A Heavy Metal Epic Failure?

Twenty years ago in 1989, the Grammy Awards debuted an award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance. Jethro Tull won the award as a "safe" decision by Academy voters. The decision was vociferously boo'd by 98% of folks from the four corners of the globe. (The remaining 2% of confused folks simply said "Huh? What was that?")

Even the band thought they had no chance at winning against fellow nominee Metallica, and they didn't attend the awards show thereby missing their chance to accept their award. After all, you knew it, they knew it, I knew it, and we all knew it. Music with a flute in it is barely in the rock category - much less hard rock or heavy metal. Perhaps only Jethro Tull and The Marshall Tucker Band had the stones to pull off flute tunes in the rock genre - then or now.

Fast forward 20 years: I saw this billboard near Times Square in New York City - an acoustic performance of Jethro Tull songs by frontman Ian Anderson.

An acoustic version of Aqualung - is that really the legacy the Grammy voters intended two decades ago? Ugh, that has to be considered one Heavy Metal Epic Failure.

TMC

Newark to New York Part 2

I often view the pairing of Newark and NYC to Oakland and San Francisco. Newark and Oakland are like the desolate, tornado-stricken, black & white, Kansas plains in The Wizard of Oz. Crossing into New York or San Fran is like jumping into the Technicolor portion of the movie. One big difference though: In the movie, a flying house fell on a witch leaving only her legs and ruby slippers sticking out. In New York, I saw several sets of legs sticking out from store fronts and alley ways. But the help they needed was way beyond getting a pair of ruby slippers.

* Disclaimer: The Wizard of Oz is used here merely as a metaphorical reference. I am not a Judy Garland fan nor do I own any ruby slippers nor did I stroll the streets of New York as described below with a pastel sweater knotted around my neck. Not that there is anything wrong with that....

After abandoning my plans to visit NYC Thursday night and staying in Newark all day Friday plus Saturday morning, I was ready to finally set out for New York. Its a piece of cake to catch a train from Newark's Penn Station to New York's Penn Station. Once you poke your head above ground on the NYC side, you'll realize you've just popped out from under the famed Madison Square Garden. From there, its either a few blocks walk or a cab ride to Times Square. We opted for the cab - an experience I've repeated yet never quite gotten used to. Nothing tightens the ol' bum quite like the "thrill" of cabbies dodging in and out of traffic like a NASCAR driver or Gene Hackman in the French Connection.

After purchasing tickets for a Broadway show at the TKTS booth, we roamed around a bit and casually made our way toward W. 55th Street and 7th Avenue where we gorged ourselves at the famed Carnegie Deli.

A big ol' pastrami sammich, onion rings, and a couple of Amstels? Oh yeah, just what the doctor ordered. Wait...I think the doctor's orders will eventually be something else resulting from this meal. But dadgum, this was some good eating!

Following dinner, I took my sweet time to stroll down Broadway towards Times Square and soak in as much of the midtown experience as I could. A few of the sites along the way included:

• The Ed Sullivan Theater, home of Dave Letterman - The show obviously wasn't being taped on a Saturday night. But I was pretty sure I saw a room lit above the sign and wondered if Dave might be doing some "show prep" with any of the staff.

• Times Square - My bucket list overflows with all sorts of random stuff I'd eventually like to try. The pail, however, does not include celebrating New Year's Eve in Times Square. Every time I visit, it truly is a surreal experience to be at the site where the ball drops and seeing thousands of photo-snapping, fast-moving locals and tourists. Its like watching a bunch of ants scurrying about. Yet I experience only a fraction of the number who shoehorn their way into that confining area each December 31. I can't even begin to imagine...

• St. James Theatre on West 44th Street - We chose to see Finian's Rainbow. This is only the 5th Broadway show I've ever seen. Interestingly (to me at least), our group ended up this year at the same theatre as we did a year ago where we saw Gypsy.

