More random thoughts....

I'm enjoying my hiatus from performing and glad to see my old band has achieved their goal of playing out every weekend. I'd be dead by now if I even tried that with as many hours as I put in at my "real" job. Eventually I'll find something that's a better fit for me.

One of my favorite bands since I was about a kid are the Eagles. I remember very clearly getting the cassette of "The Long Run" for my 15th birthday when I was in the hospital. Its no secret I'm a big fan of country music and no one melds country and rock better than Frey, Henley and Co.

Flash forward twenty five plus years and they have finally released a new studio CD "Long Road to Eden" (yeah, I know....I'm about two months late with this report) and I'm happy to report that it is phenomenal. There isn't a bad song on it. I especially like the songs "How Long," "I Don't Want to Hear Anymore," (written by Paul Carrick...probably most famous in America for singing "Tempted" when he was with Squeeze), "What Do I Do With My Heart" and this one....

On another musical note, I'll be seeing Toby Keith again next month (last time I saw him he wasn't all that famous yet and was the post-game entertainment at a hockey game in Florida) and just got tickets for Def Leppard/Styx/Reo Speedwagon in April. Now that should be an absolute blast from the past. Hopefully there will be plenty of chicks with big hair, green mascara and Camaros partying out in the parking lot. The best part is both concerts are in Manchester, about fifteen minutes north of my house. That's way better than having to drive to Boston.

I'm hoping to catch Springsteen when he rolls through again this year (though admittedly his last CD "Magic" didn't do much for me) and maybe the Eagles too. 2008 may be my year for concerts!

I'm about to go all "geek" on you so stand by:

Today will be my first installment of a little something I call "If I ran Hollywood..."

1. I'd fire Brandon Routh and kick start the Superman franchise with Tom Welling as Superman. Let's face it "Superman Returns" wasn't that great and Welling makes an excellent Clark Kent on "Smallville;" most importantly, it's what the people want to see.

2. Ben Stiller, you're in your forties now. You can't keep playing the twenty-something guy who can't get the girl because he's in love with the other girl who's in love with the blind guy. Time to grow up and play someone your own age.

3. Can we stop using the same songs over and over in movies? If I hear "Lust for Life" or "Walking on Sunshine" in one more movie, I will throw my remote through the TV.

4. George Lucas, love ya' to death and yeah, I know you finance all your own films, but let's face it...you've surrounded yourself with "yes men" who are too afraid to tell you when an idea is stupid. You are clearly one of the visionaries in film but please, leave the directing and writing to others.

5. Time for different locations. I know it's easy to use LA and NYC in most productions (or Toronto playing the part of NYC/Boston/etc.) but it's time for some fresh scenes. Get off the backlot (the Universal backlot has become so damn obvious) and film in Portsmouth, NH or Biloxi, MI. Hey...how about Lowell, MA? It has a lot of charm and character and I know a really good detective novel that takes place there (though I hear the Mickey Ward movie will actually be filmed in Lowell so that's a start).

6. More superhero movies that stick to the source material. The Hulk isn't about a guy with mental problems brought on by his father killing his mother. We're not looking for Shakespeare. Read the damn comics and only makes changes where it helps the translation!

More when I feel like it...