tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72022312024-03-19T05:35:45.816-07:00originality™J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.comBlogger165125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-48807753103226291762009-10-14T17:54:00.001-07:002009-10-14T18:04:34.292-07:00UpdateSo, I haven't had the time to make any of the in depth "what we did this year" blog posts I promised, but here is a quick one so you don't give up on me.<br /><br />Cason is trucking around along furnitre and crawling incredible fast. He should be starting to walk any time now... so crazy how fast it has gone. He has been saying things like "mama", "dada", "uh-oh", "no", and "yeah!" I drop him off and pick him up now at his new day care, and when I pick him up he will stop doing whatever he is doing, look up at me, and stretch his arms out with a huge grin.... it's the best thing ever.<br /><br />Jenny just hit the big 3-0. I took her out to Le Fou Frog (http://www.lefoufrog.com/) and it was amazing. Highly recommended.<br /><br />Last news is, I am going to U2 in Oklahoma City next weekend!!!<br /><br />Thats all for now.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-64959243356566166462009-09-01T14:31:00.001-07:002009-09-01T14:32:50.244-07:00Grumpy old (and young) menFour generations of Caines men.... scary!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3877222501_ac08094da6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 333px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3877222501_ac08094da6.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-14993839392237287052009-08-31T20:04:00.000-07:002009-08-31T20:08:13.936-07:00Okay fine, still blogging.So, I guess a few people still read it. I will try and get caught up over the next month. <br /><br />Stay tuned for:<br />Summer Events: Things we have been doing as a family this summer, including vacation!<br />Cason Update: Fun things the kido has been doing, pics included!<br />House Update: What we have worked on this summer in and around the house.<br />Camaro Update: What I have been doing on my 68 Camaro that has taken me 13 years to get started on.<br /><br />...and whatever else I can think of.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-47474825424472023042009-07-27T20:54:00.000-07:002009-07-27T20:56:46.079-07:00Blogging...So, evidently 2009 is the year my blog died. I am thinking of pulling the plug for good. I have about 6 things I need to blog about to catch up, or I can just not. If you still read this and want me to start updating more often, let me know and I might change my mind, if not, find me on facebook. <br /><br />Peace,<br />J.R.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-16694557634645102692009-05-20T17:08:00.000-07:002009-05-20T17:14:18.823-07:00The Best Ever.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3547700724_52d181d870.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3547700724_52d181d870.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I can't believe Cason is almost 6 moths old. If I haven't updated my blog enough, this is why. ;-)J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-36209005661634567262009-04-20T07:27:00.000-07:002009-04-20T07:32:14.929-07:00The Story of StuffThis last Sunday we had what we call at our church "Service Sunday" where the church goes out into the community and servers together as our Worship Service for that week. It happens once a quarter I think.<br /><br />With Earth Day coming up Wednesday, our focus this time was on environmental concerns. We split up into groups, with a group planting a garden on the church lawn, a group taking recycling to the recycle center, a group sewing grocery bags, a group picking up liter in the neighborhood, and a group taking cloths to the salvation army. <br /><br />Anyways, all that to share with you a video we discussed in church before breaking off into our groups. Check it out, it's a must see for everyone!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gLBE5QAYXp8&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gLBE5QAYXp8&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-52685699455744381872009-01-06T06:32:00.000-08:002009-01-06T07:11:12.841-08:00Top 30 of 2008! (Part 2: 10-1)Yesterday I covered 30-11, <a href="http://jarcaines.blogspot.com/2009/01/top-30-albums-of-2008-30-11.html">read it here</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TEGIxtU1L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41TEGIxtU1L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>10. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - <span style="font-style:italic;">Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!</span></span><br />Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have been doing this music thing for a very long time, but this is my first experience with there music, so I have nothing in their back catalog to compare it to, but if Dig!!! is any indicator, I need to look into them. <br /><br />This album is laced with gritty guitars, funky bass lines, instrumental textures, electronic noises, and Cave's distinct vocals. Lyrically it mixes complicated biblical imagery, such as the story of Lazarus in the title track, with a gritty real world-ness that blends perfectly with the music and vocals. Both dark, and exciting, angry, and humorous, and at the same times, sacred and profane, Dig!!! walks a line that feels so honest and real that anyone can relate to if you let yourself.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276971736&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Nr7dtcw9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Nr7dtcw9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>9. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - <span style="font-style:italic;">Cardinology</span></span><br />Ryan Adams is at it again. This guy puts out so much consistently good music that he has earned a yearly spot on this list. Cardinology finds him once again with the Cardinals, which in my opinion is when he is at his best.<br /><br />Cardinology might be my favorite Adams album since 2005's <span style="font-style:italic;">Cold Roses</span>. That might not seem like a big deal, being only 3 years ago, but that was 5 albums in the past. As with Roses and last years <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Tiger</span>, this is Ryan blending seamlessly his brand of Alt. Country with good ol' Rock n' Roll, some 60's southern rock, and some glimpses at his early career in punk rock. The downfall with <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Tiger</span> was the rocker "Holloweenhead", it was almost enough to ruin the album. <span style="font-style:italic;">Cardinology</span> is void of any such low point. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=294085511&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D75R03q8L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D75R03q8L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>8. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Starflyer 59 - <span style="font-style:italic;">Dial M</span></span><br />Starflyer 59 has been making great music since 1993, but outside of a very devoted fan base, not many people know of them. Founder, front-man, and songwriter Jason Martin takes his band in a different direction then past albums, at risk of upsetting their fan base, the results are an album that is both original and interesting and just plain enjoyable to listen to. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Dial M</span> has Starflyer exploring areas they have always dabbled in like new-wave, electronica, and shoe-gaze, but not showing any of the restraint to jump all the way in that could be heard in previous releases. There is such a smooth groove to these songs with Starflyer's signature melodic guitars blended perfectly with synths that don't ever threaten to sound too cheesy. Those who liked Starflyer at their rockiest in <span style="font-style:italic;">Silver</span> or <span style="font-style:italic;">I Am the Portuguese Blues</span> might not like this record, but it is nothing short of a natural maturing and progression of a band developing a sound that is truly original. Lyrically Dial M has a clearer message then earlier Starflyer albums with more openly spiritual content and more audible vocals.