Happy Mother's Day

Just click the pic to enjoy a scene that surely is taking place all across the country this weekend.

RUSH: Far Cry

After the recent RUSH talk on here, I thought I should at least give you access to the video for their new single "Far Cry". It's a Youtube clip, so the audio isn't fantastic, but getting the video for the song is a fair trade.

I'm sure I'll eventually grab a pair of lawn tickets and check them out September 8th at Tinley Park with my brother. Unfortunately, RUSH concerts are about 97% men. 96% of them -- yeah, I'm one of them -- like to air drum.

Maybe these guys will be at the concert, too.

Sportscast Gone Wrong

I can't seem to stop showing these news and sportscast blooper videos. Can you blame me? I posted some of my favorites a few days ago. The video in this post is one I found this week, and is rapidly growing on me.

I'd cut this guy some slack, as most of the things that go wrong in the video are not his fault, but then when things do go right, most of his comments are pretty lame, and he does something that is a pet peeve of mine when giving scores -- he gives the losing team's score first.

Considering the reference to Scottie Pippen in a Bulls uniform, this is obviously an older clip, and from what I understand, this anchor is now working in the Boston market.

The Boston television market, that is...not the fast food chain. I think.

RUSH: Snakes And Arrows

Snakes And Arrows, the latest studio album from RUSH is in stores today. New music, and a tour that brings them to Tinley Park in September, makes me a happy man. I mentioned RUSH in a previous post, and I mentioned how I'd eventually get around to giving you more info on how and why this band is one of my faves.

I'm not exactly sure where to start. I guess you need to know how my musical tastes changed as I was growing up. My first recollection of listening to radio and paying attention to new music was 1980. Even today, I'll hear songs that came out that year, and I feel like I'm nine years old again. I listened to mainly the Top 40 stations back then, and most of the songs that I remember listening to include gems like "Upside Down" by Diana Ross, "Fantasy" by Billy Joel, "Magic" by Olivia Newton-John, "Just Like Starting Over" by John Lennon, and "Turn It On Again" by Genesis.

As I grew up, I stayed with Top 40, for the most part, until I was in high school. Thanks to the influences of some friends, I branched into "classic rock" mode. Plus, I was now old enough to drive, so I was able to spend more time listening to radio. So, in a matter of years, I went from tapping my toes to "I Want Your Sex" by George Michael, "Heart And Soul" by T-Pau, and "The Miami Vice Theme" from Jan Hammer, to an overdose of Clapton, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Allman Brothers, etc.

It was an awakening. I can remember sitting with my mouth open listening to "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers for the first time. Same deal for "Layla" (Clapton), "Stairway To Heaven" (Zeppelin), "We Won't Get Fooled Again" (The Who), "Deacon Blues" (Steely Dan), "Do You Feel Like We Do" (Peter Frampton's live version), "Angel" (Hendrix), and "Tom Sawyer", by RUSH. Wow, now THIS was music. So long, Nu Shooz, hello Purple (and Patti) Haze.

Classic rock is like getting an education. You reach that certain age, you discover classic rock, live it, love it, learn about it, grow out the hair a bit, buy the tie-dye shirts, and become a scholar in everything from AC/DC to ZZ Top.

At this same time, I was in a band. However, I played keyboards. I say "however" because playing keyboards isn't really the cool instrument. To me, at least. I'd much rather be the guitarist, or the drummer. But, keyboard was the instrument I had access to growing up, and I learned how to play it adequately enough to play along with many a rock song. I enjoyed it, howver, during the mid-80's, before I discovered classic rock, keyboards in music always sounded cheesy. Then I started listening to The Doors, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Yes, and Genesis to name a few. Keyboards sounded cool in songs by these groups..

Back to RUSH. By the latter half of the 80's, I was starting to hear RUSH songs on the classic rock stations. "Tom Sawyer" was usually the song that was played. I didn't know much else about the band at this point. Then one day, one of the dudes on my bowling team gave me a RUSH cassette. He liked the band well enough, but never listened to the album. He asked me if I wanted it, and I said yes. The album was Grace Under Pressure.

This was the defining moment that moved RUSH from intriguing band with a killer song that I liked alot, to the status of THAT band, and one of my all time faves.

I got home, put the tape into my walkman, put on the headphones, and for the first time in my life, heard what I thought was the perfect sounding band. I had always pictured RUSH as being more of a hard rock band -- with only having Tom Sawyer, plus a still building knowledge of classic rock to go by -- but when I started Grace Under Pressure, I heard the sound of a band that I would love to play in. It was the perfect use of synthesizers, with plenty of guitars, and of course amazing drumming. It was as if I had found the perfect sounding band for my tastes.

I wasn't expecting that sound from that band. From that point on, I started ingesting as much RUSH as I could. That's when I discovered the epic 2112 album, and we even took a stab at playing it in our band. Somewhere out there is a tape of us playing that, and me trying to sing "Tom Sawyer" as well. Hopefully it is eroding at a very rapid rate as you read this.

