Thunderbolt

Jacob turns 23 today.  As I write this, he's in the other room watching Deadpool and Wolverine laughing his ass off. I love that he's held on to his affection for comic books and video games into adulthood and how he's able to quote a movie after seeing it only once.  What I love more is that he remains a caring and empathetic human being, despite the hardships he's faced in life, that he continues to be funny and creative, that he's passionate about the issues that are important to him, in particular LGBTQ rights, and that he's supportive of his friends, his sister, and all of his cousins. Is he perfect? I don't give a shit. He's my son and I'm so damn proud of him. He's a fighter and he inspires me almost every day. I started blogging 21 years ago, as I began training for a marathon to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. If you dig around in the "Thunderbolt" archives, you'll find updates on his health, the many Basem...

It started as all playlists do, an occasion that justified music for entertainment. In this case, it was a couples weekend getaway back in February. Super Dave proposed that he and I provide the tunes and we started a Spotify playlist: three songs at a time, no song repeats, no artist repeats. Dave would add his three, then text me that it was my turn. I would then add my three text him back. This cycle repeated until three hundred songs were compiled, and we drove off to Mammoth with our wives. A funny thing happened, though, it turned out we both enjoyed the challenge of trying to surprise or outdo the other so much that we continued building the playlist. We made a new rule of just three songs each a day and still no artist repeats. Soon, we came up with amendments to allow duets (The Emmylou Exception), multiple songs by the same band if said band had multiple lead singers (The Beatles Exception), or if there was a lead singer replacement that changed the artistic direction of ...

Column 4, Row 20: Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A. This past June marked the 40th Anniversary of the release of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A. It was Springsteen’s seventh LP, and the commercial breakthrough that propelled him to superstardom. While some critics and fans bristle at  Born in the U.S.A. as a calculated move to make mainstream Springsteen a star, the album was the result of a great deal of soul searching and could have been much darker.    Springsteen began writing many of the songs for this album soon after he and the E Street Band completed their world tour for his 1981 double album, The River . Confused about his place in the world, and dealing with serious depression, Springsteen secluded himself in a remote Jersey house and recorded a series of brooding demos that were a harsh reflection of his mind and America at that time. The intent of those demos was to bring them to ...

  It's been a long eventful summer here in Malchusland. The big news is I started a new job. It's with Adult Swim on the series "Smiling Friends." The past three months have been a whirlwind of getting up to speed on the show and becoming familiar with the great crew.    At the end of June we traveled to Virginia for the wedding of my nephew. What a wonderful trip that was, aside from the horrendous car accident my parents got into on their drive from Tucson, AZ (they're okay, but their camper van was totaled). Jacob's girlfriend came with us and it was nice to get to know her better and see her interact with many of our extended family. Especially touching was seeing my cousin, who lost a son to cystic fibrosis meet Jacob. This man has seen the very worst of the illness, and watched as science has changed and saved lives. He has always supported our fundraisers, and I'm glad that Jacob was able to meet him. The wedding itself was a blast, a great opportun...

I used to write a television column on Popdose.com. This was in the late aughts and the teen years of the 21st Century. Back then I was reliant on my few cable channels and trying to squeeze in one hobby (watching television) with another one (writing about television). I don't write for Popdose anymore. I could; it's not like I was told not to. I had to stop. My mental health was crashing and I found myself trying to meet self imposed deadlines and writing reviews instead of working on my own original stuff. At the time I chose to step away from Popdose, I crashed and burned. I haven't completed anything original in nearly seven years, save for some Christmas dramas I wrote for the church. That said I have been working on something original since 2019, a novel that gets more epic each year I work on it. I have doubts this book will ever get published, but my daughter and wife have enjoyed what I've written so far, so at least I have an audience of two. I hope to comple...

Column 1, Row 7: Echo & The Bunnymen, Echo & The Bunnymen The latter part of the 1980s saw several of the founding bands of what would become know as alternative achieve mainstream success. U2 and INXS were the prime winners of the race, but The Cure, Psychedelic Furs, Simple Minds and R.E.M. all had significant radio hits between 1986 and 1989. I could include Depeche Mode, but I feel that their crossover popularity really happened after their 1990 smash, Violator . Echo & The Bunnymen seemed poised for their own breakthrough, as well. "Bring on the Dancing Horses" from their singles collection, Songs to Learn & Sing, was included in the John Hughes produced hit film, Pretty in Pink , and their cover of the Doors' "People Are Strange" from The Lost Boys soundtrack gained them AOR traction. 1987 should have been their year. One listen to Songs to Learn & Sing and you'll hear that this was a band ahead of its time both in melodic and ly...

Column 1, Row 6: Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, Up Your Alley In 1988, hair metal was on the rise and straight forward rock and roll was losing radio airplay. If the music wasn't a little slick and the mix didn't sound like the record was recorded in a sports arena, there was little chance of getting heard. There were exceptions, of course (Tracy Chapman comes to mind), but for the most part, loud and echoey was the sound of the day. At that time, Joan Jett and her latest version of the Blackhearts had been together for a few years and were clicking. The band members were Ricky Byrd on lead guitar and vocals, Kasim Sulton on bass and vocals, and Thommy Price on drums. Jett was coming off of co-starring with Michael J. Fox in Paul Schrader's film, Light of Day . Although the film wasn't a hit, it was high profile enough to bring the rock legend back into the public eye after years working the road and trying to rebuild the success of her early 80s albums, including the s...

By all accounts, Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest is a work of beauty. It's impeccably shot, has outstanding, compelling lead performances by Christian Friedel and Sandra Hüller, and contains some of the most remarkable sound design in a live action movie you will ever experience (Tarn Willers and Johnnie Burns, who did the sound design, deservedly won this year's Academy Award for Best Sound). However, this story about a German family living during the second world war is deceptive.  On the surface, it's a family drama. The film opens with a family on a lovely picnic. They are a loving bunch, and have moved up to some success. The are light moments around the dinner table, the celebration of the father's birthday. there are quiet, romantic moments between the husband and wife. there is a scene of suspense when the father must rush to get two of his kids out of immanent danger. There is even some sadness when the father is promoted and must leave the family at...

Had I stayed on top of things, I would've written about today's entry back in December, seeing as it's a Christmas themed EP. You remember EPs, don't you? The abbreviation stands for "extended play," and artists would put them out in between albums when they had some leftover tracks and a new single to promote. Many indie artists would also use the format to create interest in their music while pursuing a record deal. Nowadays, those leftover tracks are saved for "deluxe" editions of albums that get released a year after a record's initial release. Anyway... Column 1, Row 5: Fishbone "It's a Wonderful Life (Gonna Have a Good Time)" The legendary Fishbone were a part of the California punk rock scene of the 1980s. They were friends with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and influenced the likes of Primus and No Doubt. Yet, they never achieved mainstream success and have remained a cult favorite for the duration of their existence. It's a...

It’s not my desire to let a month pass between entries. Quite the contrary, I'm more inspired to write this year than I have been since I lost the desire in 2017. It's just with the holidays, then recovering from the holidays, and then the wife and I went to Maui to celebrate our 30th, and then recovering from Maui. You get the idea. Moreover, I've been working on a couple of novels. With the minimal hours I find to write, the books take priority. I'll get on a schedule of writing on the weekends so I can put out something once a week - I hope. Back to the tape collection! Column 1, Row 4: The Replacements Pleased to Meet Me Pleased to Meet Me was released in 1987, the same year the world was caught up in U2 mania. It was the Replacements second album for the major label, Sire. By that time, they had released four albums (three on independent Twin/Tone), none of which was a commercial success. The Replacements did receive critical acclaim, ...