In case you missed the biggest hits of 2010, this guy (posted as okaysamurai on YouTube) has put together a medley of some of the biggest hits of the year in a video called “Extraneous Lyrics.” The catch is that he changed the lyrics while still getting to the essence of the songs. My favorite is his cover of Cee Lo Green’s “Procreate With Yourself.”
An astute commenter noted that the songs in the video are: (1) “Dynamite” by Taio Cruz; (2) “Love The Way You Lie” by Eminem and Rihanna; (3) “F*** You” by Cee Lo Green; (4) “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga; (5) “Tik Tok” by Ke$ha; (6) “Baby” by Justin Beiber; (7) “California Gurls” by Katy Perry; and (8) “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry.
The first day of May reminds me of one of my favorite albums, Matthew Ryan’s May Day from 1997. Ryan — who grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania and later moved to Tennessee — has recorded more than ten albums with his gravely voice and unique music. As explained on his website, “His songs tend to be about girls, socio-political issues, people on the edges, breakups, brotherhood, hate, love, fighters and hope. Sometimes all in the same song. He prefers to think of them as songs for humans.”
If I think of albums with great opening tracks, one of the first ones I think of is May Day, with its powerful rocking opener, “Guilty.” I love the guitars, the drums, the voice, and the lyrics.
‘Cause lately I’ve been dreaming of angels and cranes, In some kind of purgatory dodging the CIA, With a head full of soot, waving black flags, Throwing off the bodies just to cut down on the drag; Take ’em to the desert or take ’em to a dried up well; Tell ’em they’re in heaven and mutter, “welcome to hell;” I’ve been guilty of all these things.
Matthew Ryan has recorded several excellent albums, but has yet to become the big star that he should be. I prefer the rocking sound in some of his earlier work to the softer songs that predominate several of his albums. As a recent USA Today review noted in a positive review of his album Dear Lover, “Some rockers must scream when they plumb emotions at this depth. Ryan rarely has to raise his voice above a raspy whisper.”
But I like it when he raises his voice, as he does on the outstanding 2014 album Boxers. And for me, he may never surpass the opening song “Guilty” on his debut album, although he has come close. But that is not a bad thing, because very few artists have set such a high threshold with their first song.
Ryan also recorded an excellent acoustic version of the song in 2010.
What is your favorite opening track on an album? What is your favorite Matthew Ryan song? Leave a comment.
This post continues our discussion of the Lonesome Dove series, focusing on the series set after the original Lonesome Dove. Our post in Part One evaluated the original series and the prequels. In preparation for writing this series, I re-watched all of the series to be able to compare them.
Larry McMurtry’s Step-Child
(4) Return to Lonesome Dove (1993) is the one miniseries in the group that is not based on a book by Larry McMurtry. The television network wanted a follow-up to Lonesome Dove before too much time passed, and since Larry McMurtry was not done with a sequel, they hired another writer and kept McMurtry as a consultant. Like the other series, Return to Lonesome Dove features some very good big-name actors, including Jon Voight (Woodrow F. Call), Barbara Hershey (as one of the best Clara’s in the series), Louis Gossett, Jr., and Oliver Reed. In addition to again using Basil Poledouris’s great musical theme from Lonesome Dove, Return to Lonesome Dove also features some of the same actors from Lonesome Dove, including Rick Schroder as Newt Dobbs and Chris Cooper as July Johnson.
While Return to Lonesome Dove does not live up to the original, it is still an engaging series. The one weakness is that Lonesome Dove author Larry McMurtry did not write Return to Lonesome Dove, and it does deviate from some of his themes, etc. His books are interesting in that they try to escape from some of the Western myths. For example, in the other series, he does not follow the convention of having the main bad guy killed by one of the heroes, while Return to Lonesome Dove does feature such a resolution.
Still, this series does have some surprises, and it is enjoyable to see some of the same characters and actors continue where the tale left off in Lonesome Dove. And it features standout characters from actors Oliver Reed and William Peterson, as well as Jon Voight’s excellent performance adding some new vulnerability to Captain Call. Even if McMurtry abandons his Newt character after Lonesome Dove, we still want to see more of his growth into manhood. If you expect another Lonesome Dove, you will be disappointed, but if you go into it with an open mind, you might enjoy it very much. Rating: 8
(5) Streets of Laredo (1995) brought Larry McMurtry back into the franchise and for the most part still fits in the Return to Lonesome Dove universe because it picks up about two decades later in the 1890s, following Woodrow Call (this time played by James Garner) on one last adventure hunting a deadly killer. The film features a new set of fine actors, including Sissy Spacek as Lorena Parker. It is a little difficult at first to imagine Sam Shepard as Pea Eye Parker but he is an excellent actor and does a great job.
Besides Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo is the only other book in the series that I have read, and from my recollection, it seems to follow the book well. To some extent, the book negates Return to Lonesome Dove by noting that Woodrow left the Montana ranch the Spring after they arrived and Newt was killed by a horse the following summer, with the ranch failing after just two years. But Streets of Laredo takes place far enough in the future from Return to Lonesome Dove that it minimizes any inconsistencies.
Streets of Laredo revisits some of the themes from Lonesome Dove, especially on the role of family, how far we will go for our family, the search to find a family, and how one may still love a troubled family member. Streets of Laredo does not have the excitement or humor of some of the other series, but it is a good story and an honorable final portrayal of the character of Woodrow F. Call. Rating: 6
In the next installment of Chimesfreedom‘s posts on Rating the Lonesome Dove Series, we consider the weekly television show. The previous installment, Part One, rated the original and the prequels. Check out all four posts on Rating the Lonesome Dove Series.
Which is your favorite Lonesome Dove sequel? Leave a comment.
Below are some more online time killers and games you may play for free on your computer, including a new online game that is already a famous iPhone game. Keep an eye on the clock so you do not waste you entire day!
(1) At this website, answer vocabulary questions to earn free rice for the World Food Programme. You are feeding hungry people while you play, so it is not really a time killer. What are you doing at work that is more important than feeding the hungry anyway? Plus, you might learn something.
(2) Finally, Angry Birds, the popular iPhone game, is now available online so you may look like you are working on your computer while you play. It just became available this week and only works with the Google Chrome browser for now, but both the game and the browser are free downloads available at the Google Chrome website. Read more about the launch of the online game at Salon.
One of the highlights from the most recent Saturday Night Live was the “Jack Sparrow” video by Michael Bolton and Lonely Island, the group featuring Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. The group has had a number of hilarious songs, and they are releasing their album, Turtleneck & Chain, this week. Lonely Island’s work also includes “I Just Had Sex” (feat. Akon) and the classic “Lazy Sunday.”
The new video, “Jack Sparrow,” features Michael Bolton, who does an outstanding job. Whether you are a fan of humor or of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, just watch it yourself.
In case you missed the biggest hits of 2010, this guy (posted as okaysamurai on YouTube) has put together a medley of some of the biggest hits of the year in a video called “Extraneous Lyrics.” The catch is that he changed the lyrics while still getting to the essence of the songs. My favorite is his cover of Cee Lo Green’s “Procreate With Yourself.”
from 1997. Ryan — who grew up in Chester, Pennsylvania and later moved to Tennessee — has recorded more than ten albums with his gravely voice and unique music. As explained on 
, “Some rockers must scream when they plumb emotions at this depth. Ryan rarely has to raise his voice above a raspy whisper.”
, this week. Lonely Island’s work also includes