Or what the dog and I enjoyed in 2011
The dog and I were hoping for a walk, but it’s raining. I just drank my last eggnog latte of the season (well maybe not), the presents under the tree have been unwrapped, I’ve had way too much rich food and it’s nearly time to resolve to eat healthy and exercise, for a couple of weeks any way...
In the headphones:
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
A fuller sound than For Emma.
Death Cab – Codes and Keys
Ben and the boys whip up some more tasty tunes.
Foster the People – Torches
If MGMT had embraced the sound that made them popular, the sound that people liked, then this is what the follow-up to Oracular Spectacular would have sounded like.
Grateful Dead – Europe ’72, Vol. II
In 2011 the surviving members dug into the archives and offered all 22 shows from their 1972 tour of Europe on 60 CDs, but at nearly $500 for the set it’s reserved for the more committed Deadhead. Europe ’72 is one of the best live albums of the 70s whose only drawback is that it didn’t include Dark Star. Vol. II corrects that oversight and then some.
The Head and the Heart - The Head and the Heart
While technically a 2010 release, Subpop remastered the Seattle Folk-Rockers tunes and re-released it in 2011. Do something nice for your ears and buy this disc.
Mayer Hawthorne – How Do You Do
Cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses aside, this guy can sing and leads the Nu Soul movement.
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
Another solid Nu Soul effort from Raphael and every bit as good as The Way I See It.
Rolling Stones - Brussels Affair
Live, download-only version of the Brussels show from the 1973 European tour and a steal at $4.99.
Trombone Shorty – For True
Two shows at Bumbershoot including the soundcheck and KEXP show at the children’s theater, these guys come to the game ready to play.
Vetiver – The Errant Charm
Named for a perennial grass native to India. Saw ‘em twice at B-shoot 2011, another creat collection of tunes from Andy Cabic and Co
White Denim - D
ZZ Top meets King Crimson. Especially pleasing, intricate guitar work, with nice harmonies and toe-tapping beats. White Denim is one of my new favorite groups.
Visuals: Big Screen
Cedar Rapids
Directed by Miguel Arteta, starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly and Anne Heche
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Directed by Glenn Ficarra & John Requa, starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling and Julianne Moore
Harry Potter and the End of the Series, Part II
Directed by David Yates, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint
Midnight In Paris
Directed by Woody Allen, starring Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates
Super 8
Directed by J.J. Abrams, starring Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka and Kyle Chandler
Water For Elephants
Robert Pattinson shows he's more than a sparkling vampire glamoring winey teens on the edge of the Northwest rain forest.
Win, Win
Directed by Thomas McCarthy, starring Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan and Jeffrey Tambor
Visuals: Tube
Good Wife Season Three
A cuckolded Chicago politician’s wife makes her way in the world and a name for herself as a partner-tracked lawyer.
Modern Family Season Three
Best cast and writing in a sitcom since Seinfeld.
Sons of Anarchy Season Four
The trials and tribulations of a group of motorcycle enthusiasts from northern California makes for an interesting spin on the story of Hamlet.
Treme Season One
From the creators of The Wire, Post-Katrina New Orleans with an amazing soundtrack.
Walking Dead Season Two
The zombie apocalypse is upon us.
Visuals: Revisits
Friday Night Lights
Life and football in a Texas high school.
Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Gene Rodenberry's legacy lives on in my favorite of the Star Trek series.
The Wire
Balitmore cops wrestling with bureaucracy, nepotism and petty differences while trying to catch bad guys.
On the nightstand:
The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
Ship Breaker (book 1 of 2) by Paolo Bacigalupi
The Hunger Games (book 1 of 3) by Suzanne Collins
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Three days before B’s Bday (B the brother, not B the partner)
Just back from a short trip to Vancouver, BC. B and I walked around Stanley Park in the sun, got some reflexology on our feet while sipping jasmine tea in overstuffed chairs and listening to the Grateful Dead, spent a morning on Granville Island, saw As You Like It at Bard on the Beach, ate at a killer Afghani restaurant and enjoyed ourselves in a generally, laid back, mostly Canadian manner. The dog stayed home with E.
What the Dog and I are listening to:
The dog has been on a Jazz kick lately. She likes nothing better than to lie in the sun and let the music transport her to a place filled with steak bones, unlimited belly rubs and slower squirrels, but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying other music as well.
Joshua Redman – James Farm
I love Josh’s music. He borrows a bit from all who’ve come before and heads in his own direction.
Corea, Clarke & White – Forever
Return to Forever alum reunite for a two disc musical journey in which they really stretch their legs.
Al Di Meola – Pursuit of the Radical Rhapsody
Speaking of Return to Forever, Al has slowed his fretboard work down a bit and created something very nice.
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Orchestra – 40 Acres and a Burro
More jazz than Latin, but I like it.
Foster the People – Torches
This is what MGMT’s follow-up to Oracular Spectacular should have sounded like.
Dave Alvin – Eleven Eleven
Former Blasters guitarist offers a rootsy sound.
Iggy Pop - Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection
If punk has a grandpa it’s Iggy. Play this loud!
Vetiver – The Errant Charm
Named for a perennial grass native to India. Saw ‘em twice at B-shoot 2011, another creat collection of tunes from Andy Cabic and Co.
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & the Harvest
There’s no one quite like Gillian.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
A fuller sound than For Emma
What the Dog and I are reading:
I Am Not Sidney Porter by Percival Everett
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
What the dog and I are watching:
The More the Merrier
1943, directed by George Stevens. Starring Joel Macrea, Jean Arthur and Charles Colburn. A housing shortage in war time DC leads to comical situations.
Sons of Anarchy Season Four
An interesting spin on Hamlet.
Even though the dog was born and raised in the Northwest, she’s a hardcore Sox fan with no love for the Yankees.
Derek Jeter terminated his engagement with Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights and she’s the newest Charlie’s Angel). Prior to the relationship with Ms. Kelly, I suspected Jeter was gay. Now there’s no negative connotation to him being gay, it’s an observation not a judgment. The reason for my suspicion; confirmed bachelor, well groomed, good dancer, drinks wine coolers and likes Cold Play. Since he’s broken it off with her, I no longer suspect that he’s gay (and there’s still no negative connotation to him being gay, it’s an observation not a judgment).
That being said the Red Sox are 3-7 in their last 10 games. Are they trying to finish the season the way they started it? Tampa Bay is four games out of the wild card and the Angels are five back with twelve games left to play. Boston has two more with TB, four with the Orioles, a day off, then three with the Yanks in the Bronx. They finish the regular season with three games in Baltimore.
The Yanks are 6-4 for their last 10. They have 13 games (12 tough ones) left, no days off, two to complete the series with Toronto, one against Minnesota then four against TB, three versus the Sox at home then they travel to TB to play three and finish the season.
If the Sox get their heads out of their asses and the Yanks put their heads further in their asses, the Sox could finish in first place and TB or the Angels could take the wildcard. Of course that’s a perfect world scenario.
Go Sox!
Ineffable – a PG-13 way of communicating that someone is not available for intimate contact.
What the Dog and I are listening to:
The dog has been on a Jazz kick lately. She likes nothing better than to lie in the sun and let the music transport her to a place filled with steak bones, unlimited belly rubs and slower squirrels, but that doesn’t stop her from enjoying other music as well.
Joshua Redman – James Farm
I love Josh’s music. He borrows a bit from all who’ve come before and heads in his own direction.
Corea, Clarke & White – Forever
Return to Forever alum reunite for a two disc musical journey in which they really stretch their legs.
Al Di Meola – Pursuit of the Radical Rhapsody
Speaking of Return to Forever, Al has slowed his fretboard work down a bit and created something very nice.
Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Orchestra – 40 Acres and a Burro
More jazz than Latin, but I like it.
Foster the People – Torches
This is what MGMT’s follow-up to Oracular Spectacular should have sounded like.
Dave Alvin – Eleven Eleven
Former Blasters guitarist offers a rootsy sound.
Iggy Pop - Roadkill Rising: The Bootleg Collection
If punk has a grandpa it’s Iggy. Play this loud!
Vetiver – The Errant Charm
Named for a perennial grass native to India. Saw ‘em twice at B-shoot 2011, another creat collection of tunes from Andy Cabic and Co.
Gillian Welch – The Harrow & the Harvest
There’s no one quite like Gillian.
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
A fuller sound than For Emma
What the Dog and I are reading:
I Am Not Sidney Porter by Percival Everett
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
What the dog and I are watching:
The More the Merrier
1943, directed by George Stevens. Starring Joel Macrea, Jean Arthur and Charles Colburn. A housing shortage in war time DC leads to comical situations.
Sons of Anarchy Season Four
An interesting spin on Hamlet.
Even though the dog was born and raised in the Northwest, she’s a hardcore Sox fan with no love for the Yankees.
Derek Jeter terminated his engagement with Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights and she’s the newest Charlie’s Angel). Prior to the relationship with Ms. Kelly, I suspected Jeter was gay. Now there’s no negative connotation to him being gay, it’s an observation not a judgment. The reason for my suspicion; confirmed bachelor, well groomed, good dancer, drinks wine coolers and likes Cold Play. Since he’s broken it off with her, I no longer suspect that he’s gay (and there’s still no negative connotation to him being gay, it’s an observation not a judgment).
That being said the Red Sox are 3-7 in their last 10 games. Are they trying to finish the season the way they started it? Tampa Bay is four games out of the wild card and the Angels are five back with twelve games left to play. Boston has two more with TB, four with the Orioles, a day off, then three with the Yanks in the Bronx. They finish the regular season with three games in Baltimore.
