Top 3 Girls Who Should Date Me Right Now

Ah, spring has sprung and you know what? Love is in the air. Well, I guess for some people yeah, for me, not so much. I'm looking to change that, so here is my plea to you people of the internet. Everybody out there has their dream girl, but I understand that the odds of dating any of these girls might be a little rough so that's why I've provided you with three. Tripled the odds, no? So here are my top 3 girls who need to date me (in no particular order). People of the internet, it is your mission to bring us together. You know where to find me.

3. Lights


Lights might be the trickiest one on this list. At age 22, we have the biggest age difference. She's also comes from this foreign land called Canada. But isn't it the differences that make relationships so interesting to begin with? I can dig her music and damn, maybe I would even direct her future music videos until we (she) takes over the music industry. Not only is she quite gorgeous, but she seems pretty down to earth and somewhat interesting from what I've seen of her. Nothing like a cute girl that I could actually carry on a conversation with.

2. Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Hayden Hayden. Honestly, I don't know what to really say about you. No, I am not one of the countless nerds who worship you because of Heroes. I think I saw you in some ice skating movie. You are the only reason I manged to tolerate Bring it On: All or Nothing... a dozen or so times. I'm sorry, it sounds like I'm trashing your filmography. Let's start over. Hi I'm Greg. I think you have one of the best smiles I've ever seen and I hope to someday be the person who puts that smile on your face everyday. Okay, that just came off as creepy. Just, uh, ah, screw it.

1. Shenae Grimes

Yet another Canadian (come on U.S.A., where you at?). I'm not going to even act like I know much about you either, Shenae. I will fess up, I watched you on Degrassi. I haven't really followed you over to 90210. Sorry, don't hold it against me. Maybe we could hit the beach sometime?

There you have it internet. I know somebody out there knows at least one of these girls. Vouch for me. You know I'm a good guy. I'll be waiting for the flood of responses. Until then, check back often to see what other words I decide to write.

Greg isn't dead

Who would have thought I could only cut this blogging thing for a few weeks before I already went back on my word. Well, here's the scenario. To be honest I could see that this blog wasn't getting a lot of visitors and it was starting to get tedious thinking of something to talk about relating to music every Monday and nostalgia every Thursday. I'll still continue doing that kind of thing, but not with the same kind of strict regularity. I was practically set with abandoning this blog altogether, but decided to check back and see that it had accumulated a healthy amount of new visits since I left. So everybody, let me mark this as my return. I can't guarantee how often I'll update, but I will try not to leave you guys hanging for two weeks like I just did. So keep on checking, I predict a top 5 list in the near future.

Greg went to the Jay-Z concert

And while I did take a few pictures, it was so dark the shutter speed had to slow to 1/4 on the camera, so they are all pretty blurry. Anyway, while I can't possibly give a full account of what happened, I can simply tell you about some things that happened.

I went with my sister who actually showed up to meet me early (if you knew her, you would know how amazing this was). We got in our seats which were admittedly a little high up, but still were somewhat close to the stage as some local dj was playing a set. Before long, Trey Songz comes on. I can't name a Trey Songz song. I'm sure I've heard one though. Well, after last night I'm really sure I am. I guess he was alright for what he's about. I feel like a 19 year old white boy isn't really his target audience. He did his thing, singing and moaning while some softcore porno played on the screen in the background. The black girls around us were going insane. The black guy next to us sparked a blunt about 30 seconds in.

Then, the first surprise of the night. After Trey Songz there was a long break and then the countdown began. Even as the countdown hit zero I was confused because I thought Young Jeezy was playing a set, but low and behold, it was Jigga who took the stage. And boy did he take it. His songs take on a whole new level with a live band and the intensity he puts into his performance. Run This Town, DOA, On to the Next One, all amazing. Memphis Bleek came out to help out (when the hell will Jay give up on this guy?) and they even brought Trey Songz to sing the hook on Heart of the City. Jeezy finally comes out and Jay then peaces out while Jeezy does a set. This was kind of a downer for me because I'm not much of a Jeezy fan. He only seems to impress me on remixes (Hurt remix, Top Back remix). He goes on for a while until My President is Black which is when Jay returns to do his verse from the remix.

