Subscribe

Powered by Blogger

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Random Thoughts...

Picked up some of these Hot Tamale like candy, and man, they’ve got bite. Haven’t tried more than one at a time yet, don’t know how much of a cinnamon blast I want. Feel the burn…

Few shows funnier on TV these days than Family Guy. Stewie cracks me up. And they go after anyone and everything with some brilliant writing and pop culture references. Not to mention the fact it’s the first and so far only show that was cancelled and brought back for new episodes thanks to DVD sales. If only Firefly had been so lucky. At least the DVD sales got the movie Serenity made. Stupid, Stupid Fox…

Speaking of funny TV, what does it say about shows today that an episode of Seinfeld that you’ve already seen is still better than the vast majority of what they’re trying to pass off on us now-a-days? So many classic comedy moments on that show…

Hear about the M&M’s Chocolate Candies balloon that got tangled in a street light and hit the deck during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Two sisters were slightly injured during the collapse, including one in a wheelchair, but are ok. Apparently NBC ran old footage of a similar balloon during that spot of the show and didn’t mention the collapse, though Katie Couric did mention the footage was old. NBC said it was because they didn’t exactly know what happened. That’s kind of weird considering how news shows are always trying to jump the gun and go ‘live’ to any breaking news whether they have the facts or not. By the way, wasn’t there a Seinfeld episode where Jerry leaned back accidentally knocking a sharp statue out a window which fell on the Woody Woodpecker balloon and popped it during a Macy’s Parade? Guess they were ahead of their time…

Hey look, the Toronto Blue Jays actually sign a free agent. Well, that’s the unconfirmed report anyway. Been a long time since the Jays did anything flashy in the offseason. Reportedly, they’ve signed BJ Ryan, a closer, to a 5 year 47 million dollar contract. That’s ridiculous. Don’t you have to be leading games before you need a closer?

Congrats to Gary Allan who hit Number 1 on the CMT Canada Top 20 Video countdown with his video for the song Best I Ever Had from the fantastic album Tough All Over…

Speaking of CMT Canada, whatever happened to playing music? How many times I flip to that channel hoping to see a music video, and instead get the shows Reba, or Ed, or Little House on the Prairie, or Matlock, or Roseanne, or even various old movies. The upshot is they’ll be showing Christmas shows during December. Basically the old movies you used to see on other channels on Saturday afternoons when nobody was watching. December 4th they have A Holiday To Remember with Randy Travis and Connie Selleca. Seem to vaguely remember this from years ago, think maybe it wasn’t bad for a Christmas flick. I do hope CMT keeps in mind what happened to the old TNN (The Nashville Network). They started showing less and less music trying to probably get ratings with other stuff until the channel folded and was no more…

Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it…

Thursday, November 24, 2005

100-Pound Woman Wins Turkey-Eating Contest - Yahoo! News

100-Pound Woman Wins Turkey-Eating Contest - Yahoo! News

Here's a quote:
"Thomas says she took the "Black Widow" nickname because she likes to "eliminate the males" in eating contests. Her other records include eating 65 hard-boiled eggs in 6 minutes and 40 seconds."

Oh yes, nothing say 'feminist' like horking down 4 pounds of turkey in 12 minutes...that's classy...

On a different note, I've never understood these food eating contests, male or female. Something just seems so wasteful about it. There are people on the other side of the world starving - hell, there are people on this side of the world starving - and at these events a small group of people gorge themselves not because they're hungry, but because they want to set a time record. If 10 people ate 4 pounds of turkey in 12 minutes, that's 40 pounds of meat gone that had nothing to do with being hungry or needing food. That 65 hard boiled egg record - imagine how many people could have had a decent meal with those eggs. Man, this world is just so screwed up...

Snow, Music, & Memories...

