1001 Albums: 54-63

Late posting of my last blog means a double blog week you lucky finks! This one is packed with some of my favorite albums, and a couple of completely dull ones! Huzzah for asshole opinions on the internets!

0054 King, B.B. – Live at the Regal
I think this is the record that made B.B. a huge star. Or maybe it wasn't. It is pretty good, with young B.B. sounding pretty much like he does now. Which is a very very good thing. These are some pleasant, non-challenging blues that fit a light hearted evening, so crack a beer and enjoy.

0055 Beatles, The – Rubber Soul
You pretty much expect every Beatle album on lists like this, so I guess the 1001ers are showing a little restraint here. This isn't my favorite Beatles, that one is coming up. It's not a bad one, and as far as Beatles go it is important as it shows growth and sophistication. It pales to the other one in this block though, so I'm shutting up.

0056 Jansch, Bert – Bert Jansch (1st Album)
I listened to this earlier in the week, and I don't remember a thing about it. So fuck Jansch, he's a boring folky. Or a boring jazz guy.... or maybe a lame rock guy... ummm.....

0057 Byrds, The - Mr Tambourine Man
People forget, but in 1965 the 3 B's ruled the charts; The Beatles, The Beach Boys and these guys, The Byrds. The Byrds hit huge with a gentle folk rock sound and the title track, a Dylan cover. That's the problem I have with this one, all the best songs, and four of the twelve tracks, are Bob Dylan songs. The Dylan versions are all better. So you're left with the band which is ok with some great harmonies, but when compared to the other B's, this album is a bit pale. They get much better and more interesting to look at.

0058 Dylan, Bob – Highway 61 Revisited
Bob rocks out with his cock out on this one in the most barn burning, unapologetic way. It's great stuff, featuring some of his most popular songs. It's been a favorite of mine for a long time, and continues to be.

0059 Who, The – My Generation
I love The Who, and I love this album. I still remember buying this in it''s original Mono mix on vinyl back in 1989, NOT 1964 SINCE I'M NOT THAT OLD! I was shocked by it. It sounds nothing like what you think The Who sound like based on their more popular hits. It's deadly good, hard rolling R&B that is closer to the previously reviewed "The Sonics" then it is to their Brit contemporaries The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Packed full of awesome covers and the originals are even better. Recommended!

0060 Beatles, The – Revolver
Here we go! You can skip "Rubber Soul" because this is The Beatles best album. Every track is good, and the whole thing sounds different from anything they've done before. It's a huge leap, and a great leap to listen too. Recommended.

0061 Beach Boys, The – Pet Sounds
People call this the greatest pop album ever made. I'm madly in love with it so I'm not going to argue. I've listened to it it's original mono, a nice stereo remix and a fancy 5.1 surround mix, and regardless of the mix, the huge emotional, heartfelt love of Brian Wilson shines through every note of the amazing arrangements. The Beach Boys would never sound better, without it The Beatles wouldn't of done Sgt. Pepper to top it, and a part of pop music has never sounded as pretty since. Highly recommended.

0062 Neil, Fred – Fred Neil (1st Album)
I was confused about the inclusion of this since it's pretty dull folk shit. Then I recognized a song from (I think) "Cool Hand Luke", and got annoyed since that shouldn't really be enough for this pussy crap to appear on the list. This is a no thank.

0063 Byrds, The – Fifth Dimension
Skip the debut, this is a better Byrds record. It has the "Hey, Mr. Spaceman" song on it. That's about it, still a bit of the same from that debut, just better and not as much of a Bob Dylan jukebox. The main problem with this one though is, the guy playing the lead guitar solos sucks. Some of the most crap playing you'll here. It also sounds dated compared to The Beach Boys and The Beatles, so it's no wonder why no one remembers these guys anymore.

1001 Albums: 44-53, and other stuff

Long time followers, all two of you, will recognize a new heading scheme. This is because I realized the former way of keeping track by decade is annoying if you're trying to find a title. I of course realize now that my opinion is incredibly valuable so feel the love, my little nincompoops.

