Manny Pacquiao is the greatest fighter of the last 20 years.  Let’s just get that out of the way right now.  Pacquiao’s Rockyesque defeat of Miguel Cotto was yet another chapter to his growing legend. Pacquiao has taken on all comers.  He’s fought and beaten a long list of absolute legends in boxing: Marco Antonio Berra, Eric Morales, Juan Manuel Marquez, Oscar De La Hoya, and Ricky Hatton.  Not only beaten them but in most instances dominated them.

Pacquiao’s combination of untouchable speed, gritty power, precise technique, flawless footwork and a cast iron chin make him one of the greatest boxing champions of all time.  That amazing combination of skills and attributes is why Manny Pacquiao is the only fighter in the history of boxing to win seven different titles in seven different weight divisions. An amazing accomplishment, which would entitle anyone to a place in boxing’s pantheon of greatest of all-time.

Manny Pacquiao has won more championship than anyone in boxing history, he’s dominated fighters who themselves will go down as legends of the sport and he’s done such with performances that rank right alongside fights like Louis-Schmeling I&II, Graziano-Lamotta (the series) or Ali-Frazier I. A person could walk away from such a career and feel as accomplished as anyone has ever been in the sport of professional boxing.

But for Pacquiao there’s remains but one more challenge.  One more victory that separates him as being merely great or even one of the greatest of all-time from being considered pound for pound THE greatest professional boxer who has ever lived.  That something is Floyd Mayweather Jr.  Mayweather is himself one of the most accomplished fighters of all-time, more so than any of the other boxing icons that Pacquiao has fought before. Mayweather lays a very legitimate claim to also being considered pound for pound the greatest fighters in boxing history with a perfect undefeated record of 40-0.  Mayweather has also fought and beaten some greats of the sport with ease, with legendary performances against most of the same opposition that Manny’s has faced.  Mayweather is a former Olympic Bronze medalist and a holder of six titles in five different weight divisions.  Mayweather is also possessed of a natural grace and athleticism in the ring that makes him highly effective.

Mayweather fancies himself as pound for pound the greatest boxer fighting today. A claim that has its doubters considering Pacquiao is now on the cusp of building a legacy that may be considered pound for pound the greatest of all time.  The fight between these two would be not only one of the greatest boxing matches in history, but would be one of the greatest events in the history of all sports.  They will fight, there is no doubting that.  Both the fans and history demand that one must beat the other.  The fighter who comes out of that contest the victor, will then undisputedly take his place as one of the greatest athletes who ever lived.

Somethings in life gather so much of their own momentum that even if it were to try and halt its own inertia, fate would slap it across the face with a raw 40 pound tuna and send it on its way. With Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather in retirement last year, a new ‘pound for pound’ star blossomed into the peak of his career. This was none other than the Philippine sensation, Manny Paquiao: a soft-spoken, well-mannered, religious and extraordinarily gifted fighter who used to sell dougnuts in Manila for a nickel a piece. Born into an impoverished family, they were so poor at one point that Manny’s father actually cooked and ate the family dog. Now a prolific boxer, fans around the world have seen him involved in epic battles with Juan Manuel Marquez, Antonio Barrera, Eric Morales: saw him out-class De-La Hoya, destroy Hatton and pulverize Miguel Cotto most recently. But it is in this last year or so that his boxing class has truly developed under the watchful eye of his trainer and ‘Master’ Freddie Roach.

Mayweather, who could not stay retired for long, stepped out to fight Marquez.  Paquiao, having devastated Ricky Hatton was in the process of setting his sights on  Miguel Cotto in November. So it seemed that the former world pound for pound champion and the new pound for pound prodigy were on an aligned collision course. Mayweather needed to beat Marquez, and Paquiao needed to beat Cotto in order to set up what would possibly be the fight of the decade between ‘Money Mayweather’ and ‘The Pac Man.’

Marquez was made to look average. Average he was not, but that is how Mayweather made him look. One felt so sorry for Marquez and sympathised with his frustration at Floyd’s elusiveness and ability to hit him at will. He was virtually made to miss over and over again, and was punished for every single mistake. Take nothing away from Marquez, and give every praise to Mayweather, who was in scintillating form and dominated him the way Paquiao never could. One could argue that Floyd’s performance that night completely out-shone Manny’s. But let us remind ourselves of how Manny destroyed Hatton inside of two rounds, Mayweather only managing it by the tenth. However, Floyd’s first knock-down of the Hatton fight was arguably one of the greatest left hooks ever witnessed. On the back foot, in the corner of the ring, while side stepping! I do digress.

