Monday, August 31, 2009

Whitney Houston "I Look To You"

Hello,

Whitney Houston's new CD was released today. Thanks to my friends at Rhapsody, I'm now listening to it for my second time. I know what you are wondering, is it a return to Whitney's mid-80's heyday. No, not even close. Is it a good enough CD, yes. Is it worth buying, that's a toss up. It does have some good songs on it. The two best songs on this CD are "Million Dollar Bill" and "Worth It". ("I know somebody is going to make love to this song tonight".)

What is missing on this CD? I'll tell you, some good old fashioned Whitney Houston butt kicking, up tempo songs. Where are the "I Wanna Dance With Somebody", "How Will I Know" or any of those classic Whitney uptempo songs? Other than "Million Dollar Bill", they aren't on this CD. I didn't expect her best CD ever, but I did expect this CD to be better. Of course I will probably buy it when I get money.

Pearl Jam update: I got my tickets to their Salt Lake concert yesterday. I'm so excited about seeing them live. I have listened to a lot of their bootlegs, I'm getting a bit tired of those now. It seems some nights Pearl Jam is just on a roll and kicks butt. Other nights they seem to be disinterested.

Carrie Underwood's new CD comes out on November 3rd. It's called "Play On". I look forward to the new CD from the premiere female country singer going today. A woman who also happens to be an amazing looking woman.

Thanks to Rhapsody, I listened to the new Creed song: "Overcome". It's a very good song. It's their first new song in 7 years. I know many people don't like Creed, or at least they say they don't like them. When I went to see Creed in concert a few years ago, the stadium was nearly full. Now who knows if their next CD will be any good. Besides Scott Stapp, the members of Creed formed with Myles Kennedy, to form Alter Bridge. Does that mean that Kennedy is working with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to go on the road in some form of Led Zeppelin? (Kennedy refers to the time working with members of Led Zeppelin as "sacred".) No, Kennedy is working on the next Alter Bridge CD. Here's a link if you want to read more: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=398863741&blogId=505099651 In this interview he talks about playing with the boys from Led Zeppelin and working on the third Alter Bridge CD. Yes, Alter Bridge is going to continue as a band. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I'm going to have to check them out on Rhapsody.

Currently John Paul Jones is a member of Them Crooked Vultures, a brand new super group. The other members are Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and Dave Grohl of Nirvana and The Foo Fighters. Apparently they turned down Lollapalooza to play their first show at the Metro on August 10th. The Metro is a Chicago area club that holds about 1100 people. For a review of that concert go here:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/derogatis/2009/08/them_crooked_vultures_at_metro.html. So far Rhapsody has no music for this band, nor does amazon.com have any information about any upcoming CDs. Come on Rhapsody get Them Crooked Vultures music!

Have a great day, themusicaddict

Saturday, August 29, 2009

I love college football, etc.

Hello,

One week from today BYU starts their season playing a very powerful Oklahoma Sooner team. I have the day off and am so looking forward to it. I don't expect BYU to win but I look forward to watching the Cougars play. Another one of my favorite teams is USC, they also start a week from today. They are going to be having a true freshman as their starting quarterback. That will be interesting to see how that works out. Their first game is also a week from today, when they crush San Jose St. Then they go on the road to play a should be powerful Ohio St. team.

I'll probably finish "In The Time of the Butterflies" today. It's a very sad story about how three valiant sisters were killed by a vengeful dictator. I already have my next Dominican Republic book checked out, I picked it up from the library yesterday. It's "Feast of the Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa. The goat is a reference to the mentioned above dictator. After finishing reading "Goat", I possibly will start reading Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude". A book I've started many times, but have never finished. I'm haunted by the book's first line, "Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember the distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice." I probably would be haunted by that statement many more times if I understood the full context. I actually now want to start reading "Solitude".

I also continue working on my top soundtracks of all-time list. If you have any suggestions please pass them on to me. If you are interested the free MP3 of the day at Rhapsody.com is George Strait's "Living For The Night". It'll be available until Monday sometime. There is no obligation to get these free MP3's other than registering for Rhapsody.com. There is no cost for that. Hey just like this blog!

I should be back Monday, have a great weekend. themusicaddict

P.S. Thanks Dodgers for winning two of three against Colorado. Both LA and Boston still have a very good chance of making this season's playoffs.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Pearl Jam dream setlist

Hello,

Here's my Pearl Jam dream setlist. Obviously this is very subjective and literally would probably change every day based on my mood. For instance "Leatherman" is beginning to grow on me. In one month from today I will see Pearl Jam in concert. I'm looking so very forward to it.

Here goes:
1) "Go" I want the concert to start out kicking butt.
2) "Wishlist", although a slower song, a very powerful song.
3) "Red Mosquito" picking the energy back up again, a song that for whatever reason is a lot better in concert.
4) "Do The Evolution"
5) "Grievance" At this point Pearl Jam is really on a roll and the audience is eating out of the band's hands. "I plegde my grievance to the flag. You don't give blood and take it back again."
6) "Insignificance"
7) "Evacuation"
8) "The Fixer"
9) "Got Some" I need to throw in a couple of songs from the new CD.
10) "Leaving Here" "Hey fellas have you heard the news, the women in town are being used."
11) "Breakerfall"
12) "Love Reign O'er Me"
13) "Porch"
14) "Not For You"
15) "Brain of J"
16) "Leash"
17) "Jeremy"
18) "Rats"
19) "Mankind"
20) "Spin The Black Circle"
21) "Corduroy" This is the start of the greatest of the greatest hits
22) "Alive"
23) "Black" A song that has really grown on me over the last few weeks.
24) "Crazy Mary"
25) "Elderly Woman" 3 very powerful ballads in a row.
26) "Even Flow"
27) "Rockin In The Free World" Playing two of their more kick ass songs before going into their finale.
28) "Yellow Ledbetter" They close most shows with that song.

