Music Ho's Thanksgiving Day Turkey!

Ah... Black Friday.

You're dog tired from OD'ing on Tryptophan. You've spent the day cooking. You were up all night with friends and family. So, as you crawl to bed at 2 AM, what better way to recover than to wake up at 5 AM and GO SHOPPING!!

Why? Because, as the Music Ho discovers every year, CDs that you'd normally shell out $12.99 for are now $3.99 for a few magical hours.

So, the Music Ho woke up early. (Well. Not 5 AM. 8 AM.) And here's what was purchased:

The Essential Bob Dylan



I'm not a major Bob Dylan fanatic. I don't need all his CDs. This is a perfect two-disc collection of his greatest hits. Covers all the stuff a basic-level Dylan fan needs.

The Band - Greatest Hits



Again, a good basic collection of another classic band from the 60s and 70s. However, if you do want one of their albums, seek out "Music From Big Pink" -- one of the defining albums of the 1960s. While the Beatles were shifting the music scene into arty, psychedelic sounds of whimsy, The Band created a sound that was rural, country, very, very rustic.

Miles Davis - Sketches of Spain



I don't do too many blind purchases, but I did with this one. I have a few other Miles Davis albums that I like a lot and this one is listed amongst his greatest, so it was a safe blind purchase.

Curtis Mayfield - The Very Best Of...



One of the great Soul/R & B artists of the 70s. Always took R & B to a higher, very educated level.

I'm Down With XCP

(Hey, You Know Me)

There's been a pile and a half of stories about Sony's new "Deluxe Computer Hacker Editions" of their CDs where that new Santana (for example) CD gives you not only the latest latin sounds from Santana and guests, but also gives you one helluva computer hack. Even better, the fix opens even bigger holes in your computer!

So, since there's already been lots of commentary about this (plus an ever-growing list of class-action lawsuits), I have only two ironic comments to make:

1. You're telling me that the fine brains at Sony thought this was a good way to stop all the money they're losing from piracy? From articles I've been reading, places like public libraries are now refusing to purchase any more Sony product until they remove their XCP Rootkit software... which leads to a lot of money lost on potential sales. I'd love to see how much money Sony loses from this versus how much they may have potentially lost on pirated copies of those CDs...


2. Isn't it ironic that the people being punished with this stuff are the people WHO BOUGHT THE CD??? Sony got their $15.99 from these people. Shouldn't Sony be figuring out to target those who DIDN'T pay for the CD?

How Nerdy Are You?

C'mon, you have to have SOME level of nerdity in you to even consider reading blogs (or knowing what a blog is).

Couple of Links

Two links worth checking out:

Stuff On My Cat

Hysterical site where fine cat lovers around the country send in pictures of their cats covered in "stuff".

You have to see it be believe it.

House Blinger

A loving tribute to those fine folks in the United Kingdom who really, really, REALLY get into the Xmas decorating spirit. There's an area of Los Angeles called Candy Cane Lane where the entire neighborhood decorates to the hilt.

Medium

This is a great show. But that's not what I'm writing about.

This show also has one of the best theme songs in a long time. Like something escaped from a Hitchcock film.

Album Art

I was idly tooling around an Album cover site looking at various album covers -- many are works of art unto themselves and I just started wondering about something now that we live in a world of Compact Discs.

For CDs of albums that were issued way back in the vinyl days, the front cover of the album is mostly always faithfully reproduced. How 'come the albums backside is never reproduced? In some cases, there's just as much art on the back as there is on the front? It's not just some blank canvas with track information.

It would be cool to see both sides of the album reproduced, even if it's just on the booklet. The only company that ever did that was the now-defunct DCC Compact Classics with their Gold CD re-issues and now re-born as Audio Fidelity.

(And if you're curious, the site I was looking at was http://tralfaz-archives.com/coverart/D/D.html)

Who-da Thunk - 1,000 Pairs Of Shoes Edition

Show of hands -- how many saw this one coming?

David Byrne, formerly of the Talking Heads, and Fatboy Slim are putting together a musical about Imelda Marcos!

Read the article here

What's next? "Weird" Al Yankovick and Donald Trump present "Evita"?

Good Things About The Disneyland Resort

Went to the Disneyland Resort this past weekend and wanted to talk about one good thing about each park. Two things that make both parks worth the current price of admission.

Disneyland - "Buzz Lightyear"

This is just a damn fun ride. You and your companion site in a small buggy each armed with a light-emitting pulse gun. You move through the ride, zapping little targets of various shapes (diamonds, squares, circles, etc.) each with a Z in the middle (Z for Zurg). If you hit a target, it and your gun light up and you get points. The harder the target to hit, the more points you get if you hit it. This is "almost" the same ride that's at the Magic Kingdom in Florida.

But there are a few differences. Much, much better differences.

In Florida, the guns are mounted to the cart. You can move them around on the pivot and aim, but that's about it. The guns at Disneyland are detachable. They're only connected by a tether. That way you can aim your gun any-which-way to shoot targets all over the place. The other difference is you get your picture taken while on the ride (imagine picture after picture of people staring intensely at something while aiming their guns in every James Bond-esque pose imaginable). Instead of having to shell out $16 for the picture, you get to email your picture to your home email account. Kudos to Disney for that generous offer.

California Adventure - "Tower of Terror"

Again, another ride duplicated from the one in Florida. Again, BETTER than the one in Florida. The California version offers some extra nifty special effects while working your way towards the drops. But the biggest difference is the drops themselves. Whereas Florida gives you a chance to prepare yourself before each drop, the California version keeps taunting you - going up a little, dropping a little, going back up a little, before dropping you way down, the repeating the taunts a little more -- you're never given a chance to prepare.

Awesome. Period.

Music Ho - Vegas Edition

Went to Las Vegas this past weekend. Tons of fun. No, didn't hit it big. No, didn't break the bank. Did go to the local Tower Records and get some new music.

Thus...

Fiona Apple - "Extraordinary Machine"



In one word: quirky. Another word (well, two): Very original. I have not had a chance to hear the original, rejected tapes, but this album is unique. The musical style veers from rock, to ballads, to near Tin Pan Alley. Recommended if you like some eclecticism with your music.

Wolf Parade - "Apologies to the Queen Mary"



Their current claim to fame is having been discovered by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. They sound a lot like Modest Mouse and the lead singer (whom I'm too lazy to look up the name of) sounds a LOT like Modest Mouse. If you like Modest Mouse, you'll like this one.

Super Furry Animals - "Love Kraft"



If Pink Floyd and The Alan Parson Project got together and birthed an album, this is what it would sound like. Smooth, slightly psychedelic, slightly spacey tunes from a very talented Welsh band. If you like your music with a touch of prog, a touch of space, and a lot of smooth, you'll like this one. I do. It's now currently in my Top 5.

B.B. King - "80"



A star-studded duets album by B.B. on his 80th birthday. No ground broken here. Just comfortable, familiar B.B. King with some talented collaborators. Kinda like a comfort food version of B.B. King. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Santana - "All That I Am"



Same 'ol, same 'ol from Santana in the same vein as "Supernatural" and "Shaman". Some good stuff, though it's time for Santana to shake the formula up a little before things start to get stale.

Edgar Winter - "They Only Come Out At Night" Mobile Fidelity reissue



SACD hybrid reissue of Winter's classic album by Mobile Fidelity. The sonics are dramatically improved. This is just a great album under any format. "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" are undisputed (do you hear me? UNdisputed) classics of 70s rock n' roll.

Okeeeee. That's it!