Friday, April 28, 2006

FRT

1. Only Fools - Crystal Lewis from Greatest Hits
2. With a Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles from Sgt. Peppers
3. Marquis in Spades - Smashing Pumpkins from Judas O
4. Powdered Milk Man - The Aquabats from The Fury of the Aquabats
5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Pat Benatar from King Biscuit: 25 Years of Rock
6. Tommorow - U2 from October
7. Geek U.S.A - Smashing Pumpkins from Earphoria
8. Fuel - Sonicflood from Resonate
9. Coming into Los Angeles - Arlo Guthrie from Woodstock
10. Lurgee - Radiohead from Pablo Honey

A Christian Random Ten

1. A Million Miles Away - Mercy Me from Undone
2. Love is Against the Grain - Dime Store Prophets from Love is Against the Grain
3. The Walls - Israelites from Washaway
4. Blessed Assurance - The O.C. Supertones from Faith of a Child: The Supertones Worship Project
5. Lay Your Hands on Me, God - Steve Mills from Don't Forget
6. Boy on a String - Jars of Clay from Self-titled debut
7. Mr. Moresby - Mars Hill from Self-titled debut
8. Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble? - Delirious from Cutting Edge
9. Dichotomy - Plank Eye from The Spark
10. But Now My Eyes are Open - Tree63 from The Answer to the Question

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Andrea Blind-chelli and the love songs

Another miserable week overall on Idol. Song selection was pretty bad, especially for Taylor and Paris. Cat was pretty darn good, but the judges slammed her. I thought that was odd. Chris was the only one to pick a great song and nail it. Elliott....well, just read below.

1. Chris - (#1 this week) - Have You Really Ever Loved a Woman - It wasn't his best performance, but he nailed it once again and was far and away the best of the night. I'm starting to think he's got a legitimate chance of making the final-two against Taylor, but Catharine can still get there too, if she quits over-singing.

2. Catharine - (#3) - I Have Nothing - It's a close race again for second between her and Paris, and I think she did just enough with a tough song to keep her here for another week. The judges bashed her up and down for not coming anywhere near Whitney. They may be right, but I think she can get there, eventually. I liked the performance better than they did.

3. Paris - (#4) - The Way We Were - I'm not a Barbara-Big-Nose fan, so I wasn't excited about Paris doing this song. She sang it REALLY slow and boring, even for an already slow and boring song. I LOVE PARIS, but for some reason, she isn't clicking with the voters, and I'm afraid that she's going home tonight. Brutal. She has a great voice and a great personality, what's not to like?!!?!

4. Taylor (#5) - Just Once - Taylor did a terrible job tonight, with a really terrible song. Not much else to say. He's going to stay on top of the voting and out of the bottom three anyway, but he was simply brutal last night.

5. Elliott (#2) - A Song For You - I made a committment to watch his performance with my eyes closed this week, so I could focus on his voice. I'm glad I did, because I'm now starting to come over to the parrallel universe. This was a pretty bad song and a very scatter-brained arrangement, but he sang REALLY well through the whole song. I still don't think I'd rush out to buy his album, but he is a good singer.

6. Kelli (#6) - Unchained Melody - REALLY risky choice, seeing as how it is Simon's favorite song. Hopefully the honeymoon is over between her and her fans, who have to be realizing that she doesn't have anywhere near good enough pipes to keep going. Tragically, She's got enough of a fan base and will get just enough kick from vote-for-the-worst to stick around another week and unjustly go further than Paris. That is just insane.

Bottom Three Prediction: Kelli, Paris, Catharine

Going Home: Paris. It's wrong. Just plain WRONG I tell ya!!!!!

Monday, April 24, 2006

Life, etc.

The start of another long week in the life of the Askews! Another weekend has passed and two agents came through the open house and that was it. It's wierd. We thought this thing would sell really easy and really quick, but instead, we're becoming the poster children for the whole "housing-market-is-slowing-down" rumors. We reduced the price of the house this week, so hopefully that will do something soon. It's really hard to keep from going completely in the tank on this. I pray every night asking for God to continue to work and I truly believe that everything is in his control. Everything that has happened to this point with the job, the move, etc. has been completely from him. We KNOW that this is all going to work out the way it is supposed to. But the further we get from what WE think is best (selling NOW, moving TOGETHER), the harder it becomes to trust in the path that lies before us. My life verse has always been Jeremiah 29:11. I sure need to remember it now more than ever. It's just hard to imagine that I might not be with my family if I have to go up for my June 1 start date and we haven't sold yet.