The Yanks are 6-4 for their last 10. They have 13 games (12 tough ones) left, no days off, two to complete the series with Toronto, one against Minnesota then four against TB, three versus the Sox at home then they travel to TB to play three and finish the season.
If the Sox get their heads out of their asses and the Yanks put their heads further in their asses, the Sox could finish in first place and TB or the Angels could take the wildcard. Of course that’s a perfect world scenario.
Go Sox!
Ineffable – a PG-13 way of communicating that someone is not available for intimate contact.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Bumbershoot 2011
Friends, the links to the MySpace pages of the bands mentioned below are in my Bumbershoot Preview column.
The Dog couldn't go to Bumbershoot.
Saturday
First up, Vetiver in the Bumbershoot Music Lounge (intimate, unplugged, 40 minute sets in a 100 seat theater). Unfortunately I had no tickets for Music Lounge show, there was a huge line to get into the festival and the food court (excellent idea One Reel) near the entrance compelled B to peruse because he was feeling puckish, truth be known, so was I. Once we’d knocked back the first of many gyros from St. Demetrios (a slice of heaven on a pita for $6) we proceeded to the KEXP booth to join the queue for the tickets. Our prospects looked bleak, but we got in. Vetiver played a mixture of new songs from their latest, The Errant Charm, and some from their previous four releases. It was the first performance of their new tour. I had hoped to hear More of This, but was denied that pleasure. I spoke to the lead guitarist after the Music Lounge set and he assured me that they’d play it during their performance at the Fountain Stage. They didn’t. In spite of that hollow promise Vetiver was great.
Next up, Kris Orlowski at Level 3, one of the two EMP stages. Unfortunately it was full. Note to EMP and One Reel, the Sky Church performances had room all weekend even after moving the barriers at the back of the room closer to the stage (WTF, four security guys need 25% of the floor space?) However, every Level 3 show was filled long before performers took the stage and huge lines continued to build outside. I’m just saying…
B and I made our way back the Mural Stage and proceeded to consume the first of many, many free Starbucks beverages. Howard, your plea to corporations to refuse to contribute to campaigns until Congress gets its collective head out of its collective ass, sponsoring one of the best stages at Bumbershoot and sharing free drinks with Bumbershooters are improving my opinion of you. Just get an NBA team to return or even better an NHL team to come to Seattle and we’re good.
We rendezvoused with J, D and R for Wagons, an Aussie C&W band with a great sense of humor. Good music and the front man’s between song banter reminded me of Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords.
While at Wagons my buddy T sent a text asking if we wanted in for the Bumbershoot Music Lounge show for Trombone Shorty. Since Shorty was on my list of must sees, I quickly replied ‘yes’. We sat three rows back, center stage. T and I got to catch up a bit during the sound check. Trombone Shorty came out with his band, none of whom looked to be over 30, and proceeded to melt our faces off with one of the tightest, sharpest sounding Jazz-Funk-R&B/Soul performances I’ve ever seen. The man channeled James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Dizzy Gillespie at various times throughout the show. They were fabulous!!!!! I bought their CD Backatown.
We walked the grounds a bit. T showed us the (hopefully) new home for KEXP. We grabbed a Starbucks, listened to a bit of Nortec Collective at Fisher Green and PS I Love You at The Fountain where two nice ladies gave us passes to the VIP beer garden where we enjoyed a tasty beverage and watched Shabazz Palaces. We couldn’t get in to see Pickwick or Jayme Stone, the previously mentioned Level 3 factor nixed those opportunities, but did see Trombone Shorty a second time and got another gyro from St. Demetrios. Our last act was Ray LaMontagne in Key arena. The Music was great, but I dislike the venue. It’s inside, the seats are not comfortable and the sound is sub-par. I appreciate the need to “weather-proof” the festival and understand that Memorial Stadium costs more, but the Key sucks for music. Once again I’m just saying…
We left Ray after four songs and made our way to Mavis Staples. Mavis did not disappoint. We arrived just as she was getting into The Weight. Mavis has a great voice, greater stage presence and always has a tight band. We missed her last couple of songs as we hustled to the ferry.
Sunday
I was lucky to have my Brother and my life-partner along for the day. Once through the gates we went straight to get comedy stage passes. We opted for The Improvised Shakespeare Company in Bagley Wright later that day. The comedy shows are so popular that you have to get passes to guarantee a seat and they “sell out” early. On the way back we caught a bit of Kore Ionz at Fisher then got another gyro from St. Demetrios and on to the Mural for the remainder of Kasey Anderson and the first of our many, many free Starbucks beverages of the day. Massey Ferguson, a good old Southern Rock band from Snohomish, was next at the Mural where we were joined by my old shipmate J.
The Improvised Shakespeare Company (at Bagley Wright) is a five man improvisation troop from Western Washington in Bellingham. They ask the audience shout out topics, they select one and create a one act play on the spot in Shakespearean tradition. The Unintended Mustache was brilliant to say the least!
I should mention that due to various construction projects on the Seattle Center grounds Bumbershoot was forced to move some stages and eliminate others. In addition the art installations, some of B’s (B the life-partner not B the brother) and my highlights, were smaller this year, but worth seeing nonetheless. And we always enjoy Flatstock, the poster art show next to the Fisher stage. This year was no exception. We made our way across the campus to EMP for Kaylee Cole, alas, the Level 3 factor was in play once again so we were denied. We returned to Starbucks and listened to Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Mural. She has a great voice, but her songs sound the same and she really didn’t talk much.
Let me be perfectly clear on something. I don’t expect a musician to perform like a wind-up monkey with an organ grinder. However, a little bit of between song banter, an effort to connect with the people who bought tickets (and maybe a CD) would be appreciated. If you’re Van Morrison, you can get away without talking to the crowd, but most of the performers at B-shoot aren’t Van. I’m just saying…
I got another gyro from St. Demetrios then back to the Mural Stage for several more tasty Starbucks drinks and Leon Russell. Leon played all his hits and then some. Most of the hits were reworked, for example Back to the Island was done a bit more up-tempo, so much so that I didn’t recognize it until the chorus. He’s a great showman with excellent musicians and the show rocked.
After Leon we tried to get into see Macklemore at the Key. As we spoke to security at the entrance we could see people coming out of the exit, but due to a lack of communication between the entrance and the exit, security was convinced that the building was at capacity. My only disappointment of the day, I didn’t get to see Pickwick in the Music Lounge.
Monday
Very tired. We didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 AM and rose at 5:45 AM to drive J to the airport. I met B, A and my old friend A at the ticket booth. We bee-lined it for the KEXP booth where we met R and queued up for Music Lounge tickets to see Charles Bradley. While in line for Charles, B went to get comedy passes, but they were “sold out”. We got in to the Music Lounge show. Wow! Charles Bradley has been around a long time and is one of the hardest working men in music, ‘nuff said! Denied for Fitz and the Tantrums show in the Music Lounge as the line we so long, but R got in.
Got another gyro from St. Demetrios, saw a bit of Quadron at the Fountain, Head Like a Kite at Fisher, and Grand Hallway at the mural. All good, Quadron was the best of the three, in fact I bought their CD and have been playing it a lot.
Dennis Coffey at Fisher was very good and he wasn’t even on my list. You Am I, a marginally talented, extremely profane gang from Aussie was at the Fountain. I left for more Starbucks and Ian Moore at the Mural.
Greensky Bluegrass followed Ian. The five man Bluegrass band from Michigan opened with Traffic’s Light Up or Leave Me Alone and proceeded to jam away like they’d been playing together since birth. Great stage presence, excellent musicianship and for Bluegrass, the tunes Rocked! No Ravenna Woods, once again the Level 3 factor, aka no room and long lines at EMP. I finished with Fitz and the Tantrums at the Key. By the time they took the stage I was running on fumes. I caught the first half of the set and boogied with Stu to the ferry.
Highlights:
Vetiver, Trombone Shorty, Massey Ferguson, Greensky Bluegrass, Improvised Shakespeare Company, free iced mochas and $6 gyros from St. Demetrio.
By the way, Dave Matthews still sucks a fat baby's ass for playing the Gorge opposite Bumbershoot.
The Dog couldn't go to Bumbershoot.
Saturday
First up, Vetiver in the Bumbershoot Music Lounge (intimate, unplugged, 40 minute sets in a 100 seat theater). Unfortunately I had no tickets for Music Lounge show, there was a huge line to get into the festival and the food court (excellent idea One Reel) near the entrance compelled B to peruse because he was feeling puckish, truth be known, so was I. Once we’d knocked back the first of many gyros from St. Demetrios (a slice of heaven on a pita for $6) we proceeded to the KEXP booth to join the queue for the tickets. Our prospects looked bleak, but we got in. Vetiver played a mixture of new songs from their latest, The Errant Charm, and some from their previous four releases. It was the first performance of their new tour. I had hoped to hear More of This, but was denied that pleasure. I spoke to the lead guitarist after the Music Lounge set and he assured me that they’d play it during their performance at the Fountain Stage. They didn’t. In spite of that hollow promise Vetiver was great.
Next up, Kris Orlowski at Level 3, one of the two EMP stages. Unfortunately it was full. Note to EMP and One Reel, the Sky Church performances had room all weekend even after moving the barriers at the back of the room closer to the stage (WTF, four security guys need 25% of the floor space?) However, every Level 3 show was filled long before performers took the stage and huge lines continued to build outside. I’m just saying…
B and I made our way back the Mural Stage and proceeded to consume the first of many, many free Starbucks beverages. Howard, your plea to corporations to refuse to contribute to campaigns until Congress gets its collective head out of its collective ass, sponsoring one of the best stages at Bumbershoot and sharing free drinks with Bumbershooters are improving my opinion of you. Just get an NBA team to return or even better an NHL team to come to Seattle and we’re good.
