Blogging For The Sake Of Blogging....

The more that people tell me they read my blog, the less inclined I am to post anything of any substance....weird.......Part of the fun of a blog is going back and reading older entries and seeing how things developed. I don't feel free to do that anymore and that's a shame. Safer to stick to pop culture b.s., I guess, so.....

Katie Couric is leaving a show that I rarely watch to be on another show that I never watch, so the "big news" has essentially no impact on me. Two things, though: Saw Katie in person at President Clinton's inauguration in 1992; 'course, we had a LOT of celebrity sightings that week. Next, I will always remember an interview that Katie did the day after the Columbine shootings. She was with a parent of one of the children that died and she held his hand as one of the surviving kids described what happened to the man's son. Very powerful.

YouTube is fantastic! I've been watching old music videos that I never even knew existed (Osmonds, Merle Haggard on "The Porter Wagoner Show", Boomtown Rats....the list goes on). I also caught up on recent South Park episodes that I missed.

Speaking of South Park.....Fuck you, I love "Family Guy." Frankly, I don't think Trey and Matt have a clue as to what Seth McFarlane is trying to do.

Queen?

I like and respect Todd Rundgren, but his participation in something called the "New Cars" is highly questionable and reeks of desperation.

Merle Haggard is coming to Monroe, and I want to go. Apparently, old and forgotten Opry star Billy Walker is coming to the Beekman School gym. I would like to go to that, too.

I have never seen a single episode of 24.

Recently watched Brokeback Mountain. Now that I've seen both Crash and Brokeback Mountain, I think the right movie won the "Best Picture" Oscar.

Gas was $2.70 today. I drive 90 miles round trip every day. So does my wife.

Midnite Sun is back at the All Star Club on April 22. Can't believe I'm saying this, but we've actually been working on new material (new to us, anyway) quite a bit. Having Brandon come in as a new band member has really given us a much needed kick in the pants.

My limited experience on MySpace so far has been that it is somewhat creepy.

I really don't give a damn this year as to who wins "American Idol." Ditto "Nashville Star."

Still more proof that "Gilmore Girls" is a cool show (I seem to keep trying to justify why I watch this show....): Sonic Youth, ONE OF THE GREATEST BANDS OF ALL TIME, will appear in the season finale in a few weeks.

I'm probably late to the party on this, but my latest musical interest is the country music coming out of Texas. The "X Country " channel on XM radio is primarily devoted to this. A lot of it is really good and it beats the hell out of the "redneck pop" being played on mainstream country stations. Shooter Jennings, Mike McClure Band, Ray Wylie Hubbard, James McMurtry, etc. ROCK. Strangely, though, the most popular band in this genre seems to be Cross Canadian Ragweed and I can't seem to get into them that much. I'm told that I have to see them live, so I'll try to do that....

I was squarely in the Dixie Chicks camp in the Dixie Chicks v. Toby Keith debate (and Natalie Maines is "more right" every single day). I like the new Dixie Chicks song, but I'm not crazy about the video. I will buy their new cd when it is released just to show my support. As for you hypocritical country radio stations out there: You won't play the Chick's new song "Not Ready To Make Nice", but you're all over Toby Keith's new song, "Let's Get Drunk And Be Somebody." Great message to be spreading to your listeners, country radio. Whoever programs K-104 in Monroe: You are a gutless **** of *****. (Sadly edited after I thought about it).

So that's it for pop culture. Am I involved in more substantial things? Of course. Are there local topics that I would prefer to be weighing in on? Absolutely. It's a shame that I can't do that.