Dropkick Murphys – The Green Fields of France

My brother told me about this song, and it’s really good. It’s a pretty slow song for the Dropkick Murphy’s, but it’s excellent. Check it out

I attended the 11/22/09 Dropkick Murphys show at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont. Below is a recap of the concert with photos.

Bryan McPherson opened the show with an acoustic, folksy-punk set consisting of himself, a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. Bryan is from Dorchester, Mass and has opened for Chuck Berry, Black 47, Chad Smith (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and H20. Bryan sings about life growing up in Dorchester and it showed in his performance last night. Bryan put a lot of heart into hit set  and it showed. He currently has two CDs out, Street Lights and Fourteen Stories. If you’re a fan of acoustic punk/folk, definitely check out Bryan’s CDs.

Mark Lind and The Unloved followed next with a set  that was eclectric and they played a couple of songs that had a street-punk feel to them.  This band features Mark Lind (Ducky Boys), Jason Messina (Dirty Water, Ducky Boys),  Mike Savitkas (Death & Taxes), Steve Young (Confront) and Brittany Gray.  Their latest album, Homeward Bound, was released on November 18, 2009. I feel that they had tight musicianship and the sound was reminiscent of the Ducky Boys, which may seem tame until you take into consideration that I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the other bands listed. I’ve got some catching up to do. Regardless, I would love to review and spin their new album and they’re definitely a band to watch out for (WFNX/Boston Phoenix “Best Punk Act” of 2009).

After a lengthy wait, Scruffy Wallace warmed up the crowd with his bagpipes and the Dropkick Murphys came out to open their set to cheers from the crowd.

They rolled through several songs that I recognized such as The State Of Massachusetts, The Spicy McHaggis Jig, Barroom Hero, Walk Away, I’m Shipping Up To Boston and several other songs. At one point, they were joined by a female singer on a song involving what seemed to be a duet with Al Barr. The band poured their hearts out into this set and seemed to be enjoying the interaction with the crowd. I wasn’t able to get as close as I liked but it was good enough.

Towards the end of the set, they played Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced and invited females from the audience to come onto the stage. That’s always one of the highlights of a Dropkick Murphys show. Afterwards, they covered The Who’s Teenage Wasteland before plowing into the final song, Skinhead on the M.B.T.A and inviting males onto the stage to sing it.

Other than a few scuffles and nearly getting knocked down by someone that slipped, it was a decent show. The crowd always makes the show and as I said, the Dropkick Murphys tend to give it their all in their performances. There’s really no way I can compare this show to the one I saw back in 2000 because that was with a slightly different lineup and the band has evolved since into something much more powerful. I look forward to the next time they drop by Higher Ground.

If you would like to see more pictures from this concert, I will be uploading them onto photobucket soon. I will post a link once that is completed.

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Letztens habe ich durch einen Freund ein tolles Lied kennengelernt, das möchte ich hier jetzt auch einmal kurz vorstellen.
Es heißt “The State of Massachusetts” und ist von den Dropkick Murphys.

Link zum Song

bin3saw’s Bewertung: *****

I’m currently taking time off from posting and reviewing music. I will be back again on Saturday night with Janitor From Mars. It’s TBA as I need to double check on the slot for that night.

In the meantime, have a great thanksiving with your family and I will be back after the holiday with a review and photos of the 11/22 Dropkick Murphys concert, as well as Janitor From Mars.

Grande elenco e roteiro agitado são os pontos fortes do filme de Scorsese

Por Paulo do Valle

“Um bom filme começa pelo seu elenco”. Se Levarmos em conta essa frase, Os Infiltrados pode ser considerado um excelente filme só pelo seu time de atores: Jack Nicholson, Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon e a frieza de Mark Wahlberg fazem desse filme uma sangrenta obra de arte do Século XXI. Tudo isso somado à genialidade do diretor Martin Scorsese, o ex- injustiçado do Oscar, que graças a essa obra teve sua redenção e levou a estatueta de melhor filme para sua estante.

