Okay onward through the list. Today the artist in question is one of the great southern rock bands of the past. Now when I say that it probably brings two groups to mind either The Allman Brothers Band or Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Well in this case it is the Allman brothers and a greatest hits compilation known as "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Allman Brothers Band". I actually feel kind of bad that I do not have more of their stuff but what I do have I really enjoy.
One of my favorites is "Whipping Post". It is another of those songs that has an unforgettable guitar line.
One of their if not their biggest hits was "Ramblin' Man". I like how this one just flows along. But I also get a kick out of songs that tell stories.
The other one that I have to go with is "Jessica". It is just a great song.
This kind of music has kind of faded in popularity at least as far as radio play goes. I imagine that there are some bands out there still flying the southern rock flag but I just can't imagine that any of them can hold a candle to the Allman Brothers.
I guess I will throw up a classic Skynyrd song but really I do prefer the Allman Brothers
Here you go with a little "Sweet Home Alabama"
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
More Music Thursday
I am sorry about missing yesterday folks. The Timbers had a game and I got home very late so I didn't get anything written down or set up for my blog. But, onward and upward. The next artist on the wild alphabetical ride through my musical catalog is
ADELE Now I realize I am a little remiss in that I only own her second album 21. I am intending to remedy that soon and pick up the rest of her discography which looks to be one full album 19 and 3 different EP's "Hometown Glory", "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder". If these are as good as 21 then I do not think I will be disappointed by them at all.
If you have not heard her, and I would be a little surprised at this point if you hadn't because she is popping up everywhere, please give her a listen. Here are three of my favorites off of her latest offering.
I really detest what VEVO has done to YouTube but this is her biggest hit and I just love the video and I love the drums in this song.
This is Adele doing "Turning Tables" live and it is amazing.
This last one is Adele covering "Lovesong" from the Cure. This is truly one of my favorite Cure songs and she really nails it.
I think as a little treat for my readers I am going to leave you with a video that I just found of Linkin Park covering "Rolling in the Deep". I am not a Linkin Park fan but wow. They did a great job.
And here are the Cure doing the original version of "Lovesong"
ADELE Now I realize I am a little remiss in that I only own her second album 21. I am intending to remedy that soon and pick up the rest of her discography which looks to be one full album 19 and 3 different EP's "Hometown Glory", "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder". If these are as good as 21 then I do not think I will be disappointed by them at all.
If you have not heard her, and I would be a little surprised at this point if you hadn't because she is popping up everywhere, please give her a listen. Here are three of my favorites off of her latest offering.
I really detest what VEVO has done to YouTube but this is her biggest hit and I just love the video and I love the drums in this song.
This is Adele doing "Turning Tables" live and it is amazing.
This last one is Adele covering "Lovesong" from the Cure. This is truly one of my favorite Cure songs and she really nails it.
I think as a little treat for my readers I am going to leave you with a video that I just found of Linkin Park covering "Rolling in the Deep". I am not a Linkin Park fan but wow. They did a great job.
And here are the Cure doing the original version of "Lovesong"
Monday, July 25, 2011
Music Monday (Collection Continued)
So as I mentioned on Wednesday, I am going to be working my way through my music collection alphabetically and who up next today. Well this may not come as much of a surprise to those who know me. But after Abba on my list is (drum roll please) AC/DC
The first time I heard AC/DC was in grade school. The school was having an airband competition and one of my friends said we should do AC/DC and I was hooked. In my music library I have 21 AC/DC albums, 214 songs and about 15 hours and 46 minutes of playing time all told. I will grant you that is a lot of time and space for what most would argue is not a very good band. But, there are times where they just work for me. I just am able to totally enjoy them and really isn't that what listening to music should be all about.
Now with a discography this large I can only really take a dip into it but I hope I give you some listening pleasure and perhaps get you to purchase a classic album or two.
Off of their first album in 1975 T.N.T. is the classic that gets played at hockey games all over the land. T.N.T.
Most fans, myself included, feel that early AC/DC with Bon Scott is a far better band then they are now. Not that people hate Brian Johnson but his voice is just not the same. But before we go on to AC/DC with him. I want to give you another from Bon Scott
LET THERE BE ROCK!!!
