How come concession speeches don’t have concession stands?

How about a blog with almost nothing about the election?

KKCK:

Kanye West “Love Lockdown”
When I heard that Kanye’s next CD was going to be almost all vocoder singing, and no rapping, I was really worried that it would be like another Medullaby Bjork (an album that gets away from what the artist does well).  Then, it dawned on me that while my initial reaction to that CD was bad, I’ve really grown to like it.  Then I heard this song, and my worries were gone.  That drum beat is crazy-intense-groovy-good, and the vocals work in a weird way.  Now I just have to wait for 808s and Heartbreaks, and maybe wait long enough to get a free copy, unlike the last album (I bought it Tuesday, free copy arrived Wednesday).

Brandy “Right Here (Departed)”
Where have you been Brandy?  Your TV star ballad cred got a work over with the herky-jerky “What About Us”, then you kinda vanished.  I thought your comeback would be more along the lines of “Almost Doesn’t Count” or the forgettable “The Boy is Mine (with Monica)” (hey, what happened to Monica?).  Instead, you try to woo us back with a song that has the radio appeal of your ballads but with an uptempo beat.  Well played Brandy.  I’ve never been a huge fan, but this song should be just what you need to pad your chart stats.

Anberlin “The Feel Good Drag”
This week’s songs break into three camps.  The “duhs”, the “huhs” and the “hurrs?”.  This would be the middle “hurr?” song.  Anberlin is a band I thought would crack CHR eventually, but this wasn’t the song I thought would do it.  Anberlin give this number a more timeless hard rock sound, and it’s a song that could have been a rock success pretty much every year since 1992.  The only slants that show are a slightly “emo” rock vocal and an almost metal riff that proves to be a mental sticky note, or series of notes.

Slightly Stoopid “2 AM”
Reggae inspired folky rock that tries to channel mellower Sublime with vocals that almost remind me of Akon?  Uh, okay.  The lyric content of this one could be trouble, since the word “weed” didn’t get edited, and it pops up a fair amount.  The band also didn’t provide a decent edit for time, and it clocks in at close to five minutes, with the last two minutes being music w/o lyrics.  If the song keeps moving upward, I’m sure a shorter (and maybe more edited) version will float our way.  I’ve never been into songs like this, but the curiosity calls that came in tell me some listeners are, and it was as clear as sending “smoke” signals.

Guns n’ Roses “Chinese Democracy”
The second “huh” add of the week isn’t that much of a huh, really.  Regardless of how many CHRs are playing the song, KKCK has never shied away from playing G’n'R in the past, and the release of Chinese Democracymay be a once in a lifetime album release event, in that no other album has gestated this long with people still waiting.  We can argue all day and night about whether this song sounds like G’n'R or not, but at worst the song is catchy, new, and the guitar riff at the beginning makes the song stand out on a CHR station.  Axl, we stand with you.

Pick to click: Kanye West

No more election commercials!  w00t!  Now, I can get back to reading about things like Knight Rider (still getting better) and Battlestar Galactica (the end begins in January) and 30 Rock (ratings are up but they still aren’t as good as they should be) and Transformers Animated (seriously, when are we getting new episodes).  Oh, and music, movies and other stuff that really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.  Plus, now I get to share all my nerd-dom with Braeden.  Will he rebel and like NASCAR, NFL, and country music?  Or, will he embrace the sci-fi, the D&D, the toy collecting, Spooncat, They Might Be Giants, and baseball?

Ask again in a few years.

This concludes the music blog for the week.  I wanted to write about politics, but I know that tensions among some are still high after last night.  I love talking (and to some extent arguing) about politics, but if you’re sick of ‘em, here’s the deal.  I’ll write that blog later and post it separately (for the Verbiage Dump readers, it will be here and here).  So, if you are sick of reading about it or don’t want to read about it, just skip the next one. 

Disclaimer out.

The 2008 VMAs: through the eyes of an old CHR jock

Tonight, for the first time, I plan to update this blog during every commercial break during the MTV VMAs.  No second guessing what I write, and no time to fix weird spelling errors.  Yes, this includes the *groan* Pre-show.

