Five songs, then a lot of blah-blah

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

KKCK:

Backstreet Boys “Straight Through My Heart”
So, Backstreet’s back…again.  The last time they came back, the song that heralded their return was pure boy band mush.  This time, they come back with a song with some zing, and it’s a more welcome comeback.  It’s also a more daring choice, and I’ll give them credit for that.

Lady Gaga “Paparazzi”
In just about a year, Lady Gaga went from being a curiosity to being able to drop a single on us that will do really well no matter what I say.  Rather than just type gibberish, I’d like to thank Lady Gaga for all the material she’s given KKCK music news.  Be it crazy fashion, crazy quotes, or straight up crazy, Lady Gaga has been a gold mine.  I hope she never goes away, or at least doesn’t while I’m doing music news.

Owl City “Fireflies”
This one is starting to make a run at CHR, while also surging on the alternative chart.  I can understand the Top-40 aspirations of the song, but I’m not sure why it’s rising so fast on the alt-chart.  The first time I heard this song it immediately registered as a pop rock song.  It doesn’t sound like anything else we’re playing, which is always a plus in my world.

3OH!3 “Starstrukk”
I really don’t want to like this song.  I don’t care for the lyrics, and even the edited version makes me nervous.  Something about the herky-jerky beat is irresistible to my ears, no matter how I try to remember why I don’t want to like the song.  3OH!3 is coming off a #1 single, so the follow up is almost always a sure thing on the charts, with few exceptions.

Bowling for Soup “My Wena”
In all my years of radio broadcasting, no song has prompted an angrier caller than this one, and that includes “The Bad Touch” and “Birthday Sex”.  The song is as catchy as any other B4S hit, but the band does go a bit far with the lyrics.  I didn’t think this one would cause too many problems, but I might have misjudged the market.  At least now I can say ” ‘my wena’ got me in trouble at work, but I didn’t get fired.”

Pick to click: Lady Gaga

About a year and a half ago, I started using WordPress as a blogging site, while continuing my weekly (kinda) work blog at MySpace (and later mirrored at WP).  Eventually my WP account had swelled to seven blogs, all dealing with different things.  While I wish I had enough time in the day to update them all regularly, there just isn’t a good way to do that.  I don’t want to spend my son’s childhood at work eight hours a day, and at a computer when I’m home and he’s awake.  Nor do I wish to spend every waking second typing and miss out on spending time with my wife, who has been nothing but supportive of my writing endeavors.  About the time I started writing, I started working on a book that fit my mental state at the time.  However, the actual writing process brought me to a place where I couldn’t work on the book I had started.  I bought a small notebook that I could jot other book ideas in, and soon I had filled over fifty pages with ideas for stories, books, and other things I wanted to write about.  One of those ideas was another novel concept, and I started working on that a few months ago.  With my writing time already spread out among other blogs, the work on this new project has been slow.  The other day an old friend posted a link to a humorous article by a book editor, which detailed the best ways to not get your manuscript looked at.  There was a link to another of her works, which was a test on being cut out to be a writer.  I took the mini quiz, and I scored in the range that said I was close, but it was time to get serious. 

If you’re reading this on MySpace, there’s no cause for alarm.  I’ve been doing these weekly new music blogs since 2004, and they won’t stop.  My blogging at russ4life will now be more sporadic, and 52 Cards is going on hiatus.  Cliffhanger Theater 2 may be postponed, and the 13 Shots blog will be largely unaffected, since I rarely post there anyway.  I may delete fanwitch entirely, but I haven’t decided yet.  I get a few views there, but the bulk of my views are still at my MySpace blog.  The time has come to focus the majority of my energy on finishing the big project, and then submitting it.  The odds of anything happening with it are astronomically low, but I at least want to make an effort. 

It’s been a while since I made the sentiment, but I want to thank all the regular readers for being regulars.  It means a lot.

A solo singer, a duo, and a four piece. What’s missing?

The number three!  Oddly enough, we have three new songs this week.

