Category: Music

Thoughts and Prayers

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Ted Nugent has Covid.

Musician Ted Nugent has tested positive for coronavirus months after he said that the virus was “not a real pandemic”.

In his Christmas message shared on social media in December, Nugent called the worldwide crisis a “scammy pandemic” and said that people who wore masks were “sheep”.

On Monday (19 April), Nugent revealed on Facebook Live that he had caught Covid-19, admitting that “everybody” told him that he shouldn’t announce his diagnosis.

“I have had flu symptoms for the last 10 days and I thought I was dying, just a clusterf***,” he said.

“Today is the 19th of April 2021 during clusterf*** pandemic… I was tested positive today. I got the Chinese s***.”

Dumbass.

Your Eyes Will Bleed, and So Will Your Ears

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Wait for it, it takes about 30 seconds

Well, Robert Goulet must be spinning in his grave, because he has lost his crown for the, “Worst Rendition of an ‘To Anacreon in Heaven’ inspired song ever.”

By the teeth of the flying spaghetti monster, this is bad.

It makes Rosanne Barr’s version sound positively operatic.

On the other hand, it is a PERFECT metaphor for the incredible clusterf%$# that CPAC was this year.

Quote of the Day

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Today, we went to the Ruckus Festival, a 7 hour long mmusic festival with about a dozen bands.

One of the bands was there was Parallel Heights, which put on a fine show, but they had some technical issues.

Specifically, one of the band members, in addition to backup vocals, played ukelele, saxophone, and bagpipes.

There were some technical issues, with the clip on mic for the Sax not working, and the bagpipes had a similar problem, and so it was downed out by the other (amplified) music instruments.

On the way home were talking about the concert, and when we discussed Parallel Heights’ set, and Charlie said, “That’s the only time that I wished I could hear the bagpipes better.”

Heh.

Gets a Friday Music Post

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Epic!

It doesn’t get any cooler than playing Hendrix on a gayageum:

Korean artist Luna Lee takes modern songs and gives them a chill twist by playing them on a modified gayageum, an ancient Korean string instrument. On her fundraising page, Lee explains that she modernized the gayageum herself to play contemporary tunes.

We also recommend Luna’s versions of “Back in Black,” “Stairway to Heaven” and “Creep.”

This is awesome.

Don’t Call Him the 5th Beatle, He Hated That

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Legendary Beatles producer George Martin is dead at age 90:

George Martin, who produced much of the Beatles‘ classic catalog, has died. The cause of death has not yet been released. He was 90.

 Ringo Starr reported the news on Twitter. “God bless George Martin,” he wrote late Tuesday night. “Peace and love to Judy and his family, love Ringo and Barbara. George will be missed.” In another post, accompanied by a photo of Martin with the Beatles, Starr wrote, “Thank you for all your love and kindness.”

 Over the decades, many people have claimed to be the “fifth Beatle.” But the only person who can credibly hold that title was Martin. The producer not only signed the Beatles to their first record contract in 1962 but went on to work extensively with them on the vast majority of music they recorded over the next eight years, from “Love Me Do” to the majestic suite that wrapped up Abbey Road.

 ………

 One of the many remarkable things about Martin is that he managed to produce highly complex, layered pieces of music like Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band, using a mere four-track recorder. “I felt that was the album which turned the Beatles from being just an ordinary rock & roll group into being significant contributors to the history of artistic performance,” Martin wrote in his memoir. “It was the watershed which changed the recording art from something which will stand the test of time as a valid art form: sculpture in music, if you like.”

In 2011, Martin looked back fondly on his time with the Beatles. “I think they’re so damn good they’ll be with us for generations, into the middle of the next century,” he said. “They’re just great musicians and great writers, like Gershwin or Rodgers and Hammerstein. They are there in history, and the Beatles are there in history, too. They’ll be there in 100 years, too. But I won’t be.”

Also, read Paul McCartney’s tribute to Martin.

Charlie Played the Lead in Little Shop of Horrors Tonight

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He played Seymour Krelborn.