7:00 PM

Sway’s in a chopper.  Well, that means no Sway interviews.  I’m down for that.  Danity Kane has a big DK on their limo, so they’ll find it in the lot afterward pretty easily.  Jay-Z is sporting a…Toronto Blue Jays hat?  Is it because the Jays passed the Yanks or what?  Did I see Mya?  I’m glad to see she’s still invited.  Man, I’m out of the loop.  Who is this guy?  Where’s my Kurt Loder?  Where’s John Norris?  Geez, did I just ask where John Norris was?  I sort of know who Lauren Conrad is, thanks mainly to egotastic.com and not at all from watching the hills.  It just clicked with me that they’re at Paramount.  The one time I was in L.A. I took the studio tour.  It was actually really cool, but mainly because I saw them building the Borg cube set for Star Trek: First Contact.  Katy Perry has GPS in her car, so all the girls will be ready to avoid her kisses.  Wait, everybody has one?  That seems…oddly creepy.  Taylor Swift is the fashion consultant?  If they don’t have cowboy boots and denim she won’t like them, and if she says she does she’s lying.  She seems totally out of her element.  T.I. does look sharp, I’ll give him that.  Taylor Swift looks like she dressed in gold tinfoil, in a bad way.  I bet Taylor Swift is dreaming about the CMAs.  Back to Sway in the chopper, and he did a prom show with Taylor Swift?  Is Nashville going to let her back in the city?  Wait, all the limos are labeled.  Holy crap, Sway asked Katy Perry a good question about the backlash about “I Kissed a Girl”, and she gets a dig on Lil’ Wayne.  Nice.  I like the cut of her jib.  Oh, John Norris time.  Uh, monster truck?  Tokio Hotel?  Wow, I’m glad to see Dead or Alive’s singer is getting work.  John Norris isn’t looking quite so silly tonight.  I think every year he gets thinner and his hair gets thicker.  Soon, he’ll be a singularity that will swallow MTV whole, or maybe I’m hoping.

7:14 PM

For one, I won’t be watching the Hills.  Is it Furry Pride week in L.A.?  Worse, it looks like Slipknot.  Wait, the elephant has bling.  T-Pain makes enough to bling to bling his elephant.  Wait, he owns an elephant?  Huh?  Oh, it ties into his new CD.  If he actually owned an elephant, that would make for a good part of his future “Behind the Music”.  New poindexter alert, and he has a snappy Amy Winehouse joke.  I bet he spent all night writing that.  Verizon tie in time.  Woo.  Seriously, a paparazzi type tie in?  Do we want to train the future camera-dogs to do their job?  Oh, this new tool only is available if I text.  I’m about to toss my phone across the room.  Hmm, I lost my phone somewhere.  Oh well.  Pink is looking snazzy, and her set sounds…interesting.  This could be a good show.  I’d read that some of the shows are happening at some movie sets, which  could lead to some interesting shows.  I’d hope for a Star Trek one, since they are at Paramount, and Paramount takes any chance to take a dump on Star Trek.  Sway in the chopper time, saving Jordin Sparks from an awkward interview.  Wait, not just GPS stuff in the limos, some have cameras.  Seriously, will anyone be surprised at anything anymore ever at this rate?  Dang, this blog is sounding more and more curmudgeonly all the time.

7:23 PM

A quick apology right now about spelling errors.  I’ll fix them when it’s all over. Kim Stolz…where have I heard that name before?  I have no idea.  I found my non-Verizon phone, so I can now properly ignore all this text junk.  Is Sway flying the copter?  I don’t see anyone else there. Panic at the Disco took a van instead of a limo.  Props to that.  Why am I watching Panic at the Disco wave to a chopper?  Is this Action News circa 1983?  BTW, Kate hates the chopper.  I agree.  Katy Perry is wearing some not-so-hot hot pants.  Katy at least looks good from the neck up.  Katy Perry is actually wearing something she made that she got at a thrift shop.  I’ve found my mom’s long lost daughter.  Kate tells me Katy doesn’t match.  I’ll take her word for it, since I’m not one to notice/care about clothes matching.  Kiss her.  KISS HER!  C’mon Katy, do it!  She’s making her own moonman if she doesn’t win.  That’s pretty cool.  Kid Rock and Michael Phelps?  Whiskey-tango-foxtrot?  “You’ve won eight gold medals, so you get Kid Rock’s limo.”  That seems more like punishment for the Canadian pentathlon guy.  I think Kid Rock wears the same outfit every year.  Hat, husband beater, jeans…yep.

