Ummagumma

Here is my annual foray into stuff from this year that I didn’t blog about. I enjoy a good documentary.  Great ones are rare, of course.  So far in the 21st century I have only seen three that I would rank a solid 10.  The Fog of War (2003), Citizenfour (2014), and now Leaving Neverland (2019).  This most recent documentary is a four-hour look at Michael Jackson’s alleged pedophilia with talented young boys, featuring mind-blowing interviews with two of his alleged victims and their mothers.  The style and the amount of detail in Leaving Neverland are as exceptional as its topic is disturbing.  But what really makes this one engaging despite the revolting revelations is the superbly articulate capacities of the two moms and the (now adult) victims.  Jackson obviously was highly discriminating in his tastes for “sleepover” buddies.   Although the documentary makes it clear that Jackson by no means abused the majority of the children he b...

Long-time readers know that Coldplay is my favorite contemporary band.  It does not bother me that the more success they attain in terms of popularity, the more the critics put them down.  Coldplay may be the essence of kitsch for all I know.  But, I don't care.  Their music makes me feel good.  That is why I listen to them. But their most recent effort, A Head Full of Dreams , is a full-throttle disappointment to me.  I suppose it continues with a transition in style the band first began with 2014's Ghost Stories .  Unfortunately, with their latest record, the transition has gone so far that, for me, the band has become a stranger, invisible.  This is Coldplay being something that is not, for me, Coldplay at all. Normally with a Coldplay album, I listen to it a couple of times and end up with a tune or two resonating in my mind off and on over the next few weeks.  I will catch myself humming a new Coldplay song while driving or jus...

My admiration for Coldplay has been stated before. If you like, you can checkout my other Coldplay entries . I was excited to learn a few months back that they were coming out with a new CD entitled Ghost Stories .  I managed to pick up my copy at the local Walmart May 19, the date of initial release . I tried to stay away from what music critics had to say about Ghost Stories until after I listened to the CD several times. Usually with new music it takes multiple listenings before I form a final opinion. Sometimes the material is really great, like Neil Young's Psychedelic Pill , and I know instantly I love it. Sometimes the material is a disappointment, like Neil's Fork in the Road , and further listening is usually painful. There is no such thing as a "bad" Coldplay album. Their first five studio records, dating back to 2000 (with so few records over such a period of time, no one can exactly accuse them of being prolific or whoring their sound for the sake of...

I found this image at Patch.com Last night Jennifer and I went to the Philips Arena to see Coldplay.  ( Read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution review here .) I have previously blogged about my interest in this great band and I bemoaned the fact that I missed them last year at the return of Music Mid-town to Atlanta. No matter.  All is forgiven by one of the best live concert appearances I have seen...well...ever.  It sounds silly and naive to say stuff like that.  My daughter is spoiled rotten.  She is young so she has little context for seeing and hearing something extraordinary. On the other hand, you can appreciate the extraordinary in itself even if you are very young.  My daughter and her friends were all beaming and excited afterwards.  They loved the show and had bright eyes, smiles on their faces.  It was a sell out (about 21,000).  The crowd was totally in to it and sang along with all the lyrics.  Coldplay's fan base ...

Not all the Armadillos present made it into this pic of 2012 First Feast participants. Old concert t-shirts was this year's theme. This year’s First Feast gala featured ancient rock and roll t-shirts, comfort food munchies (as opposed to hors d'oeuvres ), followed by a course of two hearty salads, before a course of dueling meat loafs, with the usual decadent assortment of sides. Great rock music was enjoyed throughout as the conversations ran the gambit from musical trivia to secret cooking recipes to vacation travel fantasies to the Republican Party presidential race to where we all “earned” our various concert t-shirts. Every t-shirt has its story to tell. But it is up to the human to tell it. So there were several good stories of great memories. Plenty of beers and wines and, of course, port helped sustain the evening. Jennifer and I arrived at Mark and Eileen’s a little before 4. We got to enjoy about an hour of couple-to-couple time before Clint arrived next. Both Clint a...

Coldplay always makes me feel good. As I have posted before , Coldplay is my favorite contemporary band. Essentially, they have evolved into a nice blend of indie spunk with enough pop undertones to make them a mega-band . But, that’s not why I like them. I like them because their music always makes me feel good. Coldplay began with a powerful and popular debut album in 2000 and continued through the turn of the century and a great follow-up in 2002 which, in turn, was followed by a really great live CD/DVD combo . They are formula-matic in their own style, which blends many influences. Mostly, however, Coldplay’s music is filled with teen/young-adult angst and dreams and desires and melancholia, ensconced with an energetic, young at heart passion for living. After giant-selling albums in 2005 and 2008 and strong, sold-out worldwide tours, the band had difficulty giving birth to Mylo Xyloto , only their fifth studio album. Coldplay is not a very prolific band but their music is a...

I try to run 3 miles 4-5 times a week. In winter this is a bit more difficult due to shorter amounts of daylight (I usually leave for work before sunrise and get home after sunset) as well as colder and wetter weather. For such times when I can't easily run my outside route I have an elliptical machine to help compensate. Nothing replaces actually running but one advantage the elliptical affords is that I get to listen to more music as I exercise. (When outside I don't listen to music as I prefer to hear approaching vehicles and other sounds - like dogs.) I started out the winter listening to my favorite contemporary band - Coldplay . But, their five CDs didn't last very many exercise sessions. I have been a huge lover of classical music since my college days and this winter I took the opportunity to listen to all of Mozart's 27 piano concertos in chronological order. Generally, I could get at least one full concerto in during every running session. I listened to some ...