KKCK:

Jordin Sparks “Battlefield”
This song is in no way a remake of Pat Benetar’s “Love is a Battlefield”.  I wonder why no one remakes Pat Benetar songs?  I can’t remember any recent hit song that was a cover of Pat Benetar, although numerous other 80s artists have been covered, and some very successfully.  I think Jordin could easily have done that song, or maybe “Shadows of the Night”.  Anyway, this new “Battlefield” song is pretty average as far as pop ballads go.  Jordin kind of goes for it on the chorus, but I think she held back, probably at the suggestion of the producer.  That’s not how I would have gone, but I’m not a record producer.

The Fray “Never Say Never”
Remember the first Fray album’s first two singles?  We all thought “Over My Head” was mellow piano rock until the next single made it sound like a bawlz out rocker.  While their new album took everything The Fray was and amped it up, they relapse into a similar single pattern.  “Never Say Never” takes the tempo down a notch in hopes of scoring with the same crowd that shrugged at “Over My Head” but lapped up “How to Save a Life”.  Will the same thing happen on album number three?  If it does, I think we’ve found the Hot AC version of AC/DC, which isn’t a bad thing.

MGMT “Kids”
While I’m happy to see another single from these guys, I was hoping it would have been “Electric Feel”.  Now THAT is one funky jam.  “Kids” is weird but only as weird as “Time to Pretend”.  “Electric Feel” might have been a bit too out there. 

Pick to click: The Fray

Last night I went to Terminator Salvation.  It was better than T3, but not by much.  McG should stick to Charlie’s Angels movies.  If there’s a movie franchise I can list as a “guilty pleasure”, it’s the Charlie’s Angels one.  Hopefully Drew isn’t stringing me along with those rumors that she wants to do a 3rd one.

The new Tori Amos CD was decent.  It wasn’t as adventurous as her last, but it does what it does well, which is sound like a Tori CD.  I’m still hoping to pick up the new Carbon Leaf soon.  I never thought a Rooney song would get stuck in my head, but their theme song for “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” is way catchy.

Speaking of “Iron Man: Armored Adventures”, has there ever been a better point in time for comics-inspired cartoons?  “Iron Man: Armored Adventures” is really winning me over.  “Wolverine and the X-Men” might be the best X-related series ever.  “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” has somehow made a fun Batman show without making Batman himself a campy character.  New episodes of “Spectacular Spider-Man” start up in a month or so, and that show is arguably the best Spider-Man show ever made.  I can’t think of the last time that many good comic-inspired shows were on at once.  The early 90s came close, but I don’t think the old Fox versions of “Spider-Man” and “X-Men” hold up as well, and the first season of “Iron Man/Fantastic Four” was awful.  Luckily “The Tick” made up for that.

Braeden is close to walking!  It’s crazy to see him starting to stand on his own.  Even though it is way earlier than I’d like, it’s always a treat to find him standing up in his crib, waiting for somebody to free him for the day.  He’s been such a happier baby since he started being able to get around and do some things himself.  I’ve never understood why parents said “they grow up so fast” until now.  Just thinking about the last eight months makes my head swim.  Even after saying that, I wish he’d grow a bit faster.  I have so many games to teach him, cartoons to share with him, and action figures that need more action.  I was going to sell all my old Toy Biz figures on eBay, but now I think I’ll save them to see if he takes an interest in super-heroes.  I have a mostly complete collection of the Transformers “Robot Heroes” and G.I. Joe “Combat Heroes” still in their packaging, but I’ve told Braeden on several occasions that when he’s three he can open them all up if he wants to.

This past weekend we spent a chunk of the weekend with Kate’s family in Iowa.  I had a good time like I always do, but I always feel out of place.  They’re very outdoorsy, and I’m not.  The odd thing is, I could have been that way if my dad hadn’t passed away.  He was a big-time hunter and fisherman, while my mom and step dad were only into fishing (something I have no skill at whatsoever).  I know Kate’s family wants him to get involved with all of that, and I don’t have a problem with it.  It’s just I don’t know how into it I’ll be, and I hope that doesn’t color how he feels about it. 

