Barack and Bill

Comic of the Week

Brought My Camera...today

Marcia Lewis R.I.P.

I saw Ms. Lewis in the revival of "Chicago" on Broadway. She appeared with Bebe Neuwirth as she does in the picture below. Her Mama Morton was sass and class! I bought her solo cabaret CD, "Nowadays" and will be listening to it in homage.

Read the NY Times obit here.
Marcia Lewis, left, and Bebe Neuwirth in "Chicago," from 1996. Ms. Lewis was nominated for a Tony for her role.

Duran Duran "All You Need is Now"

Duran Duran has a new song? New Video? I've always liked the boys. And they said it wouldn't last...

BTW Simon LeBon has a beard? I likey, likey!

Comic of the Week

Ever been bored in a meeting? I know I have. This gives me an idea for the next occasion...

Hayden Panettiere at Oktoberfest 2010

Even famous people go to Oktoberfest. They're usually spotted in the Hippodrom Tent (they even have their own website, go here). Here we have Hayden Panettiere (aka The Cheerleader from the now-cancelled "Heros" TV show).

And her big, strapping Russian boxer boyfriend:

Ricky Gervais on Jon Stewart

It's a conversation about nothing, but it's frakkin hilarious! I would heart partying with these two, but I'm sure I couldn't keep up.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Ricky Gervais
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog</a> The Daily Show on Facebook

Fist Me This Christmas

Comic of the Week

Top 5 Holiday Albums

Christmas albums? Really? Does anyone admit to owning one? Isn’t a Christmas album just a vanity project for an artist? Everyone has one - Garth Brooks, The Jingle Cats, and even RuPaul (full disclosure: I own a copy of all of these!). But in the hands of an exceptional artist and maybe more importantly a great producer, a Christmas album can be marvelous.

Yep, there has been many a great Christmas songs: Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and my favorite, The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York,” but I am looking at an entire album. And I’m not including any compilations like “NOW Christmas” which doesn’t count; that’s just too easy. Granted I’m limited to my own collection (totaling about 50 discs), but here are my favorites.

1 - Vanessa Williams “Star Bright”



This disc is a great mix of generic holiday songs, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and traditional Christmas songs like “What Child Is This.” Vanessa is consistently good on songs like a rousing spiritual “Go Tell It On The Mountain / Mary Had a Baby” and on original songs like the title track, “Star Bright”. Honestly, I like to listen to this from beginning to end and not once do I reach for the remote changer. It’s my number one go-to holiday disc.



2 - Annie Lennox “A Christmas Cornucopia”



This disc surprised me. Annie Lennox doing Christmas? Her normal albums are deeply emotional, often depressing, songs that are personal therapy. How could that possibly translate to the holidays? The sound of the record is like a traveling band on the old Silk Road - peasants just out to have a great time. And what’s even more surprising is that most of the songs are Christian traditional songs, “Silent Night”, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. Annie? Really? Still scratching my head. I know this disc came out this year, 2010, but it’s already a favorite. Who knows, maybe next year it will usurp Queen Vanessa for number one!



3 - Louis Armstrong & Friends “What A Wonderful Christmas”



Satchmo just having a grand old time. I can’t help but smile when I listen to this record. “Christmas In New Orleans” - winner. “White Christmas” - better than Bing. “Christmas Night in Harlem” - a joyous romp. The “friends” here are a stellar cast too, Lena Horne, Eartha Kitt, and Louis Jordan. Man, I love this record. Puts the fun back in the holidays.

4 - Ella Fitzgerald “Wishes You a Swinging Christmas”



According to the liner notes from the original 1960 release, Ella didn’t want to do any religious or solemn holiday songs. So she ampted up the swing and kicked some holiday ass with “Sleigh Ride”, “Winter Wonderland” and “Frosty The Snow Man.” She does some ballads like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, but emphasizes the joy of the season (rather than the typical dour sense one gets!). I love Ms. Ella and look forward to this record every year.

5 - The Glenn Miller Orchestra “In The Christmas Mood”



Yea, go ahead. Call me a douche bag for including this one. But it’s the big band at it’s finest. Recorded in 1988, it’s got all the usual standards, “White Christmas”, “The Christmas Song” and “Jingle Bells.” My favorite is “Sleigh Ride” and I get a kick out of their fun arrangements and medleys. If you’re looking for background music for a party, this is it. Oh and don’t forget, there’s a “In The Christmas Mood #2" album - just as good.

