Twostepcublog

Although I still think John Edwards did the strongest last night, this Biden jab was definitely the highlight of last night's Democratic debate in Philly. BTW please someone deflate Tim Russert and his idiotic questioning?

TO cleanse myself from the craziness on the John Rich shit. Les McCann's "Compared To What", from 1969... The President, he's got his war, Folks don't know just what it's for. Nobody gives us rhyme or reason, Have one doubt, they call it treason. Prescient words, now.

John Rich, you are officially a punk-ass dick. Usually I give a little bit of leeway between musicians/actors and their political views that may different from mine, and I had been giving Rich a half-pass already for stumping for "I play one on TV" conservative republitard Fred Thompson, but didn't realize the one in Big & Rich that doesn't wear the weird hat was also a recurring guest on some radio show, where he vomited up this bunch of shit why he supports "I'm like Fred 'Gopher' Grandy without the boat" Thompson... The pro-lifer is against gay marriage. "I think if you legalize that, you've got to legalize some other things that are pretty unsavory," he says. "You can call me a radical, but how can you tell an aunt that she can't marry her nephew if they are really in love and sharing the bills? How can you tell them they can't get married, but something else that's unnatural can happen?" As igno...

I almost wet myself when I found out that this is out. Kylie's back, and as good as ever. Here's "2 Hearts", from her upcoming album "X"...

Nothing says mellow more than Perry Como . There’s no edge. Hell, even Bing Crosby beat his kids to make himself “hard”. And this “laid-back” career of Como ’s lasted from the 40’s to the 70’s, amassing a string of singles comparable to Sinatra. His first #1 came in 1945 with "Till The End Of Time", the advent of rock 'n' roll didn't stop Como's momentum immediately, placing top-10 pop songs throughout the 50s, leaving the 60s to fade and return briefly in the mellow early-70s with the one-two punch of "It's Impossible" and "And I Love You So" which entranced the Godfather-crowd. Perry managed to put 150 songs on the pop chart during his lifetime, which believe it or not is three short of Elvis himself! He had too many to fit on one compilation. But as opposed to Sinatra, who can be anthologized by record label ( Columbia , Capitol, or Reprise), Como was RCA’s baby all the way. And until recently his CD availability has been scatter...

One of the greatest senators, ever. I'm a couple days late, but the fifth anniversary of Sen. Paul Wellstone's (D-MN) passing in a plane crash in the middle of his re-election campaign. I wish there were more people like him, especially in the political arena. BIG hat tip to Americablog for reminding me (and get the latest news commentary there)

Hey folks, it's time again for my tunes for the week. This week Pink finally makes it to the top to make it three for three from her current album, I'm Not Dead. James Blunt (pictured above) jumps into the top-5, while big hits by Meck, Reba, The White Stripes, Kelly Rowland, Hilary Duff, and Sugarland drop out of the countdown. Mika, Jennifer Lopez, Plumb, , Gary Allan, Sugarland (again), and Paramore make the biggest leaps. Linkmania is still is full effect - you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to go to their website (rightclick and you can bring it up in another tab or window). Go get 'em tiger! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Who Knew - Pink (2) 2. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (4) 3. Free & Easy (Down The Road I Go) - Dierks Bentley (5) 4. Lovestoned - Justin Timberlake (8) 5. 1973 - James Blunt (10) 6. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (6) 7. Th...

Oh boy. For the most part I adore British pop. There's a thousand arguments how the English music scene towers over American pop. This ain't it. Shakin' Stevens (nee' Welshman Michael Barratt) was the biggest thing in the UK in the 80's. Yes. You never heard of him? Well, yes, if you're in America, where Stevens crossover was more dismal than Robbie Williams, and he has been considered a flop here so far. With one sole chart single in the US, not even making the top-40, some Americans may be surprised that at the height of the second "British Invasion", fifteen of his singles made the UK top-10. A dozen of those appear on his Hits of Shakin' Stevens collection, along with a few midsize hits and a bonus track. The best way to describe Stevens' music is retro rock. Not like the Stray Cats, of the same time period. More like Sha-Na-Na retro. Happy Days with Pat Morita retro. American Graffiti 2 retro. Shiny, sanitized, and soulless, he's...

Caption: (Woman in burka) "What the fuck dollar-store Botox is this bitch on?"

Good ol' George Carlin on the Keith Olbermann show. Gotta love him.