7:32 PM

America’s Best Dance Crew?  Time for a soda.  I like Diet Pepsi for a show like this.  It’s smooth and doesn’t lent itself to slamming.  Seriously, does any network love the smell of it’s own $#!* like MTV?  I heard Fanny Pak announced and thought “but the song Camel Toe came out years ago” but it must be the name of this dance troupe.  The cross promotion is worse than ever.  If they’d shown the dance from the chopper, that  might have been interesting.  Time to talk to the Jonas Brothers.  I’ll try to keep my brain from checking out.  Y’know what Jonas song I like the most?  “My Name is Jonas” by Weezer.  It really gets the first Weezer album going strong.  That guitar lick really gets it going and sets a tone.  Wait, commercial?  Um…oops.

7:40 PM

Oh, that was a quick break.  Just a commercial for the…VMAs.  Oh, also a promo for a show on Verizon moble phones.  AND A REAL WORLD ROAD RULES SURVIVOR RIP OFF?  This and Daria gets cancelled.  I must go bang my head against a wall.  BRB.

7:43 PM

Xtina is looking pretty good tonight.  I have permission to say that (I think).  Why does Paris Hilton have a vehicle with a GPS?  Oh, THAT’S what BFF stands for.  Thanks Paris, I wasn’t aware of that one.  Here I thought maybe it was some new music project (and I use that loosely).  Only one Jonas Brother got his suit shined for tonight.  Lame guys, lame.  Slipknot is getting interviewed?  They’re wearing suits even?  They’re creeping my wife out, so that’s amusing.

7:51 PM

Ashlee and kid to be named later are in the house.  She’s looking all right.  I thought she would have popped by now.  Is Kobe Bryant doing a Shaq style album?  If not, why are they talking to him?  Is KG too busy polishing his trophy?  Somebody drove a fuel efficient car or two, and it was Paramore?  That took me by surprise.  I never thought of them as a band that would do that, but lead singer Haley Williams mentions that her hairspray cancelled it out.  Man, the new guy sucks.  He’ll be on text detail for years.  Taylor Swift called Ciara “Ciaras”.  Further proof she’s wishing she was in Texas or somewhere like that.  It’s almost time to finish the pre-show, so we’ll finally see what this Britney thing is.

7:58 PM

They didn’t say who was in the Obama limo with the John McCain style driver, but it was pretty amusing.  Time to check with Sway again?  Nope, the Brit guy is still hogging the TV time.  All right, let’s tie this one on!

8:00 PM

who is this guy?  He sounds familiar.  Is he the guy from Superbad?  She seems like she’s having fun with this bit, which is good.  Nice enthusiastic product placement.  I had to pause to LOL a bit.  Seriously, it’s worth seeing just for the look on his face.  Time to see what her trick is.  And her big thing is to…say the show is starting.  Okay then.  ZOMBIES!  All right, time for some Rihanna up in here.  I like Rihanna’s dress tank.  It looks like one that Cobra had back in the 80s.  However, she’s not dressed like the Baroness.  She is actually singing!  That’s a nice touch.  Well, at least the lead singer parts are being sung.  No backup zombie singers.  Boo that.  The not-zombie back up dancer girls remind me of the post-apocalyptic Kiss video for “Lick It Up”.  I’m going to go on a limb and say that’s not what they were going for.  I just heard a “Seven Nation Army” breakdown in the middle of “Disturbia” and it worked really well.    So far, the show is catching my eye.  Maybe this show will turn things around.  Let’s see how this Brit host does.  Was Forgetting Sarah Marshall a bigger hit than I remember?  The British dude just endorsed Obama?  Okay…fine.  Wait, it was a joke set-up?  What will we joke about when Bush isn’t in office?  His jokes are falling a bit flat, but he’s going for it.  He keeps going for the political stuff, and since they edit some of that out for rebroadcast…there won’t be much monologue.  Jamie Foxx is out to intro the female video category, and he’s almost getting as many laughs as the host.  Best female video goes to Britney, and she agreed to show up…isn’t that convenient?  Her lack of surprise is pretty telling.  The host won’t let up on the political stuff.  The house band is a DJ and a drummer?  Okay then.  At least Travis Barker is getting some work somewhere.

