Derrick Rossignol

NBA Finals 2013: Does Spurs Forward Matt Bonner Have the...

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:24:44 -0400

NBA Finals 2013: Does Spurs Forward Matt Bonner Have the NBA’s Best Taste in Music?

Let me explain: During the 2009-2010 season, the sharpshooting redhead took advantage of all the travel involved in the NBA schedule to go on a personal quest: to find the best sandwiches in the country. He visited sandwich shops across the nation and wrote comprehensive and entertaining posts about his adventures for the Spurs website.

The reason “The Quest for the Hoagie Grail,” as he called it, matters is that at the end of each article, he chooses a song of the day, most of which are a fantastic slice of indie rock, folk and a few oddities. In a league full of hip-hop fans, Bonner proudly proclaims in his first article that Bloomington, Indiana is home to Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian, two of his favorite record labels that are home to indie acts like Okkervil River and Animal Collective.

Read the rest at PolicyMic

AROOSTOOK: Time for a quick update: As I've been saying, I've been working on new stuff...

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 21:34:06 -0400

AROOSTOOK: Time for a quick update: As I've been saying, I've been working on new stuff...:

aroostookmusic:

…a bunch of different stuff. I have an ambient album completed that I need to just mix and master properly, so I’ll try to do that soon and have that online.

Secondly, I’ve been working on a batch of electronic song that, again, is just about finished, so I need to put the final touches on that…

Pretty awesome “Reach for the Dead” download card...

Sun, 02 Jun 2013 09:49:31 -0400

Pretty awesome “Reach for the Dead” download card you get when preordering “Tomorrow’s Harvest,” this one from Bull Moose in Bangor.

Grammar, Facebook.

Wed, 29 May 2013 09:44:26 -0400

Grammar, Facebook.

mainecampus: Gendron aims to bring winning culture back to...

Tue, 28 May 2013 18:53:54 -0400

mainecampus:

Gendron aims to bring winning culture back to UMaine hockey

“My vision for this program is one that will compete for championships every season. It is a sold out Alfond Arena every time we play. It is trips to the TD Garden to compete for Hockey East Championships […] and trips to the NCAA tournament,” said new University of Maine men’s hockey coach Dennis “Red” Gendron during an introductory press conference held Tuesday afternoon in the Alfond Arena.

Read more at The Maine Campus

A bit o’ sportswriting for the college newspaper (of which I am now Editor in Chief, a fact I think I neglected to make clear on here).

For my mum and mothers everywhere.

Sun, 12 May 2013 13:24:32 -0400

For my mum and mothers everywhere.

I strive to meet Soup Johnson and to get Selesh to job.

Thu, 09 May 2013 18:06:11 -0400

I strive to meet Soup Johnson and to get Selesh to job.

Photo I took of the Formula SAE team for a class.

Thu, 09 May 2013 11:19:43 -0400

Photo I took of the Formula SAE team for a class.

It’s slightly better and thicker.

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:11:32 -0400

It’s slightly better and thicker.

“I’m sick of your damm messages for sale demon...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:22:49 -0400

“I’m sick of your damm messages for sale demon sword”

mainecampus: Album Review: Dessert Lips ‘Looking Good, Feeling...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 15:17:29 -0400

mainecampus:

Album Review: Dessert Lips ‘Looking Good, Feeling Good’

Having worked for The Maine Campus in one capacity or another for the past three years, it has been interesting to see what former co-workers have done after they’ve graduated. Most have gone on to write for various publications across the country, while others have gone in unexpected directions.

Kegan Zema — former Maine Campus editor of Style & Culture, whose post I took over in 2011 — falls in the latter category. Last I heard, he told me he was living in Brooklyn, N.Y., “basically running this ice cream store, this vegan ice cream store.”

He always had a keen interest in anything music, performing and recording under various names over the past few years — more than I’ve been able to keep track of.

Read more at The Maine Campus

mainecampus: Film Review: ‘iSteve’ Apple founder Steve Jobs had...

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:22:21 -0400

mainecampus:

Film Review: ‘iSteve’

Apple founder Steve Jobs had an interesting existence. To put it simply, he did a lot of soul searching as a young man, went on to found Apple and revolutionized modern computing and entertainment before he passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2011.

As soon as Jobs’ time in this world came to an end, studios began rushing to start work on a film based on his life. In the tech world, he who does it first usually fares best, and the same is true about movies.

Directors Aaron Sorkin and Joshua Michael Stern are currently working on films about Jobs, competing to see who can finish first. Unfortunately for them, they’ve already been beaten.

Read more at The Maine Campus

People on Facebook are doing well.

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:42:00 -0400

People on Facebook are doing well.

Follow me on twitter

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 21:13:00 -0400

Follow me on twitter

mainecampus: How I Hear It: R. Kelly, Phoenix and The Postal...

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:41:46 -0400

mainecampus:

How I Hear It: R. Kelly, Phoenix and The Postal Service help make Coachella Day 2 memorable

Music festivals bring people together and remind us how strung out you have to be to hula hoop in public; but more importantly, they bring great bands together. For example, here is a list of several artists who played at the 1969 Woodstock festival: Joan Baez, Santana, Grateful Dead, The Who, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

Most artists are only heralded as classic acts once their careers are over, so it’s hard to say that this year’s Coachella is one for the history textbooks. However, based on two awesome things that happened on the second day of the festival, it will at least be archived in my memory as one of the best.

