What You Should Have Heard #35

My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]

The Features Mix CD

1. Extension Chord – Dortch Sessions (The Mississippi Album)
2. Thursday – Dortch Sessions (The Mississippi Album)
3. D-Con (Radio One) – Dortch Sessions (The Mississippi Album)
4. Exhibit A – Exhibit A
5. The Way It’s Meant to Be – Exhibit A
6. Me and the Skirts – Exhibit A
7. Blow It Out – Exhibit A
8. There’s a Million Ways to Sing the Blues – Exhibit A
9. Leave It All Behind – Exhibit A
10. Exorcising Demons – Exhibit A
11. Someway, Somehow – Exhibit A
12. Situation Gone Bad – Exhibit A
13. Harder to Ignore – Exhibit A
14. Circus – Exhibit A
15. Armani Suede – Features EP
16. Serious – Mahaffey Sessions 2000
17. Speed of 33 – Mahaffey Sessions 2000
18. Darkroom – Mahaffey Sessions 2000
19. See You Thru – Mahaffey Sessions 2000
20. Oh My Love – Mahaffey Sessions 2000
21. Wooden Heart – Some Kind of Salvation
22. The Beginning (Week One) – The Beginning
23. Walk You Home – The Beginning

This CD is the first of…three, I think, what I consider as local bands. They all got their start on the same label, Spongebath Records, out of Murfreesboro, Tenn. I can’t say as to what rank I list the Features at between these three; Self is definitely first, but the Features and Fluid Ounces are too dissimilar to compare.

The Features  have a wonderful combination of song writing, vocals and musicianship. The lyrics are not a mystery or vague, and the ones I’m most enamored with deal with the writer’s love of music (Speed of 33, Blow It Out) and his love of his kids (Stark White Stork, Me and the Skirts). I also like the fact that the songs are fun, almost all of them, even the softer, ballady ones.

For as long as I’ve been a fan of the Features (for a slightly shorter amount of time than Self), I’ve been a member of a few online forums and bulletin boards of like-minded individuals. That’s where I acquired the unreleased stuff that’s listed here, notably the Dortch and Mahaffey sessions. The only official release from the Features before Exhibit A and The Beginning EP in 2004 was a self-titled EP from Spongebath Records in 1997. But I saw these guys live at a few Dancin’ in the District shows in Nashville as well as some Spongebath-sponsored Halloween shows at Main Street, a club in Murfreesboro. These passed-around sessions were all I was able to love on before the group started garnering a national reputation and I could give them some of my money. Now, they’ll always get my money.

The Features’ Wikipedia entry

The Features’ AllMusic entry

The Features’ Official Site

The Features’ MySpace page

The Features’ Facebook page

The Features’ YouTube page

The Features’ Twitter page

“Blow It Out”

What You Should Have Drinked...Dranked...Drunkeded #5

First Annual Fall Beer Festival

First off, I’ve got to rail a little against the title. It’s not an annual event unless it’s happened a second time. It’s a journalism thing. That’s the only thing I didn’t like about this little Saturday “daycation” I took.

Nashville holds two annual beer festivals that I’m aware of. The first, the Music City Brewer’s Festival, is held in the oppressive July heat and is pretty pricey if I remember correctly. The second is the Tennessee Beer Festival. It’s held at Two Rivers Mansion and is easier on the wallet, but the selection isn’t as attractive.

Now my favorite watering hole, The Flying Saucer, is attempting to put on their own little shindig.

This grand event was held in front of the Saucer’s 10^th Avenue location. The reserved parking spaces and a bit of the street were closed off to accommodate the entry tent, five beer tents strung together, a small food tent, a DJ tent (music provided by a couple of DJs from Lightning 100), and a few rows of picnic tables and folding chairs under a larger tent. All in all, not a ton of room for a big crowd, but I guess it was a good thing that there wasn’t a huge crowd, at least not while I was there.

My plan was to get there at noon, when it began, and leave at 10 p.m., when it ended. Things happened beforehand that caused me to show up about 45 minutes later than planned, and, well, nothing happened that caused me to leave early, I just couldn’t drink anymore beer. I gave it my best shot, but I guess I was found lacking. It was for the best, though, what with having to get up at 5:15 the next morning when all three kids decided they needed to be awake.

