Today, June 29, 2009, marks my 25th year as a die-hard fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
Most people usually can't pinpoint the actual date they became a fan of something or someone -- I can. I had a passing awareness of Bruce before this date and had bought the single for "Dancing in the Dark," but I had bought a lot of singles and they didn't always make me fans of the performer or band as much as the song.
June 29, 1984 was the date of the first show of the "Born in the U.S.A." world tour. And I was there. My high school best friend and I decided since Bruce had such a reputation for putting on a good show, we should try to get tickets. Long story short, we did. And the show was incredible. They played "Dancing in the Dark" twice, because they filmed the music video for it that night. Yes, I was actually in the St. Paul Civic Center watching Courteney Cox get pulled onstage to dance with Bruce -- twice.
For the record, the list of shows went like this:
(1) June 29, 1984 - Born in the USA tour#
(2) May 10, 1987 - Tunnel of Love Express Tour*#
(3) October 31, 1993 - Human Touch/Lucky Town Solo Tour
(4) November 29, 1999 - E Street Band Reunion Tour#
(5) September 30, 2002 - The Rising Tour*
(6) March 16, 2008 - Magic Tour*
(7) May 11, 2009 - Working on a Dream Tour
Shows indicated with an * were shows during which my favorite live song, "She's the One," were played.
Shows indicated with a # had unusual significance: Born in the USA tour show was the very first show of the entire tour that propelled Bruce from being a rock singer to an icon; Tunnel of Love Express Tour was the greatest rock show I've ever seen in my life, and trust me, that's saying something; the reunion tour was the final Springsteen show of the 20th Century.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Please Help Me
People say you can't bring yourself to ask for help until you know you've hit rock bottom. I know what that feels like now. I have a problem. I'm trapped in a repeating behavior that can't be good for me and there's nothing I can do to break out of the spiral.
Try as I might, I cannot stop playing Fallout 3 on my Xbox.
This game was a Christmas gift, and for months it did little more than collect dust. I kept hearing about what a complete world the game created, and how detailed the environments were, and how you could sit down and intend to play for thirty minutes or so and then realize that the entire night has passed by and you did not sleep.
Imagine yourself wandering through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, trying to solve a mystery and complete random missions you encounter along the way, all the while fighting for your life against a wide variety of irradiated mutant creatures and violent bands of human raiders, mercenaries, and slavers, all ready to kill you off for something as simple as the bottle caps you carry. Or your weapons. Or because they don't like how close you came to the dumpster they are protecting.
And it just goes on and on. Everything indicates there are well over 100 hours of gameplay crammed into this thing, and since I am, at the core of my person, little more than a grown-up version of the thirteen-year-old who could drop $12 playing video games at Aladdin's Castle without thinking twice about it, it's not like I can just put the controller down without seeing what happens next.
After awhile, the game begins to permeate my thinking. I'm afraid to turn on the bathroom sink because of the radiation I'm sure the water will contain. I approach ATM machines carefully because I think that entering an incorrect password will lock me out and send angry robots after me. I expect to hear Three Dog's wasteland survival tips whenever I turn on a radio. When I walk out to the mailbox, I'll stare at the ground the whole way, just to make sure I don't trip any frag mines. When I take the dog outside, I'll scout angles around the corners of my house, finding the best way I could take out a Super Mutant Brute with my VATS engaged, and wondering how close I would have to let this nine-foot-tall-Shrek-looking freak before I could switch to my laser rifle....
Like I said, I have a problem.
Try as I might, I cannot stop playing Fallout 3 on my Xbox.
This game was a Christmas gift, and for months it did little more than collect dust. I kept hearing about what a complete world the game created, and how detailed the environments were, and how you could sit down and intend to play for thirty minutes or so and then realize that the entire night has passed by and you did not sleep.
Imagine yourself wandering through a post-apocalyptic wasteland, trying to solve a mystery and complete random missions you encounter along the way, all the while fighting for your life against a wide variety of irradiated mutant creatures and violent bands of human raiders, mercenaries, and slavers, all ready to kill you off for something as simple as the bottle caps you carry. Or your weapons. Or because they don't like how close you came to the dumpster they are protecting.
And it just goes on and on. Everything indicates there are well over 100 hours of gameplay crammed into this thing, and since I am, at the core of my person, little more than a grown-up version of the thirteen-year-old who could drop $12 playing video games at Aladdin's Castle without thinking twice about it, it's not like I can just put the controller down without seeing what happens next.
After awhile, the game begins to permeate my thinking. I'm afraid to turn on the bathroom sink because of the radiation I'm sure the water will contain. I approach ATM machines carefully because I think that entering an incorrect password will lock me out and send angry robots after me. I expect to hear Three Dog's wasteland survival tips whenever I turn on a radio. When I walk out to the mailbox, I'll stare at the ground the whole way, just to make sure I don't trip any frag mines. When I take the dog outside, I'll scout angles around the corners of my house, finding the best way I could take out a Super Mutant Brute with my VATS engaged, and wondering how close I would have to let this nine-foot-tall-Shrek-looking freak before I could switch to my laser rifle....
Like I said, I have a problem.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Empty Sails
Man, what a day this was.
Okay, first of all just to get it out of the way: June 25, the day both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. Farrah you saw coming; there was just a documentary about her life and illness not even a month ago, so you can't call it a surprise. But even when you see it coming, it's still shocking to have death actually happen. Trust me on this one.
And then Michael Jackson?! Wow. I'm going to be very curious to see how that happened because that was about as out of nowhere as I can think. He must have had some pre-existing condition that played a part in this. Farrah was a shock. Michael Jackson? I don't think there's been anyone since Princess Diana who's death is going to be as media saturated as his will be.
And if those two CNN moments weren't enough (and I certainly don't mean to downplay their importance in saying that, but they aren't going to affect my life much beyond what I see in terms of news coverage), illness and its horrible effects hit closer to home today when I checked my e-mail this morning. I was part of a mass e-mailing that SuperKyle's mom sent out, basically saying that since his cancer is not responding to treatment and his bone marrow hasn't recovered after his last procedure, he isn't elligible for treatment anymore and his team of oncologists will be transitioning him into palliative care instead. The disease will spread to his vital organs, and eventually his body will shut down.
And if you didn't know this, he's nine years old.
I got to know him when his sister "24" was in my class. That was her nickname - long story, and I'm sure she'd prefer I didn't repeat it. He was in remission back then, but in the past year and a half his cancer had come back twice. The second time, last fall, he started missing a LOT of school due to his treatment and this made him eligible for homebound tutoring. I told his teacher I'd be willing to do it when I found out, mostly because SuperKyle and I had always gotten along really well so I thought I might be able to help... and because I knew in my core that if she knew something like this was going on -- and I'm pretty sure she did know somehow -- Dop would have wanted me to help him.
It wasn't easy, but I'd been through it before so I knew what to expect, and I was able to keep a pretty good poker face while he sat at the table crying and vomiting from the pain one minute and then barely able to think coherently once his meds kicked in. Luckily for all of us, mostly him, that stage didn't last very long and we were able to spend some good time together and get some work done. We had some good times along the way, too: We played Dinosaurs on his Nintendo DS (he named my dinosaur "Roar," which is a pretty solid dinosaur name), we pulled a little prank on his sister during her birthday party, we used his little battery-powered massage tool to massage his dog's back and butt so she would stop barking, and we came up with our own private battle cry, "Go 73!"
That one is meant to stay between the two of us (though I think his mom knows the origin of it too), so I can't tell you what it means. But I can tell you that when the Relay for Life hits my hometown next month, one of the luminaries that will outline the track after dark will read "GO 73!" And people will look at it and be puzzled by what it means, which was the a big part of the reason we started it.
If you want to follow his progress or get more of the story, click below for a link to his CaringBridge page:
SuperKyle
Okay, first of all just to get it out of the way: June 25, the day both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. Farrah you saw coming; there was just a documentary about her life and illness not even a month ago, so you can't call it a surprise. But even when you see it coming, it's still shocking to have death actually happen. Trust me on this one.
And then Michael Jackson?! Wow. I'm going to be very curious to see how that happened because that was about as out of nowhere as I can think. He must have had some pre-existing condition that played a part in this. Farrah was a shock. Michael Jackson? I don't think there's been anyone since Princess Diana who's death is going to be as media saturated as his will be.
And if those two CNN moments weren't enough (and I certainly don't mean to downplay their importance in saying that, but they aren't going to affect my life much beyond what I see in terms of news coverage), illness and its horrible effects hit closer to home today when I checked my e-mail this morning. I was part of a mass e-mailing that SuperKyle's mom sent out, basically saying that since his cancer is not responding to treatment and his bone marrow hasn't recovered after his last procedure, he isn't elligible for treatment anymore and his team of oncologists will be transitioning him into palliative care instead. The disease will spread to his vital organs, and eventually his body will shut down.
And if you didn't know this, he's nine years old.
I got to know him when his sister "24" was in my class. That was her nickname - long story, and I'm sure she'd prefer I didn't repeat it. He was in remission back then, but in the past year and a half his cancer had come back twice. The second time, last fall, he started missing a LOT of school due to his treatment and this made him eligible for homebound tutoring. I told his teacher I'd be willing to do it when I found out, mostly because SuperKyle and I had always gotten along really well so I thought I might be able to help... and because I knew in my core that if she knew something like this was going on -- and I'm pretty sure she did know somehow -- Dop would have wanted me to help him.
It wasn't easy, but I'd been through it before so I knew what to expect, and I was able to keep a pretty good poker face while he sat at the table crying and vomiting from the pain one minute and then barely able to think coherently once his meds kicked in. Luckily for all of us, mostly him, that stage didn't last very long and we were able to spend some good time together and get some work done. We had some good times along the way, too: We played Dinosaurs on his Nintendo DS (he named my dinosaur "Roar," which is a pretty solid dinosaur name), we pulled a little prank on his sister during her birthday party, we used his little battery-powered massage tool to massage his dog's back and butt so she would stop barking, and we came up with our own private battle cry, "Go 73!"
That one is meant to stay between the two of us (though I think his mom knows the origin of it too), so I can't tell you what it means. But I can tell you that when the Relay for Life hits my hometown next month, one of the luminaries that will outline the track after dark will read "GO 73!" And people will look at it and be puzzled by what it means, which was the a big part of the reason we started it.