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=294085511&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mMXdClk9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mMXdClk9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>7. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sun Kil Moon- <span style="font-style:italic;">April</span></span> <br />This is Indie/Slowcore band Sun Kil Moon's third release. Mark Kozelek got some help with backing vocals from Will Oldham, Ben Gibbard and Eric Pollard on this one. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">April</span> starts off slowly, but you have to stay with this one, it builds gradually to reveal beautiful melodic arrangements, you will know them when you get to them. This is album seems so delicate and harmless at first, but Kozelek knows how to craft a song that will carry with it enough emotion, and power to move anyone. The heavy mood set by the slow churning guitar is brought to a whole other level by Kozelek's deep, dark, introspective, yet comfortable lyrics. It will give you goose bumps. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276175141&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51exXgX0%2BoL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51exXgX0%2BoL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>6. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Vampire Weekend - <span style="font-style:italic;">Vampire Weekend</span></span><br />Vampire Weekend's debut self titled album mixes up something like I haven't heard before. Their unique blend of Chamber rock arraignments, Afro-pop beats and guitars, 80's pop, and reggae make something completely unexpected from 4 college kids from New York.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Vampire Weekend</span> shows obvious influence from Afro-pop in the same way 80's acts like Peter Gabriel, the Talking Heads, and Paul Simon did it, but somehow they pull it off in a way that makes this music seem incredibly relevant. Enormous melodies, chimes and hopping guitars provide a unique contrast to lyrics taking a seemingly sarcastic look at privileged suburban life. While pulling form world music stylings, make no mistake, this is an indie pop record. Lead singer Ezra Koenig's vocals clash just enough with the musical style to keep it interesting. If you are looking for something new in a sea of boring music, this might be it.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=270425072&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ywd-GvyZL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ywd-GvyZL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>5. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Fleet Foxes - <span style="font-style:italic;">Fleet Foxes</span></span><br />Fleet Foxes have taken the indie rock world by storm since their debut album dropped in June. Appearing as #1 on a lot of 2008 music lists. It looks like Seattle is making a name on the music scene once again. <br /><br />Epic baroque pop and moody harmonic vocals make <span style="font-style:italic;">Fleet Foxes</span> a brilliantly crafted and intelligent debut album. Heavily influenced by folk/rock legends of the past, like Neil Young, Van Morrison, Simon and Garfunkle, and the Beach Boys, there is something so comforting about this album, it's like they took the best of American music and wrapped it in a new package. In the same vain as Midlake, My Morning Jacket, or even the Shins, they explore the echoing harmonic story telling with layers and layers of acoustic musical textures for a complicated yet obviously folky feel. This is a brilliantly beautiful album from a band stepping out in a big way. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Fleet Foxes. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=281086394&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZjBSxqZWL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZjBSxqZWL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>4. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Shearwater- <span style="font-style:italic;">Rook</span></span> </span> <br />This year Jonathan Meiburg did better with his break off band then his original band Okkervil River. Shearwater's fifth studio album deserves it's high rating, and I had a hard time not placing it higher. This album is nothing short of amazing. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Rooks</span> has so much going on in it that you would think it would be too much, but Shearwater some how can meld harp, glockenspiel, woodwind, and a hammer dulcimer among more conventional instruments such as guitar and piano into a musical landscape so vast that is seemingly will never run out of room for more. With all of this they still pull of a sound that evokes the feeling of desolation. Meiburg's often falsetto vocals are the emotional thread running through these songs. It is a sound that is both enormous and spacious, I really don't know how else to describe it. Just a beautiful record.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=280638394&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Nq7ADkKKL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Nq7ADkKKL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>3. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Bonnie "Prince" Billy - <span style="font-style:italic;">Lie Down In The Light</span></span><br />Will Oldham, a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy has been called an "Appalachian post-punk solipsist" and is notable for his unique voice, which has been described as "a fragile sort-of warble frittering around haunted melodies in the American folk or country tradition." Lie Down In The Light brings us Billy at his best. <br /><br />Whichever way you look at it, this is an upbeat, uplifting record, almost sunny in outlook, but don't mistake that for a lack of intellect. This album takes you through the good and the bad of life, without ever losing sight of a hopeful aspect. Lyrically, Billy isn't anything if not honest. This album shows a musical maturity that isn't always present in "freak folk". The fiddles, woodwinds, pedal steel, banjos, bells, and piano, all feel like they fit perfectly within each song, not going to far as is often the case with a cast of this many players. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=280376282&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QCF1JmSmL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31QCF1JmSmL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>2. <span style="font-weight:bold;">TV on the Radio - <span style="font-style:italic;">Dear Science,</span></span><br />After there break out album, Return to Cookie Mountain, I never thought TV on the Radio would be able to follow it up with something even better. They are working on becoming one of my all time favorite bands if they keep this up. <br /><br />Dear Science, is TV on the Radio's third, and best album yet. They are more tight and cohesive then in previous records, this is the sound of a band coming into it's own. Still melding musical influences from Prince to David Bowie in a way nobody else would dare, they have leaned a little heavier on some hip-hop and funk influences with this album without abandoning the noisy guitar, synth, reverb, and driving percussion of previous work. There is a sense of energy in this album, you can't listen to it without feeling like this is something important. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=291184101&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q-7T9bDQL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q-7T9bDQL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>1. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Son Lux - <span style="font-style:italic;">At War With Walls and Mazes</span></span><br />Son Lux is basically 29 year old Ryan Lott of New York. Lott pieced together his debut album over the course of four years, using bits and pieces of recordings he'd gathered. In the process he created one of the most interestingly beautiful musical compositions I have heard, and this years Album of the Year!