8:25 PM

BFF is hosting a new show about people trying to be her BFF.  Wow.  That idea is so bad I felt myself die a little inside?  Okay, that’s harsh, but I won’t watch it, nor will anyone I know…I think.  Demi Moore arrives, w/o Ashton, for the Best Male Video category.  Chris Brown makes both the wife and I…wrong.  He’s looking dapper as always.  The blue tie with the white suit works.  The Brit keeps making jokes about (A) sex or (B) politics.  Those are his only two settings so far.  Taylor Swift introduces the Jonas Brothers, who are performing on one of the back lot street scenes.  They actually don’t sound to bad.  Nice transition!  Wow, I never thought I’d type this, but I’m impressed with how they pulled off this performance.  Katy Perry takes us to the break singing Madonna?  It works.

8:39 PM

Katy is back, and she’s gone from feeling “Like a Virgin” to “I Kissed a Girl”.  Her voice isn’t too bad live.  This just in…the Brit guy still sucks.  Michael Phelps can swim like a fish, but he has the stage presence of a fish as well.  Ugh.  Leona Lewis takes the stage, and Lil’ Wayne follows.  My wife is begging Lil’ Wayne to stop grabbin’ his junk.  Truth be told, it isn’t doing much for me either.  Why even wear pants at this stage?  Just wear underwear and leg warmers.  On the bright side they aren’t tighty whities.  It seems Lil’ Wayne didn’t get the memo about editing his songs.  The censor button seems to be getting a workout.  T-Pain is out now, and this duo can do no wrong of late.  I’m not a big fan of Lil’ Wayne, but I’ll give him props for really going all out for his performance.  Lindsay Lohan name checks AC/DC, so I won’t make any Lohan comments.  Fanny Pak is the winner of some dance off thing that I think I mentioned earlier.  No speech for them, as we get right to the “best dancing in a video” category, instead of “best dance video”.  Once again, Kate and I blow it.  PCD takes it, but I barely recognize them since they’re not dressed like go-go strippers.

8:55 PM

Pete Wentz shows the vote counters for “Best New Video”, and it’s Danty Kane.  Dear gracious, this Brit guy isn’t that funny at all.  Am I missing something?  Time for some Paramore at the Whiskey a Go-Go, or a reasonable look-alike, since they keep saying that “nothing is as it seems” this year.  I’m not sold on Paramore live.  The music is solid, but the vocals sound too forced and more like yelling than singing.  Now the Whiskey is revealed to be…the main stage?  Worst surprise yet, and maybe the worst performance yet.

9:07 PM

The longer this goes on, the more I don’t like the host.  He’s just not that funny.  Ugh.  Shia LeBeouf and Slash?  Does LeBeaof have to be everywhere?  It would be cool if Slash’s hat transformed.  Linkin Park takes best rock video.  I didn’t even see them on the red carpet, but they aren’t exactly wearing Gucci.  Nice Transformers reference by the Linkin Park DJ guy.  Miley Cyrus is backstage playing Rock Band with Tokio Hotel.  I liked her singing Bon Jovi.  It was actually cute.  Now it’s Pink time, and this should be good.  This just in…Pink has pasties on, and she needed them.  The performance wasn’t as big as I was expecting, but she did say earlier she broke a rib in rehearsals, so maybe that caused some changes.  I’d say it’s the best performance of the night so far.

9:20 PM

The Ting Tings join DJ AM and drummer guy for a bit of “Shut Up and Let Me Go”.  Pete and Ashely are making a joke about voting for best new artist, but they forgot to mention Verizion or Pepsi.  They’ll be punished later.  Slipknot is coming out.  Please tell me they’re going to kill the host.  Nope, they’re going to kill some random drunk guy in a bad mask.  Best hip-hop video?  Is that the best way to utilize Slipknot?  Lil’ Wayne and Slipknot?  There’s a combo.  Wayne gets points for brevity, and we go to John Legend and Jordin Sparks.  Jordin Sparks takes the host to task about promise rings, and good for her.  They intro T.I., and it is another video on some old movie set.  T.I. opted for lip-syncing the way it sounds, and that was a poor choice.  Since everyone else has either sung or pulled it off convincingly, T.I. gets a heapin’ helping of fail for this one.  Wait, it wasn’t his performance, but rather a set up for his duet with Rihanna.  Now he’s really rapping.  Methinks I commented too soon.  At the end, it wasn’t a bad performance.  I hate to say MTV pulled one off on me, but they did.  DJ AM takes us out with a-ha.  A-ha?

