Campaign Blog: News & Updates

Not certain yet, but I believe I may be headed out of town for most of the day. So, instead of offering up some well-formulated pithy thoughts, I'll simply offer up a short list of must-reads and some tunage to get through the day.

» NYT: For the Democrats, Signs of a Possible Changing of the Guard (Adam Nagourney)

» Chron/NYT: Amputee goat finds a friend in amputee animal activist

» Prospect: The Elusive Politics of Reform (Ezra Klein)

» Newsweek: The Rise of the Rest (Fareed Zakaria)

Sadly, no summer dates for Patty Smyth/Scandal in this area. Bummer.

A little more digging and here's two important updates, which I think warrant massive blog attention:

1. Lynam ... apparently the Dio/Stevie Nicks thing? Bogus. To which I say "Well played." Darkness should have been this effective at starting rumors about the band. Still, the band looks and sounds good. So I'll show up early.

2. Lynch Mob ... apparently they ARE touring with Oni Logan on vocals. To which I say "AWESOME!!!" I guess the weirdo-rock phase he's been in is now on hiatus.

Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Revisiting the anticipated Cinderella show, it turns out that it'll be a multi-band ticket with Warrant, Lynch Mob, and Lynam all on the same bill. Warrant, I honestly don't care for a repeat viewing of (post-94, at least). Not that they're necessarily awful, just that the band never really did much for me. It's one thing when a band back in the day might have a lead singer that wants to rip off David Lee Roth, but Jani Lane always struck me as someone who tried to rip off the guy ripping off David Lee Roth.

Lynch Mob, I'm moderately looking forward to just for the sake of hearing some George Lynch guitar solos. I'd prefer a full-out reunion with Oni Logan (whom everyone acknowledges is the finest singer Lynch has been paired with), but that seems to be on par with waiting for a full reunion of the original Ugly Kid Joe lineup. The band had maybe 4 tolerable songs from two original albums and I'm confident the setlist will be mercifully short.

Lynam is new to me. So I head to Google to see what there is to know. All I can say is: "Wow!"

Lynams history dates back to the 70s when their dad Ronnie Lynam moved to England to front the band Black Sabbath. The band had just parted ways with Ozzy Osbourne and they were looking for a singer with a new sound. When Ronnie joined Black Sabbath, he started using the stage name Ronnie James Dio. Everyone agreed Dio sounded more evil than Ronnie James Lynam. Around the time the Heaven and Hell album came out, Ronnie was confronted by Stevie Nicks, singer for Fleetwood Mac. She announced to him that she was 8 months pregnant. Ronnies band before Black Sabbath, Rainbow had played some shows with Fleetwood Mac. On June 12th 1980, Mark was born. Their relationship secretly lasted another 2 years and they had 2 more children, David and Jacob. By the time Jacob was born, Ronnie had decided to leave Black Sabbath and start a solo career. Because of Ronnie and Stevies busy careers, the three children were placed in separate foster homes in Birmingham, AL.

Who knew Stevie Nicks was into midgets? Or that the Lynam brothers weren't into apostrophes?

Anywho ... majorly looking forward to the gig. Cinderella is one band that is vastly underrated by history. Maybe due to the singer ripping off Steven Tyler instead of David Lee Roth. I dunno.

Just to report on a little binge shopping over the weekend (and to return a volley at Stace), I feel compelled to plug Chuck Klosterman's "IV".

I remember the first time I picked up Klosterman's "Fargo Rock City" ... read the thing in one sitting at the book store and totally deprived him of the royalties my appreciation of his work truly warrants. He did alright, though. SPIN magazine came calling on the heels of that book and this latest one - his fourth, in case it wasn't obvious - is the fruits of that labor. At first, it struck me as odd that I'd consider plunking down brick and mortar prices on a book of material that dates back to the first half of this decade. But considering that much of what Klosterman's topics cover material from final quarter of the previous century⁽¹⁾, I guess that nudged me toward the checkout counter. And nevermind that I'm picking it up nearly a year after it's publication ... that's just there for irony points. I mean, seriously, how can material from the 80s really lose any more shelf-life in the past year that the entire grunge era didn't already inflict? Suffice it to say, Klosterman is a brilliant writer for those of us who believe the following proposition:

That no good band ever formed after 1989, with the exception of The Donnas, which is justified since they're schtick has been to mimic the bands formed previous to 1989. Well, that and the fact that the chicks in the band are pretty hot.