If you want to follow his progress or get more of the story, click below for a link to his CaringBridge page:
SuperKyle
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Note to Self
Next June when the school year is coming to an end and the whole 2.x months of summer is staring you down and you feel just a little bit of trepidation at the thought of how in the world you're going to fill all of that time and avoid going insane with the boredom? Remember how good it is to have all this time off: to get out of bed whenever you want; to eat whenever you want; to decide what you want to do, whenever you want to do it, all the time. It's pretty nice and easy to get used to.
And yeah, I know that some of my imaginary readers are inner-monologuing with the standard "Oh, poor teachers, you get your summers off" gripe. One time only I will respond to this, and I'm sure I'm speaking for a large percentage of other teachers when I say this: SHUT IT. Blah blah blah blah blah. You don't have my job. You don't know what I put into it. You don't know the stress involved. The fact that you went to school yourself does not make you the least bit qualified to understand what it takes to do this and do it well. When you roll out the line "Teachers only work nine months a year" or "Must be nice to have the summer off" ? Okay, A) Most of us do thirteen months worth of work in those nine months that are usually closer to 10 once you factor in ending in mid-June and starting in mid-August and summer meetings and training and the post-grad work most of us do. And B) Yes. It is nice. And it's necessary for recharging for the next year, and dare I say, deserved. My job lays the cornerstones for the future of our society, and most people couldn't do it.
Huh. That came out a whole lot more frustrated than it was meant to. Oh well. Needed to be said. Let's move on.
Today I took Nephews #1 and #2 to see "Up" down at the local 3D movie palace. Nephew #3 had what you could call historic sunburn, so he stayed home to play cars and play Chess with his grandma instead so he didn't have to wear a shirt. "Up" was pretty awesome. I highly recommend it, even if you're one of these people who have a hard time bringing yourself to see a "cartoon." Trust me -- this movie ain't no cat and mouse hitting each other with frying pans.
Album of the Day: "Sheer Heart Attack" by Queen. I really had to force myself to listen to something other than my new DT album because it just gets better every time I play it. This one is kind of related since the Queen cover they did came from this album, and being an older album it's one that isn't known as well. Although this does have "Killer Queen" on it, which honestly, even though it's one of their more recognizable radio songs, doesn't crack my top 100 Queen songs. For the record, I have 270 Queen songs on the iPod, and even though I'd estimate that at least a third of those are live versions, that's still a lot of songs to record over a career.
To close, a friendly warning -- I'm about to bring on the full-court press in raising money for the Relay for Life, which happens in just over a month. 5 years now since we lost Dop and there's not a day that passes when I don't think about her. Plus I've got SuperKyle to walk for this year. Just need some money to collect. I want a really nice prize this year. So like I said -- be ready. It's cancer, people. It doesn't care what the economy is like. Everybody has one less night of pizza delivery in them for July.
And yeah, I know that some of my imaginary readers are inner-monologuing with the standard "Oh, poor teachers, you get your summers off" gripe. One time only I will respond to this, and I'm sure I'm speaking for a large percentage of other teachers when I say this: SHUT IT. Blah blah blah blah blah. You don't have my job. You don't know what I put into it. You don't know the stress involved. The fact that you went to school yourself does not make you the least bit qualified to understand what it takes to do this and do it well. When you roll out the line "Teachers only work nine months a year" or "Must be nice to have the summer off" ? Okay, A) Most of us do thirteen months worth of work in those nine months that are usually closer to 10 once you factor in ending in mid-June and starting in mid-August and summer meetings and training and the post-grad work most of us do. And B) Yes. It is nice. And it's necessary for recharging for the next year, and dare I say, deserved. My job lays the cornerstones for the future of our society, and most people couldn't do it.
Huh. That came out a whole lot more frustrated than it was meant to. Oh well. Needed to be said. Let's move on.
Today I took Nephews #1 and #2 to see "Up" down at the local 3D movie palace. Nephew #3 had what you could call historic sunburn, so he stayed home to play cars and play Chess with his grandma instead so he didn't have to wear a shirt. "Up" was pretty awesome. I highly recommend it, even if you're one of these people who have a hard time bringing yourself to see a "cartoon." Trust me -- this movie ain't no cat and mouse hitting each other with frying pans.
Album of the Day: "Sheer Heart Attack" by Queen. I really had to force myself to listen to something other than my new DT album because it just gets better every time I play it. This one is kind of related since the Queen cover they did came from this album, and being an older album it's one that isn't known as well. Although this does have "Killer Queen" on it, which honestly, even though it's one of their more recognizable radio songs, doesn't crack my top 100 Queen songs. For the record, I have 270 Queen songs on the iPod, and even though I'd estimate that at least a third of those are live versions, that's still a lot of songs to record over a career.
To close, a friendly warning -- I'm about to bring on the full-court press in raising money for the Relay for Life, which happens in just over a month. 5 years now since we lost Dop and there's not a day that passes when I don't think about her. Plus I've got SuperKyle to walk for this year. Just need some money to collect. I want a really nice prize this year. So like I said -- be ready. It's cancer, people. It doesn't care what the economy is like. Everybody has one less night of pizza delivery in them for July.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Album of the Day: the 3 disc special edition of Dream Theater's brand new album, just released today -- "Black Clouds and Silver Linings."
I realize that some people might read this blog and think "Whaa...?" when I mention Dream Theater. I could go on and on with my superlatives, but if you aren't familiar with the real-world level of my music obsession, you won't be able to fully appreciate how much I love this band. They are not terribly accessible; you won't hear them on the radio or read about them in Rolling Stone or see them as a part of the Summer Concert Series on the Today show or see their video on MTV. Of course, you haven't seen a video on MTV since about 1994, but that's beside the point.
I'll cut to the chase here. This special edition includes a disc of cover versions of songs by bands that Dream Theater would cite as some of their biggest influences. One of these bands was Queen. I'm assuming we've all heard of Queen.... the guitarist for Queen, Brian May, recently became a Dream Theater fan when he heard the cover version of "Tenement Funster / Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley" that was included on the bonus cover disc. The band invited him to see them play at some huge rock festival in England. This next section is quoted from Brian May's blog, sharing his impressions of the show:
"But I was also, by one of those strange alignments of the planets, able to see the band who have just delivered what my mate Rog called (totally unprompted last week) "The best Queen cover job ever". Yes, the redoubtable Dream Theatre. IT was a revelation. Their scope is way beyond covering Ancient Rock Bands, of course ... and actually way beyond Rock, I'd say. They are what would have been called, about 30 years ago - truly 'progressive, with more than a touch of fusion'. But their musicianship is way beyond even that. The whole band are virtuosos ... I'm kind of ashamed I never discovered them before. Their set was completely without any hint of 'playing to the Gallery'. They took their time mapping out their songs, which I can only say succulently drip with the best kind of complexity. Wonderful playing. I will be back for more. So will about 80,000 Classic Rock fans who gave them a great reception in the old "Monsters of Rock" fields - what we all used to know as the Donnington Castle gig."
I'd say that covers it.
The new album is astounding. Only six songs long, but the whole album length is more than 75 minutes with one song close to 20 minutes long and one a little over 16 minutes. I won't drift into a review here or try to convince anyone how great it is or how great they are -- you either know it or you don't. But I will say anyone feeling musically adventurous should fire up iTunes and play a few samples to see what you're missing.
I realize that some people might read this blog and think "Whaa...?" when I mention Dream Theater. I could go on and on with my superlatives, but if you aren't familiar with the real-world level of my music obsession, you won't be able to fully appreciate how much I love this band. They are not terribly accessible; you won't hear them on the radio or read about them in Rolling Stone or see them as a part of the Summer Concert Series on the Today show or see their video on MTV. Of course, you haven't seen a video on MTV since about 1994, but that's beside the point.
I'll cut to the chase here. This special edition includes a disc of cover versions of songs by bands that Dream Theater would cite as some of their biggest influences. One of these bands was Queen. I'm assuming we've all heard of Queen.... the guitarist for Queen, Brian May, recently became a Dream Theater fan when he heard the cover version of "Tenement Funster / Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley" that was included on the bonus cover disc. The band invited him to see them play at some huge rock festival in England. This next section is quoted from Brian May's blog, sharing his impressions of the show:
"But I was also, by one of those strange alignments of the planets, able to see the band who have just delivered what my mate Rog called (totally unprompted last week) "The best Queen cover job ever". Yes, the redoubtable Dream Theatre. IT was a revelation. Their scope is way beyond covering Ancient Rock Bands, of course ... and actually way beyond Rock, I'd say. They are what would have been called, about 30 years ago - truly 'progressive, with more than a touch of fusion'. But their musicianship is way beyond even that. The whole band are virtuosos ... I'm kind of ashamed I never discovered them before. Their set was completely without any hint of 'playing to the Gallery'. They took their time mapping out their songs, which I can only say succulently drip with the best kind of complexity. Wonderful playing. I will be back for more. So will about 80,000 Classic Rock fans who gave them a great reception in the old "Monsters of Rock" fields - what we all used to know as the Donnington Castle gig."
I'd say that covers it.
The new album is astounding. Only six songs long, but the whole album length is more than 75 minutes with one song close to 20 minutes long and one a little over 16 minutes. I won't drift into a review here or try to convince anyone how great it is or how great they are -- you either know it or you don't. But I will say anyone feeling musically adventurous should fire up iTunes and play a few samples to see what you're missing.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Chickenfoot
As promised....
Let's just get this out of the way first. One of the biggest arguments in rock music is stating a preference between Van Halen vocalists -- the eternal Dave vs. Sammy debate. I'll settle it right now: It's stupid and invalid. Dave was a front man first and a singer second. Sammy was a singer first and a front man second. Sammy is a better singer by far. Dave was a better ringleader for the Van Halen Carnival. Which made the band better? NEITHER OF THEM!! People who argue about this seem to forget that all of the music came from Eddie. The Dave-era music, the Sammy-era music. If people don't like that the classic VH sound disappeared when Sammy took over for Dave, well, blame Eddie.
