Kenny ://

It's cold out so I'm goofing off

It's chilly out so I'm waiting for the sun to burn the earth a little before getting out on my bike. While waiting, I decided to go to the reliable RSS for a little morning entertainment and boy was I not disappointed. I subscribe to a feed by Smashing Magazine (thanks for the tip, Bob) and today was a post titled 60 Beautiful Music Videos.  I watched 4 or 5 - the Beck "Girl" vid is fantastic, and then came this one by Daft Punk. It's a fan-made music video.  Just cool. It's not really mind-blowing or technically impressive, but this person is creative.

Here's a link to the Smashing Mag story - it's a great design review/recommendation site.

Sometimes artists have muses. Sometimes they use chemistry

I think I've stumbled across the inspiration for Michael Stipe's singing style in The End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine).





You be the judge. Above is the Chemistry Elements song and below is End of the World





Both great songs!

Radiohead, the next great thinkers of our time

As if there were any more reason to think Radiohead were groundbreaking artists, here's one.  First of all they released their latest album In Rainbows for free online and now they've released a video for House of Cards that was created without any cameras whatsoever.  Seriously. It was all 3D Laser Shot. 

Amazing

see the video here

screenshot of it:

This never gets old

I never get tired of this version of BEP's My Humps.  

Quick note on New Year's Eve

Just a quick note - if you missed Radiohead's New Year's performance of all the songs on their latest album, In Rainbows, either on tv, radiohead.tv or current.com, you can still watch the archived show. I caught it this morning.

Radiohead's Scotch_Mist - a movie with Radiohead made for New Year's Eve 2007

It's a really good 52 minutes of watching, IMO.

What are you doing on New Year's Eve?

New Year's Eve just got cooler.  Radiohead will be broadcasting a performance of In Rainbows, their latest album, both online and on TV.  I'll be tuning in somewhere somehow.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7161237.stm

Mix cd's

How do you feel about mix-cd's or mix-playlists someone's created for you?  It's something that has unwritten, unspoken and undefined rules about the friendship. A mix-cd is something that's supposed to not just share music, but convey an emotion, right? It is something you spend a lot of time compiling the right elements because it's all about how you're feeling at the time you create it, right?  At least, that's how I've always felt about mix-tapes/cds/playlists. 

Here's something that's occurred to me recently, though - what do you do when you're the recipient of a mix somethingorother and you're not really into any of the music on it? Do you suck it up and help your friend save face by saying "I really loved every single track - I know exactly how you felt, were thinking, or wanted to say when I heard that song. Thank you so much. I love you." ? No, I argue, you tell the person what you liked. Otherwise you may be getting a new stinker every week.

I've recently been given a few mix-cd's and there's good music on all of them. I don't necessarily like every track, but it's a gift, right? They were given with the most sincere intention of sharing a feeling or a moment or a therapeutic element with me.  I like them, but because I don't listen to them over and over should I feel guilty? I mean, I don't, but I kind of do. 

There's a lot of pressure on the recipient of a mix-cd. If I don't empathize with the thoughts conveyed, am I a jerk? Nah, I'm not.

P.s. - the beard is now the most kickass Lemmy mustache ever.  Pics will be posted later, I don't want any of my competition scooping me on this one.

I guess there's a point at which it stops for a while

I know the hair on my face is softer today than it was yesterday, but it sure doesn't look like it's getting any longer. I'll never have enough hair for a proper molestache this weekend, but I'm not that concerned. It's never been about having a full respectable mustache for me. It's more been about being as ridonculous looking as possible.  I'm pretty sure I can make that happen. 

In other news - I bought new music the other night. I do this about once every 2 or 3 months. I'll get the crazy idea that I can go to the record store and just pick up one cd.  Not the case. There's a song I've been really digging for a while now and my friend Speener found the track name and artist for me. 

Handbags and Gladrags by Mr. Cat Stevens as heard on the opening and closing credits of the BBC Office series. I've not really ever been a Cat Stevens fan, though. I mean, I like his songwriting but his Zappa/Dylan/Cocker mix of delivery hasn't really ever stuck with me. I like the 10,000 Maniacs cover of peace train, and I like the Stereophonics and Rod Stewart covers of this song. So I've been listening to the small 20 second clips iTunes lets you hear and decided feck it, I'll just buy the whole CD. I like the Stereophonics quite a bit, too, so that's a bonus that they covered it, too. 

My local shop didn't have them so I picked up the Rod Stewart unplugged CD.