We rendezvoused with J, D and R for Wagons, an Aussie C&W band with a great sense of humor. Good music and the front man’s between song banter reminded me of Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords.
While at Wagons my buddy T sent a text asking if we wanted in for the Bumbershoot Music Lounge show for Trombone Shorty. Since Shorty was on my list of must sees, I quickly replied ‘yes’. We sat three rows back, center stage. T and I got to catch up a bit during the sound check. Trombone Shorty came out with his band, none of whom looked to be over 30, and proceeded to melt our faces off with one of the tightest, sharpest sounding Jazz-Funk-R&B/Soul performances I’ve ever seen. The man channeled James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Dizzy Gillespie at various times throughout the show. They were fabulous!!!!! I bought their CD Backatown.
We walked the grounds a bit. T showed us the (hopefully) new home for KEXP. We grabbed a Starbucks, listened to a bit of Nortec Collective at Fisher Green and PS I Love You at The Fountain where two nice ladies gave us passes to the VIP beer garden where we enjoyed a tasty beverage and watched Shabazz Palaces. We couldn’t get in to see Pickwick or Jayme Stone, the previously mentioned Level 3 factor nixed those opportunities, but did see Trombone Shorty a second time and got another gyro from St. Demetrios. Our last act was Ray LaMontagne in Key arena. The Music was great, but I dislike the venue. It’s inside, the seats are not comfortable and the sound is sub-par. I appreciate the need to “weather-proof” the festival and understand that Memorial Stadium costs more, but the Key sucks for music. Once again I’m just saying…
We left Ray after four songs and made our way to Mavis Staples. Mavis did not disappoint. We arrived just as she was getting into The Weight. Mavis has a great voice, greater stage presence and always has a tight band. We missed her last couple of songs as we hustled to the ferry.
Sunday
I was lucky to have my Brother and my life-partner along for the day. Once through the gates we went straight to get comedy stage passes. We opted for The Improvised Shakespeare Company in Bagley Wright later that day. The comedy shows are so popular that you have to get passes to guarantee a seat and they “sell out” early. On the way back we caught a bit of Kore Ionz at Fisher then got another gyro from St. Demetrios and on to the Mural for the remainder of Kasey Anderson and the first of our many, many free Starbucks beverages of the day. Massey Ferguson, a good old Southern Rock band from Snohomish, was next at the Mural where we were joined by my old shipmate J.
The Improvised Shakespeare Company (at Bagley Wright) is a five man improvisation troop from Western Washington in Bellingham. They ask the audience shout out topics, they select one and create a one act play on the spot in Shakespearean tradition. The Unintended Mustache was brilliant to say the least!
I should mention that due to various construction projects on the Seattle Center grounds Bumbershoot was forced to move some stages and eliminate others. In addition the art installations, some of B’s (B the life-partner not B the brother) and my highlights, were smaller this year, but worth seeing nonetheless. And we always enjoy Flatstock, the poster art show next to the Fisher stage. This year was no exception. We made our way across the campus to EMP for Kaylee Cole, alas, the Level 3 factor was in play once again so we were denied. We returned to Starbucks and listened to Jessica Lea Mayfield at the Mural. She has a great voice, but her songs sound the same and she really didn’t talk much.
Let me be perfectly clear on something. I don’t expect a musician to perform like a wind-up monkey with an organ grinder. However, a little bit of between song banter, an effort to connect with the people who bought tickets (and maybe a CD) would be appreciated. If you’re Van Morrison, you can get away without talking to the crowd, but most of the performers at B-shoot aren’t Van. I’m just saying…
I got another gyro from St. Demetrios then back to the Mural Stage for several more tasty Starbucks drinks and Leon Russell. Leon played all his hits and then some. Most of the hits were reworked, for example Back to the Island was done a bit more up-tempo, so much so that I didn’t recognize it until the chorus. He’s a great showman with excellent musicians and the show rocked.
After Leon we tried to get into see Macklemore at the Key. As we spoke to security at the entrance we could see people coming out of the exit, but due to a lack of communication between the entrance and the exit, security was convinced that the building was at capacity. My only disappointment of the day, I didn’t get to see Pickwick in the Music Lounge.
Monday
Very tired. We didn’t get to sleep until 3:30 AM and rose at 5:45 AM to drive J to the airport. I met B, A and my old friend A at the ticket booth. We bee-lined it for the KEXP booth where we met R and queued up for Music Lounge tickets to see Charles Bradley. While in line for Charles, B went to get comedy passes, but they were “sold out”. We got in to the Music Lounge show. Wow! Charles Bradley has been around a long time and is one of the hardest working men in music, ‘nuff said! Denied for Fitz and the Tantrums show in the Music Lounge as the line we so long, but R got in.
Got another gyro from St. Demetrios, saw a bit of Quadron at the Fountain, Head Like a Kite at Fisher, and Grand Hallway at the mural. All good, Quadron was the best of the three, in fact I bought their CD and have been playing it a lot.
Dennis Coffey at Fisher was very good and he wasn’t even on my list. You Am I, a marginally talented, extremely profane gang from Aussie was at the Fountain. I left for more Starbucks and Ian Moore at the Mural.
Greensky Bluegrass followed Ian. The five man Bluegrass band from Michigan opened with Traffic’s Light Up or Leave Me Alone and proceeded to jam away like they’d been playing together since birth. Great stage presence, excellent musicianship and for Bluegrass, the tunes Rocked! No Ravenna Woods, once again the Level 3 factor, aka no room and long lines at EMP. I finished with Fitz and the Tantrums at the Key. By the time they took the stage I was running on fumes. I caught the first half of the set and boogied with Stu to the ferry.
Highlights:
Vetiver, Trombone Shorty, Massey Ferguson, Greensky Bluegrass, Improvised Shakespeare Company, free iced mochas and $6 gyros from St. Demetrio.
By the way, Dave Matthews still sucks a fat baby's ass for playing the Gorge opposite Bumbershoot.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
DMB sucks a fat baby’s ass for playing at the Gorge the same weekend as B-Shoot.
I just got back from an extended stay in the northeast with family and some of my oldest, dearest friends. Two weeks in a log cabin nestled in the pines and spruce, boat rides (Damariscove Island, Google it), fishing trips (got a 26” striper) trivia (in the money two weeks in a row, but don’t know shit about state populations), college visits (maybe this time around I’ll join a frat), tons of seafood (Bet’s fish sandwiches, crabmeat rolls in Trevett and I ate the best fried clams I’ve ever tasted) and lots of beach time. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as swimming in the ocean on a hot day. Unless it’s Puget Sound, then you’ll freeze your nards off.
The dog stayed behind as there are deer ticks, tons of skunks and rabies back that-a-way. The place she stays is a great kennel, but I’m sure it was more like a season of Oz for her. Bummer. It took her a few days to get her out of her funk upon our return. Now we’re back in the swing of things; working outside, lots of walks, tennis balls to fetch and belly rubs, not to mention some very tasty rib eye bones.
What I am reading to the dog:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Two flawed men, whose paths crossed as youth, are reconnected two decades later after a crime occurs in a rural, deep south backwater.
Iron House by John Hart
A former mob hit man reveals his checkered past to his girlfriend to protect her from the people who want them both dead.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Christine lost her short term memory. She wakes up each morning with no recollection of the past 2 decades. Her therapist calls her each day to tell her where she’s stashed her journal so she can reconnect with the present. She opens it one day to find she’s written, “Don’t trust Ben,” Ben’s her husband.
What the dog and I are watching:
Cedar Rapids
Ed Helms stars as an insurance salesman from Wisconsin who’s selected to attend a conference in Cedar Rapids, the big time! Ed gets a hard look at the seedy underbelly of big city insurance. John C. Reilly supports as the guy Ed’s boss warned him to avoid at all cost.
Potiche
French screwball comedy with Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu and Fabrice Luchini. Deneuve abandons her role as trophy wife to enter the work force.
What the dog and I are listening to:
The Secret by Vieux Farka Toure
The Bluesy influenced song stylings from Mali are some of my favorite World tunes. Tinariwen, Toumani Diabaté , Ali Farka Toure and his son, musician and songmaster, Vieux Farka Toure offer great selections of the area’s musical choices. All in all, the disc is a solid effort that will receive regular rotation in my latest playlist. Dave Matthews appears on one song. There was a time when I was a huge Dave fan. No doubt he’s a talented artist who supports many causes around the globe. Unfortunately Dave misses the bus when it comes to think globally, act locally. Dave lives in Seattle. Every year he plays three shows at the Gorge in eastern Washington over Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend is when Bumbershoot takes place at Seattle Center. It’s an annual, local arts and music festival.
Granted Labor Day weekend at the Gorge is a huge paycheck for DMB, Inc especially since the promoters have recently added a bunch of other bands to appear, creating their own Davefest. Dave can pick any weekend of the year to be at the Gorge (how about the 4th of July), after all he’s Dave Frigging Matthews, but he chooses to compete with a festival that’s nearly 40 years old and features local food vendors, artisans, performers and musicians. I no longer buy any of Dave’s CDs or merchandise. I would encourage all of you to boycott Dave until he begins to act locally.
Fits and D by White Denim
Not to be confused with Liz Taylor’s White Diamonds, Fits from 2009 starts out harder with distortion and near shouting sometimes growling lyrics, only to evolve into some great, melodic Rock’N’Roll. It’s almost like they had two different bands record the CD. The bonus CD is especially pleasing, some reasonably intricate guitar work, nice harmonies and toe-tapping beats. D, from 2011, continues as Fits ends. Some of the guitar work is reminiscent of Prog Rock guitar god, Steve Howe of Yes. This is one of my new favorite groups.