Now, I’m going to just admit that I can’t recall why I liked the beers I liked. Ditto for the ones I didn’t like. I had 13 high alcohol content brews, and they took a bit of a toll on me (don’t worry, I stopped drinking about an hour and a half to two hours before I went home…no problems there). I can remember that there wasn’t a one that I didn’t supremely dislike, and there were quite a few that I’d like to sample more of.

Here’s my tally for the day:

1. Terrapin Side Project Hopzilla Imperial IPA
2. Left Hand Twin Sister’s IPA
3. BBC Hell Fer Certain
4. Fritz & Ken
5. Dogfish Head Punkin
6. He’brew Rejewvenator ‘10
7. Stone Smoked Porter
8. Rogue XS McRogue Scotch Ale
9. Dogfish Head Sah’tea
10. Left Hand 400lb. Monkey
11. Yazoo Hop Project
12. Stoudt’s IPA
13. Terrapin India Brown Ale

I also filled my belly with a Space Club (my personal favorite sandwich on their menu) and fries during a trip inside and two brats on buns outside.

I also walked away with a nice Schlafly key chain/bottle opener. And I don’t even feel bad about not having their Oktoberfest.

Attendance was sparse for most of my time there. I think it was most crowded between the hours of 4:00 and 6:00. The bar inside was full each time I went in, though, and with the ability to travel in and out at will, it’s a bit difficult to say exactly how well attended the festival was. I hope it was well enough received for this to actually become an annual event. I ended up sampling 12 beers (I’d had the Yazoo Hop Project before) that I’d never had before. And although I was by myself for half my time there (a big thanks to Katie V. for hanging with me for a few hours!), I think if I properly pestered enough people sooner than I did this time, I’d be able to drag a decent crowd along.

What You Should Have Heard #34

My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]

Fall Out Boy Mix CD

1. Our Lawyer Made Us Change the Name of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued – From Under the Cork Tree
2. Of All the Gin Joints in All the World – From Under the Cork Tree
3. Dance, Dance – From Under the Cork Tree
4. Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down – From Under the Cork Tree
5. Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner – From Under the Cork Tree
6. 7 Minutes in Heaven (Atavan Halen) – From Under the Cork Tree
7. Sophomore Slump or Comeback of the Year – From Under the Cork Tree
8. Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends – From Under the Cork Tree
9. I Slept with Someone in Fall Out Boy and All I Got Was This Stupid Song – From Under the Cork Tree
10. A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More ‘Touch Me’ – From Under the Cork Tree
11. Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying (Do Your Part to Save the Scene and Stop Going to Shows) – From Under the Cork Tree
12. XO – From Under the Cork Tree
13. Thriller – Infinity on High
14. The Take Over, The Breaks Over – Infinity on High
15. This Ain’t a Scene, It’s an Arms Race – Infinity on High
16. Hum Hallelujah – Infinity on High
17. Thnks fr th Mmrs – Infinity on High
18. What’s This – Nightmare Before Christmas
19. I Don’t Care – Folie A Deux
20. (Coffe’s for Closers) – Folie A Deux
21. 20 Dollar Nose Bleed – Folie A Deux
22. Beat It – Folie A Deux

After hearing “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” from Fall Out Boy’s break-out CD From Under the Cork Tree, I fell in love with the music, bought the CD just as quickly as I could, and I kept it in heavy rotation for quite a while. As you might be able to tell, all but one tracks from that CD are on this mix. Then I got wind of the release of Infinity on High and was excited for some new music from these guys. I ended up enjoying it, but not nearly as much as the previous offering. The same can be said for Folie a Deux: decent, but I liked it less than the previous release. Don’t even get me started on the releases before FUtCT. I don’t care for them at all.

FOB was the first time I really took a notice of the pop punk (punk pop?) genre, and I like it for the most part. FOB…evolved?...experimented?...really beginning with FUtCT and expanding with both successive albums. Each has less and less punk and more and more pop, as well as other influences. I don’t begrudge an artist or group for refusing to remain stagnant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re doing something better than they’ve done in the past. FUtCT was definitely the high-water mark of this group’s career.