Well, had the second snowfall of the winter season here, and this time I was working so I was out in it. Pretty cool - liking this a whole lot better than summer heat, but that’s just me. I really like it when the snow keeps falling and the wind isn’t howling – just kind of a snowy, still night. Driving home watching the big flakes fall was good too, plus I actually heard good songs all the way home on the radio too, which is hard to do with what radio plays these days. Got to hear Brad Paisley’s “We Danced”, Alabama’s “Born Country”, and Tim McGraw’s “My Old Friend.” Each song brings back memories…funny how songs and smells can always do that. My life has a soundtrack, and sometimes just a few notes of a favorite song can trigger old memories of another time…

My old friend, I recall
The times we had are hanging on my wall
I wouldn’t trade them for gold
‘Cause they laugh and they cry me and somehow sanctify me
And they’re woven in the stories I have told,
And tell again,

My old friend, I apologize
For the years that have passed since the last time you and I,
Dusted off those memories,
But the runnin’ and the races,
The people and the places,
There was always somewhere else I had to be,
And time gets thin, my old friend…

(My Old Friend, sung by Tim McGraw
Written by Craig Wiseman and Steve McEwan)

Saturday, November 19, 2005

CMA's 2005 Recap....

So, the CMA awards moved to New York City this year, and I guess they had a good shindig of it. For the most part, it was a good country show, with some good performances, a couple surprises, and only a few “What the?” moments.

The highlights:

Lee Ann Womack picked up 3 awards. Remember my blog entry waaaay back saying how good her album There’s More Where That Came From was? Well, looks like I wasn’t the only one who thought that. Oddly enough, after winning Single of the Year, Album of the Year and Vocal Event of the year with George Strait, she didn’t win Female Vocalist – that went to Gretchen Wilson. I thought that was a surprise considering how new Gretchen is and the push Womack was getting.

Brad Paisley sung a great new tune When I Get To Where I’m Goin’. They kind of faked the audience out with what sounded like Alison Kraus backing vocals on the chorus, but she didn’t come out on stage even though the audience applauded like they thought she would. The song though, had some great lyrics:

When I get where I’m going, on the far side of the sky,
The first thing that I’m gonna do, is spread my wings and fly….

Going to walk with my Granddad, and he’ll match me step for step,
And I’ll tell him how I missed him every minute since he left,
and then I’ll hug his neck,
Yeah when I get where I’m goin’, there’ll be only happy tears,
I will shed the sins and struggles I have carried all these years,
Yeah, I’ll leave my heart wide open, I will love and have no fear
Yeah, when I get where I’m going, don’t cry for me down here…


Wish I could have heard more of Willie Nelson and Norah Jones on Still Crazy after all these years…

Song of the Year went to Whiskey Lullaby writers Bill Anderson and Jon Randall. It was really great to see a solid country tune like that win Song of the Year. I’m a big fan of the song and the video, so it’s good to see some of the award deciders in Nashville still have some good taste.


The big event of the night was a Garth Brooks return in Times Square singing his tribute to the late Chris Ledoux, Good Ride Cowboy. Garth rocked New York City one more time and proved he’s still got it as he performed the song with Chris’s road band, Western Underground. Wonder if this is the first step in a Garth comeback?


Kris Kristofferson introduced Martina McBride to sing his song Help Me Make It Through the Night from her latest album Timeless. She did a pretty good job of it, though I still like Kris singing it better. She did prove though how good a singer she is when she’s not singing pop…

Really surprised that Vocal Duo of the Year award went to Brooks and Dunn and not Big and Rich. Big & Rich had a much bigger year, but maybe the CMA association isn’t quite ready for their brand of ‘country’ yet, or they’re waiting to see if they go the way of the Kentucky Headhunters…

Sugarland came on next to perform – thank goodness I recorded it and can skip ahead…hey was that Bon Jovi in there? With Sugarland? Um, ok…next….

Faith and Tim performed their latest Like We Never Loved at All, written by Big & Rich’s John Rich. They did a good job of it, but it seemed like Faith’s voice cracked a couple times hitting some of those notes. Still like the song though…

Glen Campbell was inducted into the hall of fame as was Alabama. Hall of fame? Already? I must be getting old. Nice to see these guys get the nod though.

