Cowboy Up

Well, that was an ugly week. This nasty flu bug going around took out my boss big time which resulted in me being on call answering phones 24/7. Still am too, all weekend to boot. (Nothing quite like being woke up at three in the morning -repeatedly). Then on Friday night, I started not feeling right. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be the real bad thing going around, but a head cold and mild sore throat isn't exactly a good day out either. At least it doesn't seem to be getting worse - no fever and no stomach problems, so maybe I'll dodge the worst of it. So far, I've been able to Cowboy Up and keep going, but it's been a hard run, and hence the lack of blogging. The crew should be back tomorrow, so I think I'm going to take a sick day and try to get a good night's sleep for the first time in a while. To quote Seinfeld from that Kenny Rogers Roasters episode, "I am on NO sleep!"...man, that was a funny episode. Also had that famous line from Newman about broccoli - "Vile Weed!" Classic. Well enough of that. (and no, I don't want any cheese with my whine ;-) On to some music highlights of the week... Toby Keith's new one, 'Honky Tonk U' is a cool song with a Waylon Jennings vibe. However, an even better tune is Dierks Bentley's new song, "Lot of Leavin' Left To Do." I wasn't a big fan of his first few singles, however, if he puts out more like this, he'll have a new fan. Of course, with the obvious Waylon sound, it's no wonder I like the tune. (Two new tunes with a Waylon vibe - don't know what's up with that, but it's all good). I heard Dierks' new tune while driving in my truck today. Turned it up and loved this great lyric: "I guess the Lord made me hard to handle So lovin’ me might be a long shot gamble So before you go and turn me on Be sure that you can turn me loose ‘cause I still got a lot of leavin’ left to do" Apparently, its from his new album due out May 10. That makes 3 new tunes I've heard this weekend that got my attention and possibly would have led to an impulse buy. However, the fact that the albums aren't due out for a couple of months squashed that. I probably wouldn't have bought Toby Keith's anyway, even tho the tune is good. However, Dierks tune was good enough it may have made me purchase the album on that one alone. By the time May rolls around, it won't be high on my priority list. I had to go to the net to find out about the album and hear the tune again. The other one was a new group called the Road Hammers, led by Jason McCoy. Saw their new video on CMT, but have no idea when the album will be out. I understand that they want to build attention to the new song and album, but by having the single lead the album by two months is a bit much. Hmmm, good songs that you can't buy yet - couldn't have anything to do with this whole downloading thing I keep hearing about, could it? 'course that's a whole different story as the record companies continue to alienate they're own customers. I pop a disc into my computer with the intent to listen to it, and it won't let me unless I let it install some new software. Um, how 'bout NO!?! Had to play it through my playstation. Oh well, they can't stop the sound from coming out of the speakers (what is this, 1985? Mix Tape anyone? just kidding :) Speaking of which, I read an article lately about trying to play legally bought and downloaded songs on one's IPod. I guess the format you download a song in is designed not to be able to be transferred to a portable device. However, I learned that if you burn it to CD and then rip it back, you can transfer it to the format of your choice. A bit ridiculous, no? Anyway, carry on... later