AUTO-TUNE, NO TALENT REQUIRED

You've all probably heard some of today's music with a robotic sounding vocal track. You may think this is just an electronic effect of the vocals but it is actually something called the "Auto-Tune". Now for those not familiar with this device it is basically a device which corrects the pitch in a vocal and/or instrumental performances. It's used to disguise off-key inaccuracies and mistakes, and has allowed singers to perform perfectly tuned vocal tracks without the need of singing in tune. So basically, there is no talent required nowadays for any singer as this will correct your off-key singing. Hmmm.....maybe I should get one of these for my sax playing? HAHA!

BROWSIN' AT BEST BUY

The other night the wife and I were browsing the aisles at Best Buy. We weren't looking for anything special to buy, we were just walking off the pizza we had just ate. Now Best Buy is about the only store left after The Good Guys and Circuit City went under. I typically browse the dvd's, give a quick tour of their pathetic selection of cd's, look at big screens and also various computer related stuff. I checked out some laptops and right away set the home page to this blog. HAHA! They are all probably wondering what the hell is this? Anyway, I also saw an iPad there and for once there wasn't a bunch of little kids playing with it, like it's a toy. I played around with it a little bit and then searched for this blog. I then put a shortcut on the iPad screen indicating Music and Cinema. HAHA! They're probably thinking it is a legitimate application until they read my blog. HAHA! I'm a funny guy.....yes, I am.

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - ART BLAKEY

This weeks Jazz CD Pick of the Week is by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers titled The Big Beat. Since the wife had a bunch of ladies over to the house knitting yesterday I took advantage of this opportunity and headed straight to Rhino Records. I figured I had to take advantage of the 15% off Halloween sale they were having right? Anyway, I picked this up yesterday along with some other great cd's like Lou Donaldson, Ike Quebec, Coleman Hawkins (with Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis) and Archie Shepp. How can you go wrong with a cd that features Art Blakey (drums), Wayne Shorter (sax), Lee Morgan (trumpet) and Bobby Timmons (piano). Some great tunes on here such as Dat Dere, The Chess Players and Lester Left Town. Get the Rudy Van Gelder edition with a bonus track. Not hip? Check out the classic Dat Dere from this album. Oh yeah.....

BIG HEAD COMMERCIAL - HAHA

I guess I'm just easily amused but I really get a kick out of this NBA Bighead (or Bobblehead) commercial. Check it out! HAHA!

ANOTHER BANNER, ANOTHER RING, AND TEARS OF JOY

Yes, last night my beloved Purple and Gold (Lakers) received their Championship rings and unveiled a new championship banner on the wall. This is something that never gets old! So once again the tears of joy were flowing freely. What? You say you didn't see it last night? Hey, no problemo. Here it is. Enjoy!

FLIPPED OFF - PART TWO - HUH?

My previous blog post talked about being flipped off while driving. This weekend while the wife and I were shopping at Costco there was a guy studying his coupons and blocking the aisle. I said "excuse me" twice but nothing. I guess he was too busy looking for the coupon to get the five gallon jar of mayonnaise or something. Anyway, I just went around him and loudly tapped my shopping cart with my middle finger several times although he was oblivious to what I was doing. My wife saw me do this and thought it was a little uncalled for. I didn't think it was any big deal. Anyway, the next night my wife is asking me to do some chore and I give her the typical "I'm really paying attention" look as always. I wonder if she can tell that my mind goes completely blank when she asks me do to something? My hands were where she couldn't see them and I saw her trying to catch a glimpse of my fingers. She said "I'm watching those fingers!" Huh? What? "You think I would flip you off?" I asked. Jeez....where's the trust here. I wouldn't do this would I? Hmmmm....HAHA!

FLIPPED OFF - WHAT?

For those of you that think getting flipped off is a thing of the past I can tell you that you are dead wrong! I seem to see this on a weekly basis and notice that this happens most frequently in traffic, when people are in the safety of their cars. Basically someone does something that you or they don't like and then BAM, there it is! The middle finger! Now just the other day a car passed me, cut in front of me, and the guy flipped me off! What? What did I do, I thought? Oh well, maybe I was going too slow for him in the stop and go traffic we were both stuck in. Oh well.....such is life.

HEAD AND SHOULDERS - HAHA

For some reason I really get a kick out of this Head and Shoulders commercial. Anyway, check it out and let me know. HAHA!

CAR CUSTOMIZING GONE WRONG

I'm pretty open to a lot of the customizing people do to their cars. Usually these people seek to improve a deficiency of the manufacturer or just want to make their cars just plain look better. Now I had to do a double take yesterday when I saw this car pull into the parking lot. On the hood of the car were a whole bunch of horses affixed to the hood of the car! What? Yep, I kid you not. This has to be one of the more hideous attempts at customizing I have ever seen. There was even a sign that said do not try and remove the horses, like someone would really want to. Although the photo I took probably doesn't do the full justice of this atrocity, it does give you an idea as to what I'm talking about. Yes, this is definitely car customizing gone wrong! HAHA!

THE FUNKY CHICKEN

Now I'm actually old enough to remember the dance called "The Funky Chicken". This dance goes way back to the very early 70's and was a favorite at the school dances. There was even a song called The Funky Chicken. What? You say you're not hip to this? Well check it out! Here's Rufus Thomas at Wattstax performing the Funky Chicken. HAHA!

DVD PICK OF THE WEEK - IP MAN 2

This weeks DVD Pick of the Week is Donny Yen in IP Man 2. Now I know most of you have already seen IP Man 1 right? What? Anyway, IP Man 2 is even better! There is actually a third one as well but that's for another day. A great movie with a ton of action. Not hip to this? Well check out the trailer for this fine piece of cinema. Me? I want to see it again! HAHA!

LIVE CD PICK OF THE WEEK - EARTH WIND AND FIRE

Released in 1975 this is one of the classic live albums of all time although granted not all the songs on here are live. Anyway, a great cd you need in your collection. I'm sure you've all heard the live version of "Reasons" a million times but my favorite cut is the opening number with the medley "Africano/Power". Check it out and feel the high energy of this performance! If you don't have this cd, pick it up and get hip!

JAZZ CD PICK OF THE WEEK - JACKIE McCLEAN

This weeks long overdue Jazz CD Pick of the Week is Jackie McLean's cd titled Jackie's Bag. I have a fair amount of Jackie in my collection (11 cd's and counting) and recently picked this one up on yet another trip to Amoeba. Looking at the back cover and reading the lineup I knew I couldn't go wrong with this Bluenote release. This cd is actually made up of two separate recording sessions and features Jackie (of course on alto sax) along with Tina Brooks, Blue Mitchell, Kenny Drew, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor, Sonny Clark, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones! Whew! An All-Star cast indeed! Not hip to Jackie? Well hip up and click on the link to check this cd out or check out the video for a cut from this cd!

http://www.amazon.com/Jackies-Bag-Jackie-Mclean/dp/B00007KMNP/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1286672958&sr=8-1-spell