Greg Oden Says, "iPod, shmiPod, Turn That Noise Down!"

Look at this guy. There's no way he's the same age as other college freshmen; that is an assertion I cannot accept. Greg Oden is basically the equivalent of the real-life Thornton Mellon, though in infinitely better shape. Honestly, I think his kids might have grown up with my dad, but I can't be sure.

Anyway, in honor of Mr. Greg Oden and his evident defiance of the normal aging process, I present The Definitive Greg Oden iPod Playlist. Back in his day, iTunes downloads only cost a nickel!

I would like to wish Mr. Oden luck this weekend in the Final Four against Georgetown, and again (hopefully) on Monday in the NCAA Finals. I'd like to see him win a championship in his lifetime, and he sure ain't getting any younger (looking). I hope he plays two incredible games, Ohio State wins the whole thing, and people everywhere are in agreement that he will absolutely be the first pick in the NBA draft. Then maybe Kevin Durant will stay in school another year. We all have dreams.

The Definitive Greg Oden iPod Playlist
1. Neil Young, Old Man
2. The Beatles, When I'm Sixty-four
3. Frank Sinatra, The September of My Years
4. Garth Brooks, I'm Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
5. Jimi Hendrix, Mannish Boy
6. Wilco, When You Wake Up Feeling Old
7. Jimmy Buffett, A Pirate Looks at Forty
8. Jethro Tull, Too Old to Rock & Roll, Too Young to Die
9. Bon Jovi, Just Older
10. Elton John, Sixty Years On
11. Beastie Boys, Boomin' Granny
12. Of Montreal, I Was Never Young

Longhorns, Goats, Ponies, and a Man from Iowa

Funny story before I get into the Longhorns' post-season and the Mountain Goats show I saw last night. My buddy Jeremy was in town this weekend from D.C., he works for Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa, planning and arranging fundraising events. I call him Josh Lyman. Anyway, we went out Saturday night for dinner and drinks with some friends, and as he gets into the car he says to me, "How'd you like to be Charlie Young tomorrow?" Turns out he wanted to return the rental car early so he and the Senator wouldn't have to sit and wait for the shuttle, which would buy them a little more time in getting ready to leave LA. So, because I'm such a good friend, and because I've never had a United States Senator in my 626, I accepted his proposition.

Nice guy, that Senator Harkin. Seemed thoroughly confused when I told him I drafted him on my Fantasy Congress team, though he was concerned enough to ask who else was on the team and if there was anything he could do to help. I was excited to tell him that so far, he was the first member of my fantasy congress team who's ever been in my car. So far.

Now, on to more pressing issues. Texas has played some of the best (and worst) basketball I've seen over the past week and a half. It seems they can't put 2 halves of great basketball into the same game. In our last regular season game a week ago, we jumped out to an improbable 12 point lead over #3 Kansas at halftime, only to crap the bed and allow 22 points in the first 4 minutes of the second half and lose by 6. Then against Baylor, in our first Big 12 Tournament game, we were ice cold in the first half (even soon-to-be-player-of-the-year Kevin Durant only had 4 points), but overcame a 20 point deficit in the second half to win it, behind Durant's 24 second half points. I guess the Oklahoma State game the next day was somewhat complete, though it wasn't like we didn't try to throw it away once or twice. Luckily for us, we got to meet Kansas again in the conference finals (this time they were #2), and again, we jumped out to an amazing 21 point lead in the first half (KD started the game with our first 13 points, and he had over 20 in the first half, finishing with 37 for the game), but let them right back into it before halftime, and ultimately we just ran out of gas and lost in OT by 4 points. Durant had 0 points in the final minutes of the game, and 0 in OT. Inexcusable.

Anyway, we drew a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which I think is robbery - there's no way Washington State is better than us from a mediocre Pac-10 conference (not even making the finals), and there's absolutely no way Pittsburgh is better than us coming off of a 30-plus point blowout loss to Georgetown over the weekend. Even Texas A&M got a 3 seed, and we beat them in double OT last week, and they didn't even make the SEMI-finals of the conference tournament, a tournament that I might have mentioned in the last paragraph that we only lost in our 3rd overtime game in our last 5 games. The only silver lining, for me at least, is that if all goes well, we will play USC in the second round, and you know how I love it when my Horns stick it to those Trojans. I'm picking us to win it all. What can I say, I'm a dreamer.

Jeremy (not the one who works for Harkin) and I went to see the Mountain Goats last night at the El Rey. They were awesome. I mean awesome. Neola saw them recently in Portland, and after reading her comments on the show, I was even more excited to see them. We were impressed. I need to get ahold of some of their earlier stuff, b/c they played a lot of it last night and I was a fan of it all. The opening band was this group of 4 girls from Montreal called Pony Up. I think they might have been 14 years old. Nothing on their Wikipedia page to confirm or disconfirm that. Either way, they were young, and sort of a junior version of Sleater-Kinney. They really had the crowd behind them from the get-go, and everybody seemed kind of sad when their set ended. Luckily they all came back out during a Mountain Goats encore to sing backup vocals on a cover of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town." Aside from the dude standing in front of me who kept backing up slowly, like a glacier, until I was at least 2 feet away from where I started, who kept running his hands through his hair, scaring the crap out of me because I was convinced there was stuff falling all over me (this dude was too close), it was a great show and a great experience.

I didn't write down their setlist (sorry, Andy), mainly because I don't know enough of their songs to know what was being played all the time. If you're interested, I can tell you that "Dance Music," "This Year," "Lion's Teeth," and "Hast Thou Considered the Tetrapod" were all played.

Un! Deux! Trois! Dis: Miroir Noir!