Frank Costello (Nicholson), é um típico mafioso dos tempos atuais. Irlandês vivendo em Boston (USA), Costello praticamente comanda o crime organizado da cidade. Com isso se torna inimigo número um da policia estadual. É ai que começa o jogo de gato e rato.

Querendo estar sempre um passo à frente da lei, o mafioso infiltra seu pupilo Colin Sullivan (Damon) dentro da policia. Por ter um ótimo desempenho e ser acima de qualquer suspeita, o rapaz sobe rápido de cargo e logo se encontra dentro da unidade de investigações especiais, que é justamente onde se encontra o caso de Frank Costello. Mas o que eles não contavam é que existe o outro lado da moeda (aí sim, fomos surpreendidos novamente), é quando entra o desacreditado Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), sem muito destaque na polícia e uma família com o nome sujo na praça, o rapaz é submetido a ser o infiltrado do lado policial no mundo do crime. Para que isso ocorra de uma forma perfeita, Costigan é dado como expulso da polícia e preso. O segredo é mantido a sete chaves  pelos policiais Digman (Wahlberg) e seu superior Capitão Queenan (Martin Sheen), que são os líderes da operação para prender Costello. Não demora muito para que o rapaz consiga entrar no mundo do crime. Graças ao seu primo, um traficante pequeno, Costigan é introduzido ao submundo e rapidamente chega a Costello (em uma sequência  que dói até em quem está assistindo, o mafioso, tenta pela dor física, descobrir se  Costigan é um infiltrado da polícia). Assim, ambos os lados percebem a existência de informantes agindo por ali. Com isso, o filme torna-se eletrizante, chegando muitas vezes beirar o imprevisível.

A vida dos dois rapazes é cheia de coincidências  e cruzamentos. Uma delas (inútil aos olhos do filme) , Sullivan e Costigan são apaixonados pela mesma mulher, a psicóloga da policia Madolyn (Vera Farmiga). O chifre no caso fica por conta do personagem de Damon. Em uma sequência  de tirar o fôlego, Billy consegue descobrir onde Costello vai encontrar-se com o seu informante. Chegando ao local (pasmem, um cinema pornô), Costigan  consegue encontrar os dois, mas não consegue ver a cara do outro infiltrado que, ao perceber que está sendo seguido, foge dando sequência a uma ótima cena do filme. Até o seu final o filme reserva boas emoções e surpresas para quem o assiste.

Com um desfecho surpreendente, é um ótimo exemplo do ditado ‘’ Jogar merda no ventilador’’. Scorsese apostou principalmente na força de seus protagonistas. Em mais uma atuação típica de Nicholson, beirando o sinistro e o cômico (assim como em Batman e O Iluminado) . E principalmente em DiCaprio, seu queridinho. Vale ressaltar também a excelente atuação de Mark Wahlberg, que mesmo não sendo um dos protagonistas, da vida à um corrosivo policial de mal com a vida.

Inspirado em Conflitos Internos, um filme policial de Hong Kong. Os Infiltrados pode ser considerado um clássico gangster do Séc XXI que deu a Scorsese (mesmo em meio a protestos a favor de A Pequena Miss Sunshine), um lugar ao sol entre os diretores que já levaram o tão cobiçado Oscar. Além de melhor diretor, levou para casa também como melhor filme, melhor montagem e melhor roteiro adaptado.

Com uma trilha sonora tão violenta quanto o filme ( De Stones passando por Beach boys até chegar na pesada gaita de foles do Dropkick Murphys) Os Infiltrados marca seu nome no cinema gângster mundial.

Os Infiltrados ( The Departed): 2006, EUA. Direção: Martin Scorsese. Elenco: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga. Roteiro: Siu Fai Mak e Felix Chong. Duração: 149 min.

Notas:

Paulo do Valle [7.5] Ronnie Romanini [7.5]

Média parcial: [7.5]

VERDICT:
7/10 Cahs Pahked in Hahvahd Yahd

I’m well aware of the heat I might be catching for this one, but this was not the best movie of ‘06. Letters From Iwo Jima got robbed.

