Last one. And that is a good thing. Some of the posts have been a slog. The biggest problem is that I didn't have something to say every day. Also you are committed, you have to get one out every day. I did not have any stock piled in the event that I spent the day off grid away from the internet. If I do this again that will be part of the plan.
I have nothing meaningful to say today, so rather than rack my brain to come up with something clever or meaningful I am just going to write a little stream of consciousness until I become bored and call it a night.
Every other day I picked a song and then wrote something. Sometimes I had a topic and then found a song, but the song always came first. Today I'll pick a song when I am done.
Sam asked if I intend to keep writing, and I already said I would but I will repeat it here. Maybe one to two a month is sustainable and fun even. 31 in 31 days is too much, at least when paired with every thing else I have to do in a normal month. I am not saying I will never do this again, but I used up sixty-two songs, so next time maybe it will be movies, or books, or just a solid month of posting without the unifying device.
I will complain a little about the lack of feedback. It is hard to know what works and what doesn't without feedback. I lack the distance to critically review anything over a short time span and as Adam has correctly observed by biggest blind spot is myself.
Ok this is enough, time to pick a song.
I am going to go with Brand New Day by Sting. Back when making your on CDs was a thing in the dark ages before MP3 players in cars, it was useful to make your own CDs. I liked to end mine with this song. It is a happy ending type song. And it feels like it should be the ast song on a disc. So it is my last song for the month.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
Promise Kept
Today's song: I Know Places by Taylor Swift
So much build up on this one, I had best deliver. The fact is that I just had too much trouble trying to write this one. I would sit down to cover Taylor Swift and get overwhelmed. It was daunting to write about Taylor. I respect her both as an artist and as a person. It is not possible to cover Taylor Swift in any sort of comprehensive manner. No matter what I do it would feel inadequate.So instead I will cover a small aspect that has not been done to death, Taylor's love of cats.
Taylor Swift loves cats. She isn't shy about it.
If you follow Taylor on Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram then I am not telling you anything new. Taylor regularly posts pics of her two cats, Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson. Even if you don't follow all things Taylor, those names may sound familiar to you. That is because they are the names of characters from the Law and Order franchise. It seems that TSwift's love of Law and Order is reciprocated:
And being the fan girl she is, Taylor made sure her fans did not miss out on the mutual admiration society.
If you have known me for long you know I think the internet exists for the express purpose of sharing cat pics and vids. Don't let the DARPA history lessons fool you. Those tech pioneers may have told the old men at the Pentagon that the World Wide Web would provide a robust system to allow for communication in the event of Soviet attack, but they knew that it would really be used advance the interests of the feline hegemony. Few use the medium for its true purpose better than our Heroine, Taylor. Taylor regularly treats her fans, and the rest of the world, to pics and videos of her malkin companions.
Taylor also shares the mischief and mayhem brought to her life by Miss Meredith and Miss Olivia.
So while there are a great many reasons to admire Taylor Swift, her enormous talent, her business savvy, her great beauty, or even her sheer power, I choose to go with her love of God's finest creation.
Later
Bob
P.S.
If you abhor all things feline and need to be supplied with another reason to like Taylor, how about her generosity. She could have received an exorbitant sum for the following pic and choose to give it to her fans for free.
So much build up on this one, I had best deliver. The fact is that I just had too much trouble trying to write this one. I would sit down to cover Taylor Swift and get overwhelmed. It was daunting to write about Taylor. I respect her both as an artist and as a person. It is not possible to cover Taylor Swift in any sort of comprehensive manner. No matter what I do it would feel inadequate.So instead I will cover a small aspect that has not been done to death, Taylor's love of cats.
Taylor Swift loves cats. She isn't shy about it.
It is a daily struggle for me to not buy more cats.
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) January 19, 2014
If you follow Taylor on Twitter, or Facebook, or Instagram then I am not telling you anything new. Taylor regularly posts pics of her two cats, Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson. Even if you don't follow all things Taylor, those names may sound familiar to you. That is because they are the names of characters from the Law and Order franchise. It seems that TSwift's love of Law and Order is reciprocated:
And being the fan girl she is, Taylor made sure her fans did not miss out on the mutual admiration society.
OH. MY. GOD.
therealmariskahargitay's photo http://t.co/rLgSSm2tJy
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) February 1, 2015
If you have known me for long you know I think the internet exists for the express purpose of sharing cat pics and vids. Don't let the DARPA history lessons fool you. Those tech pioneers may have told the old men at the Pentagon that the World Wide Web would provide a robust system to allow for communication in the event of Soviet attack, but they knew that it would really be used advance the interests of the feline hegemony. Few use the medium for its true purpose better than our Heroine, Taylor. Taylor regularly treats her fans, and the rest of the world, to pics and videos of her malkin companions.
Taylor also shares the mischief and mayhem brought to her life by Miss Meredith and Miss Olivia.
So while there are a great many reasons to admire Taylor Swift, her enormous talent, her business savvy, her great beauty, or even her sheer power, I choose to go with her love of God's finest creation.
Later
Bob
P.S.
If you abhor all things feline and need to be supplied with another reason to like Taylor, how about her generosity. She could have received an exorbitant sum for the following pic and choose to give it to her fans for free.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Holy Great Ideas, Batman!
Today's song: Only Happy When It Rains by Garbage
I am not really one for arts and crafts. I have no appreciation for art and virtually no talent. But some projects require little of either and cool enough to even appeal to Philistines. Making art that only shows up on concrete when it rains definitely qualifies.
The first time I saw anything like this the project used Neverwet, a proprietary waterproofing product. The results were pretty cool and I considered doing it when I owned my office building downtown, but I never got around to it. There were two reasons, first I never took the initiative to go get Neverwet or any similar product. It seemed like a lot of bother to use the two step application process on something so frivolous. The second reason was that technically, meaning in reality, I was a co-owner of the building and it seemed like the kind of thing you have to run past your business partner first. Cool as he was, I guessed Adam would not be up for the project. Below is the vid that led me to consider the project.
I never went trough with the project but I kept mulling it over. This weekend a new video was put on YouTube that makes it much more likely that I will go through with it. There are three reasons why this idea is better than the original one. First of all, it is simpler. It is a one step process that uses a commonly available product. Second of all it is not as permanent. The video maker says the product "lasts for a pretty good while", he does not say it lasts forever. The fact that it does not last forever makes me more willing to commission someone to produce street art for me because I am not permanently affecting anyone's resale value of their property. And lastly, the Bat-symbol is such a cool idea for such a project. What better way to bring a smile to some sad pedestrian forced to walk in the rain than to have them chance upon the Bat-symbol.
Here is the vid:
Spring is finally here. Those April showers I keep hearing children sing about will soon be upon us. Seems like the perfect time to do a little street art. They keep doing tasteless and dumb art projects in the Downtown, seems like it is about time someone did something that people might actually enjoy. Anyone up for a little Banksey style guerrilla art?
Later
Bob
I am not really one for arts and crafts. I have no appreciation for art and virtually no talent. But some projects require little of either and cool enough to even appeal to Philistines. Making art that only shows up on concrete when it rains definitely qualifies.
The first time I saw anything like this the project used Neverwet, a proprietary waterproofing product. The results were pretty cool and I considered doing it when I owned my office building downtown, but I never got around to it. There were two reasons, first I never took the initiative to go get Neverwet or any similar product. It seemed like a lot of bother to use the two step application process on something so frivolous. The second reason was that technically, meaning in reality, I was a co-owner of the building and it seemed like the kind of thing you have to run past your business partner first. Cool as he was, I guessed Adam would not be up for the project. Below is the vid that led me to consider the project.
I never went trough with the project but I kept mulling it over. This weekend a new video was put on YouTube that makes it much more likely that I will go through with it. There are three reasons why this idea is better than the original one. First of all, it is simpler. It is a one step process that uses a commonly available product. Second of all it is not as permanent. The video maker says the product "lasts for a pretty good while", he does not say it lasts forever. The fact that it does not last forever makes me more willing to commission someone to produce street art for me because I am not permanently affecting anyone's resale value of their property. And lastly, the Bat-symbol is such a cool idea for such a project. What better way to bring a smile to some sad pedestrian forced to walk in the rain than to have them chance upon the Bat-symbol.
Here is the vid:
Spring is finally here. Those April showers I keep hearing children sing about will soon be upon us. Seems like the perfect time to do a little street art. They keep doing tasteless and dumb art projects in the Downtown, seems like it is about time someone did something that people might actually enjoy. Anyone up for a little Banksey style guerrilla art?
Later
Bob
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Time Travel Isn't Hard
Today's song: Read My Mind by The Killers
Today's post will be a short one. I really can't believe that I have not done a song by The Killers yet. I have recently come to the realization that The Killers have replace The Police as my favorite band. The Killers make music that would not have been out of place in the 80's. That may explain part of the appeal of the band for anyone whose musical sensibilities were being set during the Reagan administration. But there is more at work to explain the appeal of The Killers, at least for me.
I make no secret of the fact that I think that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often known as Mormons, are, as a group, better than the rest of us. Brandon Flowers is just another example of the validity of this theory. It isn't just that h writes great songs, he does good in the world. Each year since 2006 The Killers put out a Christmas single and donate the proceeds to the Product Red campaign which combats the spread of AIDS in Africa. In 2010 the band played on the White House South Lawn as part of a USO concert organized as part of the Independence Day Celebration. I'll forgive the band for playing at a campaign rally four days later for Harry Reid and barrack obama because in February of 2011 Brandon had a private lunch with Mitt Romney.
There isn't any artist that Alexa spins more often for me than The Killers, not even Taylor Swift. (Who I promise I will cover later. Any post on Taylor is going to be a monumental effort on my part regardless of the length of the post because it is important to get that one right.) Read My Mind is probably my favorite song by the Killers. It's not that I like Mr. Brightside less, Mr. Brightside is an outstanding song by a young artist. Read My Mind is the sort of song that gets produced by that same young artist after he matures and really comes into his own. Flowers has stated that Read My Mind is the best song he has ever written.
Flowers will be putting out his second solo album in May. He has released the first single from the album Can't Deny My Love. I like it, maybe you will too. In any event I'll be picking up the album in May. May will be a big month, new Brandon Flowers album, new Neal Stephenson book, and something else that I am not allowed to talk about yet, but it does involve hockey jerseys.
I have enjoyed putting these posts out this month but I have not been getting a lot of feedback. If you are actually reading these posts and are enjoying them let me know. If there is a song you'd like me to do there are three slots left, but obviously Taylor is getting one of them. In truth, I plan to do more writing in the future, probably one or two posts a month so there will be a chance to honor any requests I don't get to in March. I will also be taking the blog private again soon, for reasons that will become obvious in May to the extent that they are not obvious to you already. If you want to keep reading just get me your email address so you can be added to the whitelist.
Later
Bob
Today's post will be a short one. I really can't believe that I have not done a song by The Killers yet. I have recently come to the realization that The Killers have replace The Police as my favorite band. The Killers make music that would not have been out of place in the 80's. That may explain part of the appeal of the band for anyone whose musical sensibilities were being set during the Reagan administration. But there is more at work to explain the appeal of The Killers, at least for me.
I make no secret of the fact that I think that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often known as Mormons, are, as a group, better than the rest of us. Brandon Flowers is just another example of the validity of this theory. It isn't just that h writes great songs, he does good in the world. Each year since 2006 The Killers put out a Christmas single and donate the proceeds to the Product Red campaign which combats the spread of AIDS in Africa. In 2010 the band played on the White House South Lawn as part of a USO concert organized as part of the Independence Day Celebration. I'll forgive the band for playing at a campaign rally four days later for Harry Reid and barrack obama because in February of 2011 Brandon had a private lunch with Mitt Romney.
There isn't any artist that Alexa spins more often for me than The Killers, not even Taylor Swift. (Who I promise I will cover later. Any post on Taylor is going to be a monumental effort on my part regardless of the length of the post because it is important to get that one right.) Read My Mind is probably my favorite song by the Killers. It's not that I like Mr. Brightside less, Mr. Brightside is an outstanding song by a young artist. Read My Mind is the sort of song that gets produced by that same young artist after he matures and really comes into his own. Flowers has stated that Read My Mind is the best song he has ever written.
Flowers will be putting out his second solo album in May. He has released the first single from the album Can't Deny My Love. I like it, maybe you will too. In any event I'll be picking up the album in May. May will be a big month, new Brandon Flowers album, new Neal Stephenson book, and something else that I am not allowed to talk about yet, but it does involve hockey jerseys.
I have enjoyed putting these posts out this month but I have not been getting a lot of feedback. If you are actually reading these posts and are enjoying them let me know. If there is a song you'd like me to do there are three slots left, but obviously Taylor is getting one of them. In truth, I plan to do more writing in the future, probably one or two posts a month so there will be a chance to honor any requests I don't get to in March. I will also be taking the blog private again soon, for reasons that will become obvious in May to the extent that they are not obvious to you already. If you want to keep reading just get me your email address so you can be added to the whitelist.
Later
Bob
Friday, March 27, 2015
Candy, The Right One This Time
Today's song: Candy by Mandy Moore
Today we resume our epic journey arising a simple albeit ambiguous request to do a post on Candy, by Mandy Moore. Yesterday you were regaled with the tale of my false starts regarding this topic. It was not all in vain, I assume many of you were entertained at my efforts at ascertaining which song entitled Candy was the intended subject of my efforts. Like Johnathan Stroud's eponymous hero of the Bartimaeus Sequence, I endeavored to faithfully and completely discharge my duties as commanded. And like Bartimaeus my faithful efforts were treated with mockery and scorn by the one to whose bidding I was subject. Take this as a warning, dear reader, be careful when you place yourself under the power of another.
On to the topic at hand, as I am sure you grow tired of my lamentations. Where does one begin with this subject? When trying to do anther's will it is best to look at your charge which here is contained in fifteen words and one abbreviation, "BTW, the pick is Candy. I want to see how creative you can get with it." I think after yesterday's posting, it is safe to assume that the edict to be 'creative' has been met and perhaps even exceeded. The exact words with which I was greeted yesterday from my Patron were, "Nice blog, Bobby." It would therefore be appropriate to pursue a straightforward approach with today's post.
It would be easy to write a screed about yet another effort to put forth an artist whose success is more dependent on good marketing than upon talent or merit. But as I have previously explained, bubblegum pop has its place. I will not be another voice in the chorus decrying its stale product devoid of true meaning. If you feel that way, then you my jaded reader, are not the intended audience and you would do well to allow those to whom this art is directed to allow themselves to enjoy its innocent pleasures for just a while longer.
