Random Thoughts

September 24, 2008

Clay Aiken Comes Out of the Closet

In a People magazine article just hitting newstands (and their website) Clay Aiken has confirmed what has long been rumored - he's gay. The reason Aiken came out of the closet now is because of his infant son Parker, whom he had via in-vitro fertilization with a long-time friend. Aiken said,

"It was the first decision I made as a father. I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that."

The reaction of the "Claymates," aka, the Clay Aiken fans is interesting. While there are many who are completely accepting and just as supportive as ever of Aiken now that he's out of the closet, there are many who are upset, feel betrayed and even some who feel they can no longer be a fan of his. For some the issue is a religious or moral one, but for many it's what Aiken cited as his reason for coming out of the closet - there is a segment of fans who feel that they've been lied to for years and they don't like it.

I've never been a fan of Aiken or his music and to me someone's sexual orientation is like most things in their personal lives - none of my business. Nor does it matter to me one way or another whether someone is gay or straight. So perhaps it's hard for me to truly understand why some of Aiken's fans are so upset. I don't think Aiken owed it to his fans to share with them the details of his sexual preferences or anything else about his personal life for that matter. Some fans feel personally betrayed by Aiken but the reality is that no matter how much it may seem like a fan knows a celebrity or athlete through interviews, appearances on TV or the radio or even when they see them in person at appearances, the reality is that unless you spend time with them regularly and/or are a friend or relative, then fans don't truly know those they admire. All they know is what that person chooses to share with them and that may only be a part of who they really are.

There are also a lot of fans of Aiken who are judging him based on their own beliefs, morals and values, which may not be his own. Aiken is entitled to his own opinions and beliefs, and has the right to live his life the way he chooses even if it's in a way that some of his fans don't approve of. Aiken has to make the decisions that are right for himself, at the time that's right for him, not those decisions that are right for his fans, when they want him to. It's striking to me how selfish some of the reactions are. How some feel that hearing "I told you so" from friends or family is worse than what Aiken has had to deal with and will have to deal with in relation to being a gay man when there is quite a bit of homophobia. That's kind of amazing to me. So what if someone says "I told you so?"

I try to be accepting of those that I'm a fan of - there are very definitely things that my favorite drivers and baseball players have done or said that I don't agree with, and I've been disappointed at times with some things. There are things that they might do that I wouldn't do and decisions that they've made at times that I don't think are wise. I accept that they are human just like anyone else and have faults, and make mistakes. They experience the full range of emotions, good and bad, and will sometimes act out or behave in ways that I don't like. As accepting and as understanding as I try to be, yes, there are times that the way I view certain athletes that I've been a fan of has changed, so I can understand why some fans of Aiken may feel different about him. However, I try to be tolerant of the right of those that I'm a fan of to do as they please and live their lives as they choose. Even those who I may be less of a fan of now as compared to the past I still wish them well and nothing but happiness - seems like some fans of Aiken are having a hard time even wishing Aiken well with his new baby.

The reality is that Aiken will likely lose some fans, maybe even a lot of fans. There's always going to be a segment of fans for every celebrity or athlete who can only accept them the way they think they are or the way they think they should be, as opposed to the way they really are.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:38 PM | Comments (4)

August 11, 2008

Mandatory Metallica!

When I'm not listening or watching something sport related I'm almost always listening to music but it's been a while since I've been really excited about something music related but I got really excited this evening when I heard Eddie Truck say on The Boneyard that for six weeks starting on Friday XM is going to have a channel that plays nothing but Metallica! Mandatory Metallica will be found on XM channel 51 and I can't wait! To me Mandatory Metallica means classic Metallica - anything from The Black Album and earlier. I really don't like anything later than that though I'll surely give their new album a listen in the hopes that they've reverted back to their classic sound. Can't wait for Mandatory Metallica!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:28 PM | Comments (0)

May 02, 2008

Richie Sambora to Replace Bret Michaels on Rock of Love?

As a long-time fan of the band Poison I watched both seasons of VH1's Rock of Love with Bret Michaels even though it was a train wreck at times. Bret might not have found true love on the second season of the show but he does appear to have found someone that he at least enjoys spending time with so in light of that it doesn't sound like he's going to do a third season of Rock of Love. I can't blame him regardless - he's gotten a nice career boost from the first two seasons so he doesn't really need the show anymore for exposure (though there might be another VH1show in the works for him), and it starts to look ridiculous after a while to repeatedly be looking for "love" though a reality show.

Of course VH1 doesn't want to have to cancel Rock of Love if they don't have to since the ratings were so high. So now comes work that Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora might be the new rocker bachelor on Rock of Love. Sad to say but Richie, who was once married to Heather Locklear and involved with Denise Richards, was most recently in the news not for his music but because he was arrested for DUI. Personally, I don't see much that's appealing about Richie other than that he's been an instrumental part of Bon Jovi since the band started, but I would guess that there would be many women who would be interested in trying to "win his heart." I just have to wonder how Jon Bon Jovi would feel about Richie being on the show? It doesn't seem like Jon's type of thing and he has a reputation as being somewhat controlling, but he may not have much say in what Richie does outside the band.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:18 AM | Comments (0)

April 22, 2008

A Thousand Beautiful Things

I stumbled across this Annie Lennox song, "A Thousand Beautiful Things" the other day and now I can't get it out of my head...

Every day I write the list
Of reasons why I still believe they do exist
(a thousand beautiful things)
And even though it's hard to see
The glass is full and not half empty
(a thousand beautiful things)
So... light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
Never close my eyes

I thank you for the air to breathe
The heart to beat
The eyes to see again
(a thousand beautiful things)
And all the things that's been and done
The battle's won
The good and bad in everyone
(this is mine to remember)
So ...
Here I go again
Singin' by your window
Pickin' up the pieces of what's left to find

The world was meant for you and me
To figure out our destiny
(a thousand beautiful things)
To live
To die
To breathe
To sleep
To try to make your life complete
(yes yes)
So ...
Light me up like the sun
To cool down with your rain
I never want to close my eyes again
Never close my eyes
never close my eyes ...
That is everything I have to say
(that's all I have to say)

Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)

December 17, 2007

CD 1 - Michael's Mix

An explanation for anyone who comes across this entry or the one that precedes it who isn't one of the Wal-Nutz, each year we do a holiday gift for Michael Waltrip. Last year I had everyone send good luck charms, poems or gifts that I boxed up to send to Michael, this year I decided that with how much Michael loves music, that he'd enjoy something music related. So I asked everyone to send me titles of songs that make them thing of Michael. I took those songs along with some of the songs that he played on his XM show this year and burned them onto two CDs, which were given to Michael today. From the sounds of it Michael liked getting the CDs which makes me happy!

Special thanks to Cathy for delivering the gift and for the cover sheet and CD covers and to Jess for her design work on the CD jewel box covers. Big thanks also to all the Wal-Nutz who contributed a song suggestion or a card for Michael.

Disc One
1. Runnin’ Down a Dream – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – Jess said, “I’ve always thought of this song as being related to NASCAR, and now even more that you’re running down a dream of being a team owner. There’s something good waiting down this road, I’m picking up whatever is mine, and what’s waiting for you, and what you pick up, is success!”

2. Beautiful Day – U2 (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – It’s always a beautiful day when you’re racing!

3. Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms (Laura Ritt/boogityx3) – Laura choose this song because “it makes me drive fast when I hear it!”

4. I Want You To Want Me – Cheap Trick (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – This song reminds Jess of one of your wins – “To this day I can’t listen to this song without thinking about your Talladega win in 2003. I’ve never heard a driver serenade to a teammate before, and that as well as the pop out of the roof hatch, made that one victory I’ll never forget.”

5. I Don’t Need Your Rockin’ Chair – George Jones – A song you played on the XM show – you definitely don’t need that rocking chair yet. You’ve still got lots of racing – and winning – left to do!

6. Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go) – Dierks Bentley (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy is reminded of you when she hears this song because “Even though Michael had a tough go of it this year, the free and easy attitude expressed in this song reminds me of Michael’s fun loving and easy-going disposition! The outlook that he seems to have of life is expressed in this song, so I can’t help but think of him when I hear it!”

7. Good Directions – Billy Currington (Darla Patterson/mikeytoyo55 and Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey)

8. Me and God – Josh Turner (Darla Patterson/mikeytoyo55)

9. The Rising – Bruce Springsteen (Laura Ritt/boogityx3) – Laura said, “Next year people better look out for the rising of MWR!!”

10. I Got You Babe – Sonny & Cher (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy choose this song because “The reason this song makes me think of Michael is because of the time I was standing in the XM show recording studio with him and Tony as they were recording their show and my cell phone went off unexpectedly. My ringtone is I Got You Babe… It always makes me think of him and that funny moment!”

11. My Way – Elvis Presley (Doylene Stafford/doylene1) – Doylene suggested this song because “Michael has built a future empire by doing it his way.”

12. Wild Thing – The Troggs (Wanda Flatt/mikeyforme) – Wanda thinks of you when she hears this song because “It’s so like Mikey!”

13. We Will Rock You – Queen (Jess Zeller/RockOnMW) – Jess choose this song because “I will always think of you rocking at the restrictor plate tracks so this song fits into that. You’re one of the kings of drafting at Daytona and Talladega, and those races are the highlights of my season!”

14. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple

15. Top of the World – Van Halen (Sherry Payne/slpayne) – Sherry says she heard this song on the radio, liked it and thought of you because the top of the world is “where Michael and his teams are going to be next year!”

16. I Believe – Joe Satriani (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – Joe Satriani is a talented musican that few have heard of. Most of his songs are instrumental, but not this one. The song goes “I believe in my dream” which reminds me of you because you believed in your dream of growing MWR and fielding multiple Cup teams so strongly that you made it a reality.

17. Changes – Tesla (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – “Changes, time's makin' changes in my life, Rearrangin', can't seem to stop the hands of time” When I hear this song I think of you, and all the changes that you’ve surely seen in NASCAR – and in your life – since you first started racing. Often fans want things to always be the same in the sport or with their favorite drivers, but of course that isn’t possible.

18. Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith

Posted by silverdsl at 07:49 PM | Comments (0)

CD 2 - Michael's Mix

Disc Two
1. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits

2. The Stroke – Billy Squier

3. Wild Night – John Mellencamp (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – As the song says, “All those wild nights breeze through your mind.” You love to have fun, and I’m sure you’ve got many fond memories of wild nights through the years!

4. Here Comes The Rain Again – Eurythmics

5. Fly Like an Eagle – Steve Miller Band (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – Opinions vary about what the lyrics to this song mean, but the day is going to come when all your hard work is going to pay off and you’re going to “fly like an eagle” as an owner (and driver).

6. These Are Days – 10,000 Maniacs (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – These are the days you’ll remember – and be remembered for. As a two-time Daytona 500 winner you’ve already made your mark on the sport, but you’ll continue to be a presence and have an impact for years to come as an owner even after you’ve stopped racing. There is success on the horizon for MWR, and when that comes “these are the days” that you’ll be celebrating.

7. Isn’t That Everything - Danielle Peck

8. As Good As I Once Was – Toby Keith (Kathy Fannon/mikeyfansy and Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Both choose this song because you sang it after you won the pole at Pocono. Kathy remembers that you said “Well, I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was” in response to a reporter’s question about how you felt about winning the pole, which she said totally threw off the reporter who didn’t know the song. She still laughs about that moment and was even recently talking about it with her son. Cathy said, “I love hearing him sing – he does it with all his heart and soul! Everytime I hear this song now I think of that moment and Michael’s big smile!”

9. Proud of The House We Built – Brooks & Dunn (Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey) – You should be extremely proud of what you’re building with MWR!

10. Dust on the Bottle – David Lee Murphy

11. Baby Blue – George Strait (Cathy Catlett/Cathy) – Cathy said, “I know that this is a love song about a guy losing a girl, so why in the world would it make me think of Michael??!! Well, it’s because of the lines in the song that go ‘baby blue was the color of her eyes, baby blue like the Colorado skies’ and we know that Michael has awesome blue eyes! Plus the line that goes ‘so here’s to you and whoever holds my baby blue tonight’ as whoever holds him is pretty darn lucky!” (Many of the other female Nutz would agree with Cathy on this one!)

12. Lights – Journey

13. Dust in the Wind – Kansas

14. Wildflowers – Tom Petty (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – As the song says, you belong somewhere where you feel free, far away from your trouble and your worry.

15. Stand – Rascal Flatts (Kristy Howard/kristy) – Kristy is reminded of you when she hears this song because the lyrics talk about when you are going through something tough, how you can, and will, get back up, and “Stand.” It seems very fitting to her considering everything that has happened this year.

16. Kansas City Lights – Steve Wariner (Jeannie Rush/zebmonkey) – Jeannie had choose “River to the Sea” which she knows that you like a lot, but that song wasn’t available for me to download, so I used this one instead that you had played on your XM show.

17. Please Come to Boston – Dave Loggins

18. Kind & Generous – Natalie Merchant (Deborah Lom/silverdsl) – “You’ve been so kind and generous, I don’t know how you keep on giving, For your kindness I’m in debt to you.” For your kindness we are all in debt to you. All of your fans thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness to us whenever we’ve encountered you through the years. Even this year when there were so many challenges you were always terrific to each and every one of us!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2007

Dave Loggins - Please Come To Boston

This is just one of the many great songs that was played on Michael Waltrip's XM show, Michael Waltrip Out Loud this year. Despite my love of music from the 60's and 70's, this is one that I hadn't heard until I heard it on Michael's show, now I can't stop listening to it. Something about this song tugs at me.

Please come to Boston for the springtime
I'm stayin' here with some friends and they've got lotsa room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a café here I hope to be workin' soon
Please come to Boston
She said "No, would you come home to me"

And she said, "Hey ramblin' boy now won't cha settle down
Boston ain't your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Please come to Denver with the snowfall
We'll move up into the mountains so far that we can't be found
And throw "I love you" echoes down the canyon
And then lie awake at night till they come back around
Please come to Denver
She said "no, Boy, would you come home to me"

And she said, "Hey ramblin' boy why don't cha settle down
Denver ain't your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
'Cause I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Now this drifter's world goes 'round and 'round
And I doubt that it's ever gonna stop
But of all the dreams I've lost or found
And all that I ain't got
I still need to lean to
Somebody I can sing to

Please come to LA to live forever
California life alone is just too hard to build
I live in a house that looks out over the ocean
And there's some stars that fell from the sky
Livin' up on the hill
Please come to LA
She just said "no, Boy, won't you come home to me"
And she said, "hey ramblin' boy why don't cha settle down
LA can't be your kinda town
There ain't no gold and there ain't nobody like me
No, no, I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

"I'm the number one fan of the man from Tennessee"

Posted by silverdsl at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

November 26, 2007

Quiet Riot Singer Kevin DuBrow Dead at Age 52

Growing up I was a huge heavy metal/hard rock fan, but I was never a huge Quiet Riot fan. Still, I was very familiar with "Cum on Feel the Noize," a classic heavy metal anthem if there ever was one. Now comes word that Kevin DuBrow, the 52-year old singer for Quiet Riot, which was still actively touring, was found dead in his Las Vegas house. The cause of death is unknown. R.I.P. Kevin.

Come on feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild!
Wild, wild, wild!

So you think I got an evil mind,
I'll tell you honey

I don't know why
I don't know why

So you think my singing's out of time,
it makes me money

I don't know why
I don't know why, anymore
Oh no

So come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild
Wild, wild, wild

Come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild,
get wild

So you see I got a funny face,
I got no worries
And don't know why
I don't know why

Oh i gotta sing with some disgrace,
I'm in no hurry
And I don't know why
I don't know why, anymore
no, no, no

Come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild,
wild, wild, wild

Come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild,
get wild
Come on

Well you think we have a lazy time,
You should know better
I don't know why
I don't know why

So you say I got a dirty mind,
I'm a mean go getter
I don't know why
I don't know why, anymore
Oh no

Come on feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild,
Wild, wild, wild

Come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild
get wild

Come on (come on) feel it
Girls rock your boys (girls rock it)
We'll get wild, wild, wild
We're gonna get wild (wild,wild,wild)

We're gonna get rocked tonight (come on feel the noise)

Rock it tonight (girls rock your boys)
We'll get wild, wild, wild
OH YEAH!!

