Music that makes you feel good (NPR All Songs Considered)

Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, and ASC listeners share the songs that elevate their mood, inspiring them to whistle, dance in public, and move on from hardship and heartbreak.

• Hear The Songs
• Related NPR Stories More Songs That Make You Feel Good

Funny State Signs found around the web

I stumbled upon a bunch of funny state "Welcome" signs from various places while surfing the web...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stop Northern Aggression sign in Mississippi

Stop Vandalizing Stop Signs
Castine, Maine

***

They say eReaders, Tables and Wireless / mobile are hot now

Friends out at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas are tweeting and sending updates that tablets and suped up mobile devices are the buzz in technology for 2011.  Expect to see a zillion tablets announced before the iPad finally dominates over all. And I figure we'll finally have the Driod / iPhone cellular smackdown in true WWE style at some point before Summer. 

Me? I'm still hanging in there with a pre-historic flip-phone. iCult followers accuse me of being an Apple Hater but I insist I'm not anti any computer manufacturer, just take a holistic view of the product. I've said it before, Apple has great designs, but why am I pummeled with juice boxes for saying their touch screen keyboard is small and awkward for touch typing?

I'm sure I'll switch over to a smart phone at some point. Just don't have a need to add $150 to the monthly cell bill. I figure the big cell service providers like AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon will roll data into their basic plan (Remember at&t used to charge more for touch tone, back in oh, 1793? Rotary Dial? DTMF? Hello? Who's reading this, anyway?). Right now my cell provider only has two dumb phones available, and my flip phone is pretty beat up.

If my phone holds out a few more months, I may replace it with one of those fancy 21st century phones. Lets see what gadgets are released at CES. Otherwise, sing along with me to the tune, "If my phone only had a brain."

Strive to be the best, or at least be gooder den average

Average is the new excellence, rise above the apathy!

upcoming music in NY and beyond

For many reasons I've been neglecting the Google calendar created to keep track of shows in and around the area. So I finally added gigs for the next few months. Now I am wrestling with google calendars to actually display my shared/public gigs. Here's an attempt at sharing the calendar

http://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=spd6s2bgd57jc215ult6p8desg%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America/New_York
Click around and let me know if you see any gigs appear.

SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH... in the studio audience at The Apollo Theater for taping

Last night we went to the Apollo Theater (125 Street) to be a part of the tv show recording "SPECTACLE: ELVIS COSTELLO WITH...", which airs on Sundance Channel.

The music was great but I have a feeling there's a lot of post work on Spectacle, as Mr. Costello tends to ramble on, just a bit (smiley-face).

Appearing and performing on the show: Allen Toussaint, Richard Thompson, Levon Helm and Nick Lowe. Also sitting in, Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan's Love and Theft) along with Ray LaMontagne who came out to sing the closing song, The Weight.

Only one reshoot for The Weight because continuity was off when LaMontagne appeared on vocals without any intro. Overall the taping went smooth and ended about 40 minutes early. Celeb sightings at the theater: New Orleans piano player Henry Butler and actor Steve Buscemi.

Being a television geek, I enjoyed watching the program monitor much more than directly watching the artists up on stage. I also noticed all cameras were HD. Hmm, guess that new fangled thing is catching on.

After a great evening of tasty music with Elvis we ended the night at Dinosaur Barbeque on 12th Avenue (and 131 Street) with BBQ and Belgian beer.

Look for this episode of Spectacle appear on Sundance in a few months.




AIRS ON Wednesday December 23 at 10:00PM
Elvis Costello returns for a second season of "Spectacle," a refreshing mix of intimate conversation and live musical performances. Internationally acclaimed during its first season, this original series allows some of the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time a rare opportunity to reflect on their work and jam with Elvis. This time, the Grammy® Award-winning singer-songwriter welcomes Levon Helm, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson and Allen Toussaint, who join Elvis in a memorable version of "The Weight."

Ken Burns - The National Parks

CBS News National Correspondent Jim Axelrod interviewed Ken Burns on CBS Sunday Morning and gave a sneak peak at the new PBS special called The National Parks, a 12-hour, 6-part documentary series that airs on PBS beginning next weekend, Sunday, September 27, 2009.

In the film, Burns calls the idea of the national parks "an idea that was as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical."

"For the first time in human history, land was set aside, not for kings and noblemen, not for the rich, but for everybody in all time," Burns told Axelrod.



Watch a sneak preview on Amazon.

Pre-order Price Guarantee! Order The National Parks now and if the Amazon.com price decreases between your order time and the end of the day of the release date, you'll receive the lowest price.