New additions to my reading list!

1. Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss - Tom Davis

2. Heavy Rotation: Twenty Writers On The Albums That Changed Their Lives

3. Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance - Dean Wareham

4. The Time Machine Did It - John Swartzwelder

5. The Gangster Of Love: Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Vincent Bakker

The books in my "to read" pile...what's in yours?

In no particular order, with convenient Amazon.com links:

1. Left Behind: Jesus In The Age Of The American Empire - Brent Bourgeois

2. The Ambient Century - Mark Prendergast

3. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde

4. First Among Sequels - Jasper Fforde

5. A Cook's Tour - Anthony Bourdain

6. Mr. Monk And The Dirty Cop - Lee Goldberg

7. Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding The Social Lives Of Children - Thompson/Grace/Cohen

8. Pennsylvania Curiosities - Clark DeLeon

9. Daily Negations - John S. Hall

10. 1,000 Places To See In The USA and Canada Before You Die - Patricia Schultz

11. Appetite For Self-Destruction: The Spectacular Crash Of The Record Industry In The Digital Age - Steve Knopper

12. The Best Of World Cafe - David Dye

13. Typhoid Mary - Anthony Bourdain

14. The Nasty Bits - Anthony Bourdain

15. Rocking The Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture - Edward Macan

16. The Toothpick: Technology And Culture - Henry Petroski

Recent playlist

Sorry for the lack of a playlist update. Here's what I've been listening to/watching lately:

1. BBC Radio 2 special about Spinal Tap's new album

2. BBC Radio 3 special about the "Hendrix Chord"

3. "Beat Mining with the Vinyl Hoover" - BBC Radio 4 special about vinyl collecting and sampling culture

4. "Home Recorded Voices" - BBC Radio 4 special examining "domestic home recordings".

5. Easy Star All-Stars - Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (reggae reinterpretation of The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album)

6. Earth, Wind and Fire - That's The Way Of The World

7. Frank Briggs - China Ranch

8. Frank Sinatra - Sinatra '57 In Concert

9. Interview with Bruce Fowler - April 14, 1996

10. Jukebox The Ghost - Let Live And Let Ghosts

11. Living In A Box - Living In A Box

12. Mat Kearney - City Of Black And White

13. Reduced Shakespeare Company podcast

14. Negativland - Over The Edge Vol. 3: The Weatherman's Dumb Stupid Come-Out Line

15. Tim and Eric - Awesome Record, Great Songs

16. The Tim Heidecker Masterpiece - Working Vacation (Yes, THAT Tim Heidecker. Go check out the video for "Bottle Of Wine". Spectacular song.)

17. Anthony Bourdain - No Reservations - bunch of episodes from Season 2

Frank Briggs' "China Ranch" - buy it today!

Some of you may be familiar with Frank Briggs' work with Mike Keneally, or his instructional books and DVDs. Either way, you need to go get his new album, "China Ranch". I'm not going to go into a long detailed review in which I try to show off my ability to correctly spell the names of people like Chick Corea and Dave Weckl (two people whose names have come up in comparison to Briggs' compositional and drumming styles). It's a jazz/funk/fusion funfest!

And it's not only for adults! Kids like it too! My 2.5 year old son particularly enjoys "Riverwalk," which he has asked to hear a number of times after the first time he heard it. So, go purchase it here:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/fbriggs

Learn more about Frank Briggs' activities here:

http://www.frankbriggs.com