I would be remiss if I didn't put up one of the many of the bands hits that upset the churchies back in the 70's and that is from 1979 and that last album Bon Scott sang on "Highway to Hell". This song has one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time. If you are a fan of rock you will instantly recognize this riff. It is a rather appropriate song sine Bon died of alcohol poisoning soon after the release of this album.
I guess if I have to give one song to Brian Johnson it is this one and I realized that as I went through this list I just do not really care about the stuff after Back in Black. Sure there are some okay albums and the stuff off of Who Made Who is kind of fun. But my list stops here.
There you go folks. You have a good day and remember these words and live my them
KEEP ON ROCKIN!!!!
The first time I heard AC/DC was in grade school. The school was having an airband competition and one of my friends said we should do AC/DC and I was hooked. In my music library I have 21 AC/DC albums, 214 songs and about 15 hours and 46 minutes of playing time all told. I will grant you that is a lot of time and space for what most would argue is not a very good band. But, there are times where they just work for me. I just am able to totally enjoy them and really isn't that what listening to music should be all about.
Now with a discography this large I can only really take a dip into it but I hope I give you some listening pleasure and perhaps get you to purchase a classic album or two.
Off of their first album in 1975 T.N.T. is the classic that gets played at hockey games all over the land. T.N.T.
Most fans, myself included, feel that early AC/DC with Bon Scott is a far better band then they are now. Not that people hate Brian Johnson but his voice is just not the same. But before we go on to AC/DC with him. I want to give you another from Bon Scott
LET THERE BE ROCK!!!
I would be remiss if I didn't put up one of the many of the bands hits that upset the churchies back in the 70's and that is from 1979 and that last album Bon Scott sang on "Highway to Hell". This song has one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time. If you are a fan of rock you will instantly recognize this riff. It is a rather appropriate song sine Bon died of alcohol poisoning soon after the release of this album.
I guess if I have to give one song to Brian Johnson it is this one and I realized that as I went through this list I just do not really care about the stuff after Back in Black. Sure there are some okay albums and the stuff off of Who Made Who is kind of fun. But my list stops here.
There you go folks. You have a good day and remember these words and live my them
KEEP ON ROCKIN!!!!
Friday, July 22, 2011
Friday
Happy Friday all, there is not much going on today. I haven't had much time to see any movies lately so that is my excuse for this not being a typical Film Friday post. But I did hear this awesome song from The Black Keys. Now to be honest it is a cover of a song by Richard Berry but their version just really rocks. I defy you to listen to it and not bob your head. You should totally check it out from 2004 it "Have Love Will Travel"
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Thursday
There was a Timbers game last night. It turned into a late night. So I got nothing today. Take a moment and enjoy the bit of wisdom above. Now if you excuse me, I am off to slay some Goblins and perhaps an Orc or two.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Wednesday
So I kind of had an epiphany today as I was listening to The Decemberists third full album The Crane Wife. As I was listening to it at the coffee shop it struck me just how good this album was and I posted this on my Facebook wall.
"The Crane Wife is one of the best albums in the last 10 years. If you haven't heard it, you need to do so. To not is a personal failing. One which you will regret."
Now, I do not know if you would regret never hearing it. Because if you never heard it how would you know what you are missing. I do not regret missing Schindler's List. I have heard from lots of people how good it is. But, since I haven't seen it I really have no idea one way or the other. So I do not regret anything. I REGRET NOTHING!!!
That is not the point. The point is that The Crane Wife is an amazing album and I just want people to hear it. I think I realized that one of the things that I really enjoy in life is listening to music and writing about music and letting others know about musical discoveries that I have made. Now, I am not claiming that I am the be all and end all of cool and my opinion is all that matters when it comes to music. But there are types and styles of music and artists that I like better then others. So I decided that along with what I do on Music Mondays I am going to do a little bit more about music on Wednesdays as well. I like music too much to not do it.
So that being said, I am not sure if I am going to do any kind of a theme or anything like that. I may highlight an artist or a band or perhaps a year. It may be new or old, it may be obscure or really popular. I do know that it all be stuff that I enjoy and stuff that resides in my collection in one form or the other. There are times where I may highlight an album or perhaps the entire discography of a band. I do not know.
What I do know is that I intend to have a lot of fun doing this and hopefully the few of you who stop in now and then are going to have some fun as well. In fact I think what I am going to do right now at least is just begin to work my way alphabetically through my collection. I will do this Artist by Artist and the ones that have a lot of albums then I will try to highlight a song from each album. The others I am going to play it by ear.
