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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like …

13 Oct

There was a chill in the air yesterday, brought on partly by the combination of a Pats loss and the end of the Red Sox season, and, of course, the colder temperatures. Add to that the fact that I spent a chunk of the weekend changing over my closet from short-sleeved clothes to long-sleeved ones, and it was hard to believe it was only October 12, because it felt like early November, at least.

But then, while wandering the aisles of Target in Watertown, my eyes saw a sight that warmed my heart: A full display of Christmas music on sale! And, as if right on cue, my iPhone told me I had a new email, and it was the weekly new-releases message from Newbury Comics. What’s going on sale this week? Well, it’s funny you should ask. Today marks the release of new holiday music collections from (deep breath) David Archuleta, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Irish Tenors, the Jackson 5, Barry Manilow, and Manheim Steamroller, among others. And yes, there was a whole display wall at Target just waiting to be filled by those new releases.

You know, most people hate it when stores jump the gun and start putting out their Christmas stuff before Halloween’s even over. Not me. I say, “Oh happy day! Christmas is coming!” Or, to quote one of my holiday favorites, “I may be rushing things, but deck the halls again now. For I need a little Christmas, right this very minute.”

So yes, you know where this blog post is going. If new holiday music and decorations are out, then it can only mean one thing: It’s time to start the annual compilation process for A Very Marty Xmas. Last year I decided not to make a mix, but maybe this year it’ll return. Only time will tell if these new releases will be of high enough quality to make a mix equal in quality to A Very Marty Xmas 2007. Stay tuned.

For now, if this is what the change of seasons means — that Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat — then I say it didn’t get cold early enough. Woo hoo!

Listen Up

23 Sep

Tuesday was one of those big multimedia purchase days that I have every so often.

The third season of 30 Rock was released on DVD, and David Gray, Mika, and Harry Connick Jr. all released new albums.

When I was at Costco, I noticed that A.J. Jacobs had a new book out, so I grabbed that, and because I hadn’t purchased it yet, I also picked up the third season of Brothers and Sisters on DVD.

A mixed bag of music for sure, and maybe not your tastes, but I always enjoy new stuff from artists I like. (The David Gray album is particularly good. I’ll let you know about the others when I hear more of them.) Continue reading →

Loud Mouths

5 Sep

Near the end of the new documentary It Might Get Loud, Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin, of course) says something like, “I don’t know if I picked it, or if it picked me, but I’ve really enjoyed it.” He’s talking about the guitar, but the sentiment could apply to this movie — which I definitely chose to see. An intimate look at three of the greatest guitar players in rock — Page, the Edge (from U2), and Jack White (from the White Stripes) — Loud is indeed a very enjoyable movie and I dare say essential viewing for any music fan.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim (the Al Gore doc An Inconvenient Truth), Loud zeroes in on these three men, showing them individually talking about their influences and what led them to discover the guitar, and together comparing notes and playing their respective instruments. You get interesting anecdotes about the early days of U2, insights about the recording of classic Led Zep tunes like “The Battle of Evermore,” a look at White’s writing process, and much more. While some of it may not be earth-shaking or new for longtime fans of these men and their bands, it’s still a kick to see them tell their own stories in the same locations that they happened. And no surprise, the soundtrack really rocks. So that’s why I’m giving Loud a strong B+.

Not So Far Out

31 Aug

In the new movie Taking Woodstock, we get to see some of the behind-the-scenes stuff that resulted in one of the most famous concerts of all time. The legend of Woodstock (which happened 40 years ago this summer) is, of course, a large one. Pity, then, that this movie doesn’t really come close to generating the same level of excitement that you’d hope it would. Granted, the lack of a typical soundtrack is a nice departure — no sign of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Woodstock,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Star Spangled Banner,” or other relevant tunes on the soundtrack — but by leaving off those recognizable touchpoints, Taking Woodstock doesn’t, ahem, get very high.

Set in the summer of 1969, the film tells the true story of Elliot Tiber (Demetri Martin), whose parents owned and managed a run-down motel in White Lake, NY. When Tiber hears of a “hippie festival” that needs a home, he offers its organizers accommodations and puts them in touch with a friend, Max Yasgur (Eugene Levy), who has a field that would be perfect. The rest, as they say, is history.

You might assume that any film about Woodstock would be overly cliche because of the stereotypes now associated with it — the music, the attendees, the scenes so well documented, etc. Well, as noted, there’s not even a hint of the music you’d expect on the soundtrack. Richie Havens is heard softly in the distance, and an updated version of his “Freedom” comes on over the end credits if you stay long enough. And sure, there’s a lot of peace, love, and drugs, but the film is not as concerned with the concert as much as it is with how it came to be — and with the liberating effect it had on Tiber. That’s sort of a shame, because Taking Woodstock could have used some more of that fun. As it is, Martin and Levy, two very funny people, are left to be very serious and dull, and the chuckles come from Michael Lang (Jonathan Groff, from Broadway’s Spring Awakening), for example, not because he’s a funny character, but because he’s such a recognizable figure and it’s amusing to see him on screen.

On the good side, I liked Liev Schreiber’s very natural performance as Vilma, a transvestite Marines vet who offers Elliot and his family protection. It could have been a very gimmicky performance, seeing this very masculine guy in a dress, but Schreiber plays it totally, ahem, straight, and it just works. The film itself does not, however. It’s too long, too dull, and is not a must-see, since it really fails to capture the excitement of the concert and the surrounding events. Instead, check out the new 40th anniversary edition of the Woodstock movie. As for Taking Woodstock? I’m giving it a C.

