MOG - wireboy's Posts

Shows I've Been To Lately ... and My One-Word Reviews

wireboy — Sun, 04 May 2008 21:56:08 GMT

Cat Power, and Appaloosa @ The Warfield, April 15, 2008: "Haunting."

Matchbox Twenty, Alanis Morrisette, and Mute Math @ HP Pavilion, March 12, 2008: "Rockin'."

Van Halen, & Ky-Mani Marley @ Oakland Arena, Oakland, Dec. 22, 2007: "Kick-ass."

Aimee Mann, Chuck Prophet, Sean Hayes, & Paul Thompkins @ Bimbo's 365 Club, Dec. 2, 2007: "Fun."

Feist, and Wil @ Masonic Auditorium, S.F., Nov. 9, 2007: "Nice."

Dan Wilson @ KFOG, S.F., Oct. 2, 2007: "Beautiful."

Justin King & The Apologies, Rock-it Room, S.F., Sept. 25, 2007: "Good."

Concert Diary Update

wireboy — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:31:29 GMT

Oh boy, it's been awhile since I've blogged here. Been busy working ... and going to shows. Just because, here's my long list of shows I've gone to in the past two or so years:

The English Beat, and Dub FX @ Avalon, Santa Clara, Sept. 20, 2007

Squeeze, and Fountains of Wayne @ Mountain Winery, Saratoga, August 14, 2007

Joan Osborne, and Victoria George @ Slim's, S.F., July 19, 2007

John Wesley Harding, and Chris Von Sneidern @ the Red Devil Lounge, S.F., July 18, 2007

The English Beat @ 19 Broadway, Fairfax, July 14, 2007

Feist, and Grizzly Bear @ The Fillmore, S.F., June 26, 2007

Mandi Perkins, Kat Parsons, and Libbie Schrader @ the Red Devil Lounge, S.F., June 20, 2007

Mason Jennings, and Ferraby Lionheart @ Bimbo's 365 Club, S.F., June 7, 2007

Vienna Teng, and Jenny Owen Youngs @ The Palace of Fine Arts, S.F., May 10, 2007

Duncan Sheik, and Holly Brook @ The Independent, S.F., April 25, 2007

The Killers, Solarcade, and The Howling Bells @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, S.F., April 7, 2007

Victoria George @ The Sweetwater Saloon, Mill Valley, March 31, 2007

Mat Kearney, the Feeling, and Rocco DeLuca & the Burden @ The Fillmore, S.F., March 21, 2007

Eric Clapton, and the Robert Cray Band @ HP Pavilion, San Jose, March 18, 2007

Lily Allen @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., Feb. 7, 2007

Vienna Teng, and The Animators @ The Independent, S.F., Dec. 23, 2006

Feist, and Deathcab For Cutie (KFOG Concert For Kids) @ The Paramount Theatre, Oakland, Dec. 7, 2006

Zack Hexum @ The Rock-it Room, S.F., Dec.6, 2007

The Who @ HP Pavilion, San Jose, Nov. 8, 2006

Sheryl Crow, and John Mayer @ Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, Oct. 1, 2006

Feist, and the Long Winters @ The Fillmore, S.F., Sept. 8, 2006

Hepcat, and The Debonaires @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., Sept. 2, 2006

Duncan Sheik, and Vienna Teng @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., July 27, 2006

The Fray, and Augustana @ The Fillmore, S.F., July 17, 2006

Aimee Mann @ McNear's Mystic Theatre, Petaluma, June 17, 2006

The Boy Least Likely To, and The Bicycles @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., June 2, 2006

Zack Hexum, Gabriel Mann, and Cas Lucas @ Epic Arts Studio, Berkeley, May 19, 2006

Mat Kearney, Justin King, and Joshua Radin @ Cafe Du Nord, S.F., May 16, 2006

James Blunt, The Boy Least Likely To, and Sierra Swam @ The Warfield, S.F., April 6, 2006

Feist, John Vanderslice, Youth Group, and The Botticellis @ Bimbo's 365 Club (Noise Pop 2006 festival), S.F., March 28, 2006

Hepcat, and The Big Sound @ Slim's, S.F., March 10, 2006

Ben Lee, Leona Naess, and Caleb Kane @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., March 6, 2006

The English Beat, and The Monophonics @ The Boom Boom Room, S.F., Feb. 9, 2006

Aerosmith, and Lenny Kravitz @ The Oakland Arena, Feb. 8, 2006

INXS, and The Lovehammers @ The Paramount, Theatre, Oakland, Jan. 23, 2006

Fiona Apple @ The Warfield, S.F., Nov. 25, 2005

Feist, and Broken Social Scene @ The Grand at the Regency Center, S.F., Nov. 9, 2005

Foo Fighters, and Weezer @ The Oakland Arena, Oct. 28, 2005

Audioslave, Seether, and 30 Seconds to Mars @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, S.F., Sep. 25, 2005

Garbage, and The Start @ The Warfield, S.F., Sept. 11, 2005

Aimee Mann @ Amoeba Records, S.F., Aug. 12, 2005

Maroon 5, and The Thrills @ HP Pavilion, San Jose, May 5, 2005

Hepcat @ The Great American Music Hall, S.F., April 23, 2005

Rob Thomas, and Beth Hart @ The Fillmore, S.F., April 15, 2005

Gavin DeGraw, The Wreckers, and Tyler Hilton @ The Warfield, S.F., March 8, 2005

Stevie Wonder drum solo

wireboy — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 08:13:00 GMT

Stumbled upon this cool vintage live performance of the awesome young Stevie Wonder doing an even more awesome DRUM SOLO. Who knew?

