Music to My Ears

14 Oct

Best thing about spending 6 of the last 72 hours in my car? The chance to hear some of the new music I’ve been buying. Among the noteworthy tunes …

Jamie Cullum, “London Skies,” “Photograph,” and “Mind Trick,” and his new CD, Catching Tales. I’m a huge fan of Jamie’s previous CD, Twentysomething, with its cool fusion of rock, pop and jazz, and had high hopes for the follow-up. The sound of this new disc is more pop-jazz than Twentysomething, which was more jazz-pop. Songs here have more of a beat, more of an ambient sound in some cases, more edge, and less of a “classic” feel. My favorite track is “London Skies.” I’ve already played it a good handful of times. And “Mind Trick” is just fun. “Photograph” hit a chord with me, due to the wistful, nostalgic lyrics of the chorus (“When I look back on my ordinary, ordinary life, I see so much magic though I missed it at the time.”) and a nice piano solo. Other tracks (like “21st Century Kid” and the Steely Dan-esque “Nothing I Do”) are quickly growing on me. Sure, most of the stronger tracks are in the first half of the CD, but I’d imagine that after a few more listenings, I’ll warm to more tracks in the second half. This is a really good album, even if I don’t instantly love it all, like I did with Twentysomething. Jamie Cullum’s a huge talent and I really recommend this CD.

Susan Tedeschi, “Follow,” and her new CD, Hope and Desire. Tedeschi’s Just Won’t Burn is one of my all-time favorite albums, but since then I just haven’t loved Tedeschi’s work. This album has its highs and lows, and a definite high is “Follow,” a cover of the Richie Havens classic. Simply, it just sounds great. Is it the song? Is it the delivery? It’s both.

Josh Kelley, “Only You”
I Nine, “Same in Any Language” (From the Elizabethtown soundtrack)
Cass Elliot, “Make Your Own Kind of Music” (yes, the song from the first episode of Lost this year)
… These three are just some great songs that had repeated play in my car.

All of this is available on iTunes, by the way. The others are good, but Jamie Cullum’s definitely worth checking out.

Mother Nature Is a Bitch

14 Oct

That’s the only way to explain the hellish drive I had this morning from NY through Connecticut en route back to Boston. All you Beantowners who think these misty conditions are rain have no idea what the folks down in the tri-state area have been getting the past few days. Ugh. We’re talking monsoon conditions. And driving through that is just no fun at all. Especially at 7 a.m. when I’ve had just a couple hours of sleep the night before. I’ve never been so happy to be back in the office. And now I hear tomorrow’s weather here is going to be as bad as it’s been “down south” for the past couple of days? Grrrrreaaaat.

I Love L.A. (mostly)

11 Oct


Congrats to the L.A. Angels of Anaheim for knocking the Yankees out of the playoffs last night and wiping the smug demeanor off the faces of A-Rod, Randy Johnson, slimy Giambi and especially Hideki Matsui, who I was happy to see make the last out. Never has there been a bunch of ballplayers who acted like they were entitled to greatness, and I am so happy that their season is now over.

(Yes, the Sox are also out of it, and yes we got swept, but we were happy just to be in the playoffs this year. The Yankees thought they had actually earned a place in the playoffs, when they just got lucky in the end. And, at least the Sox look like they enjoy playing the game. I don’t know how anyone can enjoy watching the Yankees play when they never smile.)

Anyway … so here are my fearless predictions for the rest of the post-season, based on nothing more than who I like and who I know and who I’d enjoy rooting for:
Angels over the White Sox in 6 games
Houston over St. Louis in 6 games
Houston over the Angels in 6 games

I’m not putting any money on any of those picks and I hope the people who actually care about this stuff (hello, Todd) will take them with a grain of salt. But I think I would actually enjoy watching the World Series if it was the Astros and the Angels. Jeez, there’d be a lot of red in the stands in both parks … It might actually be like the Sox were still in it. (What? A guy can dream, can’t he?)

Wet Weekend

10 Oct

It’s been a wet, wet, nasty weekend here, and for all the joking Friday night about winter officially beginning at 7:35 p.m. (when the Sox lost), the temperatures have actually dropped significantly, making it feel like summer is now officially over and winter is actually on its way.

