Children Scared Of Santa Photo Gallery

Children Scared Of Santa Photo Gallery

Looks like Santa's been hittin' the sauce. Take a look at this gallery of photos of children who are freaked out by ol' Saint Nick. Also, if you're looking for some cool vintage holiday LP's to download for free, check out www.falalalala.com

This is just wrong!!! - Full story here.

.

Sorry I haven't had a chance to update this blog recently. I just released Continental Magazine #11 w/CD and I've been extremely busy mailing copies out to subscribers and advertisers. This issue features The Sadies, The Gammarays and a 30 track CD compilation. You get the magazine and CD for just $5.95, plus shipping. To order, click here.

Possibly The Best Christmas Album Ever!

Christmas albums just don't get much better than this! You can download side one of this great LP here. This album was the inspiration for the cover art for our Seasonal Favorites, Volume One CD which came out a few years ago (sadly, it's out of print now, but we will probably make more next year).

Netflix This Week:

No time to watch movies this week - I had to watch the Newcastle vs. Everton match over 3 days, about 1/2 hour each day. Newcastle face Chelsea this weekend, although I don't think I'll be watching it live at 4:30 am, especially since I'm driving down to Seattle to see the Ocean Blue play tonight. I've got to find time also to watch a few Rankin/Bass specials with my boys and Christmas Vacation and Christmas Story with my wife.

Cereality - A Sit-Down Cereal Restaurant!

A sit-down cereal restaurant!

There's a new series of restaurant's opening up that serve breakfast cereal called Cereality. You can mix n' match different kinds, add toppings, then pour the milk in and enjoy. A standard order includes 2 cereals, 1 topping and milk. You can even get it to go in one of the nifty containers shown above. I'm hoping they make it out to the west coast - if so I'm there!

An Early Christmas Present From Neko Case

Click here to download Neko Case covering Tom Wait's "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis.

Speaking of Neko, my wife and I drove down to Seattle to see her show with The Sadies last Sunday. Unfortunately, Neumo's decided to let more people in than the club could comfortably hold and we had to listen to the show from just outside the bathrooms, smelling urinal cakes and stale beer the whole time. Down the hallway we could barely see Neko's head, but couldn't hear the show very well. There was a tightly packed wall of people at the entrance to the main room. We weren't willing to fight people to get in, so after a few songs we decided to bag it and drive home. Hopefully she'll play a much bigger venue (perhaps the Showbox) next time. I talked to the club afterward and they gave me free tickets to the Ocean Blue show this Friday. Hopefully that'll be a better experience!

Top Ten New Releases - Tuesday, November 30th 2004

1. Placebo - Once More With Feeling CD + Bonus CD
Placebo's Without You I'm Nothing CD was a favorite when it was released back in 1998. I was on holiday in London and heard this on the radio a bunch along with the Manic Street Preachers' This Is My Truth, Tell Me Yours CD. I haven't heard any other Placebo releases though, so this "best of" plus bonus CD package should be a good addition to my collection.

2. V/A - Best Of Hotel Costes CD
I am a big fan of the first seven Hotel Costes CD's and have them all in my collection, so I probably won't pick up this "best of" collection, even though it has some unreleased material on it.

3. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Down Side Up: B Sides & Rarities CD Box Set
I'm not a huge Siouxsie fan, but I do enjoy the 20 or so songs I have in my collection. This 50+ song box set would be really cool, but it's so expensive as an import now I can't really think about buying it unless a domestic version comes out.

4. Scissor Sisters - Mary CD Single #1
I wouldn't normally include an import CD single with only one new track on it, but it's a slow release week, so I gotta fill a top ten. Only worth getting if you really need the Junkie XL remix of this song.

5. Mr Brightside (Enhanced-Limited Edition) CD Single
The Killers are one of my favorite new bands of 2004. This CD single includes a badge, the Josh Harris remix of 'Somebody Told Me', a non-album track, 'Who Let You Go' and the video for 'Mr Brightside'.

