28 Days Later: Week Three

I think with all photo projects, this one is starting to lose it's luster. Oh well, I committed to a month and that's what's going to happen.

(First post explaining the entire thing)

Day 15

As a reporter, I see a lot of scenes. This is one of members of the community at a public hearing discussing possible school closures.

Day 16

My morning routine involves chillin with Jon Stewart

Day 17

We have a breakroom that is named after whoever wins that year's Iron Bowl. After all the crappy tree-poisoning stories out of Auburn, I needed some AU spirit.

Day 18

It was the highlight of my day to have these cookies waiting at my desk. Lowlight was that one of those boxes didn't make it to the next day.

Day 19

Just a Saturday in Alabama. In 2011.

Day 20

My friend (and former roommate) and I used to watch Community every Thursday. Now we catch up online whenever we can get together on a weekend.

Day 21

I don't understand why more people don't like ham and pineapple. Doesn't that look delicious?

28 Days Later: Week Two

And here we go in the second week of the February photo project.

Day 8:

My car was like "Hey Matt, I don't feel like starting today." Five hours at a dealership and a major hit in my bank account later and the Silver Surfer is doing fine.

Day 9:

Just when you think you made the perfect mix cd...

Day 10:

My bfff sent me a text telling me to give her my favorite lyric, no questions asked. Next time I saw her, I had this waiting for me. Now it hangs on my wall.

Day 11:

Was amazed that my Christmas tree was still up. (Update: my sister was at my house for a few hours. Tree is down).

Day 12:

Covering some new animals at the zoo. This was taken during a staredown with a Sumatran tiger. I lost.

Day 13:

This is what I jammed to riding around the night of the Grammys. Pretty happy the Keys got some recognition.

Day 14:

Gotta love Alabama.

Finally...

I think this post is more for me than anybody else. But dammit I am excited right now. And while some people will roll their eyes at why, I'm on such a high that I don't really care.

Backstory:

Growing up, my Grandpa got me into wrestling like some dads get their sons into baseball. It's sort of in my blood at this point. With that said, Wrestlemania is like our Superbowl. It's even gotten to the point where cities compete for it like they do for football's biggest game. Atlanta beat out a few other places to host it in 2011 and as a birthday/Christmas present, my dad got me a pair of tickets.

Again making the comparisons to the Superbowl, people buy tickets not knowing which teams are even playing and wrestling fans buy tickets not knowing who is going to be performing. It's all about the experience.

But still, this year was kind of shaking up to be sort of weak. Honestly, I will continue to keep up with wrestling until I die. But I will probably never watch it as intently as I did when I was a kid (Screw this whole "growing up" thing). From what I have seen, nothing is making me have the whole "I can't wait to go" vibe.

Until tonight.

They announced last week that Wrestlemania would be having a "guest host" for the night. Now, their Monday night show has had guest hosts for the past couple years to come on and promote shows or books or movies or whatever. And there were A LOT of rumors that WWE has been trying to get Justin Bieber to come in. I'm not kidding about that. They have been trying to change to a more PG format and I guess JB would cater to their new demographic.

However, it was not to be for the Biebs.

Seven years ago, a performer like no other walked away from the fans that made him and pursued a career in Hollywood. Tonight, he came back to us. And I will be seeing him live in April.

Finally, The Rock has come back.

Let's Talk Grammys

(*Editor's Note: I published this on my blog at work, so that's why it may sound a little different. Hope you enjoy it all the same. Also, if you want to check out a fellow music blogger's thoughts, check out what Mike posted back when the awards were announced)

This Sunday will mark one of the biggest nights in music with the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. And just like the upcoming Oscars, one of the funnest parts is saying who is going to win, who should win and complaining that the Grammy Award is just a bunch of corporate heads that don't know the real music (except the Oscars are movies, but you get the idea).

But there will be none of that third part here. Unless it comes to good artists being overlooked.

