The De Mello Theory

We're Moving!

2008-12-12T14:17:00.000-08:00

We're Moving! Because of the cowardice of Google and the ridiculousness of the RAA I am moving my blog to The De Mello Theory part deux. Enjoy.

The wolf is always at the door

2008-12-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

These are extremely hard times for us. I read in the paper the other day about the workers who organized a sit-in in Chicago to get the severance and vacation pay that was owed to them after they were unscrupulously fired last week. This is going on all around us & this landscape of corporate greed is terrifying. We are bailing out automakers so they can make the same mistakes over that they've made for the past 40 years. We bail out banks so they can pocket money they should be loaning to those who need it for survival.

When was it okay to start stabbing your neighbor in the back to make a buck? Is that the true American way? I don't believe it is. We are forgetting the one law, the one rule that sets humans apart from animals. It is the Ethic of reciprocity, better known as the Golden Rule. I'm no prophet, I'm not speaking in broad colloquialisms on why people do what they do. I'm not speaking of religion I'm leave that to the Theologians. I'm not speaking on politics I'll leave that to the politicians. I do not speak of ethics that is for philosophers. I speak of the the Human Condition. This may come off as corny but it is not. The affection for our neighbor has waned when it should be stronger than ever. These past 7 years we have experienced an attack, 2 wars and the worst global economic catastrophe since the Great Depression & we are not thankful for the things we do have.

What does the father say to his son when he loses his job and he can't give him anything for Christmas? What does the single mother who desperately wants to go back to school but can't because the cost is just too much? What does one do when they can't pay their heating bill in the middle of winter? When does a person hit that point where they just say "fuck it, I quit" & make that ultimate drastic choice? I don't have these answers, because I'm just as confused as the next guy. What do we do to quell this tide of greed? We look to those workers in Chicago who, today, got the company to agree to at least come to the table & talk to them. We look at them and say they are looking out for what's right. We say they are standing up for not just themselves but for us as well. They are leading the charge and saying, "Not this time. You aren't gonna kill my spirit, my family." We must stand up for what we believe in. The Basic Human Condition and the Ethic of Reciprocity are intertwined. They are not religious ethics, they are basic evolutionary traits that lead us to evolve better as a people.

The Eagles have a song called, New York Minute & it talks about how from one moment to the next everything can become diluted, dysfunctional and disoriented. It talks about the dynamic of losing everything in that proverbial New York Minute & how we take that for granted. I learned that lesson well when my father died. Our last words were not kind & while it is a normal occurrence to argue with loved ones & sometimes say things we don't necessarily mean, it still doesn't do anything to make me feel any better about those last moments we had together. That was our New York Minute. We are not cherishing our existence. We are merely existing. We aren't much different than the Neanderthal man the hunters and gathers from thousands of years ago. The only difference is we gather things acquired with more wealth. There is no fine line between the haves and the have nots anymore. That line is miles apart and getting wider. Perhaps this new administration can fix these problems, not just politically but in the spirit of all that's right.

And in these days
When darkness falls early
And people rush home
To the ones they love
You better take a fool's advice
And take care of your own
One day they're here;
Next day they're gone

It’s Always Warm Inside My Home But It's Handle Is Always So Cold

2008-11-20T20:25:00.000-08:00

Was watching the NBC show, "Life" this morning (thank you DVR) from inside the abode, the "Matt Cave" if you will & heard this song by a group even I had as of yet had not heard of, Honey Honey. With lead vocals by Suzanne Santo & guitar by Ben Jaffe this band is sure to be a mainstay for years. The mixing of Latin guitar rhythms with zydeco stylings to go along with that Billie Holiday essence Santo eminates but with an effervescent sexiness that makes even the most ardent homosexual turned on a bit.

Signed to Kiefer Sutherland's, Iron Works Music Label, Honey Honey's debut album, First Rodeo, was released Novemeber 4th & their video for "Little Toy Gun" (directed and staring Kiefer Sutherland) has already been number one on itunes. They don't have too many shows coming up, one in Modesto (hell's waiting room), but rest assured they will be touring soon enough to showcase all that talent.

The Roots

2008-11-19T12:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't written for a while because I have been thinking of ways to revamp this site from an mp3 blog to strictly a writing blog. To that end I will be writing feature stories about bands that I think are not only making waves in the music industry but in humanity as well. There are tons of bands that are great in music, but do nothing with their status to give to others and advance worthwhile causes instead of lining their own pocket books (I'm talking to you Billy Corgan). So the first in this series is the Roots.

The Roots are a hip/hop band out of Philadelphia. but calling them simply a hip/hop band is doing them a disservice. They are truly an amazing conglomeration of musicians & human beings in general. They are one of the few hip/hop bands that plays their own instruments & many of the interchangeable members have actually left to pursue ventures in Jazz (The Josh Abrams Quartet) & become great producers (Scott Storch). While much of hip/hop speaks of violence and the belittling of women the Roots music speaks of love & togetherness. They are active members of PETA and vegetarians. ?uestlove is one of the best drummers of his generation. He has been guest drummer on the Dave Chapelle Show & with Conan O'Brien when Max Weinberg is on tour with Bruce Springsteen & the E-Street Band.

The musicianship of the Roots is amazing. They incorporate a Tuba player into the mix for Christ's sake. They do what most hip/hop bands can't do & that's say that they are really musicians. They write their own music, they have fantastic lyrics, melodies & while they may not go platinum they have a loyal following since their beginning in 1987 in Philly. Along with their work with PETA they have performed on the children's show, Yo Gabba Gabba, extolling the virtues of one's family. They don't fill their music with ridiculous slang or the divisive language that litters much of hip/hop today. This is truly the 21st century's version of Sly & the Family Stone. They talk so much of love & peace that it brings out the inner hippy in me. They are not some clean cut group like doesn't speak of the struggles of inner city living but they are not aggresively pursuing hatred or anger & it's truly refreshing.

Recently. The Roots, ?uestlove in particular, have hinted at a retirement from touring & this is only becoming more evident with their new contract signing as the House band for the Jimmy Fallon show next year when he takes over for Conan O'Brien (who is taking over Jay Leno's spot). Check out some of their stuff they are really a phenomenal band that is so unselfish with their gifts.

Cardinology

2008-11-06T23:03:00.000-08:00

Just bought & listened to Ryan Adams & The Cardinals new album, "Cardinology". It is an album that is beautiful in it's simplicity. It isn't strikingly relevant or an album that will stand out as something that will make a huge impact like some of their other albums but what it does do is provide excellent background music. It makes the time pass faster, it creates an aura of steady beauty that doesn't offend the senses in the least. It's gentle piano on tracks like "Stop" really make this an easy album to enjoy.

The lyrics aren't complex, the melodies aren't either, but it's better than anything Jack Johnson could ever pull out. Easy Tiger was a much better album as far as I'm concerned but I have no real complaints with Cardinology. Ryan Adams does this often, though. He has filler albums. He's such a prolific writer that he'll put out a huge studio release(Gold, Easy Tiger, Heartbreaker) then throw out some stuff that isn't his best (Follow the Lights, Love is Hell, Demolition) but keeps the fans occupied while he keeps the great stuff for the next release. It's actually quite brilliant. At least we'll never get tired of him as he is constantly reinventing himself. Listen to the album yourself.

There were some Live tracks but the dreaded Recording Industry seems to be attacking Bloggers for promoting their music with the unconstitutional DMCA law.These scumbags have nothing better to do than come after those that make their artists important. We do not affect business, we put your shitty artists on the forefront so people actually give a flying fuck about who they are. So fuck you recording industry or whoever doesn't have enough sense to let bloggers promote the shit out of their artists. Also, the artists who make millions of dollars a year should have more sense than to alienate those that can break your careers.

Im gonna change my life, plans, vans, thoughts, sox, moves for you

2008-10-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

When I was just a wee bern in the mid nineties I was an ardent follower of Punk Rock. It was a glorious time there was me & Oscar, David, Quitter, Sean, Mickey, Fat Mark, Carlos, Morgan & Emo Saul. We would all pile into of this white van I owned with no back seats, get an ice chest full of beer and go from party to party. We'd hit up some killer places like Koo's Cafe, The Prospector, and this killer place right off the 405 in Long Beach on Atlantic, but the name escapes me now. We'd see bands like Shoegazer, No Doubt (When they didn't suck), The Queers, Green Day, Mustard Plug, The Donnas & many others. I was reminiscing about this the other day with a friend & went through some of my punk rock collection and figured I'd post some stuff from when I was huge into punk with my Dickies & flannel shirts & chucks...shit I haven't really changed my style much in 13 years.

We'd be there front and center at every Warped Tour in the pit. It was one of the better times of my life & whenever I hear a certain song that makes me think of that time and smile fondly at the camaraderie we all shared. Like the time we went to club Velvet & I started a damn near riot by telling an emo kid his sweater made him look like Potsie (which it did), then he proceeded to tell me about how my mother looked like Potsie & out of nowhere Sean blasted him and everyone (150-200 people) started fighting. It was crazy, Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! Life was good as a 22 year old punk just learning his place.

Bullion - Millencollin

Summer Lovin' - The Vandals

Bro Hymn - Pennywise

The Brews - NOFX

I Take my Boys Everywhere I Go Because I'm Paranoid

2008-10-21T16:38:00.001-07:00

Would you believe that there are people that are willing to test my knowledge of music? I know, unconscionable, but nevertheless true. I spent a few weird days in the lovely city of Dallas, Texas this past week and explained my aversion to most of today's hip-hop to a close friend since it is basically garbage. Not all, mind you, but about 90% is just utter nonsensical bullshit. When I was growing up (the start of any sentence that is destined to make one sound out of touch & old) hip-hop, rap if you will, was fresh (I don't mean that like Will Smith fresh, but in the true meaning of the word as in new). It was about growing up in some of the most impoverished areas in Harlem, Compton, Oakland, Long Beach, Bed-Sty, etc.

It was the folk music of the 80s. It was less about dancing, but the beats hit hard. What it was about was telling a story, helping the listener relate to the plight of the rapper like Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five did with, "White Lines" or just telling a funny story like the Sugar Hill Gang did with, "Rappers Delight". Today, however, we have "Rappers" like Soulja Boy who care nothing of the art of the rhyme and are strictly in it to make a buck or to be a gimmick. Granted there are a few who are still connected to those urban roots (Jay Z, Mos Def, Common) that helped propel them to where they are today. That's the kind of Hip-Hop that I listen to, that I respect.

