things we can all agree on

chick behind the veil... selfish bitch?

give it up for the boss

a silly challenge

I defy anyone to listen to Bela Fleck and the Flecktones play Big Country and not want to cry out of joy.

Leroi Moore: 1961-2008

Leroi Moore died yesterday. He was a founding member of my favorite band, The Dave Matthews Band, and it was probably his saxophone and jazz experience that first turned me on to the group. I've seen Leroi in concert over 20 times, collected hundreds of his live shows with the band, and listened to their albums over and over. I really love the music he made, and I'm very sad that he won't be making any more. I'll have to think about some of my favorite Leroi moments and figure out a way to share audio on this blog.

Looking beyond these feelings about the tragedy of his sudden death, it will be interesting to see how the band moves forward without him. It has been years since I obsessively read everything published about them, so I won't even try to speculate how his loss will effect the personal dynamic among the other four members and their regular supporting cast. But from a musical perspective it could be an opportunity to inject some fresh creativity if they choose to bring in one or more new woodwind players. It must be pretty hard for those guys play the songs they've been performing together for almost two decades (seriously, 17 years? how did that happen?) without being able to look over and see Roi wailing from behind his sunglasses, but they actually played what must have been an intensely emotional show last night in LA, featuring the amazing Jeff Coffin from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones on sax. So I can't really imagine the band doing anything other than moving on together, trying to have fun and keep playing.

schedule

The move is approaching quickly. Saturday we pick up the truck and start loading, and Tuesday morning we hit the road. I won't miss Ohio, though tomorrow night we're seeing Flight of the Conchords in Columbus.



It will be awesome.

"daily" rage 2

Checka, checka, check it out
They load the clip in omnicolour
Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time
Sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz
And mutha fuckas lost their minds

No escape from the mass mind rape
Play it again jack and then rewind the tape
And then play it again and again and again
Until ya mind is locked in
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say how high
Ya brain-dead
Ya gotta fuckin' bullet in ya head

Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high

Uggh! Yeah! Yea!

Ya standin' in line
Believin' the lies
Ya bowin' down to the flag
Ya gotta bullet in ya head

Ya standin' in line
Believin' the lies
Ya bowin' down to the flag
Ya gotta bullet in ya head

- Bullet in the Head



Ya gotta bullet in ya fuckin' head!

daily rage

someone has my back

give it to me straight

If I were to say that Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen were the 2 greatest rock artist geniuses in the history of music, would that make me an idiot?

Please state your age when responding.

Music + Kick Ass = Alanis Morissette? Seriously.

Speaking of music and kicking ass, a song that is often on my playlists these days is Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know." I hadn't listen to any of her music, or really even considered her existence in many years, but on the drive from Maryland to Ohio I was in a big truck with a stack of CDs, and Jagged Little Pill ended up in the player. Holy shit! That song is pure fury. I played it like 5 times.

A few days later, Bill Simmons wrote this:

What an intriguing twist for the Manning-Brady rivalry! Manning comes through in the big Pats-Colts game, Manning wins the Super Bowl, Manning hosts Saturday Night Live ... meanwhile, the only way Brady's 2007 would have been rockier was if Bridget Moynihan named their new son "Peyton." (Which would have been the single most vindictive move by a female celebrity since Alanis Morissette released "You Oughta Know" in 1995, but that's a whole other column.)

I'm looking forward to that column. Unless he already wrote it, in which case I hope I find it in the archives.

Favorite Musical Acts

It has been a while since I've done any rankings. Here are my favorite musicians/groups:

1. Dave Matthews Band
2. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
3. Lyle Lovett
   
4. Counting Crows

Pearl Jam, Billy Joel, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Band, and U2 would probably form the next tier, in no particular order. It goes without saying that Tenacious D is the greatest and best band in the world, so I didn't think it was necessary to put them at the top.

Mr. Jones and Me

Believe in me
Cause I don't believe in anything
and I wanna be someone to believe

I share Jim's distaste for the use of "belief" in the context of science.

Do I "believe in" evolution? I don't really know how to answer that. The scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports evolution as the best explanation for diversity of life on earth, but I don't think belief has anything to do with it, because belief is typically associated with a lack of evidence. I don't really think I believe in anything. I just have ideas with varying degrees of support.

That's probably what those 3 Republicans meant when they raised their hands saying that they don't believe in evolution, right?

Congrats to my cousin Jordin Sparks

She won American Idol last night. I watched a lot early in the season but I got bored with the show and stopped watching. I heard she performed very well, and obviously the whole family is happy that she won. She's always been quite the performer, so this is very nice for her.