The Departed is about two moles: one’s a Boston cop who finds himself deep undercover as the right-hand man to a kingpin in the Irish mob, the other’s a member of the said Irish mob who finds himself deep undercover in the upper-ranks of the Boston police force. One is trying to take down the mob from the inside out, the other is trying to protect the mob from the outside in, and both are trying to get each other killed so they can do their damn job.

Pretty crazy stuff.

It’s all based pretty closely off a Chinese movie called Infernal Affairs that came out in ‘02, only this time there’s cell phones and text messaging instead of lame-ass morse code – Neat! But if you haven’t seen it, give it a whirl. The plot is better in a lot of ways even if the script isn’t as strong in others.

Anyway, let’s start with the good then move our way down.

If there’s one Oscar this movie did deserve – and one painfully patient individual who deserved it even more – it was for directing. It might not be his best movie (I smell a weekly poll…) but if there’s anyone out there who knows how to make crime thrillers look good to both movie geeks and Joe the plumber, it’s Martin Scorsese. There’s a lot going on in this movie and Scorsese does one hell of a job of keeping his audience’s attention from start to finish all the while infusing it with his signature style that you can’t take your eyes off of. This is one of those movies that’s good to go back and watch a second time around just to pick up on the directorial flair and subtleties that helped win this guy the Oscar. It had been a while since he’d done something I liked, but come on, it’s Martin Scorsese. Dude’s a legend.

And does anyone remember those scenes where there’d be this long shot of Matt Damon or Leo and the whole screen would zoom in black until it just looked like you were seeing them through a peephole? Still trying to figure out the meaning behind that, but hey, still dug it.

Unfortunately, everything else kinda has a double-edged sword it.

The acting here is pretty damn good for the most part, but there were still some performances that I’m not too big on. You know what, Jack Nicholson was one mean bastard as Irish mob boss Frank Costello. It’s too bad he had to make that damn rat face and start ad-libbing all over the place (you know what scene I’m talking about), because if it weren’t for that, he would have gotten a lot more praise. All the same, it’s no skin off his back. Jack Nicholson’s the man, what else is there to say?

Matt Damon’s actually pretty solid as Costello’s mole; well, he’s been pretty solid ever since he took on Jason Bourne. So way to go, Matt. But I’m sorry, folks, Leo still isn’t doing it for me. Yeah, he’s all serious and shit now, but he could afford to tone it down a bit. I already went off on about this in my Revolutionary Road review, so I’m gonna try not to dwell on this. It’s not that he’s a bad actor by any means, I just think he’s getting a lot more credit than he’s due right now. Yes, he’s come a long way since Jack, but the guy is still overacting like a mofo and he can’t pull off a Boston accent for his life. I couldn’t believe it when I heard him talking like that again in the Shutter Island trailer (which actually looks pretty good). I don’t know, maybe it’s me.

And am I just crazy or is there anyone else out there who thinks that the two best performances here were from Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin? Not only did these guys have the best lines but they were arguably the coolest characters in the movie, too. These were the two actors I found myself talking about every time this movie came up in conversation, and while Marky Mark didn’t deserve the Oscar either, I’m glad he got a nod at least.

Martin Sheen’s also good, but Martin Sheen’s always good.

The other pro and con here is the script. For the most part, the script kicks ass. It’s a really impressive adaptation with lots of great, sharp dialogue, it keeps the suspense up for the entire duration, and it’s jam-packed with very well-written characters. There’s really not much you can knock it for…except for one thing: the last 15 minutes of the movie.

Honestly, what the fuck was that about?

Up until the point where the shit hits the fan at 100 mph, I was really digging this movie. Man, I about laughed out loud in the theater by the time the final scene was over. Without giving it away (at least I hope I’m not), I just couldn’t believe that all the time this movie spent building up these characters and their circumstances was essentially just tossed to the wind in one fell swoop. Just a bad way to end a movie, dare I say it was a cop-out.