Those artists are becoming few and far between, though & it's just a matter of time before rap as we used to know it no longer exists. I'm not saying rap or hip-hop will die, it's way too marketable, but it would be merely a bastardized form of what we all came to enjoy and relate to & just pop music that help Rappers go into bankruptcy by purchasing too much jewelry, too many sports cars & too many guns. Yes, those are broad generalizations, but they will become more the norm than buying basketball teams, starting clothing lines & becoming president of record labels. Here's a few songs that I really think best represent what I like about hip-hop and a mash-up that could be a new wave in hip-hop w/ the potential of saving it from itself.

Liquid Swords - Genius/GZA

No Sunshine - Rhymefest

What More Can I Say - Jay Z/Danger Mouse

Definition - Blackstar

No Hook, No Weep - Ghostface Killah & Jay Z

Red Hot Missy - Red Hot Chili Peppers/Missy Elliot

Mind Playing Tricks on Me - Geto Boys

Phony Rappers - A Tribe Called Quest

THE DMCA is Working Against Me

2008-10-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

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The DMCA is a United States copyright law that provides guidelines for online service provider liability in case of copyright infringement. We are in the process of removing from our servers the links that allegedly infringe upon the copyrights of others. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits. See http://www.educause.edu/Browse/645?PARENT_ID=254 for more information about the DMCA, & see http://www.google.com/dmca.html for the process that Blogger requires in order to make a DMCA complaint.

Blogger can reinstate these posts upon receipt of a counter notification pursuant to sections 512(g)(2) and 3) of the DMCA. For more information about the requirements of a counter notification and a link to a sample counter notification, see http://www.google.com/dmca.html#counter.

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Week in Review

2008-10-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

WEEK IN REVIEW:

Forgot to include this last week, but I saw Neil Diamond live in concert & it was a pretty phenomenal show. Have some pictures but they are just so far away it's not really worth posting them. Might as well have been shooting them from a blimp. Great article about Neil's fascination with In & Out.
Death Cab for Cutie are opening up for Neil Young on their current tour.
Smashing Pumpkins announced their 20th anniversary tour.
Green Day is working with Butch Vig on their follow up album to American Idiot.
Scott Weiland is coming out with a new album that will "turn off some STP fans".
Ryan Adams has a new website, check it out.

4 songs to help you get through the next Great Depression. We'll call it the Greater Depression.

Neil Diamond - I'm a Believer - Neil wrote it, recorded it & the fake band, the Monkees, made it famous.

Fozzie Bear & Kermit the Frog - Movin' Right Along - What's better than a bunch of puppets singing a song to make you forget about the stock market crashing 20% in a week? Nothing I say. P.S. buy stock in GM it's like $5 & eventually will climb. WOCKA WOCKA

Tracy Chapman - Fast Car - Think about how much worse your life could be if you were the characters in this song & then think about how comfortable it is to sleep in back of a fast car, but without enough money to pay for gas. Her new album is called our Bright Future, nothing like a little optimism.

Eddie Vedder - Hunger Strike (Demo) - Then when you can't buy a loaf of bread because it costs $100 (I'm thinking Russia after the fall of Communism) you can pretend you're on a hunger strike and maybe just maybe then you'll be able to understand whatever the hell Eddie Vedder says.

He's got a yen for purdy lil' hens

2008-10-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

Was watching the classic, "In the Heat of the Night" this afternoon & heard this ditty. It's impossible to find as a download, but here's the video version of the full song. Believe it or not this was written by Quincy Jones. they tried to get Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs song, "Little Red Riding Hood", but it was too expensive so Quincy wrote this song, "Foul Owl on the Prowl", sung by Boomer & Travis.

Music News

2008-10-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a few tidbits for your pure chewing satisfaction:

Great article about Ryan Adams & The Cardinals in the Des Moines Register with a few quotes from Neal Casal. Cardinology is in stores October 28. They're currently on tour with Oasis who came out with their own album yesterday.

Keane's new album, Perfect Symmetry comes out next week but you can hear it streaming over at Last.fm. Not too shabby, but not great either.

Aquarium Drunkard has a great post on My Morning Jacket @ KVRX in 2000 worth checking out.

Bruce Springsteen played an acoustic set before 50,000 fans at a Philadelphia Obama rally that registered 21,000 new voters.

Former Blink 182 drummer, Travis Barker, speaks out about his surviving a recent plane crash.

Foo Fighters have denounced John McCain for using their song, My Hero, on the campaign trail.

Better Days Are Ahead

2008-10-08T12:19:00.000-07:00

Watching the debates last night I clearly saw a man who was ready to lead this country into the future and a man who was focused so much on the past that he looked even older than he already was. Barack Obama exuded confidence & acted presidential, was not flustered when McCain referred to him as "that one" & explained his policies and the faults of the current administration in depth. John McCain came off as condescending and out of touch. He was grasping at straws when he proposed a $300 BILLION buyout of homes that people should not have been given in the first place.

I understand that people are suffering & that the government has an obligation to it's people, but at the same time people have an obligation to themselves. What about renters? If I can no longer afford my rent because the economy goes into the tank so bad & I can't make any money at my job will I then be given money by John McCain's administration or because I can not afford a house am I then castigated and tossed into the street? Barack Obama proposes something far more palpable to my situation in the tax cut for the middle class & the imposition of higher taxes on those that make over $250,000 a year. Higher taxes also come with more benefits such as: the universal health care system, more money for education and the end to the war in IRAQ.

I'm not delusional, I know that everything Obama proposes will not be attainable as there are things that come up that are unexpected in one's term, but when he speaks of helping the working middle class I believe him. He is not a war monger, he is not a denizen of hatred, he is not a condescending old curmudgeon with a sense of entitlement. Barack Obama wishes to change the status quo that has plagued us since Reagan was in office. After watching that debate last night and seeing how he has withered the outrageous and unscrupulous attacks this week behind his back while John McCain had neither the wherewithal nor the guts to confront him to his face I have become even more fervent in my support for Mr. Obama & I hope the American people have as well.

NEW MUSIC TUESDAY

2008-10-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

So it's been a while, I know, but I'm back in the swing of things after basically taking the entire summer off. Got some great music hitting the shelves today & some music news that Dog-gone it is just super swell (That's a Sarah Palin quote). Is it just me or is Sarah Palin like something out an episode of Leave it to Beaver (please let's keep the thoughts mildly clean for a second, kids)? I mean she's has that hokie accent & those stupid 1950s sangs. I know this isn't a political website, but I really could see her putting women back another 30 years if she even visits the White House. The winking, the short skirts, yes she's great looking, but does that teach women that being great looking & a moron can get you anywhere with a sly wink? Maybe I'm just naive. Anyway, on with the music.

Bob Dylan comes out with the 8th in his series of Bootleg releases. This one being from 1989-2006. It has great tracks like the Alternate version of Most of the Time which you undoubtedly heard in High Fidelity. If you haven't seen High Fidelity yet, just kill yourself. Why have you gone your whole life and not witnessed perhaps the greatest break up movie of all time. It's hilarious, heartwarming has great music and John Cusack with Jack Black. Fucking brilliant. However, I digress, I have never been a huge post-Christian Bob Dylan fan. "Love Sick' is a great song, but much like when Johnny Cash did Nine Inch Nails' classic, "Hurt" he sounds like he's on death's doorstep.

Here's a Bootleg of our own here a Dylan song done live by one of my favorite groups, Uncle Tupelo. - Moonshiner

Bob Dylan - Lily, Rosemary & The Jack of Hearts

The Clash are one of the seminal punk rock/reggae groups to come from Britain ever & much like their former Britain invasion predecessors, the Beatles they played one of their best concerts at Shea Stadium. With 16 songs the Clash leave nothing to the imagination. The only problem I have is finding a live copy of the Clampdown, but rest assured it's out there & I will find it.

The Clash - The Clampdown

Catch it streaming here The Clash @ Shea.

Oasis (currently on tour with Ryan Adams) finally came out with an album that is one of their best in years. Oasis has been plagued by infighting and petty disputes since they made it big, but with age comes maturity & it seems as though the brothers Gallagher have reached the pinnacle of theirs. The new album, Dig Out Your Soul is a return to the days when Oasis wasn't trying to be a Beatles knock off band and really be relevant to the musical generation they inhabit. Noel Gallagher had some great comments about other artists and the upcoming tour in the Belfast Telegraph.

It's Not That Simple See, But Then Again It Just Might Be

2008-10-05T13:39:00.000-07:00

Life is a crazy thing. A few months ago I was wallowing in my own self pity regarding a break up that I thought was my fault. Like I could've done anything to stop it. Now, I know that this is only partly true. I am no saint, but not quite the sinner that I make myself out to be. Once again my savior was music. In an earlier post I explained my new fascination with Bluegrass, moreover The Avett Brothers & how much I love their music. It speaks volumes to me. The easy beauty of a story within a song that speaks directly to one's soul.

I am an idealist. I like to see the best in people. I want to believe that love is possible, that life is not a constant struggle to fit in. I want to know that people are not entering something for ulterior motives, that if things don't work it's, because it wasn't a good fit and not because it's a one sided affair. When you feel so alone in life & feel that noone has ever felt your plight & then you realize that you are not alone that it has been put into song. The feelings that I felt are gone now, for good, but at the time it was soul crushing because I tried so hard, more than I probably should have, but it was a lesson & I'm glad I felt that pain. It taught me so much about human nature and people in general.

I listened to this song maybe a 100 times in a row and examined every single word. It's perfect. It's the best break-up song in history. It isn't sappy, it isn't overly emotional, it's just an examination into the psyche of what a person goes through after they feel like they've failed in something they gave their all to. Truly a thing of beauty that may help you as it helped me.

The Avett Brothers - I Would Be Sad

Hair Blowing in the Hot Wind Time Hanging From a Clothes Pin

2008-09-15T12:53:00.001-07:00

Like I said previously I've been reinventing my musical tastes so that I may not be pigeonholed into being a certain genre lover and never liking anything else. Bluegrass, Indie & alt-country have been catching my fancy lately and here are a few of the phenomenal artists that you should discover.

