Mull of Kintyre

Oh mist rolling in from the sea

My desire is always to be here

Oh Mull of Kintyre

Far have I travelled and much have I seen

Dark distant mountains with valleys of green

Past painted deserts, the sun sets on fire

As he carries me home to the Mull of Kintyre

Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen

Carry me back to the days I knew then

Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir

Of the life and the times of the Mull of Kintyre

Smiles in the sunshine and tears in the rain

Still take me back where my memories remain

Flickering embers grow higher and higher

As they carry me back from the Mull of Kintyre

Mull of Kintyre

Oh mist rolling in from the sea

My desire is always to be here

Oh Mull of Kintyre

"IVAN"

Two doors open

On the eighteenth of June

Two babies born

On the same day

In Liverpool

One was Ivan

The other - me

We met in adolescence

And did the deeds

They dared us do

Jive with Ive

The ace on the bass

He introduced to me

At Woolton fete

A pal or two

And so we did

A classic scholar he

A rocking roller he

As firm as friends could be

Cranlock naval

Cranlock pie

A tear is rolling

Down my eye

On the sixteenth of August

Nineteen ninety-three

One door closed

Bye bye Ivy

"MOON'S A MANDARIN"

Moon's a mandarin

Orange segment.

Stars as clear as you like.

Smelling of pine

And eucalyptus.

Quite a night

"TROUBLE IS"

Rabbit running in circles

chasing his tail because

it looks like candy floss.

Trouble is - rabbits don't eat candy floss.

Black labrador barking at the antics

of his own shadow on a wall.

Trouble is - shadows don't fight back.

A pair of gloves hanging from

a black pocket argue about

which hand will hold the rake.

Trouble is - gloves don't give a shit.

My wife bugged me to get her the Paul McCartney album with this song. We finally picked it up last week. The song is kinda addictive as I've been listening to it non-stop over the weekend. Loved the lyrics. Especially the following lines:

I couldn't understand a word that they were saying
But still I hung around and took it all in
I wouldn't join them in the games that they were playing
It went by, it went by, in a flash
It flew by, it flew by, in a flash

But, as always with these things, the reality has fallen way short of the expectation.

Below is "Another Way To Die".

Make your own mind up as to the tune itself, but it isn't in the same league as the truly magnificant Live & Let Die from all the way back to 1973. (Can you believe that Macca also had hits with The Frog Chorus & Mull Of Kyntire?????).

(Below below is "Live & Let Die")

Sorry Jack...It just don't cut the mustard.

"A pressão também fez com que o ex-Pink Floyd Roger Waters mudasse o local de um show em 2006, inicialmente marcado para Tel Aviv. Ele realizou sua apresentação em um lugar simbólico que mostra a possibilidade de os dois lados conviverem lado a lado: o povoado árabe-judaico de Neve Shalom. Antes, pichou a frase "derrubem o muro" em um dos painéis de concreto que formam a barreira construída por Israel na Cisjordânia. À época, declarou: "Isto é uma construção horrenda. Já vi fotos dela, já ouvi falar muito dele, mas sem estar aqui não é possível imaginar até que ponto é terrivelmente opressivo e como é triste ver as pessoas passando por estes buraquinhos. Isso é uma loucura.""

Abaixo, uma imagem do Muro da Vergonha, retirada do Electronic Intifada:

There's no doubt in anyone's mind that The Beach Boys were the premier surf/motor/rock band in American history! Of course, we know that David Marks, who (along with Carl Wilson) laid down the driving guitar that became their trademark, left the band shortly after they hit the charts.
But do ya know who took his place in the band? No, I mean before Al Jardine came on-board (or should I say "on-surfboard?)? Y'see, there was still a vacancy when the boys began rehearsing their hit, Fun, Fun, Fun. So, until Al got his chops, the fifth Beach Boy (and the one you hear on the 45) was Glen Campbell! Uh-huh ... the same GC who went to Galveston, Phoenix, and relaxed in the Southern Nights.
Oh ... speakin' of 45s: Didja know there were two takes of their song Help Me, Rhonda? On the LP, there's the line "but she let another guy come between us and he ruined our plans." And, during the chorus, the alternate repeats of the title were slightly faded, as if the guys were singing away from the mic!
BTW: David is now performing with The Beach Boys on an occasional basis! He's beaten his Hepatitis C and is rockin' like it was 1964 again!

One of the top acts from the British Invasion (and one who is still highly respected and in demand) was the great Billy J Kramer (he was backed with The Dakotas, who also are still hot on the circuit!). His songs, from the MacLen classic, Bad To Me to Little Children and a great cover of Trains and Boats and Planes, made him a superstar here as well as the UK.
But do ya know why I didn't put a period at the end of his middle initial?? 'Cause, simply, it doesn't represent his name! Actually, when William Ashton was workin' on his stage moniker, John Lennon suggested the middle initial "J" -- in honor of his (Lennon's) mother, Julia! (Oh ... he pulled the Kramer out of a phone book!)

And Barack Obama isn't the only African-American raised by Caucasians! Many years ago, a youngster named Richard Penniman (aka Little Richard) was adopted by Ann and Johnny Johnson from Macon, Georgia!
By the way ... the pic u c is actually from last year; and, though Richard's using oxygen on occasion and has a bad heart, he's still "ready, teddy" to "rip it up" for audiences ... at the tender age of 75!
(BTW: His recording career had just gotten off the ground when his father was murdered in the winter of '52. Since it was up to him to support his family, Richard put his career on "hold" and took a job washing dishes at a bus station in Macon).

Now, there are many effective ways to use rock music; as a pacifier, a motivator, or just a filler. But ... as ... as a scarecrow?? Well, that's what the airport management in Gloucestershire, England used to scare off the unwelcome birds (real ones -- not girls!)from the runways. Y'see, they'd blast Tina Turner's music as loud as they could! Yeah, it worked ...

Well, that's all for this edition. But tune in tomorrow night for more from the Friggin' Fab Factsheet of Fame. Until then ...
I'll see ya on the flip side.

“HAVE YOU SEEN THE STARS TONITE” has landed and

the 2 CD Special set Have You Seen The Circus Tent Tonite

with over 900 rock and roll photos and the Cathy Richardson 70 minute interview, has landed too!

http://www.takemetoacircustent.net

http://www.amazon.com (The books are proudly featured here)

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE- JEFFERSON STARSHIP- Great Society- Take Me To A Circus Tent

Have You Seen The Stars Tonite

Have You Seen The Circus Tent Tonite

Quality Rock & Roll Airplane

style.

Welcome to Fab 4

Jefferson

Airlines:

What’s new folks? There have been many Beatles From The

Vaults in the past from the Rock Tent. I will not be shocked if

you feel this is one of the finest!

Beatles From The Vaults #97 presents:

A Hard Days Night

No Reply (Vocal)

No Reply (Vocals in the background)

All unreleased gems to make the flight rock

and roll magic with the legends from

Liverpool!

Got to go rock and roll. Enjoy the ride!

Please spread the

word:

The 2 new Jefferson projects have arrived!

Thanks as always!

Relax and have fun!

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE-

JEFFERSON STARSHIP- Great Society-

Take Me To A Circus Tent

I look forward to hearing you later!

The book is Take Me To A Circus Tent (The Jefferson Airplane Flight Manual) W/93 photos, 32 interviews, 543 pages, and a myriad of 5 star reviews!

Please remember at any moment on an Aircast it can be a rare memory from the Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship, KBC, Wooden Ships, Marty Balin, Paul Kantner to name several.  Maybe another picture previously unseen from the Rock Tent Vault sees daylight from Herb Greene or Don Aters.

