Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

One of the best video clips of the 1980s was Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer. This video used a lot of animation techniques, including pixalation and stop motion animation. Not only is it a great video, but the song is pretty good too.

Shine A Light

Martin Scorsese's latest film that looks at the 2006 tour of The Rolling Stones.

Wall E

Here's the trailer for the latest Pixar film Wall E.

America: Outlawed!

Lego seems to be a great medium for stop motion animation, and at Brick Films you can find some great little Lego films. America: Outlawed! is the Lego epic to rival anything made by John Ford or John Wayne.

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New Computer Arrives on Monday

My new Dell computer will be arriving on Monday. It landed in Australia yesterday. I am quite excited, as I have been struggling without a computer for the last six weeks. I am excited because this will be the first time I have not had a generic brand computer.Here is a list of essential Downloads for my new computer.

1. AOL 10.0 - yes, I know that AOL sucks. Especially AOL Australia. However I do need to access the internet and I don't want to have to change all of my email addresses just yet.


2. iTunes - I miss my iPod.


3. Motorola V3 Razr driver for Windows - Motorola are such scam artists. They release a phone that allows you to take photos, yet they charge you an arm and a leg to enable you to download those photos to your computer. I have found a free driver for the V3, I just hope it works.


4. Mozilla Firefox - because Internet Explorer sucks nearly as much as AOL.
   
5. Skype - Because we have friends and relatives overseas and it will help cut down our phone bill.
6. Real Player - I don't know why, as it has been ages since I used it.

The Blues Had A Baby And They Called It Rock N Roll

I love blues music, especially the electric blues of the late sixties that shaped rock musicin the 70s. Where would Led Zeppellin, The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton be without the influences of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and B. B. King. I am currently sitting here at the City Library about to borrow the DVD called Martin Scorsese presents the Blues, Feel Like Going Home, which is one is a series of programs that Scorsese did for the PBS network in America with other directors such as Clint Eastwood. In this particular program, directed by Scorsese, we see how the African music of Mali influenced and is influenced by the Delta blues.

Anyway, this is probably as good a time as any to list my favourite blues songs.

1. Mannish Boy - Muddy Waters. - This live performance of Waters' version of Bo Diddley's I'm A Man features a lot of energy, sexuality and menace. No wonder the Stones remade it note for note in the 70s. (This song was recorded 55 years ago this Saturday!)


2. Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King - Clapton and Led Zeppellin were both hugely influenced by King, who would be considered the greatest blues guitarist of all if it were not for another famous King.


3. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King - This song from 1970 was Riley King's only mainstream top 40 hit, even though he topped the the R&B charts several times.


4. The Sky Is Crying - Elmore James - This song was used for a Levis' 501 commercial a few years ago. Was remade by Stevie Ray Vaughan in the 80s. I just love that slide guitar.


5. Boom, Boom - John Lee Hooker - This song first came to my attention when I heard it in the movie The Blues Brothers. It has since been used in commercials and turned up on non-blues compilation CDs.


6. Smokestack Lightnin' - Howlin' Wolf - Howlin' Wolf is perhaps the second most famous blues musician after Muddy Waters.


7. Damn Right I Got The Blues - Buddy Guy - This song came out in the early 90s and is one of my favourite songs of all time.


8. Ain't That A Lotta Love - Taj Mahal - I first heard this song on the Rolling Stones' Rock N Roll Circus CD. I wondered just who Taj Mahal was. Part of the reason why this song sounds so familiar is because the bass line is so similar to the Spencer Davis Groups' Gimme Some Lovin', which is perhaps why this song doesn't appear on any of Taj's greatest hits CDs. (Although the song has been covered many times)


9. Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just As Bad) - T-Bone Walker - Chuck Berry gets all the credit for creating rock n roll, yet a decade before Johnny B Goode T-Bone Walker was playing similar music.


10. Back Door Man - Willie Dixon - Dixon wrote most of the songs that Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf recorded. This song was first performed by Howlin' Wolf, but I like Dixon's version more. The Doors did a version of this too.

My 10 favourite Rolling Stones songs

With my new computer on the way one thing that I have to do that I loath, is to reload all of my music onto it. I have to do this to keep my iPod up to date. Whilst I don't mind having to load up all of my many cds, there is a ton of stuff that I downloaded to my old computer that I have now lost. (The lesson is always make a back up copy of all your MP3 and photo files)

Anyway, in getting ready to do this onerous task, I thought I would list some songs that will eventually make it back onto my iPod.

One group that will definately make it back onto my iPod is The Rolling Stones. I had over 200 of their songs on my iPod previously, including a downloaded copy of the unreleased and banned final Decca single that they made in 1969. (Because it was banned, it is quite easy to find online!) Here are my 10 favourite Stones' songs.

1. Sympathy For The devil
2. 2000 Light Years From Home
3. Happy
4. Jumpin' Jack Flash
5. Shine A Light
6. Brown Sugar
7. You Can't Always Get What You Want
8. Little Red Rooster
9. Honky Tonk Women
10. Paint It, Black