If John Lennon Auditioned For 'The Voice'

What would happen if John Lennon auditioned for 'The Voice'?  Would any of the judges turn their seat?

That's the questioned being asked in this brilliantly edited video.  It's put together very well.  Quite realistic, and equally as depressing.

"War Is Over...If You Want It"

The last contingent of American troops left Iraqi soil earlier this morning.

This Christmas, tens of thousands of families will be able to spend the holidays with their loved ones, instead of having them fighting a war overseas.  Mothers will be home to tuck their children into bed on Christmas Eve, and fathers will be there to open presents the following morning.

A myriad of gifts will be opened a week from today, but to many kids in this country, the greatest gift of all will be to have mommy or daddy home.

I thought this song was especially fitting given the situation.

**The following is the official video of the song.  It includes some disturbing images of war, which may be unsettling to some people.  While I could have found an alternate video for the tune, I think that this does a great job at representing the fact that, with human nature, while one armed conflict may be ending, it's only a matter of time before the world finds itself involved in another.**



Welcome home, servicemen and women.

Happy 71st Birthday, John Lennon

Today would have been John Lennon's 71st birthday.

He was highly influential in my life.  That's obvious.  My daughter is his namesake.  We're teaching her about Karma, and about doing her best to make this world a peaceful place to live in.

Below is one of our favorite Lennon songs as a family.  Jessi and I had planned to get married to it, at one point. It originated as a demo recorded in 1979 entitled 'Real Life'.  After six sessions, it became 'Real Love'.  It wasn't released until years after his death, when the documentary 'Imagine:  John Lennon' debuted in theaters.

Here is Regina Spektor's cover of the song, which is simple and beautiful.



In totally unrelated Beatles news, Paul McCartney got married earlier today to New Jersey trucking heiress (I'm not making this up) Nancy Shevell.  They exchanged vows at London's Marlyebone Town Hall, the same location that Paul married his first wife, Linda, in 1969.

Remembering Kurt

Seventeen years ago yesterday, Kurt Cobain was found dead in his Seattle home; the victim of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.  

Kurt with daughter, Frances Bean

For my generation, it was our "John Lennon moment".  A voice for everything that was inside of us, as fucked up as that voice was, had unexpectedly left.  Looking back, maybe not so unexpectedly.  

Long before his death, Courtney and Kurt were media fodder when it came to their heroin use.  No one knew the true depths of Kurt's addiction until years later, when the biographies and the VH1 'Behind The Music' specials would air.  At the time, we knew nothing of the multiple overdoses or failed suicide attempts.  We saw a rock star, and someone who acted, in public, the way that we would think a disenfranchised, brooding musician with a "fuck it" attitude should act. 

Unless you were the most ardent of Nirvana fans, you likely knew very little of Cobain's undiagnosed stomach problems.  Few outside his inner circle discussed the details surrounding the facts that he could very rarely, even when sober, keep any food down.  Or, how he often would use heroin as a way of self medicating to alleviate unbearable stomach pain.  This later led to untreated depression and body dysmorphic disorder, as a result of his gaunt appearance.  He essentially became a poster boy for being troubled and suicidal, and the world let him end it.

Within months of his death, the death of the grunge genre followed.  Vedder, Chris Cornell, Layne Staley, and the rest of the megastars from the Seattle area from the early 90s had become monumentally ineffectual.  The following couple of years saw the emergence and popularity of the "imitator" bands like Bush, Silverchair, and Stone Temple Pilots, but, for the most part, the remainder of the decade showed a complete 180 in the public's taste in music.  Listeners now preferred jam bands and hippie rock;  a trend that would continue until the early part of the next decade.

In October of 2002, after a lawsuit was settled between the remaining members of Nirvana and the heroin and Oxy laced Yoko Ono of our generation, Courtney Love, an agreement was made to release a locked away final Nirvana single.  'You Know You're Right' had it's original vocals and lead guitar recorded in studio by Cobain just 10 weeks before his death.  Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl later came in and recorded their roles.  Eight and a half years after Kurt Cobain's suicide, and after the demise of the "Seattle sound", the song debuted at number one on the rock charts.  Frankly, it sounded ahead of anything on the radio at that time.....in 2002.

