6 degrees

So thanks for clicking and reading this. Just for reading I think I have a few tee shirts and/or CDs laying around. I will randomly pick a few "clickers" to mail them to.

This is titled 6 Degrees because well I am hoping that between all of us we will be "connected" to someone that would be able to help.

So anyway I have an idea of hosting NEXT bands at bars in Westchester but no money. Also I want to raise money for Big Brother Big Sisters too. (I do have a way to make this work)

In order to do that I was hoping that a NEXT listener might be able to get me a contact or two to help get this idea off the ground. I am looking for 1 to 3 companies to sponsor NEXT and the NEXT year long monthly concerts and split the cost. I am in negotiations with one company. Wish me luck.

I realize the economy sucks right now but I will be able to work to make this as painless as possible. Email me if you have any leads. Thanks. Bro

CDs for 7/22

We are getting there. Baby steps to getting the Gold Star cds up for your enjoyment.

The music

NIN - The Slip
Trent has had this Nine Inch Nails album available for a while at his website for months. For Free. It is still there too. For Free. This was the week that he released it in the physical form. For those of us that like to touch.

u2- The Deluxe Reissues
Double Discs of Boy/War/October were released. Only U2 fanatics need apply. Normal U2 listeners you have what you need already.

The Avett Brothers - The Gleam II EP
Alt-folk. They channel Woody Guthrie on this EP. It's a sober and melancholy affair and completely worth your time. Sit on your porch with a bottle of moonshine late, late at night and enjoy this one.

Buddy Guy - Skin Deep
He is a legend. Period. I really don't need to go on much more than that. He gets a bunch of friends to help out too just in case you need further help to get this.

Also check out
This man is bursting with good ideas. Or maybe too many ideas. Some of the songs...not so much but a few are brilliant. He is someone to watch. Hopefully. He is Benji Hughes. Also to hold you over until the next Broken Social Scene listen to the solo Brendan Canning.

More later
Bro

She and Him at T5

So at the last moment I got a few passes to see M Ward and Zooey Deschanel's "side project" called She and Him.

First off as an actress she has a wonderful voice. Mostly when an actor says "I have just recorded a new album" most of us cringe. If only because history has taught us so. The reverse is mostly true too when a singer wants to become a movie star. That might be a post for another day.

I have listened to She and Him's Volume One quite a few times and it does live in top 25 cds of 2008 but live they were Excellent. You could feel that they liked playing music with each other. One of my modern favorites is M Ward and I loved the fact that he mostly just sat back and enjoyed Zooey. It was the "She" part that got the limelight.

Pretty good video of "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here"


The night had that really cool vibe. Imagine if your best friend had a barn out in the country and this was the local band that he got to play his "barn party". They would have blown you away. It had that kinda feel to it.

Of course moonshine and/or a porch and few close friends would be an almost perfect setting for this night of She and Him music.

A small portion of Black Hole


So thank you Merge for the tickets.

On top of the main act there were two opening acts. I had not heard of the Rosebuds but after last night - I am a fan. This track wasn't from last night but it will give you an idea.

I Better Run


Freakwater was just fine. Sorry but they were. Nothing special. Maybe it was a bad night.

Another fine musical night at Terminal 5.
Bro

CD of 7/15

Back from a great vacation that included Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and The Connecticut Shore (which I had a wonderful massage). If you have never been you should go. Martha's Vineyard is a wonderful place to bike to an ice cream shop and relax.

On a sadder/weirder note I also had to appear in court for lawn clippings that were nicely bagged on my curb. A day early?!? Seriously. I had to bite my tongue quite hard (and I'm a very mellow fellow) when after I plead guilty - the judge asked if I had anything to say.

Welcome to the 'burbs of NYC.

On to (finally) the gold stars from many weeks ago.

The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Punk meets classic rock. Yes it is that good. They are the ultra Geek Rockers. They have elements of The Replacements with Springsteen of the 70s. Seriously ever Springsteen fan should be jumping all over this band. And the Replacements are one of my all time favs so I don't throw them in the mix too often. I must mean it. Still a "grower" cd and head into their back catelogue. Brilliance.

John Mellencamp - Life, Death, Love and Freedom
Best in a decade or so from him but a bummer of a cd. A great and regretful look back at mis-spent youth. Pure, Mature Wisdom. "The Kids" might not get it but those "long in the tooth" will truly enjoy (ok maybe not enjoy but dig into) this One Bleak World of a cd.

Also check out and maybe download a tune or two
the Music and Wild Beasts.

Straight Out of the Cave

Holy Jeapers, Batman! While yes, you probably think this entry is about Nick Cave (might I add I'm seeing him in October at the 9:30 Club...go ahead be jealous) or about music that is all dark and gothic, this entry is all about one thing... Batman. Tonight, I'm hoping to go see The Dark Knight at a midnight showing. If all else fails, I'll go tomorrow or Saturday. Let's be honest, the matinée is much cheaper and I'll still get to have all the thrills. (I told my friends that if anyone emailed me or told me any spoilers, that I'd not have them over for dinner anymore...)

So how about we get the funk up?

As a child of the 1980s (Yes I was born in 1985...I'll be 23 in less than a week *cough*), I grew up listening to Prince and well I also grew up watching the cheesy Batman movies that Adam West did. Obviously, Prince grew up watching those films too. For the first modern Batman movie (way back in 1989), Prince actually did a good chunk of the Batman soundtrack. I guess Tim Burtin was a fan of Prince or maybe Danny Elfman was like "I want to work with Prince for the film's score." Either way, "Batdance" by Prince is rather cheesy, but awesome. Not to mention, it's pretty fun to play around Halloween. Plus, you can't beat Prince at possibly his weirdest with a bunch of Kim Basinger look-a-likes...or maybe you can?



For the 1992 Batman Returns, Elfman teamed up with Siouxsie and the Banshees. Okay so maybe I lied about this entry not featuring "gothic" music, but it does make sense that Siouxsie would be used for a Batman movie of some sort. So here's "Face to Face" by Siouxsie and the Banshees. (Notice how there's some keyboard lick that sounds similar to their other hit at the time, which was "Kiss Them for Me")



In 1995, Joel Schumacher took over the Batman series and well started to create crap. Not that Batman Forever was totally terrible. It was awesome, cheesy, and fun. (Oh but Batman and Robin was awful! More about that in a few moments) One thing I don't get is how with Burton the movies were like dark graphic novels, but the soundtracks were more like a film's score, which can be boring. And Yet with Schumacher, the movies were like the terrible cartoon that was on Fox after school, yet the soundtracks had some pretty great choice moments. (In terms of comic books and cartoons, the only cartoon that was close to their own comic book was X-men. Just for the record!)

As a kid, I remembered U2 being on the BF soundtrack (review of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me") but aside from that seriously overplayed Seal song, I had little interest. A few years ago, my friend was talking about the movie and the soundtrack and to my surprise the soundtrack is quite awesome. I actually picked myself up a copy back in 2006 for a dollar. Who knew Nick Cave (okay so he's actually in this entry for real), The Offspring, U2, PJ Harvey, Michael Hutchence, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Flamming Lips, Mazzy Star, Method Man, and Massive Attack (featuring Tracey Thorn from Everything But The Girl) would all be on the same soundtrack for a Batman movie? Not to mention, there were some good moments from two unknowns - the Devlins and Eddie Reader. In terms of pop music, yes Brandy is on there, but the track was written and produced by Lenny Kravitz. It's rare that a movie soundtrack is half decent, so as you can tell, this soundtrack is one of those stranger than fiction kind of moments.

And now for the song, you've been waiting for...



U2 + Val Kilmer = even better than the real thing. oh yes.

Here's a bonus: Nick Cave - There is a Light



Fast forward to 11 years ago, summer of 1997...George Clooney as Batman, which seemed okay. Chris O'Donnell as Robin again, cool. The Governator as Mr. Freeze...um... terrible! This movie resembled the awful cartoon the worst probably. At least the soundtrack, though not as fantastic as BF, was half decent. Loads of Batman fans hated Batman and Robin, and with good purpose, just look at Arnold's lines as Mr. Freeze. Not to mention, people weren't too keen on the idea of Batgirl let alone Alicia Silverstone playing Batgirl. Though I'm sure there are some people out there who would admit Uma Thurman did make a good Poison Ivy.