So even though the book is a clip show of Klosterman's scribbling in the magazine trade, it's still required reading for understanding the way the world is at this present moment. At once, a book without the form of a book. Prescient, timely cultural observations that revolve around not-so-obvious, dated material from decades past. It may be the best book Chuck Klosterman didn't sorta, kinda really write. Even if he did ... technically.

A few samplings of the genius in action ...

"If you discount the crime and the poverty and the overabundance of goats, Jamaica is a wonderful place."

"Being a fan of Metallica in the '80s was not supposed to be fun. Loving Metallica was like being Catholic if you truly believed, it was supposed to inform every aspect of your life."

"... anti-intellectualism is a dangerous problem, but it's not as annoying as pretend intellectualism, which inevitably manifests itself as antipopulism. Which is why I always want to blow up my brains whenever I hear people talking about "guilty pleasures."

Like I said ... genius.

-------------
⁽¹⁾ - There's one notable exception in the form of a story dated 1995 covering the oxymoronic notion of underground music at the time.

July 17 - Cinderella hits Houston. Sweet!!!

That adds to the already-planned-for Jonny Lang appearance in June.

Just to break the daily monotony of workdom, I hopped over to the Angelika for a quick bit of entertainment. And since I wasn't aware that Morgan Spurlock's latest flick wasn't even out until checking the listings, it turned into an easy decision as to what to see.

Mind you, I was a bit doubtful about whether I'd enjoy anything about the movie. Obviously, Spurlock does not locate OBL or else it's be all over the news. Secondly, I've long since been of the opinion that Spurlock is a rather poor imitation of Michael Moore ... and that's about the best thing I might say about Moore's moviemaking ability. And lastly, what was the overall statement that Spurlock might choose to make with what, I presumed would be, a polemic.

All in all, the movie still found a way to disappoint even though I had all those doubts to check off. As far as polemics go, this one wasn't particularly entertaining or amusing. His statement? ... rather weak. And the movie only reminded me further about why it is that I see him as a bad imitation of Moore.

The plus is that there are some interesting scenes from the Middle East with Spurlock engaging with both the locals and the US military. You get a sense of at least some of the danger he might have been through in just being there. There's also a general feelgood vibe to the telling of his story - mainly that there's less that separates us from normal, everyday Afghanis, Pakistanis, and Saudis than we might fear. And as far as polemic points go, he does raise a valid point - though, one widely held by folks of numerous political stripes - that if OBL were found and offed today, nothing would change in the state of world affairs.

Unfortunately, the movie revolves around a semi-narcissistic vantagepoint of our protagonist and his wife having a baby, with the time Spurlock spends overseas seen as eating away at him since he's away from his pregnant wife. The point is to drive home Spurlock's point that he wants to make the world safe for his kid and what bigger threat to protect against than OBL? And at the end of it {I guess this qualifies as a spoiler ... so spoiler alert!}, we see Spurlock on the edge of the Afghani Tribal Region, staring at a sign indicating their inhospitality toward foreigners, only to turn back with a whimpering "It's not worth it."

What I hold up as the biggest weakness in Spurlock's style is the lack of consistency in his argument. Granted, Michael Moore had issues in Farenheit 9/11 when he began by demonizing the military only to feign hero-worship on the returning injured who shared his particular distaste for the war in Iraq. Here, Spurlock cinematically mocks the confusion over where OBL is by filming several people offering numerous answers. Only later, we see him deadset on targetting the Tribal Regions since "everyone tells me he's there." The bigger weakness, of course, is that the movie trudges along with some minor insight and minor dark humor ... only to arrive at a weak ending with nothing left to hold the movie together.