Please fly here for Beatles moments of greatness:

http://www.takemetoacircustent.net/media/JeffersonAirplaneTakeMeToACircusTentAircast64itishardwhenthereisnoreply.mp3

Wishing you a great day,

craig

É exatamente em Liverpool que começa a história de Jude (Jim Sturgess), que parte para os Estados Unidos em busca do pai, deixando para trás o trabalho nos estaleiros do porto da cidade. Enquanto isso, Lucy (Ewan Rachel Wood) espera o começo da faculdade e sonha com a vida de casada com seu noivo, prestes a embarcar para o Vietnã. Quando chega ao seu destino, Jude conhece Max (Joe Anderson), irmão de Lucy. Os dois tornam-se grandes amigos e partem para Nova York, dividem apartamento com outros personagens importantes, artistas proeminentes da cena roqueira da cidade. São Sadie (Dana Fuchs), clara referência à Janis Joplin e JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy), caricatura de Jimmy Hendrix, produzida com esmero e requintes de detalhe.

Quando o noivo de Lucy é morto na guerra, ela parte para junto do irmão e começa uma vida de ativista política na Big Apple. Não tarda para Max também ser convocado e ter de se apresentar para o "tio Sam". É inevitável também que o romance entre Lucy e Jude se configure, começando subitamente de maneira apaixonada, e depois cambaleando com a chegada de um novo amigo de Lucy. Com a Guerra do Vietnã entrando nas salas de estar através da televisão, chega também a notícia do assassinato de Martin Luther King e o conflito entre estudantes e polícia explode nas grandes cidades americanas. É em uma época de segregação, de turbulência não apenas social, mas também psicológica, em que as coisas começam a ruir para grande parte dos personagens.

É mais precisamente um efeito de encaixe como um quebra-cabeça que a diretora Julie Taymor fez ao longo do filme. As músicas não são apenas jogadas em uma cena, elas fazem parte da narrativa e foram interpretadas pelos próprios atores, criando uma trilha recheada de sucessos, sempre em novas versões. Cerca de 30 letras foram matéria-prima para o roteiro e por isso parece que, de certa forma, enquanto existe uma comunicação entre as músicas através dos personagens, existe também uma analogia entre o tempo de duração do filme e a da trajetória da banda. Além disso, todo o universo da contracultura e do movimento hippie aparece em diversas citações estrategicamente posicionadas. O que irá levar boa parte dos fãs a ataques de loucura simplesmente por identificar esses códigos.

Quem conhece bem as letras irá identificar alguns símbolos mais importantes, outros estão soltos, como o lendário Cavern Club em Liverpool, que aparece logo no inicio do filme e o Cafe Wha? em Nova York, que aparece como Café Huh? . As melhores seqüências são: a apresentação de Max ao exército encenada com a música "I Want You"; apesar da participação tosca de Bono Vox como Dr. Robert, a cena de uma viagem psicodélica ao som de "I Am The Walrus" é impagável. Bom, outros detalhes levariam horas de explicações, mas o principal é que Across The Universe é um bom pedaço de nostalgia, e para um musical, cumpre o que promete.

Across The Universe (EUA, 2007)
Direção: Julie Taymor
Roteiro: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais
Elenco: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, Dylan Baker
Duração: 133 min.
www.sonypictures.com/movies/acrosstheuniverse

1. If any of our students are reading - and we love you very much and all that - please don't come near me for the next week and a half unless it's mind-crushingly urgent (e.g. Sarah Palin has mistaken you for a moose and has started shooting at you from her helicopter). ktnxbai
2. Speaking of work, our experimental little groovy website is up for Best Third Level Site Award this weekend in the Irish Web Awards. One is rather chuffed as we are up against the entire sites of TCD, UCD, QUB, Limerick IT and IT Blanchardstown. We are the first ones in the Uni to go down the youtube, twitter, flickr, delicious, blog route (and we kinda did it under the radar cos we've mavricks. "Oh hai, Communications Officer! Didn't see you there! Oh, that interactive thing? I've no idea where that came from...") 
3. The Empire Of The Sun album is in iTunes. And it's iTunes Plus. I had to have it, even though I will stump up for the CD at some stage. It also appears to be magnificent. (Apart from a track called 'Breakdown', which is a bit crap)
4. Abba's The Visitors is also magnificent. Conor, even you would enjoy the melodic misery.
5. I'm being utterly useless at packing for my move to London. So far, I've managed to rip some old CDs and then put them into a box. This is not very helpful.
6. Speaking of London, I've been wasting time working on my playlist for the Nov 1st DJ engagement. Is it overly ambitious to try remixing Ebony & Ivory? In a bhangra style?
7. I can't do well when I think you're gonna leave, but you know I try. Are you gonna leave me now? Can't you be believin' now?

After a hard day's night of workin' on blogs, researchin', doin' business and music reviews, I finally cut the RockMachine off at around 6 in the AM (yeah! SIX!!) to catch at least a few zzzz's before they packed up to hit the third-shifters down the street. Finally crawlin' outta my cave four hours later, I showered and headed back to the office across the hall.

Cats' food/water dishes needin' filled ... a fuzzy toy defrocked ... DooWop and LucyFurr playin' (I think. Dooie might be hopin' it's his lucky day ... dunno ...). Computer was ...

the friggin', just-rebuilt and cleaned PC tower was ... UPSIDE DOWN AND LAYIN' ON ITS SIDE NEXT TO THE DESK!!!
And there sat K-Cat, a poop-eatin' grin on his face!

But, on the plus side, the radio that I left on for overnight atmosphere is still intact .. and the speakers were emanating McCartney singin' With A Little Luck .... For almost thirty years, that song's been my fave to awaken by; it just gives me a bit of mental sunshine to kick the day off!

Y'see, rock music does have a therapeutic effect (hey ... ask yer doctor about music therapy!). Depending on the type ya listen to -- and when ya listen to it -- The Beatles, The Fore, Simon and Garfunkel, The Eagles and others can bring a better frame of mind ... and turn your day around for the better!
While docs say it's the rhythm that puts your body and mind in sync (hey ... if that's the case, I'll sleep next to the washing machine when it's running!  It'll save wear on my CD's, right?).  But psychologists say that it's a combination of tone, pitch and repetition. Repetition. 
But what actually happens is this:

The fully-awakened personality is either secure with a degree of optimism or insecure with a degree of worry.  Our personal taste in music reflects that.  Now, we know that, when we first awaken, our minds aren't exactly clear yet, and our emotions compensate by bringing out whichever quality we feel when we are totally functioning.
But they're amplified, and that can mean "trouble" for anyone who's normally "down and out".  Now, when ya take the rhythm, tone, pitch and repetition and repetition of upbeat music, it disrupts the "downtime" and replaces it with something positive. 

Hey ... it works! With that important repetition with that important repetition, you can really begin to see a change in yer life ... and for the better! Just start yer mornin' with the lively sounds that made rock famous, and lock it into yer spirit. Believe me, you'll soon be feelin' a lot better!

Still, I've gotta admit that, seein' my tower on the floor, at first I coulda done nicely with some ass-kicking METALLICA!

Listen -- as ya see by the looks, The Rock Relic's doin' a little bitta renovatin' around the studio. By the time ya get back here tomorrow, I oughtta have everything good to go! Until then, remember to keep yer eyes on the skies, yer feet on the ground, yer heart with the music ...

and I'll see ya on the flip side!

Nearly 50 years ago, the Beatles changed society forever. They not only shaped rock & roll music but also an entire generation. Young people from allover the world mimicked all that they did, including clothing, haircuts and outlook. Their style and innovative music set the standard for all musicians to follow. To date, the Beatles remain the best-selling musical group of all time. It's been estimated that their total record sales total over one billion.

Here you can see an illustration of the Fab Four from Liverpool, tasting a sip of success & Coca-Cola during their first US-tour. The Beatles arrived in NYC, February 8, 1964 for three appearances in the Ed Sullivan Show. These concerts were the most watched television programs ever (70 million viewers) until recently. Boosted by the charisma and personal charm of John, Paul, George & Ringo, the Beatlemania reached unbelievable proportions and the hit records kept coming until the band officially dissolved in 1970.
The Beatles' impact on youth culture & pop music can't be overstated.

