I think it was 1997 when we started hearing how cool it was when you watched the Wizard of Oz on TV, turned down the sound, and cranked the album "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd.
The folks at Triple M even teamed up with the Club Tavern in Middleton to demonstrate the coolness..and we had to turn people away due to capacity restrictions!
Well now you don't have to own a copy of the movie or the album to watch in amazement.
Or not.
That's because it's now available for your viewing and listening pleasure on youtube!
Don't be surprised if you don't find it that jaw-dropping. The guy who engineered the Pink Floyd album, Alan Parsons, says the whole thing is a coincidence, calling it a "non-starter," and a "bunch of eyewash."
Which I think is Britspeak for "just downright silly."
But I can think of worse ways to spend an hour and 48 minutes.
I've been fortunate enough to have seen Buddy Guy numerous times over the past 20 years..and he's still got the chops!
Occasionally he teases the audience by just playing snippets of his most famous songs in medley form, but quite frankly how many times do you expect the guy to play "Damn Right I've Got the Blues"?
Buddy Guy has influenced guitar players from Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan..and probably thousands more. And to think he started out playing on a two-stringed diddly bow that he made himself!
Buddy's released more than 50 albums..and shows no sign of slowing down. His 2010 album "Living Proof" won a Grammy, and he continues to play live at his club "Buddy Guy's Legends" and on the road.
He has a couple of shows coming up in Milwaukee at the Northern Lights Theatre at the Potawatami Casino..September 17th and September 19th when he'll be joined by Jonny Lang.
I was in the audience when Buddy played with Ron Wood and Jonny Lang at the Crossroads Guitar Festival in 2010. That was one highlight of a very amazing day.
As Mick Jagger turns 69 today, a lot of people are probably talking about his dancing, his lips through the years, his ego, songwriting abilities or perhaps even his way with women.
I would like to take this time to salute his sense of humor. From all accounts, he did a great job on Saturday Night Live last May. And even in concert, he seems to engage in a bit of self-parody.
But do you remember his appearance in the Beatles parody "The Rutles"?
I think he does a great job playing himself in this clip, even though he appears to be a little stoned.
Salmon may not be my favorite color in the Crayola box, but it is one of my favorite foods, so when I saw Creole Salmon on the menu for Restaurant Week at Captain Bill's, I knew I had to make it over to the restaurant on Lake Mendota to try it.
Twice a year, Madison Magazine puts together Madison Restaurant Week, in which great local restaurants offer great three course meals for just $25.
For course number 1, both my boyfriend Mike and I had the absolutely yummy, World Famous Clam Chowder. Now I'm not usually a fan of chowders, but this stuff was off the charts tasty. Even on a hot day, I think I could eat a kettle of the stuff.
When the Creole Salmon arrived, it was piping hot and looked fantastic. Here's how the entree was described: "An 8 oz. Salmon Filet topped with three seared shrimp nestled in Creole Sauce (available without shrimp if desired)"
Of course, I chose mine WITH shrimp, and they were tender and tasty, and neither the shrimp or the salmon was overwhelmed by the spicy creole tomato sauce topping.
Mike and I both enjoyed the entree immensely, and found it went well with the Lake Louie Warped Speed scotch ale.
We took our dessert choices to go (key lime pie and chocolate bread pudding), so we'll have to tell you about those later.
The service was friendly, the view of the lake gorgeous, and the food was delectable. All in all, we had an enjoyable evening.
Available now in the iTunes store, a new compilation of Beatles songs. Called "Tomorrow Never Knows," it's described on the Beatles website as "14 of the Beatles most powerful rock songs, spanning their entire trailblazing and influential catalogue."
So what, I thought initially. All those songs have been available for a couple of years on iTunes. But then I noticed the 14 song downloadable "album" is only $7.99, not the usual $1.29 a song.
I think this comp misses some of the Beatles most powerful rock songs. Where's Help? Don't Let Me Down? Hard Day's Night? I Want You (She's So Heavy)?"
But I've got to say, there's not a clunker among this list. And at 57 cents a song, it's quite the bargain.
You can order "Tomorrow Never Knows" exclusively from the iTunes store at iTunes.com/thebeatles
"Tomorrow Never Knows"
Revolution
Paperback Writer
And Your Bird Can Sing
Helter Skelter
Savoy Truffle
I'm Down
I've Got A Feeling
Back In The USSR
You Can't Do That
It's All Too Much
She Said, She Said
Hey Bulldog
Tomorrow Never Knows
The End
Every year I try my best to make it to the Dodgeville Blues Festival, because I usually get turned on to new blues artists that I've never seen before.