We're still in the early sixties with this pack, but things are starting to get really interesting on the Beach Boys/Beatles/Dylan front, I sense an explosion coming on! Or I've read and seen documentaries about this period of American music... here's how it all goes down.


0044 Burke, Solomon – Rock ‘n’ Soul
I was expecting something more like Sam Cooke, but this was still pretty good. What's impressive is Burke isn't content to pump out some hot soul jams. Instead, he incorporates acoustic guitar and medleys more familiar to folk and country. The result is very pleasing and shows that Burke was absorbing everything that was going on around him instead of sticking to the tried of true. Made for an interesting listen.

0045 Springfield, Dusty - A Girl Called Dusty
I really enjoyed this one. It's Dusty's debut record, and she's ridiculously good on this. She's as convincing on the soul/blues numbers as she is on the pop songs. It's talent like this that rings shame to our current gen pop artists. Great stuff.

0046 Rolling Stones – Rolling Stones
The legendary Stones make their debut, and it's actually incredibly underwhelming. It's not bad by any means it's just... Dylan and the Beatles are pushing forward while the Stones are doing blues covers. They're doing ok versions, but they aren't exactly technical marvels, and compared to the originals Mick and the boys just don't have the swagger. They do have the heart however, and it's that innocent passion for the music they clearly love that makes this deserving of the list. They'll make far better albums in the future, but this one has just enough beginners charm to hold up.

0047 Owens, Buck – I’ve Got a Tiger by the Tail
Another potentially corny country style that holds up amazingly well. Buck has a fantastic booming voice and was born to play these songs. He even pulls off a Chuck Berry cover in this hillbilly style. Great, fun music for a summers day.

0048 Lewis, Jerry Lee – Live at the Star Club, Hamburg
This is everything good music should be, and might be one of the greatest live rock albums ever. Jerry is in full on rock demon form, hammering the piano to the point you would think it would fly to bits. He's got a pick up band backing him, and he's playing as if to dare them to keep up. Fortunately, they do, and the result is powerful, passionate rock that can raise the hairs on the back of your neck. A perfect representation of everything I love in music and highly recommended.

0049 Sonics – Here Are the Sonics
Oh Sonics, how I love thee! Clearly wanting to get in on the "Louie Louie" craze, they bang out some pretty good rock covers. Where they get really special though is the originals like "Strychnine" and "Psycho". The singer was made for rock, and his screaming voice is as awesome as the frantic band backing him. Amazing stuff, you can feel the love these guys have. Plus, there's a bonus song about hating Christmas, as I said, I love these guys!

0050 Dylan, Bob – Bringing it All Back Home
Dylan broke out of the folk mode with this one that's kinda split into a rock side and a folk side. Both are damned good, and as much as tracks like "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" get played, I'm of the mind set that "Gates Of Eden" is one of his best songs. Other then that, there's not much to say. You can't go wrong with a Dylan album from the 60's in my mind, and this is another great one.

0051 Redding, Otis – Otis Blue… Sings Soul
Otis is the man. Backed by the insanely talented Stax house band featuring Booker T and the MGs with the Mar Keys, you know this is going to be funky. Otis himself kills it. Literally. Pick any track off this album, and see how clearly R&B and black music has suffered over the years. Otis embarrasses them all in the wake of his talent. That's taking into account that this album as a whole isn't perfect, it's just great. Otis really is the man.

0052 Beach Boys – Today!
I thought the Beach Boys would make an appearance before now, but it makes sense that they do so now since this album is ridiculous. There's still the youthful fun of their early recordings, and songs about girls and surfing. The arrangements and production though, even today you'll be hard pressed to hear anything finer. That it was all done by a self taught, 23 year old Brian Wilson, it's an amazing accomplishment on top of being insanely listenable. I love this stuff.

0053 Coltrane, John – A Love Supreme
Jazz that sounds like a lot of fucking about before finding a melody. It's not terrible, I've listened to it 3 times, and every time was based on a list like this. All you need to know about my opinion.

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On another note, I also love movies, and I'm having an amazing movie streak right now. So if you haven't, see these:

Inception - People bitch that the characters aren't likable and it's humourless. This just means that they behave like everyone you know in real life. The movie is an amazing achievement and unlike anything you've seen before. Go to it.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World - It's the opposite of Inception in that you will love everyone and it's filled with humour. It's the same as Inception in that it's an amazing achievement and unlike anything you've seen before. So see it already!

Louie Bluie - If you love music, YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS! It's a documentary about one of the last living (as of 1897 or so) black string band musicians. I had never heard of the guy before seeing this documentary and I now regret it since it was an amazing story. If you like music, you'll love this movie and this movie will make you love life. You'll probably have to buy the new DVD to see it, but do so. Who needs food anyways???

That's enough!

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: The 60's Part Two

This is where the sixties properly begin, with the Beatles being introduced. For the most part, this 10 pack albums was pretty solid... other then the rather bizarre end. Yup, french shouty music is lost on these ears...

The other thing that's happened with this project is I really miss vinyl. I miss listening to a side, and then flipping it over to see what side 2 is like. The Ray Price album is a real lost art with itunes and all that. I'm going to pick up some vinyl now, and maybe even buy a record player to listen to them on. Haw Haw Haw.

0034 Price, Ray – Night Life
This one is the type of corny country album I would typically hate. Ray however does a clever set up with a spoken word intro that introduces the album and thanks the fans. It made the whole thing more palatable, and I ended up really enjoying both the songs and his voice. Good stuff.

0035 Beatles – With the Beatles
This is where it feels like the sixties properly start. While this isn't their first album, is certainly kicks the doors down as far as sound and style goes. Nothing previous to this sounds like this. It's a dead solid album too, with the original material sounding better then the cover songs. For them to grow this far, this quickly after their first album is amazing. Now the nitpick. For this listening, I went with the 2009 stereo remaster. I didn't care for it. It's one of those odd mixes where the vocals are on one side and the music is on the other. Makes for a distracting time, so go with the superior mono mix on this one if you can afford the boxset.

0036 Dylan, Bob – Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
This one is even more staggering then the Beatles when compared to what has come before it on this list. The music itself is all solo acoustic and firmly planted in the folk tradition. The words though, it's hard to believe that someone of his age when this was recorded could come up with songs that ring so true. There's still nothing like it to compare it too. From this second album on, Dylan became a genre onto himself. This isn't my first listen to this album, and it wont be my last. Highly Recommended.

0037 Spector, Phil & Various Artists – A Christmas Gift for You
The only thing weirder then listening to a Christmas album when it's 30C outside is probably enjoying it as much as I did. Spector manages to make you forget about the typically boring arrangements that these typically have and makes you want to dance. Everything is up to the standard you would expect from Spector in this period. Worth checking out, especially if you typically don't like these types of albums.

0038 Cooke, Sam – Live at the Harlem Square
Sam puts on a hell of a show on this one, it pretty much sounds like church. The draw here is the songs are looser then the studio cuts, and it makes all the difference.

0039 Mingus, Charles – Black Saint & the Sinner Lady
Back to Jazz. Well, it's not as annoying or boring as the other stuff so far featured. Still, I doubt I'll ever sit down and listen to it again.

0040 Brown, James – Live at the Apollo
The hardest working man in show business pulls out all the stops on this live album. It's considered one of his best, and a stand out in R&B. What more is there to say? Listen to it all ready! For extra homework, check him out on The T.A.M.I Show.

0041 Getz, Stan & João Gilberto – Getz/Gilberto
This is the only Stan Getz album that Stan needed to make since it has "The Girl From Ipanema" on it. If you like that song, you'll like this album. If you have never heard that song, you fail at life.

0042 Beatles – A Hard Day’s Night
I'm a bit surprised this one is on here frankly. It's not a bad album by any means and features many of their most popular songs. It's more a case of not being all that different from "With The Beatles." "Beatles For Sale" would be a better choice as it leads into "Rubber Soul" as far as sound and songs go. Anyways, it's a good album, and I'm happy to report that the 2009 stereo re-master sounds better on this one, with a more natural mix. I still prefer the mono though.