I bring this up because you can't talk about Chickenfoot without mentioning Van Halen. Sammy Hagar as the singer. Michael Anthony playing bass and singing the harmonies with Sammy, like he did in Van Halen. The band propelled forward by an insanely gifted guitarist. Yes, at times Chickenfoot sounds a lot like 80s/90s Van Halen. Concession made.
But the big difference here comes down to the guitar player. Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani? I'll say that Joe is arguably a better guitarist than Eddie. While Eddie has spent this last 10 years alienating and replacing his bandmates with people that are probably easier to control (Eddie's own teenage son and the creatively unemployed David Lee Roth), and acting like the Howard Hughes of rock music by recording hundreds of tracks that have never been heard by anyone, Joe has been busy. Joe releases instrumental (and occasionally vocal) solo albums; yes, Joe's guitar playing is expressive enough to serve as the voice of an entire album. Joe tours, on his own and in the G3 package tour with other actual guitar heroes. Joe even writes songs that are so darn catchy that mopey-melodic British pop bands get accused of plagarizing them.
Chickenfoot sounds like a band that has an incredible guitar player. Van Halen was a band that existed to serve as a showcase for an incredible guitar player. One of Joe's lifelong musical ambitions was to be the guitarist in a great band. He's the guy who wanted to play a role, to be a part of something he couldn't do on his own.
Chickenfoot has a rhythm section between Michael Anthony and Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers if you aren't familiar) that sounds like they've been playing together for decades. In fact, the whole band does. The evidence? There's one song on the album, a really strong bluesy rocker called "Down the Drain" that these guys wrote in the studio... while they were recording it. The one time they ever played that song before playing live shows was the time they recorded it for the album.
The album itself sounds great. Yeah, there are echoes of Sammy-era Van Halen here and there, but if you listen to it enough times you hear the band come into it's own. My only gripe is the song "Runnin' Out," which is somewhat bland and forgettable, and is really the only smudge on what would have been a landmark of an album without it.
If you like the loud rock music and you need a CD to play while you're driving down the highway with the windows rolled down? Here ya go.
Let's just get this out of the way first. One of the biggest arguments in rock music is stating a preference between Van Halen vocalists -- the eternal Dave vs. Sammy debate. I'll settle it right now: It's stupid and invalid. Dave was a front man first and a singer second. Sammy was a singer first and a front man second. Sammy is a better singer by far. Dave was a better ringleader for the Van Halen Carnival. Which made the band better? NEITHER OF THEM!! People who argue about this seem to forget that all of the music came from Eddie. The Dave-era music, the Sammy-era music. If people don't like that the classic VH sound disappeared when Sammy took over for Dave, well, blame Eddie.
I bring this up because you can't talk about Chickenfoot without mentioning Van Halen. Sammy Hagar as the singer. Michael Anthony playing bass and singing the harmonies with Sammy, like he did in Van Halen. The band propelled forward by an insanely gifted guitarist. Yes, at times Chickenfoot sounds a lot like 80s/90s Van Halen. Concession made.
But the big difference here comes down to the guitar player. Eddie Van Halen or Joe Satriani? I'll say that Joe is arguably a better guitarist than Eddie. While Eddie has spent this last 10 years alienating and replacing his bandmates with people that are probably easier to control (Eddie's own teenage son and the creatively unemployed David Lee Roth), and acting like the Howard Hughes of rock music by recording hundreds of tracks that have never been heard by anyone, Joe has been busy. Joe releases instrumental (and occasionally vocal) solo albums; yes, Joe's guitar playing is expressive enough to serve as the voice of an entire album. Joe tours, on his own and in the G3 package tour with other actual guitar heroes. Joe even writes songs that are so darn catchy that mopey-melodic British pop bands get accused of plagarizing them.
Chickenfoot sounds like a band that has an incredible guitar player. Van Halen was a band that existed to serve as a showcase for an incredible guitar player. One of Joe's lifelong musical ambitions was to be the guitarist in a great band. He's the guy who wanted to play a role, to be a part of something he couldn't do on his own.
Chickenfoot has a rhythm section between Michael Anthony and Chad Smith (drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers if you aren't familiar) that sounds like they've been playing together for decades. In fact, the whole band does. The evidence? There's one song on the album, a really strong bluesy rocker called "Down the Drain" that these guys wrote in the studio... while they were recording it. The one time they ever played that song before playing live shows was the time they recorded it for the album.
The album itself sounds great. Yeah, there are echoes of Sammy-era Van Halen here and there, but if you listen to it enough times you hear the band come into it's own. My only gripe is the song "Runnin' Out," which is somewhat bland and forgettable, and is really the only smudge on what would have been a landmark of an album without it.
If you like the loud rock music and you need a CD to play while you're driving down the highway with the windows rolled down? Here ya go.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Father's Day
Okay, to get it out of the way: Album of the Day is "Second Coming" by The Stone Roses.
In honor of Father's Day, I'm going to create one of those "25 Things" lists that you see all over Facebook. On Facebook they are always "25 Things About Me" since so much about Facebook has to do with people trying to get the rest of the world to pay attention to them. Can you say "How well do you know me?" quiz? I truly think Facebook is a collosal waste of time... for me. If people enjoy it, hey, more power to you. I use it mostly to keep in touch with some friends and family who live far away, and to play Scrabble, along with any other flash-based games that catch my attention for a few weeks, like Tetris or Bejeweled. I realize saying that I use Facebook for the games is kind of like someone claiming they read Playboy for the articles, but that's the way it is. I also like to write things for my status line that most people will just find perplexing, so we can call that my own little game.
Anyway. This is not about me. This is about my dad. To the best of my knowledge, all of these things are true.
25 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MY DAD
1) There was a time when he wanted to drop out of high school. His older brothers would not let him. They had all dropped out to start working, and they were determined that he wasn't going to follow that same path.
2) He took his college entrance exam only because it was a good way to ditch out of a class that he didn't like. He passed.
3) He was once given an F- from a teacher who did not appreciate him sleeping in class.
4) He can play the banjo, but he hasn't practiced in a long time.
5) His favorite place on the face of the earth is the Boundary Waters.
6) I've seen him cry twice in my life.
7) He told me once the best way to deal with big-mouthed retail customers was to listen to everything they said, smile widely and agree as much as you could, all the while flipping them the bird down below the counter where they couldn't see.
8) He had a record in his collection by the Kingston Trio that had four people on the cover. Still haven't figured that out.
9) He is self-taught in most of the things he knows how to do.
10) He has served as a District Governor in Lions for the past year. This is no small thing.
11) He has owned three motorcycles and one scooter since I finished high school.
12) Few things make him laugh like a really good fart joke.
13) The best advice he ever gave me, as cryptic as it sounds, was "You can't push a chain up a hill." This meant that you can't force things to happen, or you can't make other people see your point of view. You have to encourage things to happen, you have to convince people to listen to you or see things your way. You have to pull the chain up the hill if you want it to move.
14) He once followed my car for nearly 20 miles while it spewed 100 feet of the thickest, most noxious automotive smoke you can possibly imagine until it finally broke down. From there he towed me.
15) Even after he left the church choir, he would still sing the tenor parts to the songs he knew during mass.
16) He is an avid photographer, and has had at least one photo I know of win an appearance in a calendar.
17) Death in his family has left him with one sister, which is something we have in common.
18) I haven't argued more with anyone in my life. 97% of these arguments took place between the years 1981 and 1987. Yes, these would be my teenage years.
19) He knows more about cars than anyone else I know.
20) He knows more about birds than anyone else I know.
21) He's had something close to 20 dogs come and go through his family life, and he's on the verge of adding one more in a matter of days.
22) He is so proud of being Irish that he was responsible for Elk River beginning it's St. Patrick's Day parade.
23) He hearing became very sensitive after working on the barges on the Mississippi River.
24) He takes his grandson on a Canadian fishing trip in the summer.
25) He is the one person in my whole life that I've always been able to count on for anything.
In honor of Father's Day, I'm going to create one of those "25 Things" lists that you see all over Facebook. On Facebook they are always "25 Things About Me" since so much about Facebook has to do with people trying to get the rest of the world to pay attention to them. Can you say "How well do you know me?" quiz? I truly think Facebook is a collosal waste of time... for me. If people enjoy it, hey, more power to you. I use it mostly to keep in touch with some friends and family who live far away, and to play Scrabble, along with any other flash-based games that catch my attention for a few weeks, like Tetris or Bejeweled. I realize saying that I use Facebook for the games is kind of like someone claiming they read Playboy for the articles, but that's the way it is. I also like to write things for my status line that most people will just find perplexing, so we can call that my own little game.
Anyway. This is not about me. This is about my dad. To the best of my knowledge, all of these things are true.
25 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT MY DAD
1) There was a time when he wanted to drop out of high school. His older brothers would not let him. They had all dropped out to start working, and they were determined that he wasn't going to follow that same path.
2) He took his college entrance exam only because it was a good way to ditch out of a class that he didn't like. He passed.
3) He was once given an F- from a teacher who did not appreciate him sleeping in class.
4) He can play the banjo, but he hasn't practiced in a long time.
5) His favorite place on the face of the earth is the Boundary Waters.
6) I've seen him cry twice in my life.
7) He told me once the best way to deal with big-mouthed retail customers was to listen to everything they said, smile widely and agree as much as you could, all the while flipping them the bird down below the counter where they couldn't see.
8) He had a record in his collection by the Kingston Trio that had four people on the cover. Still haven't figured that out.
9) He is self-taught in most of the things he knows how to do.
10) He has served as a District Governor in Lions for the past year. This is no small thing.
11) He has owned three motorcycles and one scooter since I finished high school.
12) Few things make him laugh like a really good fart joke.
13) The best advice he ever gave me, as cryptic as it sounds, was "You can't push a chain up a hill." This meant that you can't force things to happen, or you can't make other people see your point of view. You have to encourage things to happen, you have to convince people to listen to you or see things your way. You have to pull the chain up the hill if you want it to move.
14) He once followed my car for nearly 20 miles while it spewed 100 feet of the thickest, most noxious automotive smoke you can possibly imagine until it finally broke down. From there he towed me.
15) Even after he left the church choir, he would still sing the tenor parts to the songs he knew during mass.
