nVerse

Pickles More Popular Than Nickelback, Gives Birth to Pickleback

So, someone started the facebook page, “Can this pickle get more fans than Nickleback?”  And indeed, it has - gaining 1.5 million fans in just three weeks.  What do you do when you’ve got an internets phenom like this on your hands?

And the First Band to Perform in Outer Space is…

Spandau Ballet?!!!  really???? What? WHY?

See, Sir Richard Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic, is all set to be the first commercial space travel service; they recently unveiled Enterprise, its first spaceship, just last week.  Which is rather awesome.  What is not awesome is that he has chosen the yo yo’s from new wave band, spandau ballet, to perform on one of their first flights….the first band to play in space.  Weird choice, i say.  Why not the Stones?  why new wave?  Why not zeppelin or bowie?  Why not another knight like Paul McCartney?  Would be awesome to have him jam Let it Be with Ringo in weightlessness.  How about the remaining members of the Grateful Dead?  Ok, maybe those guys are too old for space travel (indeed, i am sure they are, and it would likely result in several livers exploding in zero Gs), but then why not someone contemporary that people know about?  Clearly this is a PR splash…so hows about the Jonas brothers or Miley Cyrus or Taylor Swift?  I’m sure Ricky Martin would do it.  I’m fairly certain Kip Winger or Vince Neil would sign up for the job.  Why choose a really-aging New Wave band that has 3 hits from the 80’s?  Probably because they are Sir Richard’s favorite band?  Anyways, I find it a baffling choice.

Read more about it here.

The Talking Heads Album…

…that surprised me this morning is called More Songs About Buildings and Food.  I dusted it off this morning and listened to it on my commute in.  It is fantastic.  Its got that annoying Al Green cover “take me to the river” that david byrne seems to never stop singing on every tour and show…and i nearly fast forwarded through it, but this original studio version is quite good.  Anyhoo, if you have the album laying around on your shelf somewhere, go listen to it.  Its sound is pre-New-Wave - a sound that pre-dates their finely tuned New Wave sounds and quirkiness that made them a Rock& Roll Hall of Fame inductee.  Chris Frantz’s drums and the various guitar riffs are punky enough that you can hear their art school kid influences…kinda reminds me of that Patti Smith album…you know the one i am trying to think of…right? the artsy one.  but better.  ’cause Brian Eno produced this album. whatever. anyways.   It’s one of those albums that you should listen to more than once every couple of years.

Peg

Awesome. If you aren’t patient enough, go to 6:20.  Michael McDonald in the hands of masterminds…

When He’s Not Too Busy Saving The World, Disguised as an Unassuming Ship’s Cook…

…he’s busy makin’ sweet music: