tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73774276450585510432010-03-29T09:22:32.961-04:00Scene & Heard<img src="http://xae.xanga.com/e6fc542433030183411645/w140475258.jpg" />Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.comBlogger295125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-1836595217727552802010-03-29T09:22:00.001-04:002010-03-29T09:22:33.029-04:00This blog has moved<br /> This blog is now located at http://sceneandheardpottsmerc.blogspot.com/.<br /> You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click <a href='http://sceneandheardpottsmerc.blogspot.com/'>here</a>.<br /><br /> For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to<br /> http://sceneandheardpottsmerc.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.<br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-183659521772755280?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-31184048184297077192010-03-03T11:24:00.003-05:002010-03-03T11:35:40.603-05:00Battle for Late Night: It wasn't Leno Vs Coco; it was Us Vs Them<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tJJ6o4eYynU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tJJ6o4eYynU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />I wrote this piece for my mp3 blog about how the Late Night bloodbath that ensued earlier this year was more of a generational battle than a choice between Coco or The Chin. They won, we lost. Give it a read: <b><a href="http://tinyurl.com/ya4myda">http://tinyurl.com/ya4myda</a><br /></b><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-3118404818429707719?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-89458127943763656352010-02-02T10:45:00.003-05:002010-02-02T11:11:32.964-05:00Doing their part - Haiti Benefit this Thursday at Chaplins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.chaplinsthemusiccafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/helpforhaitibig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 220px;" src="http://www.chaplinsthemusiccafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/helpforhaitibig.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Rad local show that you should attend alert!<br /><br />A number of incredible local musicians, including guitar wizard <a href="http://www.trevorgordonhall.com/home.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Trevor Gordon Hall</span></a> and the <a href="http://carolyncottmusic.com/index.php?mod=home"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Carolynn Cott Band</span></a> are all slated to perform at Chaplins The Music Cafe in Spring City this Thursday.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2010/02/02/news/srv0000007495334.txt">Click the link</a> for details.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-8945812794376365635?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-45625513109774928252010-01-03T14:57:00.013-05:002010-01-05T18:14:31.612-05:00Time Capsule: The Definitive Music of The 00's, according to Scene & HeardiPod, iPhone, MacBook, Blackberry, Blue Tooth, BluRay, Myspace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Xbox, and etc. These clever little gadgets and social networking outlets are, no doubt, a part of how future generations will look back on the 00's.<br /><br />But aside from living it (or reading Wikipedia!), music continues to be the purest way to get a read on the history of the world. Because while technology defines the times (whether we're talking gun powder, electricity, 8-tracks, or rocket ships), it's the times that define the music - and to me that makes it a more personal, and real, account of what the world was like. What the people were like.<br /><br />For example - look at the breadth of music these past 10 years. It's easy to grasp the decade without watching a single news reel (err, YouTube clip): wildly fragmented, at times apocalyptic, and often aimless or lost. There was definitely a lot going on beneath the surface, a lot of soul searching, a lot of growing up. It seemed every single genre suffered a damaging identity crisis - pop, hip-hop, rock & roll, alternative, hardcore, metal, punk, even country, all struggled to find new voice, new ground and new listeners.<br /><br />Surely, it all had something to do with the internet tanking the record business, and the social state of the world as it recovered from culturally damaging terror attacks while marching into war and conflict. But it all felt like part of something bigger to me, as if this was truly the last gasp of one era and the ignition of another, crossing streams (which The Ghostbusters always warned us against doing!). The past (or age of 'The Boomers,' if you will) was ending, the future was struggling to get started.<br /><br />And so, I am writing this for the future in hopes that they listen to this music and hear what the winds of change that blew through our trees and shook us to our roots sounded like. Perhaps this isn't how everyone remembers the 00's, but this is exactly how the 00's sounded here at the Scene & Heard bunker while we lived it. And because this was the decade where <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span> "became of age," as they say (young love, high school, college, went to Europe, drove across the country, got a job with benefits, all that jazz), I think that makes me a qualified statesman to put forth this time capsule of music. These certainly aren't all my favorite records from the time, but after much deliberation and thought, these are what I find to be the most reflective and definitive of the time and my time in the 00's.<br /><br />Children of the future, I give you the first decade of the 21st century...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">N*Sync - No Strings Attached</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released March 21, 2000</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.musiccataloger.com/images/NSYNC%20-%20NO%20STRINGS%20ATTACHED%20-%20CD_LG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 201px;" src="http://www.musiccataloger.com/images/NSYNC%20-%20NO%20STRINGS%20ATTACHED%20-%20CD_LG.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Even if it makes your stomach crawl, you can't talk about the 00's without talking about how it started - which was ridiculously. This boy band album was inescapable, selling more than 2.4 million copies in just it's FIRST WEEK on store shelves. It spawned the same craze that Beatlemania wreaked on the young and impressionable of the 1960s by filling the world with more silly love songs. Except these five dudes didn't go on to make a White Album or Sgt. Peppers. Nevertheless, this album remains significant because this is where the music business peaked. As far as the industry is concerned, it was all downhill from here. As far as the rest of us were concerned (the ones who wanted better, less manufactured music - and not for $20 per CD), the music world was about to get a lot better, a lot more varied, and a lot more interesting. It was all <span style="font-style: italic;">uphill </span>from here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Glassjaw - Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released May 9, 2000</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/glassjaw31ohLf3zwgL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 197px;" src="http://www.metalsucks.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/glassjaw31ohLf3zwgL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Often imitated, never replicated (see also: the entire "screamo" genre, ugh). This is what emo once meant, before it mutated into the ignorant, hosed-down excuse for guitar-flavored power pop it later became. While EYEWTKAS' abrasive hardcore edge can gut a stomach or two, it's the lyrical beauty and immeasurably intense delivery by frontman Daryl Palumbo that makes this, truly, one of the heaviest modern masterpieces of music. No other album in this time capsule blisters over with more fire or emotion than what you'll find here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released May 22, 2000</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.illestlyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/the_marshall_mathers_lp_28alternate29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 204px;" src="http://www.illestlyrics.com/wp-content/uploads/the_marshall_mathers_lp_28alternate29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Easily one of the most profound records of the time. An artist like Eminem was a total paradox. A white rapper, that <span style="font-style: italic;">wasn't</span> a joke? Wait, what? This album - his second - was unmercifully confrontational, taking on the music business, pop stars, movie stars, paparazzi, parents, teachers, and the government. Not to mention, his own demons. But more appropriately, it verbalized all the boredom and angst of pre 9-11 America, word for word. Amusing, socially aware, emotional, dark, and outright foul. It was all these things and more, which is why it didn't matter what race you were or what type of music you liked. This album was the voice of the generation, and it said, "This is what we are like, and if you don't like that, just remember you're the sh*theads who raised us." It wasn't Bob Dylan, but that was kind of the point.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Radiohead - Kid A</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released October 2, 2000</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://fetchit.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/kida.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 203px;" src="http://fetchit.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/kida.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>No one had heard anything like this when it first came out. It. Blew. Minds. And still, more than 9 years later, it sounds as if it's a future masterpiece, beamed in from light years ahead of us, like a 'Pet Sounds' made by robots from Mars. I confess, the songs aren't my favorite Radiohead set, but like Sgt. Pepper was to The Beatles - Kid A was a definitive moment for the band, and for the future of music. A moment that will not be overlooked when future generations talk about Radiohead, who are to our generation what The Beatles were to "the boomers."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Coldplay - Parachutes</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released November 7, 2000</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/ktolentino/coldplay-parachutes-big.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 204px;" src="http://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/ktolentino/coldplay-parachutes-big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Speaking of Radiohead and The Beatles, Coldplay's pristine debut sounds at times like the well-mannered offspring of both musical giants, with a dash of U2 (circa <span style="font-style: italic;">Joshua Tree</span>) for good measure. But this album remains their most basic, most poignant, and best. Particularly at a time when the musical landscape was cracking and shifting between soulless boy bands, Britney Spears, anger-fueled rap-rock and tough boy gangsta rap, four charming lads from England with guitars and pianos was more than a breath of fresh air - it was the first real moment of clarity and soul we'd gotten on the radio since Nirvana gave us that raunchy whiff of teen spirit in 1991.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released July 18, 2001</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://consequenceofsound.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jimmy_bleed.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 203px; height: 203px;" src="http://consequenceofsound.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/jimmy_bleed.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>By 2001, the hyper-passionate "emo" scene was gaining steam and young listeners by the cartload, and all it took was a little nudge from a catchy song called "The Middle" to push this burgeoning scene over in to the mainstream consciousnesses - even if this record was more an upbeat rock n' roller than Jimmy's 1999's "emo" masterpiece, <span style="font-style: italic;">Clarity</span>. Suddenly Jimmy Eat World, and fellow groups like Saves The Day, The Juliana Theory, The Get-Up Kids, and Death Cab For Cutie all had the immediate ears of record label execs as they scrambled to find "the next big thing" in a business that was about to break. The album's title is still frighteningly prophetic of the terror attack that was about to rock our country to it's core (9/11) a few short months later. But Bleed American is so hopefully thunderous, and masterfully crafted with a hunger to be heard, that it provided us with affectionate relief from the wound.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - Global a Go-Go</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released July 24, 2001</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://api.ning.com/files/K4FB1SaaBbXqc4eaYFi9VamhoDJFr1KE75GA47t1ECctp*gb7vv-fMdotKg8qVRf8l6PfkEFVzbaXwajGXsCW*X5vZaAIZ*P/GlobalAGoGo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 198px;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/K4FB1SaaBbXqc4eaYFi9VamhoDJFr1KE75GA47t1ECctp*gb7vv-fMdotKg8qVRf8l6PfkEFVzbaXwajGXsCW*X5vZaAIZ*P/GlobalAGoGo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The world was about to get a lot more complicated, not to mention fragmented, but this late career masterpiece by the late great Joe Strummer (former frontman of The Clash) took the precious time to embrace the world and it's rich supply of culture, ideas, sights and sounds. From the rollicking "Johnny Appleseed" through the hypnotic 17-minute opus, "Minstrel Boy", Strummer and his band of musical gypsies stir up a brighter view of the world, one that's wholesome, simple, fascinating, and ripe for the picking. We weren't prepared for the storms ahead, but this was most certainly the beautiful, peaceful calm before.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Strokes - Is This It</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released July 30, 2001</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005QIPH.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 202px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00005QIPH.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Jack White often gets the due credit for the 21st century resuscitation of rock n' roll - and rightfully so - but it was this landmark album by some young, greasy-haired New Yorkers that really reminded us how <span style="font-style: italic;">good</span> rock n' roll made us feel. The White Stripes brought back bone-saw blues and a Led Zeppelin-like mysticism, but it was The Strokes who brought back the swagger, the cool, and the booze-soaked nights of being, young, lost and in love. A sound reminder that the heart of rock n' roll still has plenty of blood left to pump.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruce Springsteen - The Rising</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released July 30, 2002</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://nighthawknews.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/album-the-rising.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 202px;" src="http://nighthawknews.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/album-the-rising.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As the tale goes, shortly after the attack on 9-11, Bruce Springsteen was spotted by a stranger in Asbury Park - and the stranger said to him, "We need you." The Boss knew what he had to do - get the ol' band back together. Sure enough, the "the heart stopping, pants dropping, earth shattering, hard rocking, hips shaking, earth quaking, nerve breaking, history making, legendary E-Street Band" returned months later with their first blast of new music in 18 years. And for all that had fallen, this album rose magnificently to the occasion - and who better? For Bruce and the E-Street gang, it was the comeback of a lifetime - for the rest of us, it was the candle we needed to light such a dark hour.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bright Eyes - Lifted or the Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released August 13, 2002</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.maniadb.com/images/album/171/171832_1_f.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 198px;" src="http://img.maniadb.com/images/album/171/171832_1_f.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As the pop world continued to shift and buckle beneath us, new voices continued to sprout up through the cracks. But none showed as much generational promise as young Conor Oberst did on this breakthrough album. And with such captivating honesty and lyrical mastery, it was hard to resist branding him the next Dylan, particularly now that we were at war overseas and mired in political unrest. But unlike most "next Dylans," Oberst has made good on his promise, delivering classic album after classic album throughout this decade (recording as both Bright Eyes and Conor Oberst and The Mystic Valley Band), and he has done so without pause or ever once looking back. If this was a decade of growth and new voice, there isn't a finer example - or one to be prouder of - than Oberst.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brand New - Deja Entendu</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released June 17, 2003</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Brand_New_Deja_Entendu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/7b/Brand_New_Deja_Entendu.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>For the young and restless of this decade's new breed of emo, this is the album that raised the bar. To fans of the band's straightforward buzz-sawed debut, Your Favorite Weapon, Deja Entendu was a radical reinvention, with entirely new song structures and a much more sophisticated and varied approach to song structure, flow and lyrics. Seems like a little leap now, considering how much the band continued to morph on later recordings, but this is one of the emo scene's proudest moments of growth this decade, not unlike when Radiohead jumped grunge for U2, taking the leap from Pablo Honey to The Bends.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Over It - Timing Is Everything</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released November 18, 2003</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/431284350_60feceb2b3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 198px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/431284350_60feceb2b3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Emo might have been riding high, but pop-punk was riding higher. Bands like New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Good Charlotte, and Simple Plan had all found their true calling on MTV's popular after-school music video countdown, TRL (Total Request Live), waving around catchy anthems about being young, and/or in love. This album didn't register as even a blip on any mainstream radar, but it was a run away freight train, packing way more lyrical and breakdown punch than any of the bubblegum parading as punk on TRL. It wasn't a vein that other punk and emo bands hadn't already bled, but it's a treasure - and a rarity - to find such a record hammered out with such heart at such volume.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released March 9, 2004</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://diskunion.net/images/jacket/04IA04384.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 195px;" src="http://diskunion.net/images/jacket/04IA04384.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>If you could imagine what it would sound like if Radiohead kicked Thom Yorke to the curb and got Otis Redding and Sam Cooke to fill in on vocals, than you can see why music geeks wet their proverbial pants at first listen to this album. Aside from Radiohead's Kid A, this was the first sign that music was really starting to move into a new, and beautifully hypnotic, direction.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Killers - Hot Fuss</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released June 15, 2004</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Hot-Fuss.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 190px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/20/Hot-Fuss.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Unless you read up on them, chances are you thought The Killers were Britain's next big thing. But these Bowie-esque Joy Division lovers were, quite the contrary, born and bred Americans from Las Vegas. Achieving immediate success with hit singles like "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside," The Killers quickly established themselves as one of the decade's best, and brightest, new groups.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Green Day - American Idiot</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released September 21, 2004</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Greenday_americanidiot.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 192px; height: 192px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Greenday_americanidiot.png" alt="" border="0" /></a>As the presidential election drew near, there were a number of artists who stood up to cry foul on George W. Bush and his Cabinet's continuing wars on terror and the middle east in response to 9-11. But none of these artists left as big a mark as Green Day did with this album, their first Who-inspired "rock-opera". And it was a welcome surprise indeed, coming from a band who had all but lost inspiration by the dawn of the decade. Just like the fire that made them hot in the first place, Green Day found rejuvenation by creating an outlet for a world they were disgusted with. Except, this time their disgust was with the grown up world, not the world of growing up - as on 1994's Dookie. It wasn't just a return to form, it marked a bold new direction that made the Bay Area trio one of the biggest bands in the world.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nada Surf - The Weight Is A Gift</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released September 20, 2005</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.coco-records.nl/catalog/images/nadasurfweight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 191px;" src="http://www.coco-records.nl/catalog/images/nadasurfweight.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>By now, the mainstream music business was in free fall. And because of it, better artists from smaller "indie" labels were on the rise - thanks in part to TV shows like The OC who brilliantly licensed and plugged these smaller bands. Groups like Arcade Fire, The Shins, and Spoon were all doing just fine without any major label muscle, thanks. Nada Surf, however, had already been up to the majors and been knocked down by the end of the 90's. There were lots of great indie records from this time, but none feel more accomplished or as instantly rewarding as this one. And few lyrics sum up this time better than "I watched life turn into a TV show" (from "Blankest Year"), partially due to the explosion of reality TV that was then in (disgusting) full bloom.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Arcade Fire - Neon Bible</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released March 3, 2007</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://alittlefurtherdowntheriver.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/neonbible.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 186px;" src="http://alittlefurtherdowntheriver.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/neonbible.