Friday, December 27, 2019
youtu.be/AYwCZqzrm… Every Sample from Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique I figure most of you are on alternate schedules this week. So here’s a bit of a different take on the Friday vid. This person has taken every song sampled on the Beasties’ legendary Paul’s Boutique album and IDed them then offered a snippet of each set against their use on the album. It’s a pretty fun listen if you are as into Paul’s Boutique as I am.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Last week was wild and wacky, which kept me away from my blogging duties. I’ll share some notes to try to get caught up before Christmas. Family News I’m very much a creature of habit. I can adjust most of the time. But when things get too out of whack, I do struggle. Last week we had four different schedules for five days of school. That really messed with my head and I was never sure what day it was or where I was supposed to be.
Friday, December 20, 2019
youtu.be/yXQViqx6G… “All I Want for Christmas Is You” - Mariah Carey This is right up my alley: a holiday music classic that just made chart history. Twenty-five years after its release, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is currently the #1 song in the country. Because of weird chart rules, it did not officially qualify as a charting single for years and years. But as those rules have been relaxed in the streaming age, “AIWFCIY” has consistently charted in recent years, peaking as high as #3.
Monday, December 16, 2019
There were some happenings around our house this weekend. The big event was M’s first true high school dance on Saturday, her winter formal. As you would imagine, this has involved several weeks of preparations both for her attire and who she would attend the dance with. And then the direct prep dominated our Saturday morning and afternoon when she got her nails and hair done.[1] She ended up inviting three friends over to get ready at our house then take pictures and ride to the dance together.
Friday, December 13, 2019
This was not a classic year for music. There were only a couple albums that I listened to more than a few times, only one of which that I went back regularly over the course of several months. There were long stretches in the year when there were no new songs that I was crazy about. But there were still enough solid songs for me to make my annual list.
Friday, December 13, 2019
youtu.be/XZ2TpEMR6… “2000 Miles” - KT Tunstall If you make a good Christmas song, eventually it will be covered to death. Somehow I’ve only heard a couple versions of this Pretenders original. Coldplay did a very nice, in-studio version at KROQ in the early 2000s. But KT Tunstall’s version is just wonderful.
Monday, December 9, 2019
It’s Monday. That means some of my patented Weekend Notes are in order! Service Hours M, C, and I went to a local food pantry to volunteer Saturday so they could earn some service hours. They were sent to man the produce table, while I spent the first two hours running the door where people waited to have their eligibility status checked. Upon check-in, people received a paper ticket with a number and then waited in the lobby.
Friday, December 6, 2019
It’s tough to crank out a list this week. I’m coming off the high of putting out my Favorite Songs of the Decade list. I’m working on my Favorite Songs of 2019 list. I’m deep into the Christmas music. And new music pretty much dries up this time of year. So just a video this week. youtu.be/OR07r0ZMF… “Christmas in Hollis” - RUN-DMC. The 1980s were a great time for Christmas music.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
I love stuff like this. It is crazy to even begin to consider the vastness of space and the objects that might be out there. We have all these ideas, grounded in physics and math as we know them, of what’s going on across the universe. But we don’t really know what is happening beyond our solar system. If those mysteries fascinate you, too, you might enjoy this little summary of what we think is out there.
Tuesday, December 3, 2019
A whole mess of books to share. I’ve been putting this off because I was having a hard time writing about a couple of them. I think you’ll be able to guess which ones as you work your way through the list. The Last Stand of Payne Stewart - Kevin Robbins This is an unlikely book for me to both read and enjoy. I never liked Payne Stewart. He seemed like an arrogant prick most of his career.
Monday, December 2, 2019
It was an enjoyable holiday weekend at our house. Some highlights… KU Hoops I’ll break this out later, but the KU-Dayton game on Wednesday was a fine beginning to the holiday break. That game is an argument for why college hoops is better than college football. Two very good teams going toe-to-toe in the season’s earliest weeks and a loss does not kill you for the rest of the year.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
Well shit, I’m late. Last week I looked back and saw that I released my Favorite Songs of the 2000s on November 23, 2009. I was aiming to post this decade’s list on December 1 but when I saw that date, I figured I better get my shit together and drop this on your heads. Besides, I haven’t even started on my Favorite songs of 2019 and the Christmas music starts rolling on Friday, so time is a wastin’!
Monday, November 25, 2019
Chart Week: November 6, 1982 Song: “Maneater” - Daryl Hall and John Oates Chart Position: #36, 4th week on the chart. Peaked at #1 for three weeks in December and January. I was hoping to turn on the local AT40 replay last weekend and hear a countdown from a Thanksgiving weekend past that would stir up some holiday-themed memories. Alas the station that plays the countdowns had already switched to Christmas music, and the countdown was one of the special Christmas shows that Casey did late in his life.
Friday, November 22, 2019
open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Love You For A Long Time” - Maggie Rogers. Another utterly delightful song from Maggie. “Motorcade” - Peggy Sue. This is a duo from London who are set to release their debut album in February. I love this first track, with its fun swing and driving tempo. “Champion of the World” - Coldplay. “Los Angeles, Be Kind” - Owl John It’s been a long time since I’ve liked a Coldplay song or album.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
We had an interesting Monday when it came to interactions with automobiles, both indirectly and directly. Things started with a bit of a bang. Just before we were heading out of the house to do school drop offs C yelled to us, “There’s a car on fire outside!” I ran to our front door and, sure enough, on the main road our house sits near, about 100 yards from our front door, a car was sitting, hood open, with flames pouring out of the engine block area.
