Hello,
There have been several sports non-stories that have been completely blown out of proportion lately. To me the worst of them has been the whole ridiculous Ozzie Guillen comments about Fidel Castro. Who the hell cares what Ozzie, a MLB manager, has to think about Fidel Castro? This isn't President Obama or a Florida politician. Why are people so up in arms about Guillen's comments? Should he be fired for these comments? Seriously why are people even suggesting that he might deserve to be fired for these comments? Although him having respect for Castro seems a bit misguided, it just doesn't matter. And in spite of his public comments do you think he really changed his mind? It's the pr game that people play.
If you are offended by Ozzie's comments, or anyone else's for that matter, ignore them. Why would you use your precious time protesting him? Don't you have any more important things going on in your life to worry about? Did Ozzie's comments do any harm to you in anyway? And what happens with you protesting his comments? It just keeps it in the news longer. Comments I'm offended by I want to go away asap.
What Bobby Petrino did, cheating, lying etc., seems much worse to me. And I didn't read or see any people protesting what he did. Not only that but a rally of about 200 people actually rallied for him. The Miami Marlins suspended Ozzie Guillen for his "stupid" comments. If Miami suspends Guillen every time he says something stupid, then he's going to miss half of the season. All of the above is why this is this year's sports non-story of the year so far.
I also hope the nonsense that's called Bountygate is over. Another ridiculous sports non story. People in the NFL actually try to hurt players on the other team? Coaches encourage their players to do this behavior? Gasp!. Next someone will tell me that professional athletes are overpaid. Is anyone surprised that Goodell denied the appeals made by Sean Payton and others? Did anyone really think those appeals were going to have success? I sure hope not. This story might be even worse than the Guillen story because this story has legs. Do you realize we've had the misfortune of hearing this story for over 3 weeks now.
Tim Tebow going to a church on Easter Sunday and speaking. This is definitely not a sports story and I'm not even sure it's a religious story.
Finally the Masters, why was that a story? I know it's the preeminent golf event of the year. But really who cares, it's golf. Does anyone else find it funny that a white guy named Bubba won an event where this club discriminate against women and people of color? And that the same event this club hosts is called The Masters? Was Rich Old White Guys Golf Tournament taken? I love the truth in advertising though. I know they don't have any women members. Do they have any non-white members? And this club is in the Deep South, yes I think the Masters is the best name for this event.
I also hate ESPN, and others preening coverage of this event. It's not like this is the Second Coming, this is just a much hyped golf tournament.
Those aren't the only sports related things irritating me. I'm also tired of the whole Lamar Kardashian fiasco. He whined about being in LA and he got traded to Dallas. Then he obviously didn't want to be in Dallas. He finally showed so little effort that he got his way and now will be on the inactive list for the rest of the season. Mr. Lamar Kardashian is so toxic to the Mavericks that they are paying him $8.9 and telling him to go away. I got to get me a job like that. Sarcasm alert: I'm sure his wife and the people behind his reality show had nothing to do with this. I expect to see Odom playing back in LA again next season. That is if his wife approves.
Tim MacMahon has a great article about the Lamar Kardashian nonsense:
http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/7793017/lamar-odom-tired-dallas-mavericks-act-had-end
Staying in Dallas, I love ESPN Dallas' Calvin Watkins. However he's the latest sportswriter that has declared that Tony Romo isn't the problem. This is what Watkins wrote at ESPN Dallas about Romo:
A: "Tony Romo is one of the best quarterbacks in the game. If Romo got to the open market, he would get picked up within 24 hours. Romo is the least of the Cowboys' problems."
I agree with him a bit, Romo is the least of the Cowboys worries. However is he the solution? No he's not the solution at all. One playoff win- as many as Tim "For Hell's Sake" Tebow. Eli Manning (Eli Manning!) has twice as many Super Bowl victories as Romo has playoff wins. So no he clearly is not the solution. He's only taken the Cowboys to one playoff appearance in the last 4 seasons. I have no idea why many people still consider him an elite quarterback. Elite quarterbacks win playoff games. Elite quarterbacks get their teams to the playoffs.
How many seasons of great stats, but no playoff wins, will he have before the Cowboys finally decide to try something different? I suggest that the Cowboys make a bold move and go get Andrew Luck and start him immediately. (The Redskins made that kind of trade so they can draft RG3.) Luck has upside while Romo shows that he's peaked.
Now the Red Wings made qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, this series starts tonight. Game 1 will be televised on CNBC. The Red Wings play the Nashville Predators tonight and Friday night. It would be nice if the Red Wings could "steal" one of these first two road games. Not only would that give the Red Wings momentum going home, but they then would also have home ice advantage.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
What to Watch and Not Watch On TV, Great songs
Hello,
Thanks to the miracle of Comcast On Demand I have a lot of flexibility in watching TV shows. Here's an update on what I'm currently liking and not liking.
Carole King's "Tapestry":
Ricky Van Shelton's "Somebody Lied":
Conway Twitty's "Tight Fitting Jeans":
Mel McDaniel's "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On":
themusicaddict
Thanks to the miracle of Comcast On Demand I have a lot of flexibility in watching TV shows. Here's an update on what I'm currently liking and not liking.
- "The Killing": After being disappointed, but not surprised I was disappointed, with the Season 2 two part premiere I've pretty much given up on this show. It's just too slow, too stupid and they tell the same stories over and over again. However I'm keeping all of the episodes on my DVR and will be able to watch them in case something interesting happens. That's not something I'm counting on. In fact this show should just tell who killed Rosie Larsen and then go away. This show has worn out it's welcome. A second season of this show is too much of a boring thing.
- "Mad Men": This show seems to be echoing the malaise that AMC is going through. I still like the stories and the characters. I love that Megan is more of a match than Don is used to. I also love that Don Draper resisted for a time the women who are trying to seduce him in his fever dream. It's time for Don to commit to one woman and stop sleeping around.
- "A Gifted Man": This show is no longer on Comcast On Demand. Does that mean it has been cancelled? I don't know.