I think this is a good place to stop.  Have a great rest o’ the May.

Four new songs! Four new songs!

So, now I can just do the same thing I was doing?

KKCK:

Jesse McCartney w/Ludacris “How Do  You Sleep?”
This is a duo that I didn’t see coming.  I mean, the rapper/singer combo song is a well established tactic to boost a single that would otherwise be a bit lacking.  While I’m a huge fan of Ludacris, I’m a bit “meh” on Jesse McCartney.  This song comes in many flavors, from the bland AC ‘no rap’ version to the full blown ‘rhythmic’ version.  The difference is probably just the amount of bass and Ludacris.  We went with the ‘mainstream CHR’ version, which has just enough of both to give Jesse a bit of cred, but not so much as to require the song be dayparted.  Speaking of dayparts…

T.I. w/Justin Timberlake “Dead and Gone”
…doesn’t have one.  My friends, this is the power that Justin Timberlake wields.  He can do a song with someone who is almost always relegated to our “night only” stuff and get our MD to say, “It’s a ballad, so it’s fine.”  I ask you, is there anyone who couldn’t have a hit with Justin Timberlake on the track, especially when Timberlake is between albums?  I only hope his power doesn’t corrupt him.  From his SNL bits and awards show speeches, he seems like a decent bloke.  I’d even go so far as to say I enjoy hearing “Sexyback” now and then.  Does that make me less a man, or Slayer fan?

Beyonce “Halo”
Don’t you hate it when a song comes out that has the same title as a song you really like?  This is a textbook case for me, as I get Soil’s “Halo” running through my head.  Other than titles, those two songs have pretty much nothing in common.  While partial to Soil’s “Halo”, I find little wrong with Beyonce’s “Halo” other than it isn’t from the Sasha Fierce half of the CD.  So far, I’m digging those tracks a lot more.

Papa Roach “Lifeline”
This band had come a long way from “Last Resort”.  The song is a bit punchy for CHR, but not for our unique blend of CHR.  I wonder what will happen if their ex-drummer wins his lawsuit, and the band has to be legally “dissolved”.  Has that ever happened before?  The closest thing I can think of is the whole Dokken fiasco back in the day, and that was just about a band name.

Pick to click: T.I. & Justin Timberlake

There’s a topic I thought of discussing today.  I thought long and hard about it, and with a new administration and a general feeling of renewal, it seemed like the time to talk about it.  I didn’t have the time to really break it down, so I’ll save it for another day.  It’s nothing severe, and nothing Earth shattering.  In fact, some will just laugh it off.  So, we’ll let that sit a while longer.

Battlestar Galactica…OMG.  I have no idea where this is going to go.  I’m ready for the ride, even if the destination is one I don’t care for.

I don’t have time for much else.  I shift into Mr. Mom gear for the next few days, as Kate’s having her meniscus repaired.  Wish me luck.

Three flavors of new in 2009 so far

I wouldn’t lick any of these artists.  Just sayin’.

KKCK:

Akon “Beautiful”
This is one of the few five minute radio edits one will see.  A few guest stars spice up the track, which is a pretty common Akon track.  I’m actually a bit surprised at how much it reminds me of his last track.  I’m always up for more Kardinal Offishal guest spots, and this song helps in that category.  It is impossible for an Akon song to do poorly around here, so this will be big here, and probably top ten nationwide before it’s all said and done.

Leona Lewis “I Will Be”
I spent some time with this song in hopes of being inspired to write something about it.  Really, there isn’t a lot to say about it.  Leona Lewis came out of the gate with music that couldn’t be more mainstream and radio friendly.  Sure, it’s a bit bland and it doesn’t stray far from her last single, but “I Will Be” has a more uplifting title than “Better in Time” and “Bleeding Love”.  Leona is running the show now, so we might as well get used to it.

Theory of a Deadman “Not Meant to Be”
Even when my favorite cranky cannuck rockers go for the ballad, they can’t stop being bitter.  If Chad Kroeger wrote the lyrics to this music, we’d get another “How You Remind Me” or “Photograph”.  Instead, we get Tyler Connoly’s lament about a dysfunctional relationship.  Nickelback and Theory of a Deadman couldn’t be more similar and different if they tried. 

