When I looked at the catalog of recordings from The Who, I mentioned that they were about to launch a ‘super deluxe’ version of their classic rock opera Tommy. Now that it has arrived, and I’ve had a few weeks to listen to it thoroughly, I wanted to check back. My thoughts? It is at once essential, solid, and throw-away.
Sometimes it is easy to be cynical and assume that young people are only seeking the quick and easy path to pop stardom – many are working hard to become the next generation of truly great musicians. Combining passion for the music with hard work and research, here are a few videos by one young guitarist you will definitely remember!
Quick, what was your first job? Something entry-level and basic? Would you want to be defined by it, no matter how embarrassing or how much success you’ve enjoyed since then? CNN sure thinks so, based on their ridiculous profile of Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon. Or, as CNN sought to define her, former “Hooters” waitress.
There’s a saying that impact and influence are not measured by sales. While true for jazz, it also holds in the rock music world. Soft Machine was a creative psychedelic rock group founded by Robert Wyatt and toured with Jimi Hendrix. Wyatt went on to record some tracks while staying with The Experience that document his creative and influential style.
I wrote up my visit to the Henry Ford Museum after being there with Ford last January. Among the amazing things I saw during my visit was the actual car President Kennedy was riding in when he was shot 50 years ago this week. More amazing? It was put back into service, and other Presidents rode in it.
The ongoing joke about the finale of “Breaking Bad” was that it would end with Walter White in witness protection as Hal from “Malcolm in the Middle”, as both roles were played by actor Bryan Cranston. A recently leaked video that Forbes thinks is a legitimate special feature from the Breaking Bad DVD set looks at a similarly themed ending to the show! Yes, this video is an homage to the end of Newhart, and whether it’s a legitimately sanctioned video or not, it’s amazing to see Jane Kaczmarek and Bryan Cranston become Lois and Hal one more time! via…
Back in 2010, as The Beatles catalog was about to land on iTunes, I looked through all of their major releases and some solo works. This week we celebrate the release of ‘Tommy: Deluxe Edition’ from The Who, so I thought it would be fun to step through their catalog and look at all of the major releases.
When I was a kid my mother overpaid for scalped tickets for the King Tut Exhibit. I was still captivated when, years later, I again saw the exhibit in Cairo. New evidence tells us Tut died in a chariot crash! (Drunk chariot races= bad idea.) But there’s more… Like his mummy spontaneously combusting. It is a fascinating read on Smithsonian.
I am slowly working my way through Doctor Who; I just watched the fourth season episode “The Unicorn and the Wasp”, when the Doctor and his traveling companion Donna meet Agatha Christie. The episode is amusing all by itself, but what really had me cracking up was the end …
Over the last week we’ve lost two visionary artists in very different musical genres; two men whose names might not have been household names and who might never have burned up the pop charts, but their impact was broad and far-reaching, and who will be sorely missed. Those men were jazz drummer Ronald Shannon Jackson and rock musician Lou Reed.
Way back in the summer of 2006, my mother took my boys to the Boston ‘10th Anniversary of Pokemon’ event. That Pokemon had sustained popularity that long was stunning, but now we’ve hit a new milestone as the latest games – Pokémon X and Y for Nintendo 3DS – sold more than 4 million copies on October 12th and 13th.
While I reject the argument that anyone is FORCED into piracy by … well, anything – I do recognize that some people want to see the latest movie as soon as it comes available for home viewing. The problem is sometimes they cannot rent or buy that movie digitally, and as a result choose to pirate rather than not watch. A new site called PiracyData.org takes the latest Bittorrent data on the most pirated films, and matches that up with the availability information from Canistream.it – which is an awesome site to check movie availability in a single location, by…
Since I was old enough to understand the full story behind Christopher Columbus “discovering” America, I have wondered why a holiday was celebrated in his honor. The Oatmeal has succinctly shown why Columbus was not a man worthy of any nation’s remembrance, and in the process introduces Bartolomé, perhaps a more deserving candidate for clothing sales and bankers’ days off.
Are you an Archer fan, the FX comedy-drama about the cluelessly self-centered Sterling Archer? Frequently dumb, but often hilarious – and huge with kids and young adults (my 17-year old son laughs non-stop). And since Archer told Kane to “Call Kenny Loggins”, fans have just been waiting for Archer to prove he’s ‘Top Gun’.
Have you seen this video yet? I just did, and it’s a good reminder that freaky, unexpected, and potentially scary things can happen without warning. It takes a minute to get to the meat, but once you are there, you may have to watch it again. Have you ever seen anything like this? Stay vigilant, my friends. 😉 via LiveLeak
While I have always been an advocate of ‘owning’ music (as opposed to stealing or streaming), I have stuck with the latest tech trends: through the years I have had 45’s, 8-tracks, LPs, cassettes, CDs and MP3s. Each has strengths and weaknesses, but I am still bemused about the recent vinyl resurgence – which continues with estimates of 30% 2013 increase! Of course it is important to remember that the top-selling vinyl album of 2012 was Blunderbuss by Jack White – and that sold 34,000 copies (yes, 34 THOUSAND) … and the second top-selling album was Abbey Road by…
Despite the success of Lynda Carter in the 70s TV show, there has never been a Wonder Woman movie or another TV show. There was a failed attempt a couple of years ago, and the rumored Justice League movie became a ‘Man of Steel’ sequel. Now Rainfall Films gives a short look at Wonder Woman with great costumes and atmosphere.
We can debate whether it’s a good idea to base a decision about driving on a smartphone app and accessory, it’s better than just saying ‘I feel fine’ and getting behind the wheel. Breathometer is a device that plugs into your smartphone and measures your blood alcohol concentration quickly and easily. And the product will be on Shark Tank 9/27! Here is the description: Small enough to fit on a key chain, Breathometer, which is officially registered with the FDA, plugs into a smartphone audio jack, and together with a mobile app, transforms it into a sleek, portable and accurate…
The reality is the internet is largely populated with lies. Marketing disguised as information or personal anecdotes, news that’s agenda-driven propaganda, falsified information to sway opinions, and Photoshopped images presenting a false reality. So when a fake ‘iOS 7 makes your phone waterproof’ image came out I chuckled until someone asked if it was true. No … it’s a lie.
I am not sure how I will contain my excitement/fear in the buildup to Sunday’s “Breaking Bad” finale, but I am insanely grateful to the Internet for generating content that eases the wait with humor. I cannot fathom the amount of work that went into this fan video that remixes clips from Breaking Bad into a spoken word version of “My Way”, but it is worth watching and rewatching! Fair warning: While the video does not show specific plot lines, many of the clips may be spoilers for events and scenes through the first half of Season 5.
In an adaptation of an infamous truism, if it exists there is a dubstep for it. The latest example comes in the form of a challenge to Andrew Huang from one of his YouTube followers. Huang created a dubstep based on the opening to Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, and the video here. So what do you think – cool or crap? You can get the MP3 version of the track using ‘Pay with a Tweet/ Facebook Share’ download. Here is the video: