RAW UNBRIDLED BUFFOONERY

THERE'S A NATIONAL ATM CARD CENTER?

2012-01-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

Gotta love these emails that try to get you to divulge personal info and get money out of you.
The sad part is that some people actually fall for these things.
My favorite part is the "Note:" at the bottom. ;-)
By the way, I don't recommend that you follow any links contained in the text below. ;-)

Federal Bureau of Investigation ✆ fbi@gov.org

1:56 PM (7 hours ago)

to undisclosed recipients

Federal Bureau of Investigation
Counter-terrorism Division and Cyber Crime Division
J. Edgar. Hoover Building Washington DC.
Attention Beneficiary,
Records show that you are among one of the individuals and organizations who are yet to receive their overdue payment from overseas which includes those of Lottery/Gambling, Contract and Inheritance. Through our Fraud Monitory Unit we have also noticed that over the past you have been transacting with some imposters and fraudsters who have been impersonating the likes of Prof. Soludo/Mr.Lamido Sanusi of the Central Bank Of Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Aziza, Bode Williams, Frank, Anderson, none officials of Oceanic Bank, Zenith Banks, Kelvin Young of HSBC, Ben of FedEx, Ibrahim Sule, Dr. Usman Shamsuddeen and some imposters claiming to be The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The Cyber Crime Division of the FBI gathered information from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) formerly known as the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) of how some people have lost outrageous sums of money to these impostors. As a result of this we hereby advise you to stop communication with any one not referred to you by us.We have negotiated with the Federal Ministry of Finance that your payment totaling $2,000,000.00 will be released to you via a custom pin based ATM card with a maximum withdrawal limit of $15,000 a day which is powered by Visa Card and can be used anywhere in the world were you see a Visa Card Logo on the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM). We have advised that this should be the only way at which you are to receive your payment because it?s more guaranteed, since over $5 billion was lost on fake check last year 2011.
We guarantee 100% receipt of your payment, because we have perfected everything in regards to the release of your $2 million United States Dollars to be 100% risk free and free from any hitches as it?s our duty to protect citizens of the United States of America and also Asia and Europe. (This is as a result of the mandate from US Government to make sure all debts owed to citizens of American and also Asia and Europe which includes Inheritance, Contract, Gambling/Lottery etc are been cleared for the betterment of the current economic status of the nation and its citizens as he has always believed ?Our Time for Change has come? because ?Change can happen?).Below are few list of tracking numbers you can track from UPS website to confirm people like you who have received their payment successfully.
Name :William quiring
UPS Tracking Number: H8444456084 (http://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/track)
..................................................................................................
Name: charles dick
UPS Tracking Number:H8444456084 (http://wwwapps.ups.com/WebTracking/track)
...................................................................................................
To redeem your fund you are hereby advised to contact the ATM Card Center via email for their requirement to proceed and procure your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order on your behalf which will cost you $297.00 only nothing more and no hidden fees as everything else has been taken cared of by the Federal Government including taxes, custom paper and clearance duty so all you will ever need to pay is $297.00 only.
Contact Information
Name: Mr.Samuel Carlton
Email: atmdept73@aol.com
+2347081276815
Do contact Mr.Samuel Carlton of the ATM Card Center via his contact details above and furnish him with your details as listed below:
Your full Name:....................................................................................
Home/Cell Phone:.................................................................................
Occupation:...........................................................................................
Age:.......................................................................................................
Your Address (where you will like your ATM CARD to be sent to):.........
On contacting him with your details your files would be updated and he will be sending you the payment information in which you will use in making payment of $297.00 via Western Union Money Transfer for the procurement of your Approval of Payment Warrant and Endorsement of your ATM Release Order. After which the delivery of your ATM card will be effected to your designated home address without any further delay, extra fee or any authority raising eyebrow.Upon receipt of payment the delivery officer will ensure that your package is sent within 48 working hours. Because we are so sure of everything we are giving you a 100% money back guarantee if you do not receive your ATM CARD Shipment Confirmation within the next 48hrs after you have made the payment.Once again we are so sure of you receiving your payment at no any other cost as we have taking it upon our duty to monitor everything in other to cub cyber crime that is perpetrated by those imposters.
ROBERT S. MUELLER,
DIRECTOR
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20535

Note: Disregard any email you get from any impostors or offices claiming to be in possession of your ATM card, you are hereby advice only to be in contact with Mr.Samuel Carlton of the ATM card center who is the rightful person to deal with in regards to your payment and forward any emails you get from impostors to this office so we could act upon it immediately. Help stop cyber crime

Yes, but can it core a apple?

2011-12-17T14:28:00.001-05:00

I was just in a Shop Rite checking out, and as the cashier was taking the money from the guy ahead of me for his order, he offered to give her a quarter in addition to the bills he had already given her. I believe the amount of the order was something-dollars and 23 cents.
Well, since she had already entered the amount of the bills into the computerized register, after momentarily looking like a deer in headlights, she told him that it was not possible because she had already entered the amount of the paper money.
I found it quite disturbing that we now live in a society where a teenager cannot comprehend giving back 2 cents and one more dollar than the computer says rather than the 77 cents originally calculated by a soulless machine.
Whether she thought it would screw up her register or that she simply was incapable of figuring it out is irrelevant (I'm guessing it was both). It just goes to show that youth today has come to rely too heavily on automation. They no longer have the basic skills that most of us learned at a very young age.
Remember years ago? Before the computer age? The three very basic skills we were taught were reading, writing, and arithmetic. Somewhere along the way we dropped two of those primordial elements of our life. The penmanship of most of the kids I've seen lately is absolutely atrocious, and they don't know basic math.
On a related note, I was floored to discover that many kids today do not know how to tell time on an analog clock! Are you kidding me?
Look, I understand that we've made great strides in technology, but does that justify an evolution towards complete dependence on it? Shouldn't we still be raising kids with the basic skills to be self-functioning in the event there's ever a situation where there are no machines to function for them?
Make no mistake, I am not one of those stubborn old fools that is resistant to change and advances in technology. In fact, I take advantage of it to the fullest. I am composing and posting this from a small computer/phone/media player/camera/video recorder/etc., while sitting in my car.
But here's the thing...if I didn't have this little device, I am capable of picking up a pen and paper and writing all this down in either legible printing or script (another thing that seems to have gone by the wayside).
I can also figure out taxes, tips and change without the use of any mechanical device. Hell, when I was in college, I worked as a cashier on a manual cash register where I had to add the tax myself. With the tax rate being 5% at the time, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out tax; but it's a basic math skill you'd be hard pressed to find in todays youth.

So, to paraphrase the question asked by Ed Norton to chef of the future Ralph Kramden, with all these fancy new fangled technological advances, can it core a apple?
Simple.

45 Life Lessons (and 5 to grow on)

2011-11-09T10:21:00.001-05:00

This has been going around email circles for almost 10 years now, and seems it's making the rounds again.

Written by Regina Brett who, contrary to the email's claim that she is 90, is actually 55 years old.

This is some really awesome yet simple advice.

Originally published in The Plain Dealer on Sunday, May 28, 2006

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.

38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

45. The best is yet to come.

46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

48. If you don't ask, you don't get.

49. Yield.

50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition

2011-11-08T12:21:00.003-05:00

Just received this in email and found it thought provoking:

Christmas 2011 -- Birth of a New Tradition‏

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced
goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.

This year will be different. This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.

Yes there is!

It's time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper?

Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut. How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.

Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.

Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamins on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates. And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint. Remember, folks this isn't about big national chains -- this is about supporting
your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.

How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom?

Mom would love the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.

My computer could use a tune-up, and I know I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.

OK, you were looking for something more personal. Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves. They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.

Plan your holiday outings at local, owner-operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip. And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theater.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.

Honestly, people, do you really need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community. If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.

You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Christmas is now about caring
about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.

THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.
This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

An End Of An Era

2011-10-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

Sad news, and all the more reason to not miss this one.
I am glad that they're not letting it just fade away on this past year's cancellation.

Official NEARfest Press Release October 17, 2011

NEARFEST APOCALYPSE TO BE FINAL EDITION OF FESTIVAL

In 1999, the North East Art Rock Festival was started as an effort to return progressive rock music to the area where it thrived back in its heyday. In the 1970s, the Philadelphia area was a well-known hotbed of fandom for the brand of rock music featuring exemplary virtuosity. With the re-emergence of progressive music worldwide in the early `90s, festivals became a novel way to feature both new bands and re-invigorate some from the past. A few festivals had come before, namely ProgFest (CA), the ever-present ProgDay (NC), BajaProg (Mexico), and the short-lived ProgScape (MD), plus several after, but none have taken on the notoriety NEARfest had achieved. In just a few short years, NEARfest became the "most prestigious progressive rock festival in the world" and has remained so for over 12 years.

From its inception, NEARfest has strived to merge extraordinary bands from the global Prog Rock underground and the devoted community of eclectic music fans on this side of the pond. It was felt that otherwise, never would the two meet, especially en masse. This emotional combination of musical dedication has produced many a weekend of musical bliss. Ask any former attendee of the festival and you will get a different list of highlights from years past, which is validation in itself of NEARfest's dedication to a diverse lineup of Prog Rock subgenres. Favorites will range from Camel and Keith Emerson to Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Miriodor; from Steve Hackett and Banco to Echolyn and Hidria Spacefolk; from Magma and Univers Zero to Kenso and Kraan; from Eddie Jobson and Three Friends to Cabezas de Cera and Beardfish; from Porcupine Tree and PFM to Anekdoten and Änglagård. And that's only a fraction of the over 120 bands that have performed at NEARfest to date.

And now, the time has come to complete the cycle.

2012 will mark the final edition of the North East Art Rock Festival. NEARfest has always employed a model, for right or wrong, where lineups were typically anchored by legends of the greater genre and featured a plethora of world-class bands spanning the broad range of subgenres. Part of the success of NEARfest and its rapid sellouts was its ability to attract legendary progressive bands that had played only infrequently, if ever, on the East Coast of the United States. As time has marched inexorably, it started to become clear that this headliner-centric model would not be sustainable indefinitely. Too much of a change in the model and those dedicated to attending and supporting the festival may feel that it is no longer in the spirit of NEARfest itself. Therefore, we have decided to retain the marriage of our successful model to our NEARfest brand name.

After the unfortunate events leading to the cancellation of NEARfest 2011, we could not allow the legacy of NEARfest to end with a dark and empty stage. The festival has meant too much to too many, including us, to just disappear without at least making an attempt at a joyous swan song. Therefore, since the spring of 2011, the three of us have been conspiring to put together a final NEARfest, one true to its roots and special to its faithful. We are happy to say that this will indeed happen.

NEARfest Apocalypse will be held over the weekend of June 22nd, 23rd, and 24th, 2012 at its rightful home, the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University in beautiful Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This will be a true celebration of progressive rock music as well as a "raising of the glass" to everyone who has made NEARfest so special to so many of us over the last 13 years, including our outstanding crew and production team, the wonderful staff at Zoellner, and everyone who has ever bought a ticket to NEARfest. There are plans for activities beyond the norm for the weekend, which will be detailed as the festival draws closer. For now though, we can tell you that both Roger Dean and Mark Wilkinson will be involved in the artwork for this final special event. We will also do our best to make sure that both of these fine gentlemen are in attendance.

In the coming weeks, we will announce the entire NEARfest Apocalypse lineup live on the air on the Gagliarchives radio program. The exact air date will be determined shortly and announced online NEARfest.com, our Yahoo mailing list, Facebook, Twitter, and Progressive Ears. Stay tuned!

We sincerely hope that you will join us for the final chapter of NEARfest. After all, the world ends in December 2012 anyway, right?

Most humbly, Chad Hutchinson Rob LaDuca Kevin Feeley

Links: NEARfest Website, http://www.nearfest.com

Forever in our hearts and minds

2011-09-11T16:53:00.001-05:00

It was an absolutely gorgeous Tuesday morning. Try to imagine a perfect day in your mind, and that was it. I was working for the Kraft Pizza Company; running my usual route in my truck driving on Rt 206 South in Hillsborough, NJ en route to the Shop Rite of Montgomery. Howard Stern was on the truck's radio, the first of a trio of daily radio shows I listened to, with the Radio Chick and Opie & Anthony to follow, respectively.
Howard was talking about Anna Nicole Smith when news came in that a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. Thinking it was some sort of errant bi-plane and as yet unconfirmed, it was quickly dismissed in favor of resuming the talk about the blonde with the big boobs.
Shortly thereafter, the news came in that a second plane hit the towers and Howard immediately said, "We're under attack."
It wasn't very long after that that the towers that dominated the NY skyline for 30 of my 38 years collapsed, forever to be a memory.
It was at that point that I started to feel a sense of being violated that quickly turned into anger and sorrow. I didn't know anyone at the towers, nor did I know anyone (closely) that lost someone there. Nevertheless, I felt that sense of violation that you feel when your car or home gets broken into, but obviously on a much grander scale. EVERYONE in the country knows this feeling. A feeling of helplessness and ensuing fantasies of hurting those responsible.
In the weeks that followed, we experienced an unprecedented (in modern times) sense of solidarity and patriotism. Any civil unrest based in race, religion, or politics was put on hold. It was US against them. There were no sides within our borders (save for the ignorance-based backlash towards anyone from the Middle East). The accessories common among everyone were American flags and FDNY hats and shirts.
As was to be expected, the car flags soon tattered and were not replaced. The FDNY hats once again became exclusive to very few other than actual fire fighters.
This is of little relevance. What matters is that most of us hold in our hearts and minds the true sense of unity and loss of that day. 2,977 deaths in 102 minutes. 9/11/01.
Never forget.

The Tubes at Havana New Hope

2011-08-21T15:29:00.002-05:00

So I saw one of my favorite bands from the 80's last night at a club called Havana in New Hope, PA last night.
It was only my 4th or 5th time seeing them, and one time was at a small bar about 20 years ago without Fee, so I don't even count that one. I first saw them on the Pier in NYC for their 1983 Outside Inside tour (same tour that was broadcast on MTV for their Saturday Night Concerts series if I recall), and again a couple times on the 1985 Love Bomb tour.
One thing I've always said about the Tubes is that they put on the best show of any band I've ever seen. That opinion has not changed (although Zappa was a very close second). Keep in mind that my idea of a good show is not only the music and musicianship, but also the visuals and overall energy of the performers.
Last night, the Tubes proved to me that a bunch of 60 year old guys can still put on a fantastic show filled with energy to rival bands half their age. As far as theatrics go, the limited size of the bar stage did not keep Fee from changing costumes to act out various classics from their vast repertoire. Another important thing to note is that unlike many other bands well past their heyday, Fee's voice is still relatively intact with only slight noticeable degradation. By contrast, lead singers like Ian Anderson and Steve Walsh (of Jethro Tull and Kansas, respectively) don't even sound like the same person they once were.

As far as last night's show goes, it was a show for their devoted fans. Either that or a show aimed at forcing casual fans to realize that there was The Tubes before MTV. Anyone who went to see She's A Beauty and Talk To Ya Later had to stay for the entire show, and even then would find that these "hits" were two of only three tunes performed from their 1980's output. The remainder of the set was all from their 70's pre-MTV days.

While I didn't write down the setlist, here is what they performed, sorted by original release:

From 1975's debut The Tubes:
Haloes
Mondo Bondage
What Do You Want From Life?
White Punks On Dope

From 1976's Young And Rich:
Brighter Day
Pimp
Slipped My Disco

From 1977's Now:
Smoke

From 1979's Remote Control:
Turn Me On
Getoverture
Telecide

From 1981's Completion Backward Principle:
Talk To Ya Later
Don't Want To Wait Anymore

From 1983's Outside Inside:
She's A Beauty

They also performed two cover tunes; a very soulful rendition of James Brown's It's A Man's Man's Man's World, as well as Jimi Hendrix's Third Stone From The Sun.

Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable show, and I would not hesitate to see them again. As I said, for a bunch of 60 year olds, they've still got it.

I took a handful of crappy cell phone pics, which can be viewed here.

Google+ Gets a Leg Up on Facebook - NYTimes.com

2011-07-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

I'm liking Google+ a bit more every day.

If you already use most Google services (especially Picasa), and an Android phone, this is a no-brainer.

If anyone wants an invite, email me and let me know!

Google+ Gets a Leg Up on Facebook - NYTimes.com

This Is What It's Like to Actually Use Google+, Google's New Social Network

2011-06-29T16:34:00.000-05:00

Looks like Google is (again) throwing their hat into the social networking ring.

First there was the twitter-like Google Buzz, and now there's the facebook-like Google+.

In my opinion, much like Buzz to Twitter, I don't think this is going to be a threat to facebook.

The problem I see is that while anyone can use the various Google services, they cater mostly to dedicated Google/Gmail users. And while the number of Google/Gmail/Android users is surely growing, it is still not a big enough demo to compete with...well...everyone. Perhaps if EVERYONE who uses Gmail completely abandoned facebook in favor of Google+, then maybe it would have a chance at a hostile takeover. But I don't see that happening. If Google Groups (remember them?) didn't even become a blip on the screen of Yahoo Groups' radar, what chance does Google+ have against a behemoth like facebook?

Personally, I hope I'm wrong, as I happen to be one who is all in with Google. I frequently use gmail, google calendar, picasa, youtube, an android phone, google maps, google voice, and of course blogger. I would welcome a facebook-like interface that is seamlessly integrated with the rest of my e-life.

Time will tell.

Anyway, check it out:

This Is What It's Like to Actually Use Google+, Google's New Social Network

Restoring a positive mental attitude

2011-06-27T18:26:00.000-05:00

Due to the fact that I recently got out of a situation where I was often berated and belittled, I've decided to leave the past behind me and focus on practicing a very positive outlook in my everyday life rather than let negative feelings consume me. Those of you who know me on facebook and twitter have surely noticed my posts of positive thoughts and just a general PMA. I've since noticed positive changes in myself as well as my surroundings. Things don't bother me like they once did. I see the good in people and the world again. I've even become a very calm and tolerant driver (those who know me know that this is huge). I've restored a self-confidence that a recently-removed-from-my-life individual constantly tried to demolish. In fact, after some reading and a lot of reflection, I now know that it is the person that does the berating and belittling that is the one that is sadly insecure. Positive and confident people do not put down others; it just doesn't happen. It is for that very reason that I choose to not waste energy on grudges and ill feelings. In fact, quite the opposite. I actually feel bad for this individual and hope that they can find inner peace. I have nothing but love and positive memories of them.