What Mayweather did to Marquez,  Paquiao answered with his performance over Cotto. Inch by inch, closing off the ring, picking him apart and darting in and out with waspish tactics. By the eighth or ninth round, it was evident that Cotto had nothing left in the tank. He was running on his pride as a fighter, the only thing keeping him on his feet. The referee should have stopped the punishment earlier, as Cotto’s face was beginning to resemble a bruised watermelon with Paquiao’s relentless marauding taking its toll. And so the inevitable result bubbled to the surface. Mayweather defeated Marquez in dominant fashion, and so too did Paquiao. The two ‘acclaimed’ best pound for pound fighters in the world are indeed the best ‘pound for pound.’ At this moment in time, no-one else even comes close.

So now we are closer than ever to a real possibility of a clash between the cream of the crop. But there is only one space on the throne for these two kings of the division. Mayweather or Paquiao? Class, skill, speed and strength versus class, skill, speed and strength. Skill wise and physical conditioning-wise, they are nigh inseparable. However, I believe the advantage does lie with Mayweather. His defensive skills are superior, he’s bigger, has more reach, has a more well-rounded boxing style and is unbeaten. It would be a crying shame for both of them to come this far, and miss out on a momentous duel. I am not a superstitious man, but somewhere right now, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Paquiao have just been slapped by a 40 pound tuna.

Pink Floyd Edition Converse Shoes Selling Fast

Pink Floyd Edition Converse Shoes Selling Fast

We were contacted by Converse letting us know their special edition Pink Floyd shoes are selling fast. If you haven’t seen them, have a look at the pictures. They sell them in both the Lo-top and Hi-top versions. Our thanks to Converse for letting us know.

From Converse: “Pink Floyd’s inspired footwear designs are part of the Converse music collaborations for SP09. Available at the stand-alone Converse store – part of Size – in Carnaby Street as well as online; visit http://www.converse.com for further information on the entire Converse range including clothing and footwear.”

Could this be Floyd at Kennick Stadium? He will be staying in Iowa City for the next year. To learn more about Floyd of Rosedale click here.

Waters Says He’ll Perform if Israel Tears Down Wall

Waters Says He’ll Perform if Israel Tears Down Wall

Pink Floyd’s former frontman Roger Waters said Tuesday he’ll take to the stage the minute Israel tears down its West Bank separation wall, just as he did in Berlin two decades ago when another wall came down.

Visiting a Palestinian refugee camp in the shadows of the towering concrete structure, the British rocker who co-wrote the iconic 1970s album “The Wall” said he hopes “this awful thing is destroyed soon.”

Waters, 65, said the West Bank wall has been on his mind since he first saw it up close in what he described as an eye-opening visit in 2006, following a concert in Israel.

“People who haven’t actually seen this, what’s going on here, can’t actually imagine the impression that it has on you, the sick, kind of churning feeling that you get in your very heart when you see this, how depressing it is,” Waters told The Associated Press in an interview.

Water’s comments didn’t sit very well with Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev, who, quoting The Wall’s most famous lyric, said “we don’t need no education” from Waters.

Israel began building the barrier — a concrete wall in urban areas and fence with sensors and barbed wire along rural stretches — in 2002 following Palestinian bombings and shooting attacks on Israeli civilians. Israel insists it’s a temporary security measure.

Palestinians says it’s a land grab because, once the final third is built, it will slice off 10 percent of the West Bank, part of the lands they want for their state.

The stretch of barrier between Jerusalem and the biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem consists of graffiti-covered gray slabs, with army watchtowers rising up at intervals. At an Israeli-run wall crossing, large crowds of Palestinians wait in long lines, particularly during morning rush hour, to reach jobs in Israel.

On the northern outskirts of Bethlehem, the Aida refugee camp, home to about 5,000 Palestinians, abuts the wall. Palestinian officials often escort foreign dignitaries to the camp — among them Pope Benedict XVI during his Holy Land pilgrimage last month — to illustrate the disruption of daily life by the barrier.

Waters dismissed Israel’s security argument, saying he believes the wall “is not here to stop Israelis being blown up on buses.” He said if that was the sole reason, “what’s it doing in the occupied territories, surrounding settlements and cutting (Palestinian) farmers off from their olive trees and so on and so forth?”

