Random Start: From the Valley of Shadows by Mortification

So I was into the first Christian heavy metal from back in the 90s and this was one of the first "death" metal bands to come out.  At the time it was jawdropping but now it doesn't sound so hot.  All the quick strumming up and down the scale sounds like a song a child might write.  They did have some better material though.  


Funny story, during a minor surgery I had once the doctors let me bring in my own music to play in the OR - it was a procedure where I'd be awake.  I brought Mortification's "Scrolls of the Megilloth".  I was playing this stuff while under the knife - probably not my best decision.  When keeping it real goes wrong.

Random Start: Working At The Car Wash Blues by Jim Croce

I got my love of Jim Croce from my dad.  I haven't dug all the way into his catalog but know his best hits very well.  My wife and I listened to a lot of Jim Croce when we were dating - songs on the Photographs and Memories best of record.  This is one of the classics - and a story song in the Jim Croce style.  Good stuff!

Random Start: Torn Blue Foam Couch by Grand Archives

I downloaded this record because I heard it was a side project of one of the guys from Band of Horses.  Turns out it's a guy who left the band.  This song sounds a LOT like BoH - I'm sure this cat did some of their writing before he left.  Nice song.  I need to listen to this record some more.

Random Start: Where Do You Draw The Line by From Autumn to Ashes

I remember getting this CD at a Best Buy in Atlanta and it was one of my first forays into the new brand of rock bands at the time - metalish with melody.  Could be called emo in areas.  Decent band but I didn't like the followup record.  This song sounds early Thrice-ish to me.  


What I remember more about that weekend was that my son and I took the trip to Atlanta as a boys weekend.  Good time with him back when he was 4.  We went to a Braves game and ate candy on the MARTA train - which is totally against the rules!

Not Random Start: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by August Burns Red

I've seen plenty of Christmas songs butchered by modern bands, but I really like what ABR has done with a few.  They've been putting out a Christmas song for the past 3 years and this is the latest.  Merry Christmas everyone!

My Top Musical Finds of 2011

I crave end of year top 10 lists.  I set out to make my own and have been stumped.  I think part of my problem this year is that I've spent so much time hunting for new music that I haven't latched onto many records and immersed myself in them.  Instead I'll list my top musical discoveries of 2011.  Some will be new records but some will include older stuff that I'm just now discovering.


1.  I have to top my list with Thrice's Major/Minor.  

Since I discovered them with The Artist in the Ambulance from 2003 they've become my favorite band.  I've only had a chance to see them live twice and am sad to hear they're going on a hiatus after a tour in Spring of 2012.  I'll surely plan to see them if they hit a city REMOTELY near Nashville.  Regarding Major/Minor, a band that toured with them said it's the most "Thrice sounding record since the band Thrice".  It's their own sound which has developed from their punk/post hardcore beginnings and matured into straightforward rock with dirty groove, complex rhythms and intricacies to be discovered as I hear the songs again and again.  Highlights on the album are Disarmed, Words in the Water and Yellow Belly.  This is music you can worship to.  


2.  Simple Math from Manchester Orchestra  

A lot of the music I've discovered is in the Thrice family tree (kind of like the Bill Parcells coaching tree in football - you know it's quality stuff if it's Thrice approved).  I slept on this band for a long time - to the point of saying I simply didn't like them.  Simple Math is an instantly likeable record and allowed me to go back and give prior records a chance, which I now love.  I saw them live in Nashville about a month ago and their set was spectacular.  Highlights on the album are Simple Math, Deer, and Virgin.  


3.  The Hunter by Mastodon.  

I've always had an appreciation for them as a metal band whose music is VERY technical.  This is their most mass-appealing record...featuring shorter songs with more hooks and grooves.  Records before this featured a sound that to some would be chaos - and a drummer that can't seem to go a few measures without hitting some crazy fills.  Highlights are The Hunter, Curl of the Burl and All of the Heavy Lifting. 


4.  Garden Window from O'Brother.  

Back to the Thrice family tree.  This is a band from Atlanta that just released their first full length record and has been touring with Thrice and Manchester Orchestra.  Their sound to me is sludgy and heavy, but with bright tones throughout - really a dichotomy of sounds.  It's not going to be for everyone, but the feeling and heaviness in the songs really hits home with me.  Seeing them live sealed it.  Check out Machines Part I and II, Sputnik and Lay Down.  