Pick for clicks: Akon

With all the hype building up for the re-release of the 1989 Beastie Boys record Paul’s Boutique, I dug out my first print cassette tape and listened to the album for the first time since probably 1990 or 1991.  When I heard it back then, I was wanting more Licensed to Ill raps about rhymin’ and stealin’, girls, party right fights and not sleeping until Brooklyn.  What I heard was not even close to another Licensed to Ill.  I gave it a few tries, but songs like “Eggman” (though I loved “Hey Ladies”) were just a bit too off the wall for my brain, which was living on a steady diet of Motley Crue, Dangerous Toys, Warrant, and ZZ Top just to name four.  This weekend I popped in the album, and I enjoyed it so much I listened to it twice.  It actually freaks me out a little bit to think about how much I didn’t like it then, compared to how much I like it now.  Sometimes I think about all the old cassette tapes and CDs I have, and how many of them I didn’t like back then that I might like now.  Has anyone else rediscovered an album that they didn’t like at first?  I know I’ve written about this sort of thing before, but will there ever be a point where it doesn’t weird me out a bit? 

Too much f***in’ perspective man.

2009 is going pretty well so far.  No complaints on my end.  Kate and I are hoping to hit Sioux Falls this weekend.  We could use the day to ourselves (big thanx to grandma for watchin’ Braeden) so hopefully the weather cooperates.

Sunday I packed up my NES, SNES, and PS1 and moved them upstairs for quick assembly if the mood hits.  I can’t even remember the last PS2 game I played.  I received Lego Batman for my birthday, and I haven’t even opened it yet.  Kate thinks this means I’m growing up or some such nonsense, but I tend to go in streaks for video games.  This off streak has been a lot longer than most.  A lot of my part-time hobbies are falling away as more of my time is spent with Braeden and Kate, or I’m working on my writing.  It’s coming up on five years since I started writing here, and almost a  year since I went a bit wordpress nuts.  If anything, it’s making me want to do it more.  I wonder if SMSU will give me a do-over for a degree.

Yeah, probably not.  Good thing I like what I do for a living.

Have a good rest of the week.  Comments are always welcome.

Godzilla vs. Snot-zilla (oh, and songs too)

Sorry for the title.  With the cold I have I feel like a snot-zilla.  It does beg the question: is “Godzilla” the second best Blue Oyster Cult hit, or does that title go to “Burnin’ for  You”?

Think about it.  Then, think about these.

KKCK:

The Fray “You Found Me”
Am I the only one who finds it funny that ABC is using this song to promote “Lost”?  If you dug the Fray’s piano rock the last time around, this song won’t do much to change your mind.  This song actually sounds like a second album song, as the band’s sound is more…well, just more.  Everything seems bigger this time around, and that’s not uncommon for a young band.  This is probably the most time and money they’ve spent on an album, and the pressure to get it right with a fickle audience has caused many a band to press.  The Fray don’t deviate from their sound, but rather they just make it a bit bigger and more sweeping without totally ruining how they sound.  This should be a big hit, but I’ve been wrong before.

Lesley Roy “Unbeautiful”
This new Irish singer has been a project in the works for a few years, and now Jive is reaping some return.  Her wiki entry links to a Starpulse article that claims her sound is a mix of Avril Lavigne and Melissa Ethridge.  I get more of a Dar Williams with Lucinda Williams, or at least Lucinda’s smoking habit (does she smoke?  her voice tells me yes but really I don’t know).  The song gets points for tripping my spell-check as well, as “unbeautiful” hasn’t made it into the lexicon like “meh” or “truthiness”.  Upon spell-checking, those words aren’t found either.  Get with it wordpress.

Pink “Sober”
Here we have a star lamenting the end of her hard partying ways.  Oddly, it isn’t Britney.  What I really love about Pink is that she’s not afraid to tackle subjects and concepts her contemporaries avoid.  The song isn’t a mover like “So What” but it doesn’t tread into mushy ballad-land either.  It’s a slower pink song, and those tend to do very well.  Here’s hoping Pink sticks around a while.

