GenX13: Nirvana

Showing posts with label Nirvana. Show all posts

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (10/20/13)

Most of the activities for the week happened earlier. Caleb had baseball on Thursday (a win) and on Saturday morning (a close lose). Christian played a great game at QB on Thursday night but the defense couldn't hold the other team and it was a 36-21 loss. So Saturday was mostly free and today doesn't look too bad. Might head to the aquarium with Caleb today but for sure there's a workout ahead and maybe the Cowboys. Week ahead looks similar to last. I'm looking at some menus for lunch ideas and listening to some tuneage . . .

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

NIRVANA - BREED. It's 1991 and I've purchased "Nevermind" on CD. This was the song of the first five that I would usually skip. I never really appreciated this tune for years. It was about 6 years later when I'd actually listen to the whole album all the way through that I learned to appreciate many of the "non-singles" on the album. Today - this and "Polly" are ones that I love to go to - especially live versions on YouTube.

ZERO 7 - THIS WORLD. With so many great songs on the Simple Things album from 2001, this is on the bottom half of my favorites. But that's not necessarily a bad thing because the album is full of so many great tunes. The Mozez vocals are great here. It's not the quality of the Sia vocals but it's still awesome. Appreciating it more today - the live versions are a little better even.

J. GEILS - I DO. This live 1983 hit off the last "real" J. Geils Band album was a cover of a 1960s song by The Marvelows. I don't know many of their other songs. But this cover was extraordinary. It's a break from the horn based rock-funk that was coming out of J Geils at the time. This throwback to their influences is awesome. I've forgotten how much I loved this in the Winter of Sophomore year in High School.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . .

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . Stanley Kauffmann was a very interesting film critic. He was part of the old school reviewers that I like that have a solid background in how films are made . . . Phil Chevron was a guitarist of the very influential Irish punkers - The Pogues. His work is not given the due it deserves. . . Tom Foley was a long term but relatively unremarkable Speaker of the House in the early 90s. Oddly while Speaker he failed to win reelection . . . I loved coach Bum Philips when I was younger as the head coach of the Houston Oilers. Can you imagine a coach today wearing a cowboy hat while coaching? Unique and quite the character. . . I could go on about Lou Scheimer - I've seen him at least four times at Comic Con. He told some great stories of shows of my youth. The Filmation pedigree is amazing - He-Man, Isis, Fat Albert, Groovie Goolies, etc. He's one of the old school guys with amazing stories that will be missed greatly . . . you don't know Ed Lauter's name but you'd recognize his face - a role in Hitchcock's FAMILY PLOT and as an astronaut in "X-Files" episode "Space" among a hundred other appearances . . . Hans Riegel was the owner of Haribo and the son of the man who invented the gummy bear . . . Vixen guitarist, Jan Keuhnemund passed away last week. . . Kumar Pallana may be most famous around here for owning the awesome Cosmic Cafe in Dallas but you know him from the Wes Anderson films - BOTTLE ROCKET (as Kumar), RUSHMORE, ROYAL TENENBAUMS and DARJEELING LIMITED . . . Cal Smith was a fun old-time Country artist singing "Country Bumpkin" and "The Lord Knows I'm Drinking" . . .

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST XM CHANNELS

10. LITHIUM (Ch. 34) A big dose of 90s alt rock - Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Bush, etc. They don't go as deep into the catalog as I'd like but it's a nice flashback to the era.
9. HOWARD 100 (Ch.100) The King of All Media has fallen off the radar by leaving Terrestrial Radio but I find that I miss his more serious interviews with actors and music artists.
8. WILLIE'S ROADHOUSE (Ch. 56) It's Country the way I miss real Country. Just the other day - Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Patsy Cline all in a row.
7. CLASSIC VINYL (Ch. 26) You've got the usual Classic Rock artists like Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who. But they go a bit deeper than the FM Classic Rock channels with some T-Rex, Van Morrison deep tracks and Traffic.
6. ON BROADWAY (Ch. 28) Just the perfect blend of classic songs I know from movies and stage shows I love from the 50s, 60s and 70s (Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, etc) and some new ones for me to learn. Guilty pleasure.
5. THE BLEND (Ch.16). Elton John, Phil Collins, Bryan Adams. This is a channel that you can go to and usually find a great sing-along song.
4. THE LOFT (Ch. 30) I would normally think that The Coffeehouse would be in this spot but The Loft has a much better eclectic mix. You get Dylan, The Band, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Norah Jones.
3. 80S ON 8 (Ch. 8) You'll have to fight through some crappy pop hits but for the most part you're going to get the good stuff like Duran Duran, Hall & Oates and Pat Benatar. It's worth it for every Taylor Dayne you sit through.
2. BACKSPIN (Ch. 46) Old school rap that never disappoints. There are some deep cuts here that bring back some great memories. Lords Of the Underground, Tribe, 2Pac and more just in one trip to work. Tune in for the Ed Lover show.
1. 1ST WAVE (Ch. 33) I would pay for the service just to get this channel. It's the best songs of the early 80s. They've yet to play a song I don't know and yet to play a song I don't like. There are shows hosted by Richard Blade and the Swedish Egil. Dark Wave on Sunday nights is worth taking a ride in the car - Bauhaus, Joy Division and The Cure.