Ah, ah, ah (wooooo)
Ah, ah, ah

Come on, feel the noise
Girls rock your boys
We'll get wild, wild, wild

Ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:31 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2007

14 Years - Guns 'n' Roses

I had this song by Guns 'n' Roses that I've always been fond of running through my head this morning...

I try and feel the sunshine
You bring the rain
You try and hold me down
With your complaints
You cry and moan and complain
You whine an tear
Up to my neck in sorrow
The touch you bring
You just don't step inside to 14 years
So hard to keep my own head... that's what I say
You know...I've been the beggar...
I've played the thief
I was the dog...they all tried to beat

But it's been
14 years of silence
It's been
14 years of pain
It's been
14 years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again

Your stupid girlfriends tell you
That I'm to blame
Well they're all used-up has-beens
Out of the game
This time I'll have the last word
You hear what I say
I tried to see it your way
It won't work today
You just don't step inside to 14 years
So hard to keep my own head...that's what I say
You know...I've been the dealer...
Hangin' on your street
I was the dog...they all tried to beat

But it's been
14 years of silence
It's been
14 years of pain
It's been
14 years that are gone forever
And I'll never have again

Bullshit and contemplation
Gossip's their trade
If they knew half the real truth
What would they say
Well I'm past the point of concern
It's time to play
These last 4 years of madness
Sure put me straight
Don't get back 14 years
In just one day
So hard to keep my own head
Just go away
You know...just like a hooker she said
Nothin's for free
Oh I tried to see it your way
I tried to see it your way

Posted by silverdsl at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

November 04, 2007

Foo Fighters - "The Pretender"

Been listening to this song a lot this weekend...

Foo Fighers - "The Pretender"

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend
Keep you in the dark
And so it all began

Send in your skeletons
Sing as their bones go marching in... again
The need you buried deep
The secrets that you keep are ever ready
Are you ready?
I'm finished making sense
Done pleading ignorance
That whole defense

Spinning infinity, boy
The wheel is spinning me
It's never-ending, never-ending
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

In time or so i'm told
I'm just another soul for sale... oh, well
The page is out of print
We are not permanent
We're temporary, temporary
Same old story

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

I'm the voice inside your head
You refuse to hear
I'm the face that you have to face
Mirrored in your stare
I'm what's left, I'm what's right
I'm the enemy
I'm the hand that will take you down
Bring you to your knees

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

Keep you in the dark
You know they all pretend

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
(You know they all... pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

What if I say I'm not like the others?
(Keep you in the dark)
What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays?
(You know they all... pretend)
You're the pretender
What if I say that I'll never surrender?

So who are you?
Yeah, who are you?
Yeah, who are you?

Posted by silverdsl at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2007

Britney Spears a Train Wreck at MTV Video Awards

I tuned into the first few minutes of the MTV Video Music Awards to see if Britney Spears could reverse the major freefall her career's been in with a blockbuster performance of her new single, but it's safe to say if that was her goal she failed miserably. What a lame and lackluster performance. Horrible lip-syncing to the point where it seemed as if she wasn't sure of what the words to her own song were or when she should be singing. Britney's dancing was so unenthusiastic and devoid of energy that it seemed as if she hadn't bothered to rehearse or didn't care how it turned out. And as much as I hate to criticize someone for their appearance Britney made a poor choice in costume. It's not a crime to not be in shape, but with that in mind choosing something to wear that exposed a little less flesh might have been a wise idea. She simply didn't look good and it had nothing to do with that she wasn't as thin as a rail. A complete disaster of a performance and it's a shame because I think the song is actually pretty good for those that like pop-dance. Sarah Silverstein followed with what I guess was supposed to be a stand-up comedy routine, but I didn't find it funny in the least. As bad as Britney was and as wacky as she's behaved in the past few years, I think it's over-the-line to "joke" about her kids being mistakes.

After I turned the show off, apparently there was a fight between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee, both of whom are ex-husbands of Pamela Anderson, who was also in attendance. Why those two were fighting is unknown but I think it's safe to say that their ex-wife likely had something to do with it. Reports are that while Kid Rock threw the first punch, it was Tommy that instigated things. No surprise there. Hard to believe that these two can't act like adults, but MTV probably didn't mind since this incident is going to bring their show some extra publicity.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2007

Barbara Streisand - Woman in Love

I've never really liked Barbara Streisand, but I heard "Woman in Love" on Sirius a while back, and for some reason the song really stuck in my head so I've been listening to it a lot lately.

Life is a moment in space, when the dream is gone it’s a lonelier place
I kiss the morning goodbye, but down inside you know we never know why

The road is narrow and long, when eyes meet eyes and the feeling is strong
I turn away from the wall, I stumble and fall but I give you it all

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And hold you within
It’s a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do

With you eternally mine, in love there is no measure of time
We planned it all at the start, that you and I live in each other's hearts
We may be oceans away, you feel my love, I hear what you say
No truth is ever a lie, I stumble and fall, but I give you it all

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And hold you within
It’s a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do

I am a woman in love
And I'm talking to you
I know how you feel
What a woman can do
It’s a right I defend over and over again

I am a woman in love
And I'd do anything
To get you into my world
And hold you within
It’s a right I defend
Over and over again
What do I do

Posted by silverdsl at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2007

High Hopes - Pink Floyd

Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our troughts strayed constandly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begin

Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut

There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The night of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide

At a higher altitude with flag unfuried
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

Eneumbered forever by desire and ambition
Theres a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
Though down this road weve been so many time

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever

Posted by silverdsl at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2007

It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)

I've had this Duke Ellington song running through my head since last night...

What good is melody, what good is music
If it ain't possessin' something sweet
It ain't the melody, it ain't the music
There's something else that makes the tune complete

It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing
It makes no diff'rence if it's sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing

Posted by silverdsl at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2007

What I've Been Listening To...

It's been quite a while since I've talked about what music I've been listening to. One glaring reason being that there hasn't been a huge amount of new music that's caught my attention in quite some time, so I've been listening, as always, to a lot of classic rock and other music of the past, even if it's the recent past.

One of the few current albums that I like is James Blunt's Back to Bedlam, but since that album came out in 2005, it's not exactly new anymore. There's definitely some fairly recent singles that I like such as Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback," Nickelback's "Far Away," and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," but none of the albums those songs belong to have really inspired much in me. The only other recent album that I've been listening to is the new Daughtry album, though I can't say it's a favorite or very ground-breaking musically, simply that it features some catchy songs.

So I've been listening to a lot of my usuals like Fleetwood Mac, Simon & Garfunkel, 3 Doors Down, The Scorpions and Bon Jovi to name a few. I also have XM and Sirius satellite radio both, and I've been listening to both of those quite extensively as well. I would have liked to have had just one or the other, but Nascar moved to Sirius and XM is built into both my car and my husband's. So dropping XM wasn't something we wanted to do since we both listen to XM in our cars a lot, and I didn't want to miss out on Sirius's Nascar coverage, since that was why I got satellite radio in the first place. What I decided to do is drop one of my XM recievers from my account, so that way paying the monthly costs for Sirius wouldn't come out to that much more than I had already been paying.

As it turns out XM and Sirius have very much the same programming. I like Sirius's "Hair Nation" channel, which plays all hair-bands, all the time, a lot better than XM's similar channel, "Boneyard," which isn't exclusively hair bands. Not only that it seems as if "Boneyard" plays a lot of songs that I've never heard of, and aren't all that great. I also like Sirius's classic rock channels, and it seems that I can always find a song that I like on one of them. However, I think I like XM's more current music channels better. "Ethel," the alternative hits station on XM usually has music I like, and so far I haven't really found a similar channel to XM 22, "The Mix," which really isn't an XM channel since Clear Channel operates it, but plays a good "mix" of music.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 AM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2006

Somebody to Shove - Soul Asylum

Grandfather watches the grandfather clock
And the phone hasn't rang for so long
And the time flies by like a vulture in the sky
Suddenly he breaks into song

I'm waiting by the phone
Waiting for you to call me up and tell me I'm not alone
I'm waiting by the phone
Waiting for you to call me up and tell me I'm not alone

Hello, speak up, is there somebody there?
These hang-ups are getting me down
In a world frozen over with over-exposure
Let's talk it over, let's go out and paint the town

(in part)

Heard this song the other day for the first time in a long time.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2006

Rockstar: Supernova

I watched Rock Star: Supernova last night and I have to say I was extremely disappointed. No, let's change "I was disappointed" to I cringed in horror at how horrible the show was. Maybe I was watching on an off night because I had heard so many raves about this show. How can a show featuring Tommy Lee (Motley Crue), Gilby Clarke (formerly of Guns-n-Roses), Jason Newsted (formerly of Metallica) and Dave Navarro (formerly of Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers) be bad? Well, to me it was the stiffness of host Brooke Burke, the fact that it seemed like information was repeated over and over again, maybe to fill time, the performers were awful to my ears and the format itself left something to be desired. All this show seems like is like a rock version of American Idol, and to me that's not a very good way for a band to find a new lead singer, though it seems to have worked fairly well for INXS. Maybe it just needs to grow on me.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 09, 2006

You Can Do Magic - America

For some reason this song keeps sticking in my head (that and "Fly Me Courageous" by Drivin' -n- Cryin'"

I never believed in things that I couldnt see
I said if I cant feel it then how can it be
No, no magic could happen to me
And then I saw you

I couldnt believe it, you took my heart
I couldnt retrieve it, said to myself
Whats it all about
Now I know there can be no doubt

You can do magic
You can have anything that you desire
Magic, and you know
Youre the one who can put out the fire

You know darn well
When you cast your spell you will get your way
When you hypnotize with your eyes
A heart of stone can turn to clay
Doo, doo, doo ...

And when the rain is beatin upon the window pane
And when the night it gets so cold, when I cant sleep
Again you come to me
I hold you tight, the rain disappears
Who would believe it
With a word you dry my tears

You can do magic
You can have anything that you desire
Magic, and you know
Youre the one who can put out the fire

You know darn well
When you cast your spell you will get your way
When you hypnotize with your eyes
A heart of stone can turn to clay
Doo, doo, doo ...

And if I wanted to
I could never be free
I never believed it was true
But now its so clear to me

You can do magic
You can have anything that you desire
Magic, and you know
Youre the one who can put out the fire

You know darn well
When you cast your spell you will get your way
When you hypnotize with your eyes
A heart of stone can turn to clay
Doo, doo, doo ...

Youre the one who can put out the fire
Youre the one who can put out the fire
Youre the one who can put out the fire ...

Posted by silverdsl at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)

March 22, 2006

Aerosmith Forced to Cancel Tour; Steve Tyler to Undergo Surgery

Areosmith was in the midst of a well-recieved tour and were rumored to be teaming up with Motley Crue for a tour later this year but they have now cancelled their entire tour and there is no word as to when the band can get back to performing again. The reason is that lead singer Steven Tyler will have to undergo surgery. While the Associated Press article and preliminary information from the band is vague as to the nature of the surgery or the recovery time, some sources are reporting that Tyler has to undergo throat surgery of some kind and that it will be two to three months before he can sing again. Of course any kind of health issue is bad news but it must be particularly difficult for a man who has made his living off of his voice in such spectacular fashion to not only have to face throat surgery (assuming that is in fact the kind of surgery he is undergoing) and then the prospect of being unable to sing for months.

What's interesting is that although the official fan club website has an article about the tour being cancelled and the forum there is full of countless threads discussing Tyler's surgery and the tour being cancelled, there is not a single mention of this, which is pretty major news, on the band's official site.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2006

C.C. DeVille and The Surreal Life 6

Hard to believe that there's already been six seasons of The Surreal Life! I can still remember watching the first and best season with Vince Neil, Corey Feldman, Emmanuel Lewis and others. Even the second season with Erik Estrada was pretty good. I lost interest by the third season when the show moved to VH1, though I took a casual interest in some of the antics of the B-List "celebrities" who were featured. Much to my delight though I found out that C.C. DeVille, lead guitarist of the 80's hair band Poison, would be one of the cast members on season 6. I knew I had to watch! Poison has been one of my favorite bands since I was young and I've always loved C.C.'s craziness. He may not be the best guitarist but he's got a ton of personality and showmanship. Poison would not be the band that they are without him. Unfortunately though C.C. has long battled drug and alcohol addiction which has led to him leaving the band (he has since rejoined) and going through rehab more than once. Just last year C.C. found himself in trouble with the law and it was clear that he was struggling with his demons once more. So I wondered how C.C. was going to be able to participate on this show.

Much to my surprise C.C. is the most likeable cast member so far. He's still the same crazy guy that he always was but as of the taping of the show C.C. was fresh out of another stint in rehab. Not only did he sound very together but he looked the best I've ever seen him look. Apparently C.C. has traded drug and alcohol binges for running five miles a day and it shows - he looks much younger than he is. In addition, C.C. was friendly and outgoing to all, a little off-the wall and loud as he's always been but not annoying or out-of-control as I feared he might be. C.C. could very well be The Surreal Life's next Vince Neil. Vince had also long struggled with drug and alcohol addiction as well as anger management problems. But he was clean while he was on the show and was one of the most popular and most well-liked cast members from his season.

Of course I've only seen one episode but so C.C. could get on my nerves as the season progresses but I'm guessing that in comparision to some of his other castmates that probably won't happen. Sherman Helmsley from The Jeffersons, Andrea Howell who is a Playboy playmate and Steve Harwell from Smashmouth seem okay, though pretty bland. But actress Tawny Kaiten, transgender star Alexis Arquette and The Brady Bunch's Florence Henderson didn't come off very well right from the start. The biggest problem with Tawny as I think the rest of the cast is going to find out is that she seems like she is very controlling and not very well-balanced. Alexis seems like a nice-enough person but also seems to have the need to be at the center of attention. Sure to cause some problems. And Florence Henderson who is now a hypno-therapist is judgmental and irritating.

But one thing that I liked about C.C. is that where his castmates were shocked into silence when Alexis walked in, C.C. immediately greeted her warmly. Granted C.C. knew her previously from doing shows together but I still think it said something that he didn't hesitate to reach out to her. Which pretty much broke the ice and awkwardness for everyone else. C.C. also knows Tawny from when Poison and Whitesnake toured together years ago since Tawny was married to Whitesnake's lead singer David Coverdale. I guess it's too early to know for sure but I suspect that C.C. might be one of the castmembers who acts as a peacemaker which is funny since he was the source of a lot of trouble in Poison. I guess that's what being sober can do for you.

I enjoyed watching the show but I don't think I would watch without C.C.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

March 16, 2006

Another Reality Show for Tommy Lee

Going to college on a reality show worked out pretty well for Tommy Lee so it appears that now he's going to try forming a new band via a reality show as well. Last year Rock Star found a lead singer to replace Michael Hutchence in INXS, now the show will find a lead singer for a supergroup called Supernova featuring Tommy Lee, Jason Newsted, formerly of Metallica and Gilby Clarke, formerly of Guns -n- Roses. That should be an interesting show to watch. Say what you will about them as people but any group featuring Newsted and Lee isn't short on talent and Clarke is no slouch either. I just wonder what this means for Motley Crue since it sounds like Supernova will record an album and presumably tour in support of it.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2006

Cinderella, Poison to Tour Together?

Word is that 80's hair bands Poison and Cinderella will tour together this summer to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of their first albums "Night Songs" and "Look What the Cat Dragged In." Hard to believe those albums were released 20 years ago. I can vividly remember when I bought LWTCDI, as an innocent (really, I swear!) 12-year old. I was on vacation with my parents down in Cape May on the Jersey shore. I had heard a couple of Poison songs and decided I wanted the whole album. I had brought my Walkman on vacation with me so when I saw the tape in a music store I picked it up. And so began my life-long love of Poison. I probably wore that tape out completely as well as subsequent Poison tapes I listened to them so often. Cinderella was another favorite and NS was another that got heavy play in my bedroom.

I've seen Poison live in concert four times over the years. Twice when they were at the peak of their popularity in the late 80's/early 90's and two more times recently. I saw Cinderella in a small club on Long Island when they could no longer sellout arenas anymore. But they still gave it their all and put on an outstanding show even though the crowd was much smaller than what they had played in front of previously.

