Friday, February 27, 2009
Pig Day!
Sunday is Pig Day. The celebration was founded way, way back in 1972, but I didn't learn of it until a few years ago. It has grown into a much bigger over the past few years, at least here in Chicagoland. Last year, I took my nephew to Brookfield Zoo. They do the whole Pig Day thing up in a big way there. It was a real hoot, too. Both the Hamill Family Play Zoo and the Children's Zoo are free for the day, and between those two places, you can get lost for the day. It was really something special to watch George interact with the other kids, playing zoo doctor and making crafts. This year, there is a Pig Demonstration at 1 and a parade at 1:30. If I weren't on my way to San Francisco, I'd take him again this year. I highly recommend it.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Bruce Springsteen, Alice Russell, and Escaping the Cold!
Next week, I will get to go to San Francisco at the expense of my company. I haven't been west in awhile, and it will be great to go back to the greatest city in the world. It isn't the ideal time to go. I'd rather head to the Bay Area in the fall, when it's nice and warm and rarely rains. But it still beats Chicago. An ice storm is predicted for later this week, and next week the temperature isn't supposed to rise much past the mid-30s. Although it is going to rain in San Francisco all week next week, it at least won't be so cold. It's supposed to be in the mid-5os next week, which ought to be nice. Hopefully, I can get some sightseeing in, and hopefully, the showers will stop long enough so I can roam through Golden Gate park. I might do it anyway. Unlike those on the west coast, who seem to head inside when it rains, I'm not averse to bad weather. And there are enough places to duck into that it usually doesn't bother me too much if it rains. I want to see the ocean again too. How does the song go: "It's been so long since I've seen the ocean..." Anyway, if the weather did bother me, I certainly wouldn't live here where it's been particularly cold and snowy, the way it always used to be before global warming started messing things up.
Let's do a quick rundown of some music stories of interest:
- Springsteen used his website to lambaste Ticketmaster after fans in New Jersey were treated shabbily. Some were sent to TicketsNow where the cost was up to 50 times higher! TicketMaster is making amends to his fans, and Springsteen has since removed the note, but why did he and the state of New Jersey have to get involved in order for action to be taken? It's one more reason why TicketMaster and Live Nation should not be allowed to merge. TicketMaster already has a monopoly and does whatever it wants. Remember the whole Pearl Jam incident? Pearl Jam had to abandon its fight because TicketMaster was going to kill off the band's ability to earn a living since it controlled access to all of the good venues! That was more than a decade ago!
- For fans of classic soul music, Alice Russell may be the next saving grace. Her latest CD Pot of Gold is right on the money in terms of capturing the mood, the feeling, and the sound of the olden, golden days of R&B. I think The Music Box was right in that she hasn't really found her own voice yet, but I also think they were a little hard on the album. It's better than a lot of these types of CDs.
- I guess while we're on a Springsteen roll, I should point out the latest interview with him in Rolling Stone. Springsteen is notoriously shy, though he has found was of overcoming it. In a way, the early tales of how he wouldn't make eye contact and would struggle to talk about himself and his music is refreshing. So many artists have huge egos long before they deserve them. He talks about himself and his work a little more now, but Springsteen still retains his shyness. David Fricke put together a good interview with The Boss for the latest issue of Rolling Stone, though I wish Springsteen would open up just a little bit more. He sounds so reserved.
- Springsteen's latest album is Working on a Dream. Liking this album has not come easily for me. It's too polished and produced. Some songs don't even sound like anything Springsteen typically would have written and recorded. I suppose it's nice that he is trying new things, but I'll take Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town over anything he's done in the past 27 years (since Nebraska). The Music Box makes some good points about it, so I might have to give it another whirl. I know I plug this site a lot, but I think their commentary is frequently insightful.
Let's do a quick rundown of some music stories of interest:
- Springsteen used his website to lambaste Ticketmaster after fans in New Jersey were treated shabbily. Some were sent to TicketsNow where the cost was up to 50 times higher! TicketMaster is making amends to his fans, and Springsteen has since removed the note, but why did he and the state of New Jersey have to get involved in order for action to be taken? It's one more reason why TicketMaster and Live Nation should not be allowed to merge. TicketMaster already has a monopoly and does whatever it wants. Remember the whole Pearl Jam incident? Pearl Jam had to abandon its fight because TicketMaster was going to kill off the band's ability to earn a living since it controlled access to all of the good venues! That was more than a decade ago!
- For fans of classic soul music, Alice Russell may be the next saving grace. Her latest CD Pot of Gold is right on the money in terms of capturing the mood, the feeling, and the sound of the olden, golden days of R&B. I think The Music Box was right in that she hasn't really found her own voice yet, but I also think they were a little hard on the album. It's better than a lot of these types of CDs.