But flaws aside, The Departed is still a good movie. It does a lot of things right, it’s a wild story, it’s a great return to form for Scorsese, and since the guy’s got one swell taste in music, there’s a fantastic soundtrack here to boot (even if everyone is sick and tired of that “…AND I LOST MY LEG!” song by the Dropkick Murphys). Might not have been my #1 pick for ‘06, might not have even been in my top five, but I can see why I might be in the minority here.

And the discussion board is now open…

I attended the 11/22/09 Dropkick Murphys show at Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont. Below is a recap of the concert with photos.

Bryan McPherson opened the show with an acoustic, folksy-punk set consisting of himself, a harmonica and an acoustic guitar. Bryan is from Dorchester, Mass and has opened for Chuck Berry, Black 47, Chad Smith (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and H20. Bryan sings about life growing up in Dorchester and it showed in his performance last night. Bryan put a lot of heart into hit set  and it showed. He currently has two CDs out, Street Lights and Fourteen Stories. If you’re a fan of acoustic punk/folk, definitely check out Bryan’s CDs.

Mark Lind and The Unloved followed next with a set  that was eclectric and they played a couple of songs that had a street-punk feel to them.  This band features Mark Lind (Ducky Boys), Jason Messina (Dirty Water, Ducky Boys),  Mike Savitkas (Death & Taxes), Steve Young (Confront) and Brittany Gray.  Their latest album, Homeward Bound, was released on November 18, 2009. I feel that they had tight musicianship and the sound was reminiscent of the Ducky Boys, which may seem tame until you take into consideration that I haven’t had the pleasure of hearing the other bands listed. I’ve got some catching up to do. Regardless, I would love to review and spin their new album and they’re definitely a band to watch out for (WFNX/Boston Phoenix “Best Punk Act” of 2009).

After a lengthy wait, Scruffy Wallace warmed up the crowd with his bagpipes and the Dropkick Murphys came out to open their set to cheers from the crowd.

They rolled through several songs that I recognized such as The State Of Massachusetts, The Spicy McHaggis Jig, Barroom Hero, Walk Away, I’m Shipping Up To Boston and several other songs. At one point, they were joined by a female singer on a song involving what seemed to be a duet with Al Barr. The band poured their hearts out into this set and seemed to be enjoying the interaction with the crowd. I wasn’t able to get as close as I liked but it was good enough.
Towards the end of the set, they played Kiss Me, I’m Shitfaced and invited females from the audience to come onto the stage. That’s always one of the highlights of a Dropkick Murphys show. Afterwards, they covered The Who’s Teenage Wasteland before plowing into the final song, Skinhead on the M.B.T.A and inviting males onto the stage to sing it.

Other than a few scuffles and nearly getting knocked down by someone that slipped, it was a decent show. The crowd always makes the show and as I said, the Dropkick Murphys tend to give it their all in their performances. There’s really no way I can compare this show to the one I saw back in 2000 because that was with a slightly different lineup and the band has evolved since into something much more powerful. I look forward to the next time they drop by Higher Ground.

This episode of Janitor From Mars started off with several Dropkick Murphys songs. My reason for playing them is because the Dropkick Murphys played Higher Ground in South Burlington last night (11/21/09) and will be playing again tonight (11/22/09). I look forward to tonight’s concert. The supporting acts will be Mark Lind & The Unloved and Bryan McPherson. I hope to come back with some pictures and hopefully autographs for my brother, who could not be there.

Songs played are as follows:

Dropkick Murphys     The State Of Massachusetts
Dropkick Murphys     Warrior’s Code
Dropkick Murphys     For Boston
Dropkick Murphys    Walk Away
Dropkick Murphys    Curse Of A Fallen Soul

See if you can correctly guess which album each song comes from. Comment with your answers and I might have something nifty for you.

I also took the time to play some new stuff that just came in. Check out the reviews section for some ideas.

