Posts filed under 'Music'
I was on MAX last week on the way home from work, and something strange caught my eye outside the train. This punk looking guy, straight out of the ’70s-London-Sex Pistols-The Clash-era, was walking down the sidewalk. He had the full meal deal going on: Skintight black jeans torn and cut in all the right places, huge heavy black boots, spiked dog collar around his neck, all kinds of piercings, and a tall spiked bright red mohawk.
And wrap-around sunglasses. And a white cane with a red tip, sweeping side to side.
Yup, being blind, the poor guy had no idea how ridiculously stupid he looked. I can picture his friends, all of them grown up and business men now, with their suits and briefcases, keeping this guy in the dark (so to speak) about how silly he looked.
“Yeah, man you look wicked tough. You still got it. Oh, yeah, sure, of course I’m spiking my hair too. I’m slathering on the hair gel right now. Yup, we both look like real hooligans. Now go on, get out there and STRUT!”
September 10th, 2006
So something happened the other day that, for the first time that I can remember, actaully made me feel old. Having two teen-age sons? Nah. One of them a sophomore in high school? Nope. Getting his driver’s license in 3 months? Still doesn’t make me feel old.
Kathy and I were watching American Idol the other day (Breanna got it right, by the way, Paris and Taylor are the two best performers by far), and something one of the gals said made me frown. She was singing “Never” by Heart (which of course is led by my all-time favorite female vocalist, Nancy Wilson), from their self-titled album (which I bought on vinyl when it was first released back in 1985, by the way).
So why did this make me feel old? It was referred to as a classic rock song. Classic rock! Whenever I hear the phrase “classic rock”, I think of Woodstock and free love, and singers and performers who’ve died choking on their own vomit, or at least a ham sandwich. (And, yes, I know the “ham sandwich” thing is a myth. It still makes for a better end to the previous sentence.)
But a song that I dug when it was brand new is considered classic rock?
Now I feel old.
February 24th, 2006
Just before I left work today, Kathy called to tell me that Lexi had a concert at school tonight, and that I should rush home so I’d be able to make it. Apparently, the kids in music class at Lexi’s school have been working with the great Michael Allen Harrison for the last several weeks, writing songs based on the Dr. Seuss book Oh, the Places You’ll Go, and this was the first I’d heard of it. Actually, the other day, Lexi was singing a song I’d never heard before, and I asked her what the song was. She said “It’s a song I’ve been singing with Michael Allen Harrison.” I thought it was cute that she was singing along with the radio; little did I know that she had been actually truly singing it with him in person.
It was an amazing concert, and I have a new appreciation and respect for all that this amazing musician does. Check out the pictures in the photo gallery.
October 25th, 2005
So I took the kids (my three, plus nephew Andrew, who is also visiting here from his home in L.A.) to Branson, Mo.
What. A. Trippy. Place.
Bart was spot on when he said “It’s like Vegas — if it were run by Ned Flanders.” A lot of theme buildings, shaped like strange stuff, and a lot of eye-candy, interestingly right next door to motels obviously more than 50 years old but still kept in pristine condition, right next door to similar immaculate motels that are out of business.
And the shows! Oh my goodness! Baldknobbers’ Jamboree, The Brett Family Singers With Bob Nichols, Buck Trent Show, Circle B Chuckwagon Music Show, Clay Cooper’s Country Express, Dixie Stampede Dinner and Show, Kirby Van Burch & Brett Daniels, Mike Radford’s Remember When Show, Rodney Dillard & the Boys From Mayberry, and many more that I also had never heard of and that are undoubtedly so white-bread as to be blinding to the naked eye.
The kids and I went on a really cool go-cart ride. The track is actually four stories tall, and loops around over itself until you are all the way at the top, then it curves around through several tight turns and bumps and back down to the start. I got some pretty good pictures while piloting the car Lexi and I were in. I’ll put them in the photo gallery as soon as I can.
We also went to the Ripley’s Believe it or Not museum and had a blast there.
