Out With the Auld - In With the New

2005 in Review ...according to Al.

• 2005 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival featuring Bauhaus, New Order, Prodigy, Coldplay, The Chemical Bros., The Raveonettes, Miss Kittin, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Spoon, Nine Inch Nails, Gang of Four, Weezer, Josh Wink, Junkie XL, UNKLE, Gram Rabbit, and oh yeah...ME! Coachella 2006 will be held April 29 & 30. Stay tuned for this year's lineup.
• Sir Bob Geldof revamps the Live Aid concept & launches Live8. The concerts were simulcast on July 2nd in ten different cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Philadelphia, Tokyo, & Moscow and featured artists such as The Cure, Coldplay, Madonna, Annie Lennox, Jamiroquai, U2, The Killers, Elton John, R.E.M., Paul McCartney, and loads more. The highlight, however, was the reunion of Pink Floyd on stage. 150 bands & 1,250 music artists performed to audiences worldwide in effort to make a step towards ending poverty. The awareness was specifically directed towards the G8 summit and leaders in attendance. Over 30 million people participated in this event in one way or another to support Live8 and the Global Call to Action against Poverty.
• London's Underground subway system encountered a series of 'terrorist' attacks coinciding with the G8 summit. Three blasts occurred between tube stations throughout London. One blast also occurred on a double-decker bus. An Islamic website later posted a statement stating that al-Qaeda was behind the attacks.
• After five glorious seasons, HBO's stellar series Six Feet Under came to an end.
• Perry Farrell gave Lollapalooza another go this year limiting the infamous freakshow festival to one weekend & one location. Artists such as The Killers, The Pixies, Widespread Panic, Digable Planets, and more performed in Chicago's Grant Park for a weekend of Lollafantastic fun.
• The FCC finally pulls the plug on long-time shock DJ Howard Stern. Howard strikes back by taking his show to the big time on satellite radio. Howard's new show airs Jan. 9th on Sirius radio.
• Beatles fans everywhere celebrate the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's death on Dec. 8th.
• The Chicago White Sox sweep the Houston Astros to take the World Series. It took eighty-six years to capture their first title. However, the Cubs have been losing since 1908.
• The NHL season resumed this year after a long, painful hiatus/lockout. The NHL as a whole continues to struggle with poor television coverage, low attendance, and organization abandonment. St. Louis Blues
• Queen returned to the United States to tour for the first time in 20+ years. The original three members (Brian May, Roger Taylor, & John Deacon) joined forces with Paul Rodgers (lead singer for Bad Company) earlier this year and continue to tour not only the US but various other countries as well.
• Floodwaters ravish New Orleans shortly after the arrival of Hurricane Katrina with waters reaching up to twenty feet in depth. Those stranded in the city struggle to survive for several days with no food, water, shelter or sign of relief. The rest of the country got the luxury of seeing these poor people suffer and die on live television. Technology. Improper construction & levee misdesign are labeled the cause on top of just plain ignorance. Thousands perish and a nice chunk of NOLA's population scatter throughout the country anywhere they can find residency. Gas prices soar while FEMA and government relief fail. Meanwhile, thousands are still left homeless, and the great city of New Orleans lay in ruins struggling to survive.

ILL-INI IN '05

• Illinois football says goodbye to head coach Ron Turner and hello to Ron Zook. Zook has a wretched first season at Illinois while Turner takes the off. coordinator spot for the Chicago Bears. Go Bears.
• Illinois Men's basketball has one of it's best seasons in school history. They finish 37-2 overall and earn yet another Big 10 championship. The Illini make their 1st appearance at the NCAA Final Four since 1989 when they fell to none other than Michigan. Unfortunately, they fall to North Carolina in the championship round. Deron Williams & Luther Head take the 1st train to the NBA and are currently making headlines. Meanwhile, Illinois continues to have a good season as they are currently unbeaten thus far.
• Illini hockey is having yet another outstanding season after taking the ACHA Division Championship last year. They are favorites for back-to-back championships this year and are currently 18-0-0 on the season.

in '05

Hunter S. Thompson_Johnnie Cochran_Paul Hester_Johnnie Johnson_Pope John Paul II_Eddie Albert_Robert Hunter_Brenda Howard_John Fiedler_Paul Winchell_Karl Mueller_Jonathan Adams_Anne Bancroft_Jean O'Leary_James Doohan_Edward Bunker_Kevin Hagen_Ray Davis_Luther Vandross_Robert Moog_Esther Wong_Leo Sternbach_Don Adams_Simon Wiesenthal_Bob Denver_Rosa Parks_Nick Hawkins_Stan Berenstain_Ruth M. Siems_Moustapha Akkad_Stanley "Tookie" Williams_Richard Pryor

...until next year.

Hair of the Blog

The anticipated arrival of U2 came & went last night as they took the stage right here in the Lou. The Irish lads played a solid 2+ hour set consisting of old & new material. As usual, their performance was solid on all fronts. If you want to see a great band live, then go see this band. They are phenomenal and will not disappoint. Here are a few highlights from last night's performance.