*A brief note: 109 Nominations is too many to talk about. For the complete list, go here: http://www.grammy.com/nominees

Record of the Year

Nothin' On You - B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars
Love the Way You Lie - Eminem featuring Rihanna
F*** You - Cee Lo Green
Empire State of Mind - Jay Z & Alicia Keys
Need You Know - Lady Antebellum

Who Will Win: Love the Way You Lie was all over the radio and is arguably one of the biggest songs of 2010. I expect it to win the majority of categories.

Who Should Win: Empire State of Mind had the best crossover appeal I've seen in recent memory, satisfying both hip hop fans and casual listeners.

Who I Want to Win: Though I wasn't the biggest fan of the song, it would be nice to see the underdog come out on top and have Lady Antebellum accept the award. But I would love to see Cee Lo Green get the W for the most upbeat way to ever drop the F bomb.

Album of the Year

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
Recovery - Eminem
Need You Know - Lady Antebellum
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

Who Will Win: I see Eminem taking home a lot of hardware Sunday night and this is another category that will add to his collection.

Who Should Win: Of the five nominated, I would have to give the award to either The Fame Monster, which seemed to produce hit after hit, or The Suburbs, who seemingly had a ton of alternative fans and critics gushing over the indie-esque sound.

Who I Want to Win: There were much better albums out in 2010 than those that were nominated. Unfortunately, Kanye West released his in November. But The Black Keys and/or Mumford and Sons could have, and should have, taken home this honor. So who I would want to win isn't on this list.

Best New Artist

Justin Bieber
Drake
Florence and the Machine
Mumford and Sons
Esperanza Spalding

Who Will Win: Justin Bieber has been everywhere in recent memory and the safe bet would be to go with him. If not, Drake is a top contender.

Who Should Win: Spalding is the clear underdog in this category. I'm not familiar with her and the rest of the nominees have been on fire. All would be deserving.

Who I Want to Win: Hands down, Mumford and Sons. They have a sound that doesn't feel like it will be flash in the pan. I look forward to hearing more from them. Florence and the Machine would be a second choice.

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

Airplanes, Part II - B.o.B., Eminem and Hayley Williams
Imagine - Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck and Oumou Sangare
If It Wasn't for Bad - Elton John and Leon Russell
Telephone - Lady Gaga and Beyonce
California Gurls - Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg

Who Will Win: If the veterans don't take it (Elton; the Imagine cast) I see Lady Gaga sneaking away with another one

Who Should Win: When you put a bunch of big names in a movie, the result is usually disappointing. But that wasn't the case when Gaga teamed with Beyonce. If Telephone took home the statue, it would be deserving.

Who I Want to Win: Airplanes was a solid enough song on its own, featuring the attitude of B.o.B. and the beautiful voice of Paramore's Hayley Williams. Adding Eminem made a good song great and it would be cool to see it win.

Best Rock Album

Emotion and Commotion - Jeff Beck
The Resistance - Muse
Backspacer - Pearl Jam
Mojo - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Le Noise - Neil Young

Who Will Win: Muse is up against some veterans, so I think it will be hard for them to pull this one out. Just for name's sake, I see either Petty or Young winning this one.

Who Should Win: Pearl Jam came back with a vengeance, but Muse has the best of this pack.

Who I Want to Win: Think it's pretty obvious at this point. Viva La Resistance!

Best Rock Song

Angry World - Neil Young
Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
Radioactive - Kings of Leon
Resistance - Muse
Tighten Up - The Black Keys

Who Will Win: Muse put a lot of effort into maximizing the sound of their latest release. I see it paying off here with them winning this category.

Who Should Win: Muse is deserving, but The Black Keys or Mumford and Sons put out some of the best music not only in the year, but in music. I would stick with them in every category.

Who I Want to Win: Any of these besides Radioactive. Come Around Sundown was a good album, but I just don't feel Radioactive is worthy of a Grammy.

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals

Ready to Start - Arcade Fire
I Put A Spell On You - Jeff Beck and Joss Stone
Tighten Up - The Black Keys
Radioactive - Kings of Leon
Resistance - Muse

Who Will Win: I see this being a toss up between Arcade Fire and Muse. Both have an established credibility and both could ride that to a Grammy win.

Who Should Win: The Black Keys should win every award they were nominated for. And the ones they weren't.

Who I Want to Win: See above statement.

