Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, dear reader. This year the kids have had a fantastic Christmas, between family, church, and a visit from old Saint Nick.

Currently, the family and I are barrelling down I-75 on our way to Disney World. (Behold the power of technology…) It is the birthday/birthday present for my (soon to be) 4-year-old twins.
We told them about the idea earlier in the year and it is all that we’ve heard about for the past several months. “Can we leave now to visit the princess?”. “I want to go see Mickey.”. So needless to say, there is a lot of exitement in the car.

So, here’s wishing you and your’s a merry Christmas. Just think about me this weekend as I brave Disney with the family.

Rolling Stone’s top 50 albums of 2008

So, I just caught the 2008 top 50 albums by Rolling Stone.  It’s a pretty standard list of what you would expect.  Here are the list of the top 10:

1. TV on the Radio:  Dear Science
2. Bob Dylan:  Tell Tale Signs — The Bootleg Series Vol. 8
3. Lil Wayne:  Tha Carter III
4. My Morning Jacket:  Evil Urges
5. John Mellencamp:  Life, Death, Love, and Freedom
6. Santogold:  Santogold
7. Coldplay:  Viva la Vida
8. Beck:  Modern Guilt
9. Metallica:  Death Magnetic
10. Vampire Weekend:  Vampire Weekend

 

There are just a couple of things here and there that surprise me from the list.  One of the shocking/surprisingly high on high albums on the list is Chinese Democracy (12).  I mean, who would expect that a Guns ‘n Roses album would be so high on that list.  Also, I can’t believe that Taylore Swift (39) is higher on the list than AC/DC (41) (or the Jonas Brothers for that matter). 

My personal favorite in the top 10 albums is Vampire Weekend.  If you haven’t had the chance to hear, go out and get it.  You’ll love it, and that’s a promise.  That’s not to say that some of these others are not fantastic, I’ve just really taken a liking to it.  It’s catchy, clever music that will get into your head and stay there.

I do love seeing a Brian Wilsonalbum (That Lucky Old Sun, 27) on the list.  He’s a musical genius.  That’s right, I said it.  The guy is fantastic, and so is his music.  Also, check out the Kings of Leon album, I have been pretty impressed with it.  And, lawsuit or not, Coldplay did make it on the list.  That’s right, just give in, it’s a great album.  Popular music be damned, you should go out an listen to it.

So, what do you think the top 10 albums of 2008 are?

My own imaginary fight question

If you missed it a couple of a days ago, check out my review of Santa vs. Satan.  It covers the great guy question of “who would win in a fight.”  Great book, check it out.  Okay, so I’ve been thinking some more about the imaginary match ups, and I think I’ve got a great one.

Who would win in a fight Captain Hook or Captain Morgan?

It’s a great match up for the ages.  Both are obviously accomplished sailors. (Why else would they be captains!)  One works “well” with children, the other works “well” with drunks.  One has a strong marketing department, the other is part of a ride at Disney World. 

Thoughts?

Youtube ordered to pull down videos from Warner Music Group

In an interesting development of the music industry, Youtube has been ordered by Warner Music to take down all videos of its artist.  The two groups have been in negotiations about revenue generated by the site.  Previously, Warner Music and Youtube had an agreement in 2006, but it looks like lower than expected revenues are what lead to the talks.

It will be interesting to see what the other three major music companies do.  I would imagine if a more profitable contract it gained by Warner, than the other three will want to go to the table to negotiate.  These four companies represent the vast majority of recording artist. 

My biggest fear of this whole thing is the overall impact on Youtube.  Not that I’m pulling for the company, but more because I love randomly pulling up videos.  Everything from videos I haven’t seen in years to random live performances, I love them all.  It would be just terrible to not have all of that right at your finger tips.  Because, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to watch a video like this.  (The link is fine for work or anywhere else.)

I know what you’re saying, there are lots of sites that you can find all of that stuff on, but let me remind you of an important fact:  when it comes to searching for things on the internet, I’m lazy.  I’m going to go to the quickest place that I think it’ll be, and Youtube it that.  Probably, there is a whole bunch of you out there that feel the exact same way.

Now, I’m hoping they’ll get it worked out, because it’s easy to imagine that they would still like to cash in.  I just wonder if we’re going to have to go through a phase with each music group, having to have their videos pulled down.  Well, let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Book Review: Santa vs. Satan (and yes, it’s a humor book)

Alright, so I’m going to take a stab at something that I’ve never really done before, a book review. I just recently finished a fantastic book, Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights. Now, before you go judging on the content of my reading, let me start by telling you a little about it. This book, by Jake Kalish, is filled with some of the most important match ups in the world of guys. It is written from the standpoint of two different people or groups matching up. There are some important hypothetical match ups in the pages. If you don’t think that it matters, you have obviously never been sitting around with a group of guys. I don’t know how many random conversations have begun with “who would win in a fight…”

The book breaks each fight into several different sections. The first is the head-to-head match up. You get the low down each fighter’s important stats, both strengths and weakness. All of which are to be taken with tongue firmly planted in cheek. There are lots of great fights, with some fantastic breakdowns. Here are a couple:

• The One You Love vs. The One You’re With
• Indiana Jones vs. Han Solo
• Artist vs. Critic
• Drunk vs. Stoner
• Scientist vs. Scientologist

The next section of the book is the expert analysis. Don’t let the humor of the book fool you, these are actual experts from different areas. In some circumstances, the book even tells who some of the “experts” asked that did not respond. So for instance, in the marquee match up, there are folks from the church of satan that weigh in on the fight. It is humorous with both the levels of seriousness and humor that the analysis is taken.

