Bill's top songs of 2011

Okay everybody.  Follow along if you, like me, might still be stuck in a previous generation; after rock and roll, and when electropop from the UK ruled my cd player.  I still have a penchant for the same sort of tunes:  mostly upbeat, some danceable, most sing-able and all with a distinct similarity of style.  And in a new attempt at accurate blogging, a link so you can actually listen to each of the tracks is included !

10.   Capital Cities   "Safe and Sound"     Actually an upstart group from LA but with a sound unlike most music coming from America.   This track is of note in that it is one of Chelsea Handler's favorite tunes as well  (yes, I'm a namedropper)    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWZr2F0qohA

9.     Mirrors   "Fear of Drowning"      This is a new group from Brighton UK who's first full length cd 'Lights and Offerings' was released early in 2011.   Several tracks are among my fav's, but this is the one I chose to put on the list.  There is no official 'video', but here's a link so that you can listen to the track if you'd like.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61YfAHvAZ1s

8.     Underworld "Diamond Jigsaw"     Of course another in the long list of UK acts posted here, tho this group shows a bit of age.  They first came to some notoriety with a popular track from the soundtrack to the indie film 'Trainspotting'(1996), plus they've been contracted to produce the music for the opening ceremonies for the summer Olympics 2012 in London.   Any song which includes lyrics involving a shot of tequila is worthy of my annual list!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f734DJk2kkg

7.     Darren Hayes  "Black out the Sun"  For those of you unfamiliar, Darren was the lead singer for the group Savage Garden from Australia who hit the top of the charts several times at the end of the 90's.  He remains one of the best pop singer/songwriters in the world, despite his lack of exposure and airplay as a solo artist.  His new full length release is a bit downtempo and ballad-heavy for my liking, but here is one of the finest tracks on his latest release 'Secret Codes and Battleships'.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJMNWTioW34

6.     Moby   "The Day"   Another of the rare ballads on any playlist for me;  this one borders on morose actually.   But it is a very moving track, and one of the most beautiful songs of the year.  Despite his quirky personality, Moby continues to make some music that almost always moves me in one way or another.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JSVaSpD9xo

5.     Bright Light Bright Light  "Disco Moment"   Another new discovery for me this year, this chap from the UK (Rod Thomas) could become one of my all time favorites if his early work is any indicator of what he can do.  He has still not made a full length release; this track is the second single to hit the airwaves.   Ah, to be in your twenties and full of the future ......    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs1VRlTbEO4

4.     Dragonette featuring Martin Solveig  "Hello"   Well this one is certainly the guilty pleasure of the year.  Dragonette is a indie label group from Canada,  and Mr. Solveig is a producer/remixer in Paris, who is rumored to be working on some new tracks with Madonna as we speak.   This song is cheesy to the max, but it's perfect for windows down in the car!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnET4RKXx5k

3.     Adele  "Set Fire to the Rain"    Usually when somebody gets all this publicity and popularity I go running in the other direction.  But you cannot deny this woman's multiple gifts.   That voice, and the way she can emote while performing live is just beyond amazing.  While her entire release '21' is worthy, I've chosen a live recording of this, my favorite track, which shows Adele in all her glory.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2j279pZxTY

2.     Erasure  "Be With You"     Anytime my favorite group releases a new cd, you know there's at least one track showing up on my annual list.  'Tomorrow's World' contains several top-flight tracks, but I've decided upon this one.   Despite the unusual choice of singing all those 'eeee-s', the romping nature of the song takes me to a very special place.   And when Andy sings those repeated 'I'll come running' in the closing moments, I get chills at every turn.  The video linked here is the winner of the fan-based creative contest sponsored by the band and youtube.  It is very very well done !  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF44_ntm2k4

drum roll, please .....
1.     M83   "Midnight City"    Creatively this is bang on!  Never before have I heard a pop song where there is no lyric to the chorus, but you really try to sing along.   How is that possible ??   Sing along with a wordless synthesizer ??    I feel like Phoebe in that old episode of friends where she tries to sing along to Ross's bad bagpipe !   And this French fellow, Anthony Gonzalez has managed to do all of that in a 4 minute pop song.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX3k_QDnzHE

Public opinions can be fun !