9:36 PM

Vanessa Hudgens is dressed, and Ashley Tisdale’s new nose is on the scene as well.  The HSM 3 cast intros Xtina’s performance, but I don’t think Fred Durst will show up this time.  I didn’t Xtina was auditioning for Catwoman.  Get Chris Nolan on the phone.  I think it would work.  Anyway, she’s doing a new song, and she’s lip-synching.  I can’t blame her a lot, as she’s really dancing up a storm.  I hope Britney is taking notes.  This is how one performs at the VMAs.  Kate has noticed crotch grabbing a plenty tonight.  It must be what all the kids are doing.  I think Xtina just dropped the phrase “superbitch”, and she’s doing a bit of singing now.  Kate wasn’t sold, but I dug Xtina’s new song and her look.  Sadly, we’re back to Brit non-com, who doesn’t mind calling out politicos but won’t name drop R. Kelly when talking about…ew.  Some actors from the Hills are introducing the “Best new artist” category.  Your winner is Tokio Hotel, thanks to their insanely rabid fan base.  Wow, I thought Evanescence was up for this years ago…no wait, that’s the Tokio lead singer/former Dead or Alive singer?  I’d love to see these guys on “Sprockets” if only Mike Myers could do that skit again.

9:49 PM

LL Cool J brings us back with “Goin’ Back to Cali”, which instantly ramps up the cool in my book.  Sadly, the cool in a 34 year old male’s book is not the cool MTV is going for.  LL Cool J is funnier than Russell Brand.  Ouch.  Paris arrives for “Best pop video”.  The winner goes to…Britney.  She’s got two of them, and I’m still thinking the fix might be in.  MTV needs Brit-brit, and they’re doing their best to help her back to where she was.  Lupe takes us to break from a very plain segment. That segment was almost more VH1 than MTV.

9:59 PM

Russell Brand apologized for a few things, but not for sucking.  Maybe next time.  Kid Rock is performing tonight?  I had no idea.  Well, let’s hope it lives up to his older performances, like the year Aerosmith and Run DMC came out.  Kid Rock and Lil’ Wayne?  Why not.  Wayne will record/sing/show up for anything.  He really doesn’t care, and it’s a strategy that seems to be working.  I just hope he doesn’t nuke his brain too badly in the next few years.  Kid Rock’s performance is very ordinary.  I’m feeling let down.  “All Summer Long” is a good song, but it doesn’t bring out Kid’s energy and fury really well.  Dare I say “snoozer”?

10:10 PM

Kobe brings us back, and I almost wish he’d hosted.  Time for video of the year.  Can Britney do the three-peat?  Yep, she wins again.  Seriously.  I mean, seriously?  She’s barely trying to fake it that she’s surprised.  Plus, they had things pretty planned out to take her out during the new Kanye song.  Kanye’s song was pretty good, but you could tell at the end he wished he had won something.  His broken-heart flashy pin was really keen.  Russell Brand takes it out, and into the post-show credits, with more Russell Brand.  Ugh.  Well, that’s a show.  Time to wrap things up and repost this to MySpace, with a few extra words.

Four are usually not fantastic…

…but we give this week a B+ for effort.

KKCK:

David Archuleta “Crush”
It cranks up the intensity bar set by David Cook.  Well, maybe 1/4 turn.  He has more of the “Idol” voice I expect to hear when I hear one of these songs.  Curiously, his song seems to be rising faster than David Cook’s song, which has been out for several weeks now. 

Shwayze “Corona and Lime”
Patrick Swayze jokes aside, this song really took me by surprise.  Once a week we get some CDs called “Hit discs” which contain all the major songs going for adds in a given week.  This song was tucked in with the “Urban/CHR Rhythmic” tracks, and fairly deep into that section.  Usually those songs are the rap songs like Three 6 Mafia and T.I.  This song has a real smooth flow and a chorus that is hard not to sing along to, and the song is in no way daypartable, unless the station is one of those “variety without rock and rap” stations, in which case this might be a night only track.  Since our variety tends towards “more rock and some rap” the “Corona and Lime” can flow all day.

Apocalyptica “I Don’t Care”
You’re right.  I don’t.  I’m more interested in a band that rhymes with Apocalyptica that’s feeding their new single tomorrow.  No offense is intended toward the band, but their choice of singer (dude from 3DG) didn’t help me like this one.

