Monthly Archives: November 2006

cowboy junkies

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loading the iPod this past week has given me renewed appreciation for a couple of albums i’ve loved for many years but hadn’t listened to in a while.

waaay back in 1988 one of my best friends was an art student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. he had eclectic taste in music and introduced me to such groups as siouxsie and the banshees, edie brickell and the new bohemians, and 10,000 maniacs. one night we were at the art academy and this slow, funky groove is playing in the background with a most awesome female vocalist crooning in an sultry, ethereal tone – who is this, i demanded to know!

junkies.jpgit’s the Trinity Session from the cowboy junkies.

never heard of them.

and never forgot them after that night.

their music since then has been consistent. their first album with geffen records almost a dozen years later may be even better than the trinity session album, but maybe not. they’re still together. margot timmins still has one of the most awesome voices out there.

they’ve toured and been good friends with over the rhine for many years, and it’s no wonder. they have a similar sound and style, although i’ll go with the junkies over OTR probably 9 out of 10 tries.

don’t have the album? go download one of their concerts from the Live Music Archive – particularly THIS ONE. it’s probably the best sound quality of the bunch.

have a great thanksgiving!

stream of consciousness pt 2

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  • after months of indecision and second-guessing, i finally broke down and bought an 80gig iPod and oh. my. gosh. what on earth did i ever do before i had this thing? absolutely amazing and wonderful.
  • grad school has gotten a bit easier (or maybe i’m just more comfortable with the classes and content now) and while it’s still a lot of reading, writing and time away in class or doing homework, it’s not the horrible stressor it was a couple months ago.
  • i love my job. special ed is awesome. there are times when i want to throttle the kids or throw myself out the window to escape the behaviors and frustrations, but doggoneit, i love these kids and i love education. it’s just a blast.
  • anyone who is reading this and still wondering, “why did he need an 80gig iPod – why not a 30gig?” obviously hasn’t seen my CD collection or my extensive bootleg concert collection.
  • speaking of bootleg concerts, i’ve downloaded some incredible pink floyd and grateful dead concerts over the last couple weeks – it reminds me that as much as i love my CD’s and studio tunes, live music is the way to go!
  • we leave tuesday after work to drive to maryland and stay with our friends barb and joe for thanksgiving. dolby’s going to have ace to hump again, we’re going to bask in the glow of missed friends and, of course, there’s always The Drive.
  • converting a thousand CD’s to mp3 and then putting them into an iPod is time consuming yet fun. rediscovering tunes that i haven’t listened to in years is a blast. rediscovering some tunes that i’d just as soon not listen to again is amusing, too.
  • my favorite book of all time has to be dandelion wine by ray bradbury. 45 years later, the second half of the book is released – Farewell Summer – and i’m sad to report that it’s somewhat disappointing. bradbury is a brilliant writer whose metaphors and imagery have kept me reading for years. this, his followup, is too forced and contrived. instead of writing and letting the metaphors speak for themselves, he has to lay them out and take us through them point by point. the book isn’t awful but it’s certainly nothing like the first half…
  • new roof was put on the garage this past friday. new gutters on the house go up this week as well as tuckpointing the chimneys. pretty cool seeing all this stuff getting done. won’t be pretty cool writing a check for thousands of bucks. but the house is lookin good!!
  • the who are back with a CD/DVD and a tour. they hit columbus later this month or next month. a friend and i talked about going. the cheap cheap cheap seats? $52. no thanks. i’m wondering why i’d want to pay so much for bad seats to see two of the original four geriatric members play 35 year old songs. nostalgia? naw.
  • i love my wife. our sixteenth (16) anniversary is a week away and i can’t imagine spending life with anyone but her. everyone should be so lucky.
  • i’ve been wanting a Xavier University sweatshirt. X’s bookstore has ‘em for WAAAY too much money. was introduced to steve and barry’s last night. got a butt-kicking X sweatshirt for $14.98! woo!
  • bob newhart is one of my favorite comedians of all time. his timing and expressions are priceless. he’s got a new book out. don’t buy it.
  • we found a dog toy company that backs its toys with a LIFETIME GUARANTEE. we bought two. i told the dude at the store that this company had never met my dog dolby. he said, “keep the receipt!” it’s survived its first day!
  • lise bought me the Complete Wreck (Series of Unfortunate Events, books 1-13) by Lemony Snicket for my birthday. this girl knows what i like!! and is it good? is it? IS IT??? ………YES!!
  • graeter’s has a new seasonal ice cream flavor – chocolate coconut almond fudge. it’s season is over but apparently there’s still some floating around out there. go get some and try it! gosh, it’s good…
  • it’s 1:30am and i ought to hit the sack. more substantial information, opinions and general rudeness coming soon. life gets busy and doggone it, i’ve got to prioritize!