Hello,
Here are a couple of my favorite songs from 1991:
1991 was when grunge broke big, only to peter out just a few years later. One of the least appreciated songs of the grunge movement:
Not only was grunge breaking big, but Guns 'N Roses also had a humongous year.
A lot of one hit wonders also had those hits. I love this KLF song, I even still have the CD. This is "Justified and Ancient":
Monday, July 2, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
The Dodgers Nadir
Hello,
The Dodgers have hit their nadir, how could it get worse? (Please don't answer that.) The Dodgers were shut out by The New York Mets last night 5-0. The Dodgers have only scored 5 runs in their last 63 innings. They've been shut out 5 times in the last 6 games. Has any team ever had such an anemic offense?
To answer my own question: "From Elias: The Dodgers are the 3rd team in the last 50 years to be shut out at least 5 times in a 6-game span, joining the 1963 Astros (then known as Colt 45s) and the 1992 Cubs.)" That's not real comforting that the Dodgers are in the same company as two of the worst franchises in recent MLB history.
LA hasn't led at any point in a game since June 24th. They've also lost 11 of 12 games. And to highlight their misery the final game in the Mets-Dodgers series is on Sunday Night Baseball. (Stats are a combination of my own research and coming from espn.com. Thanks to espn.com.)
I realize that Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis are all out, but the rest of the players are still MLB players. Are they not? How does a MLB get shut out so many times in such a short span of time? Help seems to be on the way with LA signing Cuban defector Yasiel Puig and also their own first round draft pick Corey Seager. Realistically I just don't expect much help, if any, from either of those players this season. Also Carlos Lee of the Astros may void an apparently agreed on trade to the Dodgers. At this point can you really blame him? Mark Ellis is currently on a minor league rehab assignment. Ethier could be back as soon as today or tomorrow. And Matt Kemp wants to return on July 13th.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers react under the glare of tonight's Sunday Night Baseball. Go Dodgers!
themusicaddict
The Dodgers have hit their nadir, how could it get worse? (Please don't answer that.) The Dodgers were shut out by The New York Mets last night 5-0. The Dodgers have only scored 5 runs in their last 63 innings. They've been shut out 5 times in the last 6 games. Has any team ever had such an anemic offense?
To answer my own question: "From Elias: The Dodgers are the 3rd team in the last 50 years to be shut out at least 5 times in a 6-game span, joining the 1963 Astros (then known as Colt 45s) and the 1992 Cubs.)" That's not real comforting that the Dodgers are in the same company as two of the worst franchises in recent MLB history.
LA hasn't led at any point in a game since June 24th. They've also lost 11 of 12 games. And to highlight their misery the final game in the Mets-Dodgers series is on Sunday Night Baseball. (Stats are a combination of my own research and coming from espn.com. Thanks to espn.com.)
I realize that Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier and Mark Ellis are all out, but the rest of the players are still MLB players. Are they not? How does a MLB get shut out so many times in such a short span of time? Help seems to be on the way with LA signing Cuban defector Yasiel Puig and also their own first round draft pick Corey Seager. Realistically I just don't expect much help, if any, from either of those players this season. Also Carlos Lee of the Astros may void an apparently agreed on trade to the Dodgers. At this point can you really blame him? Mark Ellis is currently on a minor league rehab assignment. Ethier could be back as soon as today or tomorrow. And Matt Kemp wants to return on July 13th.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers react under the glare of tonight's Sunday Night Baseball. Go Dodgers!
themusicaddict
Saturday, June 30, 2012
1990: A Musical Transition Year (Updated July 2nd, 2012)
Hello,
Looking back at 1990, you can clearly see that music was in transition. Hair metal was on it's way out, although I don't think anyone realized it at the time. Grunge was just around the corner, but but very people even knew what that was in 1990. Looking at 1990's Top 100 songs, there's not even a slightest clue that a grunge explosion was on the way. There's literally no 1990 song to indicate grunge was on it's way. Also some of the biggest stars of the 80's like Billy Idol and George Michael were also on the way out. New Wave was pretty much dead. Rap was on it's way in, but was more of a rap/pop hybrid in 1990. Pop music pretty much dominated 1990.
Who were the big winners for music in 1990? They were Janet Jackson, M.C. Hammer, Mariah Carey and the severely under appreciated Taylor Dayne. Phil Collins had a humongous year he finished with 4 songs in the Top 60 for that year. Even the long forgotten After 7 had two hits that year. Diversity was also a big winner that year, music from many genres was on the radio. From pop, rock, the rap/pop hybrid and even more rootsy music. There were also many great one hit wonders that year, many of those songs don't fit comfortably in one specific genre. That's when music is at it's best is when many genres are having big songs. When one genre of music dominates, music can get quite boring.
My favorite Mariah Carey song of all-time. "Vision of Love":
My favorite Phil Collins song of 1990, a song that reminds me way too much of my divorce. Why, because of the line "how many times can I say I'm sorry?". This is "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven":
Of course when you talk about 1990, you can't forget the song that put M.C. Hammer on the map. "U Can't Touch This" surprisingly has 2000 dislikes on Youtube. WTH? This is just a great song and one of the best dance songs ever:
Janet Jackson made an impact in 1990 with "Black Cat":
Whatever happened to Taylor Dayne, she had some of the best songs of the early 1990s. Here are a couple of my favorites:
"I'll Be Your Shelter":
"Love Will Lead You Back":
Who were the biggest losers of 1990? Boy bands had a few hits that year, but were clearly on the way out. Michael Bolton had a big year, but it's clear now how disposable his music was. This horrific piece of pure pop crap might have killed boy bands for this generation. I actually quite like "Hangin' Tough", but this song is shameless. Starting with the words, "This is a very serious message":
Again this is all based on Billboard Top 100 songs for that year, which means there were many great songs that didn't chart. This blog is an inexact science. There's a playlist on Spotify that has 97 of the Top 100 songs for 1990. The three songs not in the Spotify playlist are fairly forgettable. Those three songs are Dino's "Romeo", Tyler Collins "Girls Night Out" and D-Mob (featuring Cathy Dennis) "C'mon Get My Love".
Here are some of the musical highlights of that year:
In 1990 I was working at a grocery store and I had the biggest crush on this red headed hottie. She really liked this Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True", but she couldn't afford to buy it. I recorded a tape (remember those?) of the CD for her. All of Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True" was on that tape. Sadly nothing came of the relationship, we both married other people and I lost track of her long ago. But I still love "Girl You Know It's True".
Yes I know that Milli Vanilli went on to be proved a fraud. It was in November, 1990 that the man with the idea behind Milli Vanilli, Frank Farian, confessed to the sham. Four days later Milli Vanilli's Grammy award was taken away. So yes I know the band was a fraud, however in spite of that there are a lot of great songs from that CD. Although the two faces of Milli Vanilli weren't also the singers, the actual singers were very good.
This is my favorite song of theirs: "Blame It On The Rain":
They also had "All or Nothing" that year:
Some of the many other great songs from 1990. Tom Cruise, yes that Tom Cruise, really rocks this song in "Rock of Ages". This is Jon Bon Jovi's version (filmed in my home state of Utah!):
If you had recently asked me who the Michael with musically the best 1990, I would have said George Michael. However looking back Michael Bolton ruled 1990. However his 3 songs on the Top 100 are completely forgettable, I don't even know if we could consider him a footnote for that year now. George Michael was rapidly fading away, this was one of his last gasps at continuing a successful career. This song't title is also very much a self fulfilling prophecy for his career. This is "Praying For Time":
Another great 80's musician on the way out that year was Billy Idol. He did a decent cover of The Doors "L.A. Woman" and this very sexy song:
This was one of the many great one hit wonders of 1990. I love a great ballad, even a song that I hadn't thought of for years, this is Sweet Sensation's "If Wishes Came True":
I'm pretty sure I had this song on a cassingle. Do you remember those environment killing things? I loved a lot of things about the music at the time, but thank goodness for iTunes and buying a song online. Another great one hit wonder, Maxi Priest's "Close To You":
Another one hit wonder, but a very funky song by Glenn Medeiros (featuring Bobby Brown). This trend of someone rapping over a song sadly continues to this day.
Lisa Stansfield's "Been Around The World":
Faith No More's "Epic", otherwise known as the flopping fish video. The official video is embedded by request. It's a good thing, because I was going to post that video on my blog. I know I would have been able to make millions from it :) In other words: stupid. I remember seeing Faith No More open for Billy Idol. "Epic":
Another amazing song by a one hit wonder, this is Alannah Myles:
A great song to dance to, for those so inclined: Snap's "The Power":
Madonna had "Vogue", one of my favorites of her songs:
Should I be embarrassed that I like this song?: Nelson's "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection":
This is the first time I've seen the actual video available on youtube.com. Jane Child's "I Don't Want To Fall In Love":
Soul || Soul's "Back To Life":
Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison":
Go West's "King of Wishful Thinking":
Pebbles "Giving You The Benefit of The Doubt":
Not a one hit wonder, not only that but one of the greatest songs ever. Although it's one of those late 80's, early 90's bizarre videos. Every time this song comes on Rewind 100.7 I crank the radio. Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence":
I hadn't heard this song for a long time. When I saw the title I thought yeah I remember that song, but it sucks. However when I listened to it again I thought hey that's a pretty good song. Rod Stewart's "Downtown Train":
Paul Young's "Oh Girl":
One of the two "Hold On" songs from that year. This is the better of the two songs, Wilson Phillips:
Here's a song about a girl from Reseda, Tom Petty's "Free Falling":
Hair metal is holding on for it's dear life, here are some of the last popular hair metal songs:
One of my favorite hair metal bands was Skid Row. Yes, I even liked this song:
Poison's "Unskinny Bop":
Possibly not a hair metal band, but did fit in with those bands. Tesla's "Love Song":
Some of the not so good songs from that year.
Can you believe they stretched this song to over 5 minutes?
This song is not as terrible as the above song. Biz Markie's "Just A Friend":
themusicaddict
Looking back at 1990, you can clearly see that music was in transition. Hair metal was on it's way out, although I don't think anyone realized it at the time. Grunge was just around the corner, but but very people even knew what that was in 1990. Looking at 1990's Top 100 songs, there's not even a slightest clue that a grunge explosion was on the way. There's literally no 1990 song to indicate grunge was on it's way. Also some of the biggest stars of the 80's like Billy Idol and George Michael were also on the way out. New Wave was pretty much dead. Rap was on it's way in, but was more of a rap/pop hybrid in 1990. Pop music pretty much dominated 1990.
Who were the big winners for music in 1990? They were Janet Jackson, M.C. Hammer, Mariah Carey and the severely under appreciated Taylor Dayne. Phil Collins had a humongous year he finished with 4 songs in the Top 60 for that year. Even the long forgotten After 7 had two hits that year. Diversity was also a big winner that year, music from many genres was on the radio. From pop, rock, the rap/pop hybrid and even more rootsy music. There were also many great one hit wonders that year, many of those songs don't fit comfortably in one specific genre. That's when music is at it's best is when many genres are having big songs. When one genre of music dominates, music can get quite boring.
My favorite Mariah Carey song of all-time. "Vision of Love":
My favorite Phil Collins song of 1990, a song that reminds me way too much of my divorce. Why, because of the line "how many times can I say I'm sorry?". This is "Something Happened On The Way To Heaven":
Of course when you talk about 1990, you can't forget the song that put M.C. Hammer on the map. "U Can't Touch This" surprisingly has 2000 dislikes on Youtube. WTH? This is just a great song and one of the best dance songs ever:
Janet Jackson made an impact in 1990 with "Black Cat":
Whatever happened to Taylor Dayne, she had some of the best songs of the early 1990s. Here are a couple of my favorites:
"I'll Be Your Shelter":
"Love Will Lead You Back":
Who were the biggest losers of 1990? Boy bands had a few hits that year, but were clearly on the way out. Michael Bolton had a big year, but it's clear now how disposable his music was. This horrific piece of pure pop crap might have killed boy bands for this generation. I actually quite like "Hangin' Tough", but this song is shameless. Starting with the words, "This is a very serious message":
Again this is all based on Billboard Top 100 songs for that year, which means there were many great songs that didn't chart. This blog is an inexact science. There's a playlist on Spotify that has 97 of the Top 100 songs for 1990. The three songs not in the Spotify playlist are fairly forgettable. Those three songs are Dino's "Romeo", Tyler Collins "Girls Night Out" and D-Mob (featuring Cathy Dennis) "C'mon Get My Love".
Here are some of the musical highlights of that year:
In 1990 I was working at a grocery store and I had the biggest crush on this red headed hottie. She really liked this Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True", but she couldn't afford to buy it. I recorded a tape (remember those?) of the CD for her. All of Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True" was on that tape. Sadly nothing came of the relationship, we both married other people and I lost track of her long ago. But I still love "Girl You Know It's True".
Yes I know that Milli Vanilli went on to be proved a fraud. It was in November, 1990 that the man with the idea behind Milli Vanilli, Frank Farian, confessed to the sham. Four days later Milli Vanilli's Grammy award was taken away. So yes I know the band was a fraud, however in spite of that there are a lot of great songs from that CD. Although the two faces of Milli Vanilli weren't also the singers, the actual singers were very good.