Fall Out Boy’s Wikipedia entry

Fall Out Boy’s AllMusic entry

Fall Out Boy’s Official Site

Fall Out Boy’s MySpace page

Fall Out Boy’s Facebook page

Fall Out Boy’s YouTube page

Fall Out Boy’s Twitter page

Here’s their cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” featuring Tony Hale (Arrested Development) and Donald Faison (Beat It).

Here’s the video for “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down,” the song that got me into the band in the first place.

Firedrill Friday Constitutional

 

 

 

 

Want to kill some time at work? Or an entire week? How about playing Super Mario Brothers Crossover?

Totally didn't notice this while watching Community last week. Damn, now I've got to watch what's going on the background.



Oh, Charisma, what has happened to your career? I think I need to focus my lustful energies on other Buffy cast members. Thank God for How I Met Your Mother.



Yay!! It's another Between Two Ferns!! And it's got Bruce Willis!! Go see Red!!

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Bruce Willis from Bruce Willis

I thought The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance was an almost perfect album. I'm pretty sure that there's not one song that I skip when I play it. So they've got a video out for the first single, "Na Na Na," from their fourth studio album, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The leader of the group that's fighting MCR? That's legendary comic book writer Grant Morrison. I think we can safely assume that soon we'll have a massive throwdown between Coheed and Cambria with Peter David and My Chemical Romance with Grant MOrrison. Why? 'Cause that's just the way my mind works.

My Chemical Romance - New Music - More Music Videos

This video is amazing. It's of a father/son project to put a camera into space using a weather balloon and an Apple iPhone as a GPS device. The video is somewhat long at just shy of seven minutes, but it's worth your time. I was transfixed for the entire time. I WISH I had the ability to do something like this with my kids. They'd love it.

What You Should Have Watched #8

A New Season of Awesomosity

We’re a couple of weeks into the new television season, and I think it’s time to bring back a post from either last year or the year before and update it a bit.

A quick check in the blog archives, and I learn that the post I’m referring to was actually from this year, and it was the first installment in my “What You Should Have Watched” series: Bad TV Made Better, Good TV Made Awesome, Awesome TV Made…Awesomer?” I guess this is Part Two, then.

I’ll quickly reiterate my thoughts from this previous post: Erica Durance (Smallville) is hot. Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) is hot. I’ve given up on Criminal Minds, but Paget Brewster and A.J. Cook are still hot. Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory) is hot (although she's got a weird smile). And Anna Torv (Fringe) is hot.

Now, who should I add to that list?

Alyson Hannigan hasn’t looked this good since…well…this is probably the best she’s looked, and I’ve always had a crush on her. I balked at watching How I Met Your Mother when it first aired because it looked extremely lame. But it was NPH, he turned me around (wow, that sounds a LOT dirtier than I meant it to). Turns out it’s a good show, as long as you can get past the main character and just enjoy the supporting ones, one of which is Ms. Hannigan. She looks gorgeous this season so far. Maybe it’s the hair, which is darker and longer than in the past.

Following HIMYM on Monday night’s is Rules of Engagement, a truly horrible show that I watch solely for the comedic stylings of Patrick Warburton. But he can’t be on screen all the time, and when he’s not we’re sometimes treated to Bianca Kajlich, previously of….nothing important. Y’know, I take that back. I thoroughly enjoyed her and her character on Boston Public. She’s not the best actress, and her character in RoE is pretty cardboard, but she’s pretty so I don’t fast-forward through her scenes (which I’m starting to do anytime we get a David Spade scene that doesn’t have Puddy in it).

Rounding out Mondy night is Castle, starring the always sexy and classy Nathan Fillion. Crap, I meant to type Stana Katic. According to her IMDB profile, I’ve apparently seen her in a number of things, but it took standing next to Capt. Reynolds every week for me to take notice, I guess.