*****

With a collection of 50 discs, there’s bound to be some honorable mentions. The Top 5 might make it seem like I love the festival stuff the best - well I do - but it helps during the usual holiday doldrums. If it doesn’t make you puke, it makes you better. Isn’t that the saying? Anyway, here’s a few disc I like to play just as much:

Honorable Mention

“A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert” with Kathleen Battle, Frederica von Stade, and Wynton Marsalis
The Manhattan Transfer “The Christmas Album”
Barbra Streisand “A Christmas Album”
Ottmar Liebert “Poets & Angels”

Finally, here’s one of my favorite holiday songs:

Gylne Tider (aka Golden Times)

Even without seeing it, I'm pretty sure this is the best Norwegian TV show EVER!

This video seems to have gone viral. It's essentially a promo for a TV show, but the pop culture references - people lip syncing - is stunning. Check it out.



Oh and they have a second video for "We Are The World". It's filled with equally odd choices, making you say more than once, "Oh look who it is" or "Wow, they're still alive?"

Grammy Nominations 2010

Every year I cull through the baffling Grammy nominations so you don’t have to. Here’s a look at what I found interesting, ridiculous, and essentially irrelevant.

*****

I am officially old. I haven’t heard any of these songs. Ok, maybe the song from Beyonce’s husband, but that was years ago, wasn’t it? And I only like the part where Alicia shouts “New York...” Ugh, it’s all dreck. No Justin Bieber? WTF? A song named “Fuck You”? Gads, what happened to subtlety? It died.

Record Of The Year

Nothin' On You - B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars
Love The Way You Lie - Eminem Featuring Rihanna
F*** You - Cee Lo Green
Empire State Of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys
Need You Now - Lady Antebellum

*****

The category of 1) the guy fat chicks dig, 2) dead guy, 3) gay guy, 4) Bruce Willis, and 3) the guy who has porked all of Hollywood. Might be an old-manish choice, but my hopes and dreams are on Michael Bublé. Does that make me a fat chick?

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Haven't Met You Yet - Michael Bublé
This Is It - Michael Jackson
Whataya Want From Me - Adam Lambert
Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars
Half Of My Heart - John Mayer

*****

I hope Steve Perry performs a mash-up with the Glee cast on the TV show!

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version) - Glee Cast
Misery - Maroon 5
The Only Exception - Paramore
Babyfather - Sade
Hey, Soul Sister (Live) - Train

*****

The only think interesting about this category is the potential for Celebrity Death Match. I’m certain SuBo would win. Bieber is a pussy.

Best Pop Vocal Album

My World 2.0 - Justin Bieber
I Dreamed A Dream - Susan Boyle
The Fame Monster - Lady Gaga
Battle Studies - John Mayer
Teenage Dream - Katy Perry

*****

Also known as the Natalie Cole category, I’m hoping that Michael wins here and will perform on the telecast.

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Crazy Love - Michael Bublé
The Greatest Love Songs Of All Time - Barry Manilow
Let It Be Me: Mathis In Nashville - Johnny Mathis
Fly Me To The Moon…The Great American Songbook: Volume V - Rod Stewart
Love Is The Answer - Barbra Streisand

*****

The most irrelevant, mis-named category...EVER.

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Eric Clapton, John Mayer, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, and Neil Young

*****

No joke, the Muse record was one of my favorites of the year.

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Arcade Fire, Jeff Beck & Joss Stone, The Black Keys, Kings Of Leon, and Muse

*****

Dweezil...releases an instrumental to whore a nomination...how else does one explain this?

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Jeff Beck, The Black Keys, Los Lobos, Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds, and Dweezil Zappa

*****

Again, my honest hope is that Muse wins.

Best Rock Album
The Resistance - Muse

*****

Sadly, a category that is usually filled with mariachi singers, shall go silent this year. There’s lots of Tejano, Norteño, and Banda nominees, but not enough regional Mexicans. Here’s what the Academy had to say about it.

Best Regional Mexican Album

There were fewer than ten artists entered into this category, so per Academy rules The Recording Academy will not be announcing nominations or presenting a GRAMMY Award in this category this year.

*****

I’m disappointed Elvis Costello wasn’t nominated this year. His disc, “Secret, Profane, and Sugarcane” was terrific. So from the nominees, I’d like to see Los Lobos win.