Ah, memories. I might have to check this tour out this summer.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2006

Headlines About Clay Aiken These Days Not About His Music

Apparently a few of the tabloids have been working themselves into a frenzy with various stories over the possiblity that Clay Aiken is gay. Aiken has denied being gay in the past but his sexual orientation has been a subject of debate, much to many of his fan's dismay, for a long time. Apparently the latest is that one man alleges he had a sexual encounter with Aiken and another man claims that while Aiken logged onto a gay website and engaged in a chat with him in an effort to solict sex. The second man has provided one of the tabloids with photos of Aiken, one of which he says is Aiken half-dressed, which he claims comes from a webcam that Aiken used during the chat. I have no clue if any of these allegations are true. I don't care whether Aiken likes men, women, both or neither. Aiken's sexual orientation is his business and I think it's very unfortunate that it's an issue for some.

However, I think that if it's true (and I'm not saying that it was so no hate mail please!) that Aiken was cruising websites and picking up random strangers for gay sex encounters he didn't use terribly good judgement if he wanted to stay in the closet. People talk and especially about those who are well-known so the news is going to travel if he's on those sites. But even worse would be using the webcam - what the heck was he thinking there if those images really are what it's alleged they are? I guess he didn't realize that someone could capture images off a webcam but it's pretty easy to do. Instant blackmail, or in this case, instant scandal. Which could have big ramifications for Aiken.

What's really incredible is that there is apparently a small group of fans who filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Comission against RCA and Sony/BMG claiming that they engaged in deceptive marketing and promotional campaigns and deliberately hid Aiken's real sexual orientation. Oh please! Since when are fans entitled to know every detail of someone's life, down to their sexual preference? If Aiken hid that he was gay, he was far from the first and he won't be the last. But most of all, many celebrities, maybe even the majority of them, have a public image which may differ from the way that they are privately. Fans feel like they "know" the celebrities they idolize because they see them so often on TV, hear them on the radio, and read about them in magazines, newspapers and online. Some fans get to meet their idols in person and spend time around them. But there is a difference between knowing the public persona and really knowing someone. If those Claymates are upset with Aiken's record companies for deceptive practices because they didn't promote the "real" Clay Aiken then they better start filing complaints against every other record company, movie studio, actor, actress, athlete, etc...

Yes, it's disappointing when someone you look up to isn't what you've always thought they were. I've definitely been disappointed in this way at times. But I've remained a fan of those people because I understand that my perception of the person who I think that they are might not really be who they are. Not to mention as I've mentioned countless times before in this space I expect that the people that I am a fan of are going to make mistakes or do things that I don't agree with. It can be disappointing at times but I accept that. But it seems that there are a lot of fans who have a hard time accepting when the real person isn't always like the fantasy version that they might have built up and put on a pedestal.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:54 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2006

U2 Wins Big at the Grammys

In what has to be considered a huge upset, five Grammys last night, while Mariah Carey won just three, all of them awarded prior to the televised show and none of them in major categories. Virtually all of the media coverage leading up to the Grammys has focused on Carey since she was nominated in eight categories and most assumed that given her success in 2005 that she would be the big winner last night. But that was not to be. I'm thrilled to find out that U2 won Album of the Year for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," Song of the Year for "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own," Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal for "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own," Best Rock Song for "City of Blinding Lights" and Best Rock Album for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb." In addition, their producer, Steve Lillywhite, won the Producer of the Year award. "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" is an outstanding album and I'm very happy that U2 got so much recognition for it. Since I've never cared for Carey, I can't say I'm all that upset on her behalf that she didn't receive as many awards as most people thought she would.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)

February 06, 2006

NFL, Not ABC Censored Rolling Stones

Initial reports indicated that it was ABC who censored the Rolling Stones during a half-time show via a five-second delay. However, it turns out that it was the NFL who wanted the lyrics to go unheard on the TV broadcast. I say go unheard because Mick Jagger actually sang both "Start Me Up" and "Rough Justice" with the offending lyrics, but the NFL turned down Jagger's mic for at those points in the song so the lyrics couldn't be heard either in the stadium or on TV. Apparently the Stones were consulted prior to the show about what the NFL intended on doing and that plan was a compromise of some kind. I still find it ridiculous that those lyrics were deemed offensive when there are far worse lyrics in many popular songs, not to mention the sex and violence on TV, in the movies, in video games, etc...

Posted by silverdsl at 02:39 PM | Comments (0)

ABC Uses Five-Second Delay to Censor Rolling Stones

Last night the Rolling Stones performed three songs, "Start Me Up," "Rough Justice," and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as part of the half-time festivities for the Super Bowl. But thanks to the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake debacle in 2004 which revealed much of more of Jackson's breast than most thought they would ever see, ABC used a five-second delay last night and used it to edit out two lines of lyrics that they thought could be potentially offensive to viewers. One was the line in "Start Me Up" that goes "You, you make a dead man come" and the other was a reference to "cocks" in "Rough Justice." Of course ABC is well within their rights to use the delay to censor or make edits in any way they please to adhere to their standards and avoid offending their viewing audience. But it seems ridiculous that ABC is going to cut those lyrics which are fairly mild in the face of gads of violence and sex not only on any number of TV shows but also in commercials. In fact the GoDaddy.com commercial, which had to be edited multiple times before ABC would accept it is still pretty suggestive as is the Pizza Hut commercial with Jessica Simpson.

As for the performance itself some are saying that it wasn't all that impressive. And I guess in comparision to some really theatrical and energetic performances of the past it was lacking something. But I think people need to keep in mind that the members of the Rolling Stones are in their sixties. Mick Jagger was especially spry and energetic and I think overall, while the Rolling Stones aren't necessarily my kind of music, I think they did pretty well. They are a band from a different generation than now and I don't think that they should be expected to perform in the same way as Eminem or 311 might.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

Some Kind of Monster

Over the weekend Jim and I watched the Metallica documentary that came out in 2004, "Some Kind of Monster." I had really wanted to watch SKoM for quite some time as I had always heard excellent reviews of it. In fact the movie was nominated for a number of awards, including an Independant Spirit Award, and made quite a few movie critic's lists for top ten movies of 2004. With all of this in mind perhaps I expected way too much out of the movie as I didn't care for it at all and neither did Jim. Was it an interesting look at the process of recording a record album? Yes. But was the it the riveting and moving movie that a lot of others seemed to feel it was? Not to me.

I think one of the biggest problems for me is that the album they were recording at the time of the making of SKoM was St. Anger which I feel is one of the worst albums that Metallica has ever done. I disliked that album so much that I could barely sit through the album even once and this comes from someone who likes both old-ultra-heavy Metallica and the newer more-mainstream Metallica. I simply could not connect to the music on that album at all so I think it made it hard for me to then connect to the process of them recording the album. It's not just the music that was a problem for me on the album - the overall quality of the recording didn't seem to be what it should be, though it's apparently been said that was something intentional.

To enjoy a movie one usually needs to be able to relate to the characters, be sympathetic towards them or at least be interested in them. As much as I've always been a fan of the band's music, I found it difficult to relate to them as people. Yes, I felt sorry for lead singer James Hetfield when he went to rehab and how the rest of the band struggled to adjust while he was gone and then when he returned. But I also came away from watching the film feeling like both Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich are selfish people. Granted, at many points in the movie they were being encouraged to talk about themselves and their feelings by the therapist that their management company had hired to work with them, Phil Towle. But I also felt like their world view was very inwardly turned and I found it difficult to relate to that.

On the other hand, the one band member who I did enjoy was Kirk Hammett. At times some of his observations were very on-target and intelligent. Yet he often let Hammett and Ulrich do the majority of the talking. In fact, Hammett talked at one point about how he strives to have as little ego as possible and he has certainly achieved this - at points Hammett seemed to blend into his surroundings. There were times when arguments raged around him and he simply sat there listening. But I suppose that should be expected from a man who practices Buddism. Instead of retaining a "performance-enhancing coach" perhaps Metallica's management should have considered bringing in a Buddist monk to keep the peace and keep Metallica on track.

In the end that is exactly what Towle's presence is all about. If the band members are able to work out their issues and become better people - great. But he is there to keep the lines of communciation open among the band members and do all the other things that will help them be productive and finish the album. Towle ends up spending a considerable amount of time with Metallica, so much so that by the end of the movie the members of the band become uncomfortable because they feel that he also considers himself a member of the band. I'm surprised it took them that long to feel uncomfortable because it didn't take me too long to feel like he might be intruding just a wee bit too much in the process of making the album when he was actually in the room while they were recording. In fact, Bob Rock, Metallica's producer who was present for the majority of the sessions with Towle, told him to back off at one point. No doubt Towle knows a lot about motivating his clients to get the best possible results in their lives and careers but when it came to the actual writing and recording process it seemed like he had gotten a bit too involved.

Of course that he was being paid $40,000 a month to be available to Metallica at any time they wanted probably made for excellent motivation to immerse himself as deeply as possible in everything the band did so as to make himself indespensible. Indeed Towle was present as many business related issues were discussed and I think that was another factor that made the band uncomfortable as well. There definitely have to be some boundaries. That's not to say that Towle didn't help the band resolve a lot of personal and professional issues for the right reasons but I also think that he seemed to become very connected to the band in a way that helped him personally as well.

In the end Metallica finished the album and went on tour in support of it. Apparently they have been in the studio fairly recently recording another album - it will be interesting to see what direction their music goes in and if it is at all different I wonder if that will have anything to do with the cameras not being around (assuming they're not working oin a sequel to SKoM).

Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 AM | Comments (0)

January 17, 2006

Wild Words From the Mouth of Steve Adler

Steven Adler, the former drummer of Guns 'n Roses, did an interview with Metal Sludge recently. In it he alleges that he had sex with an extremely well-known male lead vocalist of another hard rock band that has been around forever. Read the interview if you want to know who because I can't bring myself to repeat that particular item of gossip here. I'm actually even hesitant to discuss that interview or link to it because that allegation is one that could be damaging to the other musician's reputation if it's false. Which it could very well be since Adler had major drug problems for years and there's no telling how accurate or reliable the things he says are. But the point of this entry is that it bothers me that he makes such an inflammatory statement and there's no follow-up by Metal Sludge to clarify. Nor does there appear to be any attempt to get a comment from the other musician's "people." And that bothers me.

Metal Sludge has never claimed to be professional journalists and it's likely that a lot of people will dismiss Adler's claims as bullshit. But there are going to be a percentage of people who take him at his word. And that's a problem if he's not telling the truth and the other party has been given no opportunity to respond.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:42 PM | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

James Frey + A Million Untruths = One Smoking Gun Expose

Oprah Winfrey selected James Frey's book, A Million Little Pieces, to be featured as part of her book club. The book, which was supposedly a non-fiction memoir of Frey's youthful years as a drug-addicted criminal who ended up in jail and how he got his life back on track, ended up on The New York Times non-fiction best seller list for the past fifteen weeks and sold more copies in the United States in 2005 than any other book not about Harry Potter. However, a major investigative report by The Smoking Gun has revealed that Frey may have fabricated and exaggerated major parts of his "non-fiction" book.

Really it's unbelievable how much The Smoking Gun uncovered. The Smoking Gun's report didn't show just one or two minor discrepancies. Reading through it's incredible how much TSG discovered didn't actually happen in the way that Frey claims that it did. While some might say that anyone's memory might not be so great years later, it seems to me that there's no way that Frey could accidentally get this many things wrong. TSG not only found that key documents that should prove Frey's version of events didn't exist but that there were numerous court documents, police reports and actual, live witnesses that showed that Frey likely spent very little time in jail, despite what he claimed and large portions of some of the biggest events that are key parts of his book didn't happen in the way that he says that it did.

Frey plans on going on Larry King Live on CNN tomorrow night and I'm sure he will have some sort of impassioned defense of the book which will probably fall in line with what his publisher, Random House, is saying.

"Recent accusations against him notwithstanding, the power of the overall reading experience is such that the book remains a deeply inspiring and redemptive story for millions of readers."

As far as the charges, which were made by the Smoking Gun Web site, "This is not a matter that we deem necessary for us to investigate," said Alison Rich, a spokeswoman for Doubleday and Anchor Books.

Appalling. Does anyone care about accuracy, truth or ethics any more? I know that when an author writes their memoirs it's to be expected that some things might be embellished. It's not the same as a journalist writing for a newspaper. However, A Million Pieces is a non-fiction book. I expect that when I read a non-fiction book, no matter how good or inspirational it might be as this one apparently is, that it really isn't in reality fiction. The truth matters to me and it should matter to everyone.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2005

James Blunt - "You're Beautiful"

I've gotten really into this song. I think James Blunt has a very unique voice and sound. I listened to his entire album the other night via Rhapsody and it was really outstanding. I think I'm going to have to pick it up the next time I'm near a music store. It's been a while since there's been a new artist that I've gotten excited about.

James Blunt - You're Beautiful

My life is brilliant.
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
F**king high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw you face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.
You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2005

"Walk Tall" - John Mellencamp

I was listening to this song this morning. (It's on John Mellencamp's Best of album, Words and Music, a very awesome album because it has all of his best known hits, many of which I love!). The lyrics from this one stuck with me so maybe they'll unstick if I post 'em here...

Walk Tall (single version)

Written by: John Mellencamp

The simple minded
And the uninformed
Can be easily led astray
And those that cannot connect the dots
Hey look the other way
People believe what they want to believe
When it makes no sense at all

And I wish you a long sight line
And the strength to walk tall

Walk tall
Yeah walk on
Through this world
Walk tall

Somewhere out in the distance
Is the death of you and me
Even though we don’t think of it much
It’s still out there for us to see
If you treat life like a ballroom fight
You’ll die stinking of gin
No drunkards are allowed in heaven
No sinners will get in

Walk tall
Yeah, walk on
Walk tall
Through this world
Walk tall

So be careful in what you believe in
There’s plenty to get you confused
And in this land called paradise
You must walk in many men’s shoes
Bigotry and hatred are enemies to us all
Grace, mercy and forgiveness
Will help a man walk tall

So walk tall
Yeah, walk on
Walk tall
Through this world
Through this world
Yeah, walk tall
Then walk on
Walk tall
Then walk on
Through this world
Through this world
Through this world
Through this world
Walk tall
Walk tall
Then walk on
Walk tall

Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2005

Conductor Skitch Henderson Dies at Age 87

Founded the New York Pops Among Many Other Accomplishements

I just saw that Skitch Henderson died yesterday at his home in New Milford, Connecticut from natural causes. I had the pleasure of meeting him at an event here at work a few years ago. I got to spend some time with him and he was extremely nice so I'm sad to hear that he passed away. Henderson founded the New York Pops and was the first bandleader for The Tonight Show but he also worked with Frank Sinatra, as his musical director, and Bing Crosby, who was his mentor.

R.I.P. Skitch Henderson.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 26, 2005

Another One Bites the Dust

K-Rock To Go All-Talk After Howard Stern Leaves

There goes another radio station I enjoyed listening to. Once Howard Stern leaves January 3, K-Rock which currently plays rock will go to an all-talk format, at least during the week when I usually listen to the radio. Of course the bigger news for most people is who will be replacing Stern once he goes over to Sirius Satellite Radio but since my Stern phase is long over it doesn't really matter much to me. But in case any of my readers here haven't heard and do care Stern will be replaced by several different hosts, depending on the market that each particular station is in. In the New York area where I am his replacement will be David Lee Roth which seems like a curious choice but I've heard that he's done a good job as a fill-in host. Adam Carolla will be the host in Los Angeles. But back to K-Rock itself, while I don't listen all the time by any means, it is in my rotation of stations to switch to while I'm in the car to see if they're playing anything I like. And often they are. But soon I will have to remove K-Rock from my pre-sets just like I've removed all the other stations that have changed format. Sometimes it seems like stations don't stick to any one format for long these days. Which is why I'm glad I have XM with it's 100 channels of commercial-free music in all sorts of genres that don't change too often.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)

October 20, 2005

Blue Man Group

The Blue Man Group is fairly well known for their theatrical productions which appear in six different cities around the world including Las Vegas and New York. Jim and I almost went to see them in Las Vegas but opted not to because we knew we could go to a show in New York any time so we decided to go see something that we couldn't see close to home. In any event we never ended up going to see a Blue Man Group show and now I really want to because I've been listening to them quite frequently since we got back from Aruba. Jim discovered their music first and by him playing their album, "The Complex" in the car is how I got hooked. They have another album "Audio" which is good as well. Fans of good percussion work would definitely like their music but overall there's something about the sound that's very unique.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:16 PM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2005

Payola Not a Thing of the Past

Sleazy Listening

Ever wonder why some truly lousy songs seem to become big hits? It may not be due to a bunch of people calling radio stations and asking for their favorite song to be played or purchasing it in a store or online. It may be that the record company has paid radio stations to make sure that the song gets played in the form of cash, goods such as vacations and plasma TVs or radio station giveaways. Of course payola isn't a new practice but it is an illegal one. New York State attorney general Elliott Spitzer is conducting an investigation into the practices of record companies as it relates to payola and the results aren't pretty.

