget the evil rampage that is known as swine flu, and because i haven't said "swine flu" in a while, here are some common sayings and idioms that i have reinvisioned to fit the current medical landscape. enjoy. note: these are all one hundred percent original, except for the part where i plagiarized off the internet and stuck "swine flu" at the end.

a bird in the hand is worth two confirmed cases of swine flu.

a rolling stone gathers no swine flu.

you can lead a horse to water, but you can't give it swine flu.

actions speak louder than swine flu.

a penny saved is a penny infected with swine flu.

variety is the spice of swine flu.

you can't judge a book by how much info it contains about swine flu.

i'm stuck between a rock, a hard place, and a confirmed case of swine flu.

you can't have your cake and get swine flu too.

don't count your chickens before they contract swine flu.

the pen is mightier than the swine flu.

never bite the hand that feeds you the swine flu.

people in glass houses shouldn't get swine flu.

a picture is worth 1000 confirmed cases of swine flu.


-seth