5. The King of Limbs from Radiohead.  

Another self produced/self released album from Radiohead, a band who really does march to the beat of a different drummer...or 2 of them.  They're still hanging on to plenty of their weirdness, but getting back to crafting some songs that stick with you.  One of the best songs I've ever heard is on this record - Codex.  It's a must hear song.  Other highlights are Little by Little and Separator. 


6.  El Camino from The Black Keys.

This has only been out for a few weeks but it will surely end up being regarded as one of the best albums of 2011.  I didn't get into The Black Keys until last year's Brothers.  They're a garagey, dirty, bluesy rock band that has learned to write pop songs without losing their dirtiness and bluesiness...and are now Nashville's proud to claim them as citizens.  This is music that anyone can like - your parents, babies would dance to it...anyone.  Standout tracks are Lonely Boy, Gold on the Ceiling, and Sister...and probably the rest of it.


7. Adele - all of it.

We've all heard her I'm sure.  She hit mass appeal with the song Chasing Pavements, which I didn't get at the time and still don't get now - just don't care for the song.  With her new record 21 I started taking a listen to some songs and she's really grown on me.  I'm not to the point yet where all of her songs are in hot rotation, but she deserves a spot on the list as a top find for me in 2011 - not that I had to look hard to "find" her.  Standout tracks are the pop hit Rolling in the Deep and He Won't Go.


8. La Dispute

These guys toured with Thrice this Fall and I like to "study" the openers for concerts so I can get familiar with them before seeing them.  At first listen I called my son Griffin in the office and said "check out this guy's voice".  It IS very different, but as I listened to it more their first 2 records have grown on me immensely.  The best way I can describe it is hardcore that isn't heavy.  The vocals are spoken to the point that they're almost rapped, but in a tone that constantly sounds like he's near tears.  It surely won't be for everyone, but the musicianship and song structure is gripping to me.  Their live set was awesome.  For a band I thought was unknown it was cool to see their fans crowd up and scream along with every word.  Also - La Dispute has some serious girl problems.  I listed the band and not their latest record, Wildlife, as a top find of 2011 because I don't love Wildlife yet.  But their first two records are in hot rotation right now.  


As I'm looking through my list of other releases from 2011 nothing else is jumping out at me as being something I need to put into top 10...or separating itself from the pack.  There were lots of good releases and a lot I'm still going through.  Other discoveries I think other people should check out: 


Balance & Composure - Sad I've never heard of this band until about a week ago.  Right in my sweet spot.


Brontide - I hadn't heard of them until Riley from Thrice mentioned them in his Hermitology blog.  An instrumental band from England (I think).  Unlike most instrumental bands that get hung up on playing difficult/complex music - theirs is both of those things but with some of the sickest grooves I've heard.  I'd LOVE to see them live and would in fact LOVE for it to be on Thrice's Spring tour.


All Get Out - They're an up and comer from South Carolina and are in the Manchester Orchestra family tree, which to me puts them in the Thrice tree.  Very reminiscent of Manchester Orchestra and a band I think is very underrrated.  The Season is a killer record.  


Bon Iver - I've had to make an effort to like his/their music and I'm starting to...but it's been an effort.  I can see the quality in it, but not to the extent and depth that others gush about.  Maybe I need to hear it in headphones and listen to it sometime when I can tune everything out but the music.  I think this could be said about a lot of music.  The Prayer Chain's Mercury will always stick out to me as a record I discovered in headphones.


Sainthood Reps - This is a band on Tooth & Nail records, which I have a long history with.  When the record was coming out Thrice, O'Bro, Manchester and others were gushing about it so I assumed it must be passing the quality test.  This one has also taken some effort, but I'm liking this band now.  Their sound is a throwback to grunge.  Maybe it's that I never liked the grunge sound that's causing me to be slow to catch on.


There's others I'm not mentioning here but this is where I'd LOVE to get input from others.  What were your top records of 2011?  What am I leaving out?  I'd love to have some interaction via this blog or Twitter regarding music, etc.

Random Start: The Two Dead Boys by The Chariot

Wow, it's a very metal week for Random Start.  This is the band I mentioned awhile back in a post about Norma Jean.  The vocalist was in the original Norma Jean and left to form this band.  This song actually sounds very Norma Jean-ish to me - more structured than other stuff I've heard from the Chariot.  Face.  Melting.  Metal.

Random Start: Haven of Blasphemy by Living Sacrifice

Living Sacrifice makes the Random Start cut yet again.  Haven of Blasphemy is from the record "Nonexistent" but I'm including this YouTube file from In Memoriam since its audio sounded better.  Always will be one of my favorite bands for their quality and heaviness.