“This is an exercise of colonialism,” said Waters.

Regev said the barrier has sharply reduced Palestinian attacks, which have killed hundreds of Israelis since the outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian fighting in 2000.

“We don’t need no education about suicide bombers coming into Israel and murdering innocent people, and how the security barrier has prevented that by more than 95 percent.”

But Waters said he believes the barrier is indefensible.

“When you stand in front of an edifice like this, whether it’s here or outside a township in South Africa, or in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Second World War, or in Berlin in the 60s and 70s, it’s something you know instinctively that this is wrong. It’s a bad thing,” he said. “It cannot survive forever.”

If it does come down one day, he said, he’ll perform at the site, just like he did in 1990, at a spot where the Berlin Wall had fallen just a year earlier. “In fact, I would insist on it,” he said.

In the meantime, he’s considering performing elsewhere in the West Bank, perhaps in the town of Ramallah, but has not made firm plans. On Monday, Waters visited a refugee camp in the northern town of Jenin to support efforts to reopen a local movie house that closed in 1987.

When he played in Israel in 2006, he was criticized by Palestinian activists trying to organize a cultural boycott of Israel. Waters said he now feels ambivalent about having performed in Israel.

Waters, who left Pink Floyd in 1985, ruled out a reunion with his former band mates; their last joint performance was in 2005, for a Live 8 concert. “We had a great career as Pink Floyd. We all enjoyed it. We all worked together and enjoyed everything and it was brilliant. I think it’s over,” he said.

Insomnia? Well thats what they call it! I think its more of a sleeping pattern disorder!

The other night I’d slept almost the entire day and just couldn’t sleep at night. Knowing the fact that the next day was a long day including an early morning class. I hate the schedule this semester. Just so very anti-Charu schedule!

There comes my Black tea! Prepared in Five minutes, poured into my favorite cup and there I am set for the night! It kind of gives me a high. In Calcutta, I’ve done a few of my best stuff over black tea! Yeah really!

So setting up for the night these days means catching up on my favorite music and watching movies. This particular night I really wanted to listen to Pulse. So, Pink Floyd and Black tea works really really well for me. Atleast, the other night it did!

I’m not much of a movie-watcher! But these days I’m watching movies like I’ve never done before. This is both on the screen and on my laptop. And frankly I’m quite liking it. It opens up my mind and helped broadening  my thinking a bit. However the three movies I saw lately on the screen were all from Bollywood and I quite disliked them. So whenever I would come back and tell my friends that it was a pathetic movie… they would always say, you shouldn’t be trusted on this one. But whatever it is, I’m liking watching movies! I have a few lined up on my list already!

Yes, before I forget I should mention that George Harrison IS INDEED my favorite Beatle. I’ve been listening to ‘All things must pass’ a lot all this time. He’s awesome. The Silent Beatle!

The weather is great here in Calcutta for the last three days and I’m really waiting for the winters to set in.

A ‘Where have you been?’ entry!

New Floyd Book: “Pink Floyd FAQ”, Bonus Fun Stuff

New Floyd Book: “Pink Floyd FAQ”, Bonus Fun Stuff

More than four decades since their first album, and 35 years after the release of their mind-boggling masterpiece The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd continues to inspire and mystify rock fans around the world. From the warped pop of their early days to the cynical psychedelia of their classic period, Pink Floyd has expanded the possibilities of modern sound like no other group before or since. Now in Pink Floyd FAQ, pop culture author Stuart Shea delivers the inside scoop on Floyd’s particular brand of genius.

Pink Floyd FAQ takes a lively and unusual approach to telling the band’s story. Brief chapters explore different aspects of Pink Floyd history, revealing the secrets behind the band’s astonishing studio sounds, massive tours, iconic album covers, cutting-edge gear, and more.

Chapters include:
• How did the U.S. discover Pink Floyd?
• What notable guests played on Pink Floyd records?
• What were the band’s most memorable gigs?
• What are their greatest moments on record, as a group and individually?
• What are the notable missteps—and how did the band recover?
• Are the seemingly confessional songs true—or should we be skeptical?
• What records influenced them, and which performers follow in their wake?
• What was it like to be at a Pink Floyd show in 1967, in 1973, in 1980?

