RIP Steve McNair

Former Titans QB, Steve McNair found shot to death.

Crazy. On all fronts.

Five For Friday (Happy Fourth!)

1.) Jimi Hendrix: "Freedom"


2.) Shooter Jennings: "4th of July"


3.) Bon Jovi: "Bells of Freedom (Alternate Lyrics)"


4.) U2: "4th of July"


5.) P.O.D.: "Freedom Fighter"

Five For Friday (RIP MJ)

If you are a music fan of any capacity, you understand the influence on pop culture and musical greatness of Michael Jackson. There's nothing I can say that hasn't been said or that wouldn't seem over the top or ... whatever. He was my generation's Elvis, pure and simple. Completely awesome and completely tragic all at once.

Music critic Rob Harvilla is quoted over at Idolator: “This is devastating in an unexpected and overwhelmingly surreal way. I’m also tremendously/overly conscious that at this exact moment thousands of writers/bloggers/pundits are simultaneously scrambling to wrap their heads around it and ‘cover’ it, to both publicly acknowledge this terrible fact for posterity and also add a bit of personal spin, What Michael Jackson Meant to Me. The next 24 hours media-wise are gonna be incredible. This is the (expletive) all-time black diamond of obits: How do you reconcile the unimpeachable genius of his artistic prime with the train-wreck horror of his public descent, especially given the fact that the former ended and the latter began at least two decades ago? Is there any doubt this tragedy will occasion Absolutely the Worst Jokes of All Time? Did you stop for 30 seconds and mull over exactly how to address this news on your Twitter?”

Exactly.

In the end Michael Jackson was just another man who had incredible talent only to (essentially) flush it down the toilet of self-absorption and self-worship. This is not uncommon for artists or, really for you and me if we're honest with ourselves. All I ever think about when I hear someone famous has died is 'It is appointed for man once to die and then comes the judgment.'

Not to be trite about it but Michael Jackson faced the same thing yesterday that all of us will one day face. The End. I pray he trusted Jesus before yesterday because Michael Jackson's fame no longer matters to him, I guarantee that.

Anyway, here's my Five for Friday with, naturally, only MJ songs (instead of a shuffle, I'll rank them by my favorites).

1.) "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" from the album "Thriller." I can't do anything but smile when I hear this song (especially the 'Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa, Ma Ma Se, Ma Ma Sa, Ma Ma Coo Sa')

2.) "Man in the Mirror" from the album "Bad." It's almost a cliche but it's so earnest and delivered with so much conviction that I still love it.

3.) "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" from the album "Off The Wall." Great dance song and similar for me to 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' in producing a smile almost every time I hear it.

4.) "Billie Jean" from the album "Thriller." What a hook-y bass line and some fantastic, funky and clean guitar work. Outstanding melody with the right amount of tension and moodiness. Almost a perfect pop song.

5.) "Thriller" from the album "Thriller." this has to be included for the simple reason that me and the girls spent all of last Halloween giving out candy while this song was on a loop and spending our spare time dancing in the living room to it. It also brings back fun memories of childhood for me.

Playing the Victim (Yes, Again)

Sounds like columnist Leonard Pitts has been reading my blog.

;-)

Where I part company with John is on his contention that Letterman's joke belongs in a compendium that includes Jeremiah Wright complaining about ''them Jews'' and Tim Hardaway saying, ''I hate gay people.'' If conservatives were ever gassed or beaten because of what they are, I must have missed it.

But some conservatives admit to no such distinction. They see themselves not as adherents to a political ideology, but as a besieged minority, which speaks volumes about the deterioration of that ideology since the days of Ronald Reagan. I mean, I often disagreed with the 40th president, but at least I understood him, at least he articulated an intellectually coherent vision: small government, fiscal restraint, foreign-policy pragmatism.

By contrast modern conservatism is defined by an Alice-through-the-looking-glass incoherence: small government except when it is growing larger than ever, fiscal restraint except when we are spending like Michael Jackson in a Disney gift shop, foreign-policy pragmatism except when we are trying to transform the Middle East.

Indeed, sometimes it feels as if it is no longer defined by principles at all, nor by energy and ideas, but rather, by a limitless ability to feel put upon and slighted. To be a conservative these days is, or so they would have you believe, like being black in Birmingham in 1952. It is to be the victim of media, culture and law, which hate you just for being.

BTW, Leonard Pitts' columns also run in The Herald.

Five For Friday

In case you don't know, it works like this:
(Idea stolen from Ick Music)
I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five with a bit of insight for each track.
Then it’s your turn! Just share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments and see what your fellow readers are listening to as well.