<br /><br />At War With Walls and Mazes isn't like anything else I reviewed this year. It's more like appreciating a classical composition or even a work of art in a gallery, this piece goes beyond the limits of a normal music album. This album paints a sort or post-apocalyptic landscape with it's many layers of music and noise. It has weight behind it, building from a meek, gentle, lonely place into something so powerful and beautiful it makes you listen again. Lott's gentle, yearning, hushed, and a bit "off" vocal stylings layered over his musical landscape just add to the emotional power of this record. There are very few actual lyrics in this album, used more as an instrument or another layer of music added to the whole composition, but there is so much more content then can be read in the liner notes. There is no doubt a story of heavenly hope woven through this album. I think even more then a bunch of words could express, this album dives face first into the subjects of God, War, and internal conflict. <br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=272690126&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br />There you have it! This years top 10 (plus 20). Go out and get yourselves some new music!J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-38522740962807982952009-01-03T14:29:00.000-08:002009-01-05T12:13:11.147-08:00Top 30 Albums of 2008! (30-11)There where ridicilous amounts of great music in 2008, make my list extreamly difficult. I can make an argument for any of my top 10 to be the album of the year, but there has to be an order of finish, so here it is, now expanded to Top 30! <br /><br />30-11 just get product descriptions, 10-1 get my personal review.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5164yOwPWAL._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5164yOwPWAL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>30. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Derek Webb & Sandra McCracken - <span style="font-style:italic;">Ampersand EP</span></span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Ampersand EP</span> is essential listening for Derek Webb and Caedmon’s Call fans and for Sandra McCracken fans. And the all-new duo of Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken is bound to make new fans all its own.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276101706&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Wg8fJBtNL._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Wg8fJBtNL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>29. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Weezer - <span style="font-style:italic;">Weezer (Red)</span></span><br />Early word on the sixth album from Weezer--and their third self-titled record, although fans, sensibly, are referring to it as "The Red Album"--is that this is their experimental record. Luckily, Rivers Cuomo isn’t interested in penning his own jazz odyssey; for him, experimental is just finding cunning ways to nuance Weezer’s stock-in-trade--crunchy, candy-sweet guitars and vocal harmonies--with new pop tricks.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=281528949&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IRk9wPLkL._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51IRk9wPLkL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>28. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Innerpartysystem - <span style="font-style:italic;">Innerpartysystem</span></span> <br />The debut from dance-rock outfit Innerpartysystem may be reminiscent of the Killers' first album, which isn't a bad thing at all. Hip-shaking rhythms, wiry synths, crunching guitars, and insistent hooks are woven through all 11 tracks of this self-titled first effort.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=291701988&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D5DkH5KCL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D5DkH5KCL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>27. <span style="font-weight:bold;">British Sea Power - <span style="font-style:italic;">Do You Like Rock Music?</span></span><br />British Sea Power return with their third and finest full-length. The sound here is raw and spacious. Guitars remain largely drenched in reverb, and various acoustic instruments grace the arrangements, along with various random noises and happy accidents.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=279526522&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QRWqxPuRL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QRWqxPuRL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>26. <span style="font-weight:bold;">She & Him - <span style="font-style:italic;">Volume One</span></span><br />Some of us first fell in love with Zooey Deschanel's distinctive and charming voice when she crooned, "Baby it’s cold outside," with Will Ferrell in their 2003 movie, Elf. In their first recorded collaboration as She & Him, Deschanel and M. Ward strike the same sincerity with his nostalgic production and her retro resonance.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276066579&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zf-IgE54L._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zf-IgE54L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>25. <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Hold Steady - <span style="font-style:italic;">Stay Positive</span></span><br />Stay Positive is the fourth studio album from The Hold Steady and follows their hugely popular 2006 release Girls And Boys In America. Working once again with producer John Agnello (Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr.), the album sees the band continue in the same direction their previous release took them, mixing classic bar-room style Rock with Craig Finn's half spoken/half sung lyrical tales of drinking, partying and love.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=282387319&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41eq%2BMmSJUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41eq%2BMmSJUL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>24. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ben Folds - <span style="font-style:italic;">Way To Normal</span></span><br />Ben Folds is best known as a solo artist and as the front-man pianist of Ben Folds Five. He is celebrated for a sound that bridges the worlds of Jazz and Power Rock. Folds has proven to be a story-teller for the piano-rock generation.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=291811106&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x4EIAvJuL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51x4EIAvJuL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>23. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Cut//Copy - <span style="font-style:italic;">In Ghost Colours</span></span><br />At once both jacking and jangly, electronic and organic, cut copy have crafted a record filled with glorious sounds and moods but also unabashedly pop song structures and hooks and melodies for eons.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=276328444&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4138AazjGRL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4138AazjGRL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>22. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Nada Surf - <span style="font-style:italic;">Lucky</span></span><br />Consistent: That’s the word that best describes the discography of New York’s Nada Surf, the jingle-jangle pop trio now in its second decade. With heavenly harmonies and swollen choruses, the band can always be counted on to deliver an album’s worth of hummable, single-worthy melodies.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=272323087&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gYoKmeLZL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61gYoKmeLZL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>21. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jenny Lewis - <span style="font-style:italic;">Acid Toung</span></span><br />The all-star Acid Tongue represents something bigger and darker for Jenny Lewis. Without abandoning her roots, Rilo Kiley's front woman adds more soul and jazz weaponry to her musical arsenal, culminating in a record that combines the folky introspection of Joni Mitchell, circa Court and Spark, with the bluesy rock of the Rolling Stones, circa Sticky Fingers, i.e. slide guitar, Hammond B3 organ, and funk-oriented bass.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=290663714&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QOmbNyeTL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QOmbNyeTL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>20. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sigur Ros - <span style="font-style:italic;">Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust</span></span><br />Rough edges, cracked notes, and the sound of fingers on strings are audible resulting in tracks that prove to be the band's sparsest and most affecting work to date. Worry not though, plenty of electric guitar can be heard throughout the album ensuring Sigur Rós commitment to challenging sonic limitations.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=281702694&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41022cqDyQL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41022cqDyQL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>19. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Okkervil River - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Stand Ins</span></span><br />The songs continue with the lyrical themes and obsessions of their last album, The Stage Names, filled with references to famous bands, authors, films, TV shows, and other bits of high and low culture set to Will Sheff`s moody, guitar-based indie rock tunes.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=289452365&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41lSJ2y16nL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41lSJ2y16nL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>18. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Lucinda Williams - <span style="font-style:italic;">Little Honey</span></span><br />Lucinda Williams has always been adept at painting landscapes of the soul, illuminating the spirit's shadowy nooks and shimmering crannies -- but she's never captured the sun breaking through the clouds as purely as on her new Lost Highway release, Little Honey.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=292840587&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QKpz0sDML._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QKpz0sDML._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>17. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Amiee Mann - <span style="font-style:italic;">@#%&*! Smilers</span></span><br />Mann continues to prove herself as a richly evocative songwriter. Built out of acoustic guitars, faint touches of electronics, deep swells of organ, piano and strings, this modern yet rustic album is filled with character sketches and personal revelations.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=281150921&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611o6ExTUbL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611o6ExTUbL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>16. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Coldplay - <span style="font-style:italic;">Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends</span></span><br />Viva La Vida definitely makes some departures from the band’s usual formula, which happens to be one of the most commercially successful rock-pop blueprints of recent years. The plangent chords, emotive melodies, stadium-rock rhythms and universal lyrical concerns remain, but Martin and co. have gone out on several limbs here, incorporating instrumental tracks, using subtle North African and Latin elements, and overhauling previously strict verse-chorus-verse structures in favor of slightly more avant arrangements.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=282656418&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mzKfzg-cL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51mzKfzg-cL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>15. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jim Noir - <span style="font-style:italic;">Jim Noir</span></span><br />Jim's eponymous second album is one of the most expansive pop records you'll hear this year. His music has always been a melee of different styles and influences, and this album sees him delving more into his electronic side and going further with melody and vocals than before.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=278182466&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61d9qRtZaoL._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61d9qRtZaoL._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>14. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Deerhunter - <span style="font-style:italic;">Microcastle</span></span><br />The narcotic drones and fragmented art-punk of their first album, Cryptograms, made the album either a love-it or hate-it proposition for many indie rock fans. Microcastle brings together the disparate elements that made Crytograms fascinating and frustrating, adding a little more pop and quite a bit more studio polish.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=285630526&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UWk31C53L._SL500_AA280_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61UWk31C53L._SL500_AA280_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>13. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Of Montreal - <span style="font-style:italic;">Skeletal Lamping</span></span><br />Their breakthrough, "Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?" catapulted the band to the upper echelon of indie stardom. "Skeletal Lamping" also delivers. It's a complicated and dense thrill ride packed with slinky grooves. Unpredictable, unique, and epic.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=292482141&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rP8fnw8uL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41rP8fnw8uL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>12. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Frightened Rabbit - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Midnight Organ Flight</span></span><br />They call themselves Frightened Rabbit, but there's nothing shy or timid about this Glasgow trio. On The Midnight Organ Fight, singer/guitarist Scott Hutchison says what he thinks--what he feels--and he doesn't hold anything back.For all the unvarnished honesty, a cautious optimism shines through.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=272271488&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61WIg93yUrL._SL500_AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 100px; height: 100px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61WIg93yUrL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>11. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Elbow - <span style="font-style:italic;">The Seldom Seen Kid</span></span><br />Epic post-rock tinged emotional indie stalwarts Elbow release their fourth album 'The Seldom Seen Kid', another staunchand anthemic collection of songs. The tense and emotional sound of previous records remains, but with a distinctly more commercial riff-based template, particularly on lead single'Grounds For Divorce'.<br /><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=278447974&s=143441">Check it out</a><br /><br />10-1 coming tomorrow.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-27558419584989266482008-12-28T13:52:00.000-08:002008-12-28T13:55:24.228-08:00Merry Christmas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsn2pM_vpW41d-m0lJRRl-zEuqdEiupqNLBB5WqexeKpV39PdmQ17Y-QIIyWZzV4j4WclpdTfbjZTbrpi3ldyjOTO9d08AXnfRQIaBBz8PGIFdMQDPfWh5I8QZyOu2jP5bCuqig/s1600-h/3136378732_8e934c5a83.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimsn2pM_vpW41d-m0lJRRl-zEuqdEiupqNLBB5WqexeKpV39PdmQ17Y-QIIyWZzV4j4WclpdTfbjZTbrpi3ldyjOTO9d08AXnfRQIaBBz8PGIFdMQDPfWh5I8QZyOu2jP5bCuqig/s320/3136378732_8e934c5a83.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284962887484981970" /></a><br />Jenny, Cason, and I had a nice calm Christmas at home this year. Cason made it through his first one and came out with lots of loot. Thanks everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-20819846601329944282008-12-01T13:02:00.001-08:002008-12-01T13:51:08.172-08:00And he is here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3IoEHVOtNwtohBwIs1Qy8zC8IoK6Vv3kQDEpj9wAYuN79LIHyOekODiFcJBIuLVhPl_y7tQuA6A9z3ArdhU1FB4m4_qRotY6H9U2pLi9isGOb8i14FPrmEOs_XpHICMYUukuew/s1600-h/IMG_0138.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3IoEHVOtNwtohBwIs1Qy8zC8IoK6Vv3kQDEpj9wAYuN79LIHyOekODiFcJBIuLVhPl_y7tQuA6A9z3ArdhU1FB4m4_qRotY6H9U2pLi9isGOb8i14FPrmEOs_XpHICMYUukuew/s320/IMG_0138.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274941785406692658" /></a><br /><br />Cason Neill Caines <br /><br />Born: Nov. 28th at 2:41pm<br />Weight: 8 lbs. 13 oz.<br />Length: 19"<br /><br />Everything went real well, Jenny and Cason are both doing great.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUCbmvOrO2Z4xy8tT8lKaNvfbAloZcytnUL6SiicxrC0qbUY9B5WgrcnCd5Ih9fqsyHiv_HXo5X0teRDzDwIFEbc6Y20Pl1kVmg32RPNjy6BKu209_FfpDRu5NAcWJykkmmpiWw/s1600-h/IMG_0080.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUCbmvOrO2Z4xy8tT8lKaNvfbAloZcytnUL6SiicxrC0qbUY9B5WgrcnCd5Ih9fqsyHiv_HXo5X0teRDzDwIFEbc6Y20Pl1kVmg32RPNjy6BKu209_FfpDRu5NAcWJykkmmpiWw/s320/IMG_0080.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274930667200847810" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_OVqtT-jIiyNUEfEYAoo9V4AUPi7s3pOXMCYg1LxPh6ooWZOjnKpZad45VixAIS_GU7IKoxauSdSoFKvZukfcYndr4RZkjlCSMejkcRr7MU6tT992oullIQTaqYde49XXPmNg/s1600-h/IMG_0086.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZj_OVqtT-jIiyNUEfEYAoo9V4AUPi7s3pOXMCYg1LxPh6ooWZOjnKpZad45VixAIS_GU7IKoxauSdSoFKvZukfcYndr4RZkjlCSMejkcRr7MU6tT992oullIQTaqYde49XXPmNg/s320/IMG_0086.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274931755858150226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHI4zYdx9den9SR-G22h9SKibE9m1_SWEKPddA_7Av6W4cUqsddj-MG8be15_tDu1nNp6oHdy-JE5YooNQ34pWfbX7LeZAxNLP9_ApULbuLPJ8XgsH6OdQ4ippY9k2KlWN01xALQ/s1600-h/IMG_0092.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHI4zYdx9den9SR-G22h9SKibE9m1_SWEKPddA_7Av6W4cUqsddj-MG8be15_tDu1nNp6oHdy-JE5YooNQ34pWfbX7LeZAxNLP9_ApULbuLPJ8XgsH6OdQ4ippY9k2KlWN01xALQ/s320/IMG_0092.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274937573974968162" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpyOl_74PzvoRdR_W5ByIa5apw_DO5G3qwcos0e7W9UeHCiVIjY3iB3CmMhLvwuXvF64Y1wxXYss6ajoybXAeTPoJbRjm22C2EpI-Qq4jq89Qo-Fj4R3Zd1iX4405sd-_xT2IGQ/s1600-h/IMG_0142.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKpyOl_74PzvoRdR_W5ByIa5apw_DO5G3qwcos0e7W9UeHCiVIjY3iB3CmMhLvwuXvF64Y1wxXYss6ajoybXAeTPoJbRjm22C2EpI-Qq4jq89Qo-Fj4R3Zd1iX4405sd-_xT2IGQ/s320/IMG_0142.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274942069702527714" /></a>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-71901526230689768882008-11-22T16:02:00.000-08:002008-11-22T16:04:06.086-08:00Almost time....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k5lLvLFv0aHuVn61CnIJH7bbyyaBo_4ZOcthtgdLjCVuXCPz5SKAkMR9gU822EFwx8Ru8F2FG4oWZXajXYdHmnOXyCXiy5RhcqD8CEUlpypG4MuusUE6kdCvNwl15Dt20koxGA/s1600-h/3045187579_08ae476760.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6k5lLvLFv0aHuVn61CnIJH7bbyyaBo_4ZOcthtgdLjCVuXCPz5SKAkMR9gU822EFwx8Ru8F2FG4oWZXajXYdHmnOXyCXiy5RhcqD8CEUlpypG4MuusUE6kdCvNwl15Dt20koxGA/s320/3045187579_08ae476760.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271636949929408514" /></a><br />For Cason! <br />He is due the 29th, so really could be coming any day now....J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-87473953960599356882008-09-04T16:55:00.000-07:002008-09-04T16:56:35.953-07:00Say what?Jon Stewart at his very best!<br /><br /><embed FlashVars="videoId=184086" src='http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-71779036074375252462008-08-28T12:52:00.001-07:002008-08-28T12:52:59.766-07:00Great Quote"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed."<br /><br />-Dwight D.EisenhowerJ.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-27058391465080016372008-07-12T07:55:00.000-07:002008-07-12T08:05:16.100-07:00Summer Mix!My friend Michael over at <a href="http://www.yewknee.com/blog/">Yewknee.com</a> is running the <a href="http://www.summermixseries.com/">Summer Mix Series</a>. Anyone can create and submit a mix album to share with others, it's a great way to check out new music and learn a little about each other.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">My contribution:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cainesdesign.com/SummerMix/KiteCover.jpg"><img style="center; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://www.cainesdesign.com/SummerMix/KiteCover.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">It Was a Beautiful Day...<br />Until My Kite Crashed Into Your Cloud</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Track list:</span><br /> 1. Eels - Mighty Fine Blues<br /> 2. Danielson - Cast It At The Setting Sail<br /> 3. Starlight Mints - Pumpkin<br /> 4. Joshua James - Today<br /> 5. Belle & Sebastian - Ease Your Feet In The Sea<br /> 6. Nada Surf - Here Goes Something<br /> 7. Half-Handed Cloud - Rise to the Heavens on Evaporation<br /> 8. Rosie Thomas - Kite Song<br /> 9. Jim Noir - Turbulent Weather<br /> 10. Laura Veirs - Wrecking<br /> 11. Andrew Bird - Opposite Day<br /> 12. The Essex Green - Sorry River<br /> 13. Sufjan Stevens - Sister<br /> 14. Kings of Convenience - Summer On The Westhill<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><a href="http://www.cainesdesign.com/SummerMix/"><br />DOWNLOAD IT HERE AND ENJOY!</a></span>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-44533973621480614932008-06-24T09:20:00.000-07:002008-06-24T09:32:25.259-07:00Ironic story of the day.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIVQkuTMcz6XdcLf3Bna5-ddS4sGyvj_MiWagErES2skPk4My5hDtQwWgpO23eTlw_QVwvZ-yOSD65z42jPEVqdjJK-WJMs4mC9bwSeNKdQ-TJd_iQOSqOdOdRMiNt4yUKkJoDw/s1600-h/pot-and-kettle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIIVQkuTMcz6XdcLf3Bna5-ddS4sGyvj_MiWagErES2skPk4My5hDtQwWgpO23eTlw_QVwvZ-yOSD65z42jPEVqdjJK-WJMs4mC9bwSeNKdQ-TJd_iQOSqOdOdRMiNt4yUKkJoDw/s400/pot-and-kettle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215485521320808306" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080624/ap_on_el_pr/rel_dobson_obama">James Dobson accuses Obama of `distorting' Bible </a><br /><blockquote>"I think he's deliberately distorting the traditional understanding of the Bible to fit his own worldview, his own confused theology," Dobson said.</blockquote><br />Maybe Mr. Dobson should go back to focusing on the FAMILY, it does a lot less damage to Christianity then when he is focusing on politics.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-46542973133183663202008-06-09T20:20:00.000-07:002008-06-09T20:33:48.530-07:00J.R. and Jenny's Tour of the Souff'Over the week of Memorial Day Jenny and I took a road trip to South Caroline, via Chattanooga, TN. We spent two nights in a historic Inn in Chattanooga then drove into Charleston, SC for one over night at another cool old brick Inn. Then it was off to Hunting Island State Park for three days of camping at the beach! It was our first time to the Atlantic, and first time in WAY to long to the beach. We got to play in the ocean in the sun for a day and a half, then ride out a beach thunderstorm one night, and enjoy the crazy cloudy skies for the rest of the time. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/2563020183_2dd60739b5.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3065/2563020183_2dd60739b5.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />After the beach we drove down to Savannah, GA for a night and explored the historic downtown. Both Savannah and Charleston are amazingly beautiful cities. From there we drove to Memphis and stayed a night, then on back to KC. We ate like Kings, put 2,600 miles on the car, spent way to much money on gas, and loved every minute of it.