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30,000…

As slow as we’ve been here lately, I was surprised to notice our 30,000 visitor mark had quietly slipped by. It was only 5 months ago we reached the 20,000 mark.

Here’s our Top 15 (of 135) most visited posts and/or pages:

The Amero: Hoax, or cause for concern?  12,143 views

Another Installment From The WTF Desk…  707 views

Take A Stand Against McDonalds  550 views

Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s…unbelievable!  295 views

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid…  275 views

No Habla Ingles? Avoid Wyoming!  252 views

Further On Up The Road…  204 views

Joe Bonamassa Morphs Into Large Black Man! Cool!  175 views

Detention Camps?  164 views

About THE BS BLOG  162 views

Contact BS  147 views

Tea Baggers Unite!  140 views

Here’s a “Best of” that Rocks!  139 views

The Monty Hall Problem  131 views

I.O.U.S.A.  125 views

Thanks again!

OK! I Admit it…… I’m a Closet ABBA Fan

WARNING!  This thread is a 180 degree departure from Stu’s “Guilty Pleasure” thread….

OK, I know you’re all wondering whether I’ve lost my mind and yes, that is possible. But even back before that happened I was a closet ABBA fan. Something about the innocence, the look, the “wall of sound” harmonies, the infectious music….. I don’t know but I do know that when I’m in the mood for some girly pop music, it hits the spot.

How and why-now for this thread? Viv and I were watching Mama Mia the other night and it brought back memories. So I went into the cave, armed with a couple of ABBA DVDs and that was it….. I was again hooked.

ABBA has allot of history behind them. Aside from all the platinum they’ve received, did you know that at one time they were the biggest commodity in Sweden, even outpacing Volvo. That’s pretty danged big.

Here’s a video…… I’m not sure how well it will be received but who cares, skip it if you must. Unfortunately embedding is not allowed so you’ll have to click on the link to watch. Do it, it’s good fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGnmzujbTNw

Or here is sweet Agnetha singing S.O.S.

 

OK, now that I’m on this subject I must also disclose that there ARE others.(But wait! There’s more)  Another of my favorite female singers is the lovely Terri Nunn and the band Berlin. Berlin was a band that was popular around the same time as Pat Benatar. You probably know them from the song “Take My Breath Away” from the movie Top Gun. By that time Berlin was becoming too commercial for me. They also did the lusty and X-rated “Sex (I’m a……)”. I personally preferred early Berlin as the music was a little more obscure and New Waveish.

Check out this video. The audio is not too good but if you turn it up it will suffice.

Here’s another that really shows Terri’s range

 

OK, ya still with me? I’ve got one more and as is usually the case, I’ve saved the best for last. Missing persons was a band made up of former Frank Zappa musicians. Drummer Terry Bozzio also went on to play with Jeff Beck on Guitar Shoppe, one of my all time favorite albums. That’s not how I discovered this band.

Back in the 80s, when MTV actually played videos, we were watching when on came this vid with what can only be described as Betty Boop meets Marilyn Monroe at a strip club, they take lots of LSD and morph into lead singer Dale Bozzio. (yes, she was married to Terry) I’m putting two vids up here……. the first one is the infamous first visual I had of this band. I read somewhere this vid was eventually banned from MTV……. too revealing for 80s TV I guess. Enjoy!…… and be sure to readjust the volume. This one is LOUD! You may have to open this link as once again, embedding was disabled. Do it, it’s worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6CunFiE0Cs&feature=related

This one is live and it rocks, recorded at the US Festival in San Bernardino, California, May 30, 1983. “Walking in L.A.” is especially hot.

Well, that wasn’t so bad now was it?!!! LOL

Low Down on the Low End

The saga continues…

Back in early August I posted The Itch Demands Scratching Again in which I talked about picking up the bass again. Some interesting things things have happended since that time (well, interesting to me, anyway).

I received both the Ibanez Artcore bass and Ampeg combo amp, and wasn’t really satisfied with either one. The amp had wonderful tone, but seemed to be underpowered. Rated at 220 watts (which should have been ok), I found its volume lacking. The bass had nice tone but just felt ackward and limited in its applications. I ended up selling the bass on eBay, and the amp on Craigslist. Fortunately I bought both at very competitive prices, so I was able to sell them for nearly what I paid for them.

I was browsing Craigslist recently and saw a listing for a Fender Jazz bass that said, “First $400 takes it.” I had managed to get $400 for the Ibanez so I contacted the guy who owned it. He was a retired social worker, and a guitar and bass instructor. He turned out to be a very nice and interesting fellow by the name of Michael Green. You can check out his website here).