So with out further foolishness the first album in my collection alphabetically is a compilation of songs from ABBA. It is called ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits. When possible I am going to link these titles to their Amazon page. I do not use iTunes so that is not going to be an option.
I like ABBA. There I said it. I just enjoy the harmonies and I like the pop music. I do not feel like they are trying to be anything more then they are. They were a pop music band and it worked for them. I think if you climb down of whatever particular musical pedestal that you prescribe to and give them a new lesson you just might be presently surprised. I know am now and then when I give old music a new listen. So lets see what I can find on YouTube.
What could I possibly say about "Take A Chance On Me"? Just sit back and let the music flow through you. It is a sweet song at the core. Just someone letting their friend that they will be there for them.
I would argue that in some small way if it wasn't for "Chiquitita" then there would not have been The Madonna song "La Isla Bonita" and if there had not been that. Then there may not have been the Lady Gaga song "Alejandro"
I implore you, ignore the clothes and the goofiness of the video and just listen to the music. "Waterloo" is a finely crafted pop song. The hook is excellent and the chorus carries so well. This is how pop music is supposed to be.
It occurs to me that if I follow this path some of you may learn far more about me based just on my taste in music. That is kind of scary but kind of fun as well. So please tell me your thoughts on my music. If you liked it or didn't that is fine but please tell me why you feel the way you do.
See you next week.
"The Crane Wife is one of the best albums in the last 10 years. If you haven't heard it, you need to do so. To not is a personal failing. One which you will regret."
Now, I do not know if you would regret never hearing it. Because if you never heard it how would you know what you are missing. I do not regret missing Schindler's List. I have heard from lots of people how good it is. But, since I haven't seen it I really have no idea one way or the other. So I do not regret anything. I REGRET NOTHING!!!
That is not the point. The point is that The Crane Wife is an amazing album and I just want people to hear it. I think I realized that one of the things that I really enjoy in life is listening to music and writing about music and letting others know about musical discoveries that I have made. Now, I am not claiming that I am the be all and end all of cool and my opinion is all that matters when it comes to music. But there are types and styles of music and artists that I like better then others. So I decided that along with what I do on Music Mondays I am going to do a little bit more about music on Wednesdays as well. I like music too much to not do it.
So that being said, I am not sure if I am going to do any kind of a theme or anything like that. I may highlight an artist or a band or perhaps a year. It may be new or old, it may be obscure or really popular. I do know that it all be stuff that I enjoy and stuff that resides in my collection in one form or the other. There are times where I may highlight an album or perhaps the entire discography of a band. I do not know.
What I do know is that I intend to have a lot of fun doing this and hopefully the few of you who stop in now and then are going to have some fun as well. In fact I think what I am going to do right now at least is just begin to work my way alphabetically through my collection. I will do this Artist by Artist and the ones that have a lot of albums then I will try to highlight a song from each album. The others I am going to play it by ear.
So with out further foolishness the first album in my collection alphabetically is a compilation of songs from ABBA. It is called ABBA - Gold: Greatest Hits. When possible I am going to link these titles to their Amazon page. I do not use iTunes so that is not going to be an option.
I like ABBA. There I said it. I just enjoy the harmonies and I like the pop music. I do not feel like they are trying to be anything more then they are. They were a pop music band and it worked for them. I think if you climb down of whatever particular musical pedestal that you prescribe to and give them a new lesson you just might be presently surprised. I know am now and then when I give old music a new listen. So lets see what I can find on YouTube.
What could I possibly say about "Take A Chance On Me"? Just sit back and let the music flow through you. It is a sweet song at the core. Just someone letting their friend that they will be there for them.
I would argue that in some small way if it wasn't for "Chiquitita" then there would not have been The Madonna song "La Isla Bonita" and if there had not been that. Then there may not have been the Lady Gaga song "Alejandro"
I implore you, ignore the clothes and the goofiness of the video and just listen to the music. "Waterloo" is a finely crafted pop song. The hook is excellent and the chorus carries so well. This is how pop music is supposed to be.
It occurs to me that if I follow this path some of you may learn far more about me based just on my taste in music. That is kind of scary but kind of fun as well. So please tell me your thoughts on my music. If you liked it or didn't that is fine but please tell me why you feel the way you do.
