Monday Musings

When I go to the coffee shop, I usually am there for the most important reason and that is too drink coffee. But, I also enjoy saying hello to a few people and sitting quietly in my usual corner spot listening to all of Salems' movers and shakers talk about how important they are. I don't like to be super cynical about people but there are mornings where I want to just grab people by the scruff of their neck and shake them and say 'THE WORLD DOESN'T REVOLVE AROUND YOU!!!" 

But, I like the coffee here and I don't want to be kicked out so I do not do that. As I sat down today with my Americano and muffin I was a little leery because of the two, one much older and the other slightly older then me, gentlemen who were sitting nearby. As far as I am concerned those are the worst too sit by because they seem to feel like they know everything and there is always something to complain about. It just doesn't seem to matter too them. There could be money dropping from the sky and there would obviously be a better way to do it and they are the only ones that know how and people today are just lazy and blah and blah and blah...on and on and on. 

Anyone who knows me also knows that I am not a morning person and I do not do well until I have had my morning hook up. Until then I would really rather be left alone. I don't want to talk to you. I do not care to know who you are or how your day is going. I do not want to discuss the weather or politics or tell you what I am working on. I want to be left alone!! I am not your friend or buddy. You don't know me!! Leave me alone to nurse my addiction. Yes!! I realize I am dependent upon it too function!! NO THAT DOESN'T BOTHER ME!! ...Oh I am sorry was I yelling.  (sigh) There are days when I long for the future so that I can put a privacy cone around myself and be able to sit in peace. That way I can watch people but their personal conversations do not intrude on my existence. To me that would be nice and peaceful. Then I can nod a greeting and make eye contact if I want too. But I also do not have to hear every little thing about whatever it is they have going on. 

Well, I seem to have lost my thread a little bit there. Wow, in the time that I was off writing away up there, those two men I was writing about earlier are still just talking away. So far their conversation has ranged from how expensive a refill is for coffee here to how rude people are today and how they do not talk to each other like they used too or listen to each other. Then it went to politics and finally it wrapped up with a little football talk. Ahhh finally they are gone. Good. Oh!! Yeah!! That is what got me started. One of the men looks over as I sat down with my Americano and muffin and was all "What you working on? Writing a novel?" How dare he ask a civil question of me? Can't he see that I am a junkie looking for a fix? I don't do small talk, Sir. Good day! I said good day. 

Thrown for a Loop by the Master

I went to see a couple of films in the last few days. On Sunday I went up to Bridgeport in Lake Oswego and watched the Paul Thomas Anderson film, "The Master". I am not really sure what to say about that, other then that it was an interesting experience.

The film itself is beautifully crafted and visually amazing. The story on the other hand is kind of aimless and pretty twisted. It is loosely the story of a lost and sad man who has no focus or direction in life. He has a serious drinking and anger problem and then one day he meets basically an L Ron Hubbard type of character. There are some definite similarities between the group that The Master runs and Scientology. But that really isn't the point and the story doesn't really focus on that as much as the relationship between the Jaquin Phoenix character and The Master who is played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I really think that both of these men will be nominated for best actor Oscars and honestly I think Phillip Seymour deserves to win. He just does an amazing job. I realize that this film in not for everyone but I liked this film and it deserves to be seen even if it is a little hard to watch at times. I think sometimes the best films are a little hard to watch and that is what makes them great because they invoke feelings and cause you to think about its effect on you.

Then last night I went to my usual Tuesday night $5 movie house Cinebarre and watched the "Looper". The science fiction film starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

 The bottom line, and it is hard to find a bottom line in a science fiction time travel film, I really, really enjoyed it. The future world that it is set in I found fascinating and very interesting. It wasn't set so far into the future that it was inaccessible for the viewer and because of that it wasn't dependent on a ton of special effects or computer blue screen effects. In fact, that aspect of it made me interested enough in things to want to find out about the world and the future in which the film is set. Why things were that way and what caused them. I like a film that doesn't feel the need to explain every little thing to me and in this case as one of the characters in the film said...we get into that and then we start diagramming things on the table with straws. It is enough to know the basics of the story. I am sure there are probably some logic gaps and things that the cine-phile might find annoying but I really found this too be an enjoyable film. The action sequences are well done and in such a way that the violence has an impact. That is something that I wish more directors did. In cinema, often less is more. I am being a little vague as too plot because it will be more fun for you if you are a little surprised by things. I say if you are looking for some science fiction and some action then go see this film. I think you will enjoy it.

