Two weeks left to vote in the "Insanity Poll!"

We've got several votes so far...but with less than two weeks left, we need several more!  If you haven't voted already, please do so in the margin to the right and let us know what you think.

Rush has beer named after them...NOT KIDDING.

Hey. Don't ask me how I find out about this stuff.

The Flat Earth Brewing Company out of Minnesota has their dark porter beer in tribute to Rush, and has named it the Cygnus X-1, after the last track from their 1977 prog masterpiece A Farewell to Kings.

It doesn't end there.

Apparently there's a beer tasting on the brewery calendar that involves a half dozen or so versions of beers named after Rush-isms.

Engine room, where is my drink.

See the site rushisaband.com for details:

Earlier this year I'd mentioned the Flat Earth Brewing Company in Saint Paul Minnesota because they feature a Cyngnus-X1 Porter as a tribute to their favorite band - Rush. For the month of December, they are holding their Porterfest event at the brewery and featuring several additional infused versions of the their Rush inspired Porter. Here's the calendar along with the featured brews:

* 12/4 - Hold Your Fire Porter - Spice & Ancho Pepper infused Porter
* 12/11 - Mystic Rhythms Porter - Raspberry infused Porter
* 12/18 - Freewill Porter - Vanilla infused Porter
* 12/23 - Snow Dog Porter - Peppermint infused Porter
* 12/31 - Big Money Porter - Wood aged Porter

ISSUES FOR IDIOTS -- Absorbing the concept of the toy instrument cover tune

It was bound to happen eventually...and now it's here. It's musicians on toy instruments covering some of the most complex passages in the rock catalog.

Interestingly enough, it actually works in the case of the band PLASTICA.

Here's a worthy cover of Rush's "YYZ." You can find others they cover, such as Metallica's "Master of Puppets," in which they have conveniently modified the title to "Master of Pop-tarts." Enjoy, if you dare!

The Gene Simmons Roast

One of the more amusing and entertaining television programs recently has been the Gene Simmons Family Jewels. Had I not found The Osbournes to be amusing a few years back, I probably wouldn't have watched this.

I'm not much of a TV person, let alone reality TV, but for some reason the reality rock 'n' roll family shows strike a chord. The Simmons program is better than the Osbournes, mainly because of his son, who comes up with some of the funniest stuff imaginable. It looks like he has a brilliant future ahead of him.

Here's a clip from a roast Simmons' wife put on for him, along with a dozen comedians to poke fun at him. It's a special 1.5 hour episode, I think showing on A&E. This is the clip with Cher and Diana Ross entering the room.

There's all sorts of interesting stuff at this roast: the comedians get weirded out by Simmons' kids being in the audience, Steve-O gets tossed before the show even begins, Carrot Top looks like he's out of control with the steroids. He looks like Ronald McDonald turned Frankenstein, and not in a good way. Creepy stuff, actually.

Perhaps the funniest moment is when Craig Gass does a mock KISS press conference where he imitates Paul Stanley, Simmons, and Gilbert Gottfried as if he was in KISS. He follows that up with an impression of Al Pacino handing Simmons an acting award and quoting KISS lyrics. I almost fell off the couch laughing.

If you ever even had a remote interest in KISS, or wanted to know what the hoopla was all about, this is an interesting way to get behind the music and into the mind of one of the more amusing characters in rock, Gene Simmons. A legend with the ladies.

One more line from the roast. Quoting Andrew Dice Clay: "Gene made a decision when he was young...why not become the Bozo the Clown of rock 'n' roll?" S

1,000 albums to hear before you die

While taking a break from reading, I stumbled across this list and thought it might be of interest to share. Here's the link: 1000 album list.

I don't necessarily agree with everything on this list, but it's a compelling case study... and I noticed that they're listed in chronologically, which isn't obvious at all... I only picked up on that due to my late night soirées involving reading liner notes, and probably because I index my albums under artist in chronological order by recording date, NOT RELEASE DATE... done like a true music nerd.

While I might actually be enough of a schmuck to eventually go out and pick up 90% of the albums on this list, I plan on checking out the more exotic ones from the local library. S

How I Helped Usher Change in the Audio and Music Industries

That's right. I kid you not...and I did it without even realizing it at the time.

...and the full effects of my contributions haven't really been felt yet, nor have they even been fully realized by the industry and the public at-large.

It happened when I purchased my Sony HDR-SR5 hi-def video camera last fall. That's all it took.

Try to follow the logic here; this is the deal...

When I purchased that high definition camera, I was a bit of an idiot; in that I didn't realize it supported a new hi-def format called "AVCDH." This format, when the user goes through the process of creating hi-def discs to play home movies on, is only compatible with Blu-ray video players...

