Well foo!

I had heard that Bettie Page was hospitalized after a heart attack and now read that she died. :(

She was such an icon that it felt like she was almost immortal. And in some ways I guess she is.

Fare thee well Bettie.

SMS

I've been a low-level fan of Paul Newmans' acting career since I first saw "Butch Cassidy..." years ago, but ramped up my appreciation for him with his "Newman's Own" brand of food and always loved knowing that a bit of my food budget was going to good causes.

Hearing that he passed away yesterday made me look into the life-long legacy he left, not only in show biz, which he claimed to hate on a number of occasions, but his family life (married for 50+ years!) and the philanthropic work he... read more

So as psyched as I've been to see Sigur Ros this Fall, it turns out that their gig in Berkeley is the same night The Residents are scheduled to perform their latest work "Bunny Boy" at the Rio in Santa Cruz!

Foo! Two of my favorite artists on the same night... and I've already bought tickets for SR... And it should be a good show and I love the Greek Theater but damn... check out some of the Rez's info:

"The stage design, by Chris McGregor (CUBE E, Wormwood, Icky Flix) will feature a un... read more

So I've been kind of out of the music loop for a while now but had a chance to pick up a few new albums and have been quite happy with things.

~ The biggest news is that Wire (minus one guitarist) are back in action and released a new album (see the image), are touring, and are set to play the Fillmore this Fall! Object 47 is a pretty intriguing album for them but I am really looking forward to seeing them again!

~ A close second is the new Sigur Ros album which I picked up a couple wee... read more

With the last couple of postings, I've realized that things have been pretty drab, so I decided to check out The Cure at the HP Pavililion last night and was seriously impressed!

65 Days of Static opened and were pretty interesting in spite of a horrible sound mix that reduced them to a wall of indistinguishable white noise. On the broad spectrum I'd put them midway between Radiohead's rocky side and Explosions in the Sky.

As for the Cure, the live sound was nearly CD quality and Robert... read more

...is experiencing the distance between who you are and who you wish you were."

I don't recall where I first read that, but it really has been ringing true for me lately. And oddly, the welcome arch in downtown Modesto has become a symbol of that notion for me. My latest visit to Mo-Town is the first time in my parents house since hitting the point where I had no parents! To say it feels weird to be here is a major understatement!

And to underscore everything,it turns out that the freak... read more