Duncan Sheik's new awakening

wireboy — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 13:23:50 GMT

SFGate has a profile and Q&A about singer/songwriter - and now Broadway composer - Duncan Sheik. Check it out by clicking here.

And yes, I am indeed a media whore.

Yes, We're Living Here in Allen-town

wireboy — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 02:23:48 GMT

Just saw Lily Fuckin' Allen at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and she was fab-u-lous. She sang "Alfie," "LDN" and, of course, "Smile." And she paid props to The Specials.

Her best line at the show: "This next song is about guys with small dicks."

Live, direct from hell ... Thong Nanny!

wireboy — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 22:53:31 GMT

One time I was browsing through the various no-name bands posted on MySpace's Music sites and saw what I thought was a really stupid band name: Thong Nanny.

Geez.

Of course, there are plenty of really worse band names out there. Conveniently, Idolator has posted a link to The A.V. Club's "Worst Band Names of '06."

Enjoy, all...

"One-hit wonder"

wireboy — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 22:28:09 GMT

God, I hate that frakkin' term. I mean, I wonder: How many of you out there would kill to have just one hit? How many of you would be happy if you wrote, composed or recorded one little song that made it big?

Anyway, the random shuffle iPod gods feigned it fit to play this song in my car this afternoon. Enjoy. (And yes, technically, it wasn't this act's lone hit, but it was the one major one they had during the only decade that matters, the '80s).

Holy Frak! I Went To Hella Shows!

wireboy — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 08:22:18 GMT

It's the end of the year so I went through my 2006 concert log (I'm anal, so I keep track of every show I've been to), and much to my surprise, by sheer numbers alone, I went to a lot more shows than I thought I had gone to. The numbers? Here they are:

Total concert dates attended in 2006: 22

Total venues: 16

Total acts seen: 47

Holy shit! Is it just me or is that a lot of frakkin' concerts? I know, I know, there are probably some of you who have higher numbers. Just last night, when i saw Vienna Teng at the Independent in San Francisco, I had figured, "Eh, I've been to maybe a dozen shows." Uh, I was a little off.

Anyway, looking through my little (ha!) list of shows, I can see little patterns and recall some fond memories:

I saw Feist all three times she came to the Bay Area this year (Anyone who knows my eternal love for the Canadian chanteuse/guitarist/siren Leslie Feist should not be surprised by this)

I really like The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, because I went there four times. Not a whole helluva lot of times to visit that particular venue; still it's the one I went to the most frequently. It's not too big, it's not too small. It's just right. And I think the average show I saw there was probably $18 - not exactly a wallet breaker.

Febuary and March were my busiest concert months. I squeezed in 3 shows each month. Feb. 8 and 9 were especially interesting. I saw '70s rock icon Aerosmith at a big venue (the Oakland Arena), then the very next night I saw '80s ska icon The English Beat at a very small venue (the Boom Boom Room). Two amazing nights in a row.

I made several accidental discoveries - that is, I went to go see one act and was pleasantly introduced to a new one I had never heard of before. Catching a Ben Lee show introduced me to Leona Naess; a James Blunt show begat my love for The Boy Least Likely To; attending a Duncan Sheik gig gave me a peek at Vienna Teng. In some ways these shows were extra special because I experienced something I didn't expect.

"Geezers" can still rock. Aerosmith? Awesome. INXS? Entertaining. The English Beat? Still skankin' good. Aimee Mann (not really a geezer, but she is in her 40s and amazingly beautiful)? Still making gorgeous music. The Who? Yes, that Who. They still got it. I thought Pete Townsend had grown so deaf he could barely rock, much less roll. Not true. He's still got some fire in him.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Below is my full list of shows I saw in 2006, headliners and opening acts and all (Ack, one more reason for me to post another frakkin' list!). Now, my questions for you: What was the best show you saw in 2006? What're your fondest concert memories? How about your worst memories? Anyone?

Vienna Teng, The Animators, Dec. 23, The Independent (San Francisco)

Feist, Death Cab For Cutie, Dec. 7, Paramount Theatre (Oakland)

Zack Hexum, Dec. 6, Rockit Room (SF)

The Who, Rose Hill Drive, Nov. 8, HP Pavilion (San Jose)

Duncan Sheik, Oct. 20, Montalvo Carriage House Theatre (Saratoga)

Sheryl Crow, John Mayer, Oct. 1, Shoreline Amphitheatre (Mountain View)

Feist, The Long Winters, Sept. 8, The Fillmore (SF)

Hepcat, The Debonaires, Sept. 2, Great American Music Hall (SF)

Duncan Sheik, Vienna Teng, July 27, Great American Music Hall (SF)

The Fray, Augustana, July 17, The Fillmore (SF)

Aimee Mann, June 17, McNear's Mystic Theatre (Petaluma)

The Boy Least Likely To, The Bicycles, June 2, The Great American Music Hall (SF)

Zack Hexum, Gabriel Mann, Cas Lucas, May 19, Epic Arts Studio (Berkeley)

Mat Kearney, Justin King, Joshua Radin, May 16, Cafe Du Nord (SF)

James Blunt, The Boy Least Likely To, Sierra Swam, April 6, The Warfield (SF)

Feist, John Vanderslice, Youth Group, The Botticellis, March 28, Bimbo's 365 Club (SF)

Hepcat, The Big Sound, March 10, Slim's (SF)

Ben Lee, Leona Naess, Caleb Kane, March 6, The Great American Music Hall (SF)

The English Beat, The Monophonics, Feb. 9, the Boom Boom Room (SF)

Aerosmith, Lenny Kravitz, Feb. 8, Oakland Arena

Coldplay, Fiona Apple, Feb. 1, Oakland Arena

INXS, The Lovehammers, Jan. 23, Paramount Theatre (Oakland)

Whew...