Been living with XM Radio for a couple weeks including a road trip to Austin. There are still a few channels I need to sample more - Grateful Dead Radio, Pearl Jam Radio, Sirius XMU and all the Talk channels. The worst so far? Other than the Christian channels I don't imagine listening to - HAIR NATION is one that will tire you out in a minute - Kix, Ratt, Skid Row, etc. and FACTION is supposed to be this station with a mix of X-Games related artists that should be good with multiple genres but just doesn't deliver the right mix of Sublime, Green Day and 2Pac.

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . I love docs and writers - SALINGER combines my loves with a bunch of interviews from people who know the elusive author . . . MOVIE 43 intrigued me from the trailers and then got compared to KENTUCKY FRIED MOVIE, so I'm on board to check it out . . . AIN'T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: LEVON HELM was a key member of The Band and this doc covers his breakdowns and troubles after the breakup of the band. . .

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#5 The Birds (pretty high for this Hitchcock flick but still awesome)
#634 Commando
#1292 Blade

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE - I'll spend the rest of the year updating some of the smaller projects I don't get to much. The CASTLE project. I caught up just before last season started. I've been caught up and a vocal person against many of the formulaic episodes last season. This season has started with some better plots. I didn't like Becket being in DC but (spoiler alert) - that's been taken care of. I've even considered reading the tie-in books. All that being said - the concept of the outsider working with the police department to solve crimes is currently being done much better by ELEMENTARY. For the first time, I'm watching ELEMENTARY before I watch that week's CASTLE.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#23 U2 - Unforgettable Fire (1984)

I feel like this 1984 is a largely forgotten album for these Irish boys. Bringing on Eno as a producer was a great move because it moved them away from being the next big Rock group into being something completely new. He added a touch that he brought to the Talking Heads - this album really pushed their boundaries. This is a group that had a style and depth that wasn't happening in 1984. I was in love with this album from the very first listen. The subtle beauty of "A Sort of Homecoming" showed that this band had found a soul in the last couple years since "War". "Pride" is the anthem of the album but "The Unforgettable Fire" is probably one of my Top Three U2 songs. This album has remained one of the few albums that demands a listen from beginning to end. There are ten songs and not a weak moment in the bunch.

A Sort of Homecoming

The Unforgettable Fire

4th Of July

Previous Rankings

#24 - Radiohead - Kid A (2000)

#25 - Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (1968)

#26 - Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks (1975)

#27 - Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)

#28 - The Clash - London Calling (1979)

#29 - Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY
CASTLE (ABC) Finding it's way into my heart again. This week has a Doctor Who-like character saying he's a time traveller back to change history.

INDEPENDENT LENS: THE WAITING ROOM (PBS) Doc on the crazy ER room in Oakland where the wait time can be as long as 14 hours. With Oakland-type injuries too!!!

TUESDAY
AMERICAN DAREDEVIL (HIST) Spanky Spangler is a stuntman and this doc series follows him training his son to take over for him. Great name, Spanky.

RAVENSWOOD (ABC FAM) Dee is a huge fan of PLL but she's even a little skeptical of this spinoff. It seems to be aimed a little more at the "horror" angle of shows like "Grimm", "Sleepy Hollow" and "Once Upon a Time". You can tell that they want to aim at "fans of Buffy" too.

WEDNESDAY
ARROW (CW) Planning on catching up with this current season today. I rewatched a couple episodes from last season and I'm ready to get onboard with this new season - I found last year that it plays well at 2-3 episodes at a time.

CSI (CBS) I haven't watched in a few years but Marg Helgenberg returns for the 300th episode. I never would have guessed in those early seasons that it would last this long. It's pretty formulaic but it manages to hook audiences in still - I grew tired of the similar mysteries (looking at you "Castle") but I do see the appeal in general.