With the recent chart success of Duffy, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis & Joss Stone, thoughts turn to the women of soul. If one singer deserves the title "Queen of Soul", it must be sister Aretha Franklin. Rooted in a gospel tradition that was to inform her soul-charged sound, Aretha's impact on pop music was profound. Hits as 'Respect', 'Chain of Fools', 'I Say A Little Prayer' and 'Think' made her a worldwide star. Not many artists have consistently made such brilliant music over more than 4 decades. “Soul to me is a feeling,” Aretha Franklin once told an interviewer. “It’s all about the emotion, the way it affects people.”

Soul diva Aretha Franklin was also the voice of a Coke radio commercial in 1967. A year later, she appeared in this Coca-Cola magazine ad: "Aretha comes on for Coca-Cola".

(Se il video non parte, pigiate qui.)

Girato e montato da questo tipo qui arrivatomi da quest'altro tipo qui.

La Rete... Potenza senza controllo!!

Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles - Living PeaceDreaming Peace
Driving Peacefully
Peace on the Brain
Dancing for Peace
Sharing Peace
Reaching for Peace
Imagining Peace
Eating for Peace
Drawing Peace
Peace Yoga
Watching Peace!

As we are sure our readers are true guitar lovers, we thought we'd let you know about this exciting competition!

To celebrate the launch of the new book Gibson Les Paul Manual, Waterstones are giving one lucky winner the chance to own a fabulous Gibson electric guitar signed by Les Paul himself.

The all-time favourite Gibson model, the Les Paul is recognized the world over as an icon for rock and roll. Favoured by legendary guitarists such as Paul McCartney, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Jimmy Page and Slash, the Les Paul debuted in 1952, and continues to shape the sounds of popular music today.

The guitar is a traditional Gibson Les Paul in cherry sunburst and worth over £1,500. The prize is made priceless by the addition of a scratch plate signed by Les Paul himself!

For your chance to win this money-can't-buy guitar, you must  find the five differences between two Les Paul images and enter the "spot-the-difference competition" on the Waterstones website. Click Here.

You need to be a Waterstones cardholder, but no purchase is necessary and it's free to sign-up for a card. Worth the effort? Absolutely!

Just go to the competition page and good luck!

Vera Zero is one of the hottest indie punk acts in Australia. The only thing strange about that is they're actually from the U.S. Based in Minnesota, the group (actually singer/songwriter Rob Kerr and hired musicians) break through the cookie-cutter grip of pop-punk with a higher degree of wit and intelligence.

Julian Wilson: "War & Peace," the title track of Vera Zero's latest EP, hit No. 2 on an indie chart in Australia. How does it feel to get your work recognized millions of miles away from where you currently reside?

Rob Kerr: I was very pleased!  We have a nice following down under and I hope we can get over there to play in the near future.

Wilson: As far as alternative music classification goes, Vera Zero fits squarely into the pop-punk mold. Are you an old-school punk rock fan? What affection does the genre have for you?

Kerr: To be honest, I never have been a punk rock fan,  I like melodic rock but I also like to go very hard rock like with the title track of the EP War & Peace. I think it's this marriage of melodic and hard rock that gives me the pop-punk label.

Wilson: How long have you been at this? Has the style of Vera Zero differed from what it was like in the beginning?

Kerr: Yes! I have been working hard at this for over 10 years and Vera Zero is much more polished now. I really didn't have much of an idea of what I wanted to sound like in the early days, and it takes a while to mature as a writer and producer and to come up with your own definitive style.  I feel like I have finally developed a "Vera Zero sound."  

Wilson: Do your lyrics play a role in what the music will sound like? Or do you come up with the riffs first, then fit your lyrics into the arrangements?

Kerr: I usually start with the title and then the lyrics.  Then I get the guitar out and put it all together.  But it doesn't always work that way; I was watching a football game on TV one time and the announcer mentioned that for one of the teams it was "feast or famine" and that led to the lyrics in "I Bleed." And on another occasion I came up with the riff for "War & Peace" first and then came the rest of the song so there is no hard and fast rule to songwriting for me.