Yuck. Continue reading →

Thanks for the Memories …

8 Oct


How times change. Three games, three losses and that’s it. Game over. Season over. It went by so fast that it almost seems like it didn’t happen. And amazingly, as soon as Game Three was over, folks I saw on Boylston St. were walking around — is it possible? — looking relieved.

Alright, we’ve had our fun. The euphoria, the high, the celebratory tone lasted just about the entire year. And now we can all move on and get back to our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I am truly bummed that the Sox lost. But we had it good for a long while, and maybe that’s why it doesn’t hurt that much. Papi and Manny brought the dramatic hits and home runs, Millar made us scream and laugh, JV inspired confidence, Damon kept us all relaxed, everyone else pitched in, and we all enjoyed the ride.

It certainly was fun while it lasted. But now it’s time for me to get some sleep and enjoy a long winter (sigh, a very long winter). At least I have my memories — and my 12-disc DVD box set of last year’s post-season to keep me busy until Spring Training starts.

I’ll see you in February, Papi … For now, let’s go Angels!!

"We’re Gonna Need to Watch That Again"

7 Oct

Lost fan PSA: ABC is re-airing Wednesday’s trippy, bizarre, awesome episode tomorrow (Saturday) at 8 p.m. Set your TiVo.


(it’s news so good that even Locke is smiling.)

And after you watch, head on over to the official web site of The Hanso Foundation. Be sure to go to the Active Projects section and click on the “hidden” link below the list — it only appears when you move your mouse over it.

Good stuff, and essential reading after this week’s episode.

The Most Wonderful Time …

6 Oct

Among the joys and pleasures of my Rosh Hashannah weekend in New York — aside from our dinner with my 100-year-old great uncle — was the discovery that although October is barely a week old, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. (sing it with me: evvvv’rywhere you go.)

At the Super Stop & Shop near my parents’ place, right as you walk in the door, there’s a giant, 8-foot-tall inflatable snow globe. “Snow” was blowing all around inside of it and the thing was just ginormous. It’s $149 and soooo worth it. Suffice it to say, it’d look perfect in my apartment.

Considering I’ve already received a few advance copies of upcoming Christmas CDs — Brian Setzer’s (skip it) and Diana Krall’s (awesome) — and I know one is on its way overnight to me — Brian Wilson’s (can’t wait) — for delivery tomorrow morning, and all this is on top of the fact that I’m currently working on the December and holiday issues of two different magazines already, it seems I’ve bypassed Halloween and Thanksgiving and am in a Christmas state of mind. Of course, considering this is the most wonderful time of the year, I’m not complaining.

And I suppose this can only mean one thing: it’s almost time to start compiling my seventh (or is it my eighth?) annual “A Very Marty Christmas” CD. (I guess it’s worth reminding those readers who don’t know any better that I am Jewish. What’s your point?) Last year I had enough songs left over to make a double album, and this year’s CD already has the potential to be a good one. Stay tuned for further details. I may need some help whittling down my still-large collection of songs to a group of around 20 tracks. You’d be surprised how many of them still haven’t made it onto one of my holiday mixes. (And hey, if you’ve got suggestions for songs that just have to be on my mix this year, please email me or post them in the Comments field below.

Anyway, you can bet there will be much more holiday merriment in the coming months so I don’t want to overdo it now. But in the meantime, you’d better watch out and you’d better not cry. In fact, you’d better not pout either. One day real soon, I’ll tell you why …

And Azizen Pesach, Too

6 Oct

Seen floating over my synagogue this weekend …


Alright, not really. This is yet another example of “Fun with Photoshop,” courtesy of the blog One Smoot Short of a Bridge, and I was feeling dorky enough to share it with y’all.

I Just Want(ed) to Fly

3 Oct


October 3, 2005 is a pretty important day in my life.

For starters, it’s the beginning of Rosh Hashannah (it starts tonight at sundown).

It’s also the one-year anniversary of the day I threw myself out of a plane from 10,000 feet above the ground. Continue reading →

Now It’s My Turn

2 Oct


Alright, enough of this plugging of other people’s work.

I wrote the cover story (or, some would say, cover stories) for the October issue of Continental magazine. It’s our twice-annual Broadway special, and I interviewed Tony winners Nathan Lane (regarding his role in the new revival of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple) and Michael Cerveris (regarding his role in the new revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd). Continue reading →

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