My House In The Middle of My Street

wireboy — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 03:44:31 GMT

I know, it's ain't Thanksgiving anymore. But even in my pathetic little life, as I reflect back on the past year, I'm still a bit thankful for some things.

Family? Hell no.

Friends? Eh, dime a dozen.

Good health? Yeah, whatever.

No, I bought a house earlier this year. I'm thankful I managed to even buy one in this crazy market (I live in the Bay Area - not exactly cheap). And I'm even more thankful I have a little place to call my own where I can lounge in my underwear, eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and smoke a, er, cigar while sitting in front of the TV and watching "The Colbert Report." Ah, the good life.

So here, I dedicate this song/video to you, my quaint 3-bedroom, 1-bath abode, and all the homeowner madness that comes with you.

P.S. Y'all realize this is a transparent attempt to simply post one of my favorite '80's vids, right?

My Top 25 Songs of 2006

wireboy — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 06:56:14 GMT

A couple weeks ago I posted a semi-irreverent list of the best music lists of 2006. OK, time to get a bit more serious. Throughout the year, I've kept an iTunes playlist of songs I became obsessed with - that is, songs I played over and over in my car, at work, at the gym, wherever. Basically, it's my "Best Songs of the Year" list (Now don't get picky, some of these songs, like Coldplay's "Low," were technically released the year before. Sue me, beeyotch; I didn't discover them until this year). Here goes:

"Low" - Coldplay

"Over My Head" - The Fray

"Sugar, We're Goin' Down" - Fall Out Boy

"Blink And You'll Miss It" - Paul Weller

"All In All" - Lifehouse

"Lights And Sounds" - Yellowcard

"Rodeo Clowns" - Jack Johnson

"Catch My Disease (That's The Way I Like It)" - Ben Lee

"How Many Times" - Zack Hexum

"Dirty Little Secret" - The All-American Rejects

"Unwritten" - Natasha Bedingfield

"Nothing Left To Lose" - Mat Kearney

"You Have Killed Me" - Morrissey

"Be Gentle With Me" - The Boy Least Likely To

"White Limousine" - Duncan Sheik

"Here It Goes Again" - O.K. Go

"Call Me When You're Sober" - Evanescence

"Revelations" - Audioslave

"Los Angeles" - Sugarcult

"White And Nerdy" - "Weird Al" Yankovic

"I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" - Scissor Sisters

"Suddenly I See" - KT Tunstall

"When You Were Young" - The Killers

"Smile" - Lily Allen

"The Bitch of Living" - Cast of the Broadway musical "Spring Awakening"

BONUS NO. 26: "Juicy" - Better Than Ezra

I miss the Kids

wireboy — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 03:27:40 GMT

I really love re-watching old "Kids in the Hall" episodes. I consider them the Nirvana of skit comedy - they both made it big around the same time and reinvigorated their respective art forms. In addition to a lengthy list of memorable skits, the Kids produced some hilarious comic tunes. Here's my picks for the best KITH songs from the series and film "Brain Candy" (Video of all of them can be found at this YouTube playlist):

"Bobby And The Devil" - Not so much a standalone song than a skit about a rock wannabe getting into a guitar face-off with Satan himself. "I have a wah-wah pedal!" Rockin' funny, man...

"The Bass Player" - Again, not really a standalone song but rather a funny poetic rumination on the sad existence of the, well, bass player.

"Smoking on a Night Train" - Mississippi Gary sings a ridiculously (almost) spot-on blues parody filled with silly truisms.

"The Daves I Know" - From the fourth episode of the first season, this Bruce McCulloch-sung tune is, I believe, the first skit in the series that was basically a full-on music video.

"Running Faggot" - The show's second full-on song, this folk-hero tune kills me everytime I watch it.

"Liposuction" - Not only can the Kids do rock, they do folk, jazz and, yes, faux-Spanish music. And this one further proves that the more ridiculous the lyrics, the funnier the song.

"Happiness Pie" - A bright, uplifting tune ... by the heavily medicated lead singer of a goth-rock band called Death Lurks. One of a handful of musical sequences in the KITH film "Brain Candy," this song and accompanying video imagery is just pure hilarity. (See video at top of posting)

Honorable mention: Not a song parody per se, but it is the song probably most associated with the show: "Having An Average Weekend" by Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. This rock-strumental song is quite good as are other songs by this outfit. Try their cover of "Misty," for example.

Good day Sunday

wireboy — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:30:10 GMT

I only have eight songs in my music library with the word "Sunday" in the title, plus a few tunes by The Sundays. Among them:

"Sunday" - The Cranberries "Sunday Morning" - Lily Allen "Lazy Sunday (Chronicles of Narnia)" - Adam Samberg and Chris Parnell "Everyday Is Like Sunday" - Morrissey "Sunday Papers" - Joe Jackson "Sunday Morning" - Maroon 5 "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - U2 "Here's Where The Story Ends" - The Sundays

Name your favorite "Sunday" song. Go!

The Soundtrack of Your Life

wireboy — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 01:00:10 GMT

Credit where credit is due, I borrowed this posting from fellow Mogger wishuwerehere411. I thought it was so cool, I re-posted it so more people would see it, hoping it would spread, like a rash (OK, bad metaphor). Anyway, read on...

If your life were a movie, what would the soundtrack be?