Also check out rhapsody.com for their free song of the day. They have had free MP3's by a variety of great bands. Those include Rihanna, Beastie Boys, Green Day, Madonna, Muse (That free MP3 "Uprising" is very good.) and the Police.

themusicaddict

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Pearl Jam, "Mad Men" and "Butterflies"

Hello,

Today's live Pearl Jam bootleg is from New Orleans on August 14th, 2000. This is a pretty good set. They sing one of my favorite of their songs, "Crazy Mary". A song that I don't think gets enough respect or love. That's such a great song. Near the end of their set they play "Jeremy", "Crazy Mary", "Black" and "Porch". My Pearl Jam dream setlist is almost finished. I have 28 songs selected for it. I will be writing that list as soon as I'm finished with it.

Speaking of Pearl Jam, for a limited time you can get their new video for "The Fixer" free. It's an alright song and video. iTunes also has a 10 minute "film" in which Eddie Vedder and other band members talk about the making of "Backspacer". Four weeks from yesterday that CD will be available through Target and iTunes.

Speaking of upcoming releases, less than a week until the new Whitney Houston CD comes out. That CD, "I Look To You" comes out on Monday, August 31st. That's very rare for a CD to come out on a day other than Tuesday. Thanks to my friends at Rhapsody.com I've been able to listen to two songs from that CD. Those songs are "Million Dollar Bill". That's a pretty good song, it reminds me a lot of early Whitney Houston music. That's a big compliment. I also listened to "I Look To You". It's a good enough ballad, but not as great as "Saving All My Love For You". Now that's a ballad.

Madonna also has a double CD set coming out at the end of September. It's a greatest hits package and the CD's title is "Celebration". I looked at the track list, straight from madonna.com, and it features mostly music from the early part of her career through her peak. That's otherwise known as the best part of her career. Although if you don't have most of these songs so far, how big of a fan are you?

Updates: I'm still a big fan of "Battlestar Galactica" but we are struggling financially. I haven't been able to afford getting the videos to watch. I will finish watching all five seasons someday. I'm interested to find out who the other Cylons are and how the story ends.

Thankfully I don't have to worry about cost with books, thank goodness for the local library. I continue reading "In The Time of Butterflies". What a great book, who ever knew that the stories and history of the Dominican Republic could be so fascinating? I'll probably finish this book tonight and hopefully the library will have "The Feast Of The Goat" in by tomorrow. I'd like to start reading it then. That book is historical fiction about the assassination of the failed cattle thief, El Jefe or Trujillo. He would have to be on the Top 10 list for people most deserving of assassination.

I was also a little disappointed by Season 3, Episode 2 of "Mad Men" last night. It was not the best episode ever, it was almost boring. Of course these early episodes are setting up for the later episodes. Don Draper is still the man and Pete Campbell is still the wienie. I'm surprised we still haven't seen Duck yet, it would be too good if he didn't come back. Also I'm looking forward to some fireworks with the British company that owns Sterling Cooper.

I won't even talk about the pathetic Dodgers, other than they need someone in that clubhouse to kick some butts. Thank goodness Boston won, they keep a 1.5 game lead over Texas in the AL Wildcard.

themusicaddict

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Pearl Jam Live in Poland

Hello,

Yesterday my drive music was the June 15th, 2000 Pearl Jam show in Katowice, Poland. The title of this blog is "Live in Poland", maybe dead in Poland would have been more appropriate. Pearl Jam played a very disinterested, low energy set. There wasn't much of a connection with the crowd either, that may have been due to the language barrier. If Pearl Jam plays a set like that when I see them in Salt Lake I would be very disappointed. Only 10 of the 25 songs from my current dream Pearl Jam setlist were played that night. I'm listening to this CD while I'm writing my blog.

The first four songs they played were blah ballads, that was a very boring start to the show. Pearl Jam should never start off a show with "Release", "Of The Girl", "Sleight of Hand" and "Thin Air". Pearl Jam does gain a bit of life near the end of "Thin Air". They performed 30 songs on that night. If I'd been at that show I would have rather had them play only 26 or 27 songs and skip those first 3 or 4 boring songs. Eddie said in the early part of the concert, "We're going to get all the pretty ones out of the way". He should have substituted "most boring" for "pretty".

On that night songs end abruptly, there's no rhythm in the performance and Eddie seems especially disinterested. Even Pearl Jam classics suffer a less than proper fate. Overall it's a lackluster concert. The show does have some highlights like that night's version of "Black" is especially devestating. Eddie sings a snippet from "Another Brick In The Wall Part 2" during daughter. Surprisingly for a Pearl Jam show, those are some of the very few highlights.

I know you thought I was done with Michael Jackson news, but now there is more to report. First of all today is the two month anniversary of his too sudden death. First a disclaimer, what I'm about to write I read on the internet. I can't guarantee the accuracy of this. Apparantally a mixture of drugs administered on June 25th led to Jackson going into cardiac arrest. His doctor, Conrad Murray, administered the drugs to help Michael Jackson sleep. Murray left to make some calls, he returned to find Michael Jackson no longer breathing. Jackson's deathhas been ruled a homocide. Apparantally in the strict legal definition homocide is when death is caused by someone else, but that doesn't mean a crime was committed.

Sports update: This is a great time for sports as MLB heads into the final month of the regular season> The pressure increases with every game now. For instance, in the N.L. West the Dodgers go into Colorado for a three game series with the Rockies. Currently the Dodgers lead the Rockies by three games. This could go two ways, either LA leading by up to 6 games or they could be tied when this series is over. Three of my teams have a semi realistic chance of making the playoffs. Those three teams are the Dodgers, Red Sox and the Braves. Meanwhile the Cubs are going through another "Wait Until Next Season" season. I still love the Cubbies.

