ISO - Apollo 1 Ticket

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Not too many ISOs these days. It's a bummer. I can't wait to see this board thriving (probably next year) and something like my stupid little experiment gets buried in minutes. Soon enough we're going to be complaining about setlists, show lengths, posters (the good, the bad, and the flippers), the latest march (we don't need and can't find). I can't wait for those problems

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After two days of rain it got sunny. Man has sun never mattered so much. Just getting outside of the house is more enjoyable than I ever remembered. Get off the computer, phone, tablet and get outside. 

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Last night Chris Cornell's cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U" came on and if you haven't heard it - drop everything and do it. Done? Cool. Amazing right? I have to say it's not only one of the best covers of all time but it's an astonishing vocal performance on par with anything I've ever heard. 

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Pearl Jam's All In is pretty damn cool! Do I want to create a setlist or just give my hopes and then talk to Ed about music for the rest of the time? I love the live experience of being at a show with the anticipation. Would that be sullied by knowing what comes next? Am I crazy? Yes, probably. I mean it would be my only chance to hear "Can't Keep," "Ghost," and "Leash." I can't imagine standing with the band on stage. Do you retire from shows after that? Or do you sell everything you own and just follow the band? Thanks PJ. Classy move. I can promise my setlist would have no "Dirty Frank," or "Sweet Lew." All that being said, the presentation by Ed was something. He took his time, in the best way possible. 

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It's interesting when you watch films that deal with government and diplomacy; more often than not it's cooler heads and eloquent wordsmithing. Then you watch the news and it's quite the contrary. So many hands in the dishes, nothing ever gets cleaned, not to mention dried. 

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Words I'm having a hard time hearing every single day - maybe ever hour: "Love," "Normal," "Thanks," "Crazy," "Confusing" accompanied by soft music in a montage of how life "was." I get it. I do. But man. It's a bit much. If I had a dime for every Zoom meeting that starts with those words. In fact I'm in one right now. Good times. Hopefully you've got some sunshine out there. Go enjoy it. 

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I can't do the news. But I still need to laugh at the news so I do watch John Oliver. While he's biased, I will say from what I've seen from nearly every news outlet (PBS News Hour Excluded) is that he is pretty even in his assessment of the virus and all the details surrounding preventative measures, testing and governing. I feel like watching Oliver is how I felt watching Jon Stewart post 9/11. There was a humanity of discontent that wasn't about rattling cages for the sake of making noise; or causing an uproar but to get truth out there. A logical hand isn't in demand and yet, it's what we sorely need.

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I read an article about The Killers' next album and the drive to go different and recreate themselves. It's fascinating that this band is already a nostalgia act. Does a lack of relevance but a fervent following over two albums create nostalgia after time? It hit me with PJ's next tour (yes canceled) that the band was finally a nostalgia act worth seeing for casual concert goers. I've never seen them like that; maybe it's always felt fresh and I've never left with a rehash feeling like I have with other veteran acts. It's the blessing we have with this band. 

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One of the band mentioned in above Killers article is Foxygen - never heard of them but they're solid. I don't know how to describe them, atmospheric, smooth, alternative....so does alternative become the all encompassing tag? I always disliked that tag. Like grunge. What is that? So many bands have various influences that tagging them with a phrase seems demeaning and doesn't really allow one to go down the rabbit hole of influences. How many of us knew growing up just how much punk was an influence to Pearl Jam? We had to read. And we had to read about Neil Young. Nirvana sounded more punk but with the exception of a few cuts you don't see it as much in Pearl Jam.

Check out Foxygen. Cool music. 

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First World Problem: I'm running out of tv to watch. Movies are all but done. It just makes me think of all things I used to do with my time. Now it's watching my kids, working from home and not commuting. It's not so much about lamenting having no shows (maybe a bit) but also about a lack of normality on a huge scale. 

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We've got flurries outside. The kind of ugly bone chilling cold you hope to leave behind in April but know that in May it's possible. I'm always hopeful on days like this, just hoping it's the last one before things turn around for good and we spring then summer. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms. Enjoy. 

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To say I was a voracious reader a decade ago is an understatement but once kids and life get in the way it's harder to find the time and more so the motivation to plow through literature. I've never been a pulp reader; if I want a whodunnit or horror novel I'll watch it (I cut my teeth on Stephen King so he's the exception) and heavy reading is difficult. But I've wanted to keep going. Keep pushing and I thought this quarantine would give me the motivation and I might've finally turned a corner. I'm well over halfway in The Master and Margarita, a Russian post-modern piece about the devil in Moscow. It's odd and glorious and I can't quite tell you what it's even about at the moment. It's my cup of tea.  

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I've been watching The Simpsons for 31 years. I can't imagine a television world without The Simpsons. I think that every year. Don't get me wrong, I like Futurama and South Park more but I need that family in my life. 

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I don't know if I get more satisfaction that playing with my kids on a sunny day. 