Anyway, I've been receiving emails from positive life coaches, and this is one I received today that I wanted to share because I feel it is very poignant and very simple.

Things better, people worse

There is this puzzle in most Western (and some Eastern) societies
that is really confusing. See if you can figure it out - we'll use the
United States as an example.

40 years ago...

The average house was 1000 sq feet, now it's 2422 sq feet
A McDonald's cheeseburger cost 30 min of wages, now it costs 3 min
There was 1 car for every 2 households, now there are 2 for every 1 household
Life expectancy has since gone up by an average of 8 years
GDP has since tripled or gone up 8.9 trillion dollars

So we live in bigger homes, make more money, and have longer lives.
If that is the case, how can we explain that in the last 40 years:

The divorce rate has doubled
Teen suicide has tripled
Recorded violent crime has quadrupled
And Depression has increased 10x - that's right ten times.

If things are getting better, why are people getting worse? There isn't a
one line answer to this paradox, but I'm going to offer a two part theory:
(1) We have been focusing on the wrong things to make us happy; and
(2) When something is wrong (anxiety, panic, depression) we only practice
reducing the negative feelings - we ignore increasing the positive.

Guess what? Happiness doesn't come from just reducing negative feelings.
In other words, if everything "bad" in your life were wiped away, you would
not automatically be incredibly happy. To live a joyous, fulfilled, and
meaningful life, you need to practice positivity. Yes, happiness takes practice.

One simple practice you can start with is called savoring. If you rush around
all day long from the moment you get up to the moment you hit the pillow, you
are probably not taking time to savor. Slow down and savor the good stuff.
Savoring has been scientifically researched to increase your well-being. Try
the exercise below.

Exercise: According to researcher, Fred Bryant, there are 4 effective
ways to savor:

Basking: Receiving praise and congratulations
Thanksgiving: Experiencing and expressing gratitude
Marveling: Losing yourself in the wonder of the experience
Luxuriating: Engaging in the senses fully

My request of you is that you pick one of these 4 techniques and sit
down to savor right now. Sit down for 5 minutes (if you're busy,
even 2 minutes will do). Think about one pleasant thing that happened
today (smell, touch, sight, sound, experience) and close your eyes and
enjoy it. Reminisce about what you loved about it.

As humans we are great at doing and moving and pushing through to
the next goal; but we need to also focus on enjoying, savoring, and
just "being". Remember, happiness takes practice, so make it part of
your day.

Love & Light,

Amelie Chance
Certified Coach of Positive Psychology

An unknown (?) feature for AT&T wireless customers

2011-06-09T13:50:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I was checking out my AT&T wireless account online, and I noticed a new feature that I had never seen before, and one that AT&T certainly did not email me to tell me about, and one that was not automatically enabled. I had to enable it.
Like most people, I have unlimited messaging ($20 for most people on the big two networks I believe), and what was newly listed right above this feature was "Unlimited messaging with Mobile to ANY Mobile calling."
The price? $20. That's right. Basically throwing in mobile to ANY mobile minutes for free.
Now, I figured there had to be a catch. I mean, why wouldn't AT&T advertise this? Wouldn't they want to boast something that their arch rival does not offer (to my knowledge VZW does not yet offer this)? VZW still offers unlimited data (though not for long I suspect) whereas AT&T does not. So it would seem that AT&T would want to have something unique to their service to brag about. At the very least enable the feature automatically and let their existing subscribers know about it. Sort of a "Hey, look what we gave you...aren't we awesome?"
Well, I'm here to tell you that there is no catch. Since changing that feature, my bill has not changed, and no mobile minutes whatsoever are counting towards my peak minutes. Between this feature and my A-List (Friends & Family on VZW), I'm barely using any minutes at all every month.
Okay, well maybe there is a "catch" of sorts (if you want to call it that). I have the 900 minute plan, and that is the minimum you need in order to have the option of the A-list (VZW has the same requirement for F&F). I'm not sure if the same holds true for the Mobile to ANY Mobile feature, but it wouldn't surprise me if it does.

Anyway, if you're on AT&T wireless, I would suggest you go check out your account online and grab this feature if it's available to you. If you're like me, you know a lot of people on Verizon that you'll now be able to talk to unlimited. Even if you already have a couple of VZW customers on your A-list, you'll now be able to remove them and free up some of those 5 slots for more landline numbers. :-)

Still amazed by technology.

2011-04-29T19:17:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, we had to rely on AM radio to hear the latest hits. If we heard a song we liked, we had to hope we heard it again when we had our tape recorder ready, and even then we had to be quick to not lose more than the first 10 or 15 seconds of the song before pressing the PLAY/REC buttons at the same time and holding the mono recorder up to the tinny radio. Even when FM radio started playing AOR, the technology wasn't much better. If you had affluent parents, you may have had a tape deck attached to a stereo receiver, or at the very least an all-in-one system. But even then, the process was the same, only you at least got a better quality recording. Oh, and even if you liked a song, the DJ didn't always announce the name of the song or group.
Of course, you could go out and buy the single 45rpm or even the whole album. You did have to be sure to save your allowance or your paper route money (yes, kids had paper routes) so you could maybe buy one album every week or so.
Then there was the issue of listening to your music outside of your house (did I mention that we actually left our homes and went outside?). This was a dilemma in and of itself. There were no iPods. Even the Sony Walkman didn't come out until I was 16, and again, it wasn't something that every Tom, Dick, and Harry could afford.
Hell, I didn't even start buying albums with any regularity until I was 16.
Anyway, in order to listen to music outside, you had to be lucky enough to have a portable cassette player (mono of course), or a transistor radio, or if you could afford it, a boombox. You had to carry this clunky thing around, and if you wanted to hear it while you played stick ball or something, you had to turn it up to the point where it was barely audible distortion. And as for mobility, I used to figure out ways to tie the radio to my bike's handlebars. It certainly wasn't fitting in my pocket.
Keep in mind that all of this was going on while we were outside with no form of communication (we couldn't bring our rotary or touch-tone phone from home you know), no way for our parents to get in touch with us, and no connection to anyone that we weren't actually with at the time.

Fast forward 40 years. Yesterday I'm watching American Idol (basically the Gong Show with less funny judges and host, but a more serious purpose) on a 20 minute recorded delay, in high definition surround sound, on a 52" flat screen TV, and a commercial for the new Mustang comes on, which has a song I think sounds pretty cool.

Do I hope I hear it again so I can get my tape recorder ready? Of course not.
I simply pick up a small thin device that sits in the palm of my hand that I can occasionally make phone calls with, I tap a few spots on the screen to open an app (what the hell is an app?) called SoundHound. I touch a big gold button on the screen after rewinding the commercial (rewinding TV? That's crazy!), and in literally 3 seconds I know that the aurally appealing song is 'Light Of The Morning' by Band of Skulls from the album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey.
But wait....now I know the song. I still have to record it somehow, or go out and buy it, no?
Don't be silly. From the same page on the device that gave me this information, I tap a button that says "Buy", and it takes me to the Amazon MP3 site (Amazon? MP3? site? Huh?) where I'm automatically logged into my account (an account eh? Fancy man are ya?), I click on "Download" (okay, now you're blowing my mind), and in a few seconds I have the song on my phone which, in addition to being able to browse the web (what, like a spider?), also happens to play and store music. Of course, I could have opted to stream it from the Amazon Cloud Player instead of downloading it (okay, now I know you're nuts. How do you play a cloud from a stream?)
Did I mention that before buying the song, I first clicked on the name of the song on my strange little device and watched this video?

The funny thing is, we are so connected today, that we take it for granted. How often do we stop and think how far we've come in the last 30 years? Can you imagine if we left our smartphones at home for a day or two? For some people, that would be like asking them to leave their lungs at home.

HE THINKS, SHE THINKS

2011-04-27T19:02:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine emailed this. So amazingly accurate that I want to share it here. Gotta love Dave Barry; I even miss the TV sitcom about him. :-)

HE THINKS, SHE THINKS

by Dave Barry, from Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys

Let's say a guy named Roger is attracted to a woman named Elaine. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they're driving home, a thought occurs to Elaine, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: ''Do you realize that, as of tonight, we've been seeing each other for exactly six months?''

And then there is silence in the car. To Elaine, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: Geez, I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he's been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I'm trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn't want, or isn't sure of.

And Roger is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Elaine is thinking: But, hey, I'm not so sure I want this kind of relationship, either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I'd have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily toward . . . I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together? Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Roger is thinking: . . . so that means it was . . . let's see . . February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer's, which means . . . lemme check the odometer . . . Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Elaine is thinking: He's upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I'm reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed -- even before I sensed it -- that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that's it. That's why he's so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He's afraid of being rejected.

And Roger is thinking: And I'm gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don't care what those morons say, it's still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It's 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Elaine is thinking: He's angry. And I don't blame him. I'd be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can't help the way I feel. I'm just not sure.

And Roger is thinking: They'll probably say it's only a 90- day warranty. That's exactly what they're gonna say, the scumballs.

And Elaine is thinking: maybe I'm just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I'm sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Roger is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I'll give them a warranty. I'll take their warranty and stick it right up their ......

''Roger,'' Elaine says aloud.

''What?'' says Roger, startled.

''Please don't torture yourself like this,'' she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. ''Maybe I should never have . . Oh, I feel so......''

(She breaks down, sobbing.)

''What?'' says Roger.

''I'm such a fool,'' Elaine sobs. ''I mean, I know there's no knight. I really know that. It's silly. There's no knight, and there's no horse.''

''There's no horse?'' says Roger.

''You think I'm a fool, don't you?'' Elaine says.

''No!'' says Roger, glad to finally know the correct answer.

''It's just that . . . It's that I . . . I need some time,'' Elaine says.

(There is a 15-second pause while Roger, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

''Yes,'' he says.

(Elaine, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

''Oh, Roger, do you really feel that way?'' she says.

'What way?'' says Roger.

"That way about time,'' says Elaine.

''Oh,'' says Roger. ''Yes.''

(Elaine turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

''Thank you, Roger,'' she says.

''Thank you,'' says Roger.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Roger gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a tennis match between two Czechoslovakians he never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it's better if he doesn't think about it.

The next day Elaine will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours. In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it, either.

Meanwhile, Roger, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Elaine's, will pause just before serving, frown, and say:

"Norm, did Elaine ever own a horse?''

Things To Remember

2011-04-26T18:13:00.000-05:00

A family member gave me a small plaque for my birthday a few years ago that had some of this on it.

It means a lot to me because I realized that about 80% of it I had already been heeding for most of my adult life. I happened to look at it this morning and felt compelled to share it.

Collin McCarty

Your presence is a present to the world.
You're unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time.
Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You'll make it through whatever comes along.
Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.
Don't put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal, your prize.
Nothing wastes more energy than worrying.
The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets.
Don't take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
Remember that a little love goes a long way…
Remember that a lot…goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life's treasures are people…together.
Realize that it's never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have health and hope and happiness.
Take time to wish upon a star.
And don't ever forget…for even a day…
How very special you are.

Amazon’s Cloud Player Provides Music From Everywhere - NYTimes.com

2011-04-10T07:39:00.000-05:00

The fact that Amazon is often cheaper than iTunes, coupled with the fact that any purchases get stored on their servers for free, and are accessible from anywhere you have a data connection, would make me choose Amazon over iTunes any day.

Oh, and that Amazon plays nice with iTunes software (i.e. downloads automatically import into iTunes) doesn't hurt either.

Amazon’s Cloud Player Provides Music From Everywhere - NYTimes.com

Wonders never cease

2010-12-30T15:38:00.001-05:00

So I'm walking out of a Stop & Shop, and a woman is stopped right in front of the exit door. She removes her bags from her cart, and leaves the cart right where it was. This means if anyone happens to be coming in the entrance and someone wants to exit, one of them has to yield to get around the cart left by this self-important c#@t.
As long as I live I don't think I'll ever understand how someone can grow into an adult and have absolutely zero consideration for others. How does that happen? How do people go through life thinking they are all that matters in this world?
One of life's mysteries I guess.

I guess tolerance is conditional?

2010-12-18T02:28:00.000-05:00

Tolerance for Islam? Tolerate this video.

NEARfest Band Announcement- Karmakanic To Arrive in Bethlehem

2010-11-21T01:47:00.000-05:00

This is good news:

NEARfest welcomes the musical insanity of Karmakanic to the 2011 edition. Born out of a desire to stretch the boundaries of classic symphonic prog, 2002 saw Jonas Reingold assemble a top-notch band to realize his vision. Channeling the talents of Goran Edman, (perhaps best known for his work with Yngwie Malmsteen,) and his fellow Flower Kings Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin and Zoltan Csorsz, Karmakanic's debut album "Entering the Spectra" became very popular among the fans of progressive rock and the established rock press around the world. Their were honored with the prize for best newcomer 2002 in the big progressive poll DPRP and charted several other lists as the best newcomer on the scene.
It was in 2004 that Karmakanic became a band rather than just a side-project.
Reingold, Csorsz and Edman are joined by Krister Jonzon to manifest the core of the band. Along with guest musicians, Karmakanic releases their second album, Wheel of Life. A slightly less metallic offering, Wheel of Life finds the band delving into the fusion side of prog while maintaining a song based mantra. It is with the addition of keyboardist extraordinaire Lalle Larsson that Karmakanic becomes an exquisite live attraction. Larsson adds the technical prowess that is required to realize Karmakanic's music, so with the puzzle pieces in place, the band is ripe for live performance.
Two Thousand eight sees the band release their most mature and cohesive release, "Who's the Boss in the Factory." Reingold's production and songwriting draws from influences such as The Flower Kings, Weather Report, Yes and Return to Forever but his music is clearly Karmakanic's vision. With beautiful passages along side technical mastery, "Who's the Boss" becomes a complete album for the modern progressive audience. With the promise of a new album to be released in 2011, Karmakanic is ready to return to the U.S. with a full-blown set of their music history, there might even be an instrumental solo or two. The guys in charge are happy to present for NEARfest 2011, the power, intensity and insanity of Karmakanic.

Another episode of S.I.D.

2010-11-02T15:01:00.001-05:00

So I'm in a Waldbaums ordering Edy's. I've got my handheld computer, so it's obvious that I'm not just some customer. A woman comes along, opens one of the freezer doors, moves the front container of French Silk to another location. She then grabs one further back and in the process knocks another over into the spot next to it. She then reaches back and grabs that magical holy grail container that was buried behind all the others that apparently contains one of Wonka's golden tickets, and in pulling it out, tips over yet another container. Finally, she puts the other one back that she had pulled out prior and places it on top of the now laying sideways container that she had tipped over.
As she started to shop in the next door for Turkey Hill, I immediately put my handheld down, and went and starightened up the mess she had just made. Right in front of her. She made no acknowledgment whatsoever.
I don't know what's worse, the fact that there are so many arrogant, entitled, self-important douchebags walking this planet (or I should say this country, because I suspect we are the worst), or the fact that they are so completely unashamed of being that.
When did we throw common courtesy out the fucking window in this country?

Oh, and in case anyone is thinking that the ice cream in the back is more frozen and/or more fresh, you'd be wrong on both counts. It's in a closed freezer. It's all frozen the same. And I've seen how our people pack out the stock; they rarely, if ever, rotate. So the product in the front is most likely the "freshest." Besides...it's ice cream! The shelf life is like a year. Does it really matter if the expire date is next May or June? Really?

This has been another episode of Self-Important Douchebags.

Bill's Prog Blog: CD RETRO REVIEW: Frank Zappa - The MOFO Project/Ob...

2010-09-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

Bill's Prog Blog: CD RETRO REVIEW: Frank Zappa - The MOFO Project/Ob...: "I discovered progressive music in 1987, when I was 14 years old. I'd been going through my dad's record collection...he had a big one, eas..."

Profit from public record?

2010-09-02T11:54:00.003-05:00

http://www.killuglyradio.com/2010/09/02/new-zappa-records-release-congress-shall-make-no-law/

So now Gail Zappa is expecting people to pay for an audio record of Frank's testimony which, by the way, is a matter of public record.
Does this mean I can make and sell my own CD copies for profit? After all, isn't that testimony just as much mine as it is hers? Maybe we (the public) can sue her for copyright infringement?
Sorry Gail, you can't copyright public domain. How dare you try to profit from every sound that ever came out of Frank's mouth. Isn't it enough that your son is making a dubious living off of Frank's hard work?

Here is the audio....for FREE public consumption:
http://www.archive.org/details/Zappa_Senate_Testimony

For those interested, here is the text of Frank's statement.

http://downlode.org/Etext/zappa.html

Frank Zappa: Statement To Congress, September 19, 1985

From Record Labeling: Hearing Before the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, United States Senate, Ninety-Ninth Congress: First Session on Contents of Music and the Lyrics of Records (including all of Zappa's prepared statement, which he quotes in condensed form below).

STATEMENT OF FRANK ZAPPA. ACCOMPANIED BY LARRY STEIN, COUNSEL

Mr. Zappa. My name is Frank Zappa. This is my attorney Larry Stein from Los Angeles. Can you hear me?

The Chairman. If you could speak very directly and clearly into the microphone, I would appreciate it.

Mr. Zappa. My name is Frank Zappa. This is my attorney Larry Stein.

The statement that I prepared, that I sent you 100 copies of, is five pages long, so I have shortened it down and am going to read a condensed version of it.

Certain things have happened. I have been listening to the event in the other room and have heard conflicting reports as to whether or not people in this committee want legislation. I under- stand that Mr. Hollings does from his comments. Is that correct?

The CHAIRMAN. I think you had better concentrate on your testimony, rather than asking questions.

Mr. ZAPPA. The reason I need to ask it, because I have to change something in my testimony if there is not a clearcut version of whether or not legislation is what is being discussed here.

The Chairman. Do the best you can, because I do not think anybody here can characterize Senator Hollings" position.

Mr. ZAPPA. I will carry on with the issue, then.

Senator Exon. Mr. Chairman, I might help him out just a little bit. I might make a statement. This is one Senator that might be interested in legislation and/or regulation to some extent, recognizing the problems with the right of free expression.

