not even summer yet...

It is nice to walk outside in the evening and feel so warm. Ahhhhhhhh....oh and to eat outside...and to sit outside and have a nice drink, and stare into the trees.....

yeah, good times.

Surprise

I haven't heard the whole thing yet, but I definitely like the parts that I have heard from Paul Simon's new album. Produced by Brian Eno, so you know it isn't gonna suck.

The Beautiful Game

A good article in National Geographic.

I don't care what the so-called sports experts and journalists in this country say--I can't wait for the World Cup.

Saturday morning art...

"Exploding Sun", from Todd Snader's Gallery in Lancaster. I still miss living there, especially when I had work-free weekends.

tradebeer.com

If you brew your own beer, or if you like homebrews and microbrews, then you might be interested in this new site that is being started by a friend of mine.

Another good site for beer lovers(and who isn't?), is ratebeer.

That's a bottle of Troegs, which is brewed nearby here, in Harrisburg.

Happy B-Day

And before the clock strikes midnight--happy birthday to my brother, who just turned 30 years old today.

30 wasn't so bad for me, it's the next couple of years after that when it all starts to fall apart. But hey, we don't look bad for our ages(thin, still have hair). It could certainly be worse. It could be better too...for me anyway...

Freedy Johnston

I have a copy of his cd, This Perfect World, that I was listening to recently for the first time in years. I still love the first track, "Bad Reputation". It's one of those perfect songs in my mind.

For some reason, I bought that cd back in the '90s when I was still in college, and never followed his career after that. Anyway, he's an excellent songwriter, and still very much active in the music world.

I'm In Love

This is Norah Jones, the piano playing singer-songwriter who never did much for me but help to induce sleep.

I have no idea what this new "punk" band sounds like, but damn, I like the new look. It's gotta be more interesting than what she was doing before.

Picture via Stereogum.

See The Truth

On a personal side note, my sister's publishing/media firm did some work on the book for this film. She even met Al Gore.

Oh, and if the world does flood, not to worry--they make waterproof books!

Beauty in Simplicity

Is there any electric guitar more perfect than a Fender Telecaster? I submit that there is not.

Careful who you call

This is just fucking outrageous. Enough is enough, after another two years with this administration, we'll all have cameras in our bathrooms. We can at least get a Congress that actually does its job, and isn't just a bunch of bootlickers who rubber stamp everything that Bush wants to do.

I'm with Neil Young--Let's Impeach the President.

okay mp3

I'm not as totally into them as many others are, but it's at least nice to be able to hear a live performance from a band that I've wanted to see live, but haven't.

Radiohead's recent Danish gig available here.

Public Bathroom Etiquette

I've been waiting for someone to address these issues. From the funny, and crude, Phat Phree.

Tribute: Stephen Stills

I guess when I read about a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young tour this summer, it caused me to pull out my discs from the CSN box set, which helped to pass the time on a long car trip this past weekend(back up to the Erie area). That in turn reminded me of what a stone cold great guitar player Stephen Stills is--whether he's on acoustic or electric, the man is a master, and I never see him listed among the best by the "mainstream" music media, or the alternative/blogger/self-annointed experts.

But I tell you, if you haven't already explored his work, you should--all of it. Buffalo Springfield, CSN, CSNY, Manassas, solo, whatever. A couple that I would particularly recommend are his first solo album(which includes "Old Times, Good Times" with Jimi Hendrix, who he played and practiced with while he lived in England), as well as his live album(divided into electric and acoustic halves).

I just don't feel that he gets the credit he deserves, especially considering how proficient he his in so many styles. While Clapton seems to have spent most of his career mired in the blues, that's just one part of what Stills does. Latin, jazz, folk, rock, blues, reggae, he can do it all. His most recent solo album includes contributions by Herbie Hancock, as well as Neil Young. Let's just say that when Neil Young speaks so admirably about a person, you might want to check him out.

So here's to you, Mr. Stills.