Neon Bible, the sophomore effort from Canadian indie-rockers The Arcade Fire, comes out next Tuesday (having absolutely nothing to do with this picture). A friend managed to somehow get an "advance" copy, and gave me a copy of it on Saturday afternoon. I didn't get around to listening to it until Sunday, and I've been freaking out ever since about how good it is. In fact, I actually haven't listened to anything else since yesterday morning. I have played it over and over, probably at least 15 or 20 times, and I'm showing no signs of any desire to listen to anything else. Not yet, at least. I don't know if I've been this taken with an album since Elliott Smith's posthumous release, From a Basement on a Hill, back in 2004. It should come as no surprise that Neon Bible puts forth almost as bleak an outlook, so maybe that's why I'm making that connection. I can't explain it, but I just LOVE depressing music. It makes me so happy.

Neon Bible starts off with my new favorite song (for the time being), "Black Mirror," but the true highlight of the album is the fourth track, "Intervention," which echoes the sounds of "We Shall Overcome," only with the exact opposite message. Instead of "We shall overcome someday," we're told "Every spark of friendship and love will die without a home." Ouch.

Throughout the album, lyrics like "Nothing lasts forever that's the way it's got to be," "Now who here among us still believes in choice, not I," "World War Three, when are you coming for me?" and "I don't want to work in a building downtown, no I don't want to see when the planes hit the ground," drive home the theme of hopelessness and discouragement, which, ironically, is much darker than their last album, Funeral.

Funeral was great, and I was excited for their Neon Bible release, but I was also kind of dreading it, because much-anticipated second albums usually fall flat. This one is an exception, like the Godfather Part 2 living up to, and, in many people's minds, exceeding its predecessor. I know it's early to say this, before we're even out of February, but Neon Bible is the current frontrunner for my favorite album of the year, though with expected releases from Bright Eyes, Interpol, Radiohead, and Wilco, it's going to be a fun race for me to judge.

Jackson Browne and Willie Nelson ... and a Surprise Celeb Encounter

So, we're on our way up to Universal for the concert last night, and I pull into the parking garage and fork over my $10, but I'm in one of the right-side lanes, and the entrance to the garage is on the left side, which means I have to quickly cross over about 3 lanes. As I do this, I accidentally cut off a guy driving a silver Prius. Amanda freaks out. "Ben, look, look, look, look who it is!!" I didn't see the guy driving the car, but evidently it was Adrian Grenier, better known as Vinnie Chase on Entourage. At the time, though, the only thing on my mind was fulfilling my intense need to pee, so we parked and immediately found a restroom.

As we're standing in line at Will Call to get our tickets, Amanda sees him again. Aquaman ends up standing two people behind us in the Will Call line. I took a breath, calmly turned around and said, "Hey, man, I think I cut you off in the parking lot. So, sorry about that." He goes, "That was you?" I said, "Yeah, it was me. Sorry." Then he said, "Aw, man! You're lucky this is LA." I'm still not sure what that meant. I was just glad I resisted the urge to say any of the following, potentially embarassing things:

"Let's hug it out, bitch."
"I am Queens Boulevard."
"Where's Turtle?"
"I thought you were great in 'The Devil Wears Prada'." (This would have been highly sarcastic.)

Anyway, after our brush with the B-list actor who plays an A-list actor, we headed inside, and not a moment too soon! We got to our seats just after the opening act, Native American poet John Trudell, began his, um, performance. It was mainly spoken word stuff, but he had a band who played over his poetry. It was a little weird, and kind of a downer. One of his songs was about killing children, I think. Or, probably, it was about the killing of children around the world, in war torn areas. At one point he mentioned Chechnya. Amanda wanted to make sure I wrote in my geeky little notebook that he used Chechnya in a song. We weren't huge fans.

We only had about a 15 minute or so wait until Jackson Browne took the stage. I was pretty damn excited. My only criticism is that I wish he had played for longer. Amanda wishes he would have played something she knew. I wish that, too, though I knew about half of what he played. But still, to be in the audience for a performance of someone like Jackson Browne, I was just happy to be there. And what he played sounded great.

Jackson Browne:
A Child in These Hills
Barricades of Heaven
Fountain of Sorrow
The Naked Ride Home
That Girl Could Sing
For a Dancer
Lives in the Balance
I Am a Patriot

After Jackson Browne, we had about 30 minutes before Willie came on. Amanda decided to take a nap. A woman after my own heart. The concert was actually a benefit for ovarian cancer research and awareness, which means that 100% of the net proceeds went to support the Cedars-Sinai Women's Cancer Research Institute at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute. That's a mouthful. (That's what she said. Sorry, had to.) That also meant that we got to watch a 15 minute infomercial about the Institute before Willie came on. Amanda slept through it. She didn't miss much. I sort of felt like I was going to be asked to buy a time-share or something. The best quote, from the president of the Institute, was "Tonight we are here to celebrate women! All women! And we have three great men here with us!" Um, I'm all for a Jackson Browne/Willie Nelson concert, but are you telling me they couldn't have put together, like, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, and Jewel, or something like that? Come on, people, a little planning!!

Anyway, Willie was awesome. It's always great to see a true legend, one of the last true country music legends still alive. I had the opportunity to see him once before, and I also had the opportunity to see James Brown a few times, and Ray Charles once. They were all at the tail end of their incredible careers, and they didn't really pack the same punch that they once did, but that doesn't really diminish the experience. That's how I feel about Willie now. He's not really what he used to be. He doesn't sing much, instead talking his way through most of the songs. He does still play a hell of a guitar though. From an observational standpoint, I was much more impressed with his guitar playing than with his singing. But he's Willie. And I'm a fan, not just an observer. And it was kick-ass. He played for what seemed like an hour, but it had to be more than that because he somehow managed to squeeze out 20 songs. I don't know if there's anything I was hoping to hear that didn't get played. When he opened with "Whiskey River," a huge (like, car-dealership huge) Texas flag unrolled behind him. I also liked that when he played "Good-Hearted Woman," he opened it with, "Let's sing one for Waylon."