Jamie, Jack & Stench

So, apparently Jamie, Jack & Stench are off the air on Star 98.7. The stupid station, which has changed course twice in the last 12 months (first to the whole "LA's Best Variety" crap) is now going to LA's Best Alternative, or something like that, and they have canned all the DJ's. According to Jack's Blog, The latest news is that they have just been put on hold and haven't been fired YET. There is a ton of uproar and public support, but it seems that Star is going the way of the current radio trend that Jack FM is capitalizing on. I think it's lame, because a TON of people WANT to listen to a talk show on their morning commute and I'm one of them. I never really got into Mark & Brian or Kevin & Bean, I won't go anywhere near Adam Carrolla, so that leaves me with ESPN Radio or AM Talk. Colin Cowherd is the worst sports radio guy on earth. So I'm stuck listening to Bill Handel on the news. This is fine and all, but not as entertaining as Jamie & Co.

Then there is the whole idea of Star calling themselves "Alternative" radio. What exactly is the definition of "alternative" music this week? Alt used to be the grunge movement of music, then in the mid-90's all of KROQ's playlist (Beck, No Doubt, Blink) got grouped there. Then it morphed into the new KROQ standards of the Killers/Keane/White Stripes/etc. Now Star is trying to call their generic/mostly Adult Contemporary mix "alternative"? I give up.

I am a Poker god!

Ok, maybe not, but I did finally win my first tournament in a long time on Saturday night, beating some formidible on-line players in a five-handed sit-and-go tournament. The most seasoned on-line player and frequent casino cash-game player was Brad Hutchins and he was the first one out. Paul Hutchins followed suit, playing the role of gracious host by taking third.

Then we were three-handed when Mark Ford went all in with pocket dueces. I made the call with A-8 of hearts, assuming Mark had a small pair. Any large pair would have enduced a slow play, because he would want to ensure action. Surpisingly, Shawn Bleid called behind me and we gave Mark a chance to double-double. Shan and I made an agreement to check the hand down to the river, since at least 50% of the total chips were already in the pot. We all flipped and Shan had an A-5? (some low card) - off-suit. Surprising call with an all-in and a call already in place. An Ace came on the flop and I held on to win, taking a commanding lead and knocking T-Boy out.

I'm a terrible heads-up player, or at least I have been in the past. I lost the first few pots because Shan was playing perfect agressive poker. I was still around a 3-2 chip-leader when he went all in. I read that he had a modest hand and was trying to steal the blinds, so I called with 10-9 of Hearts, suited connectors. It wasn't a great call, but I figured, I was happy to get in the money and get my 10 bucks back, if he has an Ace with another card, then I'm only down about 70%-30%. I sucked out a 9 on the river to win it, so I was pretty happy.

We played a cash game after that ($4 buy-in, nickel/quarter limits), and I won two bucks more, so that was cool.

Friday, April 21, 2006

It's Friday

1. Walking After You - The Foo Fighters from The Colour and The Shape
2. Bugs - Skypark from One More Night With The Frogs
3. The Candyman - From Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory Soundtrack
4. Why Can't This Be Love - Van Hagar from The Best of Both Worlds
5. Alimony - Weird Al Yankovic from Even Worse
6. Things Have Changed - Bob Dylan from Best of Vol. 2
7. Piano Sonata 15, Op.28, 4th Movement - Beethoven from Baby Einstein Traveling Melodies
8. If You Wear That Velvet Dress - U2 from Pop
9. Rocketown - George Michael W. Smith from The First Decade
10. All Falls Down - Kanye West from The College Dropout

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Leaving the Beard Behind

Brian and Ron, sitting in a tree....k.i.s.s.i.n.g.

Crooning and Bewildering

How is it that someone can get this far in the competition and then have a performance SO bad, that it wouldn't even have made it past the first round? And I'm not even talking about Gary, er...Ace... whatever. Kelli's performance of Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered was so bad, I have propelled Elliot above her, against my better judgement. Paris and "Cat" rocked the house and Chris put in another solid performance, taking a bold move on one of my all-time favorite songs.

The following are my up-to-date rankings. I think that my ever-fluctuating 2-4 reflect the fact that for the first time, I think, ever, we don't have a clear-cut Final TWO, like we usually do: Kelly/Justin , Clay/Ruben, Fantasia/that other chick, Carrie/Bo. This year I can realistically see any of five people in the top-two (and I would have said six before Kelli's choke-job last night).

