Hace 17 años debutó Radiohead con su single Creep, una canción emblemática que les abrió las puertas del éxito. Aunque no la tocaron en directo durante un tiempo como reacción al temido encasillamiento, está considerada como una de sus mejores composiciones. Muchos han sido los artistas que la han versioneado. He seleccionado dos de entre todos ellos para que la comparéis con la original. En el siguiente video la podéis disfrutar en un lugar exótico, en el MTV Beach House en 1994.

El neoyorkino Moby es uno de los que se han atrevido con la que es para muchos fans un himno. El bisnieto del escritor Herman Melville, autor de la novela Moby Dick de la que coge su apodo, la ha tocado en varios conciertos. En el video por ejemplo tenéis la brillante interpretación que hizo en el Festival de Glastonbury.

Chrissie Hynde y sus Pretenders la adaptaron en formato acústico para incluirla en su box set Pirate Radio del 2006. La maravillosa voz de la ex de Ray Davis (The Kinks) y de Jim Kerr (Simple Minds),  ofrece otra visión de la canción que la hace especialmente atractiva. No os arrepentiréis de darle al play.

Breakfast In Bed is an old R’n'B song by Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts that was popularized by Dusty Springfield in 1969. The British Reggae band UB40 covered it on their 1988 album, the creatively titled UB40. The female vocal is Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde in soft mode, one of several collaborations. The video? I don’t know…It looks like part of some movie or it could be that it’s  supposed to have random snippets of conversation and no sync with the music. I’ve been listening to UB40 for years, and until now I didn’t even know which one of them was the singer. It had to be the dweeby one, dinnit.

I heard this rumor that, once again, Santa is bringing a pair of Flogging Molly concert tickets to my husband for Christmas.  I certainly hope this rumor is true, Flogging Molly is fantastic live.

The Green 17 tour, is Flogging Molly’s annual (in it’s 6th year) St. Patrick’s Day tour.  This year, as in years past, the tour stops at Cleveland’s House of Blues. Unfortunately, the tour is only booked for one night in Cleveland.  I believe both shows were sold out last year.

Tickets went on sale, through Ticketmaster, yesterday (November 13th) at 10 am.  At 10:01, when I was finally able to log on, all reserved seating was already gone.  That really stinks.  I know that certain groups get preferential access to the “good seats” but really, come on.  And it also stinks that this year’s general admission tickets cost the same amount (to the penny) as last year’s reserved balcony seating.  Ouch!

But more importantly, back to the huge disappointment of being unable to even have a shot at reserved seats at the time that tickets officially go on sale.  How many tickets did Ticketmaster preferentially sell to their “partially owned” scalping company?  I like how, when I tried to buy reserved seat tickets for the the Pretenders last year, a link came up sending me to Ticketmaster’s scalping company, TicketsNow, which was selling reserved seats at $174 each!  What total nutter would pay $174 plus fees to see the Pretenders play that awful country-esque music that was their latest album and listen to Chrissie Hynde repeatedly curse out audience members for taking her picture? All I wanted to hear were the classics, which she interrupted by again yelling at the audience.  Oh Chrissie! Poor, poor Chrissie.  What a terrible time you had.  Those awful, awful people taking pictures of you.  How insulting!  You have my deepest apologies for the way my fellow concert-goers behaved.  The savages!

At least I wasn’t directly linked to that other company when trying to buy the reserved seats for this concert.  I actually had to look them up, forgot the company name.   Apparently, they have no reserved seats either.  (not that I would buy them, as I am still operating under the assumption that the rumor, of Santa buying a pair of tickets, is true.  also, the general admission tickets on TicketsNow are $59 to $72!  The concert is not yet sold out and tickets are only $29.50!)

While I was looking up a few things (mostly the name of the scalping site), I was again reminded of the cruelness of being a music fan in Cleveland now (as opposed to being one 20 years ago when Cleveland was such an important part of the music scene that every band played here!). Shit, now Cleveland is such a joke, the Rock Hall won’t even host it’s inauguration ceremonies here! Seriously? How is that acceptable? Ever? The taxpayers paid for that building, our citizens continue to support the “foundation” through patronage, attendance and donations, and we can’t even hold the ceremonies here? It’s a huge insult to the city and its people.  (Oops, sorry,  really, really sore topic). Even Pittsburgh gets my favorite bands, but we don’t.  Anyway, while I was looking at the scalping site, I saw that the Arctic Monkeys (ooh, love, love them) are still playing US dates.  But none of those dates are here.  They played Columbus and played that Mr. Small’s in Pittsburgh, but no Cleveland.  Big sad sigh.