So, here’s how this works: 1. Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod, etc.) 2. Put it on "shuffle" 3. Press "play" 4. For every question below, type the song that’s playing 5. When you go to a new question, press the next button. 6. Don’t lie!

Opening Credits: Waking Up: First Day of School: Falling in Love: Fight Song: Breaking Up: Prom: Life’s OK: Mental Breakdown: Driving: Flashback: Getting Back: Birth of a Child: Wedding: Final Battle: Death Scene: Funeral Song: Ending Credits:

... The "Opening Credits" song for me? See the video below:

So Nice To See Feist

wireboy — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 07:39:52 GMT

Just saw the wonderfully mesmerizing Feist AGAIN, this time at the KFOG Concert For Kids at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. This makes it Feist concert No. 4 for me in the 13 months since I became tuned into her (Hey, she keeps coming to the Bay Area, I'll keep going to her shows). I think I'll have to start naming my Feist concerts like cheesy action film thrillers.

"Feist Begins"

"Feist II: Cool As Feist"

"Feist Hard With a Vengeance"

And now... "The Good, The Bad, and The Feist-y."

Anyway, she was awesome. She played a set of mostly new material, I believe. She mentioned her new CD comes this spring. I'm still numb from being in her presence.

Moving on...

So Feist actually wasn't the headliner of the KFOG charity show. It was (drum roll) Death Cab For Cutie! OK, I have to admit something: I'm behind the ball on this band. I know the name, I know they're popular, I know they're critically acclaimed. But I can't name one of their songs, much less recite a lyric or even hum a Death Cab melody.

OK, I suck. Sorrrrrrrreeeeeee. But I stayed in my second-row seat after Feist left the stage (SECOND ROW! WOOO!). Hey, I shelled out big bucks for this seat, might as well use it.

My verdict: I get them now. They were quite excellent. Melodic, energetic and not too mellow. Makes sense they are so simpatico with Feist because their music was reminiscent of Broken Social Scene, except razor sharper.

Now I have a new band whose music I can explore. I'll get to it right away. Until then, enjoy this little clip of the Cab Four:

Another Brush With Rock Fame!

wireboy — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:02:29 GMT

Just checked out Zack Hexum do a late-night gig at the Rockit Room in San Francisco. I was kinda surprised - he had no band, just himself switching between electric and acoustic guitar. No tape, no drum machine. Just strings, his voice and his touching pop lyrics. He later played an awesome sax solo. Afterward, he signed my "Realistic Fantasy" EP. What a nice guy.

BONUS: Video of him performing "Princess of Darkness"...

My Brush With Rock Fame!

wireboy — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 03:40:25 GMT

One of the great things about working where I do - a major metropolitan newspaper- is sometimes we invite certain well-known guests for a chat with our editors, reporters and other staffers. Today, we were treated to the presence of one of the greatest bassists of one of the greatest rock bands ever. In fact, they are famous for being one of England's loudest bands. I am speaking, of course, of the legendary Derek Smalls of Spinal Tap. He was very nice and even made us laugh a little. He even was kind enough to sign the liner notes to my "This Is Spinal Tap" DVD. "Rock on!" he wrote. I will always cherish this autograph.

Sorry, I was too mesmerized by the presence of such rock royalty that I didn't bother to use my cameraphone for a quick snapshot. You'll just have to trust me on this one. Above is a photo from their eponymous documentary.

*No, I do not work for the Daily Planet. But I'm still a super guy.

My Year-End Music List of ... Well, Music Lists

wireboy — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 07:28:31 GMT

If you: (a) really love music; (b) like to blog; and (c, subset 1) have a lot of free time on your hands, or (c, subset 2) suffer from bouts of insomnia, then you quickly learn one thing: You really like to come up with lists about music. The 64 Worst Lennon-McCartney Compositions Ever. The 10 Best Songs To Make Out To In The Back Of A VW Bug. The 10 Best Emo Bands You Never Heard Of And Never Ever Will Even After Reading The Following List. The 69 Greatest Rock Songs About Sex Since 1969. You get my point, eh? Well, we're nearing the end of the year so it feels about time for my own list of the 14 funniest, stupidest, cleverest or just plain oddest music lists I found online or written in Sharpie ink at a bathroom stall. (Why 14? Why frakkin' not?)

Worst Band Names Ever - Maxim Online
Aspiring bands, be warned: When naming yourselves, avoid at all costs the following words: toad, hole, anything that starts with "ph," and bizkit.

14 Classic Tom Petty Opening Lines - The A.V. Club
I've always loved Tom Petty but I didn't quite realize the genius of his songcraft 'til I stumbled upon this, ahem, breakdown of his opening lyrics.

Stereogum Readers' Fake Morrissey Song Titles - Stereogum
After posting the track listing from Morrissey's 2006 "Ringleader of the Tormentors," Stereogum noted that song titles by the former Smiths frontman are "always amusing to peruse because they tend to be excessively lengthy and morbid." Then the music blog opened up the comments section for readers to come up with their own faux Moz songs, many of which could easily be mistaken for real ones. "I'm Not Upset, I Just Want to Die." "When I Die, Kick Me For All Those I Have Disappointed." "Everything I Know And Love Will Cease To Exist At Noon On the 'Morrow." Hil. Ar. Ious.

Top 5 Drunken Sing-A-Longs - CollegeHumor.com
This would be funnier if it weren't actually semi-accurate or quasi-useful. Anyone who ever plans to go to a karaoke bar and get plastered, should print this list of easy-to-sing-and-air-guitar-while-wasted songs and keep it in their wallet/purse.

