A Year Ago This Week...

My beautiful wife and I were touring SoCal on a mini-U2 Vacation. In a span of six days, we saw the Vertigo//2005 Tour four times, catching four of the first five shows of the tour. We saw the first three nights of the tour, including Two shows in San Diego and one in Anaheim. Then it was off to Staples early that next week.

Now THAT was a good week.

Friday Random Ten

I'm up to 4479 songs.

1. You Really Got a Hold on Me - The Beatles from Anthology 1
2. To Be a Man - Saved from Now and Forevermore
3. One Day I'll Fly Away - Nicole Kidman from Moulin Rouge
4. Sad But True - Metallica from S&M
5. Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung from Rock of the 80's Volume 4
6. Casey Jones - The Grateful Dead from SNL:25 Years
7. Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles from Billboard-1986
8. Victim of the Game - Garth Brooks from No Fences
9. Whoomp There it Is - Tag Team from the Targhetto Hip-Hop Comp
10. What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band from SNL:25 Years

Dr. Demento does a funny-five, I'll do a funny-ten

1. Life As a Father - Jeff Foxworthy from You Might be...
2. Medical Love Song - Monty Python from Monty Python Sings
3. Fat - Weird Al from Even Worse
4. It's All About the Pentiums - Weird Al from Running With Scissors
5. Oh Mom - Adam Sandler from They're All Gunna Laugh at You
6. Lunchlady Land - Adam Sandler from They're All Gunna Laugh at You
7. This is the Life - Weird Al from Greatest Hits Volume II
8. Bitch School - Spinal Tap from Break like the Wind
9. Penis Song (Not the Noel Coward Song) - Monty Python from Monty Python Sings
10. Ti Kwan Leep/Boot to the Head - The Frantics from Dr. Demento 20th Anniversary

WHAT IF This week sucked?

Overall, a pretty poor night on Idol. Mandisa gets props for preachin' it and staying true to herself, even if it was an un-even performance. Paris was great, because she had fun and still sang great. Taylor rocked. Cletus actually had one of the best performances of the night.

My top ten:

1. Chris
2. Paris
3. Mandisa
4. Catharine
5. Taylor
6. Lisa
7. Cletus
8. Elliot
9. Pickler
10. Ace

My bottom three prediction: Ace, Lisa, Elliot

Going Home: Lisa

una selección hecha al azar de diez por viernes

1. Try - Janis Joplin live at woodstock
2. Polly - Nirvana from MTV Unplugged in New York
3. Bones - Radiohead from The Bends
4. The Rain Song - Led Zepplin from Houses of the Holy
5. Tryin' To Throw Your Arms Around the World - U2 from Achtung Baby
6. No Money No Honey - Beck from Stereopathetic Soul Manure
7. See Emily Play - Pink Floyd from Relics
8. Eat It - Weird Al from Dr. Demento's 20th Anniversary Collection
9. Sweet Sweet - Smashing Pumpkins from Siamese Dream
10. Malted Milk - Eric Clapton from Unplugged.

I swear my Ipod is more diverse than that. I have 3,780 songs!

Not so random/no "favorites" ten:

1. Let Your Day Begin - Tree63 from The Answer to the Question
2. It's Over - Squirrel Nut Zippers from Perennial Favorites
3. Can't Truss It - Public Enemy from Power to the People
4. Babe - Styx from Extended Versions
5. Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes - Paul Simon from SNL Live: 25 Years of Music
6. Eric the Half a Bee - Monty Python from Monty Python Sings
7. De Here to Love Me - Norah Jones from Feels Like Home
8. It's a Small World - from Classic Disney
9. Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield from Pure 80's
10. You've Got Another Thing Coming - Pat Boone from In a Metal Mood

90's Music Ten

1. Cradle of Love - Billy Idol
2. Have YOu Seen Me Lately - Counting Crows
3. Cycle Me Through - Skypark
4. Letters - Vinegar Joe
5. Sad Songs and Waltzes - Cake
6. Lady With the Spinning Head - U2
7. Dumb - Nirvana
8. Unskinny Bob - Poison
9. Immortality - Pearl Jam
10. There Was 2 - Sonichrome

That 90's Music playlist is all screwed up. It took me 27 songs to get ten from the 90s. I have a lot of compilations that were RELEASED in the 90's, so they all show up in that playlist. Lame.

Bottom Half Shake Up

50's Night truly separated the top of the heap even further. This has to be the strongest top five in Idol history. Most seasons you easily forget everyone but the top two, with a handful of exceptions. This year, five of the contestants are going to have strong careers. Here's my top-eleven. Small change in the top-five (which will probably happen every week, since 3-5 are all VERY close to each other). Big changes in the bottom.

1. Chris Daughtery - Two weeks in a row he has done a performance that could easily be at the top of the charts next week. He is smart, rearranging I Walk The Line to sound like a Chris Daughtery song. Brilliant, as always. Simon complemented him by saying that he is the first "rocker-type" that refuses to compromise himself. VERY True. Simon Cowell - Voice of Reason.