Tuesday night showcases another Joss Whedon alum, Julie Benz. No Ordinary Family is about a family with super powers starring Ms. Benz and Michael Chiklis (The Shield). Watching it was a no-brainer for me. She’s not really sexy in the show, but I know it’s there. We ALL know it’s there, right? What, you need proof and never watched Desperate Housewives? Yeah, me neither, despite the aforementioned Capt. Reynolds and Darla appearances. So, enjoy this clip. You’re welcome.

We’re skipping Wednesday and moving onto some Must See TV women, starting with Alison Brie on Community. On the show she’s funny and cute. In real life, though, she seems funny and sexy. And it’s amazing that I haven’t started watching Mad Men, yet. Alison Brie, Christina Hendricks, John Hamm (who was awesome on 30 Rock) and Vincent Kartheiser (another Whedon actor. I tend to follow them around everywhere).

I’ve got a nerd crush on Tina Fey, but I don’t know if I’d ever call her sexy. Pretty and cute, sure, but I don’t know if I can get behind sexy. However, Jane Krakowski’s Jenna Maroney has looked incredible so far on this season 30 Rock. It’s difficult to pay attention to a person’s appearance on this show, though, because so much is going on that you have to focus on so many things. It’s really a chore to focus on something so superficial when there’s excellent acting and comedy happening.

I'm looking forward to a few mid-season replacements, including Mr. Sunshine with Andrea Anders (Better Off Ted and Joey) and Perfect Couples with Olivia Munn (whose acting ability is in question having only seen her briefly in Chuck and Iron Man 2). 

What You Should Have Heard #33

My Mix CDs

I’ve got a lot of music but limited space to hold it in, especially in my car. So I’ve gone the old tried-and-true way of making mix CDs to have access to as many bands as possible while driving. I’m going slightly old-school since I’m a bit backwards and have no iPod.

Most of the songs will be more upbeat, with probably only the occasional ballad or slower song included. I like to sing in the car, and the more upbeat songs are more fun to sing.

I’ll be going in alpha-numeric order with these, so if you’re wanting to argue with me about what Weezer songs should be included, you’re going to be waiting for a while.

My only limitations are that I use 80 min. discs, and I’m only going to use one disc per band/artist. I will make exceptions for only my most favorite bands with huge playlists (Foo Fighters and Self, off the top of my head), but I’d really like to boil everything down to just one disc.

Here’s the list guide:

Track # - Song Name - Album Name [Artist if album is by a different artist]

Eric Clapton Mix CD

1. The Badge – 24 Nights
2. Pretending – Journeyman
3. Bad Love – Journeyman
4. Before You Accuse Me – Journeyman
5. They’re Red Hot – Me and Mr. Johnson
6. Hell Hound on My Trail – Me and Mr. Johnson
7. Cocaine – Slowhand
8. Lay Down Sally – Slowhand
9. The Core – Slowhand
10. I Feel Free – The Cream of Clapton
11. Sunshine of Your Love – The Cream of Clapton
12. White Room – The Cream of Clapton
13. Crossroads – The Cream of Clapton
14. After Midnight – The Cream of Clapton
15. Layla – The Cream of Clapton
16. Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out – Unplugged
17. San Francisco Bay Blues - Unplugged

I’m actually a little surprised that with my first cut, I’ve got almost two CDs worth of music here. It’s not that I don’t like Clapton; I obviously do. I just didn’t think I’d want to include so much stuff. Some of the second round cutting should be pretty easy; I’ve got a couple of versions of some of his songs (some live, some studio), so it’ll just be a matter of choosing which one I like better.

Not as easy as it sounds. Turns out I might like Clapton as a live performer more than a studio one. And that’s odd for me. I like his 24 Nights and Unplugged versions better than his studio ones, but the live stuff doesn’t get me going. Especially with the Unplugged stuff, it’s more toned down, more reserved. Looks like I’ve got to have the studio stuff. Ditto on the Cream stuff from 24 Nights.

There are three tracks on here that I’m counting as oddities, not because they’re not good, but because of why I’m familiar with them. First is “They’re Red Hot” from Me and Mr. Johnson. After hearing it on the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magic, I always assumed it was a RHCP original. I’m not too up on my blues history. Sorry.

