Weekly Song # 1

12.10.2008

Joe Tex ~ The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)

This is an out-and-out soul song, which displays Joe Tex's, dare I say, sexy voice. A slow, steady beat is carried throughout the song, making me want to snap my fingers and sway back and forth with the smoky rythm permeating the groove. The vibrato in his voice adds just the right amount of feeling without bogging down the flow.

Joe Tex was a rather popular soul/R&B singer throughout the 60's, having a handful of songs reaching the top 40. In 1966, Joe Tex converted to the Muslim faith, changing his name to Yusuf Hazziez, and then began touring as a spiritual leader. Joe decided to come back to music in the mid 70's, and flattered women across the country with his comeback hit "Ain't Gonna Bump No More (With No Big Fat Woman)", in 1975. This song was first released on Joe Tex's 1966 album, The Love You Save, and never made it into the top 40.

I first heard this song while watching an otherwise unremarkable Quentin Tarantino movie, Deathproof. It had been about a month since I saw it, but I recalled enjoying a few songs that were played during the movie, so set off finding the soundtrack. I don't remember exactly where the song occurs in relation to the movie, but I do recall it helped create an excellent atmosphere. Trantino has always excelled at fitting a movie's soundtrack to the feeling of the scenes, even if the movie itself is dismal. Even if he didn't know it, Joe Tex wrote "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)", specifically for this movie.

Weekly Song: The Vision

Assuming I can figure the technology aspect of the equation out, I would like to have a song available to listen to each week. In addition to the song, I will provide a bit of a background on the artist, where I heard the song, why I like it, etc. More or less, whatever I feel like saying about it, I will. I will try to get a wide swath of musicical stylings involved, but the lowest common denominator is that I must like them all. I will do my best to get a new song out every Wednesday.

There is a song in the right-hand column, under the aptly titled heading of, "Weekly Song". Just hit the little play button next to it, and if all goes according to plan, the song will begin playing.

So without further ado, I give you the weekly song...

Snow Day

12.09.2008

Thanks to the winter storm that is raging outside of my window right now, I was given the day off to do whatever I want with. As can be seen from in the picture (view from my window), it's starting to slow down out there, but the roads are still quite treacherous, or so says the weather man. So far, I've managed to get a cup of java from a coffee shop two blocks away. This also afforded me a great chance to stare out the window at a bunch of hapless auto drivers trying to dig out their plowed in cars. Don't get me wrong, if someone was actually stuck I'd help them out, but if I get the sense they are making progress, I'm content to watch.

Now it's on to bigger and better things - making tacos. There's nothing more satisfying to my tastebuds than gathering up an exorbitant amount of toppings, browning some beef, and savoring the burn of adding way too many jalapenos. My personal favorite is creating a, "double decker" taco, a la Taco Bell. Get some soft shell tacos, hard shell tacos, and stick them together with some refried beans in the middle...it's fabulous. One tasty little secret I've stumbled upon in my recent tacoings is chipotle sauce. A chipotle is basically a smoked jalepeno, so this stuff has a nice kick, while also providing a smokey taste to it as well. It comes in a small can (maybe 7 oz?), and can be found at mexican grocery stores, or even at a well stocked traditional grocery store. I usually add about 1/2 a can in when I add the water to the ground beef, but it can get pretty spicy, so adjust to taste.

Redo

Ok, so my first attempt at blogging was a terrible failure. I'm hoping I will have a bit more ambition to update this somewhat regularly now that the snows have begun to fly, and I have a new, more exciting layout. No, I didn't make it. Yes, it does randomly say Wisconsin at the top, which makes it all the cooler. We'll see if all this equates to me writing more frequently than once every five months.

Thesis statement

7.29.2008

I've decided to throw my hat into the fray, and begin blogging. A year or two ago, I didn't have a clue what a blog was, nor a blogger. So now I will try my hand at this game, although I make no promises as to how regularly I will post. Come to think of it, if I was a betting man I would say this blog will end up like 90% of those that are created - someone gets excited and spits out a bunch of posts, which slows to a trickle, and then completely stop after about a month. But let us hope that isn't the case.

I guess there isn't a real aim to this blog, other than to spout whatever nonsense comes to mind. Some potential topics of discussion include, but aren't limited to, the following: Music, The Beatles (two very different things), disc golf, maps and their usage, sports, outdoor activities, evening wear, evening wear?, evening wear!, and so forth. Is the excitement settling in? Good, good.