Random Start: Motorbreath by Metallica

This is fitting since Metallica just held a series of concert/parties to celebrate their 30th anniversary.  It's pretty wild that they've lasted this long and are still going strong.  This is from their first major label release in 1983.  1983!  Who was doing this in 1983?  No one else, that's who.  The concert footage is where they closed out a show in the last few years with a song from 1983.  


The last time they came through Nashville my son Griffin was too young to go.  He's 11 now and we're hoping they'll do another record and tour so we can go see them live together.

Not Random Start: The Daily Mail by Radiohead

Radiohead tweeted out yesterday that they were releasing this song.  It hearkens back to OK Computer days in my opinion - which is refreshing.  I really like this song and think I'll have it on repeat a few times today.  I like current Radiohead, but I think I might have liked their older work better.  Maybe I need a support group.

What's Going Right and Wrong for Windows Phone

I'm a fan of Windows Phone.  I could also be called an advocate, evangelist, whatever you want to call it of the platform.  This is why it's infuriating to me to see how Microsoft seems to be blowing it when they should be gaining more users, and in turn, fans like me.  


Going back to a prior post - I've been a Zune guy for the last few years.  As a pretty serious audiophile who's always on the hunt for new music it allows me to get all the music I want for $15/month.  It's a deal I can't beat and if I was an iPhone/iTunes user I'd be spending MUCH more money on downloads or downloading illegally - neither of which are options for me.  I was excited when the original Windows Phone 7 was finally released because Zune was integrated into the phone OS, so I could consolidate my phone and music player into one device.  Yes, this had already been done for a LONG time with iPhone, but it just wasn't an option for me.


Windows Phone launched just about a year ago, but only with AT&T and T-Mobile in the U.S.  A handset wasn't available to Sprint until last Spring, and to date there's only ONE handset available - a very good performing but bulky HTC Arrive.  I bought it for the OS and its features but could definitely do without the slideout physical keyboard which make the phone too big and heavy.  


So let's look at carrier count in the U.S. - 
AT&T: 4 devices
T-Mobile: 3 devices
Verizon and Sprint: 1 device each


If they want to be a serious player in the market they need to become more ubiquitous - they need to be everywhere so people actually consider it as an option when looking for a new phone.


Microsoft has entered a partnership with Nokia and most new Nokia handsets will now be Windows Phone based.  Nokia used to be a major player in the U.S., but has essentially been out of the market for a few years.  They're still a major player worldwide and the first Nokia handsets have launched overseas and from what I'm hearing are doing well in the marketplace.
Pretty sharp, right?

Nokia Lumia 710

Nokia Lumia 800

This leads me to what I'm seeing as another blown opportunity.  I think we're going to see a LOT of promotion soon for the first Nokia handset coming to the U.S.  It's the Nokia Lumia 710 with T-Mobile.  This is a pared down Windows Phone spec-wise and will be super cheap at $50.  They really want their first entry to be a "lite" version of the phone?  And with T-Mobile?  Nokia people have said they "plan" to be with every carrier - but now is the time to make this happen.  I'm hearing Sprint has no plans for a new handset any time soon since they're deeply committed to iPhone and are dumping a TON of resources into this new offering.


The ideal situation would be that we'd see the Nokia Lumia 800 offered on multiple carriers in the U.S. so that M'soft and Nokia could really begin a joint, heavy promotion and inundate the marketplace with handsets and get the product front of mind.  Today if you go to Best Buy or other retailers that sell phones you'll see 1 or maybe 2 offerings, and that just won't do.  We're coming out of the Christmas shopping season now.  I've been in a lot of stores and seen a lot of advertising and very little of it is for Windows Phone.  A definite missed opportunity.  A lot of people who were looking to refresh just did, and are now committed for 2 years in most cases.


My other gripes about the current offering are these - 


More Capacity - Current handsets only have 16GB of internal storage and most don't have room for expansion cards.  This is simple.  They need 32 and 64GB options to please media hungry users, which is most of us these days.  Back to the Lumia 710 - it only has 8GB of internal storage - 8GB!!!!


Common power/docking - If you have an iAnything you can get a wide array of accessories for it and most are compatible from one iProduct to the next.  Microsoft was getting this right with Zune for a time, but when Windows Phone launched docking went out window.  It's a major flaw to be missing this feature.  It would broaden appeal to both customers and to accessory makers, who as of now have to make completely different accessories for each model of handset.  


