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Laughing
Well Russl, that just makes me think of Genesis. The band, not the Bible. And, I go to "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." Ah, those Peter Gabriel days were good ones for that band.— September 26, 2008 10:32 a.m.
William Tell Overture Over Asphalt
Again...they just now passed that texting thing, where you can't do that when you drive. Why was that necessary? In a few months, it will be something else you can't do when you drive. Why not just pass one law, NOW, that says a cop can give you a ticket if you are doing anything other than driving...texting, cell phone, eating a burger, shaving, putting on make-up, etc. Otherwise, every few months, a new law will have to be written up. Regarding the William Tell Overture, I just started thinking about how when I was a kid in the 70s, they played all these heavy metal albums backwards, to supposedly hear satanic messages. What would happen if you got on this road, and drove your car in reverse? THAT, is the song I want to hear.— September 26, 2008 1:23 a.m.
Green Jerseys and Red Vines
No. Believe it or not, I try to mix up the parties. And, I've written about two fantasy football parties in a five year period. That's enough, at least for a few years. Sure, I love playing. And, I'd love writing about it. But I try for a bit of variety with the column. And, sometimes, people call my voice mail, and apologize for not having a "theme" party. I let them know, that's not necessary. The parties I write about don't have to have a theme.— September 25, 2008 1:12 a.m.
Keyboardist Playing That Great Gig in the Sky
Maybe I'll give the album another listen. I only have it on vinyl, and I rarely bust out the records to play them. Don't get me wrong...the lyrics on Final Cut, as is usually the case with Waters, are strong. I think the lyrics, and half of Pros and Cons of Hitchhiking, is amazing! Even though Final Cut has all those war themes, I once argued with a Vietnam Vet. He insisted that Wish You Were Here was about the war. Lines like: "a walk on part in the war/for a lead role in a cage"...he thought that was about protesting the war, or someone avoiding the draft. I told him it was all (that whole album, basically) about Syd Barrett. He never bought my argument, but I never pushed really hard. That's what I've always thought was great about music...lyrics can mean different things to different people. Why analyze it to death? When it's all said and done, it may make them not like the song...when they find out Lennon wasn't on a drug trip, but wrote Lucy in the Sky based on a drawing his kid did.— September 23, 2008 11:31 a.m.
Kid Rock & Reverend Run
Well...the Sweet Home Alabama works, because Skynyrd is the biggest of the Southern Rock bands. And they even mention "singing Sweet Home Alabama all night long." But, I think with the Werewolves of London, that's just a kick butt piano lick, so he wanted to use it. And, I do understand with the music he dabbles in (ie rap), that sampling, and singing over another song, is all part of the genre. Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. With this song, it obviously works. But...the song just pulls from so many other sources (even John Mellencamp), that it's hard to ever get behind it. And, it's weird, because in movies I don't mind that as much. I just rented The Promotion, a great John C. Reily film. It borrows HEAVILY from Election (a much better film). From the narration, to the hiding of election ballots. Yet, I'm still enjoying the ride. In music, I think it's just lazy writing. It's one thing if the chorus would've just said "singing Sweet Home Alabama all night long," and that's when we hear that riff. But...not using Zevon at all. Or not using SKynyrd at any other part of the song.— September 22, 2008 10:37 p.m.
