These two lovely, dark, deep, delicious, and lonely-sounding tunes, both reminiscent of Pink Floyd, are from the recent album, Two Halves, by UK via Berlin songwriter, Lukas Creswell-Rost. Creswell-Rost created and recorded these tunes in 2007 and 2008 while “stuck in his tiny attic bedroom somewhere in Northern England, with nothing else to do but …
Month: March 2013
This video is my great uncle, the magnificent Daniel Santos AKA “El Jefe” when he was a young buck. He was a phenomenal singer and they used to call him the Frank Sinatra of Latin America. He had 12 wives. He told his biggest fans Fidel Castro and Che to kiss his ass when they …
Illustrious English singer/songwriter Billy Bragg blends elements of folk with punk all with twangy but grinding acoustic guitar licks. Bragg’s songs focus a lot on left wing politics, pointing out injustices of war and crimes against humanity. Some of his songs are about relationships. Imagine Woody Guthrie meets Bob Dylan meets Joe Strummer and combine …
With absurd ease, Andres Iniesta steals the ball in A.C. Milan’s half of the field and sends a pass forward to Xavi, who slides a deft ball past a sliding defender to striker David Villa. In the box, at an angle, the Spaniard stops the ball, then drives it with his left foot into the …
Wednesday night March 27, 2013, Seattle hosted legendary ska masters, The Specials. I saw The Specials for the first time fifteen years ago almost to the very day. It was a festival called Bored Stiff sponsored by KNDD (back when they were still playing good music). The concert was held at Snoqualmie Summit, in the …
When New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg moved to ban super-sized sodas he brought to light a huge problem in America today: Obesity. With two-thirds of Americans being overweight or obese, Bloomberg’s efforts were applauded by many. Even the iconic Coca-Cola weighed in recently declaring “obesity the issue of this generation.” While many have cited …
Vietnam may not be the first place that you think of when it comes to planning a beach getaway, but it’s quickly gaining popularity as a strong choice, thanks to over 3,400 kilometers of coastline characterized by powdery sand beaches, secluded tropical islands and jungle forests. Keep reading to learn about some Vietnamese beaches that …
Mike Hughes: Thursday was another hot one in Austin. I was playing with that ‘SXSW conundrum’ — do I go and see British bands, especially ones that are going to be playing down the road from me in a few weeks? The decision today was a resounding yes, so I said farewell for a few …
Sadplant is a “a D.I.Y. punk band” from Westbrook, Connecticut. Formed in 2007 by husband and wife team Ben Kerr (aka ‘Ben Social’ – guitarist/lead vocals) and Amy Wappel (bassist/vocals), they’ve already released seven albums, all self-recorded and produced, quit their day jobs and put their show on the road (in a truck with their …
This live version of Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic” is OK, although the foghorn needs some help. But I should have flagged this file: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAnlke_xUY, the original album version. It’s the heart of Moondance, a nearly perfect album. This song seems to be about a spiritual quest and also about an act of love as …
Mike: Wednesday was going to provide no respite on the sleep front. You gotta have a plan for SXSW and mine was to aim for one or two main ‘must-do’s per day, then fill in the rest. Today’s first imperative was to see Tegan And Sara, who I last saw in 2010 at the Roundhouse …
Baseball writers currently use a lot of sabermetrics to judge a team’s prospects for an upcoming season, carefully calibrating the odds of individual players either regressing in their performance or breaking out to their full potential. Sophisticated as they may be in their analysis, however, their predictions still center on two factors: past performance and …
Here’s a new song for which I wrote the lyrics. The Cynz from NYC did the music and the video for it. It’s got the old ’77 New York feel to it. This will be on their new EP, which should be coming out shortly called Blame it on the Kiss. Thats a very young …
So, Mike speaking here. I’m sitting in Austin-Bergstrom Airport at the end of my second SXSW. I’ve got the cans on to drown out the sound. You can’t knock it, there’s 3 live bands playing in the airport departure lounge on the Monday after it’s all over, but I need to concentrate. On the way …
If you’re buying a house, you’re probably going to have to get a mortgage. Few people have enough cash to buy a house outright, and if you want to invest in a rental home, leveraging your cash can get you a higher return rate. As successful investor Jim Randel states in his book, The Skinny …
For many nurses, patient contact is a part of every shift. However, according to the American Nurses Association, some hospital personnel members are at risk for ending their career due to injuries related to back and shoulder strains. In comparison to other occupations, nursing is one of the ten most likely professions to cause musculoskeletal …
Gillian Gaar, longtime scribe to the Seattle scene, author of She’s A Rebel and other books, needs surgery and has no insurance. I hope you can donate, but at least please do try to spread the word around: – Andrew Hamlin http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/Eye-Care-Surgery-For-G3/46013
Whether you want to save money for retirement, to open your own business, to buy a home, or any other reason, you have to figure out where that extra money’s going to come from. In order to build up your savings, you need to take control of your finances and make some smart decisions that …
It’s never too early to start thinking about where to send your child for summer camp. Although any type can teach a child valuable skills, it’s worthwhile to consider sending them to a summer camp that specializes in something they’re passionate about. If you have a budding musician in the family, you might be subjected …
Are you well-versed when it comes to your credit? If you’re not, don’t worry: You aren’t alone. Many people have false notions when it comes to their credit and credit reports. Whether you’re trying to get out of debt or preparing to make a major purchase, understanding exactly how things work is important. Here are …
Learning new random tidbits of knowledge is fun, but does it really add to your intelligence? It may seem like you’re just wasting time learning useless facts, but actually when you read a short piece of trivia or take a quick trivia quiz, you’re also helping your brain stay sharp and quick and even making …
Geographers concern themselves with more than maps; they examine the whole of life itself. They view the planet as one interconnected symbiotic system, and this perspective comes to bear in their approach to the problems humanity faces. They favor hard facts over naive idealism. They seek to help the world, but they gird their expectations …
Watching this video I had two trains of thought. One was how impressive this kid is in navigating and playing his instruments, while really holding his own vocally. Some have implied that the fact that Geddy Lee sings like a 12 year old boy is one of the reasons it took Rush so long to …
If you’re thinking of starting a business after graduation, you’ve probably heard plenty of discouraging advice. You’re too young, you’re not experienced enough, you don’t have connections, you don’t know how to handle the workload, and everything in between. And you probably know that most of this advice comes from older business people who tried …
Flogging Molly are hands down one of the best live acts EVER! Last night’s show at Seattle’s historical Paramount Theater was no exception. They came on stage and waited while the last notes of The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly” waned (which everyone in the audience sang along to) before bursting out the chords to “Another Bag …
One of the main reasons why people start their own business is freedom. Freedom to make their own hours, freedom to spend more time with their family, and freedom to travel. Many business owners are surprised how much the internet and all the technological advances that go with it has made running their company away …
Many people who discovered punk rock in the late 1970s or early 1980s have a variation on this story: “I was walking down the street, minding my own business, when a car slowed down and a meathead yelled ‘DEVO!’ Then a beer bottle hit me in the head and the car sped away.” By the …
70 million people have seen this video, and if you haven’t yet, you should. It’s amazing how much loyalty the Water Buffalo show to their lost calf.
Many years ago at the EMP Pop Conference I heard a scholar and avant-garde musician named Ned Sublette deliver perhaps the greatest impromptu speaking performance I’ve ever experienced in that setting, or possibly anywhere at all! He was then about to publish his landmark study of the Cuban influence on global music, and he was both breathing fire and quietly …