This is my favorite song of theirs: "Blame It On The Rain":
They also had "All or Nothing" that year:
Some of the many other great songs from 1990. Tom Cruise, yes that Tom Cruise, really rocks this song in "Rock of Ages". This is Jon Bon Jovi's version (filmed in my home state of Utah!):
If you had recently asked me who the Michael with musically the best 1990, I would have said George Michael. However looking back Michael Bolton ruled 1990. However his 3 songs on the Top 100 are completely forgettable, I don't even know if we could consider him a footnote for that year now. George Michael was rapidly fading away, this was one of his last gasps at continuing a successful career. This song't title is also very much a self fulfilling prophecy for his career. This is "Praying For Time":
Another great 80's musician on the way out that year was Billy Idol. He did a decent cover of The Doors "L.A. Woman" and this very sexy song:
This was one of the many great one hit wonders of 1990. I love a great ballad, even a song that I hadn't thought of for years, this is Sweet Sensation's "If Wishes Came True":
I'm pretty sure I had this song on a cassingle. Do you remember those environment killing things? I loved a lot of things about the music at the time, but thank goodness for iTunes and buying a song online. Another great one hit wonder, Maxi Priest's "Close To You":
Another one hit wonder, but a very funky song by Glenn Medeiros (featuring Bobby Brown). This trend of someone rapping over a song sadly continues to this day.
Lisa Stansfield's "Been Around The World":
Faith No More's "Epic", otherwise known as the flopping fish video. The official video is embedded by request. It's a good thing, because I was going to post that video on my blog. I know I would have been able to make millions from it :) In other words: stupid. I remember seeing Faith No More open for Billy Idol. "Epic":
Another amazing song by a one hit wonder, this is Alannah Myles:
A great song to dance to, for those so inclined: Snap's "The Power":
Madonna had "Vogue", one of my favorites of her songs:
Should I be embarrassed that I like this song?: Nelson's "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection":
This is the first time I've seen the actual video available on youtube.com. Jane Child's "I Don't Want To Fall In Love":
Soul || Soul's "Back To Life":
Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison":
Go West's "King of Wishful Thinking":
Pebbles "Giving You The Benefit of The Doubt":
Not a one hit wonder, not only that but one of the greatest songs ever. Although it's one of those late 80's, early 90's bizarre videos. Every time this song comes on Rewind 100.7 I crank the radio. Depeche Mode's "Enjoy The Silence":
I hadn't heard this song for a long time. When I saw the title I thought yeah I remember that song, but it sucks. However when I listened to it again I thought hey that's a pretty good song. Rod Stewart's "Downtown Train":
Paul Young's "Oh Girl":
One of the two "Hold On" songs from that year. This is the better of the two songs, Wilson Phillips:
Here's a song about a girl from Reseda, Tom Petty's "Free Falling":
Hair metal is holding on for it's dear life, here are some of the last popular hair metal songs:
One of my favorite hair metal bands was Skid Row. Yes, I even liked this song:
Poison's "Unskinny Bop":
Possibly not a hair metal band, but did fit in with those bands. Tesla's "Love Song":
Some of the not so good songs from that year.
Can you believe they stretched this song to over 5 minutes?
This song is not as terrible as the above song. Biz Markie's "Just A Friend":
themusicaddict
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Whether art thou Matt Kemp?, Some NBA thoughts
Hello,
If you read my previous post about the music of 1995, you will be glad to know the music of 1990 is significantly better.
I wanted to write this blog for awhile, but something always seemed to interrupt. Besides the seemingly always terrible Cubs, where things haven't gone well in the first year of the Epstein regime, my MLB teams have been playing pretty well. The Dodgers and Matt Kemp both got off to explosive starts. The Dodgers have had the best record in MLB for most of this season. Even when Kemp was out on DL the first time, the Dodgers continued playing well. However now it seems that Kemp came back too early, in only his second game back he tweaked his hamstring again. This time the Dodgers haven't been as fortunate. The Dodgers started playing worse and worse. That culminated in losing 9 of their last 11 games. The nadir of that 11 game stretch was LA being shut out 3 consecutive times by their arch enemy the Giants.
And in the unrelenting schedule of MLB, the Dodgers have games every day over the next 11 days. That's already after having played nine straight days. At 162 games, the MLB regular season is just too long. I know that the greedy owners will never agree to shorten the season because they would lose money. I would be happy with 150 games with more days off built in. I think the game would be better with more rest for the players.
Matt Kemp is still injured and probably won't be back for a few weeks at least. Andre Ethier got hurt yesterday and who knows how long he will be out? Even with Kemp and Ethier the Dodgers have been short at least one more power bat. So without Kemp and Ethier, it's going to be a long stretch. Up to this point the reason for the Dodgers success has been good pitching, Matt Kemp and smoke and mirrors. The last two of those have now been stripped away now.
There was some good news for the Dodgers today, they might sign the Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. He'll probably sign a 7 year- $42 million contract as soon as tomorrow. (Thanks to espn.com.)
From Enrique Rojas' article on espn.com:
"The 21-year-old Puig batted .330 with 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and 78 runs scored in 327 at-bats with the Cienfuegos Elefantes in the 2010-11 Cuban National Series. He averaged .370 in 46 at-bats in the playoffs".
Sources told Rojas that Puig may be able to play as soon as this year. That certainly would fill a need, but realistically what are the chances that he'll really play this year? Even if he does, how effective would he be? Who knows if he'll ever be a difference maker? But I highly doubt he'll be a difference maker this season and maybe not even next season. People are saying that the Dodgers vastly overpaid on this contract, which is the same thing they did on the Andre Ethier's new contract. I appreciate the new Dodgers ownership spending money, it's such a contrast to former owners. However just because they now appear to have the money doesn't mean they should spend it. The fact that the Dodgers probably overpaid two players in the last few weeks is more than a bit concerning.
The obvious solution appears to be why don't the Dodgers just go out and trade for someone? Well it's not that easy. There are players like Alfonso Soriano, Justin Morneau and Vernon Wells available. But they are all very expensive. They might be able to help the Dodgers, but the Dodgers would literally pay for it. Also those three players would probably only be short term solutions. With the Dodgers still a relatively young team, do they really want to burden themselves down with short term solutions? As a Dodgers fan I say "no". Build for the future. It's been nice going on this ride with the Dodgers so far this season, but I don't think anyone really expected it to last. It feels a year or two early for the Dodgers to have a lot of success. I prefer the Dodgers go with the slow and steady wins the race philosophy.
The NBA Draft is tonight. I've been following espn.com all day and there are some intriguing looking moves that are being discussed.
