Play On Daily

Purpose Post:

Sometimes this space just isn’t noisy enough!

-DAVE

I impulsively wanted to post “Clouds” by Zach Sobiech but I decided to put it aside for at least a day. I watched the 22 minute documentary, twice, and I’ll probably watch it a half dozen more times. I watched it for the same reason that I watch flicks like “Silver Linings Playbook” multiple times and don’t have never seen Fast and the Furious Part Anything. Zach’s story is real life drama with a couple of small twists that don’t show up in everyone’s real life but could if a fork in the road put us on the right or wrong street. It’s ultimately a sad story but it yields life lessons that can make a person re-think their own lot and maybe at the same time cut someone else some slack who might be going through something trying in their life.

I love Gerald Collier so this is an easy pick for me today. I’m really hoping that he does a few live shows this summer. And, I love the way Collier describes himself on his Facebook page:

“… a singer and writer of mostly quiet, musky and misunderstood love songs.”

- DAVE

This one is going on my “Mid Day Drive Across Town, Stop and Go, Windows Down, Summertime” playlist. The whole album serves the purpose of that playlist and you will only pass over it in an extreme case of music appreciation negligence.

- DAVE

I actually had two or three ideas for posts today which is significant since there hasn’t been much of anything lately that has been getting me amped up and excited. I do like the new Airborne Toxic Event, I want to check out the new Natalie Maines solo offering, and there are a couple Capitol Hill Block Party bands that I need to investigate; none of that includes the couple of other imminent posts so I guess I do have a few things on the drawing board.

Today’s got to be all about Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Chris Hadfield. I’ve only been paying attention to Hadfield’s six month stay on the International Space Station via filtered highlights from my fangirl wife. I heard a clip of his “Space Oddity” rendition this morning on NPR and listened to the whole thing tonight. His singing is quite good and I would guess that whenever his lucrative speaking engagement tour starts, he’ll get a lot of requests to pull out the guitar and play it again for some packed houses.

- DAVE

Props to my bro for tacking up a couple of nice posts while I’ve been off doing who knows what. Actually, the “who knows what” when he called me yesterday to tell me about his impending post was me watching Pain and Gain. Holy Cow Pie! How the perps in that movie/real life incidents, through some stroke of subhuman dumb luck swirled around in a vile full of ‘roid rage, managed to not collect Darwin Awards is one of the great mysteries of the known universe. There’s a connection there with my brother’s movie Top 5 from a few days ago as Tony Shalhoub plays the indestructible rich guy who refuses to give in to the dummies trying to knock him off.

Hmmm, movie lists. My tops are in a galaxy far, far away from my brother’s with sci fi nowhere to be found in my top 5. What are mine? In no particular order and off of the top of my head, I’m going: Fight Club, The King’s Speech, It Might Get Loud, Cider House Rules, and pick a Denzel movie. Okay, I’ll go with Training Day.

One of the negatives of Pain and Gain was that the period of the movie was mid-90′s and the locale was Miami so I got to listen to C+C Music Factory as part of the soundtrack. I would have been fine if I never listened to their stuff ever again.

Five more movies before I figure out a song to post. What’s the connection with my brother’s favorite The Breakfast Club and one of my favorites Go? Also on my list, the Cohen Brothers first offering, Blood Simple, I’ll take high flyer George in Up in the Air, Lots-O as one of the most villainous stuffed bad guys ever in Toy Story III and the only sports movie that matters, no not Caddyshack (though I’m tempted) or Miracle (which would give my list a little validity). The Charlestown Chiefs, the Hansons, Slap Shot.

“Can’t Hold Us” – Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (feat. Ray Dalton) – “The Heist” (2012)

- DAVE

Here’s your PJ, kinda, sorta. Mad Season: Layne Staley of Alice In Chains on vocals (RIP), John Baker Saunders of The Walkabouts on bass (RIP), Barret Martin of Screaming Trees on Drums, and Mike McCready of PJ on guitar. That was the original line up of a sort of Pacific Northwest Supergroup. They have a new album out with re-releases of some original line up material, as well as some new stuff with Mark Lanegan of Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age and one half of The Gutter Twins, on vocals. Slip Away is one of the new ones that McCready said he wrote after Layne died but has taken on new meaning in it’s current form with Lanegan at the wheel.

I have a Top 5. When anyone asks my favorite movie I always say, I have a Top 5. I don’t order them that’s like saying I love one of my kids more than the others. For the most part my Top 5 has remained the same for the last 20 years or so. “The Breakfast Club” is there, I watched it with my kids recently and even after all these years it’s place on the list was confirmed. “Casablanca”, classic, and Ingrid Bergman was hot! “Gattaca”, like Ethan Hawke’s Vincent Freeman, I too have a life long dream to fly, which remains unfulfilled. “Blade Runner”, I actually prefer the version as it was originally screened in theatres to the Director’s Cut (Blasphemy?). And, “Big Night”, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Minnie Driver, does anyone know who the dishwasher/prepcook was, Marc Anthony (yes, the same one that married J-Lo), and speaking of Ingrid Bergman, her daughter Isabella Rossellini. It’s a small movie with a big heart, food, family & friends.

Every once in a while another movie will get close. Like, “Breaking Away”, if a Top 5 could have 6 this would be there. “Cousins”, there’s that Bergman/Rossellini connection again. “The Last Samurai”, I’m not a Tom Cruise fan but Samurai are badass! The Hidden Fortress, Samurai are badass! “Wild at Heart”, some classic David Lynch. “District 9″, I loves me some thinking Sci-Fi. “It’s A Wonderful Life”, even in July it’s towards the top of the list. And the movie I just watched for the fist (and second) time this weekend, “Safety Not Guaranteed”, Aubrey Palza is awesome and Mark Duplass (who I first saw in “The League”, it’s kind of an “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia” for fantasy football fans) was perfect as the eccentric/crazy (or is he) lead. It’s tender, has a lot of heart, a little magic and this song from Guster. Maybe I need a Top 10!

Aloha,
na Kala

I’ve felt for awhile that I need more structure to guide me in selecting songs that are post-worthy, or if that’s too granular, in picking artists that need to be posted. Like some bands should have a minimum quota. PJ should be about twice a month (major failure on my behalf, and what’s up with my brother who hasn’t posted any yet). A Tribe Called Quest should get about one a month. And, The Beastie Boys should pop up about once a week.

Okay, maybe once a week is a bit too much, partially based on the fact that I can’t even get the “Daily” part of Play On Daily down and I only tack something up about five times a week. There is a park dedication tomorrow in Brooklyn Heights honoring MCA who has already been gone for a year. All right, so how about if The Beasties get posted at least twice for every Macklemore post?

- DAVE

Count me in as an opening night attendee for any movie that has soundtrack contributions from The Kills. What? There is such a movie? And it’s due in theaters in ten days? And it’s based on a book authored by Henry James that is over one hundred years old? Yes, it’s true “What Maisie Knew” has been adapted to portray Julianne Moore as an ebbing rocker and as part of Moore’s repertoire, she belts out The Kills’ “Night Train” and “Hook and Line.” I’ll take a medium popcorn a bottle of Dasani and a center cut seat about 3/4 of the way towards the back wall.

- DAVE

I gave this album a listen based on a review in Thee Imaginary Girls which is where I go for valuable insights into new music and artists that are often times new to me. This is the first time that I’ve heard of this band, so I’ll send you over to TIG where you can read the words of a passionate, somewhat obsessive fan.

- DAVE