Enter one great transition. He puts up a video of Obama. I think we are about to watch a healthcare video, but it's video from Obama at a speech brushing off his shoulders to which he says something like, "That's just what you gotta do." Jay turns around and says, "Well let's do it then."

Most of the show was all stuff from The Blueprint 1 onward, especially BP3. I was disappointed in no American Gangster or Kingdom Come songs. No Roc boys? Really?

After Thank You, Jay tells all the people who came for the Blueprint 3 that they can head home and beat the traffic, but no we are going back. I was pretty juiced at this point. Can I Get A, Hard Knock Life, and especially Big Pimpin were absolutely awesome. At one point he asked who had Reasonable Doubt and when a lot of people yelled, he said it was time to test them. He played the whole song "Can I Live" which is definitely a hidden gem in his catalog, but instead of singing the chorus, he just asked the crowd, "What's the name of this song?" I knew. I was yelling.

He spent some time checking out people in the crowd. One guy had a Heinz Ward jersey. Everybody cheered. One girl had a sign asking for a hug. He let her come on stage. Finally, he wrapped things up with Encore and before you knew it he was gone.

I gotta say, it was one hell of a show. The live band really took things to another level and the lights were amazing. Jay has incredible stage presence. While it's hard to compare, I still think I liked Girl Talk more simply because his show was like a non stop party. As far as stadium concerts go, Jay has now set the bar. Go see him if he's coming to your town.

Music Monday #4

Happy Monday everybody. I'm happy to present a very special Music Monday. Not only is this artist a big personal favorite of mine, but I just happen to be going to his concert tomorrow night. That artist is none other than Jay-Z.


Where to start? Well I wrote a big thing about why I think Jay-Z is the best rapper alive. But you know, it's all opinion. Everybody has their own for whatever reason. Instead, I'm going to try to live my top 5 favorite Jay-Z songs at the moment, since this list would probably change everyday.

5. Heart of the City (Ain't No Love) - The Blueprint. Kanye really came through on this beat and Jay-Z is typical Jay-Z.


4. 30 Something - Kingdom Come. Classy classy beat featuring a more mature Jay-Z rapping like somebody his age should.


3. Lost One - Kingdom Come. Two songs from one of his "worst" albums. Yeah. Another relaxing, classy beat. Content is very personal on this track.


2. I Love the Dough - Life After Death. It was hard to choose between this and Brooklyn's finest, but as far as Jay and Biggie collabs go, I like Jay in this one much more.


1. Dead Presidents II - Reasonable Doubt. I couldn't make this list without a song from Reasonable Doubt. This is vintage Jay-Z.


Like I said, ask me again and this list will probably change, but you can't go wrong with these songs. I tried to stay away from some of the more recent mega hits to expose you guys to some other gems. I'll be sure to let you guys know how the concert goes. Until then, have a great week!

Thinking Back Thursday #3

I was just about to leave for the morning when I remembered I should do this. I guess that's what happens when you have final projects to shoot and film in a short amount of time. Well, let's get right into it.



Do you remember Space Jam? I remember Space Jam. How could you not? Michael Jordan. The Looney Tunes. Some... other people. I didn't care about any of them. I just cared about MJ and Bugs Bunny mostly. Michael was a good sport for being in a movie like that and it did feature a lot of cameos from NBA stars. I just like it when athletes can come together on a project like that.

In case you didn't see it, I'll give a brief plot summary from what I remember. So Bugs and the guys are all in Looney Tune land when these aliens come down and want to use the Looney Tunes as entertainers in their galactic theme parks or something. So Bugs is just toying with the shrimps and tells them sure, if they beat them in basketball. So the aliens steal the talent from NBA players in the real world and grow all huge to become the Mon-Stars. Meanwhile MJ is retired and is just failing at baseball. Bugs lures him to Tune world and convinces him to join the team. They play and win (because you know, Michael Jordan retired is still better than 5 NBA all stars put together), the players get their talent back and all is restored.

