Rodrigo Y Gabriela

Wow!
I just discovered them and...wow!

See what I mean?

Listening To

Astral Weeks by Van Morrison.

Van Morrison has been a favorite of mine since the middle 60's when he was singing Brown Eyed Girl and Gloria. In the late 60's and early 70's he produced some of the best songs ever! Astral Weeks was his first sole album and the beginning of a string of great work. I think substance abuse (drugs/alcohol) derailed Morrison in the early 70's, but he seems to have overcome those problems as he continues to produce music today. Sometimes great music.

Astral Weeks has songs like Cypress Avenue, Madame George, Ballerina as well as the title song. This is perfect album to listen to when you need to mellow out, or get stoned...on life and music, not artificially. :)

Listening To

Good Times by Edie Brickell.

This is from Edie's Picture Perfect Morning album. You might remember it from the music video that was included with an earlier version of MS Windows.

I've been a fan of Edie's thoughtful lyrics since her early days with The New Bohemians. Mrs. Paul Simon, Edie, seems to take several years off at a time between albums and tours, but she and The Bohemians reunited for an album and a tour last year.

Just Another Day

Listening to: Sister Lost Soul by Alejandro Escovedo.

This is from his Real Animal album. Alejandro is the brother of Pete Escovedo (drummer for Santana) and uncle of the infamous Shelia E. Alejandro has been bouncing around the music scene since the 60's, but never hit it big. This song, however, I really like.

I can't say I was enthused about the rest of Real Animal, though.

Thinking about: Sixth Sense Technology as demoed by Dr. Pattie Mae.

I thought MicroSoft's Surface was cool, but that pales in comparison to this! I really think this will be the break through technology of 2010 or 2011. Imagine being about to project information from the internet onto any surface and manipulate it. Imagine walking up to a stranger and having information about him projected onto his shirt, or whispered in your ear. Imagine getting real-time reviews of books just by picking them up. This is going to be hands-free IPhone, IPod, Surface, your new Digital Personal Assistant! Of course, I will still want my Dynabook. :)

Reading Enter a Murderer by Ngaio Marsh.

Having exhausted Dorothy Sayers and Agatha Christie, I've started on Ngaio Marsh. Enter a Murderer is the second book of the Inspector Alleyn series. I finished the first book, A Man Lay Dead, a few weeks ago...it wasn't great, but it was Marsh's first effort and has been universally rated as her worst. It is with this second book that she begins to "hit her stride."

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The Cranberries

I was browsing through some old CD's the other day and ran across Stars, a greatest hits collection from The Cranberries. I enjoyed their music, not just the hits. They were rock, but not metal, and I really liked the Celtic edge they brought to rock.

So, yes, now I'm overdosing on Dolores O'Riordan all over again! I understand she's done some solo work recently. I'll have to check it out.