A week from this Saturday the college football season kicks off, my favorite team BYU will crush Oklahoma at the new Dallas Cowboys 1.3 billion stadium. (Just kidding, I hope BYU loses by less than 35 points.) VZW has let me have the day to enjoy it. My alma mater Utah will welcome in state rival Utah State by thrashing them on Thursday, September 3rd. 9 days and counting until that game, not that I'm counting down.

Then 8 days later the NFL kicks off the season. My hope is that Dallas does not embarass themselves too much this season. Following the season the Cowboys need to fire Wade Phillips. (Wade what do you have on Jerry that you can keep your job?)

themusicaddict

Monday, August 24, 2009

"Yellow Ledbetter", Countdown to Pearl Jam

Hello,

Yesterday my drive music was the Pearl Jam official bootleg (believe it or not, that's not an oxymoron) from the October 22nd, 2003 Las Vegas show. They performed an amazing 29 song setlist. As with most concerts in the recent past, they closed the show out with the song "Yellow Ledbetter". Singer Eddie Vedder mumbles most of the lyrics which makes it nearly unintelligible. After I got home I tracked down the lyrics. Unfortunately the lyrics don't help much in clearing up the nearly unintelligible meaning of the song. These are from lyricsty.com:

Unsealed on a porch a letter sat.
Then you said, "I wanna leave it again."
Once I saw her on a beach of weathered sand.
And on the sand I wanna leave it again. Yeah.
On a weekend I wanna wish it all away, yeah.
And they called and I said that "I want what I said" and then I call out
Again.
And the reason oughta' leave her calm, I know.
I said "I know what I waited not a boxer or the bag."

Ah yeah, can you see them out on the porch? Yeah, but they don't wave.
I see them round the front way. Yeah.
And I know, and I know I don't want to stay.
Make me cry...

I see... Ooh I don't know why there's something else.
I wanna drum it all away...
Oh, I said, "I don't, I don't know where there's a boxer or the bag."

Ah yeah, can you see them out on the porch? Yeah, but they don't wave.
But I see them round the front way. Yeah.
And I know, and I know. I don't wanna stay at all.
I don't wanna stay. Yeah.
I don't wanna stay. [x2]
I don't... Don't wanna, oh... Yeah. Ooh... Ohh...

These lyrics are ever changing, apparently based on Eddie Vedder's mood. I listened to their live performance of this song at a 2008 Madison Square Garden show. What Eddie Vedder sings doesn't match up very well with the above lyrics until the band gets to the chorus. This particular performance also has a tag from "The Star Spangled Banner". pearljam.com has lyrics to most of the Pearl Jam library, except they have no lyrics to "Ledbetter".

I don't know how reliable this is but the story behind the song is a friend of Eddie Vedder had a brother die in the Gulf War. His friend's last name is Ledbetter and the envelope in which he received that letter was yellow. That adds the poignancy especially to the phrase, "I don't know whether there is a box or a bag". I know that's different than what I have above, but as I mentioned the lyrics are constantly changing.

For more details check the wikipedia.com page for "Yellow Ledbetter". On their most recent published setlist they didn't even perform the song. However on their previous tour stop that was the last song they sang.

I continue adding songs to my Pearl Jam dream setlist, I'm up to 24 songs now. I'm going to add four or five more songs and then publish it. On their most recent setlist they performed 27 songs.

In regards to the performance I referred to at the start of this blog, the October 22nd, 2003 Las Vegas show. That was Pearl Jam's 10th anniversary show of when they first played at the Offramp in Seattle. They've come a long way since that first show. Vedder said the Offramp only holds about 200 people. It's an amazing show, definitely buy it if you can.

Have a great day, I should be back tomorrow. themusicaddict

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Pearl Jam, Pink Floyd, etc.

Hello,

Welcome to my 300th blog!

In just a little over a month from today I'll be going to see Pearl Jam with my brother. I'm very excited about it. This has been a long waited time to see them in concert again for me. I've been working on my list of my Pearl Jam dream setlist. So far I have 19 songs on it. I'm going to keep on working because they usually play 22 to 25 songs per show. In a recent show at London's 02 arena, they performed 28 songs. Included in that set is lesser known or under appreciated songs such as "Love Reign O'er Me", "Corduroy", "Porch" and "Do The Evolution". Pearl Jam next performs Sunday night in Chicago, one of the places Eddie Vedder grew up in. I will write my dream setlist here when it's complete.

Some other quick news 'n' notes. One of my favorite singers of the last several years is Avril Lavigne. She's now in the recording studio working on her fourth CD. She says this one is going to be more introspective, her vocals really shine through on some of the songs. No word yet on a release date. (Thanks Rolling Stone.) ew.com has a recent update of the "American Idols" tour hosted by Michael Slezak. These include catching up with Kris Allen (yawn!), Megan Joy (man, she's hot) and Danny Gokey. (please go away.) I have to admit the only reason I'm writing this is I'm so sick of Gokey. Please go away!! Gokey just does not have the charisma to be a star, there is absolutely nothing about him interesting in anyway. I can't decide who is more yawn inducing, him, Kris Allen or David Archuleta.

Also a couple of quick reviews of recent CDs I've been listening to as I have been driving to work. I listened to Nelly Furtado's first CD a couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it. So with great anticipation I listened to her second CD, "Folklore" and was very disappointed. This CD has a few good songs on it, however this CD is at best average.

I also listened to Pink Floyd's "The Wall". This is a classic CD but I don't think it is fully deserving of that reputation. Although this CD has some of the greatest hits of the greatest hits of Pink Floyd. Any CD that has "Run Like Hell", "Another Brick In The Wall" (which has one of my favorite guitar solos of all-time), "Comfortably Numb", "Hey You" and "Young Lust" can't be all bad. It's a pretty solid double CD, but doesn't quite deserve it's classic status.