16) He is an avid photographer, and has had at least one photo I know of win an appearance in a calendar.
17) Death in his family has left him with one sister, which is something we have in common.
18) I haven't argued more with anyone in my life. 97% of these arguments took place between the years 1981 and 1987. Yes, these would be my teenage years.
19) He knows more about cars than anyone else I know.
20) He knows more about birds than anyone else I know.
21) He's had something close to 20 dogs come and go through his family life, and he's on the verge of adding one more in a matter of days.
22) He is so proud of being Irish that he was responsible for Elk River beginning it's St. Patrick's Day parade.
23) He hearing became very sensitive after working on the barges on the Mississippi River.
24) He takes his grandson on a Canadian fishing trip in the summer.
25) He is the one person in my whole life that I've always been able to count on for anything.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Personal Grooming Shortcuts
Summer break has officially arrived. Seventy-two days until I report back to begin 09-10.
I feel like I was on a bit of a break yesterday, even though it was my last day at the SDC. I had one of those moments of distraction that can all too easily catch up to you later on. Luckily this one didn't.
While getting ready that morning, I only shaved the left side of my face.
You literally could have drawn a line down the middle of my head between smooth and stubbly. I had the Today show on TV in my bedroom while I was getting ready, and there must have been some story on that sounded interesting enough to get me to set down the electric razor and go pay a little more attention. And I never picked it back up.
I realized my oversight later in the morning while resting my head in my hands, and noticing a bit more friction on one side. One day of growth isn't all that obvious so I wasn't too concerned, but I sure felt like a tool for the rest of the day. Luckily no one noticed, or if they did they at least had the courtesy to not mention it.
I feel like I was on a bit of a break yesterday, even though it was my last day at the SDC. I had one of those moments of distraction that can all too easily catch up to you later on. Luckily this one didn't.
While getting ready that morning, I only shaved the left side of my face.
You literally could have drawn a line down the middle of my head between smooth and stubbly. I had the Today show on TV in my bedroom while I was getting ready, and there must have been some story on that sounded interesting enough to get me to set down the electric razor and go pay a little more attention. And I never picked it back up.
I realized my oversight later in the morning while resting my head in my hands, and noticing a bit more friction on one side. One day of growth isn't all that obvious so I wasn't too concerned, but I sure felt like a tool for the rest of the day. Luckily no one noticed, or if they did they at least had the courtesy to not mention it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Less Than 24 Hours
Summer is almost here. For real.
It sure feels like it already; today was sunny, warm, and a little too humid. That kind of information starts evaporating really fast and they all join the pool of Formers. I'm getting more involved in an XBox game (Fallout 3, for those hopeless game nerds like me), and I'm making real progress in the latest John Sanford paperback. Thunderstorms are threatening to appear tonight. I finally cracked and turned the A/C on tonight, though I keep it set pretty high so it's not kicking on too often. Which is fine. I'd rather it felt just enough like summer.
Tonight's Album of the Day: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. My mother actually bought this one back in '82 or '83 or whenever it came out because she liked the title song. It turned out to be a fairly decent rock album, so I quickly adopted it. A bit of trivia: Those "Real Men of Genius" beer commericials? The guy who sings those was Survivor's original singer. Though he sounds quite a bit different back on this album.
Ahh... here comes the air... I'll be getting some good sleep tonight.
One more day trapped in the windowless SDC, and then we are liberated --though today the word would have been "libre" for ridiculous reasons. Our team kind of ran out of gas with about an hour to go and things got pretty stupid for the rest of our time, but in a fun way. We are far enough ahead in our work that we're hoping to finish in the morning and go out to lunch afterward. And once that's over with, summer has officially started. I'll have some equipment to drop off at school but I won't want to stay there any longer than necessary so I can get onto my summer schedule. I did a good amount of prewriting on the baseball revolution book last night, and I think, I THINK, I have a reasonable idea of what the voice needs to be like for it now. We'll find out soon enough.
Pretty soon I'll be starting up with my experiments in divergence and oddness, so if anyone has any ideas out there... don't be shy... it always feels a little like I'm talking to myself while I write this, and I'm surprised when I hear someone out in the Real Actual World make some comment about something I've written, so I know a few somebodys are following this. I'll do what I can to make it interesting....
It sure feels like it already; today was sunny, warm, and a little too humid. That kind of information starts evaporating really fast and they all join the pool of Formers. I'm getting more involved in an XBox game (Fallout 3, for those hopeless game nerds like me), and I'm making real progress in the latest John Sanford paperback. Thunderstorms are threatening to appear tonight. I finally cracked and turned the A/C on tonight, though I keep it set pretty high so it's not kicking on too often. Which is fine. I'd rather it felt just enough like summer.
Tonight's Album of the Day: Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. My mother actually bought this one back in '82 or '83 or whenever it came out because she liked the title song. It turned out to be a fairly decent rock album, so I quickly adopted it. A bit of trivia: Those "Real Men of Genius" beer commericials? The guy who sings those was Survivor's original singer. Though he sounds quite a bit different back on this album.
Ahh... here comes the air... I'll be getting some good sleep tonight.
One more day trapped in the windowless SDC, and then we are liberated --though today the word would have been "libre" for ridiculous reasons. Our team kind of ran out of gas with about an hour to go and things got pretty stupid for the rest of our time, but in a fun way. We are far enough ahead in our work that we're hoping to finish in the morning and go out to lunch afterward. And once that's over with, summer has officially started. I'll have some equipment to drop off at school but I won't want to stay there any longer than necessary so I can get onto my summer schedule. I did a good amount of prewriting on the baseball revolution book last night, and I think, I THINK, I have a reasonable idea of what the voice needs to be like for it now. We'll find out soon enough.
Pretty soon I'll be starting up with my experiments in divergence and oddness, so if anyone has any ideas out there... don't be shy... it always feels a little like I'm talking to myself while I write this, and I'm surprised when I hear someone out in the Real Actual World make some comment about something I've written, so I know a few somebodys are following this. I'll do what I can to make it interesting....
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here
Yes. I watch this. There isn't a single person on this show I would say I'm a fan of, though Lou Diamond Phillips was in the Young Guns movies and I kind of enjoyed those at the time, and Stephen Baldwin was in The Usual Suspects, fer cryin' out loud. But otherwise? No investment other than the sick thrill I get from watching people who are attention-starved enough to agree to be on reality television break off little pieces of each other over several weeks. Generally I'd say these celebrities are fairly well-behaved. But in a few weeks Big Brother will be back on the air, and Dante will have to revise his Inferno to add another circle or two.
Today's Album of the Day: 7 Wishes by Night Ranger. A cultural four-hit wonder of an 80s rock speed bump when it comes to bands, but they were one of my favorites back then. I was a little disappointed to discover this album didn't really hold up well over time. I saw the band three times, including on the 7 Wishes tour at the State Fair, but listening to this album now and the 80s production it had just didn't allow me to romanticize these songs they way I once did. Oh well. The album served me well in those late 80s, so it will still always have its place in my history.
My day at work wasn't as brutal as it was yesterday, and our Dream Team did reclaim our mojo by the end of it all. Partially because we kind of worked at what we were supposed to but also kind of worked at it in our own approach, which may not have been exactly what we were expected to do. Taking all of the clocks and watches and phones out of that room would be an excellent way for some university students to conduct a time-deprivation study. We'd be clawing our way through the carpeted walls of the SDC in less than an hour.
Today's Album of the Day: 7 Wishes by Night Ranger. A cultural four-hit wonder of an 80s rock speed bump when it comes to bands, but they were one of my favorites back then. I was a little disappointed to discover this album didn't really hold up well over time. I saw the band three times, including on the 7 Wishes tour at the State Fair, but listening to this album now and the 80s production it had just didn't allow me to romanticize these songs they way I once did. Oh well. The album served me well in those late 80s, so it will still always have its place in my history.
My day at work wasn't as brutal as it was yesterday, and our Dream Team did reclaim our mojo by the end of it all. Partially because we kind of worked at what we were supposed to but also kind of worked at it in our own approach, which may not have been exactly what we were expected to do. Taking all of the clocks and watches and phones out of that room would be an excellent way for some university students to conduct a time-deprivation study. We'd be clawing our way through the carpeted walls of the SDC in less than an hour.
Monday, June 15, 2009
A Painful Monday and a Memorable Sunday
Okay, a couple of posts back I said I would likely be volunteering for another curriculum writing project later this summer. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. A couple things made up my mind for me today, at least one of them very weird, so it wasn't a tough decision to arrive at. And I feel liberated about it to be honest. It makes the end of this week all the sweeter. And ending this week will be sweet enough as it is, because today was brutal. It was good to get The Band back together for a brief reunion tour, but we quickly found out this will be the last time since one of us is, shall we say, moving on. Unfortunate, because the four of us have a chemistry that just works and wouldn't be easy to replicate. But even being inside of that doesn't drain the suck out of the day, and I'm ready to be done right now. I haven't seen a clock move as slowly as it did today since winter of 1987 during my 8:00 A.M. Philosophy general ed. class. I can't wait until Friday's work is over.
On the subject of my younger days, I'll spin this right into another Album of the Day, "Busted" by Cheap Trick. Mostly an album full of late 80s innocuously melodic pop rock, but back then it really clicked for me. This was one the cassettes I kept in my car the summer it came out, back when I drove an '83 Colt. It didn't have an operating cassette player and the radio lost reception whenever I made a left turn, so I kept a cheap little drugstore boom box in the passenger seat for my music.
That was a great summer. I stayed up in SC to work and take classes instead of moving home, and my roommate spent so much time at his girlfriend's I commonly forgot his name. I had class in the morning, worked in the afternoons, and had the evenings to myself: seeing movies, digging through the cassette discount bins at Best Buy for new discoveries, riding my 10-speed around the neighborhood and through campus, going out with friends... good times.
"Busted" didn't really have any hits on it, but most of the music I have isn't so much about hits, which probably helps me personalize it. Looking back on this album now, about 20 years after the fact, it seems to be little more than a collection of lyrical clichés that have been chained together and assigned a title, but back then it was great music to listen to with the windows rolled down.
