Continue to follow the thrilling adventures of Blue Suede Schubert at our new home here.
Why the change? Oh, you know the story.
The new place is closer to my work, the kids have more room to run around, etc. Plus there's a pool. I don't have a pool here.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Blake Lewis Is A Jedi Master

So Blake Lewis, the beat-boxing American Idol runner up, finally has his new album ready to hit the stores. That's the good news. Lewis is a talented artist, and the first cut from the album "Break Anotha" chugs along nicely and shows off his considerable skills. The bad news is that this is the album cover.
Yikes.
Let me be even a bit more to the point: This is the one they approved.
It makes you wonder at how crappy the rejected ones were. It looks like some sort of throwback to a Star Wars movie poster. The good thing is you don't have to look at it, and if your iTunes tries to download it as cover art, you can easily replace it with a picture of your dog.
Listen to Blake Lewis, Break Anotha
Thursday, November 8, 2007
What Happened To The Music?

That's a real headline from Reuters. Here are a few snippets from the story:
Jackson, 49, appears on the front cover of the African-American magazine "Ebony" to mark the 25th anniversary of "Thriller" -- the world's best-selling studio album that also made him a superstar.
...
The cover photo of the magazine, whose December edition hits newsstands on November 12, is causing almost as much of a stir as the interview, which barely addresses the fallout of the trial. Jackson is pictured dressed all in white, with a glowing peaches-and-cream skin.
Harriette Cole, creative director of Ebony, spent a day and a half with Jackson during the photo shoot and interview and said, "he came across really as kind of normal."
"He's 49. He's a grown-up. If you learn from your challenges, then you become stronger. He certainly seemed like that," Cole told NBC's "Today" show this week. "Honestly ... he was normal."
So, what happened to the music? That's a double-edged question.
First, I'm asking why the big story is that Michael Jackson appears to be normal? His image has become far bigger than his talent at this point in his career (or whatever is left of it). Big whoop. Michael Jackson is normal, so ...ummm... we have to go out and buy his album?
Well, no.
That brings me to the other side of the double-edged question.
What happened to the music? If these two leaked tracks are any indication, Michael Jackson hasn't turned on a radio in years.
In the words of my good friend, and music critic par excellence, Lisa, "The first song with the Fugees, who aren't really even the Fugees anymore is like Gangstas go Broadway. Like the 'Thriller' dance off, but every one keeps flashing up jazz hands at each other.
"The second song sounds like Michael is trapped in 1988. He has lost the magic. He has lost the magic and most of the supporting cartilage in his nose."
Listen for yourself:
Gangsta No Friend
Xcape
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
What Would You Pay For Paste?

I'm talking about Paste, the music magazine that comes with a free CD of tunes with each issue. Like Radiohead, Paste is betting that if readers name their own price for a subscription, they will become long-time subscribers, and maybe even buy the stuff that advertisers promote in their pages (because that's what it's all about anyway). Until November 10 (I think), you can subscribe to Paste at whatever price you want. The only thing is, you have to pay something, even if it's a minimum $1.
And if you pay more than the $19.95 Paste typically offers for a one-year subscription, you will be thanked in print in a future issue of the magazine, on a page that can be torn out and framed. Then you can tell all your friends that you were in Paste, and you wouldn't be lying this time.
Here's the story:
The campaign came about from a casual conversation at the Paste offices discussing the recent Radiohead campaign and the Jim Collins book, Good to Great.
“We were curious to know what our customers thought we were worth. And what better way to find out, than to let them tell us?” explained Paste president and publisher Tim Regan-Porter. “While it’s certainly a bit unconventional, we also see it as a chance to get our product in the hands of people who could become lifelong fans. It’s been our experience that once people become familiar with Paste, they turn into loyal readers.”
Get yer Paste here.
More Tuesday Trivia
Here's the regular Tuesday trivia questions, once again, courtesy of Ken Jennings.
1. What two U.S. states have musical instruments pictured on their state quarters?
2. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Diamond Jim Brady, Rosey Grier, Woody Guthrie, Howlin' Wolf, Ted Lilly, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dwight Yoakam, and Andrew Young.
1. What two U.S. states have musical instruments pictured on their state quarters?
2. What unusual distinction is shared by these famous people? Diamond Jim Brady, Rosey Grier, Woody Guthrie, Howlin' Wolf, Ted Lilly, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dwight Yoakam, and Andrew Young.
Monday, November 5, 2007
Tuesday Trivia: The Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz

Challenge yourself to four decades of the trickiest, weirdest and most off-the-wall trivia questions ever in our fifty-eight question quiz, and tabulate your own rock & roll IQ.
My final score was a 43--"expert level," thank you very much--and looking at the answer key I see that there were a few that I should have gotten right that I didn't. That's pretty good considering I have a memory like a sieve. So, tricky? Yes. Impossible? Not so much.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Friday Fun: The Incomparable Wing!

Here she is, doin' it live!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)