Random Observations: My Boys Won A Grammy! and a Crush of the Day

Time for some Random Observations and a Crush of the Day…

1) MY BOYS WON A GRAMMY!! My boys The Mars Volta actually won a Grammy yesterday for Best Hard Rock Performance.

The video of the winning song, Wax Simulacra, would be embedded here but its copyrighted. Here’s a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZwFycBgUpI

But, you need some Volta in your life so here’s the first concert that I saw them perform and made me a lifetime fan.



Actually, I go back to the late 1990’s with these guys when Omar and Cedric, the two members of the Mars Volta were in At the Drive In, their old band. I got into that group while in college and just followed the progression.

I was talking to Kenisha about this band and I told her that they’re probably one of the most talented musical acts out there today and probably that I’ve ever heard but they don’t want to be famous.

They’re music is definitely out there and it really takes even me, a devout fan, several listens to their songs and albums to truly appreciate the work.

To me, they’re the culmination of the modern music fan. They’re Latin, so they have those roots within their music. They’re the type of guys who were listening to the Yes and Genesis albums one day and the Black Flag and Fugazi albums the next.

Its so hard to describe their music and I feared that they would never be understood.

So for me to see them win a Grammy is pretty spectacular, but I know that it won’t really change the makeup of the group and I like that.

Part of me doesn’t want them to become famous like a Coldplay, and no disrespect to those guys but that was the only comparable example I could come up with right now.

Actually, I can do better. Its like old Metallica fans.

Metallica was probably the best American band of the 1980’s but didn’t get the mainstream recognition. Kill Them All, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightening, all classics released in that decade. It wasn’t until …And Justice for All and particularly the One video when they were even getting airplay on MTV.

However, they hit the big-time with the Black Album and that pushed them into the mainstream. They increased their audience greatly and solds lots of records and gained new fans like me.

For a while, I only knew of the Black Album because at that time, I was a teenager. It wasn’t until later that I got the older stuff and actually liked that more. I also understood how the older fans felt like their baby had “sold out” and had grown up to move away from them and to the masses.

As a Volta fan, I’m at my …And Justice for All stage and kinda take it personal when people are going on message boards and on YouTube now and talking crap about them for winning a Grammy over Motley Crue, Rob Zombie and others.

I feel that unless you take the time to try to like them, don’t say anything about them.

But I think Omar and Cedric work on their own time and won’t ever become a household name. Heck, Wax isn’t even on a top-five for their best songs ever and the album the song came off of, The Bedlam of Goliath, isn’t their best album.

OK, best albums in order are:

1) De-Loused in the Comatorium
2) Frances the Mute
3) Bedlam
4) Amputechture

I’ll hit the songs on another day, but thanks for reading that rant and congrats to them.

2) Crush of the Day: Olivia Wilde.



Darn President Obama had to get his business done on prime-time and that cost us an episode of House with the lovely Olivia Wilde.

We all remember her on the O.C. playing Alex Kelly. She was fun on that show and has pulled off the brunette look currently with ease.

Shocked to learn that she’s only 24 and been married for five years to, according to Wiki, an Italian-American, documentary filmmaker, photographer and flamenco guitar player. Does the dude fight bulls, fix cars, skydive, paint, write or is a personal trainer also. That’s tough to compete with. He can take your picture and play a song for you all in the same night.

Looks like I need to learn guitar to keep up.

3) General Hospital has been strong. I know that none of you watch General Hospital but I was able to catch up on the last two weeks this weekend and my goodness, the drama is back.

The whole chemical toxins in the hospital has added an element of excitement to the show that has been missing. Patrick Drake has been stepping his acting game up big-time and has been brilliant. I like how everyone on the show, even the Quartermaines, are being involved prominently in the show.

BTW, GH writers, don’t forget about the Quartermaines, please include them in more scenes.

4) 25 Random Things in Facebook. If you have Facebook, you have been tagged by one of your friends in this 25 Random Things thread.

I find it annoying in a way because I really don’t want to know much about other people but darn it if I don’t see the list that people put up. I actually get to see the psyche of an individual.

Some mention stuff that is too much like where they’ve had sex. Some talk way too much about their boyfriends/girlfriends.

IF YOU’RE A SINGLE PERSON LIKE ME, YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIPS.

The most insulting one that I saw was one where an old college friend did her’s with her husband, how disgusting.

I guess since I have a Blog, I find no usage for the 25 Random Things but if you need a voice to express yourself, then good for you I guess.

That’s all, good fight and good night.