Besides what could I say that would be more scathing than what Ms. Moore herself has had to say about her earliest music efforts? She says, "Ugh, those were awful. If I had the money, I would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums. Whenever people ask, 'Which of your albums should I listen to?' I say, 'nothing But Coverage'. Burn the rest."
I will say that I disagree with the haters, as I so often do. Even Ms. Moore is not completely dismissive of her earliest songs. She still occasionally will perform Candy at her concerts to the delight of her fans. She has updated it by injecting elements of rock and blues as befits an artist who has grown in range and talent has she has matured. But even in its original form Candy has its merits that we would do well to recognize.
As I have proclaimed many times I am not equipped to engage in a rigorous critical analysis of any work of song, but that will not be my intent today. Today I will discuss something that I well equipped to discuss, the power of imprinting on the male psyche.
When you watch Mandy Moore in Candy it is easy to imagine the effect it could have on the young male psyche awash with hormones undergoing its transition from fixation on such juvenile interests as candy (the treat, not the song) and ninjas to that one overriding interest that will be the greatest source of satisfaction and frustration for the rest of the new man's existence: the female form.
Somewhere in your early teen years you will encounter that one girl who will become the polestar for you attraction and affections for the rest of life. Upon becoming aware this girl your heart will be forever hers and in some strange way you will know deep down in the deepest parts of your soul that this is your girl. For me as a lad of fourteen it was the discovery of Christy Turlington. It is not chance that my first love and first object of infatuation were both lithe chestnut haired beauties and I remain enthralled by such specimens today. For others who are my contemporaries it may have been Winona Ryder in Lucas or Beetlejuice. For a lucky few it may have been a young Heather Graham in License to Drive. And for at least one young man born a couple of decades later it was Candy by Mandy Moore.
Watching this video I can see that it could easily have an impact on the young teen mind that would forever turn him fixate in his mind what the perfect female would look like. Once such imprinting has taken place like a duckling he will forever follow the object of his affection and will remain steadfast even though her transformations from Blonde to Raven tressed beauty. He will enjoy anything she does from light pop to a turn as a comedic actress. He will even forswear other objectively more desirable women to remain true to his first love.
Candy can be viewed as a celebration youthful infatuation. For those who encountered during that critical window of their youth it will always be the best video of all time. If you try to take that away from them then you are indeed a heartless monster no better than Miss Havisham and you would deserve a similar fate.
With nearly two thousand words expended upon this subject I trust my Patron is satisfied with my efforts and my charge is complete. Enjoy Candy. Don't ever let the detractors diminish your joy, not even when one of them is the eternal object of your affection for no true words have ever been sung than:
Your love's as sweet as candy
I'll be forever yours
Love always, Mandy
Later
Bob
Today we resume our epic journey arising a simple albeit ambiguous request to do a post on Candy, by Mandy Moore. Yesterday you were regaled with the tale of my false starts regarding this topic. It was not all in vain, I assume many of you were entertained at my efforts at ascertaining which song entitled Candy was the intended subject of my efforts. Like Johnathan Stroud's eponymous hero of the Bartimaeus Sequence, I endeavored to faithfully and completely discharge my duties as commanded. And like Bartimaeus my faithful efforts were treated with mockery and scorn by the one to whose bidding I was subject. Take this as a warning, dear reader, be careful when you place yourself under the power of another.
On to the topic at hand, as I am sure you grow tired of my lamentations. Where does one begin with this subject? When trying to do anther's will it is best to look at your charge which here is contained in fifteen words and one abbreviation, "BTW, the pick is Candy. I want to see how creative you can get with it." I think after yesterday's posting, it is safe to assume that the edict to be 'creative' has been met and perhaps even exceeded. The exact words with which I was greeted yesterday from my Patron were, "Nice blog, Bobby." It would therefore be appropriate to pursue a straightforward approach with today's post.
It would be easy to write a screed about yet another effort to put forth an artist whose success is more dependent on good marketing than upon talent or merit. But as I have previously explained, bubblegum pop has its place. I will not be another voice in the chorus decrying its stale product devoid of true meaning. If you feel that way, then you my jaded reader, are not the intended audience and you would do well to allow those to whom this art is directed to allow themselves to enjoy its innocent pleasures for just a while longer.
Besides what could I say that would be more scathing than what Ms. Moore herself has had to say about her earliest music efforts? She says, "Ugh, those were awful. If I had the money, I would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums. Whenever people ask, 'Which of your albums should I listen to?' I say, 'nothing But Coverage'. Burn the rest."
I will say that I disagree with the haters, as I so often do. Even Ms. Moore is not completely dismissive of her earliest songs. She still occasionally will perform Candy at her concerts to the delight of her fans. She has updated it by injecting elements of rock and blues as befits an artist who has grown in range and talent has she has matured. But even in its original form Candy has its merits that we would do well to recognize.
As I have proclaimed many times I am not equipped to engage in a rigorous critical analysis of any work of song, but that will not be my intent today. Today I will discuss something that I well equipped to discuss, the power of imprinting on the male psyche.
When you watch Mandy Moore in Candy it is easy to imagine the effect it could have on the young male psyche awash with hormones undergoing its transition from fixation on such juvenile interests as candy (the treat, not the song) and ninjas to that one overriding interest that will be the greatest source of satisfaction and frustration for the rest of the new man's existence: the female form.
Somewhere in your early teen years you will encounter that one girl who will become the polestar for you attraction and affections for the rest of life. Upon becoming aware this girl your heart will be forever hers and in some strange way you will know deep down in the deepest parts of your soul that this is your girl. For me as a lad of fourteen it was the discovery of Christy Turlington. It is not chance that my first love and first object of infatuation were both lithe chestnut haired beauties and I remain enthralled by such specimens today. For others who are my contemporaries it may have been Winona Ryder in Lucas or Beetlejuice. For a lucky few it may have been a young Heather Graham in License to Drive. And for at least one young man born a couple of decades later it was Candy by Mandy Moore.
Watching this video I can see that it could easily have an impact on the young teen mind that would forever turn him fixate in his mind what the perfect female would look like. Once such imprinting has taken place like a duckling he will forever follow the object of his affection and will remain steadfast even though her transformations from Blonde to Raven tressed beauty. He will enjoy anything she does from light pop to a turn as a comedic actress. He will even forswear other objectively more desirable women to remain true to his first love.
Candy can be viewed as a celebration youthful infatuation. For those who encountered during that critical window of their youth it will always be the best video of all time. If you try to take that away from them then you are indeed a heartless monster no better than Miss Havisham and you would deserve a similar fate.
With nearly two thousand words expended upon this subject I trust my Patron is satisfied with my efforts and my charge is complete. Enjoy Candy. Don't ever let the detractors diminish your joy, not even when one of them is the eternal object of your affection for no true words have ever been sung than:
Your love's as sweet as candy
I'll be forever yours
Love always, Mandy
Later
Bob
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Candy, Ok But Which One
Today's Song: Candy by Robbie Williams, or Avril, or Iggy Pop, or Cameo, or Plan B
Today's song is a request. Sam got to pick two songs and today he picked Candy. Unfortunately Sam hates me so he was not specific as to what song he wanted me to do. Below is the exact exchange between us for the selection:
And look for it I did. Like I said, I had never heard of the song so I went looking for it on YouTube as directed. The first one I found was by Robbie Williams. The concept is cute Robbie Williams is a guardian angel for a self-obsessed socialite. So after watching the song and starting my research I contacted Sam to tell him it was an interesting choice. He informed me I had the wrong song. Again below is the exact exchange:
So I went back to work. Then I thought maybe Sam was torturing me because the next one I found was by Avril Lavigine. I kept listening to it waiting for the lyrics and they never came. I thought the song sounded familiar so I dug a little more and realized it was an instrumental version of Iggy Pop's Candy. I thought, "That is pretty clever." After all Iggy's song is a classic. And Sam got to rub my nose in the fact of how far Avril has fallen in my esteem. I told him I was impressed with his choice. Below is the exact exchange:
A promise is a promise and I promised Sam he could pick the song. I thought this was really starting to feel like one of those twisted Monkey's Paw wish things. I wondered if I could ever find the right song, or if there even was one.
The next song titled "Candy" I found was by Cameo. Now this one I recognized right away. It got a fair amount of air play back in the 80's. And after watching the video it did seem like it would fit with Sam's twisted sense of humor and love of my pain. Once again, the exact exchange is below:
Except for girls I went to high school with, people from Waterloo, and my female relatives, no one calls me Bobby unless they are annoyed with me.
Once more back into the breach. I went back to YouTube. The next version I found was by a Spanish language rap duo, Plan B. I'll just skip to the exchange, it will be faster:
So I found Candy by Mandy Moore. And I watched it. But we are already close to nine hundred words here and I spent something like two hours on this post today and covered four songs so tomorrow come back to for the conclusion of the first two part post.
Later
Bob
Today's song is a request. Sam got to pick two songs and today he picked Candy. Unfortunately Sam hates me so he was not specific as to what song he wanted me to do. Below is the exact exchange between us for the selection:
Sam: BTW, the pick is Candy. I want to see how creative you can get with it.
Bob: Ok, no problem. I don't think I know that one so I'll have to find it.
Sam: It is on YouTube so you can find it there.
Bob: I'll look for it.
And look for it I did. Like I said, I had never heard of the song so I went looking for it on YouTube as directed. The first one I found was by Robbie Williams. The concept is cute Robbie Williams is a guardian angel for a self-obsessed socialite. So after watching the song and starting my research I contacted Sam to tell him it was an interesting choice. He informed me I had the wrong song. Again below is the exact exchange:
Bob: Sam, this is an interesting choice. The song is a little repetitive and not very good, but the video is cute. You never mentioned Robbie Williams before.
Sam: No, not that song. That song sucks.
Bob: Ok, whose version do you want me to do? There are several on YouTube.
Sam: Do I need to draw you a map. Just find it.
So I went back to work. Then I thought maybe Sam was torturing me because the next one I found was by Avril Lavigine. I kept listening to it waiting for the lyrics and they never came. I thought the song sounded familiar so I dug a little more and realized it was an instrumental version of Iggy Pop's Candy. I thought, "That is pretty clever." After all Iggy's song is a classic. And Sam got to rub my nose in the fact of how far Avril has fallen in my esteem. I told him I was impressed with his choice. Below is the exact exchange:
Bob: Ok, I found it. Very funny. You want me to see that Avril really sucks now. Making me do her instrumental cover of Iggy Pop's Classic is pretty clever.
Sam: What? I don't know what you are talking about.
Bob: I found Candy by Avril. I'll bet you didn't know it was a cover of a song even older than you. But the joke's on you. Candy is a good song. I forgot how much I liked it. I really look forward to covering it. It is probably my favorite Kate Pierson song, it is a lot better than Love Shack.
Sam: No. That's not the one.
Bob: What?
Sam: That is not the song I want you to do.
Bob: Can you be a little more specific, then?
Sam: No. I like watching you suffer. You told me to pick the song. You didn't say I had to do all the work for you. Do you want me to write the post for you too? Just find the one I want and I'll tell you when you do.
A promise is a promise and I promised Sam he could pick the song. I thought this was really starting to feel like one of those twisted Monkey's Paw wish things. I wondered if I could ever find the right song, or if there even was one.
The next song titled "Candy" I found was by Cameo. Now this one I recognized right away. It got a fair amount of air play back in the 80's. And after watching the video it did seem like it would fit with Sam's twisted sense of humor and love of my pain. Once again, the exact exchange is below:
Bob: I found it. Here is the first line:
After watching this video here are three words you will be surprised to find missing from Cameo's Wikipedia entry, 1. Gay, 2. Queer, 3. Homosexual.
Sam: I don't know what you are talking about?
Bob: Watch the video from about 5 seconds in to about 25 seconds in.
Sam: Who is Cameo?
Bob: The band that did Candy.
Sam: No.
Bob: What do you mean "No."?
Sam: That is an entirely different and wrong type candy. Try again, Bobby.
Except for girls I went to high school with, people from Waterloo, and my female relatives, no one calls me Bobby unless they are annoyed with me.
Once more back into the breach. I went back to YouTube. The next version I found was by a Spanish language rap duo, Plan B. I'll just skip to the exchange, it will be faster:
Bob: I can't do this song. It is unwatchable garbage.
Sam: You said I could pick and it isn't unwatchable garbage, she is perfect.
Bob: Which one do you think is perfect. I mean some of the girls are ok but I can't do a terrible Spanish language rap song.
Sam: I don't how you found that, and I have no idea what the hell that video you sent me is, but it isn't Candy. Obviously you can't find it on you own and I have to study. Look for Candy by Mandy Moore
Bob: I should have known. Ok. I'll find it.
So I found Candy by Mandy Moore. And I watched it. But we are already close to nine hundred words here and I spent something like two hours on this post today and covered four songs so tomorrow come back to for the conclusion of the first two part post.
Later
Bob
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Too Bad There Is Always One Last Thing...
Today's Song: You Don't Mess Around With Jim by Jim Croce
Why do people do it. Why does the family move into the big spooky house where the last owner went crazy and killed his family? Why do the teens go to Murder Lake and then go off into the woods to have sex? And why does anyone ever take a contract to deliver the mystery box from the guy who won't tell you what is in it? These things never end well. Our protagonist sees that the smart thing to do is just walk away, but he never does. If he just walked away there would be no story.
I was often no better or wiser. I could see trouble coming but sometimes I was just too stubborn to walk away. Well I have resolved to be good this month. I would avoid picking any fights, stepping on any toes, or knowingly walking into or even leading anyone into a bear cave. So far I am twenty-five for twenty-five on writing my daily posts and twenty-five for twenty-five for staying out of trouble.
Maybe I am getting older. Old people are boring. They don't go down into basements alone. Old people don't walk into arcane libraries and begin reading the blood soaked tomes. Old people do sensible things. The leave and let someone else, probably younger and definitely more foolhardy handle the problem.
It could be the positive influence of my employer. She honestly believes there is no situation that cannot be handled by just talking things through. I have been impressed by the results she gets with nice words and home made apple pie.
It could also be that wisdom is the result of lacking the energy for recklessness. The wise man assesses the lay of the land where fools rush in often because he simply cannot keep up when the idiots charge. As a younger man I had the boundless energy and unlimited attention necessary to fight every possible battle. Now as I pass into my middle years it is necessary to pick my spots because I cannot simultaneously engage on every front.
