Archive for June, 2008
I Wanna Dance
As some regular readers may have already recognized, “Sonic Boom” is a column about music. A conversation about music, if you will. It is a long, stilted conversation, full of digressions and misused four- and five-syllable words, but its central theme is constant. Of course, music is such a vague subject that defining what is and isn’t appropriate for such a conversation is almost impossible. Are economics part of a conversation about music? Of course they are — music and the economy have always been interconnected, never more so than now. Politics? Absolutely. Though politically inclined music may not be as prevalent as it probably should be, our greatest artists still write songs that reflect our world. Technology? Yes. Sentiment? Naturally. Gossip? Faith? Public drunkenness? Yes, yes, yes. It’s all part of music, so it’s all part of the conversation.
So with all that out of the way, can we talk about So You Think You Can Dance?
The Dog Days Of Summer
Every morning when I head out to work, Sadie, my little Boston terrier, eyes me mournfully, resigned to the fact that wherever I’m going, she’s not. But, on Friday, June 20, every dog might just have its day-in the workplace. Take Your Dog to Work Day (www.takeyourdog.com) was launched in 1999 by Pet Sitters International (PSI), to honor canine companions and encourage dog adoptions from shelters and humane societies.
Hey Jude
It was around 3 a.m. when the waiting became completely un-fun, and worry settled in. I found myself questioning why a busy hospital known for having a thriving delivery room would not have more comfortable chairs, ones made for multiple hours of sitting without triggering sciatica. I could not possibly cross my legs into any other angle, and sleep was beckoning. But there was nothing to do but wait.
What’s New
I’ve been looking over some of my past columns and I’ve noticed an alarming trend with regard to my subject matter. It seems that on a weekly basis, I cover one of the following subjects approximately 90 percent of the time:
(A) the slow and painful demise of record stores;
(B) the slow and painful demise of the inept music industry above and beyond the retail sector;
(C) the inability of my favorite bands from years past to continually live up to my nostalgia-based expectations, even as I recognize that it is actually impossible for any band to hit such daunting and unrealistic targets;
(D) the fact that unwieldy old mix tapes are aesthetically superior to the iPod’s “Shuffle” function;
(E) the fact that, when you illegally download an album, you rarely get cover art in the transaction, whereas when I was 13, I had Iron Maiden’s record sleeves hanging from my ceiling like I was living in Sam Goody;
(F) Radiohead’s In Rainbows.
And while this is indeed a varied list of subjects, I notice one very common thread running through all of them: this sort of curmudgeonly, fuddy-duddy-ish attitude that seems to suggest that music was better back in the day, and it’s not as good now. But you know what? That’s not how I feel at all! As a matter of fact, as far as I’m concerned, 2008 has been the best year for new music this decade, and if I’m just counting the number of new albums I have listened to and loved, it may be the best year I can remember, period.
Crispy, Crusted, Fried And Fantastic
The good folks at Wild Honey staged their excellent restaurant in the building in Oyster Bay that once housed Teddy Roosevelt’s office. When they stumbled across the space in Glen Cove that now quarters Wild Harvest, they must have found the setting too good to be true. After all, this fish-out-of-water wooden structure, fittingly situated on Forest Avenue, could have been Teddy’s hunting lodge, way out West.
Raising Some Issues
Most people think that they should be earning more. But in these uncertain economic times, is it better to speak up or shut up? Before you ask for more money, ask yourself some questions, too.