With more than 300 pages of stories, history, observation, opinion, reminiscences from those who were there, and photos, Pink Floyd FAQ tells the band’s story, dissects their most popular work and obscure forgotten gems, and provides a wealth of little-known facts, all adding up to a provocative must-read for fans.

Stuart Shea is the coauthor of Fab Four FAQ and an associate editor of The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. A cultural historian, musician, and occasional club DJ, Shea also penned Wrigley Field: An Unauthorized Biography. He lives and works in Chicago.

Bonus Pictures: From the Book

Nick Mason in 1970. He chose a double-bass-drum setup after seeing the one used by Cream’s Ginger Baker. Credit: Jorgen Angel/Redferns

Roger Waters at the UFO Club, London, 1966. He was among the first notable musicians to use the Rickenbacker bass, appearing in public with it even before Paul McCartney. Credit: Adam Ritchie/Redferns

Considering some of the ensembles the Floyd wore in the 1970s, this is a relatively dapper picture of the group. Credit: Photofest

With this look, one would imagine the 1970 Pink Floyd as a grungy hard-rock band rather than sonic explorers. Credit: Photofest

Bonus Excerpt: Ten Little-Known Facts About Pink Floyd

1. Pink Floyd’s first two LPs, 1967’s Piper at the Gates of Dawn and 1968’s Saucerful of Secrets, were available in monaural mixes that the record label deleted by 1969. So even if you own those albums, you don’t really know ‘em without having heard the mono versions.
2. The signature riff to the Floyd’s 1967 space-rock instrumental “Interstellar Overdrive,” written by Syd Barrett, resembles both a Burt Bacharach song and the theme to a British sitcom.
3. An uncredited Pink Floyd are featured on “Give Birth to a Smile,” the final number on Roger Waters’ 1970 solo album Music from the Body.
4. Looking for inspiration in their attempt to follow-up the mega-seller Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd attempted to record songs using only household objects as instruments.
5. Pink Floyd’s faces were so obscure that, even in their days of fame in the mid-1970s, the band members were able to walk through crowds at their own shows and not be recognized.
6. Toni Tennille, of “The Captain &,” appeared as a backing vocalist on Pink Floyd’s 1979 double-album hit The Wall.
7. The Wall’s hit single, “Another Brick in the Wall Part II,” was partially influenced by the mid-tempo disco beat of Chic’s “Le Freak” and “Dance, Dance, Dance.”
8. Although keyboardist Rick Wright was kicked out of the band in 1979, the rock press was kept in the dark about this fact until the group’s next album, The Final Cut, was released in 1983.
9. Roger Waters asserted in a 1992 interview with Q magazine that Andrew Lloyd Webber ripped off Pink Floyd’s 1971 epic “Echoes” in writing the theme of Phantom of the Opera.
10. A 1989 Pink Floyd concert in Venice went badly enough—the band’s volume damaged buildings and loiterers vandalized the city—that the entire city government resigned in shame.

50 Cent doesn’t make empty boasts. When the Queens rapper proclaimed, “I Run New York” on “I Get Money off his third LP, “Curtis,” he meant it wholeheartedly.

Still, the general consensus is that Jay-Z rules the big apple. But, to let 50 tell it, there’s only one king and he’s not from Marcy. During an upcoming episode of “Food for Thought: Conversations with 50 Cent,” the media assassin, Harry Allen simply asked, “Why is Jay-Z widely considered king of New York, and not you?”

“There’s not another artist in New York City that generates more interest than 50 Cent,” Fif told Allen. “If we go international, Jay-Z is Beyoncé’s husband. He became more popular and relevant based on the work that Matthew [Knowles] made Beyoncé do.”

In addition to Allen, the episode also features Hot 97 radio personality Angie Martinez and sports journalist Stephen A. Smith holding conversations with Fif on a wide range of topics, including his epic SoundScan showdown with Kanye West, what he learned in his relationship with Vivica A. Fox, his new CD, “Before I Self Destruct” and his income drop according to Forbes Magazine. Serving as interviewers, Allen, Martinez and Smith also held conversations with Jay-Z for the series’ premiere back in September.

In related news, 50 is set to co-host 106 & Park with Rocsi for a three-day run starting this Thursday (November 19). He’ll then return the following Monday (November 23) and Tuesday (November 24).

“Food for Thought: Conversations with 50 Cent” premieres Thursday November 19 at 7:30 PM on BET.