Last year, out of only a few US dates, Stereophonics also was scheduled to play Mr. Small’s.  I even had tickets.  We drove all the way to that awful town of Milford, PA (which I swear is an even more depressing version of the city from the movie Silent Hill) and they cancelled! Cleveland has some very nice venues.  Our even have parking! And our streets are not frighteningly steep and brick paved.  And yet, we still don’t rank enough to get Arctic Monkeys and Stereophonics.  Again, big sad sigh.

Too bad Santa can’t make the Arctic Monkeys play Cleveland.

Chrissie Hynde – Hymn to her – Buenos Aires, 13/11/04

Beautiful acoustic version

LET ME INSIDE YOU
INTO YOUR ROOM
I’VE HEARD IT’S LINED
WITH THE THINGS YOU DON’T SHOW
LAY ME BESIDE YOU
DOWN ON THE FLOOR
I’VE BEEN YOUR LOVER
FROM THE WOMB TO THE TOMB
I DRESS AS YOUR DAUGHTER
WHEN THE MOON BECOMES ROUND
YOU BE MY MOTHER
WHEN EVERYTHING’S GONE

AND SHE WILL ALWAYS CARRY ON
SOMETHING IS LOST
BUT SOMETHING IS FOUND
THEY WILL KEEP ON SPEAKING HER NAME
SOMETHINGS CHANGE
SOME STAY THE SAME

KEEP BECKONING TO ME
FROM BEHIND THAT CLOSED DOOR
THE MAID AND THE MOTHER
AND THE CRONE THAT’S GROWN OLD

I HEAR YOUR VOICE
COMING OUT OF THAT HOLE
I LISTEN TO YOU
AND I WANT SOME MORE
I LISTEN TO YOU
AND I WANT SOME MORE

AND SHE WILL ALWAYS CARRY ON
SOMETHING IS LOST
BUT SOMETHING IS FOUND
THEY WILL KEEP ON SPEAKING HER NAME
SOME THINGS CHANGE
SOME STAY THE SAME

I am so looking forward to the first class on Saturday. It feels physically like there’s a voice caged in my heart and I want to open it, but feel pretty dumb doing it on my own in my dusty attic room. For so long now, it’s felt like I’ve got so much to say, but it’s gotten stuck in my throat.

copyright Rein Nomm

I dream of belting out Vie en Rose in a voice of substance and grit instead of my pipy wheeze. I cry when I listen to Chrissie Hynde’s Hymn to Her, imagining singing to my mother to thank her for her unfailing strength and love. More worryingly, I plan to drag everyone to karaoke this Christmas…

The Pretenders. Viva El Amor!

!!!

1999, Warner/A&A Records

Primul contact cu noul material este aspectul coperţii simpliste (care putea fi făcută de o casă de discuri din România). Aici o vedem pe Chrissie Hynde luând o poziţie “revoluţionară” într-un stil caracteristic pentru Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Oricât de non-conformistă ar vrea să pară, vocalista cântă cam acelaşi rock melodic cu care ne-a înnebunit la începutul anilor ’80. Divorţată (de Jim Kerr, de la Simple Minds) şi cu un copil de 16 ani (]n prezent, 26; conceput cu Ray Davies de la The Kinks), Chrissie are o experienţă de viaţă pe care multe o suplinesc uitându-se la telenovele! Aceste decepţii în dragoste sunt întoarse pe toate feţele lor în textele melodiilor de pe acest material.