1) The Lakers are shopping Pau Gasol. Reports suggest LA want a draft pick, an established veteran and for the receiving team to pay the nearly $40 for the final two years of Gasol's contract. I love that the Lakers think that would anyone be willing to take this deal. If I was a NBA GM and received this call from the Lakers, I would just hang up the phone. I know there are some bad general managers in the NBA, but agreeing to this deal should get that person fired. Honestly I wouldn't trade Gasol for a 6 pack of very cold Diet Coke.
2) The Lakers are also trying todump trade Ron Artest. Hell, I wouldn't even trade a can of warm Diet Coke for one of the dumbest players in the NBA. Sorry I only want players that would actually help my team!
3) The Mavericks and Clippers are discussing Lamar Odom going to the Clippers. With his lame reality TV show I did wonder how long Lamar was going to last in LA. I think Khloe, and the producers of said crappy reality TV show, want them in LA. I don't think there's any coincidence that Odom going to Dallas didn't work out. Rumors are that the Jazz may jump in this trade and help facilitate Odom to the Clippers. The Jazz have offered to take former Jazzmen Mo Williams to facilitate the deal. I don't know how good of a move that would be for the Jazz. They already have 3 short term solution point guards on the roster, why would they want to add a 4th? That is unless they plan on packing Williams with one of their young bigs and get a long term point guard in return. The Jazz have a lot of potential, but they need a great point guard to get them where they can challenge in the Western Conference. I would love to see the Jazz get Steve Nash and for him to groom a young point guard for the next two or three years.
4) It appears that Houston is trying to acquire enough assets so they can make a run at Dwight Howard. Good luck with that Houston. Do you really want a egotistical, whiny, mercurial player who can't make half of his free throws? If the Rockets make this trade be prepared for a lot of "Houston we have a problem" jokes. Howard certainly won't make anyone miss the man Hakeem Olajuwon. Speaking of Dwight Howard, why doesn't he have his own reality TV show yet. Coming soon: Dwight Kardashian?
One final non-trade thought: With LeBron James finally getting his first NBA Championship, guess who else thinks he'll be getting one soon. That's right, our good old friend Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately for Anthony, there are a few differences. For one, James is an all-around player. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals James had 13 assists, along with many points and rebounds. Anthony is a highly skilled one dimensional player. Anthony is a streak shooter. It's not a coincidence that the Jeremy Lin train crashed once Anthony came back from injury. ( I wouldn't mind Lin ending up in Utah.) Also James has Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade as teammates. Who does Carmelo have, Nomare stupid tweeting Stoudemire, Baron Davis and a bunch of players that no one else wants. In other words Carmelo don't hold your breath until you win a title.
themusicaddict
If you read my previous post about the music of 1995, you will be glad to know the music of 1990 is significantly better.
I wanted to write this blog for awhile, but something always seemed to interrupt. Besides the seemingly always terrible Cubs, where things haven't gone well in the first year of the Epstein regime, my MLB teams have been playing pretty well. The Dodgers and Matt Kemp both got off to explosive starts. The Dodgers have had the best record in MLB for most of this season. Even when Kemp was out on DL the first time, the Dodgers continued playing well. However now it seems that Kemp came back too early, in only his second game back he tweaked his hamstring again. This time the Dodgers haven't been as fortunate. The Dodgers started playing worse and worse. That culminated in losing 9 of their last 11 games. The nadir of that 11 game stretch was LA being shut out 3 consecutive times by their arch enemy the Giants.
And in the unrelenting schedule of MLB, the Dodgers have games every day over the next 11 days. That's already after having played nine straight days. At 162 games, the MLB regular season is just too long. I know that the greedy owners will never agree to shorten the season because they would lose money. I would be happy with 150 games with more days off built in. I think the game would be better with more rest for the players.
Matt Kemp is still injured and probably won't be back for a few weeks at least. Andre Ethier got hurt yesterday and who knows how long he will be out? Even with Kemp and Ethier the Dodgers have been short at least one more power bat. So without Kemp and Ethier, it's going to be a long stretch. Up to this point the reason for the Dodgers success has been good pitching, Matt Kemp and smoke and mirrors. The last two of those have now been stripped away now.
There was some good news for the Dodgers today, they might sign the Cuban defector Yasiel Puig. He'll probably sign a 7 year- $42 million contract as soon as tomorrow. (Thanks to espn.com.)
From Enrique Rojas' article on espn.com:
"The 21-year-old Puig batted .330 with 17 home runs, 47 RBIs and 78 runs scored in 327 at-bats with the Cienfuegos Elefantes in the 2010-11 Cuban National Series. He averaged .370 in 46 at-bats in the playoffs".
Sources told Rojas that Puig may be able to play as soon as this year. That certainly would fill a need, but realistically what are the chances that he'll really play this year? Even if he does, how effective would he be? Who knows if he'll ever be a difference maker? But I highly doubt he'll be a difference maker this season and maybe not even next season. People are saying that the Dodgers vastly overpaid on this contract, which is the same thing they did on the Andre Ethier's new contract. I appreciate the new Dodgers ownership spending money, it's such a contrast to former owners. However just because they now appear to have the money doesn't mean they should spend it. The fact that the Dodgers probably overpaid two players in the last few weeks is more than a bit concerning.
The obvious solution appears to be why don't the Dodgers just go out and trade for someone? Well it's not that easy. There are players like Alfonso Soriano, Justin Morneau and Vernon Wells available. But they are all very expensive. They might be able to help the Dodgers, but the Dodgers would literally pay for it. Also those three players would probably only be short term solutions. With the Dodgers still a relatively young team, do they really want to burden themselves down with short term solutions? As a Dodgers fan I say "no". Build for the future. It's been nice going on this ride with the Dodgers so far this season, but I don't think anyone really expected it to last. It feels a year or two early for the Dodgers to have a lot of success. I prefer the Dodgers go with the slow and steady wins the race philosophy.
The NBA Draft is tonight. I've been following espn.com all day and there are some intriguing looking moves that are being discussed.
1) The Lakers are shopping Pau Gasol. Reports suggest LA want a draft pick, an established veteran and for the receiving team to pay the nearly $40 for the final two years of Gasol's contract. I love that the Lakers think that would anyone be willing to take this deal. If I was a NBA GM and received this call from the Lakers, I would just hang up the phone. I know there are some bad general managers in the NBA, but agreeing to this deal should get that person fired. Honestly I wouldn't trade Gasol for a 6 pack of very cold Diet Coke.