August 26th, 2005
I can only imagine by Mercy Me
Hotel California by The Eagles
Courtesy of the red, white and blue by Toby Keith
Who’s your daddy by Toby Keith
Still waters run deep by The Bee Gees
Butterfly kisses by Bob Carlisle
Alone by The Bee Gees
God’s eyes by Rescue
She thinks my tractors sexy by Kenney Chesney
Where the stars and stripes and the eagles fly by Aaron Tippin
Black velvet by Alana Miles
Don’t let me die young by Andy Taylor
Watermelon crawl by Tracy Bird
Proud Mary by CCR
I tag Steph, Justin, Billy, Matt
August 19th, 2005
Want a sneak peak at your American Idol for the year 2015? Check out Lexi singing solo in front of her entire school, including students, teachers, faculty, and even parents! She played the part of the straw peddler, selling a bundle of straw to the first little piggy. She was amazing! Pictures are in the Photo Gallery.
May 26th, 2005
I haven’t won anything in a while. I used to win things all the time. It was mostly call-in radio contests, but I would occasionally win other big contests as well.
Through my employer, I won a ride on the final visit to Portland of the tank landing ship USS Frederick before it was decommissioned. We boarded at Longview, were fed a standard Navy lunch in the mess hall, and cruised to Portland as part of the 2002 Rose Festival fleet week. That was an incredible experience, and security was extremely tight, being the first such event after 9/11.
But most of my winnings have been from radio contests. Here is a list of some of the things I have won from various radio stations:
From KXL:
T-shirt
Long since relegated to car waxing duty.
Coffee mug
No idea where this is.
$25 restaurant gift certificate
We still haven’t used this yet, it’s been like seven years. I don’t even know if the restaurant still exists.
Blazers tickets
I don’t remember a single thing about the game.
From KUFO:
KUFO “Shooting Stars week-end” package
Alice in Chains box set
Stone Temple Pilots CD
Inkpen that looks like a hypodermic needle
(”Shooting stars”, featuring bands known for IV drug use, plus a fake needle, get it, huh, nudge, nudge, get it?)
Megadeth CD
Currently in the garage somewhere.
Porn
Some cheap “Hustler” knock-off. I felt really weird about claiming this prize at KUFO’s office. I tried to be all smooth and comical, and said something to the receptionist like “I’m here to claim a prize, the guys on the radio said I won a book or something.” She looked kind of horrified and said “You really don’t know what you’ve won?” I don’t know where this is anymore. I swear it was lost when we moved out of our old house. I swear.
Rockfest 6 concert, featuring:
From Zero
Stereomud
Puddle Of Mud
Craving Theo
Saliva (I got to the show in time to see about 10 minutes of them.)
System Of A Down (They were incredible.)
Deftones (I went off to watch the mechanical bull throw some guy while they were playing. I later heard on the radio that he was the concert’s only injury, and needed eight stitches to close the gash in his forehead. It was awesome.)
Godsmack (They totally rocked.)
Rockfest 7 concert, featuring:
Seven Thirty Seven
Rob Zombie (I was really looking forward to seeing Rob Zombie. We were going to be out of town, though, so I gave the tickets to a friend.)
Down
Adema
Ill Nino
Switched
Mindcell
Shifft
Dirty Lowdowns
Hotboxed
Western Aerial
Craving Theo CD and concert
I took brother Gabe to see them at the Roseland during a snow storm. It was a pretty good show. Kinda weird, though, being an all age show and seeing eight and ten year olds wandering around near the mosh pit, while the DJ announcer came on stage saying that the band would only start to play once they saw enough bare female chests (he used a different vernacular, of course.)
Creed concert
The show was later cancelled (whew, close one, was almost obligated to actually watch Creed live) after singer Scott Stapp’s car tapped another car’s bumper while parallel parking, or something. I don’t know, it might have been a little more serious than that, but he’s still a weenie.
Pint glass
I use this to keep my Diet Pepsi frosty cold.
