Greetings from the homestead.

Things have been kind of weird here recently. The other night, I got a knock on my door, and the man at the door randomly asked me if I was selling my house. With his family sitting in the van across the street. It was a little bit unsettling the more that I thought about it.

Tonight, I came home and got a “welcome to the neighborhood” pack in my mailbox from the city, despite the fact that I moved in here nearly a year ago. Better late than never?

Anyway, let’s dig in:

The new television season is killing me. There is quite a bit of fine television programming that I know I would probably enjoy, but keeping up with my favorites that have returned with new episodes is keeping me plenty busy.

But that doesn’t mean that I’m not falling behind on the programs that I do enjoy. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is unwatched so far, stacking up on my DVR. I finally watched last week’s season premiere of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which was great as always – nice to see Danny Devito back in the limelight with this show, in a very funny role – a nice career resurrection that is similar to what 30 Rock has done for Alec Baldwin.

(p.s. – 30 Rock wins lotsa awards at the Emmys – YES!)

As a huge Six Feet Under fan, I’m very interested in True Blood, but I think I’ll probably end up having to catch that one on DVD. Sons of Anarchy looks like the one new show that I might commit to this year. I haven’t watched it yet, but it’s sitting on my DVR, waiting. I’ve heard quite a few people say good things about it, so I am looking forward to checking it out.

I’m stoked for the return of Californication this weekend with David Duchovny, and speaking of Six Feet Under, you can bet that I’ll be watching when Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland, etc. return with Dirty Sexy Money next week.

What else? Well – Friday Night Lights – new episodes airing first on DirecTV. GRRRRR.

And yeah, I’m still watching Gossip Girl. XOXO, ya’ll.

(Thanks to Mel, I know I’m not alone.)

P.S. – I didn’t watch the new Knight Rider. Did anyone catch it? Thoughts?

I’m reading.

I began digging into the new Andy Taylor book Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran this week. The Stuck in the ’80s crew caught up with Taylor for a podcast chat that runs one hour and twenty minutes. The podcast is on my list of things to listen to, but I’m guessing that anything you’ve ever wanted to know about Andy Taylor is in this podcast. Everything else, is in Andy’s new book.

Taylor will also be stopping by to talk to Chicago radio personality Cara Carriveau on a future episode of Cara’s Basement. Recent interviews on Cara’s Basement include Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren, Rik Emmett from Triumph, and David Draiman from Disturbed. Cara’s always up to something cool, so if you haven’t heard any of her interviews, surf on over and take a listen!

Also on my reading list for the future is a book that I mentioned late last week, Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside The Rock and Roll Business, by music industry vet Danny Goldberg. Goldberg has quite a colorful history in the music business that includes a period working for Led Zeppelin in the early years of his career, and also artist management with a roster that included Nirvana at the peak of their success.

I finally got around to listening to Goldberg’s interview on the Chicago-based radio show Sound Opinions, which I wrote about here previously. The conversation focuses mainly on Zeppelin and Nirvana – I was hoping to hear some chat about Warren Zevon, but no dice on that. Further incentive for me to read the book, and soon! Highly recommended for fellow music geeks that want to hear some good chat about Zep and Nirvana. Here’s the info on Goldberg’s interview with a download link.

Still listening….

I haven’t picked up the new Bill Champlin yet – I’m still waiting for it to pop up in Amazon MP3, so that I can grab MP3s that are DRM-free. Still no Kathleen Edwards Itunes live session yet either, what the heck is up with that??

One thing that I did forget to mention about the Champlin disc, is that it features a reunion of Champlin and former Chicago lead vocalist Peter Cetera. Cetera lends background vocals to a track on the new album, reuniting the pair for the first time since Champlin contributed background vocals to “Wild Ways,” off of Cetera’s 1992 album World Falling Down.

Randomly, I pulled out the latest B-52’s album Funplex for the first time in a while. As we pull towards the end of the year, Funplex still holds up, and is on track to wind up on my list of favorites for the year. The B girls sound SO good on “Eyes Wide Open.”

I don’t wanna clash
I don’t want to rehash the past
I just want release
I just want some peace

The B-52’s “Eyes Wide Open”

I went on Youtube, curious to find a possible live version of the above, and found some of the coolest fan-made videos I’ve ever seen, for a number of tracks from the new album. Check out the videos for “Eyes” and “Hot Corner” in particular. FUN! I am such a sucker for retro.

Brady Bunch fans, make sure you check out “A Very Deviant Brady.” All of the vids are the work of DJ Tom Yaz. Cool stuff.

“Eyes Wide Open”

“Hot Corner”

“A Very Deviant Brady”

“Deviant Ingredient”

“Juliet of the Spirits”

While searching for that elusive B-52’s live version (which I never found,) I stumbled upon some Paul Carrack greatness on Youtube. Today’s dose, live stuff from 1988 with Paul Carrack and Nick Lowe in a band lineup that also featured Clapton sideman Andy Fairweather-Low as well.

You can always charm me with ANY version of “Tempted.”

“Tempted”

“Don’t Shed A Tear”

Nick Lowe makes me think of “Cruel to be Kind.” “Cruel to be Kind” makes me think of one of my favorite female covers, the Letters to Cleo version of “Cruel to be Kind.”

Letters to Cleo – “Cruel to be Kind”

and from the same film (10 Things I Hate About You)

Letters to Cleo – “I Want You To Want Me”

Great soundtrack that also had “FNT” by Semisonic, another favorite…

“FNT”

Ah, Semisonic. Why do all of the good bands that rhyme with “onic” go away? Semisonic, Tonic….

That’s enough Youtube mischief for one night. I’m going to go watch Cloak & Dagger now courtesy of my Netflix delivery today.

Yay!

Be good, ya’ll.

Relevant Links:

Andy Taylor – Wild Boy: My Life in Duran Duran – Purchase from Amazon

Danny Goldberg – Bumping into Geniuses: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business – Purchase from Amazon

The B-52’s – Funplex – CD