Revelator by The Tedeschi Trucks Band
Susan Tedeschi channels a younger, dare I say sober, Bonnie Raitt while her husband Derek Trucks shows why he’s the Mozart of slide guitar. Not every track is strong, but it’s a more hit than miss disc. Check out Midnight in Harlem.
The dog stayed behind as there are deer ticks, tons of skunks and rabies back that-a-way. The place she stays is a great kennel, but I’m sure it was more like a season of Oz for her. Bummer. It took her a few days to get her out of her funk upon our return. Now we’re back in the swing of things; working outside, lots of walks, tennis balls to fetch and belly rubs, not to mention some very tasty rib eye bones.
What I am reading to the dog:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
Two flawed men, whose paths crossed as youth, are reconnected two decades later after a crime occurs in a rural, deep south backwater.
Iron House by John Hart
A former mob hit man reveals his checkered past to his girlfriend to protect her from the people who want them both dead.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson
Christine lost her short term memory. She wakes up each morning with no recollection of the past 2 decades. Her therapist calls her each day to tell her where she’s stashed her journal so she can reconnect with the present. She opens it one day to find she’s written, “Don’t trust Ben,” Ben’s her husband.
What the dog and I are watching:
Cedar Rapids
Ed Helms stars as an insurance salesman from Wisconsin who’s selected to attend a conference in Cedar Rapids, the big time! Ed gets a hard look at the seedy underbelly of big city insurance. John C. Reilly supports as the guy Ed’s boss warned him to avoid at all cost.
Potiche
French screwball comedy with Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu and Fabrice Luchini. Deneuve abandons her role as trophy wife to enter the work force.
What the dog and I are listening to:
The Secret by Vieux Farka Toure
The Bluesy influenced song stylings from Mali are some of my favorite World tunes. Tinariwen, Toumani Diabaté , Ali Farka Toure and his son, musician and songmaster, Vieux Farka Toure offer great selections of the area’s musical choices. All in all, the disc is a solid effort that will receive regular rotation in my latest playlist. Dave Matthews appears on one song. There was a time when I was a huge Dave fan. No doubt he’s a talented artist who supports many causes around the globe. Unfortunately Dave misses the bus when it comes to think globally, act locally. Dave lives in Seattle. Every year he plays three shows at the Gorge in eastern Washington over Labor Day weekend. Labor Day weekend is when Bumbershoot takes place at Seattle Center. It’s an annual, local arts and music festival.
Granted Labor Day weekend at the Gorge is a huge paycheck for DMB, Inc especially since the promoters have recently added a bunch of other bands to appear, creating their own Davefest. Dave can pick any weekend of the year to be at the Gorge (how about the 4th of July), after all he’s Dave Frigging Matthews, but he chooses to compete with a festival that’s nearly 40 years old and features local food vendors, artisans, performers and musicians. I no longer buy any of Dave’s CDs or merchandise. I would encourage all of you to boycott Dave until he begins to act locally.
Fits and D by White Denim
Not to be confused with Liz Taylor’s White Diamonds, Fits from 2009 starts out harder with distortion and near shouting sometimes growling lyrics, only to evolve into some great, melodic Rock’N’Roll. It’s almost like they had two different bands record the CD. The bonus CD is especially pleasing, some reasonably intricate guitar work, nice harmonies and toe-tapping beats. D, from 2011, continues as Fits ends. Some of the guitar work is reminiscent of Prog Rock guitar god, Steve Howe of Yes. This is one of my new favorite groups.
Revelator by The Tedeschi Trucks Band
Susan Tedeschi channels a younger, dare I say sober, Bonnie Raitt while her husband Derek Trucks shows why he’s the Mozart of slide guitar. Not every track is strong, but it’s a more hit than miss disc. Check out Midnight in Harlem.
Friday, July 29, 2011
2011 Bumbershoot Lineup
The dog and I have been into pulled pork from the crock pot lately. There’s nothing like dry-rubbing a pork shoulder, letting it spend the night in the fridge, adding the BBQ sauce (we make our own) in the morning and slow cooking it until it falls off the bone. Shred that baby up, stick it on a roll with the sauce and you have a party!
We’ve been listening to a lot of live Grateful Dead from the Internet Music Archive.
There are a ton of soundboard recorded shows to stream as well as some very good quality, free downloads.
With the exception of the final Harry Potter, which B and I both liked, most of our recent viewing has been underwhelming so we’re revisiting Friday Night Lights via Netflix, beginning with the season one pilot. I happen to think it’s one of the most underrated shows in TV history, a great glimpse into small-town family life. The dog misguidedly thinks it’s just about football. It was filmed with hand held cameras. There’s scene structure, but no scripts and many non-actors. Sure some of the characters can be bit over the top, but what rose is without thorns?
The dog has been after me to read Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Cameron, a high school student who doesn’t quite fit in, gets mad cow disease and in the company of a dwarf and a lawn Gnome takes a journey to find a cure. Reminds me of early Tom Robbins.
We’ve been pouring over the MySpace pages of the bands who are coming to Seattle for Bumbershoot on Labor Day weekend trying to assemble our schedule. As usual we got our 3-day passes way back in March and thanks to Washington’s new service animal law, the dog can legally go (I had to sneak her in the past few years and it’s hard for her to walk on her hind legs for the day). She’s on pins & needles with anticipation. I can’t say as I blame her.
So our predicted Highlights for Bumbershoot 2011:
Ray LaMontagne
Trombone Shorty
Vetiver
School of Seven Bells
Fitz and the Tantrums
Greensky Bluegrass
And our sleepers, hopefully:
MarchFourth Marching Band
Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Charles Bradley
Legendary Oaks
AgesandAges
Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
PS I Love You
Bumbershoot 2011 Lineup
Saturday 9/3
*Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs
I love this guy’s smoky tenor!
Minus the Bear
Reminiscent of the mid/late-80’s Post New Wave, retro-Pop
*Mavis Staples
Mavis will take you there, no doubt!
Little Dragon
If Bergman had been a songwriter instead of a filmmaker...
*Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Funky, R&B from NOLA. Oh Yeah!
STRFKR
Portland Electronica quartet, pleasant beats
Shabazz Palaces
Hippity-hoppity from one third of Seattle’s Digable Planets
Warpaint
LA girl group. Somber and slow, yet surprisingly appealing.
Vusi Mahlasela
South African Folk music.
*MarchFourth Marching Band
Sounds more like the Crescent City than the Rose City. John Phillip Sousa would be proud
Eyehategod
New Orleans metal.
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible
Disco-Pop with undertones of Mexican restaurant mood music.
Väsen
Swedish Folk music performed by very good Swedish Folk musicians
Champagne Champagne
Seattle Hip-Hop
Astronautalis
Seattle Hip-Hop
#PS I Love You
Ontario duo Rocking in the free world.
Yuni in Taxco
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Pop than Rock
#Campfire Ok
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Rock than Pop
Meklit Hadero
Jazzy, Funky Folk
Craft Spells
Smooth, Electro-Pop, strains of Style Council
Caleb Klauder Country Band
Mandolin centered Country and Bluegrass from the Rose City
Valient Thorr
Chapel Hill Metalish Rock
*Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Innovative Canadian banjo picker teams with a singer from Mali and plays Jazz
#Pickwick
Soulful caucasians from Seattle
Red Fang
Heavier Rock and Roll tunes from Portland
Scribes
Seattle Hip-Hop
Wagons
Country Rock from down under
Shelby Earl
This is the Country KMPS and The Wolf should be playing
Free the Robots
Techno with elements of Jazz, Rock, Classical
Witchburn
If the Wilson sisters had played Metal this may be what they’d sound like
Emancipator
Instrumentals with a Worldly feel
Nice Nice
Rose City duo with a very nice approach to Psych Rock
#Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
Sounds a bit like Colin Hay, Folky
Tomten
Mostly catchy Pop Rocks from Seattle
#Pezzner
Syncopated, electronic bliss in the House
LawnChair Generals
More House
Natasha Kmeto
Technippity-Hoppity with an R&B feel
The Great Mundane
There’s a lot of Techno this year
DJ Nordic Soul
There’s a lot of Techno this year
Sunday 9/4
Wiz Khalifa
Oh Boy, another Rapper boasting of insignificant conquests
#Broken Social Scene
Interesting Pop/Rock with depth and range
*Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Seattle Hip-Hop with a conscience
The Kills
Punkish Rockers from London
Butthole Surfers
I had no idea they were still around and still loud
#Carbon Leaf
Virginian Indie-Folk-Rock
*Leon Russell
A musical legend
Toro y Moi
Mostly somber Techno-Pop with a little Soul.
Anti-Flag
If you can’t tell by the name, snarling, guitar driven Punk Pop
Das Racist
From their Myspace: Weed edge/hare krishna hard core/art rap/freak folk music trio based in Brooklyn, New York
*The Lonely Forest
Great stuff from Anacortes, WA, the Mecca of NW Rock.
**Vetiver
Jazzy, Folky, great music, great lyrics, I need more of this!
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Slow, somber Folky.
DåM-FunK + Master Blazter
Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, Techno, nice beats.
NOmeansno
A spare approach to Metal with a Punk influence.
Atari Teenage Riot
Bands whose music blasts you as soon as their MySpace page loads are in the same category as white collar criminals and people who talk during movies. C’mon people...
Tennis
Upbeat, Pop Rock with an early 60s retro sound
Thee Oh Sees
Fairly simple songs dolled up with lots of effects, toward Punk-a-Billy Pop
Mad Rad
Electronic Hip-Hop
#The Jim Jones Revue
Sounds like good ole Rock’N’Roll to me
*School of Seven Bells
If the B-52s were starting today (and Fred didn’t sing any lead), this is what they’d sound like
#Joe Pug and the Hundred Mile Band
Very Dylan-like, but a much better voice.