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Arcade Fire's previous album, Funeral, is often cited as one of the decade's finest pieces of music - but I think this darker, denser set of songs is much more focused and reflective of the time it comes from. No, it wasn't the dark ages, or even The Cold War, but 2007 was a very claustrophobic, and hopeless, time. Britney Spears had lost her mind (homegirl shaved her head and attacked a pap car with an umbrella!). We were still at war in the Middle East and were still led by a president who had little - if any - respect around the globe. The whole world was a drag. The Arcade Fire sucked that in, and breathed out this anthemic, Joshua Tree-like hymn of hope for the times. It was moody on the edges, but if you got to the core, it sparkled light - and that wasn't easy to find at the time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Radiohead - In Rainbows</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released October 10, 2007</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.toxicshock.tv/news/wp-content/uploads/radiohead_album_in_rainbows.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 186px;" src="http://www.toxicshock.tv/news/wp-content/uploads/radiohead_album_in_rainbows.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The times, they were-a-changing. When Radiohead unveiled their latest album without a record label and with a "pay-us-whatever-the-heck-you-want-for-it-even-if-that-means-you-don't-pay-anything" model, there were those who said this was <span style="font-style: italic;">the </span>future of the music business. It's hard to say it actually changed a thing, really, but it did prove that the record business was going to have to get much more creative if music was going to remain relevant in this brave new century of media overdose. Thankfully, there was much more to In Rainbows than how it was released. This delicate set of seared soul, breakneck guitars, and heart-wrenching love songs is Radiohead's most beautiful collection yet. Leave it to Radiohead to craft a record this gorgeous out of both hope, and apocolypse.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Girls - Album</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Released September 22, 2009</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thepigeonpost.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/album-art-girls-album-1024x10245b15d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 199px; height: 199px;" src="http://thepigeonpost.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/album-art-girls-album-1024x10245b15d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This decade was hard on us. Growing pains, if you will. But the decade was exceptionally rougher for Girls frontman Christopher Owens who was raised in a cult that forced his mother to prostitute herself and watched his brother die because they didn't believe in modern medical methods. But salvation found him when he ran away and was taken in by a millionaire and moved to San Francisco where he met Chet White to form their band, Girls. Of course, running away doesn't clean out your closet - but building honest pop songs out of the pieces of your own broken heart helps. Musically, Album is vintage sun-soaked Happy Days garage rock, harkening back to a simpler time when things seemed warmer, happier, stronger. That's what this record is all about, and that's what the 00's were about: Building a better, brighter future out of the pieces of a broken past, to get back to where we once belonged. Couldn't end this decade on a more appropriate note if we wanted to. Here's hoping this decade treats us better than the last.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-4562551310977492825?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-38443275054764009312009-12-30T13:07:00.007-05:002009-12-30T23:31:06.745-05:00The greats who passed away this decade<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://grangerfam.net/twilightzone/tv_static.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 373px;" src="http://grangerfam.net/twilightzone/tv_static.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>As the minutes on the decade grow short, I'd like to take a moment of silence for some of the many entertainment greats who passed away these past 10 years. Through music, film and beyond, the following all helped shape the world we now live in.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">*listed in loose chronological order of death</span></span><br /><br />Big Pun / thanks for "I'm not a playa, I just crush a lot"<br /><br />Jim Varney / Hey Vern, thanks for Ernest<br /><br />Charles Schulz / thanks for Peanuts, Charlie Brown<br /><br />Sir Alec Guiness / thanks for being our only hope, Obi Wan Kenobi<br /><br />Walter Matthau / Thanks for The Odd Couple, and you played a perfect Mr. Wilson in Dennis the Menace, btw.<br /><br />Robert Ludlum / thanks for Jason Bourne<br /><br />Joey Ramone / thanks for being a punk rock icon<br /><br />Perry Como / thanks for an awesomely classic Christmas album<br /><br />John Lee Hooker / thanks for "Boom, Boom, Boom" and those talking-style blues<br /><br />Chet Atkins / thanks for real country music<br /><br />Aaliyah / thanks for "If Your Girl Only Knew"<br /><br />George Harrison / thanks for "Here Comes The Sun" - not to mention everything else you did with The Beatles.<br /><br />Layne Staley / thanks for "Man In A Box"<br /><br />Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes / thanks for "Waterfalls"<br /><br />Dee Dee Ramone / same sentiments as Johnny Ramone, thanks for being a Ramone<br /><br />Johanthan Harris / thanks for being the dastardly Dr. Smith on Lost In Space<br /><br />Joe Strummer / You were, and still are, one of my greatest inspirations as a person. Thanks for The Clash, The Mescaleros, and your hunger for life. "The future is unwritten"<br /><br />Nina Simone / thanks for "My Baby Just Cares For Me"<br /><br />June Carter Cash / thanks for being Johnny's greatest love and inspiration<br /><br />Johnny Cash / thanks for walking the line<br /><br />Barry White / thanks for that sultry voice<br /><br />Bob Hope / thanks for making our military laugh in times of war<br /><br />Sam Phillips / thanks for discovering Elvis, Johnny, and helping raise rock & roll from it's infancy<br /><br />Gregory Hines / thanks for your tap dancing and acting<br /><br />Charles Bronson / thanks for Death Wish<br /><br />Warren Zevon / thanks for "Werewolves of London"<br /><br />John Ritter / thanks for Three's Company<br /><br />Robert Palmer / thanks for "Addicted To Love," wouldn't have been the 80's without it.<br /><br />Elliott Smith / thanks for "Figure 8"<br /><br />Rod Roddy / Come on down, we'd like to thank you for your announcing on The Price Is Right!<br /><br />ODB / thanks for "Baby I Got Your Money," not to mention your work with the Wu.<br /><br />John Peel / thanks for your uncanny love and ear for good music, and sharing it with us on the Beeb<br /><br />Christopher Reeve / thanks for being Superman, both in movies - and in real life<br /><br />Rodney Dangerfield / thanks for the shtick, and let me tell ya, you got our respect<br /><br />Johnny Ramone / Three Ramones too many to pass away in a decade, thanks for punk rock<br /><br />Ernie Ball / thanks for "slinky" guitar strings<br /><br />Rick James / thanks for "Super-Freak" and not to mention, the most memorably caricatured character on the Chapelle Show<br /><br />Marlon Brando / thanks for Don Vito Corleone<br /><br />Ray Charles / thanks for "What'd I Say"<br /><br />John Entwistle / thanks for being part of the rhythm powerhouse that fueled The Who, alongside the late great Keith Moon on the skins<br /><br />Will Eisner / Thanks for The Spirit<br /><br />Ronald Reagan / Thanks for being president, and inspiring a great deal of great rock music (REM, Sprinsteen, etc) in the 80s while at it.<br /><br />Johnny Carson / thanks for creating a late-night tradition, The Tonight Show, that will never be quite the same without you<br /><br />Pope John Paul II / God bless, and thanks for being our Pope!<br /><br />Luther Vandross / thanks for "A House Is Not A Home"<br /><br />James Doohan / thanks for beaming us up, Scotty<br /><br />Rosa Parks / thanks for not giving up your seat<br /><br />Pat Morita / thanks for teaching Danny-son how to wax on, wax off, and kick some butt!<br /><br />Richard Pryor / thanks for the outrageous comedy, you certainly helped change the face of your trade<br /><br />Peter Jennings / thanks for World News Tonight, you were one of the greats<br /><br />Lou Rawls / thanks for "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine"<br /><br />Wilson Pickett / thanks for "Mustang Sally"<br /><br />Hunter S. Thompson / With "Fear and Loathing" you got to the heart of what so many journalists are schooled to write about, but don't - the truth. Thanks for that wild, manic beast of drug-addled ink, blood and paper you helped foster. Gonzo journalism.<br /><br />Coretta Scott King / thanks for your husband and everything you did after he passed. Wish you could have been in Washington DC last January to watch history unfold.<br /><br />Paul Gleason / thanks for giving up your Saturdays to hang out with Bender in the Breakfast Club, I think I'd have done the same. "Next time I come in here, I'm cracking skulls."<br /><br />Don Knotts / thanks for Barney Fife<br /><br />Billy Preston / thanks for that killer solo on "Get Back," fifth Beatle<br /><br />Syd Barrett / Thanks for your work early on with Pink Floyd - expanded the possibilities of music. Wish you were still here, Madcap.<br /><br />Steve Irwin / Blimey, thanks for being the only person with enough balls to stick his head into a croc's mouth and make a tv series out of it.<br /><br />Ahmet Ertegun / The history of rock & roll would hardly be the same without the stamp you put on it. Zeppelin, The Stones, the rest is history. Thanks.<br /><br />James Brown / thanks for being one of the most intense and passionate men in show business. Live music, soul, funk and even punk wouldn't be the same without the benchmark you set.<br /><br />Gerald Ford / thanks for stepping in for Nixon<br /><br />Anna Nicole Smith / thanks for that bizarre reality TV show, and sure the Playboy spreads too<br /><br />Max Roach / thanks for your fiery genius on the drums. You have the rest of the world beat.<br /><br />Luciano Pavarotti / thanks for your unforgettable tenor<br /><br />Ike Turner / thanks for "Rocket 88" and raising rock from infancy - you're one of the founding fathers for sure.<br /><br />Kurt Vonnegut / thanks for Slaughterhouse Five<br /><br />Lee Hazelwood / thanks for your cowboy psychedelia, not to mention "These Boots Are Made For Walkin"<br /><br />Merv Griffin / thanks for Wheel of Fortune & Jeopardy<br /><br />Robert Goulet / thanks for being the Chevy Chase of suave. Seemed there wasn't anything you couldn't do.<br /><br />Evel Knievel / thanks for being certifiably nuts in the most awesome way - you set a world record with 37 broken bones to prove it. Also thanks for one of greatest quotes ever: "I beat the hell out of death."<br /><br />Heath Ledger / I should thank you for your remarkably iconic turn as The Joker, but gotta be straight - you were pure gold in 10 Things I Hate About You. Thanks for that.<br /><br />Charlton Heston / thanks for discovering that "SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE" and that we're already ON the Planet of the Apes.<br /><br />George Carlin / thanks for your foul, unwavering honesty, and saying the things we didn't have the marbles to say - like the seven words you can't say on television. Easily one of the most brilliant minds of the past century - and he used it for good, not just by making people laugh, but also making them think.<br /><br />Isaac Hayes / thanks for the hot buttered soul, Chef<br /><br />Paul Newman / thanks for the salad dressing<br /><br />Bo Diddley / they call you the Originator for good reason. You built your own guitar, and helped build rock n' roll in the process.<br /><br />Bernie Mac / thanks for brightening up every movie you popped up in, Friday, Ocean's Eleven, Transformers, and even (God help me) Charlies Angel's: Full Throttle<br /><br />Jerry Wexler / you were there with Ahmet as music history happened. Thanks for everyone from Bob Dylan to Dusty Springfield. Makes me wonder what happened to the music industry after guys like you?