So, what of Kurt's legacy?  What legacy?  In 2007, VH1 called 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' the "Greatest Song of the 90s".  It was two places ahead of the Backstreet Boys' 'I Want It That Way' (#3), and five spots ahead of Sir Mix-A-Lot's 'Baby Got Back' (#6).  

Kurt became a playable character in the video game 'Guitar Hero 5'.  Once you unlock him as a character, though, he sings not only the Nirvana songs, but all of the other songs on the game as well.  So, if you've ever wanted to see an animated Kurt Cobain sing No Doubt, Coldplay, or Stevie Wonder, this may be the game for you.

Unlike Yoko, Courtney Love hasn't done much to preserve Kurt's legacy.  In the seventeen years since his death, the world has more to remember Courtney Love about than her husband.  She has focused more on her acting career, her music career, and trying to keep her name out of the tabloids.  Then again, Kurt wasn't John Lennon.  Kurt was damaged, perhaps beyond the point of repair.  He wasn't preaching peace and love and "Imagine", he chanted "I'm not gonna crack".  Regrettably, he did.

Gaga Joins Plastic Ono Band For Lennon's 70th

It all started with the Tweet: "WE ARE PLASTIC ONO"

Over the weekend, she joined Sean Lennon, along with members of Sonic Youth, Iggy Pop's band and RZA at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, for a performance of the Plastic Ono Band.  The performance was one of many over the weekend to commemorate what would have been John Lennon's 70th birthday on October 9th.  Here's some video...

John Lennon - Imagine

I thought this song was fitting in light of today's significance and recent events in the news.

Happy Xmas, John

I can't believe that it has been 29 years since John Lennon was assassinated. The word "assassinated" is usually reserved for political figures, which I believe John was. He transcended music. He had passed by his contemporaries, even the rest of his band mates, a decade or more earlier, and, at the time of his death, was as much a figure for peace as he was a figure in the music industry. Who knows what he would have been capable of if he would have been able to live. Who knows what kind of influence he would have had on the world. A Nobel Peace Prize maybe? I was only five years old, but I remember the shock and sadness in my house that evening. I'm sure everyone's home felt that shock to some degree.

It seems like, for the better part of the last decade at least, the world has been a pretty fucked up place around Christmas time. Numerous wars that our soldiers are in, terrorist attacks in cities around the world, from Russia to Pakistan, not to mention Sarah Palin and Glen Beck(sorry, had to lighten the mood) make this a world that can sometimes seem hopeless.

John reminded us that "war is over, if YOU want it." WE have the power to make the world a better and safer place. Do your part. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, become an activist, get behind a cause you believe in. Don't let this world pass you by. This is your planet too. Do something about it. Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." Then again, John also said he was the Walrus....goo goo ga choo.

I have included a video of John's Happy Xmas, War Is Over. Just a warning, it includes some pretty graphic war footage. Following that is a cover of the same song by Maroon 5. No video accompaniment, but one of the better covers of this tune that I have heard lately. Happy Xmas everyone. We miss you, John.

Soundtrack of My Life 10/25/09 - Sting 'Fragile'

Depending on the phase of my life, I either absolutely love Sting, or absolutely loathe him. At the moment, I'm sort of in between. I've been thinking a lot about life...and health...and death lately. And, for some reason, this song came to mind.

'Fragile' was originally written about the assassination of John Lennon. The following video was recorded at a concert that was supposed to be telecast live worldwide. That ill-fated performance was scheduled to take place on the evening of September 11th 2001. Due to the events of that morning, Sting decided to perform this single song in memory of the victims of that day's terrorist attacks, then cut the live feed. This version of 'Fragile', I believe, later went on to win a Grammy for live performance.

Happy Birthday, John.