On Saturday, a letter to the editor in the local Santa Rosa newspaper sent me over the edge enough to fire back my own letter to the editor.    The premise of the original letter was to assert that the reason that Fox News has higher ratings than the other news channels is that the public at large realizes that they can only get the 'truth' from Fox and not CNN or MSNBC.     My response follows:

Editor:   A Mr. Cox of Sonoma opined that somehow the higher ratings at Fox News vs. CNN and MSNBC is a relevant factor on what is true and what is not.   Remember that majorities of humans once thought it appropriate to own as personal property those they deemed 'lesser', or to burn at the stake a neighbor whose behavior was thought to cause death and disease.  Fox now regularly features folks who believe that man lived concurrently with dinosaurs, New Hampshire was the site of the first shots of the Revolutionary War, that the millions of tons of pollutants we have pumped into the atmosphere and water supply have no direct link to the state of the planet, and that somehow Hawaii isn't really a part of the United States.  These things are all patently false. To insist upon them as facts makes you either ignorant or a liar.   My only conclusion is that the masses have become intellectually lazy and can be led along by their most base instinct of fear.   And no, most of us are not following anything related to Michael Moore.   Except perhaps for the notion that the rich and powerful are leading us all down a slope few will ever have the means to climb up.   That's the speech I want to hear from one of our leaders.

Bill Klausing

Santa Rosa

First unsettling experience of 2011 !

well now that was really interesting.   Last week a guy called to ask me whether or not I was interested in having him trim my eucalyptus trees in the front yard.   They really are in great need of pruning, and I was planning on calling my regular tree guy at some point in the near future;   this guy said he was new in the area and would give me a good deal, etc.    So we made an appointment for later in the day and he came by to look more closely @ the trees and gave me a bid.   He made what I thought was a reasonable offer and I told him I would get back to him shortly.

Two days later (on new years eve), he left me a voicemail stating that he was really interested in doing the work, and would be willing to include the pruning on sycamore tree in the back yard in addition, for the same price.    So now this seems like a really good deal.   So I called him back today (Jan 4) and left him a voicemail.   He returned my call about 15 minutes later.  I told him that if the price still held, let's go ahead with the work.   I could hear another voice in the background, and then he said "that was a december price", now the price is 1200  (previous was 960).    When I questioned that his previous voicemail was left on december 31st  (hardly work that could be done in 2010 ??), the other background voice clearly grabbed the phone from him and replied, "that 20% discount no longer applies; find somebody else to do your damned work", and slammed the phone down.  

wtf ??

So now that I"ve been hung up on by somebody who randomly sought out my $$ for doing tree work, my hackles have been raised just a bit.   So I called the number back.   The second voice picked up immediately and before I could even utter a syllable, screamed into the phone:  "I am another owner, and I don't like the way you spoke to my son.   If you continue to call us, I"m going to call the police!"   And the phone disconnects.

suffice it to say, her customer service could use a little work.....

Bill's top songs of 2010 ....

It's been a while since I've posted anything here ...... and that needed to change immediately.  So until I decide exactly which rant to take off on next, I'll just settle for putting together my list of the best music of 2010 for those who might be interested, and perhaps have the same general taste in music.   It's not easy to whittle the list down to a top 10, but I've attempted to do just that.   I managed to make it to two live shows this year and enjoyed them both a lot.   I saw Goldfrapp here in Oakland in June, and caught Robyn's latest tour in Miami Beach in November.   Here goes...

10.    Hot Chip    "I Feel Better"
 9.     Robyn        "Dancing on my Own"
 8.     Kylie Minogue   "All the Lovers"
 7.     Brandon Flowers  "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas"
 6.     LCD Soundsystem   "I Can Change"
 5.     Goldfrapp     "Head First"
 4.     Florence and the Machine    "Dog Days are Over"
 3.     Hurts      "Wonderful Life"
 2.     Robyn    "Hang With Me"
 1.     Scissor Sisters    "Invisible Light"

Check out the sounds on i-tunes or youtube and put a smile on your face .....
   

..... Of friends; old and new. All very dear .....

Picture the spring of 1978.  Ordinary enough.   I was finishing my second year of college and, as was, and is frequently the case, a new song on the radio had become my favorite thing to listen to.  The song was "Because the Night" by Patti Smith.    Now this was an artist I'd never heard of and I ran immediately to the record store to buy that latest LP 'Easter' which contained that 3 1/2 minute pop gem.   For those of you unfamiliar you can go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=px__SsVXX_0.   I discovered that Patti Smith was playing in just a few days at The Agora Theater right on the other side of campus.   I convinced my roommate Tim to join me and off we went.   Imagine these two blonde 19 year old innocent country boys off to see their first rock concert.   The punk scene had managed to take some hold in quiet little Columbus Ohio; and as we entered the theater we were bug-eyed at the scene.   Punks with buzz cuts, mohawks, safety pins piercing body parts.   Well now this was something new.   And when Patti took the stage singing a song called "Rock and Roll N####r", I can safely say that somehow my view of the rest of the world shifted to the left that evening.   So Patti Smith and I have, as they say, a little history.