Janitor From Mars 11/21/09 Playlist:
http://tinyurl.com/janitorfrommars112109

Listen to Janitor From Mars in WRUV Archives:
http://tinyurl.com/d9ew2s

(Note: Show will only be available in Archives for one week)

Also, if you like what you see in this blog, feel free to subscribe to it by clicking on the Indoctrinate Me! button below.

Hi everyone,

We are very happy and excited to let you all know that we have our act together early this year and would like to announce the dates for our Boston St Patrick’s Day shows for 2010. We will be playing from Friday March 12th through to Wednesday March 17th at the Boston House Of Blues. Tickets for these shows will go on sale next Friday November 27th. More details will be sent out over the next week.

The South Boston St Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Sunday March 14th and there will be tons of other great stuff happening all week at McGreevys and around town. So come help us turn Boston into another giant DKM convention for the week of St. Pats!

Oh and while we are at it here’s some more good news. We are just finishing up putting together our Live On St Patrick’s Day 2009 album release that will come out in time for next year’s shows, ready to get you in a festive mood ready for the 2010 debacle. The album will feature a completely different track listing from our first live CD that came out back in 2002. There will also be a bonus DVD version so we’re going to give you your moneys worth. We made sure there was no double dipping on the songs here!

See ya in Boston 2010!

Love,

Dropkick Murphys

Vamos Johanna?

Hey There,

The game in Sendai was the last of the trip and I was both relieved and sad.  Two and a half weeks is a long trip and I missed the US.  On the other hand, I probably could have stayed in Japan forever.  I think it would have been better had I learned more of the language prior to going, or at least brought a dictionary to carry around.  This is more of a personal thing with me, because I like to learn phrases in foreign languages.  You can get around and survive without learning much of the language- signs are pretty good, there are usually pictures of things, and the people are generally helpful.

On the way to the airport, I met a guy from the US who was working in Japan for a software company.  I don’t have a job and he was in a management position, so I thought this might be a good time to do some networking.  A few minutes into the conversation, I realized that he probably wasn’t a good connection for me.  First, he noticed my Dropkick Murphys T-Shirt and assumed I was from Boston.  I told him that I was from Seattle, but I grew up in New York, and that I liked the Dropkick Murphys and that’s why I had the shirt.  He couldn’t understand a non-Bostonian liking a Boston-based band.  To be honest, I only like one of their songs, the one from The Departed, but still… Anyway, that aside, we got to talking about some things and I learned that he hated his job and he advised me not to work in Japan.  I can appreciate his point of view here, since I think it would be hard to work in a foreign country, especially one with drastic language and cultural differences.  We then got to talking about why he was going back to the US.  He told me his Grandmother “dropped dead” and as I was trying to say that I was sorry for his loss, he told me that he didn’t really like her and that they weren’t close.

Later, I met a woman who was in Japan on business and was returning to California.  We only spoke briefly, but she was much more friendly.  I told her I was from Seattle and she said that she loved it there and then asked me if it was blueberry season yet.  I didn’t know that Washington was known for blueberries.  I knew about apples, but not blueberries.  I guess they have to be grown somewhere.

I’ll leave you with this short story about our time in Fukuoka (I forgot to write it in the post about Fukuoka).  We arrived at our hotel a few hours prior to the game and since most of us hadn’t eaten, we decided to go near the stadium, where there were some restaurants (Hawks Town).  To get there, we needed to take a couple of taxis (there were six of us going early).  We asked the one guy with us who spoke a bit of Japanese to ask the front desk clerks to order the taxis, which he happily agreed to do.  We watched him walk to the front desk, hold up two fingers and say “two taxis.”  So much for his Japanese language skills (to be fair, he helped us out a lot all throughout the tour).

Friday afternoon, Phoebe and I left for Edinburgh, Scotland.  We took a 4.5 hour train from Victoria Station and arrive into Edinburgh at 6pm.  Luckily, the train station was within walking distance from our hostel, so we went there first to get rid of our luggage. Our hostel was called Brodies, and was not a bad place to stay for very cheap.  Phoebe and I would up in a 4 person room with a New Zealand roommate named Roy.  He was pretty chatty, but told us the fun places to go in the area.

