Alkaline Trio Goes Steampunk

Alkaline Trio have gone steampunk in the video for "Help Me". I really like the visual aspects of steampunk and this video does not disappoint.

Youtube and Myspace doesn't do this video justice so check it out in high quality on director Josh Forbes' website. Trust me, the quality makes a difference.


For those who are not familiar with the term, steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction. The stories are set in a time where steam power is widely used, such as Victorian Britain, but with elements of science fiction and fantasy. Examples include the use of computers long before they were invented or fictional technological inventions.
The genre is influenced by the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, but the term steampunk was first coined in 1987 by author K.W. Jeter.

The tv-show "The Wild Wild West" (1965-1969) is an early example of steampunk. The 1999 movie remake starred Will Smith and Salma Hayek.
Two other examples of steampunk are Hellboy and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, both graphic novels that have been adapted into movies.

Here We Go Again!

I'm bouncing around inside a happy ball of hardcore and New Found Glory this morning. I got my copy of Tip Of The Iceberg/Takin' It Ova! in the mail yesterday and it is even better than expected. I can't stop listening to it and I'm in love with their cover of Shelter's "Here We Go Again".

And as if that wasn't enough, here is H2O's brand new video "What Happened", taken from their brand new album "Nothing To Prove". The album was produced by New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert.
As an extra treat, it features Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio. Chicago's bleakest punk rockers will release their new album "Agony and Irony" on July 1st.

Fabulous things:

• Dark Chili from Barista. The Mayas were right, hot chocolate tastes better with a hint of chili. I'm never going back to the sorry, watery stuff the cafeteria at work tries to pass off as hot chocolate. Unless I really, really crave hot chocolate.
  

• Magazines like BUST, Bitch, Marie Claire (UK edition), Inked, Punk Rock Confidential and AP.

• Good vegetarian food at restaurants. This doesn't happen as often as it should.

• Astrid och aporna, finally a local store where everything is vegetarian!

Things that suck:

• Yesterday I was 0.3 seconds late for the bus and the bus driver looks me in the eye, shrugs and then waits two minutes before driving off. Bastard. The city bus is the last part of my trip to work, and I have to run from the train to catch the city bus to the paper.

• Astrid och aporna are out of Stonewalls Jerquee and don't know when they will be back in stock. What am I gonna chew on in the meantime?

• Last week's Radio One's Punk Show with Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio as a guest host is gone from the website and I didn't get a chance to listen to it. Damn, damn, damn me and my procrastination!
  

If you have a problem with bitching you shouldn't read any further. Because this post is all about the bitching, baby!

Have you ever felt the need to tell your boss to just fuck off? But you know you can't because you need that job or you need your employer on your list of references?
This must be the ultimate Catch 22. If you say anything bad about your previous employer when you're looking for a new job, you come across as a bad employee.
So even if your boss is a wanker you have to end things in a good way, or else you won't get a good reference or your bonus. And your boss/colleagues or whoever is making you miserable never get the telling off they deserve.

Life would be so much easier if I could tell people to fuck off when they deserve it. The again, life ain't fair and never was.

And working in the media business isn't glamorous. We work all kinds of crazy hours and have no job security. If you work as a temp long enough the company might be forced to hire you, so no matter how good you are you get the boot after a couple of months.
Working in insurance, engineering or teaching ain't that great either. All kinds of employers seem to treat their staff really bad these days.