Home Sweet Home - Mötley Crüe

"You know I'm a dreamer
But my heart's of gold
I had to run away high
So I wouldn't come home low"







I started writing this post a few hours ago in a totally different direction but I just couldn't get into so I figured F it, it's Saturday, let's have some fun! Sure you can find me dusting off my Blue Note jazz records on a Sunday afternoon, streaming the New Music Friday podcast from NPR, or listening to heartbroken indie guys strumming guitars.....but in my DNA I am a child of the 80's and the MTV generation!! I spent countless hours soaking up the various music shows and videos that MTV aired 24-7. Huey Lewis and the News, Twisted Sister, Wham!, Van Halen all of them merged together in TV's version of Free Form radio. This outlet opened my world to various types of music and in its legacy left behind some of the greatest, most entertaining and sometimes ridiculous time capsules of the 80's look and attitude. One of the subgenera's that appealed to me most was what some may call Hair Metal. While I enjoy the rockin tunes of the various bands (Ratt, Poison, Warrant) when they decide to pull out the ballad, I'm.... All... In. One of the treasures of the 80's Metal Power Ballad catalog is Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home." This video encapsulates the whole 80's character in about 4 minutes. Big hair, slow motion, come hither looks, ass-less chaps, tiger striped underwear, makeup....and that was just the men! I was planning on attending the festival this summer featuring The Crue, Def Leppard, and Poison but only time will tell. If not this summer hopefully this fall?!

I also included a clip of Rob Corddry's character singing this tune from the underrated comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine. As an 80's super fan this movie hit all my sweet spots. I also enjoyed the Netflix biopic The Dirt. I read the book back in 2001 so wasn't too shocked about the content of the movie. If you're not easily offended grab a couple beers, sit back and watch some catchy tunes and how not to live your life if you come into fame and money. Happy Saturday everyone!

Mötley Crüe - Home Sweet Home (Official Music Video)

Lou sings "Home Sweet Home" - Hot Tub Time Machine

Present Tense - Radiohead

"As my world
Comes crashing down
I'm dancing
Freaking out
Deaf, dumb, and blind"


Two posts in a row with my world famous "outside the arena" photos. I'm guessing we all know by now how awful pictures usually turn out while a show is going on. And when are you really going to watch that 30 second clip of your favorite song? As I slip into my "get off my lawn phase" I do find it difficult desiring to attend live shows. Whether it's the person in front of you holding their phone up every minute or the people behind you screaming at the top of their lungs to have a conversation. Come on everyone, why are you here? For every bad crowd you still stumble upon that one audience that is following all the unwritten rules and soaking up the experience as the artist meant to share it. And it's those once in a while crowds that keep me wanting to go back for more. Although it was in quite a large room this performance had one of those audiences. This show took place back in July 2018. It was another one of those amazing NYC weekends. I was able to get secondhand tickets a week or so before the event. I was a Radiohead novice of sorts before the show. I had a few of the albums and was familiar with the "hits." My interest re sparked with the band due to the film score work of Jonny Greenwood (the band's multi instrumental savant) specifically 2017's Phantom Thread soundtrack.

It's rare for me to go to see a movie twice during its initial run but Phantom Thread was one of those films.(Had another one this past summer with Once Upon A Time in Hollywood) The acting and directing were phenomenal with the score weaving in and out with it's powerful presence. Sometimes menacing but also loving, mourning, and melancholy all at once. For two hours I was able to escape into the obsessive world of Reynolds Woodcock. Well lucky for me some of those musical elements bled into the album that Radiohead was touring on, A Moon Shaped Pool. This album has some of the electronic elements found on previous recordings but also included Greenwood's string arrangements. The show was a blast. Just being able to see a concert at MSG was a thrill for me and as mentioned earlier the crowd was into it and hung on every word. The high ceiling of this colossal room felt like an intimate theater. After the show I went back and swallowed up all the older albums that I had missed out on. (I'd say I revisit this one and In Rainbows the most)

 So check out A Moon Shaped Pool  when you get a chance. (Or sit down and watch Phantom Thread.) Could be a perfect lazy Sunday afternoon listen. My favorite lyrics are the ones above from this tune. I love the duality of being terrified by a situation yet finding time to celebrate. (Today's celebration came from recreating Clinton Street Baking Co's  blueberry pancake's for breakfast) Thanks for reading, till next time.

PHANTOM THREAD - Official Trailer [HD] - In Select Theaters Christmas

Radiohead - Present Tense: Jonny, Thom & a CR78

Road To Nowhere - Talking Heads

"I'm Feeling okay this morning
And you know
We're on the road to paradise
Here we go, here we go"

My wife and I love to travel. I always feel grateful when I can spend time in a foreign place. A certain energy courses through my blood and my senses are heightened. These new experiences have helped broaden my horizons and open myself up to things I used to be afraid of and reject. One city I've been fortunate to spend more time in since moving back to Virginia is New York City. I've thought a lot about this city and the people I've meet up there during this crisis. The picture to the left is one I took outside the Hudson Theater on 2/13/20. Little did I know this would be one of the last trips my wife and I would take for a while. Or that we left the city just before all this madness started breaking out. Our main catalyst for going was to experience what at the time was the last weekend of David Byrne's American Utopia run on Broadway (it was later announced he would be returning this fall and I hope that this will be possible by then and if  I'm financially able I hope to be there)

The first time I saw David Byrne live was actually back in May of 2019 when he did a duet with Mavis Staples at her 80th Birthday celebration at the Apollo Theater (I’ll save that story for a later post) They performed the Talking Head's tune "Slippery People." Something about his energy that night reminded me that I need to finally see a full performance by this guy. Lucky for me, shortly after he announced bringing his American Utopia album to Broadway. With agreement from my partner in crime we planned to make it happen a few months later.

We arrived in the city a few hours before the show. We checked into our hotel on the familiar block in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, grabbed a slice at Scarr's pizza (pizza may be a running theme in this blog) sipped on a beer at Top Hops Beer Shop and then got ready for the show. I was fortunate to get tickets which included entry to The Ambassador Lounge at the theater an hour before the performance. We enjoyed the ambiance of the cozy room (Where we were informed that Elvis and Jane Fonda (not together) had spent some time in) and sipped on a couple of Old Fashioneds. We then grabbed the elevator to head down to our seats.

The show was a vision to the eyes, inspiring, and of course rocking. His message throughout the show was one of positivity. I gathered that his American Utopia was one with less divide and kindness. His banter and songs were about a person constantly evolving and cautioned being stuck in one’s ways. To keep learning and adapting at all ages.(at least that's what I got from it) This is a message I try to practice in my own life but of course can be challenging at times and I still have work to do. If you would have told me five years ago I would not only eat but crave brussel sprout tacos I would've said... "You Cray!" As mentioned earlier the traveling and openness to new ideas and people has spearheaded this new way of experiencing life (plus a shout out to my wife for the extra inspiration)

Okay today's song is one that's been running through my head the past few weeks. As I look out my window while working or when I'm hitting the pavement to get some air it's interesting to know that nobody is going anywhere. We're just walking to walk and then turning back around to our respective homes....basically (sing it) we're on a Road To Nowhere

Hang in there everyone and if you want to enjoy a concert over the weekend the amazing "Stop Making Sense" is currently streaming on Amazon Prime (check out the below video for a taste or revisit) RIP Bill Withers.

Talking Heads - Burning Down the House [HD]