And another thing that still ties in with my college days? That was the summer two years previous to my graduation, when I was getting very close to actually becoming a teacher. On Sunday I had one of those experiences that most teachers would be happy to have. If I'd known back then that things like this would be in my future, I most certainly would have looked forward to them.
The thing about education, particularly elementary, is you can work you butt off at what you do and you almost never find out if your efforts have paid off. The kids get older, move on to other schools, and in most cases you never see or hear from them again. But this year I got an invite in the mail from Lacey, a girl who was graduating this year who had been in my class seven years ago, and she wanted me to come to her open house. Well, seven years out and you're still remembered? You HAVE to go. It just doesn't happen that often. I showed up toward the early end of the open house times and parked about half a block away. She saw me coming and kind of smiled while talking to other recent arrivals. Then her mom saw me and just gasped in surprise, then announced to Lacey, all of the other guests and a good portion of the neighborhood that I was there. I got plenty of hugs and was introduced around to the aunts and uncles and grandparents, several of whom seemed to know who I was. It seems I made the invitation list because I was her all-time favorite teacher, and was someone they'd all heard a lot about over the years.
We talked about her plans a while then she had to go meet up with other guests, so I talked with her parents and wandered a bit until I met up with her grandpa. If you are ever at a graduation open house and are looking for someone to talk to, here's what you do: (1) Find the grandpa. (2) Casually mention something the two of you have in common, regardless of how insignificant it might be. These two steps will guarantee you at least an hour of conversation.
A couple other families I knew showed up, and after talking to them long enough to make sure they knew I wasn’t leaving to make an escape, I started to make my exit. I said goodbye to the mom and dad who were so appreciative about my coming it felt more like I had donated a kidney to their daughter instead of just being her teacher. There was more humbling talk about how I was the favorite and had been one of the first people to make the list of invitees. It was all kind of overwhelming but it felt good. I hugged her one last goodbye, told her I was proud of what she’d done and felt her choke up a little.
A day like that makes you want to try to be the person that people like this already think you are.
On the subject of my younger days, I'll spin this right into another Album of the Day, "Busted" by Cheap Trick. Mostly an album full of late 80s innocuously melodic pop rock, but back then it really clicked for me. This was one the cassettes I kept in my car the summer it came out, back when I drove an '83 Colt. It didn't have an operating cassette player and the radio lost reception whenever I made a left turn, so I kept a cheap little drugstore boom box in the passenger seat for my music.
That was a great summer. I stayed up in SC to work and take classes instead of moving home, and my roommate spent so much time at his girlfriend's I commonly forgot his name. I had class in the morning, worked in the afternoons, and had the evenings to myself: seeing movies, digging through the cassette discount bins at Best Buy for new discoveries, riding my 10-speed around the neighborhood and through campus, going out with friends... good times.
"Busted" didn't really have any hits on it, but most of the music I have isn't so much about hits, which probably helps me personalize it. Looking back on this album now, about 20 years after the fact, it seems to be little more than a collection of lyrical clichés that have been chained together and assigned a title, but back then it was great music to listen to with the windows rolled down.
And another thing that still ties in with my college days? That was the summer two years previous to my graduation, when I was getting very close to actually becoming a teacher. On Sunday I had one of those experiences that most teachers would be happy to have. If I'd known back then that things like this would be in my future, I most certainly would have looked forward to them.
The thing about education, particularly elementary, is you can work you butt off at what you do and you almost never find out if your efforts have paid off. The kids get older, move on to other schools, and in most cases you never see or hear from them again. But this year I got an invite in the mail from Lacey, a girl who was graduating this year who had been in my class seven years ago, and she wanted me to come to her open house. Well, seven years out and you're still remembered? You HAVE to go. It just doesn't happen that often. I showed up toward the early end of the open house times and parked about half a block away. She saw me coming and kind of smiled while talking to other recent arrivals. Then her mom saw me and just gasped in surprise, then announced to Lacey, all of the other guests and a good portion of the neighborhood that I was there. I got plenty of hugs and was introduced around to the aunts and uncles and grandparents, several of whom seemed to know who I was. It seems I made the invitation list because I was her all-time favorite teacher, and was someone they'd all heard a lot about over the years.
We talked about her plans a while then she had to go meet up with other guests, so I talked with her parents and wandered a bit until I met up with her grandpa. If you are ever at a graduation open house and are looking for someone to talk to, here's what you do: (1) Find the grandpa. (2) Casually mention something the two of you have in common, regardless of how insignificant it might be. These two steps will guarantee you at least an hour of conversation.
A couple other families I knew showed up, and after talking to them long enough to make sure they knew I wasn’t leaving to make an escape, I started to make my exit. I said goodbye to the mom and dad who were so appreciative about my coming it felt more like I had donated a kidney to their daughter instead of just being her teacher. There was more humbling talk about how I was the favorite and had been one of the first people to make the list of invitees. It was all kind of overwhelming but it felt good. I hugged her one last goodbye, told her I was proud of what she’d done and felt her choke up a little.
A day like that makes you want to try to be the person that people like this already think you are.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Signs of the Summer
I know it's summer now for three main reasons.
(1) Before leaving school on Friday, I turned in my room key, the key to my filing cabinet, and the key to the computer lab I have since I'm the tech nerd. My keys are always a lot lighter in the summer time. I like this.
(2) I didn't put my watch on this morning, because it was summer. The only time that matters in the summer is when the movie starts at the theater.
(3) I had a magazine show up in the mail today. I read it cover to cover.
(4) Even though they had a little built-in carrying case in the RAV 4, my sunglasses felt like they were branding the small distorted ovalish shapes of the frames onto my face when I put them on. It was still hot in the carrying case.
But I was out to The River today, to work on something with the Lion King. Sitting on the porch and taking in the breeze from the lake felt pretty sweet.
Album of the Day: Because of the Times by Kings of Leon. I don't know if it's just late, but it felt like it took about three hours to play through this thing. Thirteen songs that tonight felt like at least thirty-seven, and at least twenty of those sounded pretty similar to each other. A couple really, really good songs on it, and more than just a couple that sounded like they could have earned Jack Daniels a nod of influence in the liner notes.
(1) Before leaving school on Friday, I turned in my room key, the key to my filing cabinet, and the key to the computer lab I have since I'm the tech nerd. My keys are always a lot lighter in the summer time. I like this.
(2) I didn't put my watch on this morning, because it was summer. The only time that matters in the summer is when the movie starts at the theater.
(3) I had a magazine show up in the mail today. I read it cover to cover.
(4) Even though they had a little built-in carrying case in the RAV 4, my sunglasses felt like they were branding the small distorted ovalish shapes of the frames onto my face when I put them on. It was still hot in the carrying case.
But I was out to The River today, to work on something with the Lion King. Sitting on the porch and taking in the breeze from the lake felt pretty sweet.
Album of the Day: Because of the Times by Kings of Leon. I don't know if it's just late, but it felt like it took about three hours to play through this thing. Thirteen songs that tonight felt like at least thirty-seven, and at least twenty of those sounded pretty similar to each other. A couple really, really good songs on it, and more than just a couple that sounded like they could have earned Jack Daniels a nod of influence in the liner notes.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Summer Song
"Vacation," such as it is, began officially at 4:20 P.M. this evening when I left school and school work behind for the next three months. Except that I have a week of full-time curriculum revision beginning on Monday. And the following Monday I'll need to bring the laptop and LCD projector I checked out back to my school. And that I will likely volunteer to be on a new writing team beginning this summer that will be working on advanced differentiated activities, which would begin in late July and hopefully not take too many days. And that I have to help the newly-christened Coach K with her summer institute presention sometime in August. And then I'll have the first technology meeting of the year about two weeks before I'm supposed to report back for the next school year. So, yay... summer.... still kind of busy. But CHA-CHING! We're gonna get that RAV paid off early yet.
A few reflections on the day:
-My Rolling Stone with Adam Lambert from American Idol on the cover arrived today. I watched Idol and I'm not afraid to admit it. Lambert bugged me. He has a great voice, and I could care less if he's gay, which he said he is in the interview; if gay singers bothered me in any way, I would not consider Freddie Mercury the greatest popular singer to ever stand in front of a microphone. Lambert bugged me because of his theater background. Nothing against theater, but having that background as an actor made it all too easy for him to pretend that he was emotionally connected to the songs he performed, which took the place of any actual connection he may have had. Plus that forehead-vein scream of his did NOT need to be in every song.
-Regarding my adopted little sister: All hope may not be lost just yet. Stay tuned.
-The DTV change-over happens in a little over an hour. The anticipation is just so much more than I can stand.
-I could not possibly miss Jay Leno's Tonight Show less. I'm loving the luxury of being able to watch Conan O'Brien each night without having to worry about the sleep-deprivation or filling up the DVR.
-I'm ready to get some summer movies going here. I'm kind of behind the times and will need to play some catch up in a hurry, particularly if I want to see Land of the Lost because that seems to be fading fast. Although I'm not sure I want to see Land of the Lost. After all, 28% on the Tomatometer is nothing to brag about. But my problem would be the regression that would accompany the movie. It took me about 30 years to stop having nightmares about the Sleestak; I'm reasonably sure now that they DON'T live under my bed, like they used to when I was six. I don't need to travel down that road again.
-Now that summer has started, I'm looking forward to sitting back in the sun room during the afternoon with the radio on, reading a John Sanford paperback until I fall into a nap. My life is indeed a carnival ride.
Today's Album of the Day: Chickenfoot. Review still pending....
A few reflections on the day:
-My Rolling Stone with Adam Lambert from American Idol on the cover arrived today. I watched Idol and I'm not afraid to admit it. Lambert bugged me. He has a great voice, and I could care less if he's gay, which he said he is in the interview; if gay singers bothered me in any way, I would not consider Freddie Mercury the greatest popular singer to ever stand in front of a microphone. Lambert bugged me because of his theater background. Nothing against theater, but having that background as an actor made it all too easy for him to pretend that he was emotionally connected to the songs he performed, which took the place of any actual connection he may have had. Plus that forehead-vein scream of his did NOT need to be in every song.
-Regarding my adopted little sister: All hope may not be lost just yet. Stay tuned.
-The DTV change-over happens in a little over an hour. The anticipation is just so much more than I can stand.