Willie Nelson:
Whiskey River
Still Is Still Moving to Me
Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away
Crazy
Nightlife
Workin Man's Blues (played and sung by guitarist Billy Payne)
Help Me Make It Through the Night
Me and Paul
Good-Hearted Woman
Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
Blue Skies
Georgia on My Mind
All of Me
Memory of Love's Refrain
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
On the Road Again
Always on My Mind
Superman (new song)
You Don't Think I'm Funny Anymore (new song)

Lone Star Belt Buckles and Old Faded Levis

I had a hard time deciding between the post title I used, and its alternative, "I'm Gonna Rent Myself a House in the Shade of the Freeway." I guess if that's the hardest thing I have to do all day then I'm ok.

For my Valentine's Day present, Amanda got us tickets to see Willie Nelson and Jackson Browne (indirect namesake of the infamous "Jackson Brownes", our Pub Quiz team from back in Jackson). They're playing tonight at the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal, which is where we saw the revamped version of INXS last January. It's a great venue, there's really not a bad seat in the house. Last time we were there, we sat in the highest section, maybe 10 rows from the top, I think, and they were still great seats. This time, Amanda splurged on the good seats, though, and I couldn't be more excited. And all I got her was a lousy bracelet from Tiffany's. I definitely got the better gift.

I saw Willie once before, at Memphis in May back in 2001, along with Dave Matthews, String Cheese, and the Black Crowes. It was a pretty good day. It was also the culmination of a solid week and a half of partying and travelling over what I think was a four-state area (I know we saw Dave Matthews in Birmingham, and I think we were in New Orleans as well at some point) with my buddy Hinkle, after we finished our classes but before law school graduation. We were in Memphis for Garrett's bachelor party, and I was so tired (and drunk) from our 10 day tour, that, well, that's the night the "C-Note" nickname took hold. If you know the story, you know the story. If not, I ain't retelling it. This is a family joint.

Anyway, Willie was great, and I'm so excited to see him again, but I think I'm more excited to see Jackson Browne. The guy is just a rock legend. I mean, the man gave Bruce Springsteen his first major gig, taking him and the E Street band on tour as his opening act back in the day. If that's not pure genius, I don't know what is. He epitomizes the California rock sound, post-Beach Boys surfer music, pre-Red Hot Chili Peppers funk-rock. In fact, I think I just came up with a definitive timeframe for classic rock.

I'm sure I'll be back tomorrow to post the set lists. I have my trusty little geeky notebook to write it all down, as well as the camera to hopefully snap some good pics.

Bob Dylan Probably Also Wrote the Bible

This is just too damn funny not to post.

Listening Back, Vol. 2

After I got home from work tonight, I decided to walk to Walgreens. It was a beautiful, brisk night, and I thought if nothing else, I'd enjoy some fresh air after spending all day downtown. And then I saw a guy pissing between two dumpsters in the alley behind my apartment complex.

Anyway, I finished packing (almost) and I'm taking this last opportunity to sit in front of a computer until 2007 to give you my top albums of 2006.

My Top Ten Albums of 2006:
10. Pearl Jam - Pearl Jam. I really liked this album when it came out (possibly because of the avocado on the cover). I haven't listened to it much since the summer, but that doesn't mean I didn't like it better than some of the albums in the "Honorable Mention" group below. I think it's probably their 4th best album, and the best thing they've put out since Vitalogy. Man, these guys made their debut when I was in high school and they made their three best albums before I graduated. It's almost a wonder they're still around, but they're just that good of a band.

9. The Damnwells - Air Stereo. I downloaded a couple of songs from this album ("Louisville" and "Heartbreak List"), and the strength of those two songs was enough for me to head over to Amoeba and buy the CD. I don't know much about the band, and since they don't have an entry in Wikipedia, I'm not likely to learn anytime soon. I can tell you that the opener of this album is a love song called "I Got You," in which the singer cleverly uses the titles of other songs ("More Than a Feeling" and "Radar Love," to name a few) in professing his love for whoever he might be singing to. It's like a mix tape, kind of, that you might give a girl you like in high school. Except instead of putting those songs on a tape, you put them into a song that you then put on your album. Rock stars just get to be so much cooler than the rest of us. If I did that, I'd probably get shipped for plagarism, that is, if anyone ever heard it in the first place.

8. The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers. This is Jack White's new band, presumably because he got tired of doing EVERYTHING by himself in the White Stripes, short of banging aimlessly (but adorably) on the drums. So he teams up with Brendan Benson and two other dudes and effortlessly churns out some power rock. The whole album is recognizable, even if you haven't heard the songs before. That's a good quality for a song. But they're not the White Stripes, and that's a shame. One morning I was listening to this album on my way to work and I thought they sounded a whole lot like Rush. I listened to "Chronicles" 3 times in a row and decided two things. First, they DO sound a whole lot like Rush. Second, they're not Rush either. And that's also a shame.

7. Bruce Springsteen - We Shall Overcome (The Seeger Sessions). Leave it to the coolest mother left on the planet to ditch his own band (with their blessing, no less) and hit one out of the park with a bunch of covers of folk songs. By all accounts ("all" meaning the two friends I know who saw him in concert on this tour), the shows are just electric. Dad loves it, too, which sure makes riding in The Vic (Dad's got a Ford Crown Victoria. That nickname, "The Vic," it was born about 5 seconds ago. Any good?) a little easier. Just pure, unabashed, hand-clapping, foot-stomping fun.

6. Sufjan Stevens - The Avalanche. This is an album of also-rans, basically. It's made up of songs that came from the recording of his previous album, "Illinois," that didn't make the final cut. Call them rarities, b-sides, whatever you want. They're good, but there's a reason they didn't make it. I don't want to bash this guy though, because he is abso-f'ing-lutely one of the most musically talented individuals I have ever had the privilege to see in concert. We saw him at the Wiltern back in October, and it was just amazing. He has a whole orchestra, practically, on stage with him, everybody in costumes and performing these masterfully written pop songs, but they're more than that - they're soothing and smart and, this is going to be a strange thing to say and I mean this in the absolute best way possible, but this guy makes the kind of music that they should play during state executions, because there CANNOT be a better way to go.