Read the rest at The Maine Campus

3 Reasons Why Dating the Wendy’s Girl Would Suck (via...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 16:35:00 -0400

3 Reasons Why Dating the Wendy’s Girl Would Suck (via PolicyMic)

Wendy’s most recent ad campaign chronicles the adventures of a red-haired woman infatuated with their fast-food eatery, and she’s pretty cute. The crimson-haired burger pusher, whom we’ll refer to as Red, is played by Morgan Smith Goodwin, a 28-year old actress from Birmingham, Alabama who appeared in an off-Broadway show called “Freckleface Strawberry” before landing her big break.

It’s completely fair to fantasize about doing it Wendy’s way and getting hot and juicy with this lovely lady. Really, she seems like an ideal girlfriend: She looks good, doesn’t mind eating fast food, and she looks good. But like in any relationship, once the infatuation-fueled honeymoon phase is over, you start to notice the blemishes and suddenly, the wall of photos of Ronald Reagan with his eyes cut out isn’t as adorable as it used to be.

The same is true here and upon closer inspection, it turns out it would suck pretty hard to date the Wendy’s girl, for several reasons:

I wrote this for Cracked and they rejected it. CollegeHumor also rejected it. PolicyMic, however, loves me. Click here to read the rest.

mainecampus: Album Review: Phoenix, “Bankrupt!” By Derrick...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:36:42 -0400

mainecampus:

Album Review: Phoenix, “Bankrupt!”

By Derrick Rossignol (@drossignol10)

Phoenix has hyped this record by calling it more experimental than “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” and releasing an outrageously good single, “Entertainment,” that contradicts that claim. It has all of the charm and idiosyncratic upbeat wonder of albums prior but brings few new ingredients to the kitchen.

The rest of the album is familiar, too. “Bankrupt!” is far from experimental and falls in line with expectations.

As far as making an album that will contend for the title of 2013’s best, Phoenix has risen from the ashes of the lack of experimentalism to do exactly that, even if they failed to break much new ground.

Read the rest at The Maine Campus

mainecampus: How I Hear It: A primer for new post-rock...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 19:45:43 -0400

mainecampus:

How I Hear It: A primer for new post-rock fans

It’s a primarily instrumental genre characterized by atmospheric guitar work and long, progressive song structures. It’s a style of music that has opened my ears to the world of instrumental music and other genres I had overlooked. Everybody should at least give post-rock a shot, but it’s tough to know where to start. The term “post-rock” is broad and encompasses a radically diverse set of bands.

Let me help. I’ll tell you about eight great albums to get you started on your post-rock listening, depending on what music you enjoy now. This isn’t a top post-rock albums list, since I’ve left out more challenging bands like Mogwai and Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Rather, use this list to figure out what the best entry point into the world of post-rock is for you.

Read the rest at The Maine Campus

mainecampus: The Maine Crapus: April 1, 2013 We’re a day late,...

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:24:00 -0400

mainecampus:

The Maine Crapus: April 1, 2013

We’re a day late, but there’s still time to enjoy this year’s issue of The Maine Crapus, our annual April Fool’s Day issue of The Maine Campus! This year’s theme was “All the crap you wish you read” and it took on a hilarious, The Onion-like tone.

Click here to access The Maine Crapus online and read about President Ferguson waiving tuition, how Orchard Trails caused all the problems at The Grove and about the news that UMaine’s mascot is actually a real bear in a bear costume.

I wrote “Truth comes out: Bananas an actual bear,” “UMaine does away with all 8 a.m. classes,” “Student Entertainment hosts dream music festival” and “110 longboards break simultaneously.” Check it out!

Captain Contradiction

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:49:00 -0400

I just submitted an application for a scholarship that asked for an answer to the following question, in less than 250 words: “Which superhero or villain would you want to changes places with for a day and why?”

This is my response:

If I could change places with a superhero or villain for one day, it would be Captain Contradiction, the greatest hero of all time, except for all the other ones. He can fly over buildings by walking around them. He stopped a bank from getting robbed by taking all of its money. He can drink a gallon of milk in an hour, as long as you give him a few hours to do it.

Born in 1988, Captain Contradiction came to the public’s attention during the 1920s, when he became known for his line of hoodless hoodies that say “PANTS” on them, except he only ever made one and destroyed it immediately after. Ever since that fateful day, he retired from superhero work, changing the world forever through his selfless deeds.

Captain Contradiction still helps people around the world today, as long as they are in the Boise, Idaho area and don’t need any help. Just the other day, Captain Contradiction, after hearing his silent screams from three miles away, will help a dark albino man who locked himself in a car right near him tomorrow.

If Captain Contradiction existed, I would want to be just like her. It’s dark to want to be a villain, but he’s the nicest superhero ever. I could change the world by reducing planned accidents, assisting monarchies in king elections, and creating vision-impairing glasses. I could improve the world and make it a worse place.

I don’t want to be a superhero.