Oh, You Also Missed This...

For Those That Missed Bad Movie Night...

You missed this last night:


And this (You only need to watch the first minute):

I Need An Explanation

I have yet to find a satisfactory answer to this question. Why is it musical groups from France, Sweden, Italy, etc. can sing with perfect to near perfect American accents but can't talk that way?

Ramblings (It's Been Such a Long Time. I Think I Should Be Going Edition)

I would like to blame an exciting and busy life for my lack of blogging. Unfortunately, it would be a lie. But let me give you an update on the mundane that is my life.

It's been three days now in a row that I haven't worn a hat. The Enbrel's working well. Now if everyone would stop pointing out that I'm not wearing a hat I'd be set.

My therapist was thrilled when I showed up at the office without a hat. It's the happiest I've seen her during our sessions. She still pauses for extended periods of time in order to force me to carry the conversation. It drives me a little batty to the point that I just want to throw out something like: "I've found myself becoming more distracted and forgetful. Like this morning I completely forgot to put out the new air fresheners I bought last night. All day I was stressed out that someone will smell the dead body in my closet."

Speaking of therapy, I've come to terms with the massages for my physical therapy. It helps that the aide that gives me the massages is cute, and either really likes me or is easy. I guess either way that's a win. Still, if I ever did actually ask her out she would have the upper hand considering the vulnerable position she has me in twice a week. I should wait till after I finish physical therapy.

As promised, I picked up the new Blitzen Trapper album Wild Mountain Nation. It's been stuck in heavy rotation since I picked it up. I guess you could call them a psychedelic country rock group, but they hit on other genre's too like the indie pop of Futures & Folly, the Beckish Sci-Fi Kid, or the Supergrassed glam of Murder Babe. Things is they cross from genre to genre effortlessly and with such joy that it works. There is still that twang and oodles of slide guitar that makes me keep this band in the psychedelic country rock category.

Saw the movie Once, and really enjoyed it. The scene where they first play together in the music shop caused the room to get a little dusty. That was then followed by numerous scenes where the dust in the room kept building up. It's such a simple and joyful film. I do have one question though: Is this movie a musical? It's loaded with music and the characters in the movie sing the songs on screen. It's just that when they sing it's natural. They sing when they are writing or playing a song, not out of the blue the whole cast breaks into song norm of the standard musical. I don't think it is a musical, but some reviewers list it as a musical. I just don't want to admit I like a musical.


This weekend the horror movie you've all been waiting for opens in LA and NY. Get ready because it's coming soon to a theater near you. Well, except for Mandy. I doubt your little theater is going to book this.


Sometimes weird just works in a music video. I kept waiting for one of them to screw up.

If I Were Loaded...with money

Sometimes I wonder what I would be like if I happened to create a hit TV show that spawned two other hit TV shows. What kind of person would I be if I could retire simply on the residuals from said TV shows? This is my boss who makes at least three times what I make in just her residuals alone.

I could go on to say where I would donate my money, and how I would help those less fortunate than me. I could give detailed accounts of specific charities and what not, but that's kind of boring. The interesting question is in what eccentric ways would I spend my money. I also don't mean for instance having my own airplane or some ten room home in Beverly Hills where every bathroom has a 42" plasma. Though that would be suhweet!

Anyway, first off we need a car. I could go with a classic mustang or some classic with suicide doors. Boring. What I really want is this:Yeah! Ever since I was a kid I've been a fan of the Datsun/Nissan Z series. This '76 is exactly what I'm looking for and it comes in orange! The nice thing is that a pristine one of these is about a third of the price of a pristine Mustang so I could get three or four of these!

Next I would like to build a recording studio in the basement or garage. Besides the basics that every recording studio needs, I'd like to have it stocked with a bunch of unique instruments. Actually, how about we just stock with all the musical instruments I could. What would be the point of this. I would like to write one brilliant pop song a year. I know I'm not musically inclined, and I would need a few years to get a handle on what all the various sounds I can get out of the instruments. Still, I have melodies run through my head every now and then. I also have a whole family of musicians to work with. I could make it work, and then every New Year's Ever at the stroke of midnight I would release that song of the year. They would be so brilliant that a hardcore fanbase would form. These hardcore fans would then have New Year's Eve parties all in anticipation of that one song. Of course the song would be free, because I would be doing it for the love of music and for the world.

Then there is the mini-Wrigley Field built in my backyard. The kids could play wiffle ball. I think someone did this already only it was Fenway. Not the most original idea, but I'm making it happen.

Finally, I want to have a small collection of different film cameras that I would use to create home movies. Nothing huge, just some 8mm and 16mm film cameras. I've always liked the romantic image of watching home movies on a projector. I know we are in a digital age, but if I have the money why not go film? Of course that means having to edit the film. I hate editing. Maybe I can hire someone or go digital for the editing?

That's a few of the ideas I have running through my head once I create that monumental TV show that will turn me into an eccentric old fool.

The Time It Took ...

to regret wasting my time watching the last season of Sopranos: 1 hour 2 minutes and 59 seconds.

to become exhausted by John from Cincinnati: 24 minutes and 16 seconds.

to decide I was going to buy Blitzen Trapper's new album: 34 seconds into the song Wild Mountain Nation.

to forget Ocean's 13: 0000.1 seconds. Has there ever been a movie franchise that while fun to watch has absolutely no lasting effect?

for the home plate umpire in last night's Cubs/Braves game to screw over the Cubs and completely tax the bullpen: 10 pitches. If Lilly meant to hit Renteria, why did he wait till the third pitch in the sequence?

June's Heavy Rotation

Some Musical Notes

Nothing much is going on, so I thought I would throw out a couple albums that have recently caught my attention.

First off, I stumbled across the pure joy album of Lucky Soul's album The Great Unwanted. With groups like the Pippettes it seems reinventing the 60's girl group sound is the upcoming niche of choice. Lucky Soul fits into that category, but there sound isn't twisted with modern day irony or modern musical flair. From the opening track "Add Your Light To Mine" to the closing "The Last Song" it is simply an album chock full of great happy/sad love songs. My current favorite track is "Struck Dumb" with its timpani in the chorus. Unfortunately there is no video for that song, so here is one for the title track "Add Your Light To Mine." I apologize now for getting the song stuck in your head.



On the other end we have the new album from The National called Boxer. This is one of those albums that you have to let grow on you. It's not as uptempo as Alligator. This albums just creeps in on you till it won't let go. It's in the running for album of the year.



Also, next week Rhino is releasing an Afghan Whigs retrospective called Unbreakable. As a hardcore fan there are songs I'd like to be added, but that's always the case. It is though a very good selection that covers their whole history even their Up In It album and Uptown Avondale EP. For those who might be interested in a nice starter for the Afghan Whigs I highly recommend it.

Finally, do you remember...