METALMAN

I would like Belle & Sebastian to release something new cause it's been like three years. Apart from that I just take it as it comes you know. I'm not really too worked up about anything at the moment. Oh and I can't wait for Michael Jackson's shows at the O2 Arena.

Middlesbrough >_>

If Blur play End of a Century, Colin Zeal and Turn It Up I will be happy. Oh and some songs from Think Tank as well please. ahahahahahaha... THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE!!!!!

Oh that is most fetching. It has however been rejected in favour of DANCING IN THE DARK.

I am finding Karen O attractive for the first time ever. She is nice. Think I just didn't like the dyke haircut she used to have.

Jarvis Cocker onstage with Spinal Tap. This is the stuff of my dreams.

Mine are: 1. Belle & Sebastian - Dear Catastrophe Waitress (2003) I love every song on this album and I have so many great memories related to it. I know a few people that don't like Belle & Sebastian's newer music, such as this. They are silly. Best songs: All of them really, but particularly "If She Wants Me" and "I'm A Cuckoo". 2. Ryan Adams - Gold (2001) Again, another album on which I love every song. Particularly impressive given that there are seventeen of them. Best songs: Answering Bell; Wild Flowers 3. The Libertines - Up The Bracket (2002) I haven't listened to this in a while but this is the album that really got me into good music, so it couldn't not be here. I've listened to this hundreds of times since it came out. Best songs: Death On The Stairs; Up The Bracket 4. Death Cab For Cutie - We Have The Facts & We're Voting Yes (2000) Just a collection of great songs really. I love the production on this. Best songs: Title Track; Company Calls 5. Ben Folds Five - Ben Folds Five (1995) For me, nothing Ben Folds has done ever since has got anywhere near this. Since first hearing this, I have looked forward to every subsequent release by him, only to be disappointed. As for this album, it is a masterpiece packed full of catchy and brilliantly arranged songs. An excellent summer album. Best songs: Sports & Wine; Where's Summer B? 6. Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister (1996) Stuart Murdoch himself regards these as the best songs he has ever written, and he may have a point. This is a record where the rudimentary production only seems to increase its charm. Best songs: The Stars of Track & Field; Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying 7. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (1969) This is my favourite folk music album and yet another that I never tire of despite numerous listens. This is an album that is more evocative and haunting than any other I have heard. Best songs: Day Is Done; Time Has Told Me 8. Belle & Sebastian - Tigermilk (1996) Released only four months before "If You're Feeling Sinister", which is quite an amazing feat. Tigermilk is much the same as it. Catchy pop songs with so much more hidden underneath. Best songs: She's Losing It; The State I Am In 9. Arcade Fire - Funeral (2004) An exhilarating album that was made to be played live. It was experiencing this in what was by far the best show I've ever been to that really cemented this album's place in my favourites. Best songs: Haiti; Rebellion(Lies) 10. James Taylor - October Road (2002) The best ever waking up with a hangover album, and although it came more than thirty years since James Taylor's first release it is by far the best thing he has released in his excellent music career. Best songs: September Grass; Belfast To Boston 11. Neil Young - After The Gold Rush (1970) The second best ever waking up with a hangover album. And just brilliant in every way. Best songs:Tell Me Why; Don't Let It Bring You Down 12. Sigur Rós - Takk... (2005) This is an album that I like to listen to when I go to sleep - because listening to it the dark makes in even more absorbing and atmospheric. Not because it is boring. Because it isn't. Best songs: You need to listen to it all together really. But Saeglopur and Glósóli. 13. Bright Eyes - Lifted or the Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground (2002) This is another album that means a lot to me, and one that I've been listening to a lot recently - mainly because one of my friends plays it at every possible moment. Not that I mind, because it is a really excellent album. Best songs: You Will. You?Will. You? Will. You?Will.; Nothing Gets Crossed Out 14. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead(1986) An iconic album that I don't really need to say much about. Just excellence. Best songs: Frankly, Mr Shankly; I Know It's Over 15. Prince - Purple Rain (1984) This is the true 80s pop masterpiece. >_> Best songs: When Doves Cry; Purple Rain Honourable mentions: Spoiler: Click here to viewThe Beatles - Rubber Soul Camera Obscura - Let's Get Out Of This Country Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight Idlewild - The Remote Part Laura Marling - Alas I Cannot Swim Leonard Cohen - Songs Of Love And Hate Your turn now ^_^

Top three songs of all time: 1. Nothing Gets Crossed Out by Bright Eyes 2. You Will. You?Will. You? Will. You?Will. by Bright Eyes 3. False Advertising by Bright Eyes What a coincidence that the best three songs of all time are all from the same album eh?

