Midweek Holidays Suck

Still trying to recover from a midweek Holiday. I'd rather be packing for Rocklahoma.

Is there a more patriotic way to celebrate the 4th of July then watching Team America and grilling up something on your Brad Delp grill?

Did take time yesterday to read the book "So Ya Wanna be a Rock n Roll Star" by Jakob Slichter the drummer of the band Semisonic. Semisonic is best remembered (if they are remembered at all)for their hit Closing Time. Its quite a fascinating read. I'd read a review of it written by James McMurtry in the NY Times a few years back. I'd forgotten about it but much to my surprise I found it at my local library. Its a quck read and a very eye opening look at the sad state of today's music industry. You'll come away angry at record labels and radio programmers and feel sympathy for a group of guys who naively thought they were creating art instead of product.

Here now the news:

Here's more bad news for the record industry:http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-07-04-album-sales_N.htm

Dubya proves again that he's an idiot. Here he compares the war in Iraq to the Revolutionary War, forgetting of course that we won that one: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/washington/05prexy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Say goodbye to the endangered species list:http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-species5jul05,0,3532473.story?coll=la-home-center

Al Gore's son got busted for going nearly 100mph hour in a Prius. That oughta help move sales of hybrids. Of course, he was stoned at the time. Now he's entered rehab to boot. The inconvenient truth for me is I guess Al won't be running for President.

Kiss singer Paul Stanley is following the path of David Bowie and John Mellencamp and exhibiting his art. I guess the Kiss Army no longer has a don't ask, don't tell policy.

I never watch ESPN anymore. But their upcoming series on the 1970's Yankees could be worth watching. Gotta be better than their flick on Pete Rose:http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20040769_20040771_20044556,00.html

In the middle of the road...is a vegetarian restaurant...owned by Chrissie Hynde...that I'll never eat at:http://dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/07/04/chrissie.html

There's a Sex and the City movie coming. Could be some great Happy Meal tie in's with that one:http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33233

Rolling Stone has put up some pics of rock star death sites:http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/07/03/this-is-the-end-a-60-second-tour-of-rock-star-death-sites/
I suggest reading Chuck Klosterman's excellent Killing Yourself to Live in which Chuck sets out to visit the spots where rock stars died. Like most of Chuck's stuff, it turns out to be about something else. There's a great bit where he compares his girlfriends to former members of Kiss.

What rock bands changed lead singers and actually improved? My pick would be Deep Purple. Ian Gillan was the signature voice of the band and gave the group an identity it lacked with Rod Evans. Discuss.

More crap as it happens.....