Speech Has Consequences

I am tired right now. I am tired of all of the Presidential election news. I am tired of people talking like electing Obama to a second term is going to be the end of the world and America as we know it.

"Yea verily, when the Black Devil Barack Obama is re-elected, then truly the real death will come upon America. The Angel of Death with all of the powers of his evil Socialist Masters shall fall upon us. The Communist overlords shall stand atop the smoking ruins of our capital and true patriots shall weep as a Thousand years of darkness shall fall upon us." 

Well, maybe that won't happen. I don't know either way. What I do know for sure is that I made all of it up just now. I didn't read something or study something that made me think I could predict the future because really I also know that you can't predict the future. It is silly to even try. It also benefits no one for me to do so. Now one thing I could do is send out a letter that kind of vaguely predicts things and is geared to scare people and prey on their fears. Their fears may be religious based or they may just be coming out of sheer ignorance but maybe if I can pray on the fears I can get them to send my some money and line my pockets a little bit. I mean really, what harm can I cause? Who is really hurt? What is wrong with a few white lies or grey lies as it were. 

What follows is a letter that Focus on the Family sent out in 2008 just before the Presidential elections. There are 34 things that they say might happen. There is one that maybe happened and 33 others that did not at all. It is an amazing exercise in trying to spread baseless fear.

Focus on the Family letter



 I think people should think before they claim that Obama wants to destroy America. The people like Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter. Words have consequences and people know that. During the last election as things began to wrap up and it looked more and more like Obama would win, I heard the same kind of talk about Bush. The liberal pundits and conspiracy theorists were sure that Bush was going to call a "State of Emergency" and suspend the election. That didn't happen. That the Republicans would use the electronic voting machines to change results. That didn't happen. America survived Bush and it will survive Obama and if Romney wins the election it will survive Romney. Life goes on.

 The only real difference this time around as far as propaganda goes is that there seems to me too be a lot more biblical speak that is being used to justify the accusations.  They know that the more inflamed they can make the populace the more money they can make. The more books they will sell and the higher their radio and television ratings will be. They don't care about us. I do not even think they care about America. They care about making money. They care about marketing and they care about getting fat on their propaganda while the rest of us shrivel away and get eaten up inside by stress and and anger and fear.

Ahhhhh, thanks for letting me vent folks. Deep breaths, Lance. Deep breaths. You guys be safe out there.

Cobwebs in the Brain

Sometimes Mondays are the hardest days to get moving. Today was one of those days. I made it out of bed but I had slept through my alarm and while my brain may have decided that I needed that extra sleep, I did not agree to that and I do not like it when my body and brain conspire against my wishes. I would much prefer it if I could only sleep a couple of hours a night. I know it is healthier for the body and the mind to get 8 hours or more of sleep a night but I never seem to make that anyway so why not break it down to 2 or 3. I wonder if I could train myself to subsist on that and how long it would be until I went mental from that. When I am feeling foggy on mornings like this one of the things I like to do is to listen to an upbeat song and that sometimes clears the cobwebs from the old noggin. Today was one of those days and I needed this song to get my going. The artist is a Korean gentleman name PSY and the song is super hot right now.

Coffee-shop Etiquette

So I had an interesting conversation with my father a few weeks ago. He had told me that sometimes he goes and gets a donut and then takes it too the coffeeshop to drink with his coffee. Now this particular coffeeshop has pastries but not donuts. There is a company in Salem called Great Harvest that does some really amazing breads and scones and muffins and cookies and they supply this coffeeshop with those tasty treats but they do not make donuts.

I told my dad that I didn't think it was correct to bring your own treats to a place that already has treats for you to purchase. I do not know store policy on this but it just feels wrong to me. Well today as I was beginning my morning job search and enjoying my super tasty Americano, I noticed a fellow come in wearing a suit and carrying a cup of Starbucks. Now, the perceived quality of Starbucks coffee aside, it really seemed like the wrong thing to me to carry in another companies coffee to drink in a coffeeshop that makes a totally different brand of coffee. I just do not understand why someone would do that.

To me it is like taking my Big Mac to Burger King. Who does that? Why would you do that? Are you that clueless about things? It just makes no sense to me. It probably bothers me more because of how much I love Broadway Coffeehouse  but I also know myself enough to know that if I was in another restaurant and the same thing happened I would be taken aback by it. It seems a real lack of common sense to me to not drink or eat from the place that you are meeting. They are kind enough to provide you a location and sometimes free wireless and other things. The least you can do is too purchase something from them. Because if you continue to not purchase things then it is quite possible that the place could go out of business and no one wants that.