I've grown to enjoy my annual trek to New York. Its not my favorite city, but I do enjoy taking in part of it in the limited time I have to visit. As someone who is "too much country", I suppose New York City is just "too much culture" for me.

After 72 hours or so of Newark and New York, I was ready to head for home. As we made our final approach into Nashville's airport, we suddenly and sharply ascended. The pilot finally spoke once we leveled off and banked to come around for a 2nd attempt. He said flight control radioed about a large flock of birds on the runway and suggested another attempt be made. While it was a bit unnerving when we rapidly went up when we were supposed to be landing, I was glad he took the tower's advice.

But almost as quickly, I chuckled under my breath at the drink I learned about during dinner at the Deli. After the USAirways flight landed safely in the Hudson River earlier this year, some New York bars created a new drink called The Sully in honor of the praised pilot. The drink is 2 shots of Grey Goose with a splash of water. The story sure sounded funnier and the drink idea sound tastier once we were at the gate.

TMC

Newark to New York Part 1

A week ago, I flew to Newark, NJ to attend and speak at the 19th World Continuous Auditing and Reporting Symposium at Rutgers University. I'll pause a moment here to let the envious chorus of "oooooh's" subside...



OK, ready to proceed?



Newark is right across the Hudson River from New York City. I'm a mid-size city kind of guy - always have been. Yet, the view of the NYC skyline as the plane descends always leaves me slack-jawed - the Chrysler building, the Empire State Building, and especially the sight of Lady Liberty standing watch over lower Manhattan. Yet, the view will forever remain a bit odd with the twin towers gone. I only go to Newark/New York once a year, but the missing towers are still noticeable even 9 years after I last saw them in 2000.

Right or wrong, various song or album titles, lyrics, and/or artists will often just pop in my head at random points as a contextual reference point. Maybe a musical GPS if you will. So many songs have been written about New York City:

• Old school: New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
• Rap: No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn - Beastie Boys
• Obscure rock: New York Groove - Ace Frehley (formerly of Kiss)
• Classic pop: New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
• Horrible, forgettable pop: The Heart Of Rock & Roll - Huey Lewis. Seriously, remember that crap?

New York, New York, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be
Where else can you do a half a million things
All at a quarter to three

Newark songs? Eh, not so plentiful. I tried finding some - at Amazon and Lala. Not many offerings. The Newark Airport Boogie vs. The Chairman of the Board? Yeah, right.

Once the plane landed and I got settled in at the Hampton Inn, I had big plans for Bright Lights, Big City Thursday night. I had hoped to pay a visit to the International Bar in the East Village - better known as The I-Bar. You can get a can of Schaefer and a shot of well whiskey for $4! I also learned a nearby club was hosting a Guy Clark tribute show in honor of his birthday (though Guy himself or anyone else I'd ever heard of wasn't playing). And, and, and I learned via Konrad Meissner that Tracy Bonham was playing a couple of shows. Bonham has recorded with the Blue Man Group among other ventures, and Konrad plays drums for about half the bands in New York, including The Silos - one my my faves.

As I studied Google Maps and New York subway routes, darkness set in and rain began to plunk against my hotel window. I then called the club where Tracy and Konrad were playing only to find out the shows were sold-out. A sigh escaped, my enthusiasm disappeared like a fart in the wind, and I talked myself out of doing anything. For all the reasons I wanted to go, I quickly worked up a competing set of reasons not to go:

• unsure about the safety of walking the East Village at night
• realizing the silliness of paying fares for trains, subways, and cabs to pay for a $4 Schaefer/Shot combo
• watching bands start at 11 PM
• facing the reality of knowing I had to make my meeting at 8:00 the next morning.

After deciding to hang out instead, I Googled restaurants near the hotel and stumbled across Nino's Pizza. Fantastic! Shrimp & pasta with garlic bread delivered from order-to-door in about 15 minutes for only $18. Quality food and some vino from the lounge downstairs - ahhh, who needed NYC?