2. Paris Bennett - Other than a small hiccup vocally in the first part of her song, Fever, she was brilliant.

3. Mandisa - She had her "Kelly-Clarkson-on-Big-Band-Night" moment last night. She rocks!

4. Katharine McPhee - Solid as always. I love her voice. To me, and I'm probably crazy, the performance came off as a little to broadway/cabaret/cheese to me.



5. Taylor Hicks - Taylor didn't pick the best song last night, in that, it didn't show off his voice well enough. It was fun, but bland.

6. Lisa Tucker - The perfect example of "Good is not Good Enough." She sang well, but is once again being completely overshadowed by Paris and Mandiva. She is my prediction for who will go home tonight.

7. Kelli Pickler - I have to put her at the top of the crap pile this week, because she had a VERY strong performance, doing Patsy Cline's Walking After Midnight.

8. Elliot Yamin - This guy just bothers me. He has the personality of a rock. The judges said he sang great last night, so the must have had a different performance in the theater than we saw on T.V. I thought it was terrible the first time. After the judges praised him, I watched it a second time (with my eyes closed, so I could focus on the voice) and, while it was better, it still wasn't great.

9. Cletus - He's now 1-for-2 on attempts to put his voice into the selected genre. Why he didn't do a country song from the fifties, I'll never know. HE could have kicked butt with Walking After Midnight, ala Garth. He HAS to try and make it a country song every week, no matter what the genre is. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the musical smarts that Chris has shown, so it's probably going to get worse before it gets better.

10. Ace Young - He sang well last night, but I still want to kick his Ass. Melissa asked me last night if I only hate him because he's a pretty boy. The answer is no. I hate him because he's a pretty boy and his "name" is Ace. C'mon.

11. Chicken Little - Kevin won't be going away anytime soon, which is too bad. He's got the Vote-for-the-worst seal of (dis)approval, and unfortunately, he has a strong legitimate fan base as well. He doesn't appeal to the 8-to-80 crowd, he appeals to the 8 AND 80 crowd. He'll be the only performer to have granny-panties and disney-princess underroos thrown at him on stage. He was so beyond terrible, it's not funny anymore.

FridayRandomTen

1. Float On - Modest Mouse from Good News for People
2. Cry - Vinegar Joe from Live at the Mixing Lab
3. Roxie's Suite - Danny Elfman from Chicago
4. Seen It All Before - Amos Lee from Amos Lee
5. Under My Thumb - Rolling Stones from Forty Licks
6. Youth Culture Killed My Dog - They Might Be Giants from Best of the Early Years
7. Cry!Cry!Cry! - Johnny Cash from The Legend of Johnny Cash
8. Within You Without You - The Beatles from Sgt. Peppers...
9. Found - The O.C. Supertones from Adventures of the O.C. Supertones
10. War Pigs (1970 Basement Tapes) - Black Sabbath from The Ozzman Cometh

Rolands gotta laugh at the Supertones followed by Sabbath....


FridayRandomRapTen

1. Jump - KrisKross
2. Soldier - Eminem
3. Boyz-N-The-Hood - Easy-E
4. Touch the Sky - Kanye West
5. You Can't Touch This - M.C. Hammer
6. Can't Do Nuttin' For Ya Man -Public Enemy
7. Stan - Eminem
8. Diamonds from Sierra Leone - Kanye West
9. Bombs over Bahgdad - Outcast
10. I'll Be Missing You - Puff Daddy & The Family

Spring Fever

James is ready for his first season of Angels Baseball!

His first words are going to be "Jeff Weaver Sucks!"

AI: Week One

Here's my rankings of the contestants after the first week of performances. A very hot/cold season. I have a strong top-five, all of whom I would be ok with seeing them win, at this point. There are two stuck on neutral, who I don't really love or hate, and then a dismal bottom five, who ALL need to dissapear. Quickly.

1. Chris Daughtery - I love this guys voice and so far he has been 100% flawless. He has a strong rock voice and truly shouldn't be in this competition. He need to be fronting a rock band. He's miles ahead of Bo Bice, in that: he's real. Bo Bice, who I still like, played the southern rock role well and should just go on tour singing with Skynyrd. His album was pretty tame southern rock, not what I had expected from him. CHRIS, can be a legit lead singer of a "Live" style band. He reminds Melissa of Ed Kowalczyk. He might have a problem with some of the theme weeks that this show has, but so far he's 1-for-1, sailing through Stevie Wonder week with a rock version of Higher Ground, ala the Chili Peppers. Hopefully he'll get so lucky every week.

2. Paris Bennett - Another seasoned performer, who hasn't taken a misstep. I REALLY like her, Chris is higher because he's much more in my prefered genres musically. Paris is fun to watch. She's young and cute and can sang. She has the best stage presence, and is probably the one who "should" win this show. Chris is awesome, but he's not the best "american idol" type of winner.