See you next week.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Televison Tuesday
It is Tuesday, actually it is Television Tuesday to put a label on it. But, I have not been watching a lit of television lately. It isn't to say that I have been really busy. Because I have not been. But since I do not have normal broadcast television I pick and choose and most of the shows I watch are on their breaks right now.
One show that I have decided to try to watch after hearing people talk about it (mostly girls) is "One Tree Hill". This show has been on the CW for 9 seasons. I know!! I had no idea and I had never seen an episode. So yesterday evening I decided to give the pilot a look. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I have only seen two episodes so far but I can see what it is that the young ladies like about it.
"YUMMY!!!! Am I right ladies?"
So anyway it is pretty obvious to me what is going on. But the show also seemed a bit deeper then just shirtless boys for the ladies. So we will see. I am going to give it a hopeful and optimistic thumb up. I will let you know if my thoughts change on it.
One show that I have decided to try to watch after hearing people talk about it (mostly girls) is "One Tree Hill". This show has been on the CW for 9 seasons. I know!! I had no idea and I had never seen an episode. So yesterday evening I decided to give the pilot a look. I was actually pleasantly surprised. I have only seen two episodes so far but I can see what it is that the young ladies like about it.
"YUMMY!!!! Am I right ladies?"
So anyway it is pretty obvious to me what is going on. But the show also seemed a bit deeper then just shirtless boys for the ladies. So we will see. I am going to give it a hopeful and optimistic thumb up. I will let you know if my thoughts change on it.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Music Monday (July 17, 2011)
I had a great morning yesterday. For a couple of reasons. It was raining when I woke up and I had some coffee and I had some sweet modern folk or Nu-Acoustic tunes on my playslist. I love waking up to rain. I love opening my window and hearing and smelling the rain and I love doing those while drinking some good coffee and listening to some sweet tunes. So today you get a little taste of how lance spent the morning yesterday.
I do not care if it July. I love a nice summer rain and I love living in Oregon. If you do not like living here, then kindly GTFO. You are not wanted anyway.
The morning got started with this little number by the Avett Brothers. I have really been enjoying these guys lately. The song is called "Tear Down The House".
I know lots of people feel like Bon Iver is, for want of a better word, SUICIDE music but I really like it. I think it is lovely and sets a unique tone. "Wisconsin" is a great song.
Pretty much everyone knows about Mumford & Sons by now. But the song "Timshel" is one that I just love. It goes so well with coffee and rain.
This is a band that I have just kind of stumbled on. They are Fleet Foxes I really enjoy the tone and I love that to me the vocals sound a little like XTC one of my favorite bands. This song is called "Anyone who's anyone".
As happens sometimes when you have your music on shuffle you might get songs from the same band and in this case I do not mind at all. This song is called "Icicle Tusk" and is again by Fleet Foxes.
Oooh I really love this guy, his name is Dallas Green and he plays under the name City and Colour. This is another band that was introduced to me by my friend Jenna and I am really glad she did. The song is called "Day Old Hate".
I seriously do not know what I can say that is even going to do justice to what Iron & Wine do. I love it so much. This song is called "Cinder and Smoke".
Aaaaaah some more Iron and Wine with "Love and Some Verses". So good. If you end up weeping from how lovely this is it is not my fault. I warned you.
This is another one by City and Colour and is called "...off by heart". It is another nice mellow one. It isn't my favorite of the playlist but it popped into the first ten so here it is.
This amazingly lovely and sad song is a cover of a Bonnie Rait song called "I Can't Make You Love Me". This is Bon Iver and his version is absolutely heart breaking. As one of the YouTube commentators said "Excuse me while I cry all over everything."
Well that is it for today folks. The first 10 songs on my Rainy Sunday Morning playlist. I just had a great, great Sunday. I hope that my Monday is just as good and I hoped that my music today helped some of you have a great day as well. As a little bonus for those of you who followed this all the way through here is an XTC song in case you were not aware of who they were. The song is called "Dear God"
I do not care if it July. I love a nice summer rain and I love living in Oregon. If you do not like living here, then kindly GTFO. You are not wanted anyway.
The morning got started with this little number by the Avett Brothers. I have really been enjoying these guys lately. The song is called "Tear Down The House".
I know lots of people feel like Bon Iver is, for want of a better word, SUICIDE music but I really like it. I think it is lovely and sets a unique tone. "Wisconsin" is a great song.