Miranda Lambert came on with the song Kerosene. Rocked it out, including tossing her guitar to a stagehand and pyrotechnics and fire on the stage. Still, all I could think about was that somewhere Steve Earle should be getting royalties…

Keith Urban lit it up with the song Better Life, then went on to win the next announced award for Male Vocalist of the Year. Good to see these CMA guys are starting to think a little more like me (haha)


Alison Kraus performed a good country / bluegrass tune and then apparently sent the Yahoo search buzz upward with her ‘sort of’ see through dress. I don’t know about that, but she looked good and sound good like always…

Good pick with Dierks Bentley winning the Horizon Award for best newcomer. A little odd considering he’s been around a couple years now and has 2 albums out, but at least he won something. Wasn’t a big fan of the first album’s singles, but he got a new fan with the 2 singles so far from his Modern Day Drifter album…

Rascal Flatts won Vocal Group of the Year. Ok. Moving on…

In the “What the?” moment of the night, they brought out Elton John. On the CMA’s. Ok. At least they teamed him with probably the only country performer who could pull off the segment successfully in Dolly Parton. Would have rather heard an original Dolly number by herself though…

Then, it was time for the big award of the night – Entertainer of the Year. Presented by Shania Twain and Billy Joel, I thought this was a foregone conclusion to go to Kenny Chesney after the money year he had. I’ll bet I wasn’t the only one expecting that either. Then from a group including Alan Jackson, Toby Keith and Brad Paisley, the CMA’s pull the biggest surprise of the night out of nowhere and award Entertainer to Keith Urban! Alright!! Considering Keith’s acceptance speech, I wasn’t the only one surprised. He started with “Thank you very much. Wow. I’m completely weirded out at the moment.” Nice that he won it with his Mom there to see it too. Anyway, maybe the CMA’s realize they’ve got a good thing here with Urban connecting with a young crowd (read: disposable cash) and better promote the heck out of it. Either way, it’s good to see someone who’s a musician, singer, and songwriter who’s worked really hard to get to this point win the big award…

And that’s about it for the CMA’s. Enjoy this recent run of awarding good country music, ‘cause it’s probably only a matter of time before they start moving back towards pop. It’s a cyclical thing – they always do…

Friday, November 18, 2005

Musical Genius


It was a good week for country music. The CMA awards were on this week, along with a CBS special tribute to Johnny Cash, and the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line comes out today and is getting good reviews. I'll probably be back later with thoughts on the CMA's and Walk the Line, but had to post about some music from the CBS special.

Had some interesting performances, including an interesting Kris Kristofferson and Foo Fighters team up on the song Sunday Morning Coming Down (always one of my favorite songs). Norah Jones, Brad Paisley, and Sheryl Crow all contributed songs and Jerry Lee Lewis and Kid Rock teamed up on a kicking version of Walk the Line.


However, the best part of the show was a duet teaming Dwight Yoakam and Alison Krauss singing Johnny and June's classic If I Were A Carpenter. Whoever thought of putting Dwight and Alison together is a musical genius! Their voices really went well together resulting in a great tune and I'm glad I recorded it. Makes me wish those two had more songs together...

TV Shows on DVD News

Well, they finally are getting around to it. The TV Show Walker, Texas Ranger is reportedly going to come out with Season 1 sometime in 2006. They released the Final Season last year, though nobody knew why they decided to release that first. They first couple of seasons were my favorites - just seemed to have better stories, flow, and writing. After about season 5, I think, it started to go downhill. Maybe it had something to do with some of the names that changed in the credits. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see when this Season 1 comes out and if it will contain any extras.

Elsewhere, it looks like Renegade Seasons 2 & 3 are coming to DVD March 21, 2006. I wondered what happened to this after they announced Season 2 was coming last year, but there you go. I guess they'll be gauging sales of these sets to see if they are going to bother with the final 2 seasons.

Also, looks like Hunter Season 3 is coming to DVD January 3rd. Unfortunately, it looks like they've lost the slim cases and gone with the fold out packaging instead. Too bad, I hate the fold out packaging, but with only 3 discs it might not be too difficult to deal with. It's a problem when you have to unfold 3 feet of packaging to get one disc of a six disc collection...

And finally, one of the funniest short lived sitcoms will complete the DVD series with the show's final run of Season 3 of Titus on January 17th. I'm watching Seasons 1 & 2 on DVD, and this show was hilarious. Twisted, but hilarious. I remember coming home from work and watching this along with the beginning seasons of That 70's Show back when they were first on. Back when That 70's Show was actually funny, but Titus was even funnier...

Sony BMG offers MP3 files and disks for unsafe CDs - Yahoo! News

Sony BMG offers MP3 files and disks for unsafe CDs - Yahoo! News

Well, doesn't that look good on them. Wonder how much it'll cost them when this is all said and done? What a debacle for Sony...
Here's some interesting quotes from the article:

"Sony BMG, after announcing a recall of some 4.7 million CDs with the software on Wednesday, said on Friday consumers could mail their CDs to the company, and they would receive a new unprotected CD in return.