The conference itself may sound boring. I can hear you saying "C'mon, continuous auditing? Are you serious? " Well...yeah, much of it was boring to be quite candid. But I enjoy attending each year nonetheless. The participants represent academia, auditing software solution providers, Big 4 CPA firm partners, internal auditors, and students from undergraduate, masters, and PhD levels. Are you honestly going to sit there, read that last statement, and not think what a great party guest list this could make?

The individuals the symposium draws is of more importance to me than the content. Its a pretty small gathering (about 100 folks), but it draws a group of folks from all over the place. Over the years, I've met folks from the U.K., Brazil, Venezuela, South Africa, India, Russia, Spain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. Clearly some language challenges arise as we try to understand one another. The U.S. is also well represented so I can always find someone who speaks in English as a first language. Plus, with folks from Texas, Georgia, and North and South Carolina in attendance, well hell, I can even slip in a "y'all" every now and again without having to translate for anyone.

The time allotment for my session was whacked to a minimal 10 minutes because the day was running behind. I was told to abandon my prepared stuff and just kind of wing it by making some comments of my own and taking a question or two. So I did, but I couldn't resist sneaking in a bit of toomuchcountry humor. After talking a couple of minutes about the economic struggles of the US in general and our industry in particular, I remarked not everything was bad. I reminded the audience I was from Music City USA and then led into the bright spots by dropping the line of a Billy Joe Shaver song Good News Blues (covered in this video by Todd Snider).

After a day of sessions on Friday, we adjourned as we do each year to dinner at the Spanish Pavilion in Harrison NJ.

The restaurant is a bit mis-named as I understand it. Regulars tell me the menu is more Portuguese food than Spanish. But what do I care? I smile politely and ask "Hey, could you pass the calamari and paella back down this way please? And yes, I would enjoy another glass of Tempranillo. And Sangria?? Well sure, if you're offering."

Saturday morning was more of the same though the clarity of it isn't great. The Spanish Pavilion gathering splintered with many of us going to the Hampton Inn lounge while others turned in for the night (the wiser choice perhaps). From there, the number of players vs. posers shrunk even more until finally a couple of us remained talking until 3AM.

My motivation for hanging tough of Saturday morning was to make it to Saturday afternoon and evening for the eventual trip to New York - the subject of part 2.

TMC

The Mask - A decision made easier?

Nothing has changed. The choice offered by my employer remains the same today as it did a couple of weeks ago - get the flu shot or be prepared to wear a mask when asked to do so.

As I mentioned previously, I've chosen to not get the shot. So the choice moved to which mask to wear.

I think I've narrowed it down to two choices. A compelling argument can be made for either.

Finalist #1 - As my mother reminded me via her scanning of a 1971 photo, I too once uttered those famous words spoken by Michael Keaton's rendition of the dark knight: "I'm Batman". So by choosing this one, I can roll old school. Other upsides include a cool car and my own personal butler.

Finalist #2 - As I strolled West 44th Street in New York City last Saturday (future blog entry), the image of the Phantom's big mask jumped right out at me - along with the word "Phenomenal!". It was as if some sort of karma-like, coincidental decision was being offered to me from on-high. Benefits? A nice apparel upgrade from my well-worn suits to a tuxedo and some cool orchestral music to accompany my trips out of the office. A big glaring negative? I'd likely have to accept a sewer gondola over a rental car for my local transportation needs.

I still have a few weeks to go before the final decision is made. Any thoughts/comments/suggestions?

TMC

Miranda Lambert is tops. No lying!

Forget Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, or Kellie Pickler. They are mere pretenders. Instead, choose Miranda Lambert as a much stronger female force in country or Americana music. But a word to the wise - don't cross her. With songs like White Liar, Kerosene, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, she's likely to get downright ornery if she gets scorned.

Earlier this year, I heard an interview with her on a Jacksonville, FL radio station. She had a great quip about how she writes songs. To paraphrase, she said "Lyin', cheatin', drinkin' & the Lord. That's what country music is all about." Pretty hard to disagree with that generalization.