- "Alcatraz": After a disappointing and boring first season, I don't expect this show to have a second season. I still haven't had the desire to watch the two part finale. I'm just not that interested.
- "Castle" and "The Good Wife". Although both shows are in at least their third seasons, they still retain the charm they had in previous seasons. Both shows tell great stories and have a lot of humor. Every time I see Michael J. Fox on "The Good Wife" I smile.
- "Bent": This is a show that I gave a second chance too and I'm glad I did. After a slow start this show has come into it's own. It always has a few laughs and Amanda Peet is one mighty fine looking woman. After "Castle", "Mad Men" and "The Good Wife" this is the show I most want to see.
- "Smash": I'm a big fan of this show. However for some reason Comcast On Demand is missing one of the episodes. I'm waiting for that episode to be available before resuming watching this show again. I'm afraid I will miss something. It's not like "The Killing" or a soap opera where you can miss several episodes and then pick up without missing a beat.
- "Battlestar Galactica": I love many of the shows mentioned above. However in between watching those or watching the first season of "BSG" again, I chose "BSG". Now that was such a great series. In the last episode I watched there was a coup, Boomer destroyed a Cylon battleship, she then shot Commander Adama, Starbuck got the arrow from Caprica...... That was all in one episode. For all that to happen in "The Killing" it would probably take about 4 seasons and would only be about 1/3rd as interesting.
Carole King's "Tapestry":
Ricky Van Shelton's "Somebody Lied":
Conway Twitty's "Tight Fitting Jeans":
Mel McDaniel's "Baby's Got Her Blue Jeans On":
themusicaddict
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Dodgers are 3-0! "Mad Men", "The Killing" Thoughts
Hello,
As hard as it is to believe, the Dodgers have the best record in MLB as of last night. Dee Gordon singled the go ahead run with two outs in the 11th inning. Gordon was also the offensive star of the night. He had 3 hits, 2 walks, stole 3 bases and scored twice. The Dodgers close out their 4 game series with the Padres with an afternoon game today. The Dodgers kick off their home schedule on Tuesday, April 10th. They are welcoming another one of my teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Thanks to espn.com.)
I also have been slamming the Orlando Magic, especially Dwight Howard, of late. So I watched a bit of last night's Magic-76ers game. First of all my prediction was wrong, I predicted an easy win for the 76ers. Not only did they not have an easy win, Orlando won the game. This is one of the many reasons why I don't bet. It's highly likely that the Magic will not fall below 6th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. In fact if they go on a bit of a run, and the teams ahead of them stumble some, the Magic could get as high as the third seed.
Full disclosure: I neither hate or like the Magic. I don't necessarily hate Dwight Howard either, but I do hate his immaturity and his behavior which undermines his team. Statistically Howard had a good game last night. When he's not being a petulant child, he can be a beast. He must have been focused last night as he actually hit 12 of 18 free throws, 66%! Although he only shot 4 of 14 from the field. He grabbed a mind boggling 22 rebounds. He also had 6 assists and scored 20 points. The announcers complimented Howard on his screening ability. But they also pointed out it took him 15 seconds to cross the half court line on an offensive possession. He ended up scoring a basket on that possession. That whole play says a lot about Dwight Howard. He can be one of the best players in the NBA if he wants to be.
I read an interesting article in Sports Illustrated last night about the riots following sporting events. This article was about the riots following Vancouver losing to Boston in last season's NHL Stanley Cup. Two main points brought up in the article 1) Sports is the most common cause of riots. 2) The city of the winner is usually where the riots occur. Typically the fans of the losing team goes home to lick their wounds. That last point especially makes it intriguing that Vancouver fans had the riot.
Speaking of the NHL, "my" Red Wings lost yesterday in their final regular season game. That means they are the 5th seeded team in the Western Conference. They'll play the 4th seeded Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. The NHL playoffs begin April 11th.
Tonight on AMC is the fourth episode of Season 5 of "Mad Men". For the first time in I don't know how long I'm not excitedly looking forward to it. That's because last week's episode was, sad to say, boring. From the heavy Betty Draper to the fact that her character is becoming irrelevant. Also the lame Harry Crane getting way too much screen time. Crane, who is allegedly the person who is in charge of SCDP's TV department not knowing who the Rolling Stones are. He then signed the wrong band, The Trade Winds, to an endorsement contract. I don't know how much I like the mortality of Don Draper. Draper may be an adulterer and cad, but he always has had the element of cool. However him hanging out waiting for the Rolling Stones to show up, you could see him losing some of his coolness. Without the cool Don Draper, this show will have a hard time maintaining it's coolness of the first 4 seasons.
As for "The Killing" again I'm not expecting a lot from tonight's third episode of Season 2. I expect a lot more dreariness and turgid story telling. The title of tonight's episode, "Numb" reveals too much about the quality, or lack thereof, of this show. One of the main story lines of "Numb" is Linden looking for Rosie's missing backpack. (Is it just me or is this about the fourth time they have looked for Rosie's backpack?) The same backpack that Holder had given to him by the Larsens. He sensed something not quite right in the Seattle police department and switched out Rosie's backpack and then disposed of it. I love the crooked cop realizing knowing not all is right with the Seattle police department. Also I dread the return of Mitch Larson and more of the horrendous over acting of Michelle Forbes.
Again the lame dichotomy of the Seattle police force being either crooked or inept is extremely boring. (Come on Mr. Duck Phillips, really Lt. Carlson, please straighten them out.) I dread to see how the dichotomy of stupidity of this show will continue to drag this show down. I'll probably watch tonight's episode, but I don't know how much longer I'll continue watching this show. It's not must see TV like great TV should be. I've stopped caring about who killed Rosie many episodes ago.
themusicaddict
As hard as it is to believe, the Dodgers have the best record in MLB as of last night. Dee Gordon singled the go ahead run with two outs in the 11th inning. Gordon was also the offensive star of the night. He had 3 hits, 2 walks, stole 3 bases and scored twice. The Dodgers close out their 4 game series with the Padres with an afternoon game today. The Dodgers kick off their home schedule on Tuesday, April 10th. They are welcoming another one of my teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates. (Thanks to espn.com.)