Începutul, reprezentat de Popstar (o piesă cu mai mult decât un iz de Pulp Fiction, în care Kylie Minogue este atacată) şi Human (o melodie clădită pe câteva note specifice celor de la James) este foarte dinamic. La un moment dat, Chrissie simte nevoia s-o imite pe Janis Joplin (în One More Time)… iar singura justificare acceptabilă pentru existenţa piesei Rabo de Nube (cântată în spaniolă) este titlul albumului… Alt cântec, al cărui înregistrare merită discutată, este Legalize Me. Chiar dacă mişcarea de legalizare a drogurilor prinde proporţii din ce în ce mai mari (dincolo), nu trebuie ignorat faptul că doi dintre membri fondatori ai formaţiei Pretenders au murit datorită consumului exagerat de halucinogene şi “ierburi” antidepresive (este vorba de primul chitarist, James Honeyman-Scott – †16.06.82 şi de primul basist Pete Farndon – † 15.04.83). Deşi trip hopul Samurai este una dintre puţinele încercări concrete de reinventare muzicală a formaţiei, Dragway 42 şi Biker ne poartă pe un val de başi plăcuţi timpanului, cea din urmă oferindu-ne totodată finalul elegant pentru un album dedicat vechilor fani. Acesta a fost primul ei material după Last of the Independents (1994).

Au mai urmat două albume până în prezent Loose Screw (2002) şi Break Up The Concrete (2008).

Angie Taylor in 1975 - a couple of years before she discovered punk

Growing up in Scotland in 1975, I had no idea what was going on the other side of the Atlantic. Little did I know that American women there were in the process of breaking ground so that people like me could find a voice and be accepted despite our inherent weirdness!

The first woman who I remember having the ideals and attitude that define the category of “punk” was the wonderful and truly original, Patti Smith. I’m sure Patti hates labels as much as I do. In fact the majority of folks labeled “punk” would kick and scream against having it safety-pinned to them. Sadly it’s human nature to feel the need to classify so, Patti, sorry for calling you a punk but please see it as the badge of honor it’s intended to be!

Patti was 29 in 1975, a veteran in punk terms, when she released Horses, her debut ground-breaking mix of rock and poetry. Lenny Kaye, the bands guitarist was also a writer. Lenny has been accused of instigating the use of “Punk Rock” to describe the raw, basic, gut-formed music that was desperately in need of a genre-defining moniker.

Horses is one of my top albums of all time. It fits into my elite category of “albums I never get tired of hearing” (of which there are only about 20). She continues to record and perform today and her recent albums are just as compelling as they ever were. She’s one of those rare individuals who, as well as writing her own fabulous originals (like title-track Horses) can take other artists songs and make them completely her own, take for example her cover of Them’s Gloria or, more recently, Nirvana’s, Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Patti also had a big influence on the “Punk look”, and on design. She was the first woman I remember seeing wearing a biker jacket, jeans and cowboy boots, just like the guys, and she looked great with her straggly hair and gaunt beauty. She lived with photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe who produced countless iconic images of Patti, including the album covers.

Patti was part of the legendary CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City scene in New York in the the early seventies. The scene was frequented by other great luminaries of the punk scene like Iggy Pop, Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, The Ramones, Wayne (Jayne) County and of course Debbie Harry who started out as a waitress at the clubs and went on to form 80’s supergroup, Blondie. Debbie Harry brought sex to the Punk Rock movement, most female punks were considered unattractive by regular guys but Debbie Harry toyed with their affections by pouting at the camera, then following this with mocking, teasing gestures. Sadly, partly due to her cuteness, I think she never got the recognition she deserved as a top song-writer and performer. She and Blondie wrote some of the greatest punk love songs of all time including “Picture This“, “Denis“, “Hangin on the Telephone” and “In the Flesh“. After all, punks fall in love too y’know!

Nico became noticed as part of the Velvet Underground/ Andy Warhol scene at the Chelsea Hotel in New York. Her gorgeously, deep, flat vocals can be heard on Femme Fatale, I’ll be Your Mirror and All tomorrow’s Parties as well as others considered to be some of the best Velvet Underground tracks. Although the Velvets can’t really be considered punks their influence on the punk movement can’t be underestimated. People like Siouxsie Sioux had ground broken for them by the likes of Nico with her fusing of 60’s Berlin beatnik, Marlene Deitrich style deep vocals and a passion for the art of singing that can also be seen in the likes of Beth Gibbons from Portishead.

There were countless other acts that influenced me and others, and still continue to do so. Joan Jett was a rock chic of the highest order, as was the Pretenders, Chrissie Hynde. You just have to look at the amazing Alison Mossheart of The Kills, Discount, and more recently, Dead Weather to see their influence carried down the generations.