I should be back Monday, themusicaddict

Thursday, August 20, 2009

"Oscar Wao", "In The TIme of Butterflies" + more

Hello,

I finished reading "The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Diaz. It's such a fantastic book. It chronicles life under General Rapheal Leonidas Trujillo, military backed dictator, and how miserable life was. The country was his personal playground. He was very vindictive and even saying something negative about him was a way to go to prison. You also could lose your rights, family and your possessions. I love the spirit of the Dominican people and how they are able to have good lives even with his evil presence looming over everything literally. All living areas were required to have a picture of Trujillo hanging where it could be seen.

I loved this book so much and the history of the Dominican Republic that I started reading another book about both. This other book is "In The Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez. The butterflies in the title refers to the 4 Mirabal sisters, three of whom were killed by General Trujillo for their defiance. As you can imagine both books have a lot of similarities with many of the same people and situations. There is also a third book that looks interesting, this book mainly deals with the assassination of Trujillo. It's called "The Feast of The Goat" by Mario Vargas Llosa. Goat being a derisive nickname for Trujillo.

I also would like to respond to a comment from inether: "No Code is by far the best Pearl Jam album. Ten and Vs. don't even compare. Unless, of course, you are having a Pearl Jam's most-commercial album contest." I would have to agree with inether that "No Code" is a great CD. It's highlighted by such great songs as "Smile", "Red Mosquito" and "Lukin".

However in no way is it even close to either "Vs" or "Ten". Just because a CD sells a lot of copies, that doesn't make the CD commercial. Pearl Jam has yet to make a "commercial" CD. Bands like Backstreet Boys and The New Kids On The Block make commercial music. Commercial doesn't necessarily mean good music or does a lot of CDs sold doesn't necessarily mean "sell out".

"Mad Men" kicked off this past Sunday with a pretty terrific season premiere. Making Kenny Cosgrove and Pete Campbell both head of accounts was genius. That's going to make a compelling storyline all season. In keeping with character, Peter has been a complete wienie about the whole situation.

Things I didn't need to see, Sal getting pleasured by anyone. There were a lot of cliffhangers from the season finale of year 2, however very few of those story lines were referred to. Judging by how pregnant Betty Draper is, this show picks up about 5 or 6 months later from where last season ended. For instance, the show ended last season with a big battle between Duck and Don. It was obvious that Don was going to win but where was Duck in this season's premiere? I know he'll be back later in the season.

A couple more quick things. I listened to Brad Paisley's "American Saturday Night", it was okay. I was expecting it to be a lot better CD. The new Rolling Stone cover deals with why the Beatles broke up. At first when I saw this cover I rolled my eyes. This is something that happened before most of Rolling Stone's readers were even alive. However after thinking about it, I do think it will be an interesting article. I look forward to reading it. However for future reference I would suggest to Rolling Stone to be more current.

themusicaddict

Monday, August 17, 2009

"Oscar Wao"

Hello,

I have been reading the excellent "The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". It's an excellent novel about life being a Dominican in the Dominican Republic and the USA. It follows the star crossed De Leon and Cabral families. This includes life under the 31 year dictatorship of Trujillo aka El Jefe. Besides El Jefe, Trujillo has many interesting nicknames. My favorite is the failed cattle thief. It's an amazing piece of writing and well deserving of its Pulitzer Prize. This is why I love reading. First of all this is a very well written novel plus I'm learning a lot. The Dominican Republic has a very interesting history, including interactions with the United States.

Random news: Jordin Sparks has joined Britney Spears' Circus tour. That means there is now one reason go see her tour. Victoria Beckham was the guest judge in Denver. Mary J. Blige was the guest judge in Atlanta's auditions. Also if you are interested you can see what music themusicaddict is listening to on Rhapsody. Just look under my profile: themusicaddict obviously. My profile only reflect the songs I listen to on Rhapsody.

Finally Metallica continues to be scared of digital music. Their first foray was several years ago when they battled Napster. That included them handing over names of their own fans to stop downloading. I wanted to go listen to their most recent CD on Rhapsody. One can only listen to 30 second snippets of their songs. If you want to listen to the whole CD you have to buy it. That's the beauty of Rhapsody is trying out the music to see if it is worthy of my hard earned money. You can't listen to any of their complete albums on Rhapsody. Metallica stop being scared of digital music! This will only be more and more the future of music, even for dinosaurs like you.

Here's the promised exciting news about the "Battlestar Galactica" movie. This is verbatim from ew.com. "Battlestar Galactica is getting the big-screen treatment. Universal Pictures has confirmed blog speculation that Bryan Singer, director of Valkyrie, will take on directing and producing duties for a BSG movie. Glen Larson, who created original series back in 1978, will produce as well. The film is not expected to be a continuation of current popular television show that’s running on the SyFy network but will be a complete re-imagining of the sci-fi lore that was invented by Larson back in the 70s". (Thanks ew.com)

Also "Mad Men" season 3 premiered last night. Due to my job I have yet to see it. A review will be forthcoming, I hope to watch it tomorrow.

Have a great week, themusicaddict

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Ticketmaster Sucks!

Hello,

The following is the list of charges to see Pearl Jam in concert:

RESERVED LOWER LEVEL SEATING RESERVED SEATING FULL VIEW
Charge Summary
Item Charge
Pearl Jam
Full Price Ticket US $62.00 x 2
Facility Charge US $3.00 x 2
Convenience Charge US $11.60 x 2


Delivery (Standard Mail) No Charge (Thanks for that small concession.)
Order Processing Fee US $5.10

Tickets are a reasonable price, $62.00 is not a bad price for the second greatest band of all-time. (Thanks Mom!) But then look at the add on fees. $6.00 more for a "facility charge", whatever that is. Then a convenience charge of $23.20 for both tickets which is anything but convenient. The convenience charge can also be called the Ticketmaster is greedy fee. Next is the order processing fee, also known as Ticketmaster is greedy. Although they call it something else. The tickets that use to be $62.00 all of a sudden are now $78.00 each. That's still a reasonable price but just charge me $78 straight up without the extraneous BS. This is why monopolies suck! Then after all that it costs $10 to park at the E Center, where the concert is being held. This is why concert ticket sales are going down!

