Another year coming to a close

Well, another year coming to a close, and it’s been a great up and down roller coaster as usual. I have to be thankful that Kristen and I both have good jobs, and we have a healthy daughter. I got to go to some amazing shows over the year. ACL was amazing for the fact I got to meet the Flaming Lips and be on stage for a major festival show, but the one show that keeps standing out to me is The Hold Steady in Dallas. Sometimes you find yourself down and to me music is probably the most uplifting thing you can listen to, to get you up a little. It was the first time I ever went to a show by myself, and I couldn’t have picked a better band to see. The best thing about Craig Finn’s lyrics is he doesn’t sugar coat anything, he lets you know that you aren’t the only one that is having a hard time. It was the best medicine for that time for me. If you want to check out the Hold Steady, I recommend the album Boys and Girls in America.

Well, I do have two shows on deck for the New Year, Kristen and I are going to see Girl Talk in Austin in January, and yours truly won two tickets for Tokyo Police Club in Dallas in February. I am pumped about both; hopefully Kristen can get that day off too, so she can go with me. So I have a few things on deck for next year. I am hoping that the ups and downs of this year will just give all of us a better new year. We do get to have a small Christmas vacation and go to Houston for Baylor’s bowl game, one thing that we have been planning since we became bowl eligible, so Kristen and I have been looking forward to this, not only for a few months, but the five years I have worked for Baylor. Well I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a very happy and lucky new year.

Well I guess it’s time to do my top 30 albums of 2010. The Rolling Stone and Spin both released theirs this week, so to keep up with them I might as well do it too. Check out these albums, I don’t think you will be disappointed . So with that said here we go:

30. The Roots- How I got Over
29. Yeasayer-Odd Blood
28. Spoon- Transference
27. M.I.A.- Maya
26. Beach House-Teen Dream
25. Neil Young-Le Noise
24. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
23. The Walkmen- Lisbon
22. Robert Plant- Band of Joy
21. Against Me!- White Crosses
20. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- The Brutalist Bricks
19. Sleigh Bells- Treats
18. WAVVES- King of the Beach
17. Gorillaz- Plastic Beach
16. Cee Lo Green- The Lady Killer
15. Best Coast- Crazy For You
14. Kid Cudi- Man on the moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager
13. Tokyo Police Club- Champion
12. The Gaslight Anthem- American Slang
11. Drake- Thank Me Later
10. Kings of Leon- Come Around Sundown
9. Eminem- Recovery
8. The National- High Violet
7. The Dead Weather- Sea of Cowards
6. LCD Soundsystem- This is Happening
5. Vampire Weekend- Contra
4. The Hold Steady- Heaven is Whenever
3. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
2. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
1. The Black Keys- Brothers

Good luck comes in pairs

Well, once again, it’s been a few weeks since I wrote a blog. I haven’t had much to write about, and we have been busy as usual. I had a great birthday and even better surprise present that Kristen got me, not only did she get me Pearl Jam- Backspacer on vinyl she also got me a guitar as well. I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar, and now I have no excuses. It was a nice Thanksgiving Break for all of us, and we had a great Thanksgiving with a bunch of our friends over for food and drinks. I got some great gifts for my birthday, got an awesome book, Austin City Limits: 35 years in Photographs. For some reason I feel they have way more pictures than that book could hold. I got some new Adidas kicks, and a few other cool presents. I am very lucky.

Well to start off the week, and to shake the cobwebs out, I started off the week listening to the entire catalogue of Wilco and Dinosaur Jr. Sometimes you forget how great bands really are, and I always forget how much I love Dinosaur Jr. Also I hate to admit this, but Wilco is a new love for me. They have always been out there and I have listened to their stuff, but I really got to listen to them at work (where I do most of my music listening) and man they are an amazing band. Don’t worry I have listened to a few new albums. As of right now I am getting around and listening to Warpaint. They played at ACL this year and opened up an aftershow for Sonic Youth. It’s an all girl band and they are really good. Mostly slower stuff, much like a Sonic Youth type band.

Of course, most of you know, I am a hip-hop fan, so yes I have picked up Kanye West’s new album. I have been interested in it, ever since I read in Rolling Stone and Spin about the album and the unusually very high marks they gave the album. After a few listens it is very good, and I love the way he went very far out of the box making this album. The guests on the album range from indie-folk artist Bon Iver (one of my favs), to Jay-Z, to Kid Cudi, and the one person that I feel comes off the best in the song “Monster” Nicki Minaj. If she holds true she will be huge in the next year.

So to get to why my title of this entry is about good luck. Well to start off the past month, Kristen is going to try and go back to school here at Baylor and finish her degree. Last night we found out that she is officially able to go to Baylor starting this semester. On top of that good news, I constatantly try to enter every contest to win tickets to shows I really want to see. Well on top of her good news, the luck traveled down to me and I won two tickets to see Tokyo Police Club in the best venue in Dallas (the best venue I have seen a show in) the Granada Theater. If you get a chance to see a show there, please go, it is very intimate and you get to see great acts up close. So it was a good news day for us yesterday.

I am going to try my best to get this thing updated. I have a ton of music to write about. Check out Warpaint, Kanye West, Kid Cudi for this week. Also if you have not got the Black Keys album Brother, do so now. My pick for album of the year. Also reminds me, I will have my top albums of the year in the next few weeks.

Growing older this month

Well, I am now figuring out that I came out of the gate strong with this blog thing, and I have now started to slack off and write blogs every few weeks. Of course I am now getting a little busy around work with football going on, volleyball still hanging around and of course basketball starting this week. On top of this, I still have a very busy wife that works crazy hours at the hospital and a seven year old that is also starting basketball this month. On a side note, I did get to full fill a childhood fantasy of owning a pair of Air Jordan’s through Sloan this past week. I got to buy her, her first (and hopefully not last) pair of Jordan’s. Let’s hope she channels Michael during her tryout for basketball in a few weeks.
Well, for those of you that read this blog and know me, I am turning a little older this month. If I didn’t know, the beard and the precious hair I have left on my head is now telling me, with the taunting of grey hair it feels it should expose while growing out now. I am hoping once my beard comes part of the way in I look more like MCA (Adam Yauch) from the Beastie Boys than some old looking guy trying to look and dress younger. Either way, I am going for the older guy Beastie Boys look.
I can tell the past few months that is has been getting to me a little that I am getting closer to 40 and moving further away from my 20’s and early 30’s. I never thought much about getting older, unless you could the 16th, 18th, and 21st birthdays. The milestone birthday’s if you will. I guess this birthday is getting to me a little more than any other. I guess the good thing to keep my mind off of it, is that not only do I work that day, but I also have a basketball game. So I will be busy all day long. Well, so far I have seen and lord knows I have done a lot to fill up all 3? years I have been here. Since I do try to write about music, I figure that I should do almost a top 3? albums that I have owned over the years that have an importance. I will also start with number 1 and move my way down, giving away my age still hurts a little right now. So here we go, Kevin’s List of albums.

1. Ten-Pearl Jam
2. Straight Outta Compton- N.W.A.
3. Willie And Family Live- Willie Nelson
4. Nevermind- Nirvana
5. Liscense To Ill- The Beastie Boys
6. Raising Hell- Run D.M.C.
7. No Code- Pearl Jam
8. Green- R.E.M.
9. Fight For Your Mind- Ben Harper

I will start with the next 9 for next week, and I should be able to end the list on my birthday. I have to say for the first 9 I am pretty happy about.