I also have been slamming the Orlando Magic, especially Dwight Howard, of late. So I watched a bit of last night's Magic-76ers game. First of all my prediction was wrong, I predicted an easy win for the 76ers. Not only did they not have an easy win, Orlando won the game. This is one of the many reasons why I don't bet. It's highly likely that the Magic will not fall below 6th place in the Eastern Conference playoff race. In fact if they go on a bit of a run, and the teams ahead of them stumble some, the Magic could get as high as the third seed.
Full disclosure: I neither hate or like the Magic. I don't necessarily hate Dwight Howard either, but I do hate his immaturity and his behavior which undermines his team. Statistically Howard had a good game last night. When he's not being a petulant child, he can be a beast. He must have been focused last night as he actually hit 12 of 18 free throws, 66%! Although he only shot 4 of 14 from the field. He grabbed a mind boggling 22 rebounds. He also had 6 assists and scored 20 points. The announcers complimented Howard on his screening ability. But they also pointed out it took him 15 seconds to cross the half court line on an offensive possession. He ended up scoring a basket on that possession. That whole play says a lot about Dwight Howard. He can be one of the best players in the NBA if he wants to be.
I read an interesting article in Sports Illustrated last night about the riots following sporting events. This article was about the riots following Vancouver losing to Boston in last season's NHL Stanley Cup. Two main points brought up in the article 1) Sports is the most common cause of riots. 2) The city of the winner is usually where the riots occur. Typically the fans of the losing team goes home to lick their wounds. That last point especially makes it intriguing that Vancouver fans had the riot.
Speaking of the NHL, "my" Red Wings lost yesterday in their final regular season game. That means they are the 5th seeded team in the Western Conference. They'll play the 4th seeded Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs. The NHL playoffs begin April 11th.
Tonight on AMC is the fourth episode of Season 5 of "Mad Men". For the first time in I don't know how long I'm not excitedly looking forward to it. That's because last week's episode was, sad to say, boring. From the heavy Betty Draper to the fact that her character is becoming irrelevant. Also the lame Harry Crane getting way too much screen time. Crane, who is allegedly the person who is in charge of SCDP's TV department not knowing who the Rolling Stones are. He then signed the wrong band, The Trade Winds, to an endorsement contract. I don't know how much I like the mortality of Don Draper. Draper may be an adulterer and cad, but he always has had the element of cool. However him hanging out waiting for the Rolling Stones to show up, you could see him losing some of his coolness. Without the cool Don Draper, this show will have a hard time maintaining it's coolness of the first 4 seasons.
As for "The Killing" again I'm not expecting a lot from tonight's third episode of Season 2. I expect a lot more dreariness and turgid story telling. The title of tonight's episode, "Numb" reveals too much about the quality, or lack thereof, of this show. One of the main story lines of "Numb" is Linden looking for Rosie's missing backpack. (Is it just me or is this about the fourth time they have looked for Rosie's backpack?) The same backpack that Holder had given to him by the Larsens. He sensed something not quite right in the Seattle police department and switched out Rosie's backpack and then disposed of it. I love the crooked cop realizing knowing not all is right with the Seattle police department. Also I dread the return of Mitch Larson and more of the horrendous over acting of Michelle Forbes.
Again the lame dichotomy of the Seattle police force being either crooked or inept is extremely boring. (Come on Mr. Duck Phillips, really Lt. Carlson, please straighten them out.) I dread to see how the dichotomy of stupidity of this show will continue to drag this show down. I'll probably watch tonight's episode, but I don't know how much longer I'll continue watching this show. It's not must see TV like great TV should be. I've stopped caring about who killed Rosie many episodes ago.
themusicaddict
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Dodgers 2-0, Red Wings, Dwight Howard again, More Classic MTV videos
Hello,
The Dodgers are 2-0 after beating San Diego twice to start off the season. After a disastrous opening day for my 5 MLB teams, LA pulled out a win Thursday night. Matt Kemp resumed his great play from his near MVP 2011 season. He his his first home run of the season, had 3 RBIs and scored twice. Kemp's lucky number must be 4. After two games he has scored 4 runs, has 4 hits and 4 RBIs and his batting average is .444.
Obviously neither the Dodgers or Kemp will keep up this pace all season. I love seeing the Dodgers in first place and under new management after all these years of crap. Go Dodgers!
In the NHL, the Red Wings still have a chance for the 4th seed and home ice advantage in thefirst round of the playoffs. In a game broadcast on NBC at 1:00 EST Detroit plays against the Chicago Blackhawks. If Detroit wins that game and the Nashville Predators lose in regulation, Detroit will be the Western Conference's 4th seed.
Yes, Dwight Howard again. Talk about one of the most clueless people in the world. Literally. He wants to come off as a cool guy, but he doesn't even come close. Howard puts his arm around his coach while Van Gundy is being interviewed by the media as if they are best friends. Howard butts right into that interview because as always he thinks it's about him. That's the same interview where Van Gundy is telling the media that Howard has asked for him to be fired.
Howard reminds me of the petulant boy who's use to getting his way, the kind who threatens to take his basketball and go home. That same night Howard went out and tanked the game. I get that he's trying to accomplish something by tanking on his coach. But why would he tank on his teammates? Howard had yet another miserable game. In the Magic's 16 point loss to the 8th seeded Knicks, Howard played 40 minutes. Well at least he was on the floor for 40 minutes. He was 4-8 from the field and 0-3 from the free throw line. Howard is now shooting a ghastly .486 from the free throw line this season. He also had 8 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 8 points. The lack of shots and points shows how disinterested he was in this game.
The Magic will be playing tonight against the team that trails them in the Eastern Conference playoff race. That's the 76ers and tonight's game is in Philadelphia. Philly only trails Orlando by 2.5 games, but expect that gap to close to 1.5 games by the end of tonight's game. Unless Howard plays to his potential I expect a fairly easy win for the 76ers. The Magic have lost 5 consecutive games. If the Eastern Conference wasn't so inept I could see the Magic slipping completely out of the playoffs entirely. That's pretty sad as that mainly would be the fault of one prima donna athlete.