Plus, you automatically trump all other peers when you've got a bass player in your band with a spiked mohawk.

Here is the official video of her new single "White Liar" (sorry about the leading ad)...



...and here she is singing it on Letterman.



On top of all that, she tweets too!

Update: After posting Monday night, The Tennessean published this interview with Miranda by Peter Cooper on Tuesday.

TMC

Yes, its a double standard

My daughter's middle school dance team took about a month break following the wrap-up of football season. Wednesday was the team's first day to re-group and start practicing again. We were talking about the practice during dinner.

She was at an off-site education session yesterday and went back to the school after classes were done for the day. As is typical, all of the doors were locked from the outside. Her only option was to enter through a gym door where the boys' soccer players were leaving for a practice or a game. She was too embarrassed, however, to walk by all of them so my wife had to walk in with her.

With a bite of food still in his mouth, my son barked at her "What's the big deal? Why didn't you just walk on in the door?" I tried to hide my smirk but was unsuccessful.

She quickly snapped back "I didn't want to walk by all those boys. I was wearing my spandex dance clothes! Would you ... or Daddy (as I still failed to hide my snickering) ... want to just go walking by a bunch of girls and have them look at you?"

He looked at me. I looked at him. And we both said "well, yeah!"

TMC

The Week That Was

October 26 - Tickets purchased for a March 2010 John Prine show. I grimaced as my passed my credit card to the nice woman at the Ryman knowing I was paying for a show about 4-1/2 months early. But hey, its Prine, right?

October 27 - Tickets purchased for Billy Joe Shaver show on December 1 at the famed Exit/In. Truly, a country - yet alt-country - legend. (BJS trivia: Did you know Billy Joe wrote all but one track of Waylon Jennings' famed album Honky Tonk Heroes?) His ticket was not as expensive, not bought as far in advance, and will be in a much louder, more rowdy setting - a tri-fecta! Speaking of tri-fecta, next March I feel I will have hit my own personal songwriter legend tri-fecta - seeing Guy Clark, Billy Joe Shaver, and John Prine perform LIVE all within six months of one another. Dagnab it, why was I asleep at the switch when Townes was alive...

October 29 - First Predators game of the season for me. And they won over the division-leading Chicago Blackhawks! Hoo-ah! The game was made doubly-cool by an evening out with a couple of friends - one of whom goes back to college years, now lives in Switzerland, and only gets to the states every 2 to 3 years. Fun reunion.

October 31 - My daughter carved her first jack o' lantern, and she did a mighty fine job I think.

The next day we had a hard time deciding if one of our cats feared he might be the next to be carved or was volunteering.

My daughter dressed as a pirate. (Though with that red head band, she looks like she could also have been Head Wound Harriet.) My son dressed as a "Caution: Wet Floor" sign. And his friend dressed as Jack the Jacked-Up Janitor. They're beyond the age & I'm beyond caring where I even begin to try to understand their minds and costume choices. I just walked a parentally-safe yet outside the "its not cool you're still following us around" distance behind them sucking down a couple of brews along the way. Ever tried "Trick or Beer" in your neighborhood? It actually works sometimes!

November 1 - First Titans game for me in at probably about 3 years. Got to watch if up from wayyyy up in the upper deck on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon. They also won just like the Preds a few days earlier - against the Jax Jaguars ending a very ugly 0-6 start to the season! I tailgated with a buddy of mine and his regular crew. Schaefer, PBR, Fat Tire, Mojitos, burgers, wings, and even freshly shucked oysters. Ahhhh....

So now its off Thursday through Sunday to Newark NJ with a side trip or two to New York City. The toughness of Newark and the bright lights/big city of NYC always intimidates this too much country rube. But I enjoy my limited time in the city each time I go. Hopefully, I'll return with some pics, some stories, some tweets, and some bloggable moments.

TMC