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There are a few bands that come along and you wished you had them as a kid. War on Drugs would've been perfect for me; ever since I heard A Deeper Understanding, it's been on constant rotation in my house. It's a sleepy album with a sprawling sonic landscape that I find myself able to get lost in listen after listen. If pressed to describe what the band sounds like, I don't think I could do it justice - sure I could throw in generic comparisons but it's music drift away with; calling it background music would be unfair. It demands that you pay attention even if you're hypnotized halfway through. Could be my favorite album of the 2000's.

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I'm out front watching my kids (and working - never forget work) and a parade for kids moving on from kindergarten to first grade came rumbling down the street. It's a nice gesture for the little kids that don't get a send off at school. It's cute for kids Not my jam but the kids love it. 

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In my never ending quest to read the essential classics I picked Don Quixote back up. It's an amazing novel but like most tomes of that ilk they take me forever. But it's time well spent. I was fascinated when the term "big wig" came up and figured it had to be translation but then the thought occurred that people wore wigs, they were fashionable for the wealthy...sure enough the word was coined in the early 1600's around when Cervantes was writing and publishing his novel. Fascinating that phrases we've known in passing all our lives have lives longer than any we will share. 

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It's funny when you know there's a show you've been meaning to jump back into but let it pile up...then you get there and its damn good. I love it. Don't sleep on season 3 of Ozark. 

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Fascinating to see The Last Dance end with "Present Tense" in the background. The whole song proved to be the epic ten part's coda. Fascinating because music wasn't a central part of the doc - well band music in the background, and then wham. It was apt for the moment and the contemplative nature of the doc as a whole. 

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I think people read this. Not sure why. Maybe just to see if I still write every day? Or why someone is writing ISO when the world is shut down. Maybe I have intel they don't? Maybe I can free us all from Covid? I can't. Sorry. Wish I could. But I am still searching for a ticket to a show that I'm honestly now doubting whether there will be shows in 2021.

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I remember when I saw Soundgarden just how impressed I was by Matt Cameron. Maybe it was my proximity but he blew me away with the amount of energy and I wonder about how the slower stuff feels? Is it fun? Is it that rest in the set? Do his arms dictate how hard they can go? I've heard people say he's wasted but "Life Wasted" from 2010 doesn't say. Pearl Jam is the first band I recognized individual instruments really leading songs (thanks Jeff Ament) and right now I'm hearing those drums.

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I read a Jim James piece about how he discovered The Dead. It was wonderful. I was shocked James found The Dead in a very similar manner as I did, and via American Beauty (hands down their best album). Check it out: 
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jim-james-american-beauty-tribute-grateful-dead-vinyl-me-please-boxset-999651/

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Relistening to The Spectrum shows and man, has this band put together a body of work in Philly? As a person who has had the opportunity to see almost every show in Chicago in the last 20 years I can say Philly beats Chicago and even New York. With the exception of Wrigley 16 Night 2 (that is an all time great show for the band), I think Philly knocks it out of the park every single time. New York has great shows. It's a next level above any other city but Philly is just legendary night after night. My goal is to see a show in The Garden but Philly is gaining steam as a must see sometime. 

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The Spectrum shows are fascinating for the sheer fact the band tried to play all their songs - didn't work but they covered significant ground. One song I was shocked to notice that didn't get a spin was "Love Boat Captain." It's one of those songs that's been put back in the vault and while the new treatment that has the extended intro with a little "Jumpin Jack Flash" (starting in 14 I think) gives it fresh blood, we don't hear it enough. Also I'm pretty sure "Release" didn't make an appearance but 4 shows isn't enough ground to cover everything. I would love to see the band do a residency and maybe they will, maybe that will be a way to get back live. Who knows. 

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Hardest part of traveling with kids is you’re at their whim to make sure things go smooth....ish.... there’s never normal on the road. It’s exhausting even though it’s supposed to be joyous. That’s tough.

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It's fascinating what you find interesting as you get older. I found myself having my dad talk to me about trees and planting this weekend and it was eye opening. 

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You know what would be awesome? If Ten Club surprised us all and released Lost Dogs and Benny as a vinyl reissue. We have no tour for our wonderful new album....no or never right? 

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I'm running through the 2011 South American shows and man, this leg rivals the 2016 North American. I might even go on a limb of sacrilege and say the Buenos Aires show is the best show the band has ever put together. Gotta give the 12th man of the audience so mad props in that case cause they elevate the first half of that show in a way that I've never heard in a live setting that I never didn't attend. 

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I entered the Pearl Jam All In Contest. I don't expect to win. But I do love knowing that I'm putting to a good cause with a slim to none chance of the experience of a life time. I feel like instead of crafting a setlist I'd just slide a piece of paper over with my wishlist (Can't Keep, Leash, Thumbing, Ghost, Parting Ways, Speed of Sound) and then just talk music. 

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I was listening to Hartford 13 and Eddie started talking about a tragedy and I was blank....then he said Newtown....duh. Seven years ago. So much has changed in my life. I didn't have a daughter and now she's turning six. Eddie pleaded for voices to make a difference and well....it's sad. I love the hope and then I think of our current climate...covid...Minneapolis....politics....still need to keep that hope alive.