So in closing please continue to patronize your local businesses and support your community. If you are in Salem then by all means give the Broadway Coffeehouse a try. If you like coffee you will not regret it. They serve Stumptown exclusively and that, my friends, is good coffee.

(Puts soapbox away) 

Blue Monday

Today isn't a "Blue Monday" but it is a groggy one and this song always gets me going. I love most of the music from the early 80's at least the early 80's new wave stuff. I hope you enjoy it as well.

$5 Movie Review

I went out last night and had my usual Tuesday night $5 movie experience at my local Cinebarre and as is the the norm, I enjoyed myself. I usually do and to be honest for $5 it is really going to have to be a bad experience and a horrible film for me not too. I know the Cinebarre experience is not for everybody but I have found that for me it works great and is a pretty inexpensive night out. Now if you buy a bunch of beer and eat and do not look at the price then, yes, you will soon lose all of the savings that you gained by going to the $5 movie in the first place. But that is on you and I not be held accountable for your choices!! I just won't be!!

So last night I went to see 'The Expendables 2' (Trailer below)

For me, the bottom line, and pretty much the litmus that I now measure all of my movie going experiences by at this point. I ENJOYED MYSELF. It was fun and I suspect that I may have even enjoyed it for $10 or more. Now, that being said, lets say I had gone in expecting some different kind of material maybe a darker grittier take on international relations and gun trafficking with perhaps an insightful look at the dangerous nuclear stockpiles laying dormant in some of the old Soviet Union countries. Two things. 1 I would have been foolish to have expected such a thing from this film and it would have been my fault for not paying attention to the trailer or having read anything about the film. 2. I would have been really disappointed because this was not that kind of film at all.

It was a film that really was made for fans of action adventure films and for anyone who had grown up in the 80's since it starred a majority of that decades top action stars. In this case being Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger and some other lesser lights as well. If you are a Merchant & Ivory fan this is not the film for you and you have wondered into the wrong theater. This is not a film for everyone but it does not need to be. It does exactly what it is supposed to do which is to blow stuff up and let you as the viewer blow off steam. It is just great popcorn movie fun. So if you are looking for a little escapist fun. Do yourself a favor and take next Tuesday evening and go watch this movie. 

The Doors

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.”

― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell


I am not really a fan of Oliver Stone at all. In fact I really think that the best thing he has ever done was to write the original 'Conan the Barbarian' film and pretty much everything else has been overwrought shite. But since I have Netflix and I find myself with a lot of time on my hands right now. I end up watching a lot of movies as I apply for jobs and as I work on my writing. This means that sometimes I watch things that I would not watch at other times in my life. One of those films which I watched just today was Oliver Stones' 'The Doors'.

I hate to say it, but, I like this film. Now I am not sure if that is because I like The Doors as a band. Because I really do. I love their music and in high school I spend a lot of time listening to just The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and Cream. So I really kind of immersed myself in their music and in the ideas of Jim Morrison. Now as I grew older I also began to realize that while I really enjoyed the music and liked his singing, as a person Jim Morrison was seriously flawed and had a serious drug and alcohol problem. In the movie it is really easy to get the impression that he is high or drunk almost all of the time so it is not a real shock that he died young. Though to be fair it seemed like a lot of those musicians from that time period were competing to see who could die the youngest and in the most extreme way or the saddest. (Look at that, I got sidetracked)

The other reason that I think I probably enjoy the film is because of the presence of Val Kilmer. While it is true that Kilmer has become somewhat of a sad joke now there was a time when he was arguably the biggest actor in the world. I really enjoyed his work in almost every film of his (Not Batman Forever) that I have ever seen pretty much regardless of the subject matter. Seeing him put on Jim Morrisons' skin is almost freaky because near as I can tell he almost becomes him. His method style of acting can become unnerving for the people around him because he almost becomes the role and when he is playing a dangerous or deranged character he goes all in and there does not seem to be a separation from  the stage to the real life.

I want to recommend a couple films of his for you to watch along with 'The Doors' film. The first is a film that I have talked about before .'Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang'

This film also stars Robert Downey Jr and I think is vastly underrated and kick started the comeback for RDJ. He is amazing and so is Valk Kilmer in this one. The other film is one called 'The Salton Sea'

He plays a drug addicted Jazz Musician in that one. Check them out and you will see a couple of really excellent performances. 