What might you ask was the best part of the movie? The soundtrack of course! My mom bought me the cassette and I listened to it all the time. It had some cool sporty type songs to get you pumped, some softer, inspirational types (I Believe I Can Fly). Oh yeah, it also had one of the best rap collaborations OF ALL TIME.

B Real (from Cypress Hill aka the "Insane in the Membrane" guys), Busta Rhymes, Coolio, LL Cool J, and Method Man joined forces from Hit Em High (The Monstars Anthem) which to this day is still one of the tightest songs period. The best part, they made a video for it! Be sure to check out if anybody's verse, check out LL. He murders this one. Busta Rhymes is an animal as usual.

Greg saw Let the Right One In (review)

Okay okay, bear with me on this one. I am a bit late on this one since it did come out in 2008, but given the huge surge in the *gulp* Vampire Romance genre as of late, it seems pretty relevant. I'm going to get it right out of the way, this is a Swedish film, so if you are too stupid to read subtitles, don't bother. I guess the DVD version does have English dubbing, but I still need to buy it. More on that later.

Now before you start rolling your eyes as I was when a friend suggested this movie, give it an honest shot. It's been a rough year for vampires and I promise you that this movie features no vampires who sparkle in the daytime and will not inspire you to join any meaningless "team". And hey, if you don't trust me, why not trust RottenTomatoes.com which in 147 reviews, ONE HUNDRED FORTY THREE WERE POSITIVE GIVING THIS MOVIE AN AWESOME RATING OF NINETY-SEVEN PERCENT. I hope that got your attention.

The film takes place in where else but Sweden and follows a grade school boy named Oskar. Oskar is kind of a punk and gets picked on frequently by the school bullies. Meanwhile there are murders being committed in the town so everybody is a bit on edge. I'll reveal some more since this stuff is revealed in the first half of the movie and not part of some big ending twist or anything. Well, the murders are being committed by a guy who believe it or not, he's not a vampire. He's not, his daughter, or whoever she is is the vampire. I guess I missed whether or not they make it clear. They are living together and he goes out killing people, collecting some blood, and hiding their bodies so she can drink it no problems. I hesitate from saying that that is his daughter because while he is an older man, the vampire, Eli, says that she's been 12 for a very long time. How long is that? Who knows. Either way, I'm spending way too much time on this, but I like to appear thorough.

So the man is doing his killing and in the meantime Oskar meets Eli and they become friends. They learn Morse code together and start communicating by knocking on the walls of their conveniently adjacent apartments. The problem is, Eli's blood provider is having a bunch of close calls and eventually, he screws up royally. Rather than get caught and have the cops trace him back to Eli, he mars his face so he can't be identified. In his last act of helping Eli, he offers himself to her and she sucks his blood just before he falls out the hospital window to his death.

This leaves Eli alone to get the blood for herself while Oskar is painfully unaware of what is the deal with his girlfriend. Maybe he's too distracted by the bullies who have it out for him now more than ever.

The film has a lot of great moments throughout it that really won me over. I mean seriously, this is a vampire romance movie. The past year has taught me to hate the genre and yet this film comes along and is a new favorite of mine. It is satisfying up through and including the ending. It rarely drags and never comes off as corny. It also sticks to a lot of vampire lore for all you geeks out there (as in, things vampires are supposed to do as opposed to stand in the sunlight so they sparkle). All and all, it's an awesome movie that I can't wait to add to my collection. However, wouldn't you know things aren't that simple.