Linkin Park “Leave Out All the Rest”
Since I work at a Top-40 station, I have a great working knowledge of Linkin Park radio tracks.  Sure, I have their three studio albums as well, but their radio songs are fire-branded into my brain.  Where does this one fit in?  Well, I think it has less oomph than “In the End”, but in a good way.  “Numb” isn’t even a good comparison, as the song has about as much in common with that as it does “Somewhere I Belong”.  “What I’ve Done” burned the whole album for me, but this song should have been released sooner, as it ranks a bit ahead of “Shadow of the Day”.  It still pales to what I consider LP’s best radio friendly track, “Breaking the Habit”.  Originally I was going to do a bit about how all their songs sound the same, but looking at their list of radio hits, there is a lot of variety here.  I’ll have to save that rant for the next Nickelback album.

Pick to click: Shwayze

This.  A thousand times THIS.  How much of my soul do I have to sell to get this to happen?

This past weekend was one of the better weekends I can recall.  Kate and I had a free night in a hotel in Sioux Falls, and we found pretty much everything we needed for baby that we didn’t have yet.  It was also a breakthrough weekend of sorts for me.  It’s been my practice in the past to bottle up things that bothered me, until the contents were under a great deal of pressure and led to some kind of angry outburst (almost always when I’m alone).  Every woman I’ve dated has done something that bothered me at some point, and I never said much of anything because…I was afraid of losing them.  Even being married to Kate for over a year hadn’t changed this habit.  I still had a fear that if I voiced something that annoyed/angered/bothered me at the time, it would do more harm than good, and I’d end up alone again.  It sounds silly to think that one goof would cause me to think that way, but that’s how my brain works for various reasons.  Anyway, Kate did do something that annoyed me at B&N, and I actually said something while it was still fresh in our minds.  Shocker here…we’re not separated.  In fact, she thanked me for saying something and apologized for what happened.  I’m not saying I have a lot to complain about, far from it.  It was just a big leap forward for my brain to know it doesn’t have to bottle everything up, and to know I can voice something and not worry about being dissed and dismissed. 

This fall is going to be crazy everywhere in my brain.  My life is getting that “big change” only a child can deliver, but there’s a distraction wherever I look.  Shirley Manson on the new season of “Terminator”.  New albums are dropping from Metallica, AC/DC and Guns n’ Roses (I want to believe!).  Never mind what’s shaping to be a monumental election, and a Yankees free post-season.  I’m supposed to keep an eye and ear on all this and know which side of the diaper goes where?   I don’t think my life has ever been this nuts, and the emphasis is on nuts, because I can’t wait for it all to hit me at once. 

Finally, we have Rob Schrab.  If you are a fan of Rob’s work and have never read Scud: the Disposable Assassin, you fail at everything.  I have been waiting for ten years to see how the story ends, but I’m re-reading the first twenty issues in the book first.  Anyone posting spoilers in the comments gets de-friended .

One song for each of the final five…that we know of…

(quick reminder…this is a double post I share with my MySpace)

The fifth gets a song of his/her choice once revealed.

KKCK:

Foo Fighters “Let It Die”
Dave Grohl takes a lot of heat in some music circles for what he’s done post-Nirvana.  I don’t get it personally.  I’ve enjoyed most of the Foo’s output, and in the last few months I’ve gone back and re-listened to their entire catalogue, and liked most of what I heard.  It won’t change the world or save the whales or whatever, but most of it is solid “background rock”.  One needs that now and then.  This song fits that mold, although the slow build and power chord crunch that come in might make you wish you hadn’t turned up your headphones for the quiet part.  Ouch.

Coldplay “Viva La Vida”
Russ 2000 “Man, I am so sick of ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay.  This song sucks”
Russ 2008 “Hello me, it’s me again!”
Russ 2000 “Ahhhh!  Wait, nice Megadeth reference.”
Russ 2008 “I’m here to tell you that you will start liking Coldplay in the future.  I’m from 2008″
Russ 2000 “So, I like this p.o.s. song in eight years?”
Russ 2008 “Well, no.  You, we, I, however you want to say it, are still sick of it.”
Russ 2000 “So…you came back in time to tell me I’ll like Coldplay in eight years?”
Russ 2008 “Actually, you started to like Coldplay a few years ago.  I’m here to say that in 2008 you might actually buy their new album, thanks to the hook of ‘Violet Hill’ and the groove of ‘Viva La Vida’.”
Russ 2000 “Whoa, you just blew my mind.”
Russ 2008 “I know, when I was you I wouldn’t have believed it either.”
Russ 2000 “No man, I just noticed how much weight I’d gained.  Hey, is…is that a wedding ring?”
Russ 2008 “Yep.  In eight years you are married.”
Russ 2000 “To Rachel Leigh Cook, right?”
Russ 2008 “Was I really that obsessed?  Anyway, you’ll get over her thanks to a movie called…you know what, I’ll let you find out.”

