So this announcement was nice…

Columbia Records will release Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band’s ‘Magic Tour Highlights’ on July 15 via all digital download stores, including the iTunes Store. The release will consist of four audio tracks with four accompanying videos, all recorded live in concert during the ‘Magic’ tour.

‘Magic Tour Highlights’ Track Listing
1. “Always A Friend” (performed with Alejandro Escovedo)Recording Date: 04/14/2008 (Houston, Texas)
2. “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (performed with Tom Morello)Recording Date: 04/07/2008 (Anaheim, California)
3. “Turn Turn Turn” (performed with Roger McGuinn)Recording Date: 04/23/2008 (Orlando, Florida)
4. “4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” (Danny Federici’s final performancewith the E Street Band)

On sales of these downloads, the artists, songwriters, and music publishers are waiving all of their royalties, and Columbia Records is donating all of its net profits, to the Danny Federici Melanoma Fund. The iTunes Store is donating their first year’s net profits as well.

Bruce Springsteen News: brucespringsteen.net

And somehow connected, Madame Marie has left, too…

The psychic reader and advisor was 93. She became known worldwide from Bruce Springsteen’s homage to her in his music.

“Did you hear the cops finally busted Madam Marie,” Springsteen sang in his 1973 song, “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)” “for tellin’ fortunes better than they do.”

“That was just the Boss,” said Asbury Park Deputy Mayor Jim Bruno. “She was never arrested. But Springsteen turned her into an icon.”

Boardwalk fortune teller Madam Marie dies | APP.com | Asbury Park Press

Share This

Film will only became an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper.
Jean Cocteau

A Twitter friend of mine asked me for scriptwriting advice and I did the best I could in 140 characters. But it seems like Twitter ate the post so here’s the answer…

Write something you can make as a film right now, then make it.

I remember about a dozen years ago when I had my short film Access Denied written and all I needed was $5000 to make. Jen, my girlfriend at the time offered to give me the $5000 and suddenly I realized - nothing was stopping me from making a movie. I was high on that feeling for about a day and then I got to work.

I’m not big on screenwriting for screenwriting’s sake. A screenplay is a blueprint for a film. And there isn’t anything stopping you from making a film right now and then having that film seen by an audience. So what’s stopping you?

I needed $5000 for camera rental and film stock and all that old school stuff. Today, we’re all incredibly lucky. Camcorders are cheap. If you can’t afford one, you have a friend with one. Same with editing and music and acting. Hit up your friends. I’m also not big on film making as solo activity, even though I’ve been doing it a lot lately. Some arts like films and music and sex are better when they are done with other people, even though there’s a unique sense of accomplishment when you do them on your own. So if you can’t find a friend, wing it. So what’s stopping you?

If you have a big idea that’s beyond your current grasp, save it for later. Or just try it anyway. To hell with it, who cares if you fail? Try the biggest idea your have. Or try the simplest. Try both. So what’s stopping you?

Celtx - my favorite scriptwriting / pre-production software is free and multiplatform. It also lets you schedule, storyboard and do script breakdowns. Get it and write something then break it down. Learn the software while making a movie. So what’s stopping you?

Nothing is stopping you. Or me.

Share This

We’re in a weird time right now; an in-between time. The election coming up is part of it plus the uncertain nature of the economy and the changing shape of the world…

Here’s a laundry list of the world as I see it right now. Some of these things seem good and some seem bad but it helps me to not look at them and judge them that way but instead to just see them as true or false. These are all factors that have been on my mind in trying to decide the next business to launch and where to put my time.

Here’s the truth; you could take any of these observations and go out and create a business based on them or that very same observation could make you broke.
So, where are you going to put your time?

Computers and computer components are incredibly cheap. 750 gigs of storage for $99. 2 gigs of RAM for $29. Unheard of processing power sitting on your desktop. A fast, powerful super-computer can be yours for a few hundred bucks and it does more things than ever.

Open source and other free software is better than ever. Ubuntu is free, stable, elegant and comes with a ton of free, legal software. If you want to write a script, you don’t need to spend money on Final Draft; just download Celtx and starting writing already, dammit. Or use Google Docs.

Food is getting more expensive and it’s going to get more expensive. Bad weather all over the world. Cultural changes in places like India and China creating more meat eaters. Corn being used for ethanol drives up feed prices.

Other digital art tools are cheaper than everFilmmaker?You can buy a high def camcorder for around $600. Want to make music? You can a digital interface and the sonic equivalent of around 40 guitar and bass amps, complete with effects for about $50.