0043 Brel, Jacques – Olympia 64
I honestly don't know if this was good or not. It's in French, so I have no idea what he's singing about. I'm guessing it's all love songs. He doesn't sing so much as talk through songs, so it's hard to appreciate the performance. That said, he's certainly passionate, I think he nearly cried at one point. He typically ends up shouting, and rarely to the music. The music is kind of all over the place, other then "Amsterdam" which is a re-working of "Greensleeves" and is the only song that musically sounds like a song. Again, it's in French so there isn't really any rhyming going on so it ends up all sounding like a Hitler rally with a sexier accent. It pretty much drove me up the wall and seeing that the guy looks like the type of Eurotrash that would fuck your mother, this is the first all out fail on the list for me.

But I can't say it's bad since I'm not familiar with this type of music. Maybe he's a genius, I just don't want to hear him ever again.

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Someone else is traveling this 1001 journey, so check out Liz's blog and offer her some support. She's in the 300's, most impressive!

http://www.1001albums.com/

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: The 60's Part One

I'm still trucking along with the project, and not hating it yet! The first chunk of the 60's is done, and it sounds a lot like the 50's so far. Not a bad thing though, since I mostly liked the 50's. This ten pack was also light on boring jazz records, so it gets some bonus points.

0024 Baez, Joan – Joan Baez (1960)
I'm guessing this is her debut. It's good, and her voice is amazing. So amazing, that to hear her draw out folk standards wears a but thing and gets a bit annoying. So I'm a bit torn since it's good, but i doubt I'll want to listen to it again. At least not all in one sitting.

0025 Presley, Elvis – Elvis is Back!
Back from the army, this was a big crap shoot since no one knew if the King would still have it. Ends up he did. The over all style is cleaned up on this one, no raw Sun tracks to be found. It's still a solid album though as Elvis shows some maturity by knocking out some pop songs on top of the rock. This pretty much sets the stage for the rest of his career. Elvis always was closer to Frank Sinatra then he was to Chuck Berry, and this is a damned fine start.

0026 Makeba, Miriam – Miriam Makeba (1960)
This is an album by a South African jazz singer, and mixes south African songs with some popular tracks. I really liked this. She has an incredible voice, and when you hear songs like "The Click Song", it doesn't actually sound real. I'm trusting that it's no bullshit though, and this is a recommended listen.

0027 Everly Brothers – A Date with the…
You hear the name and it's hard not to think "White Bread Rock" in the Pat Boone sense. It's not. This is a great rock album that features some honest harmonies. The brothers are fantastic interpreters of song, and they really shine on this one.

0028 Smith, Jimmy – Back at the Chicken Shack
Pretty solid blues instrumental album. Nothing really stood out though.

0029 Muddy Waters – At Newport
Muddy lays it all out on this live disc. If you like Muddy, you'll like this. If you've never heard Muddy, this is as good a place to start as any since he was dynamite live.

0030 Evans, Bill – Sunday at the Village Vanguard
This is a highly regarded piano Jazz album, but it sounds like back ground dinner music to me. Just can't get into it.

0031 Charles, Ray - Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music
This is considered Ray's best work, and it's hard to argue. Ray transforms country standards into music that sounds right at home in a blues club. In doing so he proves himself to be a master interpreter, as well as gives substance to a genre that typically gets short shrift in some circles as a throw away dumb genre. Not a small feat by any means. Recommended.

0032 Booker T & the MGs – Green Onions
The house band for Stax Records get a chance to shine. A great collection of soul instrumentals that are perfect for a summers day. I should know, I listened to this while walking around on a summer day after all.

0033 Getz, Stan & Charlie Byrd – Jazz Samba
The title makes me cringe, but this was actually pretty nice. It's a bit of what you'd expect to hear in a 1960's cocktail bar, but none of the songs out stay their welcome. Modern Jazz could learn from this...

So there it is, nothing blew the doors off my ears, but nothing annoyed me terribly either. A nice safe collection of music! Until next time, keep listening!

