I am admittedly a music nerd so I read Bob Lefsetz (music writer) religiously. This morning I opened up his email to read something I thought was worth sharing. Even as nerdy as I am I had no idea who Milt Olin was but that doesn’t mean anything. He lost his life prematurely and that … Continue reading Milt Olin by Bob Lefsetz
These lists are about as common as flatulence in a yoga class…and yet people can’t seem to stop doing either. So in my continued effort to avoid yoga, I decided to come up with my own Bakers Dozen Desert Island Albums list. A top five album list seemed too few and a top ten list … Continue reading Bakers Dozen Desert Island Albums
In a little over two weeks Pearl Jam will release their tenth studio album, Lightning Bolt and the publicity juggernaut has begun. I suppose by sheer nature of timing, this would be part of that. The first release from Lightning Bolt was “Mind Your Manners” which I thought was a little forced and empty. After … Continue reading …and if so, who answers? We do.
Rock & Roll, both the music and the lifestyle, is pretty much predicated on three things, having a good time, falling in love and falling out of love. I might even submit that all music, nay art forms, are built on those three things. But alas, it is the heartbreak that seems to yield the … Continue reading Hole Hearted
One of the many curses of getting older is recognizing that life, whether we want it to or not, moves forward and we have more experiences and, undeniably, get older. And for some of us as we get older, we wonder who we are. England’s Daniel Kitson’s latest piece, After the beginning. Before the end. … Continue reading Daniel Kitson: Barrow Theater July 7, 2013
“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates What’s that saying “Today is the first day of the rest of your life”? or is it “What the fluck”? Either way, today I am launching my first digital magazine entitled wait(er). As the name suggests, it is a magazine devoted to stories about the front … Continue reading Left of the Dial*
“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.” — Ken Kesey The annual broadcast network, advertising and media buying circle jerk known as the upfront is underway. Yesterday saw both NBC and Fox release their fall 2013 schedules. Today, ABC … Continue reading Circle Jerkin’
This week, Iron Maiden is back in the news proving again why they’re still a band that matters. Using honesty, loyalty (and little help from big data) to get fans, not sue them. Well played Maiden, well played! _________________________________________ “We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find … Continue reading Loyalty and Honesty…and Metal
JOHN LENNON “Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.” “Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted.” “As usual, there is a great woman … Continue reading Simple Things
“The challenge is to manage the Web in an open way-not too much bureaucracy, not subject to political or commercial pressures.“ – Tim Berners Lee The Internet was developed to communicate. It was not created to be a media tool. When we speak of “new media” that is not the Internet or the Web. That … Continue reading Digital Pet Rocks
“The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use — of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.” – Robert Kennedy It’s hard to write about class distinctions on a personal blog without sounding like either a … Continue reading What time is it? It is now.
Independent polling over the weekend found seven things better than watching NBC’s “1600 Penn”. I am beginning to think they keep in on to spite the American public.
Feed Love.
…and yes, I actually sent this cover letter. Keep your fingers crossed!
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” – George Bernard Shaw When I … Continue reading Untitled Tailgate Series
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” – Milan Kundera The first dog I ever got as an adult was a Rottweiler. … Continue reading Duke, Part 1
Quality is not an act, it is a habit. – Aristotle If quality is a habit, “1600 Penn” shows us that NBC seems to have considered quality a bad habit. The stinking pile of dung that was tossed onto the masses last week with “1600 Penn” proves NBC has either renounced quality entirely or is … Continue reading 1600 Penn
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” – Thomas Jefferson This guy looks like a lunatic, right? I guess he is to some degree…if you define lunatic as someone with radical ideas. I’m not gonna give you Seth Godin’s bio but I will say he … Continue reading No time like the present.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I love music. Today’s commute consisted of Gordon Lightfoot and mid 80’s LA rockers Broken Homes, how’s that for a blend? For me, music has provided me with more than a soundtrack to my life, it’s given me almost as much joy as a kiss from … Continue reading Music Industry’s Obi Wan Kenobi
“How did it get so late so soon?” – Dr. Suess So I was kicking it old school yesterday and writing a check when it hit me, I mean really hit me, that it is 2013.
I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative. Bill Hicks For those who read this with any sort of regularity I realize the last two posts have been kind of serious. Don’t worry, I’m returning to the penis and fart jokes now. South African Nobel Laureate Nadine … Continue reading Create like you’re dead.
I’m sitting in the middle tryin’ to live my life Cuz’ I can’t stop the war Shelter homeless, feed the poor Can’t walk on water I can’t save your sons and daughters I can’t change the world and make things fair The least that I can do is care “Care“ -Kid Rock I’ve lived in … Continue reading Somethings You Can’t Shake
HAPPY THANKSGIVING It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives … Continue reading Food For Thought
“The Revolution introduced me to art, and in turn, art introduced me to the Revolution!” -Albert Einstein I subscribe to Seth Godin’s blog and periodically receive some really interesting quotes about art, about commerce, about being an individual. Wanted to pass some along: When John Coltrane plays the melody early in the track Harmonique, you … Continue reading The Revolution
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands; one Nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The Pledge of Allegiance As we stand on the edge of this fiscal cliff I can’t help but think about just how divided we are as … Continue reading United/Divided
Unfortunately, I can’t recall where I grabbed this from, so I am unable to give proper credit. Still worth sharing. Enjoy!
Today is election day here in the states and I voted. But look, let me make this emphatically clear, I believe the president has already been chosen. I am sadly aware that my vote pretty much means shit. Not only as part of the electoral process but also because of the state I live in. … Continue reading One person, one vote.
Originally written April, 2011 A few months ago a very close friend called me to tell me she had some tragic news. It was the worst news someone like me could ever want to hear. She told me that she had just purchased two tickets to see James Blunt at The Beacon Theater here in … Continue reading Look, I hate the song too.
“So we cheated and we lied And we tested And we never failed to fail It was the easiest thing to do.” “Southern Cross” – Crosby, Still and Nash The other night the girlwife and I went to go see CSN at the Beacon Theater. I had wanted to see them since 1984 and since … Continue reading Darkest Before the Dawn?
Eddie Vedder c/o Ten Club Seattle, WA October 17, 2012 Dear Mr. Vedder, Firstly, I am a big fan of all of your music and have been since you played the Avalon in Boston in 1992. Secondly, I am a fan of the integrity you and the band have maintained throughout your career. Truly a … Continue reading Open Letter to Eddie Vedder
“So get off your ass and come down here ‘Cause rock ‘n’ roll ain’t no riddle man To me it makes good, good sense” AC/DC Rock & Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution Long is the argument about whether or not rock and roll is dead. Personally, I find it is in the ICU and while not … Continue reading Rock & Roll
So I just finished reading this article in the May 16th issue of The New Yorker Magazine by Malcom Gladwell. It’s pretty interesting to me. We have come to love Steve Jobs. He built Apple, with Steve Wozniak, was fired from Apple, was hired back and re-built it into one of the most successful companies … Continue reading Ain’t nothin new.
“Who the fuck are you?” No, no, I am not being antagonistic; for the uninitiated, it’s a quote from The Who’s “Who Are You”. And not the watered down version either, the big bad curse word singing album cut. I remember bringing “Who Are You” to music class for “Friday Listening Day” in the second … Continue reading Who are you?
You may still have your face in the remaining scraps of some dive bar Bolivian Marching Powder, you may be sneaking out of some random persons apartment, you may simply be enjoying (or arguing) about whatever had happened hours before. Maybe you’re on the road to another gig. By and large, Rock & Roll is … Continue reading Morning Has Broken
