On the New Year, Comics, and Upcoming Requested Reviews

Hello people! A happy new decade to you all. I have to apologize for the lack of updates in the past month or so. This laziness can be attributed to two things:

1) The holiday season. Even though I was home all month and could have easily updated. HEYY.
2) My next requested review is Limp Bizkit's "Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water," which is such an outstanding chore to listen to that I have to turn it off within two minutes of putting it on.

So yes, these are unfortunate reasons. But I will write that review soon! I will power through!! Maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight? No, maybe not. But definitely - DEFINITELY - sometime next week. I've gotta get this monkey off my back, you know?

But you might be wondering, "HEY HEY Sean, what other requested albums are you gonna be reviewing??" That's a fair question. Here is a shortlist of the current requests I will be taking care of, in chronological order:

- Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish and the Hotdog Flavored Water, requested by Dave Winchell
- Daft Punk's Discovery, requested by Captain Booyah
- Emerson Lake and Palmer's Tarkus, requested by Adam Spektor
- Faith No More's Angel Dust, requested by James
- They Might Be Giants' The Else, requested by Steve Winchell (he's been throwing a lot of these at me, this is the last one, I THINK it's serious)

So yeah. That's the lineup so far. I would also like to put it out there and make these "requested reviews" a continuous and lasting thing, because I seriously enjoy them and want to do a whole lot more of them. So if anybody, ANYWHERE, has an album they would like me to review, shoot me an email or leave a comment anywhere on this blog and I will get right on it! I promise you this.

Also, I would like to take a second and talk about comics. Comics that, believe it or not, I have been making. If you remember those hourly comics I made last year, I have been making more of them this month, whenever I get the chance. The last ones I did you can read here, and you can keep following my LJ to read more of them. They are a whole lot of fun to do!

Also, just to let you know: I have some new Tom Petty Comics from Steve, just sittin' around. Those will come. They will.

So that's it for now. The Limp Bizkit review will come in the next week or so, I promise you this. I just... I just need the willpower.

Comic Update: Rockin Rick #1-6

So a year ago I drew a silly one-off comic for my campus newspaper featuring a character called "Rockin' Rick." I liked Rockin' Rick, so I used him in many many more comics despite all good logic. Eventually my good friend Stephen Winchell, a human being who can actually draw things that do not look horrible, decided to draw a few himself. Eventually Steve and I collaborated on a whole lot more Rockin' Ricks, and kept the strip going twice a week for a semester.

Rockin' Rick is special to me because it is the first comic I ever made that somebody liked. Still, a lot of other people (i.e. people that did not know and pity me) didn't. Rockin' Rick, in its early days, was a straight-up gag comic with one joke. If you didn't like the joke the first time, you were not going to enjoy it repeated twenty-plus times. Daily Campus comics readers learned this the hard way.

Still, Mr. Winchell and I would like to keep Rockin' Rick going in some way during our post-grad lives. So Steve, in all his loving generosity, decided to redraw the first six Rick strips I ever made. You will quickly notice that the art is very nice but the writing is very very wordy and clunky. That is just how I was a year and a half ago. That is how I still am. I am sorry.

Anyway, enjoy. Or hate. If you like them, maybe Steve will redraw more of them? (Note: he will anyway, no matter what you think)

Comic Update: Sean Rose Indie Reviews

Well that didn't work out so well did it??

This one took me a while to format. I wasn't happy with it for a while! But I think it turned out presentable.

But man I know I say this every update but I gotta do some things to this blog. Things change-related. Maybe a new banner? More updates?? WE'LL SEE

Comic Update: A Sean Rose Comic-Review

ohohoho hey there you go

More comics to come, i'm sure

Comic Update: Talkin' Sean

and a bonus comic why not



this is all i do now

Comic Update: More Doodles

Reviews reviews?? Yeah yeah. Expect a couple more this week.