Remix albums aren’t usually this bad. Nor or compilations. Especially connected to a seminal artist like Blondie . Yet Once More Into The Bleach is neither a normal remix nor a compilation. Billed nebulously as Debbie Harry slash Blondie, Once More is a thrown-together hodgepodge of Blondie songs seemingly re-recorded by only Harry (and thus credited to just her), a couple true Blondie recordings, and a half-album retrospective of Harry’s solo singles. Now where to start with how bad this is? Well, the first “half” of the set includes Blondie songs. As I said, I assume they were re-recorded since besides “ Heart Of Glass ” and “ Atomic ”, they’re credited in the liner notes to “Debbie Harry”. While the vocals are mostly on the mark if so, the mixes included are awful. From the disjointed “ Denis ” to the annoying “telephone” sound effects on “ Call Me ”, these mixes scream late 80’s. “ Rapture ”’s iconic bassline is swamped by clangy post-production, and “ The Tide Is High...

Before there was Cletus, before there was "Weird" Al, there was Ray. While the 50's and 60's offered a plethora of comedy acts on the charts from Allen Sherman to Stan Freberg to the Chipmunks, country music offered the one-two punch of Roger Miller and Ray Stevens , two artists that not only were comedians, but also competent singers and songwriters. And if Roger Miller was the cornpone cute of them, Stevens was the flat-out novelty stylist. Willing to go to great lows to deliver overblown cariacatures, his music also included some uplifting anthems. As the 70's FM advent dampered his pop career, country radio continued to embrace him. For the Australian import collection The Most Of Ray Stevens , his slight yet most popular fare is mixed in with a little of his more straightforward work. The set starts out not with his earliest, but his biggest single, " The Streak ", a semi-"break-in" type of novelty, where spoken dialogue (here, in the...

Hey everyone, it's a rainy Friday night, and time for my tunes for the week! This week Rascal Flatts spend a sixth week on top, while Justin Timberlake (pictured above) moves his fifth single from his album FutureSex/LoveSounds within the top-10. Mika, Santana, Trisha Yearwood, Jennifer Lopez, and Plumb make the biggest moves, while former top-40 songs by Miguel Migs & Linkin Park drop off. Links-mania is still in full-effect, so you can click on any artist name to bring up their website (rightclick and you'd be better to bring up in a new tab or window). lisajamesotto, lisajamesotto, lisajamesotto! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Take Me There - Rascal Flatts (1) 2. Who Knew - Pink (2) 3. Thks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy (4) 4. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat (8) 5. Free & Easy (Down The Road I Go) - Dierks Bentley (5) 6. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (6) 7. Don't Stop T...

There's nothing like a big, real country diva. One born from humble beginnings, and triumphing over struggles and scandals. Trisha Yearwood comes close. But in contemporary country, nobody touches Wynonna Judd. Debuting with her mother Naomi as the Judds back in 1984, she followed up a remarkable tally of fourteen #1 songs as a duo with a solid solo career in 1992 that still places albums in the top-10. As with Yearwood, Wynonna stands above much of the country field by producing consistent albums that grow as she does (no cheap shots, kay?). To celebrate her over-20 years of recording, Judd releases her second live album (the first a "reunion" album with her mother), the double-disc Her Story: Scenes From A Lifetime . The title is apropos, since it feels a lot like its taped on the set of a Lifetime special, rather than the Grand Old Opry. And surprisingly that's not such a bad thing. An intimate thank-you to her fans, Wynonna shares stories while singing both past ...

Season five from American Idol was the year of Taylor Hicks. That alone should give pause to the quality of the pool, but going back, and seeing current big-players as Bucky Covington, Elliott Yamin, and most of all Chris Daughtry that season seems to be one of itsstrongest. Judge this by the fact the Kellie Pickler finished sixth, and out of the country careers carved out of the show, her talent is right up there with Carrie Underwood. The first of the top-10 to release an album, Pickler's Small Town Girl is no slapped-together opportunistic set. Rather, the album is a quite enjoyable if somewhat recycled collection that can connect with her age-group but not be too silly for older adults to appreciate. The album begins with Pickler's out-of-the-gate single " Red High Heels " is a perfectly fun kiss-off song that's been done before, but engaging nonetheless. Its fast two-step beat for the 90s and "girls night on the town" is a great start. The same ...

All hail the mighty Rude Pundit .

Hey folks, I'm back from Denver, and catching up with my tunes for the week (which I listened all to on the plane and airport to and fro). This week Rascal Flatts is at #1 for a fifth week, while Colbie Caillat, daughter of Fleetwood Mac's Rumours producer Ken Caillat, jumps into the top-10. Leaving the list are hit tunes by Gwen Stefani, Delerium, Amy Winehouse, Bob Sinclar. Speakerbox, and Kat Deluna, while Mika, Keith Urban, Last Goodnight, and Vanessa Carlton make the biggest jumps. Link-O-Mania is in full effect, so you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to go to their website. Terminal A, baby! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Take Me There - Rascal Flatt s (1) 2. Who Knew - Pink (3) 3. Don't Stop The Music - Rihanna (2) 4. Thks Fr Th Mmrs - Fall Out Boy (4) 5. Free & Easy - Dierks Bentley (7) 6. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven (6) 7. Big Girls ...