Even though there is a lot of crap to go through, the reason you do it so you can see your favorite bands rock. I'm quite excited about seeing Pearl Jam in concert, I've only seen them one other time. That was either in 1994 or 1996. They were pretty good then and I'm expecting a brilliant show and we have great tickets. I am so pumped. Opening the concert will be Ben Harper and Relentless 7. I'm listening to their music on Rhapsody right now and their music is okay. I'm wondering "Why Must You Always Dress In Black?" That's a pretty good song.

My drive music yesterday was Pearl Jam's "Vs." it didn't hold up as well as I expected it to. It's still a kick butt record though, at least 10 of the songs are classics. Of the lesser known songs on that CD, I think my favorite song is "Leash". That song rocks and it's a good song to get aggression out. (By the way you can buy "Vs." for as low as .69c used at amazon.com. There are also shipping charges of course. A lot better deal than Ticketmaster.) That is going to be my drive music today as well.

Rhapsody.com has a free MP3 of the day. The last three days those free MP3's have been by Depeche Mode, Beastie Boys with Nas and Muse. Pretty respectable for free MP's. I've had issues downloading the last two songs but Rhapsody has been very timely in helping me.

Over the last couple days I've listened to 5 CD's via Rhapsody.
1) "Leave This Town"- Daughtry This is a very good CD, this really needs to be part of your collection. He has evolved along ways from "American Idol".
2) "The Fame"- Lady Gaga This CD has a lot of good songs on it, although there is some filler on it as well.
3) "Years of Refusal"- Morrissey Another solid CD by our man Moz. He made some incredible music with the Smiths and he also has made some incredible music as a solo artist. I highly recommend his live CD as well, "Live at Earl's Court".
4) "Live at 330 Studios"- Jamey Johnson The man has received a lot of praise for his music, but this set of songs does not live up to the hype. In fact, it's a major disappointment.
5) Today I have listened to Ben Harper and Relentless 7's "White Lies For Dark Times". As I mentioned it's okay. It has some good songs on it but more lame songs than good songs. I will have to admit that it's growing on me. The only reason I'm listening to this CD is that they are opening for Pearl Jam. I like to be as familiar as possible with a band's music when I'm going to be seeing them in concert.

I will be back Monday with more about Pearl Jam and Rhapsody, themusicaddict

Friday, August 14, 2009

Pearl Jam rocks! "Ten" vs. "Vs."

Hello,

With Pearl Jam kicking off their most recent tour a few days ago, it's time to pay homage to my second favorite band of all-time. First of all, here's a question. Which CD is better "Ten" or "Vs". I know most people would say "Ten" is but I have to disagree. "Vs." is Pearl Jam's greatest CD.

Let's count the classic songs, on "Ten" there's "Even Flow", "Alive", "Once", "Porch" "Black" and "Jeremy". On "Vs." there are "Animal", "Daughter", "Glorified G", "Dissident", "Rats", "Rearviewmirror", "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" and "Leash".

More coming tomorrow and word on a new "Battlestar Galactica" movie being made. Sweet!

themusicaddict

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

U.S.A. vs. Mexico

Hola!

The United States battled Mexico at Azteca Stadium in a World Cup qualifier game for next year's World Cup. The U.S.A. has never beaten Mexico at Azteca Stadium. The game was on the Mun2 (Mun Dios) channel. I watched it on a local Spanish station with a Spanish feed. That was interesting, one of the announcers was the "Goalllllllllllllllllllllllllll" person. This game should have been on a more high profile network. (ahem, ESPN!) Go United States!

The United States then folded, in the second half, as usual. Mexico beat the USA 2-1 in front of 100,000 rabid fans. I don't know a lot about soccer, but it's hard to win when the ball is around your goal most of the match. The USA is now 0-23-1 playing in Azteca Stadium. However there is a small piece of good news. For the first time in the 43 year history of Azteca Stadium, the USA actually had a lead. It lasted about 10 minutes.

I watched episodes 9-11 of Season One of "Battlestar Galactica" last night. There was the introduction of Colonel Tigh's wife. So far probably the lamest character in the show. Although I'm growing to dislke Dr. Baltar Gaius very much. Doctor pick which side you are on, it seems he's sitting on the fence. I hope both characters are not around much longer. (Although there is no rush to get rid of Number 6, the supermodel cylon.) I don't think Col. Tigh's wife is a Cylon but I wish she was so they could put her in the air lock and flush her. That's what they should do anyway.

Tom Zarek made his second appearance in the show, this time making a run for the Vice President. He's a intriguing character. What kind of deals is he making with Mrs Tigh? I like how the actor who portrays him, Richard Hatch, was also on the original "Battlestar Galactica". I like his character and I'm not a big fan of Gaius as Vice President. If (if?) Gaius is a Cylon, he's in a terrible place for the humans. (In episodes 12 & 13 this is further demonstrated. Now that I think about it, he's a Cylon. Of course!) That explains why he betrayed the humans, why the Cylons leave him alone. There is no other logical conclusion to come to. I'm really enjoying this show I watched the last two episodes of Season One tonight.

It also seems that more relationships are going to be forged from here on out, in other words hooking up. Starbuck is going to hook up with Adama's son I predicted. No she actually hooked up with Gaius, wth?

I started reading yet another book, this time "Columbine" by Dave Cullen. (It's one of the unknown Cullens from "Twilight" fame. Yes, this book is about the infamous massacre at that high school. So far it's very interesting.

