Can't A Guy Catch a Break?

We finally have an African-American man with a genuine shot at the presidency, and what happens? He's getting shot down by his own pastor, who is also black. Is this just another example of black-on-black crime? I don't think so. I don't think it is his pastor who has the gun. It is the media, again. SO WHAT if his former pastor is an ardent racist, supports Farrakhan and considers America a terrorist government? Has anyone ever had a friend or associate who does not think exactly like they do? Of course. But on the public stage, Obama is spending all his speaking time distancing himself from the Reverend Wright, even though he is his former pastor and is not formally part of the Obama campaign. Perhaps I'm missing something in the pastor-parishioner relationship. Are all parishioners associated with the private thoughts of their pastors? Is the same true in academia? Are all students who get an "A" in a particular class associated with the private beliefs of their professors? Not that I know of. If all parishioners are associated with the private thoughts of their pastors, there are a large number of people from Catholic congregations who are associated with some pretty naughty priestly habits. Obama has sophisticated campaign strategists, and they finally told him to get pissed off, and cut all ties with Wright. I wish he would add "I cannot be any more emphatic. And I will not waste more precious time during this campaign, or the presidential campaign addressing the thoughts of a man who does not represent my views. Period." And then, actually follow through, by NOT answering any more questions. Ignore them. The problem, of course, is that America has to be told something five times before it starts to sink in. If then. There were people in Indiana interviewed last week who were still concerned about Obama being a Muslim. A year from now, they will probably think Obama believes the U.S. government will use AIDs to wipe out the U.S. minority population.

What is News?

Specifically, what is sports news? ESPN's sportscenter this morning has a story about Brett Favre. Nothing surprising, except he has retired, and they keep asking him if he is still retired. But the real news story? He's going to be on the cover of EA Sports Madden '09. How is this news? When Pete Rose was on the Wheaties box, did the 6:00 news report it? There's too much t.v. programming. I imagine its rather difficult to fill all that time, so I shouldn't be surprised. But 300 channels, 24 hours a day. That's a lot of space to fill. Hence the dime-a-dozen sitcoms, the non-news news stories, the liberal-conservative pundits fighting each other, the non-journalist pundits telling us what to think, and the dominance of Law and Order and CIS and their abundant spinoffs.

Crappy Word of the Week

Edutainment. Also in this category, infotainment, dramedy and docudrama.

British Sea Power and Film School

On Saturday I went to a show at a local club featuring a local opener, Film School and British Sea Power. I went for BSP, because I really like their Open Season CD, particularly "It Ended On An Oily Stage." BSP didn't play much from that CD, focusing more on the new release "Do You Like Rock Music?" That CD is okay...it's better live than in studio. In my view, though, it doesn't have the British sound that I liked on Open Season. Interestingly, BSP is fairly subdued playing their set, but at the end, they went crazy for 1/2 an hour, throwing guitars, smashing everything, picking each other up, screaming, wailing on guitars...all like a punk act. I found it interesting for five minutes. And then, eardrums bleeding at 2 a.m. I thought, why am I paying for these guys to enjoy themselves on stage, when they aren't actually "creating" anything for the audience. Just not my thing, I guess. The surprise was Film School. This is a revamped version of the band. According to the keyboard player (Jason), only Jason and the lead singer Greg are original members. The lead guitarist (Dave), drummer (James) and bass player (Lorelei, who is very attractive guys) recently joined the band. You'd never know it, though. They were sharp and energetic, with subdued dream pop vocals, but heavy guitar thrashes. There's a lesson in live music here. You've got a hot group like BSP, that everyone turns out to see (sea?) and you end up finding something new. In fact, after the energetic Film School set, BSP seemed tame...at least until the self-indulgent madness at the end. Their run with BSP is coming to an end in the Southern leg of BSP's tour, but Jason said the band decided to continue touring on its own while it has momentum. Highly recommended. See their MySpace page for tour dates.

Tina Fey Is Hot

Need I say more?

Labelwhore

No, I'm not talking about the Blogger labels feature. From Folio Weekly in Jacksonville, Florida, came this item:

Making artistic, themed scrapbooks is a $2.6 billion industry in the U.S. (nearly one-fifth as large as the adult-video industry) and has a "Hall of Fame" as protective of its morals as baseball's, which has shunned gamblers and steroid users. According to a January Wall Street Journal report, one "superstar" scrapbooker, Kristina Contes, was recently kicked out of the hall for violating etiquette by displaying another's photo inside her scrapbook in a competition. Contes said the oversight was inadvertent but that she is now shunned within the community for her grave offense and is called "labelwhore."

What do you say to that? I actually think the scrapbooking industry is worse for America than adult-videos (assuming they don't involve children, which I would not endorse in any form). Scrapbooking is another of those seemingly-sweet American institutions, like cheerleading or Little League baseball, that spouts a bunch of draconian rules because basically, people like to tell other people what to do and think. Now I wouldn't consider scrapbooking "art" no matter what...not my thing. But it isn't my job to tell people what constitutes "art" and what doesn't. I don't think Thomas Kinkaid makes art either, but millions of people disagree. Fine. But I'm SURE it doesn't qualify as art if the governing body tells you what you can and cannot do with your art.

Rainbow

So every once and awhile I decide to listen to some old music that I never otherwise hear or think of. I thought about posting a review of an old album I have by Rainbow, called "Straight Between the Eyes." Instead I decided I would just pick a few Rainbow songs from their catalog, and talk about them. Background Ritchie Blackmore was the guitarist for Deep Purple (y'know, Smoke on the Water?) but decided to start his own band. He recruited Ronnie James Dio as the lead singer, and they stepped into the metal/fantasy genre. Dio would later front Black Sabbath before having a solo career. Along the way Rainbow picked up a few other Deep Purple alumni, like bassist Roger Glover. Dio gets fed up with Blackmore in about three years, and Blackmore brings on board another guy who only lasted a year. Then came Joe Lynn Turner, who could really sing, but was more mainstream. Eventually the albums stopped selling and they went their own ways. Man on the Silver Mountain (1976): B+ This classic rock track is on the first album, called "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow," and it's the first track. For my money it's the best of the Dio tracks. Plus, it has a great opening chord riff that is perfectly reminiscent of Deep Purple. You wouldn't know the difference, until Dio starts singing. Later, in Sabbath and on his own, he is more of a screamer. Here, he is a vocalist. Lyrics are nothing special, but since they are well-sung they come off okay:

[Excerpt] I'm a wheel, I'm a wheel I can roll, I can feel And you can't stop me turning

• Vocals: A-
• Guitar: A
• Bass: B
• Drums: B
• Keyboards: n/a
• Solos: B
• Arrangement: B
• Lyrics: C+

Long Live Rock and Roll (1978): C- Off the fourth album with the same name as the song. Generally, I don't like songs with the words "Rock and Roll" in the title. They sound like cheap party songs designed to hook the generic fan. This track goes one step further and has a guitar riff that echoes Dio's voice when he sings the chorus. I nearly always find that unsatisfying, because again, it's just too hooky. The chorus repeats...over and over and over. The drums sound like they were recorded in a garage. Dio is screaming more here, like an arena rock frontman. And he sounds out of breath. A couple of times he sounds almost like he's talking, fast and loud. Lyrics are a snore:

[Excerpt] In a different time When the words didn't rhyme You could never quite be sure Then on with the change It was simple but strange And you knew the feeling seemed to say it all

• Vocals: C
• Guitar: C
• Bass: B-
• Drums: C
• Keyboards: n/a
• Solos: C
• Arrangement: D
• Lyrics: D

I Surrender (1980): C Joe Lynn Turner's debut on vocals. I'm skipping the interim guys. This particular song sounds a lot like a Foreigner knock off, with a much worse chorus. It sounds like Foreigner if Foreigner spent all its time wondering what it would look like in a music video. The verses are alright, though undistinguishable from 1,000 other rock songs during this time period. Turner sounds good, but there's only so much he can do with a chorus that requires him to sing "I surrender" and "I remember" with background singers echoing him. Definitely detracts from the song having any hard edge. On the chorus, he's straining. I don't think his voice is ready yet. The guitar solo has very little distortion. The drum occasionally has one of those clap/bullwhip cracks for punch. Yuck. They are clearly trying to sell records. No wonder they didn't. This doesn't sound like a hard rock band. Would Michael Bolton sing these lyrics?:

