Sigur Ros - Last Night at Bass Hall

So this last Saturday I decided I would make somewhat of a impulse buy and grab a ticket to Sigur Ros, an Icelandic 'rock' band playing at Bass Hall. For those unfamiliar with their music, I dub it a Radiohead, Coldplay, Enya-ish hybrid...it's quite hard to label their genre until you've heard it. Lots of swells, tension and crescendos.

The first CD I bought of theirs happens to be the latest...their 2005 release 'Takk', which in English means thanks. One thing I wondered before I went was how they could pull off the cd sound live...and for the most part they did.

The show was the last of their American dates so I thought the lead vocal might suffer. Nope, I was wrong. I thought it sounded great. Being a musician I could tell it was influenced by reverb tails and like effects but every act 'cheats' a little. This lead singer would have to have 'opera-like' sustain to pull this off without any help.

The only beef (and a small one at that) I have with their music (not necessarily their performance last night) is that some songs tend to drag on a little too long for their own good. Of course this is just one listeners opinion; if I was trying to fall asleep listening to it I might not mind it...all depends on the circumstance.

All in all I really enjoyed the show. There were moments in there where my legs were literally shaking...wait...that could have been because it was so cold in there.

Star-Telegram's review here

Deputy Sheriff of Mayberry County Killed by Matlock

Not really but I probably punched my ticket to Hell years ago...

RIP Don

Give Me Some BaD Radio...

Looks as though Dan has a case of the gay. Go to their site here or visit Bob Sturm's blog. Corra.

Part 12 Guy, Inspired by Scott

I'm really surprised he doesn't have one by now...RIM service might be shut down by the end of the day if the patent-infringement thing goes down. Cellar!

(I've got nuthin')

The Alcoholism Test

Enough said...take it here.

The Passion Of The Christ

I saw this movie over at a buddy's house with HOP last night and I must say it is intense, regardless of whether you are religious or not. It definitely had the lookaway factor going on due to the graphic violence.

Regarding the picture above...Satan with his babyarm???

(Sorry for the small post today, I'm busy...well not personally, this guy I know is. No, no you don't. No, I don't.)

Once Social Security hits the fan...

I'll want this to happen to me:

Yikes...that is all

Your Dallas Mavericks (Post All-Star Break):

Best record in the Western Conference, very few injuries, these guys have stepped it up. Adding to that, they have a very favorable schedule in March and every game is going to count. Somebody please kidnap Mark Cuban until after the trade deadline so that he doesn't mess with the chemistry of this ballclub.

Mavs host the Clippers tonight at 7:30.

Sport or No-Sport, this is impressive:

Dude rolls 3 consecutive 300 point games, one of only 8 people ever to roll a series.

That happens about as many times as I roll out of bed before 10 on weekends.

In the spirit of HOP's Part 11 story:

I myself may have something to reveal near the end of the year, something a close buddy and former bandmate decided to undertake on New Year's Eve.

All attempts to get back in the groove of creating music again have been fruitless to this point but I've always felt that I'd better get back into it...all in all, my father reminded me to get back into it.

Like I've explained to anybody willing to listen, I can many times hear in my head exactly the way songs will finish before they're completed. I don't think its a gift by any means, it's become a burden through the years and doesn't let me push the boundaries like all real musicians should strive to achieve.

To get better back on track, Clay and I have decided to undertake recording and creating a cd by the end of the year...a few local shows may result.