Enough about the film, how about that soundtrack. Just like the AMG review said, this movie soundtrack only has a few good moments. The rest is rather skippable, especially that terrible R. Kelly song "Gotham City". (I'm not even going to post a link to the music video for that one.) So you got a cool track from the Smashing Pumpkins that would in retrospect be viewed as a taste towards Ava Adore, a good solid track from REM's Monster leftovers, a surprising track from Underworld (it's no Born Slippy, but hey Underworld are great anyway), a good trip hop track from Moloko, and Jewel's "Foolish Games" which was a huge hit - very beautiful song the first few times you heard it, but soon it got overplayed. Then there's tracks from the Goo Goo Dolls and Soul Coughing, as for the rest of the soundtrack, it's rather forgettable.

Because I am a good sport, here's the Smashing Pumpkins:



Since 1997, we've been blessed with the directing talents of Christopher Nolan. Thank God! I actually just saw Memento for the first time a few weeks ago and was totally blown away by it. I now see why everyone made such a huge deal about him directing the new Batman movies. I really enjoyed Batman Begins a lot. It was like how Batman was suppose to be (which is what Burton even did as a director). Yet I'll admit the whole time I was watching the movie, I wanted to hear U2's "Thrill Me..." I guess my only compliant about the newest films is that they don't have much modern music in them. (I could totally see Gnarls Barkley, Interpol, MIA, David Bowie, She Wants Revenge, OutKast, The Alkaline Trio, and AFI being a part of a Batman movie soundtrack!) Then again, there is this wonderful, classic, timeless appeal to just having an orchestra doing the film's score.

I am hoping that The Dark Knight lives up to the hype. But here's a good question, is it possible that Heath Ledger might get an Oscar for his performance as the Joker? I'm saying this not because he's now unfortunately dead, but because the first time I saw him in costume, which was this past November, I got scared. I'm not one to get scared of clowns either! When I saw the previews and trailers, I thought "No way could that be Heath. It doesn't sound or look like him!" Needless to say, I will be not getting any sleep tonight, because 1. I'll be watching the movie very late, 2. I'll have nightmares about clowns (just kidding...maybe) or 3. I won't be able to sleep because I haven't seen the movie yet. Either way, I plan on giving a review once I see it and I promise, not to spoil anything.

In the mean time, here are two good reviews:

The Toronto Star

The Times (London England I do Believe)

ps- For those who need to get a batman fix right away, FX is showing Batman Begins tonight. TNT is showing Batman Forever tonight. and for Tim Burton's Batman ABC Family is showing that one this weekend.

Great time last night

It was one glorious day of music and beer and food and friends. Thanks to everyone that made this happen. Every year gets bigger and better. Hopefully you can make it next year if you missed this year. Bring the little ones too they will have a blast.

Also I had to leave one last link. Journey at the of the Earth

Best line..."Journey's is melting the Earth!!!"

Be good and enjoy it all
Bro


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Now playing: Bob Schneider - Getting Better
via FoxyTunes

Music then beach

Tomorrow Pleasantville Music Fest then almost 2 weeks at the beach.

Sorry folks, park's closed. Moose out front shoulda told ya.

Careful there is the F Bomb at the end of the scene. Brilliant.


Enjoy it all and I'll see you soon.
TTNF
Bro

Music is good

good music is better.

So quite a bit more this week than last and some big names have released the new tunes.


The Gold Stars:
Beck teams up with Danger Mouse and actually I guess I was hoping for the "blowing of my mind" but it's just good/great, wonderful classic sounding Beck. What you want more? Actually I did. This might need a few listens but I doubt this will be most listened to Beck cd.