I like to think that I am doing things better, smarter. A hammer is a good tool, but not everything in life is a nail. Learning to use diplomacy and other tools simply makes you a better craftsman. But deep down I still wonder what it would be like to pick up Mjölner one more time and simply smite everything in my path.
In the meantime I'll try to avoid tugging on any capes, spiting windward, or any other task that would cause songs and epic poems to be written if the results were counter to expectations. Except for this one thing that I've got to do, after that I will be a paragon of sagacity.
Later
Bob
Why do people do it. Why does the family move into the big spooky house where the last owner went crazy and killed his family? Why do the teens go to Murder Lake and then go off into the woods to have sex? And why does anyone ever take a contract to deliver the mystery box from the guy who won't tell you what is in it? These things never end well. Our protagonist sees that the smart thing to do is just walk away, but he never does. If he just walked away there would be no story.
I was often no better or wiser. I could see trouble coming but sometimes I was just too stubborn to walk away. Well I have resolved to be good this month. I would avoid picking any fights, stepping on any toes, or knowingly walking into or even leading anyone into a bear cave. So far I am twenty-five for twenty-five on writing my daily posts and twenty-five for twenty-five for staying out of trouble.
Maybe I am getting older. Old people are boring. They don't go down into basements alone. Old people don't walk into arcane libraries and begin reading the blood soaked tomes. Old people do sensible things. The leave and let someone else, probably younger and definitely more foolhardy handle the problem.
It could be the positive influence of my employer. She honestly believes there is no situation that cannot be handled by just talking things through. I have been impressed by the results she gets with nice words and home made apple pie.
It could also be that wisdom is the result of lacking the energy for recklessness. The wise man assesses the lay of the land where fools rush in often because he simply cannot keep up when the idiots charge. As a younger man I had the boundless energy and unlimited attention necessary to fight every possible battle. Now as I pass into my middle years it is necessary to pick my spots because I cannot simultaneously engage on every front.
I like to think that I am doing things better, smarter. A hammer is a good tool, but not everything in life is a nail. Learning to use diplomacy and other tools simply makes you a better craftsman. But deep down I still wonder what it would be like to pick up Mjölner one more time and simply smite everything in my path.
In the meantime I'll try to avoid tugging on any capes, spiting windward, or any other task that would cause songs and epic poems to be written if the results were counter to expectations. Except for this one thing that I've got to do, after that I will be a paragon of sagacity.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
"It's the dumbest band name ever."*
Today's song: Walk by Foo Fighters
Foo Fighter is a great band. Grohl and company know how to rock out. But for my purposes they are even better at making music videos. The Foo Fighters really seem to understand that a music video should add a dimension to the experience for the viewer that isn't available to the listener.
I am not saying a concert or performance video does not work. I discussed this topic the last time I did this experiment so I will try not to repeat myself. You can read what I wrote already if you are interested in such a discussion. (BTW take the time to enjoy You Can Call Me Al because it is really a good video.) Today I want to talk about the Foo Fighters specifically.
Ok I will repeat myself a little because I have not thought of a way to say this better:
The Foo fighters actually excel at all aspects of video making. It helps that the Foo Fighters put out so many strong songs. A good video needs a good song. The Foo Fighters can make a great performance video. All My Life is a fine example of a performance video. The concept is simple and minimalistic. The band is performing a dress rehearsal for a concert. The Foo fighters can also tell an elaborate story in a mini movie style video. Learning to Fly is a self contained comedic story of drug smuggling. On mute it is the second best video I have discussed this month finishing ahead of Paris Hilton's Come Alive but finishing behind Blurred Lines because Emily Rajakowski is just that hot.
What I really like about Foo Fighters is how well they blend the three basic forms of videos. The Pretender starts out as a relatively simple but effective performance video. Then about halfway through the video, the band is confronted by an aggressive looking man man decked out in riot gear. The solo aggressor is soon joined by about two dozen similarly attired companions who proceed to charge our heroes. The Guys use the power of their music, visualized as a torrent of red liquid to push back the hostile forces. Good stuff people.
Everlong is a fine example of high concept and cinematic narrative. I won't even try to interpret it for you in prose. I would do it no justice. Neil Gaiman used to tell stories this powerful about dreams, but now he just drones on about his girlfriend.
Walk is a another example of cinematic narrative and concept. If you have never seen the movie Falling Down, you will miss how good the concept of this video is. The video works just fine if you haven't seen the movie. Dave is having a bad day and refuses to just be another steer to be herded with the other cattle. Very Punk. If you like the vid, wait to you meet William Foster. Every time I want to crucify Joel Schumaker for putting nipples on Batman and refusing to put them on Batgirl I try to remember two things. First, Joel has apologized for Batman And Robin, and second Schumaker made Falling Down.
You can watch any of these great Foo Fighter videos for free by following the links. If you want to watch Falling Down it'll cost you $2.99 on Google Play or Amazon. Trust me, it's three dollars well spent.
Later
Bob
* Todays title is a Quote from Dave Grohl.
"Had I imagined that it would last more than a month-and-a-half, I might have named it something else," Grohl says in the above video. "It's the dumbest band name ever." --The Rolling Stone
Foo Fighter is a great band. Grohl and company know how to rock out. But for my purposes they are even better at making music videos. The Foo Fighters really seem to understand that a music video should add a dimension to the experience for the viewer that isn't available to the listener.
I am not saying a concert or performance video does not work. I discussed this topic the last time I did this experiment so I will try not to repeat myself. You can read what I wrote already if you are interested in such a discussion. (BTW take the time to enjoy You Can Call Me Al because it is really a good video.) Today I want to talk about the Foo Fighters specifically.
Ok I will repeat myself a little because I have not thought of a way to say this better:
To make a truly great video you need to do something that takes advantage of the video medium. This is usually accomplished in one of two ways. Either the video short movie or it is conceptual. Thiller by Michael Jackson is a short movie. Conceptual videos take many forms and some can be pretty bizarre like Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.
The Foo fighters actually excel at all aspects of video making. It helps that the Foo Fighters put out so many strong songs. A good video needs a good song. The Foo Fighters can make a great performance video. All My Life is a fine example of a performance video. The concept is simple and minimalistic. The band is performing a dress rehearsal for a concert. The Foo fighters can also tell an elaborate story in a mini movie style video. Learning to Fly is a self contained comedic story of drug smuggling. On mute it is the second best video I have discussed this month finishing ahead of Paris Hilton's Come Alive but finishing behind Blurred Lines because Emily Rajakowski is just that hot.
What I really like about Foo Fighters is how well they blend the three basic forms of videos. The Pretender starts out as a relatively simple but effective performance video. Then about halfway through the video, the band is confronted by an aggressive looking man man decked out in riot gear. The solo aggressor is soon joined by about two dozen similarly attired companions who proceed to charge our heroes. The Guys use the power of their music, visualized as a torrent of red liquid to push back the hostile forces. Good stuff people.
Everlong is a fine example of high concept and cinematic narrative. I won't even try to interpret it for you in prose. I would do it no justice. Neil Gaiman used to tell stories this powerful about dreams, but now he just drones on about his girlfriend.
Walk is a another example of cinematic narrative and concept. If you have never seen the movie Falling Down, you will miss how good the concept of this video is. The video works just fine if you haven't seen the movie. Dave is having a bad day and refuses to just be another steer to be herded with the other cattle. Very Punk. If you like the vid, wait to you meet William Foster. Every time I want to crucify Joel Schumaker for putting nipples on Batman and refusing to put them on Batgirl I try to remember two things. First, Joel has apologized for Batman And Robin, and second Schumaker made Falling Down.
You can watch any of these great Foo Fighter videos for free by following the links. If you want to watch Falling Down it'll cost you $2.99 on Google Play or Amazon. Trust me, it's three dollars well spent.
Later
Bob
* Todays title is a Quote from Dave Grohl.
"Had I imagined that it would last more than a month-and-a-half, I might have named it something else," Grohl says in the above video. "It's the dumbest band name ever." --The Rolling Stone
Monday, March 23, 2015
Lime Green, Lime Green And Tangerine Are The Words Running Though My Head
Today's Song: Wrong Number by The Cure
Today was a boring day at work. I get that work is not supposed to be fun. Red Forman explained it best, "If it wasn't work they wouldn't call it work. They'd call is 'Super Wonderful Crazy Fun Time' or Skippity-do." But initial hearings are the worst. Everyone at the office hates them, initial hearings are everyone's least favorite part of the job. Initial hearings are soul crushingly boring. The same words droned on dozens of times each session, hundreds or thousands of times will a lawyer have heard them by the end of his career, prosecutors will break a million if they work long enough in a large enough county.
So as the morning drags on the mind begins to wander. I'd worry about it but it happens to everyone. To combat this problem my boss and I have been splitting the morning session. Right about the time she is ready do do anything to escape the drudgery, I come in an pitch relief. Today, however, she was on vacation so I got the morning to myself. There would be no middle reliever for me, not even a closer to get us out at the end. I was going to get to sit through the whole thing and it was even more boring than baseball without beer.
Often when I have one of these long boring sessions a song will pop into my head. This is my mind's way of combating its own boredom. The mind will force the tune and lyrics into my consciousness because it is not getting enough stimulation. As a child this sort of thing happened as well, but my mind and myself were not as well equipped to handle boredom. I am not permitted childish outbursts any longer, not if I want to keep working, so my mind has become more subtle. Random songs are its current effort.
Earlier in the year I had a morning of initials that included a lot of shoplifting and theft cases. Deprived of stimulation my mind decided it was time to inject Been Caught Stealing into my consciousness on loop. Occasionally these songs will cause me to miss my cues but better to miss my cues than dismiss every remaining matter out of an effort to maintain one's sanity in the face of an existential crisis of ennui. It is not impossible that the court system was devised by Lovcraftian Elder Gods with the express purpose of destroying the sanity of mankind's brightest and most rational minds. This is not likely, but it is not possible to distinguish the current system from one intentionally devised for that express purpose.
Today my internal DJ, who I assume looks a lot like Paris Hilton, decided to go with Wrong Number. The song is pure nonsense with a great beat. The video's director, Tim Pope, is on the record stating, "This is probably my favourite Cure video, just because it's so bonkers." (He is English so you can probably hear the "U" in the word "favorite" when he says it.) Take a song with a frenetic energy and catchy rhythm, add Robert Smith's distinctive voice, and then add the crazy visual images from the video and you can just imagine how distracting this can be when you are trying to work.
Fortunately it is possible to push my personal boulder to the top of the hill, and thus end my torment. At the conclusion of today's hearings I went down to my office and put on Wrong Number. This is the quickest way to purge the song and get back to business. But Wrong Number is a great song so I listened to it twice.
Later
Bob
Today was a boring day at work. I get that work is not supposed to be fun. Red Forman explained it best, "If it wasn't work they wouldn't call it work. They'd call is 'Super Wonderful Crazy Fun Time' or Skippity-do." But initial hearings are the worst. Everyone at the office hates them, initial hearings are everyone's least favorite part of the job. Initial hearings are soul crushingly boring. The same words droned on dozens of times each session, hundreds or thousands of times will a lawyer have heard them by the end of his career, prosecutors will break a million if they work long enough in a large enough county.
So as the morning drags on the mind begins to wander. I'd worry about it but it happens to everyone. To combat this problem my boss and I have been splitting the morning session. Right about the time she is ready do do anything to escape the drudgery, I come in an pitch relief. Today, however, she was on vacation so I got the morning to myself. There would be no middle reliever for me, not even a closer to get us out at the end. I was going to get to sit through the whole thing and it was even more boring than baseball without beer.
Often when I have one of these long boring sessions a song will pop into my head. This is my mind's way of combating its own boredom. The mind will force the tune and lyrics into my consciousness because it is not getting enough stimulation. As a child this sort of thing happened as well, but my mind and myself were not as well equipped to handle boredom. I am not permitted childish outbursts any longer, not if I want to keep working, so my mind has become more subtle. Random songs are its current effort.
Earlier in the year I had a morning of initials that included a lot of shoplifting and theft cases. Deprived of stimulation my mind decided it was time to inject Been Caught Stealing into my consciousness on loop. Occasionally these songs will cause me to miss my cues but better to miss my cues than dismiss every remaining matter out of an effort to maintain one's sanity in the face of an existential crisis of ennui. It is not impossible that the court system was devised by Lovcraftian Elder Gods with the express purpose of destroying the sanity of mankind's brightest and most rational minds. This is not likely, but it is not possible to distinguish the current system from one intentionally devised for that express purpose.
Today my internal DJ, who I assume looks a lot like Paris Hilton, decided to go with Wrong Number. The song is pure nonsense with a great beat. The video's director, Tim Pope, is on the record stating, "This is probably my favourite Cure video, just because it's so bonkers." (He is English so you can probably hear the "U" in the word "favorite" when he says it.) Take a song with a frenetic energy and catchy rhythm, add Robert Smith's distinctive voice, and then add the crazy visual images from the video and you can just imagine how distracting this can be when you are trying to work.
Fortunately it is possible to push my personal boulder to the top of the hill, and thus end my torment. At the conclusion of today's hearings I went down to my office and put on Wrong Number. This is the quickest way to purge the song and get back to business. But Wrong Number is a great song so I listened to it twice.
Later
Bob
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Story Of Cancellation
Today's song: Story Of My Life by Social Distortion
I did not plan to do two Punk bands. Adam says The Dead Milkmen doesn't really count so maybe it is kismet that leads me to Social Distortion and Story Of My Life. Kismet and a short lived show called Surviving Jack. But today I am not really going to talk about Social Distortion. If I were going to discuss Social Distortion I'd have selected Ring of Fire. Maybe later in the month.
Television is replete with shows that did not get their due. Unfortunately for every piece of garbage like 2 Broke Girls that keeps getting season after season there are ten shows that died well before their time. Today's post will discuss a few of them so that you may watch them and feel my pain.
I will not be discussing Firefly. I have written extensively on the subject and mainstream culture is aware that Firefly should still be on the air. It is to humaniy's detriment that Two And A Half Men got twelve seasons and Firefly got to air twelve episodes, I don't need to expound on this subject.
Surviving Jack is the first of the shows killed off too soon that we will look at today. It seemed like this show was going to do well. It had Christopher Meloni, heavy promotion by Fox, and a great premise. Set in the 1990's the story is told as a series of flashbacks to our narrator's life in high school. This premise worked for The Wonder Years an it is working right now for The Goldbergs. For whatever reason this show failed. The actors were proficient and the writing was good. But a talented cast of actors and writers is not enough or Firefly would still be on the air.
