Pretty Neat Videos on Yahoo Music

http://new.music.yahoo.com/users/alphanumericcode/playlists/videos/playlistname-F272936E-0499-4191-BC57-08346968C327;_ylt=AhIXlW.P1_u4bemceWBnc305wSUv
This link is for some videos I tagged. There are great videos in there once you wade past the crap like Lil Wayne and Jeezy and other people with no talent and stupid names... I made a playlist of bands like Dropkick Murphys, Pennywise, NOFX, ...and you will know us by the Trail of Dead, and others. I am old enough to remember music videos before MTV became a reality show sleazefest. I wish there was a channel that played good punk, alternative, hardcore and the like videos. If you have Insight Cable, they do have some good music videos, but you have to queue them up one at a time, which is a pain.

McCain Compares Obama to Britney Spears

The Dissident Times counters by comparing McCain to pop idol Patti Page. What they have in common? They were both relevent many years ago. Both should just go away.

Wattage Back for Iggy Pop Tour '08

http://hootpage.com/hoot_stoogestourdiary2008a.html

Former Minutemen and fIREHOSE bassist is hitting the road with Iggy Pop and company as they tour Europe. Always an interesting match... the Godfather of Punk meets the Godzilla of the Thunder Broom. Iggy's music has long been known for its hard edge and Mike Watt will only make the edge edgier. You can read Mike's blog, and Mike LOVES to talk, (according to the guys in Husker Du and others who travelled with him on many a tour bus or equipment van back in the day...) by following the link above.

Mike is a one-of-a-kind artist, a one man punk tour de force. His work and words gained him fame in the 80s with D. Boon and the Minutemen. He and George Hurley then went on to fIREHOSE, which was very improv and free-form. He since went on to tour with Perry Farrell and others. He has done work with George Hurley since fIREHOSE, doing jazz-avant-punk with a lineup that includes a sax player. I have not had the chance to listen to the new material, but it is on my "to do list".

No Need for an Introduction! No Use for a Name!

NO USE FOR A NAME has a great new record out! Who are they? Here is a little info gleaned from their page at Fat Wreck Chords. They are a four-piece punk rock band from San Jose, Ca. who started their act in 1987. Already veterans of two full lengths cds, "Incognito" and "Don’t Miss the Train", they were signed by Fat Wreck Chords in 1993. Their first Fat release, "The Daily Grind", was so well received that they immediately got right back in the studio to record their "Leche Con Carne".

After the release of Leche Con Carne, Chris Shiflett (no relation to Bluegrass artist Karl Shiflett as far as I know) joined the band, and in addition, Matt Riddle, formerly of Face to Face, took over the bass playing duties and broadened the band’s sound even more. Their signature sound is catchy, clever punk rock tunes, with introspective lyrics that, as Fat Mike (NOFX) puts it "...make even the dumbest punk rocker sit back and think, if such a thing is possible."
NO USE FOR A NAME went into the studio in July of ‘99 to record "More Betterness". Chris Shifflet left to join the Foo Fighters, a mistake in my humble opinion, but anywho... and was immediately replaced by Dave Nassie, formerly of Suicidal Tendencies.
Next up was a live record "Live In A Dive", then "Hard Rock Bottom". It was all academic from there, as NO USE spent 2002 on the Warped Tour’s mainstage, also joining Sum 41 on tour.

2005’s full length, "Keep Them Confused"contained 13 tracks that made up a nice full length cd. It included catchy punk songs, mid-tempo rockers, and a couple slow-paced tear-jerking hits. All this only further strengthened their touring dominance as mainstage headliners of the 2005 Warped Tour.
As of late, they have been touring intimate small clubs, along with a trip to South America in support of their “Best of” collection, All the Best Songs, which came out in July of 2007. This essential “best of” is a reminder of their quality songwriting and energetic punk rock for two decades.
Their 9th proper studio release, "The Feel Good Record of the Year" has the band recording in Ft. Collins, CO at the Blasting Room with legendary producer Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and just might be their best record to date, both in song quality and production value. The 14 song record is a perfect blend of all their previous albums and was released April 1ST, 2008.

Howard Steamboat Museum Raffling Smart Car

http://www.steamboatmuseum.org/08smartcarraf/

Features of the 2008 Smart Car Fortwo Passion Coupe

Color: Crystal White

Trim: Tridion Silver Metallic

3 Cylinder 1.0 Liter 71 HP Gas Engine (premium fuel)

5 Speed automated manual transmission (steering wheel paddle shifters)

15" Wheels / Rear Wheel Drive

Power Steering ElectricDriver, Passenger, and Side Airbags

Heated Seats / Climate Control AC / Electric Rear DefrosterAM/FM Radio with CD

Designed and Manufactured by Mercedes Benz in France

EPA Fuel Economy Estimates City: 33 Highway: 41

The Smart Car Raffle is the first of many initiatives that the Board of Directors will use to meet the challenge grant offered by the Paul Ogle Foundation. The Board is embarking on a Capital Campaign—Phase I with a goal of $1,000,000.00 to be raised by December 31, 2009.