<br /><br />Michael Crichton / thanks for Jurassic Park<br /><br />John Updike / thanks for your brilliantly imaginative writing and poetry, AND for giving Berks County something intelligent to brag about<br /><br />Dom Deluise / thanks for all the classic roles in Mel Brooks and Burt Reynolds movies<br /><br />David Carradine / thanks for being the most deadly samurai with a lisp in Kill Bill<br /><br />Farrah Fawcett / thanks for being Charlie's best Angel, Jill Munroe<br /><br />Michael Jackson / thanks for the moonwalk, "Man In The Mirror" and the most 'thrilling' music video ever<br /><br />Walter Cronkite / thanks for breaking the news to our old folks when news broke, your voice and your words are how they all remember JFK's assassination, Vietnam, WW2, Watergate, the landing of the Moon, etc.<br /><br />John Hughes / thanks for making movies like The Breakfast club that showed kids do actually have brains, and even more heart<br /><br />Les Paul / thanks for the sick guitar!<br /><br />Patrick Swayze / thanks for keeping baby out of the corner, Roadhouse, and Point Break! (and of course, that SNL Chippendales skit with Chris Farley)<br /><br />Ed McMachon / If The Tonight Show was the night sky, always full of (Hollywood) stars, you were the moon, baby - always around Johnny, always there to support him. Thanks.<br /><br />Brittany Murphy / Liked ya in 8-Mile, but gotta thank you for your part in Clueless even more - that's a truly definitive movie of the times of the 90s.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-3844327505476400931?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-75521419960153458972009-12-29T13:38:00.006-05:002009-12-29T23:57:36.191-05:00The 00's - The decade that took us back to zero<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bafco.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ipod.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://www.bafco.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/ipod.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Y2k - what a joke that was.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:acex7c29Y3536M:http://rlv.zcache.com/i_love_the_00s_button-p145902313645842891t5sj_400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 124px; height: 124px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:acex7c29Y3536M:http://rlv.zcache.com/i_love_the_00s_button-p145902313645842891t5sj_400.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Remember all that techno glitch jazz about how computers would think it was 1900 instead of 2000, wiping out power grids, bank accounts, satellites, and the internet in the process? That of course didn't happen, but when taking stock on this past decade, it does in some ways feel like someone hit the reset button and took us back to zero anyway.<br /><br />From the terror attacks of 9/11, to the music industry & the global economy, to the rocky mental state of our beloved Britney Spears & Branjelina, these years have showered us with collapse.<br /><br />Not to mention, the conflict in Darfur, the Iraq War and America's "War on Terror." Even Mother Nature joined in on the act, spurring cataclysmic events like the Indonesian Tsumami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina which caused unfathomable havoc.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/slideshow/9401/4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 207px;" src="http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/slideshow/9401/4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>And let's not forget about Octo-Mom or Balloon Boy, or the alarming number of VH1 reality shows that featured Flava Flav making out with Bridgette Nielson. Or the Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved By Bell) sex tape?<br /><br />Also, I graduated college, grew a beard and got a job with health insurance. The world would never be the same.<br /><br />But despite this 21st century turbulence, there is little doubt that we are living in the future, and it's a future that glows promise (see also, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope). Even if we aren't very well content with the job Obama is doing in office, there is something to be said about a United States of America that elected it's first black president in such a time of uncertainty and political unrest. Especially after the decade's two previous presidential elections were controversially split down the middle.<br /><br />My favorite example to illustrate though, quite naturally, is the music industry.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://stereogum.com/img/pitchfork-top-20-albums-00s.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 179px;" src="http://stereogum.com/img/pitchfork-top-20-albums-00s.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Just look at how the decade started. Two of the biggest selling albums of 2000 were N*Sync's <span style="font-style: italic;">No Strings Attached</span> and Radiohead's <span style="font-style: italic;">Kid A</span>. Nearly a decade later, one of them is now regarded as a mere novelty, while the other <span style="font-style: italic;">still </span>sounds like a masterpiece beamed in from the future. <span style="font-style: italic;">Kid A</span> is regarded by many professional and amateur critics alike as "the" album of the decade - to which I cannot argue. These two albums are as symbolic as you can get, marking the peak of an era, and kicking down the future's door at the very same time.<br /><br />The business free-falled from there. If you are the one person left on earth weeping for the music industry, look at who was turning the hefty profits before the business had it's spine ripped out, Mortal Kombat style, by the file-sharing internet world a few years ago. Limp Bizkit? Creed? Lip-syncing boy bands? Gangsta rap that had nothing to do with music or anything legitimate to say and everything to do with making money and living large? The record execs who fostered these "artists"? Trust me, it is not a BAD thing that these people are not shepherding the industry anymore. The music business, as it stood at the dawn of the decade, DESERVED to have the rug swept out from under it. And then kicked. And then spit on. And then rolled up in a cashmere rug and rolled down a steep embankment into oncoming traffic. And then nuked. It should be thankful to still have any pulse at all.<br /><br />The artists left standing, now that the dust is beginning to settle, are making smarter music with more creativity, more hunger and more heart. And that's the only currency that stands to be tendered in a world where music is as fundamental to the passing generations as water is to life. (What? You don't think your heart beat is a song, or that birds, crickets, and whales all sing songs in search of peace, love and understanding?)<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, we're not yet in any age of musical renaissance, but there is more out there than ever before and it's more accessible than ever before. To sum it all up in a word- CHOICE. Thanks to acts like Radiohead and computer programs like GarageBand and the ease of devices like the iPod - music is about as democratic and boundless as it can get. Music can be made by just about anyone and accessed and shared by even more. That creates infinite possibilities. If that's what it takes to keep Limp Bizkit out of the recording studio, I do believe that's a win for the human race.<br /><br />And that's essentially what this past decade can be characterized by. Some of the biggest pieces of the world have crumbled beneath us, consumed by a weight of greed, power, politics, and just plain crap these past 10 years. But from the ashes, we are helping to build a whole new world from scratch, together. A world of more choices, more possibilities, more ways to share our hopes, joys and sorrow with one another. That of course, still leads to heinously bad movies, music, YouTube videos and motives - but I still call it a win for humanity.<br /><br />This future we're building doesn't yet have flying cars, space colonies, or hover boards on the way any time soon - but it also feels like we, the little people, are more in control of what the future holds than we've ever been. And that's exciting. That's shelter from the storm.<br /><br />That's why I've chosen to refer to this decade as "the zeros", as opposed to "the noughties" or "the ohs" or the "two-thousands." When you're at zero, there is no way, but up.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What about YOU? What did you love/loathe about the decade? Music? Reality TV? W. Bush impressions? FiOS? iPhones? Ex-girlfriends? Etc? Leave a comment about your 21st century break down!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-7552141996015345897?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-61576839067992559162009-12-23T16:27:00.003-05:002009-12-23T17:04:25.684-05:00I'm back, and with Christmas music!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs136.snc3/18366_10100183130546804_9315785_65104646_5175302_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 423px;" src="http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs136.snc3/18366_10100183130546804_9315785_65104646_5175302_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I could make excuses</span> about why this blog has gone so unloved by me this past half year. And you could say things, and I could say things, and it could get really ugly pretty quickly about how awful we've been to one another. But the point is this: I'm blogging now for the first time in months and I come with 3-jam packed mixes of excellent holiday music. Oh, stop, it's the least I could do.<br /><br />Truth be told though, I make these holiday mixes each year for my family and friends. I figure you deserve 'em too. Go ahead, dig in! You can download the full mix at each link as a zip file. Check the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=7377427645058551043&postID=6157683906799255916">comments</a> for tracklistings!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?njnzezfzcgn">Merry Little Chrismakkuh Mixacle 2009</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?nddz5dmik3d">Merry Little Chrismakkuh Mixacle 2008</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.mediafire.com/?wzojuoyewmx">Merry Little Chrismakkuh Mixacle 2007</a><br /><br />And lemme tell ya, my head is whirring with all types of 'the decade is coming to end - quick, let's reflect on it all through the eyes of music, movies, and Paris Hilton.' Let's get through Christmas first, but expect some entertaining diatribing from this blog next week. I'm back!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-6157683906799255916?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-46431032756654630962009-09-01T10:08:00.007-04:002009-09-01T11:05:56.777-04:00Don't stop reading, streetlight people. We're giving away Journey tickets tomorrow.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/journey-group-727397.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/journey-group-727393.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>You may have seen us advertising that we're giving away some tickets to see Journey & Heart in tomorrow's print edition of The Mercury.<br /><br />So if you're a lonely girl living in a lonely world, or a city boy riding on the midnight train to anywhere, a singer in a smokey room, or just a stranger waiting on the boulevard... this post is for you.<br /><br />Some of the songs in the following videos will be hidden in tomorrow's paper (a Journey through The Mercury, if you will), and you'll have to find them to win the tickets. More details and more Journey in tomorrow's copy of the paper.<br /><br /><br /><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-8821706481326133601&hl=en&fs=true" style="width: 400px; height: 326px;" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rnT7nYbCSvM&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rnT7nYbCSvM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFC8sDTXlng&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gFC8sDTXlng&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYPNM_sCKTc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZYPNM_sCKTc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-4643103275665463096?