That's gonna be it for this week....just can't find anything else good this week. I should have a full top 10 for ya next week. In the meantime, if you need some Christmas music to add to your collection, check out these sites: Falalalala.com and Basichip.com

Top Ten New Releases - Tuesday, November 23rd 2004

1. U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (Deluxe) CD + DVD)
I am a pretty big U2 fan and have been since they played Live Aid back in 1985. I have to say, of all of their releases this is probably the one I've least looked forward to, but I'm still gonna buy it. I think "Vertigo" is pretty weak - it's like they're trying to write something for Achtung Baby, Volume 2. U2 are at their best when they're moving forward - this and the other song they played on Saturday Night Live this weekend sound like re-writes of their old songs. Still, I'm sure some of the other tracks are gonna be classics - they have never delivered an album that was 100% crap, even Pop.

2. Kevin Spacey - Beyond the Sea OST CD
This is a weird one, but I have high hopes for it. It's seventeen songs for the upcoming Bobby Darin biopic, Beyond The Sea, sung by Kevin Spacey with an orchestra. I've heard him sing and he really isn't bad, but I wonder if he can pull it off for an hour-long CD.

3. Seinfeld Gift Set (Seasons 1-3 with Original Script, Salt & Pepper Shakers, and Playing Cards) DVD Box
I, like many people, was a big fan of Seinfeld during it's run on TV, but once the series ended and I watched a year's worth of reruns I just couldn't watch it anymore. Having said that, I think seeing it on DVD will be pretty cool, especially with all of the bonus feature packed into this set.

4. Franz Ferdinand - This Fire CD
This isn't my favorite song from their S/T album, but I will probably pick it up since they have rerecorded it with new vocals and guitars. The B-sides aren't on the album, but I have them on their earlier singles so, unfortunately, I'm really buying this for just one song.

5. Ann Margret - Ann-Margret Xmas Carol Collection CD
I'm a little leery of this one. If it was a vintage 60's album being reissued I'd be all over it, but it's a new set of recordings, so it probably won't be quite as cool. Still, I'm always looking to add holiday music to my collection, so this might be a worthwhile purchase.

6. Nirvana - With The Lights Out CD/DVD Box Set
I really burned out on Nirvana in the mid-90's, but I am kinda curious about this set - it might just rekindle my interest in them. The DVD should be pretty cool too. Don't know if I'm willing to pay full price for this though.

7. V/A - Christmas with the Kranks OST CD
I have absolutely no desire to see this movie, but I may end up buying the soundtrack, which includes holiday tunes from The Ramones, The Ravonettes, Davie Allan and the Chesterfield Kings.

8. Scissor Sisters - Remixed CD
Scissor Sisters have been one of my favorite bands this year - great, catchy songs that just don't leave your head. Kinda like an Abba for the new millenium. I hope this remix CD is just extended versions of their songs, and not radical techno remixes.

9. The Woggles - Soul Sizzling 7" Meltdown CD
Forget the Strokes, Hives and all of the other garage rock wannabees - The Woggles are the real deal. Their CD and 7" releases are all excellent, but to truly experience this band you have to go to one of their shows. Still, this CD, which includes many of their early classics, is a must have release.

10. The Makers - Stripped CD
Continuing with more garage rock, The Makers were one of my favorite bands when they recorded for Estrus Records in the mid-90's. Then they jumped ship to Sub Pop and they kinda lost the plot. Now they're on Kill Rock Stars - hopefully they've gone back to doing what they do best, but I think I'll wait to read a few reviews before considering this purchase.

Band Aid 20 / U2's New Single - Vertigo

Yikes! - Sir Bob's Lookin' Old!

The new version of Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is about to drop. The single, the proceeds of which go towards further aid for Africa, hasn't hit store shelves yet. However, if you really want to hear it just boot up your favorite file sharing program and you're bound to find it. Whoever's sharing the song oughta burn in hell though - I'm sure not a small number of people are going to die in Africa from hunger because the aid they should have received from the single's sales will be diminished by people sharing the song for free. Having said this, it's aired on British radio and I got a chance to hear it - it sucks! I still like the original (and the crazy extended remix version, with all of the stars introducing themselves and laughing). The new version is just terrible - the singing and the song arrangement. They really should have just written a new song - I'm sure it would have turned out much better. I think I'm gonna pass on buying the new version and will find an African charity that I can send my money to instead.