Another lost gem is Animal Practice. Animal Practice was a vehicle for Justin Kirk who was coming off a great run as Andy Botwin on Weeds. Kirk was one of the few things about Weeds that was consistently good. Kirk's love interest on the show was Joanna GarcÃa who would go on to play Ariel on Once Upon A Time. The two had fine chemistry. The show was set an animal hospital and Kirk was the top surgeon. It was Scrubs at an animal hospital, or I imagine that is how they sold it. It was not Scrubs at an animal hospital, but it was worth watching and it deserved better than nine episodes.
The last show we will cover is two shows. This season we were treated to two excellent Rom-coms that were killed off too soon. Manhattan Love Story starred Analeigh Tipton and surrounded her with a cast that worked well as an ensemble and served to help the star really shine. Unfortunately America did not care and the show was the first Network program to be cancelled in the Fall. The Fall season also presented us with Selfie.
Selfie had everything but a good title. In fact, it is possible the stupid title killed a brilliant show. Jon Cho is always good. Karen Gillan was best known as that really hot companion from Doctor Who. The show was a retelling of My Fair Lady which was a retelling of Pygmalion but there was no way ABC was going to tell America that. ABC figured out what the Simpsons told us twenty years ago, smart TV shows make the viewer feel stupid. So ABC tried to hide how smart the show was; well great job, ABC, you hid it well enough to kill the show. Selfie was a show that got better with every episode. If you watch Selfie as a long Rom-com movie it works well, but not perfectly because it was a TV show and was not intended to end after thirteen episodes.
If you want to check out any of these shows, most of them are on Amazon or Netflix. EZTV also still has most of these shows available as supported torrents. In a pinch you can give me a 16GB memory stick and I'll load it up with any of the above shows. However you view these shows, they are all worth you time.
Later
Bob
I did not plan to do two Punk bands. Adam says The Dead Milkmen doesn't really count so maybe it is kismet that leads me to Social Distortion and Story Of My Life. Kismet and a short lived show called Surviving Jack. But today I am not really going to talk about Social Distortion. If I were going to discuss Social Distortion I'd have selected Ring of Fire. Maybe later in the month.
Television is replete with shows that did not get their due. Unfortunately for every piece of garbage like 2 Broke Girls that keeps getting season after season there are ten shows that died well before their time. Today's post will discuss a few of them so that you may watch them and feel my pain.
I will not be discussing Firefly. I have written extensively on the subject and mainstream culture is aware that Firefly should still be on the air. It is to humaniy's detriment that Two And A Half Men got twelve seasons and Firefly got to air twelve episodes, I don't need to expound on this subject.
Surviving Jack is the first of the shows killed off too soon that we will look at today. It seemed like this show was going to do well. It had Christopher Meloni, heavy promotion by Fox, and a great premise. Set in the 1990's the story is told as a series of flashbacks to our narrator's life in high school. This premise worked for The Wonder Years an it is working right now for The Goldbergs. For whatever reason this show failed. The actors were proficient and the writing was good. But a talented cast of actors and writers is not enough or Firefly would still be on the air.
Another lost gem is Animal Practice. Animal Practice was a vehicle for Justin Kirk who was coming off a great run as Andy Botwin on Weeds. Kirk was one of the few things about Weeds that was consistently good. Kirk's love interest on the show was Joanna GarcÃa who would go on to play Ariel on Once Upon A Time. The two had fine chemistry. The show was set an animal hospital and Kirk was the top surgeon. It was Scrubs at an animal hospital, or I imagine that is how they sold it. It was not Scrubs at an animal hospital, but it was worth watching and it deserved better than nine episodes.
The last show we will cover is two shows. This season we were treated to two excellent Rom-coms that were killed off too soon. Manhattan Love Story starred Analeigh Tipton and surrounded her with a cast that worked well as an ensemble and served to help the star really shine. Unfortunately America did not care and the show was the first Network program to be cancelled in the Fall. The Fall season also presented us with Selfie.
Selfie had everything but a good title. In fact, it is possible the stupid title killed a brilliant show. Jon Cho is always good. Karen Gillan was best known as that really hot companion from Doctor Who. The show was a retelling of My Fair Lady which was a retelling of Pygmalion but there was no way ABC was going to tell America that. ABC figured out what the Simpsons told us twenty years ago, smart TV shows make the viewer feel stupid. So ABC tried to hide how smart the show was; well great job, ABC, you hid it well enough to kill the show. Selfie was a show that got better with every episode. If you watch Selfie as a long Rom-com movie it works well, but not perfectly because it was a TV show and was not intended to end after thirteen episodes.
If you want to check out any of these shows, most of them are on Amazon or Netflix. EZTV also still has most of these shows available as supported torrents. In a pinch you can give me a 16GB memory stick and I'll load it up with any of the above shows. However you view these shows, they are all worth you time.
Later
Bob
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Today's Song: Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen
Today I decided to do punk rock. I have a few friends that like punk rock and I am not above pandering. (I'll be doing a lot of it in the next twelve months.) My process is a little random. Generally I will just go to YouTube and pick a song and then look at the bar on the right. I will click on the right bar until I find something that strikes my fancy. Sometime I start with a song and end up abandoning it because it just doesn't work for some reason.
Today I started with just entering the word "Song" into the Google search bar. Interestingly the song it suggested was Let It Go. I considered Let It Go. I liked the movie. I like the song, I even play it at work from time to time. But then I thought, "What would happen if I entered 'Song" into a Private Window?" Private Windows don't stay in your History and strip out most of the personal information, demographics, and cookies that are used to make your search results personalized.
When I did the Private Window search, Let It Go still was the top video result. But I also got this odd selection. This wasn't leading me anywhere productive so I decided to go back to tried and true methods, the right bar on Youtube.
I started with Anything, Anything because I have been listening to it a lot since discovering the song. I then scrolled down on the right bar and found The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl. When I find a song, I'll often look for any other versions to see if there is a better option. The Link at the top is a high definition version.
The Dead Milkmen is one of those bands that you hear about more than you actually hear so I needed to do some research. As always I started with the Wikipedia. I then did some random searching on Google. From this process I learned two interesting facts about the bassist Dave Blood. Dave, real name Dave Schulthise, attended Indiana University where he studied Serbo-Croatian studies. The second interesting fact was that Dave was a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Purdue University. I made the mistake that Facebook always makes and assumed that the Ph.D. studies followed the Serbo-Croatian studies. This assumption was incorrect. Dave was studying Economics at Purdue when and left those studies to become a full time musician. Dave went to IU after the band broke up.
As an IU alum, Dave's studies at IU intrigued me. Trying to pin down the time he spent there and what degree, if any he earned was difficult. In the end I decided to abandon the effort because I had enough material for a post. I am a blog writer not a music historian, some mysteries can remain unsolved.
Later
Bob
O.K. how was this related to Punk? The essence of Punk is the subverting of expectations. You expected me to write about punk rock and I wrote about how I wrote the post. Of course, by explaining myself, I am no longer Punk. Then again I never was Punk, I have always aspired to be The Man.
Today I decided to do punk rock. I have a few friends that like punk rock and I am not above pandering. (I'll be doing a lot of it in the next twelve months.) My process is a little random. Generally I will just go to YouTube and pick a song and then look at the bar on the right. I will click on the right bar until I find something that strikes my fancy. Sometime I start with a song and end up abandoning it because it just doesn't work for some reason.
Today I started with just entering the word "Song" into the Google search bar. Interestingly the song it suggested was Let It Go. I considered Let It Go. I liked the movie. I like the song, I even play it at work from time to time. But then I thought, "What would happen if I entered 'Song" into a Private Window?" Private Windows don't stay in your History and strip out most of the personal information, demographics, and cookies that are used to make your search results personalized.
When I did the Private Window search, Let It Go still was the top video result. But I also got this odd selection. This wasn't leading me anywhere productive so I decided to go back to tried and true methods, the right bar on Youtube.
I started with Anything, Anything because I have been listening to it a lot since discovering the song. I then scrolled down on the right bar and found The Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl. When I find a song, I'll often look for any other versions to see if there is a better option. The Link at the top is a high definition version.
The Dead Milkmen is one of those bands that you hear about more than you actually hear so I needed to do some research. As always I started with the Wikipedia. I then did some random searching on Google. From this process I learned two interesting facts about the bassist Dave Blood. Dave, real name Dave Schulthise, attended Indiana University where he studied Serbo-Croatian studies. The second interesting fact was that Dave was a Ph.D. candidate in economics at Purdue University. I made the mistake that Facebook always makes and assumed that the Ph.D. studies followed the Serbo-Croatian studies. This assumption was incorrect. Dave was studying Economics at Purdue when and left those studies to become a full time musician. Dave went to IU after the band broke up.
As an IU alum, Dave's studies at IU intrigued me. Trying to pin down the time he spent there and what degree, if any he earned was difficult. In the end I decided to abandon the effort because I had enough material for a post. I am a blog writer not a music historian, some mysteries can remain unsolved.
Later
Bob
O.K. how was this related to Punk? The essence of Punk is the subverting of expectations. You expected me to write about punk rock and I wrote about how I wrote the post. Of course, by explaining myself, I am no longer Punk. Then again I never was Punk, I have always aspired to be The Man.
Friday, March 20, 2015
Sometimes Building A Better Mousetrap Is Not Enough, Get A Better Salewoman.
Today's song: Torn by Natalie Imbruglia or Trine Rein or Ednaswap
This isn't the first time I tried to write something up for this song. It's a good song. Seems like a lot of artists agree because it has been covered by ten other acts, been featured in three different televised singing competitions, covered by several acts as part of their live shows, and used in many television episodes. But I've never been able to find the hook I needed to actually write something about it.
So when I sat down today and tried to take another shot at using this song for the inspiration for a post I looked at the Wikipedia entry. I do that a lot, as should be apparent from my continual citations to it when I don't just steal from it wholesale. When I looked at it i saw that Natalie Imbruglia was not the first artist to release this song. She wasn't even the first artist to cover the song. This song just keeps getting released and released and released.
This song was written by and first performed by the alternative band Ednaswap. I've never heard of them before either, dear reader. To be honest I did not even bother to look them up. I listened to the Ednaswap version on Youtube and thought that it was a good thing this song got covered. Torn was written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley. Thornally is primarily a producer and it seems that he actively promotes the use of the song by artists that he works with.
Seems like Thornally is a smart guy. Torn is a good song. But not every good song goes on to be a hit. Not every hit goes on to be a mega-hit. By pushing as many artists to cover the song as possible, Thornally increases the chances that his good song will go on to be a hit. Since the songwriter usually makes substantially more off a song than the performer, Thornally was engaging in an admirable act of capitalism.
As I've explained, I am not gifted in any of the arts. I lack the proper training and vocabulary to talk intelligently about the artistic aspects of songs, song performances, and song writing. The selection of a different song every day to write about is a device used to make sure that I generate content and to present myself with a challenge to overcome.
You don't need a lot of specialized knowledge to figure out why Imbruglia's version was the one that hit it big. Natalie Imbruglia was a model and soap opera star in Australia before she became a pop singer. She is a strikingly beautiful woman. Ibruglia's cover is very soft which plays well with her diminutive stature and delicate good looks. Her version of the song is the most pop oriented version with a dance beat throughout the song that most over covers lack. This ensures that her version has the widest possible appeal.
Pop music doesn't usually succeed because of artistic merit. Oh, to be sure, great art has a leg up over garbage. In the world of pop music it is more useful to have a degree in marketing than music to predict success. The greatest success will be conferred upon the select few who possess great talent as an artist and marketable features such as compelling narrative or model good looks. Imbruglia had a good song but she was no creator. Her pop career has not amounted to much, but she has been moderately successful. I find that I do not tire of watching Imbruglia perform Torn, but I probably would not tire of watching her do laundry or chop wood either.
Well now you have my take on a song that I tried to do five years ago and more than once in the last three weeks. If you did not watch it when you started this post go back and watch it. Alison Maclean directed a hell of a good video, but then again how do you screw up video featuring one of the most beautiful women on the planet? Hannah Lux was similarly successful with Come Alive by Paris Hilton. The key to recognizing the quality of Come Alive lies in watching it on mute. (Thanks for the tip Samy.)
Later
Bob
This isn't the first time I tried to write something up for this song. It's a good song. Seems like a lot of artists agree because it has been covered by ten other acts, been featured in three different televised singing competitions, covered by several acts as part of their live shows, and used in many television episodes. But I've never been able to find the hook I needed to actually write something about it.
So when I sat down today and tried to take another shot at using this song for the inspiration for a post I looked at the Wikipedia entry. I do that a lot, as should be apparent from my continual citations to it when I don't just steal from it wholesale. When I looked at it i saw that Natalie Imbruglia was not the first artist to release this song. She wasn't even the first artist to cover the song. This song just keeps getting released and released and released.
This song was written by and first performed by the alternative band Ednaswap. I've never heard of them before either, dear reader. To be honest I did not even bother to look them up. I listened to the Ednaswap version on Youtube and thought that it was a good thing this song got covered. Torn was written by Scott Cutler, Anne Preven, and Phil Thornalley. Thornally is primarily a producer and it seems that he actively promotes the use of the song by artists that he works with.
Seems like Thornally is a smart guy. Torn is a good song. But not every good song goes on to be a hit. Not every hit goes on to be a mega-hit. By pushing as many artists to cover the song as possible, Thornally increases the chances that his good song will go on to be a hit. Since the songwriter usually makes substantially more off a song than the performer, Thornally was engaging in an admirable act of capitalism.
As I've explained, I am not gifted in any of the arts. I lack the proper training and vocabulary to talk intelligently about the artistic aspects of songs, song performances, and song writing. The selection of a different song every day to write about is a device used to make sure that I generate content and to present myself with a challenge to overcome.
You don't need a lot of specialized knowledge to figure out why Imbruglia's version was the one that hit it big. Natalie Imbruglia was a model and soap opera star in Australia before she became a pop singer. She is a strikingly beautiful woman. Ibruglia's cover is very soft which plays well with her diminutive stature and delicate good looks. Her version of the song is the most pop oriented version with a dance beat throughout the song that most over covers lack. This ensures that her version has the widest possible appeal.
Pop music doesn't usually succeed because of artistic merit. Oh, to be sure, great art has a leg up over garbage. In the world of pop music it is more useful to have a degree in marketing than music to predict success. The greatest success will be conferred upon the select few who possess great talent as an artist and marketable features such as compelling narrative or model good looks. Imbruglia had a good song but she was no creator. Her pop career has not amounted to much, but she has been moderately successful. I find that I do not tire of watching Imbruglia perform Torn, but I probably would not tire of watching her do laundry or chop wood either.