UNTIL THEN enjoy some silly music doodles I drudged up once again.

Here's another Mike Love:



Some Fall Out Boy:



A sequel to that Sufjan Stevens doodle from last time:



And EVERYBODY's favorite Sgt. Pepper's knockoffs:



Thanks to Steve Winchell for help with that last one. More to come I'm sure.

Comic Update: Tom Petty Comics #6

And BLAM, here she is! The conclusion to last week's Tom Petty Comics plot is HERE. For GOOD. So you can READ IT. DAMN.

Enjoy:



Will Tom Petty comics return next week?? Shit, I don't know. But for now we can bask in the glory of the entire six-part saga.

So that's it. But a review is gonna come, folks. I can feel it in my soul.

Tumbln' Tumbln' Tumblweeds (aka I Am One Lazy Motherfucker)

So in case anybody was wondering, yes it is true. Sean Rose has started a Tumblr.

I figured Tumblr would be a fun place to post music videos, considering I love them dearly and actively search for them so much on a daily basis. It is, in a sort of way, a perfect method of showing off whatever music I happen to be into at any given time. And hey, it's in video form! Everybody loves goofy videos with music.

The problem with me using Tumblr, however, is the sense of unwarranted satisfaction I get from it. When I find a cool video to post, I feel like I have accomplished something when in reality I have not. I have done something almost everybody can do! And yet, I swell with pride whenever I post a new video, congratulating myself on my on musical tastes as if I were the coolest motherfucker on the planet. As such, I neglect writing in this blog. Which is not a good thing.

Does this mean I am going to end this blog? Of course not. Does this mean that I am going to ditch my Tumblr and make a clean break? No no. The two can coexist. I just need to find a happy medium between the two, that's all! I have grown fat and lazy on Tumblr and I need to remedy it so I can get back into the blog-writin' groove.

So this is how things are going to work. If you want to listen to me ramble on about rock 'n roll records and giggle at my doodles, you're right where you want to be. If I haven't updated in a while and you are curious about my absence - or if you just want to know what music I am listening to on a daily basis - you should check out dat Tumblr. Either way, expect "What Is This Shit?" to update more frequently! Reviews and Comics, ahoy! And probably more Tom Petty Comics if Steve is willing to doodle them.

See you soon! Probably!

It's Back: Tom Petty Comics #5

Argh!! Where are those reviews?? Sean Rose has failed his own blog. What is going on.

I don't really have an excuse for my lack of updates. Working on comics, schoolwork, and flat-out laziness have prevented me from writing some classic album writups. And those are not good excuses!! Ah well.

Either way, during my inexplicable absence, cartoonist Stephen Winchell decided to pick up my slack and create some BRAND-SPAKIN'-NEW "Tom Petty Comics"!! Yes that's right! Remember those? Well, if you do, you will realize that we have not seen a Tom Petty Comic since early September. If you don't, well hey, you can read them all right here! Dang!

Last time we left Mr. Petty, he had just re-enacted the crucifixion of Christ, interrupting sessions for his classic record Full Moon Fever once again and distressing collaborator and confidant Jeff Lynne. How will this tale unfold? Find out below!



Wait what? A cliffhanger?? Does that mean there will be yet ANOTHER Tom Petty Comic next week??? Guess we'll have to wait to find out.

Until then maybe I'll actually use this blog to post my OWN work for a change. Hah! We'll see how that pans out.

Weekend Doodles, Vol. 1

So do I have a review for you this week? No. (Two reviews? DOUBLE no, you idiot!!) I have had a phenomenally shitty week in terms of schooling, and I am still in the process of getting over the same cold that everybody else on campus seems to have (from apparently sharing each other's phlegm in some nasty way that I don't feel like going into). So all I have been doing is doodling comics about musicians. HEYO!

You all wanna read them, right? My dumb little comics about musicians? Yes, yes you do. Because you all think that I am supremely talented.