The final part is the potentially the best part: the fight and outcome. That’s right, the book isn’t just a match up, but also an explanation of the fight and declaration of the winner. Love or hate the outcome, this book does not shy away from declaring a winner. There are times the decision is outlandish, but there are lots that I agreed. This is also the area that always for the most conversation/arguing. I’ve brought up several of the “fights” with friends, and spurred some “serious” academic arguments.

If you’re in the mood for a light read that you can just pick up and have a quick laugh, I highly recommend the book. Still, what can I say other than, I’m a sucker for the age-old question: Who would win in a fight?

Hall and Oates being awesome?!?

Sorry that I can’t embed this, but follow the link, it’s totally worth it.

Alright, for those brave souls that followed the above link, they were treated to a weird occurrence:  Hall and Oates being awesome!  And trust me when I say that it’s probably been about 20 years since anyone said that.  The two appeared on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart to pay tribute to Alan Colmes.  For those that are unaware, Colmes is often Fox News personality who is leaving the network.  Colmes is often seen as the one “token” liberal voice in the entire network, and leave it to the Daily Show to give Colmes a “proper” send off.

So, kudos to you Hall and Oates for being able to laugh at yourselves, but also helping to be more relevant than you have been in years.  The two rewrote “She’s Gone” to send Colmes to create the best goodbye, comedically speaking, to any Fox News personality.  Period.  (By the way, is the period after the word period redundant?)  The two need to work on their comedic timing a little bit, but hey, I’m not holding that against them.  I’m just proud that they got up there and did it.

The true hero(es) in this are probably the producers of the show for bringing the duo on the show.  This was pure comedic genius!  As a casual watcher of the show, it definitely grabbed my attention and made me laugh out loud.  The humor came in the sheer absurdity of the situation.  So, keep up the great work Daily Show, I look forward to what you bring in the upcoming year.

So, I guess I’m not a hipster…

After reading a couple of different blog, articles, etc., it is official:  I’m not a hipster.  I’ll let you decide which of those are the correct definition.   Still, I say this not in sadness, depression, or any such feelings.  Instead, I say this in pride and for the for the sheer fact that I’m more like the average, everyday normal person.

I should start by saying that I’m officially out of the hipster age limit, which seems to be in the 20s.  I should have realized it when the AATS (American Association of Thirty Somethings) sent me my official joining paperwork.  I suppose there is something to be said for aging out of the group.  Besides, being in my 30s is awesome.  I’m still considered young, but I’m not some punk kid.  I’m respected at work, but I’m still not the “creepy guy” at the bar.  There’s a great deal of perks in aging out of this limit.

Probably the biggest reason that I’m not a “hipster” is the simple fact that I like popular, main stream music.  It’s not all that I listen to, but I don’t systematically hate all top 40.  If the truth is known, I love some popular music.  One of my biggest vices is that I love some early 90s pop music (i.e. Ace of Bass).  There, I’ve said it, and I don’t know who knows it.  There is a great feeling about discovering great music, but hating music just because the majority of the populous likes it seems insane.

Additionally, I don’t wear ironic t-shirts or other clothing.  You know the ones, there are ads all over facebook for them.  Don’t act like you’re not on facebook… If you’re reading this right now there’s a good chance that you have a profile.  I guess at some point in time (although it could change on any given Saturday), I just got “grownup” clothes.  Who knew that at some point in time we all want to stop looking like a d-bag.

So here it is, I’m not a hipster.  I’m just a normal, regular, every day guy that likes normal people things.  I’m not addicted to coffee or cigarettes or indie music.  So here’s to being a normal guy…

Pearl Jam releasing a reissue of Ten

So, I just read an article that should make fans of grunge music shout with glee.  That’s right Pearl Jam is reissuing Ten after it’s huge impact in 1991.  Specifically, it’s going to be reissued at the end of March 2009, and should have multiple versions available (four if I’m not mistaken).

As I’m sure everyone remembers that at the time it was nearly impossible to get away from that album when it was in full swing.  Ironically, that was not immediately upon release, but was more around 1992.   I still remember how the CD insert unfolded into the poster of the band.  That was one of the those definitive albums that seemed liked everyone had.  I think that I was about the second or third one of my friends who had the CD.  That’s right CD, because at the time that was the big stuff.  Hey between that and Matthew Sweet’s Girlfriend album, I was pretty awesome.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Pearl Jam in my heart.  Sure, they kind of irritated me when they pulled away from fame (see dealing with fame section).  I mean, at the time, who didn’t want to learn more about these guys.  But, I do have to give them that they made it about the music, which is more than lots of bands can say.

