'Have you seen any other blogs this week?'
'No, this is the weakest one I've seen.'
Here is some info that gets back to the music and the edge that you (might) have come to expect.
First off, the site selling this lovely Wolf-themed T-shirt...
... has some pretty astounding reviews of it. Evidently it is one bad-ass shirt to have. To be sure, the comments must be mostly fake, but they nonetheless make for an entertaining read. Some of them were risqué enough to prevent an appearance on abrahamlove.com, but I am happy to put a link here for you to enjoy.
Next up is the only guitar I'm aware of with a bigger analog gauge on it than the one at the top of this page. Last night I was delayed unexpectedly in Denver en route home from Montana. Luckily, Brother Don lives in Boulder so I spent the night there. Our conversation turned to guitars as it does, and he pointed this beauty out to me in a magazine ad:
;)
Click on that image to soak in its full rockitude. Evidently its maker puts them together out of actual motorcycle parts. I imagine Chuck Norris has a couple of them.
On a final note, be sure to head down to your nearest Guitar Center tomorrow around midnight to get free stuff. The site says amps, guitars, and more are included. Sounds too good to be true -- and it probably is -- but maybe we should go down there anyway just in case.
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Short and sweet this time. I'm on the road again, and I forgot the laptop power supply. Unfortunately I have already wasted one of my two batteries on work and the second one is rapidly on its way out, so....
Do you like puns? I like puns. Just received a fresh list from my dad, most of which I've not seen before. If you enjoy a nice play on words, then click here. If not, well then I think your time on this site is done for today.
Rock on.
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I typed the below as part of an email the other day, and it turned out to kinda look like a review. So I'm going to go ahead and use it here for whatever it's worth.
I am really coming around to the new Kings of Leon album, 'Because of the Times'. You may recall that I mentioned having bought it quite a few weeks ago; now I've had time to digest it and work out exactly how I feel about it. It sounds so different than anything they’ve done before, more polished and more finely produced... and those words apply particularly to the sound of the rhythm section. Some U2 sound definitely did rub off on them when they toured together.
To me, if you listen to the whole CD start to finish, it gets better as you go. The duds are in the first half.
Generally speaking…
Vocals (counting the backing) -- 10.5
Lead/Rhythm Guitars -- 8.5
Bass -- 9
Drums -- 8.5
Lyrics -- 8.5
'Because of the Times' goes to 9.
Hit the comments section if you are interested in what I thought of the tracks on their own...
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On the surface, there have been some depressing things going on in the last couple of days. I'm still bemoaning the imminent closure of the Riot Club. Plus, ALove beat me to the idea of throwing a bunch of our old photos online, so I guess I'll scrap that. Have a look at his pages here and here if you're interested in seeing any of that.
In Cincinnati, I went out on a lovely evening Wednesday to see the Rusty Griswolds doing a free gig at the riverfront Party in the Park. They were nailing Joan Jett, Huey, Duran Duran & Dexy's when I thought I'd grab a beer. As you'd expect at a free thing, the beer lines were enormous. After waiting 30 minutes I made it up to #3 in the queue when the taps ran out at that tent. I controlled myself just enough to keep from punching someone and left.
I went back to my hotel, which I have already pointed out sucked. Check out this sign that was in the bathroom. Sorry about the crappy quality; click to enlarge:
;)
Then I found out that this Swedish dude...
... is getting government compensation because his addiction to heavy metal has been determined to be a disability. The jury is still out on whether this is more a comment on the Swedish government or on Black Sabbath & friends.
At least I'm back in the Dawghouse now, and things are looking up. Here is a feel-good video that came in from ALove. If you're British there is a good chance you have already seen this guy. It is an early-round performance by Paul Potts in the UK show 'Britain's Got Talent'. He reminds me of Dave from the Full Monty, who in turn returns me of myself. We're all regular joes who are pudgy and somewhat unattractive, yet have a hidden talent at which we excel greatly. Dave had his dancing in the buff, I am world-class quality at Minesweeper, and this guy Paul... well, the video speaks for itself. He ended up winning the competition. Enjoy.