Pick to click: Pink, just barely over the Fray, who are just barely over Lesley Roy.  This was a good week.

Have you seen this story at CNN about “Tivo Guilt”?  Isn’t it amazing that technology both solves old problems and somehow creates new ones?  I’m totally there as far as Tivo guilt (though technically mine is Moxi guilt).  I’m three weeks behind on “Terminator: TSCC” and Kate asked why I’m still recording it if I’m not into it anymore.  The thing is that show is my second favorite show (“30 Rock” FTW) but I tend to put it off until the weekend, and the last few weekends I’ve been so tired after the Shag I just go to bed.  If I let it slide much longer, I’ll have four episodes in the DVR.  That’s a time commitment akin to watching the first two Terminator movies.  It doesn’t help that I record two shows that are on four nights a week (Daily and Colbert) and two shows that are on five nights a week (“X-Play” and “Late Late Show w/Craig Ferguson”).  The article hits the nail on the head about TV becoming almost a chore because the box only has so much space.  If the hard drive was bigger I have a feeling the problem would only get worse, because the urge to “watch it later” would be stronger.  I have most of the weekend off, and we specifically planned for a weekend where we didn’t have any plans, so hopefully I’ll find out what John, Sarah and Cameron have been up to.

Since Thanksgiving, the only real update on my front is the cold.  Kate does not have it yet, which is really odd.  We’re totally screwing up the order in which illness is being passed around.  I just checked, and Kate is still being an all-star mom.  Braeden is another story.  He cries.  A lot.  A lot lot lot.  Sometimes he’ll be happy giggly baby and then he goes right to screaming his head off.  It has been the cause of some stress and frustration for Kate and I, because all we want to do is make it better, but it seems nothing does.  The doctor thinks it could be acid reflux, so we’re trying some baby-prevacid or something like that.  The kick in the pants is that Kate’s friends who have babies don’t have this problem (seriously…to a person they’re all raising little angels or something).  She needs to hear from some people who raised little banshees.  The real irony here is that I do know of one mother who had a baby who screamed all the time.  My mother was that mother.  For years my mom has told me she could not wait for me to have my own kids, and she laughed a bit maniacally each time she said it.  It turns out I was a lot like Braeden in the crying all the time department, but I’m at work eight hours a day.  Kate is the one who’s getting what I deserve, and that is totally not fair.  Sure, I get a few hours of “wahhhhh!” when I wake up or get home, but it really isn’t right that Kate has to deal with my bad baby karma.  Parents of banshees, help me out.  We can’t be the only ones raising an air raid siren.

I’m contemplating what to do with my blogs in January.  Russ4life isn’t changing, and my MySpace blog isn’t going away (it would be nice if they would add some new freakin’ features…the blog interface is almost the same as it was the day I signed up, and I lost count of how many wordpress updates have happened since I signed up).  Cliffhanger Theater will come to an end in February, as the story will finally be done.  I’ll either start a new one but not a daily one, and the characters will be different.  I might go back to some of the characters someday.  I’ve found myself getting so attached to some of them.  I’ve spent a little time out of each day with them, and now that the story is building to a conclusion I’m having trouble deciding who gets to make it to the ending.  I thought of doing a “Cliffhanger Theater: Director’s Cut” where I go back and actually clean things up, proofread, and fix bad dialogue.  Kate wants me to condense it into something I could try to get published.  One Month in 1984 will probably get one more entry, and then it will probably get rebooted.  I feel I’ve purged my brain of all of my thoughts on my time in New Mexico, and after wrapping it up sometime soon I’ll start the blog over with a new focus and theme, but I’ll keep the URL the same just in case I manage to get back to Farmington someday.  Verbiage Dump has settled into a nice mirror for my MySpace blog, and a place to stick other odds and ends about music.  KKCK Music News is still around until KKCK’s website comes back.  After that, I’m not sure what I’ll do with it, since everything I do there I’ll be doing at the KKCK site.  One blog I have a link to at Russ4life that is inaccessible is 13shots.  That was my original book idea, and I would still like to write it someday.  The problem is that when I started, I was dealing with a lot of sadness that I’ve carried around for a long time.  When I started working on Cliffhanger Theater, the purpose was to get practice writing in hopes of making 13shots better.  Writing on a regular basis has actually brought me out of the cloudy skies, so my head isn’t the right place to write 13shots right now (it will be a very depressing book in spots).  The time may come again someday where I’ll be in the right headspace to work on 13shots, but until then I’ll keep it hidden so I have the basic structure ready to go.  Originally I wanted to do some fanfic, but I’ve had plenty of original ideas since then.  I might use the One Month in 1984 URL for some of that, but I’m still deciding. 