Austin City Limits Festival, The Flaming Lips, and my horrible blog procrastination

Over the past couple of weeks I have been trying to wrap my head around how to write down the experience I had at ACL this year. Along with writers block, emotions, and basic procrastination, it has now taken me almost two weeks to finally put up a new blog. Along with me trying to figure out how to write about finally seeing The Black Keys live, and they were amazing, it also made me think about just the privilege of seeing some of these bands live. It’s not every day you get to see 130 bands across 3 days with two great friends, and one very understanding wife to let me go. Not only do I get to cross a few bands off my bucket list to see (I am sure I am going to cross them off that list numerous times), but I did get to cross a huge one off the list…..seeing a live show on stage.

I got lucky enough, not only to see a band from Oklahoma on stage, but a pioneering band that I have literally listened to from the time I have gone to college to now, and that band would be The Flaming Lips. I got the amazing experience of being one of their dancers on stage in front of 45,000 people. I have to say it was one of the coolest experiences I have had. That was a rush of emotion that I have only felt three times in my life. One was the first time I met Kristen (actually the second time we met in a week for the record). And the other times, not very many people can pin point the dates, but one was March 17, 2003 and seeing Sloan for the first time ever, and the second was Nov. 17, 2003 when I married Kristen.

Some people have running marathons, traveling, Iron Man Triathlons, or pushing themselves to the limit, but for me I love the experience of seeing a band live with a crowd of people with similar interests to make me feel alive. I have to say when the Lips hit the first of “She don’t Use Jelly” I actually got choked up and knew that I was in a special place at that point, I guess you could say it was one of those “pinch yourself moments” just to make sure you weren’t dreaming. All the worries, fear, and anxiety I had felt the past few months melted away while watching Wayne Coyne shoot confetti and balloons into the crowd. That is why people should go to live shows, to let all of your troubles go away for a few hours or for me over a weekend.

Sometimes people get so wrapped up in day to day life they forget about the little things. They get so wrapped up in training for the next big race, or the next travel destination, or the next time you get to go out, that sometimes it’s ok just to slow down, put some music on, and sit in the living room and just listen. So for me music is my escape, sometimes music helps me with my emotions, sometimes it reunites friends that haven’t seen each other in 8 years, sometimes it connects you with new friends, but the best thing about it is you can put on an album and escape with someone you love, with your daughter (that will be too cool for Dad too soon), and at times it helps you get through the good and the bad.

There were a bunch of amazing bands there that weekend, Muse, LCD Soundsystem, Blind Pilot, Portugal. The Man, The National, Band of Heathens, Bear in Heaven, and many many more, but that one experience and emotion I got to have thanks to a friend and Wayne, will resonate with me for the rest of my life. That is what it’s about, having that one experience of emotion ,good or bad, to make you feel alive and to take it with you as you move on to the next one. Thanks Wayne, it was amazing.

Music for the Week:
Seeing that I have procrastinated for two weeks, I guess you can say music for the past two weeks. So I will do my best to describe the albums, but the most important thing is to just listen to them. If you like them great, if not, send me a suggestion, I always like new music.

Kings of Leon-Come around Sundown
Not to sound like a douche, but I have been listening to KOL for a while before all the soccer mom’s started singing “Sex On Fire”. Some people say they have sold out, I have to say they are just getting better. My favorite album will probably always be Because of the Times, but Come Around Sundown will probably hold a close second. From the first song to the last it is a great album. The more I listen to it the more I am loving it. Check out the songs The End and Pyro.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- The Brutalist Bricks
I just picked up their vinyl (yes vinyl, and I love it) album this past week. I got to listen to them a little at ACL and what I heard I really liked. They have a nice mix of indie rock and punk. This is their sixth album, and I really like it. Check out the songs Ativan Eyes and One Polaroid A Day.

The Bravery-Stir the Blood
I have been wavering on The Bravery for a while. I have really liked some of their songs they have released, but sometimes XM will play them into the ground and I grew tired of them. I decided to give their newest album a shot. They worked on this album with the same producer that worked with Santogold and M.I.A. They remind me a lot of the current flow of “Killers” type bands such as Interpol, The White Lies, etc. I have to say I like all three bands, so I am liking this album. Check out the songs Slow Poison and Adored.

The Drums-The Drums
Another band that I heard a few months ago on XM that I started to like. They are along the lines of these new “surf” rock bands that are coming out much like the Wavves, The Best Coast, Surfer Blood, Real Estate, ect. It’s a nice laid back indie rock, it’s wearing on me, but I am starting to like this album. Check out the song Let’s Go Surfing and Skippin’ Town.

9 Days away...........

At this point I think Kristen is A) thinking she married a cool guy that has turned into a dork over the past few days, and B) is so ready for my friends to come down and we go to ACL so I quit talking about it. I do have to admit that I am getting a little excited. The weather here has been gorgeous; two of my real good friends are coming down for it, one from Oklahoma, and another I haven’t seen since Sloan was a baby. So I am very excited for the festival, but more excited to see some friends and experience it with them.

It’s getting a little busier at work for me with football in full swing, as well as volleyball. Plus I am working on men’s basketball stuff, and that is getting me excited even more for that to start. When I got to Baylor it was the low point of men’s basketball, and being able to experience firsthand the rise of the basketball program just makes it more exciting for me to be able to work with them and watch it get even better. This season should be exciting for me, even as exciting as last season.

Well on to the topic that is driving my wife crazy at the moment, Austin City Limits Festival. At this point I have studied the line up more than I did for most tests in school. There are a handful of bands that are a must see. More than anything though, just going down and actually getting to take some time off and hang out with friends is what I am more excited for. Just the experience I get to have will be worth it. Next year the family is going down for hopefully all three days. Which that will be even more fun just to have Kristen and Sloan with me at a concert.

On another note, it’s a big weekend for me as well. It’s OU/texass weekend. Although I will be at the Baylor football game and the volleyball match after, I will find time to watch the Sooners beat the shorthorns. If you ever get a chance to go to Dallas to experience that weekend do so, it’s a lot of fun.

This week’s Music:

The Band of Heathens-One Foot In the Ether
Ok, as most of my friends know, I HATE country music. This is why I am in a battle with this band. They are on the edge between country and rock. I guess you can say they are more Americana than anything. This band from Austin is really good. Check out the song Look At Miss Ohio.

Lucero-1372 Overton Park
I think I may have mentioned this band before , but this is another band that I am a little at odds with. They have the country feel to them, but they are definantly closer to rock. Great band from Memphis, check at the song call Can’t Feel A thing.

The Soft Pack- The Soft Pack
I have mentioned them a few months back. They are going to be at ACL along with the other three bands. The more and more I listen to this album, the more I like it. Check out the song C’mon.

The Calls, Texts, messages, and finding my happy place

So with things getting back to normal for Kristen and I, or at least somewhat for the two of us, we have been able to spend a little more time with each other. For me, not that I have ever forgotten, but the time together lately made me realize why she always makes me happy. Yes I know it sounds sappy, but sometimes with both of you going in a million directions you miss that connection. The past two months, we have been like two kids and it has been fun. I can tell that both of us are glad that the stress of nursing school, etc. is over and we are having fun again like we use to. I have felt a reconnection of sorts with Kristen and it has been great. Sometimes I think you have to go through some stressful stuff together to remember how much the other person means to you. I can only imagine that those stressful situations are going to come in the form of a 7 year old little girl that lives with us for now on!