Marketing - I touched on this above - the phones need to be EVERYWHERE.  People need to see commercials, print ads, and see actual handsets in stores.  It won't be taken seriously until this happens.  Also, on the marketing topic - my wife and I went to a Windows Phone launch party in Nashville a few weeks ago.  It was at a trendy restaurant and we got free food and drinks and met some nice people.  The new phones were on display around the restaurant and some handsets were given away, but there was no real information given about the phones.  Frankly, most of the folks attending were already fans of the devices.  This was a lost opportunity since these parties were hosted in about 10 large cities nationwide. 


Fun stuff - The ability to easily download or customize ringtones still doesn't exist.  The game selection is big, but still not enough.  My wife recently got her first iPhone and it's been the hot device for the kids in our house due to its superior game catalog available.  There's still no ability to take a screenshot and send it to someone.  This is a SIMPLE task that should be a no brainer, but is currently only available to developers.  Unacceptable.


I'll quit being negative now.  Here's why people, should consider Windows Phone when shopping for a new handset: 


1. The interface is simple, attractive and fun.  It's based on Live Tiles that in many cases, will give the information you're looking for without you having to open an application.  I can tell who is updating their social networks, see temperatures, see who is trying to contact me, etc.  


2. Facebook and Twitter are integrated into the OS.  I no longer have to open both apps to see what's going on.  I look in my People Hub and I can see updates from both networks, and can also use it to see my interaction history with each of my contacts along with pull up pictures and information from THEIR Facebook pages.  


3.  Even if you've been purchasing and downloading from iTunes you're not going to have to leave your music behind.  It can all run on a Windows Phone and you can end up saving money by getting a Zune Pass and for $10-15/month having all the music you want loaded up on 3 computers and 3 mobile devices.  A complete win.  I can also use a Pandora like feature called Smart DJ from the Zune marketplace, and the Bing search can now listen to and identify a song, then take me to the marketplace so I can download it - and NOT have to pay $1 per song.  


 I like the Spotify app and have been using it some lately on my home PC, but would have to upgrade to a "Premium" subscription to use it on my phone.  So I'd essentially be paying for something I already have.  

4. Threaded messaging:  I can chat with a contact in Facebook Chat and move from there to SMS texting and the Windows Phone OS will keep the conversation in a single thread, as if nothing had changed. 


This is simply one of those "try it, and I think you'll like it" situations.  I guess I'm just wishing Microsoft and the carriers would do more to entice people to try it.  I don't have any stake in this whatsoever.  Well - I guess some stake.  When more people do move to Windows Phone there will be more developers working on more apps, which WILL create a better experience for me.  Right now in my house the iPhone (and frankly, the kids' new iPod Touches) are the hot new devices.  No one's asking to play with my phone - and that's where you could be doing better Microsoft - yes, I'm talking to you now!


You've finally got that killer product and you need to make it happen.  This isn't a piece of crap.  It doesn't suck.  Pull out ALL the stops.  Get ads in TV and print.  Get your phones in with all the retailers with the salespeople actually trained on the devices.  YOU know that Windows 8 is going to look like WinPhone's Metro interface.  Take advantage of that.  You DO have all the money in the world (ok, a lot of it).  Don't throw it around on a party where you don't tell me anything.  Get in our faces about it.  Droid is.  iPhone is.  You can too.  And you might just succeed! 

Random Start: Trees by Dr. Octagon

I never paid much attention to this song and didn't realize until seeing the video that it's somewhat an environmental song.  Dr. Octagon is Kool Keith.  His stuff is pretty underground and pretty creative.  I've got it in my library because it's creative, but it's never become something I listen to on a regular basis.  Kind of a dud for Random Start today.  

Random Start: Without A Song by Willie Nelson

Another Willie song makes it into Random Start.  I have a lot of it in my catalog, but it's a lot I still haven't heard.  At first listen this is a nice song.  Reminds me of the "Without A Song" quote that's attributed to Elvis.

Random Start: Crossfire by Brandon Flowers

This is the front man for the Killers and this is the lead single from his first solo record, Flamingo.  This song has been in heavy rotation for me since it was released.  I saw the Killers at the Opry House about 2 years ago and was very impressed with the show.  I always had the notion he was kind of weak vocally - with the way he slides into a lot of notes, but that's just his singing style.  His vocals live were off the charts.  There's a real video for this song too.  He gets captured a lot by ninjas and rescued over and over again by a girl.

Random Start: Far Side of Nowhere by Social Distortion

I'm not an old school punk so I can't claim to go "back in the day" with Social D.  I started liking them with probably what was their most promoted record, White Light, White Heat, White Trash.  As I've gone back and listened to other records it still comes in as my favorite.  This track is off their latest record which ended up being too "pop" for me.