San Diego Marine -- No Medal of Honor
I don't understand why in this day and age, when a story about race comes up, Jesse Jackson gets to speak. That guy is the biggest racist. Same thing with Spike Lee. He knocks Clint Eastwood (for an invalid reason), when he made two Jewish club owners screwing the black blues/jazz musicians out of money in a film (I believe it was Mo Better Blues). Yeah Spike, that's not a stereotype. Regarding the "nigardly" incident, I'm very familar with that case. A friend and I had a huge argument about it, because he claimed "it's a regular word, so you should be allowed to use it" (it means "cheap" for anyone that's not familiar). I said "I bet that guy was trying, purposely, to get under the skin of the African American dude." He argued and argued, saying "Hey, I sometimes use the word." I said, "Really? I've known you for 20 years, and never heard you utter it." He said, "I remember using it a few years back in a movie theatre. But, I looked around to make sure there were no black people, so I wouldn't offend them if they misunderstood the word." I called BS right there. First of all, if you are going to use that word to mean that someone is "cheap"...why not use "cheap", instead of a word that 98% of society isn't familiar with? Second, if you actually thought enough about it to look around, then you most certainly should use the word "cheap" instead. It just makes more sense. Well, after a few days, we found out that the guy that used the word, had previously had a few "disagreements" with his black co-worker. So, if I was the boss, I would've really reemed the guy for using a word like that merely to provoke a co-worker, and play the "I didn't know someone would get offended, by me using a regular word" card. But all that being said, yes. Other races are racist. Sorry to inform you of that antigeek.— September 21, 2008 11:23 p.m.
Surfing the Web at Work....and frivolous lawsuits.
You're right, blue. Sometimes I do a few topics if I think they tie in. Not sure now, why I thought those two tied in. Maybe the lawsuits, and possibility of a lawsuit, I s'pose. I actually think sometimes, it's not about the money. Like when Tony Gwynn stayed here, instead of going to the Yankees, for millions more a year. And sometimes, proving it's "not about the money", can be done other ways. Like a celebrity winning a lawsuit against a tabloid, and donating that to charity. I was at an event with Will Ferrell a few days ago, and found out that when he did two commercials (one being a Super Bowl ad), he donated the $750,000 he made for them, directly to charity. But yeah, with lawsuits, you're right. They say it's not about the money, and they're suing for a million bucks because a woman went into the mens bathroom at the stadium during a Billy Joel concert.— September 21, 2008 11:17 p.m.
San Diego Marine -- No Medal of Honor
What are you talking about, anti? Are you saying that Caucasians can't discuss race relations? That's about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. I mean, what's wrong with me pointing out how OJ had an all black jury (aside from 2), that let him off (when anyone with half a brain, could see the evidence and know he was guilty). Now, OJ is bitching because it's an all white jury. And the various other things we've pointed out.— September 20, 2008 10:49 a.m.
Top 10 Overrated Movies
I saw about 35 minutes of Training Day on cable the other day. Just awful, awful crap. Denzel stopping a car, in traffic, to make his partner smoke a crack pipe. When another driver honks, he sticks his gun out the window at him. Oh yeah. That's realistic. Ridiculous.— September 20, 2008 1:37 a.m.
Music You Love to Hate
People have been complaining about that regarding radio since the days of Alan Freed, spinning the boss tracks and new wax, and all the platters that really matter.... And I call B.S. I love all kinds of music. Okay, well, not country. But, I'll tune into KGB. If it's Layla, I don't need to hear that for the millionth time. I switch to 91X. Oh cool, Cold War Kids. I'll listen. Oh, followed by Beck. Great. Wait...now Smashing Pumpkins. Let's go back to KGB. Oh yeah...I forgot. Layla is 8 minutes long. Onto KYXY. Oh yeah, I forgot...their playlist only has a handful of things I like. Now, on to 94.9. Nah....don't feel like listening to Halloran give a dissertation on the history of music, according to him. On to Rock 105. Hmmm...when this DJ is done sounding dingy, maybe she'll play something I like. NIN...okay. Nice start. That song finishes, and they play Metallica. Now, I'm off to Jack 100.7. Cool, one of those cheesy 80s songs that's a guilty pleasure. Now...if I'm working at the computer or something, and have JUST ONE STATION on, I do not hear the same songs in a certain rotations. Only Top 40 stations do that. So, any of the stations I just listed, you won't have to worry about repeating music. KGB might play another Clapton tune, but not Layla. I swear, radio has a bad rap (that wasn't a ref. to 93.3)— September 20, 2008 1:35 a.m.