<br /><br />Check out the pictures!:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/sets/72157605486385424/">Part 1: Chattanooga</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/sets/72157605509391590/">Part 2: Charleston</a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/sets/72157605524918072/">Part 3: Hunting Island, Savannah, and Memphis</a>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-91467286764373618282008-05-19T11:22:00.000-07:002008-05-19T12:34:40.711-07:00Movie MemeMovie Meme, courtesy of Scott Savage.<br /><br />1. One movie that made you laugh<br />Office Space<br /><br />2. One movie that made you cry<br />Wedding Singer... (I know...)<br /><br />3. One movie you loved when you were a child<br />Rad<br /><br />4. One movie you’ve seen more than once<br />Swingers<br /><br />5. One movie you loved, but were embarrassed to admit it<br />Bring It On<br /><br />6. One movie you hated<br />Godzilla, the late 90's remake...<br /><br />7. One movie that scared you<br />The Shining<br /><br />8. One movie that bored you<br />Blair Witch Project<br /><br />9. One movie that made you happy<br />Little Miss Sunshine<br /><br />10. One movie that made you miserable<br />Bloody Sunday<br /><br />11. One movie you weren’t brave enough to see<br />Saving Private Ryan<br /><br />12. One movie character you’ve fallen in love with<br />Julia Stiles character on 10 Things I Hate About You. Gotta love the attitude.<br /><br />13. The last movie you saw<br />No Country for Old Men<br /><br />14. The next movie you hope to see<br />I don't know yet.<br /><br />15. Your favorite movie<br />The Shawshank Redemption (me too)<br /><br />Now tag five people!!!!! <br />I tag Jenny, Amanda, Andrea and/or Telfer, Jess, and KyleeJ.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-12930912807357622002008-04-04T09:10:00.000-07:002008-04-04T09:27:19.506-07:00House Update - Painting the Dining RoomA couple weekends ago Jenny and I painted our dining room Antique Red. We think it turned out great!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/2387734956/in/set-72157604384958965/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3273/2387734956_4d3e25d7bb.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />A few days before that we bought this beautiful buffet on Craigslist. It looks right at home with out dining room table and red paint doesn't it?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2150/2387734718_d617ba694c.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2150/2387734718_d617ba694c.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We also found these growing in our side yard.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2387735372_bb2db2dff2.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2387735372_bb2db2dff2.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Our next big project is going to be re-tiling the bathroom walls, luckily we are hiring someone for that one. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Check out more house project pictures in our <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/collections/72157601750420759/">House Collection</a> on flickr.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-45125380709999187372008-03-31T07:19:00.000-07:002008-03-31T07:21:09.463-07:00Opening Day!Well... sort of. It should be opening day if MLB didn't jack it all up by playing 2 games in Japan last week. Weird. <br /><br />Anyways, it is official now, summer is on it's way, baseball is here!<br />Here are my predictions for the season:<br /><br />AL West: <br />1. Seattle <br />2. Los Anglahiem (would have been #1 before Lackey and Escobar went down)<br />3. Oakland<br />4 Texas<br /><br />AL Central: <br />1. Detroit<br />2. Cleveland - WC<br />3. Kansas City<br />4. Minnesota<br />5. Chicago<br /><br />AL East: <br />1. Boston<br />2. New York<br />3. Tampa Bay<br />4. Toronto<br />5. Baltimore<br /><br />NL West: <br />1. Colorado<br />2. L.A. - WC<br />3. Arizona <br />4. San Diego<br />5. San Francisco<br /><br />NL Central<br />1. Chicago<br />2. St. Louis<br />3. Milwaukee<br />4. Cincinnati<br />5. Houston<br />6. Pittsburgh<br /><br />NL East: <br />1. New York<br />2. Atlanta<br />3. Philadelphia<br />4. Washington<br />5. Florida<br /><br />AL Champ: Detroit<br />NL Champ: Colorado<br /><br />WS Champ: DetroitJ.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-21691299227260760852008-03-26T06:28:00.000-07:002008-04-04T09:22:41.315-07:00MuxtapeCheck out <a href="http://muxtape.com/">this cool new websit</a>e where you can create mix tapes online and send the link to your mix to your friends. <br /><br /><a href="http://jar.muxtape.com/">Here is my first mix</a><br />And <a href="http://jonshell.muxtape.com/">here is one</a> from my friend Jon Shell.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-63823563979100481352008-01-12T09:02:00.000-08:002008-02-12T09:43:18.730-08:00Top 10 Albums of 2007!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.whiskerino.org/2007/_beards/2007/73/_img/73_021208_l.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px;" src="http://www.whiskerino.org/2007/_beards/2007/73/_img/73_021208_l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Okay, I am a bit late on this, but here it is. J.R.'s top 10 of 2007!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Qf9mAlPiL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Qf9mAlPiL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">10. Andrew Bird - Ar<span style="font-style:italic;">mchair Apocrypha</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=218383781&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />Layers and layers of sound blended with poetic moody, and storytelling lyrics make for a great, intelligent album full of interesting songs. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Andrew Bird</span> is really a genius on the acoustic guitar, violin, and Rhodes, and that is all on display in this album of diverse songs. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Andrew Bird</span> is probably the most talented musician on this list, the only reason he doesn't rank higher is the album lacks continuity. I still would highly recommend getting to know this one, especially if you appreciate musical complexity.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HcFelNEYL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HcFelNEYL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 9. Ryan Adams - <span style="font-style:italic;">Easy Tiger</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=258089542&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />Another new album from the prolific <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ryan Adams</span>, one would think he would run out of good songs eventually. Well, he hasn't yet on this one. This album opens with Ryan at his most twangy and southern in <span style="font-style:italic;">"Goodnight Rose"</span> then dabbles in pop, rock, country, without ever veering to far from the brilliance laid down by the first few tracks. That is with the exception of track number 4, <span style="font-style:italic;">"Halloweenhead"</span>, easily one of Ryan's worse written songs in years, and despite it's catchy beat and driving guitars, it drops this album down out of the top 5 for that one track alone.<span style="font-style:italic;"> "Follow the Lights"</span> from the EP of the same name would have fit in it's place to make this album feel much more congruent.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611AMJgMVGL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/611AMJgMVGL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">8. Laura Veirs -<span style="font-style:italic;"> Saltbreakers</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=255970532&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />A little folk, a little pop, and a little art rock, all mixed in with poetic, organic lyrical content and the whimsical voice of <span style="font-weight:bold;">Laura Veirs</span> make this a beautifully creative album. Laura combines different sounds and varies between depth and playfulness, sometimes embracing both at the same time without ever sounding out of place in the album. The only downfall might be that it didn't hold my attention the first few times I listened, but while compiling this list I made myself listen to my albums from 2007 and this one, the more I heard, the farther up the list it made it. Definitely a strong number 8.