If you haven't figured it out after 5+ albums the Avett Brothers are prolific to say the least. They have a bluegrass feel that isn't overpoweringly (made up word #100 on this site do a shot) country, but does have a twang to it. It's the lyrics that really mean something to me, being a writer of sorts (here is my horn watch as I toot it). They are beautiful, poignant & meaningful to anyone with half a brain. In, "Will You Return?" there is a Beatleeasque quality to their sound. They are not to be pigeonholed and being diverse is a quality that makes stars out of bands.

When I heard Bright Eyes lead singer, Conor Oberst, was gonna go out on his own at least for one album I was eager to see what direction he'd go. He went into the studio created a masterpiece. It is still relatively similar to a Bright Eyes album just a little more folky. He has a delightful voice that resonates with even the hardest hearts.

I've never been the type of music connoisseur that enjoys bands with kitsch names or bands that try to be overly clever but something about Backyard Tire Fire grabbed my attention. They have this front porch, moonshine quality about them that is just so engaging. It isn't corny or hokey it's just good. I wish there was a more descriptive way to put it, but it really the perfect word to describe BTF (we're tight now we use each others initials).

Finally, Blue Mountain is what you could call an Americana band. Formed in 1991 by husband and wife team Cary Hudson (Vocals & guitar) & Laurie Stirratt (bass & sister of John Stirratt from Wilco) in Mississippi. This is about as raw and folksy as it gets. This is not for everyone, but if you have any inclination towards bluegrass, country, folk or Americana then you will adore this band as I do.

The Avett Brothers - The Weight of Lies

The Avett Brothers - Will You Return

Conor Oberst - Sausalito

Backyard Tire Fire - Tom Petty (Live @ WEEEM 4-17-07)

Blue Mountain - Lakeside

Can you deny there's nothing greater than the traveling hands of time

2008-09-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Now that my days have cleared from the rigmarole of day bartending I will be writing more posting more and having more conversations about music with those of you who will be discovering this site since many have probably bailed since I haven't written much lately, could this be more of a run on sentence? There is a lot of great music coming from the Indie scene and the Alt-country scene which has been catching my attention for quite a while now. The next few posts will reintroduce myself, my style and the artists that are making a difference in my life right now.

I think I Kinda Dug Her But I Was Too Loose To Think

2008-08-23T11:06:00.001-07:00

Anyone that knows me, knows that Bruce Springsteen is probably my favorite artist of all time. His voice resonates somewhere deep inside me. It's the essence of blue collar. My father would come home from a long day at work put the headphones and blast the Springsteen. Born to Run was his favorite album, but Nebraska to me is the quintessential Springsteen album. It speaks of the loss of innocence, the depths of depravity that the characters in his little tales have sunk to. It talks of Mid Western desolation, poverty, longing to better yourself & the effects of Reagan's trickle down economics which never seemed to trickle down far enough to help those that really needed it.

So many artists have covered Bruce it's hard to count & the album they usually cover is Nebraska. People say of Bob Dylan all the time he can't sing but his lyrics are amazing. Well, Bruce can sing and his lyrics are amazing as well. It's the ability to put himself in the situation he sings about and convey the feelings his characters are going through. Anyway here are some of my top 6 favorite Bruce songs, plus a few rarities. Spirit in the Night is my favorite here, back when his voice was still young and Clarence wailing in the background with that sax that penetrates the stillness. It's like laying on the grass around the fourth of July. The sun is just going down around 9 o'clock, a few of your friends are around, you're knocking back some cheap beer and Bruce is just singing Spirit in the Night on a small radio. There's nothing better.

We should have each other to tea, We should have each other with cream

2008-08-17T03:32:00.000-07:00

My life has been a struggle with normalcy since my parents conceived me (probably in the back of an old Chevy). I am, however, starting to achieve some semblance of that with my writing which is coming along great (books, screenplays for porno flicks, articles, catchy t-shirt logos) & my personal life which is also doing well. I am feeling like the past year was a haze just reacquainting myself with this God forsaken city. Travis Bickle describes New York in Taxi Driver which I will now apply to L.A. thusly which seems to be about 30 years behind the New York curve, "All the animals come out at night...Someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets."

Now, obviously this is a pseudo Noah reference & to be taken purely tongue in cheek for a complete psychopath on his road to redemption. What it doesn't point out, though, is that there are some quite beautiful things about cities to go along with the "scum". This is not even talking about the women who are phenomenal, but it's the perfect concrete jungle. The 'burbs are great but when one can find beauty in the man made city that is lined with palm trees then he has arrived. I have yet to lose my soul which is still completely intact for better or worse.

Randy Newman sang of L.A. the way Sinatra sang of New York & even the Dodgers are getting exciting. Not sure how long I'll be in this city, but rest assured I am enjoying it. There are horrible aspects to L.A. as well, but I've been feeling so amazing lately that I want to keep it positive. I also wanted to personally thank Johnny "Roastbeef" for the .20 tip tonight for "rooting against him" in the Dodger game tonight. I still say Mike Cameron trapped the damn ball, but whatever I get what I deserve...I hope that girl from Chicago calls you.

These songs are apropos of nothing just some great music that maybe you haven't heard and what I'm listening to right now. Luke Doucet's cover of the Cure's, "The Lovecats" is as my friend Lana says, phenomenal, but it sounds so much better when it's got a cool accent behind it.

Tear Stained Eye - Son Volt

Always on My Mind - Willie Nelson

The Seed - The Roots

Red, Red, Red, Red Wine - Ryan Adams

Jailbreak - Thin Lizzy

The Lovecats - Luke Doucet

The Story of The Sign

2008-07-21T02:49:00.001-07:00

My mom sent this to me me and it is such a beautiful short film that I almost kicked myself for waiting a week to watch it, but as my mom says, 'Everything Happens For A Reason" and I know now why it took me so long to watch it. I know those of you who know me will know what I mean once you watch this film. Be not afraid of taking the time out of your day to watch this 3 minute short it's worth it.

HISTORIA DE UN LETRERO (THE STORY OF A SIGN)

Music is My Savior & I Was Named By Rock n' Roll

2008-07-21T00:27:00.000-07:00

There's that time, that moment when you've faced some traumatic event in your life. Whatever it may be a death, a relationship ending, Matlock got canceled, anything it's been that point in your life when you curl up into a ball and decide do I shut down or do I push on? What has gotten me through times like this is music. Maya Angelou once said, "Music is my refuge. I can crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." I feel the same way. It can be any kind of music that gets you through your crisis.

For me right now surviving my most recent crisis was a series of ebbs and flows. One day you're great the next you want to crawl into that ball and tune out & just sleep. You can't do that, though. So you muddle through your day hoping not to think about it. Hoping that you stay occupied enough to just forget for a while & it works for a bit, but you never completely forget. The only thing that helps is time, a good support system & the music that fits that mood (maybe a little booze helps too). It's been a trying few weeks for me, but it's taught me things I didn't know about myself. Things that will make me stronger, things that make you say, okay won't do that again or won't do it quite this way next time.

I've met some absolutely beautiful people recently who have brought a sense of enlightenment into my life that otherwise I would not have found & I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to have met these people and welcome them into my life. I'd like to say that I am cured but I don't think anyone with half a heart is really ever cured, you just learn to move on and cope. Life is about moving forward, looking back fondly and trying be as positive about the future without letting that negativity permeate through the wall of your soul to bring you down.

Maybe that makes me soft or weak, but I'd rather be weak and feel than be a cold, heartless carcass. Thinking back to 3 1/2 years ago when I was in a shithole relationship, damn near homeless, jobless & wondering what my next move would be to where I am today writing a successful blog, former writer/DJ at Live 105 in San Francisco & future writer for a national music magazine I think my life is pretty great. Here's some songs that make me feel again.

Oh My God Whatever, Etc. - Ryan Adams

How To Disappear Completely - Radiohead (Live in Berlin 2006)

God Damn Lonely Love - Drive-By Truckers

For You - Greg Kihn

Spirit In the Night - Bruce Springsteen (Live @ Main Point '75)

Tried so Hard - The Flying Burrito Brothers

Time - Hootie & the Blowfish -Say what you will about the relevance or cultural significance of a band named Hootie & The Blowfish I still maintain they're better than fucking Weezer.

Sunken Treasure - Jeff Tweedy (Solo & Acoustic)

Nobody Knows, Nobody Sees, Nobody Knows But Me

2008-07-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

Some of my favorite songs in existence are essentially cover songs that were made better. There are songs that I have no idea where they came from but are hugely popular in the pantheon of cover songs. Songs like: Summertime & Long Black Veil are covered ad nauseum and usually w/ similar results, but there are others that make you kinda wonder what the fuck was he thinking? i.e., Rusty Cage by Johnny Cash. I am the biggest Johnny Cash fan, but this is not a good cover, not even close. He sounds close to death and you really miss that trademark Kim Thayil heavy guitar riff. I mean, it doesn't fall into the category of William Shatneresque, but it's bad. Anyway, here's a few songs that I really dig.

Ryan Adams - I Still Miss Someone - Johnny Cash Cover

Ryan Adams - Helpless - Neil Young Cover

Ted Leo - Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen Cover

Stereophonics - Best of you - Foo Fighters Cover

The Chieftains - Long Black Veil - Traditional

And They Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down - The Band Cover

Marah - Streets of Philadelphia - Bruce Springsteen Cover

Mundy - Galway Girl - Steve Earle Cover

Pete Yorn - Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen Cover

John Mayer - Message in a Bottle - Police Cover

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan Cover

Eulogy for a friend

2008-07-08T22:11:00.001-07:00

Those of you who know me know that, on weekends, I'm a bartender at a little restaurant in Hollywood. It has a regular cast of characters that are loyal to the fiber of this place that is so out of place in the hustle and bustle of this soul sucking town. One of those people was 35 year old Thomas Fox Jr., T.J. to those who knew him best. T.J. died in his home yesterday of yet to be undetermined causes. T.J. was a generous man who took care of the people in his life that meant something to him. He was a good natured individual with a fun loving spirit & intelligence that exuded his larger than life persona. T.J. was not perfect none of us are, but his positives drastically outweighed any negative in his life. This is not the proper eulogy he deserves because I am not the person who knew him best, but I will eulogize him in the way that I know how, with music. Good bye, T.J. Fox, you will be missed.

