Alright, so we all knew The Dark Knight would clean up this weekend. But did anyone expect that?
Admittedly, I still haven’t seen it. Weekend plans didn’t allow it. But from what I’ve gathered from everyone I’ve talked to, the film would have been better titled Heath Ledger’s: The Joker.
I promised I’d keep you all in the loop when there was news on the upcoming Josh Garrels release, and I am a man of my word.
He is now taking preorders for his brand new full length album titled Jacaranda on his website. And for your listening pleasure, I’ve uploaded one of the new tracks, titled “Zion & Babylon” to my Muxtape.
The album is expected to be released in August, with a slew of fall tour dates to follow. So be on the lookout for another update in the not too distant future!
What the heck is Barbie into these days? (And who knew Ken was the submissive type!?!)
A new Barbie, scheduled to be released in September, has some folks seeing red. The UK-based watchdog group Christian Voice has called the doll “filth” stating that, “Barbie has always been on the tarty side and this is taking it too far. A children’s doll in sexually suggestive clothing is irresponsible.”
But is this a case of Barbie being sexually suggestive? Or is the doll simply an homage to a popular comic book heroine?
“Black Canary Barbie” is a Barbie rendition of a DC Comic superhero of the same name. She’s been around since 1947 - including appearances as part of the popular Justice League series - and has always been wearing the same getup from day one: fishnet stockings, a leather jacket and high heel boots.
There have already been previous action figure renditions of the character, and putting her in any other costume would be like Superman without the tights.
So why all the fuss over a Barbie version of the character? Has Mattel taken things too far by dressing Barbie like a dominatrix? Or has Christian Voice singled out Barbie because she’s an easy target? (No pun intended.)
On July 4th Ben Harper performed a live set that was broadcast online at The AT&T Blue Room. The 40-minute set contains tunes taken from his 2007 album Lifeline, and it’s Mmm-mmm-good.
For those Over the Rhine fans out there who are growing anxious for the third installment of their pheeeeenominal “Live From Nowhere” live CD series, there is reason to start drooling just a little bit.
After Linford’s father passed away unexpectedly several months ago during their tour with Ani DiFranco, the band announced that the release would be delayed. But now that the album artwork has shown up on their official website, there’s hope it may arrive sooner rather than later. Their merchandise page says it ships this summer!
We kicked off our 4th of July weekend by seeing Jakob Dylan perform a free show in Buffalo. All in all, he put on a great show. Well worth the price of admission!
He mostly played songs from his solo album Seeing Things, but did play a couple of Wallflowers tunes as well. The set was great, even if the crowd was a little obnoxious. As if the crowd surfing teens weren’t bad enough, he also had to endure regular chants begging him to play “One Headlight.” I’m glad he didn’t oblige.
One thing is for sure though, he’s definitely looking (and sounding) more like his dad these days. The entertainment writer for the Buffalo News took notice as well.
Jakob Dylan outran his father’s shadow on Thursday night, while looking eerily like that father in the process. Dressed in a nifty black suit and flat-brimmed hat that couldn’t help but suggest to the assembled the sort of ascetic country priest look Bob Dylan assumed for the “Nashville Skyline” and “John Wesley Harding” album covers, the younger Dylan offered a packed Thursday at the Square crowd a stirring run through his first solo album, “Seeing Things.”
About a year ago I told you about a project Derek Webb was embarking on that would allow music fans to download complete albums absolutely free. Well, Derek’s vision has finally come to fruition as NoiseTrade.com is now officially open for business!
There are currently 13 albums available for free download, including Derek Webb’s most recent release The Ringing Bell. You have two “payment” options. Either enter the email addresses of three of your friends who might like the album, or you can choose to “pay what you want” for the album. I took advantage of the free download offer immediately and have been really enjoying loving Micah Dalton’s album Pawnshop!
As an added bonus PASTE Magazine - aka the greatest music mag on the planet - is offering subscriptions on a “pay what you want” basis on the site.
In case you missed it there was a bit of controversy over the decision to ask him to headline this year’s Glastonbury Festival. The most vocal critic was Noel Gallagher of Oasis, who upon hearing the news had this to say in an interview with the BBC:
“Sorry, but Jay-Z? F—ing no chance. Glastonbury has a tradition of guitar music, do you know what I mean? … I’m not having hip-hop at Glastonbury. It’s wrong.”
So what was Jay-Z’s response when he took the stage at the festival this past weekend?
Last night we took Josiah to see WALL•E. What can I say, it was brilliant! I think it might be (by far?) the best Pixar film to date. If you haven’t seen it yet, make plans to do so immediately!
George Carlin was an absolute genius, and the comedic world will no doubt suffer in his absence.
I wanted to post a tribute to him, but found myself short on clips that were appropriate to share with a broad audience. (I do try to keep this place in the PG-13 range after all.) Thankfully the Daily News has saved the day. The following jokes are taken from an article they ran today showcasing some of Carlin’s “G-rated” humor.
Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.
The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
In America, anyone can become President. That’s the problem.
Is it true that cannibals don’t eat clowns because they taste funny?
If the “black box” flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn’t the whole airplane made out of that stuff?
What was the best thing before sliced bread?