-I could not possibly miss Jay Leno's Tonight Show less. I'm loving the luxury of being able to watch Conan O'Brien each night without having to worry about the sleep-deprivation or filling up the DVR.
-I'm ready to get some summer movies going here. I'm kind of behind the times and will need to play some catch up in a hurry, particularly if I want to see Land of the Lost because that seems to be fading fast. Although I'm not sure I want to see Land of the Lost. After all, 28% on the Tomatometer is nothing to brag about. But my problem would be the regression that would accompany the movie. It took me about 30 years to stop having nightmares about the Sleestak; I'm reasonably sure now that they DON'T live under my bed, like they used to when I was six. I don't need to travel down that road again.
-Now that summer has started, I'm looking forward to sitting back in the sun room during the afternoon with the radio on, reading a John Sanford paperback until I fall into a nap. My life is indeed a carnival ride.
Today's Album of the Day: Chickenfoot. Review still pending....
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hmm....
Holy cow. That smell in here is either from the shoes I just took off or from a dog who really needs to get outside. I think I'm going to Sports Authority this weekend.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Emotional Storm
Last day of school tomorrow. Always a few tears from some, usually the girls, who seem to be more emotionally aware than the boys and have a greater appreciation for what they're about to leave behind as they move on to middle school. Kind of a rough time for the teachers this year too, since the district has endured a minor bloodbath of budget cuts this spring, and it has affected our building more than anyone would want. I am not looking forward to having to give up my Adopted Little Sister, because I know there's no way she'll be back to take the half-time spot that will likely be available at our building for next year. She's too stinkin' good. Someone will recognize that and snap her up for her own full-time classroom, and I won't get to see her anymore.
But I'm still in a good mood. I sense positive closure on the horizon, and I'm ready for it all.
Album of the Day: "My Private Nation" by Train. One I always dig out at the beginning of summer, since that's when I first learned it. It contains one of my all-time favorite lyrics:
"My dad used to tell me I was lazy / I've got fierce moves like Patrick Swazye / I'm the leftover turkey to the world's mayonnaise-y..."
I can't hear that and not laugh out loud.
But I'm still in a good mood. I sense positive closure on the horizon, and I'm ready for it all.
Album of the Day: "My Private Nation" by Train. One I always dig out at the beginning of summer, since that's when I first learned it. It contains one of my all-time favorite lyrics:
"My dad used to tell me I was lazy / I've got fierce moves like Patrick Swazye / I'm the leftover turkey to the world's mayonnaise-y..."
I can't hear that and not laugh out loud.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
A Request!!
Woo hoo! At least one other confirmed reader, and a request to boot! Cousin Kel says I need to do at least a couple "True Hard Rock" Albums of the Day targeted to her. And since she is insanely metal (she works out to a band called Five Fingered Death Punch, with whom I am unfamiliar), I have to go into the darker edge of the library today. She did introduce me to one of my three favorite musical acts, so I owe her that much. And in light of that, the album I've chosen is appropriate:
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind.
I wasn't a Maiden fan until about six or seven years ago. Something about the evil imagery and the Catholic guilt I was raised with didn't mesh. But when the aforementioned favorite musical act Dream Theater released a live cover of Iron Maiden's entire Number of the Beast album, I decided I was old enough to get over the scary album covers and give them a shot. How many bands are there anymore that have three guitarists and play nine-minute long songs after all?
Long story short - I really like Iron Maiden now, mostly for their ingeneous (really) songwriting and their musicianship. But Piece of Mind was an album that never won me over, even though it's such a classic for fans. The recording just doesn't do it for me; Maiden's music demands big and brash, and too much of this album sounds like it was recorded in someone's bedroom with all of the windows duct-taped shut. I have the same problem with the sound of early Metallica, but that's a different topic. If I want my music to sound like this, I'll put the cotton in my own ears, thank you very much.
Only a few songs to comment on... "Flight of Icarus" I kind of knew from growing up since it touched on themes I recognized from being such a huge Greek mythology nerd in elementary school. "The Trooper?" Well, come on. Guitar Hero II. Nothing else to say. "Quest for Fire" is the true Spinal Tap moment here, starting off with Bruce Dickinson screaming the line, "In a time when dinosaurs walked the Earth!!!!" I can't listen to that with a straight face.
And then there's "To Tame a Land." A good 7-minute plus epic, and one that is rumored to be one of the cover songs Dream Theater is going to be releasing in their series of cover songs being released in the weeks before their new album comes out later this month. Listening to this closely today, I can totally see DT covering this one. And doing so very well.
DaM is still on the way.... delayed in Chicago, so the Minneapolis arrival will be considerably later than previously expected. Kind of disappointing since I'd like more time to visit, but I'm not the one doing the cross-country road trip. In the end I'm glad I can just provide a place to sleep along the way.
Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind.
I wasn't a Maiden fan until about six or seven years ago. Something about the evil imagery and the Catholic guilt I was raised with didn't mesh. But when the aforementioned favorite musical act Dream Theater released a live cover of Iron Maiden's entire Number of the Beast album, I decided I was old enough to get over the scary album covers and give them a shot. How many bands are there anymore that have three guitarists and play nine-minute long songs after all?
Long story short - I really like Iron Maiden now, mostly for their ingeneous (really) songwriting and their musicianship. But Piece of Mind was an album that never won me over, even though it's such a classic for fans. The recording just doesn't do it for me; Maiden's music demands big and brash, and too much of this album sounds like it was recorded in someone's bedroom with all of the windows duct-taped shut. I have the same problem with the sound of early Metallica, but that's a different topic. If I want my music to sound like this, I'll put the cotton in my own ears, thank you very much.
Only a few songs to comment on... "Flight of Icarus" I kind of knew from growing up since it touched on themes I recognized from being such a huge Greek mythology nerd in elementary school. "The Trooper?" Well, come on. Guitar Hero II. Nothing else to say. "Quest for Fire" is the true Spinal Tap moment here, starting off with Bruce Dickinson screaming the line, "In a time when dinosaurs walked the Earth!!!!" I can't listen to that with a straight face.
And then there's "To Tame a Land." A good 7-minute plus epic, and one that is rumored to be one of the cover songs Dream Theater is going to be releasing in their series of cover songs being released in the weeks before their new album comes out later this month. Listening to this closely today, I can totally see DT covering this one. And doing so very well.
DaM is still on the way.... delayed in Chicago, so the Minneapolis arrival will be considerably later than previously expected. Kind of disappointing since I'd like more time to visit, but I'm not the one doing the cross-country road trip. In the end I'm glad I can just provide a place to sleep along the way.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Rainy Days and Mondays....
They don't always get me down, but sometimes rainy days do. Mondays usually just leave me with a headache. Today is the first rainy day we've had in awhile, and the air is kind of out of my sails, partially because of all the gray and wet and partially just as a come down from an up and down week.
DaM is set to visit tomorrow as kind of a halfway stop on the cross-country move odyssey. It's been awhile since the wedding, so it will be nice to catch up in person for a bit. I'm cleaning the house in spurts today in preparation, but since there are going to be two dogs more than usual staying here, I don't want to clean things up TOO much; I figure if the house was realtor-open-house clean, DaM might feel a little uncomfortable bringing two dogs into it to spend the night. If the house is passably but not glowingly clean, I hope that will alleviate any such trepidation. Or maybe I'll just look like a slob. But being single, I can still get away with a little of that. I hope.
Four more days with my 08-09 students. I hope I did right by them. It's always emotional to send them off to a new school, but it's been a great group this year so I trust them to do good things.
Today's album: Marty Casey & Lovehammers. Marty Casey was one of the finalists when INXS did their "search for a new lead singer" reality show years back. It was summer so I watched it; even though INXS isn't one of my top 10 bands they might still make my top 50. I saw this album pop up on iTunes not long after the show ended. It's not bad. It sounds like so many other millenial rock albums in that it is heavily influenced by 90s grunge and offers up a tiny nod to emo, but in a way that would allow the band to deny it. There's a couple good songs on here I should listen to more.
DaM is set to visit tomorrow as kind of a halfway stop on the cross-country move odyssey. It's been awhile since the wedding, so it will be nice to catch up in person for a bit. I'm cleaning the house in spurts today in preparation, but since there are going to be two dogs more than usual staying here, I don't want to clean things up TOO much; I figure if the house was realtor-open-house clean, DaM might feel a little uncomfortable bringing two dogs into it to spend the night. If the house is passably but not glowingly clean, I hope that will alleviate any such trepidation. Or maybe I'll just look like a slob. But being single, I can still get away with a little of that. I hope.
Four more days with my 08-09 students. I hope I did right by them. It's always emotional to send them off to a new school, but it's been a great group this year so I trust them to do good things.
Today's album: Marty Casey & Lovehammers. Marty Casey was one of the finalists when INXS did their "search for a new lead singer" reality show years back. It was summer so I watched it; even though INXS isn't one of my top 10 bands they might still make my top 50. I saw this album pop up on iTunes not long after the show ended. It's not bad. It sounds like so many other millenial rock albums in that it is heavily influenced by 90s grunge and offers up a tiny nod to emo, but in a way that would allow the band to deny it. There's a couple good songs on here I should listen to more.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Sammy Hagar's Gotta Eat
I think I've said this before, but I'm an obsessive music fan. I follow the careers of bands and individual musicians with the same level of interest normal people usually reserve for sports teams and athletes. Because of this, I have a special place in my amount of Music Crazy for the idea of super groups. These are bands that are formed when some already well-established musicians pool their talents and try to come up with something new and different. Or try to get suckers like me to get worked up about seeing all of their names on the same album cover so we'll buy another CD that sounds remarkably like what they did in their other bands.
I came of age in the 80s, and the first super group I ever heard of was a band called HSAS. They only released one album, "Through the Fire," (today's Album of the Day by the way), back in 1984. Sammy Hagar was the singer, Neal Schon of Journey played guitar. The other two guys, Kenny Aaronson and Michael Shrieve were two guys I'd never heard of, so I had to take it on faith that Sammy and Neal considered them worthy enough to be in their band. KQRS, which was the only socially-acceptable radio station at my high school, had put two or three of their songs into heavy rotation that summer, and even cribbed a few seconds of another song for their station promos for a couple of years after.
