kevin barnett

In lieu of creating a top ten list of music I thought was cool, I thought I would buck the trend slightly and create a mix for 2006. This particular mix is particularly personal with themes of breaking-up, moving and dealing with the typical challenges in life. There are some pre-2006 cuts in there as well, which seemed too appropriate to leave out and perhaps deserve some re-discovery. Case in point is “Dont’ Take That Attitude To Your Grave” by Ben Harper from the 1993 album Welcome To The Cruel World. The song is about racism which I could say was a reflection on the past year’s racist hysterics from Los Angeles celebrities. But the chorus of that song has a therapeutic message in that, life is too short and precious to sweat the small to medium-large stuff.

There are enough Top Music lists in 2006 (pitchfork, rolling stone, onion AV, etc) that somewhat represent my tastes for the year. So here’s something that requires a bit more creativity than criticism - my mix for 2006. I used iTunes to publish the mix so those who are interested can purchase the tracks but if you have my email address, I can point you in the direction of an alternative distribution method…

I was just listening to Oasis - Wonderwall

In case you were wondering what film to take in over the Christmas break:

I think I will pass on this Will Smith opus and check out Children of Men instead.  I’ve been anticipating the film since watching the trailer what feels like several months ago.  Will it make the 2006 Top Ten? We’ll see…

I was just listening to Chris Isaak - Mele Kalikimaka

So thanks to the ever-reaching contacts and generosity my friends have in New York, Travis - visiting us from Austin, TX - and I were able to attend the taping of The Colbert Report last night. This was fortunate since the actual tickets I have for Colbert Report are not until next month…

We arrived shortly after 6:00pm to the studio at 54th between 10th/11th ave - I was with a work colleague who had legitimate tickets for the show while Travis and I were instructed to talk to someone and our names would be on “the list”. As it turns out, showing up by 6:00pm with tickets in hand does not guarantee entry. Customary with most live-audience television shows, the audience is overbooked to prevent any empty seats. So my work colleague and his friend were told they wouldn’t be able to get in to that show but they would be issued VIP tickets for a later date. That was decent of them.

Travis and I entered the studio building, went through an airport-lite security screening, then sat and waited for everyone to take their seats. We were told early on that there would only be standing room for us so we didn’t feel the rush the get into the studio. Makes sense: considering the holidays in New York City not to mention the popularity of the show (at least among its fans), there is a lot of demand to be in the Colbert Report audience.

After being seated, we were treated to a rare audience taping of “the toss” - the banter at the end of The Daily Show between Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. Since TDS is taped in another studio 3 blocks away, they have to do it via remote satellite. The toss is typically taped at the end of TDS but before the Colbert audience arrives - but TDS taping was running late. When Colbert and Stewart got linked up, they started with what I thought was scripted banter but was actually just “how are the kids” type of discussion.

Then they started taping the toss - if you watched December 11’s TDS, you’ll remember Lincoln Chafee as the guest. Jon Stewart said something hilarious about him (I forgot) - and then cut to Colbert who after a few lines starts laughing because they misread the teleprompter. Colbert says “fuck, I ruined that funny stuff he said about Lincoln Chafee” and while he was smiling, appeared to feel bad about it. They re-did the bit with Jon Stewart ad libb’ing his line about Lincoln Chafee, “I think Mr. Chafee needs a ride home if anyone in the audience can help him out”.

After a short break, the actual episode taping began. Colbert was very focused - and under a bit of stress due to Representative Jack Kingston waiting on a satellite feed via Savannah, GA. The show went well - a few spoofs but otherwise well performed on Colbert’s part.

It wasn’t the best show we’ve seen from Colbert but it was still fascinating to watch him work, specifically going in and out of character between commercial breaks. It’s clear he loves his job and he is very, very good at it.

One thing that’s been on my mind since I returned from Texas was the big empty lot across the South Loop Freeway (610) from the Astrodome Reliant Park complex in Houston.