Had John Lennon still been alive, he would have turned 69 today. On the day when the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, I think it is a great time to take a moment to think about what another man could have accomplished had his life not been cut short.

To steal a line from Elvis Costello, all Lennon ever preached was "Peace, Love and Understanding".

I grew up listening to the Beatles. My parents weren't "die hard fans", but "admirers and listeners". My mother saw them perform on Ed Sullivan. She had a couple of their 45s and the 'Rubber Soul' LP, which she later passed on to me. By the time I came along, my mom had moved on to Motown, and my dad to country music. Most of what I knew of the Beatles I discovered myself in my early teens.

I had picked up their greatest hits CDs; the red and blue albums. I realized very quickly that I was a fan of the blue album and not the red. It was very easy to tell when they were starting to find themselves; as men, as musicians, spiritually and psychedelically. It was also very easy to tell which songs were written by Paul and which ones were written by John. Paul was simple....'Blackbird', 'Yesterday', 'Hey Jude'. John was fuckin' out there.....'I Am The Walrus', 'Strawberry Fields Forever', 'A Day In The Life'. It took 10 seconds of a song to tell if Paul wrote it or John wrote it.

By the time I met my wife, I was such a Beatles fan, simply because of John Lennon, their music made up a large part of what I had listened to. Luckily for me, I met someone that loved his music just as much as I did. We enjoyed his music so much that we decided that, when the time came for us to get married, we would walk down the aisle to Lennon's songs.

And when it came to love, John could blow the doors off of a love song. During his solo career, he wrote and recorded a demo song for his wife, Yoko, called 'Real Love'. The demo was eventually released, but didn't get any airplay. It was actually featured in the movie 'Funny People', with Adam Sandler singing it, and it sounded quite nice.

Two years ago, a benefit CD was released called 'Instant Karma'. It was a CD of all John Lennon covers by various artists to help relief efforts in Darfur. On that CD, Regina Spektor, covered the song Real Love. You would think John personally wrote the song for her 35 years ago to sing it. Take a listen:



We were driving in our car the first time we heard it. We had to pull over because were crying so hard. We couldn't stop smiling and kissing each other. We knew it was the song that Jessi was meant to walk down the aisle to.

But what for after the kissing of the bride? We both felt that John had written, in our opinion, what I think is probably the most over the top, celebratory, philosophical songs of all time with the most simple message of any song in the 20th century: 'All You Need Is Love'. With the horns coming in at the beginning of the song, announcing to the world for the first time in history "Mr. and Mrs. Adam Hall". We felt it was the perfect match. I love this video. It amazes me that this song...the horns...the strings...the band...the extras...all were on one take, one track. Music isn't recorded like that anymore. It never will be again.



It was the perfect wedding plan. Immediately following the ceremony, we were going to see Cirque du Soleil's Beatle's 'Love'. One hell of a night planned. Then, we found out a little one was on the way. Jessi would have been 7 months pregnant at the time of the wedding. Early March, low 90s, Las Vegas...not a good idea. Within two weeks of finding out about the baby, we had already decided on a name: Lennon. It would been Lennon Ruth for a girl, or Lennon Matthew for a boy. Not because of his music, but what he stood for.

He was the embodiment of peace. 'Give peace a chance'. 'All you need is love'. He even released a Christmas song that was more about ending the Vietnam War than it was about Christmas. He used his celebrity to get media attention. He used his talent to get people thinking.

The day I realized what we were going to name our child I got a tattoo. It is a replica of the Lennon memorial in Central Park in New York City.



So John, not only today, October 9th, but because of my beautiful daughter, I think of you and thank you for showing me that I'm a "dreamer" too.

Antiques, Matthew McConaughey, and the Find of the Century

Wow....it's been one hell of a weekend.....let me tell you....