1.) "It's Only Love" by Bryan Adams (with Tina Turner). From the album "So Far, So Good." Meh. My wife loves Bryan Adams but I don't think this one is one of her favorites. Classic 80s production. Very shiny and slick. The lead guitar is really all over the place in this song.

2.) "The Shifting, Whispering Sands, Part 1" by Johnny Cash. From the album "Johnny Cash Sings The Ballads Of The True West." Cash was one of the few country artists to do concept albums back in the day. This one is him basically talking through a story while a quiet country shuffle lays down the background. Very Sons of the Pioneers-like. You never know what's gonna come up on a shuffle.

3.) "Saturn" by Skillet. From the album "Skillet." This is from Skillet's debut album (back before they had any kind of production budget and were just a straight-ahead rock band without any of the techno rock-leanings they would later display). I could take it or leave it.

4.) "Breathe" by Newsboys. From the album "Take Me To Your Leader." Must be the day to get songs from my wife's albums (this one is hers, I'm sure). A "swirling" song is the best way I can describe this.

5.) "In The Likeness Of You" by Petra. From the album "Unseen Power." YES! This album was my first entry into Christian rock back in the day. I was into Guns N' Roses and somebody (naturally) suggested I try Petra ... boy were they wrong. This album still brings back memories though. That being said, this song is (charitably) not very good.

POLITICS: Palin/Letterman II

Looks the whole Sarah Palin/David Letterman dust-up may be over. Hopefully.

POLITICS: Sarah Palin (Playing the Victim)

If you read my Facebook status on this subject, some of this will be a repeat. I wish I could be more eloquent and be better about getting my thoughts together but this is my blog so ...

Sarah Palin has recently lambasted David Letterman for making a crude, sexually-charged joke about her daughter, Willow (she's 14). Letterman said he was joking about Bristol, Palin's older daughter (the one who was pregnant during last year's campaign). This brings up a few disturbing trends to me (for the record, I am a conservative-leaning guy with many libertarian tendencies politically. I mainly seek to align my politics with my faith in Jesus - which means that most of the time, I am turned off by politicians.) What follows may be random at times.

-- It is completely obvious to me that Letterman was making a joke about the older daughter (the one Palin/McCain trotted out at the convention with her baby-daddy, Levi) and Letterman's joke writers just didn't check out the fact that the younger daughter was actually the one at the Yankees game he was joking about. Letterman said he didn't mean anything about the younger daughter. He apologized for the joke and invited Palin on his show. In my view, Palin is now being unreasonable (after first properly defending her family) and trying to score some "us vs. the elites" points. Palin's basically calling Letterman a dirty old pervert on national TV (see the 'Today' show interview with Matt Lauer). It's all just stupid IMO and she's obviously keeping it up to score political points. A mature person would let it go after someone apologizes to them.

-- (Side Tangent): "The Media:" Let's get rid of the notion that anyone, anywhere is objective. The media strives to be as objective as possible (in theory) but every single human being on the planet has a world view that he/she sees things through. If the media is liberal, it's because a majority (not all) of the people working in the media have that particular world view. Like I said, any world view will color how you report things. I'm sure there are elements of "the media" that actively seek to destroy people like Palin and promote people like Obama. However, there are just as many, if not more, reporters out there who are just trying to do their jobs and put food on the table no matter who's in office. Did many get caught up in the hype of Obama? Most certainly. And they should be called out for it. Let's be honest though for a moment. Fox News isn't any more 'Fair and Balanced' than the New York Times or CNN or MSNBC. People have a large tendency to want to have their views reinforced. That's why Rush Limbaugh is so popular. I remember many days feeling beaten up because I was one of not many conservatives at my workplace and I would listen to Rush just so I could hear someone who agrees with me (though I find myself not listening too much these days). Fox News is popular not because they are 'balanced,' but because they are a conservative news channel and people want their world view reinforced.

-- Sooner or later, conservatives have got to stop playing the victim and get ahead on their ideas, not on being hated by the "liberal elite media."

-- I didn't think or say that the joke was funny. It was, however, simply a joke (and not a call for statutory rape, as Palin says). Letterman apologized for it and invited her on his show. But, she'd rather continue her campaign in "the media" to blast him. It makes her look small and petty, IMO.

-- I applaud her for sticking up for her kids. Now, though, I think she is using her kids in a quest to keep her name out there ... Alaska is a long way from the mainland and press coverage isn't so easy to get up there.