Random Start: Creator by Santogold

I downloaded some Santogold stuff because I had heard she had some pretty creative beats and instrumentation.  I ended up not liking it and deleted most of it from my phone - but she does have one standout track she did with Jay-Z on the soundtrack for the Notorious B.I.G. movie - Brooklyn Go Hard.  I'll give you that one instead of Creator.

Random Start: Why Wait? by P.O.D.

P.O.D. has done several reggae songs along with their typical rap/rock.  I never was a big P.O.D. fan but their first and second major label records fit right in with what was popular at the time and I was glad they got to see some commercial success.  I met them a few times back during my booking days and they were some of the nicest guys I'd come across in bands.  It's not for me to judge, but I think these guys are legit with their desire to reach people and spread the message of Christ.

Random Start: Remember When (Side A) by The Black Keys

Nice one, Random Start.  On the week The Black Keys put out a hotly anticipated record you give me an old one of theirs.  This is a slow droning track.  Check out El Camino to see what they're up to these days.

Random Start: We'll Breathe by The Throes

Back in high school I got my first portable CD player (first CD player at all actually), and my first CD was Fall On Your World by the Throes.  I listened to it over and over again and really loved the songs.  Good pop/rock melodies with fuzzy but bright guitar tones and memorable songs.  This is from the followup to that record which wasn't quite as good.  Sorry, but I've lost the first one and it won't make it into Random Start.  I need to try to find it again...one of those nostalgia records.

An American's Guide to Understanding Soccer

In the last few years I've started watching a lot of soccer - at least a lot compared to most American sports fans.  It started by keeping up with the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) for the last World Cups and has now escalated to me latching onto a team in the Barclays Premier League, the Tottenham Hotspur.  I'm now to the point where I'm keeping up with USMNT between official tournaments to see who the coaches are playing in friendlies and how they're performing.  (Since I'm directing this to non-soccer watchers I'll decode some of the soccer jargon along the way.  A friendly is an exhibition match, like a pre-season football game.)  

My soccer watching also escalated when we changed our cable plan awhile back and the new package included the Fox Soccer Channel.  It's not in HD yet (BOO COMCAST), but shows a LOT of matches from leagues worldwide.  When I started watching the leagues overseas I found myself a bit lost and wondering what was going on.  Not so much with the play, but with how the games fit into various tournaments, etc.  This is what I wished someone had told me.


To keep it basic I'll talk most about the Barclays Premier League, which is usually called EPL - the E standing for English.  It consists of 20 clubs and each team plays every other team twice, once home and once away.  I started watching just last season and was drawn into it initially by ESPN's Saturday morning broadcasts (which ARE in HD).  I've always liked soccer, but these teams played fast and aggressive and the speed and skill demonstrated is amazing.  I had heard of the big clubs that everyone knows - Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, but didn't really know any of the others.  I started off just pulling for the underdogs but latched onto Tottenham Hotspur.  I liked their style of play and that they weren't one of the huge, wealthy clubs but still did enough to be competitive.  There are no salary caps in the EPL so the rich teams will be the most successful.  I'll talk about what happens to less successful teams later on.

Most leagues around the world begin their seasons in August and end in May.  This means the leagues in Europe play all throughout winter in some pretty cold temperatures (people say soccer players lack toughness!).  Here in the states the MLS season runs March through October.  This is counter to the other leagues worldwide and causes issues during international breaks and tournaments.  During league seasons about every 2 months there's an international break where club players are released to be called in by their nations to either play in friendlies or a tournament.  Tournaments are typically in the summer when most leagues are off.  For MLS it falls during the heart of their season, which causes issues.  For an event like a World Cup a player will need to be released for a month or more.


Also, during "league seasons" there are other tournaments happening that teams qualify for with their prior season's standings.  The simplest to understand and most well known is the UEFA Champions League (CL).  The Top 4 finishers in each major league in Europe qualify.  This will include not only the top tier leagues but also the 2nd and sometimes 3rd tier leagues, meaning sometimes a giant club will be pitted against one much smaller.  In some of these games the better team will field a lineup of backups and wait until the closing minutes to insert a normal starter to score if necessary.  In most cases their backups will be better than the smaller team's starters and can seemingly score at will.  Normal  league games are on weekends and CL games will fall midweek, meaning those teams playing more games will need to find ways to keep their players rested.  There are multiple tournaments a team can qualify for and it can end up being detrimental.  I think Manchester City was in 3 or 4 competitions last year and ended up exhausting themselves by the end of the year.  Spurs just had a lackluster showing in the Europa League and may have forced themselves out, but I get the feeling it's not a big concern because they're focused on staying in the top 4 of the EPL's table and getting back into CL play next year.