I have previously expressed views that I do not believe I should be telling other people what they have to listen to. I really believe that the suggestion made by the original panel was some kind of an arrangement for voluntarily policing this in the music industry as the correct way to go.

If it will help you out in your testimony, I might join Senator Hollings or others in some kind of legislation and/or regulation, unless the free enterprise system, both the producers and you as the performers, see fit to clean up your act.

Mr. ZAPPA. OK, thank you.

The First thing I would like to do, because I know there is some foreign press involved here and they might not understand what the issue is about, one of the things the issue is about is the First Amendment to the Constitution, and it is short and I would like to read it so they will understand. It says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

That is for reference.

These are my personal observations and opinions. They are addressed to the PMRC [Parents' Music Resource Centre] as well as this committee. I speak on behalf of no group or professional organization.

The PMRC proposal is an ill-conceived piece of nonsense which fails to deliver any real benefits to children, infringes the civil liberties of people who are not children, and promises to keep the courts busy for years, dealing with the interpretational and enforcemental problems inherent in the proposal's design.

It is my understanding that, in law, First Amendment Issues are decided with a preference for the least restrictive alternative. In this context, the PMRC's demands are the equivalent of treating dandruff by decapitation.

No one has forced Mrs. Baker or Mrs. Gore to bring Prince or Sheena Easton into their homes. Thanks to the Constitution, they are free to buy other forms of music for their children. Apparently, they insist on purchasing the works of contemporary recording artists in order to support a personal illusion of aerobic sophistication. Ladies, please be advised: The $8.98 purchase price does not entitle you to a kiss on the foot from the composer or performer in exchange for a spin on the family Victrola. Taken as a whole, the complete list of PMRC demands reads like an instruction manual for some sinister kind of "toilet training program" to house-break all composers and performers because of the lyrics of a few. Ladies, how dare you?

The ladies" shame must be shared by the bosses at the major labels who, through the RIAA, chose to bargain away the rights of composers, performers, and retailers in order to pass H.R. 2911, The Blank Tape Tax: A private tax levied by an industry on consumers for the benefit of a select group within that industry.

Is this a consumer issue? You bet it is. PMRC spokesperson, Kandy Stroud, announced to millions of fascinated viewers on last Friday's ABC Nightline debate that Senator Gore, a man she described as "A friend of the music industry," is co-sponsor of something she referred to as "anti-piracy legislation". Is this the same tax bill with a nicer name?

The major record labels need to have H.R. 2911 whiz through a few committees before anybody smells a rat. One of them is chaired by Senator Thurmond. Is it a coincidence that Mrs. Thurmond is affiliated with the PMRC?

I cannot say she's a member, because the PMRC has no members. Their secretary told me on the phone last Friday that the PMRC has no members, only founders. I asked how many other District of Columbia wives are nonmembers of an organization that raises money by mail, has a tax-exempt status, and seems intent on running the Constitution of the United States through the family paper-shredder. I asked her if it was a cult. Finally, she said she couldn't give me an answer and that she had to call their lawyer.

While the wife of the Secretary of the Treasury recites "Gonna drive my love inside you" and Senator Gore's wife talks about "Bondage!" and "oral sex at gunpoint" on the CBS Evening News, people in high places work on a tax bill that is so ridiculous, the only way to sneak it through is to keep the public's mind on something else: "Porn rock".

Is the basic issue morality? Is it mental health? Is it an issue at all? The PMRC has created a lot of confusion with improper comparisons between song lyrics, videos, record packaging, radio broadcasting, and live performances. These are all different mediums, and the people who work in them have the right to conduct their business without trade-restraining legislation, whipped up like an instant pudding by The Wives of Big Brother.

Is it proper that the husband of a PMRC nonmember/founder/person sits on any committee considering business pertaining to the Blank Tape Tax or his wife's lobbying organization? Can any committee thus constituted "find facts" in a fair and unbiased manner? This committee has three that we know about: Senator Danforth, Senator Packwood, and Senator Gore. For some reason, they seem to feel there is no conflict of interest involved.

The PMRC promotes their program as a harmless type of consumer information service providing "guidelines" which will assist baffled parents in the determination of the "suitability" of records listened to by "very young children". The methods they propose have several unfortunately [sic] side effects, not the least of which is the reduction of all American Music, recorded and live, to the intellectual level of a Saturday morning cartoon show.

Children in the vulnerable age bracket have a natural love for music. If, as a parent, you believe they should be exposed to something more uplifting than "Sugar Walls," support Music Appreciation programs in schools. Why have you not considered your child's need for consumer information? Music Appreciation costs very little compared to sports expenditures. Your children have a right to know that something besides pop music exists.

lt is unfortunate that the PMRC would rather dispense governmentally sanitized heavy metal music than something more uplifting. Is this an indication of PMRC's personal taste, or just another manifestation of the low priority this administration has placed on education for the arts in America?

The answer, of course, is neither. You cannot distract people from thinking about an unfair tax by talking about Music Appreciation. For that you need sex, and lots of it.

The establishment of a rating system, voluntary or otherwise, opens the door to an endless parade of Moral Quality Control Programs based on "Things Certain Christians Don't Like". What if the next bunch of Washington Wives demands a large yellow "J" on all material written or performed by Jews, in order to save helpless children from exposure to concealed Zionist doctrine?

Record ratings are frequently compared to film ratings. Apart from the quantitative difference, there is another that is more important: People who act in films are hired to pretend. No matter how the film is rated, it won't hurt them personally.

Since many musicians write and perform their own material and stand by it as their art (whether you like it or not), an imposed rating will stigmatize them as individuals. How long before composers and performers are told to wear a festive little PMRC arm band with their scarlet letter on it?

Bad facts make bad law, and people who write bad laws are, in my opinion, more dangerous than songwriters who celebrate sexuality. Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religious Thought, and the Right to Due Process for composers, performers and retailers are imperiled if the PMRC and the major labels consummate this nasty bargain.

Are we expected to give up article 1 so the big guys can collect an extra dollar on every blank tape and 10 to 25% on tape recorders? What is going on here? Do we get to vote on this tax? Do we get to vote on this tax? I think that this whole matter has gotten completely blown out of proportion, and I agree with Senator Exon that there is a very dubious reason for having this event. I also agree with Senator Exon that you should not be wasting time on stuff like this, because from the beginning I have sensed that it is somebody's hobby project.

Now, I have done a number of interviews on television. People keep saying, can you not take a few steps in their direction, can you not sympathize, can you not empathize? I do more than that at this point. I have got an idea for a way to stop all this stuff and a way to give parents what they really want, which is information, accurate information as to what is inside the album, without providing a stigma for the musicians who have played on the album or the people who sing it or the people who wrote it. And I think that if you listen carefully to this idea that it might just get by all of the constitutional problems and everything else.

As far as I am concerned, I have no objection to having all of the lyrics placed on the album routinely, all the time. But there is a little problem. Record companies do not own the right automatically to take these lyrics, because they are owned by a publishing company.

So, just as all the rest of the PMRC proposals would cost money, this would cost money too, because the record companies would need — they should not be forced to bear the cost, the extra expenditure to the publisher, to print those lyrics.

If you consider that the public needs to be warned about the contents of the records, what better way than to let them see exactly what the songs say? That way you do not have to put any kind of subjective rating on the record. You do not have to call it R, X, D/A, anything. You can read it for yourself.

But in order for it to work properly, the lyrics should be on a uniform kind of a sheet. Maybe even the Government could print those sheets. Maybe it should even be paid for by the Government, if the Government is interested in making sure that people have consumer information in this regard.

And you also have to realize that if a person buys the record and takes it out of the store, once it is out of the store you can't return it if you read the lyrics at home and decide that little Johnny is not supposed to have it.

I think that that should at least be considered, and the idea of imposing these ratings on live concerts, on the albums, asking record companies to reevaluate or drop or violate contracts that they already have with artists should be thrown out.

That is all I have to say.

The Chairman. Thank you very much, Mr. Zappa. You understand that the previous witnesses were not asking for legislation. And I do not know, I cannot speak for Senator Hollings, but I think the prevailing view here is that nobody is asking for legislation.

The question is just focusing on what a lot of people perceive to be a problem, and you have indicated that you at least understand that there is another point of view. But there are people that think that parents should have some knowledge of what goes into their home.

Mr. ZAPPA. All along my objection has been with the tactics used by these people in order to achieve the goal. I just think the tactics have been really bad, and the whole premise of their proposal- they were badly advised in terms of record business law, they were badly advised in terms of practicality. or they would have known that certain things do not work mechanically with what they suggest.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Gore.

Senator GORE. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I found your statement very interesting and, although I disagree with some of the statements that you make and have made on other occasions, I have been a fan of your music, believe it or not. I respect you as a true original and a tremendously talented musician.

Your suggestion of printing the lyrics on the album is a very interesting one. The PMRC at one point said they would propose either a rating or warning, or printing all the lyrics on the album. The record companies came back and said they did not want to do that.

I think a lot of people agree with your suggestion that one easy way to solve this problem for parents would be to put the actual words there, so that parents could see them. In fact, the National Association of Broadcasters made exactly the same request of the record companies.

I think your suggestion is an intriguing one and might really be a solution for the problem.

Mr. ZAPPA. You have to understand that it does cost money, because you cannot expect publishers to automatically give up that right, which is a right for them. Somebody is going to have to reimburse the publishers, the record industry.

Without trying to mess up the album jacket art, it should be a sheet of paper that is slipped inside the shrink-wrap, so that when you take it out you can still have a complete album package. So there is going to be some extra cost for printing it.

But as long as people realize that for this kind of consumer safety you are going to spend some money and as long as you can find a way to pay for it, I think that would be the best way to let people know.

Senator GORE. I do not disagree with that at all. And the separate sheet would also solve the problem with cassettes as well, because you do not have the space for words on the cassette packs.

Mr. ZAPPA. There would have to be a little accordion-fold.

Senator GORE. I have listened to you a number of times on this issue, and I guess the statement that I want to get from you is whether or not you feel this concern is legitimate.

You feel very strongly about your position, and I understand that. You are very articulate and forceful.

But occasionally you give the impression that you think parents are just silly to be concerned at all.

Mr. ZAPPA. No; that is not an accurate impression.

Senator GORE. Well, please clarify it, then.

Mr. ZAPPA. First of all, I think it is the parents' concern; it is not the Government's concern.

Senator GORE. The PMRC agrees with you on that.

Mr. ZAPPA. Well. that does not come across in the way they have been speaking. The whole drift that I have gotten, based upon the media blitz that has attended the PMRC and its rise to infamy, is that they have a special plan, and it has smelled like legislation up until now.

There are too many things that look like hidden agendas involved with this. And I am a parent. I have got four children. Two of them are here. I want them to grow up in a country where they can think what they want to think, be what they want to be, and not what somebody's wife or somebody in Government makes them be.

I do not want to have that and I do not think you do either.

Senator GORE. OK. But now you are back on the issue of Government involvement. Let me say briefly on this point that the PMRC says repeatedly no legislation, no regulation, no Governnient action. It certainly sounded clear to me.

And as far as a hidden agenda, I do not see one, hear one, or know of one.

Mr. ZAPPA. OK, let me tell you why I have drawn these conclusions. First of all, they may say, we are not interested in legislation. But there are others who are, and because of their project bad things have happened in this country in the industry.

I believe there is actually some liability. Look at this. You have a situation where, even if you go for the lyric printed thing in the record, because of the tendency among Americans to be copycats- one guy commits a murder, you get a copycat murder-now you've got copycat censors.

You get a very bad situation in San Antonio, TX, right now where they are trying to pass PMRC-type individual ratings and attach them to live concerts, with the mayor down there trying to make a national reputation by putting San Antonio on the map as the first city in the United States to have these regulations, against the suggestion of the city attorney, who says, I do not think this is constitutional.

But you know, there is this fervor to get in and do even more and even more.

And the other thing, the PMRC starts off talking about lyrics, but when they take it over into other realms they start talking about the videos. In fact, you misspoke yourself at the beginning in your introduction when you were talking about the music does this, the music does that. There is a distinct difference between those notes and chords and the baseline [sic — error in Congressional report] and the rhythm that support the words and the lyrics.

I do not know whether you really are talking about controlling the type of music.

The CHAIRMAN. The lyrics.

Mr. ZAPPA. So specifically we are talking about lyrics. It began with lyrics. But even looking at the PMRC fundraising letter, in the last paragraph at the bottom of the page it starts looking like it is branching into other areas, when it says: "We realize that this material has pervaded other aspects of society." And it is like what, you are going to fix it all for me?

Senator GORE. No. I think the PMRC's acknowledging some of the statements by some of their critics who say: Well, why single out the music industry.

Do I understand that you do believe that there is a legitimate concern here?

Mr. ZAPPA. But the legitimate concern is a matter of taste for the individual parent and how much sexual information that parent wants to give their child, at what age, at what time, in what quantity, OK. And I think that, because there is a tendency in the United States to hide sex, which I think is an unhealthy thing to do. and many parents do not give their children good sexual education, in spite of the fact that little books for kids are available, and other parents demand that sexual education be taken out of school, it makes the child vulnerable, because if you do not have something rational to compare it to when you see or hear about something that is aberrated you do not perceive it as an aberration.

Senator GORE. OK, I have run out of time.

Thank vou, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Rockefeller.

Senator ROCKEFELLER. No questions, Mr. Chairnan.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Gorton.

Senator GORTON. Mr. Zappa, I am astounded at the courtesy and soft-voiced nature of the comments of my friend, the Senator from Tennessee. I can only say that I found your statement to be boorish, incredibly and insensitively insulting to the people that were here previously; that you could manage to give the first amendment of the Constitution of the United States a bad name, if I felt that you had the slightest understanding of it, which I do not.

You do not have the slightest understanding of the difference between Government action and private action, and you have certainly destroyed any case you might otherwise have had with this Senator.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. ZAPPA. Is this private action?

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Exon.

Senator EXON. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.

Mr. Zappa, let me say that I was surprised that Senator Gore knew and liked your music. I must confess that I have never heard any of your music, to my knowledge.

Mr. ZAPPA. I would be more than happy to recite my lyrics to you.

Senator EXON. Can we forgo that?

Senator GORE. You have probably never heard of the Mothers of Invention.

Senator EXON. I have heard of Glen Miller and Mitch Miller. Did you ever perform with them?

Mr. ZAPPA. As a matter of fact, I took music lessons in grade school from Mitch Miller's brother.

Senator EXON. That is the first sign of hope we have had in this hearing.

Let us try and get down to a fundamental question here that I would like to ask you, Mr. Zappa. Do you believe that parents have the right and the obligation to mold the psychological development of their children?

Mr. ZAPPA. Yes, I think they have that right, and I also think they have that obligation.

Senator EXON. Do you see any extreme difficulty in carrying out those obligations for a parent by material falling into the hands of their children over which thely have little or no control?

Mr. ZAPPA. Well, one of the things that has been brought up before is talking about very young children getting access to the material that they have been showing here today. And what I have said to that in the past is a teenager may go into a record store unescorted with $8.98 in his pocket, but very young children do not.

If they go into a record store, the $8.98 is in mom or dad's pocket, and they can always say, Johnny, buy a book. They can say, Johnny, buy instrumental music; there is some nice classical music for you here; why do you not listen to that.

The parent can ask or guide the child in another direction, away from Sheena Easton, Prince, or whoever else you have been complaining about. There is always that possibility.

Senator EXON. As I understand it from your testimony — and once again, I want to emphasize that I see nothing wrong whatsoever; in fact, I salute the ladies for bringing this to the attention of the public as best they see fit. I think you could tell from my testimony that I tend to agree with them.

I want to be very careful that we do not overstep our bounds and try and — and I emphasize once again — tell somebody else what they should see. I am primarily worried about children.

It seems to me from your statement that you have no obligation — or no objection whatsoever to printing lyrics, if that would be legally possible, or from a standpoint of having the room to do that, on records or tapes. Is that not what you said?

Mr. ZAPPA. I think it would be advisable for two reasons. One, it gives people one of the things that they have been asking for. It gives them that type of consumer protection because, if you can read the English language and you can see the lyrics on the back, you have no excuse for complaning if you take the record out of the store.

And also, I think that the record industry has been damaged and it has been given a very bad rap by this whole situation because it has been indicated, or people have attempted to indicate, that there is so much of this kind of material that people object to in the industry, that that is what the industry is.

It is not bad at all. Some of the albums that have been selected for abuse here are obscure. Some of them are already several years old. And I think that a lot of deep digging was done in order to come up with the song about anal vapors or whatever it was that they were talking about before.

Senator EXON. If I understand you, you would be in support of printing the lyrics, but you are adamantly opposed to any kind of a rating system?

Mr. ZAPPA. I am opposed to the rating system because, as I said, if you put a rating on the record it goes directly to the character of the person who made the record, whereas if you rate a film, a guy who is in the film has been hired as an actor. He is pretending. You rate the film, whatever it is, it does not hurt him.

But whether you like what is on the record or not, the guy who made it, that is his art and to stigmatize him is unfair.

Senator EXON. Well, likewise, if you are primarily concerned about the artists, is it not true that for many many years, we have had ratings of movies with indications as to the sexual content of movies and that has been, as near as I can tell, a voluntary action on the part of the actors in the movies and the producers of the movies and the distributors?

That seems to have worked reasonably well. What is wrong with that?

Mr. ZAPPA. Well, first of all, it replaced something that was far more restrictive, which was the Hayes Office. And as far as that being voluntary, there are people who wish they did not have to rate their films. They still object to rating their films, but the reason the ratings go on is because if they are not rated they will not get distributed or shown in theaters. So there is a little bit of pressure involved, but still there is no stigma.

Senator EXON. The Government does not require that. The point I am trying to make is — and while I think these hearings should not have been held if we are not considering legislation or regulations at this time, I emphasized earlier that they might follow.

I simply want to say to you that I suspect that, unless the industry "clears up their act" — and I use that in quotes again — there is likely to be legislation. And it seems to me that it would not be too far removed from reality or too offensive to anyone if you could follow the general guidelines, right, wrong, or indifferent, that are now in place with regard to the movie industry.

Mr. ZAPPA. Well, I would object to that. I think first of all, I believe it was you who asked the question of Mrs. Gore whether there was any other indication on the album as to the contents. And I would say that a buzzsaw blade between a guy's legs on the album cover is a good indication that it is not for little Johnny.