Now this next cd might on the surface seem like a shocker. A pairing that spells certain death but I'll tell you it works. Willie Nelson with Wynton Marsalis' "Two Men with the Blues." A live recording of a concert they did at Jazz at Lincoln Center...which is a place you need to see a concert at before you die.

I will venture a bet that you never thought that you would see Billy Joel written up here but The Stranger turns 30 and the have expanded it to 2cds and a DVD. Sounds like youth. In 1977 it was Rumors and this cd.

Others to give a listen to and purchase the tunes you love
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes have another great cd of punk covers. Albert Hammond Jr sounds closer to the Strokes on this cd...I guess he wants a new Strokes cd too. Check Ratatat for some rock instrumental experiments and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones have just released a cd of B sides.

enjoy it all
Bro



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Now playing: Pink Floyd - Not Now John
via FoxyTunes

Two months of Best of the Month

Well Well well. Holy Balls I just noticed how very far behind I am. So sorry but I shall try to right the boat.

So the best of May...yes May.

A great month of CDs. One could argue and win said argument with either DCFC or the Alive Elvis. Death Cab for Cutie's "Narrow Stairs" is a classic and wonderful but too easy for NEXT. We throw "Momofuku" in that same "too easy for NEXT" category. Both should be in your collection. Oh and a hardy welcome back to 70s hard rockin' Elvis Costello. It sounds good in the summer time.

So that still leaves me with two cds from which to pick. Firewater or The Botticellis? Two different feels. Two different subject matters. Well I am going with the Sun kissed, 60s vibe, laid back surf music of San Fransisco's The Botticellis. Nothing against "The Golden Hour" and Firewater's well fire and general feeling of "What the hell are we doing here in the US". I love the Gypsy/World Punk thing but I am going for the time tested tunes here. The Botticellis get the best of May nod.

On to June. Not far behind on this one at all.
How Bloody good was this month? Amazingly good. So good, in fact, that I didn't even think twice about My Morning Jacket's "Evil Urges"or Alejandro Escovedo's "Real Animal" as a best of the month. I quickly looked over the month and found four cds that I thought about and listened to again. All of them need a place in your beating muscle located within your chest, iPod and in your collection of cds and/or albums.

I heart the new Jakob Dylan or Baby Dylan and his "Seeing Things". I also hope he sticks with The Wallflowers. Maybe he does like Petty and The Heartbreakers. A little bit of both. Don't be afraid of this solo cd.

Wolf Parade's "At Mount Zoomer" is the ultimate "grower". It doesn't grab you it grows on you with each listen. You will love in love with the cd and it wouldn't leave your cd changer for a long, long time.

It pains me that Sam Phillip's fine and glorious new cd called "Don't Do Anything" wouldn't be named Best of the month but there has to be a winner.

That winner this month is the Fleet Foxes.

More later
Bro


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Now playing: They Might Be Giants - I'm Impressed
via FoxyTunes

A bit of a movie plus the tunes

so I went to Sex and The City last night. Honestly not too bad. I mean I knew it was the ultimate chick flick but really not too bad. Worst ending ever though. I mean I know it's the ultimate click flick but even my wife thought the ending was pure cr@p. My words not hers.

It was a long a$$ film too. Way too long. The best part (well actually there were a few good moments) but I loved the previews. Three more trailers for click flicks and then a car explodes...a trailer for Will Smith's "Hancock". I guess the thinking was, "ok a few guys (yes like me) had to leave their balls at home and see the movie with the wife...so let's throw them a bone before this looooong a$$ click flick starts."

So yes to answer the question instead of writing up the "gold star cds" this week I was off at the movies.

Tunes we all want the music.

Earlimart - Hymn and Her
More mid tempo dreamy indie pop from this LA trio. Their best is still "Treble and Tremble" which sounds just like Elliott Smith if Elliott Smith were a boy girl fronted trio.

Also check out
Los Lonely Boys and their just fine Tex Mex family music and John Mayer shows us his three sides in a live CD called "Where the Light Is". Yes you not only get his soft rock side but the folky solo stuff with his rockin' blues too.

More later
Bro


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Now playing: Lloyd Cole - Weeping Wine
via FoxyTunes