I learned earlier today that last night in NYC, Patti Smith was awarded the National Book award for her recent release, "Just Kids".    I had read about the book a few weeks ago, and picked it up while on vacation in Florida; I  finished it in less than 24 hours once I started reading.  In a nutshell, "Just Kids" describes in great detail, Patti's lifelong bond with Robert Mapplethorpe.    Now if that doesn't ring a bell for all of you, Robert became infamous late in his life, and more-so after his death when an exhibit of his sexually graphic photography got raided by the police in Cincinnati Ohio; this resulted in the gallery owner being taken to court and charged with multiple counts of distributing pornography, etc.   (said gallery owner was found not guilty).  Robert and Patti meet as mere children, in 1967, descending on New York City in hopes of becoming great artists.  They were lovers/friends/roommates/companions for 23 years until Robert's death in 1989.   Their adventures range from desperate to laugh-out-loud funny;  all sprinkled with their exposure to all sorts of artisans in that late 60's and early 70's period.   They called Janis Joplin a friend.   Had drinks with Jimi Hendricks.   Tried very hard to get taken into Andy Warhol's Factory circle.  Todd Rundgren kept telling Patti to put her poetry to music.  Patti told Robert that he should try photography.  But through it all the boundless love of great friends takes center stage in their lives.  Even as they moved through other relationships, the amazing  bond they had makes this book a must read.   RUN, don't walk to your local bookstore to pick up this little beauty.  Before his death, Robert made Patti promise to one day tell their story to the world; it took her 20 years to get it all down.   But I thank Patti for the great gift.         "JUST KIDS" (HarperCollinsPublishers).

After Patti had gotten married and moved out of NYC, she wrote a lullaby to her newborn son, "The Jackson Song".   You can listen to this:     www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OVnNePQPsQ       Patti wrote this song after Robert had gotten ill, and singing it at his bedside were the last words she spoke to him.  Robert always called Patti his 'little blue star'.  Listening to the song after reading the book gives the lullaby a whole new meaning.  I'm wiping away tears now as I write this;  that's how powerfully the book affected me with it's message of love.    The bond of friendship.    The amazing heart-wrenching circle of life.     Love to all those I hold near and dear ......

Story of the week.....

Well, I've threatened to do this before.   And now I have.   Heaven help up all from the things I might write down in a public forum.   And apologies up front to all who I may, and the many who I certainly will, offend.   The world has seemed to have left it's moorings;   I'll be sure to point out the many ways in which humanity has gone wrong.    

But for today it's just an amusing sidebar after returning home from vacation yesterday.   Let's just say it was one of those days in and out of airports that you'd really like to forget asap.   My morning flight from FortLauderdale to ATLwas unremarkable and on time.    My next leg to return home to CA was looking fine;  but shortly after boarding the captain tells us that there is a mechanical issue, and the 'company' is looking for the replacement part.   After 90 minutes they tell us the nearest missing part is in Minneapolis.   Oops.   30 minutes later we deplane back into the terminal, move gates, and an hour later board another plane which we think is ready to depart.   2 hours later, we're still sitting at the gate, waiting on the catering company to make an appearance, as the pilot won't leave the gate without food/drink for the 5 hour flight.   Needless to say, it was a long day, and roughly 5 hours late, I safely landed in SFO.

But the best part of the day, was the 2 hours sitting gate-side in plane #1.   I was having a very pleasant chat w/ the woman seated next to me, who had the previous day, successfully completed the NY Marathon.  But our conversation was interrupted frequently by the grandmother (my assumption) and granddaughter (Lena) sitting behind us.   Lena was six years old or so by estimation, and was not at all happy with our captivity on the airplane.   It was hot, and she could not get comfortable.   Lena was not happy.  Lena was whining in that six-year-old way that can, of course, get on your nerves.   But Grandma was not being very helpful.   She seemed to lack that warm and fuzzy nurturing aspect we expect all grandma's to have.   The least helpful was the repeated lectures to Lena about how when she whines, she only makes it worse for herself and makes Grandma more aggravated.  When the time came for us to go back into the terminal, Lena was clearly not moving quickly enough to satisfy Grandma.  Now the screaming starts.   "LENA, GO!   GO!  LENA !!     LEEENA!!!"    This of course grabs everybody's attention who's left in the rear of the aircraft.   Grandma is now fairly out of control, and is yanking Lena's arm, pulling her violently up the aisle of the aircraft.     The passengers all sorta take a breath and look at each other in amazement.    I look at my friendly neighbor and remark a little too loudly, "well now we all know why Lena's whining;  Grandmas a bitch !"    

a little laughter is good for the soul..........

Bill