Best Americana Album

The List - Rosanne Cash
Tin Can Trust - Los Lobos
Country Music - Willie Nelson
Band Of Joy - Robert Plant
You Are Not Alone - Mavis Staples

*****

I just want to see Cyndi perform on the TV show.

Best Traditional Blues Album

Memphis Blues - Cyndi Lauper

*****

Anything with Angelique, I’d want to see!

Best Contemporary World Music Album
ÕŸÖ - Angelique Kidjo

*****

It’s the “read your book” category. Hard to decide here. Should I go foreign? Invalid? Senior citizen? Nope, I’m going for Jon Stewart.

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Story Telling)

Craig Ferguson, Sarah Silverman, Jon Stewart, Michael J. Fox, Carol Burnett, and Woody Allen

*****

Nobody really puts out comedy albums so it’s relevant that an old dinosaur like Robin Williams was even nominated. Go Kathy Griffin!

Best Comedy Album

Margaret Cho, Flight Of The Conchords, Kathy Griffin, Lewis Black, and Robin Williams

****

Too much Sondheim here to tell apart. I don’t want to award Catherine Zeta-Jones, so “A Little Night Music” is out. And the Burt Bacharach stuff in “Promises, Promises” is a rehash. So it’s a toss up between Green Day and Fela. I’d have to go with something bold and new, so “Fela!” is my pick here.

Best Musical Show Album

American Idiot (Featuring Green Day)
Fela!
A Little Night Music
Promises, Promises
Sondheim On Sondheim

Comic of the Week

Hot Male Statues in Vienna

Yeah, it might seem a bit creepy to think of statues as hot. I usually don't. But in Vienna, one after another were either homo-erotic or just damn big and muscular. These aren't your uncle's wimpy Greek statues. These are a man's man statues. Beefcake for the ancients, if you will.

I'm sure there are some great myths that go with these, but to my naked eye, they're just hot.

Come one! It's a guy fawning over another guy. Might as well be a bath house scene:

Battling serpents with a bat? Seems like penis envy to me:

Abs not found on any of today's movie stars:

Cradling the aristocracy to safety? Or helping papi up the stairs for some amore?

Even the smart "thinkers" are hot. Can you say, Daddy:



Middle of the city. This spear fisherman with ass cheeks prominently on display. No rhyme or reason:



Mermen are hot too... even if they smell like fish:



And I'm sure this is some sort of "fall from grace" story, but...guess what, it looks hot to me:

Viva La Raza

A stroll in the park. A snap of the below mural. Nice lunch.

Comic of the Week

You Look Like Shit

From the Huffington Post:

"Words you don't often hear in our polite modern society, with its manners and its pleasant euphemisms. But in the world of the Hollywood script, with so much dialogue in need of the gritty, snappy punch-up, people throw around "you look like shit" like it's an everyday greeting. (Hollywood fun fact: if your movie stars Bruce Willis, you are contractually obligated to tell him he looks like shit.) Without further ado, we present to you the authoritative "you look like shit" movie megacut."

Lunch today

Lunch: half a meatloaf sandwich and tortilla soup. Man, my lips are still sticky from the butter on the bread. Mmmm...butter...

Comic of the Week

Top 5 Los Lobos Albums

Any time Los Lobos releases a new album, I’m excited. This year’s release, “Tin Can Trust,” is cause for continued excitement. I’ve been a fan of the band for over 20 years now, buying nearly all of their catalog (I skipped their Disney album but did like their other children’s disc with Lalo Guerrero). Their side projects like Latin Playboys or Los Super Seven and even the solo stuff from Cesar Rosas is great fun. I’ve seen the band 4 times in concert (one of them being their traditional acoustic show). So I got to thinking, what are my Top 5 favorite Los Lobos albums? I excluded any of the collections or greatest hits. And didn’t consider any of the side projects. Here’s my Top 5:

1 - “The Neighborhood”

Hands-down, my favorite. And truthfully my first Los Lobos disc. Back in the 1990 when “Rolling Stone” used to write about music, I kept reading about this album. On a whim, I bought it and quickly hated it. This wasn’t the “La Bamba” band; what was it? I left it in my CD player and kept hitting play, letting it run in the background. After multiple extended listens, it leaked into my brain and my affection for it has grown over the years. “Down on the Riverbed” and the “The Neighborhood” are perfect bookends to this collection, holding massively fun boogie-woogie songs like “Deep Dark Hole,” “Jenny’s Got a Pony,” and “Georgia Slop.” But it also has personal, emotional songs like “Little John of God” and “Emily.” The Wolves were certainly reaching out here and in my mind was hugely successful.