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: The 50's part 2

Late in posting this, but the fifties are done! Being only 23 albums in, it's a little early to declare this project a success, but it sort of already is. The variety of music and genre already gives this challenge a bump over the Rolling Stone one in my mind. When I think of the fifties, I think of a pretty uniform, safe period with a blast of rock and roll. Going through these albums though, it shows just how diverse the fifties really were as a decade, and completely setting up the sophistication and experimentation that would take place with music in the 60's. Great stuff, here's the list!


0012 Davis, Miles – Birth of the Cool
Also known as "The Death Of Peppy Jazz". I can appreciate the playing, but it bores the hell out of me.


0013 Machito – Kenya
More Jazz here, but it's peppy Latin Jazz and kept me interested. The songs weren't crazy long either which helped bunches.


0014 Little Richard – Here’s Little Richard
I loved this. I've always loved Little Richard. Arguably the greatest rock singer of all time. That voice was no good for anything else. So loud, so full of life. The music matches the energy and it all works perfectly. Recommended


0015 Puente, Tito & His Orchestra – Dance Mania (1958)
Mambo mania more like it! I'm not a huge fan of this type of latin music, but it's hard to hate something with a song called "3-D Mambo"


0016 Holiday, Billie – Lady in Satin
Holiday is undoubtedly one of the greatest female vocalist. This album however finds her sounding old and in poor health. It distracts from the performances and just makes the whole thing sad. I'd go for her earlier material.


0017 Elliott, Jack – Jack Takes the Floor
Before Dylan there was Ramblin' Jack tearing through folk standards. A prettty good album too, his introductions to the songs give it a personal performance feel, and he's in fine voice. None of these versions are the best you'll find or eclipse earlier artists, but they don't have to. Jack still shows you a good time, and even brings in Woody for a song.


0018 Vaughan, Sarah – At Mister Kelly’s
Sounds like a night club recording, and a pretty good one to. Sarah is in fine form singing some pop songs of the day.


0019 Fitzgerald, Ella – Sings the Gershwin Song Book
If your looking for a sophisticated vocal album, this ones for you. Ella does a great job interpreting 50 or so songs from the Gershwin song book. The music is lush, and Ella never gets lost in the orchestra and manages to put her own take on these. Great stuff.


0020 Charles, Ray – Genius of
You have to be either really good or a real asshole to use the word "Genius" on an album. Ray of course was really good. This is a hell of a record. A big band sound that still keeps the soul, not a bad song on it.


0021 Davis, Miles – Kind of Blue
Actually it's not kind of blue, it's totally boring.


0022 Robbins, Marty – Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
I loved this record. I loved it so much, I listened to it 3 times in a row. Marty Robbins has the perfect cowboy voice, and these are great cowboy songs for him to sing. El Paso might be one of the greatest cowboy songs ever written. the band and harmonies are of the equal high quality, and all together I'm sure this is now a favorite.


0023 Brubeck, Dave – Time Out
As far as jazz albums go, i don't mind this one. I'm yet to have a desire to listen to it outside of these lists, but still it's at least not boring like many of the other ones. The thing with this though is it always makes me think of the soundtracks to NFB cartoons. Which is probably really complimentary to the NFB and a big slap in the face to Brubeck...

Right, that's about it! Bring on the 60's!

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: The 50's part 1

It begins! Yes friends, the latest and greatest listening project by yours truly! It took me a year and a half to get through the Rolling Stone Top 500 albums, who knows how long it will be for me to get through the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. I developed a bit of a hatred for Rolling Stone and their picks during the last one. Seeing how this new list skips greatest hits compilations and should cut down on repeats, I'm excited! Also, this list goes by decade and year of release as opposed to titles arranged in a debatable order. So there's none of the "Should Sgt. Pepper beat Pet Sounds since it wouldn't exist without Pet Sounds?" nerd arguing. Instead, it's going to be a history of popular music, and a study of recording techniques since it should get more sophisticated as it moves to modern times.

Truly, this will be fun! PLEASE LET IT BE FUN!

