One Week Later

This evening our school held a candle light vigil for the victims of the tragedy at Virginia Tech last week. It was a really moving ceremony w/ students’ poems, a reading of the names of the victims, and a song.

After the vigil I was thinking about previous times I felt this way and I thought back to to a similar moment I had after 9-11. These days when something horrible happens in America I feel it over here but I think it's different b/c we're so far away. Now I’m not going to go on and on about all of these tragedies but I did want to share a similar moment I’ll never forget; a moment that still brings me to tears:

I am the kind of person that has music interlaced w/ almost every one of my lasting memories and I’ll never forget the telethon for the victims of 9-11. On that night Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, and Neil Young played a very somber version of ‘Long Road,’ a song by Pearl Jam. Many of you know that I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan but this has nothing to do w/ that (other than the possibility that my previous familiarity with the song and it’s meaning probably enhanced the impact of the moment) This is such a beautiful song being played at the perfect moment. It almost seems that this song was written after the attack. This is why music is such an amazing thing to me; this song really brought a measure of comfort to me at such a horrible moment in time.

So in this time of tragedy and pain I thought back to this moment and decided I would share this song that at one point really helped me.

Band Of The Week (April 15-21)

This week’s ‘band of the week’ is singer/songwriter Josh Rouse.

As you read this entry you’ll undoubtedly realize that I’m not quite as stoked about Josh as I was about the two previous bands but that is not a knock on him. Josh Rouse is awesome and for many (most) of the people that read this blog, you’ll probably like Josh a lot more than the two previous. Unlike the sloppy swagger in the first two bands I’ve highlighted, Rouse makes melodious little songs w/ insightful lyrics. Basically, he makes songs that are easy to love.

A comprehensive ‘history’ on Josh can be found here. To summarize his story; he was born in Nebraska but grew up all over America before settling down in Nashville. In 1998 he recorded his first album, Dressed Up Like Nebraska, which garnered a lot of praise. In 2004, for no particular reason, he moved to Spain where he recorded his fifth album, Subtitulo. (released in 2006)

When I find an artist like this, the 18 yr old rocker in me immediately files them under ‘this is good, light music…’ This hardly sounds like a ‘recommendation,’ but in the last fifteen years some of my favorite artists/bands have once graced this category including Damien Rice, Violent Femmes, Nick Drake, Matthew Ryan, Wilco, M. Ward, Ben Harper, and Ryan Adams. So yes, I generally listen to up-tempo blues-rock w/ soul and swagger, but I also enjoy the ‘good/light’ artists of the world.

In a statement that will likely further the impression that I’m ‘mailing this one in’; Josh Rouse received this ‘BOTW’ because I know of 4 bands that, for various reasons, I want to mention during specific weeks in April and May. (due to album releases or concerts)

I also have to admit that I didn’t really listen to Rouse this week but I have a sneaky suspicion that I will this next week. That’s what happened w/ my last two ‘BOTW’; I listened to them more the week after I mentioned them than the week before.

And now for the ‘recommendations’:

Quiet town



Other songs: (listen to these first 4!)

Sparrows Over Birmingham
Why Won’t You Tell Me What
Sad Eyes
Jersey Clowns
Love Vibration
Come Back
It’s The Nighttime
It Looks Like Love
Lavina
Miracle
Directions
Michigan

From the www, Vol. 5

I know I’ve done 3 www posts in a row but I couldn't pass on this one; I laughed so hard I almost cried.

While searching for videos for Saturday’s 'band of the week' I came across this…



If this was my dog I'd have to get rid of the little guy!
i wouldn't be surprised if he was raised by monkeys.

From the www, Vol. 4

this video finally seems to be working. i say 'video' but it's actually a whole concert. this website fabchannel is pretty amazing, go check it out.

i tried to put this in their 'band of the week' post; it didn't work. but it works now and this is still The Black Keys' week so here's a concert of theirs filmed in Australia.

(i specifically recommend modern times, stack shot billy, and grown so ugly)

hopefully it'll still work by the time you read this...

From the www, Vol. 3

i love iPods just as much as the next man, probably even more, but this is just STUPID!


photo by Laughing Squid

this is just ridiculous; an iPod vending machine!?!

a comedian once said "crack is God's way of telling you 'you got too much money!'" well i think we have a new measuring stick.

if you think this is a hoax or at best 'uncommon', think again.

sadly, reports say that these vending machines are making a killing in airports and supermarkets. we're talking $55,000 a month in some airports! here's an article about how successful these 'crack' dispensers have been.

The other day...

i was walking Barkley while riding my skateboard. (yes, i had him pulling me) well on that day he decided that the skateboard is a living, breathing, evil thing and thus 'had to be destroyed.' ever since that day he has taken it upon himself to protect the world from the 'skateboard of death.' watch the video below and you'll see what i mean.



don't worry, he's just playing. he doesn't really ever bark so this behavior only comes out when the skateboard comes out.

thanks to Buster for filming

Middle School Basketball Season

so our season started today; we played pretty well considering we haven't practiced much. (due to midterm exams) we got beat pretty bad but the other team played really dirty, so i chalk that up as a moral victory.

this brings me to a side note:
a lot of the students we play against are dirty rotten spoiled little brats! (a lot, not all) they play dirty, they act cocky, they talk trash, push, shove, and act like jerks. i just wonder what their parents or coaches are teaching them.(or not teaching them) this sounds horrible to say but i can't help it; i don't know where it comes from. w/ that said, i couldn't be prouder of our kids for always playing w/ class and playing the right way. who cares if you won middle school basketball games in 7th grade when you're 30 and you treat everyone like a lesser being. i fully believe that our kids at SMIC will make great adults that bring positive things to the world.

but back to basketball.
we have a very bright future; we have lots of talent in the younger grades and our kids are really classy. i can't wait to see how my girls are playing in two or three years. i can already see a few of the girls are starting to have those moments where they realize what they're capable of and are really stretching their limits on the court. it's awesome to see kids have those 'epiphanies' where they go 'OOOH, that's how you do that..' we have one or two girls that are already a notch above all of their competition and it's fun to watch the others take their lead.

ok, i meant for this to be a short post. sorry for the whining i did in the middle...