It was also amusing to read about Bono deliberating over whether he wanted to sing his line "Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you" again. He said it was "too heavy" and he didn't want to do it again. So then they got Justin, the singer of The Darkness to sing the line. Then Bono changed his mind and said he'd do it after all, starting a feud between Justin and himself. Instead of singing it in parody of Bruce Springsteen (which he said about his singing in the original version) he does it like MacPhisto (see photo above), his devilish lounge singer alter-ego during the Zooropa Tour. Another funny thing, this time in regard to U2's new single "Vertigo". In the beginning Bono sings Unos, Dos, Tres, Catorce, which translates to: One, Two, Three, Fourteen! It doesn't bother me too much, but I've noticed that many U2-haters are really annoyed by this line. I admit, it's not very clever and the song itself is pretty lame, but it's no more disposible than half the lyrics on their Achtung Baby or Zooropa albums.

Netflix This Week:

Just working my way through disc 4 of The Sopranos: Season Three and about halfway through Bubba Ho-Tep. Also bought the new Live Aid 4-DVD box set, so I probably won't be watching too many movies this week while I work my way through it.

Mozilla's Firefox Browser & Thunderbird E-mail Programs

I have been busy today working on installing and configuring the Mozilla Firefox web browser and the Thunderbird e-mail programs on my computer at work. Once they are up and running I think both are going to be pretty cool, but it's been harder than I thought to transfer all of my settings/e-mails from Internet Explorer/Outlook Express to these new programs. You can check 'em out at www.mozilla.org.

Protect Your Banana - With Bananaguard!

Just in time for your holiday shopping - protection to help maintain your banana's perfect curve. Lots of different colors to choose from too - visit their website at www.bananaguard.com

Top Ten New Releases - Tuesday, November 16th 2004

1. Gary Numan - Anthology CD (Dualdisc)
I already have a Gary Numan greatest hits CD in my collection, but this looks interesting because, apparently, it's a two-sided disc, with CD audio on one side and DVD video on the other side. It would be cool if this technology catches on.

2. Bowie at Beeb: Best of BBC Radio 68-72 2-CD Set
I'm not a huge Bowie fan; I like about 20 of his songs, but a lot of the good ones have been played to death over the years on the radio. I would definitely be interested in hearing this though - hopefully the session recordings are different than the studio recordings.

3. Dead & Dreaming: Tribute to Counting Crows CD
You've got to be kidding!

4. The Hentchmen - Form Follows Function CD
Forget the Strokes and all of the other modern garage rock wannabee's - Detroit's Hentchmen are the real deal. I have a bunch of their Norton Records recordings, all of 'em excellent. Looks like they're on a new label now - hopefully with this release they're still doing what they've done so well in the past.

5. Puffy Amiyumi - Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi CD
This Japanese female twosome might have an odd name (in Japan they go by Puffy, but had to add their names to the band title to avoid legal problems with Puff Daddy). They have an eclectic sound that blends 60's bubblegum pop, garage and modern dance music. I haven't hear this one yet, but a good place to start with their music is their early "best of" CD Illustrated History.

6. V/A - Pickin on Modest Mouse: Bluegrass Tribute CD
Is there a market for this?

7. V/A - Rock-A-Billy Tribute to AC/DC CD
You shook-a me bay-be, You shook-a me sweet little kitten, All-a da night long-a. Amazing!

8. Smooth Sax Tribute to Jennifer Lopez CD
Somebody kill me now!

9. Live Aid 4-DVD Box Set
I watched this live on TV (showing my age, I guess!) and taped it. Over the years the tapes have deteriorated to the point where they're unwatchable. I have a copy on order and it's gonna be so cool to watch this just like I did the day it happened. I wish it was complete - for a variety of reasons some of the acts aren't included. However, it will be cool to skip around easily and to view it without commercials.