So Here’s The Video To Go With The Photo’s Of 50+Floyd Mayweather+Tia And Her Kids, Diddy And A Few Others Even Stop Thru..+ 50 Cent In Jersey City….

Beginning on NOV 16th; If you purchase the CD “BEFORE I SELF DESTRUCT” at BEST BUY(Jersey City) 125 18th Street. You will receive a pass to get your picture taken with 50 CENT on 11/20

6PM
Best Buy (Jersey City)
125 18th Street
Jersey City, NJ 07310

More Details

A Day Before His Album Drops In Stores 50 Releases Some Photos Of Him Chilling Wih Tia(Rick Ross Baby Mama) And Her Kids Including The Son She Has With Rick Ross. All The Flicks Were Taken At Floyd Mayweathers Mansion, Floyd Who Also Recently Had Some Words With Rick Ross..50 Is a Ill Dude Ross SMH… More Pics After The Jump….

Floyd teaches Lil’ Ross how to fight
50 Cent is ruthless..! Another diabolical tactic from the evil genius 50 Cent. Hip-hop needs him!

Lil’ Ross wearing a Maybach Music chain courtesy of E-class .. Daaaaamn Rick! They got too much money!

Tia’s son, DeAndre posing in front of Floyd’s Bentley

Daaaamn Rick! 50 belongs in a looney bin! Why would you f*ck with him and the champ?! idiot

One big happy family. Video coming soon!

DeAngelo, 50 Cent, Tia, DeAndre, lil’ Ross, and the champ!

The champ, lil’ Ross, 50 and Tia on the Maybach 62 .. Now that’s BOSS!

Sorry guys for not being able to post lately. Been playing Final Fantasy games lately and also been busy with work. But I took some time off this time to congratulate Manny Pacquiao for yet another great win! This time around he defeated a young and tough Miguel Cotto. It could have been a few rounds sooner if Cotto wasn’t backing off on the late rounds. But we can’t really blame him as you can definitely see on his face the punishment he got for getting close to Manny. If you haven’t watched the fight yet, you can watch it here.

http://www.ustream.tv/flash/video/2560784

Tim Floyd, the former USC/Chicago Bulls/New Orleans Hornets head coach, is now an assistant head coach for the Hornets, thanks to Byron Scott’s firing yesterday.  However, last week he was involved in a bizarre incident, trying to break up a catfight at some casino.

The Division Bell Soon To Be A Royal Mail Stamp Pink Floyd Management have been in touch to tell us that Pink Floyd will receive the accolade of being featured on a UK Royal Mail postage stamp on 7th January 2010. After the success of Royal Mail’s recent British Design Classics stamps, they have created a series featuring only classic UK album cover designs. Available from Thursday 7th January 2010, it includes the 1994 UK Number One album The Division Bell, which went on to sell more than 10 million copies around the world. Designed by Storm Thorgerson with Keith Breeden, the cover depicts two massive heads, created by Sculptor John Robertson, placed in the East Anglian landscape, which in turn suggest a ‘third face’, echoing the album’s themes of contradictory communication. The self-adhesive stamps are printed in two separate sheets of 25* There is also a souvenir sheet (223 x 188 mm) including stamps with water-activated gum’.* (The sheet containing ‘The Division Bell’ also has album covers by Coldplay, Blur, New Order and The Rolling Stones).

Doctor David We Presume! David Gilmour is among a host of Cambridge figures set to be awarded honorary degrees by Anglia Ruskin University. A total of 21 high achievers will be recognised in ceremonies in Cambridge and Chelmsford, the sites of Anglia Ruskin University’s two campuses. David is a former student at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT), a forerunner of ARU. He will be made an honorary doctor of arts at a ceremony at Cambridge Corn Exchange on November 11. The university said the award recognises his outstanding contribution to music as a writer, performer and innovator. (Pictured: David Gilmour on top of the Cambridge School Of Art float that won first prize in the 1965 rag week. Click to enlarge)

Yesterday Nov 9 I celebrated my third “rezday” (that SL speak for birthday… kinda). Those of you here on MS who know me in SL, I thank you for your continued support of my musical career and hope you will keep on coming out to the shows. It’s you  who make them what they are.. your interaction, you willingness to bring in others among other things.

The sponsors have been generous over the years, the venue owners as well but in my heart, I know its the friends and fans who mean the most to me. So stick around.