The bass was a 1986 or 1987 white Fender Jazz bass that was made in Japan. I did some quick checking on a couple bass forums I visit, and was surprised to learn that Fender basses made in Japan from that era were very highly regarded by those in the know (and in several instances even considered to be preferable to their  USA made counterparts). I jumped on the ferry after work that same day and headed to West Seattle…and brought her home.

Next up was finding a replacement amp and cabinet. I decided to stay away from combo amps and go back to a more traditional (and louder) set up.

I found a used Ampeg SVT Pro III amp on eBay and managed to win it at $350, which was close to what I had just sold the combo amp for. This is just an amp (no speaker cab) but it pushes a respectable 450 watts into a 4 ohm load and features an all tube pre-amp, which will allow for that classic warm tone. Nice unit at a nice price (the new ones sell for anywhere from $800 to $1000).

UPS tracking report this morning says it’s on schedule for delivery on Monday. Here’s a photo of the actual amp head from the eBay listing:

 

Next up was to find a speaker cabinent to go with this amp. I’ve had many different types and sizes over the years, from a fire-breathing 8×10 cab that was like moving a refrigerator every time I took it anywhere, to most recently a ported Ampeg 4×10 HLF cab that was ok on the low end, but lacked that tight, punchy definition.

I kept my eye on eBay and Craigslist but there was nothing that really appealed to me at a price I could afford. I then visited the website for Bass NW, the “Largest all bass store in the world” located in Seattle, WA.

Bass NW is a really great place. I’ve exchanged a few email over the years with Evan Sheeley, the owner. I was talking about the late, great Allen Woody one time when Evan told me that Allen was a friend and a customer of his, and that he’d stop by the store when Gov’t Mule was in town and talk about all the cool older basses that they both loved. 

Anyway, Bass NW had a used Ampeg 410 HE cab available for $399 (new ones sell for $650). An HE cabinet is a sealed cabinet, as opposed to the ported 410 HLF cab I once had. A characteristic of sealed cabinets is a faster speaker response, resulting in a tighter, more punchy tone. The trade off for this tight response however is a loss of performance for the real deep low notes. But one still gets that classic, old-school Ampeg tone. I put the cabinet on layaway. The photo to the above is the actual cabinet from Bass NW’s website.

Consistent with my latent and occasional obsessive/compulsive personality, the idea that I would give up a little bottom in exchange for a tight bass sound bothered me. I revisited Bass NW’s used section and found a SWR “Son of Bertha” cabinet. It’s a single, 15″ speaker in a ported enclosure for $349 (new ones sell for $650). BINGO!

SWR is known for having a more modern tone and sound than Ampeg, and this cabinet in particular is known for a punchy sound, as compared to other ported 15’s…yet it does real well for the lower registers; much better than 10″ speakers. Running them together will give me the best of both worlds, a mix of classic and modern tone, with that punchy tightness AND good bottom end. I put it on layaway as well, and the photo shown is the actual cabinet from Bass NW’s website.

I’ll still have a few incidentals to pick up, namely a rack case, tuner and power conditioner but those are relatively inexpensive items. Plus I still have to get the 2 cabs out of layaway – but when I’m done, for around $1500 (less than what many people pay for a bass guitar alone) I’ll have managed to piece together what (I hope) will be the best sounding set up I’ve ever had. 

As you can probably tell I’m like a wide-eyed school boy; excited beyond what would be considered normal for a guy who has 3 grandchildren…but I’m ok with that!

A Guilty Pleasure

At 53 years I’m certainly not part of metal music’s target demographic. Consistent with that observation, there are a number of metal acts that I do not care for. This is especially true with any number of bands (be it real or a marketing ploy) who deal in satanic and/or demonic stuff. I’ve got no room in my life for those kind of influences, even if it is, “Just music” as some might say. I actually feel quite strongly about stuff like that. For example, I won’t even allow a Ouija board in my home….and it’s non-negotiable, period. But that’s a whole other topic for another time. 

Back to music. I have grown to appreciate what I consider to be quality metal. Angry, in-your-face, extra-hard rock music that’s full of attitude and energy. A sub-genre of hard rock pioneered by the likes of Pantera. Music with an overall nastiness but still featuring high-quality musicianship and vocals, including screaming/growling and the occasional F-bomb, as long as it’s not overdone.

I’ve found a couple bands that fit that description that I really, really like. One is Killswitch Engage, and the other is Five Finger Death Punch.

FFDP has released their sophmore offering, War Is The Answer that I can’t seem to get away from. It gets better every time I listen to it. Their debut album, The Way of The Fist is also an outstanding effort in my opinion.

I invite you to visit the Five Finger Death Punch website, and locate the player on the left margin of the page. From there you can click to play 5 tracks, 1 of which is from their new album.

I still love the Blues and Blues-Rock, as well as many other styles of music. But when I’m ready to throw down, Five Finger Death Punch rocks my world!