Senator EXON. I do not believe I asked her that question, but the point you made is a good one, because if that should not go to little minds I think there should be at least some minimal activity or attempt on the part of the producers and distributors, and indeed possibly the performers, to see that that does not get to that little mind.

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Hollings.

Senator HOLLINGS. Mr. Zappa, I apologize for coming back in late, but I am just hearing the latter part of it. I hear that you say that perhaps we could print the words, and I think that is a good suggestion, but it is unfair to have albums rated.

Now, it is not considered unfair in the movie industry, and I want you to elaborate. I do not want to belabor you, but why is it unfair? I mean, it is accurate, is it not?

Mr. ZAPPA. Well, I do not know whether it is accurate, because sometimes they have trouble deciding how a film gets to be an X or an R or whatever. And you have two problems. One is the quantity of material, 325 films per year versus 25,000 4-minute songs per year, OK.

You also have a problem that an album is a compilation of different types of cuts. If one song on the album is sexually explicit and all the rest of it sounds like Pat Boone, what do you get on the album? How are you going to rate it?

There are little technical difficulties here, and and you have the problem of having somebody in the position of deciding what's good, what's bad, what's talking about the devil, what is too violent, and the rest of that stuff.

But the point I made before is that when you rate the album you are rating the individual, because he takes personal responsibility for the music; and in the movies, the actors who are performing in the movie, it does not hurt them.

Senator HOLLINGS. Well, very good. I think the actual printing of the content itself is perhaps even better than the rating. Let everyone else decide.

Mr. ZAPPA. I think you should leave it up to the parents, because not all parents want to keep their children totally ignorant.

Senator HOLLINGS. Well, you and I would differ on what is ignorance and education, I can see that. But if it was there, they could see what they were buying and I think that is a step in the right direction.

As Senator Exon has pointed out, the primary movers in this particular regard are not looking for legislation or regulations, which is our function. To be perfectly candid with you, I would look for regulations or some kind of legislation, if it could be constitutionally accomplished, unless of course we have these initiatives from the industry itself.

I think your suggestion is a good one. If you print those words, that would go a long way toward satisfying everyone's objections.

Mr. ZAPPA. All we have to do is find out how it is going to be paid for.

Senator HOLLINGS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Hawkins.

Senator HAWKINS. Mr. Zappa, you suy you have four children?

Mr. ZAPPA. Yes, four children.

Senator HAWKINS. Have you ever purchased toys for those children?

Mr. ZAPPA. No; my wife does.

Senator HAWKINS. Well, I might tell you that if you were to go in a toy store — which is very educational for fathers, by the way; it is not a maternal responsibility to buy toys for children — that you may look on the box and the box says, this is suitable for 5 to 7 years of age, or 8 to 15, or 15 and above, to give you some guidance for a toy for a child.

Do you object to that?

Mr. ZAPPA. In a way I do, because that means that somebody in an office someplace is making a decision about how smart my child is.

Senator HAWKINS. I would be interested to see what toys your kids ever had.

Mr. ZAPPA. Why would you be interested?

Senator HAWKINS. Just as a point of interest.

Mr. ZAPPA. Well, come on over to the house. I will show them to you.

Senator HAWKINS. I might do that.

Do you make a profit from sales of rock records?

Mr. ZAPPA. Yes.

Senator HAWKINS. So you do make a profit from the sales of rock records?

Mr. ZAPPA. Yes.

Senator HAWKINS. Thank you. I think that statement tells the story to this committee. Thank you.

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Zappa, thank you very much for your testimony.

Mr. ZAPPA. Thank you.

Speaking of Tony Senatore...

2010-08-30T09:17:00.002-05:00

About a month and a half ago, I had the pleasure of seeing Senny perform with Andy Rothstein.
Here are some pictures and a video from that performance.

Tony Senatore's Holyland

2010-08-27T14:55:00.002-05:00

Some time ago, I found out an old high school buddy of mine recorded and released an album. Having already known what a talented bassist he was (and that was before he was 20), I bought two, figuring I'd want to share it with someone. I shared it with a modern-day friend of mine, Bill Knispel.
Being a lover of music whose passion likely surpasses my own, I knew he'd appreciate Senny's album, and I asked him if he could review it.
He was more than happy to oblige, and his review can be viewed here:
http://billsprogblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/cd-review-tony-senatore-holyland-2005.html

Bluetooth: The epitome of self-importance?

2010-08-04T17:06:00.004-05:00

Quite often in social networking circles, I come across people that have a clear disdain for those that wear bluetooth headsets (a.k.a. hands-free). In some cases, people only loathe those that wear their BT practically 24/7. In other cases, they hate anyone that wears a BT at all...ever. Then you have those who feel that a BT is only acceptable while driving, and that it should be removed immediately upon exiting your vehicle.

You know what I hate? The self-important people that drive while holding a phone to their ear (illegal in my home state of NJ, btw) who THINK that they drive just fine that way (trust me, they DON'T), as well as similar douche-bags who hold a phone to their ear in a store while trying to steer a shopping cart with their elbow and generally being oblivious to their surroundings.

I happen to use a BT quite often.
No, I'm not one of those that wears it at the dinner table (home or out), or when socializing with real people, in person.

However, I do wear it pretty much all day, every day, Monday-Friday. This is because I work as a sales rep and I'm in and out of my car and stores all day, and I work with my hands. Should I happen to receive a call (business or personal), I don't want to get slowed down by holding the phone with one hand while trying to be productive with the other like I see so many assholes do all day.

The other reason is because in addition to having a BT connected to two phones at once (personal and work cells), here is a picture of my work cell phone:

Now, I'm sorry, but I am NOT going to hold that contraption to my head. That would look dumber than any BT headset I could possibly wear.

As I said to a friend of mine the other day, I think overall, people have more of a loathing for LOUD talkers than anything else. Whether they hold a phone to their head or use a BT, THEY are the arrogant douches.

So if anyone sees me wearing my BT anywhere outside my car, and you don't like it, you have my blessing to fornicate with your maternal ascendant.

Bill's Prog Blog: CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - The Safenzee Diaries (200...

2010-07-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not going to be linking back to every one of Bill's blog entries, but since this is a republish of a review of one of my favorite live albums, I wanted to share this as well.

Bill's Prog Blog: CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - The Safenzee Diaries (200...: "(NB: this review was originally web published 3 April 2007.) Robert Fripp of King Crimson once made a series of analogies comparing the b..."

Bill's Prog Blog: CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - Bateless Edge (2010, 10T R...

2010-07-22T12:24:00.000-05:00

Check out this review of a great album, then follow Bill's blog, then buy the album. In that order.

Bill's Prog Blog: CD REVIEW: Frogg Café - Bateless Edge (2010, 10T R...: "THE ARGUMENT: In which a gauntlet is thrown down… I have been planning a review of the new Frogg Café album, Bateless Edge, for a short ..."

Jethro Tull - Stand Up Collector's Edition

2010-07-22T12:01:00.001-05:00

Good news for Jethro Tull fans at spincds.com

Jethro Tull - Stand Up (2CD/DVD Collector’s Edition)
Label: EMI
Format: CD (three)

This item is due to be released on 27 Sep 2010 and will be dispatched when we receive stock.

Description
CD 1:
Stand Up Original album
1. A New Day Yesterday
2. Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square
3. Bouree
4. Back To The Family
5. Look Into The Sun
6. Nothing Is Easy
7. Fat Man
8. We Used To Know
9. Reasons For Waiting
10.For A Thousand Mothers

Bonus tracks:
11.Living In The Past
12.Driving Song
13.Sweet Dream

14.17 *
15.Living In The Past (original mono single version) *

Top Gear BBC Radio session recorded on 16/6/69 and broadcast on 22/6/69:
16.Bouree *
17.A New Day Yesterday *
18.Nothing Is Easy *
19.Fat Man *

20.Stand Up US radio spot # 1
21.Stand Up US radio spot # 2

All tracks stereo except * mono.

CD 2:
Live At Carnegie Hall, 1970
1. Nothing Is Easy
2. My God
3. With You There To Help Me/By Kind Permission Of
4. A Song For Jeffrey
5. To Cry You A Song
6. Sossity, You’re A Woman/Reasons For Waiting/Sossity, You’re A Woman
7. Dharma For One
8. We Used To Know
9. Guitar Solo
10.For A Thousand Mothers

DVD:
Live At Carnegie Hall, 1970
Carnegie Hall audio: DTS & Dolby Digital 24 bit 48kHz
5.1 surround sound and 2.0 24 bit 48 kHz LPCM stereo (no footage of the concert).

1. Introduction
2. Nothing Is Easy
3. My God
4. With You There To Help Me/By Kind Permission Of
5. A Song For Jeffrey
6. To Cry You A Song
7. Sossity, You’re A Woman/Reasons For Waiting/Sossity, You’re A Woman
8. Dharma For One
9. We Used To Know
10.Guitar Solo
11.For A Thousand Mothers

DVD Bonus Feature
An interview with Ian Anderson, London, 2010

All tracks stereo except * mono.

DVD:
Aspect ratio 16:9
Region: 0
NTSC
Duration:
Carnegie Hall audio: DTS & Dolby Digital 24 bit 48kHz 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 24 bit 48 kHz LPCM stereo

Stand Up was released on Island records in the UK on August 1st, 1969 (catalogue no.: ILPS 9103) and in the US on Reprise Records on September 29th, 1969 (catalogue no.: RS6360).

Living In The Past/Driving Song was released on single on Island Records on May 2nd 1969 (catalogue no.: WIP 6056) and in the US on Reprise Records on July 28th, 1969 (catalogue no.: Reprise 0845).

Sweet Dream/17 was released on single on Chrysalis/Island Records in the UK on October 3rd, 1969 (catalogue no.: WIP 6070).

Musicians on Stand Up:
Ian Anderson (flute, acoustic guitar, Hammond organ, piano, mandolin, balalaika, bouzouki, mouth organ, vocals)
Martin Barre (electric guitar, flute on Jeffrey Goes To Leicester Square)
Clive Bunker (drums and percussion)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
David Palmer (string arrangement and conductor on Reasons For Waiting)
Recorded at Morgan Studios, London from April 17th to May 1st, 1969 except Bouree recorded at Olympic Studios, Barnes, London on April 24th, 1969)

Musicians on Living In The Past:
Ian Anderson (flute, vocal)
Martin Barre (electric guitar)
Clive Bunker (drums and percussion)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
Lou Toby (string arrangement and conductor of members of The New York Symphony Orchestra)
Backing track and vocals recorded on March 3rd, 1969 at Vantone Studios, West Orange, NJ.

Musicians on Driving Song:
Ian Anderson (flute, vocal)
Martin Barre (electric guitar)
Clive Bunker (drums)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
Recorded on March 18th, 1969 at Western Recorders, L.A..

Musicians on Sweet Dream:
Ian Anderson (12 string guitar, flute, vocal)
Martin Barre (electric guitar)
Clive Bunker (drums)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
David Palmer (string arrangement and conductor)
Recorded on August 31st, 1969 at Morgan Studios, London.

Musicians on 17:
Ian Anderson (flute, vocal)
Martin Barre (electric guitar)
Clive Bunker (drums)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
Recorded on September 11th, 1969 at Morgan Studios, London.

Musicians on the John Peel Session:
Ian Anderson (flute, harmonica, vocals)
Martin Barre (guitars)
Clive Bunker (drums)
Glenn Cornick (bass)

Musicians on the Carnegie Hall recording:
Ian Anderson (flute, harmonica, vocals)
Martin Barre (guitars)
Clive Bunker (drums)
Glenn Cornick (bass)
John Evan (Hammond organ and piano)

(EMI)

Posted via email from RAW UNBRIDLED BUFFOONERY

New Technology Could Replace HDMI With Ethernet Cables - PCWorld

2010-07-07T18:48:00.001-05:00

Are HDMI's days numbered? They might be if a new a new audio/video (A/V) cable standard developed by four tech companies catches on.

The newly finalized cable technology, known as HDBaseT, transfers audio and video signals over ordinary RJ-45 ethernet cables. It's the result of an effort that started a little over six months ago by LG, Samsung, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Valens Semiconductor,

Goodbye, HDMI

The venerable HDMI cable was first produced back in 2003, and the rise of Blu-ray and the growing popularity of HDTV fueled its adoption.

While HDMI has several advantages to other sorts of A/V cables, it isn't without its problems. The technology often suffers from switching delays and is known for its limitations when it comes to cable length--problems that HDBaseT could solve.

The Benefits of HDBaseT

HDBaseT will be able to deliver full-HD video, audio, Web connectivity, and power over one cable simultaneously. Whereas a HDMI cable can be no more than a few meters in length, HDBaseT supports cables up to 100 meters long. The new cable spec can also carry 100 watts of power via the cable.

But what do all these promising advantages really mean? The back of any TV is usually an unsightly mess of cables. If this specification proves popular, it'll mean fewer cables. A single cable would not only power your television, but it could also send in all your data--sound, visuals, and more. Replacing multiple cables with just one is a welcome change.

When Will It Become Commonplace?

The HDMI cable isn't dead just yet, but the HDBaseT alliance hopes that devices supporting the new standard will ship later this year, with the new cable becoming more widely adopted during 2011. Whether this desire will become a reality remains to be seen, especially since an updated HDMI specification is expected in the not-too-distant future.

You can find more information--including this comparison table (PDF)--on the HDBaseT Website.

Would you like to see one cable to rule them all? Let us know in the comments.

[HDBase-T via Thinq]

For more geeky updates, follow Chris Brandrick and GeekTech on Twitter.

via pcworld.com

Posted via email from RAW UNBRIDLED BUFFOONERY

Are You Raising a Douchebag?

2010-06-14T12:55:00.004-05:00

This is a great article. I see this developing sense of entitlement (and where it comes from) just about every day.
Unfortunately, the people that will write it off as hogwash after the first two paragraphs and not read further are likely the ones who can answer "Yes" to the headline.
For the record, I'm not a parent and I read every word.

Click HERE for the original article.

Are You Raising a Douchebag?

Your indulgent parenting is spawning a generation of entitled hipster brats.

By David Hochman,

Photograph by Alex Tehrani

Let us begin with the assumption that if you are a parent, you wish for your child every advantage and opportunity. From the ergonomic high chair to that all-important first sushi experience and beyond, life should be as golden for your little one as it is for, say, Pax Jolie-Pitt.

But inevitably the moment arrives when all your doting and care come back on you in the form of a precocious little barb that reminds you in no uncertain terms of . . . you. It might be that his friend Jake's eighth-birthday party was "unbelievably lame" or that "it's weird that Brandon's family flies first-class and we don't," or maybe it's simply that "these taquitos taste like turd."

It's then that you must reckon with the real possibility that your drive to make little Johnny better, smarter, and hipper has merely turned him into a douchebag. Put it this way: If it's your child, not you, who gets to choose your weekend brunch spot, or if he's the one asking how the branzino is prepared, it's probably time to take a hard look at your own behavior.

It's not like we're the first generation to turn out Frankenkinder. Since the dawn of time, parents have been dressing their kids in ridiculous sailor suits and dragging them on ski trips to Gstaad. But lately it feels like we're scaling new heights as bad examples. We create parenting blogs that transform our preschoolers into fetishized celebrities. We subscribe to magazines that suggest buying a 5-year-old a $400 Marc Jacobs cashmere hoodie. We think it's cute when our kids learn to text message (until we realize POS means "parent over shoulder") and quietly rejoice when they can tell which Ramone is Dee Dee and which one is Joey.

Alas, convenient as it might be, we can't blame the children. "There's no such thing as a spoiled gene," says parenting expert Michele Borba, author of Don't Give Me That Attitude! "The brat factor is all learned." Which means that if you're the dad pushing Junior around in a limited-edition Bugaboo stroller by Bas Kosters ($2,000), carrying a Louis Vuitton diaper bag ($1,380), and checking in at a members-only parenting club like Citi-babes in Manhattan (annual membership: $2,000), your offspring are probably developing some serious entitlement issues. Just read the news. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the rise of sixth-grade "fashion bullies" who terrorize peers who don't wear Junior Dolce & Gabbana. Then there was the New York Times article on youngsters—4-year-olds!—who fancy themselves collectors of highly coveted works of art.

It's not just about money, though. Since the nineties, a surge in overprotective parenting has promoted discussion over discipline and made leisure activities contingent upon nanny CPR training (have you ever even considered letting your kid play with a pocket knife or a rusty Flexible Flyer, never mind have a paper route?).

In 1999, Katie Allison Granju wrote a book, Attachment Parenting, about the virtues of catering to the needs and emotions of the very young, from breast-feeding-on-demand to co-sleeping. While she still advocates that approach, she also believes that society tries to turn babies into children too fast and then treats older kids much like babies. Her forthcoming book is titled Let Them Run With Scissors: How Over-Parenting Hurts Children, Parents and Society. "We no longer allow children to have personal autonomy, to experience hard knocks, or to take real risks," she says. "The result is a nation of overweight, overindulged, overly neurotic kids who whine and moan and often can't function on their own."

It certainly doesn't help that we 21st- century thirty- and fortysomething parents expect our children to dress, speak, and appreciate Roxy Music just like us. "The Mini-Me phenomenon of kids wearing Sex Pistols T-shirts and sending back foie gras is cute but also gross and dangerous," says Ada Calhoun, the editor-in-chief of Babble, an online bible for hipster parents. "If you've turned your kid into a carbon copy of yourself, that kid loses his voice. He's only trying to please the grown-up, who only wants to live vicariously through the kid."

Greg Ramey is a child psychologist with nearly 30 years of experience counseling families and children at Dayton Children's in Dayton, Ohio. He says the biggest change he's seen is that parents no longer want to act like parents. "Over and over, I see parents who try to be their kids' best friends," he says. "That's a flashing red light. Our kids don't need to be our buddies. They can like us when they're 30. Mostly what kids want is for a parent to be in charge."

The consequences of parental boundary blurring are everywhere. As Vanity Fair recently noted, 2007 is the "year the mothers of Hollywood's wild girls—Paris, Lindsay, and Britney—have found themselves almost as much a part of the tabloid circus as the daughters themselves."