I got there a little late, so I didn't make it there in time to see The Jimmys from Madison. The first band we saw was John Primer, and he's the real deal (in fact his band is the Real Deal Blues Band). He actually played guitar with Muddy Waters. But I'd seen him before, so that's not the new artist I'm talking about.
Davina & The Vagabonds has a lead singer that blew me away. She's just got a great positive attitude and really knows how to swing..and plays the ukulele and piano to boot.
The band hails from the Twin Cities and plays around 300 shows a year. The only drawback--no guitar player! But the horn and rhythm sections make you almost not notice (unless your guitar player boyfriend points it out).
I should have talked to Davina after the show...to tell her how much I enjoyed her performance..and to ask her about her tattoo. Check it out (above). It's an old fashioned Victrola record player!
So much so that emergency officials in Ohio staged a mock zombie attack, to assure that the state would know what to do if the dead started coming to life and attacking the living.
If you're one of the many who has sleepless nights fearing this phenomenon, a company called OpticsPlanet wants to help. They'll say you a zombie extermination kit for a mere $23,999.
Now I'm assuming this is all tongue in cheek (assuming the cheeks haven't rotted away into putrefying flesh).
But if it 's not, I'm willing to sell you something for just $12,999 (that's nearly half off). It's called a Bullsh** Detector. Quick, order before midnight tonight.
I really miss the old-fashioned A& W root beer stand.
I know I can still get A& W root beer in a bottle or can, or at one of their sit down restaurants, but it's just not the same. There are three of the old-fashioned drive-ins inbedded in my memory. Stevens Point had two of them..one on the south side and the other downtown.
The downtown was my favorite, and my sister and some of my friends actually worked there back in the day. You could get a small root beer for a dime (baby beers were 5 cents..or free for the little ones). Those stands were the first places I ever got soft serve ice cream!
I liked sitting at the counter best, but it was also pretty cool to have the carhop hook that tray on the window and try to eat in the car without making a big mess.
It was a special treat when we'd get a gallon of root beer to take home to enjoy there.
I also spent a lot of time at the A & W in Prentice, WI. Both my parents came from that tiny town in northern Wisconsin, and going to the root beer stand was one of the only cool things we could do there. (Aside from watching for bears at the dump).
I was quite fond of the french fries. It was the first place I ever tried fries that were made out of processed potatoes and pushed through something like a play-doh fun factory before they were deep fried. They were amazing.
I found the jingle on youtube...it doesn't sound exactly the way I remember it, but it's close enough to make me crave a big root beer float. I wish they still only cost 35 cents!
Rain already! by Kitty Dunn,posted Jul 17 2012 11:05AM
It's getting so dry out here..and the grass is so faded..I can't even see my neighbor's yellow lab when he's out in the yard!
I'm beginning to think a rain dance is required. And since I'm not experienced in matters of meteorological mambo, I thought I'd call upon a group with a little more experience..at least in the music department.
Hopefully posting a video will be the equivalent of shaking my tail feathers at the clouds. (What clouds?)
Added bonus: an extremely young and long-haired Steve Winwood is singing!
From all accounts this hot, hot summer is one for the record books. And from my point of view, I can tell you I sure appreciate having air conditioning, in my house and in my car.
That means I only have to use the oven mitts for a little while when I start driving. When the air gets going I can take them off and drive in cool comfort.
Now if you could guarantee me that the pavement wouldn't buckle in front of me, I'd be ready to hit the highway!
There's a new Wizard of Oz movie coming out next year, and I think it might actually be good.
Now I say that with some trepidation since I'm a HUGE fan of the original 1939 MGM classic Wizard of Oz. It's been my favorite movie since I was three years old. I didn't like The Wiz, hated the book Wicked, but loved the Broadway musical.
The movie Oz: the Great and Powerful comes out next March. It's got a 200 million dollar budget (and no I'm not making that up), and comes from the guy who gave us the recent Spiderman trilogy.
I'm glad it's James Franco who's in it instead of Johnny Depp, because he tends to make roles a lot weirder than he needs to.(Playing the wizard of Oz seems like a role Depp would want, doesn't it?)
I admit it. I love kids, and have occasionally become mesmerized by a video of a kid laughing, talking, or doing something that's generally cute.
I even enjoy the occasional video of a kid who can sing better than you might expect.
But seriously, this has got to stop. No more videos of kids in the car seat singing Adele songs.
STOP THE MADNESS!