Without these ground-breaking women we wouldn’t have had PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Madonna, Bjork who are mainstream pop icons of today. And we definitely wouldn’t have any of the women that formed the UK punk scene who we’re going to take a look at in the next installment. I hope you enjoy my little nostalgic trip down memory lane. Please listen to the music and please feel free to chime in if you think I’ve missed anyone!

both useless facts, not really worth posting and certainly not worth clicking on but it’s been a long day up & down the motorway and so this helps relieve some tension -

george harrison played guitar on this

ray davies was married to chrissie hynde

we just picked up the latest frankie goes to hollywood best of cd today which i would like to put on itunes but it doesnt recognise it yet so that post will have to wait.  heard depeche mode people are people on the radio and it sounded immense – perfect pop.

the new weezer album is great – one track (cant stop partying) sounds like lady gaga voiced by rivers.

and finally – the fred falke remix of robbie’s bodies

thanks ants. thants.

From the latest VegNews Mag:

Vegan Rock Stars

Whether eclectic DJ or soul-singing diva, these four musicians prove that living cruelty-free really rocks.

By Lisa Mickleborough & Liz Miller

Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch recently announced to fans that he has adopted a vegan diet to help aid in his cancer recovery. While Yauch is the latest celebrity to go vegan, an entire crop of veg musicians—from the compassionate crooners to the punk-inspired politicos—are all singing the same tune: the praises of a meat-free lifestyle. Whether or not their lyrics reflect what goes on their plates, VN’s profiled musicians prove again and again that compassionate living rocks.

Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu (pictured above) has more than her 20 years of vegetarianism to celebrate: Last year she released her fourth studio album, New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, which sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week. The Texas-born-and-raised chanteuse is now gearing up to release her next album, tentatively titled New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh. A longtime vegetarian, Badu has been happily living a vegan lifestyle for more than two years. For Badu, the motivation to choose to live a compassionate lifestyle was relatively straightforward. “I wouldn’t say it took any one big event, vegetarianism just always made sense to me. [What farmed animals] endure is just terrible. It’s horrible,” she says.

Chrissie Hynde
To the music world she is a rock goddess whose powerful vocals fuel The Pretenders. Debuting onto the scene in 1980, The band has earned a wide and dedicated following, and in 2005 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Animal-rights activists know, however, that Hynde has dedicated her life to another passion as well—one she shares both on and off stage. She is an active member of PETA and was even arrested in 2003 for leading a protest against KFC in France. In 2007 she opened her own vegan restaurant, VegiTerranean, in her hometown of Akron, Ohio. Veg since her teens, Hynde uses her killer set of pipes to bring awareness to the plight of animals everywhere.

Moby
Grammy-nominated, platinum-selling artist Moby released his latest album Wait For Me last May—his 20th musical offering. The record is dialed down considerably from his more danceable 2008-studio album, Last Night. Known for his signature ambient, complex, and unmistakably urban sound, he is also an outspoken vegan. Turning out albums with candid, issue-driven liner notes and titles like “Animal Rights”, Moby uses music as a vehicle for both ethical and artistic expression. A practicing vegan for more than 20 years, Moby opened Teany, a veg-friendly teahouse, in 2002 in New York City.

Davey Havok of AFI
It was no mistake that devoted PETA2 fans voted Davey Havok the World’s Sexiest Vegetarian in 2007. The AFI front man has been rocking and advocating cruelty-free living for more than 10 years. In a video for PETA2, Havok described his veganism as love and respect for animals and for himself: “As human beings we are not meant to consume animals, we are not meant to consume animal products.” A further testament to Havok’s passion for compassion is his vegan clothing line, Zu Boutique. While some T-shirt slogans kill with kindness—one depicts a cartoon rabbit covered in animal-tested make-up—while others take a more straightforward approach. Last month AFI released Crash Love, their eighth studio album, which entered Billboard’s Top 200 at number 12.

How amazing are these people?

To order your organic, wild-crafted, vegan green superfood capsules or powder, click here.

Chow,

Janice

from “Eye of the Beholder”

46 of the Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time

Venus Zine applauds 46 of the world’s best

By Venus Zine Staff
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 12:25pm

Rolling Stone’s 2003 special issue about the “The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” is an ambitious edition with Jimi Hendrix on the cover and accolades to the great players of our time. But the project is sorely lacking in female presence — there are only two women on the list: Joni Mitchell and Joan Jett.