For dinner, we walked up the street to an Italian restaurant and had soup and salad.  We then walked down the street to The Elephant House where J.K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book while she lived in Edinburgh.  We had coffee and hung out.  It was a really great atmosphere, and everything was decorated with elephant trinkets.  

After, we walked to a pub called The Last Drop because it is infamous for being the pub where people who were about to be hung on the gallows would get there last shot of whiskey.  It was so funny because they were playing very old American music in the pub like Bewitched, Vanilla Ice, and MC Hammer.  Other than that, it was really cool place and worth going into.  We also went into two pub called Biddy Mulligans and Dropkick Murphy’s.  It was cool to go into local places and to see what it is like in Scotland. In one place, we met a couple people from Ireland who knew of ND because they had seen a famous person wearing a jacket with the leprechaun on it.  They found it so entertaining that we are the Irish and they kept mimicking the pose of the leprechaun.  They were also very interested in asking us about Obama and politics as I have mentioned about other European people I have met.  I also found it very funny that when the song Garth Brooks song “Low Places” came on, all the Irish, Scottish, and English people knew every word.

The next morning, Phoebe and I left our hostel pretty early and went to The Elephant House again for breakfast.  After, we met up with a couple people we know from ND who were also traveling in Scotland. We walked around a lot and saw all the important sights in Scotland.  We went in the National Library, The National Museum of Scotland, the Botanical Gardens, and walked to see the castle.  The National Museum was really cool because it traced Scotland’s history, mainly around the time of Mary Queen of Scots.  The botanical garden was definitely not in its prime seeing as how all the flowers have died, but Edinburgh is very beautiful in the fall so the area was still pretty to see.

We also came across a statue of a dog named Bobby who when alive laid by the grave of his dead owner, who was named Friar Grey, for 14yrs until the dog himself died.  Both the dog and owner are buried in the cemetery right next to the pub and statue named for them.

Edinburgh also had a lot of fun shopping and really great restaurants so Phoebe and I spent some of the late afternoon walking between shops and stopping in different little restaurants.  We went to a really great cafe called The Circle where we had chai lattes and potato and leek soup.  After a while of going into antique shops and unique boutiques, we stopped in a vegetarian/vegan restaurant called Henderson’s that was really eclectic.  One of the best parts about the trip was eating and shopping in places that are very unique to the area.  We also stopped in one of the best department stores I have ever seen called Jenners.  It was sort of like a Nordstroms, and amazingly decorated for Christmas.

After we spent a good part of the day walking around, Phoebe and I went back to our hostel to collect our belongings and get ready to take the night bus home.  We almost stayed another night  because we had enjoyed our time so much, but it simply did not work out.  The only good thing about the night bus, which  ran from 10pm until 7am, was that I did not have to watch ND lose to Pitt.  During the night bus we actually passed neighborhoods that look identical to those you would find in the US, something we have yet to come across.  We also stopped at a rest stop that could be in the middle of Ohio.  It was interesting to see a more suburban area of the UK.

Sunday was thus spent recovering from all the traveling and doing laundry. Later in the day, I met the girls who had not come with us this weekend at a place called Cafe Kick to share stories.  It is a really cute little cafe in Exmouth Market and worth going to. Edinburgh was by far my favorite trip thus far, and I recommend that everyone who studies in Europe next semester make it there.

One of my favorite things to do in the 21st century is burn CDs for people. Partly, it is the narcissistic belief that I listen to cooler music than anyone else on earth (Not true! My friends constantly surprise and delight me with new and wonderful music I have never heard before.)

Anywhatthehellhappenedtonapster, I made a CD for a friend and I’ve pretty much been listening to it on repeat for a week or so. (Eventually, I will give her the CD – just.not.yet.)