10. Elf (Infinifilm Edition) DVD
I saw about 3/4 of this last year when it was in movie theaters, but the film broke and we were given vouchers to see it later. It was near the end of the theatrical run and we didn't want to see the first hour or so again so soon after seeing it the first time, so we used the vouchers for another film. Now we can finally see how it ends!



4.

Virgin Mary Sandwich On Ebay

Virgin Mary Sandwich On Ebay

I don't really have anything interesting to write about today. I will put together a top 10 purchase list for this week later today, but until then here's something I thought was kinda funny. Ebay has ended the listing after it was bid up to $20,000!

"Duyser thought eBay would be the best place to show off the sandwich, made on plain white bread and American cheese and cooked with no oil or butter. She said she took a bite after making it 10 years ago and saw a face staring back at her from the bread."

Time To Find A New Sport/Team To Follow

Laurent Robert of Newcastle United

Newcastle United 1 - Manchester United 3

For the past few years I have only followed one sport - soccer (or football, depending on where you live). I have played co-ed and men's soccer for the last 6 or 7 years and I follow Newcastle United in the English Premier League. When I got cable TV a few years ago I discovered Fox Sports World, which covers a variety of soccer leagues throughout the world. When I looked for a team to follow, I looked no further than my fridge, which usually has a few bottles of Newcastle Brown in it. They also have one of the best strikers in the world, Alan Shearer, which is nearly the same age as I am. Over the years, they have been an entertaining team to follow, yet probably one of the least predictable as well. It'd be so easy to follow Arsenal, Man U or Chelsea - fairly consistant and on TV nearly every week. But no, I've picked Newcastle, who are about 90% there, but for a variety of reasons they have failed to establish themselves in the league's top 5 teams. This weekend was bad - games against the big 3 are always greatly anticipated, yet they almost always end the same. This game could have ended up with the score reversed, but for a couple of missed chances and a few blunders from the ref. I'm still in a funk over it, but hey, it's just too late to switch my allegiance to another team.

My co-ed and men's soccer teams are another matter. I sponser my men's team (Double Crown Records). We play outdoor soccer in the summer and indoor soccer in the winter. We are a good team and get better each year, yet the competition keeps getting better at a faster rate. As a result, we haven't won a game since July or so. I haven't minded, until recently. I love the players that I play with and we always cap off gameday with a round or two of beers. However, the consistant losing is really dampening my enthusiasm for soccer. What makes it worse is the fact that my co-ed team hasn't won since August! I haven't counted how many games in a row my teams have lost, but it's got to be about 40 games in a row. Oh well, it's good exercise and it's something to do during the winter.

KEXP Radio Sessions Online

KEXP Radio Sessions Online

.

I've spent all day listening to different recordings on KEXP Online, an awesome radio station/website based in Seattle, WA. There are loads of great on-air recordings that you can listen to at: http://www.kexp.org/ . Here's a list of what I've listened to today:

Trash Can Sinatras 10/1/04
The Chameleons 10/15/02
Air 4/29/04
The Delays 7/24/04
The Delgados 4/21/03
The Flaming Lips 12/6/03
Interpol 9/13/02

Netflix This Week:

We have 3 movies sitting on the counter at home, but I've been so busy doing the layout for The Continental Magazine I haven't had a chance to watch any of them. The only TV I've watched this week was Survivor, Newcastle vs. Fulham, and the Real World.

Songs For Winter - November 2004 Mix CD Download

Each month I'm going to try to put together a mix CD consisting of
MP3's that you can download legally over the internet. Let me
know what you think - if any of you want to do the same thing
shoot me an e-mail at records@dblcrown.com with your own
mix CD track listing and I'll include it here.