Well now you have my take on a song that I tried to do five years ago and more than once in the last three weeks. If you did not watch it when you started this post go back and watch it. Alison Maclean directed a hell of a good video, but then again how do you screw up video featuring one of the most beautiful women on the planet? Hannah Lux was similarly successful with Come Alive by Paris Hilton. The key to recognizing the quality of Come Alive lies in watching it on mute. (Thanks for the tip Samy.)
Later
Bob
Thursday, March 19, 2015
The Other Kind Of Special
Today's song: Dare To Be Stupid by Weird Al Yancovic
This week I learned about the The Dunning–Kruger effect. Psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger wrote at paper titled: Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. In this paper the pair explain that the poorest performers are unable to recognize their own lack of skill. These poor fools mistakenly labor under the misconception that they are much more skilled than they are in reality. What makes this state of affairs even more unfortunate is that because these poor fools lack the capacity to accurately assess matters they are unable recognize their own incompetence even when confront with objective facts which contradict their preconceptions concerning their relative skill.
For the benefit of an unskilled who happened to stumble across this blog as a result of a random search, what I said in the preceding paragraph (the paragraph be for this one) is: Stupid people do not know they are stupid. Stupid people think they are smart. Because they are stupid, stupid people continue to think thy are smart even after being presented with evidence that they are stupid.
The paper also discusses the fact that gifted people can fall prey to a cognitive error which is the the converse of the idiots. The gifted will often erroneously rate themselves as doing worse than their actual performance. [H]ighly skilled individuals tend to underestimate their relative competence, erroneously assuming that tasks which are easy for them are also easy for others. (Wiki).
There is a lot that I could say about The Dunning-Kruger effect. I spent much of my life suffering under its effect. I really believed that nearly every person I met was an idiot because they could not grasp what I considered very easy concepts and procedures. But going down this path is too much like bragging, and I like to do that in person.
I could also discuss some of the concrete examples of The Dunning-Kruger effect that I have observed in real life. Have you ever been approached by an idiot and been forced to listen to them say some variant of, "People tell me that I should have been a lawyer. I like to argue a lot." Maybe you haven't because most of you are not attorneys, but those members of the Bar that you know can tell you we all hear that. Most of us want to grasp the offending speaker about the throat and squeeze until you see the light go out of their eyes. Those attorneys who do not wish do do so are not paragons of virtue, they are probably suffering under the fist part of The Dunning-Kruger effect and are thinking to themselves, "Well I'm glad he didn't go to law school because that is one more guy I'd be in competition with." But we shant be going down this path either.
What I would prefer to do is discuss the circumstances that would give rise to Messrs Dunning and Kruger, allow me to correct myself, Dr.s Dunning and Kruger deciding to study this phenomena. The doctors were inspired by a true moron. Because they say that "stealing from one source is plagiarism, but stealing from many sources is research," let me steal from another source:
McArthur Wheeler covered his face with lemon juice in the mistaken belief that, because lemon juice is usable as invisible ink, it would prevent his face from being recorded on surveillance cameras. Why couldn't Mr. Wheeler see that his plan would fail? Dr. Dunning supplies us thith the answer. "If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent. […] the skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is." says Dunning.
Let that sink in.
There is no hope for these poor bastards. They are incapable of being anything but morons. If they had the ability to recognize that they were morons then they would not be morons in the first place.
In a way this is liberating for me. I have been banging my head against the wall all my life trying to help idiots stop being idiots. They don't need my help. God loves them so he lets them go though life blissfully unaware of their status as idiots blithely confident that they are in fact above average and therefore one of the smart people. Since I can't help them or even make them aware that they need help, I am not obligated try any longer. The sweetest irony for me is that any idiots that come across this post will not even be offended because they will be certain I am not talking about them.
Later
Bob
This week I learned about the The Dunning–Kruger effect. Psychologists David Dunning and Justin Kruger wrote at paper titled: Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. In this paper the pair explain that the poorest performers are unable to recognize their own lack of skill. These poor fools mistakenly labor under the misconception that they are much more skilled than they are in reality. What makes this state of affairs even more unfortunate is that because these poor fools lack the capacity to accurately assess matters they are unable recognize their own incompetence even when confront with objective facts which contradict their preconceptions concerning their relative skill.
For the benefit of an unskilled who happened to stumble across this blog as a result of a random search, what I said in the preceding paragraph (the paragraph be for this one) is: Stupid people do not know they are stupid. Stupid people think they are smart. Because they are stupid, stupid people continue to think thy are smart even after being presented with evidence that they are stupid.
The paper also discusses the fact that gifted people can fall prey to a cognitive error which is the the converse of the idiots. The gifted will often erroneously rate themselves as doing worse than their actual performance. [H]ighly skilled individuals tend to underestimate their relative competence, erroneously assuming that tasks which are easy for them are also easy for others. (Wiki).
There is a lot that I could say about The Dunning-Kruger effect. I spent much of my life suffering under its effect. I really believed that nearly every person I met was an idiot because they could not grasp what I considered very easy concepts and procedures. But going down this path is too much like bragging, and I like to do that in person.
I could also discuss some of the concrete examples of The Dunning-Kruger effect that I have observed in real life. Have you ever been approached by an idiot and been forced to listen to them say some variant of, "People tell me that I should have been a lawyer. I like to argue a lot." Maybe you haven't because most of you are not attorneys, but those members of the Bar that you know can tell you we all hear that. Most of us want to grasp the offending speaker about the throat and squeeze until you see the light go out of their eyes. Those attorneys who do not wish do do so are not paragons of virtue, they are probably suffering under the fist part of The Dunning-Kruger effect and are thinking to themselves, "Well I'm glad he didn't go to law school because that is one more guy I'd be in competition with." But we shant be going down this path either.
What I would prefer to do is discuss the circumstances that would give rise to Messrs Dunning and Kruger, allow me to correct myself, Dr.s Dunning and Kruger deciding to study this phenomena. The doctors were inspired by a true moron. Because they say that "stealing from one source is plagiarism, but stealing from many sources is research," let me steal from another source:
Charles Darwin observed that “ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.” That was certainly true on the day in 1995 when a man named McArthur Wheeler boldly robbed two banks in Pittsburgh without using a disguise. Security camera footage of him was broadcast on the evening news the same day as the robberies, and he was arrested an hour later. Mr. Wheeler was surprised when the police explained how they had used the surveillance tapes to catch him. “But I wore the juice,” he mumbled incredulously. (New York Post, 2010)
McArthur Wheeler covered his face with lemon juice in the mistaken belief that, because lemon juice is usable as invisible ink, it would prevent his face from being recorded on surveillance cameras. Why couldn't Mr. Wheeler see that his plan would fail? Dr. Dunning supplies us thith the answer. "If you’re incompetent, you can’t know you’re incompetent. […] the skills you need to produce a right answer are exactly the skills you need to recognize what a right answer is." says Dunning.
Let that sink in.
There is no hope for these poor bastards. They are incapable of being anything but morons. If they had the ability to recognize that they were morons then they would not be morons in the first place.
In a way this is liberating for me. I have been banging my head against the wall all my life trying to help idiots stop being idiots. They don't need my help. God loves them so he lets them go though life blissfully unaware of their status as idiots blithely confident that they are in fact above average and therefore one of the smart people. Since I can't help them or even make them aware that they need help, I am not obligated try any longer. The sweetest irony for me is that any idiots that come across this post will not even be offended because they will be certain I am not talking about them.
Later
Bob
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Bob Tries Something New And Likes It. (A Little.)
Today's song: Part One by mc chris
Today is new comic day. So I went with the Batman song. If it was another day the song would probably be Fett's Vette. Both songs are excellent examples of hip hop. mc chris shows that he has the skills to hang with any rapper; however, mc chris is normally identified with a specific sub-genre of hip hop: nerdcore.
I had no idea this sub-genre existed last week. While I was working on the William Shatner entry earlier this week I came across this College Humor Video in one of the Ben Folds search results. (You thought I was going to finally stop talking about Ben Folds, not today.) The video included mc chris as one of the performers. I thought I recognized the Bobba Fett song, but could not place it, so a quick Google search ensued. As a result of the search I learned of a corner of hip hop that was previously unknown to me.
It seems that for more than a decade there have been rappers doing songs about things other than gold chains, guns, drugs, drug dealing, and fat asses. Nerdcore raps about anything from politics to science fiction. Favored topics also include Star Wars, comic books, RPGs, and fantasy tropes. This is not necessarily new ground, Metal has been bangin' heads to sci-fi and fantasy themes forever. In fact the exact origins of this sub-genre are not clear. The Wikipedia tells us the first recorded instance of the use Nerdcore is attributed to MC Frontalot in 2000. (Wiki.) The same article reminds the reader that in 1998 the Beastie Boys released Hello Nasty, an outer-space sci-fi themed album that included,"among other potentially influencing tracks, the spacey robotic Intergalactic and the distinctively video game sound themed song UNITE." (Id.) (For those of you who do not recognize the term, "Id," it is a fancy way lawyers say, "I copied this from the same place as the last thing I copied.)
Now that I know this stuff exists it isn't likely that I am going to go out an buy up a bunch of it. It is cute, and some of it is incredibly technically proficient. But hip hop is not my thing. I will confess that I have been listing to mc chris a lot this week; nothing is certain except change and maybe more nerdcore will change my mind about hip hop. Plus, you gotta show a little love to a guy rapping about Twin Peaks.
For those of you who clicked on the link to Fett's Vette and were struck with the nagging feeling that you had heard it before, maybe you have. Have you seen Zack and Miri Make a Porno? If you have, that is where you heard it. If you have not seen it, then I recommend that you watch it. Seth Rogann is funny, Elizabeth Banks is funny, hell, most of the people in it are funny. It also includes gratuitous nudity which is welcome to anyone who grew up watching 80's comedies, or really anyone that likes hot naked chicks, which is all men. (Except dudes who are into men; if you are such a dude watch Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin has got your back.)
It's been a long day and since I doubt I can top implying George R.R. Martin has an unhealthy fascination with the male member today, I'll bid you adieu.
Later
Bob
Today is new comic day. So I went with the Batman song. If it was another day the song would probably be Fett's Vette. Both songs are excellent examples of hip hop. mc chris shows that he has the skills to hang with any rapper; however, mc chris is normally identified with a specific sub-genre of hip hop: nerdcore.
I had no idea this sub-genre existed last week. While I was working on the William Shatner entry earlier this week I came across this College Humor Video in one of the Ben Folds search results. (You thought I was going to finally stop talking about Ben Folds, not today.) The video included mc chris as one of the performers. I thought I recognized the Bobba Fett song, but could not place it, so a quick Google search ensued. As a result of the search I learned of a corner of hip hop that was previously unknown to me.
It seems that for more than a decade there have been rappers doing songs about things other than gold chains, guns, drugs, drug dealing, and fat asses. Nerdcore raps about anything from politics to science fiction. Favored topics also include Star Wars, comic books, RPGs, and fantasy tropes. This is not necessarily new ground, Metal has been bangin' heads to sci-fi and fantasy themes forever. In fact the exact origins of this sub-genre are not clear. The Wikipedia tells us the first recorded instance of the use Nerdcore is attributed to MC Frontalot in 2000. (Wiki.) The same article reminds the reader that in 1998 the Beastie Boys released Hello Nasty, an outer-space sci-fi themed album that included,"among other potentially influencing tracks, the spacey robotic Intergalactic and the distinctively video game sound themed song UNITE." (Id.) (For those of you who do not recognize the term, "Id," it is a fancy way lawyers say, "I copied this from the same place as the last thing I copied.)
Now that I know this stuff exists it isn't likely that I am going to go out an buy up a bunch of it. It is cute, and some of it is incredibly technically proficient. But hip hop is not my thing. I will confess that I have been listing to mc chris a lot this week; nothing is certain except change and maybe more nerdcore will change my mind about hip hop. Plus, you gotta show a little love to a guy rapping about Twin Peaks.
For those of you who clicked on the link to Fett's Vette and were struck with the nagging feeling that you had heard it before, maybe you have. Have you seen Zack and Miri Make a Porno? If you have, that is where you heard it. If you have not seen it, then I recommend that you watch it. Seth Rogann is funny, Elizabeth Banks is funny, hell, most of the people in it are funny. It also includes gratuitous nudity which is welcome to anyone who grew up watching 80's comedies, or really anyone that likes hot naked chicks, which is all men. (Except dudes who are into men; if you are such a dude watch Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin has got your back.)
It's been a long day and since I doubt I can top implying George R.R. Martin has an unhealthy fascination with the male member today, I'll bid you adieu.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Don't Do Nothing
Today's Song: Do It Anyway by Ben Folds Five
This one is going to be short. Most of these posts are about what I think about the topic at hand. This one is about what I feel, and as we all know I come up a little short in the feelings department.
I love this song. No, I LOVE this song. Everything about this song works for me. Everything in the video works for me. No sarcastic comments today, no wry observations, no endless stream of hyperlinks or videos. Today it will be nothing but unabashed fanboy gushing.
Ben Folds is a great musician and Ben Folds Five is one of my favorite bands. The last two days I have also done Ben Folds themed posts. That is because Ben Folds is awesome. I have a lot of Ben Folds music on the MP3 player in my car and never get tired of any of it.
There are not too many acts that I have any interest in seeing live at this point. As I discussed earlier in the month, I prefer studio music to live. But Ben Folds looks like he puts on an amazing show. Should I get a chance to see him in a small venue, I would make a serious effort to be there.
Not only is this a great song, it is also a great ring tone. I have this song set as the ringtone for my phone. The piano intro comes in and attracts my attention every time. Fortunately if I leave the ringer on when I am in court there is enough lead time to shut the speaker off before the drums kick in. And If I am asleep those same drums will wake me up. That is important when you have to do search warrants at 2:30 in the morning.
I'd be remiss if I did not talk about the video. I trust those of you not familiar with the song clicked on the link. If you didn't you should do it now, I'll wait for you. Ok, now that we've all seen the video we can talk about what makes it so much fun. Ben Folds Five, Fraggles, Rob Corddry, Anna Kendrick wearing a Gorg T-shirt, this video has something for everybody.
I'll say one final thing about this song. When I covered Rockin' The Suburbs, I told you that this is my theme music. Do It Anyway is my theme music when I have been drinking. Lots of people have said they would love to see me drunk, and usually I politely tell them that they would not. Have you listened to the song? Do you really want to be around someone who when faced with a decision hears this song running though his head?