Congrats cousin Jordin!

And congrats to that other guy for finishing second. (He makes cool mouth noises sometimes.)

I hope she introduces me to that rascal Simon. I'd like to pick his brain...

{picture: adspar and cousin Jordin at a recent family party}

American Idol, sorry

I want to write about American Idol. Deal with it.

Phil Stacey - Every single week I manage to forget that this guy always surprises me with how good he sounds. He consistently nails the vocals, and his Police song tonight sounded excellent. The problem is that he's such a Gollum. Totally creeps me out to look at this guy.

Lakisha Jones - She's the other one who always surprises me with how good she sounds, except in her case I'm expecting her to sound good but she sounds amazing. That said, I never remember her performance, just that I thought it was good. I was about to write that maybe I just can't root for a large unattractive girl, but I really like Jordin (large) and Melinda (unattractive) so I think it is just something about Lakisha that doesn't do it for me.

Cousin Jordin Sparks - Obviously I have to root for my cousin, but I really enjoy her performances. Her voice is amazing and she's got great personality on stage. The judges can't say a word to her without mentioning that she's so good for being 17, but she's good for being any age. The only time she comes off young is when she talks; she comes off like a young girl trying to sound mature. But I'll cut her some slack on that. Go Cuz!

Melinda Doolittle- Honestly this girl is just better than everyone else, and I don't even think it is close. You'll notice that I haven't said anything yet about how people will actually do in the contest, because I have no idea what America is going to do, given that they keep voting for Sanjaya. But if this was truly a singing competition as the judges love to say (and not a voting competition as some British pop star from the 60s pointed out on a recent episode), the contest would be over and Melinda would be the winner. We'll see how she actually does.

Sanjaya Malakar - From the first auditions, the girls have been so much better than the guys. Six of the final seven girls were better than all of the remaining guys. Of those 6, Melinda, Lakisha, Jordin, and Gina are still alive (Stephanie and Sabrina are out). Haley is still in it, and while she isn't as good as those four, she's still better than all the guys except Blake. I mention all that when I bring up Sanjaya because I hope Sanjay makes the top 5. I'd rather see him perform than everyone else except for Beatbox Blake, Melinda, Cousin Jordin, and Gina. The reason I like to see him perform is because he is a breathtaking disaster on stage. He's like a train wreck mixed with a partial-birth abortion, and the flesh-melting pain of his awkwardness is magnified by his bizarre hair. Top notch entertainment. Keep voting for this weirdo, America!

Blake Lewis - The crooked-mouth beatbox dude is by far the most interesting guy on the show. He's so unique, and he picks songs that are challenging and manages to pull them off in ways that nobody else on the show could. He seems like he's a very talented musician too, not just a good singer. I always look forward to his performances and it will be a long time before I think he'll be the one deserving to be voted off.

Chris Richardson - For me this guy is like Blake Lite, except less interesting. The judges always like him more than I do, sometimes showering him with praise that I just never understand. I've never really liked male performers with the soft voices, so maybe he's just not my style. Where Blake is totally unique, Chris goes with a similar style but more mainstream. He just seems like a mediocre pop performer at best. Any time he gets knocked out is fine with me because I worry that he might be stealing votes that would otherwise go to Blake.

Chris Sligh - Nobody has fallen so far in my graces than this guy. I loved him all through auditions when he seemed like a jolly, goofy guy that didn't take himself serious but could sing his ass off. Then early in the top 24 he picked a little fight with Simon and made it clear that he actually does take himself very seriously, isn't that funny, and plus he went to fundamentalism Christian Bob Jones University (only stupid stuff like that gets a Fox News link from me). His Sting song tonight was terrible, so I hope we don't have to see this tub next week.

Gina Glocksen - Gina has been my favorite girl for a while, probably because I dig the red streak in her hair and the alternative piercings. The whole grunge rocker chick thing is cool, and definitely a contrast to the styles of everyone else on the show, which I hope helps get her enough votes to at least make the top 4. She's improving every week which is good to see.

Haley Scarnato - I wasn't happy that Haley made the top 12 over Sabrina Sloan, but I've actually kind of enjoy her performances. I guess it helps that she's a cute girl with great legs, but there is some kind of authenticity to her, even when she kind of botches a song. One of the strangest moments of the season was after she totally bombed some performance and was visibly shaken and almost begged the audience to give her another chance. Especially given that I (unreasonably) blamed her for knocking out Sabrina who I liked so much better, I was surprised to find myself rooting for her not to lose that week. I don't think she has any chance to win at all, she's just not nearly as good as the rest of the ladies, but I hope she makes it at least another few weeks.