Songs For Winter - November 2004

1. Ian McCulloch - Love In Veins
2. Death Cab For Cutie - Photobooth
3. Holly Golightly - Won't Go Out
4. Camper Van Beethoven - Take The Skinheads Bowling
5. Buffalo Daughter - Five Minutes
6. Neko Case - If You Knew
7. The Bobbyteens - I'm Alright
8. Trashcan Sinatras - Welcome Back
9. Daniel Lanois - Shine
10. Nick Cave - Bring It On
11. Takako Minekawa - Maxi On!
12. Holly Golightly - Your Love Is Mine
13. Senor Coconut - Showroom Dummies
14. Neko Case - Train From Kansas City

(Note: Cover photo courtesy of www.abandoned-places.com)

Sadies Interview In Upcoming Continental Magazine

The Sadies - Favourite Colours CD
Download "Why Be So Curious (Part 3)"

I am so stoked - I have just wrapped up an interview with the Sadies for the upcoming issue of The Continental Magazine! They are probably best known for their work with Neko Case (including her excellent new album The Tigers Have Spoken), but they have released several great albums on their own for the Bloodshot and YepRoc labels. Here is an excerpt from the upcoming interview.

The Continental Magazine: To me there is/was something truly magical about your recordings and shows with Neko Case. How did you meet each other and doyou have any future projects or tours planned?

Dallas Good: "Brian Connelly from the Shadowy Men [from Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet] recommended me as her touring guitarist for her first record. And then I didn't really want to tour with her band anymore so I suggested that The Sadies do a tour and we did. In that time, we did some recordings and a tour that took us to Bellingham among other places, and then we got really busy for five years. We made the live record [Neko's new release, The Tigers Have Spoken] by rehearsing it for a few days up in Toronto. We wrote a fair amount for the recording, some of which is on the record, and we recorded it over seven shows. There was no cheating involved - it's just a picture-perfect document of what we do together."

Here is a list of all of the Sadies CD's to date:
Favourite Colours
Stories Often Told
Pure Diamond Gold
Red Dirt (with Andre Williams)
Tremendous Efforts
Mayors of the Moon (with Jon Langford of The Mekons)
Precious Moments
The Tigers Have Spoken (with Neko Case)

Top Ten New Releases - Tuesday, November 9th 2004

1. Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken CD
I am really looking forward to the release of this CD, a live recording by Neko Case backed by The Sadies. One of the best shows I have ever seen was about 3 or 4 years ago here at the 3-B Tavern (Bellingham, WA) with Neko & The Sadies (she was actually a bartender at the 3-B a long time ago!). The Sadies started the show with a set of their own tunes, then Neko came on stage and the Sadies backed her for an amazing 90 minute set. The combination of these artists is simply magical - this CD comes with my highest recommendation. I actually did an interview with The Sadies for the upcoming issue of The Continental Magazine, available soon.

2. Glide - Curvature Of The Earth CD
Glide is the ambient/experimental side project of Echo & The Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant. This disc has been available for a while from Ochre Records in the UK, but is now being released domestically by SpinArt. I am a big fan of his work outside the Bunnymen and this is probably one of his best works to date.

3. John Waters - A John Waters Christmas CD
This is the time of year that hundreds of new and old Christmas CD's get issued and reissued. Most are packed with the same songs you've heard hundreds of times, with a few feeble attempts to create new holiday classics (I think the last new creations that I'd call "classics" would be "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Band Aid and "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" by Elmo & Patsy). I saw this listed on Amazon and I've gotta admit, I'm intrigued. No track listing online yet, but this may be a good one!

4. Queen - On Fire: Live At The Bowl CD
Back in 1986 I was on a trip to Europe with my high school German class. When we were in Munich, we had an evening free and had two choices. Watch the World Cup final in our hotel lobby and watch Germany play in a room full of supporters. If they won there would be a huge party in the streets - a once in a lifetime thing. Or we could go see Queen rock the Olympic stadium. I decided to watch the soccer game...Germany lost and it ended up being a quiet, uneventful evening. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to the Queen concert, but I guess this video is the next best thing.

5. Scissor Sisters - Scissor Sisters Remixed CD
Their debut release, along with Franz Ferdinand's debut, has probably been the CD played most in our house. To cash in on their success they are releasing a full-length disc of remixes. Hopefully these mixes will be respectful to the originals - I hate it when remixes are completely different songs, with only a lyric or two sampled over the top.