- I guess while we're on a Springsteen roll, I should point out the latest interview with him in Rolling Stone. Springsteen is notoriously shy, though he has found was of overcoming it. In a way, the early tales of how he wouldn't make eye contact and would struggle to talk about himself and his music is refreshing. So many artists have huge egos long before they deserve them. He talks about himself and his work a little more now, but Springsteen still retains his shyness. David Fricke put together a good interview with The Boss for the latest issue of Rolling Stone, though I wish Springsteen would open up just a little bit more. He sounds so reserved.
- Springsteen's latest album is Working on a Dream. Liking this album has not come easily for me. It's too polished and produced. Some songs don't even sound like anything Springsteen typically would have written and recorded. I suppose it's nice that he is trying new things, but I'll take Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town over anything he's done in the past 27 years (since Nebraska). The Music Box makes some good points about it, so I might have to give it another whirl. I know I plug this site a lot, but I think their commentary is frequently insightful.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Dumbest Band Name....Ever?
This morning I was looking over an e-mail I received that lists some of the concerts coming to town and the on-sale dates for tickets. With apologies to the band, I had to just burst out laughing. Supporting Lily Allen, apparently on all or most of her upcoming tour dates, is a group from Washington that calls itself:
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
No joke. You read that correctly. The band calls itself Natalie Portman's Shaved Head.
Now, I'm not sure how far they expected to get when they picked this name, but I'm guessing it was some kind of joke that got out of hand. The name makes them sound like a novelty act, though in an attempt to move past it, they have taken to using an abbreviation (NPSH) to identify themselves. Incidentally, their music sounds like it was plucked from the '80s, which is another thing I thought we had moved past. Oh well.
Natalie Portman's Shaved Head
No joke. You read that correctly. The band calls itself Natalie Portman's Shaved Head.
Now, I'm not sure how far they expected to get when they picked this name, but I'm guessing it was some kind of joke that got out of hand. The name makes them sound like a novelty act, though in an attempt to move past it, they have taken to using an abbreviation (NPSH) to identify themselves. Incidentally, their music sounds like it was plucked from the '80s, which is another thing I thought we had moved past. Oh well.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Barack Obama's Inaugural Speech
Everything is on YouTube, including a lot of nonsense. Still, I easily found Barack Obama's inauguration speech, which likely will go down in history as one of the better ones. Great speeches do not make great presidencies, and it remains to be seen what Obama can do. He has a lot that needs to be accomplished quickly. Still, for those few who haven't seen it. Here it is:
Economic Stimulus: A Matter of Perspective
Those who know me have heard me kvetching endlessly about the proposed economic stimulus package, and specifically, the idea that simply slinging money at the problem prove to be its solution. In particular, the money to be distributed to the average taxpayer is no bigger than what outgoing president George W. Bush gave out a year ago. We all know how well that turned out. It didn't help the economy one bit, and things actually worsened considerably.
Well, the latest issue of the New Yorker features a column by James Surowiecki, who, for my money, is one of the smarter financial columnists in the business. In "A Smarter Stimulus," he makes a convincing argument that Obama's plan actually is a pretty decent idea. Yes, the infusion of money to the taxpayers alone won't solve the problem, but the way in which the rebate will be distributed (in smaller, weekly increments rather than a lump sum payment) is a far better proposal because people view the former method as additional income to spend and the latter one as wealth that should be saved.
It's all a matter of perspective, and in an age when no one trusts the government to get anything right, we need people like Surowiecki to set the record straight.
Well, the latest issue of the New Yorker features a column by James Surowiecki, who, for my money, is one of the smarter financial columnists in the business. In "A Smarter Stimulus," he makes a convincing argument that Obama's plan actually is a pretty decent idea. Yes, the infusion of money to the taxpayers alone won't solve the problem, but the way in which the rebate will be distributed (in smaller, weekly increments rather than a lump sum payment) is a far better proposal because people view the former method as additional income to spend and the latter one as wealth that should be saved.