Here's a little Oasis:



And some of our favorite Beach Boy:



And the ALWAYS well-dressed Mr. Stevens:



Have a nice Sunday, everybody.

Comic Update: The Return of Kelsey Grammer

A year ago I decided to thrust myself upon UConn's Daily Campus comics page with Kelsey Grammer, a poorly drawn, awkwardly overwritten gag comic featuring a bunch of talking emoticons. I got sick of writing it after one semester, and after a summer of mulling about I decided that I needed to make a less shitty, more narcissistic comic - hence, Based on a True Sean Rose was born and I never looked back.

UNTIL NOW.

I don't know why I got the urge to make a few more Kelsey Grammer comics. Boredom, I guess, was the main reason. And then there was Stephen Winchell, KG's lone hardcore fan, who begged me to make more at any given opportunity. Either way, they are here.





If you are curious, you can read all the old Kelsey Grammers in this handy-dandy Facebook album. They are kind of embarrassing for me to read right now, because they pretty much chronicle the painstaking process of me learning how to draw. And as such, they also show how little I have learned in a year!! Damn.

Hourly Comics: A Great Adventure

So in case you were not aware this Sunday was Hourly Comics Day, during which many funny and prominent web cartoonists decided to put their balls on the line and draw a HILARIOUS comic about their lives for every hour they were awake. And I decided to give it a go! So I will post them here and you can decide if it was a gigantic waste of my time or not. Either way I had fun!

Talented dudes like John Campbell (who came up with this whole "hourly comics" concept) and KC Green have taken it upon themselves to make these comics during the entire month of January, which is pretty CRAZY if you ask me. Doing just one day is tough enough!! God bless them.

Either way, here they be.

Comic/Requested Review: "All Hail West Texas" by the Mountain Goats

Requested by Ben Vigeant, some weeks ago. He wanted it done in comic form. I don't know if he was joking or not, but either way, I have obliged him with this crappily inked, obnoxiously rough notebook comic. CONGRATS BEN.

Regular, TEXT album reviews will come soon, I assure all of you. I know I have been lazy lately. Call it a post-holiday creative funk.

Oh, and here's another gag comic just in case you REALLY missed me.

Yet Another Comic Update: George Harrison

Yeah yeah I know. Haven't done a review in a while. Call it the "holiday break blues."

Until then, there's this.



Cloud 9 is actually an OK album. So maybe that second comic is kind of mean?

HAPPY FIRST POST OF 2009, AHOY!!

Comic Update: "Paul Carrack"

Yes indeed, you must read this comic to understand this new one! Ah-ha!

Anyways, here she be.



Two reasons to make a comic like this:

1) I figured these "Hill Comics" worked as a trilogy.
2) This song has been stuck in my head all week.

Oh, and here's a nigh-illegible "bonus" for you fools silly enough to read it:



God Bless Us, Everyone.

Comic Update: "A Sean Rose Situation"

Just a little slice of FUN I whipped up to ease the wait between REQUESTED REVIEWS!! (trust me, another one is coming soon... one you might not expect!!)

But here's a comic:



I fooled around with some grey coloring, just to see if it would make things look a little less crappy. The coloring reminds me of Pictures For Sad Children, for whatever reason. I think it came out alright?? YOU DECIDE, NOBLE READERS.

A Comic Update Once More: "Sean Rose Receives a Visitor"

oh no here we go AGEN



It's a sequel to this comic, and if this post is still new you can probably just read it by scrolling down ya lazy bumm.

oh and a bonus extra comik for YOU



what a whackee situation!!

have a fun finals week, folks.

Another Comic Update: "Sean Rose Wikipedia Adventures #1"

oh no, writer's block! so I threw up another comic!!




sorry for the awful scanning job. dem's the breaks with a scanner/printer from hp.

real update commin' on soon, I promise.

Comic Update: "Sean Rose Ponders"

whipped up in lieu of a real update

what fun!!