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-85570614816894661072009-08-31T00:39:00.009-04:002009-08-31T12:58:14.986-04:00"I will name my son Batman if this page gets to 500,000"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/17825-785642.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 158px; height: 320px;" src="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/17825-785458.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Bands and celebrities often promise tidbits of info for scoring a set amount of Twitter followers or Facebook friends, but I just stumbled across my favorite social networking experiment yet...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/I-will-name-my-Son-Batman-If-this-page-gets-to-500000/84634573853?ref=mf">I will name my son Batman if this page gets to 500,000</a>.<br /><br />Holy caped kid crusader! If this group gets more than 500,000 fans on Facebook, the guy will name his son Batman, which will either be really incredibly awesome in grade school or really awfully bad in high school. Or both. Apparently the guy's wife is completely on board with this too. I don't know who these people are, but what an amazing social experiment. <span style="font-style: italic;">Seriously</span>.<br /><br />He's currently at about 130,000, so the future Batman needs your help! Become a fan and become part of history. Take back Gotham!<br /><br />The best part? This dad to be is dead serious.<br /><br />Just think of the one liners that will be obnoxiously over-used in this future kid's life:<br />"Where does he get those wonderful toys?"<br />"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?"<br />and of course...<br />"I'm Batman!"<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-8557061481689466107?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-45405086528873657052009-08-30T22:53:00.016-04:002009-08-31T12:32:27.250-04:00Rob Zombie prepares re-make of The Blob; Phoenixville may want to start running out of theatre now<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/blob-poster-782025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 307px;" src="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/blob-poster-782022.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">It's indescribable! It's indestructible! (It's inevitable!) Nothing can stop it!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">No, it's not </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Blob</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">; it's a re-make of The Blob!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/rob-zombie-798119.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 200px;" src="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/rob-zombie-798117.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">If you haven't already read in the rags, director/musician Rob Zombie plans to re-make Phoenixville's biggest claim to movie fame, The Blob. Why? Because Hollywood has mostly forgotten how to hatch new, exciting ideas for movies. That's why.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Though this hardened cult classic was already re-made once before (in 1988, by director Chuck Russell), the well, apparently, has a few drops left at the bottom yet.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> And most people like to pretend </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">that </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">remake never happened. But maybe, <span style="font-style: italic;">just maybe</span>, third time is the charm?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118007857.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562">This article from Variety</a> indicates Zombie plans on putting a new twist on the tale, but doesn't offer much in details other than production is chalked to begin next spring.</span><br /><blockquote style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">"My intention is not to have a big red blobby thing -- that's the first thing I want to change," Zombie said. "That gigantic Jello-looking thing might have been scary to audiences in the 1950s, but people would laugh now." - <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rob Zombie</span><br /></blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I see your point, Rob, but how can you make <span style="font-weight: bold;">THE BLOB</span> without <span style="font-weight: bold;">A BLOB</span>? Maybe you <span style="font-style: italic;">should</span> try going in a more Ghostbusters type direction with sci-fi comedy, opposed to sci-fi horror blood, guts, and bones. Just a thought.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> (Not that I want to see a re-make of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flubber_%28film%29">Flubber</a> of course.)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Of course, if Zombie can give it new life and properly update this story for the 21st century, that is something to get excited about.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Isn't it?<br /><br />But the real question is; what do <span style="font-style: italic;">you </span>think about this, Phoenixville? This is YOUR movie, after all. Much of the magic of the original Blob is the various locations it was filmed in (all around our area, from Phoenixville to Chester Springs and Valley Forge), including your own Colonial Theater, which you triumphantly honor each and every summer with Blobfest, as you dart out of the Colonial's entrance hollering yourself hoarse alongside other Blob fanatics from around the country in glorious re-enactment style.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> What does this mean to you?? Is this upsetting? Expected? Awesome?!</span><br /><br /><embed style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" src="http://www.pottsmerc.com/shared-content/flowplayer/FlowPlayer.swf?config=%7Bembedded%3Atrue%2CbaseURL%3A%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epottsmerc%2Ecom%2Fshared%2Dcontent%2Fflowplayer%27%2CplayList%3A%5B%7BcontrolEnabled%3Atrue%2Ctype%3A%27jpg%27%2Curl%3A%27%2Fshared%2Dcontent%2Fnewsys%2Fcommon%2Fvideo%5Fpreview%2Ephp%3Fvideo%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epottsmerc%2Ecom%2F%2Fcontent%2Farticles%2F2009%2F07%2F12%2Fnews%2Fdoc4a597096875a6871428106%2Eflv%27%2CoverlayId%3A%27play%27%7D%2C%7BcontrolEnabled%3Atrue%2Ctype%3A%27flv%27%2Curl%3A%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Epottsmerc%2Ecom%2F%2Fcontent%2Farticles%2F2009%2F07%2F12%2Fnews%2Fdoc4a597096875a6871428106%2Eflv%27%7D%5D%2CmenuItems%3A%5Btrue%2Ctrue%2Ctrue%2Ctrue%2Ctrue%2Ctrue%2Cfalse%5D%2CautoBuffering%3Afalse%2CautoPlay%3Afalse%2CautoRewind%3Atrue%2CuseNativeFullScreen%3Atrue%2CshowPlayListButtons%3Afalse%2CshowLoopButton%3Afalse%2Cloop%3Afalse%7D" scale="noscale" bgcolor="111111" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" width="432" height="265"></embed><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Would you be more offended if this 're-make' was filmed in the area - including The Colonial - or if Zombie shunned the classic's roots and filmed the whole thing in Nova Scotia, or something? (The 1988 remake was filmed in Louisiana.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">And if it's gotta be re-made, is it at least interesting to you that Rob Zombie is providing the vision for it? </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">He won some acclaim for his own films (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Of_1000_Corpses">House of 1000 Corpses</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Rejects">The Devil's Rejects</a>), but his remakes of John Carpenter's untouchable Halloween and Halloween II seem to have upset more fans than not. (To be fair, no one could put their own stamp on those movies and do a better, more horrifying job than Carpenter.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Whaddaya think? Good idea/bad idea?</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> What's next? A re-make of Gone With The Wind, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson?</span> Now THAT would be scary.<br /><br /><br /><object style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XhyRpvgm03g&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XhyRpvgm03g&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-4540508652887365705?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-23858321555916043482009-07-07T14:04:00.003-04:002009-07-07T14:41:19.050-04:00Best album cover of the summer? Oh, baby.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C%2BZsEFeUL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 411px; height: 411px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C%2BZsEFeUL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Uh, YES! I'd say this wins my "Best Album Cover o' the Summer" award. I'm still deciding on how I feel about this new remix of the best hip-hop song of all time (don't even try to argue with me, it is), but Dan The Automator remains one of the slickest, hippest dj's in hip hop. As far as this indie lovin, gangsta rap-hatin white boy is concerned, at least.<br /><br />Of course, the one thing that may be better than this cover is the accompanying Evian commercial. What roller-skatin' babies has to do with spring water is still out for jury.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/FLiqJT2icBg&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/FLiqJT2icBg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br />I never learned it in any marketing classes, but I think it's been proven pretty obvious over the years that few things get attention as much as babies.<br /><br />Whatever, though. Sweet campaign here with some sweet music.<br /><br />What I find flabbergastingly remarkable, however, is that these babies in 2009 know how to use a tried-and-true old school boombox. No iPods here yo!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-2385832155591604348?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-56705918954348145182009-07-06T10:16:00.003-04:002009-07-06T10:24:41.868-04:00YouTube Mondays: Pottstown's Fireworks in 2 minutes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/youtubemondays-copy-778650.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 80px;" src="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/uploaded_images/youtubemondays-copy-778642.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQzhR53znsc&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dQzhR53znsc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-5670591895434814518?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-56139425879580276312009-07-06T09:39:00.005-04:002009-07-06T10:04:01.644-04:00Just For Fun; Where's Snow White Now?The only thing worse than Mondays are Mondays after holiday weekends, so here's a little something for those blues.<br /><br />Ever wonder what happened to Snow White after she lived happily ever after?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos.jpgmag.com/645759_13649_72c2b1c3f0_p.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 422px; height: 279px;" src="http://photos.jpgmag.com/645759_13649_72c2b1c3f0_p.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />The best part is that Prince Charming is watching horse races.<br /><br />"Snowy" by Dina Golden<br />Source: The Fallen Princesses by <a href="http://www.jpgmag.com/stories/11918">JPG Magazine</a> (check out for some other fallen princesses)<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-5613942587958027631?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-17978628629670395322009-07-05T15:25:00.005-04:002009-07-05T17:05:48.161-04:00Music Notes: What's been hot this summer?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.epitaph.com/dispatch/_depot/title/large/e8bd966deb967992864caa33537a4dfe.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 215px;" src="http://www.epitaph.com/dispatch/_depot/title/large/e8bd966deb967992864caa33537a4dfe.