Fortunately, it's never too late to fix the problem. Sharon Pieters sees kids with terrible behavior make the turnaround week after week, and it has everything to do with parenting, she says. The former nanny runs Child Minded, a parent-coaching company that goes into homes to vanquish the Scylla and Charybdis of offspring hell: disrespect and boorishness. For $1,200 a day, Pieters will help parents tame their brats. Whether it's a problem with too much stuff ("I visited some kids in Long Island who had their own moon bounce," Pieters says) or incessant back talk ("Some children's vocabulary is limited to 'Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!'"), the solution is the same: "Set limits and stick to them." The hard part for most moms and dads is admitting there's a problem in the first place. Borba, the parenting writer, says, "The last thing parents today want after a day of work is to come home and be a cop. They think it's going to hurt the child's self-esteem to get a hard no. But you have to look at your kids and say, 'Are they turning out the way I want them to turn out?' If not, it's up to you to start to change things."

That takes care of the kids, but what about you? A possible solution comes from Asra Q. Nomani, who recently wrote an essay on Babble about being trapped in a cycle of out-of-control birthday parties, in which she kept trying to outdo the previous year's festivities. Turns out what her kid liked most wasn't the trip in the limo to the recording studio or even the playtime with a real tiger cub. It was the simpler, everyday stuff, the things that any kid's birthday party might include, like a birthday cake. Which makes you realize, the next time your inner douchebag tells you to book Criss Angel for your son's fifth birthday, you might want to take a deep breath and give yourself a hard no.

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Pride? What about loyalty?

2010-06-12T22:02:00.001-05:00

On the road today, I saw a car with one of those window mount flags (like the ones everyone had after 9/11), and it was the flag of England. In the United States of America, on the day when the USA played against England in the World Cup, a citizen (presumably) of this country was waving a flag of England.
This is something that I could never fathom. Why would a citizen of the United States champion for a foreign country over their own? Of course you also see shows of support for other countries as well from Americans. I just don't get it. I mean, when you were in high school or college, did you redirect your allegiance towards the school that your parents or grandparents went to (especially if they were playing against your school)? Some may say that it's not the same thing. Well, yeah...it is. If you are a citizen of the USA, you are an American, plain and simple. I don't care if you're of Italian, Greek, Portuguese, or Irish descent. If you're a citizen and resident of the USA, you're an American. You're a part of "team" America.
If you're ashamed to call yourself an American before your country of ancestry...if your "motherland" is so much better, then please, by all means don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Oh, and before some wise-ass tries to call me out on the fact that I am a Miami Dolphins fan living in New Jersey, forget it. That's NOT the same thing, and I'll explain why.
When the USA has a team, it is made up of Americans. As Americans, we are by default a "part" of it. When you are a student of a school, that school's team is made up of other students of that school. Again, by default you are a part of them.
But in the case of professional American sports, the Miami Dolphins are not comprised of residents of Miami. They are paid employees doing a job for an employer that happens to have it's office in Miami. Even the residents of Miami are not a direct "part" of the team. They just happen to share real estate with the team's office.
It's not the same thing.

In search of Keith Moon

2010-06-07T21:36:00.001-05:00

Check out the drummer in this video. He's like a caricature of Keith Moon (if that's even possible).

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Finally! New Frogg Café!

2010-06-01T14:28:00.001-05:00

Some of you are familiar with this great band.
For those that aren't, to borrow and paraphrase from Frank Zappa, check out..."the best band you haven't heard in your life."

FROGG CAFÉ Release “Bateless Edge” on 10T Records

Charleston, SC – June 1, 2010 (10T Records) – 10T Records is ecstatic to

announce the release of the brand new studio release by FROGG CAFÉ,

entitled “Bateless Edge.” This will be the New York-based band’s fourth

studio release and will be officially released by 10T Records on July

2nd, 2010.

On “Bateless Edge,” Frogg Café consists of Bill Ayasse (violin,

mandolin, vocals, hand percussion), James Guarnieri (drums,

glockenspiel, orchestral percussion), Andrew Sussman (bass, cello,

acoustic guitar), Nick Lieto (lead vocals, keyboards, trumpet,

flugelhorn), John Lieto (trombone), and features the triumphant return

of co-founding member, Frank Camiola (guitar, string bass, banjo).

“Bateless Edge” is a stunning 78-minute statement, described by

bassist/composer Andrew Sussman as a "reflection on incidents revolving

around our own personal lives, as well as an integrated and newly formed

sound that takes this band into realms that have been unexplored until

now." “Bateless Edge” sees Frogg Café fearlessly breaking new musical

ground while crafting some of the darkest and most intense musical

statements made thus far by this ever-evolving band.

In this elaborate journey, Frogg Café explores many new textures and

colors that add great dimension to the contemporary jazz-fusion sound

that is unmistakably their own. The band incorporates for the first

time detailed orchestration akin to symphony music. Clarinets,

mandolins, cellos, glockenspiels, bass clarinets, xylophones, string

quartets and many other instruments all integrate to create a soundscape

that will yield the listener infinite details on future listens.

Classical Indian influences also find their way into the mix, along with

new levels of intricate compositional complexity, including a track that

boasts a 28-page musical score consisting of roughly twenty-five

different instruments.

Many additional instrumentalists were recruited to record this latest

opus, including Andrew Sussman's father, Steve Sussman, on clarinet,

Cardboard Amanda member, Dee Harris, on Indian Slide guitar and

Tamboura, as well as fellow 10T artists, Vessela Stoyanova (Fluttr

Effect), and Steve Kastikas (Little Atlas).

“Frogg Café is very special to 10T Records,” says label president Steve

Carroll. “They were one of the bands that were foundational to the

creation of 10T, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing this

release to the world. It is quite simply the definitive creative

statement for a band that has consistently made a career out of being

among the best of the best.”

“Bateless Edge” is available for pre-order starting on June 1, 2010.

All orders received between now and the official release date will ship

by the end of the week prior to the official release.

Additionally, everyone who pre-orders “Bateless Edge” will receive

exclusive FREE temporary access to download “On the LillyPadd,” a full

length digital album featuring the following previously unreleased Frogg

Café recordings:

1. A Brass Quartet piece called "Prelude" that was originally

recorded for Bateless Edge, but was cut due to time constraints.

2. A 25-minute in the studio spaced-out Frogg jam called "At the

Table of the Leptons".

3. Excerpts from a never-released live show from Orion Studios

recorded in Dec. 2006.

The band feels that this was one of their best shows, and features never

been heard tracks.

All tracks from “Bateless Edge” are currently available to preview in

their entirety through the 10T Records website:

http://10trecords.com/artists/genres/progressive-experimental/frogg-cafe/discography/

After July 2, “Bateless Edge” will be available through your favorite

retail outlet for immediate purchase.

For further information: Steve Carroll 10T Records www.10trecords.com

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Home Theater Concert: Jethro Tull

2010-05-31T20:04:00.002-05:00

I've been a fan of Jethro Tull for about 33 years now, and they are easily one of my favorite artists of all time. In fact, among my all-time favorite artists, only Kansas matches (and just barely surpasses) them in longevity, being a favorite of mine since 1976.
I own every official Tull album and DVD or Blu-ray disc. I just watched the latest DVD, 'Live at AVO Session Basel.' As far as modern-day Tull goes, this is a great DVD. The performance is well executed as per usual Ian Anderson standards, and the setlist contains a good mix of older tracks (the only song written after 1978 is Rocks On The Road from 1991's Catfish Rising album), including a few rarely played ones like Nursie, Dharma For One, and Heavy Horses. It's a good selection of songs that Ian's very limited vocal range can and does handle pretty well. The band can still rock pretty well, albeit with a slightly more subdued sound. I can't really put my finger on it...it just doesn't pack the same punch as it used to (musicians' ages shouldn't affect the sound of the instruments). On the up side, I think Martin's guitar playing has only gotten better over the years, and Ian can still belt it out on the flute. On the down side, while limited to only one track here (IIRC), that dreaded accordion is still present. I was hoping that was just a phase Ian was going through, but it's gone on way too long to be a phase. All in all I really enjoyed it, although I still like the Live At Montreaux 2003 performance a little better.
The one disappointment in this for me is that it was not released on Blu-ray, only DVD. Judging by the video, it seems to be near-HD quality, so why it was not released as a Blu-ray disc escapes me.

Home Theater Concert: Jeff Beck

2010-05-31T15:34:00.009-05:00

Just finished watching 'Jeff Beck Performing this week: Live At Ronnie Scott's' on Blu-ray disc.

Now, I should point out that I have never claimed to be a huge Jeff Beck fan. I own maybe half a dozen CDs of his, but I never really kept up with his work. On top of that, I never listed him as one of my favorite guitarists (although I do consider him a great guitarist).

That being said, I had heard and read a lot of great things about this disc, so I decided to pick it up. Needless to say, I do not regret this decision in the least. First, the audio and video quality on this disc is amazing, akin to the Return to Forever Live at Montreaux BD. Of course, not to be outdone by the film and sound crew, the performance is outstanding, with a nice blend of rock, jazz, and fusion selections, and is sure to please even the most casual Jeff Beck fan. In fact, even if you're just a fan of music you'd probably get enjoyment out of this disc. Accompanying Jeff in the core band for this performance is Jason Rebello on keyboards, my second favorite Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (second to T. Bozzio IMO), and the extremely talented and very cute Tal Wilkenfeld on bass. Guest appearances include Joss Stone, Imogen Heap, and Eric Clapton.

Also, as a bonus (exclusive to the Blu-ray), you get a shorter Rockabilly set with Jeff and the Big Town Playboys as sort of an opening performance (if you watch it first, which I did not).

In any case, if you're a fan of good musical performances, I highly recommend this disc. If you're a fan of Jeff Beck, it's a no-brainer.

NYC board backs plan to build mosque near Ground Zero -

2010-05-29T08:33:00.000-05:00

I am pretty much speechless. I really don't even know what to say to this, other than that white guilt in this country has officially gone too far.

NYC board backs plan to build mosque near Ground Zero -

Sirius XM Showcases Opie & Anthony - SiriusBuzz

2010-05-27T12:09:00.002-05:00

In an interesting content move Sirius XM Radio is showcasing the Opie & Anthony show all month on Sirius XM Stars Too. The O & A showcase will run through June 18th. The radio personalities have been an XM staple for many years and are well known for on air antics and some infamous stunts that had them fired from terrestrial radio stations in years past.
The Opie & Anthony Show runs from 6:00 AM to 11AM EST on the XM Satellite Radio platform sharing the same time slot as Howard Stern, which is on the Sirius platform. By simulcasting Opie & Anthony on Sirius Stars Too, the duo is available on both platforms.
Sirius XM is essentially giving Sirius subscribers a taste of what is available on the BEST OF package for XM while the company seeks out a way to replace the morning slot void on Sirius XM Stars Too left by Vinnie Politan. It is an interesting move in many ways. Some may even theorize that the company is showcasing Opie & Anthony as a negotiating ploy by Sirius XM in the Howard Stern contract talks. Sterns contract expires at the end of this year. No matter what the reason, the Opie & Anthony show is edgy, catchy, and entertaining.
Listeners can catch the show on Sirius XM Stars Too (Sirius 108 XM 139), as well as on the Virus channel 202 on XM or Sirius channel 197 for Sirius subscribers with the BEST OF XM package.
Position – Long Sirius XM Radio
-->

via siriusbuzz.com

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Say goodbye to our sense of humor!

2010-05-27T09:16:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I posted a viral video of a 2-year-old from Indonesia smoking a cigarette. Today that video was pulled by YouTube.
Now, I'm not saying smoking is good, ESPECIALLY for a baby. But I'm sorry, if you don't think a baby from halfway across the globe masterfully smoking a cigarette is funny, then I would recommend you reach behind yourself, firmly grasp the stick protruding from your ass, and yank it out.
There is humor in EVERYTHING; even if it's cringe humor. You just have to know how and where to look.
Here's the video on MSN.

Best YouTube video ever!

2010-05-26T15:29:00.001-05:00

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The future of TV

2010-05-23T15:20:00.000-05:00

Lately I've had my eye on a new Blu-ray disc player that supports Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Picasa, etc.
I already have a BD player, but it doesn't have any network capabilities other than upgrading the firmware and accommodating BD-Live content from the discs. The new one is essentially the same machine with the aforementioned services added.
Well, I just received an email from Logitech which pointed to a page that has made me forget about the new BD player and instead wait for the fall for what looks to me like an amazing product, Google TV.
After watching the video below, as well as the 22 minute "announcement" video, it seems that this is basically an Android "smart TV". For anyone who has an Android smartphone, you already know that this is an exciting concept. For those not familiar with Android, it's basically an operating system made by the people, for the people. After watching the announcement video on the main page, the implication is that like the Android OS on phones, Google TV will be an open source system.
Oh, and if like me, you have DISH network, then this will be even better. This has been designed along with DISH to be seamless.

You scare me.

2010-05-22T16:26:00.002-05:00

Someone shared this on facebook (originally from Snopes), and I found it interesting enough to share here.
I love things like this from well-educated and accredited people, because most Dems feel that you can't possibly have those qualifications and not be "one of them."
Now, of course this letter is obviously written from a more conservative viewpoint (would you expect different from a former corporate executive?), but does that make it invalid?

I'm just so sick of the two extremes. It's like we're a nation made up of two races of sheep. Otherwise the Libertarian party would be bigger.
If you don't agree with that, ask yourself this....which party's candidate are you voting for in 2016? If you can already answer that question, say "Baa baa."
I would venture a guess that Obama was elected by a bigger "bandwagon" than any other president in history.
For a party that claims to be well-educated, it seems there were a countless number of people that voted for him that couldn't give you a well-educated reason why.

AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA

Dear President Obama:

You are the thirteenth President under whom I have lived and unlike any of the

others, you truly scare me.

You scare me because after months of exposure, I know nothing about you.

You scare me because I do not know how you paid for your expensive Ivy League

education and your upscale lifestyle and housing with no visible signs of

support.

You scare me because you did not spend the formative years of youth growing up

in America and culturally you are not an American.

You scare me because you have never run a company or met a payroll.

You scare me because you have never had military experience, thus don't

understand it at its core..

You scare me because you lack humility and 'class', always blaming others.

You scare me because for over half your life you have aligned yourself with

radical extremists who hate America and you refuse to publicly denounce these

radicals who wish to see America fail.

You scare me because you are a cheerleader for the 'blame America' crowd and

deliver this message abroad.

You scare me because you want to change America to a European style country

where the government sector dominates instead of the private sector.

You scare me because you want to replace our health care system with a

government controlled one.

You scare me because you prefer 'wind mills' to responsibly capitalizing on our

own vast oil, coal and shale reserves.

You scare me because you want to kill the American capitalist goose that lays

the golden egg which provides the highest standard of living in the world.

You scare me because you have begun to use 'extortion' tactics against certain

banks and corporations.

You scare me because your own political party shrinks from challenging you on

your wild and irresponsible spending proposals.

You scare me because you will not openly listen to or even consider opposing

points of view from intelligent people.

You scare me because you falsely believe that you are both omnipotent and

omniscient.

You scare me because the media gives you a free pass on everything you do.

You scare me because you demonize and want to silence the Limbaughs, Hannitys,

O'Relllys and Becks who offer opposing, conservative points of view.

You scare me because you prefer controlling over governing.

Finally, you scare me because if you serve a second term I will probably not

feel safe in writing a similar letter in 8 years.

Lou Pritchett

Origins: Lou Pritchett is a former
vice president of Procter & Gamble whose career at that
company spanned 36 years before his retirement in 1989, and he is
the author of the 1995 business book, Stop Paddling & Start
Rocking the Boat.

Mr. Pritchett confirmed to us that he was indeed the author of the
much-circulated "open letter" quoted above:

I did write the 'you scare me' letter. I sent it to the NY Times but
they never acknowledged or published it. However, it hit the internet and
according to the 'experts' has had over 500,000 hits.

Last updated: 31 May 2009
The URL for this page is
http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/youscareme.asp

High-end audio a calling for Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson

2010-04-29T23:46:00.006-05:00

Posted: April 29, 2010

High-end audio a calling for Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson

BY BRIAN McCOLLUM
FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER

Steven Wilson isn't the first musician to lament the age of the MP3. But he's certainly one of its fiercest critics.

He's also among those most willing to put money where mouth is: Wilson's band, Porcupine Tree, is on the vanguard of high-end audio and packaging, dedicated to the proposition that art should be treated like art.

"How would you rather see a great painting -- in a gallery where the textures and light come off the canvas to convey the subtlety of the work, or a thumbnail JPEG on a cell phone?" says Wilson, the band's founder, guitarist and lead songwriter. "It's a no-brainer to me, and yet so few people seem to think that way about music now. Music should be presented as art, not as software and content. Convenience has triumphed over quality and experience."

Where other rock acts are content to tally streaming Web hits and iTunes sales, Porcupine Tree has earned a reputation for releases that go above and beyond. The band's albums are typically accompanied by high-def surround versions and handsomely crafted vinyl packages; last fall's "The Incident" was released on DVD-Audio and a $100 vinyl edition that included two books of photography and illustrations.

Wilson, who founded the English band in the early '90s, is increasingly recognized as a go-to expert in the field: The 42-year-old is a regular contributor to audiophile magazines such as Sound & Vision, earned a Grammy nomination for his 5.1 surround production of Porcupine Tree's "Fear of a Blank Planet" album and was recently handpicked by Robert Fripp to create 5.1 mixes of the vaunted King Crimson catalog.

"I grew up loving music and fantastic-sounding records," says Wilson. "So I've always aspired to making fantastic sonic experiences that people can immerse themselves in."

In that sense, Wilson and Porcupine Tree harken back to heroes such as Pink Floyd, whose decades-old albums still serve as fine-tuning reference discs for audiophiles and studio technicians.

"That's still the golden era," he says of the decade that followed the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" -- a period when "every album was inspired by the idea that it could be more than 10 pop songs thrown together."

So it's more than the high-end sonics: Porcupine Tree's imaginative, cerebral art-rock is conceived with an old-school approach to the album as a thematic statement.

"There are still some people committed to the album as a kind of musical journey, very much the antithesis of the iPod shuffle mentality. Bands like Porcupine Tree, Mars Volta, Radiohead, Opeth, Muse -- in addition to specializing in an artful form of rock music, we're committed to the idea of the album. That's the other side of the MP3 coin: You're not only listening to (crappy) sound -- you're not hearing albums the way the artist intended."