I’ve Fallen And I Can’t Get Up!

A classic…

Watching him trying to get back up off the floor is priceless!

Rediscovering….. King’s X

Have you ever bought an album that just didn’t catch your ear, only to find that years later, for some unknown reason it returns to become one of your favorites? I just recently had that experience with this CD, Best of King’s X. King’s X opened for Dream Theater back in the earlier part of this decade and wanting to have some familiarity of the Band and music, I bought this CD. I listened to it a few times but just couldn’t wrap myself around the simplicity of what I was hearing. After all, we were talkng about being matched up against Dream Theater, a tough chore for any Band, IMHO. So this CD wound up in the archives of never-never land, never to be heard from again…….. until a couple months ago.

Upon completing the installation of the surround sound system in the Man-Cave and in the testing mode (showing it off), when asked, a friend picked this CD from the 500 and something selections I have. For some reason the chemistry that day made my ears perk up and now this CD has not left the #1 spot in my everyday rotations.

Has this sort of musical epiphany ever happened to you? 

If I were to describe King’s X music the first thing that comes to mind is the rich vocal harmonies that sound so Beatlesque that it simply amazes. Couple that with some VERY clean grundge sounding guitar and it just works. The drumming is as simple as it gets but for some reason, just works. The Bass playing, once again is rather simple, clean and smooth and once again, it just works. Why do I love this CD? You put it all together and it just works. There are no screaming, incindiary guitar riffs, no drumming with the speed of oscillating tires beating down some distant washboard dirt road or Bass riffs rivaling that of the best Guitar players. Nope, there is just a very pleasing sense that a band can make music of such purity, beautiful vocals put to a metal brand without it being overdriven or overdone.

This CD is obviously a compilation, released in 1997. The first ten tunes are my favorites, after that it seems to fade for me…… but could there be another epiphany coming up sometime in the future? I don’t know but for now these ten are doing just fine. 

This thread was not supposed to be so much a review of this CD as much as a revelation that sometimes what originally comes across as something we find unlikeable, becomes our best friend.

Why is that? You tell me.

Pointless Post

I really don’t have anything to bring to the table. No axe to grind, and no funny ancedotes to share. No injustices, perceived or real, to bring to light by shining the dim bulb of the BS BLOG upon them.

The above photo and caption did tickle me though, so I thought I’d share it. I love those funny, “Motivational Posters” that make the rounds via email from time to time. The Dr. Phil one above is a classic example of them.

If you’ve not seen them before, do yourself a favor and search the internet for “Funny Motivational Posters.” It makes for a nice mental health break.

Here’s one link to get you started: Funny Motivational Posters

Juvenile Dermatomyositis

The following is a copy/paste of a post appearing on Always Home And Uncool. It is self-explanatory. Please take the time to read it. Thanks…

My Love:

Most years you ask me not to buy you anything for your birthday. This year, I listened.

However, I couldn’t let this one pass quietly.

Seven years ago today, we got the news that our sweet little girl had juvenile dermatomyositis, a strange disease neither of us had ever heard of then and most people still haven’t heard of today. It was an odd birthday gift for you, but a gift nonetheless. Although we quickly learned that it had no cure, we welcomed the fact we finally knew what was making her so ill and that there were ways it could be treated.

Since then, you have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of all the juvenile myositis diseases and raise funds to find a cure for them. I marvel at (and am jealous of) how dedicated you are and how good you are it.

However, this is your birthday. You deserve a day off.

So, for your gift, a bunch of my blogmates volunteered to spread the word for you on this day. Each has posted a piece about our struggle with getting Thing 1 diagnosed in hope of raising awareness of this rare autoimmune disease and the need to find a cure for it.

If we’re lucky, we’ll even raise a few dollars for the cause.

Happy birthday, My Love, and Happy Cure JM Awareness Day. I love you.

To learn more about JM, visit Cure JM  Foundation. To make a tax-free donation to fund research into a cure, visit our personal FirstGiving page.

Idiot’s Stew

I recently stumbled across a blog called Idiot’s Stew. I saw a link for this blog over on DaGoddess’s page, and clicked on it out of curiosity. I liked what I saw, and added a link to Idiot’s Stew here on the BS BLOG.

A couple of IB’s posts really grabbed me (I don’t know if “IB” is actually the blog owner’s initials, or an acronym for Idiot Blogger). In any case, his blog has caused me to re-think what blogging is about. IB seems to get in touch with an emotion and then expertly intimate it though a short story, prose or poem. I find his writing refreshing, intelligent and poignant.

I hope to give it a try myself at some point in the future.

In the meantime, here’s a few great pieces by IB:

Fever Dream

Armor Plated

Yours To Lose

Check out Idiot’s Stew. Look around, and browse the archives…I think you’ll enjoy your visit.