Here's something I had no clue about but think would be a great motivator for American sports leagues - RELEGATION.  In the EPL and many other leagues the clubs at the bottom 3 spots in the table are relegated to the next league down and they're replaced by the top 3 teams from that league.  So this year Swansea, Queens Park Rangers, and Norwich City were promoted, and Birmingham City, Blackpool and West Ham United were relegated.  Being in the Premier League means much more revenue for the club, so it's a big deal.  I like to think it might spark American sports owners to invest more in their teams.  Tired of the Kansas City Royals being terrible every year?  Or the Cleveland Browns?  What if they faced relegation to a minor league and could be replaced by a team performing well?  I don't think it will ever happen, but it's fun to think about. 

Major League Soccer (MLS) isn't on a relegation/promotion system yet.  The league is successful and growing, but relegation for a developing team would be a crushing blow.  These teams are just now getting to the point where they have their own stadiums and are begginning to grow national followings.  I'd like to see it down the road, but the league will need to be better established first.  And there will need to be a clear cut 2nd league to relegate to and promote from. 


People are saying that soccer is more popular now in America than it ever has been, and I believe it, but there's still a long way to go.  Football is king in America, but since I've started watching more soccer my interest in football has waned.  What's ironic is that my complaint with football is the same as most non-soccer fans would say about soccer - It's boring!  I have been a big football fan for a long time (ask my wife).  I think today was the first time I've watched a whole Tennessee Titans game this season.  This hasn't happened in about 10+ years.  I've found myself flipping over to Fox Soccer Channel to see what's on instead of watching the Titans - or simply just finding other things to do.  Here's what's up: Soccer games consist of two 45 minute halves and each side is allowed 3 substitutions during the whole game.  The subs are very valuable and are only made if needed.  8 of the 11 players will play the full 90 minutes and there are no breaks in play aside from dealing with injuries or a kickoff.  In football a typical play lasts about 5 seconds then the players get a 35 second break. Check out this article from the Wall Street Journal for more on that.


So how can we tell that soccer is growing in America?  1. The number of Americans playing internationally is growing.  Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey are having success in the EPL.  Many others play in other leagues in Europe or in Mexico.  When USMNT calls in a team they really do call in players from clubs around the globe.  2. TV ratings are way up.  I won't throw in numbers, but each tournament's ratings in America are increased over the previous year's.  3. Our player development system/academy is improving.  Around the world clubs will not only have their main team (often called a first team), but also a women's team, senior team, and academy.  In the academy they sign pre-teens and teens to contracts to train with the team and develop.  We're starting to do this some in the U.S. and young players with potential are getting access to better training environments.  Just this weekend the U.S. U-17 team beat Brazil 3-1 to win a tournament.  The future is bright for USMNT based on what's happening with the first team but also with its Academy.  

More Soccer Jargon: 


Football - What soccer is called everywhere but America
American Football - What everyone else calls our football
Match - A Game
Pitch - The Field
End Line - The goal lines
Touch Line - The sidelines
Table - Standings, how you compare to your peers in wins, losses, draws and points
Boot - A soccer shoe 
Kit - A player's uniform 
Side - A team (ie: They put out a good side today.)
Level - Tied score
Nil - Zero (in a scoreline)
Clean Sheet - A Shutout

Random Start: I Used to Hate Cell Phones But Now I Hate Car Accidents by Norma Jean

Norma Jean is currently one of my favorite bands.  They're originally from Atlanta and were called Luti-Kriss.  Turns out there's a rapper from the ATL with a similar name.  They switched the name to Norma Jean and this song as from their debut under that name.  They've undergone a pretty serious transformation.  This is from the screamo/chaos era.  I love heavy music but records like this don't quite do it for me.  Some members of this era of Norma Jean left the band and formed another one called The Chariot, which is even more chaotic.  NJ has evolved to become a quality hard music band and they're writing good songs now.  Their last record, Meridional, is intense, but with structure and some melodies and hooks.  Definitely worth checking out if you like hard music.  Even as am writing this listening to this song I have a song from Meridional running through my head.

