the gookins dot net

This is probably one of those things that’s already been around the blogosphere and I’m just late to the game in finding it, but it’s cool nonetheless.

Bohemian Rhapsody played on old-school computer equipment:

The “long awaited” new studio album from “Guns N’ Roses” will hit store on November 23.

I use quotes around “long awaited” because don’t know who has been awaiting it for so long, except for maybe a few die-hard fans here and there. The reaction from most of us who are old enough to have been fans in the early days is along the lines of “Oh. You mean Axl Rose is still alive?” While those of the younger generation are probably more like “Who?” I was a huge fan from the time they hit the national scene in 1987. I saw them live when Appetite for Destruction was brand new (they were opening for Aerosmith). I bought my vinyl copy of G’n'R Lies several days before the official release because the owner of the local record store I frequented put his stock out early. But (not including leaked .mp3s) this is the first new original material from them in 17 years, and well, I’ve just moved on with my life. It’s not you, it’s me. I’ve changed and grown since then. It’s OK though, we can still be friends.

I also use quotes around “Guns N’ Roses” because the only original member still in the band is Axl Rose. The other six dudes are, I think, just some guys that Axl met in a chat room and said “hey, you guys wanna join a band?” and they said “Uh, I don’t really have anything else going for the next couple decades, so…sure.”

Finally, I use the singular “store” because you can only get it at Best Buy. You can listen to the title track on there too, before deciding whether or not you want to pre-order the CD or album. I listened to it. My 2-word review: generic suckitude.

This brought tears to my eyes.
Language warning. As if you couldn’t tell from the name of the song.

Watch “Everyday Normal Guy Rap” while you’re at it.

Apparently Barack Obama has received the coveted Bruce Springsteen endorsement. Bruce writes:

LIke most of you, I’ve been following the campaign and I have now seen and heard enough to know where I stand. Senator Obama, in my view, is head and shoulders above the rest.
(–snip–)
Over here on E Street, we’re proud to support Obama for President.

I suppose that with this devastating news Hillary will drop out of the race, and John McCain will just go ahead and concede the general election.

Seriously though, I heard “Born to Run” on the radio today, and that song still kicks ass.

We’ve been listening to a lot more Barenaked Ladies lately. I’ve always kind of liked them but I really started getting into them just about a year ago, and they quickly became a family favorite. Aside from the fact that most of their songs are incredibly catchy, they also have knack for quirky, often humorous, lyrics which I think the kids really like.

I just found out that they’re about to release their first CD of children’s music on May 6. How cool is that? I guarantee you this will be orders of magnitude better than the Wiggles or whatever other tripe they’re pushing on kids these days. Allison’s birthday is in May; she just might be getting this whether she asks for it or not.

I was a baby when I learned to suck
But you have raised it to an art form.
–from “Wind It Up” by Barenaked Ladies

…is how everyone starts out their memes. I (and/or Christine) was tagged for this by COD. Here’s the idea:

1. Go to http://www.popculturemadness.com/
2. Pick the year you turned 18 (left column)
3. Get yourself nostalgic over the song’s of the year
4. Write something about how the songs affected you
5. Pass it on to 5 more friends

I turned 18 in 1986. Apparently,it was a shit year for music. At least for popular music anyway. I’ve always been a bigger fan of the music you DON’T hear on the radio. I started high school as a metal head, ended it as a Dead Head, and since then I’ve picked up an appreciation for almost any genre of music, with country being the main exception. I think I can count all the country songs I like on one hand. And most of those are by Willie Nelson or Hank Williams (Sr.), who were both badasses, so they’re kinda rock ‘n roll. But, I digress…

So, I looked through the list of most popular songs of 1986, and (in my head) I was coming up with some really negative comments. Then I remembered that Mama Gump always said “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”, so most of it I’m not touching on. Also, I couldn’t really work up much nostalgia about any of these, so I’m not putting in any YouTube links. If you’re that interested, you can find them your own damn self. So here’s my short list:

Living In America - James Brown
I really wasn’t big on this song, but I do like James Brown. Anyone who writes lyrics like “Get up, get on up, get on the scene, like a sex machine” is OK in my book.

Walk Like An Egyptian - The Bangles
This may come back to haunt me someday, but right now I’m making a public admission that I liked this song. Still kinda’ dig it, actually.

In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
A great song. However, I don’t remember ever hearing it in ‘86. I only got to know it from Say Anything, which was 3 years later.

My Hometown - Bruce Springsteen
Not one of my favorite Bruce songs, but I can get a little nostalgic because I saw Springsteen live in 1985. He was at his peak that year, and did an amazing 3-hour show, which was unheard of at the time (except maybe for Dead shows). Hey Dean, let’s make a Bruce video!

Shot In The Dark - Ozzy Osbourne
This was a decent tune. I had this album and it was OK. Doesn’t come close to Blizzard of Ozz (his best, IMO) or Diary of a Madman, though.

Tagging: Whoever wants it, ‘cuz I don’t have any more blogging friends who haven’t been named yet.