THURSDAY
THE HOUSE OF WAX / THE MAD MAGICIAN (TCM) Two classic Vincent Price horror films to get you in the mood for the holiday.

THE MICHAEL J. FOX SHOW (NBC) I like Michael and I like Betsy Brandt from "Breaking Bad" but I watched a few moments of this last week and it's not anything I'd like to watch on a regular basis.

FRIDAY
THE CARRIE DIARIES (CW) This show is still on? And the new season is premiering? I probably should go back and review my initial comments - I might have to eat a shoe or something.

A BUCKET OF BLOOD (TCM) One of Roger Corman's best combinations of horror and comedy. Dick Miller is brilliantly cast as the sculptor - I won't give away anything else if you haven't see it before.

SATURDAY
BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (TCM) I make a point to watch this 1935 sequel at least once a year - usually on my disc but I'd watch it here on TCM equally well too.

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS (PBS) Vampire Weekend and Grizzly Bear perform.

SUNDAY
AMERICAN BLACKOUT (NAT GEO) This is a show about the real "Revolution". What if there was a real blackout across the States. The show combines real life footage from Hurricane Sandy and computer generated effects. If this was History Channel it would be cheesy, but somehow on Nat Geo it turns out very cool.

WORLD SERIES GAME 4 (FOX) Or as I am calling it - Anybody But The Cardinals . . .

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . . Shasta beverages just don't taste as good as you remember but the ads . . . well, they haven't aged that well either . . .

This Bank of America commercial seems to take a cue from the beginning of UP! but it's just a fun collection of family portraits and it gets to me . . .

Another Bank of America because Benny is a huge fun doggy . . .

"If I could you know I would

If I could, I would let it go, this desperation, dislocation

Separation, condemnation, revelation

In temptation, isolation, desolation." - U2

Wide awake, I'm not sleeping. Stay hard.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sunday Morning Tuneage & Weekly TV (3/31/13)

A great Friday for family time. Celebrated Christian's 17th birthday by taking him and my Dad to Cowboy Stadium to see Michigan. Turned out to be an awesome game too. A very special day. The rest of the week was a little bit of a dud for kids activities - Caleb had rainouts for baseball and soccer. Christian had a couple baseball games that I wasn't able to watch. We pick up tickets to go see the Michigan game this afternoon - so, it's going to be another trip to Arlington in just a little bit. Easter dinner will have to wait until later in the evening. Gotta leave in just a little bit. Until then just sitting here talking to Miles and listening to some tuneage . . .

SUNDAY MORNING TUNEAGE

THE POLICE - KING OF PAIN. I've never made bones about my love of 1983. And if I had the chance to time machine back to that year, I'd set the controls to late August and early September of that year. If you hop out of that machine with me and turn on the radio - you'll definitely hear this song. If you check in on me, in my room, when I just get home from school - I'll be on my phone, in my chair and this album will be playing. Every song on this album takes me back to a special place. Sting sings it best like here when he's singing about the pain of love . . .

AL JARREAU - TROUBLE IN PARADISE. This 1983 single is off the "Jarreau" album. It didn't get lots of radio play but it was one of the songs off the album that I played the most. Even as a youngster I loved the Soul song that talks about the moment in a relationship when you have to declare that love or lose it. Such a raw moment and he talks about the rewards of it . . . "Well, if you care about her / Don't ever doubt her love / Would you turn around and throw it all away? / Just let her know today."

NIRVANA - COME AS YOU ARE. A nice little Nirvana song this morning. I was in the mood for a couple of the other tunes but the guitar work here really makes me feel good this morning. In 1992, this was the single that proved to everyone that Nirvana wasn't just going to be a one "Smells Like Teen Spirit" hit wonder. This song and "Lithium" that followed were much more interesting musically than "Smells". This song defines much of what I think Grunge was at the time - it's got all the 1980s punk influences and that guitar solo at the beginning has the slow, underwater feel that I imagine was the sound Kurt was looking to capture.

SOMETHING RANDOM . . . first is the trailer for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who . . .

And speaking of traveling in time . . . here's the trailer for the fine George Pal's TIME MACHINE . . .

DEADLIGHTS OF 2013. . . Don Payne was one of the better writers for "The Simpsons" and always hilarious at Comic Con on the Simpsons panels. He had some non-TV writing credits including as a co-writer on THOR . . . Richard Griffiths was best known as Uncle Vernon Dursley in the HARRY POTTER series but he also had memorable roles in Uncle Monty in WITHNAIL & I and King George in PIRATES OF CARIBBEAN.