Pretty much everyone knows about Mumford & Sons by now. But the song "Timshel" is one that I just love. It goes so well with coffee and rain.
This is a band that I have just kind of stumbled on. They are Fleet Foxes I really enjoy the tone and I love that to me the vocals sound a little like XTC one of my favorite bands. This song is called "Anyone who's anyone".
As happens sometimes when you have your music on shuffle you might get songs from the same band and in this case I do not mind at all. This song is called "Icicle Tusk" and is again by Fleet Foxes.
Oooh I really love this guy, his name is Dallas Green and he plays under the name City and Colour. This is another band that was introduced to me by my friend Jenna and I am really glad she did. The song is called "Day Old Hate".
I seriously do not know what I can say that is even going to do justice to what Iron & Wine do. I love it so much. This song is called "Cinder and Smoke".
Aaaaaah some more Iron and Wine with "Love and Some Verses". So good. If you end up weeping from how lovely this is it is not my fault. I warned you.
This is another one by City and Colour and is called "...off by heart". It is another nice mellow one. It isn't my favorite of the playlist but it popped into the first ten so here it is.
This amazingly lovely and sad song is a cover of a Bonnie Rait song called "I Can't Make You Love Me". This is Bon Iver and his version is absolutely heart breaking. As one of the YouTube commentators said "Excuse me while I cry all over everything."
Well that is it for today folks. The first 10 songs on my Rainy Sunday Morning playlist. I just had a great, great Sunday. I hope that my Monday is just as good and I hoped that my music today helped some of you have a great day as well. As a little bonus for those of you who followed this all the way through here is an XTC song in case you were not aware of who they were. The song is called "Dear God"
Friday, July 15, 2011
Friday
I think Friday is a good day for some Bowie. I know that for some people David Bowies mix of crazy sexuality and music is just a little too much. But I really love his stuff and the level of talent that he possesses is just incredible as well as the talent of the different people that he has had in his bands over the years. Here are a few of my favorites of his.
Space Oddity is a song that just sticks with you. I love that it tells a story and that it is just so freaking strange. I love that Major Tom just bails out of the spaceship.
Oh you pretty things is just a great song. So good.
Man this movie. I can still watch it and say it is horrible but it just fascinates me.
Space Oddity is a song that just sticks with you. I love that it tells a story and that it is just so freaking strange. I love that Major Tom just bails out of the spaceship.
Oh you pretty things is just a great song. So good.
Man this movie. I can still watch it and say it is horrible but it just fascinates me.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday
It is Tuesday and I am starting to feel like I am kind of climbing out of the pit I was in last week. There are lots of reasons why I am feeling this way. There have been good conversations with friends. Some good one on one conversations with people that are special to me. As well as some good texting. I know the idea of texting doesn't work for everybody but it totally works for me. I find it a little less draining. The idea is that at least for me I like to be left alone during times like this to process and to figure out what I am feeling. One of the ways that this works for me is through music. So I am just going to follow that theme and put up some tunes today and have helped me begin this process. So thanks for indulging me. I know throwing up a bunch of YouTube videos is not the being a good blogger and some of you may just not have the time to watch these. But if you do I hope they bring you some happiness like they have me.
I know that I will probably never be over Grandma but I am starting to feel less sad and I know that is a good thing and I want to be able to celebrate her life and the amazing family that she was the matriarch of. I want to be able to remember and be happy about the good memories because and I am only able to speak for myself all the memories I have of Grandma are good ones.
Grandma did just that. Thanks Mom and Dad and my Aunts and Uncles for being part of my life and making my youth a happy and full one.
I would have liked to talk to her one last time. I will regret that...
This song always helps when I feel like no one understand me. I know that rationally that this is not true but at the same time this song just touches me.
That is it for today. I need to keep on swimming.
I know that I will probably never be over Grandma but I am starting to feel less sad and I know that is a good thing and I want to be able to celebrate her life and the amazing family that she was the matriarch of. I want to be able to remember and be happy about the good memories because and I am only able to speak for myself all the memories I have of Grandma are good ones.
Grandma did just that. Thanks Mom and Dad and my Aunts and Uncles for being part of my life and making my youth a happy and full one.
I would have liked to talk to her one last time. I will regret that...