Nelly Furtado is coming out with her fourth CD. (Thanks to iTunes Music Store.) All these songs are going to be entirely Spanish language pop songs. The name of the CD is "Mi Plan" and it will be released on September 15th. You can already get the first single from the CD at iTunes, it's "Mas". (Spanish for "more".) The second single was out this past Tuesday. It's called "Mi Plan" and features Alex Cuba. The third single will be out September 1st, it's "Baja Otra Luz". You can buy all the singles individually. When the CD comes out, you can use iTunes complete my album feature and get the rest of the songs at a reduced price.

A shout out to my friends at condron.us

themusicaddict

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

"American Idol" Season 9 prep

Hello,

Simon Cowell is apparently about to sign a contract that will keep him with "American Idol" for 3 more years. He's in the last year of his current contract. I'd be very surprised that it lasts three more years. In fact I wish they would just make this the last season. The quality of this show is dropping considerably. The four judge panel did not work last year, but the producers insist on continuing it this season. With Paula not coming back, they are looking for a permanent replacement starting when the live shows start. Meanwhile guest judges will include Victoria Beckham and Katy Perry.

The quality of last season's Final Four was extremely limited. Kris Allen and Danny Gokey finishing first and third? That's a definite sign that this show has jumped the shark. I think Adam Lambert will be a star briefly, but then flame out. (No pun intended.) I think the one that has the best chance of being a superstar is Allison Iraheta. In today's fickle music environment who knows how long even she will last. Being a great vocalist unfortunately does not guarantee a long career. (See Oleta Adams, Sarah Brightman etc.) It was fun while it lasted, but it's time to end it.

amazon.com has an amazing 49 free songs available this week, including a song by new country music superstar Jamey Johnson. I usually get all the free songs I can. A lot of them suck, but a lot of them turn out to be pretty good. Obviously you can't beat the price. I was at my local grocery store (Smiths) and they are currently running a promotion. The deal is buy a $25 iTunes gift card and you'll get 5 free song credits. I don't know all the requirements but you better hurry as it ends August 15th.

Congratulations to "Dreamgirls" Oscar winner and all-around fantastic singer Jennifer Hudson. She gave birth to a little boy this morning. I hope this helps her overcome the recent trauma in her life. The baby's name is David Daniel Ortunga Jr.

Also Cobra Starship's new CD, "Hot Mess" comes out today. I listened to the CD today. I listened to it this afternoon. You can listen to their new CD without a membership on Rhapsody right now. "Nice Guys Finish Last" is a great song. Another great track is "Good Girls Go Bad", no it's not a cover of the Rihanna song. I definitely would reccomend this CD. It has a lot of catchy, danceable songs on it. They seem like a very intriguing band. I registered for a month of Rhapsody with mycokerewards.com points today. I can't afford to buy new music, this way I can at least listen to it.

Songs rockin' my life: 1) "No More Words"- Berlin 2) "Stranger"- Jefferson Starship 3) "Decatur, Or, Round of Applause For Your Stepmother!- Surfjan Stevens 4) "The Happiest Days of Our Lives"- Pink Floyd 5) "Hand to Hold On To"- John Mellencamp 6) "Life Is A Lemon and I Want My Money Back"- Meat Loaf 7) "Jane"- Jefferson Starship 8) "Little Red Light"- Fountains of Wayne 9) "Rock of Ages"- Def Leppard (What do you want? I want rock and roll.) 10) "Love Me Tomorrow"- Chicago 11) "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (Live)- Green Day 12) "Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks"- Panic! At The Disco 13) "There Will Be Sad Songs"- Billy Ocean 14) "Goodbye Earl"- The Dixie Chicks 15) "I Could Not Ask For More"- Sara Evans 16) "In The End"- Linkin Park.

themusicaddict

Monday, August 10, 2009

"Mad Men" returns, etc.

Hello,

One week ago from last night Season Three of "Mad Men" finally debuts. I'm looking very forward to returning to Don Draper's world. What is going to happen to the "Mad Men" after the Cuban Missile Crisis? Another world I'm enjoying now, believe it or not, is Paterson, New Jersey. That is one of the two settings of the great Pulitzer Prize winning novel, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". What a great and hilarious book. I might even have read this whole book.

My drive music yesterday was Nelly Furtado's "Whoa Nelly", that's such a great CD. It features such great songs as "Baby Girl", "... on the Radio" (Remember The Days), "Party" and "My Love Grows Deeper Every Day". In her young career she has produced 3 solid CDs of music so far. I'm looking forward to her next CD.

Tomorrow I will be watching most if not the rest of Season One of "Battlestar Galactica". I'm really loving this show. Coming soon my reviews and excitement for this show.

Wanted: A excellent rock vocalist. We are looking for the right singer this time, "no compromises". We would like you to keep your vices to a minimum, must be able to perform your job most of the time. Singers with "lead singer syndrome" need not apply. People need Axl need not apply. Thanks, Velvet Revolver (for those who are too literal minded, I actually wrote that.)

Yes, Velvet Revolver is still looking for a lead singer, I think it's about time they give up and either break up or reunite the complete original Guns N' Roses line up. Preferably the second choice.