Hey, two long blogs two weeks in a row.  How ’bout that?

Four songs on a deadline that was hours ago

Since these songs were added while I was still away, I’m not super familiar with them.  Let’s see how that works.

Jonas Brothers “Lovebug”
Is this the one they did at the VMAs?  If so, good enough.  They’re almost in “do no wrong” territory.

Britney Spears “Womanizer”
It has a nice groove, but I’m not sold on the vocals or the lyrics.  Xtina’s new song has it in spades over this one.  Remember when a Britney vs. Xtina match was a lot closer?

Hinder “Without You”
Man, why remake a good Motley Crue song.  Wait, it’s not a remake…just a new Hinder song.  Somebody tell this band that if they want to totally copy the Nickelcreed formula they need the ballad single before the fast song single.

Akon “Right Now (Na Na Na)”
As far as Akon songs go, it isn’t anything special, nor is it super annoying like “Lonely”.  Akon needs to stop putting that stupid “KONVICT” drop in all of his song intros.  It’s both lame and has been debunked by thesmokinggun.com.

Pick to click: Jonas Brothers

B.A. turned a week old last night.  That was weird.  I thought throughout the pregnancy time was moving at a normal pace, and now it feels like somebody hit the fast forward button.  I’m trying to enjoy the moment, but I keep looking forward to him laughing, talking and learning.  At the same time, I want to hold him and baby him for a long time.  So far fatherhood is a weird mental trip, but it is one I’m happy to be on.

I’m still trying to get back in the old routine, so this week’s blog is a bit short.  We’ll try to get a longer one in next week.

songs of four, to bore, nevermore

At least not yet.

KKCK:

Katy Perry “Hot N Cold”
After stirring things up with songs like “I Kissed a Girl” and “Ur So Gay”, Katy shows her versatility by releasing a single that is painfully normal for the reputation she’s worked so hard to sully.  Really, there isn’t much controversy in this song.  Well, she does use the term “P.M.S.”.  Does that count?  I have a feeling that this is the bulk of what we can expect from Ms. Perry going forward, and if you dig it, dig it.  I must confess I picked up her CD at Best Buy, since it was only eight bucks, and for eight bucks I’ll take a chance.  It’s worth about eight bucks, but not much more.  She might be an interesting singer to watch in the future. 

Artists Stand Up to Cancer “Just Stand Up!”
The star power on this song is tough to top.  I didn’t even try to flag it for artist separation.  In the last decade or two (mainly since “We Are the World”) charity singles like this never do much on the charts.  However, this one seems to have bust out of the “charity all-star” genre and right into the mainstream.  The multi-network “Stand Up to Cancer” special has helped it as well, but the real test is to see if the song has legs after the special.  A song like this is also helped a great deal by the internet, as the last really good all-star charity song (2001’s “What’s Going On”) didn’t amount to major radio chart success.

Jesse McCartney “It’s Over”
That’s what I thought of Jesse’s career after the album before the current one totally flopped.  I didn’t think his crash would be a total Jimmy Ray disappearance, but I thought he’d fade to the background and release AC albums that get played at coffee shops and bookstores.  Instead, he pulls a near Justin Timberlake makeover and hits back at radio in a big way.  Well played Mr. McCartney.  This song doesn’t have the big hook that “Leavin” does, but it should be good enough to get him in the top ten, and maybe the top five.  “Leavin” was such a big radio hit that the next single should do a minimum of top ten by default, no matter what it sounds like.