...for those of you who don't know the context of what that means; Blu-ray has been in a format struggle, competing with HD DVD. Industry insiders and folks who pay a little bit of attention on the blogs (like me) know that one of the major catalysts in helping Blu-ray to win that format war in the last month was the consumer-driven sale of hi-def hard drive camcorders, which create the AVCDH files, which are only compatible with Blu-ray and not HD DVD.

So I was a dummy here on several levels...

1. I bought the hi-def camera having no idea what AVCDH was or what it was compatible with. For all I know, it could have been compatible only with HD DVD, then I really would have been screwed.
   
2. I bought it without a clue as to what software I was going to use to make home movies, or what precisely that entailed.
3. I bought it not realizing that when I did figure out it was compatible with Blu-ray, that means I need to have a computer with a Blu-ray burner on it... ohhhh, now he gets it.
4. ...and moreover, that means purchasing Blu-ray burnable discs (BD-Rs), which sell right now for about $15 a pop... yikes... might be riding the economics of that out for a few more months... YA THINK?!?
5. Of course, none of this means anything unless I ACTUALLY OWN A BLU-RAY PLAYER, ALONG WITH A HI-DEF TELEVISION!!! HUH? YA THINK?!?
   
6. While the knuckleheads at Best Buy weren't much help either, but in the end it was my fault for not doing my homework like I should have... I was just dazzle-blinded by the prospect of the hi-def camcorder.
   

Simply put, I got REALLY lucky... in a "Gilligan trips over the Skipper to fall into Ginger's tent to catch a look at her nude" sorta way... as much of the issues I just listed are on my radar screen to be purchasing in the near future anyway.

So anyway, let's get back to how I helped to usher in the end of the long format war with my purchase...

Once again, try to follow my logic here...

The end of the format war, and with the consumer market running out to grab every Blu-ray machine in sight, seems to put the music industry in a special position.

Hey, WAKE UP!!! We're talking about the music industry now... you know, those guys who made you revamp your CD collection in the last 15 years with "remastered" CDs? Uh huh, we're talking 'bout those guys.

The music industry has been having an identity crisis in the last 5-10 years, as it can't decide how it wants to move into the world of better quality recordings... and it hasn't known what to do with the format known as the "CD," otherwise known as the compact disc... until now.

The CD will soon be obsolete. The higher quality picture definition of Blu-ray carries with it the capabilities of 5.1 and even 7.1 surround sound... and that also means it raises expectations not just for video, but also for audio. The music industry is going to need to start pushing its product into an arena where it can offer a quality of product that is comparable to where video is headed.

That means moving into an absolute market world (eventually) of 5.1 surround sound recordings... which means going to the DVD audio format and abandoning the CD, simply because the CD can't hold enough information on the disc. Blu-ray players are reverse compatible, meaning that they can also play DVDs and CDs... but NOT SACDs (super audio compact discs).

The SACD format has been another hi-fi offshoot from the CD, and while it presents uncompressed sound quality through a 5.1 system, it can be copied, especially the hybrid discs... and moreover, a Blu-ray player won't be able to play it and give it the 5.1 SS experience. Which means, in my opinion, that the SACD format will soon be abandoned, because folks who are on a budget with their audio-video setup at home aren't going to go out and purchase an additional disc player - in addition to their Blu-ray player - just so they can play SACDs.

Confused now? Uh, yeah.

So, my point again was that the camera purchase helped Blu-ray win the format war, and will push the music industry to adopt the DVD audio format so that folks will only need to purchase ONE player (because that's all they're willing to purchase) for their home systems to play it all at the quality they expect.

Allright, enough of that... good luck and good night. S

Here's THE unique "Seattle Sound" experience...

So for those of you who appreciate art and music, this is a must see...

Next time any of you are passing through Seattle, and want to experience something unique (in and of itself, as well as uniquely Seattle), stay at the Hotel Max. Here's the link: Seattle Attractions | Hotel Max Seattle

It's one of a kind, with artwork featuring only Seattle artists and musicians... you'll walk down a hallway to see scenes of Curt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Courtney Love, and Eddie Vedder, among others featured in action on all the doors to the rooms. The lobby has more of the same, in addition to unique art pieces that are not necessarily music-related.

It's the quintessential Seattle art and music history museum, with a sheik modern spin uniquely Northwest, except instead it's a hotel... that is soooo cool I don't even know where to begin... count on Seattle for outside-the-box innovation!

The rooms are all decked out too, each with their unique artwork. From what I can tell on the website, it looks like they give you rock star service with a fully stocked bar and all... of course for upwards of $250 a night...