Davila 666
More Pop with a Punk sound.
#AgesandAges
Folk Rock with some chorus work reminiscent of Grand Archives or Fleet Foxes
*Wayne Horvitz Cafe Paloma Band
If you’re a cool enough musician you don’t need to put your music on MySpace and this Jazzy, Bluesy stuff is really cool. It’s Grunge Jazz.
#Kore Ionz
Sweet Reggae Music!
Sol
Seattle Rapper with nice background music.
Whalebones
Rockers sound sometimes like Dylan and sometimes like Neil Young.
Allen Stone
Rather R&Bish
*Massy Ferguson
American Rock’N’Roll, nicely done
#Tycho
Ambient Techno, very pleasant
Thomas Marriott’s Human Spirit
Sounds like Jazz to me.
Kaylee Cole
Piano and voice, singer/songwriter
Com Truise
Techno
Lusine
Techno, nice enough
HTRK
Techno with vocals
Gail Pettis Quartet
Jazz vocal, What a voice!
*Kasey Anderson and The Honkies
Rock on Garth
Shigeto
Techno with some interesting percussion
The Sight Below
Techno
#DJ Justin Timbreline
Ambient Techno, nicely done
Monday 9/5
*Daryl Hall & John Oates
Sure we called 'em the Philly Fags in high school, but these two have a great R&B sound.
*The Presidents of the United States of America
Rock as it’s meant to be, up tempo and sweaty
*The Reverend Horton Heat
Twangy Western Swing leaning a bit more toward Rock
*Fitz and The Tantrums
They borrow the R&B sound of Hall & Oates and make it their own
#Over the Rhine
American roots
Phantogram
Kinda Techno Rock
Grant Lee Buffalo
Folky
Urge Overkill
Rocky with no Bullwinkle
*Charles Bradley
Old school Soul music from Brooklyn
Vendetta Red
West Coast Rock
Sharon Van Etten
Singer-song writer, nice enough
Brite Futures
Techno Pop
Dennis Coffey
Soulful, Funky and a bit on the trippy side.
Head Like a Kite
Shoegazer, I love that term.
YACHT
Pleasant Techno Pop
**Greensky Bluegrass
New Grass! Their version of Pink Floyd’s Time is brilliant!
#Quadron
Soulful R&B
#Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils
The one song that MySpace actually plays is a soulful Rocker.
#Grand Hallway
Seattle’s own Melodic Rock
You Am I
Pop Rocks
Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
Jazzy, C&W influenced Pop
My Goodness
NW Rockers
LAKE
Reserved Pop-Rock
Beat Connection
Techno-Pop
Purity Ring
Techno-Pop
Truckasauras
Punkish sounding, been around since the Dead Sea was sick
#Ravenna Woods
NW Indie Folk Rock
Lemolo
A slower, somber sound with great voices
SPLATINUM
Techno-Pop
*Legendary Oaks
NW Folk Rock, very nice
Mash Hall
NW Hip-Hop
The Horde and The Harem
NW Folk Rock
Curtains For You
NW Folk Rock
#214
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop, nice beats
WD4D
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop
Ill Cosby
Techno-Pop, Huxtable style
DJ Introcut
Techno
*Must See
#Maybe
We’ve been listening to a lot of live Grateful Dead from the Internet Music Archive.
There are a ton of soundboard recorded shows to stream as well as some very good quality, free downloads.
With the exception of the final Harry Potter, which B and I both liked, most of our recent viewing has been underwhelming so we’re revisiting Friday Night Lights via Netflix, beginning with the season one pilot. I happen to think it’s one of the most underrated shows in TV history, a great glimpse into small-town family life. The dog misguidedly thinks it’s just about football. It was filmed with hand held cameras. There’s scene structure, but no scripts and many non-actors. Sure some of the characters can be bit over the top, but what rose is without thorns?
The dog has been after me to read Going Bovine by Libba Bray
Cameron, a high school student who doesn’t quite fit in, gets mad cow disease and in the company of a dwarf and a lawn Gnome takes a journey to find a cure. Reminds me of early Tom Robbins.
We’ve been pouring over the MySpace pages of the bands who are coming to Seattle for Bumbershoot on Labor Day weekend trying to assemble our schedule. As usual we got our 3-day passes way back in March and thanks to Washington’s new service animal law, the dog can legally go (I had to sneak her in the past few years and it’s hard for her to walk on her hind legs for the day). She’s on pins & needles with anticipation. I can’t say as I blame her.
So our predicted Highlights for Bumbershoot 2011:
Ray LaMontagne
Trombone Shorty
Vetiver
School of Seven Bells
Fitz and the Tantrums
Greensky Bluegrass
And our sleepers, hopefully:
MarchFourth Marching Band
Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Charles Bradley
Legendary Oaks
AgesandAges
Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
PS I Love You
Bumbershoot 2011 Lineup
Saturday 9/3
*Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs
I love this guy’s smoky tenor!
Minus the Bear
Reminiscent of the mid/late-80’s Post New Wave, retro-Pop
*Mavis Staples
Mavis will take you there, no doubt!
Little Dragon
If Bergman had been a songwriter instead of a filmmaker...
*Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Funky, R&B from NOLA. Oh Yeah!
STRFKR
Portland Electronica quartet, pleasant beats
Shabazz Palaces
Hippity-hoppity from one third of Seattle’s Digable Planets
Warpaint
LA girl group. Somber and slow, yet surprisingly appealing.
Vusi Mahlasela
South African Folk music.
*MarchFourth Marching Band
Sounds more like the Crescent City than the Rose City. John Phillip Sousa would be proud
Eyehategod
New Orleans metal.
Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich + Fussible
Disco-Pop with undertones of Mexican restaurant mood music.
Väsen
Swedish Folk music performed by very good Swedish Folk musicians
Champagne Champagne
Seattle Hip-Hop
Astronautalis
Seattle Hip-Hop
#PS I Love You
Ontario duo Rocking in the free world.
Yuni in Taxco
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Pop than Rock
#Campfire Ok
Seattle Pop-Rock, more Rock than Pop
Meklit Hadero
Jazzy, Funky Folk
Craft Spells
Smooth, Electro-Pop, strains of Style Council
Caleb Klauder Country Band
Mandolin centered Country and Bluegrass from the Rose City
Valient Thorr
Chapel Hill Metalish Rock
*Jayme Stone: Room of Wonders
Innovative Canadian banjo picker teams with a singer from Mali and plays Jazz
#Pickwick
Soulful caucasians from Seattle
Red Fang
Heavier Rock and Roll tunes from Portland
Scribes
Seattle Hip-Hop
Wagons
Country Rock from down under
Shelby Earl
This is the Country KMPS and The Wolf should be playing
Free the Robots
Techno with elements of Jazz, Rock, Classical
Witchburn
If the Wilson sisters had played Metal this may be what they’d sound like
Emancipator
Instrumentals with a Worldly feel
Nice Nice
Rose City duo with a very nice approach to Psych Rock
#Kris Orlowski & The Passenger String Quartet
Sounds a bit like Colin Hay, Folky
Tomten
Mostly catchy Pop Rocks from Seattle
#Pezzner
Syncopated, electronic bliss in the House
LawnChair Generals
More House
Natasha Kmeto
Technippity-Hoppity with an R&B feel
The Great Mundane
There’s a lot of Techno this year
DJ Nordic Soul
There’s a lot of Techno this year
Sunday 9/4
Wiz Khalifa
Oh Boy, another Rapper boasting of insignificant conquests
#Broken Social Scene
Interesting Pop/Rock with depth and range
*Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Seattle Hip-Hop with a conscience
The Kills
Punkish Rockers from London
Butthole Surfers
I had no idea they were still around and still loud
#Carbon Leaf
Virginian Indie-Folk-Rock
*Leon Russell
A musical legend
Toro y Moi
Mostly somber Techno-Pop with a little Soul.
Anti-Flag
If you can’t tell by the name, snarling, guitar driven Punk Pop
Das Racist
From their Myspace: Weed edge/hare krishna hard core/art rap/freak folk music trio based in Brooklyn, New York
*The Lonely Forest
Great stuff from Anacortes, WA, the Mecca of NW Rock.
**Vetiver
Jazzy, Folky, great music, great lyrics, I need more of this!
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Slow, somber Folky.
DåM-FunK + Master Blazter
Rap, Hip-Hop, Funk, Techno, nice beats.
NOmeansno
A spare approach to Metal with a Punk influence.
Atari Teenage Riot
Bands whose music blasts you as soon as their MySpace page loads are in the same category as white collar criminals and people who talk during movies. C’mon people...
Tennis
Upbeat, Pop Rock with an early 60s retro sound
Thee Oh Sees
Fairly simple songs dolled up with lots of effects, toward Punk-a-Billy Pop
Mad Rad
Electronic Hip-Hop
#The Jim Jones Revue
Sounds like good ole Rock’N’Roll to me
*School of Seven Bells
If the B-52s were starting today (and Fred didn’t sing any lead), this is what they’d sound like
#Joe Pug and the Hundred Mile Band
Very Dylan-like, but a much better voice.
Davila 666
More Pop with a Punk sound.
#AgesandAges
Folk Rock with some chorus work reminiscent of Grand Archives or Fleet Foxes
*Wayne Horvitz Cafe Paloma Band
If you’re a cool enough musician you don’t need to put your music on MySpace and this Jazzy, Bluesy stuff is really cool. It’s Grunge Jazz.
#Kore Ionz
Sweet Reggae Music!
Sol
Seattle Rapper with nice background music.