Pendulum and Maximo Park...eurgh. There is a reason why I've never bothered watching that video up until now. >_> As for the video - it's awesome. I've kind of got a bit bored of the Gaslight Anthem's albums in honesty. They're still fantastic live however. And Bruce has the cheesiest smile ever. Fantastic. edit: could have sworn i saw a swastika flag in the crowd just there.

The World Cup is great. The Stanley Cup is also great. Let's talk about the merits of the trophies rather than bringing them down eh? That is what I believe this thread is about. Not "the worst trophy in sports."

On the subject of FIFA World Cup trophies, its quite ironic that the original Jules Rimet trophy, which has amazing stories to rival those of any other trophy is also ugly as sin. I mean, it was hidden in a shoebox under a bed in Italy during World War II, stolen in 1966 only to be found in a hedge wrapped in newspaper by a dog out on his walk, and finally stolen from a museum in Brazil and presumably melted down. Unfortunately it also looked like this:

Think I'll do my what I've been listening to thing before I go to bed. >_> Patrick Wolf - The Bachelor (7/10) - Perhaps not as good as his last album but it still has its moments. There are some brilliant string arrangements here, most notably on "Hard Times" and "Damaris". My favourite track is "Blackdown" however. Michael Jackson - The Essential Michael Jackson (6/10) - Listened to this for obvious reasons. It performs better than any other compilation in accurately summarising the ups and downs of Michael Jackson's incredible career. Incredible because the same person who recorded "Ben" - possibly the worst song ever - hit a golden spell where he recorded many songs that are favourites of mine, from "The Girl Is Mine" through to "Smooth Criminal", "Man In The Mirror" and "Black & White". Then he finished his career off with the finest symmetry by releasing mainly dross afterwards - "They Don't Care About Us" for instance. Michael Jackson - Thriller (8/10) - Again, obvious reasons. You all know the songs on this so I'll keep this brief. I never really liked the title track all that much, but that is more than made up for by the trinity of "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "The Girl Is Mine". However, my favourite song from the album is "PYT" which is awesome. She & Him - Volume One (8/10) - Zooey Deschanel does music. With excellent results. I hadn't listened to this album in ages, but after seeing "Yes Man" I felt the urge to give it another spin. Although I did enjoy it back when it came out, this time round it was far better than I ever remembered it. "Sentimental Heart" and "Change Is Hard" are lovely lovely songs, while "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here" is finest Kate Nash without a Kate Nash voice. The two covers - "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "I Should Have Known Better" - are brilliantly arranged and barely recognisable when compared to their seminal Beatles' versions. I'd heartily recommend this album, especially "Change Is Hard" which is without a doubt one of my favourite songs ever. Idlewild - Captain (6/10) - Idlewild's debut mini-album is nothing at all special, though "Annihilate Now!" and "Satan Polaroid" do foreshadow great things to come. Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield Again (8/10) - Buffalo Springfield's second album perhaps offers the first real glimpse of Neil Young's future greatness. The album is sandwiched by its two best songs. Opener "Mr. Soul" blatantly rips off "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction)", yet turns it into what is, in my opinion at least, a far superior song. Last track "Broken Arrow" is without a doubt the very pinnacle of this fine album, itself having as many twists and turns over its course as the rest of the album put together. Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left (9/10) - This is without a doubt my favourite album I've covered in this series of reviews. If I were to list my top ten albums ever, and put a good deal of thought into it, I would highly expect this to feature. I love this to such an extent that I find it difficult to even separate any one song as a best or worst track, though at a push I would recommend "Day Is Done". God Help The Girl - God Help The Girl (4/10) - NO NO NO NO. Massive crushing disappointment from my favourite songwriter of all time. It just sounds wrong when someone other than Stuart Murdoch sings Stuart Murdoch songs, and the fact that every woman he drafted in seems to have an annoying as fuck voice only serves to further its detriment. This is why the best songs on this album are the ones sung by Murdoch himself. But I'm still not going to advise that you download any of them as they are still subpar to anything Belle & Sebastian has ever done. Download "Push Barman To Open Old Wounds" instead. Malcolm Middleton - Waxing Gibbous (7/10) - A decent, but forgettable album here. This doesn't feature any of the absolutely incredible catchy as fuck tunes Middleton seems to come up with sporadically - best exhibited on the "A Brighter Beat" trio of "Fight Like The Night", "We're All Going To Die" and the title track. Still, it is a good album, and by all means worth a listen. Or at least download "Shadow". West Rider Pauper Lunatic Asylum - Kasabian (6/10) - To me, Kasabian are notable for putting out two shit albums which both featured one absolutely golden tune - "LSF" and "Shoot The Runner" respectively. However, here they have considerably upped the ante by producing TWO very good songs and a pretty decent album to boot. The two very good songs are current single "Fire" and "Fast Fuse", which may be familiar to those that play FIFA 09. The album is by no means consistently strong - "Swarfiga" and "West Rider Silver Bullet" are dire - but it still a convincing step in the right direction for Kasabian. NEXT WEEK - Marmaduke Duke, Grizzly Bear, We Were Promised Jetpacks, Dirty Projectors and whatever else I feel like listening to.

