Hummingbird

I am happy to announce that we saw our first hummingbird on our feeder tonight. I hope to get pictures with the good camera soon and post them on the blog.

And as a final update to the crazy train. The Lockport people talked about the healthy benefits of urine and an 80's cover band that will be playing at a Joliet bar next week. I was forced to listen to my iPod.

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They Exist

Imagine that a group of Carnies escaped from a roving caravan only to breed children with little intelligence and exceptional foreheads. This is the population of Lockport.

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The Shit for Brains on my Train

I originally was going to post this as a haiku and spent a few minutes on this ride coming up with the right words. The truth is that the guy sitting right in front of me warrants more than a few sentences of carefully crafted verse.

The guy sitting in front of me is roughly 5 ft 4 and weighs close to 160 lbs. He has salt and pepper hair, glasses, and a blackberry that was in style roughly three years ago. He is also the most annoying man I have ever had to deal with in the general proximity. He is loud, obnoxious and from the idle conversation he shares with a few riders I think he is a lawyer. Oh and he is also an extreme creature of habit thus creating the issue between us.

Every night I get on the train while it is relatively empty, I take a seat and draw out the demons of the workday by listening to my IPOD or reading or writing. When obnoxious gets on the train he makes it a point to announce that I am not Richard. Apparently the seat I am in is reserved for this mysterious Richard. He yells this every single day.

Oh wait I am stopping this rant to say his annoying compadres just showed up to spend their time being loud and obnoxious. I guess, taking into account that obnoxious man rolls with a pack, that he is guilty by association or by culture. It is evident that they are just the coterie of idiots that make up the population of Lockport. So it goes.

You Know They Got A Hell of a Band

Let me make this quick and painless. If you have not listened to the new Black Keys album Brothers you are missing out on what might be the greatest listening experience I have had this year.

For me it is rare to hear an album that I would categorize as top tier. Artist release albums to fulfill a need by the label to have a hit single. Because we have moved into a new digital realm, that is all the label needs to make a profit. So with that in mind, artist put on a hit single on an album then load it with another 11 tracks of crap.

This is why I have been amazed by Brothers and the Broken Bells. Here are two albums that are absolutely pure and a throw back to the time when artists actually recorded an albums worth of material. The songs sync together to create an experience which is all this music fan asks for.

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Test

I am testing my phone blogging capability.

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1960's

So right off the bat I will give you what I think the Best Album of the 60's, The Most Influential Album of the 60's, and Best Song of the 60's is, and from there you can choose to continue reading. Please note, I am just a dude who likes music and have no idea if the music I have chosen is reflected on any list (but I bet they are).

Best Album: The Beatles- Rubber Soul.

Most Influential Album: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds.

Best Song: The Beach Boys - God Only Knows.


Best Album: The Beatles- Rubber Soul.

There are two camps when it comes to best albums + The Beatles. Those who think Revolver is the best, or those who think Sgt. Peppers is the best. Now, both of these albums are the amazing, do not get me wrong. If I was on a desert island with my top 100 albums, they would both be in my treasure chest. However, if I was on a desert island with only five albums, Rubber Soul would be one of the five.

In this world, there is nothing better than listening to this album, frontwards to back, and taking it in. This was The Beatles at the beginning of their musical journey. Yes, there are at least a hundred recordings previous to this record, but it was here that they began to shine. Take away a few garbage songs on the album, the rest is solid gold. For me, The song In My Life is the number 1 song Lennon/McCartney ever wrote. It is an important album- Harrison starts to shine as a lyricist and instrumental innovator, Lennon starts to seem more comfortable with his singing, and McCartney truly begins to put substance into his lyrics (most of the songs are written for his impending break-up with then girlfriend Jane Asher). Hell, even Ringo gets creative by flicking a matchbook as percussion during the song I'm Looking Through You. This is the best Beatles album, and no matter how many revisions to the list, or new expanded remastered albums they put out, Rubber Soul will always be their best.


Most Influential Album: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds.

It is almost fitting that the most influential album of the 1960's was born from the best album. When Brian Wilson heard the album Rubber Soul by The Beatles, he realized that musically The Beach Boys needed to go places. Wilson began writing songs with lyricist Tony Asher, and the result, in my opinion, is the most influential album of the 1960's. This album, besides giving the world amazing songs, was what would usher in the world of studio experimentation. One could say, well George Harrison (The Beatles) was playing the Sitar and George Martin(The Beatles producer) was messing around with the studio space, but Brian Wilson took experimentation and made it into a cohesive, grand experience. Any band, from May 1966 onwards who ever flipped a knob and found brilliance, owes that inspiration to this album.


Best Song: The Beach Boys - God Only Knows.

What can someone say about this song that has not already been said. This is one of the best songs of all time. Now saying that might lead you to believe that I am saying it is great amongst rock and roll or the music post Elvis shaking his hips. No, I am saying it is one of the best of ALL time. Throw in a couple songs by Mozart and Beethoven and you are on your way. When people in the future are carbon dating our bones and picking up bits of our culture and they happen upon this song, they will think we were a beautiful species. I am going on record with this blog that no one has written a more beautiful song since and I am guessing no one will. I danced to this song with my wife at our wedding. case closed.

My Best, Influential Albums and Best Songs

So I have been in a heated debate with my old buddy Chris about what was the best song of the 1990's. Chris and I have of course agreed to disagree( for now) but in the interim, the discussion has prompted me to take a look at the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and 00's and pick my favorite album, the most influential album, and the best song of the decade. I decided I would blog about it and see everyones reaction. By no means am I the definitive answer to great music, but I thought it would be interesting to see what others reactions would be. Chris may get a little pissed at me but am going out on a limb