Monday, April 25, 2005
Wotcha Doin?
We went to see Kung Fu Hustle Friday night. It was a fun film, with lots of crazy special effects, and a few in-jokes referenceing American movies (including a very funny Spider Man reference, quoting Uncle Ben (Parker, not the rice maker)).
Saturday we looked at many houses, townhouses, and condos, with our realtor. All I can say is: Where do all the poor people live? Even the sketchy places we saw were listed at over $400,000. Yikes. Regarding this topic, I might have big news soon. Here's a hint.
Sunday the wife's parents came down and we went to brunch, followed by a visit to an open house. A house we are considering placing a bid on today. Aurgh! I'm not good at keep secrets! I'd better change the subject.
Between looking at houses, I've been reading Squeeze: Song by Song. It's an intriguing idea. The band had two main songwriters: Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. For 99.9% of their career, Chris wrote all the lyrics, and Glenn wrote all the music. It's an unusual set-up. Each was interviewed separately, as the band has broken up and they still aren't the best of friends again yet. They're both refreshingly, brutally honest with their opinions. Example: One of their biggest hits in America as 853-5937. They put in on the record at the last minute, and were completely ashamed when it became a huge hit. It made them a lot of money, but they wouldn't even perform the song in concert, both of them aware it was trash. I love stories like that (and I actually liked that song when it was on the radio).
Another interesting point in the book is that both of them emphatically state that their songs got better with each album after Babylon and On (their last hit in America, and their last big hit anywhere), even as their sales continued to drop, and they were dropped from two record companies in two years at one point. They both also agree the final album by the band is disappointing, but I may have to pick up those other CDs. I know a used CD place where I can pick them up for about $4 each.
Oh, about two months ago Glenn Tilbrook played a solo acoustic show at a club three blocks from my office. I didn't know about it in advance, so I missed it. In the past few weeks, Lewis Black and Jane Fonda also gave readings at the bookstore two blocks from my office (on different nights. Though wouldn't a joint reading between those two be absolutely brilliant?!?)
Saturday we looked at many houses, townhouses, and condos, with our realtor. All I can say is: Where do all the poor people live? Even the sketchy places we saw were listed at over $400,000. Yikes. Regarding this topic, I might have big news soon. Here's a hint.
Sunday the wife's parents came down and we went to brunch, followed by a visit to an open house. A house we are considering placing a bid on today. Aurgh! I'm not good at keep secrets! I'd better change the subject.
Between looking at houses, I've been reading Squeeze: Song by Song. It's an intriguing idea. The band had two main songwriters: Chris Difford and Glenn Tilbrook. For 99.9% of their career, Chris wrote all the lyrics, and Glenn wrote all the music. It's an unusual set-up. Each was interviewed separately, as the band has broken up and they still aren't the best of friends again yet. They're both refreshingly, brutally honest with their opinions. Example: One of their biggest hits in America as 853-5937. They put in on the record at the last minute, and were completely ashamed when it became a huge hit. It made them a lot of money, but they wouldn't even perform the song in concert, both of them aware it was trash. I love stories like that (and I actually liked that song when it was on the radio).
Another interesting point in the book is that both of them emphatically state that their songs got better with each album after Babylon and On (their last hit in America, and their last big hit anywhere), even as their sales continued to drop, and they were dropped from two record companies in two years at one point. They both also agree the final album by the band is disappointing, but I may have to pick up those other CDs. I know a used CD place where I can pick them up for about $4 each.
Oh, about two months ago Glenn Tilbrook played a solo acoustic show at a club three blocks from my office. I didn't know about it in advance, so I missed it. In the past few weeks, Lewis Black and Jane Fonda also gave readings at the bookstore two blocks from my office (on different nights. Though wouldn't a joint reading between those two be absolutely brilliant?!?)
# posted by smacky @ 7:31 AM 