Later
Bob
This one is going to be short. Most of these posts are about what I think about the topic at hand. This one is about what I feel, and as we all know I come up a little short in the feelings department.
I love this song. No, I LOVE this song. Everything about this song works for me. Everything in the video works for me. No sarcastic comments today, no wry observations, no endless stream of hyperlinks or videos. Today it will be nothing but unabashed fanboy gushing.
Ben Folds is a great musician and Ben Folds Five is one of my favorite bands. The last two days I have also done Ben Folds themed posts. That is because Ben Folds is awesome. I have a lot of Ben Folds music on the MP3 player in my car and never get tired of any of it.
There are not too many acts that I have any interest in seeing live at this point. As I discussed earlier in the month, I prefer studio music to live. But Ben Folds looks like he puts on an amazing show. Should I get a chance to see him in a small venue, I would make a serious effort to be there.
Not only is this a great song, it is also a great ring tone. I have this song set as the ringtone for my phone. The piano intro comes in and attracts my attention every time. Fortunately if I leave the ringer on when I am in court there is enough lead time to shut the speaker off before the drums kick in. And If I am asleep those same drums will wake me up. That is important when you have to do search warrants at 2:30 in the morning.
I'd be remiss if I did not talk about the video. I trust those of you not familiar with the song clicked on the link. If you didn't you should do it now, I'll wait for you. Ok, now that we've all seen the video we can talk about what makes it so much fun. Ben Folds Five, Fraggles, Rob Corddry, Anna Kendrick wearing a Gorg T-shirt, this video has something for everybody.
I'll say one final thing about this song. When I covered Rockin' The Suburbs, I told you that this is my theme music. Do It Anyway is my theme music when I have been drinking. Lots of people have said they would love to see me drunk, and usually I politely tell them that they would not. Have you listened to the song? Do you really want to be around someone who when faced with a decision hears this song running though his head?
Later
Bob
Monday, March 16, 2015
♫25 cents at a time. He's taking our souls.♫
Today's song: Ass Crack Bandit by Professor Bublitz of Greendale Community College
Tomorrow I will be wearing green. Not for the silly Galeic Ophidiophobe. I have already explained that he wore blue. If I wanted to honor him I'd be wearing blue. I will be wearing green in honor of Community.
Community is the little show that could. NBC has a habit of mistreating its best shows. Scrubs got bounced all over the schedule and was reduced to being a mid-season replacement. Parks and Recreation was treated similarly but did not even get full season orders. Community, Like Parks and Recreation, started in 2009. But Community was a season behind premiering in September as opposed to Parks April debut. In those five months NBC perfected its methods for water boarding and other torture of a television program and its loyal fans.
NBC would bounce Community all around its schedule. It denied the show full seasons. It arbitrarily changed the show's seasonal debuts, ask the fans about October 19. And in the end NBC canceled Community.
Fortunately for all of us Yahoo decided to resurrect the show. Tomorrow, more specifically at 3:01 AM Eastern Time or 07:01 Greenwich Mean Time, Community will make its season 6 debut on Yahoo Screen.
I am not going to extol the virtues of this show here. I have already written extensively on the topic of Community. If you don't already want to see it, nothing I say here will change your mind. I am just happy to know that tomorrow I will get to watch new episodes.
As for the Ass Crack Bandit, or ACB, Ben Folds had a guest turn as Professor Bublitz. He also wrote the song Ass Crack Bandit for the show. It is first played briefly at the start of the second act after the commercial break, six minutes and twenty-two seconds in if you are watching without commercials. Real Neil tells us that the song is shooting up the request line at Greendale and we get thirty-two seconds of the song. At the end of the episode a fuller version of the song is played over the denouement. Here we are given sixty seconds. But Ben Folds being the great guy he is put the full song. The link up at the top of the page is the part from the end of the episode because this was the most fitting to celebrate the show. Here is a link to the full song.
Tomorrow right after work I will be watching Community. This is one instance where being a real adult impinges on my bliss. A younger, less responsible me would have just tuned in at 3:01 AM and dealt with it the next day. But that guy didn't have a House, an MKS, and a T-Bird; I guess there are a few advantages to growing up. Also back then there wasn't Easter Egg Nog so I can't be too jealous.
Later
Bob
Tomorrow I will be wearing green. Not for the silly Galeic Ophidiophobe. I have already explained that he wore blue. If I wanted to honor him I'd be wearing blue. I will be wearing green in honor of Community.
Community is the little show that could. NBC has a habit of mistreating its best shows. Scrubs got bounced all over the schedule and was reduced to being a mid-season replacement. Parks and Recreation was treated similarly but did not even get full season orders. Community, Like Parks and Recreation, started in 2009. But Community was a season behind premiering in September as opposed to Parks April debut. In those five months NBC perfected its methods for water boarding and other torture of a television program and its loyal fans.
NBC would bounce Community all around its schedule. It denied the show full seasons. It arbitrarily changed the show's seasonal debuts, ask the fans about October 19. And in the end NBC canceled Community.
Fortunately for all of us Yahoo decided to resurrect the show. Tomorrow, more specifically at 3:01 AM Eastern Time or 07:01 Greenwich Mean Time, Community will make its season 6 debut on Yahoo Screen.
I am not going to extol the virtues of this show here. I have already written extensively on the topic of Community. If you don't already want to see it, nothing I say here will change your mind. I am just happy to know that tomorrow I will get to watch new episodes.
As for the Ass Crack Bandit, or ACB, Ben Folds had a guest turn as Professor Bublitz. He also wrote the song Ass Crack Bandit for the show. It is first played briefly at the start of the second act after the commercial break, six minutes and twenty-two seconds in if you are watching without commercials. Real Neil tells us that the song is shooting up the request line at Greendale and we get thirty-two seconds of the song. At the end of the episode a fuller version of the song is played over the denouement. Here we are given sixty seconds. But Ben Folds being the great guy he is put the full song. The link up at the top of the page is the part from the end of the episode because this was the most fitting to celebrate the show. Here is a link to the full song.
Tomorrow right after work I will be watching Community. This is one instance where being a real adult impinges on my bliss. A younger, less responsible me would have just tuned in at 3:01 AM and dealt with it the next day. But that guy didn't have a House, an MKS, and a T-Bird; I guess there are a few advantages to growing up. Also back then there wasn't Easter Egg Nog so I can't be too jealous.
Later
Bob
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Walk Away
Today's Song: Walking On The Moon by William Shatner
I have long proclaimed the greatness of 2004's most surprising album: Has Been by William Shatner. Have you every played the "What 10 XXXXXXX would you take with you to a desert island?" game? If the XXXXXXX is albums then Has Been would be one of my ten. The album is eclectic, poignant, and wonderful. Shatner's partnership with his fellow Priceline.com huckster and cowbell enthusiast Ben Folds produced real art.
I also have a copy of The Transformed Man. Ben Folds has recommended it on several different occasions. Folds has good taste in music so I took a chance and paid five bucks for a copy. It was five bucks well spent. Next time Ben Folds recommends an album that is thirty or more years out of print, I'll probably pick that up too. Like I said, he has good taste in music.
Now that my bona fides as a fan of Shatner's musical efforts are out of the way, we can talk about the tragedy of Seeking Major Tom. I remember looking forward to this album. It had been seven years since Has Been. Shatner had a good run on Boston Legal picking up an Emmy and four additional nominations. So he was busy, probably had no time harken Euterpe's beckoning. But by 2011 Shatner was ready to bless us with his genius once again, or so I thought.
I first heard Seeking Major Tom when it was leaked over the internet. I thought, "No, this isn't it." I thought what was leaked must be an unfinished work, maybe a rough cut, not unlike the Wolverine movie that was leaked without the CGI. But alas I was mistaken. The leak was real, almost as real as my disappointment.
The genius of The Transformed Man is an accidental genius. Shatner had and still does have an amazing speaking voice. Had I his voice perhaps like Denny Crane I too would have spent my legal career undefeated. The musical arrangements and Shatner's spoken words just go together perfectly. I know you don't believe me, but trust me. If you doubt me, trust Ben Folds.
The genius of Has Been was the synergy between two great men. The album was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and most of the songs are co-written by Folds and Shatner, with Folds creating arrangements for Shatner's prose-poems. (Wiki). The album was given four stars by The Rolling Stone, so you don't have to trust me when I say it was good.
So what went wrong on Seeking Major Tom. It followed a similar formula to Has Been's cover songs. Shatner speaks over the music. Maybe the contributions on Has Been between Folds and Shatner weren't even. Rarely is a joint enterprise an equal product of its two collaborators. But I don't think that was the problem. Oh it was part of the problem, to be sure; if I were making an album I would pray whatever benevolent deity that looks out for me would send Ben Folds to produce and arrange my album. I think the problem is that Seeking Major Tom is nothing but a crass money grab.
Now I have no problems with crass money grabs as such. I have attended a lot of opening days for movie franchises that had long run their course. But Seeking Major Tom lacks the experimentation and innocence of The Transformed Man. It lacks the raw honesty of Has Been. And it lacks a genius producer.
Whatever the explanation, Seeking Major Tom is a failure and is awful. It is so awful, in fact, that it has kept me away from Shatner's Ponder the Mystery. Ponder the Mystery was released in October of 2013, the same month Erin released me from my marital vows. As I have said 2014 was a bad year for me. I dared not heap any more misery upon myself, I did not want any further disappointments.
But 2015 is going to be a great year. The dark clouds of 2014 brought with them a cleansing rain that has washed clean my life. I face this year full of hope. I see things in my community getting better, sometimes as a result of my pushing them forward. I need not always be on guard, constantly vigilant to avoid further hurts and disappointments. It is time to take risks again. One of those risks will be Ponder the Mystery. The price is right, so long as you are a Prime customer.
Later
Bob
I have long proclaimed the greatness of 2004's most surprising album: Has Been by William Shatner. Have you every played the "What 10 XXXXXXX would you take with you to a desert island?" game? If the XXXXXXX is albums then Has Been would be one of my ten. The album is eclectic, poignant, and wonderful. Shatner's partnership with his fellow Priceline.com huckster and cowbell enthusiast Ben Folds produced real art.
I also have a copy of The Transformed Man. Ben Folds has recommended it on several different occasions. Folds has good taste in music so I took a chance and paid five bucks for a copy. It was five bucks well spent. Next time Ben Folds recommends an album that is thirty or more years out of print, I'll probably pick that up too. Like I said, he has good taste in music.
Now that my bona fides as a fan of Shatner's musical efforts are out of the way, we can talk about the tragedy of Seeking Major Tom. I remember looking forward to this album. It had been seven years since Has Been. Shatner had a good run on Boston Legal picking up an Emmy and four additional nominations. So he was busy, probably had no time harken Euterpe's beckoning. But by 2011 Shatner was ready to bless us with his genius once again, or so I thought.
I first heard Seeking Major Tom when it was leaked over the internet. I thought, "No, this isn't it." I thought what was leaked must be an unfinished work, maybe a rough cut, not unlike the Wolverine movie that was leaked without the CGI. But alas I was mistaken. The leak was real, almost as real as my disappointment.
The genius of The Transformed Man is an accidental genius. Shatner had and still does have an amazing speaking voice. Had I his voice perhaps like Denny Crane I too would have spent my legal career undefeated. The musical arrangements and Shatner's spoken words just go together perfectly. I know you don't believe me, but trust me. If you doubt me, trust Ben Folds.
The genius of Has Been was the synergy between two great men. The album was produced and arranged by Ben Folds and most of the songs are co-written by Folds and Shatner, with Folds creating arrangements for Shatner's prose-poems. (Wiki). The album was given four stars by The Rolling Stone, so you don't have to trust me when I say it was good.
So what went wrong on Seeking Major Tom. It followed a similar formula to Has Been's cover songs. Shatner speaks over the music. Maybe the contributions on Has Been between Folds and Shatner weren't even. Rarely is a joint enterprise an equal product of its two collaborators. But I don't think that was the problem. Oh it was part of the problem, to be sure; if I were making an album I would pray whatever benevolent deity that looks out for me would send Ben Folds to produce and arrange my album. I think the problem is that Seeking Major Tom is nothing but a crass money grab.
Now I have no problems with crass money grabs as such. I have attended a lot of opening days for movie franchises that had long run their course. But Seeking Major Tom lacks the experimentation and innocence of The Transformed Man. It lacks the raw honesty of Has Been. And it lacks a genius producer.
Whatever the explanation, Seeking Major Tom is a failure and is awful. It is so awful, in fact, that it has kept me away from Shatner's Ponder the Mystery. Ponder the Mystery was released in October of 2013, the same month Erin released me from my marital vows. As I have said 2014 was a bad year for me. I dared not heap any more misery upon myself, I did not want any further disappointments.
But 2015 is going to be a great year. The dark clouds of 2014 brought with them a cleansing rain that has washed clean my life. I face this year full of hope. I see things in my community getting better, sometimes as a result of my pushing them forward. I need not always be on guard, constantly vigilant to avoid further hurts and disappointments. It is time to take risks again. One of those risks will be Ponder the Mystery. The price is right, so long as you are a Prime customer.
Later
Bob
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Take This Stand
Today's song: Anything, Anything by Dramarama
Not much of this week has been planned. Current events interposed themselves and could not be ignored. Other songs were selected by my muses and not myself. Today is no exception. This is not a song I had planned to cover. It is not even a song I knew existed twenty-four hours ago. Ok, after I heard it last night, I knew I knew it from somewhere but there was no way I'd have been able to name it or tell you even where I'd heard it before.
I heard this song last night when I finally got around to watching Two Night Stand. Two Night Stand stars Miles Teller and Analiegh Tipton. Teller is a darling of the indie film scene. He first impressed them in The Spectacular Now and gained further acclaim from the pudding-eating cowboy crowd with his performance in Whiplash. You may recognize that last one, J. K. Simmons won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as the music instructor. Teller is better know to the hoi palloi for his roles in Project X, Divergent, and the new Fantastic Four trailer. He's not the reason I watched this movie.
The reason I watched Two Night Stand is Analeigh Tipton. If Analeigh Tipton were known it would be for her roles in Warm Bodies, and Crazy, Stupid Love. But apparently no one noticed her beauty, humor, and poise in those films because if they had more people would have tuned into Manhattan Love Story and it would not have been cancelled seven episodes in. I first became aware of Ms. Tipton in her role as Steve Carrell's babysitter, Jessica Riley, in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Girls like Jessica are the reason that mothers everywhere do not let fathers drive the babysitter home alone. Dreams of girls like Jessica are the reason websites like Brazzers make so much money.