April 4th, 2005
Billy created this blog in his spare time in his computer class today. Check it out here, and stop by and say hi!
March 30th, 2005
I guess it depends on what you consider a sell-out. I’ve heard quite a few people talk about Metallica selling out in the past, usually because they suddenly became popular and relatively mainstream. These hardcore fans seem to think that once their favorite band is discovered by the general public and they no longer have the band for their own, that they’ve sold out. Personally, I think that’s a load of crap. When a little-known band I like becomes popular, that just means that the band is good, and that there are quite a few people who share my taste in music.
I think I’ve defended Metallica in the past because they seem to have become popular in spite of themselves. They didn’t set out with this grand plan to become the biggest hard rock band in history. They just liked listening to metal music, and liked making metal music even more, and were good enough to get a record deal.
I even respect the band for taking a stand against the sharing of their music over Napster. There was a bit of fan backlash at this move, but when you stop to actually analyze the situation, they were in the right from the beginning. The songs that were being downloaded were copyrighted works, and the band was receiving no royalties for any of it. Regardless of how rich the members of the band already are, they still have the right to make money from the work they put into their music.
So I bought “Some Kind of Monster” on DVD recently, the documentary on the band and the making of their most recent album, “St. Anger”. In a way, I was hoping that I would be able to watch the movie, and arm myself with more ammunition to throw at those who are quick to cry “sell-out”. Instead, I think I may have joined their ranks.
Though it’s not a big point that is made in the movie, it is very obvious that they are all wealthy. Lars is shown making several million dollars auctioning some of his art collection, Kirk owns a large ranch in Northern California, etc. Being rich is definitely NOT evidence of selling out, but it helps illustrate a point I’ll be making soon.
At some point during the movie, when the album is nearing completion, the band’s management company tells them that they are to take part in a cheesy national radio promotion. Each member of the band is to record some voice-overs that will play on radio stations across the country. It’s very clear that the band hates this (and it’s pretty funny watching them squirm through recording the hokey dialogue.) They again ask their management company why they are doing this, and they are told that the radio stations can “make things difficult for them” if they don’t do this. It’s made clear that the radio stations are threatening to not play their new album without the band’s participation in the promotion.
Now the band has to know that there is a huge number of people who love their music, and will buy their latest album as soon as it comes out, radio air play or not. There is no doubt in my mind that there is no way the album could lose money even if these loyal fans were the only ones to buy the album. They also are obviously financially secure enough that they don’t need to sell millions of albums just to pay the bills. They could just go on making the music they love, put it in a music store, and they’d have a huge hit, stupid radio promotion or not. So why didn’t they just tell the radio stations to take their promotion and cram it with walnuts?
Has Metallica sold out? Unfortunately, yes, they have. Will I still buy their next album as soon as it comes out? Absolutely.
February 20th, 2005
I bought Metallica’s new St. Anger CD today. I didn’t even realize it had been released already. Amazon has it for $12.98, which is a hell of a deal, considering it also comes with a DVD of them performing all the songs while practicing and warming up.
The CD kicks ass, as any true fan already knows. I’ve heard a lot of reviews knocking it, saying it sounds too different, it doesn’t sound like the old Metallica. I agree, and that’s one of the reasons I love it. I think Metallica are one of the bravest rock bands around. They obviously aren’t afraid to try new things, and I appreciate that the new CD doesn’t sound like the old ones. If you want something that sounds like their old stuff, then listen to their old stuff (which I still do).
The new CD has a raw, slightly unpolished sound that is welcome. It doesn’t sound like four musicians in a studio re-recording every chord and every word until it is flawless; it sounds like four guys jamming. Don’t get me wrong, the CD’s sound quality is perfect, you need only compare the same songs on the DVD, where the songs are sometimes off-key and notes are sometimes missed, to see that they did spend a lot of time in the studio. However, they took care to leave well enough alone once the songs sounded great. Rock and Roll is not supposed to be perfection.
June 8th, 2003