The means of distribution are open to every artist. Publish a book or DVD through Lulu. Sell clothes through Zazzle. Sell your handmade stuff on Etsy. Publish a magazine through MagCloud. There is no barrier between your work and a paying audience - you just need to find the paying audience.

Gasoline is expensive and it’s going to stay that way. We’re not going back to $2 / gallon gas. If anything, I expect to see $5 or $6 a gallon in Los Angeles by Labor Day. The United States doesn’t have a public transportation infrastructure or even planning or co-ordination.

Barack Obama has already changed politics, whether he wins or loses. Obama’s fund raising is a game changer, forever. McCain is almost certainly the last ‘Vietnam Era’ Presidential candidate we’ll see. Obama will inspire a new generation of politicians at every level of government. The Republicans don’t have their Obama yet but they will in the next eight years; someone will help define what the GOP means.

Am I wrong on anything? Your predictions?

Share This

The band has appeared on Later with Jools Holland a bunch of times - here’s 1995, doing The Bends. Enjoy Thom’s hair, enjoy Phil with hair and the general intensity and occasional bad notes.

Here’s a gorgeous solo live acoustic version of Nice Dream…

Jonny and Thom do a lovely acoustic version of No Surprises. Really amazing.

I love the acoustic step - here’s Everything In It’s Right Place, without migraine causing delay effects - although it cuts off abruptly. Fuckers.

Bridge School benefit, 2002 - amazing audio only of Thom Yorke doing Neil Young’s After The Goldrush using Neil’s piano.

More Bridge School benefit 2002 - Thom does Paranoid Android solo acoustic.

Not enough Marvin for you? Jockmock2 has posted a ton of amazing stuff from the 2006 Bonnaroo festival. Here’s a great sounding version of Paranoid Android.

Here’s a pre-release version of Weird Fishes / Arpeggi also from Bonnaroo, 2006.

Here’s another JockMock2 post - Karma Police from Shepard’s Bush, 2003. Love on the crowd and the camera angles.

More huge crowd stuff - Just at Glastonbury, 2003. Rawk!

Since their old label just released a Best Of album - here’s an interview with the band talking about Best Of Albums…

Share This

HOLLAND, MICHIGAN — Speaking to a packed auditorium presumptive Democratic Party nominee Barack Obama announced that he intends to nominate Illinois Senator Barack Obama as his vice presidential running mate. Candidate Obama praised Senator Obama’s judgment, energy and commitment to change in announcing what he called ‘the dream ticket that’s such a dream that you keep hitting the snooze button just to keep on dreaming it.’

“Choosing a vice president is the first major decision any candidate makes and I’ve spent several months trying to choose somebody with a resume, intellect and temperament that I respect. It’s become clear that that person is Barack Obama,” said Barack Obama. After a wild ovation, Obama gave a full throated endorsement of Obama while maintaining that selecting Obama was Obama’s first move in selecting a ‘cabinet of rivals’ which many Washington insiders suspect could include a nomination of former Illinois state senator Barack Obama for Secretary of State or the selection of best selling author Barack Obama for Attorney General.

“Yes, we have differences; take our positions on NAFTA, ” said Obama. “Consider Senator Obama’s strong and principled opposition to the bill that gives immunity to telecom companies; the very bill that I’m about to vote in favor of this coming week. Or contrast my own deeply held faith with Senator Obama’s respect for science.”

“So, we’re one — but we’re not the same,” said Obama as Obama nodded in agreement. “Senator Obama often quotes the beautifully reasoned lyrics of Neil Peart from the Canadian power trio Rush; ‘The differences leave room for you and I to grow.’ To put it another way, I like to quote Sly Stone; ‘I want to thank you faloettinme be mice elf agin.’”

Responding quickly, Republican presumpter John McCain quipped that “Obama and Obama seem to be running for Barack Obama’s first term” and then proceeded to chuckle at his own comment for an amount of time that several observers called “uncomfortably long.”

Share This

President George W. Bush and Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain were legally married in a small ceremony at the apartment of ‘a close friend’ in West Hollywood, California late Tuesday night. The wedding came on the heels of California becoming the second U.S. state to legalize same sex unions. The ceremony was presided over by California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who wore his camouflage military outfit from the film Predator in order to ‘not appear too fruity’, Schwarzenegger aide Julia Rodriguez stated.