Wilson: What artists have had the biggest impact on you as a songwriter and musician?

Kerr: I have had many influences, but the biggest ones would be Paul McCartney and Gary Numan.

http://www.verazero.com

Sir Paul is pissed! He is a known vegetarian and is mad at McDonalds because they put up pictures of the Beatles to attract customers.

Sir Paul’s spokesman Geoff Baker fumed: “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles fans are?

“It’s ridiculous and insulting to use images to peddle hamburgers. Fans should boycott McDonald’s — and not just in Liverpool.”

A PETA spokeswoman said: “He became a vegetarian after watching lambs play in a field outside his home and surely would not want anyone to use his likeness to help promote meat.

“We hope anyone who sees his picture on the wall will be reminded that he’s a vegetarian and skip the Big Mac for a veggie burger.”

A McDonald’s spokeswoman insisted the pictures were to “acknowledge the outstanding contribution the Beatles made to both local and global culture”.

Source

Separamos mais alguns videos sobre Chico Mendes e a Amazônia, para ver acesse nosso canal no You Tube, clicando na logomarca comemorativa do You Tube do dia do planeta, ou clicando aqui sobre o nome canal, You Tube na Floresta .

Bob Dylan - Dreamin' Of You (mp3)
[audio http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Bob_Dylan_Dreamin_Of_You.mp3]

Brett Dennen feat. Femi Kuti - Make You Crazy (mp3)
[audio http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Brett_Dennen_makeyoucrazy.mp3]

The Fireman (Paul McCartney & Youth) - Nothing Too Much Just Out Of Sight (mp3)
[audio http://downloads.pitchforkmedia.com/Paul%20McCartney%20-%20Nothing%20Too%20Much%20Just%20Out%20of%20Sight.mp3]

Brass Bed - BBC Midnight Broadcast (mp3)
[audio http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/brassbed/mp3/brassbed-bbcmidnightbroadcast.mp3]

Phish - Ghost (Live @ Lucerna Theatre, Prag, 06.07.1998) (mp3)
[audio http://podcast.xs4all.nl/upload/werksman-phish-ghost.mp3]

The Heligoats - Been A Drill (mp3)
[audio http://www.songaweek.greydayrecords.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/heligoats_beenadrill.mp3]

Bob Dylan - Mississippi (mp3)
[audio http://aolradio.podcast.aol.com/aolmusic/mp3s/Bob_Dylan_Mississippi.mp3]

In with a shot (aimed at its own head) at number 5, The Smiths' "I Know It's Over"!

How could this NOT be in a list of depressing, lovelorn songs? Depressing and lovelorn lyrics is what The Smiths do best; Morrissey could patent the art of sounding like he's spent the evening crying and writing poetry about a lost lover in his room. (Fuck, he even referenced it himself in "Ask" - "Writing frightening verse/To a bucktoothed girl in Luxembourg" - he wins for sheer audacity alone.) Even the name signifies that this is NOT a happy song. The title signifies misery and loathing and all the other fun stuff, and the lyrics could make the most hardened nasty bastard ever feel a slight pang of sympathy, even AFTER he realised that the bloke who wrote them used to gad around wearing a hearing aid with flowers sticking out his arse.
Crowning moment of misery: Oh, the whole fucking song. Like I said, nobody does misery better than The Smiths. Rumour has it that the first successful SSRI antidepressant, Prozac, was developed to counteract their influence. Not really.

Freezing it up at number 4, Porcupine Tree's "Russia On Ice"!

Steven Wilson (from hereonin called "Stevie" because it's funny) excelled himself with this four hundred year long prog rock opus, about drinking yourself silly and calling up your ex and feeling bad. Personally I think it's miserable because the poor twat is drinking neat vodka - who the FUCK drinks neat vodka? If you're going to do shots of something, do whisky, or mix selfsame with coke or ginger ale and drink it down. Vodka just tastes like shit, which emphasises the misery - since being left, he's been so penniless he's had to buy Sainsbury's Basics Vodka, whereas previously he had delicious Maker's Mark bourbon. There's also some stuff about a failed relationship in there, and some suitably dramatic strings. But yeah, the alcohol's the main bit.
Crowning moment of misery: The string crescendo at the beginning of the second chorus. You can almost feel the now-alcoholic Stevie bursting into tears and soiling himself. Well, not the latter bit, anyway. I hope.

