Seahawks vs. Steelers

Robbed.

Letter To Jeff Tweedy

Hi, Jeff,

I went to your solo acoustic show on Friday night at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, OR. I just wanted to say thanks for the performance and hope to see you and Wilco next time you come through town. However, the uneasiness at Friday’s show was palpable. I understand that some chit chatting by audience members can be a bit unnerving at an acoustic gig but did you really have to harp about it constantly? When you said “Come on people, we’re all here to enjoy the same thing” I’m starting to think you meant yourself. And when you said “I don’t mean to sound like a pissy musician, but…” Well, you did.

I’m sorry, but the last people you should be complaining about are the hundreds of people in that room who were hoping to let off a little steam on a Friday night. These people were hoping you could help them do that, but instead you left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth. Don’t blame them. Blame your stupid-ass booker who didn’t put you in a theater with proper seating. I don’t know what you expected, but a little conversation is going to happen. You’re a pro musician. What, were you surprised? I’m not sure what your workweek consists of, but I’m sure there were plenty of fans at that gig who did a hell of lot more grunt work than you did last week. Cut ‘em some slack. Honestly, I would have expected you to suck it up and, I don’t know, play LOUDER or start screaming or bring Glenn out on drums earlier, or anything to get more attention (because that’s what you ultimately wanted, right?). Quit whining and shushing people. Let’s face it. You’re not Neil Young – not yet anyway.

All the best,
CHW

Late Bloomer

Don't kill me for being late to the party, but I can't get enough of Spoon's "Gimme Fiction" and My Morning Jacket's "Z". Outstanding stuff. These bands give me hope for the future of rock and roll. I saw Spoon in Austin at the ACL festival, and I knew I liked them, but it's a huge festival and too many diversions. Finally hearing their latest album on my own stereo is so fine. Screw Franz. The Killers can take a leap. Same goes for any of the other jokers I see constantly on the covers of magazines. Spoon is pop-rock at its finest. No B.S. about these guys. And MMJ. What's to say. They're the Radiohead of the South. Love 'em. And nothing warms my heart more than seeing my 3-year-old dancing around to MMJ. Kid's got taste.

A Genius or Just an Idiot?

This may very well be the most agonizing, repulsive, disturbing piece of music film footage that I have ever laid eyes on. It is so twisted I don't know where to begin analyzing. It's so demented that it's almost beautiful. Please view this and let me know your thoughts.

Growing Up in the '70s

J.J. Cale

Growing up I always thought my parents’ taste in music sucked. But every once in awhile something would grab my attention. My earliest musical memories were formed on multiple trips from Vancouver up to Whistler Mountain (which was really more of a ski bum hangout in ‘70s, compared to the Aspen-esque flare it has now), listening to 8-tracks on the 90-minute ride up and then spinning the vinyl all weekend long in the cabin. All the music I was being exposed to belonged to my parents and their friends.

I remember looking at the cover of CCR’s “Cosmo’s Factory” and thinking it was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen – a bunch of random hippies sitting in a random room with red shag carpet doing random things, like riding a stationary bicycle. It still goes down as one of the worst covers of all time, yet the music that I heard on that record still gets to me. On the other hand, the cigar-smoking Jim Croce look liked the coolest cat to me, and his folk music was so chill with a blues vibe. I’m like 9 years old or something and lovin’ the fact that Bad, Bad Leroy Brown has a 32-gun in his pocket for fun, and a razor in his shoe. That’s bad ass, man.

But the two that really turned me on were J.J. Cale and Taj Mahal. I have distinct memories of sitting in my bud’s cabin in Whistler spinning Cale’s “Really” and Taj’s “Natch’l Blues” over and over again into the wee hours as our parents got sauced on martinis, not realizing they had heard the same record multiple times in a row. I had no idea what I was listening to, but I knew it was something special.

So to tip my hat to my parents for once, I applaud them for opening my eyes to these artists – specifically, these tunes.

J.J. Cale – Right Down Here

Taj Mahal – The Cuckoo

Jim Croce – Bad, Bad Leroy Brown

Creedence Clearwater Revival – Run Through The Jungle

Austin City Limits

I was watching Coldplay on Austin City Limits tonight. I've always been a peripheral fan of the band. Nice, humble guys playing pleasant pop-rock. Seeing them up this close for the first time, I must say, they put out a pretty big sound for what is essentially a trio, since Chris Martin is up and about from the keys most of the time. However, when he was sitting down, I came to the conclusion he's a pretty damn good piano player. I always thought he was mostly just a rhythmically-oriented type, pounding away, but what sealed it for me was when Michael Stipe came out and sang "Nightswimming" and Martin played it note for note, perfectly. That was definitely the highlight of the show. Stipe is finally looking his age, but he is so good. He was like an old jazz man up there, totally chilling, so smooth and reserved in his singing. Anyway, now I've got to figure out how to get ACL shows off my VHS tape into mp3.

A few other upcoming shows that should be worthy of a listen:

- Ryan Adams (Jan. 21)
- Death Cab For Cutie/My Morning Jacket (Feb. 11)
- Polyphonic Spree/Ozomatli (March 4)
- Wilco/Bright Eyes (March 11)
- Modest Mouse/Guided By Voices (March 18)
- Flaming Lips/The Shins (April 1)
- Trey Anastasio (April 8)

Cigarettes, Fruit and Flowers

When the Rolling Stones blew through town in 2005 the local paper got a hold of their hotel room requests. One band member asked for the following:

- Two vases of fresh flowers: white Casablanca lilies and freesias.
- Assorted fresh, ripe, organic fruit.
- Assorted unsalted organic nuts: walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts.
- 6 packs Marlboro Light cigarettes.

I guess having food that is fresh, unsalted and organic, is pretty important when you're in a haze of cigarette smoke. Too funny. Also, I've been trying to think which band member is responsible for this request. First, I thought Keith. But I think I remember him only eating steak & kidney pies -- literally, that's all he ever eats. And he doesn't seem like a flowery type of guy to me. I can see Mick with flowers and nuts, but definitely not the smokes. And I think Charlie gave up the ciggies when he got cancer. So that leaves Ronnie. That's my guess.

Thanks to the wife for sending this tidbit along.

Musical Roots

As I was perusing my CD collection over the holidays, I was thinking about which artists really had an impact on me. Sure I can list out my favorite individual CDs, but I think you can tell more about my musical interests by looking at the entire catalogue and which bands ultimately drove me to acquire five or more of their releases. To me, that equals the roots of my musical existence. The following are bands that I obviously could not get enough of and proceeded to invest time and money in.

The Beatles (5)
Burning Spear (8)
J.J. Cale (7)
Calexico (6)
The Clash (7)
John Coltrane (24)
Miles Davis (29)
Bob Dylan (10)
Steve Earle (8)
Fugazi (8)
Peter Gabriel (5)
Ahmad Jamal (6)
Keith Jarrett (11)
Charles Lloyd (5)
Los Lobos (6)
Bob Marley (13)
Medeski, Martin & Wood (6)
Charles Mingus (8)
Thelonious Monk (8)
Pearl Jam (9)
The Police (5)
Radiohead (5)
The Rolling Stones (7)
Thievery Corporation (6)
The Tragically Hip (9)
Wilco (6)
Neil Young (16)
Frank Zappa (7)

The Grammys

I about flipped my lid when I saw who the fuddyduds at the Grammys nominated this year. What a complete joke. Who's in charge over there? Obviously major label execs who don't have a clue. Anyway, I was going to post a scathing commentary, but then I received a mailer from the mighty Bob Lefsetz and I simply can't say it any better (though I don't agree with the Stewart Copeland comment). So enjoy his venom in all its glory.

Why don't they just hire a teenager to tell them how fucked up they are.

I thought they changed the rules. To insure that another Jethro Tull debacle wouldn't happen again. Then, how in HELL did "Devils & Dust" get nominated as Song of the Year. Was this a hit ANYWHERE? Did I just miss the memo? Or do all the old farts on the nominating committee who are victims of press not even LISTEN to these records. Did Andy Lack pay them off or something?

"Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own". Was this a hit ANYWHERE? Other than in an iPod commercial? I'll give them "Vertigo", their remake of "You Keep Me Hanging On", that WAS a ubiquitous track LAST year. But to nominate this lame U2 cut and their album as one of the best of the year is to just reinforce the notion amongst TRUE music fans, not over the hill baby boomers who wouldn't know MySpace from P2P, that the Grammys are run by a bunch of guys as out of it as Mitch Miller was when the Beatles hit.

But, it gets worse. BONNIE RAITT?? Is that what it takes to be nominated? Winning BEFORE? The only good thing I can say about "Souls Alike" is it's marginally better than its predecessor, "Silver Lining". AND the best track on "Souls Alike" is SO CLOSE, not "I Will Not Be Broken". But I guess you'd have to listen to the record to know that.

Then we've got Seal. A has-been who hasn't come back since his "Batman" song back in the nineties. "Walk On By"? Is that a cover of the Dionne Warwick hit? Who the fuck knows, it's not like it got any airplay, pervaded the public consciousness or anything, but there it is, nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

And who makes up these categories anyway? God, they sound like they were created before everybody grew their hair out.

Speaking of the Beatles, even if I allow the nomination of Paul's record in the Album Of The Year category, absolutely ALL credibility is lost by naming "Fine Line" in the same category that Seal's in. Not only is it a third-rate song, the VOCAL isn't that good.

But it gets worse. Sheryl Crow's lame new album gets big time nods. "Wildflower" the Best Pop Vocal Album? Isn't that like saying the Chevy Malibu is Car of the Year? The Grammy committee is so myopic all of its members should go back to the ophthalmologist for new glasses.