6. Saint Etienne - Travel Edition 1990-2005 CD
No track listing for this one, but I have heard enough of their music over the years to give this one a close look.

7. The Specials & Fun Boy Three - Very Best of the Specials & Fun Boy Three CD
This one looks very odd...I think it's a bunch of Specials and Fun Boy Three tunes re-recorded with a couple of original band members, with guest vocals by a Go-Go. Seems like it'll be pretty bad, but I love the Specials so much it might deserve a preview listen.

8. Before Sunset DVD
My wife and I rented Before Sunrise a couple of months ago, thinking that it would probably end up being kinda cheesy. We just don't go for romantic dramas too much. However, we do like to travel and decided to give it a shot due to the good reviews it's receeived over the years and to the fact that it takes place in Vienna. Before Sunset takes place 9 years later with the same two actors, played by Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. From what I've heard, this one is better than the first movie and Ethan Hawke isn't as annoying this time.

9. Spend the Holidays With Liberace DVD
A few years ago during a visit to Las Vegas we went to the Liberace museum. I didn't have much of an opinion about him before that visit, but it was really cool seeing his cars, capes, clothes and other memorabilia. I don't think I'd ever listen to his music intentionally, but the idea of having a Liberace Christmas DVD seems perfect for a swanky holiday cocktail party.

10. Roman Candle - The Life Of Bobby Darin Book
I read lots of biographies, but have never found a decent one for Bobby Darin. Now that a movie based on his life is about to come out, it seems as if the market is getting flooded with biographies on his short, but dramatic, life. This one looks to be the best of the bunch - I'll pick it up and write more about it later.

Lounge Singers Galore!

Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin in "Beyond The Sea"
I have been a fan of Bobby Darin for about 15 years. I got into his music about the same time I got into Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the whole lounge/exotica scene. However, of all of these I probably listen to Darin the most. It's probably due to his versatility - he started off doing rock/pop tunes like "Splish Splash", "Queen Of The Hop" and "Dream Lover". Then he moved into Sinatra territory, doing big band stuff like "Mack The Knife", "As Long As I'm Singin'", "I Wanna Be Around", "The Good Life" and "I Left My Heart In San Francisco". During his final years he did folk rock, like "If I Were A Carpenter" and "Simple Song Of Freedom". Coming soon is a bio-flick called "Beyond The Sea", featuring Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin. This is a project that he's wanted to do for many years, but had trouble finding a studio/writer to move forward with the project. However, he knew that if he wanted to play the lead he'd have to do it soon. Spacey is now in his mid-40's and Bobby Darin died at the age of 37. I can't believe how dedicated he is to this project. He is singing all of the tunes in the movie with a 70+ piece orchestra and is also planning to go on tour singing these songs (I hope Seattle is a stop on the tour - I'd love to Darin's songs performed live). You can see a trailer for the movie at: www.beyondtheseathemovie.com.


Tom Jones & Neil Diamond
Impersonators At The Silver
Reef Casino This Friday

My wife and I love Tom Jones and Neil Diamond, along with some other lounge-style singers, and we love impersonators, so this is a dream concert for us. We also love drinking and gambling, so it just doesn't get any better than this! We've seen the Neil Diamond impersonator before (I believe his real name is Jay White, and he normally plays at the Riviera in Las Vegas) - he's pretty good, but really funny looking close up (we shook hands with him when we saw him in Bellingham a couple of years ago). I'm not sure how good the Tom Jones impersonator is gonna be, but after seeing the real thing a few months ago I'm looking forward to his act too.

Friday's Random Thoughts

A church built out of Legos - amazing!


An early Christmas treat from Northwest
garage rock legends - Girl Trouble!
Christmas, Here We Come!