QUICK LIST (a random, uninformed list off the top of Shawn's head)

BEST SPORTS STREAKS EVER

10. OREL HERSHISER'S SCORELESS INNING STREAK. I had just moved to Los Angeles in time to see Orel throw 59.1 scoreless innings. That's just crazy talk these days. When anyone gets to 30 these days it's worth an hour on SportsCenter.

9. TAMPA BAY BUCCANEER'S LOSING STREAK. You thought the Lions were bad a few years ago? They barely tip the scales - Tampa Bay lost 26 straight games in 1976 and 1977.

8. BYRON NELSON'S WINNING STREAK. I remember how impressed I was when Tiger won 7 tournaments in a row in 2006-2007. He was a month of victories away from winning the 11 in a row that Byron did in 1945. I don't follow golf as close as other sports but I respect how hard this would be.

7. MARTINA NAVRATILOVA'S WINNING STREAK. Women do usually have longer winning streaks in tennis. But Martina's run of 74 straight in 1984 is incredible. No off days on the court - even in Majors. Borg won 49 in a row - he was only 2/3rd of the way to this record.

6. OKLAHOMA'S WINNING STREAK. It's amazing enough that the University of Oklahoma won 47 straight games. But I wonder how between 1953 and 1957 did they ONLY win 2 National Championships. Two sets of players went from their Freshman year through their Senior season without seeing a loss.

5. CAL RIPKEN'S CONSECUTIVE GAME STREAK. Maybe I should be more impressed with this. It built up from my childhood through my adulthood and until I had kids. He took an unbeatable record and pushed past it by 25%. 2632 games is impressive by any standard - I work just about every day but sometimes you have bad Taco Casa and can't make it in. Never happened to Cal.

4. UCLA WINNING STREAK. Just consider how long it has been since a college team went undefeated in one season? And UCLA went 88-0, including TWO undefeated seasons in a row. John Wooden had a magic touch - that doesn't happen by accident - even with great players.

3. BOSTON CELTICS CHAMPIONSHIP STREAK. From 1959 to 1966 the Celtics won 8 straight championships. Had he not "retired", maybe Jordan could have pushed this record. But consider how many breaks it took for him to win two sets of three championships. I can't fathom the luck of this happening today - no injuries or free agents to mess up the run? Not in my lifetime.

2. WAYNE GRETZKY'S SCORING STREAK. Hockey is a game that will throw out some 2-1 and 1-0 games every week or so. So, how did Gretzky score in 51 straight games to start the 1983-84 season? That's over half of the season with a goal or an assist. I saw it happen and still can't even tell you how. Amazing.

1. JOE DIMAGGIO'S HITTING STREAK. Baseball is hard. Hitting is hard. In 1941, he got a hit in 56 straight games. How hard is it? The next closest since then is Pete Rose with 44 straight. I can't imagine ever seeing any current Major Leaguer even getting to 45 and then thinking at that point that you still have two weeks to go. Two months of a hit every night? Not happening.

I started thinking of streaks when I heard the Ray Stevens song . . . well, maybe too as I followed the Miami Heat win streak last week. I'm rarely impressed with team winning streaks in the middle of a season until they become half the season or more. Also, I didn't put lots of losing streaks in there although it seems like professional teams would win accidentally ever so often. The least impressive streaks that get mention as the best? I hate to say it but I'm not as impressed as I should be with Federer's 23 straight appearances in Grand Slam semi-finals. The number is impressive but he really just lived up to expectations since he was so obviously one of the best 4 players for that time period. The Cleveland Cavaliers lost 26 games in a row a couple seasons ago after Lebron left. But who was there? It wasn't even a good college team at that point. BTW - not sorry to see the Heat lose to the Bulls . . .

NETFLIX PLAY NOW OF THE WEEK . . . not many good new additions to the lists, so it's a good week to catch up with some "classics" - PRETTY IN PINK, BIG FISH and TREMORS will all fit that bill.

Shawn's fave movies according to FLICKCHART

#99 - Raging Bull
#158 - The Jungle Book
#221 - The Sandlot

RANDOM PROJECT UPDATE - The DOCTOR WHO project. Without new episodes, I've been really lacking on my Doctor Who watching in this new year. The new episode aired last night and in anticipation, I started back up on my trip through the 2nd Doctor. Just finished up an fun story "The Abominable Snowman" and getting ready to start a series that reflects on current events - "The Ice Warriors". I love Troughton as the Doctor and I'm finding Jamie and Victoria to be a great combination as companions and probably the model for the companions to come.