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison

Atlantis - Donovan

Cross Roads - Bone Thugs & Harmony

July, July! - The Decemberists

Reelin' in the Years - Steely Dan

Sweet & Tender Hooligan - The Smiths

Taking a Break

2008-06-26T19:36:00.001-07:00

...to clear my head. Some personal things going on & i just haven't felt like writing. Fret not though music fans. Come the first of July, assuming my new place has internet that can be stolen (fingers crossed) then I will be writing much more again.

Coldplay

2008-06-19T20:54:00.001-07:00

Offspring & Coldplay were the notable new albums that came out this week. Offspring took a 5 year absence and came back with a poppy new album that I do not enjoy so I will post nothing, because I'm a fascist. However, Coldplay played a free show at Brixton Academy in London Monday night and it was aired live on Radio One. Their new album is phenomenal especially by Coldplay standards. Here is the set list from Monday's show. Intro

If I Should Fall From Grace

Encore

Fix You

Lovers in Japan

ZIP

Kelly Greene

2008-06-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Suppose you had a job you hated. A job where you're forced to help the careers of others by enhancing their exposure. Suppose also, that you are a musician & not just any musician, but a musician with so much talent that you are approached after 1 album to be the first artist signed to the newly formed SKOPE records. Who do you think you would be? Try Kelly Greene out of New York. Not to be confined by the angry, man-hating mores that have come to define hard rocking women, no Kelly is angry in a different way. "I think I look at different little injustices & stupid things people do & the little things that irritate people on a daily basis."

With comparisons to Shirley Manson from Garbage, Pat Benetar & Ann Wilson, Kelly has opened eyes with her powerful voice & strong lyrics. Her new album, I Wish I Were Alive, was released on I-Tunes June 4th and is set for larger distribution this summer. Don't think for a second, though, that this makes Kelly complacent, "We're just discussing with the label now what we're gonna do about touring and what the next steps are because we're still working on the business end of things."

Her launch party is June 21 @ The Cutting Room in NY & online retailer rVibe, who is planning on releasing a new online concert streaming service called rVibe/s80 on June 21, 2008, will be streaming the show for free for all those who want to check it out. Like her predecessors Kelly's angst filled voice is set to explode onto the music scene and will be around for years to come.

I Wish I was Alive

You're No Angel

Last night I dreamed that I was a child

2008-06-15T15:29:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day & I had a great day with my little niece. My father passed away 8 years ago and so the significance has worn off. If my relationship with my father could be summed up in one word it would be contentious. Two strong willed insane people like us should never have been put into the same family. Through all of our disagreements, all of our knock down drag outs & rage there was still a strong love for one another that never was truly expressed but always felt.

I long ago forgave my father for his faults and I know he has forgiven mine. It was just a shame that those feelings could not have been expressed when he was still alive. There are days when I really miss him & others where I unfortunately wonder if it may have been a blessing in disguise that he left when he did. I suppose that makes me an asshole, but it is the truth. Here is an ode to Father's out there.

The River (Live) - Bruce Springsteen

My Father's House - Ben Harper

Song For Dad - Keith Urban

New Music Tuesday on a Wednesday

2008-06-10T15:51:00.001-07:00

I started doing this yesterday, but got bogged down in laziness & had to work at the bar (which is what I do when not writing for free, but unlike last week there are quite a few albums that are worth talking about this week. Here are a few that I've been getting into.

Folk music has been making a remarkably strong comeback over the past few years & there is no better example than Ben Sollee. Armed with a cello and a soulful voice reminiscent of Harry Nilson or Sam Cooke. The ease with which he moves through the melodies is comforting in an age where the voice is secondary to the beat. Here's an example of the refreshing lyrical beauty of Ben Sollee covering Sam Cooke's, "A Change is Gonna Come", but with a twist.

A Change is Gonna Come

A Change is Gonna Come - Otis Redding

My Morning Jacket comes out with their latest effort Evil Urges their first studio album since the highly acclaimed "Z". I'm a huge Jim James fan, especially his cover of Bruce Springsteen's, "I'm on Fire". MMJ has created another solid album with a few twists thrown in & while I'm a fan I will let you judge for yourself.

I'm Amazed

I'm On Fire - Jim James

Emmylou Harris has been a favorite of mine for quite a while. Perhaps, since I first saw Martin Scorsese's brilliant "Last Waltz" where she, Levon Helm & Rick Danko sing about the young, "Evangeline". Her 21st album, All I Intended to Be, is not as good as I had hoped, but it is still worth taking a listen to.

All That You Have is Your Soul

I often think of former great artists and then ponder what it must be like to be their children. Think about it...how screwed up are you if you're Michael Jordan's kid (Jared) & you're trying to play basketball. Do the comparisons ever stop? This is what it was like when Jakob Dylan and the Wallflowers first hit the scene, but unlike many other underachieving offspring Jakob was very talented and did it without the help of his father Bob Dylan. Jakob's first solo album is out and it is a testament to his vocal skills and musicianship. It's an acoustical masterpiece and I highly recommend anyone with a pulse to get it right away. I can't say enough good things about it. See for yourself...when I get the damn thing loaded up here then you can see.

All Day & All Night

Valley of The Low Sun

The Bleeders (Live Soundcheck - 1994)

The Sun is Drowning in the Flood

2008-06-06T12:20:00.000-07:00

I've received quite a few emails this week regarding my not putting up a New Music Tuesday post. My response to that has been there's really nothing great that came out this week & the inevitable response has been, Weezer came out with the "Red Album" this week. I'm gonna break it to you slowly & softly, Weezer is no longer relevant or good & they haven't been since the Blue Album. They suffer from what I refer to as the "Orson Welles syndrome". Basically, that means peaking too early & trying to justify that success for the rest of your career.

The Blue Album is rife with solid hits & brilliant compositions. Buddy Holly, Undone (The Sweater Song), Surf Wax America, Say it Ain't So & that's just off the top of my head. The sophomore album, Pinkerton, was a huge piece of garbage or refuse as the Brits call it. Then came the "Green Album" which the title in & of itself shows a lack of creativity from a band that is supposed to have a genius at the helm. Rivers Cuomo is undeniably talented, but it's what he chooses to do with that talent that is so disheartening. He has turned a band, with such an abundance of potential, into a farcical sideshow act.

The latest effort, yet another self titled album, hereby referred to as the "Red Album" is repugnant in it's display of what is undoubtedly supposed to be kitschy hooks and lyrics such as the single ,"Pork and Beans". I am not saying music has to be all seriousness & there has always been some element of Weezer that was on the goofy side, but it's to the point that Weezer is now included in that list of bands that could have been great along with Third Eye Blind, Oasis & Stone Temple Pilots. The thing these bands have in common was the lack of vision to see beyond their own greatness to see how they could have been better. They lost the hunger that propelled them to stardom in the first place.

It is a pure tragedy to see the depths to which Weezer has fallen. I dare you to go into any bar find, "Say it Ain't So" on a jukebox & see if half the bar doesn't sing along with you. It's anthemic in it's simplicity and resonance. Foo Fighters are funny, but in an endearing way & yet they still put out remarkably relevant & brilliant music. Nothing Weezer has done since could ever compare to that first album and that is quite daunting I admit, but to completely give up and put out something that is completely ridiculous as their latest effort is a waste of time and it may be time for Weezer to call it quits.

I live My Life Out Here on the Open Road

2008-06-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

The Bleeding Wingnuts are a band out of Huntingdon, PA. reminiscent of Fuel. With hard, heavy guitars & vocals that don't overpower, but fit nicely into the melodies. They are a band that with the right amount of publicity, exposure and staying power could really go places. They don't look like rock stars, but then again I look like a great writer (which isn't saying much about my tubby ass). Here's a couple tracks on both sides of the spectrum.

Between You & Me

Broken Wings

Hip Hop, Sport Coats & Don Johnson's Five O'clock Shadow

2008-06-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

Some would say I am single minded, in that, I don't like hip hop. While I do think that hip hop/Rap has taken a turn for the worse since the days when I would break dance on a cardboard box in the middle of the school yard (don't laugh I was a bad ass), it isn't all bad. Here is a track from Kansas City rapper X-Dash. Being a white rapper isn't the easiest thing in the world, the comparisons will inevitably go two ways, Vanilla Ice or Eminem. This is closer to Eminem, but the name, X-Dash, could ending up leading to a career reminiscent of Rob Winkle.

The Blissful Wizard

Never Ending Story

2008-05-29T17:50:00.000-07:00

I spent much of my childhood in a haze trying to figure out which way was up. I got my ass kicked often cause I had a big mouth, still do, but now I can handle myself a little better. The thing that would get me through the B.S. was movies. I used to watch movies endlessly. I'd walk down to the theater and see a double feature. One movie that I truly loved, even though it is an awful movie in nearly all aspects, was The Neverending Story. The acting is atrocious, the special effects are abysmal (half the time you can see the strings on the flying creatures), the writing is good, but the story is fanciful and draws you into this wonderful thought that you could be reading about the destruction of a universe.

It depicts the ordeals of two young boys who are inexplicably linked by hopes and dreams. They are the only ones left who seem to have any. As this exchange suggests:

G'mork: If you come any closer, I will rip you to shreds.

Atreyu: Who are you?

G'mork: I am G'mork. And you, whoever you are, can have the honor of being my last victim.

Atreyu: I will not die easily. I am a warrior!

G'mork: Ha! Brave warrior, then fight the Nothing.

Atreyu: But I can't! I can't get beyond the boundaries of Fantasia!

[G'mork laughs and Atreyu gets a little angry]

Atreyu: What's so funny about that?

G'mork: Fantasia has no boundaries.

[Laughs]

Atreyu: That's not true! You're lying.

G'mork: Foolish boy. Don't you know anything about Fantasia? It's the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefore, it has no boundaries.

Atreyu: But why is Fantasia dying, then?

G'mork: Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the Nothing grows stronger.

Atreyu: What is the Nothing?

G'mork: It's the emptiness that's left. It's like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.

