When I Grow Up, This is What I Want To Do... Make a movie called "Oceans"

How did I let this one slip by?! This movie is totally up my alley and I forgot to hit on it. The magic-workers over at Disney have hired directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud to scour the 3/4's of the Earth's surface that is covered with ocean, and report back with super-awesome images and the let Pierce Brosnan tell the tale.

Look how cool this is!! These guys went swimming with great white sharks outside the cage, and guess what... they didn't get eaten. Those of you who know me, know that I love anything to do with the ocean, and I am particularly fascinated by sharks. They are totally misunderstood fishes...

For more on my ongoing quest to meet every shark on the planet please watch the following video...

Tiger Beach 2010 from Matt McGee on Vimeo.

Now back to the topic of conversation. "Oceans" was released April 22, 2010. Take your friends and family to see this show and learn a little something about our planet. Which by the way, why do we call it planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean? Discuss..
Here's the trailer...

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Live Music Friday is a few Days Late... but worth it for Sigur Ros!!

This band is just freaking amazing. I mean who in the hell thinks of picking up a cello bow to play their guitar with. Really?!  The resulting sound is a cross between singing whales and rubbing your finger on the edge of a glass half filled with water. This Icelandic group has created some of the most unique and incredibly creative music I've ever heard. It's almost surreal. You hear it and think "this really isn't music, it's more, it's , it's ... I can't put my finger on it..."

Seeing them play live is just absolutely a spectacle. He's up there with this guitar like he's trying to saw it in half with that bow, and the most beautiful sounds blast into your eardrums. Their songs are a mix of mellow put-you-to-sleep type of music and these soaring verse/chorus combinations that build to these grand crescendos.


I've always described their music as "the soundtrack for general anesthesia." I think that holds true for a lot of it, but there's a lot of joy and uplifting stuff too.

My wife and I were lucky enough to get tickets to see them at the Ryman here in good ole Nashville. What a great venue. They were still pretty unknown then, so we could see them up close and personal. the next time they came to middle Tennessee, they headlined the Bonaroo festival.

Oh and by the way, if you're new to Sigur Ros, don't try to sing along. The lyrics are either Icelandic or jibberish. Don't let that scare you away, as they are truly brilliant and worth a listen.

Here's a sample of the sonic goodness...

Watch the guitar work. I beg of you...

This is an especially beautiful song with beautiful imagery to go with...
Dudes need to work on their English though...




this has been featured in a bunch of movies about joy and hope




This is the first song that hooked me...

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Live Music Fridays Continues With Jam Bands

No other genre of music is associated with live music more than jam bands. Whether it's Phish, Widespread Panic, or the Grateful Dead, jam bands exist to play live music. Period. It's almost as if when they play a song live, the original studio recording is sort of a framework to work with. Songs evolve one into the other, and often one song begins, another is embedded in the initial song only to have it completed. Set lists may be made up on the fly. It's true on-the-spot improvisation  with no two shows being alike.

Jam bands have always had a culture that is an integral part of the music experience. I suppose it began in the 60's with Grateful Dead shows, grew large with groups like the Allman Brothers, and has continued with Phish, Widespread Panic, and The String Cheese Incident. 


The music itself seems to have some common threads from group to group, but it ends up being a musical gumbo of prog rock, jazz, blues, progressive bluegrass, and funk all mixed together. The amount of each ingredient varies from band to band, but it is always satisfying.


I used to funnel this stuff into my ears in the past... big time (Widespread actually played at my high school in 1990). In recent years, though, I've branched out a little, and I haven't listened to jam bands exclusively. But, spring has sprung here in Nashville, and there is nothing better on a sunny day than listening to a little Widespread and drinking a "cold, cold, beer"


Jam on...

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Dolphin Face Fetish, Mascot Sex, and the World's Largest Condom... this is Really Weird, But Oh SO Funny!!

I'm in a holding pattern on the musical inspiration thing right now because I can't stop listening to that Broken Bells album.