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.rancidrancid.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rancid</span>!</a> The nineties continue to come back in full force, and the East Bay's party punkers are still the best at what they do.<br /><br />Although <span style="font-style: italic;">Let The Dominoes Fall </span>- their first effort since 2003's <span style="font-style: italic;">Indestructible </span>- doesn't light the same fireball as the group's match-in-the-gas-can early days did, this is by far the best good times record of the year (I beg of you; get this Flo-Rida junk off the radio). It's not dense, direction changing, or career defining; just 19 roaring party starters to help you forget America is in a not-so-great depression. Or rather, a romping reminder you don't have to be a sucker just because everyone else is.<br /><br />If summer music is supposed to be about good times with good friends, good family and shooting the crap about the good times, Rancid are swinging - and connecting - with the jaw on this one. "Up To No Good" and the title track are personal favs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1039sweetchildren.net/upload/images/1234266020.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 210px;" src="http://1039sweetchildren.net/upload/images/1234266020.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On the other hand, there's that <span style="font-style: italic;">other </span>East Bay group of punk rockers from the 90's -<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.greenday.com/">Green Day</a></span> - who put out a new record this summer.<br /><br />I have more love in my heart for Green Day than any other, but <span style="font-style: italic;">21st Century Breakdown</span> is just too jarring and too dense for the summer of 2009.<br /><br />While Rancid's record is a rejuvinating reminder that you can still have good times during the tough times, Green Day's record dives into the hole the world is in, wallows in it, and never truly gives us the rally cry it promises to explode us out of it. They swung for the stands and wiffed.<br /><br />Though it's cleverly themed and has an admirable poetry about it, the Day has made the mistake of taking themselves too seriously here. That's what Radiohead is for. You can stick to a theme (Springsteen's <span style="font-style: italic;">Born In The USA</span>, for example), but you don't need to be <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Who</span> when you're Green Day. For Townsend's sake!<br /><br />They even ape Coldplay a little here. Coldplay! Listen to the opening and closing of the record. Sounds like the opening and closing of <span style="font-style: italic;">Viva La Vida </span>to me. Not to mention a song titled "Viva La Gloria!"<br /><br />Still, <span style="font-style: italic;">21st Century Breakdown</span> has a handful of outstanding songs. "21 Guns" and "See The Light" are instant classics. But the size of this record's stick isn't as big as it would like to think it is, and Rancid's much simpler outing outshines because of it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://citizendick.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/JetsOverhead_NoNations_Cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 205px;" src="http://citizendick.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/JetsOverhead_NoNations_Cover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>But in terms of artistry, the best all-around rock album so far this summer is <a href="http://www.jetsoverhead.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jets Overhead</span></a>'s <span style="font-style: italic;">No Nations</span> which borrows thematically from Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown with much less grandeur.<br /><br />And it pays off beautifully. It's a day-dreamy, lazy Sunday afternoon listen, ripe with indie rock of the highest order for the pickings. "Weathervanes (In The Way)" says everything Green Day were trying to say on <span style="font-style: italic;">Breakdown </span>in just<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>4 minutes and 37 seconds.<br /><br />It has some shining care free moments on "Headed For Nowhere" and "Always A First Time." It's the type of the album to let your hair down to, even if you don't have long hair.<br /><br />Definitely check this record out. It's a keeper, and I'm sure it will be cropping up on plenty year-end lists.<br /><br />What about you? What have your summer listenings been like this year? What's hot in your juke box?<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-1797862862967039532?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-65442704211073932852009-07-04T13:03:00.005-04:002009-07-04T13:31:11.058-04:00Scene & Heard's Star Spangled Mix<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.townnews.com/pottsmerc.com/content/articles/2009/07/04/news/doc4a24488c152186175272721.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 449px; height: 412px;" src="http://images.townnews.com/pottsmerc.com/content/articles/2009/07/04/news/doc4a24488c152186175272721.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A friend of mine recently asked me if my blog had filed for a court injunction against me.<br /><br />Not the case; just been working in overdrive on other things at The Merc. But don't worry, it's not like me and Scene & Heard are fighting. We're just seeing some other people right now, ya know? We're not getting a divorce, because we love each other, and we don't want you to think that any of this is your fault.<br /><br />Good? Good. Now that we got the "no, we're not getting divorced" talk out of the way...<br /><br />Happy Fourth of July! It's one of my favorite times of the year to crank up the speakers and pump the world full of snarling, sparkling rock and roll, in all it's explosive goodness. Speaking of which, if you're in the Pottstown area today, head down to Memorial Park for all <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2009/07/04/news/doc4a24488c15218617527272.txt">the Fourth festivities</a>. It's the place to be. Meaning, you should not be reading this blog today! Get outside and dance and eat hot dogs! But if you must, here's what <span style="font-style: italic;">we're</span> listening to:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Scene & Heard's Star Spangled Mix</span><br />1. John Lennon - "Power to the People"<br />2. Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Star Spangled Banner" (Live at Woodstock)<br />3. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - "American Girl"<br />4. Foo Fighters - "I Feel Free" (Cream cover)<br />5. John Fogerty - "Born on the Bayou"<br />6. Elvis Costello & the Attractions - "(What's so Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love & Understanding?"<br />7. David Bowie - "Young Americans"<br />8. Howard Huntsberry - "Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher" (Jackie Wilson cover)<br />9. U2 - "Pride (In the Name of Love)"<br />10. Elton John - "Philadelphia Freedom"<br />11. Neil Young - "Rockin' in the Free World"<br />12. Green Day - "21 Guns"<br />13. Rancid - "Civilian Ways"<br />14. Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros - "Johnny Appleseed"<br />15. Bob Dylan - "I Shall Be Free"<br />16. Bright Eyes - "Easy/Lucky/Free"<br />17. Bruce Springsteen & The Seeger Sessions Band - "American Land"<br />18. Ray Charles - "America The Beautiful"<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-6544270421107393285?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-46244605577610662552009-06-09T22:23:00.008-04:002009-06-10T00:28:07.238-04:00When I'm Dad ... and The Infinite Light Cycle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.clarkplanetarium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/star-colors_4502.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 450px;" src="http://www.clarkplanetarium.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/star-colors_4502.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Not that I'm in any hurry to grow up (wearing ties to work on a daily basis is enough, thanks), but I kinda can't wait for the day I have a son. Because I want him to ask me things like 'where do stars come from.' And then I can put my imagination to exhilarating use and tell him things like:<br /><br />"The stars? Don't you know? Oh, c'mon, guy! What kind of sheltered runt are you? Well I guess it's time we filled you in then, innit? You know those little orange sparks that pop and crackle up out of the campfires at night? Well, when someone wishes something good for someone else, one of those sparks floats up to the sky, higher than usual, and it gets stuck up there and turns white because it's so cold up there. And then it hangs there, shining like a diamond, as a vivid reminder that someone, somewhere cares about you. Of course, this trick only works if these are goodwill wishes. When you make them, they can't be mean-spirited or about you at all. And then when you see a shooting star, that means someone somewhere just had a wish come true. It's even possible that that wish could have been made for you. But here's the best part. After you see a shooting star, that means a wish has returned to earth, and now you are the one who gets to re-use it. The next time you're sitting around a fire, you can make a wish of your own for someone you love or care about. So it's the shooting stars that are really important. Keep your eyes open for them so you can help make this world a better place. Pretty nifty, huh?"<br /><br />And then when he gets older and calls me on it, I'll be like "Don't let them make you grow up! Didn't you learn in school about the water cycle? Well, that's real, right? The wish cycle is the same exact thing. Wishes go up, wishes go down, and we cycle it all around. What's so hard to believe about it? I'm your dad, and I'm telling you that wishing good for others is a very real thing."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/roundup/loudandclose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 79px; height: 123px;" src="http://www.lib.utexas.edu/pcl/roundup/loudandclose.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>None of this post has anything to do with entertainment, really. But I did recently finish reading <span style="font-style: italic;">Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close</span> by Jonathan Safran Foer, which comes with my highest recommendation. It's probably one of the most moving father/son stories I've ever encountered, in writing or film. Aside from <span style="font-style: italic;">Return of the Jedi</span>, of course.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-4624460557761066255?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-17862341526675686492009-05-11T13:23:00.004-04:002009-05-11T14:44:21.241-04:00Music Notes: Death Cab's 'Open Door' is at bottom of 'Narrow Stairs'<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death Cab For Cutie</span></a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Open Door EP</span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Open_Door_EP.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 175px; height: 175px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Open_Door_EP.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It's not <span style="font-style: italic;">that </span>special, but the sessions which birthed these five, quick songs sure were.<br /><br />Death Cab For Cutie's <span style="font-style: italic;">Open Door E</span>P is hardly a companion piece to the group's masterwork--<a href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/labels/Big%20Sur.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Narrow Stairs</span></a>--released a year ago. These leftovers from that fine album are just a hit and run hiccup.<br /><br />If you're a Death Cab fanatic, go ahead--dive in. You won't <span style="font-style: italic;">not </span>like it. But your time could be more economically spent chewing on <span style="font-style: italic;">Narrow Stairs</span> than popping this sugar pill down your throat.