2 - “Kiko”

Opening with “Dream in Blue” you know you’re in for something special. The ethereal dreamlike tone is set. I don’t know if it’s Mitchell Froom’s production or the brilliant song craft, but this stuff is meant for headphones! “Kiko and the Lavender Moon”? Come on! Hypnotic. “That Train Don’t Stop Here”? Blues heaven. And my favorite track is a Cesar Rosas song, “Wicked Rain.” This could be my favorite Los Lobos song, EVER. I would have loved to seen them live when they used to perform this album from beginning to end, in it’s entirety. Great stuff!

3 - “The Ride” and “Ride This”

This is a bit of a cheat since this is technically 2 discs. But the band released the “Ride This” EP shortly after “The Ride” as a companion, so I think of it as one collection. The songs are full of guest vocalists, one of which is Bobby Womack. I love this version of “Wicked Rain / Across 110th Street”, mixing old and new and making me want to dance every time I hear it. I still don’t know what is going on it “Kitate” with Tom Waits, but holy cow that’s terrific. Elvis Costello is great here as is Café Tacuba. But not to be overshadowed is Los Lobos brilliant singer--song writer David Hidalgo with the deep blues “Chains of Love.”

Over on the “Ride This” disc, I can’t get enough of the band’s cover of Ruben Blades’ “Patria”. Man, it sounds fresh and brand new and completely different than the original. Now THAT’S the way to do a cover, bring something new to the table. Love it!

4 - “Good Morning Aztlán”

From the first chords of “Done Gone Blue”, I can’t help but think of the CD’s cover art. It’s as if the song is shouting, “WAKE UP AND PAY ATTENTION!” And the wake-up call continues with the barn-burner title cut “Good Morning Aztlán”. While I prefer Cesar’s blues voice, David’s voice on this track is muscular yet sweet. Not sure how that guy does it. “The Word” reminds me of Marvin Gaye and again I want to dance during another number, “Get To This”. But the album has it’s softer moments with “Luz de Mi Vida” and the ending drone of “Round & Round” (The later penetrates my cerebral cortex! That’s a good thing!). The package comes with a 2nd disc and includes a documentary on the making of the disc. Fascinating.

5 - “La Pistola y El Corazón”

Full disclosure: I don’t speak Spanish. But there is NOTHING lost in translation on this Spanish language traditional disc. The guys wanted to make a record their parents would be proud of and they came out with these standards. I’m a sucker for the drinking song “Estoy Sentado Aquí”. Cesar can bring out the tears in his voice! “La Guacamaya” and “Las Amarillas” are lively and “Si Yo Quisiera” makes me want to swivel my hips on the dance floor (do you see a pattern here?). The last cut and title track is nothing short of a classic. The folks would be proud.


Check out this live version of “Mas y Mas” from the “Colossal Head” album (the intro by Bill Murray is ridiculous). It’s ear-pinning great guitar playing. Rock on, boys! Hope to see you for another 20 plus years!

Random Signs in Europe

Plug and go motorcycle? Or a place to refuel your Barbie electric scooter? Can't be sure.
Located directly next to our YMCA hotel in Dusseldorf, is the Globus Club for all your sex needs. As the Church Lady would say, "How Convenient..."

Don't worry, right next to the Him Cake was a Her Cake.

American Style? With all the calories, saturated fat, and artificial flavors the way you mom used to bake.


Tsunami is a universal term:


In Germany, "camping" translates to "camping". Hey, I'm bilingual!

After coming out of Bankruptcy, Gottschalk's relocated their headquarters to Vienna and is now a laundromat.

Red cabbage in a bag? Um, where can I get MORE of these?

Can't be certain what's going on here... something about why Viennese men like to wear pink socks when they're naked next to wolves. Hmm, maybe it's a metaphor? Or a euphemism?

Oktoberfest Fashion

There's a terrific department store chain in Germany called Galeria Kaufhof (or Kaufhof for short). During Oktoberfest, their window displays in Munich are loaded with with the latest Oktoberfest fashions. While I didn't buy my lederhosen here, I love to window shop. Here's some snaps.