VIRTUAL SOAPBOX
RANTS-N-RAVES
The World According to Scott
This is the section of my site that is strictly reserved for my opinions, my beliefs, and whatever I feel like talking about at the moment. It's updated generally on an almost daily basis, so check back to see what the most recent things on my mind are.
_________________________________________________________________________
Looks like they're going to release a CD of the live performances by the artists who participated in the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon. That should be pretty cool. It's supposed to be released sometime in the next few weeks.
_________________________________________________________________________
Looks like Paul McCartney is in the process of putting together a benefit concert for the victims & families of the recent terrorist attacks in New York & Washington. It's actually being dubbed "Live Aid 2," & it's going to be held at Madison Square Garden on 10/20/01. Word is, Sir Paul has asked a number of big name acts to play, including the remaining living members of Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page, Robert Plant & John Paul Jones have only played together three times since the untimely death of John Bonahm in 1980 - the original "Live Aid" in 1985, the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary in 1988 & in 1995 when they were inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. It'd be pretty cool if that worked out. I wonder who they'll get to play drums this time. I'd guess it would probably be Jason Bonham, John Bonham's son.
_________________________________________________________________________
A good friend of mine sent me a picture that I thought was appropriate to post for the season. Thanks Marjorie!!
_________________________________________________________________________
Everyone, including myself, continues to refer to the rescue workers at Ground Zero as "heroes." And rightfully so, I think we'd all agree. I came across an article that shows these heroes have some help- search & rescue dogs. These dogs are certainly heroes in their own right as well.
_________________________________________________________________________
Lately, with the tenth anniversary of the release of Nirvana's album "Nevermind," there's been quite a bit in the music trades about Kurt Cobain & the impact that Nirvana & their music had. Recent articles found in Rolling Stone claimed that "Nevermind," was an album that "...changed the world," while Entertainment Weekly, has gone as far as saying, "As great as ''Nevermind'' was, it nonetheless opened the floodgates for a deluge of mediocre albums by so-called Nirvana-bes looking to cash in on the grunge explosion." I don't necessarily think this point of view is fair. Nirvana was a great band & "Nevermind" was a great album. Did it truly change the world? Tough to say, but it certainly had a significant impact. If you think back to 1991, things were starting to shift in the music world even before the 9/24/91 release date of "Nevermind." In the summer of 1991, the Lollapalooza tour showed that there was a large interest in what was then considered "alternative" music. An interest large enough to not only sustain a headlining stadium tour by Jane's Addiction, but to also include such a diverse line-up of artists that included the Rollins Band, Body Count, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Violent Femmes, Fishbone, & the Butthole Surfers. My point being, that while most of these bands are more well known now, ten years ago not all of them were. There was a noticeable shift in what had been previously considered "alternative," & what was then starting to make its presence known on the Billboard album charts, as well as selling out arenas around the country. In other words, "Nevermind" certainly contributed heavily to a new found interest in what was once considered more of a fringe style music than before, but I think solely attributing its release to starting some sort of musical revolution is incorrect- the "revolution" was in the air, & "Nevermind" only served to fuel its fire in a huge way, selling more than ten million copies. It truly was a landmark album, similar in its impact to the Sex Pistols' "Never Mind the Bollocks," or The Ramones' self-titled first album. It was a wake up call, at a time when people were ready to be woken up & embrace something different. Really good bands & significant albums don't come along as often as we'd like them to. I guess that's why we put some artists up on such a pedestal. I can't help wondering what Kurt Cobain would think of the fact that he's been turned into some sort of a combination saint/martyr for Generation X. What an ironic shame that being a successful musician was what he wanted to be the most, & then all the baggage that went along with it was what drove him to suicide. "Nevermind" touched a nerve in a lot of people at the same time. I think in retrospect, nothing but good has come from that. Too bad Kurt Cobain didn't feel the same way.
_________________________________________________________________________
On the first episode of Politically Incorrect following the events of September 11th, host Bill Maher made some comments that were taken out of context & distorted. In discussion of the World Trade Center bombings, Maher replied to one his show's guests' comments about the terrorists not being "cowardly," by stating, ""We have been the cowards lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That's cowardly." Granted, considering the country's mood & sensitivity levels in the past two weeks, this comment could be taken as somewhat inflammatory. BUT, as stated by Matt Drudge in his statement posted on his site, the Drudge Report, "Presumably, if Maher had made those same comments on September 10th, nobody would have batted an eyelid. But by uttering the same opinion seven days later, he put the very existence of his show at risk." (Maher has since responded to the reaction his comments caused.) Currently, it appears that the future of Politically Incorrect's existence is at stake now. In response to Maher's comments, both Sears & Fed Ex decided to pull their ads from the show. Now, I'm not an insensitive fool, nor am I completely ignorant. I can completely see why & how what Maher said would have upset some people. BUT, come on, first off, the show itself is called Politically Incorrect to begin with. The show is a satire of our culture, providing a Devil's Advocate point of view to keep us continually examining ourselves & our actions. Admittedly, I don't watch the show, but I do believe the decision to take it off the air, solely based on those simple comments alone is a mistake. I recently watched Bill Maher do a stand up comedy special, & it was entitled, "Be More Cynical" (does the title alone give you an idea of what brand of humor Maher embraces?). It was very funny, & it also made you think as well. To me, that's the whole point of a show like Politically Incorrect. Even though right now, our country seems to be more unified than it has been in many years, we still need to be open to the idea that we as a culture are not always going to agree 100% on every single item & agenda. We as a country are heading down a path that no one can really be certain of where it's going to lead. It's more important than ever to be unified, but still embrace our First Amendment rights of free speech.