The Joy of Community

There is a little television show that has been my favorite thing on television for the last three years. Well, this last season it hit a little bit of a road block, in that, CBS decided to move their highly rated and very popular (because people like dumb things) 'Big Bang Theory' to the same time slot so that it could compete directly against 'Community'. This led to a further fall in the ratings and finally the network (NBC) fired the show creator and runner Dan Harmon and then moved the show to Friday nights.

As you can imagine this caused quite a stir among the fan base for the show. I am torn because while I feel a loyalty to Dan Harmon, I also really like the actors that are on the show and I want them to continue working and to continue to enjoy them playing the characters on the show. So I am hoping that the show will continue to be of good quality and enjoyable to me. Also I really should be happy because most shows that I like tend to get canceled within a year or two. I like to think that is because my taste is so refined and of such high quality that the rest of the common people just are not able to handle it.

Really though I am writing this post mainly as an excuse to post a couple of pictures of that cast that I really liked.

This was from an episode where Jeff Winger went undercover as a street Magician a Criss Angel type of character and Britta was his assistant. I found the whole thing highly amusing but what really surprised me was how attractive I found Britta in her costume. I had no idea that her look would work for me like it did. I also thought Jeff looked amazing which left me confused and slightly ashamed but I think that is really just because I was jealous of how he looked and really wish that I pull it off. That would be awesome. 

Have a good week folks. 

To Be Honest About Politics

This is really how I feel and I felt this way during the last election as well and the one before that. Sure I lean left. But I lean so far left that to be honest I am off of the scale of the typical Democrat and Republican and when the last few Presidential candidates are all rich guys who graduated from Harvard it is hard for me to think that the world is going to be ending if Obama or Romney is elected. We survived 8 years of Bush. We can survive 8 years of Obama and the world as a whole doesn't revolve around what happens in America as much as we would like to think it does. 

Time Travel

I just finished watching a fascinating little film called "Safety Not Guaranteed". Watch the trailer.

The film has been out for awhile and showing primarily in art houses so if you live in Portland you should be able to find it. It is also in Salem at Salem Cinema and I highly recommend going to see it if you have a chance. As well as just enjoying the film as a form of escapism it also made me think about time travel. Really about going back in time and the reasons to do so.

I think most of us have choices that we would rather have another chance to change. For some of us it might mean a chance to ask that lost love out or to fix a mistake we made. Some of us would just want to use the time to make some more money and to make their lives better. I can't imagine anyone going back in time to do anything but making their lives easier in some way. I mean, otherwise, what would be the point of it all. Sure you could go and observe things but why would you not want to fix things and right some wrongs. Sure you might mess up the time stream continuum but if you were the only one that knew it was messed up then who cares.

Disregard all of my amateur philosophizing and give this movie a shot. I imagine it will be out on Netflix soon but either in the theater or at home check it out. I think you well enjoy it.   

Free Flow

I am sitting in the coffee shop and wishing that I could collect my thoughts better in my head. If I could get them in some semblance of order who knows I might be able to write a book or something. I have bits and pieces of stories all over the place in their but nothing is built up enough for me to to even want to begin the process of trying to build a cohesive story. I am not even sure what that would actually look like.

I know that I enjoy writing when I do it. But often I do not have a reason to lay it all down on paper and if I do not have a reason then it feels to me like I am just blindly stumbling along without any real sense of direction and focus and I would prefer it if my writing had some sort of focus or goal to it. Maybe that is the problem and I just need to sit down and do more straight free writing and just get it out so that I can begin with a clean slate or have those fragments of ideas written down someplace and use that as a building block to begin from.

It would be really easy for me to just sit here and write an abusive and judgmental commentary about the people around me and the way they look and the way they act. It often seems like that is what blogging is for. But I would rather I not write like that. I would rather build something that people find interesting and enjoyable to read. I would love it if my writing caused and emotional reaction but not one of anger. That does not seem healthy at all. Though Lord knows the internet seems to thrive on just that thing. It really seems like hatred or anger drives traffic or button clicks and if you can touch the right emotion then people will light up your blog or article with all kinds of comments.

I wonder if there is even a place on the internet for the nice guy. It often seems that you have to be snarky or abusive and really that isn't me. It used to be. That is for sure. I am just not so enamored of the purity of my opinions anymore. I am willing to be wrong and am willing to listen to an idea when presented to me in a polite and respectful manner.

Like the Judge said in "Caddyshack" "The world needs ditch diggers too."