Fuck me! Number 3's Godley and Creme's "Cry"!

Now this is proper depressing shit, right here. It's so depressing they didn't even bother writing anything except a single verse, thinking that would put the underlying sense of desolation across well enough. The song is even named "Cry", and it's about crying and tears and cheating and lies. You can tell because those four words make up pretty much the whole song. You know how you can make any Dragonforce song ever by simply strumming random chords and shouting the words FIRE, FREE, FLAMES and FREEDOM over and over again really really fast? Godley and Creme WENT FORWARD IN FUCKING TIME and stole that approach for "Cry", being magical time travelling rock warriors and all. Don't watch the video though, because Godley's got a really friendly looking face, like Bob Ross, and Creme looks like someone took Paul McCartney and spliced him with Roger Waters, which totally spoils the effect. Extra bonus points for being produced by J.J. Jeczalik of Art Of Noise, who I presume wore one of those frowny AON masks throughout the entire mixing process. You know, sort of like in this picture.
Crowning moment of misery: Hearing it in GTA4 and driving through Liberty City really slowly in the rain. It was MADE for this shit.

Locked in a padded cell at number 2, Pink Floyd with "The Final Cut"!

Pink Floyd's album The Final Cut was much maligned, with some saying bassist and vocalist Roger Waters was locking everyone out of the recording process and trying to be the leader of the band. But, in this song, we can forgive him, because now, we feel his deep pain. Roger Waters is sad and alone and he wants us all to know. He wants us to share in his unhappiness, and talk to him; just once, just so he can feel a connection to another person. He wants to show you his "dark side" and hopes you won't "send [him] packing". He wants to tell you what it's like seeing "through the fish eyed lens of tear stained eyes" (his loneliness is so epically huge that his eyes are actually STAINED WITH TEARS. That's dedication, right there.) He wonders aloud, "Could anybody love him, or is it just a crazy dream?". The answer, sadly, is no. But before leaving Pink Floyd, he could be happy, save in the knowledge that he's written and sung one of the most depressing dirges ever made. The song even ends with an attempted suicide. HARDCORE.
Crowning moment of misery: Occurred about 2 years after the release of the song, when Waters went from writing decent lyrics to making Radio KAOS, an album that makes no sense whatsoever and at any rate isn't very good. But that's another blog post, for another time. Basically, I'd have preferred he actually did slit his wrists than write that turd.

POW! That's the sound of Radiohead shooting themselves (with music!) at number 1 with "All I Need"!

"Quelle surprise!" some might say to Radiohead being named as depressive. But, really, I wouldn't class a lot of their music as "depressing" - thoughtful, maybe, pessimistic, perhaps, but depressing? Nah. All I Need, however, takes the piss. In Rainbows features numerous examples of Thom Yorke changing his focus from slagging off consumerism and war, and instead he now wants to tell us all about failed and strained relationships - "House of Cards" does the same thing, but it's nowhere near as depression-tastic as "All I Need". Obsessive, unrequited love? Check. Repeated allegories to actual physical suffering? Check. He even comes right out and says "I only stick with you because there are no others", which on the loneliness and depression scale zooms right up to the top, above even my Facebook statuses after I've drunk too much "Scottish lemonade". Its only problem - its Achilles' heel, if you like - is that the opening drumbeat sounds a little bit like "Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z, and once you've decided that it sounds like "Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z, you're going to forever associate the song with little kids singing with a rapper, which is perhaps not what Thom Yorke intended. Oh well. It still thoroughly deserves its place at No. 1, for being an extremely depressing and lovelorn song on an album chock full of depressing, lovelorn songs. Well done, Radiohead. Don't do it again.
Crowning moment of misery: The bit at the end where Thom starts shouting and wailing and SCREAMING because he's so VERY VERY SAD AND JUST WANTS TO BE LOVED. Can you do that, Morrissey? No, you fucking can't.