Songs rockin' my life: 1) "Take On Me"- a-ha The video for that song is one of the Top Ten videos ever. 2) "Hot Dog"- Detroit Cobras 3) "Nothing Man" off his excellent post 9/11 CD "The Rising" 4) "Who Is It"- Michael Jackson 5) "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want"- The Smiths This is from one of my top all-time soundtracks, "Pretty In Pink". 6) "Crazy On You"- Heart 7) "Eve, The Apple of My Eye"- Bell X1 8)
"Obsession"- Animotion 9) "Let's Go Crazy"- Prince 10) "Heal The World"- Michael Jackson The man made a lot of great music in the 90's, it just didn't get the same acclaim as his 80's work. I wonder if any of his unreleased music is any good. Purportedly he was working on two CDs at the time of his death. 11) "The Warrior"- Scandal 12) "Devil Don't Remember My Name"- Star Anna 13) "Driver 8"- R.E.M. 14) "Take Me Out"- Franz Ferdinand (currently opening for Green Day on their latest tour.) 15) "Take Me As I Am"- Sugarland

Have a great week, themusicaddict

Friday, August 7, 2009

Fantastic Soundtracks, "AI"

Hello,

As you know I'm working on compiling a list of the best soundtracks of all-time. This is an evolving list, but as of now here's my Top 15:
1) "Purple Rain"- Prince and the Revolution
2) "Pretty In Pink"- Various Artists (Rest in peace John Hughes.)
3) "Batman" Soundtrack- (1989) Prince
4) "Singles"- Various Artists
5) "Footloose"- Various Artists
6) "Who Made Who" (from the movie "Maximum Overdrive")- AC/DC
7) "Armageddon"- Various Artists
8) "Grease"- Various Artists
9) "Saturday Night Fever"- Various Artists
10)"Batman Score"- Danny Elfman
11)"Song Remains The Same"- Led Zeppelin
12)"Fast Times At Ridgemont High"- Various Artists
13)"City of Angels"- Various Artists
14)"Twilight"- Various Artists
15)"Parade" (from the movie "Under The Cherry Moon")- Prince

"American Idol" news: Katy Perry and Victoria Beckham will be a guest fourth judge on some upcoming audition episodes. The "AI" producers bullheadedly are going ahead to have a fourth judge by the time of the live shows, even though that did not work at all last season. Also Adam Lambert said he felt "safe" with Paula Abdul on the show. Adam you will just have to get yourself a blanky now. Other than Allison Iraheta and Alexis Grace, I yawn every time I think about last season.

have a great weekend, themusicaddict

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

"BGalactica" Part 3, + more

Hello,

Last night was the "Battlestar Galactica" Season One Episodes 5-8 for me. Those episodes were "You Can't Go Home Again", "Litmus", "Six Degrees of Separation" and "Flesh and Bone". I watched the first three episodes with two of my boys and then it was their bedtime. I then watched "Flesh and Bone" by myself. That was the best of the four episodes. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace was the biggest presence in this episode. She quickly is becoming one of my favorite characters. (I'm hoping the rumors that she is a Cylon aren't true.)

I love how ingeniously the directors and the writers use the human shaped Cylons, especially the Cylons who have multiple copies active. There are 12 human shaped Cylons and we have only found four. (Although Leobon Conoy told President Roslin that Commander Adama is a Cylon.) Those four are Sharon Valeri, who currently is on both Galactica and Caprica. Her copy on Galactica seems to be unaware that she is a Cylon, although someone suspects her. Her copy on Caprica is fully aware she is a Cylon, however she seems to have started siding with the humans. Even if she starts siding with the Cylons, will the humans accept a Cylon?

The lovely Grace Park as Boomer.



We also have the other seductress Cylon Number 6. Her only mission seems to be manipulating and controlling Dr. Baltar Gaius. She has him wrapped around her finger over at least the first two-thirds of Season One. Is she on an assignment for the Cylons or is she on a personal mission? She seems to be conflicted about whether to side with the Cylons or the humans. What is with all her preaching and trying to get Gaius to accept God into his life. Is that part of her programming or is that her taking steps to a different destiny? Also if Commander Adama is a Cylon, then why is Number 6 in her Shelley Godfrey mode trying to seduce him? I'm guessing probably all characters will be accused of being a Cylon at one time or another.

The other human shaped Cylons are Leobon Conoy, who was last seen leaving the air hold of the Battlestar Galactica against his will. He also was on Ragnar trying to manipulate Commander Adama. The last known Cylon is Doral who first appeared as a Public Relations person on the Galactica. He next appeared on Ragnar Anchorage with other Cylons. So far his last appearance was getting aboard the Galactica with a bomb and killing 3 people. He and Conoy seem to be the Cylons trying to destroy the humans from the outside. Whereas Number 6 and Number 8 are attempting to destroy the humans from inside. (Thanks to wikipedia.com and battlestargalactica.com for a lot of info in this blog. Any false assumptions or incorrect information are my fault.)

Paula Abdul isn't coming back to "American Idol", how awesome is that? Reading what other people have to say, more people are sad than happy about this. Why? I have no idea about why she would be that popular. She was always speaking unintelligible drivel. (Don't worry "AI" fans Kara will continue doing that.) Unfortunately we have to suffer through Kara and Randy's lame critiques still. Randy is paid millions of dollars each year for offering the same 4 or 5 critiques. He's the most overpaid person in America. Once the show ends, he'll be one of those responsible for killing it. He'll be instantly forgotten. He's smarter about that than Paula is, Paula will now fade back into obscurity.

Also I'm very excited that a great book I read a couple of years ago has been made into a movie. The book is Michael Lewis's "The Blind Side". This is a sensational book and should not be missed. I'm excited about the movie and here's the trailer. Although if you only pick one, read the book.



Also two great songs I'm going to recommend. 1) This is a classic but I was rocking out to at the gym today and I thought to myself this is just a great song. That song is Tears For Fears "Shout". Let it all out indeed. Another great song is by Anti-Flag called "Sodom, Gomorrah and Washington D.C."

Last but not least apparently Rolling Stone is trying to turn into George magazine. (George magazine was a political magazine ran by John Kennedy Jr. that went out of business a few years ago.) Rolling Stone has put Barack Obama on it's cover yet again. This is an update on how his Presidency is going. Maybe we should wait a year before we do that.