5. The Minus 5 - The Minus 5 (The Trials Posthumous of The Minus 5). The closest thing to an indie-rock supergroup, this band is made up of, at times (b/c they come and go as they please), members of R.E.M., Wilco, the Decemberists, and many other solo musicians and producers. This is the only album of theirs that I have, though "Down With Wilco" is one that I'd like to check out. Every song on this album fits into sort of a death motif. The opening track, "Rifle Called Goodbye," is unapologetically Beatles-esque, and "Cemetery Row," sung by The Decemberists' Colin Meloy is, in my opinion, the best the album has to offer. Unfortunately, because they are inherently a side project, they don't leave much expectation of a tour or any regularity with regard to future albums.

4. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time. Band of Horses was primed to be the next huge thing in indie rock. By that, I mean they were all over the blogs like chicken pox. Unfortunately, they evidently don't put on a very good live show. That'll hurt you. I didn't see them in concert, but I did have a ticket to see them with Jeremy before I realized the concert was on Yom Kippur. Damn religious convictions!! Anyway, I did download a live show of theirs, and I will say that I don't think it's as good as the studio album. The album is excellent, though, and I've been listening to it a lot in recent weeks. The band's sound isn't the most original, though, which also probably hurt them a bit. They sound kind of like The Shins crossed with post-grunge Seattle rock. Well, actually, that does seem sort of original. I guess I can't trash them too much; I've got them ranked #4! They must be doing something right. "Funeral" is a leading candidate for song of the year on many lists I've seen, and it would definitely be in my top ten, were I putting together such a list, which at this point, I am not.

3. The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun. I cannot say enough good things about this album. The only reason I didn't put it at #2 is that I have only heard the first half of it (though I have been promised the second half by a friend). The songs on this album are so well written, both lyrically and musically. The originality in the arrangements of the songs is probably a big reason I like it so much, but I know absolutely nothing about music theory, so anything I try to say here is just going to come out like "awesome, awesome, awesome, awesome ..." before I start drooling all over myself, so I'm just going to say this: no matter what type of music you listen to (unless all you listen to is hardcore gangsta rap or smooth jazz - I HATE smooth jazz), you WILL like this album, so go and get it immediately. Of all the albums on this list, this is the one I'm most excited about force-feeding my parents on our drive from Houston to New Orleans tomorrow.

2. Belle & Sebastian - The Life Pursuit. As my friend Neola put it, this is the mature side of Belle & Sebastian. My take is that their previous albums had a lot of upbeat songs that made you want to dance while not realizing that they were possibly the most depressing lyrics you've ever heard. This album is not like that. Quite the contrary, the songs are more low-key (less dance-poppy - is that a real word?) and not nearly as depressing. This is the CD that's in my car at all times for whenever I might forget my iPod (which, if you know me, you'll not be surprised to learn is incredibly rarely), and I don't know of a greater endorsement I can give. This album gave me back-to-back-to-back favorites from the band in tracks 3-5 ("White Collar Boy," "The Blues Are Still Blue," and "Dress Up In You"). It's like the Manny-Big Papi-Varitek heart of the Red Sox batting order. When you see them coming up, you just don't worry about what's going to happen next because you know it's going to be ok.

1. The Decemberists - The Crane Wife. I knew this was going to be my favorite album of the year as soon as I listened to it after downloading it illegally. Just kidding (but about which part??). I've probably listened to more of this band in the past year than most other bands, and I've probably listened to this album more than any other album that came out this year, even though it's only been out for about two months. They've definitely cemented their status in my favorite bands of the past decade. The album, partially based on a Japanese folk tale, opens with an upbeat, spirited song about a man who loses his wife. Who may or may not be a crane. The bird. Anyway, it weaves its way through some other subject matter (kidnapping, murder, forbidden love, war, and child-killing butchers) before coming full circle and reintroducing us to this man before he meets his wife, who may or may not be a crane. We witness his despair, we see them find each other, and we see their happiness together, all the while knowing he's just going to lose her at some point in the future. I know it probably sounds very strange if you haven't heard it, and if so, I'm sorry I can't do a better job of describing it, but you're going to have to take my word for it, this album is complete and it is worth every penny, illegally downloaded or not.

Honorable Mention
Tom Petty - Highway Companion A really good album. I think this is the only album I have ever bought from iTunes in its entirety. Closer than any other to crack the Top 10, probably in place of Pearl Jam.
The Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
Editors - The Back Room
Islands - Return to the Sea
Johnny Cash - Personal File
Jeff Tweedy - Sunken Treasure A live album, which I try not to rank with the rest. Also, the album is only part of the DVD of his concert footage. Now, as much as I loved seeing him on this tour, and watching the DVD, and listening to the accompanying CD, I just can't in good conscience put it into the Top 10 studio recordings. I have nothing if I don't have my ethics, you know.
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood. Maybe it's unfair, but I'm ranking this album low because I liked "Blacklisted" better. I don't know why I'm doing that, but if you disagree, you can either leave me a comment or get your own damn blog. Neko's got one of the most powerful voices in music. It's very soft and comforting, like a warm blanket, but it sounds like it needs absolutely no warmup, no running start, like it can just take off like a bullet from a gun. I just didn't like it as much as "Blacklisted."

Disappointments
Jay-Z - Kingdom Come (Still my favorite rapper of all time, but man, he should have stayed retired. Instead, true to his word, he "came back like Jordan, wearing the 45". Jordan should also have stayed retired.)
Thom Yorke - The Eraser (I don't know why I expected to like this album. As good as Radiohead is, I haven't liked anything they've put out since their third album.)