As a side note, I’d also like to mention that I have been invited to another virtual world to begin performing. Utherverse (UV) has asked me to begin performing my live shows. I will be the first to bring live music shows into this relatively new Virtual World (VW). While other VW’s are trying to keep up with SL’s immense popularity, I feel UV has the most potential both in momentum and technology. I should probably tell you that a good part of UV is more “adult” oriented so just keep that in mind.

While the UV shows will be different than in SL, in quite a few ways, I will still be performing live, possibly via video, and my shows will still, hopefuly, be driven mostly by audience requests. If you are presently a resident of SL, even if you’re not, please go check out UV and register with your SL avatar name so I will know who you are at the shows. It would mean so much to me to have some “family” at the first UV show, set for some time in mid December. That give you plenty of time to register and get a feel for this VW and all its controls, editing features, etc.

Pioneering anything is always tricky but I have been speaking personally with UV’s VP, tech department and marketing department leaders to get this moving as smoothly as possible. UV is free to join but I would urge you to go for the paid membership. My first show in UV is planned for December 18th at 7PM PST. You will need to join to attend. Just click this link and on the top left of my profile page, “Create a Free Account”.

http://utherverse.com/net/profile/view_profile.aspx?MemberID=94662383&trq=65913

We will be setting up a special area for the concert, an outdoor amphitheater in Virtual Vancouver which when filled to capacity, about 200 people, will replicate itself automatically to allow another 200 and so on. In theory we can have an infinite number of replicated amphitheaters for an unlimited amount of people attending. We will be marketing to a few million registered users of UV so I imagine it will be very cool for UV residents as this will be the first of its kind. I’m very excited about the prospect of spreading out to other VW’s but again, it would mean alot to me to have some familiar faces there with me. I’m also trying to get them to design animations for the Tracerettes as we have in SL. Will keep you posted on that.

Sponsors can reach me here or via email at info@sethregan.com. There will be some banner space for sponsors on the stage and if we market this right, I’m hoping to get at least a few thousand people at the show and continue shows in UV and SL simultaneously. The sponsor banners will be placed on or around the stages for maximum exposure with clickable links that will go to a website or URL of your choice. I still need to solidify costs and placement with the VP Marketing at UV but I’m hopeful it will work out fine.

Again here’s the link to join. Thanks alot

http://utherverse.com/net/profile/view_profile.aspx?MemberID=94662383&trq=65913

… ao som de Time, do álbum Dark Side of the Moon dos Pink Floyd. Apesar de ser um memento mori, é a música com que os meus filhos vão acordar nas manhãs dos dias que virão. 

Aqui a música é interpretada por David Gilmour, no Royal Albert Hall, espetáculo da On a Island Tour.

Modern + Folk = Oxymoron?    Jonquil prove otherwise.

Yet another band hailing from Oxford is the progressive folk sextet Jonquil. Despite being part of the same group of friends as YOUM and Foals, Jonquil have swapped party rhythms and spiky math beats for flowing acoustic melodies and sea shanty sing-alongs. This does not mean that they have been left in some archaic alternate reality inhabited by people wearing thick woolen jumpers however. Early tracks from the band certainly expose their influence from their Oxford brethren and they are never afraid to combine samples with a squeezebox. Whistle Low the title track from the band’s first EP contains a repeated guitar riff that if played on a Stratocaster through a variety of pedals and switches as opposed to an acoustic guitar would not sound so out of place on a Foals album. The modern influences melded with classic techniques do not end here, their first album, Lions, is beautifully crafted combining very subtle modern electronic sounds and uses a technique of linking tracks together by sampling voices and other recordings which is reminiscent of classic Pink Floyd albums. These modern inorganic techniques are used very subtly in Jonquil’s music just to polish off and modernise the beautiful flowing melodies and sea shanty-esque sing-alongs created by their huge range of acoustic instruments and vocal styles. The music Jonquil create and the skill with which they play it makes it ideal for live performance and they have gained a reputation for cozy sing along gigs, this trait is epitomized by the title track from Lions. A track that runs at under two minutes but creates such an instantaneous atmosphere that you feel compelled to join in before you even know the words. This instant creation of atmosphere can be said for most tracks on the album but each creation is very individual, the haunting sound of Subtle Strains is another great example, this ability is a product of having six band members and a huge range of instruments and vocal styles to call on. One of their new compositions not on the album is Pillow Quest again creating an original more modern, driven style and direction for the band.