Pending the processing of the exchange programme, consumers would also receive an email with details of a Website where they could download the music tracks as unprotected MP3 files.

In the latest twist to the story, software engineers found earlier on Friday that the music player which is part of the XCP software contains components from an open source project, an MP3 player called LAME, raising questions about copyright."


Absolutely beautiful. Congrats Sony - you went to all this hassle to make sure no one could copy (or enjoy) the music you were selling so there would be no "copyright" issues, then you go and install a virus on users computers and a MP3 player using someone else's software! What was that you were saying about copyright infringement?!

This should be a blow to the overly obsessed copy control companies are pushing. However, in the end, it'll probably just hurt the singers who are contracted with Sony BMG. Do you think people will be more likely to buy or download future recordings of artists from Sony? I know I would never want to buy a CD from Sony BMG again...

Friday, November 11, 2005

Biting the Hand That Feeds You...

Sony to Suspend Making Antipiracy CDs - Yahoo! News

Well, at least they say they've stopped. The software they were putting on CD's to "protect" them from being copied was actually spyware which not only sent data back but also opened up a hole for enterprising hackers to walk through. Stupid Sony. This is the kind of stuff that makes people want to copy and file share more, not less. If you're not going to care about the damage you do to my property with your product and not even be honest about what it could do, why should I care about how I obtain your product? The shame of it is, this only hurts the artists who put the effort into the music. I'll bet Sony is screwing the artists for money just as badly as they're screwing their customers all in an effort to "maximize profits." Idiots...

Whenever I see a CD that is label "Copy Protected", nine times out of ten I've put it back on the shelf, and with the odd one I have bought I've never installed software on my computer to "allow" me to play the music I've bought. Don't these big companies realize that they're not squashing illegal file sharing, they're angering the legal buying public and turning more fed up people towards "alternative" music means? I'm no marketing genius, but even I know that making it as hard as possible for the legal owners of your product to enjoy said product is really, really, couterproductive...

YeeHaw?

It was inevitable that someone would do it. I guess this is what the General Lee would have looked like if the show was made nowadays...looks sporty, but lacks a certain....something...

Monday, November 07, 2005

TV Roundup...

Have you seen the shows "Canada's Worst Driver" and "Motormouth"? Talk about some really, really bad drivers. Almost makes you want to never go out on the road again, if that's what is out there. It's remarkable that there aren't more wrecks with drivers like that who pretty much aren't paying attention to what's going on around them. On the Canada's Worst Driver show, they're actually trying to retrain and educate these drivers, and all but one in the group seemed to be trying to get better, albeit trying on different levels. Then there was the one driver who wasn't trying at all. Hope I'm never on the same road as her...

Was flipping through the channels and caught a bit of a Smallville episode. Caught a bit of a young Superman telling a character played by actor James Marsters that the girl lying in a hospital bed had been bitten by a vampire - and yes, he knew it sounded crazy. Then Marsters' character tells teen Superman (Superboy?) that that's crazy as there is no such thing as vampires. I found this hilarious, but maybe that's just me. See, Marsters played the vampire Spike on the shows BTVS and Angel, and now he's playing a character saying they don't exist to a character from the planet Krypton. Funny stuff - or maybe I'm just tired. See what happens when creative imaginations run wild? Worlds collide...

Speaking of Smallville, the current episode that aired on the WB featured the return of the Duke boys and the General Lee. Well, sort of. See, John Schneider plays Jonathan Kent on the show Smallville, and everyone's been wondering for a few seasons now when they'd work in a cameo reunion with Tom Wopat. Well, it finally happened. Haven't seen the episode yet, as it airs this Monday North of the Border, but I read up on it and looked at some pics of the show on the internet. They even found a '69 Dodge Charger for Wopat to make his entrance in. Not orange though, but rather blue. They couldn't be that obvious about it. Wopat plays an old friend of Jonathan Kent who's running for office and is seeking some help. They even get some driving in and some Hazzard references too. Tom Wopat even gets into the car through the window, as the door apparently doesn't 'work' for some reason. :) John Schneider had to tell the crew to completely get rid of the lock mechanism so Tom didn't hurt himself getting in like he did many years ago during the initial Dukes run. I'll have to record the show Monday and see how many Dukes references they can work in during a show about a teen Superman...