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Doing some work in the Queen City right now. Kinda sucks that the Reds are out of town, and the Creation Museum is just far enough away to keep me from getting there before it closes. Also, don't stay at the Quality Hotel in Norwood. Ain't quality at all. In fact, this will be a short post because I'm running the risk of losing everything I type, no thanks to their crappy wireless system. This one goes to 3.
But I did want to relay that today I got some of the worst news since getting to Memphis only to find out that the King's crib was closed. The world renowned Riot Club in Hounslow, West London, is closing its doors. Our beloved dump may not even still be going when I'm there in a few weeks' time. So many immortal moments were crafted by me and the boys there... I don't know how to properly enshrine it here yet, but I imagine it will eventually include some photos of the caliber of this one:
If you have experienced the glory that is the Riot Club, I would invite you to share your comments...
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I wasn't going to any further dignify the existence of the Creation Museum in Kentucky by mentioning it here, but unfortunately after a recent feature run by the Tennessean -- which I hate -- I can't stands no more.
In case you've not heard about it, our neighbors to the north have solidified their status as one of the three worst states in the Union with the installation of this so-called museum that throws out science and learning in favor of a right-wing view that states the world is 6,000 years old, God created everything in 6 literal days, Adam and Eve tended to dinosaurs, etc. Morans.
(Besides that, they have creepy erotic waxy animatronics that will likely weird you out regardless of the type of place.)
Last Sunday's Tennessean had a big special feature where readers had been asked to write in answering the question: 'Would you let your children visit the Creation Museum?' The yeses outweighed the nos, and they weren't just saying they wanted their kids to experience 'other cultures and opinions', if you catch my drift. And not only were the first three of them from my town of Franklin, but two of those were from people in my ZIP code. Save me!
Anyway, I don't think I'll be patronizing the place any time soon, especially thanks to this guy, who did it for us. Check out his diary entry from where he went up there, snapped up a bunch of great photos, and wrote an entertaining synopsis of his visit.
...and coming soon, a 12th reason I hate the Tennessean!
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Last night I was able to cash in on my birthday gift from my mom. The Wife & I joined her and my stepdad to see 'Sweet Charity' with Molly Ringwald. It was very pleasantly surprising, with a lot of funny lines and situations, clever scenes/sets, and some sharp Cruella DeVille-esque coloring and choreography. Casey and Hal happened to be there as well, so it was cool to meet up with them for a glass of vino at halftime.
The Hollmanometer says this one goes to... 8.5. Molly wasn't in pink at all that I recall, but I'm sure she'd have been pretty if she had been. Charity kept me wide awake, no small feat considering the hour I'd been to bed the previous night following a generous amount of rioja with Parham & Lottie.
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After bungling the last thing I posted, I decided to delete it and then waste no time putting thought, creativity or fact-checking into this one. Here, play this game-of-the-day and see what you get. My answers are below.
RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW ASININE IT SOUNDS.
Some of these make no sense whatsoever, but some were amusing or appropriate, e.g. the AC/DC and Speckled Bird ones...
IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Vertigo (U2)
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
Mr. Brightside (The Killers)
WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Welcome to the Jungle (Guns N' Roses)
HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
High Fever Blues (Corey Harris)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Bag of Bones (Here Come the Mummies)
WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Old Yellow Bricks (Arctic Monkeys)
WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Radiate (Fleming & John)
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Hard to Handle (Otis Redding)
WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Automatic Stop (The Strokes)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BESTIE?
Deep End (The 77s)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Wicked Game (Chris Isaak)
WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Stuck With You (Huey Lewis & the News -- Yes, Huey is on my iPod... what of it?!)
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Ize of the World (The Strokes)
WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Speckled Bird (The Choir)
WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Across the Universe (The Beatles)
WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Great Balls of Fire (Jerry Lee Lewis)
WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST??
Givin the Dog a Bone (AC/DC)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?
Wasted Time (Kings of Leon)
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Essence (Lucinda Williams)
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Big Girls Don't Cry (The Four Seasons)
WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Walkin' After Midnight (Patsy Cline)
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