Artists such as Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson, Audioslave, Good Charlotte, Train and others may have benefited from payola. The funny thing is that the costs of payola are often paid by the artists themselves without them ever knowing because it comes out of their royalities, almost as a promotional cost. But at least in a vague sort of way I'd say that the artists probably have some idea that things like this are going on. But I doubt that they care much. As long as they don't get in trouble with the law about it, why would they complain if the record companies do something which is going to help them get a hit song?

And the more a record is played on the radio the more it encourages record sales because the song becomes more and more familiar to listeners the more they hear it. Not to mention they probably think that it truly is a popular song if it's getting played so often and they don't want to miss out on music that they think all their peers are listening to. So the end result is that record companies are trying to buy success for their artists and in some cases very definitely succeeding.

Of course this is the way things have always worked but it's frustrating for someone who loves good music by talented musicians. That's how I'd like to see radio plays be determined on the basis of what songs are truly good but I'm not holding my breath for that to happen anytime soon even if Spitzer forces some record companies to change some of their practices.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

August 25, 2005

Old Record Company Tries to Have Take Back Sunday's Gold Album Taken Back

Seems a Little Petty

There's this band Take Back Sunday that was signed to an independant label, Victory Records. While with Victory, Take Back Sunday's album "Where You Want To Be" sold enough copies to be certified gold but the request to have it certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) was never done. So now that Take Back Sunday is signed to Warner Bros. Records, the request was made to have the album certified gold and it was approved. Only thing is that now that it's been given gold certification Victory wants it taken back because they say that the album is their property and they weren't the ones to start the process for the certification to be made. Um, hello, do the folks at Victory not understand that regardless of who started the process a small, independant record company being able to say that one of their albums went gold, regardless of whether the artist is still with them or not, is a very good thing? I can't understand why they wouldn't want this certification.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2005

Poison's C.C. DeVille Arrested for Domestic Violence

C.C.: "I Didn't Do It!"

Apparently over the weekend Poison guitarist C.C. DeVille was arrested for domestic violence. His ex-girlfriend accuses him of beating her up. Of course DeVille denies the whole thing and claims that she was the one to attack him and his new girlfriend because she was upset over her breakup with him. I've got no idea what actually happened. There's always several sides to every story: his, hers and the truth which is usually somewhere in between. But it's not all that surprising that DeVille has run into trouble like this because for quite a few years now his behavior has concerned many. In the past he's had a drug problem and it's been said that he has continued to struggle to overcome his addictions.

Poison was one of my favorite bands in middle school and high school. I'm not ashamed to admit that I still listen to their music even today. It's not that they were musical geniuses or anything but they played mostly fun, engergetic, up-beat music. Their concerts were fun too as the whole band is made up of terrific performers who know how to put on a great show. That hasn't changed either. I didn't go to see them on their last tour but I did on the tour before that and they were just as good live then as they were in the early 90's. Again, not the greatest musicians ever but they definitely know how to entertain an audience! It's just a shame that DeVille has run into trouble with the law.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)

Sythnesizer Pioneer Robert Moog Dies

Died at Age 71 in North Carolina

Most people probably have never heard his name but the sythnesizers that he created had a huge impact on the music industry. Countless bands used Moog Sythnesizers and instruments including the Beatles, Yes, Pink Floyd as well as even comtemporary bands like Nine Inch Nails and Pearl Jam. I didn't know who Moog was either until a number of years ago when I was working on a story for Hofstra University's newsletter about then chairperson, now professor emeritus, of the music department, Herbert Deutsch. Deutsch, who is also a composer, had helped Moog, then a Ph.D. student in engineering physics at Cornell, develop his first voltage-controlled synthesizer modules. By the end of that year Moog was marketing his first commercial modular sythesizer. Without Moog a lot of very well-loved music would sound very different.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:04 AM | Comments (0)

August 18, 2005

Greatest Hits Albums Not so Great Anymore?

"Best of" Albums From Artists With Few Albums

I happen to love "Best of" and "Greatest Hits" albums because it can provide a great overview of a performer's career without having to buy every single one of their albums. Some great boxed sets, Best of and greatest hits packages from Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel, and many others are among some of my most listened to albums. However, all those artists have one thing in common - they have long distinguished careers in which they've put out many albums. So they truly have quite a few hits and significant songs. Contrast that to artists like Mandy Moore, Hillary Duff, Martika and others who have very few "hits" to actually compose a best of or greatest hits package. But they're in stores anyway.

I think it's especially ridiculous in the case of Hillary Duff who has only two albums to her credit, neither of which had a song that cracked the top ten. Her greatest hits came out this week and essentially it must be a compilation of both of those albums. Perhaps they're just trying to put something, anything out to fullfill the terms of the contract but it seems like a waste of time and effort to promote a greatest hits for an artist who has no hits.

I do however, see the point of Jeff Jones, executive vice president of Sony BMG's catalog division Legacy Recordings, who put out the Martika greatest hits. Years ago she had one big song with "Toy Soldiers" and none other. Recently Eminem sampled "Toy Soldiers" for one of his songs creating fan interest in the original. Only one problem - most stores don't carry her albums anymore. So a new greatest hits package was put together to appeal to those people looking for that song. And it's a good idea. If an artist has four or five albums with a hit song off of each one, a lot of people would probably won't buy all their albums unless they really become enamored of the artist but would pick up the greatest hits or best-of.

That's the case for me with Hootie and the Blowfish. I've come to like their music but I'm not going to go buy all their past albums. But I do intend on getting their best-of album one of these days. And I think there are a lot of artists that I would buy a greatest hits package for but not other albums. Genesis, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley are just a few that fall into that category for me. I think it's just a really good way to hear the songs that I'm familar with and be exposed to other great songs that I might not be so familar with, but not have to listen to a lot of songs that I might not like on a whole bunch of different albums by one artist.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2005

Tom Petty to Play Intimate Show in Las Vegas

Hard Rock Gig

In June I saw Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers in concert and it was an awesome show! It definitely ranks among the better concerts that I've seen. So apparently Petty is playing a concert at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, presumably in The Joint, for about 1,700 people. I would love to go to that show and see Petty & the Heartbreakers in such an intimate venue.

I saw Hootie and the Blowfish perform at The Joint in January as one of the events for Operation Marathon and let me just say that is a sweet space for a show. It's small but not so small that people are on top of each other. There's good sightlines to the stage from pretty much everywhere and the sound system is very good. Granted I've seen quite a few concerts in some very crappy places during the days when I went to a concert of some sort whether it was a local or national act at least once every weekend, so maybe I impress easily but if I lived in the Las Vegas area I would definitely be going to a lot of concerts at The Joint.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2005

What I've Been Listening To...

I realize it's been awhile since I've said anything about what music I've been listening to and there's a good reason for that - not much new music has captured my attention as of late. The Rob Thomas album was probably the last one to really grab me and make me want to listen to it repeatedly. I did listen to the new Hootie and the Blowfish album, Looking for Lucky, and I really liked that a lot so I think that will be my next music purchase along with their greatest hits which I never got around to getting. Otherwise, I've been listening to a lot of the usual favorites like Three Doors Down, Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Bon Jovi, Simon & Garfunkel and just about any other classic rock I can get my hands on. And of course I bounce around between various XM channels when I don't feel like listening to a whole album.

It's just been a while though since I've gone to Best Buy or Tower Records and bought a bunch of new CDs. I was in the used CD store last week getting some Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Guns -n- Roses, but I don't really count those because they were replacements for albums by those artists I had on tape. Yes, cassette tape. I threw most of them out when I moved, except for a select few mix tapes, so I had to get a few albums on CD that I wanted to be able to give a listen to once in a while. Among the very first pop albums I bought when I was 11 or 12 years old were by Cyndi Lauper and Madonnna as well as Bon Jovi so for sentimental reasons I wanted those. And Appetite for Destruction is a classic metal album that I had to have on CD. Welcome to the Jungle...

Posted by silverdsl at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2005

Live-8

Jay-Z, U2, Madonna, Pink Floyd Among Highlights

I have a ton of things to discuss in this journal given that the only computer I had access to had a dial-up connection to the internet, and a very slow one at that. So I could check a few sites to keep up on news but I wasn't too inclined to do much on the 'net because it took so freaking long. But in any event the first subject for me to tackle is the Live-8 concerts on Saturday. Yet again I was very grateful that we had XM on Saturday because on our ride down to Maryland to visit Jim's sister and her husband we were able to listen to some of the Live-8 concerts.

What XM did is really cool. They devoted one channel for every location where a Live-8 concert was taking place plus one other channel which served as a guide to the overall Live-8 experience and played excerpts. Each channel did a great job of covering their location - playing all the songs that each musician or band performed, interviewed the artists and also frequently mentioned which acts were coming up in which order so that listeners could switch channels to another location and know when to come back for the act they were really waiting for. So we ended up hearing quite a variety of music from Will Smith and Bon Jovi in Philadelphia to Velvet Revolver and Sting in London, among many others. Most of the time we listened to the London show which had some of the biggest names, but also because the Pink Floyd reunion was what we wanted to hear most of all.

When we got to Maryland, Christi and Chris were watching Live-8 on MTV but MTV's coverage, which was also shown on VH1, paled in comparison to what XM did. Aside from the message which was to try to influence those at the G-8 conference in Scotland in relation to the issue of poverty, the concerts were about the music. But MTV - Music Television - seemed to forget this. So instead of playing each artist's performance in their entirety, they would play parts of songs, then jump to an interview, then jump to their correspondants with fans, then jump to another location. I know these days no one has an attention span longer than a gnat's but this was ridiculous. It felt like I was seeing more of the MTV hosts than I did of the acts on the stage and it was impossible to figure out what was going on they jumped around so much. The one thing that MTV did do right is show segments and promos related to the reason the concerts were taking place in the first place - poverty and the children that are going hungry as a result.

Finally it was time for the Pink Floyd reunion and although some of their voices were a little shaky, it was still an awesome sight to see! They performed "Breathe," "Money," "Wish You Were Here," and Comfortably Numb." If the vocals weren't what they might have been in the past, their skills as musicians haven't faded one bit. It really shows that age doesn't matter when it comes to performing unbelievably good music. But MTV did something that caused all of our jaws to drop. In the middle of "Comfortably Numb," one of Pink Floyd's best known songs, the producers have one of the hosts break in and start talking to take them to a commercial break. Before the song is finished!!! I would guess that a huge amount, perhaps the majority of viewers, at that point were watching for the Pink Floyd reunion but MTV didn't seem to think it was important to show the whole thing! That blew my mind. Yes, I know Pink Floyd isn't exactly the type of music that MTV plays when they actually play videos these days but even MTV should be able to recognize the significance of what was happening on that stage in London. Jim and I ended up rushing out to the car to turn on XM so we could listen to the rest of the song.

I would have liked to have heard the performances by U2 and Annie Lennox especially but I did get to hear a lot of really great music and even better the whole purpose of the day was to draw attention to a most worthy cause.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)

June 23, 2005

Fox, NBC to Lanch "American Idol" Type Shows With Celebrities

Will Pit Celebrities Against Each Other

I'm not a huge fan of American Idol though I periodically watch. Sometimes it's like one of those train-wrecks that you just can't look away from. Both Fox and NBC will soon have very similar shows that will expand on the "American Idol" format to include celebrities. So various celebrities who are famous, but not known for their singing, will battle each other for a best singing title as voted on by the audience. In the case of the Fox show, "Celebrity Idol", the celebrity winner will recieve $1 million which will go to his or her favorite charity. I imagine that the producers are going to look for the biggest divas they can find, both men and women. They definitely are going to want celebrities who will be able to create drama, in addition to being able to sing well. Should be two interesting and potentially humorous shows depending on the celebrities that are involved.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:13 PM | Comments (0)

Saw Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and the Black Crowes Last Night

I have a few days off of work to take care of some personal stuff but also because last night Jim and I went to see Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers with the Black Crowes at the Garden State Arts Center. It was an awesome show! I wasn't as into the Black Crowes as many in the audience were since I've never been a big BC fan but other than a few sound system issues that seemed to distort the sound a little, they put on a great show. But Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were even better! What a terrific show!

The night started with a stop at Bahr's a seafood restaurant on the water in Atlantic Highlands. We discovered Bahr's a few years ago when we took a trip to the Sandy Hook National Recreation Area which is right there. Bahr's has really great seafood - nothing fancy but very high-quality and of course very delicious! What makes it a lot of fun is getting to sit at a table by the window, as we have each time we've been there, and in the warm weather watch all the boats go by. Definitely a nice dinner! I'd like to go back to the Atlantic Highlands area to visit Sandy Hook again but also go to the Twin Lights Lighthouse and also Mt. Mitchell Scenic Overlook. But of course with a concert to get there was no time for any of that yesterday.

But the main event was the concert and it didn't disappoint. By the time we got into the venue the Black Crowes were already on stage but that was okay because we saw the majority of their set. Our seats were towards the back of the second level but right in the middle so we had a great view of the stage. The Crowes had a neat stage set-up in which there were all sorts of fake candles on the stage which made for a cool effect, particularly when it got dark. The Crowes are definitely a jam-band and that was when I enjoyed them the most when they were just rocking out on a tune. Chris Robinson has great stage presence but his vocals were distorted at times and his singing isn't really the style that I enjoy so I didn't mind when it was just the band showing off their chops. The Crowes played a very long set which was pretty generous of Tom Petty to let them do, particularly since I think it makes it hard for him to get his entire show in before curfew.

After the Crowes were done there was a lengthy break for the break-down of the Crowes gear and the set-up of the Petty equipment as there is at all concerts. Jim and I decided that we would make stops at the bathroom and so did everyone else in the audience. The lines for both the men's and women's rooms were unbelievably long! Think of the longest bathroom lines you've ever seen and then double it - that was how long the lines were at all the bathrooms last night. The reason? This was an extremely heavy-drinking crowd. So the beer lines were also tremendously long and as such everyone needed to make frequent use of the bathrooms. Jim got into a conversation with a vendor when he was getting a bottle of water and apparently while beer sales are always brisk at concerts, they usually don't see such a demand for beer as they were seeing last night. Though I saw plenty of drunk people, some of whom had to be dragged around by their friends, luckily we didn't have any problems with drunk people acting out around us as will sometimes happen in a heavy drinking crowd.

Finally it was time for the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers set. Almost as soon as he took the stage it was obvious how much Tom Petty loves to perform. Musicians always talk about how much they love being on stage but after a while it becomes a drag for some of them. While I'm sure Petty has his moments too at times the joy of being on stage and playing his music, even songs that he must have played hundreds of times before, was evident. Which of course makes for a better show when the musicians who are performing really feel the music. I can't remember every song that Petty performed but the vast majority of them were songs that I recogized and loved.

It's impossible for Petty to perform all his hits but he did perform a lot of well-loved songs such as "Free Fallin," "Last Dance with Mary Jane," "Don't Come Around Here No More," among many others. Petty & The Heartbreakers also played two of my favorite songs "Wildflowers" and "Breakdown." From what I can tell off of the Petty messageboard on his site, the band mixes up the set list periodically, if not every night, which is probably part of how it stays fresh for them, so I feel lucky to have heard two of the songs that I like the most that they do. I love his "Wildflowers" album perhaps the most out of all their albums, other than perhaps some of their very early music. I did wish they performed "American Girl" but time just makes it impossible to perform everything.

They also played two new songs "Turn This Car Around" and "Melinda." I really liked "Melinda" though I know that it probably isn't to a lot of people's tastes because it's long and it's fairly mellow. I really didn't care for "Turn This Car Around" but I suspect if will be a single off his new album which is going to be released by the end of the year. That will definitely be an album that I will have to pick up! I wonder if it will be a success or not? Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers have lasted 30 years and have a huge following but as I was chatting with someone about the other day, there doesn't seem to be the same kind of appreciation for good music as there once was. A lot of what's popular these days is somewhat on the shallow side.