To shine light on the great female guitarists of our time, we have selected 46 of the best based on an array of excellence factors, including either technical skill, standout performance, and style pioneering. To diversify the selection process, we invited guitar experts and music leaders from various genre backgrounds (read their bios below) to nominate their favorites.

Because of the large number of guitarist profiles, we’ve split up the editorial content into three postings. Click on the headlines below to read about Venus Zine’s 46 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

Jennifer Batten

Christina Billotte

Kat Bjelland

Rory Block

Carrie Brownstein

Elizabeth Cotten

Brody Dalle

Kim Deal

Ani DiFranco

Tanya Donelly

Rosie Flores

Lita Ford

Suzi Gardner

Sue Ann Harkey

Polly Jean (PJ) Harvey

Jessie Mae Hemphill

Kristin Hersh

Chrissie Hynde

Sharon Isbin

Cordell Jackson

Joan Jett

Peggy “Lady Bo” Jones

Carol Kaye

Tara Key

Kaki King

Courtney Love

Lydia Lunch

Barbara Lynn

Christina Marrs

Satomi Matsumoto

Memphis Minnie

Joni Mitchell

Odetta

Pat Place

Liz Phair

Bonnie Raitt

Toshi Reagon

Michelle Shocked

Donita Sparks

Marnie Stern

Ruyter Suys

Sister Rosetta Tharpe

Mary Timony

Sarah Utter

Tal Wilkenfeld

Nancy Wilson

THE PANEL
Meet the experts who nominated the guitarists

Abigail Aronson Zocher earned her bachelors from New England Conservatory of Music in Classical Guitar Performance, studies with David Leisner, and earned their Chadwick Medal for the outstanding graduate of the year. She earned her masters in jazz studies, studying with Mick Goodrick, Cecil McBee, and George Garzone. She has been on the Berklee faculty since 1995 and is an associate professor in their world-renowned guitar department.

Kenneth Bays is the editor of Blues Revue, the world’s largest blues magazine. He has written about folk, blues, roots, and pop music for numerous online and print publications, including Performing Songwriter, American Songwriter, and the All Music Guide.

Calvin Johnson has been working with underground culture since childhood. He is the incubator of many media experiments, including K Records, and lives within walking distance of the Dub Narcotic studio in Olympia, Washington.

Evelyn McDonnell is the editorial director of MOLI.com. She is the author of three books includingMamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids and Rock ‘n’ Roll and Army of She: Icelandic, Iconoclastic, Irrepressible Björk. She coedited the anthologies Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap and Stars Don’t Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth. A former senior editor at the Village Voice and associate editor at SF Weekly, her writing has appeared in Ms., Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and Spin. Her 1996 cover story for Option on PJ Harvey was named best interview in a magazine by the Music Journalism Awards.

Amy Phillips is the senior news editor of Pitchforkmedia.com.

Jaan Uhelszki was one of the founding editors of Detroit’s legendary Creem magazine. Since that time, her work has appeared in leading publications including USA Today, Uncut, MOJO, Rolling Stone, Spin, NME, Guitar World, and the Village Voice. Currently a senior editor at Rhapsody, she is the only journalist to have ever performed in full makeup with Kiss.

Nan Warshaw co-founded Bloodshot Records in 1994. Prior to Bloodshot, she was a DJ at punk rock clubs and for college radio, an independent publicist, a bartender, a club buyer, an indie booking agent, and also did work in the non-profit sector. Today she sits on the advisory boards of the Future Of Music Coalition and Rock For Kids. The current Bloodshot roster features a range of indie rock bands with roots inflections including Firewater, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, the Gore Gore Girls, Detroit Cobras, Graham Parker, and Waco Brothers.

To read the full article, go to:  http://venuszine.com/articles/music/2575/The_Greatest_Female_Guitarists_of_All_Time

Jeg må innrømme at jeg først fikk øynene opp for Yeah Yeah Yeahs rett etter de slapp sistealbumet «It’s Blitz!» i år. (Smekk på lanken til meg – jeg har både «Fever to Tell» og «Show Your Bones» på lyttelista.)

Må dog si at jeg tenker veldig mye på Pretenders når jeg hører vokalen til Karen O, synes stemmen hennes minner meg om Chrissie Hyndes vokal, spesielt på «Brass in Pocket». Hør på den først og «Zero» etterpå.