Monday, November 18, 2019
There are moments when the lack of respect I get in my house is unbelievable. Example: yesterday S and I used the relatively warm and dry afternoon to put up some outdoor Christmas lights. Part of our post-pool construction landscaping was adding seven Norwegian spruces to our backyard to provide some privacy. We decided to add them to our holiday decorating by wrapping them in Christmas lights. (We also have five new Norwegian spruces in our front yard, but they are over 250 feet from the nearest power outlet.
Friday, November 15, 2019
open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Lenox Hill” - Thyla. This here shit? This is the shit that is right up my alley these days. Driving, dreamy pop with a female vocalist. Wait until you see my Favorites of 2019 list… “Now I Know” - The Whiffs. This song has a serious late ‘70s/early ‘80s vibe to it. The rock music of that time that bumped up against New Wave but still had a garage rock core.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
As if the golf wasn’t enough, I have myself another old-man hobby. Or I nearly had another old man hobby, I should say. Back in July I saw an online ad for a watch sale at some random store. It wasn’t a store I was interested in, but I clicked through just to see what was available. The watch I had been wearing daily for nearly five years - a Citizen Eco-Drive - was starting to get beat up a little bit and I’d had my eyes open to get something new for awhile.
Wednesday, November 13, 2019
We finally - FINALLY - wrapped up the fall sports season last night. It was a strange and disappointing ending. L’s basketball team’s first opponent in the City tournament was a team that was undefeated. All those wins came in very convincing fashion. We figured it was another team loaded with six graders who play year-round and we’d be lucky to stay in the game for a quarter. Our assessment about their talent was accurate.
Monday, November 11, 2019
Mother Nature takes a lot of grief around here. Occasionally, though, I have to give her props. Yesterday she dropped an absolutely perfect late fall day on us. It was sunny, not much breeze, and although the high was forecast to be in the mid–50s, she kicked her heels off, checked her nails, and gave us a bonus high of 61. I spent most of the day doing yard work, but I did not mind because it was so beautiful out.
Friday, November 8, 2019
open.spotify.com/playlist/…–4bYpMGZlA “For the First Time” - Best Coast. What a glorious day! We have new Best Coast music! I’m deep into my Favorite Songs of the Decade research. Best Coast is on that list. On Monday I did some searching to see if BC was rumored to have any new music on the horizon but came up empty. Less than 24 hours later this dropped, with news of a new album in 2020.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
It’s been nearly three months since my last (and first) What I’m Watching post. I haven’t watched much in terms of variety since then, but I have packed in some quantity. So here’s a quick run down. Brooklyn Nine-Nine I was doing some DVR cleanup, mostly deleting crap the girls recorded and never watched over the summer, and realized I had almost half of last season’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine to still get through.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
It was a big weekend, as I had my much anticipated visit to a local country club for a round of golf with a friend. But before we get to that, I must share the round I played nine days earlier. That day I was not sure of my goal. It was a cold, dreary day and I had a hard time getting motivated. But, looking at the forecast and my schedule for the next week, I realized this might be my last chance to play before the country club visit.
Monday, November 4, 2019
As has become routine, a quick-ish rundown of what went down over the weekend. Halloween OK, not technically the weekend, but worth a few words about how the girls spent Halloween. M went to a friend’s house to hang out and watch movies. C, along with most of the girls in her grade, dressed as Dalmatians. They didn’t quite make it to 101 but you get the idea. And L dressed as Robin from Stranger Things and joined two friends who were dressed as Dustin and Steve from the show.
Friday, November 1, 2019
open.spotify.com/playlist/… “November Has Come” - Gorrilaz. Hey, look, it’s November 1! “Your Book” - Say Sue Me. Might this be the first time I’ve featured a band from South Korea in these posts? These kids have zero K-Pop to them; this sounds straight out of the early ‘00s indie era. “Downtown Lights” - Frankie Lee. Lee grew up in Stillwater, MN. In the mid–90s actress Jessica Lange moved there with her husband Sam Shepard.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
As is my norm, I am behind on sharing my books with you. So here we go… Normal People - Sally Rooney I hate when a book lets you down. I was really enjoying this book as I worked my way through it. And then the final quarter or so ruined most of that good will. Normal People is centered on two Irish teens from opposite sides of the track.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
OK, finally some weekend notes. Youth Basketball L’s team finally got their second win of the year, a nervy 18–15 win. They were down 14–10 in the fourth quarter, which seemed like a monumental gap. We got back-to-back steals and scores to tie, then cranked up the defense, got a couple more scores, and held on for the win. It was everything a 5th–6th grade basketball game should be: maddening, hilarious, outrageous, and ridiculous.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Monday got away from me a little. I had some things on the agenda, but also figured I’d be able to sit down and crank out a weekend summary post or something. Then things got a little weird. So in the interest of posting something before Monday is over, here is a quick review of my day. I know, I know: I’m breaking ground for new levels of excitement here!
Friday, October 25, 2019
A couple new songs with a healthy dose of nostalgia this week. open.spotify.com/playlist/… “Our Little World” - County Line Road. Maybe it’s the name of the group, but I was surprised to learn this band is from England and not the US. This track has a big, mid–80s feel to it. “Walking on a String” - Matt Berninger with Phoebe Bridgers. What better way for Berninger to introduce the world to his first solo album than to release a single that features Phoebe Bridgers?
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Chart Week: September 17, 1983 Song: “Stand Back” - Stevie Nicks Chart Position: #35, 16th week on the chart. Peaked at #5 the week of August 20. First a piece of housekeeping. I noticed this morning that I mis-numbered my last entry, for some reason skipping from 31 to 34. I have updated that post to correctly show it as entry #32 in the Reaching for the Stars collection. I regret the error.