They’re playing our song, then again maybe not!

It’s one of those faux pas that use to lead to war in the ancient times, a mistake probably easily made but probably best not to have been.

A Grenadian band leader sent his band to work last week to honour some special guests from China who had helped to fund and construct a 4o million dollar sports stadium in St. George’s.

To celebrate the grand opening, the Royal Grenada Police Band was assembled on the field, Inspector Bryan Hurst at the baton as they launched into a rousing rendition of the Chinese national anthem. Unfortunately for Inspector Hurst, the piece he had studiously rehearsed to perfection was the anthem of Taiwan, kind of a sworn enemy to all that the Chinese hold near and dear.

The political officials and construction workers were reported to be “visibly uncomfortable during the recital” but probably not near as uncomfortable as the Inspector has been the last few days.

With the international incident behind them, the Inspector has been temporarily relieved of his duties while the Grenadian Police launch an inquiry that will "utilize all the resources" of the Caribbean island's national force.”

The Inspector is fortunate in that his gaffe occurred in Grenada and not in China, where we suspect temporarily relieved, would quickly be followed by a term in a re-education camp, where he would no doubt while the hours away conducting a phantom orchestra of kazoo musicians.

Review Archives for January 2006

We slowly get back into the swing of things with our review posts after a two week break to welcome Santa and a New Year. We'll keep track of our selections from this vantage point.

January 15--Book Review--Robert Stone, Prime Green: Remembering the Sixties
January 15--CD Review--The Shins, Wincing the Night Away
January 15--Movie Review--Letters from Iwo Jima
January 7--Book Review--Michael Lewis, The Blind Side
January 7--CD Review--Elvis Costello, When I was Cruel
January 7-- Movie Review--Night at the Museum

Everybody wanted one, everybody apparently got one and everybody tried to get a song at once!

The Apple iPod once again seems to have been the most popular of Christmas gifts, as the Apple on line store found itself overwhelmed with download requests on Christmas morning.

A reported four times as many users than last year tried to get onto the Apple site to download a tune for the shiny new toy. Only to be greeted by messages advising they couldn’t log on or waits of up to twenty minutes to download a song.

Analysts said the problems likely were the result of too many people with holiday iPods and iTunes gift cards trying to access the site at once.

The problem such as it is, just goes to insure Apple’s place as the dominant force for digital music, the fact that so many people were trying to log on to download songs shows just how much the iPod has captured the imagination of the music seeking public.

It could also be the first recorded event of a Boxing Day line up extending beyond a bricks and mortar store. Just like those that brave the cold, rains and snow, even those that go no further than their computer desk had to stand in line.

That's Entertainment

We're cobbling together a new feature for the blog, entertainment information, which at the moment seems to consist mainly of the movie listings at the Prince Rupert Cinemas.

It's still a bit of a work in progress, but the rough idea of what it will look like is out there for your linkage if you so desire. Basically it will list all the links and stories about the movies that come to town.

As things progress we'll add some television information, concert information, PAC Info and such whatever we can keep up to. It will also make for a convenient storage place for the It's Showtime items that I put together every once and a while here on the Podunk site.

You can find the link to the blog on the right hand column called Podunkian Entertainment Marquee. Current information on movies in the city can be found on that blog page at the top of the right hand column.

Podunkian Music Club: October 7

U2-Beautiful Day

U2-Beautiful Day

While we continue to study the Manhattan Project like instructions that YouTube sent us to fix our YouTube embedded player, we'll just leave you with the link to this weeks video. It's found in red above.

Tonight's song, is one of those grand anthems that U2 are best known for. Released after what seemed like the groups mid life crisis of Zooropa and Pop.

Beautiful Day released in 2000, returned the group to what it does best, strong anthemic driving rock and poetic lyrics. One of the most revered of bands to ever come out of Ireland and dominate the music scene over the last 26 years, U2 entered the new millenium more involved than ever.

Long the masters of the music video, the imagery in this one is spectacular, fast cuts of the band exchanged with images from an airport where travelers come and go, meeting and leaving a snapshot of life in a day.

The song builds in power as the music drives it home, the groups dynamic never more in synch since the Joshua Tree days.

The lyrics are typical of the Bono genre; "

"The heart is a bloom, shoots up through stony ground
But there's no room, no space to rent in this town
You're out of luck and the reason that you had to care,
The traffic is stuck and you're not moving anywhere.
You thought you’d found a friend to take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand in return for grace"

"You’re on the road but you’ve got no destination
You’re in the mud, in the maze of her imagination
You love this town even if it doesn’t ring true
You’ve been all over and it’s been all over you"

"What you don’t have you don’t need it now
What you don’t know you can feel it somehow.
What you don’t have you don’t need it now.
You don’t need it now, you don’t need it now, Beautiful day "

You listen time and time again and never grow weary of the words nor the sound.

You study the lyrics, feel the music and get lost in it's zeal.

It's a beautiful day.
A most uplifting song!
Just watch out for the planes !

Group--U2
CD--All That You Can't leave behind

Review Archives for October 2006

We track our review feature for October.

October 29 Movie Review-Shut Up and Sing
October 29 CD Review- My Chemical Romance-Welcome to The Black Parade
October 29 Book Revier-Stephen King-Lisey's Story
October 22-Movie Review-Flags of our Fathers
October 22-CD Review-The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America
October 22-Book Review-Patricia Phenix, Private Demons
October 15-Movie Review-The Queen
October 15-CD Review-Weird Al Yankovic-Straight outta Lynwood
October 15-Book Review-Karen De Young, Soldier: The Life of Colin Powell
October 8-Movie Review-School for Scoundrels
October 8-CD Review-Los Lobos,The Town and the City
October 8-Book Review-Eddie Goldenberg,The Way it Works
October 1-Movie Review-The Departed
October 1-CD Review-Tom Petty, Highway Companion
October 1-Book Review-Bob Woodward, State of Denial

Podunkian Music Club-September 30

Great Big Sea-Consequence Free


Great Big Sea--Consequence Free

Well we had hoped to have the actual YouTube player show up in the piece here, but the blooger beta gremlins aren't communicating with the YouTube gremlins and for whatever reason we can't load the video to the blog. Thus our usual Saturday night Podunkian Music Club selection shows up on a Sunday, (shrug) what can you do.

So, instead, just click on the line above in Red and the video will play. We're hoping to get these things figured out before too long.

As for the selection, Great Big Sea is one of those great musical exports fron Newfoundland, a wild and rowdy kitchen party right there in your computer. They lyrics are witty, the music infectious.

The band has had a number of hits during its run up the Canadian music charts and provide a change of pace from the regular cookie cutter band formula. Consisting of Sean McCann, Alan Doyle, Bob Hallet, Murray Foster and Kris MacFarlane, the group brings some of the rockin' soul of the rock to iPods, radios and venues across Canada.

With a combination of the Newfoundland folk sound, combined with some straight ahead rock and roll Great Big Sea brings a full ahead sound to each tune. Songs that have you tappin' your toes and singing along in short time.

Just by listening to the their tracks you get the feeling that you probably couldn't go wrong by checking them out when they drop by your hometown.

Group- Great Big Sea
CD- Turn