Ja?

LIKE: Samme feel i vokalen til Chrissie Hynde (t.v.) og Karen O fra Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

I love Chrissie Hynde’s voice, Also Pink Floyd and Bob Geldof.
The stated intention of this song has been to bring attention to the plight of Gary McKinnon, a Scottish hacker with Asperger’ s Syndrome who with the aid of a simple perl script, hacked into Department of Defence computers looking for evidence of UFO’s. Whatever he found has sufficiently alarmed the powers that be in the US enough that they have fought extremely hard to extradite him to fight US judgement, despite the fact that he has already faced justice in the UK. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_McKinnon

http://alphainventions.com                                     http://blogsurfer.us

John, Rebecca, and Josh

How-do, there Sport? Thanks for swingin’ by the ol’ bloggeroo today.
Been sharing some pics of “la Familia doest Puerto Villarto”.
Hope you’re liking them.

starting off with big jazz note for today…
~1930 Theodore Walter “Sonny” Rollins, born in NY, NY. “Widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians of the post-bebop era, Rollins’ long, prolific career began at the age of 11, and he was playing with piano legend Thelonious Monk before reaching the age of 20. A number of his compositions, including “St. Thomas”, “Oleo” and “Airegin”, have become jazz standards.
As of 2009, Rollins is still touring and recording, having outlived most of his contemporaries such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Max Roach, and Art Blakey, all performers with whom he recorded.”

thought you knew your vocabulary?…
~Stress:  The confusion created when one’s mind overrides the body’s basic desire to choke the living crap out of some butthead who desperately needs it.

name dropping…
~Locally-based rock/roll/electronic/pop/original music band Breakerbox
~www.facebook.com/Breakerbox
Christina and Scott
Download Breakerbox “From the Hooks”- NOW on iTunes!!
Follow on Twitter-www.twitter.com/Breakerbox
Check their main site-www.myspace.com/Breakerbox

your deeeeep thoughts…from SNL’s Jack Handy…
~If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
~If you ever drop your keys into a river of molten lava, let ‘em go, because, man, they’re gone.
~If you go flying back through time and you see somebody else flying forward into the future, it’s probably best to avoid eye contact

your big 3 b-days for today…
~1926 Donald Earl “Don” Messick, born in Buffalo, NY; “was one of the most prolific voice actors of the second half of the 20th century. He voiced several classic cartoon characters, including Scooby-Doo, Ranger Smith and Boo Boo Bear, Muttley, Bamm-Bamm Rubble, Astro, Zorak, Godzooky, Dr. Benton Quest, and Papa Smurf.” Messick died in Oct of ‘97, in Salinas, CA.

 ~1951 Chrissie Hynde born in Akron, Ohio (and then “went back” there   singer/songwriter/guitarist, and the only constant member of The Pretenders throughout its history. Chrissie is a high-profile animal rights activist, supporter of PETA and Viva!. In Nov of ‘07, she opened “The Vegi Terranean” restaurant in Akron (it serves “fusion Italian-vegetarian food”), performing three songs with fellow-Pretender Adam Seymour at the opening.

~1950 Peggy Noonan born in Brooklyn, NY. Noonan is a journalist, best-selling author (seven books on American politics), and currently writes a weekly column for The Wall Street Journal. She continues to write books, and is a frequent political commentator on radio and tv.
(I personally could listen to her review of “The Cat in the Hat” and be totally mesmerized. Just something very classy and articulate about the way she expresses herself. You can catch her a lot on Morning Joe on MSNBC, but only during the commerial breaks on Fox&Friends