Now the Smart Car is an underachiever in my humble opinion, at only 41mpg, but you could easily hypermile your way past 50 mpg and beyond. I applaud the museum for being forward thinking and environmentally aware!

Murderer "Hates Liberals", Kills 2 at Church

The killings over the weekend at a Unitarian Church in Tennessee were perpetrated by a man who left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies.
A letter found in Jim D. Adkisson's vehicle indicated he targeted the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church because he hated the liberal movement and was upset with liberals in general as well as gays.
According to Yahoo News, Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps, had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun from a guitar case during a children's performance of the musical "Annie."
I guess he didn't realise that the liberal movement helped produce the food stamps he relied on. To me this seems like the ultimate result of all the right wing hatemongers, such as Rush Limbaugh, who sets up his liberal "straw man" but is short on facts and details. Look at the crap constantly being peddled by the slimy likes of Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly and others. Was it just last week that Mike Savage mocked children with autism, calling them names and accusing them of being phonies? Remember when Rush Limbaugh belittled Michael J. Fox and accused him of faking his illness? Maybe I am stretching it, but I see a real connection between media right wing crap peddlers and their sheeplike followers who might be driven to do such attrocities. I pray for the families of the victims, and the congregants of the church and denomination. As a liberal Christian myself, I fear for the future.

Frito Lay Green Champions?

While in Chicago, I heard an interesting story about Frito Lay's new plant in California. They are using mirrors to deflect sunlight to create heat they can use in production. Here is an excerpt from the dedication, attended by company officials and the Governator, Arnold Schwartzenegger.

Here is an excerpt from Al Carey, who leads Frito Lay North America:

"Now, behind me you can see...five acres of solar concentrators, 54,000 square feet of concave mirrors, 192 solar concentrators and they superheat the water. So will everybody just look at that pipe that runs through there? It will superheat the water to over 500 degrees and then we use the steam from that to cook the oil to make SUNCHIPS... it's a significant reduction in natural gas for our plant, making a big difference in the environment... It's one of the largest solar panel fields in North America and it is reducing CO2 by 2 million pounds annually... In the state of Arizona we've begun work on our net zero plant, which means we will recycle 90 percent of the water, we will get off the electricity grid through solar panels and we'll use methane gas from a landfill to allow us to get off natural gas. So, we'll have almost a net zero plant in the state of Arizona."

One can only hope other companies join suit, and also that Frito Lay continues such efforts. As we continue on into the 21st century, we need such renewable energy sources to survive.

Obama outdraws McCain in Traditional Republican Strongholds

Just got back from Milwaukee area, and read an interesting article in the Journal Sentinal. It stated the fact that Obama is out-fundraising McCain in the Republican suburbs west of Milwaukee. Wisconsin is generally a liberal/progressive state, especially Madison, but the Milwaukee suburbs such as Waukesha and the like are usually strongly Republican. The last time a Democrat carried this area was in 1964 for LBJ.
Is this a trend elsewhere? We can only hope. People are ready for something different.

MXPX Celebrates 16 years In Yer Face!

Fun-loving punk popsters MXPX just turned 16. If you don't know these guys, give them a listen. I caught onto them during their "Life In General" phase, about 10 years ago. Then on to "Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo", which was another great outing. One of my favorite tunes they wrote is "Punk Rawk Show" which kind of describes the scene. Their brand of punk is positive, fun and uptempo. The have often straddled the line, selling in both religious and punk circles. That is more of a happy accident than any master plan. They don't shy away from the punk at all. Originally named "Magnified Plaid", they would abbreviate their initials "M.P." on their hand-written posters. The periods looked like x's the way they were written, so everyone thought they were called "MXPX" and it stuck. Check 'em out!

Faux News reports Obama removes Flag from Aircraft

The plane does have an eerie birthmark in the shape of an American flag directly to the left of the FAA number on the fuselage.

An Oil Company Shocker

I read today in the St. Louis Post Dispatch that oil companies, despite their record profits, are only spending about 5% of their available revenue on exploration. Compare that with the over 50% that they spend on stock repurchase, investor dividends and other cash handouts. Kind of makes the Republican "let's drill everywhere" plan seem useless, doesn't it?

First of all, the oil companies are not exploring all the land they currently have leased, and second, we also have a problem with refinery capacity. How would more oil solve that problem?

It's a complicated issue, but we need to turn the page on fossil fuels.