Detla Goodrem “In This Life”
She has ruled the chart roost in Australia for a long time, and now she’s got her cross hairs on the U.S. market with this solid but not spectacular pop song.  I was hoping this was a cover of the Canadian hit/United States flop that was “In This Life” by Chantal Kreviazuk.  Instead, this is a new song, and while it isn’t bad, I still prefer the one by Chantal Kreviazuk.  Also, what is it about people with odd names doing a song called “In This Life”?

Sara Bareilles “Bottle It Up”
The song itself has some moments, but I don’t think it’s her strongest option post-”Love Song”.  Personally, I would have released “Fairytale”, which is a rather amusing take on a lot of happy endings.  I’ve been told I bottle up emotions (mainly anger) too much, but lucky my body the soda can doesn’t get shaken too badly on most days.

Pick to click: I’ll make the odd pick of Delta Goodrem

Battlestar Galactica is finally paying dividends on the previous so-so episodes.  There was a ROTFL moment last week, but I don’t know if it was supposed to be.  With Col. Tigh’s back to Adama, he remarks how Tigh “isn’t the man he was a few years ago” and Tigh’s look was priceless.  I’d give Michael Hogan the Emmy just for that.  He is by far one of the most underrated actors on TV today.  Mark Sheppard came back to play Romo Lampkin, and he slugged it out of the park as well.  My Galactica watching friend is going to be away for a few weeks, and I’m not going to wait for him to come back before I watch next week.  There’s no way I can wait that long now.

I’ll be honest.  I’m a bit pressed for time today.  Luckily, things are going smoothly more often than they aren’t.  I still need to do a post-vote blog at the blog I do my South Dakota rambling on.  In other writing news, I talked about grocery stores at my Farmington blog, and this Saturday will be post #100 at Cliffhanger Theater.  I’ve stayed on one post a day since February with it, and while post 100 is a good jumping on point, I won’t be mentioning it a lot in the next few months.  I’ve started reading books about writing and fiction, so by the time I finish those I’ll be lucky if I don’t scrap it and start over. 

Ten reasons I hate answering the phone at work

1. For the love of Pete and Pete, “Cyclone” is ancient history now.  There is no reason for two to three calls a day for it.

2. Yes, you can do the “Soulja Boy” dance.  That song has been downloaded legally millions of times, and illegally a lot more.  How’s about you do that and let the rest of us who are either (a) sick of it or (b) are a bit put off by some of the lyrics, forget it happened?  Do some research would ya?

3. We aren’t playing “Swing” by Savage.  Stop calling.

4. We are playing “Pork and Beans” by Weezer.  Please call for that.

5. The sun will rise tomorrow, the rivers will flow on, and the universe will not implode if I don’t have time to play “Low” by Flo-Rida in the next five minutes.

6. Seriously, “Low” by Flo-Rida?  Sure, it was a #1 hit, like two months ago.  I would think the demand for that might, oh I don’t know, FALL by now.

7. We still aren’t playing “Swing” by Savage.  And it sucks.

8. The song is called “Handlebars” and it is by Flobots.  Quit calling for the “Bicycle” song or calling and telling me there’s this song and then you sing the whole first part to me.

9. Yes you heard “Swing” on our weekend mix show.  That doesn’t mean we play it during the week.  I checked the charts, and unless we use the YouTube charts we don’t play it.  NEWS FLASH: we don’t use the damn YouTube charts.  The song still sucks.  How about you knock off the ringtone-rap requests and listen to some Kanye West, Public Enemy, Lupe Fiasco, Run D.M.C., Atmosphere, Jay-Z, Wyclef Jean, or anything that maybe isn’t vapid and disposable?

10. *dialtone*  That’s my bad that I didn’t answer in the first two rings.  So sorry.

Lists like this make me wonder if I’m too old to be a DJ on a CHR.  Since I post it online and don’t go off on the callers, I think I’m still good.

7 things about 4 songs

Can he do it?

