Dammit Shatner!

First off, tests are very hard to correct with Boston Legal on. William Shatner is probably my favorite actor (NOT because I like Star Trek, because I don't!).

Tests are ok so far... I can't wait to correct about 90 9th grade tests tomorrow! (hopefully you can sense my sarcasm here!) Caution!!! Killswitch Engage is NOT for the faint of heart... great vocals, though, when he actually sings.

Breathe Life - Killswitch Engage (kind intense!)
Short Skirt/Long Jacket - Cake
Jessica - The Allman Brothers Band
Bulls on Parade - Rage Against the Machine
Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

I'M BACK!

Not typing much today... mainly just writing a message to renew the blog. On 9/11, not a national holiday because of Stork's birthday, I hope you find time to reflect on how the world is changed. Here are my 9/11 reflections:

1) The world is obviously less secure
2) Terrorism is used as an excuse to do what governments feel like... in my opinion, somewhat justified depending on the circumstances
3) Iraq has only had terrorists since we invaded
4) Stork's birthday is now easier to remember
5) "Ever since 9/11" is a cliché

long overdue setlist from audioslave @ roy wilkins

badass concert, at least a 10 out of 10... thanks remy for the free tickets!

Setlist:
your time has come
set it off
doesnt remind me
out of exile
be yourself
spoonman
hunger strike
the worm
#1 zero
like a stone
bulls on parade/sleep now in the fire
new song
testify
slaves and bulldozers jam
black hole sun
fell on black days (with shaun from seether)
cant change me
i am the highway
show me how to live
killing in the name
cochise

finally, another rant

yes, i know, its been a long time since i've posted, but in my defense, it has been a summer that has flown by and i have been pretty damn busy. in fact, i still have pictures to post from memorial day... so get off my back. ok, here's the rant...

am i the only one who has noticed a crazy amount of bands doing reunions? granted people want to see their favorite bands years after they were popular. who wouldn't want to see a reunion of say audioslave in 30 years. my problem with this trend is the absolute greed on the part of these bands. point #1: i'm sorry, i would never pay the $47.50 to see def leppard at midway stadium... that's just retarded. point #2 (and the most obvious evidence): mötley crüe reunion (insert your own skeptical accents here)? members of that band very recently would have shot each other if they had a chance. now they are capitalizing on morons who want to hear their aging rocker music... even twice in 6 months here in the twin cities. give me a break. i can hear these these greedy bastards on the radio anytime i want for free... and as an added bonus, when they sing on the radio you don't see the walkers they used to get on the stage. these reunions need to stop now, before they kill rock the way it is today. i read one time that classic rock stations are killing modern rock music, but let's not blame those guys... its these idiots like mötley crüe that may eventually kill modern rock. do yourself and the industry a favor and pick up an audioslave or velvet revolver cd, because at least the guys in these so-called "super bands" have moved on from the 80s.

Disappointed - An Email I Sent to the Governor and Others

Mr. Pawlenty:
Don't for one second think that you aren't responsible for this horrible budget situation in the state. People can blame bipartisanship or any other lame and overused excuse, but the real reason is that you and your buddies in the legislature have not done your job. You should all be ashamed of yourselves, and frankly, should all be fired. If anybody performed as poorly as you all have at their jobs, they would have long since been sent home. I'm ashamed to be a native of this state.
Isaac Schmidt

audioslave - out of exile (overdue revue)

if you didn't know that audioslave had put out a new album, i feel sorry for you! "out of exile" is out with at least two singles released at this point. "be yourself" was the first single out and was followed by "your time has come." both songs were good, but once again, the greatness of audioslave shows through in the variety of songs contained in the album as a whole. as with their first self-titled album, the best songs will almost certainly be the ones you don't hear on the radio.

its hard for a big audioslave fan like me to choose a favorite song from "out of exile," but i really enjoy track 4 "doesn't remind me," track 6 "heaven's dead," and track 8 "man or animal." "doesn't remind me" is a great chill-out tune, for lack of a better term. the leisurely guitar and carefree lyrics make for a great and relaxing listening experience. "man or animal" again reminds us that audioslave is a rock supergroup, the important words there being rock and supergroup. the previous song shows their range, but "animal" is a great rock song showcasing the signature vocals of chris cornell. "heaven's dead" is a great ballad that seems to be very meaningful to chris and the band. this might be the best song on the album... but again, i'm not going to choose that because i'll change my mind a million times over the next few weeks.

if you haven't bought this album, get your ass out there and do it now. i've had it since noon the day it came out, and if you don't get it soon, you are missing the obvious album of the year.

drop me a line at schmidti@augsburg.edu or talk to me at AOL: theeck888

stadium review

over memorial day weekend, fick and i hit up milwaukee and st. louis for two great baseball experiences. saturday was my first experience with miller park home of the milwaukee brewers. following an excellent free tour of the nearby miller brewery (which was free and had samples!!!) we paid $20 for an awesome baseball experience. the open concourses were great because we could watch the game while purchasing a hotdog and a beer. prices were very reasonable. the best part of the park was the atmosphere! the crowd was into the game and in a beer town like milwaukee, i guess that should be expected. my only regret was not knowing the importance of tailgating in milwaukee... i will not make that mistake again! although the roof was closed, overall this stadium was great and i fully anticipate attending a few more games there in the future. i would rate the miller park experience as an 8 (metrodome=1 and wrigley=10), with more room to grow with the addition of tailgating!