Talk about resting on your laurels. Shit, I'd feel better if they nominated RADIOHEAD, even though the band didn't even put out a record. At least the act is still VITAL, testing the limits, not delivering what people EXPECT, like the above fucks.

AND, wasn't one of absolutely the biggest albums of the year Coldplay's "X&Y"? Forget that Jon Pareles didn't like it, the industry fawned over the band that almost single-handedly kept Clear Channel/Spinco in business. But, they don't get a Song Of The Year OR an Album Of The Year nom. I mean who is MAKING UP this list??

Keane best new artist? Last time I checked they were neither new nor best and despite their label spending innumerable bucks, they got NO TRACTION! I mean couldn't they at least pick somebody who sold some ALBUMS?

And Stevie Wonder. Talk about a stiff album. But there he is with his Best Pop Vocal Performance nomination. The record might as well have been SILENT, he STILL would have been nominated.

I'm incredulous. There wasn't ONE rock act with a better vocal than fiftysomethings Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant and Neil Young? God, are a couple of them already SIXTY? And, other than Mr. Young, the best work of ALL of them is in the past, their new records were IRRELEVANT! As for Mr. Rob Thomas, I wouldn't even CALL his new album rock, POP is more like it.

Instrumental performances. Did you know Stewart Copeland HAD a record out?? I mean he's a fucking DRUMMER! Give a nomination to Sting, even Andy Summers, but STEWART COPELAND??

Well, at least Arcade Fire got a nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

I mean who the fuck do they think is gonna WATCH this telecast? Ratings were HORRIFIC last year, this year they're going to go completely into the dumper. Read these nominations. Who do they APPEAL to? Mr. Bland in his Lexus listening to CDs, who if he has an iPod it was loaded for a fee by his kid?

Tune into XM. You'll be stunned how much good new music is out there. And, it's not being made by the has-beens coasting on the fumes of their careers listed above. But in this winner takes all society we live in if you don't have marquee value, nobody cares.

How about if you don't make GOOD MUSIC nobody cares.

And you wonder why business sucks. It SHOULD if the people in charge of exposing great new music think the ABOVE shit is good.

People are burned out on awards shows. They're about ratings. They appeal to an everyman nobody is. There's nothing special. There are handicappers in the straight press, but make no mistake, it's a giant circle jerk.

The Grammys were ALWAYS irrelevant. In rock's initial heyday, the sixties and seventies, the hip bands were never even nominated!

But now, these same overlooked acts ARE, as if they're still relevant today.

There was a moment there in the nineties when all the rivers merged. The mainstream ruled. And, the Grammys had a brief moment of quasi-relevance. But, after the Backstreet Boys and 'N Sync and Britney Spears the landscape fractured, nobody wanted the mainstream stuff anymore. Except the major labels and the Grammy committee. Say what you will about Mike Greene, but he never would have let this nomination abomination rule. He would have WILLED relevance. If for no other reason than to keep HIMSELF in the public eye.

Neil Portnow is a caretaker without a dick. If NARAS is to mean anything, it must be ruled by the same kind of mercurial prick who creates hit records out of whole cloth. Someone like Russell Simmons. Or Jay-Z. Some independent label owner who's all about scraping by rather than living the high life.

And, if the Awards are to mean anything there must be new blood. People under the age of thirty must be involved.

Mike Greene realized the Grammys were losing the public's trust. That's why he created the blue chip committee to review the final nominations and make adjustments to square them with REALITY! Most of the records named above should not have been nominated AT ALL! Sure, put up Mariah Carey. But if you put Gorillaz in the Song of the Year category and leave out Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone", you never listened to the radio. Doesn't anybody in Grammyland put his ear to the ground and listen to the street?

I really don't give a fuck. It's just that the straight press has given the impression that the Grammys count. The Grammys don't count. Just ask the kids with 10,000 tracks in their iTunes library. Bruce Springsteen? Bonnie Raitt? Hell, their PARENTS didn't even buy these records.

Once again, it's my generation, the baby boomers, who've turned into their parents and become everything they said they weren't.Grammys aren't music's greatest night. They're evidence of how fucked up those in control of the business are. They and the records they champion have no pulse.

Ban Clive Davis from the ceremonies. Make it so no label employee can vote. Hire Bram Cohen as host. Turn the reins over to the kids, hell, isn't that what WE wanted when WE were kids?

Have no tape delay. Make everybody play live. Don't allow anybody to thank God, he had nothing to do with it, the promo man who paid off the radio station did. Just bring in a little truth. Because there's no truth in this year's Grammy Awards, none at all.

Ghost Bikes

Several ghost bikes, like the one pictured here, have been showing up around Portland. It's a bit creepy but very powerful. It's about time bicycle awareness got a little louder. Too many drivers just don't seem to understand that they need to share the road and PAY ATTENTION!