your big music notes…
~1976 US courts find George Harrison guilty of plagarism (“He’s So Fine”-”My Sweet Lord”)
~1978 Keith Moon, drummer with The Who, died of a overdose of heminevrin prescribed to combat alcoholism. A post-mortem confirmed there were 32 tablets in his system, 26 of which were undissolved. Moon had attended a party the night before organised by Paul McCartney for the launch of the ‘The Buddy Holly Story’ movie. He played on all The Who albums from their debut, 1965’s My Generation, to 1978’s Who Are You, which was released two weeks before his death.
~1991 Gloria Estefan was awarded damages of $5 million for the injuries she sustained when her tour bus was involved in an accident.
~1997 Fleetwood Mac went to No.1 on the US album chart (again) with ‘The Dance’, from their reunion tour. The album went on sell over 5 million copies in the US alone.  (Was this the tour that HBO showed? Loved the marching band adding to the last couple songs, and it was great seeing Christine McVie again.)
~2003 Singer/songwriter Warren Zevon died. He had worked as a session musician, was the piano player and band leader for the Everly Brothers. His 1969 song ‘She Quit Me’ was included in the soundtrack for the film Midnight Cowboy. Jackson Browne, The Eagles and Linda Ronstadt all appeared on his albums. He recorded over 15 solo albums, had the 1978 US No.21 single ‘Werewolves Of London’.  (I remember watching him on Letterman–when he was diagnosed, his acknowledged last visit, and Dave’s tribute to him when he passed. Dave  can be a real putz, but over the years he’s certainly shown himself to be a class-act and real gentleman with the serious stuff.)
~1961 Born on this day in Durham, North Carolina, LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of the Dave Matthews Band, (1998 US No.1 album ‘Before These Crowded Streets’, 2005 US No.1 album ‘Stand Up’). Moore was injured on June 30, 2008, in an accident on his farm outside Charlottesville, Virginia, he was re-hospitalized in mid-July for complications related to the accident and died on August 19, 2008 (at age 46) in Los Angeles, CA.

with all that said, how could I possibly wrap up this post?
it took a lot of digging around–think I need a life?…
**1880 Geo Ligowsky patents device to throw clay pigeons for trapshooters** 

Well, garcia ey vega for your visit today, amigo/amigo-ette. Enjoy your Labor Day.
And along with making it a Smooth ‘n’ Jazzy end of summer,  whenever there’s a lull in the convo, you can shout “Pull!”, KNOWING what you now know!  Awww shucks, you’re welcome.

Chrissie Hynde, American guitarist and singer (The Pretenders)

Lately, I have been so amazed at the gorgeous, fun products created for our companion animals. 

From $2,000 hypo-allergenic dog beds made of 18 karat gold fabric to simply elegant leashes created from sailboat rope or “green” leases made of recycled billboard paper to ceramic Burberry water bowls featuring the famous nova check plaid.

I read – I believe in Forbes Magazine – consumers, despite the recession, are choosing to spoil their dogs and cats because they believe the return on investment far outweighs the expense or sacrifice associated with the purchase.  I can totally agree with that.  

Natalie paints beyond beautiful custom pet placemats – featuring an original portrait of your companion animal – taking a unsightly and generic feeding area and making it special and one-of-a-kind.

“The floor is the last frontier of art and the placemats are another layer of art for one’s home,” said Natalie, founder of NatsPetMats.  “Original art in everyday surroundings is my joy to make.  I wanted to provide people with long-term great experience every time they look at the placemat.”

After completing the questionnaire on Natalie’s website I answered more of her specific questions about my preferences and Truman.  Afterwards, I sent specific photos of the “model”.

“I interview the client and offer choices to get people thinking however I want a feeling of exactly what the customer is dreaming of and what he or she likes,” said Natalie who paints with her dog Zoe by her side.  “The more custom it is the more people and their guests will love it.” 

Natalie also requested photos of the area of my kitchen where Truman’s bowl sits and descriptions of colors I prefer.  I am color blind so that was tricky, however patient Natalie took the time to make sure the placemat flowed with the rest of the house – both in color and design. 

“I study the individuality of each pet’s features – their eyelashes, whiskers, fur patterns, muscle tone,” said Natalie.  “I paint a few ‘tests’ in watercolor until I feel I have captured the energy and individuality of the pet.  Then I paint the placemat.”

The entire process takes Natalie more than ten hours and it shows.  I wanted to frame Truman’s mat (made from recycled or repurposed vinyl flooring).  Natalie captured his energy, excitement and curiosity – even getting his spots correctly positioned in the portrait.  I smile every time I see the placemat. 

“Right now, I am working on a placemat for a newly married couple in Sea Girt who adopted two dachshund puppies,” said Natalie.  “They want the mat to be a benchmark as they grow up so they can always have a memory of their dogs as puppies.”

We live in an art infused town.  There’s no reason for our companion animals not to enjoy their own custom masterpieces.

www.NatsPetMats.com

Richard@TheBPlot.com

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