-- I respect people that call it like they see it. Palin is a politician, though, and is using her image as a straight-shooter to get attention. There has to be a reason I wince whenever I see her interviewed on TV. It's not because I am uncomfortable with straight-shooters but it's because I think she's playing to an audience and propagating the "elites vs. regular Joes" mentality and using that to score political points. I listened to the VP debate on the radio coming back from my grandfather's funeral in October '08. Palin was a joke (so was Biden, really). She didn't answer many questions directly and spent much of her time spouting things (cough'maverick'cough) that weren't all that directly related to the question she was asked. Had she been a man, she would've been torn apart the next day, IMO. Palin gets a lot of credit for being "like us" and "the media" takes a lot of heat for stereotyping her as not that bright. My view is still that I know who I am and I know my intellectual capacity and I know I want someone much smarter than me to be running the country, not someone I want to hang out with on the weekend.

-- Playing the victim is something conservatives used to decry. Now, it's our calling-card. Present your ideas, don't apologize for them and be straight up about what you believe. Don't get upset when "the media" doesn't like it. Ideas, ideas, ideas. Seriously.

-- I did not vote for Obama and will not (assuming he still holds the same positions in 2012). However, the conservative movement is turning shrill and petty. If Palin is the future of the GOP, I want out (assuming she continues down this road).

-- The way so-called conservatives are acting during the Obama presidency was better the first time I saw it, when it was called Bill Clinton's presidency. (I'm not giving liberals a pass on anything, I'm just speaking about this topic right now). I like Palin as a personality and I think she would make a good mayor or representative even (probably a good TV personality, in all honesty). I just don't think she'd be a good president.

Five For Friday (Getting To Be A Habit)

Fiver on Saturday ... yet again

1.) "Smile" by The Jayhawks. Got this from a compilation put together by a blogger (the long-since abandoned What Would Jesus Blog? blog). A very nice song I should listen to more often (that's what the Five for Friday is good for for me). The lush string section really takes this song to a new level with a nice nice minor key chorus that is sad and uplifting at the same time.

2.) "Flowers On The Wall (with The Statler Brothers)" by Johnny Cash. From the album "At Madison Square Garden." This isn't really Cash but just The Statler Brothers taking a solo turn at one of Cash's shows. I LOVE this song. It has to be one of my earliest musical memories (probably because of the 'Captain Kangaroo' reference).

3.) "Sorrow" by Pink Floyd. From the album "Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd (Disc 1)." This sounds like what you would think a Pink Floyd song sounds like. Very reverb-y and ethereal. I can handle Floyd in medium-sized doses. Moderation is key.

4.) "Five Candles (You Were There)" by Jars of Clay. From the album "Much Afraid." Jars is a great album band (meaning they are a great band to sit down and listen to with headphones on, relaxing and thinking about what you are listening to. This was their sophomore album and easily, in my book, the weakest of their career. This was played endlessly on WAY-FM back when I delivered pizzas in college.

5.) "Say Say Say" by Michael Jackson. From the album "King of Pop (UK Version)." This is a duet with Paul McCartney. Blah. Michael Jackson is a freaky individual but he could write/sing a great pop song. This isn't one of them.

Five for Friday (1991)

1991 was the year between junior high and high school for me. I don't know why I've thought of that today, but I have. So, in honor of that year, all of today's five will be from 1991 (according to my iTunes sorting)

1.) "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" by Marty Stuart. From the album "Tempted." I didn't get in to the country thing until probably a year or two later but I always like Marty Stuart.

2.) "Double Talkin' Jive" by Guns N' Roses. From the album "Use Your Illusion I." My mom took this tape away from me, I'm pretty sure. :-)

3.) "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" by Bryan Adams. From the album "Waking Up The Neighbors." Ah, yes. Bryan Adams and 1991 go together like peanut butter and jelly.

4.) "Why Go" by Pearl Jam. From the album "Ten." Beginning of teenage angst, very appropriate. Still a good song/album.

5.) "Diamonds And Pearls" by Prince. From the album "Diamonds And Pearls." KQ-105 in Paris played this one a bunch, I'm pretty sure.

Five For Friday (School's Out!)

1.) "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen. From the album "Greatest Hits I." Introduced to Queen through "Wayne's World" (who my age, WASN'T?) and still feel the urge to head bang when the song gets ramped up. Excellent.

2.) "The Square Dance" by Eminem. From the album "The Eminem Show." Eminem is small doses is fun sometimes (a guilty pleasure, b/c it's kinda vile). This song is kinda serious at times (Iraq, etc.) but then gets back to talking about what Eminem loves to talk about, himself.