I liked Sammy's music, and Neal Schon was the first musician I was a fan of, the first guy that had the kind of talent to make me notice him more than the other guys in his band. I nearly wore through the cassette that summer, and it served me well for years go come as the psyche-up music I'd listen to on my Walkman while traveling to away games for high school soccer. Years later, I paid some $40 to buy the CD as an import from Amazon, only to see the album get rereleased in America a couple years later. I didn't even care, because I'd had it in my library two years longer. And I just checked - it's not available on iTunes.
The reason I'm digging this out today, besides that it's AWESOME, is that tomorrow is the release day of yet another Sammy Hagar-fronted super group: Chickenfoot. Sammy on vocals again. Joe Satriani of Joe-Satriani-is-a-guitar-monster fame on guitar, Michael Anthony from Van Halen on bass, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums. All of these guys are incredible at what they do. I've been looking forward to this album now for well over a year, following its development on Podcasts and websites and interviews. The last time I was in Best Buy and saw Chickenfoot signs hung throughout the store gave me a little thrill. I will be buying this right after school tomorrow, and will listen to it for most of the weekend.
And yet, I'm already thinking that as great as I'm anticipating it will be, it's going to have a hard time living up to how much I loved Through the Fire. I'm not sure if you can love any music as much as the music you loved at sixteen. I guess time will tell, because you can bet I'll be following up to this post before too long....
I came of age in the 80s, and the first super group I ever heard of was a band called HSAS. They only released one album, "Through the Fire," (today's Album of the Day by the way), back in 1984. Sammy Hagar was the singer, Neal Schon of Journey played guitar. The other two guys, Kenny Aaronson and Michael Shrieve were two guys I'd never heard of, so I had to take it on faith that Sammy and Neal considered them worthy enough to be in their band. KQRS, which was the only socially-acceptable radio station at my high school, had put two or three of their songs into heavy rotation that summer, and even cribbed a few seconds of another song for their station promos for a couple of years after.
I liked Sammy's music, and Neal Schon was the first musician I was a fan of, the first guy that had the kind of talent to make me notice him more than the other guys in his band. I nearly wore through the cassette that summer, and it served me well for years go come as the psyche-up music I'd listen to on my Walkman while traveling to away games for high school soccer. Years later, I paid some $40 to buy the CD as an import from Amazon, only to see the album get rereleased in America a couple years later. I didn't even care, because I'd had it in my library two years longer. And I just checked - it's not available on iTunes.
The reason I'm digging this out today, besides that it's AWESOME, is that tomorrow is the release day of yet another Sammy Hagar-fronted super group: Chickenfoot. Sammy on vocals again. Joe Satriani of Joe-Satriani-is-a-guitar-monster fame on guitar, Michael Anthony from Van Halen on bass, and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on drums. All of these guys are incredible at what they do. I've been looking forward to this album now for well over a year, following its development on Podcasts and websites and interviews. The last time I was in Best Buy and saw Chickenfoot signs hung throughout the store gave me a little thrill. I will be buying this right after school tomorrow, and will listen to it for most of the weekend.
And yet, I'm already thinking that as great as I'm anticipating it will be, it's going to have a hard time living up to how much I loved Through the Fire. I'm not sure if you can love any music as much as the music you loved at sixteen. I guess time will tell, because you can bet I'll be following up to this post before too long....
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Born to.... Rock?
Today's album: "The Kindness of Strangers" by Spock's Beard, which was my first introduction to the band. I haven't played this all the way through in a long time. I remember being struck by how hard it was to categorize the music, but still thinking it was pretty cool. But the kind of cool that needed to grow on me a little.
Tonight at a year-end picnic celebration, I found out that the newly-hired superintendent of my school district can play a pretty sweet version of "Born to Run" on the acoustic guitar. This wins the man some big points.
Tonight at a year-end picnic celebration, I found out that the newly-hired superintendent of my school district can play a pretty sweet version of "Born to Run" on the acoustic guitar. This wins the man some big points.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The King Arrives
The new Dave Matthews Band album “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King” was released today, and I went and picked it up after school. It’s almost impossible to evaluate this album out of context if you’re familiar with that context, which is evident from the very first note. But that’s what I’m going to try to do. Here are my unfiltered reactions to the album, broken down by song, upon the first time I listened to it:
Grux: Cool little meandering opener. Not the big intro song you normally expect an album to start with.
Shake Me Like A Monkey: Horns have a 70s funk feel. Harder guitar, harder voice coming from Dave. I like the combination of those two sounds.
Funny The Way It Is: The lead single I’m told, though I haven’t heard it before. At first impression the lyrics sound like an average high school kid’s idea of thought-provoking. Musically it sounds very much like up tempo DMB, but with a sad tinge to it.
Lying in The Hands of God: Slower, quieter, smoother, looser, still driven into a jam by the drums. Dave singing with a bit of a falsetto, or at least pushing to the higher end of his range. Really cool acoustic guitar solo in the middle.
Why I Am: A bit faster, more riff-based than most of the DMB-type jam songs. Some pretty cool time-change interruptions along the way.
Dive In: So far the slowest moment on the album. Again, kind of sad, and again, the drums pick it up in the slower parts. Cool electric guitar solo in the middle, very flowing with pure tones. I’m wondering if this was Tim Reynolds playing.
Spaceman: One of those DMB songs when Dave sings kind of fast and doesn’t really enunciate that clearly, so if you don’t know the lyrics pretty well you’re going to have a tough time following them, except when he ends a phrase a little more slowly. That I’m mentioning the singing more here should tell you the music is kind of unremarkable. Except for a little ??? out of nowhere when a banjo starts a-pluckin’ in the last 5 seconds.
Squirm: It starts slow and gentle, and at first I thought it was a mistake to put two similar songs next to each other, but this one brightens and opens up into more of an anthem in the middle. Still can’t follow the lyrics. The last twenty seconds sound like Dave got a little too stoned, found an old empty coffee can in some corner of the studio, took it into rest room stall and sang to it.
Alligator Pie: More banjo, in fact this one starts out driven by the banjo until the rest of the band catches up and builds on. Big time change in the middle, and slowing the song down for a little actually gives it some thump.
Seven: This song starts with the loudest and most obvious guitars of any DMB song I can think of. While it keeps the momentum of the previous song, it’s pretty strong and heavy on it’s own as well. One of those great sections in the middle where there’s just so much going on musically that you can barely separate the instruments and tell what each one is doing.
Time Bomb: You can’t fault DMB for having nothing but happy songs. The lyrics (whoa! F-bomb there!) sound pretty dark, and the music, quiet and minor, slowly starts building into something more but then backs off. When it builds back up it does so for good, with a horn/guitar combination that has real beef to it. As the power builds in the music, the darkness of the lyrics and the anger in Dave’s voice keep pace. This one is pretty cool.
Baby Blue: Some real nice acoustic guitar work on this. No drums, which adds more to the song than detracts from it. A lot of fluid strings filling in the background. Without having looked at the lyrics, it seems to play somewhere between a love song and a lullaby.
You & Me: A nice relaxed album closer. It starts with some cool strumming and comes to life in the chorus. Very much a love song about about the happiness and strength of two people being together.... and then they go and spoil it with one of those stupid “uncredited” endings, where the song keeps on playing for another minute or so before there’s one last coda inserted out of nowhere, and one that in this case has nothing at all musical to do with the song preceding it on the track. Though all things considered in the context of this album being made, it was a very understandable and move.
Grux: Cool little meandering opener. Not the big intro song you normally expect an album to start with.
Shake Me Like A Monkey: Horns have a 70s funk feel. Harder guitar, harder voice coming from Dave. I like the combination of those two sounds.
Funny The Way It Is: The lead single I’m told, though I haven’t heard it before. At first impression the lyrics sound like an average high school kid’s idea of thought-provoking. Musically it sounds very much like up tempo DMB, but with a sad tinge to it.
Lying in The Hands of God: Slower, quieter, smoother, looser, still driven into a jam by the drums. Dave singing with a bit of a falsetto, or at least pushing to the higher end of his range. Really cool acoustic guitar solo in the middle.
Why I Am: A bit faster, more riff-based than most of the DMB-type jam songs. Some pretty cool time-change interruptions along the way.
Dive In: So far the slowest moment on the album. Again, kind of sad, and again, the drums pick it up in the slower parts. Cool electric guitar solo in the middle, very flowing with pure tones. I’m wondering if this was Tim Reynolds playing.
Spaceman: One of those DMB songs when Dave sings kind of fast and doesn’t really enunciate that clearly, so if you don’t know the lyrics pretty well you’re going to have a tough time following them, except when he ends a phrase a little more slowly. That I’m mentioning the singing more here should tell you the music is kind of unremarkable. Except for a little ??? out of nowhere when a banjo starts a-pluckin’ in the last 5 seconds.
Squirm: It starts slow and gentle, and at first I thought it was a mistake to put two similar songs next to each other, but this one brightens and opens up into more of an anthem in the middle. Still can’t follow the lyrics. The last twenty seconds sound like Dave got a little too stoned, found an old empty coffee can in some corner of the studio, took it into rest room stall and sang to it.
Alligator Pie: More banjo, in fact this one starts out driven by the banjo until the rest of the band catches up and builds on. Big time change in the middle, and slowing the song down for a little actually gives it some thump.
Seven: This song starts with the loudest and most obvious guitars of any DMB song I can think of. While it keeps the momentum of the previous song, it’s pretty strong and heavy on it’s own as well. One of those great sections in the middle where there’s just so much going on musically that you can barely separate the instruments and tell what each one is doing.
Time Bomb: You can’t fault DMB for having nothing but happy songs. The lyrics (whoa! F-bomb there!) sound pretty dark, and the music, quiet and minor, slowly starts building into something more but then backs off. When it builds back up it does so for good, with a horn/guitar combination that has real beef to it. As the power builds in the music, the darkness of the lyrics and the anger in Dave’s voice keep pace. This one is pretty cool.
Baby Blue: Some real nice acoustic guitar work on this. No drums, which adds more to the song than detracts from it. A lot of fluid strings filling in the background. Without having looked at the lyrics, it seems to play somewhere between a love song and a lullaby.