I’m completely in favor of the separation of church and state. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
Team Bertou is fully geeked on seeing Pixar’s latest film WALL•E when it hits theaters this weekend. Pixar never disappoints us with their ridiculously creative stories and jaw-dropping animation, and WALL•E already looks like a solid candidate for the “1,000 Views Club” in our household (see also: Finding Nemo, Cars and The Incredibles).
I came across this interview today with Pixar’s Andrew Stanton. In it he discusses how his Christian faith informs his creativity, stories and the development of his characters. Here’s a taste:
The last thing I want to do is go to a movie and feel like I’m being preached to or being told how to be, and I think it’s more honest—and you’re going to have more effect—to be truthful with the values of your characters, working off of your own values. That was the case with WALL•E. The greatest commandment is to love one another, and to me, that’s the ultimate purpose of living. So that was the perfect goal for the loneliest robot on earth, to learn the greatest commandment, to learn to love.
One of the reasons I love baseball so much is that every time you watch a game you’re likely going to see something you’ve never seen before. Take this for example…
Ralph Henriquez is a switch hitting catcher for the Brooklyn Cyclones - the class A affiliate of the New York Mets. While switch hitting players are pretty common, what’s not so common are switch pitching pitchers like Pat Vanditte of the Staten Island Yankees. So what happens when a switch hitting batter faces a switch pitching pitcher?
Friday night I took in a performance by The Skatalites, some of the early pioneers of Jamaican music. There are only a handful of original members that remain alive and part of the band, but it was really cool to see those old cats (they must be in their late-60s or 70s) move a crowd full of young and old alike. For me, the cherry on top was when they performed “Simmer Down” - the very first single by Mr. Bob Marley and his Wailin’ Wailers on which the The Skatalites were the backing band.
I was going to split my time between Third World and Soullive but the thunderstorms chased me back home. That’s ok. That one performance was well worth the price of admission and is definitely among my favorite concert experiences to date.
I took in quite a few more performances on Saturday. I started off by watching my alma mater - the Newark High School Jazz Band - play a peppy little set at the Gibbs Street stage. From there I stumbled across a humble little set being performed at the Bernunzio Uptown Music Store by The Ted Perry Jazz Project.
From there I wandered around a bit and took in a little from the Gates-Chili High School Jazz Band, the Ben Britton Band (yes Tim and Jim, that’s why I stopped!), and listened to several tunes from Carolyn Wonderland’s soundcheck.
Carolyn Wonderland - What Happened to Peace on Earth?
Then I went home to drop off my stuff lock up my bike and great ready for the main event!
Medeski, Martin & Wood were absolutely phenomenal. They exceeded every expectation I had!
I started watching the show with my buddy Brian but eventually I just had to work my way as close to the stage as possible. How close? Well, I was standing right next to the photographer who took the photo above. Yeah, seeing one of your absolute favorite bands from about 10 feet away doesn’t suck!
Their set was smokin’, but got even hotter once they brought Rochester native Chuck Campbell in on the final four songs to accompany them with some filthy steel guitar! After they closed the set with a funky rendition of Hendrix’s “Hey Joe,” Shane went home a very happy (and tired) boy.
Great festival and yet again, record crowds. I’m already counting down the days until next year!
News just broke that Tim Russert, moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press, died earlier today of an apparent heart attack. He was reading voice overs for this Sunday’s episode at NBC Studios when he collapsed suddenly and died.
This is pretty sad news for me. Most of my Sunday mornings for the past few years have been spent watching Russert on Meet the Press. I always enjoyed the tenacity with which he grilled candidates and other political figures, as well as the discussion panels he assembled to talk about the issues.
Thoughts and prayers go out to his friends and family. He will no doubt be missed.
Today marks the kickoff of the 7th annual Rochester International Jazz Festival. The event features over 800 artists, performing over 250 concerts around the city between now and Saturday, June 21st. The Bertou clan figures to be regular fixtures each night at the free “Jazz Street Stage” on the corner of Gibbs St. & East Ave.
Ray LaMontagne announced this week that he’ll be releasing his highly anticipated (especially by me) third album - Gossip in the Grain - on September 9th!
I think the entire Bertou household just peed a little.
The press release contains what has to be the most accurate description of his sound that has ever been articulated:
Recorded with returning producer, Ethan Johns in Box, England, and touching upon a range of styles and musical settings- spanning pastoral folk, railroad blues, front porch country, and plangent balladry - Gossip In The Grain proves to be his most creative and emotionally expansive collection to date.
Here’s the track listing for the upcoming album, including some bootleg samples of the first three tracks:
1. Let It Be Me
2. Hey Me, Hey Mama
3. Sarah
4. I Still Care For You
5. Winter Birds
6. Meg White
7. Achin’ All The Time
8. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It’s A Shame)
9. A Falling Through
10. Gossip In The Grain
Coldplay’s new album Viva La Vida doesn’t come out in the U.S. until next week, but you can hear the whole darn thing right now at IHeartMusic.com. (Always looking out for my peeps!)
Take it for a spin and let us all know what you think.
It’s easily the single greatest composition of music you’ll hear until the next Coldplay release.
Fishnet stockings? High heel boots? Leather?