Atreyu: But why?

G'mork: Because people who have no hopes are easy to control; and whoever has the control... has the power!

Atreyu: Who are you, really?

G'mork: I am the servant of the power behind the Nothing. I was sent to kill the only one who could have stopped the Nothing. I lost him in the Swamps of Sadness. His name... was Atreyu. [the ground shakes again and Atreyu is knocked down. He grabs a knife shaped piece of broken stone and stands up, ready to fight]

Atreyu: If we're about to die anyway, I'd rather die fighting! Come for me, G'mork! *I* am Atreyu!

I loved this movie and the theme song was so great that I have put it up for your listening pleasure.

Neverending Story - Limahl

I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of you've got

2008-05-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Found this little gem of a concert by one of my favorite alt-country groups Drive-by Truckers & thought I'd share it with you. Patterson Hood really has such a great voice. Pay special attention to Sounds Better in The Song and God Damn Lonely Love.

Lookout Mountain

Where The Devil Don't Stay

Decoration Day

Sinkhole

(Something's Gotta) Give Pretty Soon

Sounds Better In The Song

Richard Manuel Is Dead

The Boys From Alabama

Too Much Sex Too Little Jesus

Women Without Whiskey

Play It All Night Long

NEW MUSIC TUESDAY

2008-05-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Julie Ocean sounds like the name of a folk singer that comes from England with golden blond hair with flowers in it & a white dress with...okay too much detail, sometimes my fantasies get away with me, but this D.C. band is so upbeat that they could a smile on the most ardent rock hater's face. With awesome three chord pop songs think The Smiths meet The Ramones. Two songs from their latest effort, Long Gone & Nearly There, are #1 song (which is actually the #2 song on the album) & a subject near and dear to my heart...My Revenge. Check 'em out tell me what you think.

#1 Song

My Revenge

Malcolm Middleton is a Scottish artist formerly of Arab Strap. His distinct Scottish accent comes through beautifully in this post folk album that was released today called Sleight of Heart. It's a lovely album with simple melodies and hooks that will no doubt make a fan of anyone that isn't turned off by his brogue.

Follow Robin Down

I can't decide if I like Walter Meego or not. His new album is Voyager and it's very experimental. Maybe I'm just not ready for change. It makes heavy use of synth sounds makes them Nine Inch Nailsesque, but without Trent's powerful voice. The music definitely kicks ass, but the voice is so heavily distorted...this may take a few listens to decide what your verdict is.

Lost

Finally, prolific songwriter John Hiatt, comes out with Same Old Man. It's so raw and amazing. He has a voice reminiscent of Steve Earle or Tom Waits and maybe even a twinge of Dylan. He'll be playing in my old stomping grounds of Sonoma in October and I'll be sure to try and get tickets to that one. If you listen to the lyrics you'll hear one of a dying breed, a storytelling musician. John shares his life stories, his trials and tribulations.

Old Days

Same Old Man

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

Whether you are for the war or against the war. Whether you despise the people who represent you or not. Whether you are Democrat or Republican you can never discount the sacrifice that our service men have made for this country. I have lost friends and family in this war & I am extremely grateful for their commitment to keeping me safe under the blanket of Democracy. To that end I would like to post a letter written by my cousin Anna who's son Seth died in battle. Here is that letter:

Our Seth. What can be said? What words can justify or be worthy of this child who grew into a man, served our country and whose life was extinguished by the cowardice of hate and war.

Seth lived so hugely in life...is hugely a word? It should be. Seth didn't let anything hold him back, keep him down, tell him he couldn't.

He's been described as: Spirited. Vibrant. Loving. Friendly. Laughing. Honest. Talking. Planning. Comforting. Social. Proud. Confident. Motivated. Strong...the list goes on and on and on... This time last year, Memorial Day meant something it never had to me and my family.

I'd seen neighbors put out flags, or wear the colors with pride...But I had a first hand glance of WHAT it's about when I drove to a quiet cemetary on the edge of town to visit the resting place of this child of mine.

It means so much more than sales at the mall, or beer parties or a long weekend.

It represents the love they have for our country. The sweat they pour out on our behalf. The blood they shed for freedom: Our Freedom. The things they do for us that we cannot even comprehend...They are amazing! The men and women who serve side by side, with danger all around, with death only a hair-breadth away, with a courage and tenacity that exists in the most honorable of hearts.

The way they go forward when they are being pulled in all directions by family, duty and government: This kind of integrity deserves and is worth more than we can ever repay.

My Seth was 17 when he enlisted to begin training for this service...He turned 18 away from home at boot camp, half-way across the country...He was 19 when he landed in Kuwait and went on to Iraq to fulfill his mission of protection and freedom for those that needed it...Us included.

It was only 7 weeks into his first and only tour that he and 3 dedicated comrades were on a dangerous mission, that the enemy slipped in and ended their mission early and ending their lives.

Seth held on for almost 24 hours after the accident that immediately took his brother-in-arms' lives...He took his last breath in a land faraway, with a loving chaplain holding his hand, praying him into the arms of the Lord.

Seth chose to take that final breath, just like he chose to take his first.

He is free forever now. Free to do and be his pure, loving, healthy, happy self... I miss him with my whole heart. Some days its unbearable. Every time I see him, or something that reminds me of him, I think how lucky I am, how totally blessed I am to be his mama...How blessed his friends were to know him...How blessed our United States Army was to have the opportunity to train and be involved with such a remarkable young soldier.

Blessings to you Seth. Your life really was a journey that was full of life, full of love, and full, full, full!! I'm so so proud of you baby!!! We will never, never, never forget you or your comrades.

Seth Stanton 17 Dec 06

David Staats 16 Dec 06

Matt Stanley 16 Dec 06

Joe Baines 16 Dec 06

...Anthony Melea

...Michael Balsley

...Jocelyn's Husband

...Others.

Locomotives in the Ocean, it's the Golden Way

2008-05-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

Fielding was a Coldplayesque band that was making waves a few years back, but when front man and songwriter, Eric Balmer, decided he was through, the band was left in a state of disarray. That was until Kevin Poush met producer Chris Fudurich & Two Guns was formed. The new band is a perfect fusion of Poush's subtle vocals with the brilliant musicianship of Fudurich (Keys/Guitar/Backing Vocals) and former Fielding members Aaron Bradford (Bass/Keys) & Adam Ferry (drums/Percussion). This is the band they were made to be in, with influences like Vin Scully (the Dodgers broadcaster) and Radiohead who wouldn't think success right away? All kidding aside, this is a great band with an undeniably original sound. This has been a great month for new bands & to say I'm excited to see that music is becoming good again is an understatement. Two Guns will be playing @ Club Moscow (Boardners) w/ Repeater and The Secret Six, June 18. Here are three demos from the album probably due sometime later in the year.

Locomotive

Cave in

I Live Alone

Pistols are pointing at a poor man's pockets

2008-05-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

Beck's new album Modern Guilt is coming soon, most likely without notice, kinda like the Raconteurs. I've never been a huge Beck album fan. I love him live. He was great at the Download festival in San Jose when we lit up the pipe (A highlight of my late 20s), but his album's for some reason have always left me feeling flat, like day old soda. I have high hopes for this next one, though, especially if the newest song is indicative of what it'll sound like. Go to Beck.com to see tour dates. He'll be playing the Hollywood Bowl 9/27, so I'll find a way to be at that one.

Chemtrails

New Music Tuesday

2008-05-19T23:56:00.000-07:00

Some interesting new music this week. Nothing that's gonna blow your mind but some decent surprises.

Foxboro Hot Tubs - Stop, Drop & Roll - A garage style rock band. If you've ever heard Green Day's early stuff this will sound eerily familiar. Perhaps, because it is Green Day under a nom de plume. A solid album, not great but definitely worth listening to.

Red Tide

Stop, Drop & Roll

Mason Jennings - In The Ever - Mason Jennings is a folk artist hailing from the great state of Minnesota (where have we heard this before?). Okay he was born in Hawaii, moved to Pennsylvania, dropped out of school and moved to Minn. to pursue a music career. A mecca for wanna be folk artists like Tin Pan Alley in the 50s. He comes off like a cross between Dylan and Jack Johnson. I know what you're saying, "But Matty, Jack Johnson, fucking sucks." You're right he does, he plays the same song over and over again and has played that I'm from Hawaii thing to death, but he is very mellow, so he's got that going for him. Check out the song and if you like maybe you go and buy the album.

Memphis, Tennessee

Devendra Banhart - Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon - A talented individual who spent time in Caracas (that's in Venezuela, kids), Los Angeles, Paris, but truly discovered his musical talents at San Francisco's Art Academy. Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon was recorded at Banhart's new home studio in Topanga Canyon.

Cristobal

Blackstrap - Steal My Horses and Run - I don't know too much about this band from Stockholm, Sweden, but from what I've heard I love them. Here's their myspace page.

Lay Down Low

Let me know what you think or if you have anything you want to share this week leave 'em in the comments section. The reason I did not include Scarlett Johansson this week is cause she sucks as a singer. Tom Wait's. really? Tom Waits is amazing and SJ is not. Next up Scarlett will cover T. Rex. Bang a gong. No Really Bang a fucking gong on this chick.

I'm a little bit country, you're a little bit alcoholic

2008-05-17T02:51:00.000-07:00

I have this preternatural instinct in the fiber of my being to be right. I'm ultra-competitive in such ridiculous things that they hardly merit the competitiveness that is exuded & yet it is who I am. I hate losing. There are those times, though, that losing does happen. It is in instances such as these that I absolutely love country music. Give me a bottle of whiskey, some shit kickin' boots & a good country song and I'm good to go. The stuff that is played on country radio stations today...that's not country. It's like saying Kelly Clarkson is rock music. Lump it all together in the pop category and toss it aside with New Kids on the Block & N'Sync. Here are a few songs that in my opinion (for whatever that's worth) are songs that epitomize the true meaning of what country music should be.

Gram Parsons - Dead Flowers

Hank Williams III - 5 Shots of Whiskey

Marty Robbins - Big Iron

Merle Haggard - Big City

The Little Willies - Streets of Baltimore

Dwight Yoakam - Train in Vain

Pete Yorn & Natalie Maines (from the Dixie Chicks) - The Man

Patterson Hood - Heavy & Hanging

Ol' Yeller - In God's Country

Johnny Cash - In Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home

Hot Day in L.A.