I HAVE heard of Robert Johnson though, and if popular media has taught me anything (and I like to think it has), it’s that Johnson made a deal with the devil in order to become a great guitar player and blues musician (thank you O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Supernatural!). Two of the songs here, Hell Hound on My Trail and Crossroads, are Johnson covers (Crossroads is Cream’s cover of Cross Road Blues) that deal with that legend.

Eric Clapton’s Wikipedia entry

Eric Clapton’s AllMusic entry

Eric Clapton’s Official Site

Eric Clapton’s MySpace page

Eric Clapton’s Facebook page

Eric Clapton’s YouTube page

Eric Clapton’s Twitter page

I know I don’t have this version of “Layla” on the CD, but I’ve got to include the video. This was the first of MTV’s Unplugged series (hmm, and only one of three that I watched) that I saw, and it was just an awesome concert to behold.

What You Should Have Eaten #14

Fancy-Pants Bangers ‘n’ Mash

I’m excited about this dinner. For one, it’s meat and potatoes. Nuthin fancy about it, despite the title. Two, it’s sausage and mashed potatoes. The kids have GOT to eat that, right? Third, I think this weekend was the first time I actually bought anything directly from the meat counter instead of getting something pre-packaged. Granted, I did get a pack of Johnsonville Beer Brats, but I also picked up some awesome looking maple flavored sausages out of the case. And they’re huge!

But first, an exchange from Arrested Development:

Makes me want to do an entire Constitutional devoted to AD, but I’d just end up posting ALL of the episodes. I loved that show.

I chose this bottle of Merlot because of the price. $6.50 and 10% off of that. For the price? Not bad at all. Smooth, and tastes good. I’m not a wine person, so that’s all you get.

First off, there will be no red onions. I’ll be leaving onions out of any recipe, so it looks like I’ll just be sautéing up some minced garlic and a couple of spice. I’m very okay with that, though.

The recipe doesn’t call for it, but I’m skinning the potatoes. My oldest likes mashed potatoes, but the last time I made a similar dish, he wouldn’t eat it because of the bits of skin. So I’ll through the trouble of skinning them if it means he’ll eat them. I’ve also got a smidge more than two pounds. Gotta have enough for leftovers!

I’ve got a brand new Pyrex measuring cup that I found on clearance at Kroger Marketplace yesterday. It’s exciting. It’ll put the old plastic one I’ve got to shame.

I love cream cheese. Love it love it love it. There’s a good chance that the rest of this tiny brick will be eaten…plain…by the end of the week.

The tiny sausages are Johnsonville Beer brats, the bigger ones are Purnell Maple Flavored pork sausages. Those were, I think, my first purchase at an actual meat counter. Aaaaand I just realized that I already said that. Oh well. Looks like I’ll also be using a grill fork with the sausage; I’ve apparently tossed my tongs. I seem to remember them getting a bit rusty. Next time I’ll spring for some higher-quality ones.

Every Sunday, my cooking day, I like to have my sister over for a nice meal with her nephews and niece. And me, too. If she’s unable to come over, like tonight, I make her a serving and give it to her when I drop my oldest off at her apartment on Monday morning (she takes him to school). I’ve also decided that I’m going to take an extra serving to work, so a few of my co-workers can fight over it on Monday. It’ll be entertaining for me, and delicious for them. And it feeds my ego.

I’m not 100% sure that the utensil pictured with the mashed potatoes is actually a potato masher, but it works wonderfully.

Wow, I could tell a big difference between the meat counter sausages and the Johnsonville Brats. First, the JBs were more mild; there was a bit of spice to the maple sausages. Second, the JBs were just better. Let’s see what the kids think. The oldest has half of a sausage, while the two youngest are splitting a brat.

Well, Little Man and The Princess ate all of their sausage. Big Man didn’t touch a thing, despite saying how good everything looked. I loved it all and can’t wait to have leftovers for lunch most of the week. By the end of the meal, I was eating the bangers WITH the mash. Very tasty. Oh, and the wine pairs wonderfully with the dinner. It really balances out the spiciness of the sausage.