In short Jonquil are advancing at an extraordinary rate and are dragging ‘modern folk’ along with them, the advancements and changes they are making seems natural and subtle and don’t at any point make their songs or music inaccessible in any way. Anyone could put Lions on tomorrow and get something from it, they have such a great variety of sounds and feelings that it would be impossible not to.

Jonquil are currently “working hard to create the best album imaginable’ and are playing upcoming dates in London, Birmingham and Leeds.

IOHO recommends the tracks:

Lions, Pillow Quest and Subtle Strains

Jonquil – Lions

IOHO would love to use content that does not have embedded advertising, if you know of a link for this or other Jonquil tracks we can post then please contact us.

Websites:

http://www.myspace.com/jonquiluk

The Floyd Country Store sign is a beacon for cloggers, pickers and fans of bluegrass music.

When I lived in Virginia, I used to go to Floyd twice a month to eat at Oddfellas Cantina and go to the Friday Night Jamboree at The Floyd Country Store. I’ve been telling Lauren about it for years and we’ve never had the chance to go, but, much to her delight, I finally took her to Floyd for an evening of great food and great music.

If you’ve never been, Floyd is an interesting town. Nestled in the midst of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it has managed to embrace a couple of decade’s worth of artists, hippies, and back-to-the-earth farmers while staying true to its traditions. Friday night is and always has been one of those traditions.

On Friday night, the farmers, artists, teen and grandparents dust off banjos and fiddles, clogs and taps and come into town for the Friday Night Jamboree at The Floyd Country Store. By day, The Floyd Country Store is a fully operating country store with a lunch counter, barrels of candy and sundries. On Friday nights, they push the racks to the walls and clear out a dance floor in front of the stage built into the back of the store. Bluegrass and Old Time musicians come from all over to perform at the Friday Night Jamboree, and everyone, and I mean everyone, dances, sways, taps and sings along with the bands.

The stage at The Floyd Country Store Friday Night Jamboree.

My favorite thing about it is how it brings the community together. You think of bluegrass as the music of an old white man, but the dance floor at the Friday Night Jamboree says otherwise. A seemingly disinterested teen is suddenly clogging with her mother and grandmother–three generations of women cloggers keeping perfect rhythm with the bass, heel and toe taps filling the places where the drums would be. A black farmer chews his tobacco and twirls, feet flying, on his face–ecstasy as he shakes off the dust of his day. Grandmothers too frail to dance tap their feet and sway in their seats. Around the walls, newcomers coax one another onto the floor for a song or two.

On the dancefloor at the Friday Night Jamboree.

Outside, the streets are filled with impromptu jam sessions. In alleys, on corners and tailgates, in parking lots and storefronts strangers stop to lend their voice or guitar or fiddle or banjo to the chorus.

In an alley beside The Floyd Country Store, a group of musicians sing gospel hymns and pick for their own joy, nevertheless, a crowd forms and they play for ours.

Waiting to jump in.

Banjo and bass join an alleyway jam session.

Fiddling in earnest.

When the night finally draws to an end, The Floyd Country Store closes up shop and everyone heads home for another week and another Friday Night Jamboree.

The Floyd Country Store at closing time.

Liz: I never get put on a jury. I wear my Princess Leia costume and they dismiss me immediately.

Liz: I don’t think it’s fair to ask me to be on a jury because I can read thoughts.
Judge: Dismissed!

But that was in Chicago. More recently, the character was called to jury duty in New York. This ensued.
Other references abound. Here’s a few.

(Liz Lemon talks with Jenna Maroney about being asked out by the good looking guy that works for MSNBC upstairs, whom they refer to as “The Hair”)
Liz: I had to say yes. I mean, he looked at me with those crazy handsome guy eyes. It was like the Death Star tractor beam when the Falcon –
Jenna: No, Liz! Do not talk about stuff like that on your date. Guys like that do not like Star Trek.
Liz: Wars — Star Wars!

Liz: (videochatting with boyfriend Floyd) Is that how far apart my eyes are?! I look like Admiral Ackbar!

edit: The Gentleman just found me this on thinkgeek.com: a kids’ Tauntaun sleeping bag.

I will not truly rest until I have one. It even has intestines decorating the lining. (I thought they smelled bad on the etc) Siiiiiiiiiigh.