...but hey, you only live once, right? Take it from a native; if you're going to be visiting Seattle from out of town --- especially for the first time --- THIS is the way to go. S

On my birthday, my happy place is with music.

Ah, it's November 18. Today, for my 39th birthday, the listing started with Quadrophenia by The Who, then moved onto their Live at Albert Hall DVD from 2001.

Then I spent some time downtown with KJ and explored antique furniture stores, and took a trip into the Smith Tower, where we were able to eavesdrop on a Seahawks game below. I picked up an interesting poster of Seattle in the late 19th Century; a bird's eye view of the city and Elliot Bay before it filled in the harbor to form what today exists as the "Sodo District."

After getting home this evening, I watched a documentary on the making of The Band's second eponymous album, and moved onto portions of The Last Waltz DVD by the same band.

Being the stubborn Scorpio that I am, I go in streaks and musical binges; so my day's ending with The Band, as I noodle around their catalog on the iPod. After considering them, I'm sure I'll helicopter into some bluegrass or country.

Off to listen to some tunes and read a bit, ciao! S

ISSUES FOR IDIOTS -- Where do you find the carnival of free music? Your local library.

That's right. Libraries these days are also in the music CD business, and the DVD business too.

Hey, it's all there waiting for you... beckoning you... and you might as well get something out of your tax dollars, right? Typically, the larger the library system is, the more you'll have to choose from; so you might do a little homework, especially if you're not near a large city. I'm in the Seattle area, and use the King County Library System rather than a local city system. I do know that libraries can lend among one another, but I've never looked into that---that's where some cost might come into play...

...but what does all this typically it cost? Absolutely nothing, unless you draw up late fees; which is hard to do since you can usually renew items online and in most cases have them checked out for 3 months at a time (assuming nobody else is waiting for them). Of course, I've still managed to do it, but I'm a swiss cheese brain. After all, I leave rare Rush posters in airports for no reason other than to make my life more complicated when I go back in search of them...

The lending library system is how I dove into jazz four years ago. I didn't just go out and purchase jazz CDs at random (even if I did have that kind of cash, I'd never do that), I checked them out through the local library to see what I liked and what I didn't like. I started with Ken Burns' DVD documentary on jazz, and then discovered there were best-of compilations issued from the documentary of the 22 "Jazz Giants," as Burns put it. That was an excellent starting point, and then I branched out from there.

With no library system, I would not be the huge Ornette Coleman fan I am today. I wouldn't have discovered the stunning magic of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew. I wouldn't have discovered Andrew Hill, my all-time favorite jazz pianist. I can't emphasize enough how many gems would have gone undiscovered without the library.

I will go as far as saying the American library system, in terms of music, changed my life... probably with books too, but definitely with music. My life is richer and more fulfilling because of the library system.

I've made the same kinds of discoveries with classical music, opera, country, bluegrass, odd forms of world music, and I've expanded my rock & roll palate. This is how I dove deeper into Neil Young. This is how I worked my way chronologically through the Dylan catalog (painfully at times, I might add) to see what all the fuss was about with him. While I'm not a huge Dylan fan, I am now familiar with all his work and can appreciate the contributions he made to music... all, again, at no cost.

So who do we have to thank for this lending library system we have? I believe that would be Benjamin Franklin, who either came up with the idea or at least recycled an idea and put it into play back in the good 'ol days.

My only complaint, in the case of my local library, would be that I'm limited to having 100 items checked out at a given time... and none of the items are in gift wrapping either, because it certainly feels like my birthday every time I walk in to explore and peruse all this free music... and there's no cheerleaders, nor fireworks, to dance around and go off---because for some reason I always feel like celebrating when I leave with a full bag of CDs---again, for free! Yippie!!!

How does that song go? "It's yer birthday---it's yer birthday---it's yer birthday..." S

"The Music Project" is launched!

Hey there, music peeps!

I figured I needed to start a blog that's dedicated specifically to music, since I have something on every day, and that usually turns into more than just one something. I also have found that over the years my palate has diversified, so there seems to be lots of music to write about.

Plus, this might be a good way for me to save some cash and write about music rather than going out to buy it---one of my very favorite pastimes---perusing the record stores. It's a habit that refuses to be kicked, I usually need more and more, and I have many enablers in my life who also have the habit. I can say however, with great authority and conviction, that despite all the cash I've blown on music over the years---it will never add up to the pleasure and satisfaction it has given me.

I try to keep things entertaining and light, with plenty of anecdotes and stories, in addition to a few animated opinions (but only a few)... So I hope you enjoy it and keep coming back!

So feel free to comment and let me know what's on your mind with some of the posts. Rock on, groove on, jazz on, symphony on, or whatever sort of music blows your hair back! S