Analeigh Tipton should really be a star. She is pretty and funny but retains girl-next-door qualities that make her seem accessible and not unobtainable. Her fashion career shows that she has the raw good looks to hang with anyone on the screen, big or small. Her acting is more than sufficient to carry the lead in a typical romantic comedy and Two Night Stand is a pretty typical romantic comedy.
Ignore the reviews. The reviewers are asking this movie to deliver on things unpromised. The reviewers say things like, "Had screenwriter Mark Hammer committed to the idea of two people who aren’t right for each other conducting a temporary sexual workshop—or even a temporary romantic workshop, for that matter—he might have created the template for something unique. Instead, the movie heads straight for the most predictable destination, ..." Viewers come in expecting certain tropes when they watch films. I don't tune in to a revenge flick and expect the protagonist to fail. I don't watch Airplane because of its complex characterizations. And when I watch romantic comedies I expect the leads to end up together. This movie delivers everything it promises.
This movie is not the best ever made in its genre, but if you like rom-coms then you are going to enjoy the eighty-two minutes you spend watching it. The dialog is smart and there are a couple of developments that you don't see coming, but they work. Alec's last ditch effort to win over Megan is more inspired than Lloyd Dobler's best effort. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it without reservation to any fan of the genre.
Often I just use the song as a jumping off point to post. But once I knew I was going to use this song I would not be doing it justice without including Alec and Megan's dialog from the scene in which the song is used.
I am no transcriptionist. I probably had to watch the scene twenty times to get the dialog. I still love the scene and would watch it again. I really liked this scene and I liked this movie. Do yourself a favor and watch it.
Later
Bob
PS
I almost went with Tigers by The Submarines which is played during the credits for the song from this movie but the rule is one song per day and the dancing scene is better than the credits.
Not much of this week has been planned. Current events interposed themselves and could not be ignored. Other songs were selected by my muses and not myself. Today is no exception. This is not a song I had planned to cover. It is not even a song I knew existed twenty-four hours ago. Ok, after I heard it last night, I knew I knew it from somewhere but there was no way I'd have been able to name it or tell you even where I'd heard it before.
I heard this song last night when I finally got around to watching Two Night Stand. Two Night Stand stars Miles Teller and Analiegh Tipton. Teller is a darling of the indie film scene. He first impressed them in The Spectacular Now and gained further acclaim from the pudding-eating cowboy crowd with his performance in Whiplash. You may recognize that last one, J. K. Simmons won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his role as the music instructor. Teller is better know to the hoi palloi for his roles in Project X, Divergent, and the new Fantastic Four trailer. He's not the reason I watched this movie.
The reason I watched Two Night Stand is Analeigh Tipton. If Analeigh Tipton were known it would be for her roles in Warm Bodies, and Crazy, Stupid Love. But apparently no one noticed her beauty, humor, and poise in those films because if they had more people would have tuned into Manhattan Love Story and it would not have been cancelled seven episodes in. I first became aware of Ms. Tipton in her role as Steve Carrell's babysitter, Jessica Riley, in Crazy, Stupid, Love. Girls like Jessica are the reason that mothers everywhere do not let fathers drive the babysitter home alone. Dreams of girls like Jessica are the reason websites like Brazzers make so much money.
Analeigh Tipton should really be a star. She is pretty and funny but retains girl-next-door qualities that make her seem accessible and not unobtainable. Her fashion career shows that she has the raw good looks to hang with anyone on the screen, big or small. Her acting is more than sufficient to carry the lead in a typical romantic comedy and Two Night Stand is a pretty typical romantic comedy.
Ignore the reviews. The reviewers are asking this movie to deliver on things unpromised. The reviewers say things like, "Had screenwriter Mark Hammer committed to the idea of two people who aren’t right for each other conducting a temporary sexual workshop—or even a temporary romantic workshop, for that matter—he might have created the template for something unique. Instead, the movie heads straight for the most predictable destination, ..." Viewers come in expecting certain tropes when they watch films. I don't tune in to a revenge flick and expect the protagonist to fail. I don't watch Airplane because of its complex characterizations. And when I watch romantic comedies I expect the leads to end up together. This movie delivers everything it promises.
This movie is not the best ever made in its genre, but if you like rom-coms then you are going to enjoy the eighty-two minutes you spend watching it. The dialog is smart and there are a couple of developments that you don't see coming, but they work. Alec's last ditch effort to win over Megan is more inspired than Lloyd Dobler's best effort. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and would recommend it without reservation to any fan of the genre.
Often I just use the song as a jumping off point to post. But once I knew I was going to use this song I would not be doing it justice without including Alec and Megan's dialog from the scene in which the song is used.
Megan
Ught uh...
Ught uhn
Alec
Hmm hmm
Megan
Ught uhn You should turn this off.
Alec
You don't like this song?
Megan
Oh no, I love this song. It's gonna make me want to dance.
Alec
Yes, you should.
Megan
No.
Alec
Yes!
Megan
Trust me...
Alec
Oh are you like a bad dancer?
Megan
Ohhhh, no. No, no, no. I... I'm an epic, dancer. But you see, see, if you see me dance you'll follow me around like a little puppy dog and be embarrassing for us both. So, you have to stay here... for your own safety, trust me on that one.
I am no transcriptionist. I probably had to watch the scene twenty times to get the dialog. I still love the scene and would watch it again. I really liked this scene and I liked this movie. Do yourself a favor and watch it.
Later
Bob
PS
I almost went with Tigers by The Submarines which is played during the credits for the song from this movie but the rule is one song per day and the dancing scene is better than the credits.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Today's Song Big Iron by Marty Robbins
Today's post will be short and straightforward. There is only so much variety you can put into a project like this. Well, there is only so much variety you can put into a project like this with the amount of time and effort I am willing to expend upon it. At some point you start to pick a song and you have to wonder if you cave covered it already. When I selected this song had had the nagging feeling that I had already covered it. Turns out I hadn't but I had done something similar so this post will feel a little familiar.
This song is featured in Fallout: New Vegas. In 2010 when I did this project I covered Mighty, Mighty Man, a song featured in Fallout 3. LAst time I talked about how games like Fallout and Bioshock gave me a taste for Big Band and Swing music. New Vegas has more of the same but it also throws in a little Cowboy music.
The one thing Bethesda did better than Interplay with the Fallout series was incorporate music. It is probably the only thing Bethesda did better. I won't get into the choice for first person of third person isometric, they each have their merits. When Fallout came out in 1997 and Fallout 2 in 1998 there wasn't a lot that Interplay could do with music. The computers had a lot less memory and processing speed. That lack of power meant the creators had to make choices that modern creators need not trouble themselves with. Music was not a choice many creators made in the late 90's.
Fallout created a retro-future feel and Bethesda wisely stuck with that even though they scrapped a lot of what made Fallout Fallout when they made Fallout 3 in 2008. Part of Bethesda's concept for a retro future is a lot of music from the past. Even though cannon says the wars that ended in the nuclear annihilation of most of the planet started around 2050, it seems that no music less than one hundred years old survived the Big One. Maybe in the Fallout universe they stopped using vinyl early and magnetic media did not survive and only acetate is around to be rediscovered by those trying to restart civilization and rebuild culture.
You never get a satisfactory explanation in game for why the game's music is so old relative to the fall but the fact is the music works. The goal of Fallout is to put you in the future as imagined by people in the 1950's. Bethesda got that right. The music helps to reinforce the feel.
For those of you who care and have played neither game, New Vegas is better and there is little reason to play both. If you want to check it out let me know and I'll loan you my copy with all the DLC. It is a good game if you like console RPG's.
Bethesda decided to let us know that at E3 this year, there would be an event. Cryptic, huh? The internet and blogosphere are thinking make Fallout 4 is coming. If it is, I look forward to it. Maybe you and I will run into one another in the Wasteland? Maybe I will help you out against a pack of Deathclaws, or maybe I will watch them finish you off an loot your corpse. Either way it should be fun.
Later
Bob
Today's post will be short and straightforward. There is only so much variety you can put into a project like this. Well, there is only so much variety you can put into a project like this with the amount of time and effort I am willing to expend upon it. At some point you start to pick a song and you have to wonder if you cave covered it already. When I selected this song had had the nagging feeling that I had already covered it. Turns out I hadn't but I had done something similar so this post will feel a little familiar.
This song is featured in Fallout: New Vegas. In 2010 when I did this project I covered Mighty, Mighty Man, a song featured in Fallout 3. LAst time I talked about how games like Fallout and Bioshock gave me a taste for Big Band and Swing music. New Vegas has more of the same but it also throws in a little Cowboy music.
The one thing Bethesda did better than Interplay with the Fallout series was incorporate music. It is probably the only thing Bethesda did better. I won't get into the choice for first person of third person isometric, they each have their merits. When Fallout came out in 1997 and Fallout 2 in 1998 there wasn't a lot that Interplay could do with music. The computers had a lot less memory and processing speed. That lack of power meant the creators had to make choices that modern creators need not trouble themselves with. Music was not a choice many creators made in the late 90's.
Fallout created a retro-future feel and Bethesda wisely stuck with that even though they scrapped a lot of what made Fallout Fallout when they made Fallout 3 in 2008. Part of Bethesda's concept for a retro future is a lot of music from the past. Even though cannon says the wars that ended in the nuclear annihilation of most of the planet started around 2050, it seems that no music less than one hundred years old survived the Big One. Maybe in the Fallout universe they stopped using vinyl early and magnetic media did not survive and only acetate is around to be rediscovered by those trying to restart civilization and rebuild culture.
You never get a satisfactory explanation in game for why the game's music is so old relative to the fall but the fact is the music works. The goal of Fallout is to put you in the future as imagined by people in the 1950's. Bethesda got that right. The music helps to reinforce the feel.
For those of you who care and have played neither game, New Vegas is better and there is little reason to play both. If you want to check it out let me know and I'll loan you my copy with all the DLC. It is a good game if you like console RPG's.
Bethesda decided to let us know that at E3 this year, there would be an event. Cryptic, huh? The internet and blogosphere are thinking make Fallout 4 is coming. If it is, I look forward to it. Maybe you and I will run into one another in the Wasteland? Maybe I will help you out against a pack of Deathclaws, or maybe I will watch them finish you off an loot your corpse. Either way it should be fun.
Later
Bob
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Fast Cars, Fast Lips, and Faster Fists
Today's Song: Black Sunshine by White Zombie
An ode to the joy of a fast car. Black Sunshine rocks. This is the most dangerous song in my car. Every time I hear it i want to open 'er up and see what my convertible can do. I am too old for such nonsense. I am past the age that I ought to be doing 150 on the interstate. (Don't tell my Dad that I used to routinely do that with the Monza he gave me.) I don't even really speed any more, but every time Black Sunshine comes on I want to.
Today is going to be another current event inspired post. Seems that BBC chief and liberal limp dick, Danny Cohen, wants to end Jeremy Clarkson's career at the BBC. Cohen has cancelled the last two episodes of Top Gear for the season and would like to not renew Clarkson's contract. This would be a colossal error on Cohen's part. Top Gear is the BBC's top original property and I imagine Clarkson's Q number is a few orders of magnitude better than Cohen's. But lefties are especially immune to reason and the BBC is immune to market forces so Cohen may get his way.
I am not going to regale you with the long list of whining about the myriad of ways Clarkson has supposedly misbehaved. If you want to read that you can find it yourself. It makes for good reading and serves as a cautionary tale about selecting between two indistinguishable cars. Besides Clarkson has friends who can speak for him.
The BBC needs Clarkson far more than he needs the BBC. Clarkson stays out of loyalty and admiration to the BBC. He could make far more money on a private channel so he'll be fine either way. Hell, the private market will give him a rider to his contract that he can punch whomever he chooses as long as he keeps delivering the ratings.
Ordinarily I'd advise you all to steer well clear of Change.org. This place is the bastion of left wing whining. Normally Change.org is the enemy or free markets and free men everywhere. I used to go there to sign petitions to improve the conditions for animals or get Sea World to stop torturing marine mammals, but I got tired of all the ridiculous liberal spam that came to my inbox.
But Change.org is where the petition is placed to restore Clarkson to Top Gear. I implore you all to add your name to the petition. Logically it makes no sense that adding your name to a petition is going to change anything, but remember lefties are immune to reason so maybe this will work.
Britain needs Clarkson. He reminds all of us swaggering Americans that we don't have a monopoly on machismo. This is a man that is willing to piss of an entire country for a laugh. (Suck it, Argentina, you lost to the better nation.) If you can't support such a man then you have no interest in supporting any man. As I said when I signed, "BBC, you have enough prissy liberals to show the world, you need a little balance. A diverse Great Britain includes men like Jeremy Clarkson."
It won't take much time and it might just in this one instance make the world a little bit better place.
Sign here for real men, and women, that like fast cars everywhere.
Later
Bob
An ode to the joy of a fast car. Black Sunshine rocks. This is the most dangerous song in my car. Every time I hear it i want to open 'er up and see what my convertible can do. I am too old for such nonsense. I am past the age that I ought to be doing 150 on the interstate. (Don't tell my Dad that I used to routinely do that with the Monza he gave me.) I don't even really speed any more, but every time Black Sunshine comes on I want to.
Today is going to be another current event inspired post. Seems that BBC chief and liberal limp dick, Danny Cohen, wants to end Jeremy Clarkson's career at the BBC. Cohen has cancelled the last two episodes of Top Gear for the season and would like to not renew Clarkson's contract. This would be a colossal error on Cohen's part. Top Gear is the BBC's top original property and I imagine Clarkson's Q number is a few orders of magnitude better than Cohen's. But lefties are especially immune to reason and the BBC is immune to market forces so Cohen may get his way.
I am not going to regale you with the long list of whining about the myriad of ways Clarkson has supposedly misbehaved. If you want to read that you can find it yourself. It makes for good reading and serves as a cautionary tale about selecting between two indistinguishable cars. Besides Clarkson has friends who can speak for him.
The BBC needs Clarkson far more than he needs the BBC. Clarkson stays out of loyalty and admiration to the BBC. He could make far more money on a private channel so he'll be fine either way. Hell, the private market will give him a rider to his contract that he can punch whomever he chooses as long as he keeps delivering the ratings.
Ordinarily I'd advise you all to steer well clear of Change.org. This place is the bastion of left wing whining. Normally Change.org is the enemy or free markets and free men everywhere. I used to go there to sign petitions to improve the conditions for animals or get Sea World to stop torturing marine mammals, but I got tired of all the ridiculous liberal spam that came to my inbox.