Well, the calls, texts, and messages have started to be a little more frequent from my two really good friends that are coming down to Texas in a few weeks. Not only are we going to a great music festival, but just to be able to have that experience with two great friends make it even more worth while. I have officially (although Kristen probably thinks it happened sooner than this) turned into a geek, for the simple fact that I downloaded (among may other thousands of people) the new ACL App they came out with this week. So good thing is with this app, my 5 followers can see me tweet and Facebook pictures and who I am listening to over the weekend. Yes, I did turn into a nerd in the past few hours.

So looking over the bands, most people know the popular ones, and some of the medium size bands. So I am going to hit on some of the bands I can’t wait to see in two weeks, and some of their albums to check out.

Friday’s Bands:
1. Ponderosa
2. The Band of Heathens
3. The Kicks
4. Chief
5. Girls
6. Vonnegutt
7. The Soft Pack

Saturday’s Bands:
1. First Aid Kit
2. Lissie
3. Two Door Cinema Club
4. Local Natives
5. Gogol Bordello
6. The Temper Trap
7. Broken Bells

Sunday’s Bands:
1. Foals
2. Blind Pilot
3. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
4. Portugal. The Man
5. The Henry Clay People
6. The Constellations

The VMA Music “awards”

Well, yes it’s that time of the year for yours truly to rant about how horrible music is and MTV pushing that trend. I have to put some of the blame on American Idol, for turning Americans into people that wouldn’t know good music or singers if Emily Haines stood there singing for them. The VMA’s have always been more hype than anything to do with music, but at least some of the acts were great musicians when they started this. I am sorry but throwing out future douche bag Justin Bieber to entice the crowd is just plain sad. Honestly watching his performance (and I use that term loosely) confirmed the fact that the kid is already a DB, he had a letterman’s jacket (once again, I use that term loosely for that kid, doubtful sports was ever involved with him) with a B on the front and Bieber on the back, to watch him lip sync (yes kids, and grown women, he lip synced) and dance on stage wasn’t music, it was for ratings.
Now onto the next train wreck, Lady GaGa, why is all I have to say. Looking across a pictorial of the “Princess of Pop”, all I see are more and more pictures of her really wishing she was Madonna. I agree, her pop songs are catchy, but she is not and will not be the end all be all. I put her in the same category of the Black Eyed Peas, they are more flashy entertainment, than music. A meat dress, spiky things on her head, shoes that you can’t walk in, acting all “rebellious” out in public. To me she was old a long time ago, but us being dumb force fed Americans just gobble it up.

Now on to the “hey look at me” spotlight……Taylor Swift, I am sorry but when Kanye busted you last time, it was funny. I laughed, was Kanye a prick, yes, but it was still funny. Now we have to write a song about it for our next album. Come on, it was done, it was a “tragedy” to some people, but get over it. Is a song that necessary? Oh Kanye, don’t think you are laying low for this one, not only did Taylor Swift write a song about the incident, so did Mr. West. Two songs over something that honestly scarred 15 year old girls everywhere.

So there were some shining lights during the VMA’s, Katy Perry just being there is one. Yes, she is on my list, I will admit to that. Ok, on to the other shining moments, Florence and the Machine sang Dog Days Are Over, which was awesome. Eminem came out and did his thing, and his new album is great if you haven’t heard it. Drake did his song Fancy, I think Drake could be the next big thing in Hip Hop, could. Linkin Park coming back and doing their new song, was cool, I can go either way with LP. I was also surprised to see Broken Bells actually up for new comer, I didn’t think MTV believed in good music any more. Plus how in the hell did an amazing band, The Black Keys, actually win an award on MTV? Well they did, I am surprised they didn’t find a way to give it to Lady Gaga.

Let’s move on to some good music……………here are some music picks for the week.

1. Lissie-Catching a Tiger (Check out the song In Sleep)

2. Ray LaMontagne and The Pariah Dogs- God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise
(Check out the song New York City’s Killing Me)

3. The Boxer Rebellion-Exits (Check out the song Lay Me Down)

4. School of Seven Bells- Disconnect from Desire (Check out the song Babelonia)

5. Sleigh Bells- Treats (Check out the song Tell’em)

Next Up………Portugal. The Man

Well, things have been getting busier and busier for me at work. Not to mention juggling my work schedule, Kristen’s work schedule, and having a second grader in Girl Scouts and Gymnastics. As you can tell we are very busy. The best thing that has come out of this is that Kristen and I are trying harder to set aside one night a week for us. It’s working so far, and hopefully we can expand that to two nights, but for now one is fitting perfect for us. I will take this schedule over the one we have had for about four years of getting Kristen through school, and both of us working. We actually sliding back into this family thing again and I think both of us are happy about that. I know enough of the family talk and get to telling us about music.

So next up on my Austin City Limits band tour 2010 is Portugal. The Man. Along for the ride this week are the Local Natives, Blind Pilot, and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. So let me start off with Local Natives.

Local Natives are along the lines of Arcade Fire, Fleet Foxes, Vampire Weekend, and a little Grizzly Bear. They are from Orange County, California; and have played here in Texas before at SXSW. Their first studio album Gorilla Manor, was a self funded indie album, and has got some great reviews along the way. They are playing at ACL on Saturday, and of course they are one of many bands I have sandwiched in to see during the weekend. Check out the single “Wide Eyes”.
Next up is a must see band from what I hear, it is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. There are 10 members that are listed for this band, and I hear it seems like even more are on stage. Rolling Stone declared the group an artist to watch in 2009, calling them a cross between Arcade Fire and the Mamas & the Papas. They can summarize their effect the best: “Fans are known to be so overcome with emotion at their live shows that tears of euphoric joy are not uncommon.” If that is true, I can’t wait to experience this live. Check out the single “Home”, I just love this song.

Almost getting to the band of the day, but first I want to talk about Blind Pilot. If the few of you that read my blog remember, I talked about them about a year ago. Blind Pilot is a band from Portland, which has really become popular over the past year. They are a laid back folksy indie band, and not only do I get to see them at ACL, we are also going to see them in an aftershow at Stubb’s on Friday night. This should be a great night on Friday, with seeing The Black Keys, The Strokes, and Phish. Then an after show at the famous Stubb’s. Check out the song “Look at Miss Ohio”.

I took a chance on this last band and decided to give them a listen a few years ago and got hooked as soon as I listend to The Satanic Satanist. Portugal. The Man, surprisingly enough part hail from Alaska (yes, the same hometown that provides the setting for Sarah Palin’s Alaska…..yes something good from there) and the other half come out of Portland. They have an alterna-pop feel to their music, which what is starting to get them a following. So much so, they finally got signed to a major label. To add to the odd name and great odd album names, after releasing their first major label album “American Ghetto” they have decided to record their next album in of all places El Paso. Check out my favorite song of theirs “People Say”.

This week’s music:
Well, if feels good to get back to some writing, even though it’s breaking down some bands that some people won’t listen to that read this, however I like to get the word out about bands that are good and should be heard, with that said one of my favorite bands released their latest album this week. So here are four new albums to check out this week.

1. Interpol-Interpol : check out the song Summer Well
2. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros-Up From Below: Check out the song 40 Day Dream
3. Ra Ra Riot-The Orchard: check out the song Shadowcasting
4. First Aid Kit-The Big Black and The Blue: check out the song Sailor Song

The dirty little secret called the Black Keys

Well, so the countdown begins, it is now time to start gearing up for my last hoorah of the summer, Austin City Limits Festival. I have not been the best blogger over the summer, but this summer feels the busiest I think I have ever had. Two weddings, a trip to San Francisco, moving into a new house, I feel I need a vacation from the summer. But for now I feel I need to start looking at the bands I am about to see in October. First up, a band from Akron, Ohio, The Black Keys.