The latest viral video that fits the category is the little girl who plays Lily on Modern Family. She is in the car seat and her mommy is taping her singing "Someone Like You."
She's not even that good, in my opinion. But in case you disagree and it leaves you wanting more, go to youtube and you can find more videos of Aubrey. Singing other Adele songs. Singing a Gotye song. Opening her freaking birthday presents!
All I know is I'm glad youtube wasn't around when those freaky Olsen twins were babies. I'm pretty sure a double dose of those cuties singing along with Bareny is something I don't need to see.
So the date today is 7-11, which is a great marketing opportunity for the chain of convenience stores. They're giving away free slurpees!
I've got a taste for one right now, but I'm not about to drive around Madison looking for the former Open Pantry stores that are now owned by the massive chain to see if they'll give me a small sample of a semi-frozen drink.
I could just leave a coke in the freezer a little too long and enjoy that instead!
When I was growing up in Stevens Point, I did enjoy a frozen drink, especially after swimming at the Stevens Point pool (known as the Munici-pool). There was a Stop-n-Go right down the street from the pool, and they sold something called Swoozees (an obvious rip of of Slurpees).
I loved the Coca-cola Swoozies, and remember that they cost 10 cents, the same price as admission to the pool! I remember bringing 20 cents with me when I rode my bike to the pool. Sometimes I'd smuggle the dime into the pool so we could dive for it (no real pool toys were allowed). Then I'd spend my last dime on a refreshing icy drink. (Not to be confused with an ICEE, which I think they sold at Kmart).
For some reason I can still remember when Stop-n-Go got a new machine, called the Chillee Willee. They tried to make us believe it was a vast improvement over the Swoozee, but it was all hype.
That brings us back to where this blog began. Hype.
I'm back at work after spending a week or so traversing the state in pursuit of great beer, live music, and general conviviality. While I was successful in those efforts, I also got some education.
Here are just a few things that I learned:
1) I think I could probably handle the weather in Kandahar. Evidence: Mike and I picked the HOTTEST day of the year to go to Summerfest in Milwaukee. The high last Thursday was 104 degrees. And because admission was free from noon to three, we were there at the hottest time of the day. (Note to military recruiters--I sunburn easily and am a bad choice for Afghanistan deployment).
2) Beer gets warm really quickly when the temp goes above 100. (See #1)
3) It is illegal to ride your bike on the freeway. Actually I knew this, but never saw it with my own eyes before. On the interstate near LaCrosse: a guy in a vibrant tie dyed shirt pulled over by the State Patrol. The bike had a kickstand and was on the side of the road. The suspect was talking on a cell phone. I would have love to have been listening in on that one.
4) The fine for riding your bike on the freeway in Wisconsin is not less than $20 or more than $40 for a first offense. (I looked it up.)
5) It is hard to take pictures of the full moon from a moving car with a windshield full of bugs. (See photo).
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
The Broadway musical Wicked has flown back into town, thrilling fans at the Overture Center now through June 9th.
I got a chance to see the production for the 2nd time last night, and once again was blown away. Even though I saw Wicked in 2010, I had...
Today we traveled back to 1975 for a Rendezvous with The Hudson Brothers. This song didn't make it to high on the charts, but Kitty enjoyed it. Her favorite brother was Brett. She also loved their television show. We've included a skit from...
I'm not sure why Pete Yorn decided to name his new music project after a European cave dwelling aquatic salamander, but if he stops by to play us some songs in Studio M, we'll have to ask him.
The Olms is a collaboration between Pete Yorn and...
Today's song was written by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary. It was inspired by the 1957 novel Doctor Zhivago. No one was inspired by the song this morning. It was rejected by almost all the listeners.
Today is World Goth Day, a day to celebrate the post-punk, anti-establishment, dark clothes-wearing subculture.
I'm pretty sure I was a Goth for at least for little while, for two reasons.
1) I almost hardly ever wear pastels.
2) I used to...
Hello to all from Nfusion. Another round of challenges has moved beyond us all. Congrats to those of us lucky enough to have survived to this point. Sad to see the others eliminated as they were all very creative and talented. Good Bye to our new friends...
This morning it seemed like just about everyone was in the mood for some Funky Cold Medina...except Kitty. This ridiculous song made it all the way to number 3 in 1989. Jonathan says any song that references advertising dogs from the 80's has got...
Madison's summer music festival season kicks off this weekend with Brat Fest at Willow Island, where there are more bands than you can shake a bratwurst at! Check out the Brat Fest website to plan your itinerary.
Next up is the Marquette...