Best Christmas Song ever

Artist: Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Album: Christmas Eve and Other Stories
Track: Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24

You might recognize it as "that badass version of Carol of the Bells."

adspar's thoughts on American Idol 50's night.

I cant believe this is what my blog is turning into, but I wrote this up in an email discussion, so I might as well publish it here.

adspar's thoughts on American Idol 50's night.

My bottom 3 this week would be Lisa, Bucky and Kevin. America's bottom 3 will include Lisa and Bucky. Not sure about the 3rd. Hopefully Kevin. Maybe Ace or even Elliott. I thought Ace was good enough this week though.

The way I look at this competition now is it stacks up into 2 groups - "finished products" and "potential talents".

To me, the winner has to be a finished product - someone who goes on stage knowing exactly who they are and what they can do with a song. They own the stage in their own way, and they PERFORM, not AUDITION. They are comfortable with their own style and enjoy themselves. They might improve, but they aren't going to CHANGE much. The potential talents haven't achieved that self-awareness and comfort yet, but they might be just a change or two away - but those changes are important. Some are closer than others.

Here are my rankings in each category

Finished Products:

1) Chris - Not much to say about this guy that hasn't been said, except perhaps that he's is being very smart the way he's approaching this. Never exposes any weakness. Great performer and very good singer.

2) Mandisa - I never really "got" her until this week. This girl can sing. Hopefully for her she keeps in her comfort zone.

3) Taylor - I really see his limitations this week. He's someone you want to sing at your frat party. He's like the Blues Brothers. You know he's going to put on a very fun show and everyone is going to have fun. But he's a better performer than he is a singer. Actually he's a better entertainer. He makes you smile, but I don't think he can really win a singing competition.

4) Kevin - I don't know who keeps voting for this kid, but Simon is right that he knows how to work HIS audience. I don't know at what point HIS audience won't be big enough compared to the entire audience to vote him out, but until that time we're stuck with him. He does have a good singing voice, but hasn't figured out how to use it to have broad appeal, so in that regard I'd put him in the potential talent. But as far as this competition goes, I don't think he's likely to improve. He's going to keep playing to the same audience (granny vote?) and so he's basically a finished product.

5) Kellie - Kelly is kind of the same as Kevin, except I don't even think she's as good as him. She seems confused all the time (because she's kinda dumb), even when she's singing. She just doesn't seem to get it. Good voice, very cute in a busted way, or kinda of cute in a normal way. Like Kevin, she's relying on a certain charm to carry her farther than her singing performance could carry her. But a blonde country girl kept getting votes last year, so who knows.

6) Bucky - End of the line for him. He's a decent country/southern rock singer. He's never going to get better than what we saw from him tonight. He's one dimensional, which is fine (see Chris), but he isn't strong enough in that dimension to be a star. Plus he's not clever enough to take songs from outside his wheelhouse and make them his own.


Potential Talents

1) McPhee - If I put her in the Finished Products category right now, she'd either be 3 or 4. I still don't feel like she's quite figured out exactly who she is as a singer, but she's improving every week, although I wouldn't go as far as Simon based on this week ("this week you became a star"). I think by the end she'll be better than Taylor, so I think she's a lock for top 3. The question is when she's head to head against Mandisa, will she have found her comfort zone, and will she be better. I'm genuinely not sure. For women though, attractiveness matters and she might get past Mandisa even if she's not as good a singer (yet).

2) Elliott - Barry Manilow totally hit it on the head - amazing voice, but he doesn't quite feel it yet. Ranking him as a finished product, he'd be behind Mcphee and Taylor, and even Paris. Tons of potential though, and seems smart enough that he might be able to take advantage of all the training he's getting right now and get himself into the top 4. But I also think he's in danger of getting booted if he doesn't improve quickly.

3) Paris - I actually think as a finished product she's further along than Elliott, but has less potential to improve. That being said, she still seems less comfortable with and aware of her talent than Kevin or even Kellie. Maybe its because she's young and being "aw shucks cute" and very talented has always been enough for her. But she hasn't found her comfort zone the way Chris and Mandisa have, and she'll start to look like a weak link pretty soon unless she finds it. I don't think she will.