Probably would have liked a lot if I had listened to:
Bob Dylan - Modern Times
Neil Young - Living With War
The Killers - Sam's Town

No-Talent Ass Clown at the Kodak Theater

Something has gone seriously wrong when I'm automatically getting emails like this one.

These Are the Days of Miracle and Wonder

Amanda and I scored some last minute tickets to see Paul Simon with Josh and Sarah last night at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park. I listened to his newest cd, "Surprise," a couple of times yesterday, and I have to say I wasn't too impressed, but hey, it's Paul Simon, could it possibly be a bad idea to go see him in concert? Turns out it wasn't.

The show was great, he played 3 songs off the new cd and the rest were classics, including a large handful from the S&G era. He even came out for three encores! Unfortunately, I forgot my little notebook where I write the setlists down, so I had to (nerd alert!) keep sending myself text messages from my cell phone in order to get the whole list. I do it for you, really. This is what I got to enjoy last night while trying not to get sicker than I already am.

Paul Simon, Greek Theater
Gumboots
Boy in the Bubble
Outrageous
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Slip Sliding Away
You're the One
Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard
How Can You Live in the Northeast
Mrs. Robinson
Loves Me Like a Rock
That Was Your Mother
Duncan
Graceland
Father & Daughter
Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
The Only Living Boy in New York
Cecilia
Encore:
Call Me Al
Still Crazy After All These Years
The Boxer
Second Encore:
Wartime Prayers
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Third Encore:
Late in the Evening

28 Shuffle

I have to admit I stole this from some other music blogs I've read, but I don't really care. I put my iPod on shuffle this morning, and these are the first 28 (b/c that's how many lines are on the pages of my legal pads) songs I got. Not bad, really, considering the fact that there's a good bit of crap on my iPod.

1. Ryan Adams - Please Do Not Let Me Go
2. Metallica - Last Caress/Green Hell
3. Ben Folds Five - Evaporated
4. Bruce Springsteen - Missing
5. The Guess Who - Cardboard Empire
6. Ben Harper - Welcome to the Cruel World (live)
7. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy - Go Daddy-O
8. R.E.M. - Beat a Drum
9. Elliott Smith - A Passing Feeling (live)
10. Turin Brakes - By TV Light
11. Grateful Dead - Till the Morning Comes
12. Bob Schneider - Better
13. Bob Dylan - Watcha Gonna Do (Studio Outtake)
14. Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton - While My Guitar Gently Weeps (live)
15. Ryan Adams - Amy
16. Guns & Roses - You're Crazy
17. Snoop Dogg - Too High
18. Metallica - The Prince
19. U2 - New Year's Day
20. Jimi Hendrix - 3rd Stone from the Sun
21. Sleater-Kinney - Jumpers
22. Sufjan Stevens - Riffs & Variations on a Single Note
23. Radiohead - Go to Sleep (Little Man Being Erased)
24. Third Eye Blind - Deep Inside of You
25. Bob Marley & The Wailers - Waiting in Vain
26. Bush - Machinehead
27. Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil
28. R.E.M. - Suspicion (live)

With a Poster of Rasputin ...

... And a beard down to his knees. We went to see the Indigo Girls last night for free on the Santa Monica Pier. Decent show - they sounded great but they sure played a whole bunch of crap I didn't know.

We Want the World and We Want It...

In honor of today being the 35th anniversary of the legendary Jim Morrison's death, I'm going all Doors, all day. Don't you wish you were sitting in my cubicle today?

I Am Not Overly Concerned

Radiohead played last night at the Greek Theater in LA. I'm sure they were awesome, but Amanda, Bailey and I went to the Counting Crows concert down in beautiful Irvine, CA. It was nice, actually, great weather and a good show. I think the highlight for me was tailgating in the parking lot with Pabst Blue Ribbon, veggie dumplings, asian salad, and edamame. Only in LA.

The Goo Goo Dolls were the opening band (well, not the first opening band, but I'm not sure they even had a name), and they were actually not bad. I mean, I'm not rushing out to their next concert or joining their fan club, but at least it wasn't Train.

The Crows took the stage a little late, and Bailey was audibly shocked at Adam Duritz's appearance. We all were, actually. He doesn't look like this anymore. He looks like this now. It was a good show, though, despite the fact that they absolutely BUTCHERED Rain King and Raining in Baltimore. They did a really kick-ass version of Murder of One, though, that completely redeemed themselves. Problem is, though, Duritz is so out of shape that he has to give these mini-speeches between songs to give himself time to catch his breath so he can sing again (ironically, one of these speeches last night was about not lifting weights), and they ran over on time and had to cut their show and do a quick one-song encore. Good show, too short.

I got a little lazy and didn't feel like typing out their setlist, so I just took a picture of where I wrote it down. Enjoy.

Seattle's Best and Most Recent

Pearl Jam released their newest CD yesterday, their self-titled debut on new label Monkey Wrench. I picked up a copy of it tonight, and I have to say that I really like it. Folks have taken to calling it the "Avocado Album," since self-titled albums are pretty boring, and since I've grown to really love avocados in my short time in California, I think I'll do the same.



Since Pearl Jam is back (in a big way) with the Avocado Album, I'm using this as my cue to get back into blogging. Andy's pissed I've been gone. Sorry, dude. Go get the Pearl Jam record. You'll enjoy it.

Here are my thoughts on the Avocado Album. Pearl Jam are what the Doors would have been if the Doors played in today's environment. I know, that's a bold statement. I'm a huge Doors fan, and I'm not trying to offend anyone by that statement, but Eddie Vedder is today's Jim Morrison. You can really hear it on this album, especially on the third track, "Comatose." The fourth track, "Severed Hand," is flat-out awesome, and it will be remembered as one of their better songs. Unfortunately, I'm only about halfway through the album, but I don't expect disappointment in the least.

You can listen to the entire album by clicking this link, it's streaming at AOL.