You & Me: A nice relaxed album closer. It starts with some cool strumming and comes to life in the chorus. Very much a love song about about the happiness and strength of two people being together.... and then they go and spoil it with one of those stupid “uncredited” endings, where the song keeps on playing for another minute or so before there’s one last coda inserted out of nowhere, and one that in this case has nothing at all musical to do with the song preceding it on the track. Though all things considered in the context of this album being made, it was a very understandable and move.
Monday, June 1, 2009
It's A Mad Life
Okay, June 1st, close enough to summer to do my first Album a Day. This is what I hope will become one of my regular things here. The plan is to dig out an album from my music library, and listen to the whole thing from start to finish and write about it. Not so much as just reviewing the album, but getting into it a little deeper with what was going on in life when it was heavy rotation for me, or what it wound up meaning to me in the long run.
Today we looking at "Opaline," by Dishwalla. Yeah, kind of a one-hit wonder band with the "Counting Blue Cars" thing, but a friend who is as obsessive about music as I am introduced me to the rest of their stuff, and they turned out to be a really great band. In fact, he sent me a copy of Opaline just because he loved it so much and figured this was going to be the way he'd finally get me to crack and give the band a chance. Thing was I'd already bought it on my own, so for awhile I had two copies of it on my CD rack. I'm not sure where the second copy ever wound up -- I think I passed it on to someone when I was getting ready to move, but I'm not sure who.
Dishwalla seems to be on hiatus now, but their singer, a dude named J.R. Richards, just released a solo album last month. I found it on iTunes and like it quite a bit. Today at school I was in kind of a subdued, comfortable mood that is found on this new album, so my head drifted toward trying to replay the songs from it. The problem is that I don't know this album well enough yet to bring one up on the internal radio on command. Instead, I wound up using songs from Opaline as a substitute, since the two albums have such a similar tone.
Opaline is noteable for two big reasons: It was a car CD for me one spring, after one Sunday I was driving around with it in the car, and it was during that drive that I got my first real hard listen to how cool of a CD it was. I was on the way to see one of my students perform in an ice show at the local ice arena. Ice shows are analogous with dance recitals when it comes to how painful they are to sit through, so I wasn't really looking forward to it. But hey, she invited, and I've always figured if one of the kids wants you at their event badly enough they'll muster up the courage to invite you, it's worth my time to go if I'm able. Makes me a little heroic for awhile, and gives me a glimpse into the personal lives of students I don't normally get, which helps me to see them more as people than just names in the gradebook. It was late spring, one of the first days of the season it was warm enough for it to make sense to roll down the car windows and enjoy the breeze.
Opaline never caught on big with me after it's turn in the car; it really just got overlooked in the shuffle. But a couple years later I downloaded Dishwalla's live album, "Greetings From the Flow State," which was awesome. Probably still my favorite CD of theirs. And one big reason why was they had taken some really strong songs from Opaline and reworked them to create similar but brand new live versions that I just loved. It was enough to get me to dig Opaline out and enjoy the more calm and acoustic-flavored versions of these same songs.
Why an adult-oriented rock station like Cities 97 wasn't all over this album when it first came out is beyond me. It was right up their alley, and the thing just faded away. If you're ever looking for a new relaxing-under-the-sunset soundtrack album, give this one a shot.
Today we looking at "Opaline," by Dishwalla. Yeah, kind of a one-hit wonder band with the "Counting Blue Cars" thing, but a friend who is as obsessive about music as I am introduced me to the rest of their stuff, and they turned out to be a really great band. In fact, he sent me a copy of Opaline just because he loved it so much and figured this was going to be the way he'd finally get me to crack and give the band a chance. Thing was I'd already bought it on my own, so for awhile I had two copies of it on my CD rack. I'm not sure where the second copy ever wound up -- I think I passed it on to someone when I was getting ready to move, but I'm not sure who.
Dishwalla seems to be on hiatus now, but their singer, a dude named J.R. Richards, just released a solo album last month. I found it on iTunes and like it quite a bit. Today at school I was in kind of a subdued, comfortable mood that is found on this new album, so my head drifted toward trying to replay the songs from it. The problem is that I don't know this album well enough yet to bring one up on the internal radio on command. Instead, I wound up using songs from Opaline as a substitute, since the two albums have such a similar tone.
Opaline is noteable for two big reasons: It was a car CD for me one spring, after one Sunday I was driving around with it in the car, and it was during that drive that I got my first real hard listen to how cool of a CD it was. I was on the way to see one of my students perform in an ice show at the local ice arena. Ice shows are analogous with dance recitals when it comes to how painful they are to sit through, so I wasn't really looking forward to it. But hey, she invited, and I've always figured if one of the kids wants you at their event badly enough they'll muster up the courage to invite you, it's worth my time to go if I'm able. Makes me a little heroic for awhile, and gives me a glimpse into the personal lives of students I don't normally get, which helps me to see them more as people than just names in the gradebook. It was late spring, one of the first days of the season it was warm enough for it to make sense to roll down the car windows and enjoy the breeze.
Opaline never caught on big with me after it's turn in the car; it really just got overlooked in the shuffle. But a couple years later I downloaded Dishwalla's live album, "Greetings From the Flow State," which was awesome. Probably still my favorite CD of theirs. And one big reason why was they had taken some really strong songs from Opaline and reworked them to create similar but brand new live versions that I just loved. It was enough to get me to dig Opaline out and enjoy the more calm and acoustic-flavored versions of these same songs.
Why an adult-oriented rock station like Cities 97 wasn't all over this album when it first came out is beyond me. It was right up their alley, and the thing just faded away. If you're ever looking for a new relaxing-under-the-sunset soundtrack album, give this one a shot.
Too Early for a Quality Title
It's 6:30 A.M. I once read that Steven Tyler of Aerosmith said he likes to write early in the morning, since his head hasn't completely cleared away the disorientation of sleep and being in that state allows for more creativity. Based on the dozen or so times I've tried it, I will back him up on early morning writing often turning out to be very different. Not sure about more creative, but certainly more bizarre.
Today is June 1st, and with the turning of the calendar to this new page comes a more tangible embrace of the upcoming summer. To celebrate, as I have done for at least the past eight or so years, I'm sitting here with iTunes on making sure the first song I hear this month is "June" by Spock's Beard, a song with lyrics that to this day I still don't completely understand, but puts me in mind of a summer evening graced with a pleasantly warm breeze nonetheless. (I'll credit Steven Tyler for that sentence being more blatantly descriptive and grammatically dubious than anything I would have tried past noon.)
I had Bomani harpin' on me last night about being grateful for all the time off I get in the summer. Trust me, my man -- it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. The simple glorious fact of it is that sitting here at forty-one years old, my life since the last day of school in kindergarten back in 1974 has always had a summer vacation. Sure, I had to work some of those in the high school / college years, but it was still drugstore / Boys and Girls Club work, so it was still vacation. And now, knowing that I could literally choose to sit on my couch in front of the XBox for two straight weeks and still have a paycheck show up in my mailbox? Life is good.
Except.... I can't be true to myself if I don't complain about something. Since it's early, I'm going off on one of my alarm clocks. I have two of them, you see. The old reliable standby sits well out of reach of my bed so I have to actually stand and walk to turn the thing off. This one is the truer of the two alarm clocks since it's set to go off twenty minutes later than the first one. It would even start up playing a CD if I wanted it to, but for my purposes the unholy electronic bird-chirp-of-death is more effective. Now, the OTHER alarm clock is the one I have issues with. Right beside my bed, and you'd think this would be the favored son of alarm clocks since I can dock my iPod right into the top. But NO! First of all, the thing loses about four minutes every month. How that happens with such consistency I have no idea. Secondly, the control buttons on the top? I've played slot machines with more reliability. If I just want to turn on the radio for some music to fall asleep to, I have to push the "radio" button at least eight times before the thing will understand what I'm going for. Once out of frustration I literally gave up and pressed a different button randomly, and it actually worked. If I try to set the time, it will either switch to the AM tuner or shut off. If I try to set the sleep timer, it will start flashing the alarm time at me, waiting for a new setting.
Thankfully in a mere two more weeks I won't be needing it at all....
Today is June 1st, and with the turning of the calendar to this new page comes a more tangible embrace of the upcoming summer. To celebrate, as I have done for at least the past eight or so years, I'm sitting here with iTunes on making sure the first song I hear this month is "June" by Spock's Beard, a song with lyrics that to this day I still don't completely understand, but puts me in mind of a summer evening graced with a pleasantly warm breeze nonetheless. (I'll credit Steven Tyler for that sentence being more blatantly descriptive and grammatically dubious than anything I would have tried past noon.)
I had Bomani harpin' on me last night about being grateful for all the time off I get in the summer. Trust me, my man -- it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. The simple glorious fact of it is that sitting here at forty-one years old, my life since the last day of school in kindergarten back in 1974 has always had a summer vacation. Sure, I had to work some of those in the high school / college years, but it was still drugstore / Boys and Girls Club work, so it was still vacation. And now, knowing that I could literally choose to sit on my couch in front of the XBox for two straight weeks and still have a paycheck show up in my mailbox? Life is good.
Except.... I can't be true to myself if I don't complain about something. Since it's early, I'm going off on one of my alarm clocks. I have two of them, you see. The old reliable standby sits well out of reach of my bed so I have to actually stand and walk to turn the thing off. This one is the truer of the two alarm clocks since it's set to go off twenty minutes later than the first one. It would even start up playing a CD if I wanted it to, but for my purposes the unholy electronic bird-chirp-of-death is more effective. Now, the OTHER alarm clock is the one I have issues with. Right beside my bed, and you'd think this would be the favored son of alarm clocks since I can dock my iPod right into the top. But NO! First of all, the thing loses about four minutes every month. How that happens with such consistency I have no idea. Secondly, the control buttons on the top? I've played slot machines with more reliability. If I just want to turn on the radio for some music to fall asleep to, I have to push the "radio" button at least eight times before the thing will understand what I'm going for. Once out of frustration I literally gave up and pressed a different button randomly, and it actually worked. If I try to set the time, it will either switch to the AM tuner or shut off. If I try to set the sleep timer, it will start flashing the alarm time at me, waiting for a new setting.
Thankfully in a mere two more weeks I won't be needing it at all....
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