This song always helps when I feel like no one understand me. I know that rationally that this is not true but at the same time this song just touches me.
That is it for today. I need to keep on swimming.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Music Monday (July 11, 2011)
Music that has all kinds of meaning to me and maybe it might to you. I do not care if it does or not. If you can figure out what the music means to me then you win the prize. Yay!
Live version of a song that I absolutely love.
Live version of a song that I absolutely love.
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
Wednesday
One day down, another day has began. Just keep moving or if I take the advice from "Finding Nemo" I need to just keep swimming. The trouble is that today. Today, I don't really feel much like swimming. I feel staying in one place. I feel like being totally, completely, needy and sucking the emotions from my friends.
But I also feel like being completely alone. No phone calls, no visiting and not venturing out into the cruel eye of the sun today. It is bright and beautiful and blue out there and far to pretty for the gloom that want to vent. I know that she was 93 years old and that she had been getting weaker and weaker and I know all of the rational things that I need to be telling myself. But they are not working. I know some of you may not want to listen to Lance moan about this. But those of you who know me also know that this is how I vent and process so you are kind of stuck. You can read it or not. That is up to you.
What is up to me, is me trying to process what I am dealing with and doing it in such way that I am still a functioning member of society. I do not see any reason why that can't happen but it may take few days to get myself back on track so to speak.
It occurs to me that this blog and the music videos may cause people some concern. Rest assured that I am not feeling suicidal. I am just sad and sad for me takes some pretty dark turns because most of the time I am not a particularly sad person. So no worries and if you want to comment or text me. I always read them.
But I also feel like being completely alone. No phone calls, no visiting and not venturing out into the cruel eye of the sun today. It is bright and beautiful and blue out there and far to pretty for the gloom that want to vent. I know that she was 93 years old and that she had been getting weaker and weaker and I know all of the rational things that I need to be telling myself. But they are not working. I know some of you may not want to listen to Lance moan about this. But those of you who know me also know that this is how I vent and process so you are kind of stuck. You can read it or not. That is up to you.
What is up to me, is me trying to process what I am dealing with and doing it in such way that I am still a functioning member of society. I do not see any reason why that can't happen but it may take few days to get myself back on track so to speak.
It occurs to me that this blog and the music videos may cause people some concern. Rest assured that I am not feeling suicidal. I am just sad and sad for me takes some pretty dark turns because most of the time I am not a particularly sad person. So no worries and if you want to comment or text me. I always read them.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Grandma Linstrom
That is my Grandma Linstrom. She passed on Sunday night it may have been just after midnight on Sunday. I can't remember and and frankly things have been a little foggy the last few days for several reasons.
I remember going to her and Grandpas house in Portland. They lived in the St. Johns are and while it always felt a little rough to this shy boy from Salem. When I drive through now, the rare times that I do, it brings back so many good memories. Often the house would smell of fresh baked bread. I can remember some good times with the whole family all of the aunts and uncles and the kids just hanging out in the backyard and talking.
That is what my family would do. They would come together around Grandma it did not always need a reason for it to happen. It didn't have to be a major holiday and things were not contrived to force us to be together. They got together because they wanted to. Because they wanted to spend time with the amazing woman that had given birth to all of these kids and had raised this clan.
Grandma lived long enough to see all of her grandchildren grow up to be adults and a couple of great grandchildren get into highschool. As she got older when there would be get together sometimes she would just sit with me and hold my hand. Shew rarely would say she would just sit there and hold my hand and listen to the family around her. I still remember her thin almost papery skin as she got older and I always wondered what she was getting out of just sitting with me. But I know it never bothered me and I do not think I ever walked away from it wishing that it hadn't happened. It was part of my relationship with Grandma and I loved her for it.
I never ever felt anything but love and acceptance come from this woman. Despite all the years, despite the stupid things I might have done, or the bad choices I was making. She just always loved me. She loved all the kids.
I will always miss you Grandma. Thanks for caring for me. Thank you most of all for living a long, long life full of dignity and grace. I just hope when my time comes I go out as well as you.
I LOVE YOU GRANDMA ALZO!!
Monday, July 04, 2011
Music Monday (Thrice and Iron & Wine)
So over the course of the week I was introduced to a couple of new bands. They were new to me at least. One of these bands is named Thrice and my friend Jenna introduced me to them. I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like them but after hearing the album "The Alchemy Index" which just really blew my mind.