And, if you're now craving avocados (like I am), here's a great recipe for guacamole:

3 avocados, peeled, pitted and mashed
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon, salt
1/2 cup, diced onion
3 tablespoons, chopped fresh cilantro
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

Makes 4 servings. Find 3 friends, put on the Avocado Album, and make some guacamole. Enjoy both at room temperature. For best results, add beer.

Over 5,000 Years of Rockin'

Great news! I was thumbing through this book today called "Jews Who Rock," (it's about Jews who rock), and there are a ton of rockin' Jews out there I had no idea were in the tribe. Here's a sampling:

Beck
Eric Bloom, singer from Blue Oyster Cult (I gotta have more cowebell, baby!)
Cass Elliott, and John & Michelle Phillips (Both of the Mamas, and one of the Papas)
Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, of Steely Dan (the greatest studio recording artists ever, according to a law school classmate of mine)
Doug Fieger, lead singer of The Knack
Susanna Hoffs, of the Bangles (hot Jew)
Billy Joel (I always thought he was Catholic)
Mick Jones, of the Clash
Mark Knopfler, of Dire Straits
Courtney Love (best known for ruining Kurt Cobain's life, then her own)
Lou Reed (when he's not trying to be Bowie)
Paul Simon (I just thought we had the other guy)
Slash (yeah, that's right)
Warren Zevon

That's quite a list. That doesn't even include the ones I (and everyone else) already knew about, like Bob Dylan, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Geddy Lee, Robbie Krieger, Max Weinberg, The Beastie Boys, and Garfunkel.

On the other side of the coin, we're also stuck with Michael Bolton. You win some, you lose some, I guess.

Please Don't Hook Em Horns

I will admit that this one presents quite a quandry. Have you heard of Cowboy Troy?

There's absolutely nothing redeeming about Cowboy Troy. Evidently, he's this black guy, he's basically a rapper, but he dresses up in the tight jeans, big hat, and immense belt buckle and calls himself a country singer (actually, he calls himself a "Hick Hop Country Rapper", even though he basically just raps with a drawl over steel guitar tracks. Anyway, the dude is abysmal, talent wise. He's not even a good rapper, which is probably the reason he doesn't call himself a rapper to begin with.

Anyway, he's got a song out called "Hook Em Horns", and yes, it's about the Longhorns. I went to check it out on iTunes yesterday, b/c I figured if it was even remotely amusing, it would be worth the 99 cents for the download, just for the novelty of it. So, I previewed it, and let me just tell you, it is horrible. It's the suckiest bunch of suck that ever sucked. My favorite comment came from one of the customer reviews on iTunes, which said "This is the best thing to happen to Texas A&M in a really long time."

I didn't know if it was possible, but I have finally come across something out there that celebrates the Texas Longhorns that I want absolutely no part of. Screw you, Cowboy Troy!

Playing Kiss Covers, Beautiful and Stoned

Wow. So last night I went to see Jeff Tweedy at the Henry Fonda Theater on Hollywood Blvd., and it was just an amazing show. I'd never been to a show like that before; there were maybe 1,000 people there, tops. It was very intimate, and even more so considering the fact that I got in right when the doors opened and was about 3 feet from the stage. Most of my pictures didn't really come out. They weren't allowing flash photography, and like a good momma's boy, I followed the rules.



I was a little nervous that I might not have a car when the show ended, b/c where I parked it was a tad sketchy, but hey, it was free street parking, so what are you gonna do? (It was there when I got back.) When I got to the theater, I called the guy I was supposed to buy the ticket from, who seemed like a nice enough dude. He's from Alabama, so we had an immediate common ground, which was a good thing b/c we had about an hour and a half to stand around and make small talk, between waiting in line and then waiting inside for the show. Luckily, this dude is a bit more obsessive than I am about this kind of thing, and got in line (it was a general admission show) around 3:00 (doors opened at 7:00, show started at 8:00) and was about 10th in line, so I just chilled with him. There was a bit of confusion among the event staff about getting in, but somehow we managed to get in about 5 minutes early, so we just walked right up to the front of the floor and set up shop.

Before it really filled up I decided I wanted a beer, and on my way to the bar I decided I should probably get two, since it might be awhile before I went back. When I got to the bar, I thought better of that and ordered three, immediately chugged one of them and took the other two back up with me. There was no way I was leaving that spot again, and I'm glad I recognized that, b/c I would have been supremely disappointed had I tried and not been able to get back up there.

Wilco's drummer Glenn Kotche was the opening act, which was interesting. I mean, he's a drummer. A percussionist, really, but still. 47 minutes of drums. I don't know that I'd buy a cd of it, but it was interesting to watch live. He uses all of these weird household looking items that are somehow all hooked up to make different sounds, and at one point, he opened a bunch of little boxes that were filled with crickets and put a microphone over them. Like I said, it was interesting. The funniest part of his set was when he annouced that his next song was a cover of Brazilian composer Szwa Shumberto, and a bunch of people started cheering. Really? Big fans of Szwa Shumberto??

Tweedy took the stage sometime between 9:00 and 9:15, and played an entirely acoustic show. He played his first six songs without saying a word to the audience, but then he started telling stories and opening up a bit. He played for just under two hours, including both encores, the second of which he was accompanied by Glenn on drums. For the last song of his first set, he was accompanied on the drums as well, this time by his son Spencer. They dedicated the song to "Mommy." The show was really, really great. Probably not the best concert I've ever been to, but one of them. The highlight of the show, for me, was when he unplugged for his very last song and stood on the front of the stage and played one of his great Uncle Tupelo songs, Acuff Rose. Also, his acoustic version of A Shot in the Arm was just amazing. Here's his set list, in case the two of you out there who know who Jeff Tweedy is are interested.