I'm going to follow my RS500 format of doing these in chunks of 10 titles. The exception is "The 50's" though since it only contains 20 odd items, so I'm doing it in two parts. I'm using the original 2005 edition list, if I can find the 25 albums from the updated "2010" I'll probably do them to. I currently have the first 675 albums, so that should keep me busy for a bit!


0001 Sinatra, Frank – In the Wee Small Hours
It's fitting that the list starts here, at the first concept album. The orchestration is lush, Sinatras' voice is smooth and velvety. My memories of Sinatra are from the later years when he was pretty much talking the songs as much as singing them, it was weird to hear this at first. The perfection in voice and music is completely counter to the subject matter of the songs. Song so full of love lost and despair, they seem better suited to a Tom Waits album. It all works wonderfully though, it's the type of album you want to curl up with at midnight and destroy a whiskey bottle and pack of smokes to. And I don't even smoke!


0002 Presley, Elvis – Elvis Presley (1956)
Elvis' first album is a cobbled together one of newly recorded tracks for RCA mixed with some of his Sun records work. It all fits together surprisingly well though. He's already showing the brazen commercial sense (forced by management, no doubt) that will drive his career into parody, but what's refreshing about this and makes it so fun to listen to is this. You can tell he's a dumb hillbilly with no musical direction other then a gut feeling of what he likes and an innocent desire to sing the shit out of every song he decides to have a crack at. So instead of insipid covers of Little Richard, you get balls out covers from a white kid with a shockingly thin voice, especially when compared to the later years, backed by a rather base band. It's pretty good alchemy, an image to be sold to the masses, who actually believes and loves what he is doing. This music is alive, beautifully alive, and the teener hit makers of today still have a lot to learn from the King.


0003 Louvin Brothers – Tragic Songs of Life
Man, did I ever fall in love with this record. It starts of with some fine bluegrass mandolin and the brothers voices are exactly what hillbilly harmony should be. A big echo guitar blends in perfectly to plant this old timey style music into the modern fifty's and it creates a timeless sound that blew me away. The songs are a mix of ballads and jaunty sounding hill tunes. All of them dealing with missing home, losing at love and other life hardships and the brothers absolutely nail them with heartfelt vocals and an interplay that surpasses most hillbilly style country and western. Amazing stuff, and I'm already tracking down some more Louvin Brothers work. A record that shows off all that Country music can and should be. Highly recommended!


0004 Prima, Louis – The Wildest!
Wild is right! Prima is probably best known as "King Louie" in Disney's Jungle Book. Ends up he was always a wild man. These tracks were recorded with his Vegas band at a time when Prima was to Vegas that Elvis was in the 70's. Not a bad track on here, the band is jumping and rocking, Louie's horn is great. Most impressive though is Louie's vocals. He sings like he plays the trumpet, loud, brash, holding notes most vocalists would pass, it's breathtaking stuff. Especially when he interplays with the female vocalist who's name I forget. A fantastic record that is sadly too short, I could listen to this stuff all day. And forget about David Lee Roth, you haven't heard "I'm Just A Gigolo" until you've heard Prima and his crack band belt it out. Highly Recommended.


0005 Domino, Fats – This is Fats
A good collection of pre-fame tracks can be found here. Before hitting it big with a series of rock singles, Fats was a fantastic R&B man who was embraced by Rock & Roll. All of these tracks would be great in a juke joint, and they are great here. It's the type of music that leaves a big smile on your face, much like what Fats probably had on his when he recorded it.


0006 Ellington, Duke – At Newport 1956)
When it comes to Jazz, there's probably no one more classy then Duke. This is a great one to listen to, a live recording of a historic concert for the band. My problem though is that this big band stuff is so polite that it makes me think of dinner music. It doesn't really stick with me despite the top notch playing.


0007 Sinatra, Frank – Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!
Sinatra follows up one of the saddest albums ever recorded with one of the most joyous. The music contained in this is exactly as advertised, and Sinatra sounds better then ever. Well worth your time.