As the years have gone by, I've been to several concerts, have all of their music, a DVD or two, and will probably go see them in September. They might not be as popular as other bands of that era, but they garner tremendous amounts of respect within the music industry, mainly from other musicians, and rightly so.

They've basically been together for the duration. Their first album came out in 1974 -- aptly entitled RUSH -- then they switched drummers, and have been a tight threesome ever since. Geddy Lee on bass and vocals, Alex Lifeson on guitars, and the amazing Neil Peart on drums. Their music is certainly unique, and thanks to my stoner friend, Kerry, who didn't want his cassette of Grace Under Pressure, their music inspired me, and still does today.

I'll leave you with some Youtube clips for you to enjoy:

"YYZ" - Rush In Rio DVD - Simply an amazing instrumental (RUSH has many), and the energy of the crowd is incredible.



"Tom Sawyer" - Rush In Rio - Their most well-known song, again, in front of a frenzied crowd.



"The Trees" - Gotta love the late 70's hair.



"Freewill" - One of my favorite RUSH songs, and one of the songs that elicits a tremendous amount of air drumming at concerts.

News Bloopers

After my recent post showing the video of Tracy Butler losing control of the Vespa she was riding, about five seconds after she got on the thing, and my older post that had the video of the reporter getting attacked by a potential interview subject, I had the urge to pass along a few other news blooper gems from around the net.

You may have seen most of these already. Here are five of my faves:

Grape Stomper - First off, the reporter has a bit of a sarcastic attitude about stomping grapes during this report. Then she cheats. Then she tries to be funny, and fails. Well, she failed when she tried to be funny. That's not to say that this clip isn't hilarious. Granted, what happens to her most certainly hurt, but I dare you to not laugh out loud at her reaction.



Bugging the weatherman - "Oh my God!!!!!! There it is!!!"



Boom Goes the Dynamite - Quite possibly the most infamous "bad sportscast" in history.



All choked up - Just trying to read this story about Saddam's upcoming death by hanging has this woman sounding as if a noose is tightening around her neck.



Snow job - These kids must have heard us do a similar thing many moons ago with Dean Tambling. Gotta love the newswoman cracking up, too.

NHL Wardrobe Malfunction

I know that this has been going on for some time now, but I'd like to know who was responsible for the recent trend of having NHL teams wear their dark uniforms at home, and their white jerseys on the road? I'm still not used to this.

As the playoffs are now underway, I'll probably check out a few games over the next month or two -- stress free viewing since both the Blackhawks and Flyers are setting up tee times right about now -- and I'm sure each time I turn a game on, it will take me a few seconds to figure out which team is home, and which team is away. I wish they'd go back to the old days.

Of course, the NHL is the league that allowed the absolute worst sports uniform choice in the history of mankind, so I don't hold out a lot of hope for any sane decisions regarding uniforms. Those long pants were even dumber than the White Sox wearing shorts and collars. Am I wrong?

With baseball, and to a certain extent football, usually when you turn a game on, a fan can tell by looking at the ballpark who the home team is, so when a team like the White Sox is wearing black jerseys it doesn't confuse me, because I can tell U.S. Cellular Field from Camden Yards, Yankee Stadium, etc. Of course with football, most teams wear dark jerseys at home, as does the NHL, but that's how it's always usually been with football. We're used to that.

The NHL seems to have just decided to change things around a few years back, and I don't like it. Here are how the uniform rules should be for the four major sports:

Baseball - Teams can wear whichever style they choose, but must coordinate with the other team so they don't each choose a dark colored jersey. This doesn't seem too much to ask. Also, until the Pittsburgh Pirates have a winning season, they must wear this uniform for every game.

Football - Home teams wear their dark jersey, road teams wear white -- except in Dallas. As much as I hate the Cowboys, they get to wear white at home. Whatever it is, it just looks right.

Basketball - They still do it right, so no changes need to be made. Home teams wear white, road teams dark jerseys. Just don't laugh at the officials.

Hockey - Let's go back to home teams wearing white, and road teams wearing dark. Especially in Chicago. Each time I stumble upon a Blackhawks game -- which is obviously a road game since Dollar Bill Wirtz still refuses to televise home games -- I always get confused for a minute or so, thinking "Hey, this is a home game", becuase they are wearing the white sweater. Let's get this back to the way it should be. With one exception...

Until the Flyers have a winning season again, bring on the pants.

After the horrendous season my Flyers had, here is a gem for hockey fans, actual footage of the Flyers first Cup clincher against Boston in 1974.

The Butler Did It

What do you get when you cross ABC7's Tracy Butler with a Vespa motor scooter?

Proof of the old adage: Before you hop on a Vespa scooter on live TV, take some lessons first.