Netflix This Week:

Dawn of the Dead (Widescreen Unrated Director's Cut) DVD
It's rare for me to watch a horror movie these days - I've got a couple of kids and I already went through the period of old school horror classics in the 80's and 90's. I heard a bunch of rave reviews for this one and thought I'd give it a chance - boy, was it mediocre! Boring actors, bad acting, cheezy zombies and over-the-top computer effects...oh, and no storyline whatsoever. I rented Cabin Fever over the summer and it was so much better than this.

Soul Plane (Unrated Mile High Edition) DVD
This movie has exactly one semi-funny scene, when the "soul plane" is first shown. It's painted plush velvet purple, and, get this - it's got chrome spinners on the landing gear and souped-up hydraulics! It's taken my wife three sittings to get through it - she keeps falling asleep!

FahrenHYPE 9/11 DVD
Got it to see how the "dark side" reacted to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. However, we got it on Wednesday, and with our depression over the election we put it right back in the mailer and sent it back without watching it.

Ocean Blue In Seattle Friday, December 3rd

I just heard that one of my favorite bands, The Ocean Blue, will be playing in Seattle next month. It's been about 8 years since I saw them last. I also saw them a few years before that on a big tour they did with the Mighty Lemon Drops and John Wesley Harding. They seem to be in limboland, between doing the band thing full time and quitting the biz altogether. They have a new 6 track CD EP out, called Waterworks, that continues with the sound the band have crafted for over a decade. You can pre-order it through Amazon by clicking on the Waterworks link, or buy it direct from the band now (which is what I did) at www.theoceanblue.com. The band has gone through several lineup changes, and don't have a sax player (which means they can't really play many of their early hits), but I am really looking forward to their upcoming show.

Which mall will she be at this year?

Bush Wins - Daily Show Funny For 4 More Years!

It's gonna hurt taking that sticker off!!!

It's all over - Bush has won the election by a not-so-slim margin. For us here in Washington state it might be a double-whammy - our governor might end up being Republican Dino Rossi. After 4 years of gettin' f-ed on national issues we're now gonna get f-ed closer to home. Oh well, at least the Daily Show with Jon Stewart will be funny for four more years!

Overall I think Bush was beatable, but Kerry just wasn't the man to do it. I voted for him, but to me it just didn't seem right to have a candidate saying he was going to fight for the lower/middle class, when he's extremely well-off AND married a woman worth millions (or is that billions?). Hopefully in the next 4 years democrats will come up with somebody strong. I know for sure Hillary ain't the one!

Top Ten New Releases - Tuesday, November 2nd 2004

1. Bobby Darin - Big Sur CD
I have always been a big fan of Bobby Darin, primarily his lounge stuff, but his folk songs that he recorded during the last few years of his life were also pretty good. I am looking forward to the upcoming Bobby Darin bio-pic, featuring Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin. This disc looks interesting - a set of rare and unreleased songs from 1969.

2. Minus 5 - At The Organ CD
I actually have a copy of this one already, thanks to the folks at YepRoc records, who sent me a review copy for the upcoming issue of Mission In Motion. This is a great disc, combining the talents of Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck and the members of Wilco.

3. Thievery Corporation - Babylon Rewind CD
My wife and I seldom agree on the music we listen to at home or in the car, but whenever I put a Thievery Corporation CD on she seems to get into it. I wish Amazon had audio previews of the tracks, but I'm sure I'll pick this one up at some point.

4. The Residents - Commercial Album: 25th Anniversary Special Edition CD
I tried to get into The Residents in the 80's, when I was going through a phase of buying odd, experimental electronic music. As hard as I tried, I could only listen to half an album or so before going crazy. Someday I'd like to give them another chance; if I do this is probably what I'd start with. Will Sergeant, guitarist of Echo & The Bunnymen, really digs these guys.

5. ABC - Lexicon Of Love 2-CD Deluxe Edition
I have heard rumors of this release for a couple of years, but now it is finally available (for the low import price of $39.99 - ugh!). Lexicon Of Love is definitely on my list of top albums of the 80's and one of the few that still stands up to this day. This release has the original album, remastered of course, along with 10 bonus tracks (remixes, demos and b-sides) and a bonus CD with a concert recorded November, 1982).