Whalebones
Rockers sound sometimes like Dylan and sometimes like Neil Young.
Allen Stone
Rather R&Bish
*Massy Ferguson
American Rock’N’Roll, nicely done
#Tycho
Ambient Techno, very pleasant
Thomas Marriott’s Human Spirit
Sounds like Jazz to me.
Kaylee Cole
Piano and voice, singer/songwriter
Com Truise
Techno
Lusine
Techno, nice enough
HTRK
Techno with vocals
Gail Pettis Quartet
Jazz vocal, What a voice!
*Kasey Anderson and The Honkies
Rock on Garth
Shigeto
Techno with some interesting percussion
The Sight Below
Techno
#DJ Justin Timbreline
Ambient Techno, nicely done
Monday 9/5
*Daryl Hall & John Oates
Sure we called 'em the Philly Fags in high school, but these two have a great R&B sound.
*The Presidents of the United States of America
Rock as it’s meant to be, up tempo and sweaty
*The Reverend Horton Heat
Twangy Western Swing leaning a bit more toward Rock
*Fitz and The Tantrums
They borrow the R&B sound of Hall & Oates and make it their own
#Over the Rhine
American roots
Phantogram
Kinda Techno Rock
Grant Lee Buffalo
Folky
Urge Overkill
Rocky with no Bullwinkle
*Charles Bradley
Old school Soul music from Brooklyn
Vendetta Red
West Coast Rock
Sharon Van Etten
Singer-song writer, nice enough
Brite Futures
Techno Pop
Dennis Coffey
Soulful, Funky and a bit on the trippy side.
Head Like a Kite
Shoegazer, I love that term.
YACHT
Pleasant Techno Pop
**Greensky Bluegrass
New Grass! Their version of Pink Floyd’s Time is brilliant!
#Quadron
Soulful R&B
#Ian Moore & The Lossy Coils
The one song that MySpace actually plays is a soulful Rocker.
#Grand Hallway
Seattle’s own Melodic Rock
You Am I
Pop Rocks
Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside
Jazzy, C&W influenced Pop
My Goodness
NW Rockers
LAKE
Reserved Pop-Rock
Beat Connection
Techno-Pop
Purity Ring
Techno-Pop
Truckasauras
Punkish sounding, been around since the Dead Sea was sick
#Ravenna Woods
NW Indie Folk Rock
Lemolo
A slower, somber sound with great voices
SPLATINUM
Techno-Pop
*Legendary Oaks
NW Folk Rock, very nice
Mash Hall
NW Hip-Hop
The Horde and The Harem
NW Folk Rock
Curtains For You
NW Folk Rock
#214
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop, nice beats
WD4D
NW Techno-Poppy, Hippity-Hop
Ill Cosby
Techno-Pop, Huxtable style
DJ Introcut
Techno
*Must See
#Maybe
Saturday, July 2, 2011
4th of July Weekend
I didn’t post last weekend as I was traveling all day Saturday to the Crescent City. I spent a couple of days there eating several different kinds of pork served in several different ways. I also presented at a conference with my good friend K.
I remember the entrance to Bourbon Street differently, of course I was last in NOLA in 1987 and my trips to the French Quarter usually involved the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Regardless, I recall the buildings fronting Canal Street as being taller and taking up more of the block. In the 80’s a lone saxophone player greeted people with an open case while attacking his horn with a bluesy wail, echoing off the buildings. And I don’t remember the streets being so narrow in the Quarter. Two grown men could place one hand on the wall of the buildings on each side and nearly touch hands in the middle of the street. When I shared the last bit with my partner she reminded me that I was smaller back then (around 50 lbs smaller, but I was smoking thank you very much). I did remember the food, music and architecture correctly. All are as varied and wonderful as the groups of people who first settled the area. It was hot, 98-degrees-in-the-shade hot. You can’t walk down the street at a Northwest pace in that kind of heat. You won’t last an hour. It’s best to travel on the shady side of the street and shuffle with a you-get-there-when-you-get-there pace.
On the way home we caught a shuttle to the airport from the convention center with a driver who gave a quick tour of the city. He pointed out where the post-Katrina waters had breached the levy and caused the most damage. They had standing water in some spots for over 3 months and the worst damage was in the poorest parts of the city. He handled the subject with grace and humor and expressed gratitude for the help of people outside of NOLA, needless to say it was a sobering ride to the airport.
Although the dog reminded me of the new service animal law in our state (apparently one can argue that their pet iguana or beta fish is a service animal and permitted in any facility), I left her at home and took the light rail to the airport yesterday to meet J. He was returning from the east coast and I wanted the check out a more reasonable way to travel to/from Seatac.
It takes around 10 minutes from the ferry to the bus tunnel on 3rd, then 30 minutes to the airport with another 5 minute walk to the terminal. All for $2.75 as opposed to $35 in a limo or $45 by cab. I wish we had light rail going across the lake as well, but a handful of rich people (whose sole purpose is to get even richer) oppose the project. If you asked me they are little more than selfish, short-sighted a-holes. One caveat for them, karma is a bitch!
It’s hot today, not NOLA hot, but hot nonetheless. The dog has been searching for shady spaces as I work in the yard on projects that have been postponed for way too long. Taking care of some firewood, cleaning out the cars, wiring the raspberries up so they don’t fall into the neighbor’s yard, but pacing myself as is expected of a man at my station in life.
The dog and I are watching:
Spartacus: Sand and Gravel, Season One
Actually the real title of the Starz show is Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This is very different from Kubrick’s Spartacus, much more graphic than Gladiator, the presentation is closer to Zack Snyder’s 300 (in which a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.). In Spartacus there’s lot’s of political maneuvering by the owner of a gladiator training facility (think Don King without the tux and Viagra-influenced hair) attempting to improve his lot in life. Lot’s of blood and gore in the fight scenes, lot’s of nudity and regular copulation, in other words, everything you’d want in a TV series. However, I suspect that the writers have taken liberty with the historical accuracies.
And we enjoyed an especially humorous episode of South Park called T.M.I.
Cartman thinks the school has posted the boys penis sizes on the bulletin board at school.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
What we like to call New Soul. Which is newer artists doing their best to honor and pay tribute to those who’ve come before and embrace that retro sound with their interpretation of Soul and R&B.
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
He’s stepped his game up a bit from The Way I See It and included more of a Rock sound on this disc.
Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions: The Covers
Cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses aside, this guy can sing.
Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Think Hall & Oates at their peak.
Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme – Us Is What Time It Is
Is it Funk with Soul or Soul with Funk? Who cares, just turn it up.
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Unless you’ve been living on the moon you’ve heard Cee Lo’s F**K You song and seen the sign language interpretation on You Tube. The whole disc is great. Check out Bright Lights, Bigger City.
What I’m reading to the dog:
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter
A rather humorous perspective on a man who is out of work with limited savings, the bank is about to foreclose on his house and his wife may be cheating on him. He takes it in stride and wrangles his way toward a solution to all his problems.
The dog and I loved also enjoyed Walter’s Citizen Vince,
A noirish tale about a relocated witness living in Spokane, WA.
I remember the entrance to Bourbon Street differently, of course I was last in NOLA in 1987 and my trips to the French Quarter usually involved the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. Regardless, I recall the buildings fronting Canal Street as being taller and taking up more of the block. In the 80’s a lone saxophone player greeted people with an open case while attacking his horn with a bluesy wail, echoing off the buildings. And I don’t remember the streets being so narrow in the Quarter. Two grown men could place one hand on the wall of the buildings on each side and nearly touch hands in the middle of the street. When I shared the last bit with my partner she reminded me that I was smaller back then (around 50 lbs smaller, but I was smoking thank you very much). I did remember the food, music and architecture correctly. All are as varied and wonderful as the groups of people who first settled the area. It was hot, 98-degrees-in-the-shade hot. You can’t walk down the street at a Northwest pace in that kind of heat. You won’t last an hour. It’s best to travel on the shady side of the street and shuffle with a you-get-there-when-you-get-there pace.
On the way home we caught a shuttle to the airport from the convention center with a driver who gave a quick tour of the city. He pointed out where the post-Katrina waters had breached the levy and caused the most damage. They had standing water in some spots for over 3 months and the worst damage was in the poorest parts of the city. He handled the subject with grace and humor and expressed gratitude for the help of people outside of NOLA, needless to say it was a sobering ride to the airport.
Although the dog reminded me of the new service animal law in our state (apparently one can argue that their pet iguana or beta fish is a service animal and permitted in any facility), I left her at home and took the light rail to the airport yesterday to meet J. He was returning from the east coast and I wanted the check out a more reasonable way to travel to/from Seatac.
It takes around 10 minutes from the ferry to the bus tunnel on 3rd, then 30 minutes to the airport with another 5 minute walk to the terminal. All for $2.75 as opposed to $35 in a limo or $45 by cab. I wish we had light rail going across the lake as well, but a handful of rich people (whose sole purpose is to get even richer) oppose the project. If you asked me they are little more than selfish, short-sighted a-holes. One caveat for them, karma is a bitch!
It’s hot today, not NOLA hot, but hot nonetheless. The dog has been searching for shady spaces as I work in the yard on projects that have been postponed for way too long. Taking care of some firewood, cleaning out the cars, wiring the raspberries up so they don’t fall into the neighbor’s yard, but pacing myself as is expected of a man at my station in life.
The dog and I are watching:
Spartacus: Sand and Gravel, Season One
Actually the real title of the Starz show is Spartacus: Blood and Sand. This is very different from Kubrick’s Spartacus, much more graphic than Gladiator, the presentation is closer to Zack Snyder’s 300 (in which a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C.). In Spartacus there’s lot’s of political maneuvering by the owner of a gladiator training facility (think Don King without the tux and Viagra-influenced hair) attempting to improve his lot in life. Lot’s of blood and gore in the fight scenes, lot’s of nudity and regular copulation, in other words, everything you’d want in a TV series. However, I suspect that the writers have taken liberty with the historical accuracies.
