A variety of things have been calling me back to the great rock of my youth today, so I thought I’d share. First off, fellow scrogue Dr. Jim Booth reminded us this morning via Facebook that today is the birthday of Sir Paul McCartney. As I noted on my own FB page, I have often been critical of Paul’s post-Beatles
Read moreDear LeBron: The WWE, Hollywood, soap operas and the NBA front office have something in common: they all understand that a compelling narrative requires what the pro wrestling biz calls a “heel.” A bad guy. An anti-hero. A villain. A black hat. The only thing different about the NBA is that they won’t admit they’re in the compelling narrative business.
Read moreDear LeBron: The WWE, Hollywood, soap operas and the NBA front office have something in common: they all understand that a compelling narrative requires what the pro wrestling biz calls a “heel.” A bad guy. An anti-hero. A villain. A black hat. The only thing different about the NBA is that they won’t admit they’re in the compelling narrative business.
Read moreAnd so we arrive at the last day of 30-Day Song Challenge, the Sequel, which followed hot on the heels of the original Challenge – so 60 songs in slightly more than a couple of months (actually, given my cheating, it was quite a bit more than 60 songs, wasn’t it?) I wanted to end The Sequel with a nod
Read moreI really enjoyed the original 30-Day Song Challenge and my hat’s off to whoever created it. But it seemed a little obvious to me in places, so when I set out to create the sequel I wanted to tackle some ideas that we may not think about as often as we might. Today, one of the big ones. We here
Read moreI seem to discover lots of news bands that I like every year, and since this particular day of the challenge doesn’t ask me to pick my favorite – just a band I like – let’s keep it simple and pick one without overthinking it. Because if I start thinking about this one I’ll be here all night. Two-Door Cinema
Read moreThe US soccer team just dropped a 2-1 decision to Panama in the second group stage match of the 2011 Gold Cup. To say the game was frustrating to watch is to understate the case, and with some panache. Despite an appalling first half, the Americans certainly had their chances to draw even and win the game late, capped by
Read moreIt seems that America now officially believes in torture as a primary tool of investigation. And back in 2008, I did a little story on how, believe it or not, we are using music as an implement of torture. So I suppose today’s challenge has a dark side, huh? Mercifully for those suspected terrorists in captivity, DJ EIT (Enhanced Interrogation
Read moreEach year I write my annual Best CDs series and along the way I usually have an article or two about some of the bands that turn up on that list. Today I want to acknowledge a few of the year’s best releases to date. This isn’t comprehensive, by any stretch, but if you’re looking for some new tunes to
Read moreWe’re going in a slightly different direction today. I mean, for a variety of artistic and intellectual reasons I’d love to have dinner with the greatest bands ever – The Fabs, The Stones, The Who, Zep, Floyd, U2, REM, Van Morrison, and a bunch of others. Then there’s this class of really cool, past and present indie artists from then
Read moreOkay, this is brilliant. I never heard of it until this morning and now I learn that there’s apparently a whole movement afoot, with a project and everything.
Read moreWhen it comes to exercise I’ve always been a team sports guy. Hoops, baseball, soccer – if there’s a ball to hit, throw, kick, dribble or shoot I could go all freakin’ day in just about any conditions you can imagine. But running for the sake of running? Hate it. Weights? I do it because I need to, but I
Read moreSo much of popular music is about sex and nothing else, and we have seen more sexcess than we probably know how to process. Perhaps so much that we occasionally grow numb to it. I can think of dozens of really sexy women in music, but since it seems like sexy is a prerequisite to even get in the door,
Read moreThis one is actually fun. And pretty damned cynical about the world of business and advertising, to boot.
Read moreThis year’s festival was outstanding, but I’ll begin by apologizing. If I had talent and/or a real camera I might do the artists in our annual festival justice. As it is, I’m a schlub with a smart phone camera, so please, imagine how awesome these would be live and in person. Next year we should take up a collection to
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