I really like the unplugged concept, I just wish it were still "unplugged." It seems like there's 1000x more production value into these performances than there was when they first started. I remember watching in the 90's and it was just a guy or a small band and their acoustic guitars on rocking chairs or stools or pillows on a rug.  The Lenny Kravitz unplugged was fantastic. The Alice In Chains one was great. I think I remember R.E.M. being really good, too. But these days, there's a full backing orchestra, production personnel, sound men, etc., in on the act. At least, that's how the Rod Stewart CD sounds.  I also didn't realize I'd like my parents' music so much.  I think the cd doesn't really speak to me, but it sure brings back memories of hearing this music in the house when I was growing up - that was a happy thing. It gives me the feeling of a pleasant memory when there isn't really a memory to go with it. Kind of just the light dusting of a memory.

I also got the Smiths and Queen.  No comments from the peanut gallery on the Queen CD. Otherwise, I will get my Fat Bottomed Girls to Rock You and we will be The Champions.

There goes another one

I was thinking about saying something about the passing of Kevin Dubrow, the lead singer of 70's and 80's metal band Quiet Riot, but it's just not right. I'm sure there are much more succinct and appropriately sympathetic editorials by the hundreds all over the webbernet so I'll not even attempt to put a label and voice on it. 

Instead, I'll tell you about the first time I ever saw a metal concert. 

Here in Memphis, as I'm sure in every other city, village and outpost in America, we have a yearly fair in the Fall. The Midsouth Fair. If you have never been to a Renaissance Faire, then this is the next best thing for people watching.  We went as kids every year - there's even a Fair Day when you get out of school for the day in order to go to the fair - not like a field trip, but just if you want to, hey, here's a day out of school - go get your fried food on.  I can't remember when we stopped going, probably when the murder rate doubled from one year to the next at the fair after dark. 

Anyway, my first metal concert has a lot to do with the Midsouth Fair because that's where the show was, at the county fair.  How pathetic?  Not very, let me tell you. Apparently the phenomenon of bands playing at a county fair wasn't really the death knell in their careers because, in the early 80's, which is when Quiet Riot was at their peak and playing outdoor arenas, I saw them at the Midsouth Fair. I must have been 9 or 10 because I was scared of the crowd. Then the metal started and every burnout around us turned to the stage, raised one solitary metal signed-hand (you know the gesture, thumb, pointer and pinky out and pumping) and bobbed their heads.  Occasionally one would fall over or stumble, laugh along with his/her stoned/drunk friends and regain that fan-composure for a few minutes.

That's not the only thing I remember from the show, of course. I remember Big Black Cadillac having a short interlude right in the middle leading to the climax of the song when Dubrow recounted an encounter in the back of a big black cadillac about which the song was written. Seems there was a fine bitch involved and he had the driver turn that big car around to go back for more.  I also remember Metal Health being sung as a slowed-down almost blues version.  Does anyone remember Lenny Kravitz doing that to Are You Gonna Go My Way on MTV's Unplugged? That wasn't his idea originally.  In hindsight, it was cool as hell. Then, though? I was pretty disappointed. 

The best part was that opening for QR was a cousin of mine's band called Medieval Steel (google it, Chuck Jones is the cuz, think he played drums) and . . . get ready for it. . . here it comes . . . Accept.  Yep, they opened with Balls to the Wall and closed with Balls to the Wall.  Did they have any other songs? 

It was about that same time when I first saw Motley Crue on the cover of one of their albums and thought, "Wow, that blonde lady sure is pretty."

In Rainbows instead of in the green

Radiohead, as I'm sure everyone and their mom knows, was free of a contract with a record company for the latest in their great library of work.  Instead of releasing it with a major, or even alternative/minor, label they decided to release it online through a pre-sales issuance of what turned out to be a very mature, good listening album. 

The gist was that whomever chose to purchase online also got to choose what they paid for the album, barring the around fitty-cent transaction charge for actually downloading the album.  It's an interesting concept and I was thoroughly impressed with the Web 1.9 aspect of what they did. 

Now that numbers have been released on the sales success of the album, though, I'm kind of disheartened that there are so many cheap bastards out there.  Come on, homeez. Don't you think it's worth at least $9 or $10?  Sure, you won't get the booklet that comes with an actual CD, but when's the last time you went to a record store to buy a full cd instead of pulling down a few songs from an album of otherwise crappy music?

I remember looking for the go-go's greatest hits (don't laugh) and, believe it or not none of the songs I thought were their greatest hits were on the same album.  What did I do? I downloaded the 3 songs I liked instead of buying several discs that I would never listen to in their entirety. 

Give Radiohead some love and pay for the music I bet you're listening to at least once a week. 62% of downloaders paid nothing. I suppose I should be reassured by the 12% who paid between $8 and $12?  Pffft, I'm not. 

Of course, I'm not telling you into which bracket I fall - I could be one of the cheap bastards, but I might not be, either.