<br /><br />But I'm not complaining. "Little Bribes" is the most rollicking Death Cab song ever. Ever! And the demo of "Talking Bird" is even more gorgeously pensive than the cut that ended up on <span style="font-style: italic;">Narrow Stairs</span>. And the tracks in between are top quality too. These are good Death Cab songs.<br /><br />But after an album as strong as <span style="font-style: italic;">Stairs </span>was, these songs are just a tickle. Hardly enough to tide anyone over until indie pop's prime princes put out their next long player--which I'm feverishly awaiting.<br /><br />In the mean time, I must say I prefer <span style="font-style: italic;">Plans</span>' companion release--<span style="font-style: italic;">Directions</span>--more. It was a DVD of of art-house music videos for each song off <span style="font-style: italic;">Plans</span>...and each by a different indie director.<br /><br />For a taste...Here's "Little Brides" live from Philly's World Cafe Live a month ago.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Rh_hKq_cTg&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Rh_hKq_cTg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-1786234152667568649?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-25592722386063542512009-05-05T09:21:00.014-04:002009-05-26T16:38:31.729-04:00Music Notes: Bob Dylan still the best at what he does, but new album not his best<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bobdylan.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bob Dylan</span></a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Together Through Life</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://wordwrite.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/bob-dylan-together-through-life-album-art.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 209px;" src="http://wordwrite.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/bob-dylan-together-through-life-album-art.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In comics, Wolverine is known as "the best there is at what he does." In music, that's Bob Dylan. He's our self-regenerating, feral-raged, uncaged animal, who has withstood every chaos he's faced. And he pretty much does what he wants.<br /><br />So there's no such thing as 'bad' when it comes to a new Dylan album, but <span style="font-style: italic;">Together Through Life</span> doesn't nearly hit the marks his recent batch of acclaimed hits have (<span style="font-style: italic;">Time Out of Mind, Love & Theft, Modern Times</span>).<br /><br />But since it's Dylan, it ain't stale either. It's just a decidedly more sobering affair, particularly thanks to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Los Lobos</span> guy (David Hidalgo) steaming all 10 songs up with his accordion. And sure, the accordian is a fitting accessory to these songs, but it's Dylan's warped, soul-stained crackle that keeps these songs breathing.<br /><br />The album has a few bright moments, like the bluesy dirge "My Wife's Home Town." But in the end, this isn't a <span style="font-style: italic;">must</span>-have Dylan album. And considering how many <span style="font-style: italic;">must</span>-have albums this ol' coot has coughed up, time and time again, you'd be a snot to tell him to hang it up.<br /><br />But seriously, Bob. Let's forget the tunes a while and get to that next edition of your autobiography, <span style="font-style: italic;">Chronicles II</span>. That's where you've really switched on your brightest later life lights.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-2559272238606354251?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-63885410255519810772009-05-04T09:39:00.006-04:002009-05-04T21:39:34.407-04:00Music Notes: Swooning for 'Swoon'<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.silversunpickups.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Silversun Pickups</span></a> - <span style="font-style: italic;">Swoon</span><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/SilversunpickupsSWOON.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 192px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2c/SilversunpickupsSWOON.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Swoon </span><span>sounds like it could be</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>the best record of 1995.<br /><br />And that's a really cool thing to say about a record released in 2009.<br /><br />Forget these gnarred-out alternarock acts of the nineties struggling to resurrect themselves from their peed on ashes (see reunions of: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jane's Addiction, <a href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/2009/04/and-you-thought-swine-flu-was-bad-creed.html">Creed</a>, <a href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/blogs/pottstown/chrism/2009/02/why-blinks-reunion-doesnt-matter-but.html">Blink182</a>, Limp Bizkit, Smashing Pumpkins, No Doubt</span>). The Silversun Pickups got the right idea--beat those old fogies at their own game.<br /><br />Like their debut <span style="font-style: italic;">Carnavas</span>, this album is the sonic result of what happens when you rub silk and rust together. The crunch of <span style="font-weight: bold;">My Bloody Valentine</span> and the neo-psychadelia of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Verve </span>has never been so neatly and sweetly entangled. But the Pickups sound tighter, more refined, this time--resulting in something as 1995 as it is a brave new world.<br /><br />I also learned, the hard way, that this album is PERFECT to jam to while walking drenched through Manhatten's East Side without an umbrella.<br /><br />For a taste, here's the video to lead single, "Panic Switch."<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AG8fugqFn9Q&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AG8fugqFn9Q&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-6388541025551981077?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-18238810477526425792009-04-28T09:57:00.007-04:002009-04-28T11:17:54.810-04:00And you thought the swine flu was bad? Creed is back.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gibson.com/Files/aaFeaturesImages2009/creed-2009.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.gibson.com/Files/aaFeaturesImages2009/creed-2009.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Swine flu ain't the worst of it; <span style="font-weight: bold;">Creed </span>is <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/27/creeds-scott-stapp-calls-reunion-a-renewing-and-a-rebirth/">reforming</a> for a tour and a new album this summer.<br /><br />And if that wasn't enough to make you cough up your lunch, singer Scott Stapp calls this special occasion a "renewing and a rebirth."<br /><br />However, while this is a most unfortunate announcement and a giant setback for humanity ... I, for one, am quite excited.<br /><br />Yes--<span style="font-style: italic;">excited</span>. Why? Let me tell you why. There was so much DREADFUL music dominating the charts in the late nineties (e.g. Creed), that all that swill (see also: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Limp Bizkit</span>, boy bands, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Masta P</span>, etc) spurred on some of the best music as a reaction to the big load of crap on the airwaves. So a return from the schmoes of Creed could spur some kids to get together and write some incredible new reactionairy stuff. And if you ask me, that's what the music world needs right now--someone to hate, some awful bands to loathe. Who better than the grand-daddy of 'em all.<br /><br />Creed, welcome back.<br /><br />Of course, it's possible the rest of the world has picked up on the fact that Creed and it's fantasticly self-righteous music is a joke, and will treat this "rebirth" as such. Could be duller than when <span style="font-weight: bold;">Guns N Roses</span> put out <span style="font-style: italic;">Chinese Democracy</span>. But my hope is that America eats it up so young America can chew it up, swallow it, and spit something new, exciting, and wild back in their faces.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-1823881047752642579?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-57178588721795108372009-04-24T11:43:00.008-04:002009-04-24T12:11:35.518-04:00Music Notes: Razorlight's Slipway Fires most boring thing everOne of this blog's original motivations was to review new music, because (duh) I listen to it more than the average human being. It's my super power. I should do that more. But instead of reviewing with strong arguments and reasons, I'll just fly off the handle with first impressions, and leave it at that. Should be quite entertaining, actually.<br /><br />So on that <span style="font-style: italic;">note </span>(you know by now that puns are always intended here);<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://britmusicscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/razorlight-slipway-fires.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 151px; height: 151px;" src="http://britmusicscene.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/razorlight-slipway-fires.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Slipway Fires</span>, the new (and third) <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.razorlight.co.uk/">Razorlight</a> </span>album is<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>the most boring thing I've heard all year. And my God, look at the cover art. What is that--Hollywood Squares? And why does Johnny (frontman) look like a porn actor from the eighties? What happened to the band that was so exciting on their debut <span style="font-style: italic;">Up All Night</span>? They went from sounding like a rambunctious Kinks/Sex Pistols hybrid to sounding like an opening act for Celine Dion in just 3 albums. Lame. Lame. Lame.<br /><br />However, "In The City" (from their debut) remains one of the best songs ever written.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-5717858872179510837?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-77531169212668857352009-04-24T10:05:00.003-04:002009-04-24T10:11:00.455-04:00Yup, that's Obama on a unicorn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.faithmouse.com/obama_victory_unicorn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 522px;" src="http://www.faithmouse.com/obama_victory_unicorn.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Well, uh... that's the sweetest thing I've seen in a while. It's called "Barack Obama Nude On A Unicorn" by artist <a href="http://www.faithmouse.com/Barack_Obama_Victory_Print.html">Dan Lacey</a>. Way to rep the unicorns, Dan. Oddly, it reminds me Paul Revere.<br />"The Republicans are coming! The Republicans are coming!"<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-7753116921266885735?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-52289330032971554932009-04-24T09:25:00.004-04:002009-04-24T10:03:14.419-04:00The irresistable force paradox!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://api.ning.com/files/0nzuUG7xikC6PXzrcKjaJZjMWvMpg9P11b0POwJva6g_/wall2.bmp"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 166px;" src="http://api.ning.com/files/0nzuUG7xikC6PXzrcKjaJZjMWvMpg9P11b0POwJva6g_/wall2.bmp" alt="" border="0" /></a>Though there are many, one of the most memorable lines from last summer's <span style="font-style: italic;">The Dark Knight</span> is "this is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object."<br /><br />It's such a great line and was perfectly used in the context of the movie. But recently, I've heard it pop up in a number of other places from the past too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii264/emross812/Wwe_Wrestlemania_3_Complete_Antholo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 290px;" src="http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii264/emross812/Wwe_Wrestlemania_3_Complete_Antholo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>First, I heard it in a Wrestlemania clip, when the announcer referred to the Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant match as the same thing. "This is the unstoppable force versus the immovable object!" or something to that length.