With Someone Else's Money- You Don't Know Me At All

Well, sports fans, football season is eight days away.
For those of us in the South, it's kind of like getting ready to go to church.
With an uncertain future this season for my Bulldogs, I am hopeful that we win more than we lose.
I think they call this a rebuilding year.  That's a nice way to tell the alumni and other supporters, "We're probably going to suck."
At any rate, I secured my place this week for the road trip to the Georgia/Florida game in late October.
I always go with my friend Bill, a good friend of mine from McDonough.
Although it's not true, it seems we only talk during football season.
It probably seems that way because we talk so much during football season.
His folks have a place on the Georgia coast, and we usually stay there and drive down to Jax for the game on Saturday.
We have our meals all planned out.
There's nothing like The Shell House for crab legs...and the Buccaneer Club for fried shrimp.
He's a little more optimistic than I am about the season.  He says 10-2.
He's always been a little bit crazy.
Speaking of  UGA, Ben Folds had a contest and had singing groups from universities send in tapes of them singing a cappella versions of his songs.  The best ones he will put on his new album.
UGA's "With Someone Else's Money" won one of the slots.
Go Dawgs...or something.

The Timelords- Doctorin' The Tardis

In 1986, Bill Drummond was pretty well established in the British music scene.
He had co-founded Zoo Records, played guitar in the Liverpool band "Big In Japan", and was the manager of "Echo and the Bunnymen" and "The Teardrop Explodes".
At the time, he was talent scout for record label WEA.
On July 26 of that year, he resigned his position.
He stated, "I am nearly 33 1/3 years old.  It is time for a revolution in my life. There is a mountain to climb the hard way, and I want to see the world from the top."
Incidentally, 33 1/3 revolutions per minute is the speed at which a vinyl LP revolves on a turntable.
So he released a well-received solo LP  that was more folksy than anything called "The Man".
On New Years' Day 1987, while taking a walk, he decided to make a hip-hop record.
He called his friend, fellow musician, Jimmy Cauty, and "The Justified Ancients of MuMu" was formed.
They released a couple of albums with Drummond doing most of the vocals.  However, their favorite instrument of choice was the digital sampler with which they would plagiarize the history of popular music.
They sampled everyone from The Beatles to Samantha Fox to Abba to Whitney Houston.
In 1988, Drummond and Cauty became "Time Boy" and "Lord Rock", and released a hit single "Doctorin' the Tardis".  This prompted them to release a book entitled, "The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way)".
Also in 1988, under the names "King Boy D" and "Rockman Rock" they released a few singles as The KLF.
You may remember "3AM Eternal" with the hook "KLF is gonna rock ya".
After successive name changes and a plethora of highly influential dance records, Drummond and Cauty ultimately became, as The KLF, the biggest-selling singles act in the world for 1991.
On February 12, 1992 they performed a live version of "3AM Eternal" at the Brit Awards.
Drummond and Cauty had planned to throw buckets of sheep blood all over the audience but was prevented from doing so by the BBC.  Instead, the performance was garnished by a cigar-chomping, kilt-wearing Drummond firing blanks from an automatic weapon just over the crowd's heads.  As the band left the stage, their promoter made an announcement on the PA system:  "The KLF have now left the music business."  Later that night, the band dumped a dead sheep at one of the after-parties.  It had a message tied around it's waist:  "I died for ewe--bon appetit."

Tift Merritt- Mixtape

OK, so where were we?
Ahhh....the mixtape.
Nothing says "I love you" like the mixtape.
To pick out those special songs and to take the time to record them, just for that special someone.
Alright, the tongue is now out of the cheek.
In all honesty, I have made a few mixtapes in my day.
In essence, this blog is one giant mixtape to the world, saying, "Hey!  I think you're special!"
Just kidding.
Not that you're not special.
But anyways.
Wifey was cleaning out the van a couple of days ago and there was a mixtape that a guy she dated years ago made for her.
The label on it is "Good Stuff".
It is mostly.  A little Spandeau Ballet never hurt anyone.  You know this much is true.
She says that the guy made it for her after their second date.  She thought that was a bit weird.
I'm not sure the number of dates that it is OK to make a mixtape after, but apparently 2 is not it.
She said that just meant that there wasn't gonna be a third.
And, that my friends, was good for me.
This song, "Mixtape", is by a very talented artist that is originally from Houston, Texas.
I'm playing this just for you.