0008 Holly, Buddy - The "Chirping" Crickets
Buddy's first album, and it's a good one. He's already mastered melody, and the original found on here are still top notch rock cuts. It's raw and sounds like it was recorded in a garage, you can here the spaces between the mics on some tracks, and it makes for greatness. Recommended


0009 Basie, Count – Atomic Mr. Basie
The Count is like a bluesier Elington, which I prefer. It's still big band though, so it all washes over me and sounds the same.


0010 Monk, Thelonious – Brilliant Corners
More jazz, this is closer to the Be-Bop style I prefer. It's peppy, but ultimately there is too much stuff on here that sounds out of tune and it loses me.


0011 Sabú [Martínez] – Palo Congo
This is Latin jazz. And that's all you need to since if you click that link you'll learn that not even wikipedea has any idea about what this is all about. All you need to know is that it's more latin drum then jazz, and it kicks some ass. That's factoring in my xenophobia of hating music sung in languages other then English.

The Broken Record

Phew! Been kind of a whack past week or so. I can't seem to get anything right on the ball, and floundering a bit. Seeing how recent events in my personal life have once again lead to me having nothing but oodles of spare time to fill, I feel the need to post an update of what I'm doing as a reminder and motivation for myself. not like anyone else is going to do it eh! HA!

Current projects, latest activities ETC:
Exercise: Since dropping out of the gym a year ago, I never got back into the fitness thing and have found myself getting fatter. Since space in the Porn Bunker is limited, I have come up with what I was calling "The Prison Workout". A series of exercises that could be done in a 6'x3' space. My plan was to start this last week, but I'm piss poor with self discipline. However, Robot Girl Tron on her Blog mentioned the 100 push-up challenge. So I decided last week to start that challenge this week. Today actually, when I get home from work. I did the test last week, and I scraped out 8 push-ups, so I'm going to try tier 2. I'm not fully convinced that I was doing them correctly, but what the hell.

New Listening Project: A few weeks ago I mentioned seeking out the "50 Greatest Out Of Print Records" as picked by Mojo magazine. Hard to believe, but these are a bitch to track down via legal means or torrents. In searching for these though, I have found a great start to the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" collection. Up to 675 anyways. A few years ago I did the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums of All Time". It took me a year and a half and was dead annoying. I didn't learn my lesson though, so I'm going for the 1001 list, and have already begun. Future blogs will detail this list, in chunks of 10 albums similar to my previous experiment. Anyone interested in joining me can feel free to let me know and we can go about trading.

Red Dead Redemption: This game is like heroin to the eyes. You just kind of daze over and get hypnotized by it. When I first got it last Wednesday, I was a bit unimpressed since it felt like I only played about 20 minutes of the 90 minutes of cut screens and what not in the story mode. Then a friend came by and we dicked around in the "Free Roam" multi-player for about 6 hours and decided this was one of the all time greats. Having played another hour of the story mode, and there is a shit ton of stuff to do in this one. Much like "Grand Theft Auto", I'll never finish this game, but it's dead fun to just wander about getting into trouble with out doing the actual missions. Good stuff.

I really hate Green Day now: I was never much of a fan of this band. Kind of thing where if they came on the radio I wasn't offended. A few weeks ago they came out with "Green Day : Rock Band" and since I'm a useless slut for the Rock Band games, I snagged a rental copy and imported all 40 odd tracks into ROCK BAND 2. Fuck me but was that a mistake! Easily, this is the most annoying band to ever be declared "The most important band of the decade". To play the songs on Rock Band, you find that they are either shit hard strum patterns for a plastic guitar or dead simple, and in both cases so repetitive you're just waiting for the songs to end only to find that they average 5 minutes for these turds. Forget about the monotone wine for Billy Joe Whatshisnames vocals... I was hoping for a case of what usually happens with Rock Band, and that's getting a better appreciation for the music. Instead, my general non-caring of the band has turned into a full blooded hatred of them. I can't wait for RB3 to come out so I can block these fuckers and never have to play them again!

That's about it I guess. Been a lot of sadness the past week, and this is all the kind of positive stuff I can think of.