2008-05-16T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's gonna be a hot one in the City of Angels this weekend & I figured a little mix of songs would cool us off. Spent last night with some really beautiful people enjoying amazing food & wine just talking about music. Isn't that what life should be about? Music is the life force that brings everything together. Sports are great, but can be as divisive as they are unifying. Music emotes feelings that can lift you up when down, can remind you of where you were when & can express the feelings for someone that you can't express yourself. I spent my 20s drinking, fighting, hurting people and being angry and music saved me. That may be a simplistic view of things, a bit cheesy even, but it's true. I have decided this Friday to put a little mix of songs that are dedicated to weather. Maybe these songs will save you from the effects of oppressive heat this beautiful L.A. weekend.

The Specials - Too Hot

Ray Lamontagne - Into The Sun (Live)

R.E.M. - South Central Rain (Unplugged)

Nick Cave - Here Comes The Sun

Josh Ritter - Man Burning

Gram Parsons - California Cottonfields

Bat For Lashes - I'm on Fire

The Chromatics - I'm on Fire

The Beta Band - Dry The Rain

Isao Tomita - Gardens in the Rain

Norah Jones - Sunrise (Live)

Old 97's

2008-05-14T14:04:00.001-07:00

The Old 97's came out with a new album yesterday that could be there best yet. Rife with alt-country hits, Blame it on Gravity, is a must have for any Old 97's fan. If you're not sure who they are, then here's a little bit of info. They are an alt-country band from Dallas, Texas who took their name from the Johnny Cash classic "Wreck of the Old '97". Their most recognized song is probably Time Bomb from the under appreciated movie, "Clay Pigeons" with Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughan and once talented actress turned pseudo lesbian Janeane Garofalo. Here's some tracks I'm sure you'll enjoy!

In The Satellite Rides a Star

Nineteen

Designs on You

King of the World

Song in the News

2008-05-13T18:55:00.000-07:00

There is a new Ryan Adams song streaming. Check it out!!! Actually some of the other songs are pretty decent as well. It's definitely worthy of your perusal.

New Death Cab Video

2008-05-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

I Will Possess your Heart - New Video from Death Cab's latest album Narrow Stairs

Danny Federici

2008-05-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

Danny Federici (01/23/50 - 04/17/08) was a founding member of the E-Street Band. He played the organ, accordion & glockenspiel. 2 years ago he was diagnosed with melanoma and though he was thought to have been doing well he succumbed last month & was laid to rest in Red Bank, New Jersey.

This eulogy was delivered by Bruce Springsteen at Danny's funeral on April 21 in Red Bank, New Jersey:

FAREWELL TO DANNY

Let me start with the stories.

Back in the days of miracles, the frontier days when "Mad Dog" Lopez and his temper struck fear into the band, small club owners, innocent civilians and all women, children and small animals.

Back in the days when you could still sign your life away on the hood of a parked car in New York City.

Back shortly after a young red-headed accordionist struck gold on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour and he and his mama were sent to Switzerland to show them how it's really done.

Back before beach bums were featured on the cover of Time magazine.

I'm talking about back when the E Street Band was a communist organization! My pal, quiet, shy Dan Federici, was a one-man creator of some of the hairiest circumstances of our 40 year career... And that wasn't easy to do. He had "Mad Dog" Lopez to compete with.... Danny just outlasted him.

Maybe it was the "police riot" in Middletown, New Jersey. A show we were doing to raise bail money for "Mad Log" Lopez who was in jail in Richmond, Virginia, for having an altercation with police officers who we'd aggravated by playing too long. Danny allegedly knocked over our huge Marshall stacks on some of Middletown's finest who had rushed the stage because we broke the law by...playing too long.

As I stood there watching, several police oficers crawled out from underneath the speaker cabinets and rushed away to seek medical attention. Another nice young officer stood in front of me onstage waving his nightstick, poking and calling me nasty names. I looked over to see Danny with a beefy police officer pulling on one arm while Flo Federici, his first wife, pulled on the other, assisting her man in resisting arrest.

A kid leapt from the audience onto the stage, momentarily distracting the beefy officer with the insults of the day. Forever thereafter, "Phantom" Dan Federici slipped into the crowd and disappeared.

A warrant out for his arrest and one month on the lam later, he still hadn't been brought to justice. We hid him in various places but now we had a problem. We had a show coming at Monmouth College. We needed the money and we had to do the gig. We tried a replacement but it didn't work out. So Danny, to all of our admiration, stepped up and said he'd risk his freedom, take the chance and play.

Show night. 2,000 screaming fans in the Monmouth College gym. We had it worked out so Danny would not appear onstage until the moment we started playing. We figured the police who were there to arrest him wouldn't do so onstage during the show and risk starting another riot.

Let me set the scene for you. Danny is hiding, hunkered down in the backseat of a car in the parking lot. At five minutes to eight, our scheduled start time, I go out to whisk him in. I tap on the window.

"Danny, come on, it's time."

I hear back, "I'm not going."

Me: "What do you mean you're not going?"

Danny: "The cops are on the roof of the gym. I've seen them and they're going to nail me the minute I step out of this car."

As I open the door, I realize that Danny has been smoking a little something and had grown rather paranoid. I said, "Dan, there are no cops on the roof."

He says, "Yes, I saw them, I tell you. I'm not coming in."

So I used a procedure I'd call on often over the next forty years in dealing with my old pal's concerns. I threatened him...and cajoled. Finally, out he came. Across the parking lot and into the gym we swept for a rapturous concert during which we laughted like thieves at our excellent dodge of the local cops.

At the end of the evening, during the last song, I pulled the entire crowd up onto the stage and Danny slipped into the audience and out the front door. Once again, "Phantom" Dan had made his exit. (I still get the occasional card from the old Chief of Police of Middletown wishing us well. Our histories are forever intertwined.) And that, my friends, was only the beginning.

There was the time Danny quit the band during a rough period at Max's Kansas City, explaining to me that he was leaving to fix televisions. I asked him to think about that and come back later.

Or Danny, in the band rental car, bouncing off several parked cars after a night of entertainment, smashing out the windshield with his head but saved from severe injury by the huge hard cowboy hat he bought in Texas on our last Western swing.

Or Danny, leaving a large marijuana plant on the front seat of his car in a tow away zone. The car was promptly towed. He said, "Bruce, I'm going to go down and report that it was stolen." I said, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Down he went and straight into the slammer without passing go.

Or Danny, the only member of the E Street Band to be physically thrown out of the Stone Pony. Considering all the money we made them, that wasn't easy to do.

Or Danny receiving and surviving a "cautionary assault" from an enraged but restrained "Big Man" Clarence Clemons while they were living together and Danny finally drove the "Big Man" over the big top.

Or Danny assisting me in removing my foot from his stereo speaker after being the only band member ever to drive me into a violent rage.

And through it all, Danny played his beautiful, soulful B3 organ for me and our love grew. And continued to grow. Life is funny like that. He was my homeboy, and great, and for that you make considerations... And he was much more tolerant of my failures than I was of his.

When Danny wasn't causing chaos, he was a sweet, talented, unassuming, unpretentious good-hearted guy who simply had an unchecked ability to make good fortune and things in general go fabulously wrong.

But beyond all of that, he also had a mountain of the right stuff. He had the heart and soul of an engineer. He learned to fly. He was always up on the latest technology and would explain it to you patiently and in enormous detail. He was always "souping" something up, his car, his stereo, his B3. When Patti joined the band, he was the most welcoming, thoughtful, kindest friend to the first woman entering our "boys club."

He loved his kids, always bragging about Jason, Harley, and Madison, and he loved his wife Maya for the new things she brought into his life.

And then there was his artistry. He was the most intuitive player I've ever seen. His style was slippery and fluid, drawn to the spaces the other musicians in the E Street Band left. He wasn't an assertive player, he was a complementary player. A true accompanist. He naturally supplied the glue that bound the band's sound together. In doing so, he created for himself a very specific style. When you hear Dan Federici, you don't hear a blanket of sound, you hear a riff, packed with energy, flying above everything else for a few moments and then gone back in the track. "Phantom" Dan Federici. Now you hear him, now you don't.

Offstage, Danny couldn't recite a lyric or a chord progression for one of my songs. Onstage, his ears opened up. He listened, he felt, he played, finding the perfect hole and placement for a chord or a flurry of notes. This style created a tremendous feeling of spontaneity in our ensemble playing.

In the studio, if I wanted to loosen up the track we were recording, I'd put Danny on it and not tell him what to play. I'd just set him loose. He brought with him the sound of the carnival, the amusements, the boardwalk, the beach, the geography of our youth and the heart and soul of the birthplace of the E Street Band.

Then we grew up. Very slowly. We stood together through a lot of trials and tribulations. Danny's response to a mistake onstage, hard times, catastrophic events was usually a shrug and a smile. Sort of an "I am but one man in a raging sea, but I'm still afloat. And we're all still here."

I watched Danny fight and conquer some tough addictions. I watched him struggle to put his life together and in the last decade when the band reunited, thrive on sitting in his seat behind that big B3, filled with life and, yes, a new maturity, passion for his job, his family and his home in the brother and sisterhood of our band.

Finally, I watched him fight his cancer without complaint and with great courage and spirit. When I asked him how things looked, he just said, "what are you going to do? I'm looking forward to tomorrow." Danny, the sunny side up fatalist. He never gave up right to the end.

A few weeks back we ended up onstage in Indianapolis for what would be the last time. Before we went on I asked him what he wanted to play and he said, "Sandy." He wanted to strap on the accordion and revisit the boardwalk of our youth during the summer nights when we'd walk along the boards with all the time in the world.

So what if we just smashed into three parked cars, it's a beautiful night! So what if we're on the lam from the entire Middletown police department, let's go take a swim! He wanted to play once more the song that is of course about the end of something wonderful and the beginning of something unknown and new.

Let's go back to the days of miracles. Pete Townshend said, "a rock and roll band is a crazy thing. You meet some people when you're a kid and unlike any other occupation in the whole world, you're stuck with them your whole life no matter who they are or what crazy things they do."