Note to self: Next time "Baby Mama" is an option, see it instead.

Kathleen Edwards on Letterman tonight. AWESOME!!!

I still love her first album the most, but her latest is definitely growing on me. You can download the title track for free if so desired.

Busy. Work. Yadda. Apologies.

YouTube to the rescue. Anyone want to delve into the deeper meaning of this video? I'm kinda afraid to, but I've always thought Billy Ocean's music was catchy as all getout.

I was all set to YouTube up some Springsteen in honor of the Boss' visit to Houston today. But it seems that none of the videos on his YT channel are embeddable. So since I'm on a kick for some good tunage, here's a younger variation on the Springsteen theme. Better guitar player, too.

Dude's in town at the V-W downtown on June 19th, too. I plan on checking out the show.

Just rocking out to the gay 70s today ...

Seriously, was there nobody around to tell him that the tank-top was a dead giveaway?

... and when's this guy making a comeback???

What else can I possibly add to this:

PLANO, TX -- No pressure, Axl, but all of America wants a free soda and it's up to you.

Dr. Pepper claims it will give everyone in America a free can of Dr. Pepper if Axl Rose releases his "Chinese Democracy" album in 2008. For unexplained reasons, guitarists Slash and Buckethead are exempt from this promotion and would not get a can.

A Dr. Pepper spokesman compares the effort it took to create Dr. Pepper with Rose's 17-year effort to make the album, and he says once "Chinese Democracy" is released, "People will refer to it as 'Dr. Pepper for the ears."'

Rose could not be reached for comment.

I've kinda lost track of the whole "Chinese Democracy" saga in the past few years. But apparently, the record is in the can (pardon the bad pun). As for it being worth the 17-yr wait, I'm more than a little skeptical. That said from one who wasn't exactly in awe of the Velvet Revolver formula and wasn't even the biggest Guns & Roses fan back in the day. So take it for what it's worth.

Still, I'll take the soda and probably give the release a fair listening just in case there's any loud, crunchy guitar riffs I might want to learn.

SIDENOTE: For some reason, Dr Pepper didn't see fit to make a similar offer for the latest Whitesnake release (which I'm sure to enjoy more). Wonder if it has anything to do with the decision to have Doug Aldrich on lead guitar and the significantly better Reb Beach on rhythm guitar?

Seriously, what is Coverdale thinking?

If you've ever found yourself awake in the wee hours of the morning pondering what the deal was with Atari's creation of the game console version of Donkey Kong, this is the blog post for you.

Seriously, it's the best read of the decade. Get to it.

SIDENOTE: A bit self-serving, but still a great read.

»Toronto Star: Jeff Healey, 41: Canadian musician
» NYT: Jeff Healey, Guitarist and Singer, Dies at 41

A bit of sad news for the news cycle. I'm not the biggest blues fan in the world, but Healey was magical to watch and listen to. I happened to catch him on tour for his first album at Rockefeller's and it still ranks as one of the best shows I've ever seen. His technique was practically impossible to copy, which made it all the more challenging to capture some fraction of the style he formed.

On the plus side, heaven must be having some awesome music lined up ...

One item checked off my to-do list for the weekend. Granted, I had to skip Friday church to catch the movie.

I'll put this movie on a par with "Talladega Nights" ... make of that what you will. But I liked both and rank them a notch above "Blades of Glory". The genre that Will Ferrell has with sports films is down to a formula, but it's a formula that I have to admit to liking.

Any comparison to "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh" is just marginal at best. Not enough disco music in this movie ... and that's something I don't say very often. Maura Tierney is no Stockard Channing and Andre 3000 is no Dr. J. On the plus side, I actually didn't loathe Woody Harrelson's character (a first in a long, long time).