Wednesday Rant

I love the internet! There I said it. I am not ashamed of that either. I love what it can do for me. I love that I have instant access to information about pretty much anything and everything in the world. It lets me pursue any interest that pops into my head or track down any little tidbit about anything that I need to find and that I need to find right now.

But, there is a dark side of the internet that I am rapidly growing tired of. That is the fact that it is often just being used as a platform for people to throw out their ideas or opinions about things. Now I realize the irony of that since I use a blog to do the exact same thing. But it seems like more and more these websites and blogs use anger to drive their traffic. It rarely is that they enjoyed something and want to encourage others to give it a try. It is how much they hated something and hey lets all get together and make fun of it or talk about how lame it is. It is just traffic generated by hatred and angst and the breaking down of others and I am so tired of it.

I do not know that there is a lot that I can do about it other then to not add to their traffic and to not stoop down to the level of the commentators. I do find myself more and more calling people out when they make a comment that is asinine or just mean for meanness sake. What really winds me up is when people seemingly read an article and comment solely because they dislike or hate that topic. I see it often on newspaper articles concerning the Portland Timbers. There are people that hate Soccer, which is fine, but they purposely track down articles about Soccer or the Timbers and make comments about how much they hate Soccer. I just do not get that at all. I do not like the Portland Trailblazers or really Basketball in general but I have other things I can do then look for articles and complain about them. It is of no benefit to me at all to do that.

SO STOP IT FOLKS!! Let's all spread love instead.

Monday Morning Post Olympic Blues

Hey everybody, it is Monday and normally I do not ever have a 'case of the Mondays' but I am feeling a little groggy today so please bare with me.

I watched a couple of things this weekend. The first thing was the end of the Olympics in London. I normally do not watch much of the festival and ceremony stuff but I wanted to check out the closing ceremonies because the music portion of the even sounded like it could be pretty cool. I think overall it was a resounding success. If I had any complaints it would be more about how NBC handled the actual showing of the broadcast then the actual show itself. As usual, despite it being tape delayed, NBC dropped the ball. They really have become a horrible network.

The reason that I am harping on NBC is because along with the Olympics I watched a new sitcom offering of theirs called 'Animal Practice'. Now, do not get me wrong. I don't hate the show with the hate of a 1,000 burning sons. I also made a point to myself to watch it with an open mind. But honestly, in the 20 minutes that the show lasted. It was shown commercial free which was a nice move by NBC I thought. But, I laughed one time. ONCE. That is a horrible ratio. It is possible that since the show was laugh track free that I was confused and didn't notice the cues. But I doubt it. The jokes really fell flat for me and even the actors, three of whom I really like, did not work for me. The show is just plain and fine and is professionally done but it is so, boring and bland. There is literally nothing special about it at all and I guess if that is what NBC is looking for then mission accomplished. Well done.

I think I am going to enjoy following the reviews of the new shows on NBC this season because like the twitter hash tag says, this is going to be a year of epic #NBCFAIL

Scandinavian Festival

As most of you know, I live in the great and the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I think most of you know because the majority of my readers live here as well. I love it here and I honestly can't think of places that I would rather live. Though to honest I would, at some point in my life, like to live in Great Britain somewhere or in Sweden or Norway for a little while just to experience it.

So along those lines I went down to Junction City Oregon yesterday for the first day of the 52nd Annual Scandinavian Festival. The link really will give you far more information then I can about the event. But what I really wanted to tell you about was the pleasant nature of the small town atmosphere. I really did enjoy myself. Now it isn't like anything groundbreaking happened and I learned that I descend directly from the mighty Viking Eric the Red. But it was just a nice and pleasant day. The food was excellent and on a high note there was none of the oompa music that is so prevalent at Mt Angel and the Oktoberfest. I think that is basically because everything that Scandinavian's do is far better done and far more interesting then anything that a dirty German could accomplish.

I do have to address one particular food highlight for me and that is the Aebelskiver.

They are basically round balls of dough fried up in a specially made cast iron pan and people put jam on them. I am sure that there is some sort of official definition of them. But, all I know is that they are amazingly good and I wanted to eat a mound of them piled high on a plate with melted butter and powdered sugar dusted all over them.

To close out my blog post pandering to Scandinavians I will leave you with a few music videos showcasing some different types of music from that part of the world.

That was a more traditional number....

I like curling and metal but this one left me kind of speechless

Lastly the Icelandic band 'Of Monsters & Men" who I totally love. 

Job Hunt

Hey there loyal readers, I hope you are well. As you can see I am having a hard time getting back into the swing of things when it comes to blogging on a daily basis. I am back at my beloved Broadway Coffeehouse and trying to stay on top of things with a daily schedule so hopefully this is going to help me get onto more of a schedule as well as get me writing again.