Random Start: Stay of Execution by Deliverance

Deliverance is one of the first metal bands to enter the Christian music marketplace.  They put out their debut album in 1989 and followed up with what many consider to be their best record, Weapons of Our Warfare.  After one more speed metal album (What A Joke - which was a weird record - half real songs, half jokes or time wasting filler) they changed their sound drastically to a more progressive metal sound.  Some say it was out of Jimmy Brown's influence from David Bowie.  This is the title track from that record, Stay of Execution.  This ended up being my favorite Deliverance record.  I still like the first two and go back to them and appreciate the quality of what they were doing at the time, but these songs seem to have more depth to them.

Random Start: Choose To Be True by Life Savers

This is from Mike Knott's 1986 release, A Kiss of Life - man 1986!  I think I was in 3rd or 4th grade when this came out.  I only recently downloaded this record when I found that the old Alarma/Diamante catalog had become available on Zune's marketplace.  I've appreciated Knott's many musical entities over the years - solo, L.S.U., Life Savers, Life Savers Underground, Aunt Bettys (Ford) - and I'm probably leaving another name iteration out.  This song reminds me of what you'd hear from R.E.M. or U2 in the mid 80s.  Quick little pop/rock ditty.

Random Start: Call Me What U Want by Paul Wall

**explicit lyric warning


Another Houston rapper.  Last week Bun B, this week Paul Wall.  And another MC with a distinctive voice.  I'm not the biggest hip hop fan, but I like what I like and it's driven by either the beat/production or the voice.  I've liked a lot of the "Houston" sound which is called Chopped & Screwed.  Basically taking normal beats and slowing them WAY down.  It seems like every Paul Wall release has 2 versions - regular, and Chopped & Screwed.  


If you like this check out the newest release Heart of a Champion with standout tracks My City, Pocket Fulla Presidents, and Not My Friend. About half of this record was produced by Travis Barker of Blink 182.

I get music at the buffet. Where do you get yours?

Let's take it back a few years.  I'm a major audiophile.  Back when I bought CDs I had a LOT of them.  I'm sure other people had more, but I had more than my share.  I'm the guy that bought the biggest case possible and kept it next to me in my car.  When file sharing came into play I took advantage of it and used Kazaa to find a LOT of good, new music I wouldn't have found otherwise.  An audiophile's dream!  I bought lots of blank CDs and got a car stereo that played them in "data mode" so I could fit several hundred songs on a single disc...AWESOME, right?  


But it was illegal - CRAP!  Here I was, a guy who worked IN the music business downloading music in a manner that was robbing artists and writers of royalties they should be earning.  Time for a change.  An aside - As bad as file sharing was, lots of good bands probably gained exposure through it.  I found Thrice and Thursday and many others from file sharing.  So while bands and performers are making less on royalties, they probably stand a better chance of being found now - and most of them are using the internet to their advantage.  Record companies aren't serving much purpose now aside from being an outlet for distribution.  Many bands now are recording and distributing themselves (since stores aren't as necessary) and are selling less units but making far more per unit than they would otherwise.  I guess this is a discussion for another time.  


I eventually went to work for Dell and my first MP3 player was a Dell DJ.  It was clunky and clumsy, but it did everything it needed to do - AND, I was able to use the MusicMatch subscription service from Yahoo with it.  So now I could get virtually all the music I wanted and just had to pay a small monthly fee.  And life was good.  Now, while I had my (very uncool) Dell DJ everyone else was getting iPods and they were EVERYWHERE (and still are).  But I still felt like I had found a better way.  With an iPod you have to either buy songs or albums on iTunes, upload them from a CD you bought or download them illegally.  There is no subscription service.  So while an iPod user pays $10 and gets 10 songs I pay $10 and get hundreds or thousands or however many songs I want.  #winning.  


I was fine with having the uncool device because it satisfied my need to carry all my music with me everywhere.  I eventually moved on to an 80GB Zune and could really carry a ton of music around.  Here's what's golden about it.  With the Zune Pass I pay $15/month for unlimited music...and I can load that music onto THREE Zune players - WHAT!?!?!?!  Crazy good deal.  Both of my kids have Zunes and we all have all the music we want for $15/month.  AND for that $15 I can take 10 songs/month and convert them to be DRM free so I can load them on another kind of device or burn to a CD, etc - WHAT!?!?!?!  Another crazy good part of the deal!  

Now I have a Windows Phone which integrates Zune into its OS, which is super slick and I'll be writing more about it soon.  I still use the Zune Pass and my phone is pretty full of music.  Unfortunately the capacity is only 16GB, so I can hold about 1000 songs along with everything else that's on the phone.  


The Zune app does everything other apps do, which makes me wonder why more people aren't on board.  I have a "Pandora" like feature called Smart DJ, and I can use it on computers and on the phone when I'm out.  I can download a song straight into the phone when I'm out using the Zune Pass.  Also, the new Bing search has a "Shazam" like feature that will listen to a song, identify it, then give me the option to download it with my Zune Pass - goodbye Shazam.  