It's all a matter of perspective, and in an age when no one trusts the government to get anything right, we need people like Surowiecki to set the record straight.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Frost / Nixon = Couric / Bush
So, I saw Frost/Nixon last night. I can't think of a movie that was better timed than this one. It's a fascinating story, and the film, which was directed by Ron Howard, is very well done. It got me thinking -- I wonder if 30 years from now we will see a sequel called Couric/Bush? Think about it -- there are a lot of parallels to be drawn between the presidencies of Bush and Nixon. And Couric is kind of like this generation's David Frost. Maybe in an attempt to prove herself, she'll get Bush to admit that he was drunk for 8 years (which is the only explanation I've ever come up with for that pretzel incident) and left Cheney in charge of everything.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
2008 Election and Other Housekeeping Items
It's about time an election swings the right way. Don't get me wrong -- those who know me also know that 8 years ago I thought John McCain deserved a shot at the White House. He was more of a maverick then. There really was a point where even if you didn't agree with his position on something, you had to respect his point of view, which is more than I can say for most politicians these days. It's amazing how he has spent the last 8 years squandering the respect that he had earned. I am happy he lost. He would have been so very wrong for this country.
Those who are worried about Barack Obama ought to read the New Yorker's endorsement of him from their October 13 issue. I meant to post that link before the election, and I forgot. It still is a good description of what we can expect from him, and it certainly made me feel better about him. Perhaps it will do the same for those of you who remain skeptical.
Obama still doesn't excite me when he speaks, but he has a lot of fresh ideas, which is something we desperately need, and the way he has managed to inspire so many people in this country is refreshing. When was the last time we had a President who did that? Some would cite Bill Clinton, but his personal problems undermined his ability to accomplish much, and it wound up dividing the country. So, that leaves JFK, which is the type of leader we need right now. We need someone to challenge us to get off an oil-based economy and move to other sources of energy. Obama is the guy to do it, and he really has to be. We can't afford not to make the switch, and the investment that would be needed would spur our economy and our sense of innovation, which has been missing for a long time. I really believe that any bailout of the auto industry ought to be tied completely to developing cars that do not use gasoline. It really is a lot like JFK's challenge to go to the moon in the early 1960s, and it is a matter of national security.
Speaking of the '60s, The Music Box, one of my favorite hangouts online, has been stuck in the 1960s lately. They've been working their way through the recent Creedence reissues, starting with their debut, Bayou Country, and Green River. They also recently reviewed Richie Havens' Nobody Left to Crown, which is an album I want to like, but lose interest in about halfway through.
This same issue has dogged Bruce Springsteen lately, at least for me. Speaking of which, Rolling Stone let the cat out of the bag regarding a new album from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It is encouraging to read about how the album came together so quickly. It just might help him rediscover a sense of urgency, which he still has in concert but has lost in the studio. Working on a Dream is due on January 27. Although Magic and The Rising were disappointing to me, I'll still be in line to pick this one up.
Last but not least, as we wait for Neil Young's Archives series, which doesn't seem as if it ever will come out, he has found another live album to release. Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House, from 1968, is coming out next week. I hope it's good, and I can't imagine that it won't be. But you never know what you're going to get with Neil.
Those who are worried about Barack Obama ought to read the New Yorker's endorsement of him from their October 13 issue. I meant to post that link before the election, and I forgot. It still is a good description of what we can expect from him, and it certainly made me feel better about him. Perhaps it will do the same for those of you who remain skeptical.
Obama still doesn't excite me when he speaks, but he has a lot of fresh ideas, which is something we desperately need, and the way he has managed to inspire so many people in this country is refreshing. When was the last time we had a President who did that? Some would cite Bill Clinton, but his personal problems undermined his ability to accomplish much, and it wound up dividing the country. So, that leaves JFK, which is the type of leader we need right now. We need someone to challenge us to get off an oil-based economy and move to other sources of energy. Obama is the guy to do it, and he really has to be. We can't afford not to make the switch, and the investment that would be needed would spur our economy and our sense of innovation, which has been missing for a long time. I really believe that any bailout of the auto industry ought to be tied completely to developing cars that do not use gasoline. It really is a lot like JFK's challenge to go to the moon in the early 1960s, and it is a matter of national security.
Speaking of the '60s, The Music Box, one of my favorite hangouts online, has been stuck in the 1960s lately. They've been working their way through the recent Creedence reissues, starting with their debut, Bayou Country, and Green River. They also recently reviewed Richie Havens' Nobody Left to Crown, which is an album I want to like, but lose interest in about halfway through.
This same issue has dogged Bruce Springsteen lately, at least for me. Speaking of which, Rolling Stone let the cat out of the bag regarding a new album from Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. It is encouraging to read about how the album came together so quickly. It just might help him rediscover a sense of urgency, which he still has in concert but has lost in the studio. Working on a Dream is due on January 27. Although Magic and The Rising were disappointing to me, I'll still be in line to pick this one up.
Last but not least, as we wait for Neil Young's Archives series, which doesn't seem as if it ever will come out, he has found another live album to release. Sugar Mountain: Live at Canterbury House, from 1968, is coming out next week. I hope it's good, and I can't imagine that it won't be. But you never know what you're going to get with Neil.
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