<br /><br />And then, I was listening to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pulp</span>'s classic <span style="font-style: italic;">This Is Hardcore </span>album yesterday and the song "<a href="http://www.asklyrics.com/display/PULP/Seductive_Barry_Lyrics/44029.htm">Seductive Barry</a>" included this (<span style="font-style: italic;">hilarious</span>) verse:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I've wanted you for years.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">I only needed the balls to admit it.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">When the unbelievable object meets the unstoppable force,</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">there's nothing you can do about it.</span><br /><br />I guess the unstoppable force here is, oh you know, lust. And the unbelievable object would be some vivacious lady. But it works to the same effect.<br /><br />And a quick search around the internets would indicate that this line has been used as a tease riddle for quite some time. "What happens when an unstoppable object meets an unstoppable force?" Turns out this hypothetical phenomenon is called the "irresistable force paradox.<br /><br />So now I must wonder... where did the Nolan brothers (who wrote the Dark Knight) crib that line from? Are they Hulkamania fans? Pulp fans? Did they come across it as a riddle in a newspaper in 1980s? Physics class?<br /><br />Or perhaps, the better question is what DOES happen when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Do they shake hands? Does unstoppable buy immovable a beer? A cranberry juice? Does unstoppable bodyslam immovable to the mat and drop the atomic big leg on his big hairy chest? Does he string him up and let the police cart him off to Arkham Asylum? Does the universe collapse on itself? Do elephants fly? Do I suddenly become well-paid and really cool?<br /><br />It's a question that raises countless more questions, but I think pop culture has taught us that unstoppable force often is the victor.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-5228933003297155493?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-26291342129272736182009-04-14T11:05:00.007-04:002009-04-14T13:52:23.908-04:00The Best Things That Temporaily Matter (and I know I need to write more)You probably hate me. By now, you've probably given up all hope on looking to me to write my treasured thoughts on a regular basis here. If the fresh content of this blog was a carton of milk, it would be well past the expiration date and curdling.<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br /><br />But rest assured, my lack of writing has nothing to do with lack of things to write about. So instead of this tired charade of writing more about how I haven't been writing, I'll just use this post to list and link some of the past few weeks' finer things, in no particular order:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Where The Wild Things Are</span><br />Finally, the ultimate children's book has a live action <a href="http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/wherethewildthingsare/">movie trailer</a>. Watch that, my friend, and become an overjoyed person. The movie, slated for wide theatrical release October 16, 2009 was adapted from Maurice Sendak's original by Spike Jonze (score!) and author Dave Eggers (more score!). The movie has been in the works for a while, and based on this trailer, it'll be more than worth the wait. The Stoke Meter is high on this one.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Death Cab For Cutie - The Open Door EP</span><br />This small <a href="http://www.deathcabforcutie.com/splash/">collection</a> of leftover tracks from last year's brilliant, beautiful "Narrow Stairs" is a winner. At this stage in their career, I think Death Cab continues to be one of the most exciting and genuine bands still kicking and breathing right now.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Gaslight Anthem</span><br />I toot <a href="http://www.gaslightanthem.com/">this band's</a> horn quite a bit too, but pick up this month's <a href="http://www.altpress.com/apmag/250.htm">copy</a> of Alternative Press magazine and read the cover story on them. If you don't already appreciate what they're doing for rock n' roll, you will.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I Love You, Man</span><br />See this movie. Best comedy I've seen in a while, and not because it's hilarious as a buddy movie and a date movie at the same time. Because it humorously maps out and pokes at the entire male psyche. Basically, if you don't understand guys; this movie does.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">X-Men Origins: Wolverine / Star Trek / Terminator: Salvation / Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen</span><br />These are all things I am, abnormally, nerding out over right now. All four will probably be the big 4 movies of the blockbuster season, kicking off with the sniktedy Wolvie on May 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Lost</span> is the best thing on TV right now</span><br />Trouble is, if you haven't seen every episode of every season (or the prerequisite patience to put up with that), you are--frankly--<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_%28TV_series%29">lost</a>. But seriously, every new episode blows another piece of my brain clean out of my skull. The show practically re-invents itself and it's story, tone, and concept every half-season. And with the grand end looming, it's really starting to gain some momentum. If you need an excuse to Netflix all the seasons leading up to this one and catch up in time for next winter's final season, now is as good a time as any.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Iron Man 2 started filming</span><br />And if you've been following as nerdiously as I have, you know Mickey Rourke is <a href="http://comicbook.com/blog/2009/04/08/iron-man-2-production-begins-rourke-does-not-disappoint/">playing</a> some bad guy, Scarlett Johanson and her notoriously bovine set of lips will be decked out in latex for the role of Black Widow, Sam Rockwell as rival industrialist Justin Hammer.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Speaking of Rourke...</span><br />He showed up at Wrestlemania 25, only to punch Chris Jericho in the face? <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/04/oscar-nominated-actor-mickey-rourke-is-a-man-of-his-wordhe-showed-up-at-wrestlemania-last-night-and-got-in-the-ring-with.html">FAIL</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Speaking of wrestling, and the WWE...</span><br />Why the (explicit) am I watching Monday Night Raw again?? It's worse than when I stopped watching it about 5 years ago for crap sake. Actually, I'm watching it to spite <span style="font-style: italic;">Heroes</span>, which has taken the biggest nose dive in the history of serialized tv story telling. Not even Sylar is cool on that show anymore, and that's just sad. Seriously Heroes, you went from Spiderman 2 good to Elektra bad.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Mercury's Build A Phil</span><br />We printed a wallsize poster of Cole Hamels in The Mercury. And I want you to take a picture of yourself with it and enter <a href="http://allaroundphilly.upickem.net/engine/Welcome.aspx?contestid=6049">this contest</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Mercury's Extreme Makeover</span><br />You got until 5 pm today to win a free makeover for the summer from us! <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2009/04/14/life/doc49e38a602666a332303088.txt">Hurry!</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pottstown's Bark For Life Top Dog Contest and Canine Relay</span><br /><a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2009/04/09/news/doc49dd1ce0d3152003953265.txt">Vote for the top dog</a>, AND join in the fight against cancer at the same time. That, if you ask me, is the right tree to bark up. AND don't miss <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2009/04/13/news/srv0000005090205.txt">the Canine Relay</a> Saturday morning at Sunnybrook. Bring your dogs out to walk, and bark, and fight cancer, and have a good time.<br /><br /><a href="http://www3.allaroundphilly.com/mercury/promos/healthylifestyles2009.jpg"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Healthy Lifestyles Expo</span></a><br />Come out to Montgomery County Community College this Friday, 9:30 am-1:30 pm. You can engage in a good ol' fashioned q-and-a session with our famed political columnist Tony Phyrillas, get yourself caricatured for free by the inker of Skippy and Dot (and hundreds of our classic editorial cartoons), Alan MacBain, get a free lunch, win $100 cash and other door prizes, get all kinds of free health screenings from participating vendors, meet State Rep Thomas Quigley, learn more about healthy lifestyles and better living from more than 70 vendors, and etc, etc, etc. Seriously, it's a great time every year. Don't miss it dude!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Do you read The Mercury?</span><br /><a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/survey">Tell us about it.</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-2629134212927273618?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7377427645058551043.post-60754671493274206272009-04-07T10:16:00.014-04:002009-04-07T17:12:07.540-04:00A Springsteen song for SusanI didn't know <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2009/04/04/obituaries/srv0000005047529.txt">Susan Dames</a> that well.<br /><br />Sure, I knew the basics, like:<br /><ol><li>She is easily one of Bruce Springsteen's top ten biggest fans, <span style="font-style: italic;">ever</span>. (I'm fairly certain she's seen the E-Street boys perform in at least five dozen different venues.)</li><li>She traveled widely around the world as a model in her younger years.</li><li>Along with her husband, she is responsible for the area's annual <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/articles/2008/08/03/today%27s%20stories/19885202.txt">Bandanna Blues Festival</a>.</li><li>She was as gracious and unabashedly joyful as they come.<br /></li></ol>And maybe that's plenty to know about a person, but <span style="font-style: italic;">she </span>wouldn't have settled on knowing only four things about any person. From the day she met me nearly two years ago, she went out of her way to know me better. She asked me what new albums I was spinning, asked me how the novel I always blab about writing is coming, asked about my travels through Europe, about my weekends, etc. She wanted to hear everything I had to say about whatever (and listened!). But the special thing is she was this way with every person she met, whether they showed interest in her or not.<br /><br />For years, her beloved Springsteen has sung "everybody's got a hungry heart," but when the Boss wrote those lyrics down decades ago, he obviously didn't know Sue Dames. No heart was hungrier for life, love or music than hers. The song <span style="font-style: italic;">should </span>go "everybody needs a Sue Dames heart."<br /><br />So in memory of Sue on this day, I'd like to dedicate this song by the Boss to her. From all of us here at The Mercury, we'll miss you, SuSu.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruce Springsteen</span> - "<a href="http://www.mediafire.com/file/jivmakmwzdm/03%20Waitin%27%20On%20A%20Sunny%20Day.mp3">Waitin' On A Sunny Day</a>"</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(click song title link to download mp3, or read lyrics <a href="http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/WaitinOnASunnyDay.html">here</a>)</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/7377427645058551043-6075467149327420627?l=www3.allaroundphilly.com%2Fblogs%2Fpottstown%2Fchrism%2Fblog.html' alt='' /></div>Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01741991985183049850cmarch@pottsmerc.com1