Shinedown “Second Chance”
The subject matter of this song caught my ear more than the music.  That’s pretty rare, since I’ve often said “if the music is good the lyrics can be gibberish” or something along those lines.  Rather than do a cut/paste of the whole song, I’ll just hit you with the chorus:

Tell my mother,
Tell my father
I’ve done the best I can
To make them realise
This is my life
I hope they understand
I’m not angry, I’m just saying…
Sometimes goodbye
Is a second chance

For some reason, the thought of “goodbye” being a second chance caught my ear, and got me thinking about how many of my goodbyes were really second chances I didn’t know I was getting.  I realize the implications of a song on KKCK that made me think.  It’s not really what we go for, but a bit here and there can’t hurt, right?

Pick to cliz-ick: Shinedown

The babywatch is in full effect.  It could be any day now.  I just don’t know the day, and no matter how many times I ask him, he won’t answer.  Yesterday at work I referred to him as “a living, breathing alarm clock I can’t set” as opposed to what I have now, which are “furry alarm clocks I can’t set”.  I’m still curious as to how our cats will react to the new arrival.  Kate is worried most about Weevil and Eileen.  Weevil is kind of a bastard, but he’s shown unusual patience when other children have come to visit.  Eileen is an attention whore, so her attention being cut could be a cause for alarm.  Mac is pretty indifferent about most everything, and Logan is so stupid he might not realize there’s a baby until it’s chasing him around.  Our new big fear is that the baby will be allergic to cats.  That means we’d have four friends who would need new homes, and while I’d never pick a cat over my child, saying goodbye to them, especially Weevil, would be heartbreaking. 

Most everything else around here is going well.  The house is in good order, work is going great, and there’s new AC/DC on the horizon.  “Rock N Roll Train” is a better song than any of the singles off Stiff Upper Lip, so I’m quite excited to hear the rest of the new CD Black Ice.  I just hope they stop taking eight years between CDs.  They can’t have that many left in them. 

Speaking of waiting, why is 30 Rock not coming back until almost Halloween?  Fox will debut and cancel at least three shows before then.

That’s all for today.  I must go type here, or here, or here, or here, or here.  I type a lot.

Three songs that can’t get Daft Punk out of my head

Around the world around the world around the world around the world around the world…

KKCK:

Kevin Rudolf w/Lil’ Wayne “Let It Rock”
What it isn’t: a remake of Bon Jovi’s “Let It Rock” from Slippery When Wet.
What it is: A song that tries to tell the CHR/Rhythmic side to rock.  There isn’t a lot of info on Mr. Rudolf around, but his MySpace lists his previous work, and it reads like a session musician for a number of artists.  Lil’ Wayne pops up, because he seems to feel the need to be in almost every song out there.  I was fully expecting his part to sound tacked on, but it fits in better than I thought it would. 
Could Daft Punk make it better? I think they could do a number on this one.

Natasha Bedingfield “Angel”
What it isn’t: it is NOT a remake of “Angel” by Aerosmith, or Angie Perez, or Jimi Hendrix, or Fleetwood Mac, or Madonna, or Angela Winbush, or Eurythmics, or a-ha, or Pearl Jam, or Sarah McLachlan, or Shaggy, or Two Tricky, or Belinda Peregrín, or The Corrs, or Within Temptation, or Pharrell, or Chiara, or Aretha Franklin, or Anita Baker, or Jon Secada, or Massive Attack, or Dru Hill, or Lionel Richie, or Blue October, or Stabbing Westward, or Judas Priest, or 8mm, or MxPx, or Leona Lewis, or Jack Johnson, or Marty Friedman.
What it is: Besides another name to add to that list (by the way, thanks to wikipedia and a bit of my memory for that list) when we get the next “Angel” song?  Well, it does remind us that Darkchild is forever, and I had forgotten that of late.  This track suffers from “why is this a single” syndrome.  I’ve heard very good things about this album, but this song just doesn’t grab me the way past songs by Natasha Bedingfield have. 
Could Daft Punk make it better?  I think a glitchy remix with some pounding beats couldn’t hurt.

