Sebastian Langkilde

Hollywood of My Mind

$26 grand slams, legal weed shops, and no free parking available… LA gave me a proper homecoming. Now I never lived there, but like an OF model I’ve been paying the city of angels with my love and credit card all of this century.

Many times I end up in Hollywood, usually out of convenience for a show in the area or just killing time before a show or game. The scenes on the starry streets leap straight out of Shaun of the Dead. Daywalkers with selfie sticks chronicling their experience to the world while those who truly live on the street pass through by like a fart.

Glad to see Karen Bass’s signature homelessness program working so well while every police cruiser passed by dudes pissing on the street or just laying stone cold over The Rugrats star.

Here we see a couple of Asian influencers illuminating their presence outside of Amoeba Music

While in LA the guys helped me discover my new alter-ego… Sebastian, The Influence Hunter!!! Like Steve Irwin and Sir David Attenborough before me, I was put on this earth to track down some gorgeous influencing mate! And Hollyhood didn’t disappoint.

All’s I need is a Crocodile Hunter outfit and a… Selfie stick… To make my videos. I imagine myself running around in short shorts opining about influencers in the wilds in a butchered Australian accent.

My time was too short in La La Land. The boys and I could only workshop the idea for so long. We had to go waste our paychecks at Amoeba. I should consider myself lucky I can aimlessly spend $100+ each time. I have to say I always pull a gem or two. My first time there I got Fang Island’s Major for $5 and Joey Bada$$’s 1999, which I didn’t immediately realize was an unofficial pressing.

Only thing Amoeba needs to work on is a public toilet… I know, I know… Asking for a shitter in the city that shits all through the night on the stars’ walk of fame… I know, but still. I must have farted like twenties in that bitch before we finally left. Thankfully my guys were also farting all over the movie aisles.

I highly recommend The History of Farting by Benjamin Bart and its companion The Future of Farting. The perfect leaflet for any guest lavatory.

Speaking of shitters, that was the only perk we got at Slideaway Fest. We were under the impression paying for the balcony seating… Since no individual seats were for sale at the time, meant we’d be sitting, since we’re in our 30’s. We’ve been through the wars. We’re tired. Lazy.

Anyways, Slideaway Fest. I would’ve bet the shirt on my back after seeing the merch line for Whirr and Nothing we’d have no shot at anything being left over. Still, like idiots, we waited in line through Swirlies and Swervedriver (didn’t miss any of there set though) just to maybe get a shirt or a sticker. Give’em and give us credit, they had enough of everything to go around.

Long night, but fun to see these bands with my friends. Last time I saw a show with them must have been Swanfest in 2019 or maybe Aftershock sometime before that. Lucky to have seen Swirles and Swervedriver who don’t tour often.

Saw Nothing at the Soda Bar back in 2018. Weird show. My roommate and half the crowd left when Nothing was about to go on. Seemed like there was something personal against Nothing that day. Culture Abuse broke-up in 2020 after lead singer David Kelling admitted to sexual misconduct allegations. Idk you be the judge I guess. All I know is Nothing kicked ass that night in 2018 and at Slideaway. Blue Line Baby blow the dome off the Palladium that night.

Whirr, the headliner, a band many at the show had never seen live before, myself included, gave their fans all the merch, vinyl, tik tok hits, and songs from their days in Modesto they wanted.

Can’t bitch much about their setlist. Starting with Leave, their first song/demo/single, into Collect Sadness from the latest record, followed by an Eyes Wide Shut backtrack into Mumble. Collect Sadness has barely been out for 6 months and it’s definitely a top 3 Whirr song for me. Strong first 15 minutes followed by mostly Feels Like You and Raw Blue tracks.

I’ll post their setlist below, but damn I have very few notes for these guys. A few notes though. Switch out Crush Tones for Days I Wanna Fade Away. Crush Tones is a fine song but reminds me of [Insert Movie Here] pee break scene.

Wavelength, while popular, only makes sense between Mellow and Younger Than You on the album. Switch that one up with Rental. No idea how the whole Whirr discord feels about Rental but the demo and studio versions gaze the fuck out. Listen to that one after a few drinks or a gummy.