1. Chris - Dropped it down a notch with What a Wonderful World. Looked lame, sang great. Proved to any doubters that he can ACTUALLY SING, when he isn't belting at the top of his lungs.

2. Paris - Back in shot-gun for me after a perfect week with Foolish Things. I do this silly point-system thing most weeks that I get from Slimtainment. She got the first perfect 25/25 that I have ever scored. Simply amazing.

3. Catharine - And she gets a 24/25. She sang Someone to Watch Over Me and absolutely rocked it. If I had to have any critisizm, it was just a little vampy, a little broadway, and a LOT of makeup. But does any of that really matter? Paula made the best comment for her: She seemed like a previous Idol, already a professional, coming back to perform.

4. Taylor - I love the guy. I love his voice and he belted on You Send Me, but I was just a little bored. I guess I'm sort of getting tired of the "act" a little. I don't think he SHOULD win the show, but I definitely think he COULD.

5. Elliot - I still have this whole parrallel universe theory. EVERYBODY seems to like the way this guy sings and I simply DO NOT. He was fine last night, but I just don't like his voice. And why was everyone shocked last night when Simon pointed out that the dude has NO personality? I should also mention that a certain friend of mine likes him and my wife and I figured out why: He kinda looks like your hubby. Close your eyes for his next performance. Maybe you'll come around to the "dark side" with me, too.

6. Pickler - Wow. So bad that I am out of words. She did the best thing she possibly could by saying "I butchered it, y'all" (why could I picture Amy Poehler playing her the entire time, too?). Admitting it was a bad week makes her look good, in a wierd way, as opposed to last week when Ace was torn a new one by all three judges and then he has the balls to say "Well I think I rocked." She will stick around, but can she keep performing up to the level she has truly only shown once or twice during the finals?

7. Gary..er...Ace - Actually did a pretty good job last night, singing That's All. He looked obnoxiously boy-bandish with the hair pulled back into a gay cinna-bun, though, and that is a BIG mistake to mess with your looks when your bread-and-butter is your faggy pretty-boy looks and not your voice.

I think it's ironic that for the first time Ace-hole sings REALLY WELL, and he'll probably be going home this week. That's my hunch, anyway. At least he gets to go out on a good note with a good song. Although, It would be pretty funny if Pickler had to sing the Bewildering thing-a-ma-bob again.

Bottom Three prediction: Gary, Elliot, Pickler

Going home: Gary.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Slogan of the Day

"Johnny Damon - Looks Like Jesus, Acts Like Judas, Throws Like Mary"

Monday, April 17, 2006

Friday...er...Monday Random Ten

1. Subterranean Homesick Alien - Radiohead from OK Computer
2. All the Way Home - Spinal Tap from Break like the Wind

3. She Belongs to Me - Grateful Dead from Postcards of the Hanging: Grateful Dead Sing Dylan
4. Sing for the Moment - Eminem from The Eminem Show
5. You Make Me - Wierd Al Yankovic from Even Worse
6. Summertime - DJ Jazzy Jeff& The Fresh Prince from MTV Party to Go Platinum Mix
7. Summer Rain - U2 from 7
8. Play That Funky Music - Wild Cherry from Billboard Top Hits: 1976
9. Radar Love - Golden Earring from 1970's Classic Rock Compilation
10. It's Easy Mmmkay - Mr. Mackey, Stan Marsh & Eric Cartman from South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut Soundtrack

Saturday, April 15, 2006

I'm in Love

I've experienced heaven in an 8-ounce glass bottle. Coca-cola Blak is the new coke/coffee hybrid and it is incredible. When I saw ads for it last week I was very curious: Is it a coffee drink that tastes like Coke? Or a soda that tastes like coffee?

Well, I'm here to tell you, friends, that it is the latter. First there was cherry coke. Then vanilla coke. Then coke with lime. And now, topping them all. Coffee Coke.

The revolution has begun people! Go out and buy a four-pack. Target has 'em for sure.

I haven't done a list in a while. Here's my new top-ten morning caffeine pick-me-ups.

1. Coca-Cola Blak. Once the honeymoon is over (I'm drinking my very first one as we speak), I'm sure it'll drop a little.