The Ayrshire Cup is the best sports trophy!

Donny Osmond is dead.

In case you missed the context of the original post - the precedent of which I am following here - this thread is not just about which trophy looks better. When I think about trophies I like to think about the symbolism behind them and the deeper meaning. Otherwise, they're all just silver vases. And the Stanley Cup is just a slightly bigger silver vase. Who gives a fuck? However, when you take into account the history of the Stanley Cup, who has touched it, what has been done with it - it takes on a whole greater meaning. Just like when you take into account the symbolism of the World Cup and what its design is intended to convey - it too takes on a whole greater meaning. Which is, I believe, the point of this thread. In case you missed the context of it.

It is blindingly obvious how the international aspect of the FIFA World Cup trophy relates to the vast number of countries competing for it. The design of the trophy itself embodies it. The sculptor himself described his design of it as follows: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory."

My rules state that for a country to be valid, each team must have at least six players from said country. That's how I always play that game. Anyway, fair enough - I am aware that it isn't just Canadian people that compete for the Stanley Cup. I do have NHL 2003 after all. >_> But the World Cup is the only event I can think of that as many as two hundred countries compete for. Regardless of who might win at the end, that's still pretty cool and unique.

Every nation to win the World Cup: England France Italy Germany Argentina Brazil Uruguay Every nation which has had at least one player win the Stanley Cup since 2007: Canada United States Russia Ukraine Sweden Finland Czech Republic Slovakia Equal number of continents, more countries for the Stanley Cup IN THE PAST THREE YEARS than the World Cup ever. Thanks for playing. Playing by your rules, the UEFA Champuons League absolutely pummels the Stanley Cup in into the ground. Thanks for playing.

In support of IAceI, the World Cup trophy is representative of a great deal more than the Stanley Cup. It has been lifted by players from all over the world, and represents mutli-culturalism and the uniting spirit of sport in a way no other trophy can really hope to match up to. So despite it's relative youth, you could argue that the FIFA World Cup trophy is more significant than the Stanley Cup. There isn't really any right or wrong answer in this debate, but I really do find myself agreeing with Ace on this one.

From a neutral's point of view, which I am more or less, it does sound like an excellent game. I should have watched it.

Stuff about drugs

Olympics, World Cup and European Championship always have far more viewers. So, while the Superbowl is the most watched sporting event every two years, and I myself watch it and enjoy it, I just have difficulty accepting it as being global as the viewers are predominantly from one country, unlike the ones I mentioned which truly are global. But yeah...on the subject of the trophy - it is very nice. edit - actually the subject of TV viewings is very interesting. I remember seeing an article saying that the 2008 Olympics opening ceremony drew in excess of 1 billion viewers. Which is just incredible really.

Hardly. I'm really unsure about my favourite trophy. My least favourite is probably the UEFA Cup though.

I think it was more just an observation really. Jermaine Jackson was on the telly there almost crying. Poor guy.

Richard Hastings is in the team? In that case - yes, you are fucked.