Good for a laugh ... I recommend it. Of course, I also recommend an official release of Fish on DVD. Make of that what you will.

College baseball on Sunday. Place bets on how much time I spend boring my friends with my diatribe on why the aluminum bat is heretical to all things baseball.

A little bragging on AmazonMP3's latest availability options ...

• Some of the older Derek Webb solo albums, plus his remix of some of his hits. There's also an increase in some of the older Caedmon's Call stuff that I'm finding myself going back to get.
• The 2-CD version of Hollywood Rocks. I picked up the 4-CD option via a brick & mortar purchase and can identify a few tunes that are lacking on this one. But still, nice to see some of the rarities get their due.
• Over the Rhine ... a band I'm just now getting into. Which is odd since they've been around since '91. I'm starting with their 2003 release and will probably just wind my way forward. But I'd just as soon see some of their older stuff added on here.
• Honeymoon Suite ... they have the better-selling first release, but not the remainder of their first-generation CDs. Odd because I believe they were all released on the same label back in the day. Unfortunately for me, I'm in need of some improved MP3s from this CD.
• Early Joy Lynn White (and recent!). Yes, that's the same tune sung by the Dixie Chicks on the older disc. If I might make a recommendation for purchase, I'd offer "It's Amazing" from the older and "I'm Free" from the newer. A little bit of sentimental balladeering from someone with the pipes to pull it off. Of course, there's also her penultimate greatest CD, which is good to listen to from start to finish ... and then all over again.
• The Satriani catalog. Now if they can just add the Greg Kihn "King Biscuit Flower Hour" concert CD with Satriani on guitar, that'd be even better.

So what's lacking? Classic-era Pretty Boy Floyd, Ugly Kid Joe, Paul Gilbert, old-school Scatterbrain most anything from the Shrapnel catalog, Joy Lynn White's Columbia release, the greatest CD ever released by Starship (or the second, or the third!). They are also woefully lacking in Krokus and Impellitteri. There, I said it.

On the whole, I'm impressed with the extent to which they're adding to the catalog. Still some work to do, but I'm liking the pace they're adding stuff so far.

Caught the movie last Friday. I went in rather skeptically, thinking it would essentially be Blair Witch meets King Kong/Godzilla. Funny thing is that that's about right, but it's still a great movie in my estimation. There were moments where it bugged me that they were ripping off far more movies than just those. Enough so, that I think you could make a drinking game out of the movie homages. Oh, and I was certain that I'd be nauseous after 15 minutes of watching the big screen shake around.

Doesn't matter, though. It's still a great movie. Make that a GREAT movie. Of all the facets of the movie discussed on the reviews and fansites that are everywhere, I've not seen a great deal on the social commentary part of the movie. I'm reluctant to get into it because it's still Week Three for the flick and I'd risk spoiling it if I got into detail.

Ultimately, my strongest endorsement is that I'm already making plans to take it in again. There's enough backstory to research and other tidbits I apparently missed in the movie the first time around.

I'm not entirely sure any of the trailers do the movie full justice. But for what it's worth, here's one of 'em:

One other riff on Kuff for the day. His taste in music is woefully lacking. Well, once you get past our shared affinity for The Donnas, that is. Here's a better list of ten cover tunes to get you through any day of the week:

1. Science Fiction/Double Feature - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes ... if you're going to lead off a list like this, ya may as well start off strong.

2. Kids in America - Bouncing Souls ... this is a pretty raw version of the original. But to my way of thinking, that's what makes it great.

3. Piece of my Heart - Rough Cutt ... some obligatory heavy metal here for ya. Rough Cutt was one of my favorites from the 80s and it's a shame they never had a hit song to call their own. Paul Shortino's voice was impeccably suited for covering Janis Joplin.

4. Annie's Song - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes ... clearly, I could do a Top Ten that included nothing more than the Gimme Gimmes. They're that good. But it doesn't get much better than their album of country & western covers. You can ask a dozen people what their favorite is off of this one and I think you'll get a dozen answers.