4) Lisa - I've always liked Lisa, but Simon is right - she seems like the star of a high school musical, not an American Idol. Its funny because they always bring up that she has tons of performance experience, but she doesn't seem like she knows how to pull that together and perform the way she needs to for a given song in this contest. She's got tons of talent though. I bet in like 5 years she could be an American Idol, but she just isn't ready. She's got a powerful voice, just not quite ready to use it. I think her voice makes more sense coming from a WOMAN, not a GIRL. She needs to mature, calm down a bit, and pull it all together. She's got as much vocal talent as anyone.

5) Ace - Blah. He's got some vocal talent, but he's relying on his pretty face and the smoke and mirrors of his falsetto to carry him. If you got this guy a vocals coach to teach him to sing the upper register in tune, you could put him as the front man of a boy band and make millions from teenage girls. But for this competition, especially if the judges keep commenting on his weaknesses, he can't really last much longer.

Billy Joel

He might be pushing 60, but the man has still got it. Billy sounded damn good last night.

He's funny too. "Thank you all for buying those tickets up in the nosebleed seats - cause I really need the money. You should see my car insurance bills." (Referencing a recent DUI.) Later he changed the words of Scenes from an Italian restaurant to "Bottle of white, bottle of red, perhaps a glass of ginger ale instead" and "Bottle of red, bottle of white, I won't be having either of those tonight..." Good times. A little self-deprecation goes a long way.



I was going to wear my "I started the fire" T-shirt, but I remembered that I don't have one.

I admit it - I like American Idol now

For years I refused to watch American Idol and thought it was crap. Now I'm hooked. This would fall under guilty pleasures. And I'm very gay.

Some of the contestants remind me of people.

Chris looks like Vin Diesel.


Taylor looks and acts like Mark Cuban.



Elliott looks like that fawn thing from the Narnia movie.



And Kevin looks like a Peanuts character.

Stealing

Stealing digital media is pervasive among people my age. Very few people have any ethical qualms with downloading mp3s or copying CDs that they don't own. Now that DVD copying technology is cheap, lots of people make illegal copies of movies too.

I refuse to take part in it. Sometimes it is awkward having to deny a request from a friend to copy a CD or DVD. When I say that I won't do it, people list reasons for doing it like:

• They can't really enforce those laws
• It is just so easy
• I wouldn't buy it anyway
• Those companies rip us off with high prices, they deserve it
• It doesn't hurt anyone
  

None of those justify the offense. Stealing is wrong, and if you do it, you should be ashamed of yourself.

My Yahoo! Artist Ratings

* * * * 4 stars - My absolute favorites.

Bela Fleck and The Flecktones
Huey Lewis and The News
Lyle Lovett
Dave Matthews Band
Billy Joel
Counting Crows
Pearl Jam
The Rolling Stones
U2
Metallica
Stevie Ray Vaughan

* * * 3 stars - I love a lot of the music here.

Elton John
Live
Jack Johnson
Van Morrison
Rick Nelson
Barenaked Ladies
Nirvana
Rage Against The Machine
Pink Floyd
Cake
Johnny Cash
Ryan Adams
Credence Clearwater Revival
The Doors
Duke Ellington
The Band
Derek & The Dominos

** 2 stars - Lots of good stuff here. Most of these I either generally enjoy their music (B.B. King, James Taylor for example) , or I like a few of their songs a whole lot (Sublime, Green Day).

B.B. King
Kid Rock
John Mellencamp
Michael McDonald
Louis Armstrong
No Doubt
Oasis
R.E.M.
Reel Big Fish
Beck
Arturo Sandoval
Simon & Garfunkel
Steely Dan
Sublime
Better than Ezra
Bruce Springsteen
Rod Stewart
Sting
Stone Temple Pilots
James Taylor
The Black Crowes
The Wallflowers
Widespread Panic
Muddy Waters
John Williams
The Who
Art Blakely
Blues Traveler
Trey Anastasio
Boston
Jackson Browne
Cannonball Adderley
Aerosmith
Eric Clapton
Collective Soul
The Killers
Bob Dylan
The Doobie Brothers
Fleetwood Mac
Green Day

* 1 star - I like 1 or 2 of their songs, or I generally appreciate their music.

David Gray
Goo Goo Dolls
Ben Harper
Isaac Hayes
Guns N' Roses
Fiona Apple
Don Henley
Hootie & The Blowfish
Journey
Kansas
Janis Joplin
Diana Krall
Henry Mancini
Bad Company
Don McLean
The Moody Blues
Alanis Morisette
Nine Inch Nails
Our Lady Peace
Ozzy Osbourne
Phish
Queen
The Police
Steppenwolf
Big Mama Thornton
Buddy Holly
Blue Oyster Cult
A3
Dispatch
Eagle-Eye Cherry
String Cheese Incident