One day I said to myself 'golly, I should create a blog or something where I can rant about a variety of things, post pictures, and reveal, albeit slowly, how mentally unstable I truly am.' I did just that and this is it.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The Grammys: Death and Dying
The 55th Grammy Awards happen in just a few short hours. Who’s going to win? Tune your radio to KISS FM –– that’s 97.9 for Upstate folks –– and you’ll get a pretty good idea.
(No Ryan Seacrest, I don’t want to hear “Ho Hey” again.)
Here’s a rundown of the nominees; my predictions are in bold.
Record of the Year
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used to Know,” Gotye featuring Kimbra
“Thinkin ‘Bout You,” Fran Ocean
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift
_____
Album of the Year
El Camino, Black Keys
Some Nights, fun.
Babel, Mumford & Sons
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean
Blunderbuss, Jack White
_____
Song of the Year
“The A Team,” Ed Sheeran
“Adorn,” Miguel Pimentel
“Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Kelly Clarkson
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
_____
Best New Artist
Alabama Shakes
fun.
Hunter Hayes
The Lumineers
Frank Ocean
_____
Best Pop Solo Performance
“Set Fire To The Rain [live],” Adele
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” Kelly Clarkson
“Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen
“Wide Awake,” Katy Perry
“Where Have You Been,” Rihanna
_____
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
“Shake It Out,” Florence & the Machine
“We Are Young,” fun. featuring Janelle Monáe
“Somebody That I Used To Know,” Gotye Featuring Kimbra
“Sexy And I Know It.” Lmfao
“Payphone,” Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa
_____
Best Pop Vocal Album
Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
Ceremonials, Florence & the Machine
Some Nights, fun.
Overexposed, Maroon 5
The Truth About Love, Pink
_____
Best Rock Performance
“Hold On,” Alabama Shakes
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys
“Charlie Brown,” Coldplay
“I Will Wait,” Mumford & Sons
“We Take Care Of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen
_____
Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance
“I’m Alive,” Anthrax
“Love Bites (So Do I),” Halestorm
“Blood Brothers,” Iron Maiden
“Ghost Walking,” Lamb Of God
“No Reflection,” Marilyn Manson
“Whose Life (Is It Anyways?),” Megadeth
_____
Best Rock Song
“Freedom At 21,” Jack White
“I Will Wait,” Mumford & Sons
“Lonely Boy,” The Black Keys
“Madness,” Muse
“We Take Care Of Our Own,” Bruce Springsteen
_____
Best Rock Album
El Camino, The Black Keys
Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay
The 2nd Law, Muse
Wrecking Ball, Bruce Springsteen
Blunderbuss, Jack White
_____
Best Alternative Music Album
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, Fiona Apple
Biophilia, Björk
Making Mirrors, Gotye
Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming., M83
Bad As Me, Tom Waits
_____
Best R&B Performance
“Thank You,” Estelle
“Gonna Be Alright (f.t.b.)” Robert Glasper Experiment featuring Ledisi
“I Want You,” Luke James
“Adorn,” Miguel
“Climax,” Usher
_____
Best Urban Contemporary Album
Fortune, Chris Brown
Kaleidoscope Dream, Miguel
Channel Orange, Frank Ocean
_____
Best R&B Album
Black Radio, Robert Glasper Experiment
Back To Love, Anthony Hamilton
Write Me Back, R. Kelly
Beautiful Surprise, Tamia
Open Invitation, Tyrese
_____
Best Rap Performance
“Hyfr (Hell Ya … Right),” Drake Featuring Lil’ Wayne
“Niggas In Paris,” Jay-z & Kanye West
“Daughters,” Nas
“Mercy,” Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“I Do,” Young Jeezy featuring Jay-z & André 3000
_____
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration
“Wild Ones,” Flo Rida Featuring Sia
“No Church In The Wild,” Jay-z & Kanye West featuring Frank Ocean & The-dream
“Tonight (Best You Ever Had),” John Legend featuring Ludacris
“Cherry Wine,” Nas featuring Amy Winehouse
“Talk That Talk,” Rihanna featuring Jay-Z
_____
Best Rap Song
“Daughters,” Nas
“Lotus Flower Bomb,” Wale featuring Miguel
“Mercy,” Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz
“The Motto,” Drake Featuring Lil’ Wayne
“Niggas In Paris,” Jay-Z & Kanye West
“Young, Wild & Free,” Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa featuring Bruno Mars
_____
Best Rap Album
Take Care, Drake
Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1, Lupe Fiasco
Life Is Good, Nas
Undun, The Roots
God Forgives, I Don’t, Rick Ross
Based On A T.r.u. Story, 2 Chainz
_____
Best Americana Album
The Carpenter, The Avett Brothers
From The Ground Up, John Fullbright
The Lumineers, The Lumineers
Babel, Mumford & Sons
Slipstream, Bonnie Raitt
_____
Best Blues Album
33 1/3, Shemekia Copeland
Locked Down, Dr. John
Let It Burn, Ruthie Foster
And Still I Rise, Heritage Blues Orchestra
Bring It On Home, Joan Osborne
_____
Producer Of The Year, Non-classical
Dan Auerbach
Jeff Bhasker
Diplo
Markus Dravs
Salaam Remi
Dave Mustaine: Megadick
Dave Mustaine, Caesar of “iconic” thrash band Megadeath, is mega-pissed at Texas-based clothing retailer Men’s Warehouse.