What used to be in that empty lot was Six Flags Astroworld - the amusement park where I popped my roller coaster cherry as a young boy. My first trip was with a large group of kids I attended church with - a summer outing of sorts. I don’t remember how old I was but I was just old enough to ride anything in the park so we’ll say early teens. But I do remember the first roller coaster I chose to ride: the Texas Cyclone.

Actually, I know I did not make that decision on my own. The “cool kids” to demonstrate how badass they could be at age 13 or so decided the Texas Cyclone was the first ride to ride. In hindsight, it was a genius idea - it was one of most popular rides in the park so you wouldn’t have to worry about standing in line all afternoon for it. And like taking shots of booze when you begin to drink, riding the Texas Cyclone first made the subsequent roller coasters not that intimidating.

I will never forget the thrill and fear I had on the roller coaster - specifically because when I walked away, down the ramp I noticed that my legs were uncontrollably shaking. It was as if I was in a Looney Tunes cartoon and had seen a ghost. And thanks to the magic of YouTube, I can have a nostalgic yet relatively boring re-experience with that moment:

The wikipedia article on the Texas Cyclone mentions it’s “feeling for being out of control”. That’s certainly what I experienced on that ride - and although I’ve rode several roller coasters since, nothing has quite matched that original fear. I suppose that has more to do with age and experience - although I have to credit the original Cyclone which I rode this summer out at Coney Island for being a great ride. And it wasn’t until I even walked up to the roller coaster that I made the connection between it and it’s Texas counterpart. The wikipedia article talks about Astroworld’s interest in purchasing and relocating the Coney Island Cyclone but ended up building a better, faster and more thrilling ride.

Astroworld had some other great rides including Greezed Lightnin’ which wasn’t as scary as it was fast - the entire ride lasted about 30 seconds. The novelty of that coaster was that it had little-to-no wait to ride so you were able to get in about 3-5 rides in 15 minutes.

But I’ll always remember Astroworld for the Texas Cyclone and as one of my favorite Houston landmarks. A lot of the rides, including Greezed Lightnin’ have been relocated but the Texas Cyclone was scrapped for parts. It lives on in my memory and, for the time being, on Google Maps.

I was just listening to John Lennon - Watching The Wheels

I believe a friend of mine was one of - if not the first to break the news about a digital interface for electric guitars using standard Category 5 ethernet cable.

Yesterday, six years later to the date (did you get an existential chill up your spine?), Gibson finally releases the technology to the masses via the HD.6X-Pro Guitar System or the HD Les Paul.

I’ll probably wait for the bass version…oh and the price tag to go down a bit from it’s current offering of $8,000. But I’m going to look for it in some local music stores to learn more about the performance and how Gibson supposedly solved the long-time latency issue for analog > digital I/O.

I was just listening to The Stills - Yesterday Never Tomorrows

Here’s to fighting the good fight against the ‘Hiv and AIDS.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is donating a dollar to AIDS research every time someone goes to https://www.lighttounite.org/ and “lights a candle” (nice flash app). Of course they’re capping it at $100,000 because you know…a pharmaceutical company is probably strapped for cash, especially when it comes to giving money for pharmaceutical research.

Of course, there’s the groovy Product (Red) gear - my roommate just picked up a (red) RAZR. Shame the (red) SLVR’s are only available in the UK.

If you don’t think AIDS is in your neighborhood, check out this interactive map from USA Today. All of the states I have called home - as well as friends - have the most serious problems. It’s pretty clear that AIDS thrives due to population density and lack of education on prevention.

And of course, there’s Africa… Lord knows if I make a trip over there, I’m going to pack as many condoms as I can get my hands on to distribute (as well as pencils - kids need them for school). And on that note, the Pope can suck it.

Update: Magnificent speech by Senator Barack Obama on AIDS to the congregation of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA.

I was just listening to Sufjan Stevans - The Little Drummer Boy