• Super cool stage set-up & lighting. The lighting was absolutely beautiful including the impressive 'curtain' of lights surrounding the back portion of the stage. Props to the sound/lighting engineer last night & to whomever programmed the light sequences. The stage structure itself looked playful & enticing, and those guys have plenty of energy & endurance despite their age.
• The cell. phone light participation was a trite bit disturbing but visually appealing from above. What ever happened to flicking the old Bic?
• A very special performance of John Lennon's 'Instant Karma' towards the end of the set. Outflippinstanding.
• The availability of Guinness vs. shite A-B products was delightful albeit they were $7.50 a pop.

If you missed it, you're frocked because chances are they won't be back thru the area until after their next release. There are only three North American dates left on the tour, and all shows are sold out.

News Glorious News

New Order are currently working on new material for a forthcoming Ian Curtis biopic. The film entitled Control is based on a memoir by Deborah Curtis, Ian's wife. The kicker is that the film is being directed by none other than Anton Corbijn. Although the focus will be centered around Joy Division, New Order may pump out fresh, new tracks for the soundtrack. Sit down for this next bit. The boys are contemplating playing all-Joy Division live sets in the future so stay tuned.

Elefant will release their second album entitled The Black Majic Show on April 18th. The much-anticipated release is the follow up to their debut album Sunlight Makes Me Paranoid, which received rave reviews. The band is currently on tour with the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and can be seen at Mississippi Nights in St. Louis on Feb. 25th.

The infamous CBGB will close it's doors on Halloween night 2006. After a hard legal battle, the owner, Hilly Kristal, came to an agreement with the parties involved with spearheading the eviction. Kristal is looking to relocate in Lower Manhattan or perhaps even in another city altogether. 'Twill be a sad day felt across the universe of punk.

Today's the day. Howard Stern will leave the FM radio realm on Dec. 16th. Stern will leave behind a truly remarkable impression across the waves of FM radio as he catapults thru FCC barriers into the market of satellite radio. Stern's new show via Sirius radio premiers Jan. 9th. He will maintain two stations, Howard 100 & Howard 101, and will bring along his infamous cast of deviant sidekicks. May the force be with you, Howard.

Question of the Day

Do you still wear a scrotum ring?

It wasn't a scrotum ring, it was a geish. That is a piercing in the part between your scrotum and your ass. It's supposedly the most erotic place to be pierced, but I would beg to differ with that. I don't know if any piercing is that erotic, really. For me, it was probably about the pain. I knew it was time to get rid of it when one of my kids noticed it and was like, "Why do you have an earring in your ass?" - Dave Gahan

Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion of 2005.

News of the World

Greetings Program. It's that time of year when we are forced to be merry, suck the life from our bank accounts, & consume food/alcohol in excess with little regard for the people who cannot. The time of year where throngs of truly insane people flock to the nearest malls & dept. stores to have their annual holiday flip out. It's madness along the shopping frontline. People with their carts flying all over the place with little regard for their fellow shoppers. Self-medication is a must if you want to survive this onslaught of erratic behavior and indulgence. I've made it thus far without bludgeoning anyone to death with my shopping cart. However, twelve days of this madness still remain.

Throughout the years, there has always been one sole item that incites riots & violence among mothers across the country. This is for whatever reason expected & accepted every year and generally kicks off the day after Thanksgiving. These are the toys that drive parents to kill & maime. This year it happens to be the XBox 360 by none other than Microsoft. Listed below are some of the toys that have sparked historic hysteria over the years.

Tamagotchi's Virtual Pet


Worlds of Wonder's Teddy Ruxpin


Sony's Playstation 2


TYCO's Tickle Me Elmo


Hasbro's Care Bear


Razor's Scooter

Hasbro's Furby


and the Grandmaster Flash of them all...
Coleco's Cabbage Patch Kids



Last Thursday (12/8) marked the 25th anniversary of John Lennon's assassination. Fans flocked to the Imagine mosaic in Central Park then moved on to Strawberry Fields to pay tribute. Yoko Ono was among the throng of followers. His murderer, Mark David Chapman, is up for parole next year, which will make his forth attempt. Lennon would have been 65 years of age if he were alive today.

The much anticipated U2 concert is finally upon fans in the St. Louis area. The festivities kick off in approximately 120 minutes at the fine Hooters establishment located in Union Station. Pitchers and wings for all to enjoy. The show kicks off at 7:30PM with Kayne West. Hey, don't ask me. I didn't book the show opener. At any rate, U2 fans should head towards their seats between 8:30 and 9PM should they choose to bypass Kayne West's set.

Lastly, a big, fat goes out to John today as he celebrates his 14th birthday. May the waitress grant him a jubblie dance for everyone should have a go at the jubblies on their birthday.

Cheers!