2) The Lakers are also trying to
3) The Mavericks and Clippers are discussing Lamar Odom going to the Clippers. With his lame reality TV show I did wonder how long Lamar was going to last in LA. I think Khloe, and the producers of said crappy reality TV show, want them in LA. I don't think there's any coincidence that Odom going to Dallas didn't work out. Rumors are that the Jazz may jump in this trade and help facilitate Odom to the Clippers. The Jazz have offered to take former Jazzmen Mo Williams to facilitate the deal. I don't know how good of a move that would be for the Jazz. They already have 3 short term solution point guards on the roster, why would they want to add a 4th? That is unless they plan on packing Williams with one of their young bigs and get a long term point guard in return. The Jazz have a lot of potential, but they need a great point guard to get them where they can challenge in the Western Conference. I would love to see the Jazz get Steve Nash and for him to groom a young point guard for the next two or three years.
4) It appears that Houston is trying to acquire enough assets so they can make a run at Dwight Howard. Good luck with that Houston. Do you really want a egotistical, whiny, mercurial player who can't make half of his free throws? If the Rockets make this trade be prepared for a lot of "Houston we have a problem" jokes. Howard certainly won't make anyone miss the man Hakeem Olajuwon. Speaking of Dwight Howard, why doesn't he have his own reality TV show yet. Coming soon: Dwight Kardashian?
One final non-trade thought: With LeBron James finally getting his first NBA Championship, guess who else thinks he'll be getting one soon. That's right, our good old friend Carmelo Anthony. Unfortunately for Anthony, there are a few differences. For one, James is an all-around player. In Game 5 of the NBA Finals James had 13 assists, along with many points and rebounds. Anthony is a highly skilled one dimensional player. Anthony is a streak shooter. It's not a coincidence that the Jeremy Lin train crashed once Anthony came back from injury. ( I wouldn't mind Lin ending up in Utah.) Also James has Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade as teammates. Who does Carmelo have, Nomare stupid tweeting Stoudemire, Baron Davis and a bunch of players that no one else wants. In other words Carmelo don't hold your breath until you win a title.
themusicaddict
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
1995: Where Good Music Went To Die
Hello,
To answer your first question: I'm listening to music from 1995 because I watched an episode of the amazing "Cold Case" this past Tuesday night. The cold case they were investigating happened in 1995. For those that don't know, "Cold Case" feature lot of music in their episodes. A few of the songs that were featured I had completely forgotten about. As I listened to a lot of that music on Spotify, I quickly realized how much of it was forgettable. Thanks to the awesome people over at Spotify, I've been listening to one of their playlists of songs from 1995. It features 95 of the Top 100 songs according to Billboard for that year.
I'm taking Spotify's word for these songs being from 1995, I didn't do any research to confirm that. The Tootsee song mentions 1994, but for the most part I think these songs were from 1995.
But after listening to that year's music for about 10 hours, all I can say is 1995 sucked for music. There were a few great songs, many of which I'll be featuring later in this blog. But for the most part there was a lot of crappy music in 1995. I will mention a few examples of the crap music, but won't feature any of those songs on this blog. I don't support sucky music.
One reason for the 1995's bad music year is that rap music continued to move into the mainstream. To be acceptable to the mainstream a lot of the rap music was neutered. Some more hard core rap songs did get through. But for the most part that hard core rap was terrible. The glorious days of 80's rap was left far behind. A lot of the rap music from 1995 featured samples. But what most people call it by it's real name: stealing.
Also there was a lot of imitation going on in 1995, many bad ideas seems to be repeatedly recycled. The thinking seemed to be: If you don't have a good musical idea, just steal one and call it a sample. I don't remember many of these musicians and even less of their songs. Music was both disposable and utterly forgivable in 1995. Listening to my iTunes on random was a marked improvement.
Probably the most egregiously bad rap song is "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz. You might have read where I've talked about lowest common denominator music. "Tootsee Roll" is an ultimate example of that kind of music. The lyrics are stupid, the beat is repetitive and even the name of the band shows the juvenile nature of the creative people behind this band.
Another of 1995's crappy rap music was Notorious BIG's "Big Poppa". Also Shaggy and Rayvon's out and out kifed Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime". I wouldn't even call that a sample. They basically took the original melody and rapped over it a bit and called that a song. Also Method Man and Mary J. Blige's "I'll Be There For You" was not very good. Other lowlights include Luniz's "I Got 5 On It", and the absolutely dreadful "Give It 2 You" by Da Brat (Was the name the Da No Talent already taken?) That song is horrible in every way possible.
I could go on and on with more examples of all the terrible rap music that year, just a couple more examples. 702 and Subway had "This Lil' Game We Play". I'm glad the sandwich making thing worked out for Subway, because his song didn't. Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s name is not only incredibly obnoxious to type, but "Player's Anthem" is as bad as it sounds like it would be. Finally Jodeci's "Freakin You" was another terrible song from that year. At least Skee Lo has a sense of humor on "I Wish", in spite of it being sexist. But like most rap songs from that year one quickly gets tired of them. 2 Pac's "Dear Mama" is at least listenable.
Also the R&B boy band movement was in full effect. This was highlighted by Boys 2 Men. They had a lot of hits, but their music was very disposable. Also Boys 2 Men had a lot of bad imitators. You'd be forgiven if you thought the Jon B song "Someone To Love" was sung by Boys 2 Men. As it was playing that's who I thought was singing the song. There was also the truth in advertising named band Immature and their very bland song "Constantly". There's no surprise Immature faded quickly. It seems the idea was for a Justin Bieber like career. Immature is so dull and talentless, comparatively Bieber is Elvis Presley. I'm not a Bieber hater either. Also Blackstreet's "Before I Let You Go" was another low point for R&B boy bands.
One of the worst bands of that year was the horrific Hootie and the Blowfish. Sample lyric: "I'm such a baby even dolphins make me cry." And Hootie I really don't wanna be with you. I hated that band in 1995 and never really understood why they took off so dramatically. And as with most music from that year, their music hasn't aged well. I don't blame Darius Rucker for leaving them and starting on a solo country music career. I actually like some of his solo music.
And how did Brandy ever become a star? That year she was responsible for some really bad songs. For instance "Baby" and "Brokenhearted". Slightly better but still forgettable were "Best Friend" and "I Wanna Be Down".
And again imitation was a big theme of 1995. Even when there was a good song like All-4-One's "I Can Love You Like That"....:
hh
.... there was a song like like Bryan Adam's extremely sappy "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman"?