6. The Criterion Collection Holiday 2004 Gift Set DVD
Got $5,250 burnin' a hole in your pocket? If so, why not buy this set of 282 DVD's, including personal faves Monty Python's Life Of Brian, Slacker & Knife In The Water. It's pretty highbrow stuff, for the most part, and I can't see them selling many of them - how many people have that much money to blow on DVD's and how many people would actually want all of these DVD's in their collection. Crazy....

7. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Widescreen Special Edition) DVD
I can't think of anyone that hasn't seen this classic, but if you feel the need to add it to your DVD collection it looks like this is the version to get.

8. Goldfrapp - Wonderful Electric 2-DVD Set
I love both of Goldfrapp's CD's and definitely want to see this DVD at some point. However, I don't know why they'd put out a 2 DVD set with a different concert on each disc with nearly the same setlist. I can't imagine that, as an electronic/trip-hop group, the sets would be too different from each other. I have never seen them live though, so perhaps they are a little more "live" than I am imagining.

9. The Simpsons Christmas 2 DVD
Who doesn't like The Simpsons? This Christmas DVD contains 4 episodes. It's one of the few shows that I like to watch with my kids, but I have to preview them to make sure there's nothing the kids shouldn't be hearing or seeing (they're 5 and 2).

10. Godzilla: Save the Earth - Playstation 2 Video Game
Today, November 2nd, you'll probably see people waiting in long lines for two reasons - to vote in the presidential election and to buy the new Grand Theft Auto video game. However, I would buy this before GTA - as a big fan of Godzilla movies I have always wanted to play a video game version where you could control Godzilla and crush buildings and bridges. It looks like this is a good one (I will buy GTA eventually though!).

Vote!!!!!!!!!!

If you haven't voted yet, turn off your computer and go do it! My wife and are are both absentee voters (I have been for years, but she just signed up this year). It was so cool to put on some music and sit on the couch with her, with our ballots, voters information booklet and paperclips modified to be used as chad punching instruments. We were able to talk about candidates for the various positions and the hard-to-understand initiatives up for vote. There were some positions where we were supposed to choose 5 people out of a list of 15, with no information whatsoever in the voters booklet, so we just picked the people with the goofiest names. Abesntee voting is the way to go - vote in the comfort of your home, look on the internet to get information on what you're voting for, and heck, do it with your wife, girlfriend/boyfriend or friends, and open a bottle of wine or work on downing a six-pack. Heck, have a voting party! Maybe I'll do that next election!

New Mission In Motion Weblog

Hello and welcome to the Mission In Motion Magazine weblog. Since the magazine/CD will come out ever 6 months, I thought it'd be good to have a weblog that I can update on a daily (I hope!) basis. The magazine, and this weblog, cover music, travel and pop culture. The focus will most likely be on music though.

I figure it might be helpful to list some of the bands we like, to give you some idea of the type of music we will cover in Mission In Motion. It's a big list, but here goes, in alphabetical order....
Air, Alpinestars, Aztec Camera, Blur, Neko Case, Nick Cave, The Chameleons, The Clash, Graham Coxon, Death Cab For Cutie, Duran Duran, Echo & The Bunnymen, Electrafixion, The Flaming Lips, Franz Ferdinand, Gorillaz, Happy Mondays, House Of Love, Inspiral Carpets, Interpol, James, Joy Division, The Killers, Komputer, Kraftwerk, Manic Street Preachers, Mercury Rev, Moby, Morrissey, New Order, Oasis, The Ocean Blue, OMD, Placebo, Primal Scream, Scissor Sisters, Simple Minds, The Smiths, Space, The Specials, The Stone Roses, The Sugarcubes, The Sundays, Trashcan Sinatras, U2, The Walkmen, The Waterboys, The Young Gods

The bands I'm really big on these days are Franz Ferdinand, Trash Can Sinatras, Morrissey and The Killers.

Franz Ferdinand CD's

Trashcan Sinatras CD's

Morrissey CD's

The Killers CD's