Friday Fives

Sorry for the delay, soldiers. Late night last night, long sleep this morning... you get the idea. Plus, I am an Uncle again! Congradulations to Scotty & Leah and their newborn boy Brayden. Hope I spelled that right. Anyhow, on with the show: 1. What is the first record/tape/CD that you bought?


Van Halen's 1984. It was a cassette, and a masterpiece of a rock record.

2. Who is your favorite all time band/singer?

Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. I made a serious connection to him somehow on the Siamese Dream album that has still never subsided. I know it sounds totally trite, but I absolutely did relate with that music.

3. What have you been listening to lately?

a lot of John Prine, and Ween. How's that for diversity?

4. What is your favorite radio station, what do they play, and where do they broadcast?

well, I have a Clear Channel ban, which pretty much ixnays all rock radio. However, we have a station here in Denver that is not Clear Channel, called the Mountain. It is a good station. However, because I am a constant information junkie, I listen to NPR and Tom Marino's 'Troubleshooter' show. 5. Can you recommend a good song or CD that everyone should listen to?

I can recommend probably a 100. Music is what I do, brother. That being said, let's go with Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks. It was released in 1974 and chronicles his divorce with an bittersweet masterpiece. You probably know the song, Tangled up in Blue from that record. However, to give you a real feel for how bitter we are talking about... the song after that is called 'idiot wind'. The disc is very acoustic-y (yup, I just made that term up, and it made complete sense to you). I think we all know broken hearts and sad lives make for the absolute best rock. Now take the greatest songwriter in the history of rock and run it through that filter. You get a five star masterpiece (which isn't all tears) which is Dylan's return to form on Blood on the Tracks.