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/0d/58/f128793509a0db5a2feb6110._AA240_.L.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/0d/58/f128793509a0db5a2feb6110._AA240_.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">7. Sigur Rós - <span style="font-style:italic;">Hvarf/Heim</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=265839848&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />I think I mentioned this last time I review a <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sigur Rós</span> album, but it's not often that music I can't understand the lyrics to hold my attention, but <span style="font-weight:bold;">Sigur Rós</span> paint such a beautiful picture with musical textures and depth that no additional story is needed to fill the imagination. <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Havarf</span></span> (Icelandic for "hope"), the first half of this album, takes you through a chilling yet strangely comforting ride, propelled by enormous, guitar filled crescendos. The second half of the album, <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Heim</span></span> (meaning "home") paints a more mellow comforting picture, building slower and more melodically then the <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Havarf</span></span>half of the album. The use of live recordings for the <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Heim</span></span> half of the album really makes you feel like<span style="font-weight:bold;"> Sigur Rós</span> wants to show you a bit of what "home" is for them.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nANC23dbL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51nANC23dbL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">6. Arcade Fire - <span style="font-style:italic;">Neon Bible</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=216167680&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />Epic. You can't listen to this album without feeling like you are a part of something epic. Since their debut,<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-weight:bold;"> Funeral</span></span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Arcade Fire</span> has had a sound that seems bigger then life, but on this album they take it to another level. String and orchestral arrangements mixed with driving anthem rock and a heavy new wave edge just sound to big to contain. The quit in this album packs as much huge power as the loud places. The low point for me was the title track, oddly enough, but it leads well into the opening organ keys of the following track <span style="font-style:italic;">"Intervention"</span>, one of the highlights.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61bs4g7UQDL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61bs4g7UQDL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span style="font-weight:bold;">5. The Shins - <span style="font-style:italic;">Wincing the Night Away</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=211203047&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />Indie darlings,<span style="font-weight:bold;"> The Shins</span>, have come a lot closer to meeting Natalie Portman's claims of life changing music (Garden State) with this huge step forward for them. <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Wincing the Night Away</span></span> features <span style="font-weight:bold;">The Shins</span> at their most mature to date. Sounding like a band that has grown up beyond the easy melodic pop songs of their past to something bigger, bolder, and most importantly, more creative. I don't mean to put down their previous efforts, this one is just that much better. Still melodic and moody, but now offering so much more, almost "life changing".<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kTfGlR5PL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61kTfGlR5PL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;"> 4. New Pornographers - <span style="font-style:italic;">Challengers</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=260217631&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />This is my first experience with the <span style="font-weight:bold;">New Pornographers</span> (I think the name scared me off before), after thoroughly enjoying <span style="font-weight:bold;">Neko Case's</span> solo album, <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fox Confessor Brings the Flood</span></span>, last year I thought I would check them out. I didn't understand at first how you could have a band with <span style="font-weight:bold;">Neko Case</span> and not feature her as the lead vocalist. Upon listening I discovered that the combination of her and <span style="font-weight:bold;">A. C. Newman </span>sharing vocal duties and creating perfect harmonies, works so will with the driving power pop and intelligent lyrical content of this album. Indie pop doesn't get much better then this.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e8/d5/1f65793509a0aa77232a2110._AA240_.L.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/e8/d5/1f65793509a0aa77232a2110._AA240_.L.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">3. Wilco - <span style="font-style:italic;">Sky Blue Sky</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=253303993&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />So, this album got kind of beat around by some reviewers, they thought it was a step backwards for <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wilco</span>, from their masterpiece <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot</span></span> and their incredibly unique <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">A Ghost is Born</span></span>. I completely disagree. While this album might not push the limits of music ingenuity like the last two, it does something else. With their previous albums <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wilco</span> had destructed their music to a point that was brilliant and complex, but not always enjoyable. With <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Sky Blue Sky</span></span>, they are rebuilding music their way. These mellow, moody, simple songs display a stripped down <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wilco</span>, vulnerable, and exposed. While playing around with a bit of a 70's folk vibe, with plenty of jazz and blues thrown in, they still bring a completely unique <span style="font-weight:bold;">Wilco</span> sound to it, with <span style="font-weight:bold;">Nels Cline's</span> unmistakable and amazing guitar playing. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Jeff Tweedy's</span> voice fits so perfectly with lyrics that are so brilliantly moody yet refreshingly optimistic. This album is really the perfect follow up to the complexity of <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">A Ghost is Born</span></span>, it is a reminder that music can still simply be music.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IPAfsjlIL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61IPAfsjlIL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">2. Spoon - <span style="font-style:italic;">Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=258756233&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />After their last album, <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gimme Fiction</span></span>, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spoon</span> had made a huge impression on me as a band to look out for. After this album, they have firmly cemented themselves as one of my all time favorite bands. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Britt Daniel's</span> gravely vocals somehow work perfectly with <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spoon's</span> bouncy, rhythmic guitar sound. <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga</span></span> combines that with a more atmospheric complexity then they have brought before. <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spoon's</span> ability to write and perform incredibly catchy tunes, and combines styles from many genres while intergrating their own unique sound will guarantee these guys stay at the top of my list for many years to come. Welcome to my favorites <span style="font-weight:bold;">Spoon</span>, keep up the amazing work.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61n1I-qW0qL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61n1I-qW0qL._AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">1. Radiohead - <span style="font-style:italic;">In Rainbows</span></span><br /><a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=270079778&s=143441">iTunes</a><br /><br />A new <span style="font-weight:bold;">Radiohead</span> album this year, how could it not be number 1 right? Well, maybe, but this is a well-deserved number 1. <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">In Rainbows</span></span> is so subtly beautiful and breathe taking it couldn't be anywhere else on this list. Subtle is not a word I would have ever used to describe a <span style="font-weight:bold;">Radiohead</span> release in the past. One review described it this way: " This is not a record that hits you over the head with how far this group is pushing the envelope; it's simply a phenomenal, well-crafted, and exciting album", I completely agree. While I have always loved that <span style="font-weight:bold;">Radiohead</span> pushed the envelope on what was music, and stretched me the same, this albums seems to be the perfect balance from everything learned from years of pushing. It feels like the summary of years of researching music and sound. There is a return of verses and choruses for the first time since 1997's <span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">OK Computer</span></span>. All of this without sacrificing the interesting musical aspects that are <span style="font-weight:bold;">Radiohead</span>.<br /><br />Almost as brilliant as the album itself was the way they released it. After being completely fed up with the music industry, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Radiohead</span> released it on the Internet for whatever you wanted to pay for it, and was delivered via download. As of 10 December 2007, the official <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">In Rainbows</span></span> download is no longer available and must be purchased for full price via <a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=270079778&s=143441">iTunes</a>. Other bands have been releasing their work in similar fashion since.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">HONORABLE MENTIONS:</span><br />The National - Boxer<br />Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?<br />Joshua James - The Sun Is Always Brighter<br />Iron & Wine - The Shepherd's Dog<br />Derek Webb - Ringing Bell<br />The Avett Brothers - Emotionalism<br />Over the Rhine - Trumpet Child<br />Modest Mouse - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank <br />The Good, The Bad, and The Queen - The Good, The Bad, and The Queen<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">And in the "I can't believe I am admitting I like" this department:<br /></span>Alicia Keys - As I AmJ.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-61728941699642422442007-12-11T06:20:00.000-08:002007-12-11T06:29:36.937-08:00The way Justin Dillon sees it.So, I am sure most of you know the unnamed coffee giant who has spread bad coffee to the ends of the earth, well at least not everything they do is bad for your soul. ;-)<br /><br />A friend got a cup of coffee, and on the side of that cup was a quote from former frontman of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_Store_Prophets">Dime Store Prophets</a> ( a great Alternative/Christian band from the mid 90's) Justin Dillon (Stevens). <br /><br />Here is the quote from "The Way I See It" - Cup #153<br /><br />"Is art entertainment?<br />Art teaches us about who we are.<br />Entertainment tells us who to be.<br />Art is a public service.<br />Entertainment is a private product.<br />Art opens our minds.<br />Entertainment thinks for you.<br />Art is publicly offered.<br />Entertainment is publicly traded. <br />Art is the words we wish to say, but lack the language to say it."J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-44631520418899058002007-11-30T20:49:00.000-08:002007-11-30T21:05:29.287-08:004 years! Eureka!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/sets/72157603100460702/"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2167/1977105335_16b6f6df2d.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />As some of you may know, Jenny and I take turns each year surprising each other with a weekend vacation for our anniversary (Nov. 8). We have gone to Victoria BC, Weston MO, and Herman MO. This year was Jenny's turn, and she had me fooled for almost 200 miles. I had no idea we were we where going until about 20 miles out.<br /><br />We spent the weekend of Nov 8-11th in a small wooded cabin on a lake just outside of <a href="http://www.eurekasprings.org/">Eureka Springs, Arkansas</a>. Eureka Springs is a small historic resort town founded around some "healing" springs in the Ozark Mountains. The "downtown" is on a couple different streets that wind around through a valley and around some hills. Some of the buildings face one street where they are two stories tall, but the backs of them face another street where they are 6 stories tall. The whole town is built on extreamly steep grades in the late 1800's. It has many art galleries and other eclectic little shops. <br /><br />The fall colors where out in full effect that weekend, providing some great photo opertunities. <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jarcaines/sets/72157603100460702/">Here is a link the the photo gallery</a>.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-7454627644551840862007-11-27T07:07:00.000-08:002007-11-27T07:26:38.603-08:00Trying to find the gold tooth in God's crooked smile.Okay, I have a ton of posts to put up in the next few days that I have been putting off, so if anyone still reads this, check back over the next week and there should be more.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000E1OI8U.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000E1OI8U.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Anyways, I wanted to let you all know about this amazing film Jenny and I got from netflix a couple weeks ago. Here is the discription from their <a href="http://www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com/">website</a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus</span> is a thought-proviking road trip through the American South - a world of Churches; prisons; coalmines; truckstops; juke joints; swamps; and mountains. Along the way we encounter various musicians, including the Handsome Family, Johnny Dowd, 16 Horsepower and Dacid Johansen; old time banjo player Lee Sexton; Rockabilly and Mountain Gospel churches; and novelist Harry Crews telling grisly stories down a dirt track. The film is a collage of stories and testimonies, almost invariably of sudden death, sin or redemption: Heaven or Hell, with no middle ground.<br /><br />And all the while, a strange Southern Jesus looms in the background. 'Alt-Country' singer Jim White reflects upon exactly what it is about this baffling place that inspires musicians and writers, whilst at the same time working through his own preoccupations with his muse — or, as he puts it, 'trying to find the gold tooth in God's crooked smile'.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com/pages/qt_large.html"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Check out the trailer!</span></a>J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202231.post-66567099160411830832007-11-13T06:14:00.000-08:002007-11-13T06:17:02.780-08:00New Site Feature!Scroll to the bottom right and tell us who you would vote for.J.R.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15443109897410861801noreply@blogger.com0