The other day while I was “working” out at Baylor, I had my 2010 ACL playlist going on my ipod and The Black Keys came on. For some reason a big smile came on my face like I was in on something that no one else knew about. Although the keys are starting to get big and finally get noticed by the mainstream, it still feels they fly under the radar. I see a lot of posts of people on facebook, etc. on ACL and all they talk about is how they can’t wait to see The National, or Muse, or Phish, or The Strokes, or (god forbid) The Eagles. I haven’t seen many that say, “ Can’t wait to get my mind blown by The Black Keys”. Don’t worry my status will say that the day I see them.

I have to say one of the best bands (other than Phoenix) over the past few years has been the Black Keys. The one thing I love about their music is that it is as raw as it can be, but with soul and feeling behind their lyrics. I can’t wait to see them live at ACL. I got lucky and got to see Dan Auerbach last year at ACL, but I can’t wait to see them together. They have an amazing catalogue of music, and I know they can’t play all of it in an hour set, but there won’t be a bad song played I have a feeling.

If you haven’t heard of the Black Keys, or just heard a few of their new songs, you should check them out. I have to say they are a great band that so far to this point only a few folks have heard, but they are about to get big.

Music for the past two(ok three)weeks:
So I have been horrible this summer of keeping up with my blog, but I promise over the next month I will try to do my best on talking about a few bands I am about to see, and some on the horizon that I want to go see. If you are ever in Dallas and get a chance to catch a show at the Granada Theater do it, best live music venue in Dallas.

So here is a list of some albums I have been listening to:

1. Best Coast-Crazy For You
2. Mike Posner-31 Minutes to Takeoff
3. The Band of Heathens
4. The Black Crowes-Croweology
5. The Wavves-King of the Beach
6. The Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
7. Band of Skulls-Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
8. Big Boi-Sir Lucious Left Foot:The Son of Chico Dusty
9. Drake- Thank me later
10. Local Natives-Gorilla Manor

The Hold Steady awakening

Over the past week Sloan and Kristen went on a vacation to Colorado and I had to stay behind due to my week long vacation and the fact I needed to work. I would have to say over the past three months I finally discovered the band The Hold steady. While trying to figure out what I was going to do while my family was gone I found out that they were going to be in Dallas over the weekend. On top of this The Whigs were opening up for them. I threw caution to the wind and bought a ticket to the show. This is the first time I have ever gone to a concert solo, so I was a little nervous, but excited about seeing The Hold Steady.

Over the course of the week, I made sure I was up to pace with their catalogue of music and I fell in love with Craig Finn the lead singer. He sounds like a cross between Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan. Yes I know that sounds strange but he makes it work.

Well the night of the concert I get to The Granada (best venue in Dallas) and parked and walked over to a sports bar to have a few beers before the show. I was excited but didn’t know what to expect, seeing they are called “the best bar band in America”. So I walked in and got my spot for the show and was ready to hear the first band play. Parker Gispert and the Whigs put on a great show, even though they were short their bassist. This had me even more excited to see the Hold Steady.

Then Craig Finn and the Hold Steady come out on stage and without me knowing it, blew me away. People often talk about “religious” experiences at concerts and I can only up to this point think of two instances and some borderline ones. My first two were during the summer of 1998; the first one was July 5th 1998, when I first got to see Pearl Jam live. The second one was just 10 days later when I watched an up and coming musician take the main stage at the Horde Festival after the Smashing Pumpkins broke up on stage in front of everyone, his name was Ben Harper. I was more awe struck when I saw the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. These concerts made me realize there was more out in the world than what I was seeing in Oklahoma, and I loved it.

Well during the course of the show, all I could think about is how much I can relate to the lead singer and The Hold Steady’s songs. I am coming to the realization that I am not getting younger, and even though I feel like I am in my 20’s, I am not. I can say right now I have been in a little funk about myself the past few weeks, and I needed a good rock show to wake me up. From the opening song “The Sweet Part of the City” to the last song “Stay Positive” Craig Finn made sure he slapped me around to wake me up. By the time I walked out of The Granada, hot, sweaty, ears ringing, a few PBR tall boys under my belt, I felt I was back to my old self.
At one point Craig Finn told the crowd “It’s great to play dirty sweaty rock music for a bunch of great people”, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Sometimes you need some good dirty sweaty rock to break you out of your funk. The past few weeks I haven’t felt like myself, but last weekend I felt like I was back to being me again. So when some people say, they have a “religious” experience at a concert, I would like to think it’s more of a cleansing . Sometimes you have to just lose yourself in the moment to recharge. So at this point I feel I need to say Thank You to the Hold Steady, and now I can’t wait to get to October so I have 3 full days of being cleansed and recharged.

(Now my goal is to see a live show a month, so Kristen be ready to go to a show next month in Dallas, I get first choice.)

Music for the week:
To go along with the theme of the blog, here are some albums to check out from the Hold Steady and the Whigs. If you want some great albums and great music pick these up asap.

The Hold Steady- Boys and Girls In America
This album was released in 2006, and it’s probably one of my favorite albums by HS. This album shows off how great of a song writer Craig Finn is. With references to Jack Kerouac’s narrator Sal Paradise in “Stuck Between Stations”. My favorite songs on this album is Chips Ahoy, Massive Nights, and Stuck Between Stations. Great album to start off with if you want to listen to HS.

The Hold Steady-Separation Sunday
This album was released in 2005, and this album follows four characters. More of a concept album the songs tie together a story and once again shows the song writing talents of Finn. The four characters are Craig, Holly (also known as Halleluiah), Charlemange (a pimp) and Gideon (a skinhead) as they travel from city to city and party to party. My favorite songs on this album are Your Little Hoodrat Friend, Hornets!Hornets!, and How a Resurrection Really Feels.

The Hold Steady-Heaven Is Whenever
This is the fifth album and most recent for HS. This is more of an aging gracefully record for the band. They have the mix between nice mellow slow songs to their usually full throttle rock songs. As of 2010 this is in my top 10 albums. My favorite songs on this album are Sweet Sound of the City, Hurricane J, The Weekenders, and Rock Problems.

The Whigs-Mission Control
The Whigs are a Athens, Georgia based band, where at one time was one of the many alt-rock mecca’s back in the day. This is one of the first albums I heard from the Whigs and it’s a great garage rock album. I would say their sound is kind of close to the Strokes. My favorite songs on this album are Like a Vibration, Production City, and I Got Ideas.

The Whigs-In The Dark
This is the third album from the Whigs, that was released this year. This is a great follow up with the new bassist Tim Deaux. I feel this album should get more air play on alt stations (of course that probably won’t happen), but it’s a great album and in my top 25 for 2010. Check out the songs Hundred/Million, Kill Me Carolyne, and In The Dark.

Summer Music List

Every summer that I can remember from my teens till now have always had some type of album or single that was the “song for the summer”. So seeing I am having writer’s block today and can’t think of a good topic to write about, I decided to do a list of songs for the summer. Some are old and some are new, but all are songs for the summer. Don’t worry I am linking each song to the video, so you can click the song and reminisce. So let the list begin (these are in no order).