Jim and I had hoped to leave before most everyone else by leaving after the first encore, before the second encore. Only there was no second encore. I imagine that might have been because of the time issue in that generally there is a curfew by which the band needs to get off stage. So we ended up leaving right along with everyone else so we expected we might get stuck in a bit of traffic. Jim also wanted to try and avoid being on the road with everyone who had been drinking so much at the show. I'd like to think that everyone has a designated driver in their group but the reality is that not everyone does that. However, thanks to where Jim and I parked not far from the entrance to the Garden State Parkway, we were able to zip right out of the parking lot without any problems.

So it was a great, great night and we had so much fun! It makes me want to go to more concerts like John Mellencamp who will be playing this area in July. I don't know if that will happen but I'm sure that would be a great show too.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:32 AM | Comments (0)

June 21, 2005

Bo Bice Never Wanted to Win "American Idol"

"American Idol" Label Not For Him

Bo Bice recently told the Associated Press that he never wanted to win "American Idol" and that he's happy he didn't win as that would have made it harder for him to play his own kind of music. I would have to agree that he will have slightly more flexibility to do what he wants as the runner-up than he would as the actual winner. So I have to wonder if he gave 100% at the end of the competition if he didn't really want to win it. I'm sure he would never admit to that but his comments do raise some questions.

I assume his goal was to go on the show and get as much exposure and publicity for his music career as possible. He certainly succeeded in that regard. He has a single coming out shortly and a full album sometime before the end of the year. It will be interesting to see how those do and whether he ends up overshadowing Carrie Underwood.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2005

Copy-Protected CDs Can't Be Burned

Burner's Bummer

In a continuing effort to fight the digital revolution the record industry has a new tool. This time some record companies have developed software that limits the amount of times that CDs can be copied. So a whole CD might only be able to be copied three times and invididual tracks might only be able to be copied seven times. That includes both burning copies of CDs and uploading tracks onto digital music players. And even worse for IPods users is that the software is not compatible with those IPods so they can't upload music from those CDs at all. Which of course doesnt' make a lot of people very happy because most people are used to making as many copies as they want of their CDs whether it's to give to friends, for their portable music devices, as part of mix tapes and any number of other uses. So people who want to make more copies of these CDs or for IPods users put them on their devices, it means that they will be forced to pay for it either via a new CD or by paying to download digital tracks.

I understand the goal of the record companies. They are fighting declining record sales. In addition, both record companies and the artists themselves are trying to protect their rights to their own music. And I definitely support that - the artists should be profiting from their own music and they don't profit when illegal copies of CDs are made or music is passed around on illegal peer-to-peer services. However, I also enjoy being able to upload copies of CDs to my digital music device and also making mix CDs. So I don't know what the balance is. An argument can be made that once someone pays for something it belongs to them and they should be able to do anything they want with it. But then the artist, and the record companies, suffer. I don't know what the answer is so everyone is happy but I hate to see the day when the record companies completely prevent all copying, burning and uploading of all CDs.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2005

Michael Jackson Found Not Guilty

Acquitted of All Charges

Unless someone reading this blog has been under a rock today you probably know already that Michael Jackson was found not guilty by a jury of all charges he faced in his child molestation trial. Thus far the jury hasn't said much about why they acquitted him but early comments indicate that the accuser's mother made a terrible impression on the jury, staring at them and snapping her fingers at them. Things like that do matter and I'm surprised that the prosecutation didn't coach her better on how to behave in the courtroom, particularly in relation to the jury. I'm sure much more will be said in the coming days about exactly why he was acquitted but even though I didn't follow the case that closely from what I did hear it seemed as if the credibility of the accuser and his family was going to be a problem so I can't say I'm surprised he was found not guilty. However, that still doesn't convince me that he is truly innocent of molesting children.

What I am sure of is that Jackson's behavior is bizarre and at the very least inappropriate. Adults should not be sleeping in the same bed as children period, except perhaps in the case of parents with sick children or something unusual like that. But Jackson should not have been having sleep-overs with children. Unfortunately what this verdict means is that Jackson will feel that he can get away with anything and he has no motivation to stop his strange behavior or perhaps even the sleep-overs. Somewhere out there I would guess there are probably parents who are willing to overlook Jackson's oddities and let their children come into close contact with him just because he's Michael Jackson. Not to mention a whole host of people who will say "yes" to any request and help him do anything he wants. Scary.

The other effect of his acquittal is that radio stations will now probably play a lot more of Jackson's music than they were while he was on trial. Especially songs like "Beat It" and "Smooth Criminal" which can be used to lead in or out of discussions on his trial. I actually like a lot of Jackson's classic songs but I always feel funny listening to it considering his recent legal problems.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:11 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2005

Resurrecting Motley Crue

Part of VH1's (Inside)Out Series

Just by chance Jim and I stumbled upon a fascinating show last night while we were flipping channels before we went to sleep. VH1 has a series (Inside)Out that focuses on celebrities who are facing some sort of personal or professional issue. They call it a documentary but it's more like a reality show of sorts. What "Resurrecting Motley Crue" focused on was the band's management's attempt to get the Crue to reunite to record a few songs to go on a greatest hits package and then go on a two-year tour. So while there were plenty of interviews and scenes with the band members, a lot of the show was done from the management team's perspective and showed a lot of the business side of things in terms of meetings, phone calls, photo shoots, etc... I have no idea how this show came about but I'm guessing that perhaps the management pitched the idea to VH1 as a way to promote the tour and it was an excellent idea. It definitely showed a side of Motley Crue that isn't often seen.

To say there was some resistance from the members of the band about the reunion was an understatement. We missed the first few minutes of the show but my impression is that this idea came from Nikki Sixx as he was pretty much right on board from the start. So was Vince Neil, as long as the personal issues that caused the band to fall apart years before would no longer be problems in the present. Which meant that while the idea of touring with the Crue appealed to him that he and Tommy Lee strongly dislike each other was a major roadblock. Tommy was extremely resistant to the idea, though the exact reasons why weren't really detailed too well. Okay, Tommy talked about a few things but it seemed like really lame reasons as to why he couldn't do the tour. Perhaps the biggest problem was that for a while Mick Mars's where abouts were unknown and then once they did find him his health was so bad that they weren't sure he would be physically capable of touring.

At one point management had a meeting with Nikki, Vince and Tommy to see if there was any possiblity the reunion could happen and I was shocked that Nikki and Vince both came off as semi-intelligent together people, despite all the problems I know they both have, while Tommy came off as immature, selfish and not terribly bright. I had thought some of what he does publically is an act to fulfill people's expectations for him but maybe not. While Nikki and particularly Vince tried to hash out some issues, Tommy's attitude was like he really didn't care about whether or not they worked anything out. That had to be frustrating for everyone else because a lot was going into trying to make the reunion happen.

It can't be emphasized enough how sick Mick Mars was while they were filming this. He suffers from a chronic disease which causes fusing of his bones and not only is it extremely painful but it causes his body to become deformed. So due to what was happening to him after the band broke up Mick became a recluse, addicted to painkillers and wasting away. Both management and Nikki tried to get in touch with him by phone but weren't able to get him so finally they went to his house. That's when they discovered how bad off he was. At the time of their visit he weighed less than 100 pounds and was in terrible condition. Band management got him to a bunch of doctors and really took control of trying to get him as healthy as possible for someone with that disease.

But despite Mick's health problems he wanted to do the reunion so he got hip replacement surgery and gained his strength back. It's incredible really how much he did to ensure that he could tour with the band. When Mick showed up to a photo shoot after his surgery it was the first time Tommy and Vince had seen him in years and they were shocked by his appearance. I can't even begin to describe how frail Mick looked at that shoot. He could barely walk and he was hunched over. The guys in the band clearly had no idea what to say to Mick or what to do. But there's no doubt that this reunion saved Mick's life because without that to focus on he probably would have stayed a recluse. He pretty much said that he was embarassed by his appearance which that's what led to him hiding away and probably contributed to his addition to painkillers.

At a later photo shoot Vince, Nikki and even Mick show up but Tommy is five hours late. That blew my mind - five hours late, they had no idea where he was but they still waited for him. This despite Nikke having family obligations, Vince having flown in from Vegas and Mick still being somewhat fragile. What was incredible to me is that at that point they still had no idea if Tommy was fully on board with the reunion or not. Well, given that Mick got a hip replacement so he could do the tour, Tommy doesn't really have any good excuses for being late or not being fully into the tour. If Mick could do it in his condition, there's no reason why Tommy couldn't. I can't imagine the effort that Mick put into getting himself into a condition that he could do the tour and I'm sure that wasn't lost on his bandmates. Though given Tommy's attitude he might not have picked up on that quite as much as the others might.

I remember back when the reunion was announced Nikki tried to claim that it was a spur of the moment thing and that they just decided to do it. Well, this show proves otherwise. The reunion was planned and worked on for months. Yes, it took a while for everyone in the band to be fully down with the idea but there's no doubt that the reunion was being planned, marketed and sold for months before the official annoucement. And that's the way it had to be if it was going to be a success when it was actually announced as a definite. But the management company had to be holding their breath for a while praying that nothing happened to screw it up.

Overall, a very interesting show. I'm always intrigued by what goes on behind the scenes given that I'm an event planner myself. An incredible amount of work, far more than what was shown on "Resurrecting Motley Crue" had to go into making this reunion happen.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

June 02, 2005

Def Leppard Warns of Fake Band Autographs on Ebay

Joe Elliott Warns Fans
Band Website Instructs Fans How to Spot Fakes

Unfortunately for buyers, many autographs that are sold by memorabilia dealers, and particularly on Ebay are fake. Apparently members of the band Def Leppard were astonished to find that when they went to Ebay countless people were selling fake autographs of theirs. I'm astonished that a) someone would go through the trouble to fake the autograph of someone in Def Leppard and b) that there is such a demand for Def Leppard autographs. But that's besides the point. To combat the problem the band has posted on their website a guide to what their autographs look like including examples so that it may guide fans who wish to purchase autographs from dealers. Of course the safest way for fans is if they see the items signed in front of them but that's just not possible for a lot of people.

Joe Elliott is also upset about people who get things sign and then put them on Ebay to sell. He says that they always know who those people are because they don't want things personalized, will immediately try to remove where they personalized the item or don't have things that "real" fans would have. Elliott says that a "real" fan would have a worn CD or other items that show use instead of a freshly bought CD. While many who are just looking to turn a profit probably do show up with new items, die-hard fans probably do too. I know I've bought things special for autograph signings and I assume other fans do as well.

In any event, if more bands, athletes and other celebrities followed the example of Elliott and Def Leppard and spoke out on this issue perhaps it would cut down on the number of fakes and people getting autographs just to sell for a profit. Putting samples of their autographs on their site is especially a good move.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

May 26, 2005

Carrie Underwood Wins American Idol

Bo Bice Runner-Up

Yawn. That's my reaction to the news that Carrie Underwood is the new American Idol. I watched the sing-off between Underwood and runner-up Bo Bice on Tuesday and I was underwhelmed with both of them. Off notes, uninteresting songs and performances that were uninspired was the story of the night. Maybe it was to be expected because by the time they get down to the final two it really doesn't matter all that much who actually gets crowned the winner. Both of them will put out albums and as we've seen in the case of Clay Aiken the runner-ups can do just as well as the winner.

It's not much of a surprise that Underwood won. She's cute, blonde and seems to be the type that would have wide appeal. She has said that she plans on focusing on country music which seems like a good fit for her. That is if the American Idol producers let her go country since they may want her to make a more pop oriented album. Bice will make a rock album for sure though I think they will need to do a lot of work to make it stand out from any other rock oriented album out there. The one who I think has the potential to be the biggest star out of the whole bunch is Constantine Maroulis. A lot of people didn't like his attitude and I don't think his voice is quite as strong as some of the others but I think that he has a presence and an understanding of how to play to his audience that will probably take him far.

All the American Idol finalists are going to be taking part in the festivities this weekend in Charlotte in conjunction with the Coca-Cola 600 since Coke is a big sponsor of AI. On Saturday night they will be taking part in an event with Michael Waltrip, also sponsored by Coke, which involves go-karting with children of Iraqi soldiers. It's a shame it's not open to the public because I'd love to see some photos from that. Especially when Michael meets the AI contestants - I wonder if any of them are even going to know who he is or if he's going to know who they are beyond that they were on AI? The AI finalists will also sing the national anthem before the start of Sunday's race.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:16 AM | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005

Motley Crue Sues NBC

Over Ban Stemming From Use of Obcenity

As Jim pointed out - gee, might this be a publicity stunt? On New Year's Eve Motley Crue performed on the Tonight Show and during the course of the show Vince Neil used the F-word. So in response NBC banned Motley Crue from ever performing again which shouldn't come as a suprise to the band considering the increased scrutiny by the FCC of radio and TV stations regarding language. And in fact the FCC did investigate this incident. So Motley Crue is claiming that the band's free speech rights have been violated and that their record sales have been hurt. In addition, Nikki Sixx said, "We meant no harm, but it feels that we're being singled out unfairly. This is a discrimination issue, pure and simple."

Where to begin? First, of all I think NBC has the right to decide who they do and don't want to have on their shows. Motley Crue did something that violated the FCC's rules during a live broadcast and no network wants to take the risk of that happening again, though using a delay might be a wise idea for NBC in the future, particularly when dealing with volitile bands that are known for wild behavior. Secondly, freedom of speech doesn't appear to cover the band's right to say the "F" word whenever they want as the FCC has strict rules regarding the use of any curse words on radio or TV. Not only that but I'm not sure how freedom of speech applies to getting banned from a TV station for misbehavior. But what I have the biggest issue with is Sixx's comment about the band being discriminated against.

I think that Sixx's claim that this issue is about discrimination "pure and simple" is an insult to people who are truly discriminated against because of race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, sex, age, etc... None of those things have happened to Motley Crue. They have simply been told that they will never be invited to perform on an NBC show again because Vince Neil used the "F" word. I imagine it's possible that there are other bands who have cussed on TV and have still been invited back to perform down the road but I still fail to see how their situation falls into the category of discrimination.

It's also laughable that Motley Crue is saying that this incident has hurt their record sales. How is that possible? What other NBC show would they have performed on to promote their greatest hits album and tour? Maybe they would have gone on the Tonight Show again at some point but since they aren't banned from any other network or show I doubt that being banned from one network has had a major impact on their sales. In fact this incident is more likely to boost sales given that it is keeping with the band's bad-ass image that they've cultivated through the years. If people aren't buying their album or going to see them on tour perhaps it's because their music is no longer of as much interest to people as it once was.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

May 21, 2005

Not Every Musician Gets it When it Comes to the Fans

Fans Pay - Again - For Rock Star's Arrogance

This is a really interesting column, at least to me since I'm always interested in anything that relates to fans and how they interact with their idols. Mark Brown from the Rocky Mountain News wrote a column about fans being abused by their favorite musicians. Brown goes so far as to call some recent behavior by some musicians appalling and I have to agree particularly as it relates to the Rolling Stones and the Counting Crows.

The Rolling Stones are charging ridiculous prices for some tickets for their upcoming tour. Yes, they are one of the best rock bands ever but $625 for the best seats prices out quite a few of their most die-hard fans from those seats. Of course there are seats available for as little as $60, with other seats going for $99, $150 and $450 at least for the show at Giants stadium, but it just seems like charging more than $200 for even the best of seats to a concert is outrageous. And I probably wouldn't spend that for the majority of concerts, even for my favorite bands. But the worst thing, as Brown points out, about the $625 tickets is that on top of ticketmaster fees, the fans have to pay a $100 fan club fee for the opportunity to get those tickets. So a $625 ticket is really a $725 ticket. Ridiculous. And fans have no choice but to pay up if they want the best seats to see their favorite bands.

I'm in total shock over what the Counting Crows' Adam Duritz did. Apparently the Crows have a solid message board on their official site filled with die-hard and devoted fans. But just because fans are die-hards doesn't mean that they are always going to be happy with everything that their favorites do. So the fans weren't happy with the band's concert promotion deal with The Gap. Well, instead of recognizing their fans right to express their opinions as they see them, Duritz ripped those fans in a curse-ridden post on the message board. Here's an excerpt: "Don't you ever get tired of listening to yourselves? I know I do. And you wonder why I choose not to communicate with you lately. I wonder why anyone would." Well, I don't know why anyone would want to listen to Duritz after that!

Yeah, it proably gets frustrating to read criticism all the time. And there are some stuff that probably gets posted which is laughable. But come on. Cursing out your fans isn't smart. Regardless of what you might think of them these are the people who buy your music. And in case Duritz hasn't noticed recently they aren't exactly topping the Billboard charts these days. Duritz has every right to be angry about what he read on the board and respond to it. But there's an appropriate way to do it without attacking the people that you are dependant on for your success.