Mustaine purchased his tour manager Jim Carroccio a super-classy Men’s Warhouse gift certificate in honor of Jesus’ birthday.
(Dave Mustaine gives people Christmas presents?)
The red-headed rocker requested that MW get the certificate to Carroccio by Christmas morn. A salesman at the Salt Lake City location where Mustaine bought the certificate guaranteed him that the gift would reach its recipient in two-days time. And, of course, it did not.
On Dec. 28 Mustaine voiced his dissatisfaction with the clothing company on Facebook, posting a diatribe entitled “Men’s Warehouse.”
(Dude has a knack for titling things. Examples: Killing is My Business…and Business is Good (Megadeath’s debut), Rust in Peace (Megadeath’s 1990 album), and Megadeath –– who would have ever conceived such a band name? Only Mustaine.)
Here’s the last graph of his harangue:
“I really think that it sucks when people make false claims, that they don’t care to make good on a problem that is clearly their fault, and with all of the “ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE IT” crap I just had to say something. We are all living in very tight financial times right now, and like I said, you may not wear a suit for your job or for an event or occasion, but if you do, I would strongly recommend you wear someone else’s suits. Go to Jos. A Bank instead. I for one, will never set foot in a Men’s Warehouse, even for shelter from a blizzard.
I absolutely GUARANTEE it.”
(A link to the entire post:https://www.facebook.com/davemustaine/posts/480611511980064)
A representative from MW responded to Mustaine’s rant with an apology, calling the company’s failure to deliver “unacceptable.”
The Megadeath frontman’s original post has garnered close to 6,000 likes so far.
Why?
Mail runs notoriously slow during the holidays and I wasn’t aware that MW employees controlled U.S. postal circulation. Also, don’t request to have something mailed “a few days before Christmas” and expect it to reach in time. Common. Sense.
Dave Mustaine’s cantankerous swipe at MW annoys me. Dave Mustaine, as a living, breathing human being, annoys me.
His continual unwarranted opinions on subjects ranging from menswear to the Obama administration are grating –– bouts of daft cerebral masturbation. My advice to Mr. Mustaine: watch some fluffy television –– 7th Heaven anyone? –– and focus on your music. Believe me, you need to.
New Goldring Arts Journalism recruitment postcard.
Yes, this is a blog post.
I haven’t written a blog post in a long time. There are two reasons for this. One, I’ve been busy writing other things elsewhere. Two, no one reads my blog, so updating it is a pretty pointless exercise.
I’m bored at the moment. I guess that means I’m back.
Since my last post a little over 5 months ago a lot of stuff has gone down. I’m going to attempt to tell you EVERYTHING that has happened since I posted that photo of Chad Kroeger holding quite possibly the largest bra every constructed.
I’m going to accomplish this lengthy recap using a series of lists. They’re easy to read and easy to write. No prose. Or, as Ernest Hemingway would say it, “prose, no.”
So lets get started. I give you:
THE PAST FIVE MONTHS OR SO OF MY LIFE IN LISTS
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
Part ONE: ENTERTAINMENT
Notes:
FILMS and NEW MUSIC are rated using a 5-star system. Release dates are listed as well.
NEW and OLD MUSIC will be marked with V (Vinyl), CD (Compact Disc), C (Casette), or D (Digital Download).