The Five Most Unintentionally Funny Albums of 2006 - Cracked.com
"Inhuman Rampage" by DragonForce. "Amputechture" by Mars Volta. Are these albums for real? Doh, "The Black Parade" by My Chemical Romance is on this list. Guess so.

The All-TIME 100 Albums - Time
"All-TIME," heh heh heh. Get it? OK, kidding aside, look at this list for yourself and try to figure it out. It has dozens of arguably great albums but it just seems a little ... lopsided. Eighteen albums from the eighties, just FOUR from the fifties, and nine from the 2000s (and four of those are basically career retrospectives from much earlier decades!). Still scratching my head...

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rolling Stone
Too. Much. Info. For. Brain. To. Process... OK, it's overkill but at least they had the cajones, unlike TIME, to put them in order (No. 1? The Beatles' "Sgt. Peppers"). And Sinatra's "In The Wee Small Hours" just cracked the top 100. I'm cool wit dat.

Ten Biggest Onstage Meltdowns in Rock History - New York Post
Admit it, when you watch NASCAR on TV, you wanna see a car crash, a really good car crash. When you watch a boxing match, you wanna see some blood and a good ol' fashioned knockout. But unlike those spectator sports, when you go to a concert, you DON'T want to witness things go awry. You don't want to see the guitarist throw down their axe and storm offstage because the monitors are on the fritz. And god forbid, you don't want to see one of The Kinks spit on Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde (or maybe you do, you sicko). Yeah, the Rolling Stones at Altamont is on this list but so are a few lesser known meltdown/collapses/fuck-ups. Speaking of fuck-ups...

Top 10 Most Disappointing Rock And Roll Offspring - Flumesday.com
Whoa, this one's harsh. Check out who they put on it: one Dylan, one Sinatra, a Presley, a Gaye, a pair of Nelsons and TWO Lennons.

"The Greatest..." TV series - VH1
I was going to choose VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the Eighties" until I realized they actually air a regular series of, well, great things. "40 Hottest Rock Star Girlfriends and Wives." "100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll." "100 Greatest TV Moments in Rock & Roll." "50 Skankiest Women to Ever Appear on a Flavor Flav Reality Show." OK, I made up that last one. Anyway, VH1 gets an honorable mention.

Top 100 Musicians Who Play Golf - Golf Digest
Golf Digest actually calculated these musicians' handicaps! Wait, look at No. 64 - Eddie Van Halen! I think I just threw up a little in the back of my throat. No. 1: Kenny frakkin' G. (Full disclosure: I believe golf is an evil wicked "sport" and think all golf courses should be shut down, with affordable housing and parks built on the land. But that's just my thinking.)

Top 40 Music Moments in Film History - Bullz-Eye.com
Almost as much as I love music, I love film. And Bullz-Eye came up with a pretty nifty list of those moments in movies when a song and a scene are in perfect synchronicity. Really, can you think of "Trainspotting" WITHOUT thinking of Iggy Pop's "Lust For Life"? Or imagine "Animal House" without "Shout" ("Otis! My man!"). BONUS: YouTube clips of some film scenes embedded at Bullz-Eye's site.

111 Wussiest Songs of All Time - AOL Music
Phil Collins? Taylor Hicks? Cutting Crew? MANILOW?!! Man, a low blow. That hurts...

50 Dumbest Rock-star Extravaganzas - Blender
OK, I can see Russell Simmons shelling out 2 mil for a home theater that includes a marquee, popcorn maker AND ticket booth (No. 43). And in the world of rock 'n' roll glamour 'n' glitz, I can picture Billy Joel kickin' it on his $2 million, 57-foot commuter yacht (No. 26) (I imagine it sporting a bumper sticker that reads "My Other Yacht Is For Pleasure"). But John Mayer: He spent more than $1,700 on eBay for a single Boba Fett action figure. Dude, ya gotta think bigger, like hookers and coke.

OK, your turn. Come up with your own list. Or come up with your own list of lists.

COVER YOUR EARS!

wireboy — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 05:12:48 GMT

I'm all for cover songs, tributes, reinterpretations, remixes, re-imaginings, whatever. So, let me repeat: I am pro-covers. Over the weekend, I myself became mildly obsessed with "Bizarre Love Triangle" by Frente! (Gotta love any band bold enough to put an "!" in its name. Can ya hear me, P!ATD fan Sugarbaby?)

Let's face it: Covers are a dime a dozen; good, bad or ugly, someone's always covering some song somewhere. I imagine someone right now recording their rendtion of "Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song."

But seriously, folks, does the world really need an entire CD of bossa nova versions of Guns N' Roses songs? Well, did it?

That said, do you have a bizarre, unexpected or unapologetic love of a particular cover song? Well, don't just sit there! Share, dammit, share!

Zack Hexum plug!

wireboy — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:47:29 GMT

Stewart Copeland lookalike Zack Hexum is an awesome pop-rock lyricist. So why haven't you heard of him???

If you happen to be around San Francisco on Wednesday, Dec. 6, he'll be playing a little I've-never-of-heard-before venue called the Rockit Room. C'mon, it's $5 -- why pass on this?

I discovered Zack Hexum thanks to iTunes. His delightful pop treat "How Many Times" was the featured free song of the week in February 2006 -- a song I dutifully put on my iPod and fell in love with. (No-so-secret Secret #36: ALWAYS download iTunes' free download of the week. One out of four times it's probably a great song.) Then I caught him live at the Epic Arts Studio in Berkeley back in May. I met him afterward, got his autograph, etc. He's really a nice guy. So he gets my respect. And this plug.