The Music Elitist Chimes In: The Grammys (Feb. 8th)

Let's just break down these 'awards' the way they should be (only 3 weeks away, main categories listed):

Text in Red = Who will win, Text in Blue = who should win, Text in Green = red and blue make green

Album Of The Year:

The Emancipation Of Mimi by Mariah Carey
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard by Paul McCartney
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. by Gwen Stefani
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb by U2
Late Registration by Kanye West

(yikes, this is the best they've got? Gimme U2 back in the 'Joshua Tree' days)

Record Of The Year:

"We Belong Together" (Mariah Carey)
"Feel Good Inc." (Gorillaz featuring De La Soul)
"Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" (Green Day)
"Hollaback Girl" (Gwen Stefani) and
"Gold Digger" (Kanye West)

Best New Artist:

R&B singer Ciara
Fall Out Boy
Brit popsters Keane
Soul singer John Legend

(I'm sorry, I just don't get John Legend's bag)

Song Of The Year:

Bobby Boyd, Jeff Hanna & Marcus Hummon for "Bless The Broken Road" (performed by Rascal Flatts)

Bruce Springsteen for "Devils & Dust"

William Adams (Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas) & J. Stephens, John Legend for "Ordinary People" (performed by John Legend)

U2 for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"

J. Austin, Mariah Carey, Jermaine Dupri, and Manuel Seal for "We Belong Together" (performed by Mariah Carey)

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals:

The Black Eyed Peas & Jack Johnson for "Gone Going"
Foo Fighters featuring Norah Jones for "Virginia Moon"
Gorillaz featuring De La Soul for "Feel Good Inc."
Herbie Hancock featuring Christina Aguilera for "A Song For You"
Stevie Wonder featuring India.Arie for "A Time To Love."


Best Male Pop Vocal Performance:

Jack Johnson ("Sitting, Waiting, Wishing")
Paul McCartney ("Fine Line")
Seal ("Walk On By")
Rob Thomas ("Lonely No More")
Stevie Wonder ("From The Bottom Of My Heart")

(hopefully Seal will bring his hottie wife on stage with)

Best Pop Vocal Album:

Extraordinary Machine (Fiona Apple)
Breakaway (Kelly Clarkson)
Wildflower (Sheryl Crow)
Chaos And Creation In The Backyard (Paul McCartney)
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (Gwen Stefani)


Best Dance Recording:

The Chemical Brothers featuring Q-Tip for "Galvanize"
Deep Dish for "Say Hello"
Fatboy Slim & Lateef for "Wonderful Night"
LCD Soundsystem for "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House"
Kylie Minogue for "I Believe In You"
New Order for "Guilt Is A Useless Emotion"


Best Electronic/Dance Album:

Push The Button (the Chemical Brothers)
Human After All (Daft Punk)
Palookaville (Fatboy Slim)
Minimum-Maximum (Kraftwerk)
LCD Soundsystem (LCD Soundsystem)


Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal:

Coldplay - "Speed Of Sound"
Foo Fighters - "Best Of You"
U2 - "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
Franz Ferdinand - "Do You Want To"
The Killers - "All These Things That I've Done"

(I'd go to a Killers show anyday before a Foo show)

Best Rock Song:

Coldplay - "Speed Of Sound"
Foo Fighters - "Best Of You"
U2 - "City Of Blinding Lights"
Rivers Cuomo's "Beverly Hills" (Weezer)
Bruce Springsteen - "Devils & Dust"

(out of these nominations, I'll go with the Foo Fighters, but I haven't heard Springsteen's tune)


Best Rock Album:

X&Y (Coldplay)
In Your Honor (Foo Fighters)
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (U2)
A Bigger Bang (the Rolling Stones)
Prairie Wind (Neil Young)

(I've heard the new Neil Young album is greatness, I'll go with that)


Best Contemporary Jazz Album:

Keystone - Dave Douglas
Soulgrass - Bill Evans
The Way Up - Pat Metheny Group
The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance Of The Infidel - Meshell Ndegeocello
Momentum - Joshua Redman Elastic Band

(The Way Up should win Album of the Year in my opinion...discuss)

(Please feel free to disagree. I'll re-post this Feb. 7th.)

Kobe gets OwNed...hey Phil, no defense???

Mavs isolate Kobe and its over...12 straight, longest winning streak in the NBA this season.

Holla...

This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse

Nothing goes together like priests and the King of Pop:

Michael Jackson to sing on tapes of John Paul II's prayers...yikes

(I'll try and post at least one of these a week...what a wonderful world!)