The album is a basically a series of 4 EP where each EP represented an element of nature with the order of the elements being Fire, Water, Air, Earth. The final song of each disc is presented like a sonnet and tells the story of a man and his relationship with each of the elements. An interesting aspect is that each of the final songs is written in iambic pentameter and has a concluding rhyming couplet.
This song is from the Air EP called "Daedalus". It is hard for me to explain how the rest of the songs sound or the whole album actually but take a look around Youtube and give them a listen. They are pretty cool.
The other group or artist that I recently found myself enjoying is "Iron & Wine" which is basically Samuel Beam a singer-songwriter who uses Iron & Wine as his recording name. He does sometimes tour with a full band but often his stuff is just him. His music really ranges from acoustic to some electric and all points around it.
I could listen to "Boy with a coin for hours". Over and over again.
This song was in the film "Garden State". I love it as well.
There you go that is today's look at music I hope you have a good 4th.
The album is a basically a series of 4 EP where each EP represented an element of nature with the order of the elements being Fire, Water, Air, Earth. The final song of each disc is presented like a sonnet and tells the story of a man and his relationship with each of the elements. An interesting aspect is that each of the final songs is written in iambic pentameter and has a concluding rhyming couplet.
This song is from the Air EP called "Daedalus". It is hard for me to explain how the rest of the songs sound or the whole album actually but take a look around Youtube and give them a listen. They are pretty cool.
The other group or artist that I recently found myself enjoying is "Iron & Wine" which is basically Samuel Beam a singer-songwriter who uses Iron & Wine as his recording name. He does sometimes tour with a full band but often his stuff is just him. His music really ranges from acoustic to some electric and all points around it.
I could listen to "Boy with a coin for hours". Over and over again.
This song was in the film "Garden State". I love it as well.
There you go that is today's look at music I hope you have a good 4th.
Friday, July 01, 2011
Film Friday (Sucker Punch)
So I watched Sucker Punch this week thanks to the miracle of a little thing I like to call a bit torrent. SUCK ON THAT CORPORATE OVERLORDS!!!
Hipster Cat says only suckers pay box office prices for movies!!
Hey!! Back in your cage Hipster Cat your time will come!! So anyway, I watched Sucker Punch this week, the film directed by Zach Snyder who also directed "Dawn of the Dead", "300", "Watchman", Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, and is in pre production for "Man of Steel" which I think is a sequel to the Shaq film "Steel". Mr Snyder has also written "300" and wrote the screenplay / story for "Sucker Punch".
So where do I begin? Lets see if I can find you a synopsis for this film. Oh? Why thank you internet. Here we are courtesy of IMDB:
"A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility."
Well that seems pretty simple doesn't it? I mean that sounds like a nice little movie. It may not be a feel good movie but it sounds like it could be kind of cerebral and may be a little bit like "Girl, Interrupted" . Why don't we take a look at the "Sucker Punch" trailer.
aaaaaaah what in the world was that? It doesn't look at all like the synopsis and I think saw a dragon and some sort of robomech and a samurai. That just doesn't even make any sense. I bet that once I actually see the film things will make a lot more sense. It is hard to tell what is going on from just the trailer and I do not like to jump to conclusions about important issues like popular culture.
The short concise answer to the question of whether or not the actual full movie made more sense then the trailer is this...nooooope. Not at all. I am really unable to explain my feelings about this movie. The story is interesting. The visuals are well done. But the core of it is that a young woman is nearly raped and her younger sister is raped and in the aftermath of the incident the older sister ends up in an insane asylum for girls. While she is in the asylum she takes herself to some sort of fantasy 1930's kind of prison/whorehouse but that isn't enough for the director. When the lead character "baby" yes that is her name. When she dances men are hypnotized by her and then she goes into a second fantasy world. So then we have a fantasy within a fantasy. Which is really just silly and one of the many reasons why I thought "Inception" was just dumb.
But back to Sucker Punch. At the core the story is pretty harrowing one but this film, whatever the reason and my money is on the studio, was afraid to take us to that place. The movie is PG-13. There is no profanity, there is no nudity, and if there is any blood it is very little. Now, I grant you that not every movie needs to have these things to be a good movie. But this is a story that could have been much like "Requiem For A Dream" a harrowing film that actually hurts to watch but is so amazingly done that you have to respect it for its honest look at how horrible drug abuse is and how it can wreck your life.