The Beatles- Come Together

Recently, conservative radio talk show host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger announced that she will not be renewing her contract at the end of the year.  This stems from a recent call that she took.
Jade called in to Dr. Laura's show with a complaint about her husband.
Jade is a black woman and she is married to a white man.
She states that her husband's friends and family make racist comments in front of her, and her husband doesn't check them, and it's hurting Jade's feelings.
Instead of addressing the issue, Dr. Laura begins to "teach" her caller what is, and what is not a racial comment.  Apparently, to Dr. Laura, there is no such thing as a racial comment.
She thinks that because a comedian uses the term "nigger" on HBO, that it's open game for everybody.
This is the FREAKING 21st Century!!!  We're still having this conversation?!?!
For crying out loud!!!
To anybody that cares...the word is offensive.  Just don't use it.
That goes for the HBO comics, too.
If we ever want to get past this, then there has to be no more of the "my side, your side" mentality.
Dr. Laura said that "black people voted for Obama just beacuse he was black."
That's probably true in some cases.
But some white people didn't vote for him just because he was black.
And that's the sad truth, as well.
Slavery is history.
Most people that are alive today 1) Wish it never happened; and 2) Don't understand why it happened in the first place.
I think it's important sometimes to look back, but mostly to see where you screwed up so you don't screw up again and so you can make the future better.
It's more important to move forward.
I mean, "Can't we all just get along?"
I hope that Jade and her husband gets professional counseling.
Respect and dignity are not something to be poo-pooed.

David Garrett- Smells Like Teen Spirit

Earlier this year, April I think, I went to Sambuca Jazz Cafe' for the second time.
I love live music and live jazz after a long day/week, is just what the doctor ordered.
On this particular evening, trumpet player Joey Summerville was the opening act.
Very nice and smooth.
Then came Ken Ford.
Ken Ford is an amazing electric violinist.  Trained in classical music, he held the prestigious title of Concert Master for the African American Philharmonic Orchestra.
In the mid 90's, he took a leap of faith from his background as an IT Programmer, to pursue his music.
He had already begun to wow audiences with his interpretation of jazz and R&B tunes.
With three solo releases, and an electrifying stage presence, he has become a heavily requested name at many of the jazz music festivals nationwide.
Another genre-bending violinist is David Garrett.
Garrett was born in Germany to an American mother and a German father.
Like Ford, Garrett began to play at a very early age.
At age 17, he had a gig with the Munich Philharminc Orchestra in Delhi and Mumbai marking the 50th anniversary of India's independance.
After graduating from the Julliard School in New York, he was struck with a desire to arouse young people's interest in classical music.
On his past CD's, he incorporated a mix of classical with popular songs, including some of his original material.
His latest release, "Rock Symphonies", is similar in that vein, borrowing tracks from Guns 'n Roses, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, as well as this track from Nirvana.
And, yes, ladies.  He supplemented his income during his Julliard days with some modeling work.
I've got to go now.  I'm feeling hair envy.

Kari Jobe- The More I Seek You

There is a new song by a guy named Jason Gray that, I believe, really captures the essence of Christianity.
Some of the lyrics are:  "Give me rules, I will break them.  Show me lines, I will cross them.  I need more than a truth to believe.  I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes...Give me words, I'll misuse them.  Obligations, I'll misplace them.  'Cause all religion ever made of me was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet.  It never set me free."
"It's gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in.
More like losing my heart than giving my allegience."
Religion can bring discipline, but it can't set you free from yourself.
We're all goofs, of which I am the chief.  (Paraphrase from the Apostle Paul.)
Religion will help point that out.
But if you take the time and investigate "the love letter" that was written specifically to you, and understand the depth of the love, the sacrifice that was made, and observe the passion that God shows for you each day, simply by making the sun come up, then your stone heart is able to melt before the One that has gone to the ends of the Earth, just for you.
Jason's song goes on to say:  "It was love that made me a believer in more than a name, a faith, a creed.
Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me."
This song by worship leader Kari Jobe has a similar tone.
If you're having trouble believing that anyone could love you that much, do a little experiment.
Tonight, look out at the stars.  The Bible says that they are "signs and tokens of God's provident care."
Yes, the light show is just for you, too.

Candace and Jeremy- Do-Nothing Day

I used to work at a Mercedes-Benz dealership.
I worked in the service division.  I was a porter.
That was a fancy term for the guy that cleans up the shop and washes the customers' cars that come in for service.
My friends Pebbles and Poops both worked there with me.
We usually had a good time, with the proper balance of goofing off and getting stuff done.
Like most dealerships, if a customer's car needed to be in service for an extended amount of time, there was a courtesy shuttle that transported the customer to wherever they needed to go.
This job was performed by "Do-Nothing".
"Do-Nothing" was a guy our age that drove the courtesy van.
He got his name because apparently the folks in the parts department and the mechanics thought that he did...well...nothing.
He was a stylish guy.  If memory serves me correctly, he used to model.
He was also friends with another of our friends, Gin-Gin.
We had our annual Christmas party at the owner's house in Peachtree City.  It was quite an elaborate place.
As the evening went on, we had worn out our welcome along with the owner's refreshments (not necessarily in that order).
"Do-Nothing" was the one that drove us back to the hotel that we were staying in.
We had a chance to hang out a couple of times after that, but not long after, I left the dealership for a different job, and we lost touch.
Thankfully, I recently found his wife on Facebook, and was able to re-connect through her.
He used to have this nice Elgin watch.
He would hold up his watch and say, "Jose', can you see Con-Seiko?  No, Elgin."
It was kind of a lame joke, but it was an attempt at "doing something".
The title of this Phineas and Ferb song reminded me of my old pal, "Do-Nothing".
I think everybody was just jealous.  They just wanted your job.