But Change.org is where the petition is placed to restore Clarkson to Top Gear. I implore you all to add your name to the petition. Logically it makes no sense that adding your name to a petition is going to change anything, but remember lefties are immune to reason so maybe this will work.
Britain needs Clarkson. He reminds all of us swaggering Americans that we don't have a monopoly on machismo. This is a man that is willing to piss of an entire country for a laugh. (Suck it, Argentina, you lost to the better nation.) If you can't support such a man then you have no interest in supporting any man. As I said when I signed, "BBC, you have enough prissy liberals to show the world, you need a little balance. A diverse Great Britain includes men like Jeremy Clarkson."
It won't take much time and it might just in this one instance make the world a little bit better place.
Sign here for real men, and women, that like fast cars everywhere.
Later
Bob
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Blurred, No Completely Opaque To The Jury
Today's song: Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams, and apparently Marvin Gaye.
When you undertake a long project there can be unforeseen developments. If you are building a house, long periods of rain or a late thaw can delay the construction. If you are planning a vacation, one crazy Arab with a faulty interpretation of Islam can cancel your flight. If you are doing a series of blog entries related to songs, one stupid jury decision can force you to write about a song you intended to ignore.
Unless you have been ignoring the news it is hard to miss that Messrs Thick and Williams lost a lawsuit to the heirs of Marvin Gaye for copyright infringement for the song Blurred Lines. I am all for juries in criminal trials. But maybe it is time to rethink letting ordinary people handle complex civil cases.
I have said several times that I am not equipped to provide any real insight into the merit or craft of music. I don't play an instrument, I cannot read sheet music, I haven't even taken a music appreciation class. But if someone were conducting a jury trial in the Northern District of Indiana, I'd probably be over qualified to sit on a jury panel and decide whether one musician infringed upon another. To get on a jury you have to be almost completely disengaged from the rest of the world, lest your 'outside knowledge' somehow taint the jury and you reach a decision based on anything other than the incredibly limited slice of reality presented at trial.
Based on what I have read the jury probably got this wrong. Plenty of knowledgeable people, you know the type not allowed on a civil jury, are writing a lot of intelligent commentary about how the jury got this wrong. Let's "sample" some of this commentary:
The Graphics Department at the L.A. Times made a nice little visual representation that for me conclusively demonstrates that the jury got it wrong.
There that dispenses with the critical analysis section of this post. If you still think the jury got it right and you are not one of Marvin Gaye's offspring go get a helmet and never go outdoors without putting on said helmet first.
Now for the part that matters. The rant.
I am not going to knock on Marvin Gaye's song. If you like that sort of thing, then you like it and I am not going to change you mind. But Got To Give It Up is missing one critical piece of Genius that makes Blurred Lines great. (And it is not the rapey vibe. Look at Gaye's title, it is way more rapey.). I'll assume you've seen Blurred lines and just include a link to Got To Give It Up so you can try to figure it out.
To keep my post a little less cluttered I am just including the link, which is here.
Do you have the Answer?
Think about it
Ok, here is a link to Blurred Lines to help.
Still stuck?
Here is a hint, Try watching each of those videos on mute.
Did you take the hint? Did you notice that Got To Give It Up was completely pointless without the sound? Ok, how about Blurred Lines?
Exactly Blurred Lines works perfectly well on mute. It has some indescribable quality that makes it work even if the music is gone. Answer this question jurors, "If Gaye's work was integral and essential to the creation of Blurred Lines then why is Got To Give It Up unwatchable nonsense on mute and Blurred Lines is still completely captivating?" Huh, until you can answer that question you owe Messrs Thicke and Williams an apology, jury members.
There, that's my 2 cents on this topic. Go out an enjoy a great Spring day. Or watch Blurred Lines again, Thicke and Williams are going to need those Vevo royalties unless the appellate court rights the jury's error.
Later
Bob
When you undertake a long project there can be unforeseen developments. If you are building a house, long periods of rain or a late thaw can delay the construction. If you are planning a vacation, one crazy Arab with a faulty interpretation of Islam can cancel your flight. If you are doing a series of blog entries related to songs, one stupid jury decision can force you to write about a song you intended to ignore.
Unless you have been ignoring the news it is hard to miss that Messrs Thick and Williams lost a lawsuit to the heirs of Marvin Gaye for copyright infringement for the song Blurred Lines. I am all for juries in criminal trials. But maybe it is time to rethink letting ordinary people handle complex civil cases.
I have said several times that I am not equipped to provide any real insight into the merit or craft of music. I don't play an instrument, I cannot read sheet music, I haven't even taken a music appreciation class. But if someone were conducting a jury trial in the Northern District of Indiana, I'd probably be over qualified to sit on a jury panel and decide whether one musician infringed upon another. To get on a jury you have to be almost completely disengaged from the rest of the world, lest your 'outside knowledge' somehow taint the jury and you reach a decision based on anything other than the incredibly limited slice of reality presented at trial.
Based on what I have read the jury probably got this wrong. Plenty of knowledgeable people, you know the type not allowed on a civil jury, are writing a lot of intelligent commentary about how the jury got this wrong. Let's "sample" some of this commentary:
"You've made it illegal to reference previous material," said Butler, also a managing director at music start-up WholeWorldBand. "I'm never going to come up with something so radically different that it doesn't contain references to something else." Gregory Butler
"This may put a smile on the Gaye family's face, but it's a dark day for creativity, and in the end, this will be a net loss for music fans," he said. "Good news for lawyers and the bitter everywhere." Joe Escalante, an early member of the Vandals punk rock band and an entertainment law attorney
Regardless of the ultimate verdict, the suit could have a chilling effect on creators, especially in an era when most every song in recorded music history can be accessed in seconds. What artist will acknowledge specific inspiration when it could be used as evidence in a copyright infringement suit? Randall Roberts Los Angeles Times
There that dispenses with the critical analysis section of this post. If you still think the jury got it right and you are not one of Marvin Gaye's offspring go get a helmet and never go outdoors without putting on said helmet first.
Now for the part that matters. The rant.
I am not going to knock on Marvin Gaye's song. If you like that sort of thing, then you like it and I am not going to change you mind. But Got To Give It Up is missing one critical piece of Genius that makes Blurred Lines great. (And it is not the rapey vibe. Look at Gaye's title, it is way more rapey.). I'll assume you've seen Blurred lines and just include a link to Got To Give It Up so you can try to figure it out.
To keep my post a little less cluttered I am just including the link, which is here.
Do you have the Answer?
Think about it
Ok, here is a link to Blurred Lines to help.
Still stuck?
Here is a hint, Try watching each of those videos on mute.
Did you take the hint? Did you notice that Got To Give It Up was completely pointless without the sound? Ok, how about Blurred Lines?
Exactly Blurred Lines works perfectly well on mute. It has some indescribable quality that makes it work even if the music is gone. Answer this question jurors, "If Gaye's work was integral and essential to the creation of Blurred Lines then why is Got To Give It Up unwatchable nonsense on mute and Blurred Lines is still completely captivating?" Huh, until you can answer that question you owe Messrs Thicke and Williams an apology, jury members.
There, that's my 2 cents on this topic. Go out an enjoy a great Spring day. Or watch Blurred Lines again, Thicke and Williams are going to need those Vevo royalties unless the appellate court rights the jury's error.
Later
Bob
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Perfect, Just Perfect
Today's song Cups, Anna Kendrick version
Time to level with you, I am growing weary of this project. Writing every day is a chore and some days I am just not feeling it. Yesterday was hard. I had a long day at work with a lot of time in court. I get virtually no feedback so I don't even know if anyone is reading this stuff. But I am not a quitter, this is a challenge I put before myself and I am damn sure not going to lose to my past self. You you think Future Bob is a chump you should spend some time with Past Bob. That guy has created a lot of problems for me to solve and he'll get no satisfaction from me quitting.
Not every one of these is going to be great, but everyone of them will be done. There is no set format or length for these postings. In reality this is almost a month long piece of performance art, if I believed performance art was a legitimate endeavor; but I don't so this is not performance art. But it is like performance art, and like performance art until it is explained to you there is no way to know what is going on. Today is as good a day as any to explain things.
The last time I did this it was 2010 and I did it because I wasn't writing enough. I generally enjoy writing and I am arrogant enough to think that a lot of what I put out is entertaining. It is certainly entertaining to me. So recently I was looking over my old entries and two thoughts occurred to me. The first was that I used to put out some good stuff. The last time I put out a lot of good stuff was when I undertook the month long writing project. So I decided it was a good time to try again. The second thing, well that was private. Sam knows and if you want to know ask him. He is the keeper of this particular secret and he will share it as he wishes. Christina knows too, you could try asking her but she is probably harder to contact. It is not important so don't waste your time, but it is your time to waste and it is still better than an episode of Two Broke Girls which 8.5 million people do every week.
So I undertook this writing exercise. This time I changed the rules a little. Last time I put a lyric on Facebook and then posted a corresponding entry on the blog for the song from which the lyric was taken. This time I dispensed with the lyric. My FB profile has more contacts and due to circumstances that I am not permitted to officially discus prior to May or November of this year (Depends on how you read the rules) but are obvious to anyone who has spoken to me in person in the last five years, I need to behave a little better on FB than in days past.
This time the rules are each day I will select a song. I will then write something at least tangentially rellated to the song in some way. Easy, right. Normally I will shoot for around five hundred words, maybe more if my muses are feeling generous that day, maybe less.
Today's song is not a song I really care anything about. I don't even like the song that much. I don't dislike it, I am indifferent to it. But I do like this particular version. The answer to why this version is obvious, Anna Kendrick is the performer. Anna Kendrick is physically perfect. By this I don't necessarily mean she is the most desirable, that would be Emily Ratajkowski though this title is subject to change, or the most beautiful woman in the word, that would be Christy Turlington and this title does not change. What I am saying is that Anna is faultless, at least physically.
Anna Kendrick is stunningly beautiful, but lots of women can lay claim to that appellation. Anna is almost a Chinese menu construction perfect woman for me. Short, check. Brunette, check. Big eyes, check. Porcelain skin, check. Slight frame, check. Maybe at this point you want to fault me for my shallowness, and feel free to do that. I am ok with that.
And let's face it, I am never going to meet her so the nonphysical aspects of beauty don't real matter here. I am not every going to be around her to learn that perhaps she is overly mean to baristas when they don't steam the milk properly. Nor am I ever likely to have to deal with a character flaw like her being an obama supporter. I am going to continue to simply watch her perform in films, and maybe some day television and occasionally watch a video where she sings. And when she does any of these things the fact that she is physically perfect will enhance my experience. Sure I'd like it better to learn that she loves cats (We will get to Taylor Swift, I promise.) or that she secretly wanted to endorse Jeb Bush, but that won't make her act or sing any better than she does now. On the other hand if she made the mistake of getting a pixie cut, ok even a pixie cut would probably work on her so I'll retract that objection. Like I said she is physically perfect.
I think that is enough for this subject and enough for today.
Later
Bob
Time to level with you, I am growing weary of this project. Writing every day is a chore and some days I am just not feeling it. Yesterday was hard. I had a long day at work with a lot of time in court. I get virtually no feedback so I don't even know if anyone is reading this stuff. But I am not a quitter, this is a challenge I put before myself and I am damn sure not going to lose to my past self. You you think Future Bob is a chump you should spend some time with Past Bob. That guy has created a lot of problems for me to solve and he'll get no satisfaction from me quitting.
Not every one of these is going to be great, but everyone of them will be done. There is no set format or length for these postings. In reality this is almost a month long piece of performance art, if I believed performance art was a legitimate endeavor; but I don't so this is not performance art. But it is like performance art, and like performance art until it is explained to you there is no way to know what is going on. Today is as good a day as any to explain things.
The last time I did this it was 2010 and I did it because I wasn't writing enough. I generally enjoy writing and I am arrogant enough to think that a lot of what I put out is entertaining. It is certainly entertaining to me. So recently I was looking over my old entries and two thoughts occurred to me. The first was that I used to put out some good stuff. The last time I put out a lot of good stuff was when I undertook the month long writing project. So I decided it was a good time to try again. The second thing, well that was private. Sam knows and if you want to know ask him. He is the keeper of this particular secret and he will share it as he wishes. Christina knows too, you could try asking her but she is probably harder to contact. It is not important so don't waste your time, but it is your time to waste and it is still better than an episode of Two Broke Girls which 8.5 million people do every week.
So I undertook this writing exercise. This time I changed the rules a little. Last time I put a lyric on Facebook and then posted a corresponding entry on the blog for the song from which the lyric was taken. This time I dispensed with the lyric. My FB profile has more contacts and due to circumstances that I am not permitted to officially discus prior to May or November of this year (Depends on how you read the rules) but are obvious to anyone who has spoken to me in person in the last five years, I need to behave a little better on FB than in days past.
This time the rules are each day I will select a song. I will then write something at least tangentially rellated to the song in some way. Easy, right. Normally I will shoot for around five hundred words, maybe more if my muses are feeling generous that day, maybe less.
Today's song is not a song I really care anything about. I don't even like the song that much. I don't dislike it, I am indifferent to it. But I do like this particular version. The answer to why this version is obvious, Anna Kendrick is the performer. Anna Kendrick is physically perfect. By this I don't necessarily mean she is the most desirable, that would be Emily Ratajkowski though this title is subject to change, or the most beautiful woman in the word, that would be Christy Turlington and this title does not change. What I am saying is that Anna is faultless, at least physically.
Anna Kendrick is stunningly beautiful, but lots of women can lay claim to that appellation. Anna is almost a Chinese menu construction perfect woman for me. Short, check. Brunette, check. Big eyes, check. Porcelain skin, check. Slight frame, check. Maybe at this point you want to fault me for my shallowness, and feel free to do that. I am ok with that.
And let's face it, I am never going to meet her so the nonphysical aspects of beauty don't real matter here. I am not every going to be around her to learn that perhaps she is overly mean to baristas when they don't steam the milk properly. Nor am I ever likely to have to deal with a character flaw like her being an obama supporter. I am going to continue to simply watch her perform in films, and maybe some day television and occasionally watch a video where she sings. And when she does any of these things the fact that she is physically perfect will enhance my experience. Sure I'd like it better to learn that she loves cats (We will get to Taylor Swift, I promise.) or that she secretly wanted to endorse Jeb Bush, but that won't make her act or sing any better than she does now. On the other hand if she made the mistake of getting a pixie cut, ok even a pixie cut would probably work on her so I'll retract that objection. Like I said she is physically perfect.
I think that is enough for this subject and enough for today.
Later
Bob
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