Playlist for April 15th, 2011

I'm the kinda guy who doesn't mind paying my taxes.

I might have issues with getting them in on time (due to general laziness and procrastination), but the whole exercise doesn't bother me, as it does with many other people.

The way I look at it, if you like roads, schools, first responders (police, fire, ambulance), hospitals and general peace in society, you shouldn't mind paying taxes.

Now, this is not to say that I like everything my tax money helps pay for.

For example, I don't like that my taxes help pay for tax breaks for corporations and the disgustingly wealthy.  (I do have problems with greed)

Anyway....

Since it's Tax Day, here's a playlist about taxes & money.



Enjoy!

Movie Night - The Commitments

Self-proclaimed music businessman, Jimmy Rabbitte decides that what Dublin, Ireland needs is a good soul band.

After putting an ad in the paper and holding tryouts in his parents living room, Jimmy cobbles together a group of talented, yet rough around the edges musicians who begin to come together.

After a few gigs (which prove their talent), the band begins to have tensions amongst the members, thanks to egos and success.

With soul classics such as "Try A Little Tenderness", "Mustang Sally", "Chain of Fools" and "Midnight Hour", the band is tight, the music is good and vibe is soulful.

This movie will make you wanna start a band.

Go out and do it!

And, in between practices, you should...

...check it out!!! (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

Playlist for April 8th, 2011

Music makes people happy!

No theme this week.

It's been a long work week and I just wanna rock.

This week's list contains some greasy and sleazy garage, r 'n' b and rockabilly.

Old stuff and some new(er) stuff here, so, click play and crank it up.




Enjoy!

TV Night - Freaks and Geeks

The freaks and the geeks

If there needed to be any more proof of the horrible nature of American TV, the way the series Freaks and Geeks was treated is that proof.

This series, which ran for one season on NBC, starred Linda Cardellini as Lindsey Weir and John Francis Daley as Sam Weir.  With story arcs that tracked their lives during the 1980-1981 school ear at William McKinley High School, just outside Detroit, the series was a case study of life in American high schools.

Lindsey Weir has been a model student until now.  Getting good grades and participating as a "mathlete", Lindsey starts to question the world around her after the death of her grandmother.

She begins hanging out with the "freaks" of the title.  Daniel Desario (James Franco), Ken Miller (Seth Rogan), Nick Andopolis (Jason Segel) and Kim Kelly (Busy Philipps) hate school, like rock music and just like to hang out.

Sam Weir is new to high school and feels like a fish out of water.  He and his "geek" friends Neal Schweiber (Samm Levine) and Bill Haverchuck (Martin Starr) enjoy comic books, science fiction and comedy.

The Weir family is rounded out by their parents, Harold (Joe Flaherty), a sporting goods store owner and their mother, Jean (Becky Ann Baker), a stay at home mom.

After running for less than a season, NBC cancelled the series, without having at least the decency to finish the run of the series.

Eventually, Fox Family picked up the last few episodes, but the series was doomed.

For the next four years, the series obtained an almost cult status while fans (and others who just wanted to watch good TV) clamored for a DVD release.

Producers and music industry types worked to hammer out expensive details regarding the original music in the series and an expansive DVD box set was finally released in 2004.

If you are interested in well written, well acted television, you will enjoy the Judd Apatow produced series that should have be given more of a chance that it got.

You should...

...check it out!!! (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

Playlist for April 1st, 2011

THERE ARE SOME SELECTIONS IN THIS WEEKS PLAYLIST THAT INCLUDE ADULT LANGUAGE!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.


This past week marks the 15th anniversary of the death of Jeffery Lee Pierce, temperamental and mercurial frontman of the influential band the Gun Club.

Jeffrey Lee Pierce on vocals,
Patricia Morrison on bass

Formed in 1980, the Gun Club included members such as Pierce (a former reggae aficionado and head of the U.S. Blondie Fan Club) and the great Kid Congo Powers (who also played with the Cramps and continues performing with the Pink Monkey Birds).

The band, due to the driving force of Pierce, who now turned his musical attention to old blues and country, played a mix of punk, country and blues that has been described as "tribal rockabilly blues" and has influenced other great bands, such as Uncle Tupelo and the White Stripes.

Contemporaries of the Gun Club include the Blasters, X and the Cramps.

Pierce passed away in 1996 after establishing a reputation as a wildman who was, at best, unpredictable and, at worst, unreliable.

This week, we pay tribute to one of the great bands of the 1980's and their insane frontman.



Enjoy!!!

Playlist for March 25th, 2011

Spring is around the corner out on the prairie (despite the current chill in the air).