Wonderful Wurld of Webcomixx: KC Green

if you don't find this funny maybe we shouldn't be friends

I'd like to take more time to discuss my favorite webcomics in this blog, because there are so, so many that I like that I would feel guilty not talking about them. Especially considering that I read them and enjoy them every day. Oh sure, I'm all to quick to start bitching all over webcomics I can't stand, and admittedly I still feel there's a lot of crappy comics out there. But dems the internet brakes.

And of course, as I will always say, it is much more enjoyable to talk about things I like than things I don't like. Hence, Mr. KC Green.

KC Green is a very talented cartoonist. I guess that's an easy way of summing him up. Here's another: KC Green seems like the sort of cartoonist that was custom-made for me to enjoy. For starters he has a very sharp, yet very goofy sense of humor that I am instinctively drawn to - for every comic he makes about Euclid, he'll make another about pouring an ant farm on a fat man's honey-smeared ass. He makes some choice "nerd humor" references - Portal, Sailor Moon and stray internet jokes have weeded themselves into his works at various points - but he never hammers them into your head obnoxiously, like far too many webcomics out there. He employs a healthy dose of meta-humor into his work (most notably in his autobio comic Horribleville), but it's never any of that staring-at-the-reader "HOLY SHIT I'M IN A WEBCOMIC! BREAKIN' DAT FOURTH WALL!!" bullshit used by lesser artists. And as much as I enjoy the so-called "whackiness" of his art style (which to me looks somewhat inspired by John K. or Shmorky), Mr. Green has good sense not to overdo things. He makes visual strips with a serious flair, but he doesn't overload your senses with super-nutty faces or characters doing HA-WHACKYYY things.

What it comes down to, though, is that there is a real underlying sweetness permeating throughout Mr. Green's work - despite many of his comics being filled with bizarro violence or rampant negativity, they're all relatable in some way. Take this Horribleville strip, for example; yes, it features Mr. Green slicing his throat open and splattering his mangled body onto the windshield of a schoolbus full of children, but beyond the horrifying violence there's that sweet, sad desire to be remembered in some way. KC has something of a famously self-deprecating personality, one that shows often in Horribleville and many of his other comics. Which might be why he's grounded enough not to make himself look like a high-and-mighty prick in his comics - drawing yourself in a comic is kind of a risky thing to do, and he pulls it off well.

Aww jeez.

Listen, I'll be honest here. I am very jealous of KC Green. The guy is my age (maybe a LITTLE older, but born in '87 so that's enough for me) and he is prodigiously talented at what he does. Since I started working on an autobio comic for my campus newspaper, I have often become embarrassed with my work just by thinking, "Jesus KC Green would make this idea much funnier." And yet his humility matches his talent; if you ever catch him perusing the Something Awful forums or read his Twitter, you will find that he is a very nice guy and is, unfortunately, very hard on himself. This comes through in his work all the time, and maybe this is what drives him to make so many goddamned comics.

My message to Mr. Green - YOU ARE A BRILLIANT MAN. I, Sean Rose, famed internet music/bullshit blogger, am incredibly jealous of you. Please keep making comics.

If you want to dip into Mr. Green's work, the aforementioned Horribleville would probably be your best bet, as it's a great window into his personality. Alternately, if you like your comics short and sweet, you should check out his daily three-panel strip Gun Show, featuring some of the absolute funniest so-called "mini-comics" I've probably ever read (if you like that buttfuckin' comic I featured at the top of the page, you should dig the rest). He also runs a custom comic service, so if you throw a few bucks his way you can have your very own KC Green comic! And YOU can suggest the theme!! Ain't that great??

I have an idea about a guy that is actually sexually excited by Atari porn. Whenever I have a decent amount of money, I'll probably throw some KC's way. Because whatever comic I get back from him is pretty much 99% guaranteed to be funny. (%1 not because maybe he'll be tired or something.)