He’s the One

23 Aug

It was a hot night on Saturday at the Comcast Center (formerly the Tweeter Center, formerly Great Woods), but just like he’s done so many times before, Bruce Springsteen brought the power and didn’t let a silly little thing like 80-degree-plus heat get in the way of a great show.

He even replaced his familiar call of “Is there anybody alive out there?” with “Is it hot enough for you?”

But that wasn’t the only departure from the script — he frequently shook up his planned setlist, playing songs out of their intended order and inserting a few extra requests along the way.

It added up to an experience that felt significantly different from the shows I saw back in April (night one and night two). Continue reading →

Sing Us Some Songs, You’re the Piano Men

20 Jul

Pardon the cheese, but it was a pretty good crowd for a Saturday over at Gillette Stadium this weekend. We were all in the mood for some melodies, and Elton John and Billy Joel had us feeling all right.

Captain Fantastic and the Piano Man were there to play another of their joint shows, and despite any mockery I may have encountered for going, it was definitely worth it. Continue reading →

Ain’t Nothing Like the Fourth

4 Jul

I don’t know where you are right now when you’re reading this, but in Boston, it’s hard to believe it’s July 4 already.

Maybe you’ve heard how awful the weather has been. Rain, chilly temperatures, very little sun. It’s enough to make a person flee the city.

Judging by the weather, we should probably only be in April, or early May. Definitely not halfway through the summer.

But let’s forget all that for a day, shall we?

After all, good weather or not, it’s July 4th.

The Fourth of July.

Independence Day. One of my favorite days of the year (after my birthday and Christmas, probably number three). Continue reading →

Remembering the Time

25 Jun

The truth of the matter is, Michael Jackson hadn’t released a truly great album since Bad.

But then again, after you’ve put out a masterpiece like Thriller, where else is there to go but down?

Still, it’s hard to deny that MJ put out some damned good songs when he was in his prime. I mean, “Rock with You,” “PYT,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something,” “Billie Jean,” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” “Man in the Mirror,” “Human Nature,” “Smooth Criminal,” etc.

One hit after another.

And that’s not even touching the Jackson 5 classics. The guy was just great and all those songs stand the test of time. Continue reading →

So Damn Lucky to Have Been There

31 May

Where to start about night two of Dave Matthews Band’s two-night homestand at Fenway Park?

After all, there’s, ahem, so much to say.

For one thing, my seat was a vast improvement over the one I had Friday night. There’s just no comparison between sitting in the Grandstand (where I was Friday) and sitting on the field (where I was last night).

As Dave sings in one of my favorites of his songs, “Everything’s different … just like that.” The sound quality on the field is clearer, louder, sharper, crisper, and better — as is the view, of course.

Also, the audience is much more engaged with the show. They’re also older and less inclined to smoke up (at least that was the case with those around me).

And that all added up to a much better experience for me. It was like I had been to two completely different shows. Continue reading →

In Craig I Trust

30 May

Like Anne Frank, I, too, believe that “Despite everything … people are really good at heart.” So this morning, when I made a spur-of-the-moment decision to log onto LiveNation.com and try to buy a better ticket to tonight’s Dave Matthews Band concert at Fenway Park than the one I already had (yes, I realize that’s a pretty silly thing to do), I knew that my next course of action would be to post that I had an extra ticket for sale on Craigslist. Lo and behold, I got lucky and found a seat right on the field, so I posted my ad on Craigslist, noting that I was only looking for face value so I could get my money back. Within minutes I had a few replies, and over the course of a couple emails, I deduced that the person who had been first to get back to me was for real, so I agreed to meet her at Fenway at noon to make the transaction.

Not surprisingly, there were already folks at Fenway looking to buy/sell tickets, and as soon as one of them realized I was there to sell a ticket, he tried to take it off my hands, and with a small profit for me too. Well, I’m a man of my word, so I said no thanks — I was already meeting someone and had agreed to sell it to her. Then, at 12, I got a text message that my buyer was stuck in traffic and that she would be a little late. No problem, I thought. I’ll give her a couple extra minutes to get there.

Alright, backtrack here to about a month ago when I had an extra ticket on the day of Bruce Springsteen’s second show. On my way into Boston to sell the ticket to someone I had “met” on Craigslist, I got stuck in traffic on 128, the Pike, and Storrow Dr., and ended up losing the sale because the guy ended up buying from someone else when I was late. So now the roles were sort of reversed, and I had a dilemma. Sure, it would have been much easier to sell the ticket to the guy on the street and make a profit in the process, but I decided I would do the right thing and wait for my person to get there. Worse comes to worse, I had a plan B hovering over me, waiting for things to fall through. And even though she, too, would have had this same plan B, it just wouldn’t have been cool to make her pay more if she was an actual fan.

As the time ticked away, and I would get texts that my buyer was getting closer, I started to waiver and considered selling the ticket at the higher price and just walking away. So I was relieved when, at 12:45, the woman finally showed up and was a real fan who was appreciative that I had been so patient and waited for her all that time. As promised, I sold the ticket to her at face value and we parted ways. (Alright, fine. She gave me a couple extra bucks for making me wait. But I’d say I’d earned those, wouldn’t you?)

Call me a sucker if you will, or call me naive or stupid, but despite all the negative press Craigslist has received in recent months, I continue to believe in it and use it, and do so honestly, with good intentions. You can be skeptical, but I think it’s nice to see that there are other people out there who are like me and do the same.

(BTW, those pictures up there? Not me, and not the scalper I was dealing with.)

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