Wilson's war on the iPod isn't just rhetoric. He's drawn thousands of views for a YouTube video series that shows him gleefully destroying the MP3 devices with all manner of weaponry: a rifle, a blowtorch, a sledgehammer. The clips have produced an inevitable pushback from some young viewers and Apple aficionados, but Wilson has also been heartened by the response.

"What was also encouraging was seeing the news that sales of vinyl are on the rise again, including kids who appreciate that tactile experience," he says. "People are happy to feel they have something they can treasure and cherish."

With "The Incident" having peaked at No. 25 to become the band's top-charting U.S. release, Porcupine Tree will arrive Sunday at the Fillmore Detroit with a new burst of momentum. It's been a long, steady upward trajectory for the band since its 1991 debut, largely driven by word of mouth among music connoisseurs.

The group is often tagged with the "progressive rock" label, and indeed, its audience is heavily composed of fans from the prog-rock and metal worlds, where Wilson says listeners "are instilled with an appreciation for people who can play their instruments."

"I don't think you come to a Porcupine Tree show expecting a party," he says. "You come ready for something a little more intense, ready to engage more than you would with an AC/DC concert."

Still, there's a softer, more pristine edge to much of Porcupine Tree's music, and Wilson says the band strives to craft songs that are as accessible on the surface as they are deep underneath.

"I've never been one to be obscure for the sake of being obscure, or complex for the sake of it," he says. "I think there's a way to strike a balance between classic songwriting and a performance that has many levels to it, so you can immerse yourself in the musical landscape on many different levels. Those are the records I loved when I was a kid -- sometimes you'd just sing along, and sometimes you'd immerse yourself in the whole of a beautifully produced musical experience."

Contact BRIAN McCOLLUM: 313-223-4450 or mccollum@freepress.com

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I got your entitlement right here!

2010-04-27T17:34:00.001-05:00

So I'm sitting in a Shop Rite parking lot checking Twitter instead of getting anything done, and I notice this woman with a young child trying to get her cart over the "island" between parking sections and having little success. She must have called out to the guy collecting carts to help her because by the time I saw this he was already running over to help.
As soon as he grabs the front of the cart and lifts it, she let go and took her child over to her mini-van which was about 75 feet away. She gets in and opens the automatic side door as if this guy is going to bring her cart all the way over there for her. He obviously assumed she just wanted help getting the cart "over the hump," because that's all he did and then went back to rounding up carts. She finally realized he wasn't coming and closed the door and drove over to the cart. It gave me a nice little chuckle to see someone "expect" someone to provide tailored service and end up having to do it themselves.
Could he have been more helpful? Sure, but considering her apparent sense of entitlement, it was almost like he said, "Come get it yourself stupid! I did the hard part! It's not my fault you forgot where you parked! I have work to do!"

I almost got out and yelled to him, "Atta boy Spider! Don't take shit from anyone!"

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It pays to pre-order

2010-04-26T14:44:00.001-05:00

So Porcupine Tree will be releasing a Blu-ray/DVD package of a concert filmed towards the end of their amazing Fear of a Blank Planet tour. It is called "Anesthetize" (also the title of an epic track off of the album Fear of a Blank Planet) and will be released in June. A financially draining limited special edition, which includes audio CDs of the video as well as a hard cover "book style" package can be purchased from the band's online store. Anyway, I decided to take the more frugal approach and I pre-ordered just the standard BD/DVD package from Amazon. Well, at the time I placed my order, it was showing that it was Blu-ray only for $17.49, and also available was DVD only for $19.99. As it turns out, these were wrong, as it is ONLY being released as a BD/DVD set. I just checked, and they seem to have fixed the issue, and now it is listed at $22.49 (as of this blog post...it could still change). So thanks to Amazon's low price pre-order guarantee, I'm still only paying $17.49!
It pays to pre-order. :-)

I should note that Amazon STILL has a listing for just the standard DVD, but Kscope records (the label the DVD is on) insists it will NOT be released this way (unless they meant just the Blu-ray won't be standalone).

Real Time excerpt

2010-04-25T00:31:00.003-05:00

Here's a short clip from Real Time with Bill Maher. Funny and sad at the same time.
I took the video with my phone pointed at the TV, so give me a break on the quality.

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NINE WORDS WOMEN USE

2010-04-18T11:22:00.001-05:00

(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh : This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men.. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man... That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' . that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Whatever : Is a woman's way of saying F-- YOU!

(9) Don't worry about it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

(10) I'm Sorry: You will never hear this come out of a woman's mouth. Didn't you read the subject line?

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Bachelor much?

2010-04-10T13:15:00.001-05:00

New couches. Dark chocolate brown (may look black in photo). 4 recliners, 2 cup holders, and a storage compartment. They rule!
As a finishing touch, "The Essential Reference of Domestic Brewers and Their Bottled Brands" as a coffee table book. :-)

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Amazing Tull archives!

2010-03-08T12:54:00.001-05:00

This is the kind of stuff I'd love to see on DVD.
Since it isn't, thank goodness there's YouTube!
Thank you TullTapes!

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Frank Zappa Freak Out List DVD

2010-02-23T20:32:00.001-05:00

Frank Zappa Freak Out List DVD

02/23/2010
. Sexy Intellectual and MVD Visual are proud to announce the DVD release of Frank Zappa "The Freak Out List" on April 20, 2010.
When an artist, regardless of his significance, lists his favorite musicians and performers it is usually met with little fanfare, as over time the names mentioned are almost certainly going to change. But when Frank Zappa did likewise, and actually published a record of his most important influences on the inside cover of his debut album, it became a road map to the music he was to make over the following forty years. Even in the early 1990s, when asked about his most-loved composer's, musicians and artists, he would repeat names from this, by then legendary, index.
This film explores the musical roots of Frank Zappa by putting "The Freak Out List" under the microscope and tracing the lineage from the most pivotal names therein to the recordings and performances of the man himself.
Featuring rare footage of Zappa and the Mothers plus archive film of Freak Out List artists, exclusive interviews with The Mothers Of Invention's Ian Underwood, Don Preston and George Duke, 1950s Doo Wop legends, The Cadillacs, contributions from Zappa biographers Ben Watson and Greg Russo, Edgar Varese biographer Alan Clayson, experimental modern music historian Professor David Nicholls, soul and R'n'B expert Robert Pruter and many others.
Also features numerous seldom seen photographs, news archive, radio spots and a host of other features which all together make for a uniquely fascinating program.

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Toyota Ripped Off Zappa! [PIC]

2010-02-12T23:10:00.001-05:00

via buzzfeed.com

Someone else for Gail Zappa to sue.

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Sound & Vision Magazine - 20 Albums That Deserve To Be In Surround Sound

2009-12-15T01:58:00.001-05:00

via soundandvisionmag.com

Interesting.
I happen to agree with many of these.
Especially Hounds of Love, Animals, Joe's Garage, and Close To The Edge.
As for Rush, I'd probably choose either Permanent Waves, Hemispheres, or Farewell to Kings before Moving Pictures.

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Verizon or AT&T?

2009-11-12T23:11:00.001-05:00

I've come across quite a few people who are customers of AT&T that say they can't wait until their contract expires so they can switch to Verizon.
Verizon is such a great carrier. Much better reception than AT&T.

Is it really?

First of all, I've spoken to more than a few people who have Verizon that say it isn't all that great. In fact, I've heard more Verizon praise from AT&T customers than anything else. All that proves is that Verizon's advertising is effective.
Second, I'm of the opinion that ALL carriers have their share of dead spots and dropped calls. It's the nature of the beast. I'm also one of those AT&T customers that can't really complain about AT&T. Sure, I have dead-spots (usually in very woodsy rural areas), and I get dropped calls from time to time, but overall I'm pretty happy with my service....especially for the price. My bottom line bill every month comes to less than $90, and that includes 900 anytime minutes, rollover minutes, unlimited nights/weekends, unlimited AT&T mobile-to-mobile, a 5 person "A-list" (of which I only use 3) which allows for unlimited calling to and from any domestic landline or out-of-network cell phone of my choosing, unlimited text/MMS, and unlimited data on my Windows Mobile Smartphone.
Somehow I don't think I'd get all that for that price at Verizon. In fact, judging from what I saw when I curiously checked Verizon's plans about a year ago, I'm sure of it.
And as for that cute little 3G coverage map they have on TV that shows an almost solid red map for Verizon, and a very sparsely spotted blue map for AT&T goes, I live in NJ, and spend pretty much all of my time in NJ. Next time you see that commercial, you'll notice that on that sparsely covered AT&T map, NJ is solid blue from top to bottom. Whether or not someone in Wyoming has 3G coverage is not my concern.
I'm not saying that AT&T is "the bomb" or anything. I just think that Verizon is not necessarily "it" either. To me, AT&T and Verizon is like Coke and Pepsi. They will likely always hold the top two spots, and each will always have their faithful and satisfied customers.

Anyway, here's an interesting article from tech blogger David Pogue about how Verizon is escalating their already suspect business practices.
This is a good example of how the grass isn't always greener.

The Latest in Technology From David Pogue

November 12, 2009, 12:29 pm

Verizon: How Much Do You Charge Now?

Starting next week, Verizon will double the early-termination fee for smartphones. That is, if you get a BlackBerry, Android or similar phone from Verizon, and you decide to switch phones before your two-year contract is up, you’ll be socked with a $350 penalty (it used to be $175).

This fee drops slowly over time ($10 a month), but after two years, it’s still $110. If the premise of the early-termination fee is to help Verizon recoup its original cost of the phone (see my analysis here http://bit.ly/pOkXz), shouldn’t the fee go down to zero at the end of your contract?

This move doesn’t help Verizon’s reputation for steep pricing and aggressive gouging.

What bothers me more, though, is another bit of greedy nastiness that readers both inside and outside Verizon have noticed.

Here’s one example, from a Verizon customer:

“David, I read your posts about how the cell carriers are eating up our airtime with those 15-second ‘To page this person, press 5′ instructions, but I think Verizon has a bigger scam going on: charging for bogus data downloads.

“Virtually every bill I get has a couple of erroneous data charges at $1.99 each—yet we download no data.

“Here’s how it works. They configure the phones to have multiple easily hit keystrokes to launch ‘Get it now’ or ‘Mobile Web’—usually a single key like an arrow key. Often we have no idea what key we hit, but up pops one of these screens. The instant you call the function, they charge you the data fee. We cancel these unintended requests as fast as we can hit the End key, but it doesn’t matter; they’ve told me that ANY data–even one kilobyte–is billed as 1MB. The damage is done. Read more…

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An invite for spite

2009-10-22T16:00:00.001-05:00

This sign was at the end of a McDonald's drive-thru.
So in other words, I can only take up a parking spot if I purchase food from inside the place?
I find it hard to believe that people eating in their cars is such a widespread problem that someone decided that they needed this stupid sign. That sign makes me want to pack my own lunch and go there just to eat it. Btw, it's the McDonald's on Rt. 22W in North Plainfield, NJ...in case you're feeling spiteful. :-)

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King Crimson Reunion At Playback Of Their Classic Albums Albums

2009-10-08T00:10:00.003-05:00

mdome / News / 07/10/2009 14:13pm

Prog history was made last night when seven members of the early incarnations of the legendary King Crimson reunited, albeit in a non-performing capacity, at Air Studios in North London for a playback of the band’s recently re-issued In The Court Of The Crimson King, Lizard and Red albums in 5.1 surround sound.Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Pete Sinfield, Bill Bruford, Mel Collins, David Cross and John Wetton were all in attendance, as was Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson, who, along with Fripp, had undertaken the task of re-working the material.

Fripp himself said a few words before introducing Wilson, who gave a short speech detailing how he’d gone about undertaking such a mammoth task, before the assembled throng was treated to a selection of tracks in quite stunning new sound.

In The Court Of The Crimson King, Lizard and Red are all available through the Panegryic label, with the remainder of the band’s back catalogue being re-issued throughout 2010.

The three current re-issues are reviewed in the latest issue of Classic Rock Presents Prog, on sale now. The re-issues come with extensive sleeve notes from Prog’s own Sid Smith.

– Jerry Ewing

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Porcupine Tree Philly Setlist

2009-09-26T22:53:00.002-05:00

The Electric Factory
Philadelphia, PA
Sept 26, 2009

Set 1:
The Incident (full 55 minute suite)
(technical issues with SW's guitar prevented the guitar solo)

Set 2:
The Start Of Something Beautiful
Russia On Ice
Anesthetize (middle section)
Normal
Strip The Soul
.3
Bonnie The Cat

Encore:
Sound Of Muzak
Trains

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Porcupine Tree NYC setlist

2009-09-24T22:23:00.004-05:00

Terminal 5
NYC
Sept. 24, 2009

Set 1:
The Incident (full 55 minute suite)

Set 2:
The Start Of Something Beautiful
Russia On Ice
Anesthetize (middle section)
Remember Me Lover
Strip The Soul
.3
Mother And Child Divided

Encore:
Sound Of Muzak
Trains

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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It's back... Prog rock assaults album charts

2009-09-23T20:50:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow night in NYC, Saturday in Philly!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8266922.stm

It's back... Prog rock assaults album charts

Porcupine Tree: Steven Wilson, Colin Edwin, Gavin Harrison and Richard Barbieri

By Tim Masters
Entertainment correspondent, BBC News

Observant chart watchers may have noticed an unfamiliar - and unusual - name in the UK top 30 album chart this week.

Among a flurry of new entries from Peter Andre, Jay-Z, Pixie Lott and David Gray is an album by a band that has been around longer than any of them: Porcupine Tree.

Porcupine who?

If you see someone in the NME talk about progressive rock it's not immediately followed by a snigger.

Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree

Although largely unknown to mainstream audiences, the Grammy-nominated band's 10th studio album The Incident went straight in at number 23.

No mean feat considering The Incident is a 55-minute song cycle in 14 parts.

Along with Muse's entry straight into the number one slot, it's a combined assault on the charts by two bands who are often tagged "progressive rock".

"I have less on an issue with the word 'progressive' than I did even five years ago," says Steven Wilson, Porcupine Tree's founder and frontman.

"I think it's been legitimised again. If you see someone in the NME talk about progressive rock it's not immediately followed by a snigger."

Wilson is currently in the US where Porcupine Tree have just embarked on the first leg of a world tour which will see the them playing The Incident in full every night.

"It's not an easy piece to pull off live," says Wilson. "In the first 15 minutes I have five or six instrument changes. It's getting better. I'm sure by the time we hit Europe we'll be able to pull it off beautifully!"

Porcupine Tree started life as a creative project for Wilson in 1987 - in Hemel Hempstead.

It wasn't until 1993 that a full band was in place, including keyboardist Richard Barbieri - formerly of 80s art rockers Japan.

The current line-up of Porcupine Tree is completed by Gavin Harrison (drums) and Colin Edwin (bass).

Trojan horse

The album was inspired by the scene of a road accident

Prog rock, which grew out of 1960s psychedelia, was originally associated with 70s bands including Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and King Crimson.

It flourished again in the 80s with bands such as Marillion, and Porcupine Tree have helped carry it into the 21st Century.

"To see someone like Muse and Porcupine Tree cracking the top 25 together shows the huge shift in terms of where people see progressive music is coming from, and also how popular it is becoming," says Jerry Ewing, editor of Classic Rock Prog Magazine.

"Progressive music is such a broad category from Muse to Radiohead all the way across to Mastodon and Dream Theater," he says. "It's drawing in a whole younger audience which has never heard of Yes or Genesis, and they don't have the preconceptions that they used to have."

Wilson concurs: "It's no coincidence we are seeing bands like Muse, Porcupine Tree, Sigur Ros, Flaming Lips and The Mars Volta having top 30 albums, because I don't think ambition is a dirty word any more.

"Radiohead were the Trojan Horse in that respect. Here's a band that came from the indie rock tradition that snuck in under the radar when the journalists weren't looking and started making these absurdly ambitious and pretentious - and all the better for it - records.

"And Muse have very much consolidated that. They make records that Queen would blush at - and I totally applaud them for it."

Muse's Dom Howard told the BBC last week he'd always been a bit confused by the progressive rock tag.

"I associate it with 10-minute guitar solos, but I guess we kind of come into the category. A lot of bands are quite ambitious with their music, mixing lots of different styles - and when I see that I think it's great. I've noticed that kind of thing becoming a bit more mainstream."

Download culture

Porcupine Tree are playing The Incident in its entirety on their world tour

Porcupine Tree's new record - The Incident - was inspired when Wilson became caught in a traffic jam near the scene of a road accident. He noticed a sign saying "POLICE - INCIDENT" and was struck how such a "cold expression" was often applied to destructive and traumatic events.

The album (which includes four standalone songs on a separate CD) demands to be heard as a linear experience. Wilson compares it to reading a book or watching a film.

"My favourite period of music is the great album era, from Sgt Pepper through to punk rock," he says.

"That 10-year window is still the most inspirational. There was a tradition at that time of the album being elevated much higher than the individual song.

What's interesting now is that we are moving back to that tradition as a by-product of download culture."

And he had no fears about making such a conceptual piece with a 14-part suite.

"Our last record had an 18-minute track on it and people loved it," he says.

"The more self-indulgent we became, the more people liked it. It gave us this confidence to do something even more absurdly ambitious."

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So this is what a death trap looks like!

2009-09-16T11:44:00.001-05:00

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Interview: Porcupine Tree

2009-09-14T21:47:00.001-05:00

A nice little interview just in time for the release of The Incident.

More on: Porcupine Tree

Hemel Hempstead progressive rock dynamos Porcupine Tree are gearing up for the release their new double CD album 'The Incident' on 14th September, which showcases a mammoth 55 minute title track. We caught up with their mainman Steven Wilson to share a few words on the band and their new release.

For someone who hasn't heard of you, how would you describe your music and why should they listen to you?
Well if you like the idea of a movie as an adventure - or reading a novel from beginning to end and being taken on a emotional trip – or the idea a journey through different sounds, textures, atmospheres and feelings, that's what Porcupine Tree is all about. We don't write ten pop songs and throw them together – not that there's any problem with that idea, but that's not what we do. We're more interested in this idea of the musical journey, Our albums are like movies in that way, or a great novel, so you're expected to engage in the music in a way perhaps that is a bit of a lost art these days - to sit down and listen to the record from beginning to end.