Another great song from 1995 was Take That's "Back For Good":
Even classic 80's artists had some of the worst music of their career. As I mentioned with Bryan Adams above. But also Janet Jackson had "You Want This", which on a second listen was better. But why did that song sample the Supremes "Love Child". That sample feels so out of place in "You Want This." But it's nowhere in the same league as "Nasty", "Escapade" or "Control". In '95 Michael Jackson had "Scream", again far off from his "Thriller" peak. Even the consistently good Madonna had a low point with "Secret". The last two songs are decent songs.. A band named 4 P.M. covered a classic 80's song. They did an okay cover of A Taste Of Honey's "Sukiyaki", but again at best only a pale imitation:
Although hair metal, sadly, mostly died out in the early 90's, Firehouse was trying to keep it alive. Instead of keeping it alive, their song from that year might have been the final nail in the hair metal coffin. That song was the incredibly lame "I Live My Life For You". It was a much watered down of their excellent "Love Of A Lifetime". Well at least they imitated themselves.
Above are a few of the relatively few musical highlights from 1995. Some of the other highlights of that year include U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me": (I absolutely love this song.)
Better Than Ezra's "Good":
Thank goodness for Melissa Etheridge for bringing some grit, life experience and taste to 1995. You can tell that Etheridge had lived the lyrics she sang. That gives her music a lot of passion and believability. Thank you Melissa for being one of the lone highlights of 1995. This is her amazing "I'm The Only One":
"Like The Way I Do": (The above song is more well known, but this song kicks some butt too.)
Sophie B. Hawkins "As I Lay Me Down To Sleep":
Jack and the gorgeous Kate in "Roll To Me":
TLC's "Waterfalls":
Seal's "Kiss From A Rose":
1995 was the year for the decent "Colors of the Wind", but I prefer this Vanessa Williams song "The Sweetest Days":
Other good songs of 1995 include "The Real McCoy's "Run Away", The Pretenders "I'll Stand By You" and Natalie Merchant's "Carnival". Her voice is so pretty on that song.
I'm so glad this blog is written, because I'm so tired of listening to the derivative, pale imitation music of that year. I don't know if I will write any more blogs like this. I heard too many songs that I hope to never hear again. I'm going to listen to music from 1990 to see if that was a better year for music. I'm hoping so.
To see Billboard's Top 100 songs of 1995, go here: http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1995.php. Just quickly looking over the songs from 1994, it was a much better year for music. It was so much diverse with many great songs coming from many genres: http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1994.php
themusicaddict
To answer your first question: I'm listening to music from 1995 because I watched an episode of the amazing "Cold Case" this past Tuesday night. The cold case they were investigating happened in 1995. For those that don't know, "Cold Case" feature lot of music in their episodes. A few of the songs that were featured I had completely forgotten about. As I listened to a lot of that music on Spotify, I quickly realized how much of it was forgettable. Thanks to the awesome people over at Spotify, I've been listening to one of their playlists of songs from 1995. It features 95 of the Top 100 songs according to Billboard for that year.
I'm taking Spotify's word for these songs being from 1995, I didn't do any research to confirm that. The Tootsee song mentions 1994, but for the most part I think these songs were from 1995.
But after listening to that year's music for about 10 hours, all I can say is 1995 sucked for music. There were a few great songs, many of which I'll be featuring later in this blog. But for the most part there was a lot of crappy music in 1995. I will mention a few examples of the crap music, but won't feature any of those songs on this blog. I don't support sucky music.
One reason for the 1995's bad music year is that rap music continued to move into the mainstream. To be acceptable to the mainstream a lot of the rap music was neutered. Some more hard core rap songs did get through. But for the most part that hard core rap was terrible. The glorious days of 80's rap was left far behind. A lot of the rap music from 1995 featured samples. But what most people call it by it's real name: stealing.
Also there was a lot of imitation going on in 1995, many bad ideas seems to be repeatedly recycled. The thinking seemed to be: If you don't have a good musical idea, just steal one and call it a sample. I don't remember many of these musicians and even less of their songs. Music was both disposable and utterly forgivable in 1995. Listening to my iTunes on random was a marked improvement.
Probably the most egregiously bad rap song is "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz. You might have read where I've talked about lowest common denominator music. "Tootsee Roll" is an ultimate example of that kind of music. The lyrics are stupid, the beat is repetitive and even the name of the band shows the juvenile nature of the creative people behind this band.
Another of 1995's crappy rap music was Notorious BIG's "Big Poppa". Also Shaggy and Rayvon's out and out kifed Mungo Jerry's "In The Summertime". I wouldn't even call that a sample. They basically took the original melody and rapped over it a bit and called that a song. Also Method Man and Mary J. Blige's "I'll Be There For You" was not very good. Other lowlights include Luniz's "I Got 5 On It", and the absolutely dreadful "Give It 2 You" by Da Brat (Was the name the Da No Talent already taken?) That song is horrible in every way possible.
I could go on and on with more examples of all the terrible rap music that year, just a couple more examples. 702 and Subway had "This Lil' Game We Play". I'm glad the sandwich making thing worked out for Subway, because his song didn't. Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s name is not only incredibly obnoxious to type, but "Player's Anthem" is as bad as it sounds like it would be. Finally Jodeci's "Freakin You" was another terrible song from that year. At least Skee Lo has a sense of humor on "I Wish", in spite of it being sexist. But like most rap songs from that year one quickly gets tired of them. 2 Pac's "Dear Mama" is at least listenable.
Also the R&B boy band movement was in full effect. This was highlighted by Boys 2 Men. They had a lot of hits, but their music was very disposable. Also Boys 2 Men had a lot of bad imitators. You'd be forgiven if you thought the Jon B song "Someone To Love" was sung by Boys 2 Men. As it was playing that's who I thought was singing the song. There was also the truth in advertising named band Immature and their very bland song "Constantly". There's no surprise Immature faded quickly. It seems the idea was for a Justin Bieber like career. Immature is so dull and talentless, comparatively Bieber is Elvis Presley. I'm not a Bieber hater either. Also Blackstreet's "Before I Let You Go" was another low point for R&B boy bands.
One of the worst bands of that year was the horrific Hootie and the Blowfish. Sample lyric: "I'm such a baby even dolphins make me cry." And Hootie I really don't wanna be with you. I hated that band in 1995 and never really understood why they took off so dramatically. And as with most music from that year, their music hasn't aged well. I don't blame Darius Rucker for leaving them and starting on a solo country music career. I actually like some of his solo music.
And how did Brandy ever become a star? That year she was responsible for some really bad songs. For instance "Baby" and "Brokenhearted". Slightly better but still forgettable were "Best Friend" and "I Wanna Be Down".
And again imitation was a big theme of 1995. Even when there was a good song like All-4-One's "I Can Love You Like That"....:
hh
.... there was a song like like Bryan Adam's extremely sappy "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman"?