2. Starbucks store-bought carmel frappucino

3. Venti Triple White Chocolate Mocha (starbucks, of course)

4. Monster-Khaos

5. Store-bought vanilla frappucino

6. store-bought double-shot espresso&cream

7. Venti Black Iced Tea, with sweetener (eight pumps) - this is my #1 afternoon/evening caffeine drink.

8. Dr. Pepper

9. Grande Caramel Macchiato

10. (R.I.P.) - 8-oz. Chantico

Honorable Mention: Toffee Almond Bar, my favorite breakfast snack

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Queen Week: Better Than Expected

I wasn't very exited about the kiddies doing Queen this week, but for the most part, it was a very solid week. Remember, these are my overall rankings, not based solely on last night. Last night's rank in parentheses after the name.

1. Chris Daughtry (5)- He sang Innuendo, an extremely choppy and sloppy song. There is a reason why the band never perform it live, it is a MESS. Just a terrible song and a terrible choice. I agree 100% with Simon that this was a perfect week for him to have his "moment" and it just didn't happen. He still sang great, but picked a bad, bad, bad, bad song.

2. Katharine McPhee (2)- Sang Who Wants to Live Forever, a slow ballad. On first listen, I was mezmorized and captivated and thought she absolutely hit a grand slam. She has amazing stage presence and has the best, most consistent voice in the competition. On second listen, I could hear the missed note or two, but she still had the 2nd best performance of the night.

3. Taylor Hicks (3)- Taylor reminded the judges, the audience and me why we loved him in the first place. He sang Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Great job.

4. Paris - (4) She's slipping a little, and it's not because of her voice. She still has a great personality and an awesome voice. I actually loved her performance, but the more I think about it, the more I agree with my wife and Simon: It was just a little "off".

5. Kelli Pickler (1)- By far the best performance of the night. She kicked total butt performing Bohemian Rhapsody. Stage presence, vocals, outfit: everything was amazing. Far and away above what I expected from her. I'm starting to come around, I guess.

6. Cletus Jones (6)- Bucky was boring, singing Fat Bottom Girls. It just didn't work for me. I think he's got a great country voice, and I want to see him stick around, at least for another few weeks, to show off the voice.

7. Elliot (7)- I swear, I feel like I'm in a parallel universe. I thought he was absolutely TERRIBLE last night, singing Somebody to Love, but the judges continue to heap praise onto his heaping pile of Rhinoceros Dung.

8. Ace-hole (8) - How the freak is he still here? Dial-Idol says he's going home, and they BETTER be right. His We Will Rock You will make a hilariously ironic closing song tonight after he get booted.

Bottom-Three Prediction: Ace, Bucky, Chris

Back to the Couch: Chris

Going Home: Ace

Friday, April 07, 2006

Friday Random Ten

1. Switch - Will Smith from Itunes
2. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - Veggie Tales from Bob and Larry's Toddler Songs
3. Losing my Touch - The Rolling Stones from Forty Licks
4. Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle from Billboard: 1987
5. Hot Hot Hot!!! - The Cure from Galore
6. Summertime - The Sundays from "Double Take" (a cheesy Targhetto comp)
7. Rock the Casbah - One Bad Pig from Live: Blow the House Down
8. In My Time of Dying - Led Zepplin from Physical Graffiti
9. Girl Dreams - Beck from One Foot in the Grave
10. Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll - Bob Dylan from Biograph

Gotta get a U2 song, let's see how long it takes:

36. (not bad) Party Girl - U2 from Under a Blood Red Sky

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Rank Idol

For such a stellar top of the class, this was only bad week for Idol. Some good performances on country night but some disappointing ones too.

1. Chris - He was awesome.
2. Catherine - She was amazing last night. Jumped over the next two, who were rather underwhelming
T3. Paris/Mandisa - They were both a little dissappointing last night, especially Paris. I still love them both, they just struggled with a genre that they had no business singing.
5. Taylor - I nearly fell asleep during his performance. Just not good for him, at all.
6. Kelli Pickler - She's growing on me, I hate to admit it. She's got a great voice and, obviously, kicked arse last night.
7. Cletus - I was actually disappointed last night. I didn't expect a ballad from him on the one night he could have shined brightest with a strong fast/fun country song. I think he played it safe (which might have been the smart thing), showing off a little of his actual singing voice (which wasn't bad) on the night that he got to be in his comfort zone.

Professor Chan at Vote for the Worst summed it up: "I was expecting a Garth Brooks-ian fireworks show and flying through the audience on wires theatrics as Bucky makes a last ditch stand to stay on the show. But instead Bucky takes it down a notch and sings a bittersweet, soulful hymn. And he sings it great. For one song he made me like country music. Bravo, Bucky!"