Last but not least, they finished up with Younger Than You followed by Mellow. Switch that up. Mellow bleeds into Younger Than You beautifully. Also it’s their best song in my opinion. Best way to close out a set.

Kris Ain’t Dunn!!!

If I’m lucky, maybe, just maybe, my blogging career will see the same resurrection from the League to G-League AND back to the League like the Clip’s Nacho Ball! I assumed Kris Dunn had retired or been voluntold of his retirement until a few weeks ago. The man had only one timberwolf claw (he was drafted by the T-Wolves almost a decade ago [this joke failed]) left until Danny Ainge shipped Dunn off to finish assembling the pieces of the Cooper Flag tank puzzle. But here he is! Two games in a row Nacho Ball has slowed down Jamal Murray like the itis from minor league velveeta cheese. Perhaps my writing will lock down some music reviews and hit the occasional popular culture reference. Or maybe just beat Christian Braun’s ass.

I feel bad for only sitting on my ass tonight watching Jokic and Kawhi throw rocks at each other for two hours. My wife is too busy saving lives to text me back. So I’ll keep typing away.

When you’re obese, sometimes you just crave cookies, but not from Crumble. Paying $12 for a cookie is fucking stupid. Have I done it? Sure. Did I do it alone, absolutely not! I’m not trying to eat some art like Francis Dolarhyde. I’m here for the goddamn sugar, butter, and spending $70 on vinyl from Taiwan.

The shipping from Taiwan to Texas was almost as much as the record itself, but well worth the batter for the needle drop. Shout out to Marina who found this collaboration between Hyukoh and Sunset Rollercoaster. She’s now one of my Super Best Friends of music nerds. Instagram’s algorithm on point.

I’m not here to scribe a sophisticated review. I scoped it out on Spotify first but digital doesn’t do the analog justice. You have to pay those shipping fees, even if you have a basic stereo setup like I do, to fully appreciate the collaborative craftsmanship and labor of love in these eight tracks. There’s no linear style or singular theme. “Y” builds on a triumphant late 70’s rock lead with brass backing while “Glue” vibes like an indie jam at Bonnaroo. My favorite though “Aaaannnnteeeeennnaaaaaa” was made for Speaker City. There are no earmuffs for Kris Dunn, Jamal. Happy Dingus Day!

Photo: David Zalubowski (AP)

Looking Live at NFL Thursday Night, Week 4

Summer is the busiest time of year for me professionally. My responsibilities as Project Manager varies in scope and in phases of that scope, but in the warm months I try to complete as many construction projects as possible. So… I just ran out or lacked the energy to write out my week 3 picks for the NFL spreads. My self esteem aches, just a bit, when I miss write out my weekly picks. Feels like failure. No one cares so it’s only a personal failure to me, but I detest missing a mandate I made for myself.

Anyways… My professional life has bled into my personal time, but the stress of deadlines and demands have started to calmed. I know I can write this post for Thursday Night Football in peace. I “plan” to make my picks for Sunday’s slate this weekend. I wish I had more to say other than I’m actually glad I made zero picks for week 3. Most teams who were projected to cover (by so called experts) failed harder than my own personal failure. I expect more of the same this week, but after week 5 we’ll know if teams like Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, and others have the coaches, players, and organizational know how to make a deep run in January and beyond.

More on that after next week… We go to East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Thursday Night, Cowboys @ Giants: Giants +6, Under 45.5

Through 3 weeks of football, spreads of 6 or more have been covered 13 times already. Feels like a lot. Scoring and passing is down league wide. Run scoring is up significantly. Dallas doesn’t deserve 6 points on the road with their performance over the last two weeks. Do I feel confident in the Giants? Not really; however, Danny Dimes has connected with rookie stud Malik Naybers for 3 touchdowns over the last two weeks. The Giants feel like they’re on an upswing while Dallas sputters out of control. I wouldn’t touch the moneyline for either team here, and yes last year Dallas embarrassed the Giants winning by 32 points or more. But that was last year. This Dallas team is less talented, hasn’t found itself on defense, and can’t run the ball. Everything is on Dak Prescott and he’s not talented enough to carry the team as they figure themselves out in season. 6 is too many points. Giants cover and 45.5 points is too many if this season has taught me anything thus far.

Photo: Izaac Crayton

All spread from BetNow.eu