How does 'The Incident' compare to your last album?
The last album, 'Fear Of A Blank Planet', was very much driven by the concept and its lyrics. It was very difficult to listen to that record without engaging in some the way with the ideas behind it, and I don't think that's true of this record - it's more about the music. Another difference is that it's conceived as a long song-cycle, so it is meant to be listened to from beginning to end in the way you'd read a book in that respects. But lyrically there's no narrative, no story to be told in that respect. The story is in the music.

Was this shift in your approach to lyrics and music a conscious change?
I think it was a bit more organic than that. It was simply that I didn't necessarily have anything that I wanted to write about on this record whereas I did on the last one. I came to the decision early on that I wanted to set myself a challenge and do something a bit different - I didn't want to make another record in the same style.

Are you worried this might alienate some fans?
I think if was worried about that then that's something a little creatively arresting. If you're always considering what your fans want, your record company want and what your manager wants, for me that's not the definition of a truly creative artist. An artist is someone in a way very selfish. I think all the great artists – painters, writers, film makers or musicians - one thing they have in common, or most of them anyway, is basically that they were very selfish about the way they made their art, and luckily, for whatever reason or not, they managed to connect to an audience.

So you create music for yourself?
Well I think the definition of all good art is that it is created purely to satisfy the person who created it - it's almost like holding up a mirror. And you can hold up the mirror to the rest of the world and say, well, do you see yourself in that too? So far in my career I've been fairly lucky in that enough people have recognised enough of themselves or seen enough that they like in that I do to respond to it, but I believe that's what all great artists do. Not that I'm a great artist, but that's what they do and I try to find that tradition.

Do you have any personal highlights on the new album?
I'm fed up with all of it at the moment. I've spent the last year of my life writing recording, mixing and mastering it so right now, although I'm very proud of it – I don't want to give the impression that I'm not – from a listening perspective it's very hard for me to be objective about it. I think it's the same with any musician or artist who has spent a long time working on something - you're almost too close to it to be objective about it.

Are there any specific influences that shone through on the album, or is it purely Porcupine Tree?
As you get older and further into your career, the most important influence does tend to become your own history in a way - the mistakes you've made and how you don't want to repeat them, wanting to continue evolve and develop as an artist. My major influences when I was growing up, which are still very much part of my DNA, was '70s - progressive music, art rock, kraut rock. It was a great era for albums, which lasted pretty much for about 10 years between say 'Sgt. Pepper' and the beginning of punk rock, so you have that window between '67 and '77 when everything became about making the album as an art form. Of course in the last 30 years we've had the return of the dominance of the three minute pop song and how you can sell yourself in a three minute video or song, but I still come from the tradition of people who think about the album as a musical journey, a musical adventure.

Have you ever come close to bowing to industry pressure and in turn compromising your sound?
Luckily, no. I think the reason is because I started off on a very small label that was specifically focussed on niche market music anyway, and the band proved itself on that level of being capable of attracting a fairly large audience, much bigger than anyone expected. So subsequently when we moved to major labels we were in a position to say look, this band already sell a lot of records, wouldn't you be really stupid to mess about with their sound, but hey, if you put more money into marketing then you could have a really big success here? Luckily most of the labels have taken that on board so we're in a very fortunate position where we deliver finished records to our record label and that's the first time they've ever heard them. At that point the label always have ideas about what's the single and the best way to market it but the important thing is that the music is made in a vacuum, in an uncompromised way.

Is it fair to say that in Porcupine Tree most of the money is made touring, not through sales of music?
Most bands do these days I think. When you look at the decline in commercial music and certainly selling albums through retail, then you have to expect that touring bands that can sustain a long touring career will make a lot more money from that. Going to see a live experience or live concert is not something you can download or digitise, so in that sense bands that have been able to sustain themselves through touring are probably in a much better position to ride the so called death of commercial music. And that certainly seems to be case with us. We do very well on an international level - we don't fill stadiums in any country, but we can pretty much go to any country and play to two, three, four thousand people. We're very fortunate to be in that position.

You play at a lot of big venues but in the mainstream you're largely unheard of. Does this bother you, or are you happy with it?
It's frustrating in a way not to have more mainstream recognition, but on the other hand mainstream recognition can be very fickle - you only have to look at the turnover of bands in the same mainstream, particularly in the UK press, to see that it's not always a great thing. Bands that were getting all the front covers in magazines five years ago have disappeared, likewise the bands of 10 years ago, or 15 years ago when we started. All the bands that were getting incredible accolades have all disappeared, stopped selling records and given up, so in that sense we've come in like a Trojan horse through the back door and gradually, piece by piece and mainly by word of mouth. Ultimately that seems to have been the best thing that could have happened for us in the sense that we don't have a fickle audience. People who have discovered our music have discovered it through word of mouth and that kind of thing and I think that means they're much less likely to lose interest in the band – it's as if they're part of an exclusive club. There are many bands like that over the years. Think of Grateful Dead in the USA, who had a massive following and were one of the biggest touring attractions in the world, yet mainstream media gave them virtually no attention whatsoever. They're part of that tradition, and it's something that seems to have given us more longevity than we might have had, let's put it that way.

Do you think 'The Incident' will push Porcupine Tree closer to the mainstream?
I do wonder. The history of the band shows that the more wilfully obscure and the more self indulgent we get, the better we seem to do. The last record was pretty indulgent, pretty angry and a dark conceptual album and it was our best selling album. And this album in many ways is even more uncompromising, so we'll see if that trend continues. There certainly seems to be more buzz about the band than ever before, which is very gratifying but again it's not through design.

I see similarities between Porcupine Tree and Dream Theater. [progressive metallers whose popularity has risen and risen despite having been around for 24 years]
There's another band that seems to be doing better than ever. I wonder if it's because a lot of the mainstream music scene is falling away a bit, and bands like us and Dream Theater are getting more attention because we are bands that can go out and play live, we are real musicians, it's not about the artifice, it's not about the image or the pop videos. It's about, in some ways, a very old fashioned model – we make an album and we tour, we make an album and we tour and we build up a fanbase that way. And it does seem to be a return to that model now, partly I think due to the impact of download culture, which again works very well for us.

Have you felt a first-hand impact of the internet generation then?
Absolutely. It's one of those things where if we hadn't had the Internet in the last 10 years - or longer, I think there were fansites dedicated to the band in the mid '90s – if we had not had those ways of reaching new people, in other words people actually sharing their love of the band by setting up websites and sharing files, then I don't think I’d be sitting here speaking to you today. During that whole time we had no radio play and no support from the media, so the internet has been a great help to us. But at the same time I have to recognise that it is partly responsible for changing peoples listening habits, perhaps not in a good way. iPods for me, in terms of quality and the experience, are never going to match up to a beautifully mastered CD or vinyl on a good stereo at home. So although I'm ambivalent about iPods in that respect, I also have to recognise that more people are listening to more music than ever before – they're not paying for it, but at least they're listening to it, and music is ultimately there to be shared with as many people as possible, so that's got to be a good thing.

Are you a musical perfectionist? You often release, for example, surround sound editions of the band's albums.
For me, a perfectionist is someone that's never happy, someone who will spend ten years making one record, and as you see I'm quite prolific - I release two or three ablums a year and have already released a solo album this year – so a perfectionist would never be able to maintain that degree of output. But what I am is someone who loves good sounding records. I'm very much an advocate for sonic quality in recorded music. I grew up loving great producers who could make beautiful sounding records that you could just lose yourself in, with all their textures and the atmosphere, and MP3s unfortunately render that in some ways a lost art - MP3s are a very nasty sonic standard. But as time goes on, I think what we'll see is MP3s disappearing. The need to compress audio will disappear because as internet speeds get faster and hard disk capacities get bigger and bigger, the need to compress audio files will disappear, so people will have full resolution files on their iPods instead of these little horrible compressed MP3s. So I think in time that quality issue will become probably irrelevant, and so people like me who really care about audio quality and sonic superiority will hopefully not have as much to get concerned about.

So do you see a distinct connection between your music and art, cinema, etc?
Well I've always had a strong affinity with cinema. I particularly like European cinema – I'm not so crazy about Hollywood films, but I love European cinema and the idea of a slightly more surreal approach to narrative. Hollywood films tend to be all very neat and the plot is carefully laid out and everything ties nicely up in the end, but I love the more surreal, almost being inspired by dreams and taking the listener, or viewer in the case of cinema, on an unexpected journey and into areas that they didn't expect to go to. I've always liked music like that - something a little unexpected. Generic music does nothing for me, I don't like music that sounds like other music, I'm always looking for something that sounds different to anything I've heard before so in that sense I've always looked at cinema in particular and some of my favourite directors to give me ideas and inspire me.

Is that reflected in your live shows and the band's visual back-drop?
The visual side is very important to us and always has been. When I'm writing the songs I'm always thinking in terms already of what's going to be on the screen and how can we present a visual interpretation of the song. I guess that comes from my love of the cinema. I've always felt sound and picture together is the strongest combination - stronger than either in their own right - so I guess it's the next logical step for me to try and move into soundtracks for movies or trying to write my own scripts, something which I've been doing recently.

Chris Cope

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Just saw some entitled douchebag do this. He was driving a Hummer with a cop's shield in the window. Figures! http://is.gd/3gKtb

2009-09-14T14:30:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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Altsounds.com Reviews | Porcupine Tree- The Incident

2009-09-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

via hangout.altsounds.com

Yet another glowing review for (to borrow from Frank Zappa) "the best band you never heard in your life."

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Are you a prog rocker?

2009-09-09T09:06:00.002-05:00

Interesting little piece, authored by one of the few types of women who like prog....a musician.

Are you a prog rocker?

September 8, 3:34 PMDetroit Counterculture ExaminerRaquel Salaysay

For the initiated, it came to be known as prog rock, or progressive rock, and was first brought into popularity by bands like King Crimson, Yes and Emerson Lake and Palmer in the late 1960's. Later, many subsets were dispersed throughout the musical cosmos, such as space rock, neo-classical, art rock and Kraut rock.

What elements tie together the many family members of prog? For one thing, a total disregard for popular song structure. Also, a combination of rock, classical music, folk, jazz and occasionally world music. You can also expect extreme dynamics - ugly to beautiful, chaotic to enchanting ballad, thunderous to a barely audible hush.

So who listens to this crazy stuff? Kerry Gluckman of Ferndale, Michigan for one. The drummer of space rock band THTX owns a huge collection of music, much of which is comprised of progressive rock in all its many forms. He says he was attracted to the sound of the recordings, particularly the organs. "Anything with a mellotron gets my vote - definitely makes my atoms vibrate. I'll never forget the first time I heard In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson). I was transported to another time and place." We discussed why it's not for everyone. "I think it takes too much effort for most people. It's music that demands your attention - the level of musicianship, weird time signatures, the amount of notes. Too much statistical density, to quote Zappa." So what does he get out of listening to progressive rock? "I need a certain quota of notes every day to keep my interest in music, and prog provides that for me."

He goes on to describe a typical prog rocker as 45 years or older, going bald but refusing to cut the mullet or pulling what's left into a pony tail, and still wearing a 1991 Yes tour shirt that's been washed multiple times. Nine times out of ten, they probably don't have a wife or girlfriend. "Women and prog rock are like oil and water. I observed this at the Near Fest a few years ago, where out of 2,000 people 5% were women." Not that it's unheard of for a chick to enjoy listening to Thick as a Brick, but it just doesn't happen too often. "Perhaps it's like math," he theorizes.

Think you're a prog rocker or might be interested in exploring their music? Here are some bands to get you started and thinking in 7/8:

Originators: King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull

Neo-classic: Emerson, Lake & Palmer, The Nice

Kraut rock: Can, Amon Duul 2

Art rock: Gong, Genesis

Euro prog: Magma, Univers Zero, Art Zoyd

Afraid? Don't be. You never know until you try, and you can always go back to the usual verse/chorus/verse/chorus song structure whenever you feel like it. As with all musical preferences, the choice is up to you.

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Porcupine Tree Cause An 'Incident' At Terminal 5 Sept. 24

2009-09-03T21:37:00.002-05:00

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) - It's not often that a band will play their new album from start to finish in concert, but that is exactly what British art-rockers Porcupine Tree will do with 'The Incident' when they arrive at New York's Terminal 5 September 24th.
"A compelling album that's diverse and full of drama" (Mojo), 'The Incident' showcases the band's many strengths: exquisite melodies, instrumental virtuosity, and richly detailed paeans to madness, lost youth, and redemption.
Following the album playback, they'll dip into their extensive catalogue for the second half of the show.
In concert, Porcupine Tree combine the volume and energy of Nine Inch Nails or TV on the Radio with the finely wrought melodic hooks of Radiohead. The Boston Herald praised their "unique gift for shifting sound dynamics [in] a mind-bending two-hour performance" at a recent show. With a devoted and diverse fan base, Porcupine Tree routinely sell out their U.S. theater tours.
Watch Porcupine Tree performing "Trains," their most-requested song, at the sold out Park West in Chicago here:
And watch the video for "Time Flies," the single from 'The Incident' here:
Porcupine Tree are Steven Wilson (guitar, vocals), Gavin Harrison (drums), Richard Barbieri (keyboards) and Colin Edwin (bass). John Wesley (guitar) joins the ensemble on tour.
Who: Porcupine Tree
What : The Incident album release show
When: September 24. Doors at 7, King's X at 8, Porcupine Tree at 9.
Where: Terminal 5 (610 w. 56th St. NY NY)
Tickets: $35/$40, http://www.terminal5nyc.com

via top40-charts.com

Three weeks from tonight!!

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I knew there was a reason I wish I had a tow package!

2009-08-31T15:48:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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Ran into a #TrueBlood cast member at a Shop Rite!

2009-08-24T15:11:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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Who needs a big house and a lawn to have statues?

2009-08-20T14:54:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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Looks like it's a trend!

2009-08-14T08:16:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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First jerkoff of the day!

2009-08-14T07:48:00.001-05:00

via PockeTwit

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Busted!

2009-08-07T12:33:00.002-05:00

This dickwad decided he was going to pretend he was a car and drove in the left lane of a very congested Rt. 78 in NJ. He didn't even acknowledge the cop for about a mile.

Finally, I got to witness a jackass getting pulled over.

Nice!

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Greased Lightbox

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Not even air is free!

2009-08-01T13:58:00.001-05:00

$0.75 for 3 minutes of air.

Mark
=====
Sent from my Blackjack II

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From the Desk of David Pogue - Take Back the Beep Campaign

2009-08-01T12:12:00.002-05:00

By DAVID POGUE

Published: July 30, 2009

Last week, in The Times and on my blog, I've been ranting about one particularly blatant money-grab by U.S. cellphone carriers: the mandatory 15-second voicemail instructions.

Suppose you call my cell to leave me a message. First you hear my own voice: "Hi, it's David Pogue. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you"--and THEN you hear a 15-second canned carrier message.

* Sprint: "[Phone number] is not available right now. Please leave a detailed message after the tone. When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press pound for more options."

* Verizon: "At the tone, please record your message. When you have finished recording, you may hang up, or press 1 for more options. To leave a callback number, press 5. (Beep)"

* AT&T: "To page this person, press five now. At the tone, please record your message. When you are finished, you may hang up, or press one for more options."

* T-Mobile: "Record your message after the tone. To send a numeric page, press five. When you are finished recording, hang up, or for delivery options, press pound."

(You hear a similar message when you call in to hear your own messages. "You. Have. 15. Messages. To listen to your messages, press 1." WHY ELSE WOULD I BE CALLING?)

I, the voicemailbox owner, cannot turn off this additional greeting message. You, the caller, can bypass it, but only if you know the secret keypress--and it's different for each carrier. So you'd have to know which cellphone carrier I use, and that of every person you'll ever call; in other words, this trick is no solution.

These messages are outrageous for two reasons. First, they waste your time. Good heavens: it's 2009. WE KNOW WHAT TO DO AT THE BEEP.

Do we really need to be told to hang up when we're finished!? Would anyone, ever, want to "send a numeric page?" Who still carries a pager, for heaven's sake? Or what about "leave a callback number?" We can SEE the callback number right on our phones!

Second, we're PAYING for these messages. These little 15-second waits add up--bigtime. If Verizon's 70 million customers leave or check messages twice a weekday, Verizon rakes in about $620 million a year. That's your money. And your time: three hours of your time a year, just sitting there listening to the same message over and over again every year.

In 2007, I spoke at an international cellular conference in Italy. The big buzzword was ARPU--Average Revenue Per User. The seminars all had titles like, "Maximizing ARPU In a Digital Age." And yes, several attendees (cell executives) admitted to me, point-blank, that the voicemail instructions exist primarily to make you use up airtime, thereby maximizing ARPU.

Right now, the carriers continue to enjoy their billion-dollar scam only because we're not organized enough to do anything about it. But it doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to sit there, waiting to leave your message, listening to a speech recorded by a third-grade teacher on Ambien.

Let's push back, and hard. We want those time-wasting, money-leaking messages eliminated, or at least made optional.

I asked my Twitter followers for help coming up with a war cry, a slogan, to identify this campaign. They came up with some good ones:

"Where's the Beep?"

"Let it Beep"

"We Know. Let's Go."

"Lose the Wait"

"My Voicemail, My Recording"

"Hell, no, we won't hold!"

My favorite, though, is the one that sounds like a call to action: "Take Back the Beep."

And here's how we're going to do it.

We're going to descend, en masse, on our carriers. Send them a complaint, politely but firmly. Together, we'll send them a LOT of complaints.

If enough of us make our unhappiness known, I'll bet they'll change.

I've told each of the four major carriers that they'll be hearing from us. They've told us where to send the messages:

* Verizon: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/FJncH.

* AT&T: Send e-mail to Mark Siegel, executive director of media relations: MS8460@att.com.

* Sprint: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/9CmrZ

* T-Mobile: Post a complaint here: http://bit.ly/2rKy0u

Three of the four carriers are just directing us to their general Web forums. Smells like a cop-out, I know. (As for AT&T: Props to the guy for letting me publish his e-mail address! Hope he knows what he's in for!)