Still, these guys went up against Ticketmaster and really cared something about fans.  To the point that you could argue that one of the albums (Vitalogy) suffered from it.  They went through a drummer, and pissed off a lot of executives. I’ve got to say that it takes a lot of balls to do something like that.  There might not have been such a public display of challenging the status quo with the music industry since Fiona Apple (fast-forward to about 2:00 minutes in) went on her rant.  To put a cap on the price of tickets, I mean who would even think about doing that now.  Just look at how much the Eagles are charging for their tour.

So in March we’ll plan on walking down memory lane and remember just what made this such a memorable album.  I can’t wait, it’ll be like finding the way back machine and going back to 1992.  So, be on the look out of Ten and get ready to rock your suburban socks off!

Rolling Stone’s List of the Top 100 Greatest Singers

For those of you who haven’t read it, but Rolling Stone recent ran an article on the Top 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.  It was voted on by a wide variety of folks from within the music industry.  Each voter was asked to list their top 20 favorite singers and ultimate put through a measurement methodology by the Ernst & Young accounting firm.  In the end here’s the top 10 singers:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown

So, obviously the list goes on a lot further, like 90 more people.  The only top 10 surprise that I had was Bob Dylan. 

Now, let me start by saying that Bob Dylan is one of the most brillant song writers alive, and has done a great deal to capture the voice of countless numbers.  With that being said, he is not one of the top 10 greatest singers of all time.  I probably wouldn’t even ballpark him in the top 50.   If we’re talking song writers, hey top 10 every time, but really, singer…

There were a couple of other surprises on the list as well.  Freddie Mercury (18), David Bowie (23), and Prince (30) were all above Whitney Houston (34).  Don’t get me wrong, all of those previous three are fantastic singers.  The range and expression of Whitney Houston, crazy or not, is amazing.  Heck, even Bob Marley (19) was higher.

There does seem to be some justice in the fact that Kurt Cobain (45) and Lou Reed (62) are higher on the list than Axl Rose (64), but all three are higher than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis (67).  I do suppose to it all comes down to personal preference and the impact, either real or perceived, these singers have made on music.

Personally, I really struggle on what the top 10 should be.  So, if you have your own ideas of who they should be leave it in the comments.

The Sleep Study (or how I learn how not to sleep…)

So, the other night I had a sleep study done.  The thing that struck me as ironic was the name.  By no means are you meant to sleep during it.  After you’ve read up on the earlier link, let me start you at the beginning to make sense of it.

I got to start and continue the day with no caffeine, which was hard to do.  I mean, not sleeping is why I got this study done to start with, and time me not to drink caffeine is like telling me to go to sleep.  Caffeine has probably been the one thing that has continued to fuel me.  I mean the reason I’m having this test to start with is the fact that I can’t sleep, or at least not when I need to.  Hey, you put me in an afternoon meeting, I could be down in two seconds flat.

I arrived at the center at 8:30 p.m. and having the security guard wish me a good nights sleep.  Upon reflection, I think that it was his own little joke from watching streams of people coming in and leave with little or no sleep.  Once I get in, I’m shown my room, which looks like a hotel room.  So, that was awesome.  I’m not complaining because at least it has a mint and a bottle of water in the room.  I mean, hey, if you have to go through it at least there is a little perk.

I get in and through the bevy of paperwork.  The tech helping me to get set up was laid back, which I appreciate.  Trust, when I get nervous, I start asking questions and laid back works well for me.  So, after 45 minutes, I’m taken back into the room and transformed in to a crappy version of Robocop.  I started to complain after two belts were put around my midsection, but after it was all done, those were the least of my troubles.

I can’t even start to tell you how much junk was taped to my face.  It was like a fell asleep in a fraternity house and was the butt of a joke.  I had something taped near my eyes, two things shoved into each nostril, and had five electrodes all over my body.  None of this takes into account all of the cords and other lines.

Needless to say it sucked, and only got worse.  Personally, I like to sleep on my stomach, which by the way is the one way you can’t sleep.  So, I could lay on my back or side, but not too far on my side.  So, when I got into bed, the tech started talking to me over a mic, and ran me through the ringer of checking the settings.  “Can you close your eyes?”  “Can you point your toes down?”  “Ccan you look to the left and right side?”  “Oops, I didn’t say Simon says….”

After all of that, I could go to sleep.  Which was a challenge, because it’s hard to roll over when you’re hardwired into the Matrix.  Still, I magically fell asleep.  I only remember once the tech coming in to do something, but I’m not gonna lie, I was out of it.

About 4:30 a.m., the mic kicks back on, and I hear “We’re done.”  So, I get my self together, get unplugged, and dragged home.  I can proudly say that I even went to work the next day.  However, I’m not saying I got a lot of work done.

I’ll write in another post of what the outcome of the test was, but it lead to another interesting story.