Chase The Kangaroo

Andy Timmons on That Pedal Show As he demonstrates his pedal board, he plays a song that captures his unbelievable tones. Tones that seem only fit for the largest of cathedrals. He literally brings tears to the eyes of both presenters, making one of them walk off screen because he is crying. In short, this song is beautiful.  If the video starts at the beginning of the show, forward up to the 12:30 mark. This was worth the watch/listen. Enjoy. If you want to know more about that song or add it to your playlist,  Here Lies The Heart .

Miles Davis and Kind of Blue… Principles that can enhance your creative endeavors: being a student of your craft, preparing for the unexpected, embracing the unknown, creating space for spontaneity, and trusting your collaborators.

Ping Pong Over the Abyss  ~The 77's | Then and Now Ping Pong  is The 77's debut effort, released in 1982.  The title is said to have come from  Allen Ginsberg 's poem " Howl ," section 3: " I'm with you in Rockland / where you scream in a straight jacket that you're losing the game of the actual ping pong of the abyss. " When this album was released in '82, The 77's were the new kids on the block to this thing that was being called, "Christian rock".  Not only were they new, they brought with them a new style and sound.  It wasn't a new to the kids they were writing and playing for, but it was very new to a very new "industry".  Because of that, I can't remember if it was greeted with a ton of acceptance. In fact, I'll go on a limb and say that it probably wasn't.  However, it was greeted with just enough optimism. Even if it was my own personal optimism, it was enough to keep me and others listeni...

D.M.Z.  ~Resurrection Band | Then and Now I have fond memories of listening to  D.M.Z.   In my opinion, this was Resurrection Band's best.   Colours  and  Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Anymore  easily stand on their own, but both efforts led up the musical moment of  D.M.Z. The album opens with the blistering, "Military Man", one of the band's most popular songs, even to this day.  If you were a fan of Van Halen, then you will love this record. Though they experimented with a little more keyboard and synthesizers on D.M.Z., it in no way takes away from how much this album rocks.  At the time, it fit right in. Lyrically, Resurrection Band stay true to bringing the Gospel down to the individual level, as they have always done.  The obvious theme to D.M.Z. was war and the threat of war, with "Military Man, "White Noise", "The Prisoner" and "Babylon". Take a listen and step back into 1982 and hear some of the best rock n' ...

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Moving Pictures  ~Rush | Then and Now Moving Pictures  was Rush's 8th studio effort and continued to blaze the band into stardom. Three of my all time Rush songs are found on this record, "Limelight", "Red Barchetta" and "Tom Sawyer".  I've always felt that combining the hits from  Permanent Waves  and Moving Pictures would have made the ultimate album. Listening to  Moving Pictures  today, you can't get away from the dated aspect of the album, but you don't really care.  When you give this album a spin, you know are going back to hear some great songs.  Alex Lifeson's guitar solo on, "Limelight" alone is worth the travel back to 1981.  And speaking of, Lifeson claimed that solo was his favorite to play live.   Moving Pictures  ~Rush Released:  February 12, 1981 Genres:  Progressive rock, hard rock Producer:  Rush, ...

Seventy Sevens  ~The 77's | Then and Now "The 77's will take you on a journey through the past, present, and future of rock & roll" ~ Island Records radio advertisement, 1987 Unfortunately for the 77's, this album was released the same year and on the same label as  U2's,  The Joshua Tree .  This is unfortunate because Island Records had become completely absorbed with the release of  The Joshua Tree  and had little resources for anything else. Another harsh reality was that, as Larry Norman put it, the Christian music industry had no idea how to deal with the 77's. "The 77's - Too Christian for the radio and too radio for Christian music. " ~Larry Norman Though the album received favorable reviews from Rolling Stone and their single, "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and The Pride of Life" became a commercial success, radio stations didn't know what to do with these "Christians".  And in the days where y...