In fact, from this point forward, I'm not using punctuation. It has been that bad. Try to follow.

saturday jessi had a spinning class....spinning as in yarn...not as in cycling...so we went down to downtown mesa to a yarn and fiber store by ourselves and had mom and dad babysit the little one for the day. that was nice. while she was spinning...i thought i would stroll down main street and check out some of the shops since ive never been down main street before...very impressed.... the had a couple of really nice antique shops. one was enormous.....it was two levels...had to have had 2-300 vendors in there....found some old thomas edison phonograph plates that were a hundred years old or more....they were only selling for $6 a piece....probably since they couldnt be played and were practically useless...found a 45 of john lennons imagine on the capitol record label...vendor had it for sale for $2.99....flawless condition....knew it was rare because not too many were released on that label....they were mostly released on apple...looked it up online and it turns out its worth about $35...not bad

also found a really nice scrapbooking store....had some cool stuff that gave me a lot of good ideas....ive been coming up with some great ideas lately for some projects....some art pieces....jewelery....crafts....and found some things at that store that would work really well into some of the things im working on.....

so jessis class was finished and we decided to head up to bookmans to try to trade some of my xbox stuff.....sick and tired of trying to sell it on craigslist.....thats a story for another blog.....found a HIM lp in pink vinyl for $10....great deal....also found john and yoko double fantasy and the 12" vinyl of princes raspberry beret.....good day for me so far.....but thats when it started to get weird.....

we go around the corner to grab lunch....suddenly....with no warning...no provocation.....i start talking like matthew mcconaughey....like im channeling his voice or something....its strange but i think its sort of funny at first....i start saying things like "alright alright alright" and "i think now might be a good time for me to take my shirt off".....but after about a minute and a half....it starts to get really annoying....my wife thinks im fucking around....shes getting pissed off....im trying to stop...but i cant......its completely involuntary.....THIS WENT ON FOR MORE THAN TWENTY FUCKING MINUTES....im ordering my food as matthew mcconaughey.....im asking for a refill on my mountain dew as MATTHEW FUCKING MCCONAUGHEY.....i stopped talking....completely....my only form of communication for the next half hour was charades....i opened my mouth again 30 minutes later and he had left my brain and i was back....it was the most bizarre thing i had ever experienced....

next door to the restaurant we were at was a goodwill store....the sign on the window gave us the impression that it was 50% off that day so we walked in to see what was available....jessi went straight to the mens sweaters to see if there were any that the wool or cotton could be salvaged from....i went directly to the vinyl. i have some art projects in the works that involve old records and im always curious to see what these stores have. the bottom shelf of the rack caught my eye. there was a kiss album in japanese. i thought that was cool...but since i was never a kiss fan i set it aside. underneath the kiss album was led zeppelin 4....one of my favorites..since it had stairway to heaven....already have a copy of it but i could always use another for my project so i set it in a pile beside me. beneath that was the beatles....let it be. i nearly pissed myself. finding a vinyl copy of a beatles album in a store.....in a goodwill no less....was like getting video of bigfoot. my heart started to race.....i started going through the stack. meet the beatles.....sgt peppers....abby road...let it be.....the beatles second album....the beatles rarities....rubber soul...altogether.....10 beatles albums and 8 led zeppelin albums...all in mint condition...as if they had never been played....

i sat down on a couch in the furniture section just to pull each album out from the jacket to make sure the correct album was in there and it wasnt a con or a mistake....i was almost crying with excitement....i had a half dozen people come by to ask me if i had found those records in that store....it was at that time that jessi told me to hell with checking things.....put them in the cart and lets get out of there before someone tries to take them from us....most of the records were $2.99 or $3.99 each....but i paid as little as 99 cents for a couple of them....unbelievable.....

went to a diamondbacks game yesterday....it was fun to take the baby....but very trying on my nerves....way too much noise....my tourettes seems to be doing a lot better....still having a few series of ticks a day but not a serious as they once were. my doctor originally had me on 25 mg of topamax twice a day...now im at 125/100/100 a day....and still not tick free.....i am stuttering like crazy....like porky pig sometimes.....where i just have to use an alternate word to finish the sentence....my conversations with my wife now involve a lot of charades...so im still really fucked up...but im trying....im trying