Happy Baekday

Though the M's traded Cha Seung Baek to the Padres back on May 21, he's still one of the greatest individuals I know to share the same birthday as myself. One of the greatest temporary Mariners to grace this earth (except maybe for Greg Norton) and a beautiful human being.

John's Jukebox: Cloud Nine

George Harrison - Cloud Nine (1987)

Now at first glance, you might think this looks pretty cheesy, but underneath that dated 80s album cover lies a truly great album. Now I've only heard so much of former Beatle George Harrison's solo career, but this is easily my favorite Harrison record. With some great songs, all star accompaniment including; Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and Elton John, not to mention very tightly produced by Jeff Lynne. This album marked George Harrison's comeback into music as one of the great songwriters of the 20th century.

The year was 1987 (five years since Harrison's last album) when George decided to take a break from producing movies and take another crack at recording an album. With his last few attempts being critical and commercial failures, Ol' George felt a new wave of inspiration in 1987 and made the album Cloud Nine. By utilizing tight drums, rich backup vocals and an appropraite mix of synth and Harrison's trademark slide, George (working closely with Jeff Lynne) managed to create a new and fresh sound for himself, while even spawning some new found commercial success with his cover of Rudy Clark's "I Got My Mind Set on You" and it's follow up single "When We Was Fab" (George's tribute to Liverpool and the Fab Four). Now though Cloud Nine might sound a little dated these days, it doesn't stop these songs from retaining their catchiness. From tender ballads like "Someplace Else" or "Just for Today" to the rock and roll sounds of "Fish on the Sand" or "Devil's Radio" Cloud Nine is a standout work in Harrison's discography and has certainly drawn me in from time for many listens, too bad my original copy was destroyed.

Favorite Tracks: "This is Love", "When We Was Fab", "Fish on the Sand"

R.I.P. Sydney Pollack

Sydney Pollack
July 1, 1934 - May 26, 2008
It's tough to believe that the legendary director and notable film actor Sydney Pollack has passed away. I certainly had no idea that he was fighting cancer with how busy he'd been keeping himself. (Too bad his last acting role was in Made of honor) Though I think it's inspiring that he didn't let his condition stop him from being productive, I can respect that. Though probably known in recent times more for his roles in movies like Michael Clayton,Eyes Wide Shut, and that hilarious phone commercial, his legacy will most likely live on through his influentiall work behind the camera. This including such films as; They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Tootsie, and the oscar winning Out of Africa. With such sad news I just wish that I could've of become more familiar with Pollack's work before his passing, but look forward to seeing some of his films in the future.

Weezer on the Web

If you love all those wacky internet stars like Tay Zonday or Numa Numa Guy or whoever... than you should check out Weezer's new music video for Pork and Beans, it's pretty wacky, but as well a pretty entertaining video. So if you haven't seen it than you should definitely check it out (It's worth a bit of a look) I posted it below.

John's Jukebox: Writers Block

Peter Bjorn and John - Writers Block (2006)

Here's a new segment on my blog, where I'll do reviews about what I'm currently listening to. Since the Cat Fancy Blog mostly has reviews for new and classic albums, I thought this would be an appropriate place for me to write blogs on just whatever I've heard recently. As you can see, I've done a couple blogs like that, but this is the first official one.

Well anyone who listens to Indie or Alternative music has probably heard the 2006 song Young Folks, a spacey number with some sparse instrumentation, a delicate duet (featuring co-lead vocals from Victoris Bergsman) and how can you forget that infectious whistling melody? Anyways, I had to check this group out and and I now I'll give you my feeling's regarding Peter Bjorn and John's 2006 album Writer's Block.

Naturally hailing from Sweden, this three-piece have put together a handful of melodic and clever tunes for their third album. Often utilizing instruments you wouldn't often see in rock including; recorders, xylophones, mandolins and more. Writer's Block is a diverse work all nicely tied together by Peter Morén's calm European delivery and Bjorn and John's competent rhythmic backup. This making their perceussion an important part of their sound. John Eriksson's drumming is tight and punchy as he's accompanied by bongos and shakers. Bjorn Yttling is as well a fine partner to Peter as he plays a mean bass, does some fine backup vocals and even throws a little piano in there. Writer's Block may not be the most exciting album (some songs drag on a little) but it creates a strong atmosphere of bittersweet indie rock and has plenty of originality to it.

Favorite Tracks: "Amsterdam", "Paris 2004", "Young Folks"

The Sexinator: This time, it's personal...

Well, I finally got to see video of Big Richie charging the mound against Texas Rangers Pitcher Kason Gabbard from a few games ago, and what do I think?... Awesome. Giving the fans something to talk about during this terrible slump has put a smile on my face. Sure Richie gets suspended and his actions get frowned upon, but as fan I find that it to come off as top notch entertainment. Richie has shown himself to be one bad mutha and in my book, he's the man of the week.

It's too bad that all these videos are being taken down by Major League Baseball. I wonder how long this one will last?

Below My Radar

Kelley Stoltz - Below The Branches (2006)

I first heard about Kelley Stoltz a few weeks ago, when I saw commercial featuring his song "Memory Collector", or at least that's what I thought. It took me a few listens but soon it became clear as to why he sounded so familiar. The reason is, that I actually saw him open for The Raconteurs in 06' and didn't even realize it. I remember him pretty clearly as well, my reaction to his performance being "Yeah this comb-over guy ain't a bad songwriter" but I just couldn't remember his name until a couple days ago. I mean I just figured that he was a really small time musician and though he kind of his, hey he's got a song in a commercial and that's something. Perhaps he's making his way up?

On to the album "Below the Branches" (A Sub Pop release) is Stoltz 6th album and it has it's moments. The low tech recording (Most of which was done on an eight track tape player) has a quaint quality to it but this could of definitely benefited from a producer and some better recording equipment. The end result is pleasant pop music, but it's sloppy. Stolz performances are fine but could he could of definitely benefited from a second opinion while recording this. If this album was polished up a little, it could of been so much more. Though aside from that, Stoltz has written some pretty catchy little ditties, "Memory Collector" is definitely a standout (despite it's barely two minute length) and some other's really have that 60s pop essence working for them. I think Stoltz's music has a lot of potential and I'd definitely like to see what he could accomplish in a more professional environment. So until than, this album is still kind of fun.

Favorite Tracks: Ever Thought Of Coming Back, Memory Collector, Wave Goodbye