The Transcendent Band

I'm waiting. Back in the day we had a lot of transcendent bands, The Beatles The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Cream, The Band, Jimi, The Grateful Dead, CSNY. Many others could be added to that list. In later years I would add Little Feat, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Talking Heads, Springsteen, Los Lobos, The Clash, Steely Dan, The Police, U2, Dave Matthews Band. Lately there just hasn't been a band that has blown me away. Maybe it's because I'm older and the bands that are really making a major impact are doing so to those much younger than me. Maybe there are just no bands making that kind of impact any more. Has Rock & Roll run it's course and is now so mainstream that no band has such a dramatic impact? I really hope not. I really like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Drive By Truckers, and the Subdudes but none have had that kind of influence. Green Day, who I also like, have made an impact and now there is a Broadway Musical based on their "American Idiot" album. I fear that there are many transcendent bands out there that I am just missing because I am old and that their music just doesn't resonate with me. I'm being left behind by the very thing that I felt defined part of me. I used to have WHFS (102.3 in Bethesda, MD) with Weasel, Cerphe, Josh, Mark, and Damian to guide me. Now radio is a wasteland and only Pandora or internet radio leads me to new acts. I am constantly drawn back to those bands of yesteryear that I can no longer see perform except in a completely remade form. Getting old sucks.

Zuckerberg, Time Magazine's Person of the Year, Really?

Mark Zuckerberg, really? Have we stooped so low? The guy who gave us Facebook? That's all it takes? Sure Facebook rejuvenated Betty White's career so at least it's got that going for it but, really, it's just a way for people to talk to each other without actually having to talk to each other.

Here's my choice for Person of the Year, Jon Stewart. He would probably hate this but he has stepped forth as the voice of reason in this year of ridiculous bickering. It is not out of line to say that without Jon Stewart's lambasting of congress that the 9/11 first responder health care bill would not have passed. His Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear drew over 200,000 people to the national Mall (myself included) to say, "turn it down a notch America!" Yes he's a comedian but he makes more sense than most people, plus he's funny.

My choice for
PERSON OF THE YEAR - JON STEWART

Because he didn't invent Facebook!

Maybe he'll friend me for this post, oh boy!

What have you done?

Starbucks bought out Seattle's Best Coffee (and it was) a few years ago and now seems intent on destroying the brand. The latest onslaught is by changing the logo. SBC had a great logo (on the left) but it has been replaced by a new logo (on the right). How "Target" generic is that? I'd like to know how much they paid for that logo and how can I get in on that gig because I know I could've done better. Just what demographic is this new logo appealing to, the generic, Twilight, Android, Blade Runner, Futuristic, What's the point of it all, new world?
Which one makes you feel more warm and fuzzy?

A Picture Only A Deadhead Could Love

I saw this on the way in to work this morning. It made my day. Morning Dew Lawn Service with a "Steal Your Face" sticker on it (and a GD Euro oval). I had to take a picture.

The Dead live on!

Going Old School

I am on a quest. A quest for the beer of my college days (or before). Before micro brews and the mega breweries of Anheiser Busch and Miller took over everything. Lately hipster bars have put Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap. In the old days I would have never touched PBR but I have to admit I kind of enjoy it now. My buddy Jack picked up a case of Gennese Cream Ale for the World Cup this summer and that started this whole old school beer idea. I was in Milwaukee a few weeks ago and my mission was to find Schlitz on tap somewhere. It didn't happen and the one place I went that had Schlitz (and Blatz) on the menu were out of both. Curses, foiled again. I did find the Blatz Brewery which is now condos as is the old Pabst Brewery complex. I have to admit I would love to live in a condo in Brewery Building #2. Since then I have been looking up all of the old beers that I remember seeing commercials of as a child. Schaefer, Rheingold, Piels, Schlitz, PBR, I'm searching for them all (except Ballantine and Carling Black Label which sucked, not to keen on Stroh's either). They are the new microbreweries, reviving the old formulas and selling in small geographic areas. Strange that I can get Schlitz Malt Liquor at my 7-11 but not Schlitz beer. My friends have decided to help me in my quest. Jack went up to Pennsylvania and brought back Schmidts and Stegmaier (although it's now called Lionshead). Another friend is headed up to Staten Island where he will hopefully score some Rheingold and Schaefer (and maybe some Piels). "Schaefer is the one beer to have when you're having more than one", a prelude to college binge drinking? I don't know what's driving this, maybe a look back at simpler times. All I know is that I need a Schlitz because "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer."