Onward to 2010!

Wishing the few people that read this (and others of course) a Happy New Year!

Pixar/Disney do it right...

Kudos to the folks at Pixar/Disney for getting the whole Blu-Ray thing right.

The film "Up" is available in blu ray as part of a 4 disc set..for about 19.99! If you want folks to transfer over (and re-buy their collections) this is what you need to do. A blu ray for the adults..the dvd for the kids to handle, an entire disc of features, making of's and hours of who else knows what as well as a digital copy for you to put on a portable device?! Excellent work.

I've slowed way down buying movies for myself. Mostly due to me hardly having time to get to the first watch..let alone multiple. If companies are smart like the folks that were in charge of Up have done, I'll buy more.

Santa brought it..and we've watched twice so far. Santa must have been watching. (in blu ray of course!)

Last update for 2009?

Hope this update finds you all well.

The year is coming to a close with less time (thankfully) being spent in front of a computer.

If I don't update before then, wishing all a very happy holiday season and all the best in 2010. I realize there are very few readers to this blog, but I hope to keep it going in 2010. I'll compile my list of shows of the year as well as do my favorite cds of the year.

Thanks for stopping over.
-March

Week two of Christmas Forgotten Discs......

Okay..lets go with "tradition" here, for a second week in a row.

Hope you might check out Forgotten Disc Friday.

The last few years I've posted a Christmas record/compilation leading up the the actual holiday. This weeks is pretty freaking bad...sorry..it just is. Try to stop over anyway (what a salesman I am)

Thanks to all for reading and this will probably wrap up FDF for the year. Thanks to all for making it a pretty darn good year.

-march

Fun time of year to be a music geek.

As the near comes towards a close many bands send out some pretty cool stuff.

The hitch, you need to be a member of the bands fan club usually.

I know, I know..you are thinking "fan club"? What are you 12? Actually no I am not.

Long before the Internet came along most bands had mailing addresses inside their cds/albums. Simple "Write us" written above. I got in to a habit of doing that and for a lot of years I was getting a LOT of really fun stuff in the mail.

To "better" my mailing experience there were lots of offers to join "fan clubs" and the perks of those were glossy mailings a few times a year, some fan club exclusive stuff (stickers, shirts etc) and in some cases music that was limited to just the fan club members.

Granted this still goes on today, in some cases and often for 40+ dollars per year. Nowadays you get access to "fan only" message forums, and some of the usual stuff or even the chance to buy tickets before others.

I've been in the R.E.M fan club for a good number of years. One of the big perks with them has always been the "Christmas single".

Well, mine arrived yesterday.



This year we got the usual stuff, but its always cool to look at. The cd is limited to fan club members and there are two tracks. The paper thing towards the top is a calendar. To the left is a sticker promoting their recent live album release. To the right is the Christmas Card.

Just makes the holidays even cooler, and my geekdom even more justified.

I miss the old days of taking a real effort to connect to a band, but this is pretty darn cool.

Oh, REM keeps it cheap as well. $10 USD per year.

Have yourself..a Merry Christmas......

Okay..lets go with "tradition" here.

Hope you might check out Forgotten Disc Friday.

The last few years I've posted a Christmas record/compilation leading up the the actual holiday. I'll probably have another next week so you can get your fill.

Thanks to all for reading.

-march

2 cool bands - If These Trees Could Talk as well as And So I Watch You From Afar

It is funny, about 2-3 days ago I had no idea these two bands were out there..and I dig em a LOT.

I read in a Twitter update from the bassist in a band called Years of Rice and Salt about a few of his favorite rock bands going. (another great band along these very lines)

One was Caspian which, if you read this site at all ever you know I dig a great deal.

The other two were
And So I Watch You From Afar and the other was If These Trees Could Talk.

Both fall in to the "post rock" genre which is something I really like. And So I Watch You From Afar hail from Ireland and If These Trees Could Talk are from Akron, Ohio.

I downloaded And So I..from iTunes yesterday and I mail ordered both the cds from If these Trees Could Talk. Good thing I poked around on them some, because one site didn't have their debut, while another had a fair number in stock.

So, thanks Alex!! I feel late to the party on both, but glad I got invited (or snuck in)

I'm going to see my favorite cover band....

Sorry, taking a few days off this week from work slowed down getting things up today.

Hope you might check out Forgotten Disc Friday.

Total blast/fun band. Check it out won't you please!?!

Thanks to all for reading.

-march

Russian Circles - Middle East, Cambridge MA, December 2, 2009

Russian Circles
Middle East, Cambridge, MA *(upstairs room)
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Support : Young Widows, Phantom Family Halo

Chicago instrumental trio Russian Circles played to a packed to the gills Middle East on Wednesday night. The band, currently on tour for the 2009 release "Geneva". Taking the stage about 11:20 the audience was chomping at the bit. Facing the stage it was laid out with Mike Sullivan (guitar) to the right, Dave Turncrantz on drums in the middle and bassist Brian Cook to the left.

The packed house was quickly bobbing their heads in furious unison as the band as the band hit on each of their three records. "Malko" flashed the guitar wizardry of Sullivan and Cook, who is new to the band really showed his chops, and made is presence known with a few keyboard loops but in while chugging on bass with an amp rig that nearly touched the ceiling. Later in the show Cook once more flashed on "Fathom". The audience seemed drawn towards material from the prior record "Station" with "Harper Lewis" striking a particular chord. Turncrantz beat his ride cymbal whole Sullivan did a lot of guitar finger tapping over the top.

The band didn't slow down the the nearly 1 hour set with any stage banter, but when it was all said and done they did each wave as they left the stage. For a December night the club was pretty darn hot, and many sweaty bodies headed out into the night with smiles on their faces.


Check out the official site or their myspace page.