Remembering Simon the Cat, 10 Years Later

Ten years ago today, our first cat, Simon, passed away. Today I present the photo collage I posted in 2004 to mark the one year anniversary of his untimely death.
 

Thank you, Simon, for 7+ wonderful years: 4/28/96 - 10/29/03

We love you and miss you

Friday 80s Flashback for October 25, 2013

Cover Art by Brad from Running to Stand Still

[Joshua Tree Tour] -- I recently subscribed to Concert Vault,"The World’s Greatest Collection of Concert Recordings." I don't know if it's really the greatest, but it certainly is very extensive. From Count Basie and His Orchestra at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1959 to We Were Promised Jetpacks at Outdoor Stage On Sixth in 2012 (and a whole slew of recordings from the archives of Bill Graham Presents), Concert Vault's depth and breadth of recordings is impressive. Now, a subscription is required to download playlists (which are around $5 each), but you do not need a membership to stream the playlists. And, yes, they do have a decent collection of 80s artists. This is great resource for me because I wasn't able to see many concerts when I was younger (distance from venues and lack of money colluded to prevent my attendance). Case in point: U2. I loved this band but I never got to see them live until the 360 Tour. Thanks to Concert Vault, I can now virtually attend a seminal performance by U2: a live show at Madison Square Garden during The Joshua Tree tour! You can read and hear more about this show after the break.

Christianity commandeered humanistic values

Professor Jim Al-Khalili: Christianity hijacked human values (via Raw Story )

Professor Jim Al-Khalili, a theoretical physicist and science broadcaster, said Monday at The Cambridge Union Society that Christianity had commandeered humanistic values. In his presentation, Al-Khalili said he believed in the Golden Rule: One should…

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Friday 80s Flashback for October 18, 2013

Big Pig (photo credit: AllMusic.com)

[Bonk] -- First off, please accept my apologies for not posting a Flashback last week. Hopefully you'll feel this week's entry to be satisfying enough for two weekends. And I'm fairly confident you will, because this one is going to bonk you. Now, get your heads out of the gutter. I'm talking about Bonk, the 1988 debut album from Australian pop-rockers Big Pig.

In a decade of big synths and bigger hair, Big Pig bucked both musical and fashion trends (check out those leather aprons). The brainchild of drummer Oleh Witer, Big Pig traces its origins to 1983 after Witer bounded in and out of four different bands. After the fourth gig fizzled out with nothing tangible to show for his efforts, Witer opted to form his own band and to do it totally on his own terms. He wanted to write his own songs and create something without compromise. The first incarnation of Big Pig (1985) was inspired by Japanese taiko drummers -- around nine drummers creating a controlled chaos of rhythms. Members came and went as Witer felt he just needed to get the right people for his vision of orchestrated rhythms. When Big Pig made their concert debut in 1986, the necessary lineup had finally gelled. They self-released an EP that same year and generated enough interest for a label to get the band in studio to begin recording a full-length LP in 1987. Three EP tunes ( "Hungry Town", "Money God" and "Devil's Song") were reworked for the album and they recorded eight more tracks, one of which was a, ahem, "Breakaway" hit which also appeared on the Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure soundtrack. Despite this success, and all the hype, Big Pig's sophomore album made no dent in the charts or MTV, and the band all but disappeared after their 1990 tour.

To check out some Bonk tunes, read and hear more after the break.

Friday 80s Flashback for October 4, 2013

[Unrequited but Upbeat - Redux] -- This week's flashback recycles the Flashback post from the first week of October in 2010. Three years ago this week, we looked at upbeat songs about unrequited love. Every generation has them, but the 80s seemed to spawn some singularly interesting instances of happy beats with potentially depressing lyrical content. What toe-tapping tales of woe are on tap this week? Read and hear more after the break!

Worldwide Heathen Census 2013

In major surveys of religious affiliation, heathens tend to get lumped into categories such as "New Age," "No Religious Preference," or the ever-so-helpful "Other." The Worldwide Heathen Census 2013 seeks to correct this oversight with an anonymous online survey. If you self-identify as a heathen and heathenry is your primary expression of faith and religion, please go to the Norse Mythology Blog for more information and the link to the survey.

Friday 80s Flashback for September 27, 2013

[An Under-Appreciated AOR Gem] -- I'm going to wax a little more nostalgic before I get to the music this week. Please bear with me.

