Karen O and Where the Wild Things Are

Like I needed another reason to take my kids to see this movie, now the soundtrack music is starting to be released and it's sounding great. Very cool. You never know what Spike Jonze will do, but it is usually entertaining(and odd).

Ball and Biscuit

This is my favorite rock song. Ever. Since 2003, I don't think I've ever cut this seven minute song off early when it comes up on my iPod in my car. I can't explain why I love it, the lyrics are simple to a fault, but the tune has a certain something that makes me want to turn my car stereo up as loud as it will go and roll the windows down.

Brendan Benson, "A Whole Lot Better"

My friend posted this on his blog and I feel the need to repost it and talk about how much I love the album, so first things first:



So, this is just track 1 from an incredible album. It does actually get even better than that. This is his fourth release, and three days ago I had a draft of this post that placed the album as his third best well behind Lapalco and barely behindAlternative to Love. Today...well, I'm not so sure, and who cares anyway. A great top to bottom album comes along so rarely, in my opinion, that it's counter-productive to waste time trying to rank it. Just buy the entire album.

It Might Get Loud

I took this picture from the 6th row of a show at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis in September 2005.

As a certified Jack White fanboy, with no pretension of objectivity, I can say that the fall movie I most want to see is the documentary It Might Get Loud. Of course, it is coming nowhere near Lexington according to that link, and I may have to find a reason to take a trip to Columbus.

I won't claim Jack White is the best guitarist of my generation, but he's definitely the one I most enjoy listening to. As a friend of mine has pointed out before, White may not be the best songwriter in his own collaboration project, but there is no denying his ability to play the guitar. And played live, its the most incredible music I've ever seen or heard.

I don't particularly care for U2, but like any rock music fan, I had my Led Zeppelin phase as a teenager. That period where you discover how great classic rock is, and how much greater it is when you play it louder. I find the idea of a documentary featuring White and Jimmy Page fascinating and even worth a 2 hour drive to see.

Semi-related side note: I didn't make it to CD Central today to get my copy of Brendan Benson's new album, but I plan to take care of that on Wednesday. I tried my hardest not to listen to it early on the internet, but I cracked and streamed half of it on NPR.com. It's not Lapalco, but it sounded every bit as strong as Alternative to Love and that is quite a statement. All zero of my readers, go buy it, and play it loud.

The Dame lost her magic

I can understand Nick Sprouse's comment in this article that something about The Dame's relocation just didn't transfer with it. Buildings and old haunts create an ambiance and character for a business. Moving the furniture doesn't bring that along for the ride. It's a shame, really. The original Dame had something going for it. The booking was consistently good. The prices were fair to darn near cheap in most cases.

Looking forward, just as something unexplained happened to The Dame, something is happening in Lexington that indicates the times are changing when it comes to nightlife and our music scene. I'm now too old and tired to follow it with the zeal I had in college, but I work in a capacity that allows me to see these shifts. Buster's WILL be the new Dame (the original Dame, not the relocated shell of it's former self). And the Manchester St. corridor will become Lexington's premier entertainment and arts area. It's coming folks. In the next 3 years, as the economy recovers, development of the Angliana and Manchester corridors will change downtown. There may even be a few surprises.

Don't listen to all the people that tell you how busted and broken Lexington is. It's a great city and it might be behind the curve in some areas, but it will catch up quickly. I'm bullish on my hometown, and the negativity irks me greatly.