Main Set:
Sunken Treasure
Someday Some Morning Sometime
Remember the Mountain Bed
Was I in Your Dreams
Please Tell My Brother
Bob Dylan's Beard
Theologians
Muzzle of Bees
The Ruling Class (new Loose Fur song)
We Can Make It Better
I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
Radio King
I'm the Man Who Loves You (with Spencer on drums)

First Encore:
Airline to Heaven
Shot in the Arm
When the Roses Bloom Again
California Stars

Second Encore:
Not For the Season (with Glenn on drums)
Far Far Away (with Glenn on drums)
War on War (with Glenn on drums)
Heavy Metal Drummer (with Glenn on drums)
Acuff-Rose (unplugged, solo)

Crawfish Bread and Warm Beers

The 2006 Jazz Fest poster was unveiled today. Looks pretty damn cool, if you ask me. Amanda and I went to a day of Jazz Fest last year and the year before, and it was a lot of fun, but it's killing me that I can't go this year. This is the year to go, if for no other reason than to spend some time in New Orleans. Also, to spend some money in New Orleans. Nothing helps a local economy like local spending. Trickle-down economics at its best. Thanks, Ronald Reagan.

They haven't announced the lineup yet for this year's Festival, but it's supposed to come out some time in February. If you're in the area, or even anywhere near the area, I urge you to go. You're sure to have a great time, and you'll also have the added benefit of really helping a struggling community's economy.

You can buy the 2006 Jazz Fest poster here. I don't know what percentage, if any, of this year's proceeds are going to any recovery-related efforts, but I might get one and donate an equal amount, just to be on the safe side.

All You Want to Do Is Kick It In

Amanda and I saw INXS last night at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal. Looks like our boy J.D. might be a Texas fan, while drummer Jon Fariss looks to be among the USC faithful. I wonder if they watched the Rose Bowl together. (note: I did not take this picture. We were nowhere near this close.)



Anyway, the concert was awesome. The opening act was Rockstar: INXS runner-up Marty Casey and his band, which was unfortunately named "The Lovehammers." Sounds like the not-too-subtlety exhibited by bands like KISS and AC/DC. Didn't work too well for Marty. The band pretty much sucked. We only saw three songs of theirs, including his song "Trees" from the show, which wasn't really played too well, and a cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," which was absolutely horrible.

Between Marty and INXS, I went down to the lobby to get a couple of beers, and I saw Rockstar: INXS also-ran, Brandon, who placed like 8th or 9th on the show, in the lobby signing autographs and mugging for pictures. I guess he stretched his 15 minutes into like 18 or 19. He's pretty tall.

INXS finally took the stage and played for almost two hours, I think. They were awesome. We had a really good time, though I think I enjoyed it more than Amanda did. J.D. was really doing a great job up there with the band, and they played a really great show. Just a kick-ass show. Before they came on, we made friends with some of the folks sitting behind us, two guys in their fifties named Tim and Laird, and their wives. They loved us, I think b/c we made them feel young, and because we laughed at their jokes. Laird and I also talked a lot about the Rose Bowl and Vince Young, and I'm not even the one who brought it up. Anyway, they were partying pretty well, so I hope that when I'm in my fifties, and a band I really like holds a competition to find a new lead singer, then goes back on tour, I'm able to go see them in concert and party just as hard.

Here's the set list, which I'm sure is what you've all been waiting for.

Suicide Blond
New Sensation
Devil's Party
Mystify
Disappear
By My Side
Afterglow
Taste It
Original Sin
You Don't Belong to Me
Never Let You Go
Need You Tonight
What You Need
Kick
Devil Inside
Pretty Vegas

Encore:
The Stairs
Never Tear Us Apart
Don't Change

Listening Back

(listening to: a few songs from each album listed below)

It's that time of year again. The time when everywhere you look somebody's giving you some sort of recap of the past year. Shoving the new nostalgia down your throats like it's some sort of panacea (look it up) that you've been waiting desperately for. The bastards.

Well, we here at Manifest Destiny aren't going to stand for it, and we will be doing nothing of the sort. After today. Probably.

I was talking with Neola earlier today, and she asked me if I'd made my top 10 list of 2005 albums yet. I hadn't, but of course, it got me thinking (and obsessing), so then I did. And here it is.

My Top Ten Albums of 2005:
10. Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Cold Roses. This 2-disc set, in my opinion (and really, am I worried about anyone else's right now?) is his best work since his solo debut, Heartbreaker, but still not quite as good as the now defunct Whiskeytown's work with Adams at the helm. He's got a real talent for songwriting, and he's a really talented musician, but man, is he a horrible live performer. We saw him at Austin City Limits festival in 2004, and he was so f'ed up that he kept messing up his own songs! He's prolific enough (this was the first of 3 albums he put out this year!) that he could probably put out about 20 or so albums in the next couple of years, but unfortunately, he's just unstable enough to disappear completely after that, grow a Rip Van Winkle beard and live as a beach hermit somewhere until he's about 65, then show up out of nowhere to help Luke learn the ways of the force. Wait, that was Ben Kenobi. Oh, what the hell. I'm partial to Bens.

9. Coldplay - X&Y. Yeah, that's right, I put a Coldplay album in my top ten. So, maybe I am a wuss. I don't care, this is a good record, and who cares if Chris Martin is married to the beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow and has a healthy baby, the dude can flat out sing a depressing song, and it's no secret that I'm a sucker for depressing songs. I really like "Fix You" despite the fact that it's been in all of the King Kong commercials (yet appears nowhere in the actual movie). For my money, until "The Next U2" turns into "The Next Radiohead," if they put out a record, it'll most likely land in my top ten.

8. Franz Ferdinand - You Could Have It So Much Better. This was the second album from these guys. Their first one (self-titled) was like a supernova, man, they were hotter than Hansel, and he is SO hot right now. It was awesome. This one is not as good, but is still good enough to be awesome, proving that they're not a flash in the pan. (Sort of like Interpol's sophomore offering, Antics.) Unfortunately, we missed seeing these guys at ACL last year, but we heard from friends that they were the best performance of the weekend. I don't doubt it. I'd imagine that I might need a Red Bull before one of their shows, b/c I don't dance - I hate it and think it's stupid most of the time - but these dudes just make me want to dance.