Yet all four carriers promise that they'll read and consider our posts. And we have two things going for us.

First, I have a feeling that the volume of complaints will be too big for them to ignore. To that end, I hope you'll pass these instructions along, blog them, Twitter them, and spread the word. (Gizmodo, Consumerist and others have agreed to help out.) And I hope you'll take the time to complain yourself. Do it now, before you forget.

Second, we'll all be watching. I'll be reporting on the carriers' responses. If they ignore us, we'll shame them. If they respond, we'll celebrate them.

Either way, it's time to rise up. It's time for this crass, time-wasting money-grab to end for good.

via nytimes.com

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When will George Lucas stop fisting me...??? An open letter to all...

2009-07-26T14:53:00.002-05:00

Found this customer review for Star Wars BluRay on Amazon, and it's probably the best essay I've ever seen on an item. :-)

When will George Lucas stop fisting me...??? An open letter to all..., February 19, 2009

By	JONATHAN MANKUTA (Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews

All I want in life is one simple thing:
The original Star Wars trilogy as seen in it's original theatrical release, in the best possible format technology will allow: BLU-RAY. That's it.

That means:

1- Take the original three films (SW, Empire, Jedi), do NOT change the story at all...don't add in new footage, cut old footage, change any story elements...don't make Greedo shoot first, Luke scream, Yoda dress in drag, Threepio with a gold metal boner, Jawas dancing around a campfire as they cook s'mores, Wampa enhancements, CGI-ing a Colt-45 bottle into Lando's hand, putting Jabba's fat sister in the same sexy outfit as Slave Leia, or ANYTHING other than what folks actually saw in the theatres the first time the films were released...

2- Take as clean-image print of the original films you can find and transfer it over to 1080P.

3- Take the sound and adjust it over to as high-def a format as you can without adding anything new, altering anything, etc, just mix it to sound as good as your studios can possibly get it to sound in my home theatre...ah ah ah...George...I see you starting to add new Ewok songs...stop right there and just do as I say...

4- Now add an extra disk in each package for bonus features such as "making of" documentary, director and actor's commentary, special effects features, and all the other material we buy on dvds from bootleggers at Comic-Con because you don't release them officially...

5- Release them NOW...not when my great grandchildren are having great grandchildren...I know you plan to release a different variation of the original Star Wars trilogy every 2 years and STILL never want to give the fans what they actually want (see #1-4 above), and plan to use your special effects team to turn your aging human body into a cyborg-hybrid-clone so you can live for 200 years or more all while you pull the same cruel tease to your fans every 2 years...but just this once George...JUST...THIS...ONCE...remove your fist from my rectum (is my prostate okay?), and do the right thing...give the fans the ONE version of the trilogy that they want to buy...

...and if you do this for us, we'll cancel our plans for the geek-raid on Skywalker Ranch in Star Wars costumes that we have planned...and we're not going to bathe before the raid George...just imagine...500,000 pimple-faced-overweight-unbathed nerds walking around your property in stormtrooper armor and ewok suits...it'll be just like Comic-Con...

So please do the right thing for us just this once George...the fans will thank you, Amazon will thank you, and in one fell swoop, you'll be helping the nation's sagging economy with a sudden massive influx of consumer cash that will suddenly be spent...Obama will thank you too...

thanks,
JONATHAN MANKUTA (TV/Film actor, voiceover artist, producer, comic geek)

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Porcupine Tree - Meantime

2009-07-25T11:25:00.002-05:00

Just listened to this, and I gotta say that not only is it cheerful sounding (while actually being about as cheerful as Drown With Me), but it sounds nothing like Porcupine Tree. It's more of a Steven Wilson acoustic piece. I would have never been able to guess what sessions this was from.
That being said...I love it!

Porcupine Tree - Meantime

Deemed too cheerful by half to take its place on the otherwise dark In Absentia album, this track was later pitched (unsuccessfully) to film production companies. Written by SW, and recorded at Avatar Studios, New York during the IA album sessions.

This download is available as a FLAC download only.

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STEVEN WILSON (PORCUPINE TREE) TALKS ABOUT 'TIME FLIES' - Roadrunner Records UK

2009-07-20T21:43:00.002-05:00

PORCUPINE TREE are currently working on the first video from their upcoming album THE INCIDENT with director Lasse Hoile, which will be for the track Time Flies- the central part to the opening 55 minute track of the album.

In the video interview below, Steven fills us in on what 'Time Flies' is all about, the vibe in the studio during it's recording and what Lasse plans for the video.

Click on the player below to see the interview and head back here on JULY 31st to hear the track in the full, right here on Roadrunner UK.

Last week we revealed a 'sampler' of the first track off the album. If you missed that, head HERE to have a listen and read some first impressions of the album from the recent listening session in London.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO!

STREAM NEW PORCUPINE TREE, CHECK OUT FAN REVIEWS

2009-07-14T22:13:00.002-05:00

New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ RoadRunner Records) - You can now stream a medley of several songs from Porcupine Tree's upcoming album, The Incident, due out this September.

Recently, the band played the album to key media and some competition winners. We asked some of the attending competition winners if they would be willing to write up thier thoughts on the new record and they were only too happy to oblige.

Here are two of our favorite write-ups:

Just how do you describe a listening experience like that which I have been privy to? A musical movement that carries your emotions along through its monstrous highs and languid depths, one which captivates your from that first chord to the fading out of its last - some 55 minutes later, and one which you wish you could relive over again. Just how do you describe that to someone? Well, let's start by telling you just what that listening experience was... for those that have yet to guess, I'm of course referring to Porcupine Tree's latest opus, The Incident.

I can't attest to being a 'massive' prog fan. I own no Pink Floyd, and not much Genesis or Rush. But I hasten to point out that I do know good music when I hear it, and PT have ticked all those boxes for me in the past: awesome sonic soundscapes created with utter mastery of music and melody. When I heard on the grapevine that they were planning a 55 minute song I was excited, and couldn't wait to see how this was interpreted and realised in the final product... and yesterday, I had my chance.

To some, I'm sure the '55 minute running time' is a bit off-putting - just how can a song last that long? To a dedicated PT fan, this is a salivating proposition, but to a 'normal' music fan? 'Daunting' is the word I'd use. Let's set things straight here - this is no Catch 33 by Meshuggah (another epically long 'song' put out a couple of years ago). For me, that particular album dragged and a lot of the rhythms wore thin after a short while. Porcupine Tree have crafted an album that seems like it's over in an instant, but is massively Moorish - more-so than crack to a desperate junkie. What makes this passage of time so speedy is how the 'song cycle' (to quote Mr. Wilson) blends seamlessly and really does take the listener on an emotional journey. Ideas and themes re-emerge before giving way to the next inspirational idea. It really was a captivating listen that I wish I could replay, but sadly is one I cannot.

So, what can you expect? You've definitely got a PT album on your hands, and one which really explores the depths of what the band is, and it really does bring out the best in them. I would love to say of the 'Floyd' influences... but, as I've already attested to, I'm no 'Prog-maestro', so a comment such as that would be futile from myself. Essentially, if you're a PT fan you're going to simply love the exquisite production values (5.1 mix especially!) and the attention to detail you've come to love and adore from the band. I can honestly say that I've not heard an album that makes me sit up and think 'wow, this is special' for quite some time now, well, if we were to eradicate Mastodon's Crack The Skye from my memory anyway. But what for the non-PT fans, and the curious listener? If you appreciate music, whether from the current roster of 'rockstars' or from yesteryear, then there really is something here that demands your attention. Much like that first taste of love, you'll be back for more.

Just wait until you hear the haunting chanted chorus of 'Octane Twisted', or the mournful tale of loss in 'Time Flies'. Also, who'd have thought that a song about a motorway accident ('The Incident') could be so insightful and beautiful? And there-in lies the solution to my initial question: how do you describe what I've heard? Beautiful. It's a savage, raw and untamed beauty - much like the natural world that surrounds us: for every moment of peace and tranquillity, there is turmoil and upheaval. The listener truly is taken on a ride lyrically and musically, and invited into Steven Wilson's world for 55 minutes.

I, for one, just wish I was back there in that world. Lamentably I'll have to wait until mid-September to once again hear those blissful sounds when I pick up the album, and I suggest that you do the same.

~ AARON EVERITT

Occam's Razor is an instrumental that begins with alternating crashing and gentle acoustic guitars before moving into a cave-like space and calm before climbing out with spiral guitar riffing before leading straight into the vocals of The Blind House. This is a lovely clean song, beautifully produced again moving forward as if swimming and then again into some marvellous rhythms and riffs to finish. Great Expectations follows, which is a very short piece, very minimal with some beautiful guitar work. Already I was bowled over by the shear range of PT's music, so much contrast in what is essentially one track with many movements. Track 4, Kneel and Disconnect had a greater presence of keyboards and what sounded like a xylophone and to me had some real King Crimson overtones. This moved on to Drawing the Line which is probably the most different track of them all, it is difficult to put a finger on exactly why, especially after only one listen but suffice to say that it could really grow one me with time.

The Incident starts in a very similar vein to the material from Fear of a Blank Planet, PT's last album, with many whispers, spoken vocals, industrial tension and distorted vocals and guitars. I loved the way the last phrase is repeated over and over at the end of the track before moving into Your Unpleasant Family which despite the name has some very definite Beatles' influences. Steve really hits the high notes on this one. The Yellow Windows of the Evening Train is a really contrasting track which has overtones of Sigur Ros to start and then it slides into probably the definitive track of the album, Time Flies. This is clearly a nod to the music of Pink Floyd though still very much PT at heart. It reminded me a lot of the Album Animals with brilliant bass riffs and some superb guitar work. A real masterpiece!

The next two tracks, Degree Zero of Liberty and Octane Twisted, could not be more different to Time Flies. Much harder and riffy, a slight oriental feel from the former and very Opeth from the latter. That said as for all PT material the mixing is incredible and the contrast between the heavy industrial riffs and the quiet spaces is amazing. For me I think Octane Twisted is my second favourite of the album. Then before you can draw breath The Seance starts which in stark contrast takes one back almost to the time of Stupid Dream, before plunging back into Circle of Manias which has could be compared with some of the heavier material from the In Absentia album. The track stops abruptly moving into silence for a second or so before gentle vocals take us into the final and quite beautiful track, I Drive the Hearse. Colin plays a lovely fretless bass and the melody is not as sad as the title suggests. A fitting end to in my opinion is a brilliant album.

There is amazing contrast, light and shade but the production is incredible and everyone in the band is able to shine. My only worry will be how this will be played live as there will be a lot of equipment changes and Steve is going to need to keep his vocal chords in good working order.

After having only listened to this once, I know I am going to listen to it again and again and again. The only thing is that I am going to have to wait until September until that happens!!

~ EWAN KELLAR

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King Crimson 40th Anniversary Editions

2009-07-14T15:57:00.001-05:00

Looking forward to these!

http://www.dgmlive.com/news.htm?entry=2505

:: Posted by Sid Smith on Tue., Jul 14, 2009
Forty years ago this month King Crimson went onstage at Hyde Park London as part of a bill topped by The Rolling Stones. The concert propelled the band from being the “hottest new band in London” to “hottest new band in the UK” overnight.

This status was confirmed when their classic debut album In the Court of the Crimson King achieved a UK Top 5 chart placing upon release in October that year. Such chart success was quickly replicated elsewhere with the record entering the US top 30 and replacing The Beatles’ Abbey Road at the top of the Japanese International Artist chart by the end of the year.

To celebrate 40 years of the Crimson Kings, DGM & Panegyric proudly announce the release of a series of CD/DVD-A editions of the original King Crimson studio albums.

Each CD/DVD-A release features the full original album plus bonus tracks on the CD. Two of the titles – Lizard & In the Court of the Crimson King feature entirely new 2009 stereo album mixes by Steven Wilson & Robert Fripp.

The DVD-A presents each album fully remixed into stunning 5.1 Surround Sound with Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) in the producer role and King Crimson founder member Robert Fripp as executive producer.

The 5.1 mixes are accessible in full MLP lossless audio on DVD-A players & DTS 5.1 on standard DVD players/DVD Rom drives. Additionally, High Resolution stereo is also accessible on the DVD-A (24/96 DVD-A & 24/48 DVD/DVD Rom).

Selected DVD-A titles in the series will also feature era specific, rarely seen, King Crimson video footage. Each album is presented in a double Digipack, with booklet artwork featuring new sleeve notes by Robert Fripp and King Crimson biographer Sid Smith alongside archive material and photos, enclosed in an outer card slipcase.

The first three titles are set for release this year with further titles to follow throughout 2010:

Red: September 21st 2009
In the Court of the Crimson King: October 12th 2009 (various editions)
Lizard: October 26th 2009

Additional information about individual titles.

Red – (KCSP 7 CD/DVD-A) September 21st release.

The 1974 classic album that became an inspiration to a
generation of musicians.

CD: Features the original album plus three extra tracks, stunning pre-overdub trio versions of Red & Fallen Angel and the full version of Providence.

DVD-A: Features the original album in Hi-Res Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound editions, with the three additional tracks from the CD plus Journey to the Centre of the Cosmos also available in Hi-Res Stereo. The trio version of Fallen Angel and the full versions of Providence and Journey to the Centre of the Cosmos are also available in 5.1 Surround Sound.

Video footage: Rarely seen footage from French TV from 1974 featuring performances of Larks’ Tongues in Aspic II, The Night Watch, Lament & Starless

In The Court of the Crimson King – October 12th release – Available in three editions.

The seminal debut album; one of the most innovative
British rock albums of all time.

(KCSP 1 CD/DVD-A edition)

CD: Features entirely new 2009 stereo edition mixed from the original pre mix multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp, plus bonus tracks including early versions of I Talk to the Wind, the backing track for Epitaph and the session that produce the opening wind effect for 21st Century Schizoid Man.

DVD-A: Features the original album in 5.1 Surround Sound. The 2004 master edition & the 2009 new mix also appear in Hi-Res Stereo, along with several bonus tracks from the original recording sessions.
Video Footage: Newly re-sequenced archive footage of 21st Century Schizoid Man from the legendary Hyde Park concert.

(DGM 5009 2CD edition)

CD1: as per above.

CD2: Features the 2004 master edition plus bonus tracks including the Morgan studios instrumental recording of 21st Century Schizoid Man, the John Peel Top Gear recording of I Talk to the Wind (not previously released on CD) and a transfer of the original single a/b side of The Court of the Crimson King.

(KCCBX 1 4CD/DVD-A Boxed set – Limited edition.)
Full details to be arranged.

Lizard – October 26th release.

King Crimson’s third album, a jazz-rock tour de force.

(KCSP3 CD/DVD-A edition)

CD: Features entirely new 2009 stereo edition mixed from the original pre mix multi track tapes by Steven Wilson and Robert Fripp plus three bonus tracks: Lady of the Dancing Water (alternate take), Bolero (alternative version originally from Frame by Frame) and a studio run through of Cirkus from the original recording sessions.

DVD-A: Features the original album in 5.1 Surround Sound. The 2004 master edition and the 2009 new album mix also appear in Hi-Res Stereo, along with the three bonus tracks from the CD.

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The Incident audio preview

2009-07-13T22:18:00.004-05:00

From Porcupine Tree's home page:
07-13-2009

A medley of extracts from The Incident is now available to listen to on the Porcupine Tree myspace page, or the Roadrunner UK website (from 4PM UK today).

Written and recorded between September-May, "The Incident" is the tenth studio album by Porcupine Tree. Released worldwide by Roadrunner on 14th September (one week earlier than previously announced in order to coincide with the first tour dates), the album is a 2 disc set, the first disc containing the 55 minute title track / song cycle, and the second CD featuring 4 shorter pieces. There will be 3 editions of the album; a standard 2 CD set, a deluxe edition (contents to be confirmed), and a double vinyl version.

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Progressive metal band Riverside brings progski to the western world

2009-07-12T23:06:00.002-05:00

I've had a chance to hear the new album, and I think it is their best yet.
If you haven't checked out Riverside yet, this may be a good place to start.

July 12, 6:31 PM

Album cover for Riverside's "Anno Domini High Definition".

Vince Font
Salt Lake City Pop Culture Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/x-7870-Salt-Lake-City-Pop-Culture-Examiner~y2009m7d12-ADHD

"Progski" may not be a term that lots of people are familiar with, but if Polish progressive metal band Riverside has anything to say about it, that ignorance won't last long. And if the good word of mouth on their latest studio album "Anno Domini High Definition" (2009, Inside Out Music) continues to spread, it won't. The album (which, when shortened, gives us the acronym ADHD) is the band's fourth studio album and captures the band at a crucial crossroads.

Five years ago with the release of their self-titled EP, Riverside became the darlings of the prog music scene with their unique blend cathartic speed metal and melodic progressive rock. Their distinctive sound singled them out as the vanguards of a new and exciting wave of Polish progressive rock bands that gave birth to the slang term "progski". Having proven themselves to the converted with three studio albums, the band now stands poised to make a grab for a significantly wider international audience with their fourth. Usually that kind of pressure is enough to crush most bands, but instead Riverside has stepped boldly forward and delivered a powerful combination blow that's sure place "ADHD" on a lot of top ten lists for 2009.

Unlike previous Riverside releases, "Anno Domini High Definition" is 44:44 of heart stopping riffs and potent lyrical observations on modern life. The album is long on high energy, and short on the quieter, more subdued moments that were a staple of earlier Riverside releases, and one of the stylistic traits that set them apart from other prog/metal bands. But according to lead singer and bassist Mariusz Duda, the near-frenetic nature of the songs is intentional and gives insight into the album title's telling acronym: "It’s an album about people who know they need to speed up or they’ll get left behind. It's about chaos, constant race, uncertainty, stress, and the struggle to survive." Duda released a solo album in 2008 under the moniker Lunatic Soul.

"Anno Domini High Definition" was released June 15 in Europe, and has quickly become the top selling album in Poland above such musical atrocities as Eminem and Beyonce--and even above a band many Riverside fans cite as a heavy influence, Dream Theater. Other alleged influences range from Tool to Porcupine Tree, but in the end Riverside's crowning achievement is having forged their own unmistakable musical identity. Hopefully for this truly talented group of musicians, that distinct sound will play well with American audiences when the album is released to North America on July 28.

For more info: http://www.myspace.com/riversidepl

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