If we didn't play together, the E Street Band at this point would probably not know one another. We wouldn't be in this room together. But we do... We do play together. And every night at 8 p.m., we walk out on stage together and that, my friends, is a place where miracles occur...old and new miracles. And those you are with, in the presence of miracles, you never forget. Life does not separate you. Death does not separate you. Those you are with who create miracles for you, like Danny did for me every night, you are honored to be amongst.

Of course we all grow up and we know "it's only rock and roll"...but it's not. After a lifetime of watching a man perform his miracle for you, night after night, it feels an awful lot like love.

So today, making another one of his mysterious exits, we say farewell to Danny, "Phantom" Dan, Federici. Father, husband, my brother, my friend, my mystery, my thorn, my rose, my keyboard player, my miracle man and lifelong member in good standing of the house rockin', pants droppin', earth shockin', hard rockin', booty shakin', love makin', heart breakin', soul cryin'... and, yes, death defyin' legendary E Street Band.

Backstreets - Live in Milan 1985

Music

2008-04-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

Long ago when I patrolled the San Francisco airwaves with my perverse sense of idealogical beliefs I felt I could write and make a difference.While I still believe that I could have that affect music has evolved into something that is a tragedy. Indie Rock, wile really not all that indie, is making the biggest impact on my life right now. As is Alt-country, mostly Ryan Adams & Wilco. I drank a bit this evening and just laid down and listened to the Whiskeytown's album Pneumonia (Pronounced Pneumonia).

Ryan Adams (lead singer of the aforementioned Whiskeytown) is my generation's Bob Dylan lyrically speaking, though Bob Dylan could still be called such, I suppose. You grow up and your tastes evolve or devolve for that matter and you learn to know what you like. A sound, a chord, a lyric. There are songs that speak to you and you listen to them over and over again in your stupor and they fill your heart and head with visions. You begin to relate to the artist and his/her plight. Music evokes feelings that nothing else can, in me. I can be climbing the walls with a panic attack and just the right song can bring me back down to earth.

I've never been a drug user, sure I've smoked pot, but none of the hard stuff, but I've heard the feelings one gets while listening to music are quite nearly euphoric. That one of the things that, when I was younger, intrigued me about "experimenting" with drugs. For some reason I never did, nor will I ever. Perhaps the thought of lasting effects stopped me in a everlasting stance of cowardice. I don't regret that decision but I know that the few times I have been "stoned" I can literally feel the music coursing through my veins. If it weren't for music life would be a boring endurance test, that no one would be interested in winning. Here is my favorite Whiskeytown song, "Jacksonville Skyline". I encourage you to buy it, steal it or however you get your music. It's off the previously mentioned album Pneumonia.

The banks of the river run through my hometown

As a boy, ran dirt roads, and I scraped my knees

Well they paved the roads eventually

With neon signs and car dealerships and diners

The soldiers fill the hotels on the weekends

I saw the pretty women as I walked through town

Well, I moved away soon as I turned sixteen

Figured I was old enough to go and work a job

Well I floated down main street, pools of car lights

overcame me, wishing I was still back home

The soldiers fill the hotels on the weekends

I saw the pretty women as I walked through town

Well, Jacksonville's a city with a hopeless streetlight

Seems like you're lucky if it ever change from red to green

I was born in an abundance of inherited sadness

And .50 cent picture frames bought at a five and dime

I ended up a soldier on the weekend

Looking for a vacancy I wasn't able to find

Somewhere the night sky hangs like a blanket

Shoot it with my cap gun just to make it

Seem like stars

The Dumbing Down of Music

2007-09-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

I've been a music connisieur/snob for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid I watched my father ignore the family, sit in a corner with his headphones on, close his eyes & wish he was still that long haired guitar playing, hippie from his youth. I think that's where I get my love of music from. Consequently, I probably get my fear of commitment from that as well, but that's for another article. I don't just love the music, I love the lyrics as well. I like to search for the deeper meaning of songs. How they can pertain to my life. How I can manifest some sort of delusional idea as to what the writer was trying to say.

Like what'd Procol Harum mean in "Whiter Shade of Pale" when they so eloquently, "Skipped the light fandango"? Now, I have never skipped the light fandango at least not that I know of, I barely have ever skipped. However, it does make one think whatever your mental capacity may be & conjures up images of a needle & perhaps a spoon or a tab of some kind.

Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Ryan Adams, Jenny Lewis are all examples of artists who have something to say. I wonder if generation Y even cares. If you listen to some of the music that is popular today you'll know exactly what I mean. For example, here's an enlightening passage from Soulja Boy (notice the use of Soul, I'm gonna assume it's cause in some way he is a soulful character), who has the 1 song on I-Tunes as this is written:

Soulja boy up in it

Watch me crank it

Watch me roll

Watch me crank dat Soulja boy

Then Superman dat

Um excuse me? Yes, I'll have a drum machine with a side of illiteracy please. What the fuck is this? Helen Keller spoke better English than this guy. If you read the lyrics you'll see the aforementioned Soulja Boy reference himself more than 25 times. Imagine me writing an article and saying, "Matty D's gonna write the shit out of this piece here", over and over again. Rock musicians don't do this. Ever hear Led Zeppelin reference themselves in a song in the third person? Nirvana? The Beatles? Anybody w/ a guitar? I understand illiteracy is a huge problem in this country & obviously it isn't the end all be all because it's evident you can still be a rapper if you're illiterate.

Lyrics used to be powerful. Even in hip-hop. Public Enemy spoke of the oppression of black Americans. Here's a verse from their Fight the Power single:

While the Black bands sweatin'

And the rhythm rhymes rollin'

Got to give us what we want

Gotta give us what we need

Our freedom of speech is freedom or death

We got to fight the powers that be

Lemme hear you say

Fight the power

While I obviously can't relate to the plight of the black man, the lyrics are coherent and meaningful. Then you hear Lenny Kravitz's singing "Fly Away":

Let's go & see the stars

The milky way & even Mars

Where it could just be ours

Let's fade into the sun

Let your spirit fly

Where we are one

Just for a little fun

This is the talk of a terrorist. He's talking about flying into the sun & that being fun. What is fun about a searing, burning death? I think the underlying theme here is if you listen to Lenny Kravitz then the terrorist's win.

We're dumbing down America with the crap we let our kids fill their heads with. I could care less about violence, cussing, talk of ritualistic and habitual drug use in lyrics. I just want them to be smart or at least somewhat coherent. Is that too much to ask? There are plenty of so-called intelligent lyricists that suck really hard (TV on the Radio comes to mind), but at least they're saying something.

Test scores are at an all time low, violence at an all time high (this probably not true, but what is these days?) & it's because of stupidity. That's not all due to moronic lyrics, but does Soulja Boy help things out with lyrics like:

Then watch me crank dat Robocop

Super Fresh now watch me jock

Jocking on them Haterz(sp?) man

When I do dat Soulja Boy

I lean to the left & crank Dat dance

My IQ just plummetted 35 points by typing that verse. I'm bordering on mental retardation & the only thing that can save me is no more Soulja Boy or a labotamy. I'm not one of these old guys who thinks all modern music blows and is stuck in the past, but I will say that if you want to hear smart, honest, real music then turn off your radios. Pay no attention to what the corporate douche bags would have you listen to, to line their pockets. Actively seek out music that is great, revolutionary, speaks to you & experience something better than Soulja Boy.

Tonight, Tonight & Fuck you Panic @ The Disco

2007-06-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

While I should be diametrically opposed to anything PANIC AT THE DISCO (PATD) puts out I usually find them charming, funny & even remotely talented, but a line must be drawn somewhere & that line comes in the form of singing perhaps the most beautiful song ever written, The Smashing Pumpkins, "Tonight, Tonight". Seriously, stay the fuck away PATD. That is the only video that has made me well up with pseudo tears. Ok, they were real, fuck you.

The video directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris (Little Miss Sunshine) is a remake of the old silent picture LeVoyage dans la lune (1902). It was actually filmed the same way. They used a 70-year-old, hand-cranked camera shooting only one angle on a single set. SO amazingly beautiful. Like looking at a Monet and feeling what he was trying to extract from that moment in time. Put that together with the words of Billy Corgan & a masterpiece is born.

My issue comes with bands like the aforementioned PATD covering a song that should never be covered. There are songs that have been covered and amazingly well. Novaflow covered THE ANIMALS version of, "HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN" & it was great. That song has been done by everyone though from Bob Dylan to Leadbelly. Tonight, tonight has never been remade because it's the perfect song. The strings, the lyrics, the vocals, the drums...EVERYTHING! PERFECT!

PATD is a decent band, for what they are, which is a fad, a CULTURE CLUB. A band that'll be remembered for catchy lyrics and tunes but nothing of real substance. Real music fans don't clamor for that. Smashing Pumpkins come out with an album JULY 10 called "ZEITGEIST". GET IT! It won't measure up to, "MELLON COLLIE & THE INFINITE SADNESS", but who cares? It's the PUMPKINS. I'm a huge fan of covers, ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES is one of my favorite bands, but please certain songs shouldn't be covered.

This cover may go down as bad as William Shatner covering Elton Johns', "ROCKET MAN". Anyway, enough of my diatribe, enjoy. Remember...

"We'll crucify the insincere tonight

We'll make things right, we'll feel it all tonight

We'll find a way to offer up the night tonight

The indescribable moments of your life tonight

The impossible is possible tonight

BELIEVE IN ME AS I BELIEVE IN YOU, TONIGHT"

GENERATION X

2007-02-14T12:58:00.000-08:00

We are the lost generation...Generation X. The underachieving, uninspired children of MTV, Playstation, I-Pods, The Internet, Reality Television, HDTV, X-BOX, Cell Phones, Ikea. Information is right at our hands and what do we do with it? Our parents protested, they fought for things: civil rights, peace, equality for all man kind. What are we as a generation trying to accomplish? Tupac once said "They say there ain't no hope for the youth, and the truth is there ain't no hope for the future." The voice of our generation prophesizing.