Another great song from 1995 was Take That's "Back For Good":
Even classic 80's artists had some of the worst music of their career. As I mentioned with Bryan Adams above. But also Janet Jackson had "You Want This", which on a second listen was better. But why did that song sample the Supremes "Love Child". That sample feels so out of place in "You Want This." But it's nowhere in the same league as "Nasty", "Escapade" or "Control". In '95 Michael Jackson had "Scream", again far off from his "Thriller" peak. Even the consistently good Madonna had a low point with "Secret". The last two songs are decent songs.. A band named 4 P.M. covered a classic 80's song. They did an okay cover of A Taste Of Honey's "Sukiyaki", but again at best only a pale imitation:
Although hair metal, sadly, mostly died out in the early 90's, Firehouse was trying to keep it alive. Instead of keeping it alive, their song from that year might have been the final nail in the hair metal coffin. That song was the incredibly lame "I Live My Life For You". It was a much watered down of their excellent "Love Of A Lifetime". Well at least they imitated themselves.
Above are a few of the relatively few musical highlights from 1995. Some of the other highlights of that year include U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me": (I absolutely love this song.)
Better Than Ezra's "Good":
Thank goodness for Melissa Etheridge for bringing some grit, life experience and taste to 1995. You can tell that Etheridge had lived the lyrics she sang. That gives her music a lot of passion and believability. Thank you Melissa for being one of the lone highlights of 1995. This is her amazing "I'm The Only One":
"Like The Way I Do": (The above song is more well known, but this song kicks some butt too.)
Sophie B. Hawkins "As I Lay Me Down To Sleep":
Jack and the gorgeous Kate in "Roll To Me":
TLC's "Waterfalls":
Seal's "Kiss From A Rose":
1995 was the year for the decent "Colors of the Wind", but I prefer this Vanessa Williams song "The Sweetest Days":
Other good songs of 1995 include "The Real McCoy's "Run Away", The Pretenders "I'll Stand By You" and Natalie Merchant's "Carnival". Her voice is so pretty on that song.
I'm so glad this blog is written, because I'm so tired of listening to the derivative, pale imitation music of that year. I don't know if I will write any more blogs like this. I heard too many songs that I hope to never hear again. I'm going to listen to music from 1990 to see if that was a better year for music. I'm hoping so.
To see Billboard's Top 100 songs of 1995, go here: http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1995.php. Just quickly looking over the songs from 1994, it was a much better year for music. It was so much diverse with many great songs coming from many genres: http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1994.php
themusicaddict
Monday, June 25, 2012
What I'm Reading Now: "Fatherland", "Outlander" and Gillian Flynn
Hello,
It's been awhile since I've posted about what I'm reading. I used to be so ambitious that I tried to even have my own book club. Unfortunately that required too much effort and time, especially since I'm lazy, so that faded away. However I never stopped reading. After recently getting a Kindle, my reading has increased. I still read old school Kindles, or as some people call them books. I don't have a problem reading on a Kindle, they are extremely user friendly. Turning pages is intuitive and I love how ebooks have a bookmark. And 90% of ebooks are $9.99 or less, plus you can buy many quality books for under $2.00. I absolutely love my Kindle, now if they could only figure out a way to recreate the new book smell. That's only one of the best smells known to man.
I wanted to give a quick update on the books I'm currently reading. I'm not sure whether it's due to my ADHD, but it's rare that I stick with a book straight through to the end. That's even true with books that I'm absolutely loving. It's not that I stop reading the book, at least initially, it's just that I start reading other books. So I'm usually reading 2 or 3 or 4 etc. books at one time. Then with getting a new Kindle, it's only adding to my reading ADHD. There are so many great books so cheap on the Kindle. Plus like regular books, you can check out ebooks from your local library. Although I have to note that the selection of Kindle ebooks at libraries is very limited.
Here's what I'm reading now:
1) Robert Harris's "Fatherland". It's an alternate fictional history, what could have happened if Germany hadn't lost World War 2. In this alternate history, D Day was either a failure or never occurred. That and other Allies failures allowed a Hitler led Germany to remain in power. The novel is based around Gestapo detective Xavier March and his investigation into the death of a prominent party member, Josef Buhler. The setting is 1964 Germany where Hitler is very much alive. Germans are preparing to celebrate his 75th birthday.
Also President Kennedy has agreed to visit Germany in hopes of reaching detente with Nazi Germany. The President Kennedy storyline is intriguing. As you know in actuality President Kennedy died in November, 1963. So who is this President Kennedy? One of the very clever touches in this book. As in actuality there was The Cold War, but in this alternate history it's going on between Germany and the USA. The USSR didn't reach it's place of prominence as they did in reality, Russia is left fighting a guerrilla war against the Germans. (While I'm loving these what if kind of books, I'm so glad this book is a work of fiction. Nazism needed to be stopped and thank goodness D Day was an overwhelming success.)
I've read about 40% so far and there's a good chance that I'll actually finish the book. In fact writing this blog makes me want to continue reading it right now.
"Fatherland" was made into a 1994 HBO movie, it stars Rutger Hauer. I hadn't heard of the movie until I read the "Fatherland" wikipedia.org page. The things you learning reading wikipedia!
2) Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander". I've read about the first 300 pages of this book so far. This is one of those books that I love, but I just get the urge to read something else. "Outlander" is the first book in a 7 book series. This series so far has spun out a play and a graphic novel. "Outlander" tells the story of Claire Randall and her adventures in both 1743 Scotland and 1945 Inverness. You'll have to read the book to understand why. While I'm quite enjoying the adventures of Claire, I'm not a big fan that she has a husband in each era.
3) Then on my Kindle I'm currently reading Gillian Flynn's "Dark Places". It's the story of Libby Day, who is one of two survivors of her family being killed. She's one of two survivors and the only witness. The other survivor, her older brother, is now in prison for killing the rest of their family. Libby was able to live on a life insurance policy comfortably for about 13 years. However she eventually ran out of money. In an act of desperation, because she doesn't want to get a job, and for $700 she agrees to talk to a so-called Kill Group to answer questions about this crime. That's all I've read so far but I'm intrigued by this very interesting premise. This book is full of very bizarre characters. A lot of chills and thrills are on their way I can tell.
Flynn is currently riding the success of her current novel, the much praised "Gone Girl". Amazon.com's books editors have called "Gone Girl" one of their Top 10 books of the year so far. (Thanks ew.com.)
Below is a lovely picture of Miss Flynn.
I have "Gone Girl's" first chapter on my Kindle. Being able to read a first chapter on a Kindle is one of the greatest and worst things about the Kindle. I love being able to read the first chapter of a book. You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover is the old saying. However I'm perfectly comfortable judging a book by it's first chapter. If the first chapter doesn't suck me completely into the story, then it's highly likely it's not a book I'm going to enjoy. ("The Hunger Games" being a rare exception to this rule.)