5. People Get Ready - George Lynch & Oni Logan ... originally from the hard-to-find Jeff Beck tribute CD. Now also available on a George Lynch CD of his outtakes and other random efforts. I could likely get accused of playing favorites with the heavy metal guitar wizards of the 80s here, but I'm prepared to defend the notion that this version far exceeds even Jeff Beck & Rod Stewart's classic cover version. Not that I'm that big of an apologist for George Lynch, though ... I just think this is the one song he nails perfectly in the course of his career.

6. Follow You - Geoff Moore ... some obligatory CCM for ya, also. Two things I admired about this song. One, it was a cover of an obscure tune that Glen Burtnik recorded on a vastly underrated CD from his vastly underrated career (which involved keeping Styx alive for a while in the 90s). Moore's voice treats this song incredibly well. I probably like the Burtnik original a bit better, but Moore's heart for the song gives this something entirely new that makes it fun to listen to all over again. Second thing is just that this was easily Geoff Moore's best CD ... again, in his vastly underrated career.

7. Country Roads - Jason & the Scorchers ... tough to pick just one from these guys. But what's not to love about heavy guitars and country twang vocals on top of some John Denver lyrics?

8. Reason to Believe - Eddie Money ... another tribute CD item, this one covering Rod Stewart tunes. In fairness, Jani Lane's version of "I Was Only Joking" deserves some special attention here as well. What made the entire CD worthwhile was that it wasn't just a bunch of heavy metal guitarists riffing on their favorite guitarists from another band. There's a bit more depth in this tribute CD that I think got overlooked.

9. Too Fast for Love - The Donnas ... what can I say, I'm more a fan of their earlier work. Still, one of my fondest memories of the band is waiting in a wayyyy too long line outside of Fitz's listening to the gals do a late soundcheck to Judas Priest's "Living After Midnight."

10. Linus & Lucy - Gary Hoey ... some early recorded brilliance by Gary Hoey. It's telling that Hoey's most notable work has been cover tunes, though. Great player, but the world has only so much need for the surf & turf tunage that he's otherwise fond of. This is a heavier treatment of the Peanuts classic and strikes me as a far superior interpretation than any other.

There's lots more where this came from. I mean, I haven't even listed a single Ramones or Van Halen number. Clearly, I'm tying one arm behind my back here.

On another musical note, I stumbled across news of Little Cardi's opening up this past December. The name should ring a bell for any Houston metalheads from teh 80s and 90s. Same management crew from the old days, apparently. Different location. And obviously many of the quality bands you might have caught at the original are no longer around. Well, maybe Lillian Axe will book the place one day. I'll have to make it a point to check the place out ... what with it being about a mile and a half from my place.

It's been a tough year for me to really pontificate on the musical offerings I've been moved by. For one, even fewer of my bands have been cranking out new material. Secondly, it's been busy on the professional front. Good problem to have, but here's the music I can claim to have enjoyed this year:

» Derek Webb: The Ringing Bell
Christian artist and agent provocateur, Webb's stuff is always worth rushing to get on opening day. I don't claim to have a greater appreciation for this than I do for "Mockingbird," but it still warrants heavy listening and serious consideration.

» Carrie Underwood: Carnival Ride
My latest addition - and one I've neglected to review for some odd reason. In some ways, the production is more generous to Carrie's talent as a singer, but the song selection doesn't quite have the feel that I liked in the first album. She'll have a long enough career ahead of her, though. I just hate the idea that I might have to wait for Carrie Underwood to really mature before I can appreciate her music more. If nothing else, it's worth appreciating on talent alone and this disc showcases that better in my opinion.

» The Donnas: Bitchin'
Great to see the gals return to their earlier form. The music is enough to make your mom or dad cringe, so I don't recommend it as a matter of lifestyle enhancement. But it's worth appreciating how much better the band has gotten musically since their indie days. Back then, they were lumped in as a punk band despite effectively playing 80s hard rock. This album is a better showcase of what I think they initially tried to be.