8. Elliot - I still think I'm the only one who doesn't care for his voice. He absolutely BUTCHERED a Garth Brooks song, and that's a no-no in my book. He must sound totally different in the studio.
9. Ace must die. Seriously, dude. Go home. Please.

Bottom three prediction: This is tough, but: Paris, Elliot, Mandisa. I'm trusting Dial Idol for this one
Going Home: Elliot.

Music Survey

1. Of all the bands/artists in your cd/record collection, which one do you own the most of?
Well this one is easy: U2. Behind them would be Dylan, Pink Floyd, Garth Brooks and the Smashing Pumpkins
2. What was the last song you listened to?
Enter Sandman by Metallica on some sports talk show.
3. What's in your record/CD player right now?
James Blunt
4. What song pretty much sums you up?
I hate questions like this.
5. What's your favorite local band?
Still existing? Mike Barnet. No Longer? Mars Hill
6. What was the last concert you attended?
U2 & Keane (and Mary J. Blige) at Madison Square Garden
7. What was the greatest show you've ever been to?
#1 - U2 -Madison Square Garden
#2 - U2 - PopMart in San Diego (first U2 concert)
#3 - U2 - Elevation post-9/11 at the Pond
#4 - KROQ's Acoustic Christmas with Billy Corgan, Depeche Mode, Garbage, Brian Setzer Orchestra, Fiona Apple...
#5 - Dylan at the Sun Theatre in Anaheim.
(This list changes ALOT)
8. What's the worst band you've ever seen in concert?
Only One? Thanks to a few Acoustic Christmases, I've seen Chumbawumba AND the Sneaker Pimps.
9. What band do you like musically but dislike the members of?
Good Question, but hard to answer. Oasis.
10. What is the most musically involved you have ever been?
(I'm copying Pauls answer) I had a radio show at Biola and helped put togther some concerts and in studio performances. (We had Mars Hill in studio!!!) I also MC'd a Blue Christmas.
11. What shows are you looking forward to?
There are a few performers that I've never seen that I would like to: Paul McCartney, the Stones, Elton John and especially Garth Brooks.
12. What is your favorite band shirt?
Gotta be the bright Orange O.C. Supertones Shirt with the Orange on it.
13. What music posters do you have up in your room?
None right now. I have a bunch of U2 stuff to put up in the new garage when we move. I have a Beck poster and some Pumpkins stuff, too.
14. What musician would you like to be in love with for a day?
Only One? just kidding. It'd have to be Shirley Manson. An old school shout out to Stephanie Kelly of Hume Lake fame, too.
15. Pat Benatar or Cyndi Lauper?
My sister would probably want me to say Cyndi Lauper.
16. Sabbath or solo Ozzy?
Ozzy. Crazy Train and Mama I'm Coming Home (and War Pigs) outweigh Paranoid.
17. Commodores or solo Lionel Ritchie?
Uh...
18. Punk rock, hip hop or heavy metal?
Depends on my mood. I don't have an overridding preference.
19. Doesn't Primus suck?
I'm not qualified to give that an answer.
20. Did you know that filling out this survey makes you a music geek?
Of course.
21. What was the greatest decade for music?
As a U2 fan, I would probably say the 00's. But definitely the 60s.
22. How many music-related videos/dvds do you own?
Nine -
U2 (Rattle & Hum, Joshua Tree documentary, U2 Go Home, Elevation in Boston, Vertigo in Chicago)
Pink Floyd (The Wall, Pulse - live concert)
OC Supertones at the Movies
Green Day - Bullet in a Bible
23. Do you like Journey?
Not really.
24. Don't try to pretend you don't!!
Well....
25. What is your favourite movie soundtrack?
Rattle & Hum, of course!
As for a score, it would be Instinct or Edward Scissorhands (both Elfman, of course) or Braveheart.
Musically, it would be Dazed & Confused, Wayne's World, Moulin Rouge and Chicago.
26. What was your last musical phase?
I listen to everything, but I had a pretty bad ska phase. In high school I had a disco phase, too.
27. What's the crappiest CD/record/etc. you own?
Only One? Velour 100
28. Do you prefer vinyl or CDs?
Cd's, unless it's my dads collection of 60's rock (especially Tommy or Blonde on Blonde).
29. All totalled, how much do you spend on music a month?
Nothing. Usually presents these days. Plus the occasional dollar or two from Itunes (next up will, sadly, probably be "Bad Day" by whoever sings it. I just bought Johnny Cash's "Hurt", too.