[Excerpt] I surrender to your heart babe Do anything that you want me to do Please be tender I'm in your hands girl This is a feeling I never knew

• Vocals: B
• Guitar: C-
• Bass: B
• Drums: C+
• Keyboards: D
• Solos: D
• Arrangement: C+
• Lyrics: D

Death Alley Driver (1982): B This song and the next one are on "Straight Between the Eyes," an album I bought in 1982. I'm guessing these songs will get decent reviews, because I liked them at the time. Then again, they might not hold up. This song begins with the cliche of some race car sounds. Then the snare kicks in, uptempo, followed by a chopping guitar. Turner bursts in, and now his voice is in full form. You can't miss the energy in this song. The pre-chorus is weak, but the rest of the song propels along like...a....real...rock...band! The solo sounds like a less distorted Iron Maiden riff, without the second guitar. Blackmore showing off his chops, especially in the second half of the solo. He's no Dave Murray (of Iron Maiden) in this song, but it's worth listening to. Unfortunately, it is followed by a distorted keyboard solo. They are rock lyrics, but they work...though there's the dreaded "rock and roll" reference. Points deducted for that:

[Excerpt] Rough and ready rider in a supersonic sound machine Rock and Roll survivor Chrome pipes between your knees

• Vocals: B+
• Guitar: B+
• Bass: B
• Drums: B
• Keyboards: C
• Solos: B+
• Arrangement: B+
• Lyrics: B-

Stone Cold (1982): B+ This got play on the radio, which is how I ended up with the LP. It is a slower song. I wouldn't exactly call it a rock ballad, because that conjures up some cheap bands like Winger and Wasp. It's more dark and brooding than that. It has a heavy keyboard part, but it actually adds to the dark mood instead of dominating the song. The pieces all work together very well, with no one part trying to steal the show. The guitar has a chorus effect, and there are a few fills that add a little "haunting" to the song. Turner sounds a little like Paul Stanley (Kiss) in the pre-chorus but then he actually shows us the real stuff in the chorus. The solo doesn't sound like Blackmore at all...nothing like in Death Alley Driver. Again, a little Mick Jones (Foreigner) here, with more technical skill. Maybe a little Neal Schon (Journey...don't laugh...Schon could really play). He also has a nice solo in the outro under the lyrics Lyrics are much improved. Simply put, this song still works. I enjoyed listening to this again. This is when their album sales declined? Crazy!

[Excerpt] Your words like ice fall on the ground Breaking the silence without a sound Oh familiar strangers with nothing to say Searching in the darkness

• Vocals: B+
• Guitar: B
• Bass: B
• Drums: B
• Keyboards: B
• Solos: A-
• Arrangement: A
• Lyrics: B

Street of Dreams (1983): C Still Joe Lynn Turner, but this would be the band's last album. It sounds like it would have played perfectly on the previous LP, except the keyboards are front and center, dominating the intro. You'd have to really listen to find the guitar. This album is very produced, which is not a good thing. This is an MTV album. Turner still sings pretty well, but it's all cleaned up and softened, for more appeal to the masses. They are trying to find the money, and in the process, making themselves like every other rock band in 1983. I had a brief Icehouse flashback during the second verse! Icehouse wasn't half bad at what it was trying to do, but Rainbow doing it? Unh-unh. I don't think so. At least the solo has a guitar in it. I expected a little more inspiration from the solo, considering that instrument does absolutely nothing else in the song. Instead, it is a filler solo, there because rock songs are supposed to have solos. Lyrics are average for this kind of band. Rainbow's end.

[Excerpt] There you stood a distant memory So good like we never parted Said to myself I knew you'd set me free And here we are right back where we started

• Vocals: B
• Guitar: C- (tempted to put n/a)
• Bass: B-
• Drums: C
• Keyboards: C-
• Solos: C-
• Arrangement: C+
• Lyrics: B-