New Feature - What's in my CD Player?

This is a new feature on the site, a quick discussion about what CD is in my car CD player right now. I have a tendancy to pick a CD, listen to it for a while, then cycle it back into the house and pick a new one. The last two before my current one were Bat Out of Hell 2 and Third Stage. Know the artists?

Right now, I'm listening to Live's 1991 CD, Mental Jewelry. This is their far and away their most innovative and honest CD. Throwing Copper was a more popular (and financial) success and certainly was responsible for putting them on most peoples' radar, but I find this to be a superior effort - it feels more real, more personal. Strong from beginning to end, this amazingly honest effort shines with several excellent tracks, including Pain Lies on the Riverside, Beauty of Gray, and what is personally my favorite Live song, 10,000 Years. The lyrics are crisp, and the CD is very well-produced for what was at the time a small-time band. Most of all, the band sounds like they've been playing together for a dozen years, even though they had only released their first album, The Death of a Dictionary, two years earlier. You've heard a few tracks off of this CD, but I guarantee you'll learn a new depth of appreciation for this once-innovative band. Throwing Copper was almost equal to this effort - unfortunately, everything they've done since has been downhill. Click on the CD cover to go to Amazon, where you can listen to some tracks and maybe pick it up.

TV News

Galactica: 1980 I've been enjoying a bit of a flashback to my youth. The Sci-Fi Channel is showing the only 10 episodes of Galactica:1980, the hilarious spin-off of Battlestar Galactica. These 10 episodes, starring Lorne Greene as Adama but introducing two new heroes, Troy and Dillion, aired January to May of 1980. Taking place about thirty years after the first series, the "ragtag, fugitive fleet" has finally reached Earth, only to discover that we aren't as advanced as they'd hoped. The opening episode, a three-parter, gets the action going, but the shows fall quickly in quality and it is clear why the show was cancelled. A fun ride, though, especially to prepare for the upcoming Battlestar Galactica remake airing on the Sci-Fi Channel in December.

Angel We all heard the rumor that Spike will be turning up on Angel next season - the problem with that is, of course, that Spike sacrificed himself to save Buffy and the rest of the gang on the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are a lot of interesting theories scampering about, but over at Ain't It Cool News they purport to have a draft of the first episode of Angel for next season, explaining Spike's sudden appearance. It may not be real, but it's a hoot to read. I can only cross my fingers that the real thing will be this intriguing.

Amazing Race 4 off to a Great Start The premiere of Amazing Race 4 last Thursday night was a hoot, promising to be another great season. 12 teams of 2 started out from Dodger Stadium, racing around the world by solving clues to reach 'pit stops.' The last team to arrive at each pit stop is eliminated. (I love a gave with simple rules.) And the scheming and teaming up and backstabbing on this show ALWAYS is secondary to good, old-fashioned competition, something sorely missing on most other 'reality' programming. Who wants to watch 10 kids sit around in a house, bickering all day? Give me 12 teams of 2 (well, 11 teams now) racing through the streets of Venice. I have to say I think they may have started out with a challenge that was a little too physical, resulting in the elimination of one older, less physically adept team and the injury of another. I'm pulling for the Football-Players' Wives team - they look like they can handle just about anything.