And we enjoyed an especially humorous episode of South Park called T.M.I.
Cartman thinks the school has posted the boys penis sizes on the bulletin board at school.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
What we like to call New Soul. Which is newer artists doing their best to honor and pay tribute to those who’ve come before and embrace that retro sound with their interpretation of Soul and R&B.
Raphael Saadiq – Stone Rollin’
He’s stepped his game up a bit from The Way I See It and included more of a Rock sound on this disc.
Mayer Hawthorne – Impressions: The Covers
Cardigan and Buddy Holly glasses aside, this guy can sing.
Fitz & The Tantrums – Pickin’ Up the Pieces
Think Hall & Oates at their peak.
Eldridge Gravy and the Court Supreme – Us Is What Time It Is
Is it Funk with Soul or Soul with Funk? Who cares, just turn it up.
Cee Lo Green – The Lady Killer
Unless you’ve been living on the moon you’ve heard Cee Lo’s F**K You song and seen the sign language interpretation on You Tube. The whole disc is great. Check out Bright Lights, Bigger City.
What I’m reading to the dog:
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter
A rather humorous perspective on a man who is out of work with limited savings, the bank is about to foreclose on his house and his wife may be cheating on him. He takes it in stride and wrangles his way toward a solution to all his problems.
The dog and I loved also enjoyed Walter’s Citizen Vince,
A noirish tale about a relocated witness living in Spokane, WA.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Five days from J’s B-day, Three days from the Solstice, two days from J&B’s Anniversary and one day from Father’s day
The dog and I had a great walk yesterday in the park near our house. It amazes me how many times she can pee on a 40 minute walk. If I stored up that much liquid inside of me it would come blasting out of my mouth every time I opened it. And anyone who knows me can tell you I open it a lot.
She enjoyed a bone from the steaks we grilled last night, so much so that I nearly broke my ankle stepping on it this morning. She stashed it just in front of the door to the garage so the neighbor dog wouldn’t take it.
The dog and I were quite happy to see the Bruins capture the Stanley Cup after seven games. What a series! But that whole growing-a-beard-to-support-the-team thing really didn’t work for me. My attempts at growing facial hair have me looking like a werewolf with mange. It’s like patches of eyebrow-thick hair in random spots over my cheeks.
Anyway, Mark Recchi (43 years old, don’t ya know) and the boys dominated in the Garden. On the contrary, they played at a less than inspiring level in Rogers for all but the last game. The Canucks hit hard and played solid, fundamental hockey on their home ice for all but the last game, but seemed unable to find their way in Boston.
In the end the goalies made the difference. Timmy Thomas was amazing and certainly earned MVP honors for the series. It was terribly unfortunate that some of the fans gathered on Georgia and Granville streets in downtown Vancouver chose to abandon all sense of sportsmanship in handling the loss. Although having been in the streets of Vancouver with a crowd of mostly late teen to early 30s males during game two, I have to say I’m not surprised. Combining alcohol with testosterone rarely yields positive results.
The irony of it all; 70% of the Bruins are from Canada, eh, with two American players and Boston claims the only Vancouver, BC native in the Stanley Cup finals. The Canucks squad is 58% Canadian, eh, with six American players.
One bright spot to the sad affairs after game 7, the kiss.
While the dog can’t accompany me to the theater (but a miniature horse is considered a service animal in this state, give me a break) she loves Woody Allen and pirates:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011, Disney, Dir: Rob Marshall)
Jack’s back with Penelope Cruz instead of Keira Knightly and looking for de Leon’s Fountain of Youth. I had low expectations, but must confess that I actually enjoyed it. It was certainly better than PotC III: At World’s End and as good as PotC II: Dead Man’s Chest. Of course the original, PotC The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best of the lot.
Midnight In Paris (2011, Universal, Dir:Woody Allen)
Am I the only one who’s wondered when Woody was going to return to making gems like Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters? The waits over. Midnight is a beautifully filmed, wonderfully scored, brilliantly written and superbly acted romantic comedy filmed in Paris. Go see this film now!
The dog laments over the cancelling of our DirecTV contract last fall, she and I have been watching the following on the flat screen (the dog reminds me that the surround sound is not properly installed):
Spartacus vs. Gladiator
Spartacus (1960, Universal, Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
Rebellious slave Spartacus leads a revolt to overthrow the Roman Empire after being trained to fight as a gladiator.
This film is long, 187 minutes with the restored footage. Kubrick's transitional shots are way too long and he features the moral discussion of slavery way too often. Dalton Trumbo, a black-listed screen writer, used the script as an opportunity to comment on the wrongs of the McCarthy era. Not to minimize the damage McCarthy caused in America, Kubrick and Trumbo could have told an effective story in a little over two hours and still been able to capture a strong editorial on the corruption of power, the ill-treatment of the working class (in this case slaves) and illustrate the struggle for balance and survival in an unfair world. I’m guessing Kirk Douglas had some influence over the finished product. He had Anthony Mann removed as director and was still pissed for being overlooked for the lead in Ben Hur. Douglas evidently wanted his own film version of the human condition on a grand scale.
Gladiator (2000, Dir: Ridley Scott)
Rebellious slave and former general, Maximus, attempts to lead a revolt to overthrow the Emperor of Rome after fighting as a gladiator. Russell Crowe stars in Douglas’s role. Scott’s transitional shots aren’t nearly as long as Kubrick's and the dialogs on corruption and man’s inhumanity toward man seems to flow more evenly and feel less repetitive than in Spartacus. Additionally, the fight scenes are way better.
White Collar: Complete Second Season
Neal Caffrey, an ever resourceful con man and world class art forger with friends in low places, teams up with the straight laced, FBI agent who busted him. Together they bring down criminals in the Big Apple.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
The Waifs – Temptation
Sisters Vikki & Donna Simpson along with Josh Cunningham form the core of the band from Oz (they expand to a quintet to tour). They’re quickly approaching their third decade together. Temptation, their 6th studio album, while not as good as the bluesy, jazzy, funky folk-rock disc Sun Dirt Water, it is a better example of their range. A little slower, perhaps a bit more thoughtful in the lyric department and featuring a wider selection of creativity. Bottom line, you can put the CD on and relax into the talent of three souls from the other side of the planet, preferably while sitting outside in the sun with a beverage and a group of your favorite people.
Tara Nevins – Wood and Stone
I’ve been a fan of Tara’s since the early days of Donna the Buffalo, but admittedly prefer Tara’s solo work. Mule to Ride was one of my favorite discs from ’99. Wood and Stone, released over a decade later, is a wonderful collection of American Roots music; Bluegrass, Folk, Country and Cajun, updated with a more contemporary sound. Tara’s voice is not the type of lead vocal you’re apt to hear on the radio today. She employs a simple delivery, nothing flashy, no vibrato, no 12 octive range, there’s no need for it. Her voice fits perfectly with her music.
What I’m reading to the dog:
A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead by Dennis McNally
The Grateful Dead story, from their humble beginnings as a jug band on the burgeoning folk scene to one of the most successful, above mediocre live bands in the history of Rock’N’Roll. The creativity and energy they inspired in the community of followers is as much a part of the Dead as their albums and tours. The dog loves Dark Star in its many iterations (we have over 50).
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer for this brilliantly humorous tale of the indignant, anti-hero Ignatius J. Reilly suffering the world’s fools and incompetents in New Orleans.
She enjoyed a bone from the steaks we grilled last night, so much so that I nearly broke my ankle stepping on it this morning. She stashed it just in front of the door to the garage so the neighbor dog wouldn’t take it.
The dog and I were quite happy to see the Bruins capture the Stanley Cup after seven games. What a series! But that whole growing-a-beard-to-support-the-team thing really didn’t work for me. My attempts at growing facial hair have me looking like a werewolf with mange. It’s like patches of eyebrow-thick hair in random spots over my cheeks.
Anyway, Mark Recchi (43 years old, don’t ya know) and the boys dominated in the Garden. On the contrary, they played at a less than inspiring level in Rogers for all but the last game. The Canucks hit hard and played solid, fundamental hockey on their home ice for all but the last game, but seemed unable to find their way in Boston.
In the end the goalies made the difference. Timmy Thomas was amazing and certainly earned MVP honors for the series. It was terribly unfortunate that some of the fans gathered on Georgia and Granville streets in downtown Vancouver chose to abandon all sense of sportsmanship in handling the loss. Although having been in the streets of Vancouver with a crowd of mostly late teen to early 30s males during game two, I have to say I’m not surprised. Combining alcohol with testosterone rarely yields positive results.
The irony of it all; 70% of the Bruins are from Canada, eh, with two American players and Boston claims the only Vancouver, BC native in the Stanley Cup finals. The Canucks squad is 58% Canadian, eh, with six American players.
One bright spot to the sad affairs after game 7, the kiss.
While the dog can’t accompany me to the theater (but a miniature horse is considered a service animal in this state, give me a break) she loves Woody Allen and pirates:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011, Disney, Dir: Rob Marshall)
Jack’s back with Penelope Cruz instead of Keira Knightly and looking for de Leon’s Fountain of Youth. I had low expectations, but must confess that I actually enjoyed it. It was certainly better than PotC III: At World’s End and as good as PotC II: Dead Man’s Chest. Of course the original, PotC The Curse of the Black Pearl is the best of the lot.