KKCK:

Miley Cyrus “7 Things”
1. Her dad wrote one of the most annoying country songs ever
2. She has a show on the Disney Channel
3. A show nowhere near as good as “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody”
4. The mom on that show was on “Star Trek: Voyager” once
5. Okay, I’m off subject now
6. The song has a bratty vibe that hearkens back to a younger Avril
7. While getting the younger listeners pulled in, it hits me with a resounding “meh”

David Cook “Time of My Life”
1. He won American Idol, duh
2. He went against another David
3. He didn’t go against another Cook
4. Unless David Archuleta is a really good cook
5. This song is NOT a remake of the song from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack
6. Is it just me, or do all Idol winners have a similar sounding lead single?
7. If you liked all of those, you’ll like this schmaltzy ballad

Katy Perry “I Kissed a Girl”
1. She liked it
2. She hopes her boyfriend don’t mind it
3. She’s no Rachel Perry
4. Unless she kissed Rachel Perry
5. Yowza…uh, what was I talking about?
6. Oh, uh, novelty hit that while catchy, won’t be remembered in a few years.
7. Jill Sobule did it first, and dare I say better

Puddle of Mudd “We Don’t Have to Look Back Now”
1. Quick what do Paul Phillips, Greg Upchruch, Jimmy Allen, Kenny Burkett, and Sean Samon have in common?
2. They’re all former members of the band
3. Wes Scantlin is to alternative what David Coverdale was/is to 80s rock
4. Seriously, who is in Whitesnake these days?
5. This one is a new ballad
6. It’s not quite “Blurry” good, but it should do alright
7. Don’t be surprised if CHR picks up on “Psycho” later if this one is a big hit

Pick to click: Katy Perry
Pick likely to disrobe and wind up on the internet: Miley Cyrus (that girl is going to be trouble)

If I may get back to Katy Perry for a second, I’d like to vent a bit.  Yesterday I took a call on the business line at the station.  It was a listener calling to complain about “some new song by a girl about kissing a girl”.  I really wish I’d recorded it, but I’ll try my best to sum up his complaints.  He complained that it “was bad enough that the queers and homos were allowed in public now” and this song “would steer kids in a wrong direction” and “they wouldn’t know which way to turn”.  He also complained about only hearing music like this and “black rap” music on our station as well.  He seemed genuinely concerned about “the kids” and “leading them the wrong way”.  He did concede we had the right to play “whatever we wanted” (hah, I wish).  I calmly listened to him for a few minutes, and told him I’d forward his complaints to our music director (which I did) but he hung up on me after I said we appreciate any listener feedback, although my tone may not have been 100 % polite.  I’m not even sure where to begin with this one.  First off, he admitted that if he didn’t like it, he could turn the station.  That’s pretty much what I’d have told him if he had called on the request line and had been yelling or using vulgar language (which I’ve done in the past).  What stuck out for me was that he seemed almost fearful of music like this even existing.  My mood was pretty much shot when he made the “bad enough they be seen in public” comment.  I don’t think this is the sort of listener we should be caving to, and so far we aren’t.  My interpretation of the song isn’t even that of a homosexual tone.  The song strikes me as more of a “bi-curious mood aided by alcohol” type of song.  Some days it is honestly frustrating to work here and deal with some of the issues that shouldn’t be issues, but that’s a blog for another day, or for when my job is eliminated (and I hope that doesn’t happen for a long time, since most days I really enjoy what I do).

I haven’t mentioned fantasy baseball on the ol’ blog for a while.  That’s mainly because my pay league team is now 2-6, which is a small improvement from last year’s mark at this time of 1-7.  I had much higher hopes for this team, which was in every game for the first six, but now is causing frustration with the lack of a bona fide ace on my pitching staff.  San Franscisco isn’t the only one who put too much stock in Barry Zito.  Captain Quirk is starting to pitch well again, but nowhere near the level I was hoping for when I traded Miguel Cabrera for him about three years ago.

Things at the homestead are going pretty well.  Monday was project day, and we really kicked butt on most of our plans.  Last night was our second to last parenting class, and it went smoothly.  I now know the basics of infant CPR, but I really hope I never need to use that knowledge, like a lot of the knowledge in my brain that never gets used for some reason.

Last week I mentioned that we were going to Veblen, and I had plans to do a video blog for the first time.  The video blog never happened, partly because of the wind and partly because of reasons I wrote about on my Sunday wordpress blog.  If you want to read the rest (if you haven’t already), it’s still there. 

I wish everyone a great rest of the May, and we’ll talk again in June.