On an episode of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last week, he had a great line. After watching a row of clips of commentators all saying Bush "Hit a Grand Slam" with the latest Justice nomination, Jon Stewart came back on and wondered what do they call something like this in Canada? Do they say "He hit a slap shot through the five hole?" Man, that cracked me up...

One of the best shows on TV is the show Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel. Fun, funny, and educational, it's remarkable what they can do and build as they try to prove / disprove scientifically myths and stories of things people say have happened. Like tonights show - they take on the myth of Robin Hood being able to split an arrow with another arrow, and the myth of a tissue box on the back seat of a car flying forward and killing the driver in the event of an accident. They tested some other things too - the axe through the ballistics gel was priceless. Hour long episode short - the arrow thing is completely busted and you should never keep an axe or a bowling ball on the back windshield of your car...

Sunday, November 06, 2005

Same Ol' Tune...

I was flipping through the channels and stopped on CMT hearing a rockin’ tune with a pounding beat that sounded real familiar. Didn’t recognize the artist – Miranda Lambert – or the song “Kerosene.” The song was cool, even though as I was watching the video I was tempted to discard what I was viewing as just another studio manufactured country singing blonde trying to look and sound tough just to be different. Still, it was a good song and a solid effort for a newbie, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and watched and listened all the way through. She seemed to have a good voice and the song was country with an edge that I like.

However, the tune was just way too familiar to me. So I went to my collection and found what my brain had initially thought I was hearing when I first stopped on the CMT channel. Who else, but Steve Earle. The new tune “Kerosene” which was written by Lambert, seems to be an eerie amped-up clone of Earle’s self-penned tune “I Feel Alright.” Not the lyrics, mind you, but the music. Lambert’s is set a little faster, but the driving beat is remarkably close. The other thing that stuck out to me was the phrase “smokin’ gun” used in both songs! The songs are about two totally different subjects, but how weird is that?

I’ve heard bits of songs before that remind me of others, but this was a first of two songs sounding that close. I hope it’s just a coincidence of great minds thinking alike…

Serenity Now!.....Well, Soon....

Cover art for the Serenity DVD! It's available December 20/05, so get your wish lists updated accordingly and in to Santa Claus, people :) For me though, the old guy in red moves a little slow, so I'll be a browncoat supporting the cause on day one. Besides, there's always the chance of coal, and since I've never been good at being good, "As sure as I know anything I know this: I aim to misbehave." ;-)

Friday, November 04, 2005

Marty Stuart does it again...

I'm listening to another CMT.com listening party of the new CD by Marty Stuart - Badlands. It's another concept album, this time telling the story of American Indians. Sure, it'll never get played on the radio, but it's quite good music, and interesting theme. Here's a quote from Amazon.com review: "From Custer and Crazy Horse through Sitting Bull and Wounded Knee, Stuart offers a musical history lesson of tragedy than cannot be ignored or denied and hope that still glimmers. --Don McLeese"

I like these concept albums from Marty Stuart. I'd rate The Pilgrim as a bit better on the whole than Badlands, but both offer intriguing listens. I always prefer albums that flow together rather than a selection of songs put on the same disc. You can't get a better flow than on a concept album, and both The Pilgrim and Badlands have a story to tell and a message to deliver. I hope Marty Stuart has more concept albums like these in him.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

George Jones Questions His Latest Gold Status

CMT.com : George Jones : George Jones Questions His Latest Gold Status

Fri. October 28.2005 4:54 PM EDT
George Jones Questions His Latest Gold Status

George Jones' 50 Years of Hits has been certified gold by the RIAA for total shipments of 500,000 copies to retailers. However, Jones points out that each of the three discs in the compilation released last year is counted toward the total. Artists in all genres, including country superstars Garth Brooks, George Strait and Shania Twain, have benefited from the RIAA guideline. Jones says, "I never heard of counting each disc towards gold, but they tell me this is how all the newer artists seem to have sales of 20 or 30 million in what I consider relatively short careers. This new math could change the course of my own career."


...No wonder some of these 'stars' get into the stratosphere of record sales so quick. Release a box set of 7 CD's, sell a million copies, and that equals 7 million in record sales. Leave it to Jones to point it out ;-)