McCain Communications Director Jill Hazelbaker said in a prepared statement, “Once again Senator McCain has shown he’s a maverick who is willing to take a bold stand based on principle. This marriage will certainly highlight the differences between the President Bush and Senator McCain. We hope all Americans put aside partisan differences and will join us in wishing both the President and Senator McCain the best as they begin their honeymoon by drilling for oil together off of the coast of Catalina Island.”

A reportedly ‘devastated’ Senator Joe Lieberman could not be reached for comment.

Republicans insiders speaking off the record expressed a mixture of confusion, anger and arousal at the turn of events. A defiant President Bush remained firm in his stiff opposition to gay marriage despite the throbbing controversy among huge members of Congress who hardened their positions and threatened to whip out every tool at their disposal into order to stop Republican politicians from thinking about penises all the time.

“This is a same sex marriage, not a gay marriage,” said President Bush at an impromptu press conference in front of The French Quarter Restaurant. “I am not gay even one little tiny bit and I remain opposed to gay marriage. I know the press likes to play ‘Gotcha!’ with this sort of thing so I’m going to be real clear about this — Senator McCain and I will not be having any sort of gay sex with each other.”

When pressed on the question of having sex with the president, McCain was non-committal but said he ‘would support whatever decision the president made.’

Share This

When he introduced articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush last night on the floor of House of Representatives, Dennis Kucinich may have been many things — brave, idealistic, and thorough — but he was also wicked boring.

I’m talking to you, D-Man. Yes, you pointed out all the ways that the Bush administration has trampled on the constitution but where’s the sizzle, Dennis? Where’s the catch phrase? (Suggestion: “Impeach THIS!”) Where were the Abu Ghraib Dancers? Couldn’t you at least get your wife on camera in the background pretending to listen to you while sitting next to a shirtless Matthew McConaughey? (And really — is there any other kind of Matthew McConaughey?)

Nope. We get five hours of Dennis Kucinich on C-SPAN turning pages and drinking water late at night. It was the dullest representation of America’s slow slide in fascism since that Upton Sinclair Lewis book that the hip teacher who listened to the Beatles and smelled like stale weed tried to make us read in high school.

Contrast that to another speech the same day that acted like Nerd Viagra — Steve Job’s announcement of the new 3G iPhone. Across the Geekasphere, sites like Twitter and TechCrunch and Engadget blew their fuses as each new feature was announced. That’s what you needed, Dennis. Here’s my advice.

Have Steve Jobs introduce iPeachment 08.

You and Jobs have stuff in common. Like you, Jobs is on some suspicious vegan diet and on stage yesterday he looked thinner than the new iPhone. Unlike you, Jobs knows how to work a crowd. Visuals. Pacing. It’s marketing, Dennis.

You had thirty-five articles of impeachment. Way too many. Reduce it to ten impeachable offenses and make one of them compatibility with iTunes. Give each article a colorful icon.

Reduce the cost of iPeachement 08. Previously, Bush would have been kicked out of office for his numerous offenses against the nation. Now, we’ll make him go back on Deal Or No Deal. No, wait — that’s an NBC show so it’s not on iTunes. We need a Disney show. Maybe put him on Wife Swap and make him shack up with Michelle Obama for a week. There will be fist bumping a’plenty after a bleary eyed W calls Michelle “Condi” over the breakfast table!

And be sure to have Jobs point out that just like the unconstitutional wiretapping of Americans, iPeachment 08 is also brought to you in partnership with AT&T.

Share This

Hard to say if Gordon Ramsay is helping or hurting his name and reputation in the U.S. From the formulaic mess that was the U.S. version of Kitchen Nightmares to now apparently opening a restaurant that’s getting mixed reviews. I still want to go; maybe it’s new and there are birth pains.

LAist has a pretty devastating but amusing piece on it today. Here’s part.

Step 4: Figure out the menu

In a take on the tapas-sushi-small plates craze, the menu is not divided into courses, but price ranges with little rhyme nor reason. Although the server states that the lighter courses are near the beginning, they are not. Hog’s head and rack of lamb are not light dishes. Chilled pea soup and Caprese are not heavier dishes.

Don’t fault the server for not always knowing what is on your plate - they are not given tastings or even fed cheaper variations on your meal for their group meal. Some of them have never eaten anything in the restaurant before. In addition, the menu is often not descriptive enough, offering simply foie gras when what arrives is actually pate de foie gras.