He did a very good job, and his portrayal was remarkably dark, at least as compared to my recollections of the original Broadway show that I saw many decades ago.

He mentioned to me that he was channeling his middle school experiences, and I saw that.

He and Natalie clearly got their singing voices from my mom, because neither my wife or I can carry a tune.

It Ain’t just the Caucuses that are F%$#ed up In Iowa

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There is a bill being mooted in the Iowa Senate proposing that Stanford University be published because their marching band is too mean.

There is something seriously wrong here, even without the whole “Bill of Attainder” thing:

………

 Stanford’s football team defeated the University of Iowa 45-16 in the game. In addition, the Stanford band, which has a history of irreverent performances, poked fun during the halftime show with a dancing cow, a frowning farmer formation and other tongue-in-cheek gestures that upset some Iowans. ESPN, which televised the game, cut away from the band’s performance. State Sen. Mark Chelgren, R-Ottumwa, told The Des Moines Register at the Iowa Capitol on Wednesday that he introduced Senate File 2081 because he believes Stanford officials have condoned improper behavior by the marching band. “I think it’s unfortunate because here in Iowa we try to teach sportsmanship,” Chelgren said. “We try to teach courtesy, and when someone behaves in a way that is contrary to that, we need to point it out.”

 Good thing we can all ignore Iowa again until the 2018 state fair.

Seriously, what the actual f%$#?

My Thoughts Following David Bowie’s Death

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Live Version

I never bought any of his albums or singles, but my favorite song of his is Putting out a Fire from the 1982 movie Cat People.

I saw it, but was not particularly impressed. I preferred the original 1942 movie, which is widely viewed as a classic.

Most of my experiences with Bowie as an artist were as an actor.

I saw him in the 1976 film, The Man Who Fell to Earth, which was a his cinematic debut, and quite literally the worst cinematic experience in my life.

It was boring, pretentious, confusing, ponderous, and dull.

Looking back, I am left the question, “How the f%$# can you cast David Bowie as an alien, and completely f%$# it up?”

By the same token he was also in one of my favorite films, the Tony Scott’s criminally unappreciated The Hunger, a stylish film starring Bowie, Susan Sarandon, and Catherine Deneuve.

It is a stylish vampire film that eschews many of the cliches, and it is unbelievably hot. (Watch it)

Of Labyrinth, one of Jim Henson’s few fizzles, the less said the better.

I do see a parallel between his music career and his theatrical career, in that he never seemed to settle on a personae.

Both in music and in film, he was a sort of character actor, where he reveled in changing who he was in public.

Any of the music and cinema buffs out there, feel free to tell me that I am full of it.

One Less Reason to Go to Cleveland

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I no longer have the slightest desire to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

It used to be that the Grammys came up with the most irresponsible assessment of popular music, overlooking important artists during their best years (and sometimes apologizing with belated lifetime achievement awards). Recently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has surpassed the Grammys dubious track record, and this year brings the group to what may be a new low. The Hall’s new slate involves turning down several worthy nominees for the sake of inducting Steve Miller, Deep Purple, and Chicago. If these are the bands most suitable for honoring, the hall should just fold itself up and go home.

I want to have nothing to do with any organization that has the Steve Miller Band as a member.

Hard Core Badass!

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Charlie, my son, and section leaders for the percussion section, was practicing in band for this Thursday’s concert.

He was playing the bongos, and there was an incident.

I got the following texts:

I pulled a Pete Townshend.

………

 I was playing the bongo part when I looked down and saw pink on one of the heads. I played too hard and the skin came off one of my knuckles.

I replied:

Thank God you didn’t pull a Keith Moon.

 We would have to pay to rebuild the f%$#ing stage.

No worries, ‘Tis but a scratch.

He’s still good for the concert.

Deep Thought

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It can be annoying to have an ear worm, (a song that you cannot get out of your head) even when you like the song.

When the song in question is Peaches’ F&$@ the Pain Away, and you have to be sure that you are not absent mindedly singing the lyrics at work, it gets positively aggravating.

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