Collective - John Coltrane "Blue Train"

We all have music in our collections that we can't live without. Music that reminds us of a certain time or place or albums that we hum along to or know every word. Essentials. Must-haves. Desert island picks. Collective will focus on those albums in my music collection.

First up is "Blue Train" by John Coltrane. I know, i know... i can hear some of you now... "but aren't you into Metal? What are you doing talking about jazz? Isn't that for nerds and dentist offices?" I used to feel the same way. I couldn't stand jazz and made fun of those who like it. "That's not music! That's just noise!" (so says the metal head) Anyway, my buddy Chris is a phenomenal musician and a great keyboard player. When we were in college, he was in all of the jazz /big bands. I, on the other hand, auditioned for the beginner jazz band (not knowing how to read music or even "jam" with other musicians) and failed horribly! That audition still haunts me to this very day. I walked in with my wanna-be Strat while every once else had Gibson 335's or other standard jazz guitars. I plugged into the amp and was ready to impress! The teacher set a lead sheet, probably from the Real Book, in front of me and asked if i was ready. I shrugged and he counted off the band. I froze. I had no clue what I was doing, or what the weird symbols on the page meant! Luckily there was chord notation so i could fake it... kind of. The instructor then said to solo. All i knew was a minor pentatonic so i preceded to "play the box". That's right, i just played the scale up and down, over and over again. Needless to say, i packed up my guitar and walked out. I was almost in tears. Stupid jazz!

Later on Chris gave me a copy of "Blue Train". Yes, this album is jazz, but most of the songs are blues based. Great songs with melodies that get stuck in your head. I've found myself humming the tune to the title track multiple times. I remember watching the movie "Singles" and hearing just a bit of the song in a transition between scenes and thought to myself, "hey, i know that song!". This album changed my perception of jazz from being all high and mighty to something which i could relate. From here i went on to discover Miles, Monk, Bill Evans, Dizzy... the list goes on and on. This album took me out of my comfort zone and opened my mind to the concept that there was other great music out there in other genres. Every time i hear these tunes, they remind me of that fateful day when i attempted to be in jazz band. I laugh and shake my head at the though even now!

If you don't own this album, haven't heard it or just hate jazz, i highly suggest you give it a listen and let me know what you think!

Sound Byte - 3/16/2011

Here are a couple of awesome music blogs/podcast that i listen to on a regular basis & highly recommend!

On This Day in Blues History - great, short daily podcast all about the blues.

Book's Music Podcast - music, music, music of all varieties. I've "discovered" some gems listening to this & John is a wealth of musical knowledge.

Also, today is Wolfgang Van Halen's birthday. Eddie wrote this tune in honor of his son's birth.
Enjoy!

The Newbie or How I Came to Love Music

I guess I'll start off by letting everyone know a little bit about me. I'm a geek of all sorts. Computers, gaming, music and musical gear, books, records, comics... pretty much name anything remotely geeky and I'm probably into it! My focus for the blog will mainly be music and everything involved in the music making process. Sure, I'll deviate and talk about some of my other interests, but music will be my main rant. So with that said, let me first start by telling you how music came to be such a big part of my life.

I grew up in a small, rural town in Missouri that didn't have much going for it other than the aluminum molding plant in the next small town over. I guess like most kids, i was exposed to the different types of music that my family listened to and had playing around their houses or in their cars. My grandparents lived closer to Kansas City and i always enjoyed staying with them and attempting to play my grandfather's guitars that he had stashed in the closet. My grandfather would always tell me stories of when he used to play with his band live on the radio. He would sit me down and show me old photographs of him and some pretty famous country musicians that he got to meet and play music with. He would tell tales of his time in the Navy and playing guitar for various bands all while we would listen to classic country music on his little tape recorder. One year i asked for a guitar for Christmas so i could learn to play like grandpa. That year we all opened our presents and i was sad that i didn't find a guitar under the Christmas tree. My mom could tell that i was let down about not getting one and she said i should go and check in their bedroom, that there was one more gift for me that she couldn't wrap. When i walked in their room, there on the bed was an old beat up guitar case. I opened it up and it was my grandpa's old Harmony arch-top acoustic. I forgot all about my other presents and preceded to attempt to "play" the guitar with a huge smile on my face. That was almost twenty years ago and my love for music has only grown over the years. The funny thing is i never actually heard my grandpa play the guitar. After he got out of the Navy he worked construction and while he was working he fell off a deck he was building and broke both of his wrists and could never play the instrument again. Just the love and passion of him telling his stories and taking the time to let me know how much it meant to him was enough to change my life forever. Thanks grandpa.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Feb. 28, 2011

Well, it's time for me to take a couple more pot shots at the stuff I've experienced since last I vomited my opinion all over these virtual pages...

...on second thought...  im going to apply this week's GBU (Good/Bad/Ugly) to three things I think are pretty cool.

Hang on to your seat Rob'ry...  your about to watch a Marvel-ite commit heresy

The GOOD.

DC Universe Online: 
(Sony Online Entertainment)
Platforms:  PC, PS3


I've had an itch.  A MMORPG itch.  For me there hasn't been a real remedy for my condition.

In my opinion, World of Warcraft is nothing more than a power gamers play ground.  There have been times when I've been tempted back to WoW but inevitably I can shriug that off as I remember playing for days an never really advancing.. 

Then there was the rumor about a generic hero MMO, but that never made it past beta.



Then comes DC Universe Onlline.  I went out and bought a PS3 when I realized Microsoft would never be able to provide this title.

I'll just say, I am really enjoying the game inspite of not really adoring any of the iconic characters in the DC realm.  They play a part so they are prevalent, but I don't mind them.

The graphics are nice and the customization for the classes is pretty deep.  I actually really enjoy the feel of the entire realm...   All city, the environments don't really get old, and I really enjoy zooming through the streets.  Instances and portions of some levels take place in 'interior levels.'  It is also very satisfying to fight DC Villians and Heroes.  So far my favorite battle has been Scarecrow, though Bain and Giganta were tough.

If your a fan of DC or super heroes,  I would recommend this game even with the $10 monthly fee.

The BAD

Irredeemable

Publisher:  Boom! Studios

Writer:  Mark Waid

Artist: Peter Krause

April 2009 - Present

This is a a great comic about a Superman - level hero (Plutonian) that is so alienated and icon-ized that he eventually snaps and lashes out at the humans of earth.  The first several issues deal with the Plutonian as he hunts down the members of his former super hero team.

Admittedly Im not much of a superman fan.
I've always been a marvel zombie because of the ability
to root for a character I could identify with...  but since
seeing the abomination that was the last Superman
movie, I really have wondered how someone like Superman
would react to real world issues.

Waid's writing isn't actually blockbuster here, but the
thought he has put into how a scourned god-like being
would react to hostile neighbors is well thought out.
There are some truly despicable things that the Plutonian
does and the title conveys the abject fear through to the
reader.
This book is about something so bad, it's good.

The UGLY  

Dead Island Trailer
Publisher: Deep Silver / Techland
http://deadisland.deepsilver.com/deadisland.php

Take a look at the following.
It's a trailer for an upcoming video game.
I'm not sure the game will be good, to the contrary, I think it might not amount to much, but this...  this is cinematography + zombies at their finest.   Possible 3 of the best minutes of zombie cannon ever.  Try not to get choked up pussies.