I watched "Forever Strong" with my lovely wife last night. The movie is made in Utah and is about the Highland High rugby team. It's a good video movie. It's one of those uplifting sports movie that lays on the cheese just a bit too much.

themusicaddict

Monday, August 3, 2009

A brief update

Hello,

As you know I'm making a Top ? list of the all-time greatest soundtracks. I have thought of a few to add to my list. I'm just making up a quick list right now and then I'm going to rank them in a while. Here are the new soundtracks: "The Song Remains The Same", "Singles", "Who Made Who" (the actual movie is called "Maximum Overdrive"), "Under The Cherry Moon" (yes another Prince soundtrack). That soundtrack is actually called "Parade".

Other soundtracks include: "Armageddon", "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" and "Twilight". As I'm typing this list I'm realizing how bad some of these movies are. Of course that doesn't include "Fast Times At Ridgemont High", that is a movie that deserves it's classic status.

However "Who Made Who" ("Maximum Overdrive" is the actual name of the movie.)and "Armageddon" are two of the worst movies ever. For me "Armageddon" was so boring I couldn't even watch the whole thing. That truly was a turd of a movie. Then with "Who Made Who", someone let Stephen King direct a movie,. That was a terrible mistake. He said he would never direct after that again, and the world thanks him. King's talents are his writing, stick with that Steve. He did make one good decision in having a whole soundtrack with only classic AC/DC songs. (Thanks to wikipedia.com for some information about these soundtracks. Wikipedia rules!)

"Purple Rain" remains my #1 CD by far, every song on that CD is fantastic. This is one of the best drive CDs ever. He could have chopped about 4 minutes off of the song "Purple Rain" and about 30 seconds off of "Darling Nikki" and the CD would be perfect. Although I have a feeling the record company bosses told him they wanted a certain amount of music, and this was his way of sticking it to the man. Just a guess.

After watching the miniseries and the first four episodes of Season One, here are some random "Battlestar Galactica" thoughts. Is the number 6 Cylon we see tempting Gaius a rogue Cylon, is that why she is helping Gaius? Is her copy unique from the other Number 6 Cylons? Are the copies of these Cylons unlimited? Where are the other human shaped clones? By my count there are 8 that haven't been revealed yet. How long have these human looking Cylons been around? What were the Cylons doing in the 40 years when they left the humans alone? Obviously they needed some of that time to plant the human looking Cylons. I'm hoping to watch the next 4 episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" tomorrow.

themusicaddict

Sunday, August 2, 2009

"Battlestar Galactica" Part 2

Hello,

I've had more time to myself lately as I took a couple of days off to stay home with one of my sons. The rest of our family went camping, he was being left behind as a punishment. That meant he was stuck doing everybody's chores. Don't feel to bad for him though, he had a lot more fun than work.

Yesterday we watched the first 4 episodes of "Battlestar Galactica" Season One. Those episodes are: "33", "Water", "Bastille Day" and "Act of Contrition". I really am loving these human looking Cylons. Cylon Number 6 is an enigma though. Is she trying to help the humans or is her plan to gain their trust and then smash them? Also Cylons have no right to look that good. What is going on with her lascivious nature? Is she the seducing Cylon and the rest of the Cylons are mostly business like.



There are 12 different models of the human looking Cylons and we've seen about 4 of them. What do the other 8 models look like and have those models infiltrated the humans? I'm sure the answer is "yes" to at least some of them infiltrating the humans. Probably some of these models are being held back for later use. Some of these unknown models are probably the models that are programmed to think they are human. Of course the Cylons could make more human like models, the humans can never be 100% sure that they've eliminated all Cylons. That's a very clever storyline.

Is President Roslin a Cylon that doesn't realize it. It's very convenient that she was far away from Caprica when the Cylons attacked. She ascended to the Presidency from virtually out of nowhere. She has made decisions that have cost thousands of people their lives. Although in each case the deaths were seemingly justified. On the other side she's fighting cancer, is that something the Cylons could program? Is Gaius a Cylon, that would explain a lot. That would explain why he was a traitor. That would explain why he knew the P.R. guy was a Cylon as well as that makes him look trustworthy to the humans. Oh all the delicious possibilities. I want to put that masking tape back on my glasses now and go watch the next 4 episodes. Too bad I have to work today.

I haven't read ahead to find out what happens on this show. I'm just watching it and enjoying it as if these episodes are just being shown originally. I enjoy trying to figure out what's going to happen, like perhaps a couple of intriguing possibilities in the above paragraph. In some shows it's obvious what's going to happen. However in "Battlestar Galactica" there are so many mysteries and unknown things it would be difficult to predict what's going to happen. I like that a lot, I like being challenged by my fiction. What's the fun if everything is predictable. I like being forced to think, that makes any piece of fiction that much better. ("Battlestar Galactica" just won the Program of the Year award by the 200+ members of the Television Critics Association.)

Another clever plot device is the white board that the President is keeping of survivors, it adds a very poignant element to the show. It's nice to see a baby added to the total population. Even in this bleakest of times for the human race, hope still survives. This is a very good show and I look forward to watching all 5 seasons. I still have a ways to go. The most glaring weakness is the special effects. I realize they don't have enough money for top-of-the-line special effects, but their special effects are extremely weak.

Meanwhile my reading has been all over the place, I'm not a monogamous reader. I have read a bit of the Michael Jackson biography. I also have been reading Larry McMurtry's "Comanche Moon". This is one of the books in the "Lonesome Dove" series. Even if you don't like Westerns, you need to read "Lonesome Dove". It's a truly great book. I also have been reading Andrew Greer's "The Confessions of Max Tivoli", which so far has been a great book. I also have Anthony Kiedis' "Scar Tissue", John Irving's "Until I Find You" and Audrey Nefenegger's "The Time Traveler's Wife" on tap. In addition, I have five books on hold at the library. Plus I have a bunch of magazines that I love to read. My three favorite magazines are Esquire, Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated. So much to read, so little time.

thenerdaddict

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