» Poison: Poison'd
A surprising rebound by an 80s band. It's a solid concept - don't write anything new, but play some cover tunes as only your band can. I think they put an interesting stamp on David Bowie and The Cars, personally. It's cheap entertainment, but it's still fun.

» Joe Satriani: Surfing w. the Alien (Reissue)
Not really a new release, but there's some new material in this one (video) and it warrants an appreciation given that Satriani has lasted this long as a viable touring act in an unforgiving genre of instrumental music. Technically, for me, it was "Not of This Earth" that altered my world. "Surfing with the Alien" merely convinced me that there was nothing I had to say (potentially) with a guitar that this guy wasn't already saying (really). Listening through it again, I'm probably more astounded now about how an album can have such an impact in a post-Van Halen era.

» Lakewood Church: Free to Worship
» Israel & New Breed: A Deeper Level
New material from folks I get to listen to on a regular basis at church. Both had the advantage that we got to sample the material song-by-song well before they were released. Sure, I'm playing booster here. But they're both solid releases that warrant some attention.

» Jacque DeShetler: Signal
» Josh Myers: Soul Serenade Sessions
Two indie releases from Christian artists. The first contains a few Lakewood-related musicians (and producer) helping out in the background. Great if you need a fix of female vocals with some soul. Josh Myers' CD is an instrumental that definitely hits me right where I need to be hit. In some ways, it's a throwback to the shredfests of the 80s, but it includes a bit of diversity that might help some who prefer a more modernized concept. Still, I see myself spinning this disc the longest of the bunch this year.

» Everlife: Everlife
I should probably hide this tidbit, but I really believe this is the most underrated release on the list. Everlife is , for better or worse, lumped in with the Disney girlband genre ... Hannah Montana among them. But the music here is solid and hopefully leads to a long career of making music for the kids in the band. hopefully, that includes remaining something more than the nominally Christian band they tend to be considered. Musically, they're not quite where The Donnas are right now - and certainly not as heavy. But they start off better and they're only barely able to vote.

Typically, at the end of the year, I'm a bit loathe to recap new music over the year for fear that I've not taken in enough. This isn't by any means as long a list as I might have had a few decades ago, but it's substantively better than I thought it'd be before writing this post out. And to think I left a new release by Tiffany and an early demo recording from Stryper off the list. Both were enjoyable for one reason or another, but I can't claim to have kept them on my heavy rotation list for long. Tiff's new stuff isn't really my cup of tea and Stryper's old stuff is a tad too dated to get into all over again. The listings you see above were enough to accentuate my already odd playlist while enjoying it all.

So I managed to take in my final flick at the Greenway this weekend: "Margot at the Wedding." Can't say I'm necessarily proud of the choice, but my options were limited to weird, weirder, and weirdest. I'll defend this one by virtue of the fact that it was a Nicole Kidman movie. If I can endure "Dogville" and "Bewitched", I think it's safe to say I'm immune to anything cinematic.

I asked the lady working the ticket booth what would happen to them once the place shut down. Apparently, some will move to River Oaks, but some will be out of luck. I wished them all the best and everyone there seemed to be relishing some amount of the goodwill I suspect they've gotten since the news broke.

The theater always had a tough niche by my analysis - a second outlet-of-choice for art films without a particularly strong residential pool around the theater. With River Oaks being nearby, it's hard to calculate a winning business model based solely on Greenway employees and perimeter River Oaks movie-goers. Regardless, adios Greenway 3.

As for the movie itself, I remain convinced that a movie with Nicole Kidman is still worth the price of admission. This one was a bit too much of a psychological exposition for me to really get into. I wouldn't say it was poorly done, but I might suggest that Jack Black was overkill for this one. That aside, the usual level of pretense and pomp that goes into an indie movie were on full display here.