My favorite internet radio show, All Songs Considered, puts out a holiday show every year. There an interesting eclectic mix, although a little heavy on the alternative and folk side. I recommend you give this a listen.
This year's show
2004's
2003's
2002's
2001's
2000's
ABOUT ME
- MY OTHER BLOGS:
Just your typical middle-aged divorced father (of a teenage daughter)/music fanatic/local bands supporter/nerd-geek-dork/smartass/movie lover/tv watcher/book reader/former comicbook collector/science fiction fan/slob/science buff/casual philosopher/spirituality peruser/ponytail wearer/world traveler/huge Violent Femmes fan/Sigourney Weaver crusher/rabid Journey hater/liberal/mostly straight occasional cross dresser from Des Moines, Iowa.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
ART: Just Liked This Pic
Thursday, November 17, 2005
MOVIES: An Apology for People Who Wait in Line for Star Wars
This is a post from my main blog that I wrote back when Episode III came out. Thought it would be appropriate here. - OlderMusicGeek.
I have had more than one person ask me if I was skipping work on each of the days the last three Star Wars movies have come out. It's always half-jokingly, which of course means it was also half-serious.
And I have to admit, there's a part of me that would love to do that - hanging out with people with similar interests who are as interested - if not more interested - in the same things as you. It's an incredible bonding experience like those who wait in line for a concert - or, I would imagine, a sporting event (but being a nerd, I wouldn't know about sporting event from first hand experience). (But I am The OlderMUSICGeek, so I do know something of the wait for a concert ticket.)
Of course, I know, many will say a movie is not like a concert or sporting event. These are one time only events, each performance and game is different each time. That's why Deadheads followed that band everywhere. And some will follow their team everywhere too. And I can't argue this point.
But the whole point of waiting in line for the movie isn't exactly the same as a concert or sporting event. Part of it is the pride of being the first. Let's face it, the kind of people, who are willing to wait in long lines - a whole day or more - for Star Wars movies, are not the kind of people who expect to do well in too many aspects of life. This is their chance of glory. Not exactly a happy thought, but a honest one.
On the other hand, there is something about going to a movie with people who love it as much as you. We've all gone to a movie that you really are excited about, but your fellow moviegoers are not. It is definitely different than going to a movie that all of you are excited about. Well, you won't find such a clear consensus on a film as you will in a Star Wars line!
Before I finish I must say - it's one thing to wait in line for a movie in your teens or even your twenties. It's quite another to do it in your thirties or forties! I mean, seriously, don't these people have a life. I mean if that's the only way you can make friends or pick up a member of the opposite sex, you need to get out more! It is after all - (blasphemy, blasphemy!) - only a movie! You should have more important and better things to do by the time you reach 30.
Heck, I'd only wait in a line like that to go see The Violent Femmes or Flogging Molly, maybe NOFX.
And I'll leave things at that. May the Force be with you!
And while you're at, live long and prosper.
I have had more than one person ask me if I was skipping work on each of the days the last three Star Wars movies have come out. It's always half-jokingly, which of course means it was also half-serious.
And I have to admit, there's a part of me that would love to do that - hanging out with people with similar interests who are as interested - if not more interested - in the same things as you. It's an incredible bonding experience like those who wait in line for a concert - or, I would imagine, a sporting event (but being a nerd, I wouldn't know about sporting event from first hand experience). (But I am The OlderMUSICGeek, so I do know something of the wait for a concert ticket.)
Of course, I know, many will say a movie is not like a concert or sporting event. These are one time only events, each performance and game is different each time. That's why Deadheads followed that band everywhere. And some will follow their team everywhere too. And I can't argue this point.
But the whole point of waiting in line for the movie isn't exactly the same as a concert or sporting event. Part of it is the pride of being the first. Let's face it, the kind of people, who are willing to wait in long lines - a whole day or more - for Star Wars movies, are not the kind of people who expect to do well in too many aspects of life. This is their chance of glory. Not exactly a happy thought, but a honest one.
On the other hand, there is something about going to a movie with people who love it as much as you. We've all gone to a movie that you really are excited about, but your fellow moviegoers are not. It is definitely different than going to a movie that all of you are excited about. Well, you won't find such a clear consensus on a film as you will in a Star Wars line!
Before I finish I must say - it's one thing to wait in line for a movie in your teens or even your twenties. It's quite another to do it in your thirties or forties! I mean, seriously, don't these people have a life. I mean if that's the only way you can make friends or pick up a member of the opposite sex, you need to get out more! It is after all - (blasphemy, blasphemy!) - only a movie! You should have more important and better things to do by the time you reach 30.
Heck, I'd only wait in a line like that to go see The Violent Femmes or Flogging Molly, maybe NOFX.
And I'll leave things at that. May the Force be with you!
And while you're at, live long and prosper.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
MUSIC, MOVIES, TELEVISION and BOOKS: Filk Music: Odd Voices for a Digital Generation
Xeni Tech
By Xeni Jardin
Filk Music: Odd Voices for a Digital Generation
Day to Day, October 20, 2005 · What has 30 legs, five laptops, four kazoos and one Yoda? A filk singing circle. Filk is a little-known genre of folk music composed and performed by science-fiction fans, usually revolving around sci-fi and fantasy themes.
These so-called "filkers" share a lively online culture online -- and in the real world, some entertaining and slightly bizarre get-togethers.
Some songs riff on stories and characters from popular movies, TV shows, or games -- Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Dungeons and Dragons are popular launch pads. Other tunes come from deeply weird depths of the songwriter's psyche.
Filk has been around for decades, but the genre is gaining new popularity, in part because of digital music downloads and free Internet radio. At the 19th annual Con-Chord, one of about eight yearly "filkfests" in the United States, a group gathered at a Los Angeles-area hotel to share their newest tunes.
"It's like a hootenanny on another planet," Jardin says. "Audience members sometimes cheer topically -- a song featuring bioengineered chickens is met with clucking. Another featuring pigs in space, with oinks. Another about the physics of farting is met with -- well, you get the idea."
Filk.com
Filk Archive
Filk.com's radio station on Live365.com
By Xeni Jardin
Filk Music: Odd Voices for a Digital Generation
Day to Day, October 20, 2005 · What has 30 legs, five laptops, four kazoos and one Yoda? A filk singing circle. Filk is a little-known genre of folk music composed and performed by science-fiction fans, usually revolving around sci-fi and fantasy themes.
These so-called "filkers" share a lively online culture online -- and in the real world, some entertaining and slightly bizarre get-togethers.
Some songs riff on stories and characters from popular movies, TV shows, or games -- Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Dungeons and Dragons are popular launch pads. Other tunes come from deeply weird depths of the songwriter's psyche.
Filk has been around for decades, but the genre is gaining new popularity, in part because of digital music downloads and free Internet radio. At the 19th annual Con-Chord, one of about eight yearly "filkfests" in the United States, a group gathered at a Los Angeles-area hotel to share their newest tunes.
"It's like a hootenanny on another planet," Jardin says. "Audience members sometimes cheer topically -- a song featuring bioengineered chickens is met with clucking. Another featuring pigs in space, with oinks. Another about the physics of farting is met with -- well, you get the idea."
Filk.com
Filk Archive
Filk.com's radio station on Live365.com
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