It's tough being a Zune guy in an iPod world, but I'm happy with it because I feel like I'm getting everything and more that an iPod person can get and paying WAY less for it.  I have the feeling that because Microsoft hasn't done good enough a job promoting and educating about their product, people are siding with other platforms because they don't know about the alternatives.  Same thing with Windows Phone, which I'll touch on later.


So what am I even trying to accomplish here?  Do I want people to convert?  If it would make them enjoy their music experience more - yeah.  


Because Microsoft has done such a bad job promoting they've abandoned the Zune hardware product, which is unfortunate because it really does work well.  Thankfully they've thrown all the focus on Zune into Windows Phone which is beginning to take off world-wide, mostly outside the U.S. right now.  And it's VERY rare that I'll look for something in the Zune marketplace and not be able to find it.  They're doing a good job of keeping catalogs up to date, even with very obscure and new artists on very small record labels.  


I guess I just want people to know there's another alternative to the products and song store that everyone seems to be using.  Bummer it's too late for the hardware part of the product.  Hopefully they can get it right with Windows Phone because it's keeping this audiophile's appetite satisfied.

Random Start: A Place in This World by Taylor Swift @taylorswift13

This song made it into Random Start because I've downloaded (legally) all the Taylor Swift music I can find for my 8 year old daughter Cason, who is a huge fan.  We all know Taylor Swift is EVERYWHERE, and she's polarizing.  People seem to love her or hate her.  Here's why we should respect her.


She just wrapped the tour to support Speak Now, a record full of hits that she wrote entirely on her own, which in itself is amazing.  Look up some country songs online to find writing credits.  It's very rare that performers write their own songs in the country world.  More rare for that performer to be just 21.  I looked at the writing credits for her debut album and most were co-written by Liz Rose, but she wrote two of its biggest hits on her own - Our Song and Should've Said No.  Respect.

Random Start: Times Like These by Dan Fogelberg

This song found its way into Random Start by being on the soundtrack for Urban Cowboy, one of my wife's favorite movies.  There are several good songs in the soundtrack.  And if you don't know the story of Bud, Sissy, Wes and Pam you should check it out.  

Random Start: Micah by Russian Circles

I found this band via Riley Breckenridge of Thrice in one of his Random Starts.  They're an instrumental (kind of) metal band.  Long songs, lots of movements within, complex rhythms.  It's good stuff and something that I've made an effort to like, but isn't really catching on with me.  I'll have to consider it background music for now.  It's the kind of thing you can really pay attention to, and dig for intricacies - or just have in the background as you're working.

Random Start: No One Is To Blame by Howard Jones

Wow - thanks for nothing Random Start.  I'm pretty sure this came from downloading a premade "80s" playlist from the Zune Marketplace.  Deleting this track now - and my apologies.

Random Start: Chemical Straightjacket by Living Sacrifice @livingsac

This is a band I love - on the all time favorites list.  I first discovered them in the early 90s and have kept up with them through the years.  They started with a straightforward thrash record, then went very heavy/sludgy with undecipherable vocals.  This song is from that era.  The band broke up for awhile then came back in 1997 with Reborn, a metal/hardcore hybrid that set the tone for their sound going forward.  All of their records after Reborn are pure metal gold.  They're not a full time band anymore, but are still doing some shows and putting out records.  I LOVE watching them play live.  Their songs have difficult rhythms and I love seeing them pull it off live - and the drummer (Lance Garvin) is a BEAST behind the kit.  


I had the pleasure of booking concerts for Living Sacrifice back in my Davdon days.  Bruce Fitzhugh (vocal/guitar) has moved to Nashville and I see him around from time to time.  These are some of the nicest guys you'll ever meet playing some of the heaviest music you'll ever hear. If you like metal and don't know Living Sacrifice check them out.

Random Start: All A Dream by Bun B

Hoping this works and I don't have to switch services again.  In my opinion, Bun B is one of the better MCs in hip hop today.  He's out of Houston which has produced a LOT of good stuff and has had one of the hotter scenes in the last few years.  Bottom line - I dig the dude's voice.  He's guested on a lot of music that I have and tracks he's on are always some of my favorites.

Back in Business, I think

I ran into a "space" issue with Wordpress, so I'm trying out Blogger.com.  It's a Google owned site and most of the content I post is from other Google sites, so hoping this works.  Testing, testing, 123.