3.) "Helpless" by Metallica. From the album "Garage Inc." Man, this is fast. This is one of the several songs on Metallica's covers album that I am ambivalent about. I don't always skip it, but do much of the time.

4.) "The Fightin' Side of Me" by Merle Haggard. From the album "40 #1 Hits." When they're runnin' down our country, man, they're walking on the fightin' side of me. Haggard can write a 'love it or leave it' song better than anyone. (BTW, I've gone from glam rock to rap to full-on metal to old school country today ... what could possibly be next).

5.) "Good Monsters" by Jars of Clay. From the album "Good Monsters." This is the best Jars album, IMO. this has a great, soaring, minor-key chorus (that's not easy to do, FYI). Lyrically, it's a challenge to believers to do something: If good won't show it's ugly face/Evil won't you take your place/Nothing ever changes/Nothing ever changes.../By itself.

Remember

And this day, with America still at war, it is also fitting that we remember the soldiers currently serving in harms way. Because, as any veteran can attest, just one moment, one explosion, or one bullet separates Veterans Day from Memorial Day. Soldiers currently in Iraq and Afghanistan are fighting for our freedoms today, knowing it’s possible they may never see tomorrow. These troops—and their mission—deserve our support each day, and our prayers every night. May God watch over them—and their families; May He give them courage in the face of fear, and righteous-might in the face of evil.
From National Review Online via The Thinklings.

Five For Friday (On Saturday, YET Again)

1.) "A Conspiracy" by The Black Crowes. From the album "Amorica." I love the Crowes first two albums and a few recent ones. This on and "Three Snakes ...," not so much.

2.) "Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad" by Moby. From the album "Play." I'm not sure which commercial this one was in. Doesn't everyone have this one Moby album.

3.) "Down" by Fuel. From the album "Something Like Human." I dig this one still. Nice choppy riff.

4.) "Omega" by Rebecca St. James. From the album "Pray." This is Shannon's CD.

5.) "Waiting For The Worms" by Pink Floyd. From the album "The Wall." Not the best from Pink Floyd. Maybe I'm not in the right state of mind. :-)

Just Say Hello

... or "How NOT to act when you meet your favorite band."



EMBED-Black Sabbath's Biggest Fan - Watch more free videos

WARNING: BEFORE YOU HIT PLAY, know that this guy is loose with the ole tongue and, as such, this clip has some salty language. Earmuffs on, kids.

Found via The Screen Door.

Five For Friday (On Saturday, Again)

Late again ...

1.) "She Looks To Me" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. From the album "Stadium Arcadium: Mars." Ever since John Frusciante re-entered the fold of the Chili Peppers, the songwriting is so much better. Granted, it's also a bit more mellow, like this track. RHCP suffer from the same fate that I've described as the 'Collective Soul Syndrome.' That is, they write really good songs that are instantly catchy and melodic but never stick out as GREAT songs.

2.) "Always Come Around" by Seven Day Jesus. From the album "Ten: The Birthday Album: Then." This is a compilation that Forefront Records put out in the late '90s celebrating their 10th birthday. Seven Day Jesus was one of those many, many, many bands that had one or two hit (like this one - which is catchy but not all that memorable) on Christian radio back then when things were starting to explode. Side note: The band I once tried out for (but didn't make), Jesse's Vineyard, was heading out on a tour with SDJ shortly after I tried out (but didn't make). i guess that all worked out in the end though. :-)

3.) "Izabella" by Jimi Hendrix. From the album "Live at the Fillmore East." This is the remastered and expanded Band of Gypsies released in the late '90s. To me, this is Hendrix's peak with the great rhythm section of Buddy Miles (drums) and Billy Cox (bass). There's just so much groove on this album. Side note: My daughter is not named after this song but I was listening to this song when we were trying to come up with baby names for our first daughter. Still love this song.

4.) "Light Gives Heat (Live)" by Jars of Clay. From the album "Blood:Water Mission 06 Christmas." This was a download-only album that I got in an email from B:WM. This is a live cut from a song off of "Good Monsters," which is an outstanding album in itself. Jars is not really a great live band (I mean, they play well, they're just not that great an experience live) but live recordings are their friend, IMO, from a purely musical standpoint. This is a good, moody song.