Apparently there is quite the controversy over the DVD release of this movie. THEY CHANGED THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES FROM THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL VERSION. Now, let me explain what it means with an example I read. At one point when the blood collector has a boy he's ready to kill, the boy's friends are waiting for him and yell through the window something like, "Hurry up, you can jerk off at home!" where as the new DVD subtitles say something like "Hurry up, time to go home!". Now, that may seem picky, but which statement has more character to you? The second one is just dumbed down and pretty basic. Apparently, this sparked quite the outrage and the company released a new version with the original theatrical subtitles. Only problem, THERE IS NO DISTINCTION ON THE BOX. Well, almost none. Apparently if you look on the back it should say under the subtitles section English (Theatrical) instead of just English. The problem is, the old DVDs and the new DVDs still have the same number and everything, so if you are buying it online you just have to cross your fingers and hope you get the version you want because most online retailers aren't thorough enough to give you all that information before buying. Or they might not even know. They might have both versions just mixed together.

Here's what was suggested to me and what I plan to do. Proceed as normal and find the best price you can online for the DVD version. When you get it, look on the back. If it says English (Theatrical) congratulations, you won. If not, here's what you do. Don't open the DVD packaging. Go to Wal-mart or whatever store you hate with a passion. Find the DVD and find one that has the theatrical subtitles. Buy it. Then, use your receipt and return the one you got online that didn't have the theatrical subtitles. The retailers don't know the difference because as I said, both versions have the same id number.

Okay, sorry for that digression, but trust me, once you see this movie, it will be well worth the wait and all the work. And one more interesting thought, tell me if this isn't stupid. The novel this movie is based on came out in 2004. This movie came out in 2008. They are now making an American version due out in 2010 called Let Me In. WHY? I could understand if it's been 30 years, but WHY MAKE A REMAKE OF A TWO YEAR OLD FILM ESPECIALLY WHEN IT WAS A MASTERPIECE?!?!?!?

I have no clue, but do yourself a favor and see the original so when the remake comes out, you can sound like a cool kid by talking about how much better this one is.

Music Monday #3

Happy Monday everybody. I hope everybody stayed up to watch the Oscars last night. It proved to be a profitable night for me thanks to the suckers in my Oscar pool. I got worried in the middle of the show, but I sealed the deal with Best Actor. Thank you Jeff Bridges. Moving on, here's the subject of today's Music Monday, none other than Andre 3000.



So in case you aren't aware, Andre 3000 makes up half of the hip hop duo known as Outkast. Outkast is one of the most creative things to ever come out of hip hop. Growing up, I was too young to really get what they were all about. I heard their songs on the radio, knew some of the words, but that's about it. It wasn't until years later that I realized the poetry and deepness of Andre 3000's lyrics. Their beats and their sound weren't like what everybody else was doing and nobody has really seemed to do it the same way since. While I am a bit of an Outkast fan, I am a much bigger Andre 3000 fan thanks to his recent comeback via a few guest spots and select songs.

For instance, he murders "Royal Flush" on Big Boi's album.

Styles will change. They say change is dang-erous
As a King standing on the terrace
While his partner pointing up at the riflemen
Coward shooter, never know when your life will end
Then live like there ain't no 'morrow
And if one come then this the motto
Now I put message in bottle
You go to the nearest beach and open your car door
And walk to the place where the sea meets the land
Yeah, it's easier to run the street than walk in the sand
Hey, I'm talking young man. As if chalk in my hand
I will take y'all little ass to school
It's cool when the kids call me Sunny, the hood calls me Stacks
The B's call me honey, Hollywood calls me back
Crack and I have a lot in common
We both come up in the 80's and we keep that bass pumping
That's a nega-tive comparison, embarrassing
Unfortunate that if you come up fortunate the streets consider you lame
Ha, I thought the name of the game was to have a better life. I guess it ain't. What a shame
I don't slang. Never slung but I'm one with the slum that has a name well fitting
Plenty cheese getting. No wonder why they call it the trap
So watch your tail and I'm not kidding
The rats and mice will give advice, they say, "you can paint and draw
Get out of here. Go show them that we're more than slanging raw."
That's when I broke into my Big Rube impression
And I tried to enlighten but that night I learned a lesson
That the morals that you think you got go out the window
When all the other kids are fresh and they got new Nintendo Wiis
And your child is down on her knees praying hard up to God for a whopper with cheese
Do you B) hit the street hard with a flair
Or do you A) go to school for heating and air?
Dare make an honest living or make a crooked killing
Or do a bit of both until you're holding on a million?
Brilliant. You got one foot in, one foot out
You put your left foot back in and then you shake it all about
You do the hokey pokey til you turn your life around
That's what it's all about. 3000 out