The biggest obstacle for me right now is that I tend to write better when I am angry or righteously indignant about something. But I am working to move away from that. I really just do not care for how that sounds and honestly I am not convinced that my opinion is more valid or more important then anyone else and I would rather be able to have a conversation or debate about an issue then to shut them down with my anger or my sarcasm.

I think that I will go back to my music library and finish that exercise up. I really enjoyed sharing the music I like with people and I felt like a fair amount of you enjoyed it as well. So I hope you guys enjoy that and if anyone has any ideas for work please do not hesitate to send them my way. I am open to pretty much anything and everything. I also have a van now so I am more then willing to drive packages to Canada or anywhere else in the Americas. No questions asked!

Hook me up folks!!

Monday Musings

Well here goes nothing. It is Monday and I am trying to get back into kind of a normal schedule and do some daily writing about different things. But, as is usually my problem I am having a hard time narrowing down my subject matter. But, I think that today I would like to talk about the latest Batman movie.



I don't judge movies by the same criteria that I used too, I used to have a pretty smug attitude about movies and about my opinions of them. I am not sure if that was because I was working as a projectionist and had a pipedream that I was going to go to film school and be some sort of big shot director. Well, that didn't happen and now I watch movies and enjoy them for different reasons. I really just judge them by two different criteria.

1: What did it cost me to see the movie? 2: Did I enjoy the movie?

So I went to see 'Batman: The Dark Knight Rises' yesterday morning and it cost me $5 and really for $5 I will see pretty much anything except for the 'Saw' genre films. I think those types of films, 'Torture Porn' are uninteresting and have no place in cinema. That being said, other then those I will give most films a chance if they are going to cost me so little to see as far as money goes. But, even with the cost being so cheap I do not always enjoy those films.

But I found Batman to be amazing. I just really had a good time at the movies and for me that is really a big part of the whole experience for me. I will probably see this film again and pay more then $5 if that is what I have to pay to see it. I highly recommend it. If you are looking for a good summertime escapist film then you could do far worse then going to see 'The Dark Knight Rises'. It is a really, really fun and exciting film.

Also, full disclosure, I think I fell in love with Anne Hathaway as Selena Kyle AKA Catwoman. She really was amazing. So do yourself a favor and go watch this movie.

I'm Back

Hey everybody, I am back. I know it has been awhile but seeing as how I am in between contracts at work right now I thought I would start writing again. I am not sure what form this is going to take. I have a feeling that it is going to be mainly music and film review stuff along with a smattering of political commentary thrown in.

I hope the few readers that I may have left find it enjoyable and I hope I can pick up a few more along the way. To that end as I shall leave you with this little musical number by a band that I recently discovered. They are a neo-bluegrass book out of Minnesota called Trampled by Turtles. I hope you enjoy it.

More Music (Queen)

What better way to end the work week on this lovely sunny Friday, at least in Oregon, then to listen to a little QUEEN. This will be hard for me to narrow down but I hope you enjoy what I pick. I think will be going chronologically as well.

"Great King Rat" from their first album titled simply Queen in 1973



"Ogre Battle" from Queen II in 1974. Brian May does some amazing guitar work on this one as he did on every song.



"Stone Cold Crazy" from SHEER HEART ATTACK also released in 1974.



"'39" from A Night At The Opera released in 1975. An amazing acoustic guitar number.



"The Millionaire Waltz" from A Day at the Races released in 1976 and about Elton Johns manager at the time.



That is it for now and I think that on Monday I will finish out the rest of their discography they are too good of a band to skip any album.

More Music (PJ Harvey)

Hey, hey, hey it is Thursday and today we get to listen to some PJ Harvey. I own three of her albums and they are all pretty good. She was part of that movement that I have talked about before in the early to mid 90's of female singers and bands that included Belly, and Tori Amos, and Liz Phair. I pretty much enjoyed them all and in fact I saw PJ Harvey and Veruca Salt and I think Belly in concert at the Salem Amphitheater. The show stands out for me because Grant and I were pulling the shoes off of crowd surfers and throwing them at the stage manager. It was a fun show. But enough about me lets get to the music.

"Sheela-Na-Gig"



"To Bring You My Love"



"Down By The Water" I believe that this was her biggest hit. Or at least the one that the studio pushed the most.



"Death is not the end" (Nick Cave and PJ Harvey and others)A Bob Dylan cover