3. Taylor Hicks - I was saying to some friends last night: If I were, for some reason, going to see the top-12 on tour this summer (which, of course, I won't), THIS is the one guy I would be most looking forward to seeing. He is so fun to watch. He's a total kook, but he's got a great voice, a unique style and he stands out as a VERY original performer. I can't wait to see what he does post-idol, when he gets to work the harmonica on stage. He mentioned that the show stylists want to change his grey hair. That would be a huge mistake. I think if he dyed his hair, he would lose some of the unique appeal he has accross America.

4. Katharine McPhee - After last night's performance, I, too, have the McPheever. My hesitation with her has always been that she comes across as a cocky, seasoned performer, and just sort of fake. But the chick can SING. She got her first comparision to Kelly Clarkson, how they both truly emerged as front runners at this part of the contest.


5. Mandisa - Being a big-boned guy myself, I've got a connection to this next-aretha, and I want to see her to REALLY well. She stumbled a little last night, but that doesn't detract too much from the fact that she has THE best voice in the competition. As Randy says, "The girl can BLOW."


6. Lisa Tucker - Lisa has a great singing voice, but her youth is going to come into play pretty soon. No matter how great a voice she has, she just can't stack up against Paris and Mandisa, and, unfortunately, That is where she's going to be compared first, and where she's going to lose the votes. It's also fun to root for a local girl, since she goes to high school in Anaheim.

7. Cletus - As my wife mentioned last night, I just don't know how anyone can say "Bucky" and not start laughing at him. He is a TRUE redneck. He is a hick-from-the-sticks in a way that Bo could have only dreamt about. Where Bo was sort of a manufactured NECK, Bucky is a true-blue southern-fried white trash trailer jockey. With all that said, He's got a GREAT country voice. He, too, will struggle fitting his style into the themed weeks. Where Chris seems to have more musical "know-how" and can work with the band to tailor a song to fit his needs, Cletus will probably just try to fit his voice INTO the other genres, and that will be his down fall. He's still about 42 miles ahead of the bottom five...

8. Elliott Yamin - Congratulations! You're at the top of the dung heap!! This kid can sing well, about one out of every three weeks. But he's got the personality of a rotting tomato.

9. Melissa McGee - She probably has the worst voice of anyone in the top 12, and shouldn't have made the top-12 over the basketball player, but she's got a good personality and I don't exactly hate her. She can stay a while, as far as I'm concerned, just to get the next three gone as QUICK as possible.

10. Kelli Pickler - Read This. She makes me want to vomit.

11. Kevin Covais - He's cute, he's cuddly, and he's annoying as hell. He just simply isn't an american idol, no matter how great his personality is. Since he's the Vote-for-the-Worst pony this year, he might make it as far as Scott Savol did last season. And that would just be sad. But funny.

12. Ace Young - I just want to kick this guys ass. I know he'll be around for a long time, and he's got the chick vote, He's the biggest poser ever in this competition. And DUDE needs a flipping haircut!!!!!!

I Can Hear Myself Getting Fatter...

Thank God I don't live in Illinois. The Gateway Grizzlies minor-league ball club has created the "world's best hamburger". Copy-cats coming to a county fair near you, I'm sure...


Read The Story Here

i-pod 8-Ball

Instead of the Friday Random ten, I'll do the musical eight-ball.

1. What is missing from my life? Shadows and Tall Trees - U2 (But not for long!)
2. Will I find love? Pipe Dreams - Travis (well, that's just not true...)
2. Will I find Love? I Alone - Live (nope, still not true...)
2. Will I find love? The Chemicals Between Us - Bush (that's better)
3. Will I become rich? Shepherd is the Lamb - Supertones (riches don't really matter)
4. Does someone have a crush on me? Something in the Way - Nirvana (that's not good)
5. What is my favorite sexual position? 40 - U2 (yeah, baby)
6. Am I good looking? - Dead Melodies - Beck (yup)
7) When am I most happy? Backyard Boogie - Mack 10 (I like the night life, I like to boogie)
8. What is my biggest regret? You Had to Be There - Stillwater (and I'll never tell)
9. How will I die? Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin (Is there a better way to go?)
10. Do I act my age? Flight of the Cosmic Hippo - Bela Fleck (I guess that's a no?)
11. What type of tattoo should I get? Luna - Smashing Pumpkins (a moon tattoo? Lets try again....)
11. What type of tatoo should I get? Sunrise - Norah Jones (still gay, oh well).
12. What is my spirit animal? Wolves - Garth Brooks
13. Do I like pain? One Piece at a Time - Johnny Cash
14. Is there anyone else like me out there? California Dreamin' - The Mamas and the Papas.
15. Do I love to party? Daylight Fading - Counting Crows
16. Where should I move to? On Top - The Killers (Oregon IS on top of Cali!)
17. Am I secretly gay? Danger Zone - Kenny Loggins (That just about sums it up, doesn't it?)
18. Will I ever be president? The Longest Time - Billy Joel
19. What is fun for me? The Long Way Home - Norah Jones (heh)
20. Will I ever learn to fly? Bike - Pink Floyd (So I'll pull an E.T.?)
21. What is my super power? Grace Like Rain - Todd Agnew (sweet!)

Springfield Rocks!