5.) "Red House" by John Lee Hooker. From the album "Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix." "Red House" is Jimi's signature blues song. So, you'd think that a blues legend like John Lee Hooker would do a bang-up job on a cover of the song. You'd be right and wrong, I think. Hooker definitely makes it his own thing and really strips it down to a more sparse, haunting feel that he does so well. However, a song like this kinda calls for the treatment that Hendrix originally gave it, tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic and flip. This is good for what it is, a cover stuck on a tribute album.

Why I Love Amazon's MP3 Store

Often, on the day of a new album's release, Amazon's MP3 store will offer an album for anywhere from $1.99 to $4.99. How killer is that? Today, Green Day's new album came out and it's on sale at Amazon for $4.99. If you don't like the album, no big deal, but if you do like an artist, this is just plain awesome.

Bryan Adams Solo/Acoustic

No Five for Friday this week. Don't feel like doing it, to be honest. :-)

My lovely bride and I, along with a friend, went to see Bryan Adams solo/acoustic in Louisville Thursday night (also got a meet-n-greet time). My wife is a big fan of his, I like some songs but am not rabid about him or anything. My recurring statement of the night though was "I liked that better than the original." I'd buy the CD if he released a solo/acoustic live album. It was a really good concert.

Note to the girl who climbed up on stage and the lady who brought an album to e autographed after being told not to bring anything b/c he would autograph the CD they were giving us: You're not special, the rules apply to you too.

Note to other fans: When you're going to a show that's billed as solo/acoustic,t hat means it's not a big rock show so getting sloppy drunk and 'Wooooooo!'-ing all the time just makes you look stupid. Also, yelling to him that Jesus loves him while drunk makes you look like an idiot. Just say no.

Note to the guy behind us: When he's singing 'tell me have you ever really, really, really loved a woman,' he's not specifically asking you, dude. So, you don't have to answer 'yep!'

Favorite song of the night: 'Please Forgive Me' (even if he did kinda turn it into a country nasal-fest for fun).

It's Funny Because It's True

There are some who are sincere when they close their eyes and there are those who know how to work a stage. :-)

Via Wade

Five For Friday (On Saturday)

Using Pandora again ...

1.) "My Old Self" by Wide Mouth Mason. From the album "Wide Mouth Mason." Saw these guys open for Kenny Wayne Shepherd in 1997. I've kept up with them every since. Nothing really beat this first album though (still listen to it quite a bit, actually).

2.) "Come Rest Your Head" by Tonic. From the album "Head On Straight." Never heard this song before now. Not bad, not great. Straight middle of the road, really. Kinda hypnotic sounding.

3.) "Doesn't Remind Me" by Audioslave. From the album "Out of Exile." This wasn't I expected from Audioslave when I first heard it. Very simple intro/chord progression. Very unlike Tom Morello. Audioslave never lived up to their potential, IMO.

4.) "Yesterday I Saw You" by Rich Robinson. From the album "Paper." Rich Robinson is the guitar-playing brother from The Black Crowes. This sounds very much like a Crowes song with a less-soulful lead singer.

5.) "Learn To Love" by Extreme. From the album "Saudades de Rock." This is Extreme's reunion album that was released last year. Extreme was always underrated in my book and unfairly lumped in with hair bands when they weren't really a hair band in musical style. If you've ever like an Extreme song, you'll like the new album, too. Plus, Nuno Bettencourt is an awesome guitar player, plain and simple.

Five For Friday (04.24.2009)

Not much time today so I went to Pandora and chose the five from my "Bombastic Radio" station (I believe I entered Queen and Muse as my artists to base this station on). And, only one album cover this week.

Here's my five:


1. "Listen" by Collective Soul. From the album "Disciplined Breakdown." Still like this band and album (and song) quite a bit.
2. "Be Like That" by 3 Doors Down. From the album "The Better Life." Blah, blah, blah.
3. "Learn To Fly" by Foo Fighters. From the album "There Is Nothing Left To Lose." This is what the Foos (Dave Grohl, more specifically) do best. Great melody with right amount of crunch.
4. "The Zephyr Song" by Red Hot Chili Peppers. From the album "By The Way." The Peppers have had a knack of writing very good songs the last few albums but it's kinda the same curse that plagues Collective Soul. Very melodic and just plain good songs, but nothing GREAT.
5. "Fields of Despair" by Dragonforce. From the album "Sonic Firestorm." What can I say about this Dragonforce song except that it's a fast song. Really, really, REALLY fast.

Strange, But Kind Of Interesting

The Oak Ridge Boys cover The White Stripes "Seven Nation Army." The vocal overlay on the bass line is kinda intoxicating.