after a drive to illinois and a stay at motel 6, we drove a couple hours to st. louis for a sunday day game at soon to be destroyed busch stadium. ***note to self, show up early to downtown st. louis like the first time instead of arriving a couple minutes before the game*** the game was a sellout and once again I was reminded that baseball should be played outdoors. we ended up paying some low-life scalper $40 for a $22 upperdeck ticket. even an upperdeck seat at busch has a clear view of the entire game and is much better than a reserved seat at the dome. i just don't understand why they need a new stadium and are getting one, but we probably aren't. even the $9 jumbo beer was well worth the cash (and of course, fresh from the budweiser plant down the street!) but the jumbo hotdog was very not jumbo. overall, this stadium rates as an 7.

after the game, it was off to our ghetto hotel. not to worry though, splitting a 12-pack of fresh bud light we headed off to a sportsbar slash club slash outdoor bar (i'm not sure what to call the last one) down by the mississippi. after a few beers, some wings, and some great live acoustic guitar entertainment, i headed off to a few other bars with more great live music. st. louis' laclede's landing was full of great live music and i would love to stay out all night there again. and now that i am a member of the president's riverboat casino players' club, i see no reason why not to go back again! just don't drink so much the night before such a long drive... trust me!

crossfade, no address, april sixth (5.4.05) @ the quest)

wow! what a show, sort of. for $15 i got to see a band i had wanted to see for awhile... crossfade. in addtion to the headliner, lil' bro and i also saw two lesser known bands, the more notable being the more sh*tty!

the show began with a line around the corner and halfway down the block, so basically a 1 block line at the door if you want to do the math. we could tell from the beginning that this show might suck because they were letting females in the door with priority (usually not a good sign for my type of music). after having a smoke, we were being frisked by a gigantic black guy... neither of us was packing heat (i left mine in the car). as we were entering, april sixth was on stage, i'm not sure how many songs we missed, but they weren't too bad... their website doesn't do them justice. they rocked harder than they let off... i can't really be too specific, but overall, i'd give them a 5 out of 10.

next up was matchbox 20 wanna be no address. they have been receiving airtime on 93x lately and i was excited to see what they had to offer. after seeing them, i deleted that song from my computer and ipod as soon as i got home. what a bunch of sh*t! their lead singer (ben lauren) was more interested in imitating that horrible group matchbox 20 and their distinctly annoying lead singer rob thomas. i hope the cops followed him around afterward too because i guarantee that he wasn't "hanging out" with anyone over the age of 14. basically, he loved the sound of his own voice, whether it was singing or, by his own preference, talking. at one point i was so fed up with him that i yelled "wrap it up!" while he was taking a drink of his beer, which drew an embarrassed laugh from the terrible face of no address. one guy who shared my views of no address said "he's a horrible singer with a great band." my bro and i would tend to disagree. the guitarist pretended to be in a trance during his solos to make up for his less-than-impressive abilities. their drummer was ok, i think, but i was so pissed off at this point that i didn't care. overall, i would give them 0.5 out of 10, meaning that B! from minneapolis is better than them... ouch!!!

finally, the headliner... crossfade. i had hoped to see their acoustic show in the past year, but i couldn't get lucky and win tickets to that one, which was the only way in the door. crossfade i thought was great! they played several of my favorites, but the highlights for me were Starless, Cold, and Colors... Colors being the best of them all. although it is the most mellow, its my favorite track of theirs at the moment. actually, the highlight of the night was probably when the band called for all ladies to show their tits on three as a joke. over the next five minutes there were several sets of exposed breasts which increased in frequency with the addition of a video camera on stage. thanks crossfade!!! wait... this is supposed to be about music?! anyway, lead singer ed sloan has a hell of a voice... he sets the tone for what is all-in-all a great band. my one complaint, and little bro noticed too, was the dead weight supposed "vocals/turntables/sampler" expert tony byroads. basically all this guy does is try and steal the spotlight from the other three stars of the group. lets not end a bad note though. overall, crossfade was great! i would see them again when their next album comes out because this material is a year old if not older. overall, i would rate crossfade a 7 out of 10 (not as great as nonpoint, but still a great performance).

thanks for reading my opinions, but i am waiting for you to weigh in... i know people visit this site, trust me... i know. so please contribute your opinion to this or other opinions. check out crossfade here. keep watching for the next podcast on eck.1afm.com and stay classy mpls

new podcast coming soon

ladies and gentleman... a new podcast is currently in the editing stage. hopefully you enjoyed that last one, although i got minimal response on it. i know people listened though, and i hope you enjoyed it. to get to the podcast page click here.
just a few comments in general. it has been a couple very sad weeks for me recently. my very favorite comedian mitch hedberg passed away. also, bryan ottoson of american head charge (a great minnesota metal band) also left us prematurely. keep their families and friends in your prayers.
get outside and enjoy the warmer weather. to those who deserve it, have a great summer

shed party 2005 (1st Annual)

this is a formal announcement that the first annual schmidt boys shed party will take place on june 3rd, the day prior to the newly popular alumni baseball games. please mark your calendars and anticipate arrests and noise complaints enforced by kenny baker and tarzan! go twins!