When I was in high school, finding new music was much harder than it is today. Let me elaborate: discovering and then purchasing new music was much more difficult. OK, maybe that's too broad a generalization. I'm going to guess that folks in larger metropolitan areas had easier access to new and different kinds of music because, generally speaking, they had more radio options. I, however, lived just west of ... well, let's just say the closest "metropolitan" area to my little hamlet was several hours away. We had but two radio stations -- one AM, and one FM. Oh, on particularly clear days you could maybe sniff out one or two other stations. And if you had cable TV, you could connect the cable to your stereo and access some city stations. However, no matter what radio options existed, when you tuned in, you were still subject to the whim of (usually) real human disc jockeys and -- to one extent or another -- their dedication to the record charts. Oh, there were a few renegades who played whatever the heck they wanted, but they tended to have very short tenures because their corporate overlords frowned upon such diversity. Outside of radio, we had music magazines and -- later in my high school career -- MTV. Now, when you found out about something new and potentially interesting, you still had to get it in your hot little hands. For those of us that had limited access to decent record stores (yes, vinyl records and cassette tapes), there was mail order. I'm not talking about mail order record clubs (at least not exclusively). I'm talking about ads in the back of magazines (or as part of an interview) that directed you to send away for a particular artist's release. In the early days of MTV, particularly the late night music shows, a featured band would provide a P.O. Box you could contact and order the record that had been played. Such an order could take up to eight weeks to reach you -- talk about delayed gratification!

Back in that halcyon era of music, my good friend Joseph and I would regularly share our discoveries with each other. For example, I found Bronz on MTV's Headbangers Ball while he found Tokyo Blade (in a Metal Blade Records catalog, if I recall correctly). I don't remember which one of us found this week's featured Flashback artist, Arc Angel, but it might have been him. I base that on the fact that I have a TDK cassette of their debut, but no LP. Regardless, I'm glad I remember them. Arc Angel was essentially Jeff Cannata and Michael Soldan along with a host of studio musicians. The concept was developed after Cannata and Soldan's previous band, Jasper Wrath, folded in 1976. They continued writing songs together and, in the early 80s, pitched a demo to CBS who signed the duo to a deal. Arc Angel's self-titled debut album was released in 1983. Although the album was a hit in Europe, and the band had a music video showcased on MTV, success in the US was not forthcoming. My guess is that it was buried in the wave of other releases ... and poor reviews from dismissive critics. If you are a fan of AOR with great guitar licks, 80s synths, and just a hint of prog that prevents a full spiral into glam, then you owe it to yourself to get swept up by Arc Angel. (And if you're looking for them on download sites like eMusic, then you'll need to search under CANNATA). For a few selections from Arc Angel's debut, read and hear more after the break. 

Friday 80s Flashback for September 20, 2013

[Into the Fall] -- I don't know about you, but I find September to me a month of contradictions. Football has started, but baseball has yet to yield the spotlight. The days are warm, but the nights become cool. Speaking of days, as summer vacations give way to what students perceive as long, tedious school days, the days are actually becoming shorter in length. I have a nostalgic hankering for pumpkin spice (lattes), but that particular treat has been around for only 10 years. And, finally, I have this strange urge to hurry and complete even while the world around me is getting ready to slow down and sleep (Autumn Equinox this weekend).

Seems like a good time to do a Flashback featuring The Outfield.

The Outfield is a power-pop band that was founded in the early 80s, and they, too, are somewhat contradictory: They are from the UK, yet they took their name from part of the playing field for America's pastime (note: they started out as The Baseball Boys). They had huge hits in the US, but they couldn't quite win commercial success in their homeland. Two band members had the look of new romance while the other two looked a bit more glam. And, finally, they continue to perform and record (their last album was released in 2011), but they have not charted since 1990. What Outfield tunes got off the bench and onto the playlist this week? Well, read and hear more after the break.

R.I.P. Ray Dolby

The man behind this logo -- Dr. Ray Dolby, not Thomas Dolby -- passed away today. Read more about his contributions to sound and music engineering:

• Scientist, Entrepreneur, and Pioneering Sound Engineer Ray Dolby Is Dead [geeksofdoom.com]
• Ray Dolby, Who Put Moviegoers in the Middle, Is Dead at 80 [nytimes.com]

Ray Dolby in Home Workshop (via GeeksOfDoom.com)

The Internet Must Go?

In 2012, market researcher John Wooley was dispatched to help the big ISPs figure out how to sell their vision for a "faster," "cleaner" Internet. Six months later he produced this report -- and shared it with the world. If you're concerned about a free, open Internet, watch this leaked video, learn more and take action at theinternetmustgo.com.