The small plates, a variation of the bar menu at the London New York, have their problems. One problem is that small plates get cold very, very quickly. It is about surface area and heat dissipation, if I remember high school physics. Cold mashed potatoes are BAD.

Step 5: Take a chance
Duck tongues, really? Really? It is like something out of Monty Python, “I’ll have the lark’s tongues and kitten ears, please, with a side of peacock vomit.” Maybe the weird decor is supposed to hint at Rome during the middle-ages The upside to the menu is that it gives people a chance to stretch their culinary boundaries a little and try something new. The downside is the precious little geometric shapes are sometimes laughable. Make sure to dine with someone who has a sense of humor, as this is going to be kind of funny.

LAist: Gordon Ramsay at the London: A How-to Guide

Things are a lot less mixed over on Yelp!, though; Ramsay is getting four stars overall. Here’s what Lillian from Glendale says…

Gordon Ramsay yells a big game, but can he put out some great food? The answer is yes. Great food experience, with some hiccups.

First course: Chilled English pea soup with organic smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and caviar. The vibrant green soup was refreshing and clean. I noticed a hint of fennel or anise in it. Set in the middle was a neat pile of the wonderfully coral salmon with small dollops of creme fraiche and caviar. A great way to get my pallate going.

Second course: Wild asparagus risotto with chive flowers. This was to die for! Creamy and rich. The rice still had a bite to it, not mushy. The wild asparagus were thin and delicate (nothing like your run-of-the-mill asparagus). The most delightful thing on the dish were the chive flowers. They had great onion flavor - delicate not overpowering. Plus they lent a great lavender color to the plate.

Third course: Monkfish in crispy chicken skin and lemon thyme consomme. Beautiful medallions of monkfish wrapped in paper-thin chicken skin. The flavor of this was wonderful, but a little disappointing. I love love love fried chicken skin, and I wanted the flavor of that to ring out with the monkfish. It didn’t quite happen.Fourth course: Braised pigs head. No, they don’t bring you Porky’s head on a platter. Rather, it’s a candybar of carnitas on steroids. Very rich. At some points, I thought it was too rich, but the accompanying horseradish mashed potatoes pleasantly cut through the richness. It was amazing.

Fifth course: Cheese plate. 2 goats’ cheeses (can’t remember the names) and 1 bleu (fourme d’ambert). This was very tasty. Accompanied by quince paste (loved it), fruit chutney (dried apricot overpowered this), toast, sugared walnuts, and honey.

Sixth course: Dessert - 1.) Pineapple souffle with Thai curry ice cream… light, airy, delicious. There was something spicy in it that hit the back of your throat. I’m assuming it’s in the curry ice cream. Not sure, because they put the ice cream in the middle of your souffle at the table. 2.) Milk chocolate sticky toffee pudding… gooey, and wonderful. As you dig your spoon into the little cake, there is an eruption of molten sticky toffee sauce that emerges from inside. It comes with a scoop of banana ice cream. Heaven.

Gordon Ramsay - West Hollywood - West Hollywood, CA

Share This

First let me spell out my goal; the big picture. I’m trying to get to the point where I am financially independent through my creative work. I’d like to be able to move my family anyplace we want to live and have enough financial abundance to keep everyone I love happy and healthy.

So, here’s what I’ve been up to.

1) Thinking
The main thing that’s really slowed me down is trying to think through exactly what I need to do and trying to come up with a plan so I can do it.

2) Expanding
I’m trying to push my content far and wide, which means not just here on the Stranahan site. So for instance, I’ve been publishing my stuff on The Huffington Post, 236, DailyKos and Talking Points Memo. Lots of good reasons to spread your work as wide as possible especially when you’re trying to build your name recognition.

3) Organizing
One thing that I’ll go into more detail about later is my organization system that helps me keep track of what I need to do and makes it easy for me to do it, so it actually gets done.

4) Twittering
One thing I’ve done is expanded my reach through things like Twitter, the ‘micro-blogging’ platform. Things I post on Twitter get more immediate views than things I blog, actually. Twittering has slowed my blogging way down and it seems like I’m not the only who’s experienced this.

Share This

I didn’t want to take his time but I asked him if he’d been by Sebastian’s, the subject of one of the most infamous episodes of the US version of Kitchen Nightmares. I said “It’s closed” at exactly the same time he did and then he added “Thank god! That guy was a knob!” I can only ask you to imagine Ramsay’s accent saying ‘knob’; it almost had three syllables. Ramsay gave me a smile and a wink and that’s the update!

Share This