(Apologies to David Rees for almost entirely nicking his style. It's a homage, dude.)

The obvious, for a relaxing rainy day at the beach, especially if you're staying in a condo/house is to be prepared.  Bring books, puzzles, board games, video games and DVDs with you to anticipate a not-so-perfect day at the beach.  That's harder to do if you have a hotel room because you'll likely get cabin fever quicker.  But for real excitement here are some ideas:  if there's no thunder in the area, and your condo/hotel has a pool and you don't care about getting wet (that's a joke, ha) go swimming in the rain.  If you have a poncho/slicker/umbrella and don't care about dodging rain drops just do what you'd normally do...shop at our cool stores in the Village or walk on the beach.  Otherwise, we have a great many restaurants to dine in so take a board game and some money for dessert and hang out at one of them.   

Leaving the Key, just over the south bridge (Stickney Point) you'll find Books-A-Million (we love visiting bookstores when we travel), and going south on Tamiami Trail, there's the bowling alley, and a mall with a movie theatre.  Off the north bridge (Siesta Drive) are both Borders Books and Barnes and Noble.  There's also a mall across the street from Borders.  If you go south on 41 you'll come to the Landings shopping center on the right and Phillippi Creek shops on the left.  Our totally indoor museums are:

Classic Car Museum (www.sarasotacarmuseum.org) - We went their on a field trip with some other homeschoolers and had a blast.  The tour was excellent and thorough.  My boys (huge Beatles fans) loved seeing John Lennon's Mercedes Roadster and Paul McCartney's Mini Cooper.

Ringling Museum of Art and their circus museums (www.ringling.org) - we went with the grandparents.  The circus museum was incredible.  It took us several hours to get through the circus stuff, gardens and only part of the art museum.  We were set on the Grandma Moses exhibit which is all we saw so we're planning a trip back.  I understand Monday afternoons are free.  If you're a teacher, check out their educator's page on the website for discounts.  I recommend the Ca d'Zan (the mansion), also.  My husband and I had an abbreviated tour of the building which is amazing.  We were blessed that the Cincinnati Reds held one of their family/staff dinners there last March during Spring Training so we got to go in.  We mostly enjoyed the back veranda.  What a view!  What a sunset!  Hope they choose their dinner there again this year.  Take an umbrella because on a rainy day you'll get wet going from building to building.

GWIZ children's science museum (www.gwiz.org) - the boys like going to GWIZ.  Last fall/winter they had a King Tut exhibit and most recently was a how-things-are-made exhibit.  As of today their new exhibit is about the Titanic.  If you're going with kids, there are an abundance of childrens books about the Titanic that you may want to read to them ahead of time so they'll get more out of it.  We'll check it out this month.

MOTE Marine Laboratory and Aquarium (www.mote.org) - they have a lot of events going on so check out their website. 

There are a ton of other things to do in Sarasota: shop on Main Street, check out the aquarium in the kids section at the Selby public library, visit the art galleries.  We love the Jake's Downtown store on Main Street.  It's the Life is Good apparel store.  We also like the bakery and the bookstore.  There is a movie theatre there, too.  Look into the concert schedules at the Florida Studio Theatre (www.floridastudiotheatre.org), the Sarasota Symphony (www.sarasotaorchestra.org), Van Wezel (www.vanwezel.org) as there may be a daytime event.  During the fall/winter months there is always something going on at the Sarasota Municipal Auditorium, mostly on the weekends.  They host flea markets, stamp shows, coin shows, shell shows.  Here's their link: http://www.egovlink.com/sarasota/events/calendar.asp?Category=605, but if it doesn't work just Google "sarasota municipal auditorium".

There's still more I could list but this should keep you busy on a rainy day.  You could always just sit on your balcony and look out at the Gulf.