1. Summertime by Fresh Prince
2. School’s Out- Alice Cooper
3. Light My Fire- The Doors
4. Poison- Bell, Biv, Devoe
5. Spill the Wine- Eric Burden and War
6. Little Red Corvette-Prince
7. A Whiter Shade of Pale-Procol Harum
8. Hot Blooded- Foreigner
9. Under The Bridge- Red Hot Chili Peppers
10. Hard Knock Life- Jay-Z
11. Tennessee- Arrested Development
12. Brown-eyed girl-Van Morrison
13. Three Little Birds- Bob Marley
14. Born To Run- Bruce Springsteen
15. The Real Slim Shady- Eminem
16. Hot in Herre- Nelly
17. P.I.M.P.- 50 Cent
18. Crazy-Gnarls Barkley
19. 1979-Smashing Pumpkins
20. What I Got-Sublime
21. Alive- Pearl Jam
22. Nothin’ But A G Thang- Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg
23. California Love- 2 Pac
24. Killing Me Softly-The Fugees
25. Scar Tissue- Red Hot Chili Peppers
26. Steal My Sunshine- Len
27. Big pimpin- Jay-Z
28. Hey Ya-Outkast
29. I’m Yours-Jason Mraz
30. Buzzin-Shwayze


This week’s Music:
You get a double dip of music for the week. Not only a thrown together list of summer music, but also a few albums that I have picked up this week.

Wolf Parade- Expo 86
Wolf Parade is yet another great Canadian band that is coming out on the indie scene. I had read something about this album last week and decided to pick it up and give it a listen. After the first run through the album, it’s not bad. I really love the songs Palm Road and Two Men In New Tuxedos. They should be getting some air time in not long on most of the indie stations, if they aren’t already.

The Henry Clay People-Somewhere On The Golden Coast
Another band I have read a lot about and hear great things as well. I have been interested in them since seeing they will be playing ACL this year. This is an indie band that comes from Glendale, California. After listening to their newest album a few times, it is really good and I can’t wait to see them live at ACL. I like the songs Keep Your Eyes Closed and End of an Empire.

So it’s been a while…………

Well I have actually settled down and am able to write a quick blog. I haven’t written anything since May 25th, and it’s been a lot of traveling between. I went to the (almost) last Big 12 baseball tournament in Oklahoma. Came back to Waco for a little over a week, and then went out to California for what I called the “Great California Backpacking Trip”. That consisted of me going to Visalia for my friend Daniel and Allison’s wedding then catching the train to Oakland to see my friends Dave and Jeremy and hanging out in San Francisco for a few days.

While in California I got to go to Amoeba Records in Berkeley and in the Height in San Francisco. Going there made me realize that I need to invest in a turntable and start buying vinyl. It was by far the coolest record stores I have been in and Kristen should be happy that music stores like Amoeba or Rasputin (which was also a very cool store in Berkeley). So I guess you can say on the horizon I will be purchasing vinyl and also have another thing to keep Kristen busy with.
While there I had to go down Height and check out all the cool graffiti and the house of Jimi Hendrix as well as searching for Jerry Garcia’s house, but to could not find it. We also went down to the Castro and walked around there and went by Harvey Milk’s camera store where the Gay and Lesbian rights movement started. I got to take in all the sites and even went by the Fillmore and got to see where not only the Dead played but The Doors and other’s graced the stage, of course we could not sneak past the doorman to get inside, but that could be for another trip.

I also got to go out to Alcatraz and tour the prison, which was a highlight of the trip. It was an amazing place and if you get a chance to go, take it. Of course while I was there, I also took in a Giants game, while wearing a fleece and jeans, which is not June baseball weather, but I won’t complain seeing how hot is it here in Texas. The first night I was there I also got to go to a concert and see Real Estate play the Independent. They were great live, the opening band wasn’t great, and the second band was good, but it was nice to hear Real Estate live.
I have been listening to a ton of music, some new and some old the past few weeks. It will be easier to list some albums that I feel should be a must get.

Here we go:
Lucero- 1372 Overton Park
Local Natives-Gorilla Manor
The Black Keys-Brothers
Eminem-Recovery
Foals-Total Life Forever
The Gaslight Anthem-American Slang
Gogol Bordello-Trans-Continental Hustle
The Hold Steady-Heaven Is Whenever
Nas and Damian Marley- Distant Relatives
The National-High Violet
The Roots-How I Got Over

It's Time for Summer

I know it’s been a couple of weeks since I last wrote my blog, and it has been awesome finally finding out who I am going to be seeing at Austin City Limits Festival this fall. Now it seems too far away with all the excitement from some of the bands I want to see. Of course the one let down is that The Eagles are closing, but to even it out Flaming Lips are going on before the Eagles, so I get to see them instead. There are a few bands on the line-up that I get to take off my bucket list of bands I want to see.

Plus on top of the excitement of seeing a pretty stellar line-up for ACL, I am also in the final stages of planning everything out while I go to California to be in a friends wedding. It looks like while I am in San Francisco, do I not only get to go see the Giants play and go to Alcatraz, I get to catch the band Real Estate play at the Independent while I am there. So this should be a fun trip, I really wish Kristen and Sloan could come, but due to the summer of weddings, they have to stay behind so they can go to Colorado in July for another family wedding. So it looks like we all get to go on a vacation, just unfortunately not together. Looks like we will have to plan something where we can do something together this summer.

It does look like it could be finally a summer of seeing some live music. I will be seeing Real Estate in San Francisco, and while Kristen and Sloan are gone I am going to try and see The Hold Steady in Dallas. Then of course being able to go see Austin City Limits will be amazing as well. On top of that I am dusting the glove off and playing in a softball league with some guys from the office, and since I just got my first set of golf clubs I plan on playing golf a lot more often. My goal this coming month is to play a round of golf a week. So I am hoping for a busy but fun summer, it’s about time that Kristen and I can go out and have some fun for a change. Not that we haven’t this whole time, but while she was in school we were a little more restrained with her going to school all the time.

Over all this should be fun summer for all of us. Sloan is getting excited about going to her first basketball camp, although she is not very happy about not being able to go to ACL with me since one of her favorite bands Matt and Kim are playing there. All in all it looks like a fun and busy summer for all of us.

Music this week:

The Black Keys- Brother
The Black Keys are one of my favorite bands, so I was a little excited about getting their latest album once it came out. Not to my surprise another great album for them as well. They have a very deep blues feel to all of their songs with the nice buzz of an indie garage band. So far I think I like every song on their newest album. Check out the song Tighten Up, it’s an awesome video. (One of the bands I get to see at ACL, that is on my band bucket list)

Band of Horses- Infinite Arms
Band of Horses are another of my favorite bands that has put out an new album for this summer. Although I hear their lives shows aren’t that great, but they do put out some great studio albums. It’s a great solid album from BOH, but nothing out of the ordinary for them. Check out the song Infinite Arms. (Get to see them at ACL, so I will be the judge of their live show.)

Gogol Bordello- Trans-Continental Hustle
This is by far and away one of the top bands I want to see at ACL, yes another Bucket List Band. I have heard nothing but amazing things about their live show. Gogol Bordello is considred a “gypsy punk band”. Their lead singer is from the Ukraine and so far their newest album Trans-Continental Hustle is awesome, and just makes me want to see them live even more. I am not usually a world music person, but seeing I have heard nothing but good things about this band I had to check them out, and was stoked to see them on the ACL bill. Check out the song Pala Tute.