From watching sports for many years I know that either Van Gundy will be fired or forced out to make Howard happy. But I'm not sure why management usually sides with the prima donna athletes. Howard can be a beast when he wants to be, which is the key. However he's also a drama queen extraordinare, a constant whiner, someone who tanks on his teammates to accomplish selfish goals. Does he even care about winning? Because the way he's playing now it seems that he's just there for a paycheck. Also why was Howard encouraging the fans to react negatively to his team's lack of effort by egging them on? I suggest that the Magic restore sanity and trade Howard at the end of this season. The Magic are going to be a non-entity this playoffs and why would Orlando want to go through all the Dwight Howard drama again next season?
Will someone please tell me why Tim Tebow speaking in a Texas church on Easter Sunday is a featured news item on ESPN.com?
iTunes is selling Of Monsters and Men's latest CD "My Head Is An Animal". For a limited time, it's only $6.99 and I would suggest you add it to your collection. They remind me a lot of the excellent Arcade Fire, only OMaM is poppier. "Little Talks" is currently my favorite song on the CD:
Here are some songs that I know are already hugely popular but I just can't get enough of:
LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It";
More classic 80's videos:
At my son's request I put several Journey songs on his iPod, I love that Journey is speaking to the next generation. This is "Faithfully":
Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly":
Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn":
Genesis' "Land of Confusion":
The Police's "Synchronicity 2":
The first video ever shown on MTV, the Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star":
The second video shown on MTV was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run":
The eleventh video shown on MTV's Day One was Robin Lane and the Chartbuster's "When Things Go Wrong". This isn't the video, but I couldn't find it anywhere on MTV. Yeah, I've never heard of either this band or this song.
MTV started on August 1st, 1981. If you are interested in seeing a list of the first 211 videos shown on MTV's first day, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_music_videos_aired_on_MTV
The first video shown twice on MTV, The Who's "You Better You Bet". According to the above wikipedia link this was both the 4th and the 55th video shown:
A lot of the songs played on August 1st, 1981 were quickly forgotten, however this is a great song. By my count this video was played 4 times on MTV's first day, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around":
themusicaddict
The Dodgers are 2-0 after beating San Diego twice to start off the season. After a disastrous opening day for my 5 MLB teams, LA pulled out a win Thursday night. Matt Kemp resumed his great play from his near MVP 2011 season. He his his first home run of the season, had 3 RBIs and scored twice. Kemp's lucky number must be 4. After two games he has scored 4 runs, has 4 hits and 4 RBIs and his batting average is .444.
Obviously neither the Dodgers or Kemp will keep up this pace all season. I love seeing the Dodgers in first place and under new management after all these years of crap. Go Dodgers!
In the NHL, the Red Wings still have a chance for the 4th seed and home ice advantage in thefirst round of the playoffs. In a game broadcast on NBC at 1:00 EST Detroit plays against the Chicago Blackhawks. If Detroit wins that game and the Nashville Predators lose in regulation, Detroit will be the Western Conference's 4th seed.
Yes, Dwight Howard again. Talk about one of the most clueless people in the world. Literally. He wants to come off as a cool guy, but he doesn't even come close. Howard puts his arm around his coach while Van Gundy is being interviewed by the media as if they are best friends. Howard butts right into that interview because as always he thinks it's about him. That's the same interview where Van Gundy is telling the media that Howard has asked for him to be fired.
Howard reminds me of the petulant boy who's use to getting his way, the kind who threatens to take his basketball and go home. That same night Howard went out and tanked the game. I get that he's trying to accomplish something by tanking on his coach. But why would he tank on his teammates? Howard had yet another miserable game. In the Magic's 16 point loss to the 8th seeded Knicks, Howard played 40 minutes. Well at least he was on the floor for 40 minutes. He was 4-8 from the field and 0-3 from the free throw line. Howard is now shooting a ghastly .486 from the free throw line this season. He also had 8 rebounds, 5 turnovers and 8 points. The lack of shots and points shows how disinterested he was in this game.
The Magic will be playing tonight against the team that trails them in the Eastern Conference playoff race. That's the 76ers and tonight's game is in Philadelphia. Philly only trails Orlando by 2.5 games, but expect that gap to close to 1.5 games by the end of tonight's game. Unless Howard plays to his potential I expect a fairly easy win for the 76ers. The Magic have lost 5 consecutive games. If the Eastern Conference wasn't so inept I could see the Magic slipping completely out of the playoffs entirely. That's pretty sad as that mainly would be the fault of one prima donna athlete.
From watching sports for many years I know that either Van Gundy will be fired or forced out to make Howard happy. But I'm not sure why management usually sides with the prima donna athletes. Howard can be a beast when he wants to be, which is the key. However he's also a drama queen extraordinare, a constant whiner, someone who tanks on his teammates to accomplish selfish goals. Does he even care about winning? Because the way he's playing now it seems that he's just there for a paycheck. Also why was Howard encouraging the fans to react negatively to his team's lack of effort by egging them on? I suggest that the Magic restore sanity and trade Howard at the end of this season. The Magic are going to be a non-entity this playoffs and why would Orlando want to go through all the Dwight Howard drama again next season?
Will someone please tell me why Tim Tebow speaking in a Texas church on Easter Sunday is a featured news item on ESPN.com?
iTunes is selling Of Monsters and Men's latest CD "My Head Is An Animal". For a limited time, it's only $6.99 and I would suggest you add it to your collection. They remind me a lot of the excellent Arcade Fire, only OMaM is poppier. "Little Talks" is currently my favorite song on the CD:
Here are some songs that I know are already hugely popular but I just can't get enough of:
LMFAO's "Sexy And I Know It";
More classic 80's videos:
At my son's request I put several Journey songs on his iPod, I love that Journey is speaking to the next generation. This is "Faithfully":
Pink Floyd's "Learning To Fly":
Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn":
Genesis' "Land of Confusion":
The Police's "Synchronicity 2":
The first video ever shown on MTV, the Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star":
The second video shown on MTV was Pat Benatar's "You Better Run":
The eleventh video shown on MTV's Day One was Robin Lane and the Chartbuster's "When Things Go Wrong". This isn't the video, but I couldn't find it anywhere on MTV. Yeah, I've never heard of either this band or this song.
MTV started on August 1st, 1981. If you are interested in seeing a list of the first 211 videos shown on MTV's first day, go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_music_videos_aired_on_MTV
The first video shown twice on MTV, The Who's "You Better You Bet". According to the above wikipedia link this was both the 4th and the 55th video shown:
A lot of the songs played on August 1st, 1981 were quickly forgotten, however this is a great song. By my count this video was played 4 times on MTV's first day, Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around":
themusicaddict
Thursday, April 5, 2012
MLB Opening Day, Red Wings, Dwight Howard Whining Again, Vendetta Red
Hello,
Today is the Major League Baseball opening day for many teams. All 5 of my teams are playing today. Right now the Red Sox, Cubs, Pirates and Braves are playing. Even with 3 of those games in the 7th inning none of my teams have scored yet. For my four teams 24 innings have been played without a run scored. Out of all my teams playing today, the Cubs are the team that I want to win the most. Why? I'd like to see the Cubs in first place at least once this season. Meanwhile my other team, the LA Dodgers, start a new era today. With Magic Johnson now representing the Dodgers, I hope this is a turnaround season for the Dodgers. LA is sending last season's Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw, to the mound today. That game kicks off about 7:00EST.
Update although the Cubs are the fourth of my teams to start their season today, they are the first team to score. Now my teams have scored 1 run in 30 innings, that's not exactly a good omen for this season.
Update 2: The Braves and Pirates lost today 1-0. Nearly everybody's pitching seems to be extraordinary today. After trailing 2-0, Boston scored two runs in the top of the 9th inning. One of the substitute closers Alfredo Aceves is pitching now for the Red Sox. Scheduled closer, Andrew Bailey, is on the 60 day DL. Aceves is a solid pitcher so the Red Sox should be fine until Bailey gets back. As a Red Sox fan, do I miss Jonathan Papelbon? No, although I do wish him luck. Not that he needs it as the Phillies paid him a ridiculous amount of money. However not a good start for Boston's closer by committee as they gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th inning to lose the game 3-2. For those keeping track at home that's 3 runs and 3 losses in 35 innings for my teams. Come on Cubs hold on!
Update 3: The Carlos Marmol choke parade continued. Marmol showed he's already in midseason form by choking on his save attempt. Marmol blew about 10 saves last year, which is a horrendous total for an alleged closer. The Cubs went on to lose the game 2-1. I don't think these numbers can get much more dismal than they are now. 36 innings, 3 runs and 4 losses. What are the chances for all 5 of my teams to lose their first game of the season?
The Hollywood production known as the Orlando Magic has struck again. As usual, the person starring in this drama is the ultimate drama queen, Dwight Howard. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy has stated publicly that Dwight Howard wants him out of Orlando. Van Gundy claims someone in management confirmed to him that Howard has asked for him to be fired. Howard denies that he has talked to anyone about this. Then he went into CYA mode and claimed that's a decision made by Magic management.
Who do I believe in this whole matter? I believe Van Gundy. The reason why is because that kind of bs is something that is consistent with Howard's public persona. The same person who whined about where he'll be playing during a lockout is obviously used to thinking of himself first, last and always. Howard probably thinks the reason why the Magic aren't even close to hitting their potential is because of Van Gundy's coaching. Not that the fact he's a terrible free throw shooter and his disinterested play against the Knicks recently helps the Magic at all. If Howard could hit 70% of his free throws, imagine how much "better" a coach that Van Gundy would be.
I believe that a person should only be allowed to criticize others when he's doing everything he possibly can. Until he improves his free throw shooting Dwight Howard shouldn't be complaining about anyone else!
My heart goes out to the poor people of the Dallas area who were hit with two big tornados that caused much damage. Apparantally 6 to 13 tornados hit the ground, thankfully no one was killed. The tornados have the two most significant touchdowns in Dallas history in quite some time. I'm guessing Jerry Jones was privately relieved for awhile. His handling of the once proud Cowboys is no longer the biggest disaster in Dallas. Please don't put him in charge of the clean up process. Actually please don't put him in charge of anything but making money.
The Red Wings came up with a very clutch win last night, they beat the Blues 3-2 in a shootout. That gives the Red Wings 101 points for this season. This is Detroit's 12th straight season with at least 100 points. More importantly, with this win, the Red Wings jump into 4th place in the Western Conference. Why does that matter if they finish in 4th or 5th place? If they finish in 4th place, they have have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They close out the regular season by playing the Devils tonight and Blackhawks Saturday.
Now on to some brief music reviews. The All American Rejects released their new CD "Kids In The Street" on March 26th. I would say I'm a fairly big fan of the Rejects. I loved their last CD, "When The World Comes Down". I highly suggest you pick up that CD and add it to your collection. (Yes an actual CD, not in digital form.) As for "Kids In The Street" you can skip that CD. The first 2 songs "Someday's Gone" and "Beekeeper's Daughter" start out the CD pretty well. However once the CD gets to it's third track, "Fast & Slow", the CD starts to quickly slide down to being a very average CD. Unless you can get this music free I suggest you don't pick it up in any format. Grade D+
If you really want to buy something off this CD, this would be the song to buy:
I've never been a big Shinedown fan, but I'm not a hater either. I saw them in concert a few years ago. They opened for Van Hagar, and I was impressed with them. But not impressed enough to jump on their bandwagon. However with the release of their excellent new CD, "Amaryllis", I may be jumping on that bandwagon now. This is a very solid CD with a lot of great songs on it. After a few listens my favorite songs are "Adreniline", "Bully", "Amaryllis", "I'm Not Alright" and "Miracle". Grade B+
This is another great song on Shinedown's new CD "Enemies":
I've mentioned Vendetta Red a couple of times on here and I'm a huge fan of their CD "Sisters Of The Red Death". It's a CD they released and it seemed to drop completely out of sight almost immediately. I only know about it as I stumbled across it at local indie retailer Graywhale. Due to a double discount day I was able to pick up the CD for less than a buck. So I thought what the hell? I was pleasantly surprised by how good the CD is. Anyway someone representing Vendetta Red in some capacity found my blog.