Attack of the Polkaholics

Only Chicago could bring us something like these guys, or perhaps Buffalo, Pittsburgh or some other place with lots of Eastern European and German- ancestored people. ANYWHO... If you ever make a run to Chicago, you owe it to yourself to schedule your trip around a concert by the one and only POLKAHOLICS. A fun mixture of punk rock and polka that somehow seems to work, these guys must be seen to be believed. I am going to Chicago next week and just missed their last gig, and won't make their next gig in August. http://chicagopolkaholics.com/ has the full experience that is The POLKAHOLICS. Free mp3s are worth a download. The traditional polka tune "Who Stole the Kishka" done punk style is wunderbar! In concert, they often play matching pink Les Paul and Fender P Bass, dance on tables, and general exhort the audience to drink, get rowdy, have fun and do all things polka. They don't get too far from the Windy City, so you will have to catch them there. Their New Years Eve gigs are legendary. As their last CD states in anthemic fashion, "The Polka Must Not Die".

Story of the Year's Latest Release

Story of the Year has a new disc that has been out for a couple of months. If you are not familiar with the St. Louis-based quintet, get wise! They have a sound that is heavy, with pop hooks and punk attitude. The new cd is called the Black Swan and it is good stuff. I have their first release Page Avenue and it rocks as well. Visit them on the web at http://www.storyoftheyear.net/

American Idol Auditions in Louisville Today

I was driving home from work at 5am, heading south on the MLK and I usually have the road to myself. Strangely enough, I was surrounded by traffic. All of it was exiting onto the Watterson Westbound. Where are these people going? Who are they? Why are they up so early? The answer turns out to be the Freedom Hall/KFEC auditions for American Idol.
No, I didn't see Simon or Paula (who was probably lost on the freeway to quote the old Minutemen tune). But there were a whole wad of people. God bless 'em. Good luck to 'em. It never hurts to dream. If they don't make it, at least they could cool off at Six Flags Water Park.

Random Thoughts

Is there anyone in the Jehovah Witness Protection program?
Are there any Bi-Polar Bears?
Is there any great difference in a happy camper and a Jolly Rancher?

NOFX to tour East Coast this Fall

Looks like NOFX will be hitting the road this fall for an all-East Coast tour. Hope they are coming to a venue near you. Catch Fat Mike, El Hefe and Company as they take SoCal to the East Coast!

08/22/08 Denver, CO Red Rocks w/ The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Bouncing Souls, The Circle Jerks
10/13/08 Providence, RI Lupo's w/ Dillinger Four
10/15/08 New York, NY Irving Plaza SOLD OUT w/ Dillinger Four
10/16/08 New York, NY Irving Plaza SOLD OUT w/ Dillinger Four
10/17/08 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom w/ Dillinger Four
10/18/08 Long Island, NY Crazy Donkey w/ Dillinger Four
10/20/08 Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theater w/ Dillinger Four
10/21/08 Pittsburgh, PA Club Zoo w/ Dillinger Four
10/23/08 Buffalo, NY Town Ballroom w/ Dillinger Four
10/24/08 Baltimore, MD Ram's Head Tavern w/ Dillinger Four
10/25/08 Richmond, VA Toad's Place w/ Dillinger Four

Musical Reunion

Musicians who have the spark, the connection, can pick up where they left off... Even after a 20 year layoff. I had the pleasure of reuniting with my old punk bandmates last week. We grabbed a set list from 1987 and went to work. Old originals, Dead Kennedys, Husker Du, Long Riders and even some old REM when they were still indie. Suddenly it was the late 80s again and we were practicing for a show.
Our drummer moved on to Atlanta, I moved on to Chicago and our bass player moved to North Carolina. We stayed in contact on and off over the years. The musical kinship never fades.
It was amazing that, if we had a couple of hours to practice, we could have knocked off a gig later that evening. It was a blast to play the old tunes and wonder about what might have been...

New Outing from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Just heard some mp3s from the new Me First CD. The first cut is "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel. It is done uptempo (obviously) and with much more angst than the original. If you aren't in the know about the Gimmes, they are made up of members of NOFX, Lagwagon, No Use for a Name, etc. and they always do covers. In the past they have covered country tunes, show tunes, etc.

The second cut is "Take Me Home Country Roads". John Denver can be proud of this version. Both tunes are done up Socal punk style for your listening pleasure. I always like the wit and humor they add to their cover tunes. The disc is their second CD of covers from the 60s and 70s. Check it out!
Check out the tracks at their record label's site. There are many great mp3 samples for your downloading pleasure.
http://www.fatwreck.com/audio/

Hypermiling the Cavalier

I have been hypermiling my 99 Cavalier and I got almost 37mpg on my last tank. By slowing down, and doing a couple of easy mods on my car, I have improved my mileage by over 7 mpg.
http://ecomodder.com/ http://ecomodder.com/forum/emgarage.php?do=details&vehicleid=960