If you're still not convinced, here's a clip of him way back in 2004 when he performed "Spicy Streak" on "The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn":

(Non)Celebrity Play(ing with Myself)list

wireboy — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 18:27:37 GMT

The always witty Kevin Smith, director of such fine dick-and-fart-joke films "Clerks" and "Mallrats," was supposed to have his very own Celebrity Playlist on iTunes' Music Store but alas, according to him, his accompanying commentary ran too long. So iTunes passed. Luckily for us, Smith went ahead and posted the list on his own blog.

Yay. Funny stuff. Which got me thinking: If you were actually somebody - i.e., a celebrity (although in this day and age, who the fuck isn't?) - and we actually gave a flying fuck what you thought, what would you put on your playlist? Come on, it's your list, put whatever you like. It's a completely masturbatory exercise. Below are my ten picks, thrown together on the spur of the moment. Bonus video clip included at the bottom.

"Red Vines" - Aimee Mann "she is so talented! i love how she plays the piano. and her voice is incredible!!" Oops, I copied-and-pasted that comment from Jennifer Garner's much-maligned playlist. It isn't even about Aimee Mann, it's for Alicia Keys' "Fallin'." Anyway, I couldn't breathe without some Aimee Mann song playing in the background or even in my head. And there's so many good ones to choose from. I chose this one cuz it's the only one of hers with candy in the title.

"Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" - The Beatles Sorry, gotta have a Beatles song on this list. Coulda been a rebel and picked some other class act like The Who or Led Zeppelin. No. And I picked something light and fluffy and not too contemplative. Plus it's the Beatles' BEST ska song.

"On A High" - Duncan Sheik The perfect Duncan Sheik antidote after O.D.'ing on "Barely Breathing." And it brings a smile to my face.

"Inside And Out" - Feist A smooth song with silky vocals. A reminder of what a great talent Feist is.

"I've Got You Under My Skin" - Frank Sinatra No, not a slickly produced in-studio version of the Cole Porter-penned tune. No, ya gotta go with the live version on "Sinatra at the Sands with Count Basie and the Orchestra." His voice isn't young anymore but it's still as suave as ever; he's singing to a large venue, not the intimate confines of a studio; and you can just feel the love he pours into the song.

"Vow" - Garbage A dozen great Garbage songs to choose from, I pick the one that always gets me a-rockin', right from the start of that opening guitar riff that just wraps around your body. And Shirley Manson can make any angry song, like this one, sexy, so that's a plus.

"Avengers Theme" - Laurie Johnson Whenever I pretend to play spy, I put this on the iPod. (Everyone here has a song that makes them wanna pretend to be a spy, right? No? I'm the only one?) It feels both romantic and adventurous simultaneously. And it reminds me of Diana Rigg.

"Another Nail In My Heart" - Squeeze I'm still pissed the fine songcraft of Chris Diffford and Glenn Tilbrook never garnered them greater attention. They have plenty of great tunes but this one, aside from "Tempted," is the one that always reminds me of that especially fertile musical period known as the '80s.

"Sex Type Thing" - Stone Temple Pilots I needed a really loud crunchin' song for this list and didn't wanna pick the obvious (Nirvana, AC/DC, etc.), so I went for the band for which I admittedly am an apologist. STP fuckin' rocked! This is the first song that got them attention. And Scott Weiland's vocals have a way of chewing into your skin. Eww.

"Photograph" - Def Leppard This is my favorite rock song, no apologies. I never tire of it. It has a roarin' guitar solo (actually double solos, right?) and it is quintessential '80s. Plus, gotta love the video...

OK, what's your list?

It's (Almost) Thanksgiving. I'm Thankful Because ...

wireboy — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 19:34:54 GMT

... THE SCORPIONS CREATED THIS AWESOME ROCK ANTHEM!

Now, what are you thankful for...?

I DESPISE PAUL WELLER ...

wireboy — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 05:19:51 GMT

... for not coming to San Francisco. He's performing a special 3-night gig in New York City's Irving Plaza at the end of January and unless I have magic beans that'll grow me money or a planet ticket eastward, I'm shit outta luck. Damn. Damn, you Paul Weller. Oh, well. Here's a bit of what I'll miss...

And this...

And some of this...

sigh

Sunday Happy Sunday

wireboy — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:41:19 GMT

It's Sunday, y'all. Know what that means? Time to listen to THE CARDIGANS!

The Who, that's who!

wireboy — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 02:59:31 GMT

Saw 'em at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Wednesday. They're geezers - but they're fuckin' rockin' geezers! Short clip (OK, not so short - 2 minutes) of Roger and Pete doing their thang below, courtesy of my cameraphone:

Come on, it's a nice day for a ... White -Wedding- Christmas!

wireboy — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:38:10 GMT

It's the first week of November so naturally our thoughts turn to ... Christmas! And the holidays wouldn't be right without a traditional yuletide song covered by an '80s new wave icon like, say, Billy Idol, now wouldn't it?

And before you can even say "Jack Frost," yes, he has a whole CD of Christmas tunes, just released. Perhaps the perfect compliment to his 2005 CD, "Devil's Playground."

Full disclosure: I plagiarized this item from some hack at SFGate's Culture Blog.

Have you no shame? You mean you've never heard of this band?

wireboy — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 08:19:25 GMT

This is another cool band I discovered unintentionally. Heather dragged me to see James Blunt at the Warfield in San Francisco and The Boy Least Likely To was his opener. What a delight to listen. There's only one way to describe this British outfit: happy shiny pop music. Think Partridge Family for the 21st century. How can you not smile when you hear a song entitled "I'm Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Star"?

Here's the video for their single "Be Gentle With Me." I dare you to listen to it and stay perfectly still. I double dare ya.