Rumors, Predictions, Confirmations, and driving my wife crazy

Most of you know one of the main reasons I write my blog is because I like to write about my life and my love for music. I guess since I haven’t learned (yet) how to play guitar to become a rock star and my dreams of being the right fielder for the New York Mets didn’t pan out I have decided to write a blog about music and work in sports. At times I am sure my obsessions with music and sports drives Kristen crazy (more on the sports side than the music side of it), but of all things a husband can have I feel these two are the most tolerable ones to have. Since purchasing my three day pass for the Austin City Limits Festival I have been getting a few texts a day from one of my buddies and some other folks to see what rumors I have heard about who is going to perform at the festival. Although I do love the feel of being that guy that knows music and who might be at ACL, it has driven Kristen crazy due to me talking about it with her, seeing that it’s still almost 6 months from now.

Well like I had in my last blog (sorry for the time between the two) I will post some more for the rumor mill that is now almost coming to an end as of next Tuesday for the possible bands at ACL for this year. I do have some confirmations (not concrete), and some new people to add to the list. Hopefully this will calm Kristen’s nerves a little, but for those of you that read this and send me texts, go ahead and send a few to drive her crazy. So here is what I have so far:

The Flaming Lips (expected)
Blues Traveler (expected)
Robert Earl Keen (expected)
Pat Green (expected)
The National (expected)
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Ave. (expected)
Spoon (expected)
Band of Horses (expected)
Phish (rumored)
Eminem (rumored)
Muse (rumored/almost expected)
Passion Pit (rumored)
Phoenix (rumored)
Ponderosa (rumored/expected)
Ryan Bingham (rumored)
The Black Keys (rumored)
The Eagles (rumored/unfortunately)
Girls (rumored)Arcade Fire (rumored)Gogol Bordello (rumored)Keane (rumored)The Dead Weather (rumored)John Butler Trio (rumored)
Metric (rumored)
Jay-Z (rumored/on wish list for hip hop act)
Weezer (rumored)
Vampire Weekend (rumored)
Gorillaz (rumored)
Los Campesinos (rumored)
MGMT (rumored/not going to happen, on tour in Europe)
The Strokes (rumored)
Soundgarden (rumored)
Green Day (rumored)

Well there is what I have from the past two weeks. I feel firmly that the ones I have down as expected are a done deal. There are a ton of bands that I have left off, that I either really want to see or should be on the bill once the line up comes out next Tuesday. At this point I want to see how many bands I get right on my list. I guess it will be a long weekend for my friends and I to see who is actually going to be at ACL this year. I am sure if Jay-Z is there my wife will soon forget all the speculation this year once I give her a ticket to see him if he is there.

This week’s music:

Well this week, for me, starts off a great next few weeks of summer music releases. This week has started off with two of my favorite bands releasing an album. Next week you get the new Black Keys album, and a Band of Horses album. The next week will be interesting with an album from Stone Temple Pilots (some habits are hard to break for me, I will give them another shot). So here are my two reviews this week and I should have more after the weekend when I pick up Keane and Holy Fu**.

Dead Weather- Sea of Cowards
To start off I am a huge Jack White fan, and I would be surprised to find people that aren’t one. This is the second album from his newest band. Horehound was an amazing album, and another amazing band at ACL that blew everyone off the stage. They come back with another hard hitting album for their second album. I have to say after listening to this about four times now, I like every song off the album. Check out the first single Die By the Drop.

The National- High Violet
I first purchased the Boxer album to see what the National was all about. After listening to that album, I soon ran out and got most of the rest of their work. I have never heard a voice like Matt Berninger’s before and even though it’s a baritone, it is amazing. I have not listened to a National album yet and said to myself “these guys suck”. Since finding out that they are for sure going to ACL, I can’t wait to see them live and hope that their studio music translates well live. Check out the first single Bloodbuzz Ohio off their new album.

The Summer of Music

Well as most of you know other than trying to be a good husband and good father, my other vices are sports, movies and of course music. On the verge of it being summer for me with only a few weeks left of sports at work, I am now looking toward my summer. I have purchased my ACL Festival pass and now looking to purchase some tickets for Kristen and I to see Passion Pit in Austin over the summer. My next step is to figure out a kid friendly show to take Sloan to. With most of things planned for this summer, I am now focusing my attention to who might be at ACL and who I hope is at ACL in October.

I have scoured all the rumor mills for some hints at what the line-up is, and had some ways of finding out if certain bands are for sure there. Right now the only rumor that can be classified as the worst ever is that the Eagles might be the headliner. Which to me just shows how out of touch concert promoters are with festival goers. Don’t get me wrong, The Eagles are alright, but not something that I want to see. I know that I am more interested in the mid-level acts during the day and if that night’s headliner is good it will make the day more enjoyable, but it’s going to be hard to surpass having Pearl Jam there last year.

I just hope that the first time I go to a huge music festival for three days, that the concert promoters don’t drop the ball and get a bad headliner. They sucked me in last year with the one day I went and there were band after great band there. I do have my fingers crossed that some of the rumors will come true. Here is my wishlist of the rumors I have heard that might be there:

The Flaming Lips
Phoenix
Jay-Z
The Black Keys
Muse
Metric
Band of Horses
The National
Phish
Weezer
Vampire Weekend
Arcade Fire
The Strokes
Gorillaz
MGMT
Los Campesinos

Of course I could just keep listing bands I want to see, but those are by far the best of the rumor mill for me. I do know for a fact that The Flaming Lips and Blues Traveler will be there. I have see BT and they always put on a good show, but the Lips would be amazing to see live. I guess I will have to wait and keep searching until the line-up is announced on May 18th. Then I have to sit and wait until October to be able to go. The positive thing out of this is, I have something to look forward too after my trip to San Francisco and seeing Passion Pit with Kristen. Right now it’s like a little island on the distant horizon that is far enough out of reach but close enough to see, I just have to contain myself until October get here. Please C3 no Eagles, please.

This week’s music:
I have to say that I haven’t got very much music here lately. Although this next month is like music nirvana for me. I think almost everyone of my recent favorite bands are coming out with an album in May. I even get a taste of the old with Stone Temple Pilots album, and I get my garage blues satisfied with one of the best bands around The Black Keys. Not to mention a new Nationals album, it’s starting to look like a good summer.

Muse- The Resistance
Well, I have been hearing a lot about Muse and all of their albums, so I decided to jump in and listen to their newest album The Resistance. I really feel they sound like The Killers, the White Lies, etc. atleast in style. I really do like them, and the rumor is they will be at ACL this year. I am going to have to go back and listen to some of their older stuff now as well. I like the songs Resistance and Uprising.

The Muslims/ The Soft Pack
The reason I am putting both of these bands together is the fact that they are the same bands. They are out of San Diego and I am really hoping that they are at ACL, I would love to see them there. They changed their name due to “ignorant and racists” comments toward them to the Soft Pack. This is a really good band and I like the songs Beside Myself (Muslims) and More or Less (The Soft Pack).

MGMT-Congratulations
This is their second album and was eagerly anticipated by many to see if they could top their debut album of 2008. I have given this album a few listens and it’s starting to grow on me. If you are expecting them to pull out some of the same off of Oracular Spectacular then you might want to skip this album. I have enjoyed the fact they are expanding what they gave us in the first album to this one. Check out the song Flash Delirium.

Why Rolling Stone, why?

I am always eager to get my Rolling Stone in the mail and here in not long my Spin as well. I try not to sneak a peak at what the covers are going to be so not to spoil a surprise or to anger me before it comes in. Well I have to say Rolling Stone has fallen very very very short with this issue. I have to say this cover and who they have as the #1 reason to be excited about music almost made me cancel my subscription.