However, during my search of the internets, I have happened across this little beauty. It's a clip from the Current network (which I highly recommend) and is a quick and hilarious commentary on the crazy things people do in their spare time behind closed doors (but apparently on video.) 


It's definitely freaky, but the dude commenting on all these shenanigans cracks me up. So please take a moment to take in the freaky kinky hilarity.... 

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For Whom the Bell Doesn't Toll... Broken Bells

I can't seem to get this album out of my head. It's like those little ear worm things in Star Trek

It's crawled through my ear and into my brain, but this time Ricardo Montablan didn't put it there. The collaboration known as Broken Bells did...

It seems that artists these days can't just make music with just their own band. They all are taking on these side projects (see Gorillaz, Beck). James Mercer of The Shins didn't want to miss out on all the fun, so he decided to team up with Danger Mouse (aka Brian Burton) who has worked with .. well... Beck and Gorillaz to name a few. Oh yeah, and Gnarls Barkley to boot.

The two met at a Danish music festival in 2004. Danger said to James "Dude I like your work with The Shins" and James said to Danger "Dude I like your work with Gorillaz." Well, that's how it played out in my mind. Anyway, the two started recording on the sly, and announced in 2009 that they had a finished product. 

Their self-titled album  was released on March 9, 2010. Since then I can't seem to go anywhere without hearing this album. It's not exactly the type of record that just grabs you and you think "WOW. This is way cool!" Nah. It just kind of is there, but keeps coming back around. I heard it being played in the bookstore, the mall, Starbucks... everywhere. I'd hear a song and use my Shazam app on my phone to identify it, and... Shazam! Broken Bells kept coming up. That's also a testament to how the songs aren't too repetitive... at least not to me.


So here's a few samples of this most recent band infidelity. Enjoy!!!

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Live Music Fridays Presents THE FLOYD...

Seriously, I don't know how I can do these guys justice. Pink Floyd is in my opinion on of the greatest bands to ever record music. Additionally, I don't think anyone can argue that any group out there has ever put on a better live experience. Flying pigs. Walls. Lasers. It's all good dog. 

I'm not sure that these guys have any intention of getting out there and playing live again, but someone should intervene and get Roger Waters and David Gilmour to put their differences aside and play one more tour. I'm beggin' ya! C'mon Man! C'mon!

Ok so maybe it's not happening. Well, here's a collection of live performances from The Floyd. If there's a band out there with a better show, I like to know about them.

Time...

Quality isn't the best on this one, but this is definitely worth a listen. This is back when Waters was still playing with them...





This next song kind of scares me, and it's total space rock, but it gives you an idea of what the early days of The Floyd were like. And it has a cool name... Careful With That Axe Eugene






There's so much more good shit out there from these guys. Do yourself a favor and go buy one of their live dvd's. Do it! Do it now!

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Live Music Fridays Presents Old School R.E.M...

Methinks I shall begin a blog series on live music. Basically, I love live music. Pretty much any live music. And since I'm in need of some blog inspiration today, I thought that maybe I should pump some live music vibes into your auditory and visual cortexes... corticies. whatever.

Hmmm, who should I start with. Let's go with a little old school R.E.M. Yes, that should work quite nicely.

This Athens, GA quartet helped me to properly calibrate my musical compass in the mid 80's. If first saw them live at The Fox theater in Atlanta. When they dimmed the lights for the show I was physically shaking with excitement, and standing in a puddle of my own urine. I was thirteen. The show included goodies from Murmur, Reckoning, Fables..., and even a little Chronic Town. P.S. Let's Active opened. Aaah, the days of early alternative music.

Over the years I've managed to see R.E.M. live in support of several of their albums, but as time has passed, they still haven't been able to capture the brilliance of those first few albums. They will always be a personal favorite.

So here's a few clips of R.E.M. performing back in the day when they were still a group of 4, Michael Stipe still had hair, and your music was either delivered to you in vinyl or cassette tape form. Go forth and take in the goodness...

I like how Stipe says "this is a new song." REALLY old...






I could go on and on. Good times. Come back next Friday for more live music.


What music have you seen live that was particularly amazing?

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