Vienna calling

wireboy — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 04:43:25 GMT

Ya know what's almost as good as going to see your favorite musician live? Going to a show without any knowledge of a scheduled performer and being completely wowwed by he/she. That happened when I saw Duncan Sheik at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in July 2006 -- and was pleasantly surprised by opening act Vienna Teng. The singer/pianist reminded me a bit of Tori Amos but without the baggage. The San Francisco native played soft, simple melodies, ably accompanied by a pair of string musicians. The highlight of her show: a traditional Chinese lullaby she serenaded to the audience. Beautiful voice and with such poise. Next time she's in town, check her out.

(Special shout-out to Klaorman at YouTube for posting this video.)

Memories of concerts past ...

wireboy — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 16:02:55 GMT

(Writer's note: This is adapted and updated from a piece I put on my MySpace blog in 2005. After you read it, maybe you'll feel inspired to share some of your own fond - and not-so-fond - concert memories on your Mog page.)

Personally, I've had a long streak of concert going in the past two years (about 24 shows in 24 months). To me it is really only amazing in that I had a pretty dry run in the several years before. Not a whole lot of shows was I going to from about 1999 to 2004. In fact, during those years, I had become kinda sick of concert hopping, all that being surrounded by sweaty raucous people in a loud and sometimes confined space. No, not fun. So, I had only gone to see bands and musicians I REALLY wanted to see.

The years 2005 through the present have been VERRRRRRRY different. Now I treat concerts like vacations, and I go much more frequently.

Anyway, I was sorting through my CD collection and I stumbled upon all these old ticket stubs of concerts past. Ya see, I keep these stubs as souvenirs and just so I won't lose them, i try to keep them with the CDs of the artists I saw live. It's a filing system that would do the National Archives proud. So here now, in no particular order, are some of the cool shows I've witnessed firsthand:

No Doubt at The Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, March 27, 1995: My friend Jude was big into ska and especially Third Wave Ska of the mid-90s. He dragged me one time to this little known Orange County outfit because their music was jumpin' and their blond singer could carry a tune. I fell in love with them right away. This was before "Tragic Kingdom" made them a household name. I think we saw them 3 times live before they hit it big. This March '95 show was not the first time I saw Gwen and Co. but I'll never forget it. Jude and I were in the very front of the stage. Gwen was wearing a red leather short-skirt dress and fishnets. She kept grinding her hips during the show. All I really remember is Gwen Stefani's crotch being repeatedly pumped 4 feet away from my face. Not a bad memory, if you's ask me. (By the way, the show was only $8!)

Nirvana, The Cow Palace, San Francisco, April 9, 1993: Nirvana's "Nevermind" renewed my faith in rock when it came out in 1991 (I actually didn't discover it until a year later - I was a bit behind). So I absolutely loved Nirvana. So imagine my delight in actually seeing them live. The great thing was the show was for a good cause - benefiting Bosnian rape victims. And it was at the Cow Palace, which held a special place in my memory (see Kiss item below). I'm glad I got to see them before Kurt Cobain's suicide the following year. (Ticket price: $19.50. Why have ticket prices gone up so much since then???)

Stone Temple Pilots, Henry J. Kaiser Arena, Oakland, July 23, 1994: There are people who to this day diss STP as posers. Screw you. The problem with STP was they were an alternative band playing arenas. They were good and rocked hard. So there. Even better, I got to see them live, before everyone condemned them -wrongly - as corporate rock sludge. Whatever. ... Memory fails here but i vaguely recall the opening act was a dark and weird act called Marilyn Manson. Or did they open for some long forgotten Nine Inch Nails show I went to? (Ticket price: $18.50)

Rob Thomas, The Fillmore, San Francisco, Apr. 15, 2005: His CD "Something to Be" had just come out and the song "Lonely No More" kept playing in my head, so I had to see him. Plus, I was - am - a big Matchbox Twenty fan even though - arrgh - I've never seen them live. And rumors were swirling that Matchbox had met its match and was in the throes of demise. Best I see him live if i can't see the whole band, i figured. He put on a nice rockin' show and the band was tight. And Thomas is just an awesome lyricist. Beforehand, Beth Hart played a short but spirited opening set. Afterward, she signed CDs upstairs. She was very nice, very friendly, very cool. (Ticket: a whopping $35. Inflation's a bitch)

Morrissey: I saw the morose god twice in concert. That's more than anyone could bargain for. I saw him at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, June 8, 1991; and later at the Concord Pavilion, Oct. 13, 1992. Don't remember much about the shows because it was sooooooo long ago. I'm sure it was a religious experience for me because I love his music so much. (Ticket: $19.50. Yes, same price for both venues even though one is much bigger than the other)

John Wesley Harding, Slim's, San Francisco, May 26, 1991: I discovered this folky's music while in college so i absolutely loved seeing him live. This must've been one of maybe 3 times I've seen him live. But it's not the most memorable. No, one time my friend Suzanne and I went to see him at the Great American Music Hall and his opening act was this really cool, hip, fun but little known pop band from Canada. They danced, they joked, they basically turned the place in to a circus of a show. Their name: Barenaked Ladies. And that's how I discovered them, by accident.

Hepcat: Another ska band Jude got me hooked on. Unlike No Doubt's frenetic energy, Hepcat exuded cool, calm rhythms with an underlying romanticism. Which is not to say they couldn't make you shake your booty. I've been to plenty of shows but none make me literally sweat as much as a happenin' Hepcat show. Slim's, Jan. 14, 1995; Slim's, Mar. 26, 1995; Great American Music Hall, April 23, 2005. (Ticket prices, respectively: $8, $10 ... and $20!)