Jack White’s Infinite Imagination By Alec Wilkinson, The New Yorker Anything that captures Jack White’s imagination can occupy him. He reads scripts in the hope of directing a movie—he said he was disappointed at losing the opportunity to direct one about a Detroit drug dealer and F.B.I. informant called White Boy Rick. He contributes designs for baseball bats to a company in Texas called Warstic, in which he owns a share. At least eight players in the major leagues use Warstics. White also collects esoterica. He owns Leadbelly’s New York City arrest record, James Brown’s Georgia driver’s license from the nineteen-eighties, and Elvis Presley’s first record, a demo that he made in 1953, when he was eighteen. White bought it for three hundred thousand dollars at an auction, and loaned it to the Country Music Hall of Fame, where for a while it was on display. He had it transferred to acetate beforehand and Third Man Records released it in a limited edition. He collects old photo boot...

Editor's Note: I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it.  The lyrics are unmistakably Mark Heard.  The catch is I heard the song for the first time, on a Mark Heard tribute album.  The album was primarily put together by the founding members of the band, The Choir.  Below the lyrics you'll their version of the song on Spotify. "Tip of My Tongue" |   Satellite Sky  ~Mark Heard There's an oasis in the heat of the day  There's a fire in the chill of night  A turnabout in circumstance makes each a hell in its own right I've been boxed-in in the lowlands, in the canyons that think  I've been pushed to the brink of the precipice and dared not to blink  I've been confounded in the whirlwind of what-ifs and dreams  I've been burned by the turning of the wind back upon my own flames Knock the scales from my eyes  Knock the words from my lungs  I want to cry out  It's on the tip of my tongue I've see...

"If The Number One Song Is About Your Butt, That's A Problem"  ~The Red Bulletin | Repost WORDS: MARCEL ANDERS PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID CLERIHEW AFTER THREE DECADES OF ROCK ’N’ ROLL, DAVE GROHL JUST WON’T QUIT, MAKING MOVIES AND TV, COLLABORATING WITH MUSIC LEGENDS, INTERVIEWING UNITED STATES PRESIDENTS. AND ALWAYS PUSHING BUTTONS. “I’M SURE THAT BY SOME OTHER PEOPLE’S STANDARDS WHAT I DO IS GARBAGE,” HE SAYS. “BUT SCREW THEM.” Dave Grohl became world famous in the 1990s as the drummer for Nirvana and has remained stellar ever since. He’s the lead singer of Foo Fighters (eight albums, 11 million copies sold, tons of awards and huge world tours) and has worked on musical projects with David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age, among others. Last year he produced his first film, Sound City, a documentary about the titular Los Angeles music studio. Now he’s driving Sonic Highways, an ambitious project merging the latest Foo Fighters album,...

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Talk Talk Talk  ~Psychedelic Furs | Then and Now Like Echo and the Bunnymen and others, I didn't really pay a lot of attention to the Furs during my younger years.  I became more familiar with them later on.  Of course, in 1986, everyone became more familiar with the Psychedelic Furs.  None of us had a choice.  You can thank or blame John Hughes and Molly Ringwald.  I'm curious to know if the re-issue of their iconic, "Pretty In Pink" gained them more commercial success than all of their previous hits and sales. Chances are, you didn't know there was a re-issue of the song, "Pretty In Pink".  They re-recorded it for the movie.  The original recording first showed up on,  Talk Talk Talk.   It was much grittier and slightly less poppy then the 1986 recording.  In fact, the Furs do a good job of balancing post-punk grit with the right amo...

MUSIC REVIEW SERIES:   LOOKING BACK ON THE 80’S MUSIC  | 1981 THEN AND NOW Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Anymore ~Resurrection Band | Then and Now Sometime in '81, Resurrection Band released their sixth album,  Mommy Doesn't Love Daddy Anymore .  The title alone showed that the Chicago-based rockers weren't afraid to address the realities of a painful world (which is something most Christian musicians are still afraid of doing).  As the title suggests, they tackled the topic of divorce, as well as, materialism, society and the disabled, and spiritual struggles.  One of the great things about this band was that they truly believed that, " Jesus brings the light into every situation " (from, "Elevator Muzik").  Regardless of how ugly or painful the topic, these guys knew Jesus was at the heart of the answer to any problem and there wasn't any issue His healing power couldn't redeem.  They thrived on meeting people where they were The album...