_________________________________________________________________________
Kathryn has put together a new site that chronicles her & her student staff's experiences involved with the training of incoming students here on campus. She took all the pictures herself with our digital camera. The site is viewed best with Internet Explorer. Check it out.
_________________________________________________________________________
Here is something I urge anyone who visits this page (is anyone really visiting this page besides my wife??) to take the time to read. It's an article written by Peggy Noonan originally published in The Opinion Journal section of The Wall Street Journal. It's really appropriate right now, considering the mess that we as a global culture are involved in at the moment. The ironic thing about this article, is that it was written three years ago. _________________________________________________________________________
Haven't had much to say in the last few days. What can you say, really? What can anyone say for that matter? The horrible damage has been done, our leaders have vowed vengeance, & at the moment, there's nothing to really do but wait & see what happens next. Like most people, even though I'm still keeping close tabs on everything that's going on, I'm fairly sick of the endless speculation & rehashing of news by the media. I think it's irresponsible that some commentators on major networks seem to be really making an effort to try to milk this whole situation for any additional drama or shock value that they can. There's been countless articles that I could have linked to from the Soapbox, but I just haven't wanted to. That is until today. I came across two different columns from Hunter S. Thompson. Considering what a radical fruitcake this guy is, his comments seem to make sense in a time that feels deprived of logic. Take a look at them here & here. They're worth reading. _________________________________________________________________________
Absolute horror. How else can you describe what's happened in the past two days? After getting home from work yesterday, I did the same thing that millions of other people probably did- I watched continual coverage of everything for about 6 hours straight. Even though I'd seen pictures throughout the day on the web, it was so much worse actually seeing the live video of the second plane hitting the south tower of the World Trade Center, & the collapse of both towers. Each time it was shown from different angles, all I could think was, "Oh my God." Like so many other people, there were a number of times that I felt my jaw literally drop, reacting to what I was seeing. How is anyone supposed to feel after experiencing this? For years we've watched atrocities like this happen around the world, & while it affected us, we still somehow felt disconnected from it, naively thinking, "Good thing stuff like that doesn't happen here." This not only happened here in our own country this time, it happened three hundred miles from where I live. And if all of these things alone weren't enough, you have to wonder what will happen next. Just how far is this all going to go? No one knows at this point yet. One of the many reporters I saw yesterday said that when our country would wake up on Wednesday morning, everything was going to be different. Sadly enough, he couldn't have been more right. _________________________________________________________________________
September 11, 2001. Like December 7, 1941, this will be a day that will "live in infamy." What are you supposed to say about all of this? What can anyone say?? I've read a number of different things today, & all of them absolutely horrible regarding the terrorist attacks on both Washington, D.C. & in New York. It feels like being an extra in a movie where attacks on American cities happen. You look at the screen thinking, "Glad that's not really happening here." Well, it has happened here. It's surreal & terrifying, all at the same time. Will we ever really find out who planned this? Will we actually have to go to war over this if we do? Time will tell in both cases. Right now it's still too fresh in everyone's minds, & too hard to process all at once. Somewhere on this planet right now, there are a group of people that are very proud of themselves & consider what has happened today a success. Let's hope that if there's any amount of justice in this world, they will have to pay for what they've done. In the meantime, please say a prayer for all the victims of this tragedy & their families. _________________________________________________________________________
Been listening to the Pennywise album "Land of the Free?" lately. Very good stuff. I guess these guys have been around since 1988, & it shows in their sound. It's old school 80s punk rock- fast, aggressive, in-your-face, & full of reactionary/revolutionary lyrics. It sounds like something I would have been listening to on my daily commute to & from OCC between '86-88. The cool thing about this band & album, is that it's not stupid, goofy punk rock (think along the lines of The Offspring). They actually have something to say & if you visit their site, & read up about them a little bit, you'll see that they've got intelligent opinions & are trying to use their music to promote social change & equality. I saw their video for their latest single, "F**k Authority," & remembered them from when I managed Spectrum Records. They were on Epitaph Records, an indie label, & I was surprised to see a video for them on MTV2. After reading a recent article on them in Spin, I got interested enough to buy their album & am very glad that I did. _________________________________________________________________________