They gave me some information that I want to pass along if you are interested: to make sure you aware of their return/comeback! Check out their officals sites:
If you haven't checked out "Sisters of The Red Death" I recommend you do so, unfortunately only a few of it's songs are on Spotify. This is their most famous song, a slice of butt kicking rock:
This is my favorite song from "Sisters Of The Red Death". This is "Coital Improv" or as I call it "Shantytown":
And although I have overdosed on 80's videos lately I've been keeping my ear to the ground for new good music. Well at least it's new to me, although it almost has 8 million views on youtube.com. This song is called "Blackout" and it's from the band Breathe Carolina. I really like this song:
A couple more classic 80's videos. This is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band's "On The Dark Side":
The Psychedelic Furs "Pretty In Pink":
I prefer the version that was changed for the movie:
Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love":
Wang Chung's "To Live and Die in LA":
themusicaddict
Today is the Major League Baseball opening day for many teams. All 5 of my teams are playing today. Right now the Red Sox, Cubs, Pirates and Braves are playing. Even with 3 of those games in the 7th inning none of my teams have scored yet. For my four teams 24 innings have been played without a run scored. Out of all my teams playing today, the Cubs are the team that I want to win the most. Why? I'd like to see the Cubs in first place at least once this season. Meanwhile my other team, the LA Dodgers, start a new era today. With Magic Johnson now representing the Dodgers, I hope this is a turnaround season for the Dodgers. LA is sending last season's Cy Young award winner, Clayton Kershaw, to the mound today. That game kicks off about 7:00EST.
Update although the Cubs are the fourth of my teams to start their season today, they are the first team to score. Now my teams have scored 1 run in 30 innings, that's not exactly a good omen for this season.
Update 2: The Braves and Pirates lost today 1-0. Nearly everybody's pitching seems to be extraordinary today. After trailing 2-0, Boston scored two runs in the top of the 9th inning. One of the substitute closers Alfredo Aceves is pitching now for the Red Sox. Scheduled closer, Andrew Bailey, is on the 60 day DL. Aceves is a solid pitcher so the Red Sox should be fine until Bailey gets back. As a Red Sox fan, do I miss Jonathan Papelbon? No, although I do wish him luck. Not that he needs it as the Phillies paid him a ridiculous amount of money. However not a good start for Boston's closer by committee as they gave up a run in the bottom of the 9th inning to lose the game 3-2. For those keeping track at home that's 3 runs and 3 losses in 35 innings for my teams. Come on Cubs hold on!
Update 3: The Carlos Marmol choke parade continued. Marmol showed he's already in midseason form by choking on his save attempt. Marmol blew about 10 saves last year, which is a horrendous total for an alleged closer. The Cubs went on to lose the game 2-1. I don't think these numbers can get much more dismal than they are now. 36 innings, 3 runs and 4 losses. What are the chances for all 5 of my teams to lose their first game of the season?
The Hollywood production known as the Orlando Magic has struck again. As usual, the person starring in this drama is the ultimate drama queen, Dwight Howard. Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy has stated publicly that Dwight Howard wants him out of Orlando. Van Gundy claims someone in management confirmed to him that Howard has asked for him to be fired. Howard denies that he has talked to anyone about this. Then he went into CYA mode and claimed that's a decision made by Magic management.
Who do I believe in this whole matter? I believe Van Gundy. The reason why is because that kind of bs is something that is consistent with Howard's public persona. The same person who whined about where he'll be playing during a lockout is obviously used to thinking of himself first, last and always. Howard probably thinks the reason why the Magic aren't even close to hitting their potential is because of Van Gundy's coaching. Not that the fact he's a terrible free throw shooter and his disinterested play against the Knicks recently helps the Magic at all. If Howard could hit 70% of his free throws, imagine how much "better" a coach that Van Gundy would be.
I believe that a person should only be allowed to criticize others when he's doing everything he possibly can. Until he improves his free throw shooting Dwight Howard shouldn't be complaining about anyone else!
My heart goes out to the poor people of the Dallas area who were hit with two big tornados that caused much damage. Apparantally 6 to 13 tornados hit the ground, thankfully no one was killed. The tornados have the two most significant touchdowns in Dallas history in quite some time. I'm guessing Jerry Jones was privately relieved for awhile. His handling of the once proud Cowboys is no longer the biggest disaster in Dallas. Please don't put him in charge of the clean up process. Actually please don't put him in charge of anything but making money.
The Red Wings came up with a very clutch win last night, they beat the Blues 3-2 in a shootout. That gives the Red Wings 101 points for this season. This is Detroit's 12th straight season with at least 100 points. More importantly, with this win, the Red Wings jump into 4th place in the Western Conference. Why does that matter if they finish in 4th or 5th place? If they finish in 4th place, they have have home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They close out the regular season by playing the Devils tonight and Blackhawks Saturday.