John Mayer and Maroon 5, Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, July 16, 2004: OK, they played "This Love" so much on the airwaves, it was nauseating. I don't give a damn. I love the song and love the CD too. So when they came to town, I had to go. I went with Suzanne because I knew she really liked John Mayer, who, as far as I was concerned was That Guy Who Sings That "No Such Thing Whatever" Song. Maroon 5? They were ai'ight. The problem was they only had that one CD of 13-14 songs and they didn't have the energy to fill Shoreline. They did good, not great. The eye opener was John Mayer. The guy can rock and roll, and he's a master guitarist. The guy played what I think was a 10-minute Clapton cover and he didn't disappoint. I guess that's why he, not Maroon 5, was the headliner.

R.E.M., Concord Pavilion, Oct. 20, 1989: This was during their "Green" tour. But that's not why I remember it. It was the weekend after the Loma Prieta quake hit. I was stuck in the dorms, the quake hit and we were, well, a bit shaken. I was part of the dorm staff and we were kinda in an emergency mode so we were expected to be in the dorms and be as helpful and available to the residents as humanly possible. The problem? I had tickets to this R.E.M. show. So screw the dorms, i said. I need to get away. And I did. The show was a much needed getaway.

New Order, Shoreline Amphitheatre, July 24, 1993: When I was in high school, who DIDN'T love New Order? Well, admittedly, I didn't. Not didn't love them. Didn't really listen to them. Didn't really care about them. Nope, I got hooked on their "Republic" CD, which, any real New Order fan will tell, isn't really their best. Still, I checked them out. All I remember is a bunch of 13-year-old girls sitting in front of me singing along a little too loudly to the lyrics. In fact, the Shoreline was packed with 13-year-old girls. Strange. (Tickets? A whopping $22.50)

Barenaked Ladies and Semisonic, Shoreline, August 19, 1999: This was the first time in years I saw BNL live so I was pumped. But I had also discovered the joy of Semisonic and this was my first time seeing them live. Awesome show, and BNL was fun as hell as usual.

Now, I've been to plenty of concerts but unfortunately I didn't keep the ticket stubs for every show I've been to. Most of these shows are simply memories. Here are some other memorable shows off the top of my head:

Kiss at the Cow Palace, the weekend after Elvis died (August 1977): My very first concert! My brothers were big Kiss fans but they weren't old enough to go by themselves so my dad had to chaperone them. Of course, they couldn't leave little 7-year-old me behind, could they? They didn't! My dad and I sat high up in some faraway seats while my brothers went to the front of the stage. I think they got sprinkled a bit by Gene Simmon's faux blood.

Day On The Green festival, Oakland Coliseum, November 14, 1987: I ALMOST DIED AT THIS SHOW. I went with maybe 5 guys to see - get this - the Bodeans, The Pretenders and U2! They played in that order and I remember my goal was to get to the front of the stage by the time U2 started their set. It was a slow crawl to the front. I was quickly separated from my friends. During the Prentenders' set, the crowd on the grass got tighter, sweatier, hotter. It was just uncomfortable, unbearable. Near the end of the Pretenders' set I was within feet of the stage but the crowd was so packed, it was like floating in a sea of people. Literally, I wasn't really standing but swaying along to the whims of the crowd's movement from left to right to left. I felt like I was going to "drown" in this human ocean, so much so that I panicked. I quickly tried to save myself by exiting to the side. Took a while but I escaped the crowd. I think that if I had fallen, I would've been stomped to death. I enjoyed U2's set from the back of the crowd. Hey, at least I was still alive.

Aimee Mann, Bimbo's 365 Club, San Francisco, January 2000: Actually it was her and her husband Michael Penn. Now isn't this convenient? She's my favorite female folk pop musician and he's one of my favorite male folk pop musician - and they happen to be married. Weird. And the show was funny too. Mann said she wasn't very good at in-between-songs concert banter so she had comic Patton Oswalt on stage to make witty comments. Good show in a nice intimate setting.

So yes, obviously I've been to some memorable shows, but they haven't all been music concerts. Nope, one time I saw Eddie Murphy do stand-up during his "Delirious" tour at the Concord Pavilion (circa 1985); another time I saw Sam Kinison (R.I.P.) at the Shoreline; and I've seen the Kids in the Hall live. Once, many moons ago, at the Legion of Honor (I think) - or was it the Palace of Fine Arts? And also in January 2000 at the Warfield. I'm sure I'm leaving out some awesome shows simply because they happened so long ago.

Suddenly I See what the all the fuss about KT is about

wireboy — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 08:21:44 GMT

I was surfing the Web a couple weeks ago while VH1's "Top 20 Video Countdown" played in the background when out of nowhere this really nice upbeat song started. I looked up because I thought I heard Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine," but no, that wasn't it. It was KT Tunstall's "Suddenly I See." This song is a-rockin', I said to myself. Now I can't get this song outta my head. Am I the only one who's been infected by its beat? I had heard a few of her tunes months ago but never got into her until now. Now I feel like a putz. But a very happy putz.

Looking for new X-Mas music?

wireboy — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 17:14:51 GMT

I just got Aimee Mann's new Christmas CD in the mail. No big whoop. I love her music, have seen her three times live, and she's awesome. So I expected a nice set of superbly performed yuletide music. I got what I expected. This song, "Calling on Mary," is a great ORIGINAL Christmas composition co-written by Aimee Mann. It's the CD's hidden lil' gem.

Hypnotic

wireboy — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 18:49:14 GMT

Poetic and lovely music.