As most of my friends know I am very opinionated about music, and I threw up in my mouth a little when they had the Jonas Brothers on the cover. Most of the time I blow off the covers when I know that the band or singer is a fad at the time (Lady Gaga), it’s hard for me to forgive them, but I do. To get to my point they have for some drug induced reason have deemed the Black Eyed Peas the #1 reason to be excited for music. The #1 reason, they aren’t even in my 1 millionth reason to be excited for music. This group has not only ruined music, they have made a deal with the devil as well. If you like pop music, the BEP are gods. I have to say for music as a whole, BEP does not hold a candle or match to some of the bands and performers out right now.

This is a dark sad day for music and the Rolling Stone. Don’t get me wrong I am sure they put on a great show, but to be thrusted up to #1, I don’t feel they are worthy. I am sorry Rolling Stone, but I am afraid you are wrong with this.

Now, on to more important things, and the fact that I got my 3-Day pass to the Austin City Limits Festival this fall. I decided to throw caution into the wind and bought the pass without knowing what bands are going to be there. I do know of two bands that are and that are Blues Traveler and The Flaming Lips. I have seen BT and they should be great, I am really excited to see Oklahoma’s own Flaming Lips perform. I am praying to the music gods and my boy Dees that we some how get backstage passes when they play. So I have my first excitement of the summer and I still have to wait 6 months until the festival.

I do have another show to be excited for and that is Passion Pit in Austin when I get back from California. Plus what’s even better is Kristen is actually going to go with me to see them. So that will make going to the show even better. Of course she will have to break her bedtime rule of 9 P.M. and stay up a little later. So far my summer is starting to shape up pretty well. Now I just need to get through about 10 baseball games and my summer officially starts.

This week’s Music:
It has been a few weeks since I last wrote my blog and I have, as always, got a lot of music since then. So here is a list of albums (new and old) that I am listening to right now.

NonStopErotik- Black Francis
Man Up- The Blue Van
Behave Yourself EP- Cold War Kids
Beyond- Dinosaur Jr.
Shame, Shame- Dr. Dog
Congratulations- MGMT

It’s hard being old school

So for the first time in a long time we got to spend a weekend as a family. We decided to go up to Dallas and see Oklahoma City play basketball against the Mavs, take Sloan ice skating at the Galleria and stop by and see my best friend Boyd and eat at his restaurant.

I had a mission while at the mall, I wanted to find a new Mets shirt and I wanted to get a new pair of Adidas shell toes. I haven’t had a pair in a long time, and they are probably one of my most favorite types of old school shoes. That was what I was looking for at the mall that day. I really just wanted to find my favorite shoes while shopping.

So after eating and watching Sloan trying not to fall down on ice skates while almost pulling down Kristen, we decided to go and hit the mall. At one time Kristen and I went our separate ways and I went on my mission. I soon struck out and didn’t find what I was looking for. No Mets shirts anywhere, and I found some adidas, but not in my size. I decided that I would probably find them back in Waco and didn’t pay it any attention.

We went on to eat at Las Colinas, Jason’s restaurant he manages at and got our fill of some amazing Mexican food. For those of you in Dallas, go eat there, great food and mixed drinks. We hung out there for a little while, and Sloan got to meet Boyd and get important information about Elvis his dog. We changed into our clothes for the game and went to see OKC play the Mavericks and had a great time.

So, on Monday I had the day off and decided I would go to the mall to see if I could get my shoes. After walking to every shoe store in the mall, I was shocked to find out that they not only didn’t have my old school kicks anywhere, but they didn’t have any Adidas at all. I have stated before that I love sneakers, and more importantly I love old school sneakers. They just have more appeal and character than the newer styles. I know Nike is a huge seller, but no Adidas at all?

As I was driving home, I had to resign to the face that not only is it hard for me to find decent old school kicks, but I am now going to have to start shopping on-line to get them. I am done for a while with some of my canvas shoes, I have two pair of vans and a pair of chucks. If anything I will move on to get another pair of Simple Shoes at some point. I guess that I will have to walk into Champs one day with a boom box and play “My Adidas” at full blast for them to get the point. Us old school folk like our adidas and want them now, not in 7-10 days after ordering them. Bottom line is, its hard being old school, but don’t worry RUN D.M.C I will get my adidas.

Music for the week:
Here is the music for the week, I am starting to feel very optimistic about the new stuff being released. I am loving everything so far.

The Bird and the Bee- Interpreting the Masters Vol. 1- A tribute to Hall and Oates
Yes, you read that title correctly, and for those of you that know me, know I hate 80’s music. I have to say this duo from LA do a great job of playing these cover songs in their own style. I have to admit it, sometimes you forget how good some of Hall and Oats songs were, atleast in the Bird and the Bee arrangements.

Frightened Rabbit- The Winter of Mixed Drinks
Ok, for those of you that have been around me or have asked me lately what my favorite band I am listening to right now, the answer will probably be Frightened Rabbit. I love the two albums that I have and this one is probably one of the best albums that has been released in the past few months. I am begging those of you that read my music recommendations to go out and get this album, or atleast get The Midnight Organ Fight, you won’t be disappointed.

Neon Trees- Habits
I decided to pick up this albums because I liked their first single off this album called “Animal”. I was a little surprised that they started out in Provo, UT and eventually moved to Southern Cal. They got their break when they opened up for the Killers on tour. If you like The Killers, and Mute Math you will like Neon Trees. It’s a good album, not as good as I had hoped, but it’s a good pick me up.

My favorite things

Not too long ago Kristen wrote about her favorite things on her blog. So it made me think of things that are either my favorite things that I like. I now have some time this week to catch up on some blogs and this is my first one of this week. Don’t get too excited I am only going to be doing two since I didn’t get time to do mine from last week. I figured that you guys (well the few readers I have) know that music is one of my all time favorite things, and I have done some lists with some of my favorite albums I like to listen too. So I thought it would be interesting to see what else I like on top of music.

So here are a few of my favorite things:

1) The Franchise Cap: I have to say I have another obsession other than music and that is my extensive hat collection I have amassed over the years. One goal that makes Kristen cringe every time is that I want to own all the MLB teams’ hats (excluding the Phillies, Braves, and Yankees). This hat is probably one of the most comfortable hats I have ever got, and I have now own six including my most favorite team the Mets.

2) Shoes: well, this is another touchy category with my beautiful wife, along with my hats; I am a huge “sneakerhead”. I have shown great restraint with not purchasing a lot of shoes. Kristen will also agree with me, but when I do come across a pair of shoes I love, I do get them. I have a few pair of shoes that I keep in rotation; during the summer I wear Sanuks. Vans, Chucks, and my adidas, stay in that rotation during the year. I love old school sneakers, but my favorite shoes now (that I have had to send in to get new ones) are my Simple Shoes. If you want something that is good on the environment and very comfortable purchase some Simple shoes, you won’t regret it.

3) Rolling Stone Magazine: I look forward to getting my magazine when it comes in every couple of weeks. There are some people that feel the Rolling Stone isn’t much of a music magazine, but to me this is a staple of American music and pop culture. Have them got a more political slant here lately, yes, but over all, I enjoy reading the articles and keeping up with everything in Rolling Stone. It’s almost like a calling card letting people know that I am one of the few liberals in Texas.