With the Kindle it's so easy to say yes, please download the rest of the book to my Kindle. Although I have learned the hard way if you want a book to go to your Kindle, get it through amazon.com directly. ebooks that I've purchased on my Kindle I've been charged sales tax. However books I bought at amazon.com and then sent to my Kindle, no sales tax has been charged.
I'm not sure when more reading updates will be coming. I just wanted to let you know what books I'm reading. I would highly recommend all three books I've mentioned here. I also have "Gone Girl" on hold at my local library. Seriously I love living in America, the greatest country in the world.
themusicaddict
It's been awhile since I've posted about what I'm reading. I used to be so ambitious that I tried to even have my own book club. Unfortunately that required too much effort and time, especially since I'm lazy, so that faded away. However I never stopped reading. After recently getting a Kindle, my reading has increased. I still read old school Kindles, or as some people call them books. I don't have a problem reading on a Kindle, they are extremely user friendly. Turning pages is intuitive and I love how ebooks have a bookmark. And 90% of ebooks are $9.99 or less, plus you can buy many quality books for under $2.00. I absolutely love my Kindle, now if they could only figure out a way to recreate the new book smell. That's only one of the best smells known to man.
I wanted to give a quick update on the books I'm currently reading. I'm not sure whether it's due to my ADHD, but it's rare that I stick with a book straight through to the end. That's even true with books that I'm absolutely loving. It's not that I stop reading the book, at least initially, it's just that I start reading other books. So I'm usually reading 2 or 3 or 4 etc. books at one time. Then with getting a new Kindle, it's only adding to my reading ADHD. There are so many great books so cheap on the Kindle. Plus like regular books, you can check out ebooks from your local library. Although I have to note that the selection of Kindle ebooks at libraries is very limited.
Here's what I'm reading now:
1) Robert Harris's "Fatherland". It's an alternate fictional history, what could have happened if Germany hadn't lost World War 2. In this alternate history, D Day was either a failure or never occurred. That and other Allies failures allowed a Hitler led Germany to remain in power. The novel is based around Gestapo detective Xavier March and his investigation into the death of a prominent party member, Josef Buhler. The setting is 1964 Germany where Hitler is very much alive. Germans are preparing to celebrate his 75th birthday.
Also President Kennedy has agreed to visit Germany in hopes of reaching detente with Nazi Germany. The President Kennedy storyline is intriguing. As you know in actuality President Kennedy died in November, 1963. So who is this President Kennedy? One of the very clever touches in this book. As in actuality there was The Cold War, but in this alternate history it's going on between Germany and the USA. The USSR didn't reach it's place of prominence as they did in reality, Russia is left fighting a guerrilla war against the Germans. (While I'm loving these what if kind of books, I'm so glad this book is a work of fiction. Nazism needed to be stopped and thank goodness D Day was an overwhelming success.)
I've read about 40% so far and there's a good chance that I'll actually finish the book. In fact writing this blog makes me want to continue reading it right now.
"Fatherland" was made into a 1994 HBO movie, it stars Rutger Hauer. I hadn't heard of the movie until I read the "Fatherland" wikipedia.org page. The things you learning reading wikipedia!
2) Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander". I've read about the first 300 pages of this book so far. This is one of those books that I love, but I just get the urge to read something else. "Outlander" is the first book in a 7 book series. This series so far has spun out a play and a graphic novel. "Outlander" tells the story of Claire Randall and her adventures in both 1743 Scotland and 1945 Inverness. You'll have to read the book to understand why. While I'm quite enjoying the adventures of Claire, I'm not a big fan that she has a husband in each era.
3) Then on my Kindle I'm currently reading Gillian Flynn's "Dark Places". It's the story of Libby Day, who is one of two survivors of her family being killed. She's one of two survivors and the only witness. The other survivor, her older brother, is now in prison for killing the rest of their family. Libby was able to live on a life insurance policy comfortably for about 13 years. However she eventually ran out of money. In an act of desperation, because she doesn't want to get a job, and for $700 she agrees to talk to a so-called Kill Group to answer questions about this crime. That's all I've read so far but I'm intrigued by this very interesting premise. This book is full of very bizarre characters. A lot of chills and thrills are on their way I can tell.
Flynn is currently riding the success of her current novel, the much praised "Gone Girl". Amazon.com's books editors have called "Gone Girl" one of their Top 10 books of the year so far. (Thanks ew.com.)
Below is a lovely picture of Miss Flynn.
I have "Gone Girl's" first chapter on my Kindle. Being able to read a first chapter on a Kindle is one of the greatest and worst things about the Kindle. I love being able to read the first chapter of a book. You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover is the old saying. However I'm perfectly comfortable judging a book by it's first chapter. If the first chapter doesn't suck me completely into the story, then it's highly likely it's not a book I'm going to enjoy. ("The Hunger Games" being a rare exception to this rule.)
With the Kindle it's so easy to say yes, please download the rest of the book to my Kindle. Although I have learned the hard way if you want a book to go to your Kindle, get it through amazon.com directly. ebooks that I've purchased on my Kindle I've been charged sales tax. However books I bought at amazon.com and then sent to my Kindle, no sales tax has been charged.
I'm not sure when more reading updates will be coming. I just wanted to let you know what books I'm reading. I would highly recommend all three books I've mentioned here. I also have "Gone Girl" on hold at my local library. Seriously I love living in America, the greatest country in the world.
themusicaddict
Sunday, June 24, 2012
"Brave": Quick Review
Hello,
My kids are still of the age where they want me to go to the movies with them. So I went and saw "Brave" with my two youngest kids yesterday. It wasn't a movie I wanted to see. I didn't expect much from it and it was about as I had expected. It's a cute movie with some funny parts. But unless you are going to see the movie with your kids, there's no reason for an adult to go see it.
While watching it I thought to myself how many of these princess movies are they going to make? I'm so tired of the concept, when are other people going to feel the same? Although since it pulled in $24.5 million on Friday alone, I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of princesses in the future.
themusicaddict
My kids are still of the age where they want me to go to the movies with them. So I went and saw "Brave" with my two youngest kids yesterday. It wasn't a movie I wanted to see. I didn't expect much from it and it was about as I had expected. It's a cute movie with some funny parts. But unless you are going to see the movie with your kids, there's no reason for an adult to go see it.
While watching it I thought to myself how many of these princess movies are they going to make? I'm so tired of the concept, when are other people going to feel the same? Although since it pulled in $24.5 million on Friday alone, I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lot more of princesses in the future.
themusicaddict
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