__________________________________________________
-NEW FILMS SEEN-
May:
The Avengers (5/4)***
Men In Black 3 (5/25) **
Moonrise Kingdom (5/25) *****
June:
Snow White and the Huntsman (6/1) *
July:
The Amazing Spiderman (7/3) ***
The Dark Knight Rises (7/20) ***
August:
ParaNorman (8/17) ****
The Possession (8/31) *
September:
Barfi! (9/14) ****
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (9/21) *****
October:
Frankenweenie (10/5) *****
The Master (9/14) ****
__________________________________________________
-NEW TELEVISION SHOWS SEEN-
May:
—-
June:
—-
July:
—-
August:
—-
September:
The X Factor
The Voice
Revolution
October:
2012 Presidential Debates
__________________________________________________
-NEW MUSIC PURCHASED-
May:
The Only Place (V), Best Coast (5/15) ***
June:
Celebration Rock (V), Japandroids (6/5) ****
July:
Channel Orange (D), Frank Ocean (7/10) ****
Hypnotic Nights (V), JEFF the Brotherhood (7/17) ****
August:
—-
September:
Shields (V), Grizzly Bear (9/18) ****
October:
—-
__________________________________________________
-OLD MUSIC PURCHASED-
(No months here. My memory isn’t that good.)
Funeral (V), Arcade Fire
White Album Unplugged (V), The Beatles
Attack on Memory (V), Cloud Nothings
Disintegration (C), The Cure
Too-Rye-Ay (V), Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Mr. Eliminator (V), Dick Dale and His Del-Tones
Spit Fire (V), Jefferson Starship
Childish Prodigy (V), Kurt Vile
Losing Feeling (V), No Age
Pretenders (V), The Pretenders
Exile on Main Street (V), The Rolling Stones
Some Girls (V), The Rolling Stones
Between the Buttons (V), The Rolling Stones
Goat’s Head Soup (V), The Rolling Stones
Let it Bleed (V), The Rolling Stones
Barbarism Begins at Home (V), The Smiths
The Old Guard BBC Tapes Volume One (V), The Smiths
Singles 2007-2010 (V), Ty Segall
Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music Volume Three (V), Various Artists
Bringing Down the Horse (C), The Wallflowers
__________________________________________________
-OLD MUSIC PURCHASED CONTINUED-
(These are all 7-inch, singles.)
“My Name”/”The War,” The Babies
“Lazuli”/”Equal Mind,” Beach House
“True Love Ways”/”Bo Diddley,” Buddy Holly
“Be-Bop-A-Lula”/”Woman Love,” Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps
“Easy to Remember”/”After Everybody’s Gone,” The Heartbeats
“One More Try”/”Trouble,” Iron and Wine
“Blues Stay Away”/”So Fine,” Paul Revere and The Raiders
“I’d Much Rather Be With the Boys”/”Surprise Surprise,” Reigning Sound, The Hentchmen
“What Did I Tell You”/In My Car,” Reigning Sound, Last Year’s Men
__________________________________________________
-BOOKS PURCHASED-
May:
—-
June:
Woolgathering, Patti Smith (2011)
July:
—-
August:
The Life Stories: Profiles From The New Yorker, Editor(s): David Remnick (2001)
New York Stories: Landmark Writing From Four Decades of New York Magazine, Editor(s): Steve Fishman, John Homans, and Adam Moss (2008)
September:
—-
October:
31 Songs, Nick Hornby (2003)
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-BANDS AND/OR ARTISTS SEEN-
May:
Black Lips
Buddy Guy
Cecilé McLorin Salvant
Childish Gambino
Cold War Kids
Florence and the Machine
Gary Clark Jr.
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Joy Kills Sorrow
Ketch and Kritter
Megadeath
My Morning Jacket
Three Six Mafia
Virginia Rodrigues
June:
Jake Shimabukuro
Mavis Staples
Rebirth Brass Band
July:
—-
August:
Wilco
September:
—-
October:
Matt & Kim
__________________________________________________
-ORCHESTRAL CONCERTS, CHAMBER CONCERTS AND/OR OPERAS SEEN-
May:
Kepler
Feng Yi Ting
June:
Orchestra Uncaged
Spoleto USA Chamber Music Series
July:
—-
August:
—-
September:
—-
October:
—-
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-PLAYS AND/OR OTHER STAGE PERFORMANCES SEEN-
May:
—-
June:
Hay Fever
A Crack in Everything
In Haste, Laura Keene
Miles & Coltrane: Blue(.)
July:
—-
August:
—-
September:
—-
October:
Moby Dick
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-ART EXHIBITS ATTENDED-
May:
Return to the Sea: Saltworks of Motoi Yamamoto
June:
—-
July:
—-
August:
—-
September:
—-
October:
—-
__________________________________________________END OF ENTERTAINMENT