Looks like Sting is going to be releasing another live album later this fall. They got some good quotes from Stewart Copeland as well here. Looks like he's going to be releasing his album with Oysterhead & touring with them this fall. I can't listen to Sting without thinking of my best friend Brian. It's eerie how much they look like each other too. In fact, I got a chance to see Brian & his fiancée Laura this past weekend for the first time since Christmas. It was GREAT seeing both of them, & hopefully be seeing more of them in the coming months. _________________________________________________________________________
It appears that Matt Drudge & the Chicago Sun Times had some fairly strong opinions regarding the MTV Video Music Awards. I really can't say that I disagree with any of what they said. Regardless, as predicted, I did watch part, but not all of the show myself. Both depictions of the show are pretty accurate, except that I really did enjoy the performance by U2 & their tribute to The Ramones. Even CNN was down on VMAs. It makes you wonder why if there's so much negative response, why they keep shoveling this crap at us, year after year. There's a lot of cheap shots that I could take at the show itself & many of the completely shameless, self-promoting "artists" that appeared & performed, but I won't bother, because it'd take too long, & there'd be too many to list. Suffice to say, the show was very typical, everything you've come to expect from MTV over the years. Have no fear if you missed it- they'll be playing & re-playing the entire show & its highlights over & over again in the coming weeks. I really thought when I was 14 & saw MTV for the first time, that it was truly the beginning of something new, exciting, & dynamic. And it was, for a while. Honestly, & this may just be showing my age here, I know that MTV has always made a concentrated effort to appeal to the younger demographic, but is that kids these days are truly entertained by MTV, or is that this is all they've ever known, because it's sucked for so long, & they never knew it when it was actually good, so they don't really know just how bad it truly is? _________________________________________________________________________
We now have Digital Cable at home. Pretty cool stuff, if you're a tv buff. Loads & loads of channels to choose from, but as always, no matter how many there are, there's still nights when you can't find anything good to watch. In any case, now we get MTV2 & MuchMusic. It's really strange to turn either of these channels on & actually SEE A VIDEO!! It's like being 14 again & watching MTV for the first time. What's also cool, is now you get the chance to actually hear & see bands that you only read about it either online, or in magazines. I'd pretty much given up on the whole concept of "music television" because all that you see is the horribly insipid bilge that MTV has the gall to refer as its most popular programming. I mean, why do they even have the "M" in their title anymore? Unless it stands for "moron," that is. The stupid MTV Video Music Awards show is on tonight. I cannot believe that it gets so much press, when it's so lame. And then, they'll replay it- over & over & over again, ad nauseum. Then, they'll play the highlights, & it just keeps going & going. I'd actually like to see a couple of the bands that are playing, but don't know if I can stomach sitting through it. Knowing myself, I'll probably watch parts of it, & then post something really critical about it tomorrow. Yep, that's my style... _________________________________________________________________________
Looks like Mariah Carey is stalling off her interview with Barbara Walters on 20/20. I've read conflicting things about her whole situation. Some things said it was emotional & physical exhaustion, something else said it was a suicide attempt. I guess we won't know the whole story until the "Behind the Music" episode comes out. Oddly enough, her official web site hasn't been updated as of yet regarding the postponing of her interview, but it's already on both CNN's site & the Drudge Report. _________________________________________________________________________
Roger Ebert has written an excellent review of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now Redux." I am really hoping that this makes into a theater somewhere near here so I can get the chance to see what Coppola himself has called, "a new rendition of the movie from scratch," AND also just SEE this piece of cinematic history on the big screen. This is far & away one of my all time favorite movies & I have watched it again & again, never getting sick of it. I truly believe this film is a masterpiece & am very excited to see additional footage that was left out of the original version released in 1979. _________________________________________________________________________
Have been listening to much new music lately. Here are the new CDs that have been taking up space in my CD player as of late: Sum 41's "All Killer No Filler," Pennywise's "Land of the Free?", Dave Navarro's "Trust No One," The Crystal Method's "Tweekend," Pete Yorn's "Music for the Morning After," & Jimmy Eat World's "Bleed American." I was pleasantly surprised to say that I've liked each & every one of these as a whole. More detailed reviews to follow. _________________________________________________________________________
Greetings & welcome to the month of September. Been in the new house for just over a month now & am LOVING IT, LOVING IT, LOVING IT!!! Being a homeowner rules. Of course, now it means that I'm the one who is going to have to deal with the fact that the sinks in my bathroom & kitchen won't stop leaking, but that's okay, because they're MY SINKS!! No, at this point, I'm not 100% how to fix them (yet), but that'll be okay. It's funny how after you buy a house that you get psyched to shop in places like Lowe's & Home Depot. Does this mean I qualify as a real "grown-up" now? You decide... _________________________________________________________________________
[HOME] [WORK] [KATHRYN] [RASH] [RANTS-N-RAVES] [PETS] [LINKS] [SOS] [CHEMYSTRY SET]