SHAWN'S TOP ALBUMS OF ALL-TIME (a tribute to the art of the album)

#42 Prince - 1999 (1982)

It was Prince's 5th time around the block with a new album. And I was finally ready to be on top of one from the very beginning. I had just picked up on "Controversy" when this album was released in the Fall of 1982. By the Spring, I know that both myself and my neighbor had a copy because when I wasn't playing it, I could hear it coming from his house. It's fun. Pure funk fun. The first side is the "singles" - 1999, Little Red Corvette and Delirious. But you are missing out if you don't listen to the other three sides. The rest of the songs are funk workouts like he rarely does anymore. The dirty imagery of "Let's Pretend We're Married" and "Automatic" are seriously fun. But it's the mixture of clever lyrics and song writing of "Lady Cab Driver" and "DMSR". This albums has such a huge number of memories tied to every song for me. Like every one of these albums in the Top 50 - there is still lots to love with this album. It's also a sound that just doesn't exist in this state anymore. Put it on and take a trip back. You'll see what I mean.

You have to be creative to find Prince videos around the Internet - let's see if this works.

Lady Cab Driver

Let's Pretend We're Married

DMSR

Previous Rankings

#43 - James Brown - The Payback (1973)

#44 - Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970)#45 - The B-52's - The B-52's (1979)

#46 - Pink Floyd - The Wall (1979)
#47 - Billy Joel - The Stranger (1977)

THIS WEEK IN TELEVISION

MONDAY

CASTLE (ABC) A year ago I hadn't even watched an episode. Turns out that since June I've watched 99 episodes, since tonight is #100. It's been a pretty mediocre season but I'm sticking with it for some reason. Keeping up the hope. This one looks pretty decent with a REAR WINDOW tribute and the season is about over anyways.

KRISTEN SCHAAL: LIVE AT THE FILMORE (COMEDY) I think she's pretty funny on "The Daily Show". This live show might be worth the effort.

TUESDAY
JUSTIFIED (FX) Well, another season has passed of a show that I know I'll love when I get around to watching. Season Finale and I have no spoilers for the show yet. Unheard of.

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and COOL HAND LUKE (TCM) What a Tuesday night double feature!!! Hitchcock and Paul Newman!!! Why would you even want to go out.

WEDNESDAY
BEST INK (OXYGEN) We need more tattoo shows. Seriously. I'm continually fascinated by them.

SPIES OF WARSAW (BBC) David Tennant is a spy in Poland just before World War II. I've missed him so much and this looks really good. I could just watch this station pretty much seven days a week.

THURSDAY
HANNIBAL (NBC) Oddly, maybe it's because it's NBC or because it has the most mild trailer of all-time, but I really don't have any desire to watch this SILENCE OF THE LAMBS prequel. Putting it on network TV seems to be the start of the bad idea.

ELEMENTARY (CBS) The show has lost a little momentum since the Super Bowl episode (which was a high point, really). But this robbery of a huge bank during a blizzard looks good.

FRIDAY
A WOMAN'S WORLD: THE DEFINING ERA OF WOMEN IN FILM (TCM) All of April is for the best women in film. This documentary is the appetizer for the whole month long meal of femme films.

MILDRED PIERCE (TCM) What a great film to start out the month. Joan Crawford is at her best in this one as a woman that got rich and then has family troubles.

SATURDAY
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (NBC) Haven't seen an episode in a few years and this probably won't change but I do like Melissa McCarthy and I have little idea who Phoenix is.

NCAA MENS BASKETBALL (CBS) It's the Final Four games to see who will play in the Final game on Monday night. These are typically pretty good games. But judging from the first weekend - none of them will have been in my original bracket picks.

SUNDAY
MAD MEN (AMC) Dang. Thought I would have caught up by now. Started this show in what 2010? Watched all but the last episode of the 1st season and then . . . well, stalled. Now that I'm doing "Breaking Bad" and "Dexter", this one has to be on hold still.

SPELLBOUND (TCM) With only "Game of Thrones" going on over on HBO and no "Amazing Race" tonight, you best take a break and tune in to one of the better Hitchcock films with a true strong female lead in Ingrid Bergman.

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR . . . These AT&T commercials are simple and they've been cracking me up - especially since the NCAA tourney has started. The recent one with Celtic and Lakers makes me laugh . . .