I hear he's supposed to come out with a solo album soon. That's one I will buy no questions asked. Until then, be sure to check his verse on the Walk it Out remix and another favorite I have by his, Chronometrophobia. In the meantime, here's a classic Outkast banger, Atliens (as it turns out, the music video embedding is disabled, but here's the song).

Thinking Back Thursday #2

I've been waiting to do this one since I thought of it before last weekend. I'm glad I'll finally get to share it.

I don't know about you guys, but I love pizza. LOVE IT. To me, it's like it's own food group. You have your big places like Pizza Hut (my personal favorite), but then you also have the local spots that each have their unique style.

Growing up, I never went to Little Caesars. Still haven't. I don't know of one around me. What I do remember, oh man I remember, were the commercials. More specifically, the little guy at the end who always goes, "Pizza Pizza". I remember being a little kid and always trying to time it so I said it right when he did. It seems like now, commercials are all pretty similar. None of them really leave much of an impression on me anymore. The actors are mostly just forgettable and they just don't seem as wild as they did in the 90s.

This commercial on the other hand, I can only describe as magical. I remember seeing it and just being in awe and being able to find it on YouTube and dying of laughter from it is great. I can't give this commercial an adequate introduction, so I'm not even going to try. Just watch this Little Caesars commercial about a man and his really great day.

Music Monday #2

Happy Monday everybody! Well, let's get right into it.

It seems like mashups are all the rage these days. And why not? Take a great song, take another great song and make a new great song. I remember when MTV mixed ACDC's "Back in Black" with Eminem's "My Name Is". So sick.

Well this next guy takes it to a whole new level. Instead of just taking and combining two good songs to create a new one, he takes DOZENS. Strangely enough, his name is Greg. He's from Pittsburgh. You'll know him as Girl Talk.



He's had a few albums, but his latest release, from 2008 I believe, Feed the Animals is by far his best. I've heard many other mashup artists' albums before. Something about this one really stands out and I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's the pacing. Maybe it's just sample selection. I don't know but it works and it works better than the rest. The album itself plays out kind of like flipping through a radio station or an iPod, which is good for our attention deficit generation. A sample comes on that you don't like, just hang out, it'll be gone in a few seconds.

You get a great mix on here. I can pick out the rappers and singers from their lyrics, but a lot of the instrumentals are from rock groups I'm not quite as familiar with. I can tell you that this album runs the gamut from Busta Rhymes, to the Jackson 5, to Kelly Clarkson. It is divided into tracks, but flows well and is really meant to be listened to in it's entirety. I stuck this CD in my car and had it there for a while because as time goes by, certain samples and parts that you weren't crazy about before grow on you. It's fun to sing along and is an essential road trip album because chances are, all your friends in the car at least know SOME of the words.



This brings me to his live performances. I was lucky enough to see him this past summer in Pittsburgh. OH. MY. GOD. I'm not a frequent concert goer, but that concert is now the standard by which all others will be judged. Absolute insanity. Tons of people dancing on the stage. Lights everywhere. Everybody was dancing like crazy for hours. It was a better party atmosphere than even any club or party I've been to. If you ever have an opportunity to see this guy live, you are a FOOL if you miss this show. Bottom line. No argument. I still check his MySpace every now and again to make sure I'm not missing out on any upcoming shows. Until then, I'll still have Feed the Animals to hold me over.