Over the past week, the Lady of the Manor and I have begun to get outdoors after the long winter, raking up leaves, picking up branches and getting our garden prepared.

With that in mind, here are some good gardenish related tunes for everyone to enjoy.

The first half of the playlist is pre-war tunes, from hillbilly music to the blues, with some jazz and hawaiian guitar thrown in.

The second half includes more modern sounds, some rock and a little bluegrass thrown in at the end.

Get out and take advantage of the good weather, when it finally gets here and...



...Enjoy!!!

Movie Night - Vanishing Point

1970 Dodge Challenger, Colorado tags OA-5599

With a beginning that brings to mind the Ouroborus, Vanishing Point begins with the California Highway Patrol setting up a roadblock consisting of two bulldozers and many police cruisers.

On the horizon, we see a white 1970 Dodge Challenger, racing towards the roadblock.

Screeching to a halt, the Challenger turns around to race back down the road from where it came, passing a black Chrysler Imperial on Sunday at 10:02 AM.

Barry Newman as Kowalski

The film then backtracks and begins to tell the story of Kowalski, who pulls into a garage in Denver, Colorado at 11:30 PM on Friday, delivering a black Chrysler Imperial from San Francisco, California to Argo's Car Delivery Service.

He asks for another car to deliver back to San Francisco that night, which his supervisor is reluctant to do, since Kowalski hasn't slept.

Kowalski insists and is given a white 1970 Dodge Challenger to deliver.

After a stop at his drug dealers hangout to pick up Benzedrine, a powerful stimulant, Kowalski makes a bet that he can be in San Francisco by 3 PM the next day.

As he speeds toward his destination, Kowalski attracts the attention of the various highway patrols in Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California, always racing onward.

Cleavon Little as Super Soul

Along the way, a blind DJ from Goldfield, Nevada named Super Soul, who uses a police radio scanner to track the chase, begins to root for Kowalski to get away and begins broadcasting instructions and encouragement.

This moody piece of cinema is a cult classic amongst gearheads.

You should...

...Check it out!!!  (WP)(AMG)(IMDB)

1000 views!!!

Totally stolen from somewhere on the Internet

When I first started this blog at the beginning of December 2010, my hope was to have my friends and co-workers share in the joy I get from good music, movies, food and fun.

In that time, the response has been above and beyond.

It appears I've gone worldwide.

Who knew that this little oasis on the internet would get viewers from not only the US, but also from:


Albania
Australia
Brazil
Canada
China
Czech Republic
France
Georgia
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Israel
Italy
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Poland
Russia
Serbia
Singapore
Spain
Switzerland
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Vietnam

That is quite a list.

To everyone who visits my spot here, a big "thank you".

Spreading the word about the things I love in a time of reality TV muck, vapid pop music and fast food is the purpose of this endeavor.

Thank you for sharing in that and keep an eye out for more of my humble opinions in the future.

Food - Wine & Cheese (Part I)

Michael Palin as Mr. Wensleydale and
John Cleese as the Customer in the
Cheese Shop Sketch from Monty Python

I listen to NPR.  I'm a member and full fledged supporter.

Having said that, I've never really understood the stereotype of the NPR listener as a "wine & cheese snob".

I've always been more of a beer and sausage or whiskey and steak kinda guy.

But, I do like good food, as does the Lady of the Manor, so tonight, we decided to have a little "wine & cheese" tasting.

After a little research courtesy of the Wine Bible and the internet, we came across a couple of good combinations.

Wensleydale is (according to Wikipedia) a medium textured cheese and is (according to "The Cheese Book") similar to cheddar.

The wensleydale we found at our local chain grocer had cranberries in it.

It pairs up nicely with a good Merlot or with a with Rias Braxas (the Martin Codax Rias goes great with just about anything, though).

In my opinion, the merlot really brought out the flavor of the cranberries and was better.

Next, we had a brie with mushrooms called "Champignon", a double cream cheese from Germany.

It pairs up with Beaujolais Nouveau, which helps bring the creaminess of the brie and the earthiness of the mushroom to the forefront, without overpowering them.

Great Find - The Wine Bible

I am a library lover.  I am fortunate enough to live in a place with a great public library and, thanks to this being the prairie capital, also the state library.

Thanks to access to these great places of learning, I have come across a lot of great music, a lot of wonderful films and a multitude of great books.

One of those is "The Wine Bible" by Karen MacNeil.

Written as almost a text book, it is divided into sections on wine basics, various wine regions and the products they have.

Having said that, you shouldn't be afraid of it.

Even though I look at it as a text book, it is written without pretension and is easily accessible.

I liked it so much, I went to my local chain bookstore to pick up a copy and it has proven to be a great find.