A fan's opinion can be every bit as valid as anyone else's. In fact sometimes fans have great ideas or can offer valuable input. After all, they are the people spending the money on your product. But fans can only form their opinions on the basis of the information they are given which can be incomplete at times. So if Duritz wants his fans to look more favorably on the band's deal with the Gap all he has to do is present the reasons why the band did the deal and how it benefits everyone. He is entitled to believe that his fans are idiots but expressing it, particular while cussing them out, just isn't smart.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2005

Saw U2 Last Night!

So last night Jim and I went to see U2 perform at the Continental Airlines Arena in New Jersey. A big thanks has to go to James, AKA Stick Michael on NYYFans.com for giving us the tickets! That was very cool of him, especially considering how much in demand U2 tickets are. Of course U2 put on a great show. Even though we were all the way up near the top of the arena, it's obvious what great stage presence the band has, particularly Bono. They play with such an incredible energy. They played lots of their most popular songs but also some lesser known songs which made for a good show. I think I liked hearing "City of Blinding Lights," "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" the best. I had never seen U2 before but Jim has raved for years about the show he saw them do at Madison Square Garden a while back so I was really looking forward to seeing them last night and they certainly lived up to the advance billing. It used to be that I went to see some sort of live music at least once every single weekend but now I only go to a few concerts a year. So I'm glad when the concerts I do make it to are as awesome as last night's was.

There was only one somewhat disappointing thing about last night's show but that really had nothing to do with the band. The crowd was absolutely dead. Sure, during songs like "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" they were into it but for the most part most people were just standing there, sometimes swaying back and forth a little. It was just incredible to me that even on the floor, that the audience didn't pick up on the band's energy. It was warm inside so maybe that had to do with it but I couldn't understand how people weren't more into the music. The other thing is that it seemed like Bono and the band's comments on social issues were passing right over the heads of most people but I guess that's to be expected since people are there to hear a concert and don't really care about the band's opinions. However, I have long admired Bono for taking a stand on various issues and for being so outspoken.

At any rate, a great, great show and I hope to get the opportunity to see U2 live again.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:47 AM | Comments (0)

May 15, 2005

Vince Neil Teams Up With Hard Rock Hotel

New Motorcycle-Cafe Project

Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil, a Las Vegas resident, is a busy boy. Besides being on tour with Motley Crue, Neil has a new private label wine which he is unveiling at an event he will be performing at in Las Vegas. But the bigger announcement is about the motorcyle-cafe that he will be partnering with the Hard Rock Cafe on as part of their $1 billion expansion. That could turn out to be a very lucrative investment for Neil.

I liked the Hard Rock Cafe when I was there. It's a popular hotel/casino with the "in" crowd and usually those type of places aren't my cup of tea. But I really enjoyed the Hard Rock. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday night which was perhaps an off-night but the vibe seemed pretty relaxed but fun there. We ate in one of the restaurants there which was a fairly casual place but good. Then we saw Hootie and the Blowfish at the Joint, the nightclub there. That's a really great space for seeing a concert. It's not a huge club and the set-up is condusive for being able to see well anywhere in the club. Lenny Kravitz is playing there in a few days and I would love, love, love to see Kravitz perform there. I'm sure that is going to be an amazing show!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

May 04, 2005

Finally! Scott Saval Booted Off of Amerian Idol

I was seriously convinced that the next American Idol was going to be Scott Saval, who would be a most undeserving choice. But tonight he was finally voted off. Strangely, last night was one of his best performances but it wasn't enough to convince voters that he should stay. Actually it would have been somewhat amusing if Saval had won AI because he had no stage presence what-so-ever, his voice isn't great and his attitude grated. So they would have had a major makeover project with him for sure. But he's gone. While the remaining contestants on AI aren't all that impressive they are certainly more deserving of being the winner than Saval.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:29 PM | Comments (0)

April 28, 2005

Another American Idol Finalist With a Troubled Past

Bo Bice Once Arrested for Felony Cocaine Possession

Scott Saval isn't the only American Idol finalist this season who has had run-ins with the law. According to The Smoking Gun, Bo Bice was arrested back in 2001 for felony cocaine possession but later had the charges dropped last year when he completed a drug treatment program for first time offenders. Unfortunately for him that wasn't the last time he got arrested for drugs. In 2003 he was arrested for marijuana possession, public intoxication, and possession of drug paraphernalia. The possession charge was dropped after he completed the treatment program for his first arrest. The other two charges he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for. You'd think he would have learned after the first drug arrest to be more careful.

I have no idea how this might effect his tenure on American Idol. I was sure AI would bounce Saval but it turned out that he had told them about his incident so they let him stay. If Bice was honest with producers about his arrests he may be allowed to stay as well. Or he could get the boot which would pave the way for Constantine Maroulis to return, who was voted off last night, something that may fans felt was unfair. Of course if things did shake out that way I'd be very suspicious that this information about Bice was leaked simply as a way to Marlouis back on the show.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

April 26, 2005

Rhapsody To Go

Unlimited Song Downloads for $15 a month

I'm happy that I didn't get an IPod considering that the portable digital music player that I did get is made by one of the only two brands that will be compatible with Realnetwork's new "Rhapsody to Go" which will allow unlimited downloads of songs for $15 a month. That is going to be a must for me for sure. I will then proceed to go nuts downloading music like crazy! I can't wait for this to be available!

Posted by silverdsl at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2005

Got Some New Music

So I went to Tower Records today and as usual I couldn't walk out with just one CD! I got Rob Thomas "Something to Be," which I loved when I listened to via Rhapsody so I wanted a copy to listen to in the car. I also got Jet "Get Born," The Smashing Pumpkins "Greatest Hits," Keane "Hopes and Fears," The Best of Pink Floyd "Echoes," The Best of Blue Oyster Cult, Audioslave "Audioslave," and Crosby Stills & Nash "Greatest Hits." I've been meaning to get the Audioslave one since I listen to it a lot via Rhapsody and the Jet has been on my must-get list for a while too. No surprise that I got four "Greatest Hits" CDs considering how much I love greatest hits packages. The Keane is one CD I took a risk on since I no almost nothing about it other than I like one song so hopefully I will end up liking it.

I've also wanted to get Hootie and the Blowfish's greatest hits ever since I saw them back in January but Tower didn't have it. I guess I'll have to do what I've been meaning to do for a while and burn it from Rhapsody onto a CD. It's just that I always like to have the album package and liner notes for a lot of CDs - maybe tomorrow I'll take a swing by the used CD place and see if they have it.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2005

New Def Leppard Collection Out Soon

Due in May

Since I was always a fan of 80's/early 90's glam/hard rock bands naturally I was a big fan of Def Leppard. I often listen to their Greatest Hits collection but in May they will be coming out with a double-disc career overview. I'm really looking forward to that, especially if it has a lot of their early work on it, which is what I'm most fond of. Def Leppard will also be releasing a CD of all-covers. In addition, this summer they will be going on tour with Bryan Adams. That is one busy band! Which is very important for a band who probably has to fight harder for attention considering their style of music isn't as "in" as it once was. I don't know if I'll get the covers CD or see them on tour but the collection is a must.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:02 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2005

Rob Thomas - "Something to Be"

I've been eagerly anticipating the release of the new Rob Thomas album, "Something to Be," and today it finally come out. I really like the first single "Lonely No More" so that made me optimistic about the rest of the album, though with some artists only the singles are the good songs and the rest of the album is a waste. But not so with "Something to Be." Thomas doesn't break much musical ground or stray too far from what he did with Matchbox 20 but the album is a good listen and there are many strong songs on it. In fact I ended up listening to it twice in a row I liked it so much the first time. I think this album is going to end up being huge for Thomas as there are many radio-friendly songs on it. I just hope I end up liking it as much after I hear the songs over and over again on the radio.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 2005

Gunman Who Killed "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott Had Previous On-Stage Altercation With Damageplan

2004 Fight in Ohio

In April of 2004, Nathan Gale jumped on stage during a Damageplan show in Cincinnati, Ohio. As the band played he caused $1,800 in damage to lights and equipment as he struggled with police. No charges were ever filed in that incident because the band didn't want to have to return for hearings. Fast forward to December, when Gale jumped on stage and shoot "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott to death and wounded three others.

I had heard rumors about the April incident but at the time no one was confirming anything. Now that it turns out it's true I'm just amazed. Because apparently Gale didn't just up and one day decide to shoot Dimebag. He had an issue with him that was on-going that he had acted on before. Yet no one did anything about it. The hands of the police were tied if the band didn't want to press charges. But what about the people around Gale? His mother knew he was a paranoid schizophrenic. It's certainly not her fault what he did as it can be very difficult to get those who are mentally ill the help that they need but still that he acted out against the band in April in such a dramatic way should have set off some warning bells. Even with the band - Gale was apparently hanging around the band's bus prior to the fateful show in Columbus - didn't anyone recognize him from the previous incident a few months before?

It's just sad how many "if only's" there are as there often are in these kinds of situations. If only charges had been pressed against Gale in April he might have been forced to get help or be in jail. If only the people around him had paid closer attention to some of the warning signs. If only security at the club was different. So many things.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:42 PM | Comments (1)

April 07, 2005

Headrush Email

So today I got this automated email and somehow I'm on an email list for the band, Headrush, which is the band the lead singer from Splendor is now in. The only thing is I never signed up to be on this list so I have no idea where they got my email address from or knew I'd be interested. Long ago I signed up for some sort of message board or something related to Splendor so I can only guess that that's where they got my email address from. I actually would like to keep updated on what's going on with Waymon and Headrush but at the same time I don't particularly like getting added to email lists without my permission.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)

April 04, 2005

On Michael Jackson

I've got no idea whether Michael Jackson is guilty of molesting children or not but all his eccentricies and at the very least inappropriate behavior towards children, is a shining example of how those people around stars will enable their behavior even if it's things that should set off some warning bells or they should be discouraged from doing. There were countless people it appears who were in a position to tell Michael Jackson that he shouldn't be sleeping with children, among other things, yet it appears few people ever did. There are any number of other things that Jackson did that were bizarre that no one ever told him "no" about. I guess when someone has enough money they can make anything happen and few people are willing to discourage them. It just boggles my mind how many strange things Jackson has done throughout his life that should have been questioned at some point but no one really ever seemed to do.

Of course Jackson isn't the only star this happens with. The bigger the star, the bigger their entourage and the more "yes" men or women they have. No one ever wants to say "no" which is unfortunate because it can save some problems down the road. Those stars who have people around them who they can actually trust to give them sound advice and then listen to that advice are both lucky and smart.

What's a shame is that Jackson is a talented musician and entertainer, or at least he once was. There are a number of his songs that I still like but given the accusations I feel kind of icky listening to his music.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

March 30, 2005

American Idol Dreadful Last Night

Perhaps dreadful is an exaggeration but I thought that the performances last night on American Idol were vastly underwhelming and extremely bland and boring. At this stage of the contest, when these are supossed to be the best of out of thousands of people who auditioned the contenstants should be blowing viewers away each week. Instead we get dull song choices and unmemorable performances.

The only performance that sticks with me is Bo Bice's performance of a Black Crowes song. And frankly he didn't sing it very well. The only reason his performance stands out a little more than the others is because he had the most stage presence. That probably is because he performed in a rock band before auditioning for American Idol. I have no idea who is going to get voted off tonight because I think all of them could be voted off on the basis of last night's performances.

Simon Cowell keeps making references to how the performances remind him of something he'd hear at a wedding. Well, I was recently at a wedding where there were many musicians and the performances that I heard that day completely blew away anything that anyone on American Idol has done this season and probably seasons past as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2005

"Ray" - Awesome Movie!

Tonight Jim and I watched "Ray," the movie about Ray Charles which starred Jamie Foxx. It was such a good movie! Jamie Foxx was absolutely incredible as Ray Charles. He just had such a sense of Ray Charles and he really made the character come to life which made him very deserving of the Oscar he won for this role. The rest of the cast was excellent as well.

Ray Charles was far from a perfect person and this movie certainly didn't shy away from showing that. From his drug use to his womanizing to how he didn't always treat those close to him well all he time it was all there. I'm sure there are some who might not be thrilled with those aspects of the movie but the reality is that even gifted musicians who become world-famous have flaws. Musicians face many temptations on the road and apparently Charles indulged in many of them. It's a wonder that his wife never left him, or at least not that the movie showed. Of course what went on back in the 50's and 60's on the road continues to this day. And not just with musicians either.

I really wasn't familar with the lifestory of Ray Charles before watching this movie so I'm not sure how accurate everything was but assuming it didn't deviate too much from actual events in his life it really showed what kind of man he was. In some ways he was a man to be admired in that he achieved so much and insisted on being so independant in spite of being blind. But of course some of the ways that he didn't treat the people around him well aren't to be admired. So much that happened to him was influenced and was reflected in his music. After watching this movie I am definitely going to have to check out some of his music on Rhapsody. I was surprised by how many of his songs I recognized.

I also wasn't all that much of a fan of Jamie Foxx prior to this movie. I was mostly familar with him from his appearances on "In Living Color" and I guess I thought of him as mostly a comedic actor. Well, apparently he is capable of so much more. This performance truly was exceptional and I hope that he gets more roles like this which allow him to show his skills as a dramatic actor.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:30 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2005

American Idol Re-Do

Wrong Numbers, Big Mistake

Someone made a pretty big goof-up on last night's American Idol in that some of the phone numbers for viewers to call to vote for their favorite contestants got mixed up. So tonight the show will re-air with the correct numbers and some additional new live material. Then the results show will air tomorrow night. The problem that AI now has is that it could be hard to get people to tune in, watch the entire show again and then vote again. So that's probably why they are adding in the new live segments to try and get people to watch.

I watched last night and while most of the performers have good voices, overall they mostly gave pretty forgettable performances. The two standouts were Nikko Smith who was outstanding and Mikalah Gordon who was dreadful. Otherwise, there wasn't anything too special about any of the other performances. Stage presence and taking risks is definitely something that these folks need to work on. I'm partial to Bo Bice, Anwar Robinson (who is from New Jersey), and Nadia Turner, though I also like Nikko Smith. But I think overall they all need to step it up.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:33 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2005

Rob Thomas to Release Album as DualDisc To Combat Illegal Downloads

DualDiscs

A DualDisc features music on one side and on the other side DVD content. So side one is just like any regular CD and side two features visual content such as perhaps concert or documentary footage, more than likely material that can't be found elsewhere. Though a few other artists have released separate versions of their albums in this format, Rob Thomas will be the first major label artist to have his album only released as a DualDisc. Part of the motivation Thomas says is to encourage people to buy the album rather than illegally download it. The thought being that if there is desirable content on the DVD portion of the disc that can't be obtained through downloading a lot of people will choose to spend the money on it. I think this is a smart approach. There is no way of completely eliminating the problem of illegal downloading. But if fans of an artist feel like they will be missing out on something by downloading they will actually go out to the store to buy the album. It's all about making things enticing to the consumer.

I think Thomas also has some wise words for some of his peers: "But you can't just complain that people are downloading music and not do anything." There are quite a few artists out there who will complain about illegal downloading but never work with their record companies to find some ways to encourage more people to actually buy the albums.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

March 15, 2005

Why Did Mario Vazquez Quit American Idol?

Wild Theories

And the even bigger question: Why do so many people care? That a contestant on American Idol quit just after he made it into the finals is big news. So big that it's one of the lead stories on CNN. There is no question that American Idol has a huge viewership but is this really one of the top news stories of the day? I guess it's just a slow news day but it seems like there much be much more important things happening in the world than whatever is going on with Mario Vazquez.

That Vazquez won't reveal the exact reason he quit gives the story an air of mystery and has led to many speculating on the reasons why so I guess that's garnered it some extra attention. But it almost feels like a publicity stunt to me. Both AI and Vazquez have something to benefit from doing something like this. AI drives up ratings for tonight's show because every will want to know what happened to Vazquez. And Vazquez has kick-started his career without having to be bound by all the contracts that the AI contestants are forced to sign.