Best Alternative Music Album

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
Infinite Arms - Band of Horses
Brothers - The Black Keys
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Contra - Vampire Weekend

Who Will Win: I think the Black Keys have a good shot at taking this one. But Vampire Weekend and Arcade Fire are close competitors. By the way, if you haven't seen the Black Keys and Vampire Weekend on the Colbert Report talking about this award, look that up now.

Who Should Win: Once again, if the Black Keys are nominated, they should take it home. Brothers was that good of an album.

Who I Want to Win: I am a fan of both Vampire Weekend and The Black Keys, so either of them winning would be nice to see. But I still have to go with the Keys.

Best Rap Solo Performance

Over - Drake
Eminem - Not Afraid
How Low - Ludacris
I'm Back - T.I.
Kanye West - Power

Who Will Win: If Eminem doesn't have a predictable dominant performance, Drake is the most likely to take home the trophy. I honestly don't understand how Ludacris and T.I. were nominated. It's not a knock against them, I just feel both have put out much better material.

Who Should Win: Kanye West released Power with just enough time to get it nominated, but not the full length My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Nonetheless, he should take the W here.

Who I Want to Win: Eminem is a much better artist than what Not Afraid showed. Like with Ludacris and T.I., it's not a bad song but Eminem is capable of so much more. With that said, I would like to see either Mr. West or Drake take it home.

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

Nothin' On You - B.o.B. and Bruno Mars
Deuces - Chris Brown, Tyga and Kevin McCall
Love the Way You Lie - Eminem and Rihanna
Empire State of Mind - Jay Z and Alicia Keys
Wake Up Everybody - John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona and Common

Who Will Win: It feels like it's overstated at this point, but either Eminem or Jay Z will most likely get the Grammy in this one. Wake Up Everybody would be a nice change of pace.

Who Should Win: Wake Up! was an out-of-nowhere release that should have gotten more attention than it did. Maybe a win here will justify that.

Who I Want to Win: If the Deuces remix was nominated, I would go with that without hesitation. Since it's not, I became a Bruno Mars fan in 2010 and Nothin' On You helped make that happen so it would be nice to see that song win.

Best Rap Album

The Adventures of Bobby Ray - B.o.B.
Thank Me Later - Drake
Recovery - Eminem
The Blueprint 3 - Jay Z
How I Got Over - The Roots

Who Will Win: See all the above comments about Eminem and Jay Z. Em might win this battle.

Who Should Win: Though I haven't personally listened to How I Got Over, I've heard fantastic praise from this Roots release. If what I heard is true, they should winning here.

Who I Want to Win: Though I wouldn't call it the best of the best, I personally enjoyed B.o.B.'s release. Then again, it's hard to argue against Jay Z, who put out another classic.





So there you have it. Look for the Grammy's to be the Eminem Show. But if there is any justice in this musical world, The Black Keys will have a statue (or two) to take home as well.

28 Days Later: Week One

I don't consider myself much of an artistic person, but I always see people doing photo projects and I was like "I want to be part of the in crowd"

So this is me making an attempt at taking a photo for each day in February (Day 1 = Feb 1 and so on...) Please don't be harsh, these were taken on my phone.

Each day is posted on Tumblr.

Each week is posted on here.

Entire month will be posted on facebook. They get last dibs.

Day 1:

Apparently the vending machine in the break room at work was leaking. Yes, I checked to see if anybody reported it before taking a picture.

Day 2:

My dad drives truck for a living and his route sometimes brings him through where I live. This is his driving companion.

Day 3:

I know everyone that gets this weather all the time is going to be like "we get this weather all the time" but hey - this doesn't usually happen in the deep South.

Day 4:

This is my wrist tattoo in conjunction with that of my brother-in-laws sisters'. (Is there a name for that relationship?) Also, I would hope you know which is mine.

Day 5:

Watched the UFC fight at Hooters with some friends. It was a good time and a good hangout.

Day 6:

Then watched the Superbowl. It was pretty much a guy weekend.

Day 7:

Had to kill some time today and went to the mall and they had Bayside's self titled release on vinyl for ten bucks. It was then added to the collection.