Jack’s Mannequin “The Resolution”
What it isn’t: a remake of anything I can think of.  Seriously, I can’t even think of another song called “The Resolution”
What it is: A very solid pop-rock song that makes more sense than I thought it did the first time I heard it.  I listened to their first album, The Mix Tape, and it didn’t grab me.  This one grabbed me.  Maybe I need to go back, but I’m learning that isn’t always a cure all (more on that later).
Could Daft Punk make it better? Daft Punk makes most everything better, but this song is pretty good as is.

Pick to click: Jack’s Mannequin

If I may get back to getting back to albums, what I’m about to say will kill my chances of ever being cool in the eyes of Pitchfork.  I like Liz Phair better on a major label.  I’ve been hearing nothing about how great Exile in Guyville is since I bought Whip Smart back when it came out.  That album fell so flat with me I just blew off Liz until her Capitol Records debut came out, and I found it on sale really cheap.  I read nothing but hateful, spiteful reviews of the album, and while not perfect, I enjoyed it a lot more than Whip Smart.  Even her second Capitol album, which took a good slagging as well, sounded pretty decent to me.  I’ve been in a much more indie-rock mindset lately, so I thought going back to Guyville now would start me on a road to wanting Liz’s discography.  After listening to Guyville a few times, I don’t even have the urge to go back to Whip Smart again.  At first I considered that Guyville’s time has come and gone, or has it not aged well.  However, I know Liz is on tour right now playing the album in its entirety, so that tells me I’m in a small camp about her two Capitol albums.  Any Phair-weather fans want to tackle this one?

Babywatch is on heightened alert, with high alert status to follow soon.  So, if I don’t post on a Wednesday in the next month, that’s why.  We’re about four days away from the earliest of the many due dates we’ve been given.  The process now is adjusting the felines to what they can and can’t do.  Granted, when Eileen sleeps in the crib it is one of the most adorable sights around.  Kate is really worried about how Eileen will react to the drop in attention.  The other cats will be fine, IMHO.  Eileen should adjust well, even if part of that is settling for attention from me.  For a while it might be that whoever doesn’t have the baby has to have a cat or four in petting distance.

I’ll leave you all with a question.  I had planned on my first words to the baby to be “welcome to Earth” but I’m open to any suggestions.

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 .

That funky freshman year $#!*

Today, while putting in commercials and doing other station related work, I’ve started listening to a CD I recently (and finally) got my hands on.  Even though I’ve not heard it since about 1993, I still remember a lot of the music (and lyrics even!).  I’ve never owned it before, and now I only own it digitally.  It was property of my college roommate back in 1992.  He bought a five-CD changer, and we had it hooked into my “Mega-bass” boom box.  For a while, he only had one CD, but soon, he had a pretty good collection, and this one was almost always in.  I’d grown up not hating rap, but I didn’t give it a second thought.  By the time he moved out (nothing I did…he just wanted some…privacy?  he was more of a ladies man than I was) I knew every song on this CD, along with House of Pain, DJ Magic Mike, Black Sheep, and Public Enemy, thanks to a few days of all day Super Mario 3 playing and that he listened to mostly rap all the time.

Back in 1994 or 1995, I lost touch with the old roomie.  We were in the same major, and I like to think we stayed friends the two years he went to SSU.  He transferred to Florida State, and we had some kind of awkward exchange at some NBS-AERho convention about him thinking SSU was small time and me thinking his attitude had gotten too big.  So Matt Rost (formerly of Mankato), if you find this, I’m sorry.  I hope you’re doing well wherever you might be, and I hope you’re still enjoying Cypress Hill.  Also, thanks for broadening my musical horizons, even if I prefer Ludacris to most rappers (however, my favorite rap group is still Public Enemy).