So I wanted to share it with yalls tonight because obviously, in my infinite wisdom narcissism, I have chosen songs that are ideal for a nice, leisurely jog in the park. Some of them are new, and some are pretty old, but all of them are awesome.

My morning jacket – one big holiday (live)
elbow – the bones of you
matisyahu – one day
Del tha funkee homosapien feat. dinosaur jr. – missing link
Toots & the Maytals – Take me home, country road
Devotchka – queen of the surface streets
Wilco – Jesus, Etc.
Jimmy eat world – bleed american
Raconteurs – steady as she goes
Them crooked vultures – mind eraser, no chaser
The Shins – Phantom Limb
Deadboy & the Elephantmen – Stop, I’m already dead
dangermouse & jemini – ghetto pop life
Dropkick Murphys – Shipping up to Boston
Them crooked vultures – new fang
social d – dear lover
XTC – Dear God
de la soul, teenage fanclub – Fallin’

I go through phases – sometimes I’ll go for weeks on end listening to nothing but death metal, then I’ll listen to ambient/electronic. Then bluegrass. This week, I appear to be on an alt rock kick.

Pay special attention to Them Crooked Vultures – Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die says this band just might save rock n roll…

I think he’s right.

The Pixies are just one of countless popular bands to come out of Boston's vibrant music scene

While Boston’s scene may not be as prominent as some others around the country, it has quite the rap sheet of music.  It was and still is home to such bands as Aerosmith, Pixies, Dropkick Murphys and well, Boston.  While Beantown has produced some big names, it also has a small but booming scene.  The city and its surrounding towns are producing a lot of solid indie rock, along with some other interesting sounds.  A city nearly run by college kids, much like our very own Syracuse, the sounds of Boston, Cambridge, Allston, etc., are not to be looked over.

Being from Connecticut and having family in there, Boston is like a second home to me, and it’s one of the cities I love the most.  I’ll have some people in the studio with me talking about what it’s like to live in the greater Boston area and why it’s so awesome.  Listen to City Sounds on WERW, Mondays from 11am-1pm!

– Kyle Kuchta

Inspired from the trending topic in Twitter – Music Monday. All the users shares the recent fav song id share.
The song is from Dropkick Murphys , they are an Irish-American Celtic punk band.

The lyrics describes me fully . Especially that part :

I’m a pitiful sight, and I ain’t all that bright
I’m definitely not chiseled from stone
I’m a cheat and a liar, no woman’s desire
I’ll probably die cold and alone

ps. i often get myself being shitfaced lol

Putting up a couple songs because I can’t go without doing something. I’ll write something up later when I’m more coherent and ambitious. I want to try and get out of the cycle of writing in the wee hours of the morning. So as I tried sleep my silly brain came up with this.

I have only 2 sacred cows when it comes to music. One is Queen. No one should ever be allowed to cover a Queen song. Freddie Mercury was just too perfect a vocalist, a performer and a personality. I’ve only been moved by a select few performers deaths. Those being Jim Henson, Sammy Davis Jr, George Harrison, Mr Hooper from Sesame Street, and Freddie Mercury. Freddie died back in the day when huge special event concerts like Live AID where broadcast on regular television or at least if on cable then everyone had access to it because certain things were important back then it seemed without it being just a giant commercial. I watched as much of the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert I could which I think was all of it. There was so much love in that arena that day you could feel it emanating from the screen. The closest I think anyone ever came to channeling Freddie that day was George Michael. After his performance there were rumours for months that he was going to be asked to join Queen. Maybe if he had he could have avoided some of his later unfortunances. Unfortunately that never happened but we will always have this.

Can anybody find me somebody to love?
Each morning I get up I die a little
Can barely stand on my feet
Take a look in the mirror and cry
Lord what you’re doing to me
I have spent all my years in believing you
But I just can’t get no relief, Lord!
Somebody, somebody
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

I work hard every day of my life
I work till I ache my bones
At the end I take home my hard earned pay all on my own -
I get down on my knees
And I start to pray
Till the tears run down from my eyes
Lord – somebody – somebody
Can anybody find me – somebody to love?