Instead this film is more like "Requiem For a Dream" for the "Twilight" generation and that my friends does not make for a good movie. It is soft and weak and afraid to takes its audience to a dark place that may just slap them in the face and say WAKE THE F UP!!! Which is horrible, because that is what this movie desperately wants to do. It shows its card in the final dialogue of the movie.
"who honors those we love for the very life we live
who sends monsters to kill us and at the same time sings that we'll ever die
who teaches us what's real and how to laugh at lies
who decides why we live and what we'll die to defend
who chains us and who holds the key that can set us free
it's you
you have all the weapons you need
now fight"
Sadly what came before did not do this justice and as far as I am concerned that means that Sucker Punch was a miss. It missed high, wide and not very handsome. There was so much potential in it to be something great. Something amazing like "Fight Club" was and instead it became a film for fan boys and Japanese businessmen and that is a sad, sad thing.
Hipster Cat says only suckers pay box office prices for movies!!
Hey!! Back in your cage Hipster Cat your time will come!! So anyway, I watched Sucker Punch this week, the film directed by Zach Snyder who also directed "Dawn of the Dead", "300", "Watchman", Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, and is in pre production for "Man of Steel" which I think is a sequel to the Shaq film "Steel". Mr Snyder has also written "300" and wrote the screenplay / story for "Sucker Punch".
So where do I begin? Lets see if I can find you a synopsis for this film. Oh? Why thank you internet. Here we are courtesy of IMDB:
"A young girl is institutionalized by her abusive stepfather. Retreating to an alternative reality as a coping strategy, she envisions a plan which will help her escape from the mental facility."
Well that seems pretty simple doesn't it? I mean that sounds like a nice little movie. It may not be a feel good movie but it sounds like it could be kind of cerebral and may be a little bit like "Girl, Interrupted" . Why don't we take a look at the "Sucker Punch" trailer.
aaaaaaah what in the world was that? It doesn't look at all like the synopsis and I think saw a dragon and some sort of robomech and a samurai. That just doesn't even make any sense. I bet that once I actually see the film things will make a lot more sense. It is hard to tell what is going on from just the trailer and I do not like to jump to conclusions about important issues like popular culture.
The short concise answer to the question of whether or not the actual full movie made more sense then the trailer is this...nooooope. Not at all. I am really unable to explain my feelings about this movie. The story is interesting. The visuals are well done. But the core of it is that a young woman is nearly raped and her younger sister is raped and in the aftermath of the incident the older sister ends up in an insane asylum for girls. While she is in the asylum she takes herself to some sort of fantasy 1930's kind of prison/whorehouse but that isn't enough for the director. When the lead character "baby" yes that is her name. When she dances men are hypnotized by her and then she goes into a second fantasy world. So then we have a fantasy within a fantasy. Which is really just silly and one of the many reasons why I thought "Inception" was just dumb.
But back to Sucker Punch. At the core the story is pretty harrowing one but this film, whatever the reason and my money is on the studio, was afraid to take us to that place. The movie is PG-13. There is no profanity, there is no nudity, and if there is any blood it is very little. Now, I grant you that not every movie needs to have these things to be a good movie. But this is a story that could have been much like "Requiem For A Dream" a harrowing film that actually hurts to watch but is so amazingly done that you have to respect it for its honest look at how horrible drug abuse is and how it can wreck your life.
Instead this film is more like "Requiem For a Dream" for the "Twilight" generation and that my friends does not make for a good movie. It is soft and weak and afraid to takes its audience to a dark place that may just slap them in the face and say WAKE THE F UP!!! Which is horrible, because that is what this movie desperately wants to do. It shows its card in the final dialogue of the movie.
"who honors those we love for the very life we live
who sends monsters to kill us and at the same time sings that we'll ever die
who teaches us what's real and how to laugh at lies
who decides why we live and what we'll die to defend
who chains us and who holds the key that can set us free
it's you
you have all the weapons you need
now fight"
Sadly what came before did not do this justice and as far as I am concerned that means that Sucker Punch was a miss. It missed high, wide and not very handsome. There was so much potential in it to be something great. Something amazing like "Fight Club" was and instead it became a film for fan boys and Japanese businessmen and that is a sad, sad thing.
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