Okay, I’ve been looking online for a free mp3 of the Chicken Dance for days, do you think I can find one? You know, the polka one that everyone plays at their wedding? Really, it’s not for me, it’s for my Brownie Girl Scout meeting tonight. We’re having a dance party, and what dance party would be complete without the Chicken Dance?

If you know where I can get one (like in the next hour) email me at christineATthegookinsDOTnet. Thanks.

Also, I ran across this - Dancing Chicken in my search. Pretty funny.

UPDATE: Didn’t get the Chicken Dance in time, but the girls had a blast anyway. I think they would have done the Limbo the entire time if we would have let them.

Drivin’ through town just my boy and me
With a “Happy Meal” in his booster seat
Knowin’ that he couldn’t have the toy ‘til his nuggets were gone.

Thanks, Rodney Atkins.

A short story on RollingStone.com about Kid Rock kicking down a door at the Hard Rock because he thought it was Tommy Lee’s room and Kid was going to kick his ass. It turns out it was the wrong room.

The funniest part? How the comments on the article immediately devolved into a juvenile discussion of which of the two would kick the others ass.

To be on a ship in the middle of the ocean while 44 people from around the world sing Karaoke for 3 days straight. That’s right, it’s the 2006 Karaoke World Championships.

My favorite bit from the article:

That doesn’t mean that performers are always hailed as heroes back home. “It’s like we don’t even exist,” Stolk, a 38-year-old construction worker, says of his fellow Canadians’ attitude toward karaoke winners. A radio station was supposed to send Stolk off with a ceremony at the airport in Hamilton, Ontario, but no one showed up. “When you mention that you’re going into the Karaoke World Championships, they think of that Duets movie with Huey Lewis,” Stolk says. “It’s a joke to them.”

Yeah.

Back in high school, my friend Dean (who frequently comments here) was a huge Ozzy Osbourne fan. He practically used the phrase “Ozzy rules” as an all-purpose salutation. He wrote it on his notebooks, and even spelled it out with wood blocks that were glued to the dashboard of his car (a 1973 Plymouth Satellite Sebring). So a few years back I saw this skit on Saturday Night Live that totally reminded me of Dean. As I remember it, there’s this couple eating in a restaurant, and there is a group of strolling musicians going from table to table. The musicians come up to the couple and start playing some Ozzy song in an obnoxious manner. The couple asks them to play something else, so they switch to another Ozzy song, and this scenario repeats a couple more times. Finally, the couple calls over the maitre d’, played by Tim Meadows, and they say something like, “these musicians keep playing loud, Ozzy Osbourne songs in our faces.” The maitre d’ just responds, “well, Ozzy rules.”

So where am I going with this story? Awhile back we posted about our taking the kids to see one of our favorite bands, Carbon Leaf. In the comments, Dean asked where he could get one of their CDs. Christine responded that they have a bunch of MP3s available on their website (in the “Tour Trunk” section, if you’re looking). One of their CDs that we own is a live disc that includes a cover of Ozzy’s song Crazy Train. Which of course I thought Dean might enjoy since he’s such a huge Ozzy fan.

Hint: Right click the song title above, then “save target as”. The link will only be available for a short time.

As Chris said, we went to see Carbon Leaf play at the Saturday in the Park music festival. We’ve become huge Carbon Leaf fans over the past 6 months or so, and the kids really like their music too, so we all loaded up and made the 3 hour drive to Sioux City (now I know why it’s also known as Sewer City). I wanted to take the RV and make it an overnight trip, but the gas alone would have cost a couple hundred bucks.

The show was really good. We got there to see most of the set by New Monsoon before CL played. It was the first concert the kids have been to, so they were all pretty excited. I think Jessica in particular thought it was cool. Carbon Leaf sounded great and played quite a few of our favorites (including Allison’s all-time favorite song, “The Boxer”). After their set, we bought 3 of their CDs and met the singer, Barry Privett. Jessica and Allison got their picture taken with him (Matt didn’t want to be in it). We also got some pretty good pictures during the show. Click on our Flickr dealie over there on the side to see them.

Since our concert plans for last night were cancelled we decided to road trip with the kids to see Carbon Leaf play at Saturday In the Park in Sioux City today.  If all goes well, we’ll post pics when we get back.

On the way to work this morning I heard this really bad song on the radio that I’ve heard a couple times before. It turns out the song is “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies” by Panic at the Disco. I can’t stand this song. The lyrics are horrible (see them here) and the so-called “melody” seems totally constructed to fit around the lyrics.

As I listened, I realized that this song reminds me of “the cake out in the rain” song. So I did quick Google search for that song (MacArthur Park) and what did I discover? MacArthur Park was sung by Richard Harris. I’ve heard that before, but it’s a common name so not until today did I put 2 and 2 together and realize that it was Richard Harris, the actor. The same Richard Harris who played Dumbeldore in the first 2 Harry Potter movies (among many other roles).

Did you know?