(He works hard)

Everyday – I try and I try and I try -
But everybody wants to put me down
They say I’m goin’ crazy
They say I got a lot of water in my brain
Got no common sense
I got nobody left to believe
Yeah – yeah yeah yeah

Oh Lord
Somebody – somebody
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

Got no feel, I got no rhythm
I just keep losing my beat
I’m ok, I’m alright
Ain’t gonna face no defeat
I just gotta get out of this prison cell
Someday I’m gonna be free, Lord!

Find me somebody to love
Can anybody find me somebody to love?

My other sacred cow is John Fogerty. He had a concert here this past June but I didn’t get to see him because no one else I knew wanted to go. I haven’t gone to a concert or any other kind of special event in 4 years. John Fogerty is one of my 3 must see concert experiences. The other ones are Rob Zombie and Robbie Williams. I’ll have to see if that special he did for his “Premonition” live album is available somewhere. I discovered John Fogerty and Creedence Clearwater Revival watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons on Sunday mornings. To fill in time between things like Laff-a-lympics and The Flinstones and Yogi Bear there were little music videos with CCR songs using clips from H-B shows. There’s a reason why CCR songs sound the way they do and it’s all because of John Fogerty. The man knows how to write and perform a song that just speaks to everyone and gets strips it down the barest of essentials. A while ago I heard what I think was a U2 cover of “Fortunate Son” and it sounded absolutely wrong. “Fortunate Son” is a protest song and should sound like it’s coming from a raw, pure place. Then my friend, Bret, introduced me to the Dropkick Murphys’ version of Fortunate Son. Well holy poo! It’s one of the best covers of any song I have ever had the pleasure of listening to because it realizes what kind of song they are performing so I just have to share it with y’all.

Some folks are born made to wave the flag,
Ooh, theyre red, white and blue.
And when the band plays hail to the chief,
Ooh, they point the cannon at you, lord,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no senators son, son.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no,

Yeah!
Some folks are born silver spoon in hand,
Lord, dont they help themselves, oh.
But when the taxman comes to the door,
Lord, the house looks like a rummage sale, yes,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no millionaires son, no.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, no.

Some folks inherit star spangled eyes,
Ooh, they send you down to war, lord,
And when you ask them, how much should we give?
Ooh, they only answer more! more! more! yoh,

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no military son, son.
It aint me, it aint me; I aint no fortunate one, one.

It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate one, no no no,
It aint me, it aint me, I aint no fortunate son, no no no,

Terceiro álbum de estúdio, lançado em 2001, dessa magnífica banda de celtic punk, ainda com grande influência em Oi! e street punk.

1. For Boston
2. The Legend of Finn MacCumhail
3. Which Side Are You On?
4. The Rocky Road to Dublin
5. Heroes from Our Past
6. Forever
7. The Gauntlet
8. Good Rats
9. The New American Way
10. The Torch
11. The Fortunes of War
12. A Few Good Men
13. Ramble and Roll
14. Caps and Bottles
15. The Wild Rover
16. The Spicy McHaggis Jig

Download

Nothing like a little Dropkick Murphys to get the morning started. Oooooh Foreigner’s “Hot Blooded” just came on shuffle. Sweet.

On another note…

This is how I get men. Thumbs up for sexytime.

This is how I feel today. Like an evil gremlin. Thank goodness it’s Thursday. Ps. I don’t have a ton of acne in between my forehead, it’s just the coloration. Thank you very much.

At breakfast the snow was coming down and the MP3 player was on random.  The scioness was at her waffles. “Worker’s Song” by the Dropkick Murphys came on.   Her ears perked up.  Her eyes widened.  She looked at me and offered up this little Sunday morning hallelujah.

“Daddy,” she said. ”I wanna rock and roll.”

Preach on, daughter.

(I note in passing that this is probably the rockingest song to feature a bagpipe solo ever.)