Music Review Series:   Looking Back On The 80's Music  | 1981 Then and Now Ghost In The Machine  ~The Police | Then and Now The Ghost In The Machine  came with significant changes when compared to The Police's previous 3 albums.  The obvious change was in the name.  Their producer, Nigel Gray was missing from the controls.  Which led to the notable change in sound.  Keyboards (piano and synth) made an appearance, along with horns.  These additions took a bit away from the grit and edge The Police were known for.  As an unsurprising result, Andy Summers recollected, "I have to say I was getting disappointed with the musical direction around the time of Ghost in the Machine. With the horns and synth coming in, the fantastic raw-trio feel—all the really creative and dynamic stuff—was being lost.  We were ending up backing a singer doing his pop songs." In retrospect, it is still The Police.  They still produced great mu...

The Joshua Tree  ~U2 | Then and Now Today marks the 30th anniversary of U2's,  The Joshua Tree .  The anniversary will be celebrated with a full-blown  North American and European tour . I remember when this album came out.  There was much to be anticipated and it seemed like it took forever to be released after their amazing breakaway,  The Unforgettable Fire .  Where were they going to go?  What was next?  The earnest and post-punk days had come to an apparent end with  The Unforgettable Fire .  How would  The Joshua Tree  be different? The Joshua Tree was yet another breakaway for a band who had just broken free from their first three records.  As a listener, I didn't know what to think upon first hearing it.  The further they moved from  War , I found I was resistant to the change.   War  was my first real introduction to U2, so I found myself judging everything thru that lens. ...

The Turning  ~Leslie (Sam) Phillips | Then and Now This year marks the 30th anniversary of,  The Turning .  The Turning , is perfectly titled for Phillip's career in 1987.  Up to this point, Phillip's was in the throes of Contemporary Christian Music-dom. She had busted on the scene with true rock and pop-rock tunes that reflected the sound of the day, but still fit perfectly into CCM's radio format. With the release of,  The Turning , everything changed.  As Wikipedia puts it, " The Turning  stands out as a turning point in Phillips' career as a singer and songwriter; on one side, the cheerful, upbeat pop-rock albums that she recorded in the early 1980s, and, on the other, the quirky 60's music influenced rock and folk albums, with a much darker and more poetic tone lyrically."  A lot of that came with producer, T Bone Burnett, who she would marry shortly after the release.  You can clearly hear Burnett's musical influence all...

Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell  ~Social Distortion | Then and Now Happy 25th Birthday to Social Distortion's,  Somewhere Between Heave and Hell .  The great thing about this album is its ageless quality.  It is 90's punk, sandwiched between rockabilly and country rock.  There is nothing pretentious or showy about this album.  It's drums, bass, guitars and grit.  Fans of Hank Williams and Johnny Cash will enjoy Social's versions of "This Time Darlin'" and "99 to Life". If it has been a while or you've never given Social Distortion a try, this is the album for you. Somewhere Between Heave and Hell  ~Social Distortion Released:  February 11, 1992 Genres:  Punk, Country Rock, Punk Blues, Rockabilly Produced By:  Dave Jerden Purchase On:   iTunes  /  Amazon

Music Review Series:  Looking Back On The 80's Music  | 1981 Then and Now October  ~U2 | Now and Then "Gloria In te domine Gloria Exultate Gloria Gloria Oh, Lord, loosen my lips." "Gloria" is hands down the reason I bought this album.  Early on, U2 recognized the value of  grabbing the listener's attention out of the gate with each album. Like "I Will Follow" on  Boy , "Gloria" doesn't disappoint.  "Gloria" also sets the tone for  October , not only musically, but lyrically. "Gloria In te domine Gloria Exultate Oh, Lord, if I had anything, anything at all I'd give it to you." U2's faith arises time and time again throughout the years, but on  October , it takes center stage. This is a bold move considering both the success of  Boy  and this being their second studio album. Just look to songs like, "Rejoice", "Tomorrow", "With A Shout (Jerusalem)", "...

The 20 best CDs of 2011 , by Brian Q. Newcomb It's that time of year when lists by the dozens start making their way into magazines, blogs, tweets and over the airwaves.  I'm adding to all of that by forwarding this one along.  In fact, I may even add to those before the years is up.  Actually, I probably won't add until the year has past by a few days. The list below is by Brian Q. Newcomb, one of my favorite music critics. I'm not a fan of everyone on his list, but respect his musical tastes enough to give them a spin (Thank you Spotify).  Some I have been a fan of for years and other will be a discovery.  I'm looking forward to what I will hear.