I do watch American Idol, though I'm far from a die-hard viewer, but I think I'm in the minority in that the specific details of why Vazquez quit don't really interest me. I'm more intrigued by Nikko Smith who is taking Vazquez's place, as Smith is the son of former baseball player Ozzie Smith.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)

March 10, 2005

Digital Music Works International Signs Headrush

Headrush Signed

The band Headrush, whose lead singer, Waymon Boone, used to be the lead singer of Splender, has signed with Digital Music Works International and will have an album coming out on June 21. What DMI does is promote and distribute albums exclusively in digital form via online music stores. Which makes a lot of sense for a band like Headrush. They can get their music out there and make it available a lot faster and cheaper than if they tried to hook up with a major label. I'm really looking forward to hearing what this album sounds like. Waymon has a great voice, writes awesome lyrics, is very creative and from back in the day when I saw him perform often with the Hidden Persuaders/Splender is an all-around cool guy.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

March 08, 2005

I Wanna Rock!

I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)

Turn it down you say,
Well all I got to say to you is time again I say, "No!"
No! No, No, No, No, No!
Tell me not to play
Well, all I got to say to you when you tell me not to play,
I say, "No!"
No! No, No, No, No, No!
So, if you ask me why I like the way I play it
There's only one thing I can say to you

I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)

There's a feelin' that
I get from nothin' else and there ain't nothin' in the world
That makes me go!
Go! Go, go, go, go, go!
Turn the power up
I've waited for so long so I could hear my favorite song so,
Let's go!
Go! Go, go, go, go, go!
When it's like this I feel the music shootin' through me
There's nothin' else that I would rather do

I wanna rock! (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)
I want to rock (Rock)
I wanna rock! (Rock)

Now, it's on! Great song - totally cheesy lyrics but that song is full of so much energy. I was totally into glam/hard rock in the 80's and early 90's. So this song brings back a lot of memories for me. I might have to go put on some Poison now.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:12 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2005

CBGB's to Close?

Rent Dispute

CBGB's has been a New York City landmark since 1973 for live music. Any number of major bands either played there or got their start there including Blondie and The Ramones. But since 2001 CBGB's managment has been involved in a dispute over unpaid rent with the owner of the building, an organization that runs a homeless shelter. Apparently CBGB's thought that they had paid most of the back rent only to be presented with another bill for an additional $76,000. There seems to also be some other dispute over improvements to the space as well.

I've been to CBGB's a bunch of times though not recently. Most of the time it was to see the Hidden Persauders/Splender, though I saw a few other bands there as well. There is no doubt that, at least when I was there last, CBGB's isn't exactly the nicest place in the world to see a band. It's run down and it's not in the greatest neighborhood. But it is a place filled with a ton of musical history. So many bands have played on that stage and so many fans have been there to see awesome music. It would really be a shame for it to close so I hope this dispute can somehow be resolved.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:44 PM | Comments (0)

February 08, 2005

Motley Crue - Red, White & Crue

Another recent new release is Motley Crue's Red, White & Crue, a best of 2-CD compliation with a couple of new songs on it. I've always been a huge Motley Crue fan since I was a teenager but I've got to say that listening to this collection, I think there are a lot of Crue songs that don't stand up to the test of time. Of course like the previously mentioned 3 Doors Down, Motley Crue will never be remembered as amazing musicians but unlike 3 Doors Down the Crue broke ground of a sort in the glam/hard rock/heavy metal scene. The Crue's earlier stuff is obviously better than their later work. So I enjoyed the first CD with material from their first album through Dr. Feelgood much better than the second CD filled with post-1991 material. I would say that my favorite Motley Crue songs are those off of the albums Girls, Girls, Girls and Dr. Feelgood with "Girls, Girls, Girls," "Wildside," and "Kickstart my Heart" being my favorite songs. "Home Sweet Home" is also another song that I also like a lot.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

3 Doors Down - Seventeen Days

Today 3 Doors Down new album, Seventeen Days was released. So I've been listening to it via Rhapsody this afternoon. I happen to be a huge 3 Doors Down fan, even though it's not like they're groundbreaking musicians or anything. In fact, their new album is virtually a continuation of exactly what they did on their previous album, Away From the Sun. That's not a terrible thing as that was a good album and there are good songs on Seventeen Days. However, it's nice to have a new album from a band that doesn't sound like it's just CD two of the album that came before it. I'll have to listen to this album a few more times to figure out which songs I like the best but I'm sure there will be several big hits off of it on radio. So far the song that has stuck with me the most is the first track "Right Where I Belong."

I'll have to go pick up the actual CD after work.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 19, 2005

Fuel Singer Drops the F-Bomb at Inagural Event

Oops!

Fuel singer Bret Scallions made quite a big goof-up at an inagural event yesterday hosted by the President's daughters. In the midst of their set Scallions said "Welcome to the greatest fucking country in the world!" Luckily for him the President hadn't arrived yet but in attendance were thousands of kids and their parents as well as church groups. Scallions did immediately realize what he did wrong and apologize, which was a good move, but it was a pretty huge mistake to make in that particular setting. While I'm sure that the majority of people in the audience, including most of the kids, had heard the word before, it just wasn't the right venue to be cursing in.

The irony is that Kid Rock was initially supossed to perform at this event but was dropped because many felt that his lyrics were offensive and inappropriate. Well, I suspect given that Kid Rock would have toned down his act and performed songs appropriate for his audience and the event. Today Kid Rock probably laughted hysterically when he heard this story.

Other acts that performed at the event included Three Doors Down, Ryan Cabrera, Ruben Studdard and Hilary Duff, all of whom managed to perform without cursing.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:36 PM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2005

Vince Neil Drops F-Bomb on Leno; No Fines Likely

Oops!

A newly reunited Motley Crue performed live on the Jay Leno Show on NBC on New Year's Eve and just after midnight as the band was performing, Vince Neil shouted to drummer Tommy Lee, "Happy f**king New Year's, Tommy!" But unlike other situations in which TV stations might have faced fines for the use of profanity, it appears that in this case there will be no penalties handed down by the FCC. The reason being that the curse was uttered outside of the FCC's "safe harbor" in which things that are considered indecent are prohibited. In addition, the f-word was edited out when the show was re-broadcast later on the West Coast. And I listened to the Crue's performance and didn't catch what was said so more than likely a lot of people had no idea what Vince said. But I would guess that NBC will start using a five-second delay in the future for live shows, even ones that where there's been no need for one in the past.

In relation to the overall Motley Crue performance they were okay, though nothing great. I was surprised that they didn't perform their new song and instead did "Dr. Feelgood" and "Girls, Girls, Girls" but that could have been a request by the producers since if I remember correctly the new song isn't as upbeat as those two songs. Being that it was New Year's Eve the show probably wanted them to perform fun songs.

The other guys looked pretty good but Mick Mars looked really horrible. It's clear that his bone-wasting disease has really taken a toll on him. Perhaps he feels better than he looks but I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't able to get through the entire tour. Already a rumor surfaced that Dave Navarro would be taking his place but that was quicky denied by Navarro himself. Of course a denial to a rumor is often followed by that rumor coming true. Strange how that works lots of times.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:18 PM | Comments (0)

December 17, 2004

Kelly Clarkson - "Breakaway"

Just on a lark, I randomly decided to listen to Kelly Clarkson's new album "Breakaway." Although I had read a couple of good reviews of it, I really wasn't expecting much because the American Idol performers usually put together albums featuring music that really isn't my style. But Clarkson's album isn't bad. It's certainly not the greatest thing I've ever heard but there are some catchy songs and her voice sounds pretty good. It definitely seems to be an improvement over her last album. I'm not going to go out and get it but I think I'd listen to it again.

Now Clay Aiken on the other hand, at the risk of angering the mightly Claymates, I have to say I don't think there's any album or any style of music that I can stand listening to him sing.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:00 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2004

Phil Anselmo Barred From "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's Funeral?

Anselmo Barred?

The funeral for "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, who was shot and killed by a crazed fan during a concert last week, was held in Texas tonight and reports are that his former bandmate, Phil Anselmo, was barred from attending. Anselmo had made some harsh comments about Dimebag recently, including one remark that basically said that Dimebag deserved a beat-down because he was to blame for Pantera's break-up. While I have no idea how bad the rift really was between Anselmo and Dimebag and it's the family's decision, I think it's a shame that Anselmo was barred from the funeral, if that report is true.

Regardless of what ill-advised comments he might have said, Anselmo is not to blame for Dimebag's death. All the blame rests soley with the shooter who was obviously mentally ill. These two men spent years together writing, recording, and playing music together and while their relationship might have been rocky, it seems to me that he was a part of Dimebag's life and should have been at the funeral.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:50 AM | Comments (2)

Stevie Nicks

So during lunch I dropped off my dry cleaning and I couldn't resist stopping in at the used CD store next to the dry cleaner's. I was looking for a Beatles CD that they didn't have but they did have the Steve Nicks box-set "Enchantment." Just as I've always loved Fleetwood Mac, I've always been a big fan of Stevie Nicks as well.

I've not had good luck with my Stevie Nicks CDs though. For some reason they keep vanishing into thin air! But hopefully a 3-CD box set won't disappear so easily.

My favorite song by Stevie Nicks is "Edge of Seventeen" but she's got a lot of great songs. She's also got a very unique and cool sense of style.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2004

U2 To Be Inducted Into the Hall of Fame

U2

I can't believe it's been 25-years since U2 released their first album. Wow! That band has been together playing music since I was five years old. That's just incredible and they're still going strong in 2005. As a result of all the great music that U2 has put out over the years, they will be inducted into the rock-n-roll Hall of Fame on March 14.

A lot of people really love U2's latest album which I think is good but I like some of their older stuff better. Some of my favorite songs are "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "New Year's Day," "Mysterious Ways," and Beautiful Day." I listen to their best of albums all the time in the office. Just a great band.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:04 PM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2004

Must Resist!

I have the urge to buy a Beatles album or two. I don't own any but I've been hearing some Beatles played on XM the past few days and thinking about how nice it would be to have some of their stuff to listen to when I wanted. I've never been really into the Beatles but my parents used to play the Beatles sometimes in the house when I was growing up and of course there's plenty of their songs that I like. Unfortunately that is one group that isn't available for me to listen through Rhapsody, which is where I usually turn when I have the urge to listen to a particular artist.

So what's the problem you might ask? Well, in addition to being addicted to cheese, it appears I'm also addicted to buying CDs! I just love having a ton of CDs on hand with music in all sorts of genres to fit every mood. So it's impossible for me to walk out of a CD store with just one CD. Which can get pretty pricey if I'm not in a used CD store. So I should probably stay away from the CD store for a while since I just bought a bunch of CDs not too long ago. But oh how I want a Beatles CD....

Posted by silverdsl at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)

December 09, 2004

Shooter May Have Been Disgruntled Pantera Fan

There is some strong speculation that the shooter who murdered "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott may have been upset about the break-up of Pantera, Dimebag's former band, and may have blamed him for it. According to some eyewitnesses someone, and no one is 100% sure whether it was the shooter or a fan, shouted at Dimebag that he was responsible for breaking up the band.

In fact, last week, Phil Anselmo, the former lead singer of Pantera had blamed Dimebag for the breakup and made comments to the effect that Dimebag needed a good ass-kicking. I really hope this isn't a case of some nutjob taking Anselmo words literally and taking matters into their own hands. Anselmo and Dimebag had supossedly made up and they were close previously so the guilt he would then feel, even though it's certainly not his fault what a crazy person does, would have to be almost unbearable.

If this a situation in which a disgruntled fan took things too far unfortunately it wouldn't surprise me. That was what I immediately thought of when I heard about this shooting. We hear so much about stalkers and I've seen a lot of disturbing fan behavior myself. I'm not just talking about the people who really, really, really like a player, driver, team or band. I'm talking about the people who are so obsessed that whoever or whatever they are a fan of is the center of their life to the point where it is unhealthy. These are the people who aren't in touch with reality and can lash out if provoked or if they become unhappy or disappointed with the person or people that they worship, because they feel personally slighted.

It's scary what I come across or see sometimes. Especially frightening is the thought that there are other people just like this shooter who are ticking timebombs waiting to go off. I hope that this shooting makes clubs, and also anyone who is well-known, take a look at some security precautions that they can take to try and prevent other incidents like this. Because unfortunately I fear that this won't be the last time we hear about something like this happening. I don't know how or why people latch on to something, someone or an idea in such a way that eventually it leads to violence but in some cases there are probably warning signs that something is very wrong with the person in question. So I hope that if anyone encounters someone who sets off some real warning bells that they will speak up and let someone know who might be able to do something about it. It could prevent a tragedy.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)

Former Pantera Guitarist, Four Others, Killed During Concert

Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott Killed

This is just unbelievable. Darrell "Dimebag" Abbott, former guitarist of the metal band Pantera, was playing a gig in Columbus, Ohio, last night with his post-Pantera band, DamagePlan. During the show someone came up to Dimebag on stage and shot him point-blank numerous times and then starting shooting others, including audience members and apparently a security guard who tried to pull him off of Dimebag. A police officer on patrol nearby heard the call and rushed in and shot the shooter to death, probably preventing others from losing their lives.

I feel horrible for Dimebag's brother, who witnessed the whole thing, as well as all the victim's friends and families. But I also feel terrible for everyone in the audience who went out expecting to hear a great show and have a good time and instead witnessed this horror. I can't even imagine what kind of nightmares these folks will have and the memories will unfortunately probably remain with them for the rest of their lives.

Only time will tell what the shooter's motive was so there's really not much to be said on that subject as of yet. But preliminary reports from people who were at the show or have been to the club before indicate that people who enter aren't searched for weapons. In addition, some have said that the shooter entered through an unlocked side door which people commonly sneak in though to see shows for free. So it appears that while one security person made a valant effort to prevent this from happening and gave his life, in other ways security was lacking.

Despite never being a big Pantera fan, I am really saddened by this news.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

December 08, 2004

Billboard Awards

Can't anyone sing anymore? Granted I didn't hear 100% of the entire awards show but what I did hear of the musicians who performed was pretty dreadful. Evanescence and Gwen Stefani were particularly horrid I thought and this is coming from someone who likes both of them on CD! Usher was about the only artist of recent times who seems to have some real singing ability but otherwise they all sounded pretty weak.

On the other hand Stevie Wonder schooled them all and showed how it should be done. Of the performances I saw he was absolutely the best. He won a lifetime achievement award and after some of his songs were sung by others, he got up on stage and sang a song himself. Well done Stevie, well done. I'll have to listen to some of his music tomorrow at work via Rhapsody.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:10 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2004

Motley Crue to Reunite, Tour and Release Album

Crue Together Again

It was denied repeatedly as recently as just a few days ago. Nikki Sixx was probably still denying it as he walked into the press conference for the announcement. But all the rumors are true - the orginial lineup of Motley Crue will reunite for a tour in 2005 which will coincide with the release of a new 2-CD greatest hits album.

As a long-time fan of the Crue, I am definitely looking forward to the release of the greatest hits album. The only thing is that in looking at the track listing that I saw somewhere while there are a lot of awesome songs included, at least on the first CD, "Home Sweet Home" is not included. At first I thought it was because they didn't want to include any "wimpy" material but there is a later ballad included. So it doesn't make any sense to me to not have one of their best known songs on there. But perhaps that track listing is still subject to change. The second CD in the package is all the Crue's later work, probably not all of which has Tommy Lee or Vince Neil on it so I would much rather they would have included more classic Crue material than some of the newer stuff.

The Crue are playing Madison Square Garden in March and it might be a fun show to go to. As I detailed in this entry about Tommy Lee I've never gotten to see a full Motley Crue concert even though I've been to see them twice so maybe the third time would be the charm. Unfortunately I suspect that the ticket prices will be outrageous like the prices are for so many reunion tours.

Of course given how unstable the personalities are of the guys in Motley Crue, who knows if the tour will go all the way through without any fist fights, arrests or band breakups!

Posted by silverdsl at 09:49 PM | Comments (0)

November 22, 2004

Have You Seen Bret Michael's Guitar?

Missing Guitar

Missing: One guitar belonging to 80's glam rocker Bret Michaels. Apparently after a recent show someone stole a guitar with a lot of sentimental value during a recent show Michaels did in Indiana. They are even offering a reward for it's safe return. I wonder if someone stole it to sell it or because they wanted a one-of-a-kind souvenir?

Poison was my favorite band in high school and I still listen to their music all the time. I even go to see them in concert still. They were never the best band musically but their songs are fun and they know how to put on a great show! I've never seen Bret Michaels do a solo show but one of these days maybe I'll go check him out as he seems to play in the New York area fairly often.