We are a generation that may be the most educated and yet the stupidest. In thirty years when the next generation stakes it's claim what will we have to show for our time? This is our moment and we are ruining it with complacency. We sit idly by as the world is changing at a tremendous pace. We can't look up to our leaders, because they suit their own interests, whether those interests be oil or sex. So who do we seek for guidance, for inspiration, for truth? We seek out the word of celebrity as if it were gospel. We listen to the latest "truth" from Oprah or Martha Stewart. We listen as Supreme Court justices are named as if it matters. Rights are taken away everyday for the sake of a political party. Nothing is done for the good of the people anymore. Especially us. We don't vote as a generation, because what does our vote mean? We've been conditioned to believe that we have no say. We have a government who is no better than communist. They want to control what we can hear and see. The FCC is on a crusade to Christianize America.

The media is a huge conglomerate organization that is ruled by ratings. When was the last time the news came on and said homelessness is at an all time high and no one does a God damn thing about it? When did they say, the United States kills more people per capita than any other country in the world? NEVER. They don't want us to know. There are 500 news channels saying the same thing. Flip it sometime it's like they are all reading from the same script. Gone are the Edward R. Murrow's,Walter Cronkite's, Tom Brokaw's, Peter Jennings', Dan Rather's? Only to be replaced by Rush Limbaugh, Katie Couric and Bill O'Reilly.

Our generation is the most complacent generation of almost any other in history. Give me your tired, your hungry, your huddled masses. Give me your 25 year-old, unemployed, pot-head still living with mommy and daddy. There are people who have degrees that are still making shit money, NOT because they don't want to make great money, but because the same job can be done by an Indian man for 1/4 the money.

So what's my point?

Chuck Palahniuk said in his novel FIGHT CLUB "God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off."

GET ANGRY AND DO SOMETHING! Fuck, this is our time! We are GENERATION FUCKING X. We are the unknown, the volatile, the resourceful generation that everyone underestimates. We are the undervalued pee-on that society has labeled return to sender. We are voice of the next 30 years, let it be heard. Be productive.

What's Wrong With Music & Radio

2007-02-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

Watching some of the Grammy's last night and this morning (thanks to you tube) I realized what we were watching was contrasting eras. On the one hand we have the bygone era of music. When we see Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson & The Police on stage we're reminded of what music used to be. When it was about the music, when the acts had actual talent to back up their mass appeal.

When we see acts like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Carrie Underwood and My Grammy moment it reminds us that mainstream music is less about talent are more about marketability. Do you actually believe that in 25 years they'll bring the RHCP back onstage for a reunion show or will they play forever like some bad reincarnation of the Rolling Stones who themselves should have stopped after Some Girls (this is called a run on sentence children)? Who really believed that Justin Timberlake was playing the piano last night?

Real talent is no longer rewarded because it flies so far underground. Good music is referred to as INDIE. Call a radio station sometime and request a song that isn't "mainstream". Good luck getting that song played. Red Hot Chili Peppers are marketable. They're a proven commodity that can bring in advertiser's dollars. While internet and satellite radio continue to steal people away from "terrestrial" radio, "terrestrial" radio is doing nothing to ebb the flow quickly. They're making strides with shows like San Francisco station Live 105's Sunday evening show Soundcheck, but it may not be enough. I recently watched a trailer for a documentary called, "Before the Music Dies" referred to me by former Live 105 jock Tom Anger. I bought it on amazon.com & anyone who wants to watch it I will be more than willing to share it once I've studied a little more or buy it yourself cheap asses.

Is it a surprise that they bring out old stars or new stars playing old music? Justin Timberlake and some American Idol reject singing a Bill Withers song. Justin Timberlake actually has some talent, but that girl is infringing on the opportunity of so many others who struggle to make it. In a sense what they're saying is the only way you'll make it is through some gimmick.

The radio industry sells it's soul a little more each day they play RHCP and not Interpol or Evanescence instead of Streets of Nowhere or Weezer and not Gym Class Heroes. What's the likelihood that Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix or Chuck berry would've been discovered today? I'll make it even simpler, what's the likelihood that Bad Religion, The Clash or even the Police would be on the air in today's radio climate? Slim and none. Radio isn't about music anymore it's about money. Once everyone realizes that, then and only then will there be changes.

INCUBUS REVIEW

2007-01-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

I was on the fence about this show ever since I heard that Incubus was coming back to town. Their new album Light Grenades was better than Crow Left of the Murder, but still didn't match the intensity and songsmanship of Morning View, Make Yourself and S.C.I.E.N.C.E. all contemporary classics. However, when offered free tickets one does not bite the hand that feeds him. So, obviously I went and I'm glad I did. The show opened with Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. and his side band. Thoroughly unimpressive! They were on the stage the right amount of time, just long enough for me to get a Super Burrito (I highly recommend w/ pollo...Good Times), a caesar salad for my lady friend and a few beers. Then they were gone. In between sets classic 80s tunes were playing. Flock of Seagulls, Human League, Soft Cell. BOOM! The lights stagger out and a gentle hum emits from the stage. The band runs on stage and cranks into Anna Molly right off the bat. The crowd's going crazy. People jumping around, the sweet odor of cannibus fills the air, and Brandon singing like there's no tomorrow. A few more songs then Nice to Know You from Morning View starts and lights a flutter, crowd surfers waving their hands, mass hysteria dogs and cats living together...Ok maybe that's a bit overboard but you get the picture. They play all the songs you want to hear except a few of the obscure favorites that everybody wants them to play for purely selfsih reasons, but they haven't played Drive. Now, I'm sitting here thinking ok after the encore. Encore comes, they get back on stage and play two songs. I'm starting to worry, Drive is the reason some of these fans got into Incubus. Don't you hate when a band doesn't play the song you want to hear, because they're sick of it? FEAR NOT! Out comes the roadie with an acoustic guitar and after an impromptu performance of Vince Guaraldi's, "Linus and Lucy" on guitar, bass and drums...Ben (bassist), Jose (drummer) and Chris (DJ) leave the stage and Mike sits on a stool with an acoustic guitar and starts into what everyone has been waiting for...DRIVE! The lighters and cell phones come out and the all at once the crowd is one. The feelings of the day wash away. No thought of more troops being sent to die, no more worrying about the rent check just DRIVE. Take the wheel and steer.

The fickleness of Music Snobs

2007-01-01T12:02:00.000-08:00

So it's that time again to rate our best albums of the year. Rolling Stone's done it, Spin and every other magazine you can think of as well. Why do we read these lists as if they're gospel? There are the subtle lesser known albums always thrown in to make it look like the writer is some sort of music savant and not some corporate douche bag. A clever ploy to make the reader think the writer has some deeper motive than to tell girls in a bar that he writes for Rolling Stone. "Check out my list. I've always been a huge fan of Belle and Sebastian. Wanna go back to my place and listen to me talk about how deep I am while I get you drunk enough to make me look good and your inhibitions wash away?" The fact is everyone has different tastes. Some people like music with absolutely no substance that showcases absolutely nothing but an ability to make money. Case in point Gwen Stefani. Fuck you, Gwen. I haven't seen excrement of this magnitude since T.V. on the Radio decided to form a group. I mean really is this a High School fucking drumline? She was in NO DOUBT!!! Poppy...sure. Catchy...of course. But talented and fun and isn't that on some level what we want out of our music? Yes, we want the Dylan's, the Springsteen's, the U2's, but we also want the Green Day's, the Rancid's, The Panic at the Disco's, the Blink 182's, etc. There's a place for sad bastard music, but there's also a place for unabashed pop-punk. Why is it so bad to enjoy Panic at the Disco? Like their predecessors of Poppiness (Blink-182, Culture Club, The Monkees) Panic is a dirty word when it comes to expressing a band that one enjoys. Imagine going into a conversation with some music snobs and expressing your undying affection for Panic at the Disco. You explain how clever their lyrics are, how they look like they actually enjoy what they're doing, how they don't rant about curing hunger in Africa or the current administrations lack of ethics and how you think that's okay. The most likely response would be something to the effect of..."They're too poppy. They remind me of Blink 182. I hate emo." Great argument! Number 1 they're not an emo band. Emo is sad bastard music that makes you want to harm yourself and others i.e. Dashboard Confessional. Number 2 who gives a fuck? So they have catchy lyrics and cool riffs. So did the Beatles! Does that make them a shitty band? Is it their ages? Is it the campiness of the videos they make? Is it because 15 year old girls love them? Music is completely subjective. I won't bore you with my top ten albums of the year cause it's of no consequence, I'm a lowly writing button pusher with enough sense to know that because I think She Wants Revenge, TV on the Radio and Gwen Stefani are the worst things to happen to music since Disco, that doesn't mean you will agree. This coming from a guy who has Benny Mardones, Chicago (not cool "Saturday in the Park" Chicago, but 80s Peter Cetera has no penis Chicago) and James Taylor among others in his I-POD. Am I ashamed? Sure I am, but I still like some music that is considered no bueno and that's the way I like. Diversity is okay. If you don't like it then don't listen, but don't hate bands cause they're popular. It's absolutely okay if a band sells out, otherwise they'd wallow in obscurity forever like the Honeycuts...who? exactly.

Rolling Stone Writer's Lack Vision

2006-09-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

I thought writers were supposed to be self effacing (is that spelled right?), self critical and self loathing people with low self esteem. Why should the fucking writers at Rolling Stone dictate what's good and what isn't? Case and point or is it Case in point?I think the former. I digress, there is a band called Television on Radio that is absolute crap. They may be the worst thing since She Wants Revenge or even worse. They may be as bad as Matisyahu. Their new album would surely end the war in Iraq, quickly, if we blasted it WACO style. Rolling Stone says it may be the best album of the year...OF THE FUCKING YEAR! It's not even the best album of the day it came out. Meanwhile, Pete Yorn's new album "Nightcrawler" (get it today) is given two stars and called mumbling boredom. While I admit that's a great line it is not indicative of how truly good this fucking album is. I love it!!! I'm no fascist. I understand everyone is entitled to their opinion, but shit get a fucking clue. Weird shit doesn't make it some kind of experimental brilliance (my line) it just makes it weird and in this case completely fucked. Shame on Rolling Stone for being moronic. Wait I'm having a thought, my brain is twitching, maybe I'll make an album of koala's fucking and throw a drum beat behind it with a fucking tuba and call it oh I don't know Koala's Inc. I could make millions and win the undying adulation of every major magazine publisher out there.