The Right Voice

In case most of you do not know, and most of you don’t, there is an extremely talented singer/songwriter who also happens to play multiple instruments. Here name is Isobel Campbell. She is a Scottish folk singer who’s talent blows everyone away. Her enchanting singing, her incredible sonwriting, and her vast instrumental talent make everyone else battle for second place. I dare say that there is not a more talented woman in the music industry right now.

I came to know about her because she did an album with my favorite living singer/sonwriter Mark Lanegan titled Ballad of the Broken Seas. This phenominal record introduced me to the enchanting Isobel Campbell and I wanted to hear more. So I picked up a copy of her solo debut album Amorino. I was, again, blown away. I had to hear more. I picked up her follow-up album, the incredible Milkwhite Sheets. I was not done there. I was not satisfied with only those albums. I found out that she was the force behind the band The Gentle Waves, so I picked up Swansong for You. These albums represent, to me, that good music is still out there, you just need to take the time to look.

Stop listening to the radio. How many times can you hear My Chemical Romance or My Bloody Valentine, or whoever else is the flavor of the month in one day? Listen to music that has staying power. Do not give in to trends or fads. Listen to what you like not what the radio stations and the record companies tell you to like. Do not be sheep.

For those of you who don’t know, Ron Paul is a Texas Congressman running for President. He is a conservative, but he must not be a fan of Ronald Reagan. I say this because he is not following Reagan’s famed “11th Commandment” which sayhs thatyou should not attack your fellow party members during the primaries. This is because we still need continuity and party strength for the General Election in November. Bhy attacking Rudy Gulliani, and the current administration, Paul is dividing the Republican party and has stated on CNN that he would not support Gulliani for president when he loses to him in the primaries. This is not helpiing anyone’s cause.

Why is he doing this? Well, he thinks that if he goes out on a platform that he thinks everyone agrees with (against the War) that he would have a better chance of winning. What he has done, is alienated a good portion of what could have been his base. The President will not support him, Republicans in Congress will not support him. Democrats will not support him. He is the Ross Perot of 2008 and we all know what happened to the Republican Party in 1992 as a result of Perot. He will have to go it alone and in a presidential race it is impossible. He has no chance of winning and I hope he loses his Congressional seat. Politicians must put egos aside and swallow their pride and do what’s best for the party.

Ron Paul is not good for the Party and is not good for the political landscape of the next 4 years if he does not stop. He is working for his own selfish ambitions and will not accomplish anything in the process.

 Todd

Look at me. Two posts in a week. I have not done that since…

Anyway, let’s get on to the topic at hand. The Meat Puppets. The band is back together…almost. See, the big news here is that The Kirkwood brothers (Curt - Lead Vocals and Guitar, and Cris - Bass/Vocals) are touring for the first time in 11 years as the Meat Puppets. Back in 1995 things looked bad for Cris and continued to get worse culminating with with jail time and being shot by a post office security guard. In 1999, Curt Kirkwood went on tour with a band and used the Meat Puppets name, but without his brother, or drummer, Derrick Bostrom, the fans did not really get behind them. As Cris struggled to get his life in order, Bostrom, tired of all the drama a life in the music industry had, quit drumming and got a regular job. Curt, on the other hand, still tried his hand in music. In 2002, he started a supergroup of sorts with Nirvana bassist, Krist Novasellic and Sublime drummer, Bud Gaugh. They were called Eyes Adrift. However, fans could not get behind them, partly becasue they seemed to invent their own genre of music, their self-titled debut album flopped and they disbanded shortly after. Curt then released a solo record that failed to make a huge splash and in late 2005-2006, rumors began to mount about a possible reunion of the original Meat Puppets lineup. On his blog, Bostrom stated that he would not be apart of the reunion.

 All, this brings us to last night. Tuesday night May 15th. I had the priveledge of seeing one of my favorite bands, the Meat Puppets perform live for the very first time at the Troubadour in Hollywood, CA! It was an unbelievable experience. The band played for 2 hours and played over 20 songs. I could have watched them play all my favorites all night long. The packed house (and I mean PACKED) was intense with passion and ferever towards the brothers. They could do no wrong in anything they did, but they did everything brilliantly without missing a step.

 It was a surreal experience, and one that I thought I would never get to experience, that I shall never forget. Thank you “Brothers Meat” for all you do to entertain me and those like me.

 Photos from the Concert

Todd

Well, for the high school team that I coach anyway. Our season ended last week with a tremendous win helping us to finish 4-4 in league competition good enough for second place in the Alpha League. The team was very good. They could not always put it together at the same time, but when we did, we were hard to beat. Although we finished 4-4, we could have just as easily finished 8-0 and probably should have. The games we lost in our league, we should not have.

This means, for me, that I am back to working one job and having Mondays off completely so I just might update this thing once in a while. I also do not have to be at work by 630 or 700 AM, so I get to sleep in more now. I had a great time coaching this year and I look foward to the season starting next year.

I am hoping that this will be the final home for “The Right Voice” I know all my dilligent readers have been disappointed over the lack of posts in the last month, or so. Well, I have been rather busy and have not had much time to post, and when I did have time, I never took the time. I hope that that changes.

 Anywho, My new Web site is about to launch and I am excited about it. I have friends helping me out with cool logos and design features, but it is mostly my creation. This blog will be a big part of it and I hope you enjoy it.