Midnight In Paris (2011, Universal, Dir:Woody Allen)
Am I the only one who’s wondered when Woody was going to return to making gems like Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo and Hannah and Her Sisters? The waits over. Midnight is a beautifully filmed, wonderfully scored, brilliantly written and superbly acted romantic comedy filmed in Paris. Go see this film now!
The dog laments over the cancelling of our DirecTV contract last fall, she and I have been watching the following on the flat screen (the dog reminds me that the surround sound is not properly installed):
Spartacus vs. Gladiator
Spartacus (1960, Universal, Dir: Stanley Kubrick)
Rebellious slave Spartacus leads a revolt to overthrow the Roman Empire after being trained to fight as a gladiator.
This film is long, 187 minutes with the restored footage. Kubrick's transitional shots are way too long and he features the moral discussion of slavery way too often. Dalton Trumbo, a black-listed screen writer, used the script as an opportunity to comment on the wrongs of the McCarthy era. Not to minimize the damage McCarthy caused in America, Kubrick and Trumbo could have told an effective story in a little over two hours and still been able to capture a strong editorial on the corruption of power, the ill-treatment of the working class (in this case slaves) and illustrate the struggle for balance and survival in an unfair world. I’m guessing Kirk Douglas had some influence over the finished product. He had Anthony Mann removed as director and was still pissed for being overlooked for the lead in Ben Hur. Douglas evidently wanted his own film version of the human condition on a grand scale.
Gladiator (2000, Dir: Ridley Scott)
Rebellious slave and former general, Maximus, attempts to lead a revolt to overthrow the Emperor of Rome after fighting as a gladiator. Russell Crowe stars in Douglas’s role. Scott’s transitional shots aren’t nearly as long as Kubrick's and the dialogs on corruption and man’s inhumanity toward man seems to flow more evenly and feel less repetitive than in Spartacus. Additionally, the fight scenes are way better.
White Collar: Complete Second Season
Neal Caffrey, an ever resourceful con man and world class art forger with friends in low places, teams up with the straight laced, FBI agent who busted him. Together they bring down criminals in the Big Apple.
The dog and I have been groovin' to:
The Waifs – Temptation
Sisters Vikki & Donna Simpson along with Josh Cunningham form the core of the band from Oz (they expand to a quintet to tour). They’re quickly approaching their third decade together. Temptation, their 6th studio album, while not as good as the bluesy, jazzy, funky folk-rock disc Sun Dirt Water, it is a better example of their range. A little slower, perhaps a bit more thoughtful in the lyric department and featuring a wider selection of creativity. Bottom line, you can put the CD on and relax into the talent of three souls from the other side of the planet, preferably while sitting outside in the sun with a beverage and a group of your favorite people.
Tara Nevins – Wood and Stone
I’ve been a fan of Tara’s since the early days of Donna the Buffalo, but admittedly prefer Tara’s solo work. Mule to Ride was one of my favorite discs from ’99. Wood and Stone, released over a decade later, is a wonderful collection of American Roots music; Bluegrass, Folk, Country and Cajun, updated with a more contemporary sound. Tara’s voice is not the type of lead vocal you’re apt to hear on the radio today. She employs a simple delivery, nothing flashy, no vibrato, no 12 octive range, there’s no need for it. Her voice fits perfectly with her music.
What I’m reading to the dog:
A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead by Dennis McNally
The Grateful Dead story, from their humble beginnings as a jug band on the burgeoning folk scene to one of the most successful, above mediocre live bands in the history of Rock’N’Roll. The creativity and energy they inspired in the community of followers is as much a part of the Dead as their albums and tours. The dog loves Dark Star in its many iterations (we have over 50).
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
Toole was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer for this brilliantly humorous tale of the indignant, anti-hero Ignatius J. Reilly suffering the world’s fools and incompetents in New Orleans.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
E's B-day and A's Shower.
It's E's B-day and A's Shower.
The dog and I are groovin to:
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys. Melodic and stable as one would expect from Ben and the boys.
Joan Armatrading - Live at Royal Albert. I’ve seen Joan four times and this is not the usual set list, but how many times can she play Willow? Nicely done.
Treme – Soundtrack. Music from the HBO series created by the producers of The Wire. The show features post-Katrina New Orleans and the stories of those who made it through and those who returned. The music helps tell the story.
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin. Once again Raphael hits it out of the park with a truly retro, Motown sound that is sure to get the stodgiest curmudgeons tapping their toes.
Jason Isbell - Here We Rest. Former Drive By Trucker put together a solid collection of Folky/Country/Rock tunes.
I'm enjoying the 3rd season of True Blood (although too scary for the dog). Not as good as season one, but better than season two.
We recently saw the first talking version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, Paramount, Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Frederic March and Miriam Hopkins). Best Actor Oscar for March. Extremely racing and artsy for 1931! And we learned that there are 54 film versions of that story including a musical from 2001 with Mr. Cheeseburger/Baywatch, David Hasselhoff.
I'm a little over one third of the way through Scribbling the Cat: Travels With an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller. An English born, Rhodesian raised journalist living in Montana returns to Zambia to travel to Mozambique with a born-again, soldier-turned-banana-farmer so he can face his demons. It’s non-fiction, you can't make that shit up. It's very good so far.
We spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC celebrating another year of patience, tolerance and understanding by my wonderful partner. The dog wasn’t able to come. She had a lot on her agenda. That city has miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers) of dedicated bike lanes and trails. The entire waterfront is a wide bike/walk/jog/rollerblade path.
We watched cricket on the green, but understood very little, and lawn bowling. They asked us to join the club. There was an ancient woman who couldn't bend over the pick up the balls (she used a stainless steel, cane-like hook), but man could she bowl. However, no roller derby or people balancing rocks on the beach this year.
Vancouver was bubbling over with Canucks fans full of Stanley Cup fervor, or is it fervour? Once the game started the typically polite and reserved Canadians were beginning to mimic their more obnoxious, sports-fan, cousins to the south. And the game was on everywhere we turned. Granville was shut down for blocks with thousands in the streets watching on giant TVs. We saw an altercation between two guys. After watching them posture and maneuver for position, I couldn’t help but think that even the fights are more polite in Canada. I was in Barcelona in 1982 for the opening ceremonies of World Cup Soccer. That was wild, but it pales in comparison to watching hockey with a bunch of liquored up Canadians, eh.
A question my partner and I have been pondering and sharing with others, “Who, in your community, inspires you?” This led to a discussion of criteria for inspirational efforts. We talked about some level of sacrifice being present and that a person’s act/s led to some action by you. So, “Who, in your community, inspires you?”
Recent solar flare activity has increased the dog's suspicion of the squirrels in our back yard. She’s on high alert as there’s no telling what new nadirs of sordidness squirrels will seek when the sun’s acting up.
The dog and I are groovin to:
Death Cab for Cutie - Codes and Keys. Melodic and stable as one would expect from Ben and the boys.
Joan Armatrading - Live at Royal Albert. I’ve seen Joan four times and this is not the usual set list, but how many times can she play Willow? Nicely done.
Treme – Soundtrack. Music from the HBO series created by the producers of The Wire. The show features post-Katrina New Orleans and the stories of those who made it through and those who returned. The music helps tell the story.
Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin. Once again Raphael hits it out of the park with a truly retro, Motown sound that is sure to get the stodgiest curmudgeons tapping their toes.
Jason Isbell - Here We Rest. Former Drive By Trucker put together a solid collection of Folky/Country/Rock tunes.
I'm enjoying the 3rd season of True Blood (although too scary for the dog). Not as good as season one, but better than season two.
We recently saw the first talking version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931, Paramount, Directed by Rouben Mamoulian, starring Frederic March and Miriam Hopkins). Best Actor Oscar for March. Extremely racing and artsy for 1931! And we learned that there are 54 film versions of that story including a musical from 2001 with Mr. Cheeseburger/Baywatch, David Hasselhoff.
I'm a little over one third of the way through Scribbling the Cat: Travels With an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller. An English born, Rhodesian raised journalist living in Montana returns to Zambia to travel to Mozambique with a born-again, soldier-turned-banana-farmer so he can face his demons. It’s non-fiction, you can't make that shit up. It's very good so far.
We spent last weekend in Vancouver, BC celebrating another year of patience, tolerance and understanding by my wonderful partner. The dog wasn’t able to come. She had a lot on her agenda. That city has miles and miles (kilometers and kilometers) of dedicated bike lanes and trails. The entire waterfront is a wide bike/walk/jog/rollerblade path.
We watched cricket on the green, but understood very little, and lawn bowling. They asked us to join the club. There was an ancient woman who couldn't bend over the pick up the balls (she used a stainless steel, cane-like hook), but man could she bowl. However, no roller derby or people balancing rocks on the beach this year.
Vancouver was bubbling over with Canucks fans full of Stanley Cup fervor, or is it fervour? Once the game started the typically polite and reserved Canadians were beginning to mimic their more obnoxious, sports-fan, cousins to the south. And the game was on everywhere we turned. Granville was shut down for blocks with thousands in the streets watching on giant TVs. We saw an altercation between two guys. After watching them posture and maneuver for position, I couldn’t help but think that even the fights are more polite in Canada. I was in Barcelona in 1982 for the opening ceremonies of World Cup Soccer. That was wild, but it pales in comparison to watching hockey with a bunch of liquored up Canadians, eh.
A question my partner and I have been pondering and sharing with others, “Who, in your community, inspires you?” This led to a discussion of criteria for inspirational efforts. We talked about some level of sacrifice being present and that a person’s act/s led to some action by you. So, “Who, in your community, inspires you?”
Recent solar flare activity has increased the dog's suspicion of the squirrels in our back yard. She’s on high alert as there’s no telling what new nadirs of sordidness squirrels will seek when the sun’s acting up.
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