My favorite Poison songs:
1. Talk Dirty to Me
2. Life Goes On
3. Fallen Angel
4. Nothin' But a Good Time
5. Every Rose Has Its Thorn
6. I Won't Forget You
7. Ride the Wind
8. Unskinny Bop

Yes, I did have big hair in high school. How did you guess?

Posted by silverdsl at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)

U2 Gives Free Surprise Concerts in New York

U2

Wow, how cool must this have been for all the folks who stumbled upon a free U2 concert in the middle of the city during their lunch break? Apparently this was done as part of the filming of a video for one of the songs off their new album but I'm sure it was a way to also promote the album which will be released tomorrow. I wish I had been in Times Square today!

I listening to the new album via U2's official site and it's really good! I still prefer their early albums over anything they've done recently but this is definitely one of the better albums they've done and it will surely be a big hit for them. Especially considering how hard they're promoting it via the Saturday Night Live appearance and the partnership with Ipod.

U2 is definitely a band I would love to see live so hopefully when they tour in support of this album I'll be able to see them if the tickets don't cost an arm and a leg.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:55 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2004

100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong

Bon Jovi's new box set, 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong is awesome! It's a four-CD, one DVD set of mostly previously unreleased material totalling 50-songs. Most of them are leftovers from recording sessions from past albums but a few were on movie soundtracks that didn't get much notice.

One might think that leftover means that the songs are subpar. But with a few exceptions, there aren't too many duds here. Jon Bon Jovi explained in the booklet that comes with the set that when the band puts together an album they record way more songs than they can use and choose songs on the basis of which ones will tell a story with a beginning, middle and end. So a lot of these songs just didn't fit in with the feel or story of a particular album.

The interesting thing is that with some of the songs the listener can tell which time period the songs came from as the sound of the band has evolved from the early days. So far my favorite song off this set is "Temptation" but there are so many other great songs as well.

It's hard to believe that Bon Jovi has been around for 20-years. Some would say that their songwriting or musicianship skills aren't all that great because of the genre of music they play but I say that the huge international success that Bon Jovi has enjoyed for years, as well as all the huge hits they've had, says that they can't be all that bad. This is a very hard-working band and they deserve all the success and recognition that they've gotten. I haven't gotten to see them live yet but I hope one day that will happen.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2004

Listening to Splender

As I'm sitting here typing I'm listening to the album Halfway Down the Sky by the band Splender. Most people probably don't remember Splender but they had one modest hit with the song "I Think God Can Explain." They put out one more album after Halfway Down the Sky called To Whom it May Concern which went no where and the band broke up. However, Splender will always be near and dear to my heart because they are a band that I knew way back when they were just a struggling band playing gigs in Manhattan.

Way back when they first came to my attention they were known as the Hidden Persauders. Their publicist/manager at the time sent the college radio station I worked at one of their demos and invited us down to a show. We went and were blown away by how amazing they were live so we had them perform live on The Local Band Show. From there there weren't many of their shows that we missed, we had them on the air a few more times and eventually we got to be pretty friendly with the members of the band, some of whom lasted longer than others. A few years after we met them they changed the name of the band to Splender and not too long after that they got signed to a record deal.

We were pretty happy for them but we knew that getting signed would mean changes for the band, not all of them good ones. From our point of view we knew once they started playing bigger venues it would be a lot harder to go see them and talk to them. But we also knew that the sound of the band would get a lot more commercial as the record company would force them to make an album that they thought would be a commercial hit. It's funny that bands get signed because they impress someone with their songs and the way they perform but once they're signed the record company makes them change a lot of the things that got their attention in the first place.

I miss seeing bands live in clubs. Besides Q-South, a band that didn't go anywhere but was one of the best live bands I've ever seen, there was no other band I looked forward to seeing more than the Hidden Persauders/Splender. Smile Orange was another great band we to to know a little and liked to go see a lot too. We discovered them through the Hidden Persauders. I don't think I could manage staying out until the wee hours of the morning and going to class or work like I did back then but it would be fun to go check out a few live bands one weekend or another if I knew which local bands might be some decent ones to check out.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

November 15, 2004

Obsessive Fans Make Clay Consider Quitting

Clay Considered Quitting

Apparently American Idol star Clay Aiken considered quitting music recently to get away from some of the pressure and attention of being in the spotlight. Now I'm not a fan of Clay's music in any way but I would hate to see him quit because he has trouble dealing with the way some of his more intense fans behave. I have a feeling every celebrity must feel like this from time to time. It seems like Clay was most upset about not being able to go out with his friends without a security guard and that's really a shame that someone always has to be there to protect him when he goes out.

That's an unfortunate problem that comes along with being famous that some people don't see because they focus on the glamourous side of things so much. There is a lot of cool things that celebrities get to do and get access to that the average person can't but on the other hand just doing simple things like trying to go shopping or going out to eat at a restaurant must be such a chore sometimes. I can understand why as much as Clay probably loves being who he is, he sometimes yearns to be a nobody again so that he would get left alone when he doesn't feel like dealing with the masses. It's got to be hard to always be "on," always have a smile on his face, always have the right thing to say. When he's in public he always has to be on his best behavior conscious of who's around rather than just be focused on having a good time with his friends or family.

It's got to be hard to connect with people that he didn't know prior to when he became well-known too. Clay and every other celebrity has no idea whether the people who approach him and try to get to know him want to know him as a person or just want to be close to and get a piece of Clay Aiken, the American Idol star.

Hopefully the joy he gets from performing his music and the other things he enjoys doing makes up for the negative stuff he has to deal with.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:34 PM | Comments (0)

November 12, 2004

Tommy Lee's Free Thank-You "Concert"

Attendees Disappointed

Tommy Lee, former drummer of Motley Crue, now mostly known as co-star of the infamous video showing him getting it on with his wife at the time, Pamela Anderson, has been filming a reality show at the University of Nebraska. The idea behind the show is to tape Tommy going to college and doing all the things that college students do such as living in the dorms, going to class and in the case of Tommy, being a part of the marching band. Of course one has to wonder how a guy who barely graduated high school got into college but that's besides the point.

Anyway, the show promoted this free concert as a way of saying thank-you to the students. So of course countless students showed up only to discover that it was more about taking various takes of Tommy performing a song with the marching band to film for the show rather than an actual concert. Several times Tommy threw drumsticks into the audience but the audience members had to throw them back so they could do more takes!

The chancellor of the University of Nebraska was in attendance so I guess Tommy couldn't do what he did at the Motley Crue concert I went to a bunch of years ago which was to take a video camera and ask the women near the front of the stage to show their boobs so he could film them. I'm willing to guess that Tommy couldn't do quite a few things he normally would do at a show with both the chancellor and the TV crew there.

I've seen half a Motley Crue show twice. The first time was back in high school with my friend Jana. That show was cut short when Tommy fell, hit his head and gave himself a concussion. It was a great show up until that point and the opening band, Faster Pussycat, was so good that I can still vividly remember their performance even all these years later.

The second time I saw them I had free tickets courtesy of the person I was dating at the time who had gotten them from the radio station he worked for. That show I had to go to by myself because I couldn't find anyone to go with me because I got the tickets so last minute. It was an outstanding performance by the Crue that night and they played all their hits, at least for the first half of the night. The crowd was really into it too. Then they switched to some of their newer material and showed some ultra-violent, ultra-gory films as a backdrop and the audience's enthusiasm and energy for the show just came to a crashing halt. On top of that Nikki Sixx got into a "fight" with an audience member which was probably fake since this scene was apparently played out in other venues during that tour. And then there was the whole boob flashing thing. I've never seen a show go from being so awesome to suddenly looking like a train wreck so quickly but I left and so did some others. Since the tickets were free it was no great loss but I still haven't seen a full Motley Crue concert.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)

November 11, 2004

Patterns - Simon & Garfunkel

The night sets softly
With the hush of falling leaves,
Casting shivering shadows
On the houses through the trees,
And the light from a street lamp
Paints a pattern on my wall,
Like the pieces of a puzzle
Or a child’s uneven scrawl.

Up a narrow flight of stairs
In a narrow little room,
As I lie upon my bed
In the early evening gloom.
Impaled on my wall
My eyes can dimly see
The pattern of my life
And the puzzle that is me.

From the moment of my birth
To the instant of my death,
There are patterns I must follow
Just as I must breathe each breath.
Like a rat in a maze
The path before me lies,
And the pattern never alters
Until the rat dies.

And the pattern still remains
On the wall where darkness fell,
And it’s fitting that it should,
For in darkness I must dwell.
Like the color of my skin,
Or the day that I grow old,
My life is made of patterns
That can scarcely be controlled

-Simon and Garfunkel

This would be my favorite Simon & Garfunkel song. It's not one of their better known songs and the last few lines probably refer to death but something about this song has always grabbed me. I was listening to it in the car on the way home from yet another evening event thinking about patterns that our lives follow as the song says. I never get sick of hearing this song or of any S&G songs.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:53 PM | Comments (0)

November 10, 2004

Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium

Because of how much I loved Vanessa Carlton's first album Be Not Nobody I was really looking forward to the release of her second album Harmonium which came out yesterday. Well, I have to say her second album is pretty disappointing. I had read some not-so-glowing reviews of it and I have to agree that there isn't much about the songs that make them stand out. The first single "White Houses" is pretty good but otherwise most of the rest of the album seems to sound the same. There's nothing daring, nothing risky. Pretty much the same formula as the first album. I really liked the first album but I expected some growth on this one and it's just not there. Perhaps I need to listen to the album a few more times and it will grow on me but thus far it doesn't seem like it's going to be something that will go in heavy rotation for me.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2004

Release Date of U2's Album Possibly Moved Up Due to Piracy Concerns

Pirated U2 Album Hits Net

No surprise but already copies of U2's new album scheduled to be released on November 22 can be found online to be downloaded illegally. Recently albums by Eminem and Snoop Dogg were released earlier than they were orginally scheduled to be for similar reasons and apparently Island Records is considering doing the same for the U2 album so that consumers are more likely to actually pay for it in a store rather than download it illegally for free. I'm eagerly anticipating the release of this album so I will be very happy if it comes out early!

To combat the problem of albums being made available online prior to the release date, record companies have done things like send out promotional CDs that supossedly can't be copied and also have poor-quality "spoof" copies of the album uploaded to file sharing services in such mass quantities that it's hard to find the clean copies to download. But obviously those measures don't work too well if this continues to be a problem for major releases. Complicating the problem for U2 is that some of the rough tracks from this album were stolen from the studio over the summer. What I'd like to know is how that happens considering the limited amount of people who probably have access to those recordings.

Regardless of how many people download the album illegally, this is sure to be a huge album for U2.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2004

A Visit to the Used CD Store

CD stores are dangerous places, used CD stores even more. I am completely incapable of leaving without purchasing a CD, usually more than one and tonight was no different. There's a great used CD place next to the dry cleaners I use so every time I drop off clothes to get dry cleaned I stop in to check out the used CDs too. There's always lots a great stuff there and often the CDs are at used prices but they are still brand-new and in their shrink rap. I guess a lot of people get CDs they don't like as gifts and bring them into the used CD place for either money or other CDs.

Tonight I picked up Outkast's Speakerboxx, with "Hey Ya" and "The Way You Move" on it; The Essential Bruce Springsteen, his two-CD greatest hits collection; Alice in Chains, Nothing Safe, which is their best of; The Byrds, Greatest Hits; and Robert Plant's two-CD Best of. Obviously I love greatest hits and best of albums!

The Robert Plant I got because there's an awesome song of his that I really love "Ship of Fools." Since there were a couple of other songs in the collection that I like besides that one I figured I may as well get the greatest hits. I don't know most of the songs but I listened to some of it in the car on the way home and so far I really like what I did hear of it.

The other three greatest hits albums are ones that I've thought of getting for a while but never got around to it until now. That should be some good listening for sure! I'll have to bring a couple of them to work with me to play there. I'm especially looking forward to listening to the Springsteen double CD.

There were actually other albums I was hoping that they might have but the only bad thing about used CD store as compared to a store that sells new CDs is that at a used place one never knows what CDs will be there whereas in a new place it's almost assured they will have everything or at least everything recent and popular.

The only part of my visit to the used CD store that I didn't enjoy was the death metal they were playing rather loudly the whole time I was there. I enjoy just about every kind of music but death metal is one of the few styles of music that I can't stand. It just sounds horrible to me and it was giving me a headache to listen to it. Luckily, they aren't usually playing death metal when I stop in otherwise I might not be as willing to go in.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2004

Peter Gabriel

Thanks to having XM in my office I'm listening to Peter Gabriel's "Games Without Frontiers," on XM channel 46-Top Tracks. I didn't used to like Peter Gabriel but over the past couple of years I've gained a new appreciation for him and for how good his songs really are. A few months ago I got his two-CD greatest hits and it's amazing how many of the songs I actually know and like. I've never seen him live but based on the concert special Jim and I watched on the high-definition channel he puts on a great show. He's theatrical something which has gone by the wayside for many performers these days and at least the concert we watched was performed in the round. Both of these things make for a better show for the audience. Which is on top of hearing some awesome music. Maybe someday I'll actually get to see him live in person.

Five Favorite Peter Gabriel songs:
1. Games Without Frontiers
2. No Self Control
3. Solsbury Hill
4. In Your Eyes
5. Shock the Monkey

Posted by silverdsl at 12:24 PM | Comments (0)

October 25, 2004

Ashley Simpson and lip-synching

Simpson's Dad Blames Acid Reflux for SNL Gaffe

With all the excuses that have been offered for why it appeared that Ashley Simpson was lip-synching on Saturday Night Live, it’s hard to believe the latest one offered by her Dad. He claims that yes, there was going to be a vocal track that she was going to “sing” a long to but that was only because of how her vocal cords had been effected by Acid Reflux Disease. Ashley herself blamed her band for playing the wrong track and her record company blamed a computer mishap. Most likely they're just trying to cover up the fact that she would be lip synching regardless of errors or Acid Reflux Disease.

Regardless of how much they would like to pretend this is a rare event the fact is that many singers either lip sync completely or use vocal tracks to make their voices sound bigger and better. As much outrage as a lot of people are expressing the truth is that people want to hear these artists sound the best they can which in a lot of cases isn’t possible out of the studio. Especially when you're dealing with a pop singer like Simpson. So as much as fans say they want their favorite singers to sing live if the choice was between them singing live and sounding horrible as many of these singers would and using a vocal track and sounding great but not fully (or at all) singing live, I think many people would probably choose the fake option.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

October 19, 2004

Mike Mussina a heavy metal fan!?

So I just found out that Mike Mussina, my favorite Yankee pitcher, is a fan of heavy metal music like Metallica, Guns -n- Roses, Van Halen and The Scorpions. That seems so unlike him! Then again I love all those bands and many other metal bands and that always seems to surprise people. The song Mussina warms up to when he starts a game is "The Zoo" by the Scorpions, a great song, but I had always thought it was a random selection. Nope, he choose the song because he likes it.

Mussina really is a fascinating person who is very multi-layered. We get to see some of his personality when we interact with him at the meet & greets and the folks at Shelley's board who are long time fans have lots of stories too. A lot of fans think he's standoffish and boring but that is very far from the case, and certainly not when he's around his fans.

It will never happen but I would love to see him rocking out to some Metallica sometime!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 PM | Comments (0)

Words & Music: John Mellencamp's Greatest Hits

Today was the day that John Mellencamp's greatest hits album, "Words & Music" was released. I've been salviating for this album ever since I heard it was coming out. Unfortunately due to how busy I was at work I couldn't get it at lunch and I couldn't get it after work due to how late I had to stay to work on the damn conference. But I did get to listen to it via Rhapsody! Those songs just get me going! Which was a good thing today when I needed an extra boost of energy.

It's as awesome as I knew it would be since it has every one of his hit songs on it, many of which are among my all-time favorite songs. There are 37 songs in total on this double-album and while he hasn't had too many huge hits lately, he sure has had a lot of big songs over the course of his career. This truly is a greatest hits as opposed to what some artists do which is throw together a bunch of songs with only one or two truly being greatest hits.

There are too many great songs to mention them all but I love "Rain on the Scarecrow," "Love & Happiness," "Human Wheels," "Small Town," "Peaceful World" and "Jack & Diane" among many others. For sure this one is going to get heavy play both via Rhapsody at work and elsewhere once I'm finally able to pick up the physical album.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:56 PM | Comments (0)