4) Ipod: This is one of the best presents that I have ever got, next to my Darryl Strawberry baseball glove when I was 11. You always hear people say they don’t know what they did before they got an Ipod. I have to agree, I don’t leave the house most of the time with out my Ipod. At this point I have 5950 songs on it, and basically has 17 days worth of music on it.
5) XM Radio: Another great gift I got for Christmas. Not only do I have every MLB game on it during baseball season, but it has some of the best music channels on it. After a week of listening to XM, I can’t believe I listened to regular radio for so long. If you don’t have XM, you should get it, it is worth it.

Well this is I guess my top five things that are my favorites. Also my first of two blogs for this week. I guess I am getting writers block or something, I can’t think of too many things to write about right now. Although the Mets first game is in 7 days, and I am also patiently waiting my e-mail from Austin City Limits so I can set up my account and get Festival tickets for this year.

This (Past) week’s music:
Well something new with Blogger, they have set up where you can actually use Amazon to link to products from your blog. You actually get store credit if someone buys something you recommend. I might have to try and figure this out to help the few of you that take my music recommendations to buy the music through my blog.

Corinne Bailey Rae- The Sea
One of my favorite things tipped me off to this soul singer from England. Her debut album was critically acclaimed. This is her second album, it has been two years since her first album, due to her husband passing away unexpectedly. She has an amazing voice, and this is something great to put on while at work or hanging out at home. Check out the songs I’d Do It All Again, Closer, and Paris Nights/New York Mornings.

The Whigs- In the Dark
I have heard The Whigs on XM a lot over the past few weeks, and they have a great single out called Kill Me Carolyne. The Whigs come to us from Athens, Georgia, and their first single from their third album is awesome. I have their second album Mission Control, and I can’t figure out why they aren’t as big as they should be. The Whigs are a great American rock band that should be played more. Check out the songs Kill Me Carolyne, Like a Vibration, and I Got Ideas.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club- Beat the Devils Tattoo
This is the sixth album from BRMC out of San Francisco. I have their fifth album Baby 81 and I love that album. So of course I am going to give them a chance with their new album. BRMC has a hint of garage rock, blues, and often have religiously inspired lyrics. This album still has to grow on me a little, much like the new Rogue Wave album. I do like the garage rock side to this album. Check out the songs Conscience killer and Shadow’s keeper.

My little girl is getting older

Once you get older you dread another birthday each year, but when you are young, birthdays are the greatest thing in the world. Of course for Sloan she started planning her birthday sometime around March 18th of last year. It seems that for a year she would change what we were going to do for her birthday. Well, tomorrow is my little partner in crimes’ birthday. Sloan is turning the ripe old age of 7 and as of this morning is about to bust before her birthday gets here.

It does not seem that she should be this old. It seems like yesterday that I was regulated to another bed while Kristen and Sloan sleep together during the night for feeding when we brought her home. It seemed like yesterday when Phife would sleep under her crib at night or when her and Phife had a love/hate relationship because she would crawl following him and sometimes try to eat his food. Now Phife would probably tear someone apart if they tried to do something to her.

I can remember her pushing kids away from Ribbee the mascot in Tennessee because she felt he was her mascot not theirs. Of course this is how she has felt a long time about the mascot at every team I have worked for. It was once she got into Kindergarten when she broke down and told me she knew that there was a real person in the mascot suit. At that point I knew she was starting to grow up a little.

I can also remember the first time we took her to the beach in California, and of course her falling in love with it. To this day she still tells us how much she wished we lived in California still just for the beach. I can also remember her getting spoiled by almost everyone in the tiny little ballpark there in Visalia. I don’t think that kid did without ice cream for about two years at the ballpark.

Tomorrow she is going to be turning 7, and it feels like yesterday when I was holding her just after she was born. Now she is getting taller and using bigger words to explain herself, and just loves life. I know you always wish they could stay a certain age forever, but I am having a lot of fun watching her grow up in front of my eyes. I wouldn’t change any of the ups and downs that Kristen and I have had along the way for anything in the world. You never in your life thought you could love two people as much as you do, but it is possible, because I know for a fact it is. So Sloan, I can’t wait to sing you happy birthday tomorrow morning to wake you up.

Music for the Week:
Well the past few weeks have been great for me by the way of music. A lot of great music is coming out this spring and summer. Here are the albums that I have got the past few weeks.

Manchester Orchestra-Live From Soho
iTunes has a series (I guess you can call it that) where they release an 8 song EP of live music from various artists. Last week Manchester Orchestra was the band they had for Live from Soho. I have to say they are probably one of the top 5 bands from last year. If you haven’t went out and purchased Mean Everything To Nothing, you should. It’s a great little EP of live music.

Phoenix-Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix Remix Collection
I have wanted to listen to this album for a while, just to see what it was about. It is a remix album of their songs. Passion Pit, Animal Collective, Friendly Fires, Yacht, and many other bands went and remixed their album putting their touches on the songs. There are some great remixes on here. It’s something different to listen too.

The White Stripes- Under Great Northern Lights
This is the first live album that the White Stripes have put out. It’s a good live album and it has all of their great classic songs on the albums. After listening to this, it makes me what the White Stripes to put out another album. Oh how I miss the days of the Whites performing together on stage, hopefully they get back together, at least Jack White has put that rumor out there.

The lost music video

I had another proud Dad moment last night while sitting at home with Sloan waiting for Kristen to get home. I got my first issue of DEEP magazine in the mail, which I have to say made my superfandom and me being a music geek even more visible. DEEP is a magazine that Pearl Jam puts out for their members of the Ten Club. Yes I know this makes me sound even more of a music geek. As I was reading the magazine and showing it to Sloan and telling her who everyone was, she asked me if she could see one of their concerts. Of course this made me proud at that moment.

I then put in my copy of “Touring Band 2000” and showed her a few songs from the DVD. She really like Daughter/It’s OK and Given to Fly due to the fact that Eddie brought up a girl out of the crowd to do sign language on stage during the song. I knew I had to listen to Kristen and take her to a concert at some point. I haven’t watched that DVD in a while and saw that in the bonus features they had a few videos. I decided to watch the video for Oceans. At that point Sloan asked me what it was that we were watching, and I told her a music video and at that point she asked me what that was.

At this point I forgot that MTV had officially dropped the music video and has now became a full fledge reality tv station for teens. To now date myself, I can remember the day my sister and I first turned on MTV and was wowed. I remember to this day watching Video Killed the Radio Star and was forever sucked into music. I got to watch Headbangers Ball and Kurt Cobain coming on in a dress, Yo! MTV Raps and Straight Out of Compton being played. Now I get the Jersey Shore and other horrible shows. Don’t get me wrong, I do watch a few shows on there, but overall it is no longer Music Television.

After explaining what we were watching, I knew at that point Sloan would never actually know what a music video was. I had to make my first ever I am an old person talk with her, and tell her when I was a kid they actually had music videos on a music channel. To her is was a foreign thing, to me it made think of a time when a music channel actually pushed the envelope of not only music but pop culture. Now I get to watch an idiot that has dubbed himself the “Situation”. I guess the best thing out of the whole time was Sloan and I bonding not over music, but over Pearl Jam as well. Now I need to figure out a good concert to take her too.

Music for the week:
Well, I have to say I have hit the jackpot according to music for the past two weeks. I would love to break down each album, but it will be easier for me to give you the top five favorites so far for the week.

1. Ben Harper and Relentless 7 – Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival
2. Portugal. The Man- American Ghetto
3. Band of Skulls-Baby Darling Doll Face Honey
4. Broken Bells- Broken Bells
5. Pavement-Quarantine The Past