7. The Decemberists - Picaresque. This one is probably the biggest surprise out of the group. I had never even heard of this band until about two weeks ago, and I read an interview with them in "The Big Takeover" (which is, without exaggeration, the BEST music magazine I have ever seen. No fluff, no crap like Rolling Stone, they don't cover politics b/c they feel like they have to. They cover music b/c they are a music magazine. Cover to cover, every issue. I absorb every word. Even the editorials are great. Even the letters to the editor are great. Buy a copy, please. Or subscribe. It's only 20 bucks, that gets you four issues which come out about twice a year.). Anyway, it was an incredibly interesting interview, and the band sounded like one I might really like. Fortunately, this coincided nicely with my discovery of a free 50 downloads trial at eMusic, which doesn't have much of a selection, but guess what they did have? If you guessed this album, then you are clearly a genius. So, I downloaded the album for free, and I've probably listened to it about 20 times (no exaggeration) since. It's awesome. I LOVE finding new music. Thanks, Big Takeover!

6. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods. There aren't too many bands out there that rock harder than these chicks, and there are even fewer that do so with a Jewish guitarist/piano player. I don't have much that they've put out, but I've got a few, and this one measures up for sure. These chicks rock so hard they make me feel like I've rocked hard, and I don't think I have. Stay away if you don't like angry, loud music. If you like angry, loud music, come over to my place and we'll turn the speakers up to 11.

5. The White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan. This is one that I liked, but didn't love, when I got it back in May, but man, did it grow on me. I still like this one more everytime I listen to it. Neola brought up a very good point while praising Jack White as "a gift to songwriting (I think those were her words)" in that he really does a phenomenal job of making this two-person garage band sound like a five-person ass-kicking powerhouse.

4. Ben Folds - Songs For Silverman. I don't know who Silverman is, but whoever he or she is, they got one hell of a record. Two of the best breakup songs in recent memory in "Give Judy My Notice" and "Landed," which is basically Billy Joel-good as a piano tune. Considering the fact that I didn't even know this record was coming out and only saw it by accident when I went to pick up Bruce Springsteen's Devils & Dust back in April then ended up liking this one about 1,000 times better, then yeah, I'll put this in my top ten, hands down. I also tend to gravitate toward anyone named Ben (see also: Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, below).

3. Bright Eyes - I'm Wide Awake It's Morning. I don't know if this is a better record than all but two of the records that came out this year, but what I do know is, I sure liked it more than most of the records that have come out in the past year or more, and I listened to the hell out of it. This is what I said about it in a previous post. I thought it was worth reprinting here.

"This is one of the best albums I've gotten in years. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it might be one of the top 10 or 20 albums that I have ever owned. Conor Oberst is a better songwriter than most people out there who started making records after he was born. I think he's about 25. Yeah, one of the best songwriters of the past 25 years. I think I feel comfortable with that statement. He's in an elite group, and some of the other members are dead, so he really doesn't have much competition. This album effortlessly transports you to New York City and keeps you in good company during your angst-ridden nighttime journey. Bonus points for writing a song about an actual protest rally that caused such a major traffic jam that I actually got stuck in it and missed my bus to Boston one afternoon. That's not something I can say very often, that something immortalized in song, or in film, actually affected me when it happened."

2. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans. This is a damn good record, and I am going to exaggerate a little and say that this record will probably be responsible for making a few people's lives a little better (and I'm not talking about the band members). It's just that good, that calming. These dudes are just that in touch with their fans, I think, that for some people out there, they made a record that is the perfect record, and it's going to have that kind of effect on somebody somewhere.

1. Wilco - Kicking Television. Of course, I'm a little biased here, but that notwithstanding, this is a great live record to release. Their performances (judging by the four times I've seen them live) have been getting steadily better since I first saw them 3 years ago, and this record is good evidence that in the 10 months since I saw them last, they have continued to do so. It's quite possible that I like their music more than anyone in the world likes their music. I know that makes me sound like some sort of psycho stalker, but I'm really not.

Honorable Mention:
Gorillaz - Demon Days. That one song, "Feel Good, Inc." gets stuck in my head every couple of days, and it's impossible for me to hear anything else. That's pretty much the only reason I'm putting it here, other than the fact that it's pretty cool that this isn't even a real band, just a creation of some DJs and a good cartoonist.
Echo and the Bunnymen - Siberia. This is a pretty good album, but I'm not sure if it's good enough to make my top ten, especially since I've only been listening to it for about a week. I don't have any of their older stuff, but I'd love to check it out. This release sounds like it was heavily influenced by U2, which is exactly the opposite of what I imagine was the case 25 years ago when they both started putting out records.
Kanye West - Late Registration. Too much hype, combined with not enough of what made his first album great. I liked it a lot, but not enough to give it top ten props.
Bruce Springsteen - Devils & Dust. This makes the honorable mention list for the simple fact that when I got it earlier in the year, I hated it and pretty much decided not to listen to it again. Then one day, I popped it in out of sheer curiosity, and I really enjoyed it. Again, not more than the ten records that are on that list, but certainly enough to give it a shout here.
Better Than Ezra - Before The Robots. This one's not a bad album, not nearly as good as any of their first four, but probably better than the last one they put out in 2001. Bonus points for finally releasing the song "Hollow," which I had downloaded a live version of back in 2000 and instantly became one of my favorite songs of theirs. Now, hopefully, they'll start playing it at more shows.

Albums I haven't listened to but would probably be good enough to at least crack my Honorable Mention category, if not my Top Ten:
Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine
The New Pornographers - Twin Cinema
Turin Brakes - Jackinabox
Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard
Common -Be
My Morning Jacket - Z
Nickel Creek - Why Should The Fire Die?
Ryan Adams - Jacksonville City Nights