Now on to some brief music reviews. The All American Rejects released their new CD "Kids In The Street" on March 26th. I would say I'm a fairly big fan of the Rejects. I loved their last CD, "When The World Comes Down". I highly suggest you pick up that CD and add it to your collection. (Yes an actual CD, not in digital form.) As for "Kids In The Street" you can skip that CD. The first 2 songs "Someday's Gone" and "Beekeeper's Daughter" start out the CD pretty well. However once the CD gets to it's third track, "Fast & Slow", the CD starts to quickly slide down to being a very average CD. Unless you can get this music free I suggest you don't pick it up in any format. Grade D+
If you really want to buy something off this CD, this would be the song to buy:
I've never been a big Shinedown fan, but I'm not a hater either. I saw them in concert a few years ago. They opened for Van Hagar, and I was impressed with them. But not impressed enough to jump on their bandwagon. However with the release of their excellent new CD, "Amaryllis", I may be jumping on that bandwagon now. This is a very solid CD with a lot of great songs on it. After a few listens my favorite songs are "Adreniline", "Bully", "Amaryllis", "I'm Not Alright" and "Miracle". Grade B+
This is another great song on Shinedown's new CD "Enemies":
I've mentioned Vendetta Red a couple of times on here and I'm a huge fan of their CD "Sisters Of The Red Death". It's a CD they released and it seemed to drop completely out of sight almost immediately. I only know about it as I stumbled across it at local indie retailer Graywhale. Due to a double discount day I was able to pick up the CD for less than a buck. So I thought what the hell? I was pleasantly surprised by how good the CD is. Anyway someone representing Vendetta Red in some capacity found my blog.
They gave me some information that I want to pass along if you are interested: to make sure you aware of their return/comeback! Check out their officals sites:
And you can follow them on twitter @VendettaRedBand and myself @VendettaRedBuzz if you are on twitter.
Thanks for help spread the word about Vendetta Red.
This is my favorite song from "Sisters Of The Red Death". This is "Coital Improv" or as I call it "Shantytown":
And although I have overdosed on 80's videos lately I've been keeping my ear to the ground for new good music. Well at least it's new to me, although it almost has 8 million views on youtube.com. This song is called "Blackout" and it's from the band Breathe Carolina. I really like this song:
A couple more classic 80's videos. This is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band's "On The Dark Side":
The Psychedelic Furs "Pretty In Pink":
I prefer the version that was changed for the movie:
Robert Palmer's "Addicted To Love":
Wang Chung's "To Live and Die in LA":
themusicaddict
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
More Classic MTV Videos
Hello,
I had so much fun yesterday tracking down videos from the heyday of MTV and the 80s that I decided to do it again today.
Classic videos:
Dire Straits "Money For Nothing". The song based on an overheard conversation lampooning the music industry. Sting sings background vocals on this song.
ZZ Top's "Legs":
What would have 80s MTV been without Michael Jackson? I doubt that it's coincidental that he took advantage of MTV and also became a big star.
Another band that took full advantage of the visual technology of MTV and went on to be superstars:
'Til Tuesday didn't go on to be a big success, but this is a classic video. The lead singer, Aimee Mann, went on to have some solo success. This is "Voices Carry":
Dexy Midnight Runner's "Come On Eileen":
Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round". This is probably one of the most enduring songs from the 80's. The video is a classic, although probably not because it's good.
Sinead O' Connor "Nothing Compares 2U":
Guns N Roses "Welcome To The Jungle". From a band that burned out way too quick and the lineup will likely never perform together again. Not even when Green Day inducts them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon.
R.I.P. Jani Lane. Warrant's "Cherry Pie":
Queensryche "Empire":
Another song by Queensryche, "Best I Can", has the coolest beginning in a live setting of any song I've ever heard.
Here's the actual video, I hadn't realized Queensryche made a video for this.
Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again":
The Police "Every Breath You Take":
This is where Faith No More's "Epic" would be if the embedding wasn't disabled by request.
Videos that served as a trailer for a movie:
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2"- Pink Floyd This is obviously from the very bizarre movie "The Wall".
Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" from the amazing "Terminator 2":
Madonna's "Live To Tell". This is from the very forgettable Sean Penn movie "The Falcon and the Snowman". Part of Madonna's appeal was the great songs she chose and sang. But it also can't be denied that she was quite the babe back in the day.
Pat Benatar's "Invincible" from "The Legend of Billie Jean". A movie that looked so lame that I haven't even seen it.
I wanted to include the amazing Prince song "When Doves Cry", but his lawyers have his videos locked down. You can watch the video, but the music that plays with it is a much different song. Sorry Prince for trying to give you free publicity. I loved the movie "Purple Rain" back in the day. But seeing it a few years ago, the movie had aged a lot. Although the music from the film still feels fresh today.
Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill":
Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin "Separate Lives". This song is from "White Knights", I don't remember seeing that movie.
John Parr's "St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". This is from the movie "St. Elmo's Fire", a movie I loved back in the day. However I don't know how well it would hold up now.
Fabulous Thunderbirds "Tuff Enuff". This is from the mediocre Michael Keaton movie "Gung Ho":
Beach Boys' "Kokomo" From the Elisabeth Shue movie "Cocktail":
Great songs, but the video may not be a classic.
Billy Idol's "White Wedding":
The Cure's "Just Like Heaven":
Starship's "We Built This City":
John Parr's "Naughty, Naughty":
The amazing Whitney Houston and "I Wanna Dance With Someone That Loves Me":
Obscure songs/artists:
Haysi Fantayzee "Shiny Shiny":
Men Without Hats "Safety Dance":
One of my all-time favorite songs. Dead Milkmen "Punk Rock Girl". We asked for Mojo Nixen, They said 'he don't work here'". This is such a 80's songs and I love the lyrics.
Nena's "99 Luftballoons":
Fine Young Cannibals "She Drives Me Crazy":
The Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself":
themusicaddict
I had so much fun yesterday tracking down videos from the heyday of MTV and the 80s that I decided to do it again today.
Classic videos:
Dire Straits "Money For Nothing". The song based on an overheard conversation lampooning the music industry. Sting sings background vocals on this song.
ZZ Top's "Legs":
What would have 80s MTV been without Michael Jackson? I doubt that it's coincidental that he took advantage of MTV and also became a big star.
Another band that took full advantage of the visual technology of MTV and went on to be superstars:
'Til Tuesday didn't go on to be a big success, but this is a classic video. The lead singer, Aimee Mann, went on to have some solo success. This is "Voices Carry":
Dexy Midnight Runner's "Come On Eileen":
Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round". This is probably one of the most enduring songs from the 80's. The video is a classic, although probably not because it's good.
Sinead O' Connor "Nothing Compares 2U":
Guns N Roses "Welcome To The Jungle". From a band that burned out way too quick and the lineup will likely never perform together again. Not even when Green Day inducts them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon.
R.I.P. Jani Lane. Warrant's "Cherry Pie":
Queensryche "Empire":
Another song by Queensryche, "Best I Can", has the coolest beginning in a live setting of any song I've ever heard.
Here's the actual video, I hadn't realized Queensryche made a video for this.
Whitesnake's "Here I Go Again":
The Police "Every Breath You Take":
This is where Faith No More's "Epic" would be if the embedding wasn't disabled by request.
Videos that served as a trailer for a movie:
"Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2"- Pink Floyd This is obviously from the very bizarre movie "The Wall".
Guns N' Roses' "You Could Be Mine" from the amazing "Terminator 2":
Madonna's "Live To Tell". This is from the very forgettable Sean Penn movie "The Falcon and the Snowman". Part of Madonna's appeal was the great songs she chose and sang. But it also can't be denied that she was quite the babe back in the day.
Pat Benatar's "Invincible" from "The Legend of Billie Jean". A movie that looked so lame that I haven't even seen it.
I wanted to include the amazing Prince song "When Doves Cry", but his lawyers have his videos locked down. You can watch the video, but the music that plays with it is a much different song. Sorry Prince for trying to give you free publicity. I loved the movie "Purple Rain" back in the day. But seeing it a few years ago, the movie had aged a lot. Although the music from the film still feels fresh today.
Duran Duran's "A View To A Kill":
Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin "Separate Lives". This song is from "White Knights", I don't remember seeing that movie.
John Parr's "St Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)". This is from the movie "St. Elmo's Fire", a movie I loved back in the day. However I don't know how well it would hold up now.
Fabulous Thunderbirds "Tuff Enuff". This is from the mediocre Michael Keaton movie "Gung Ho":
Beach Boys' "Kokomo" From the Elisabeth Shue movie "Cocktail":
Great songs, but the video may not be a classic.
Billy Idol's "White Wedding":
The Cure's "Just Like Heaven":
Starship's "We Built This City":
John Parr's "Naughty, Naughty":
The amazing Whitney Houston and "I Wanna Dance With Someone That Loves Me":
Obscure songs/artists:
Haysi Fantayzee "Shiny Shiny":
Men Without Hats "Safety Dance":
One of my all-time favorite songs. Dead Milkmen "Punk Rock Girl". We asked for Mojo Nixen, They said 'he don't work here'". This is such a 80's songs and I love the lyrics.
Nena's "99 Luftballoons":
Fine Young Cannibals "She Drives Me Crazy":
The Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself":
themusicaddict
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Miscellaneous Thoughts
Hello,
This past Friday Hannah Storm wore a white blouse and was looking spectacular again. I love seeing her every morning when I exercise.
More thoughts about "The Killing". I'd thought this was one of the shows that ew.com recapped. I waited all day yesterday in hopes they'd have a new recap. But other than a short video review, nothing was forthcoming. I like to read reviews there to see if my thoughts are crazy or if other people agree with my viewpoint.
Other things that bothered me about the Season 2 two part premiere of "The Killing":
This past Friday Hannah Storm wore a white blouse and was looking spectacular again. I love seeing her every morning when I exercise.
More thoughts about "The Killing". I'd thought this was one of the shows that ew.com recapped. I waited all day yesterday in hopes they'd have a new recap. But other than a short video review, nothing was forthcoming. I like to read reviews there to see if my thoughts are crazy or if other people agree with my viewpoint.
Other things that bothered me about the Season 2 two part premiere of "The Killing":
- The whole Lt. Oaks story line. Is he part of the conspiracy? Or is he yet another incompetent policeman. He was forced to take early retirement under the guise that the investigation was so messed up. However I was glad to see his replacement, Lt. Carlson. (Carlson is played by Mark Moses, he formerly played Duck Phillips on "Mad Men".)
- The whole idea of Stan Larson's mob ties. Yannick is another character they bring in when they want to boost the tension. But it doesn't really work very well. Also Stan wants Yannick to find and kill whoever killed Rosie. Hasn't Stan learned his lesson yet. He nearly beat Bennet to death as he was found guilty in the court of the public.
- The next episode Mitch unfortunately returns, a terrible actress and a lame character. Also the title of the next episode is "Numb". I don't think it's a good idea for a show to broadcast how it's audience will fill when an episode is over.
One final note about AMC programming. Dearest "Mad Men" what the hell are you doing to my Betty Draper? I'm sorry Betty Francis will never sound right. I know they were forced to hide January Jones real life pregnancy, but isn't there a better way to do that than how it was done? This is one of the most beautiful women in the word. Please remember that going forward. I do predict the next time we see Betty, she'll be back to her gorgeous self. Although at the end of the episode, her health scare was a nice touch. It brought out a little more humanity in Betty, which that character desperately needs. Although Betty does seem to be getting irrelevant in the "Mad Men" universe. I missed her in the first two episodes of the season, but on Sunday's episode her being on felt forced.
Dedicated to Harry Crane, this is the Rolling Stones in 1966:
Her character reminds me of my ex-wife in so many ways, it's uncanny. Also is it just me or makeup, but aren't the characters of Betty and her daughter Sally starting to look remarkably alike?
Although "my" NHL team is the Detroit Red Wings, I don't follow them a whole lot during the regular season. However with the playoffs closing in, I started to pay more attention. Although the Red Wings playoff run last season was way too short, I enjoyed their hard fought series against the San Jose Sharks. Detroit is in fourth place in the NHL's Western Conference playoff chase. (I have to admit I always laugh to myself when I see that the Red Wings are in the Western Conference.) The Red Wings had a horrendous March, only winning 4 of their games. They also are only 2-6-2 over their last 10 games.
Hopefully they've started to turn things around with their 2-1 victory over Florida on Sunday. Who will they play in the first round of the playoffs? Will it be Nashville? Chicago? LA? Phoenix? San Jose? Dallas? (Thanks to the Detroit Free Press website.)
themusicaddict
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