Marshawn Lynch goes into Beast Mode!!!

Cal Bear, Marshawn Lynch, goes into beastmode to ice the Seattle Seahawks victory in the 1st round of the playoffs on Saturday.

He ran 67 yards, broke 8 tackles, tossed Tracy Porter like a rag doll, and jumped into the endzone.

Many commentators and writers are saying that it's the greatest run in the playoffs in the history of the NFL. I know that it's the best run that I've ever seen in the playoffs, and I'm glad it was by a Cal Bear.

Josh Ritter - The Temptation Of Adam

"If this was the cold war we could keep each other warm," I said
On the first occasion that I met Marie
We were crawling through the hatch that was
The missle silo door
And I don't think that she really thought that much of me
I never had to learn to love her
Like I learned to love the bomb
She just came along and started to ignore me
But as we waited for the big one
I started singing her my songs
And I think she started feeling something for me

We passed the time with crosswords
That she thought to bring inside
"What five letters spell apacolypse?" she asked me
I wandered over saying WWIII
We smiled and we both knew that she misjudged me
Oh Marie it was so easy to fall in love with you
It felt almost like a home of sorts or something
And you would keep the warhead missle silo good as new
And I'd watch you with my thumb above the button

Then one night you found me in my army issue cott
You told me of your flash of inspiration
You said "Fusion was the broken heart that's lonely's only thought"
And all night long you drove me wild with your equations
Oh Marie do you remember all the time we used to take
Making love and then ramsack the rations
When I think of you leaving now the avalanche cascades
My eyes get washed away in chain reactions

Oh Marie if you would stay we could stick pins in the map
Of all the places where you thought that love would be found
But I would only need one pin to show where my love is at
In a top secret location 300 feet under the ground

We could hold each other close
We'd stay up every night
Look up into the dark and like it's the night sky
Pretend this giant missle is a old oak tree instead
Carve our name in hearts into the warhead
Oh Marie something tells me things just won't
Work out above
That our love would live a half-life on the surface
So at night while you are sleeping
I hold you closer just because
As our time grows short I get a little nervous

So I think about the big one
WWIII
Would we ever really care the world had ended?
You could hold me here forever
Like you're holding me tonight
I think about that big button and I'm tempted

*********

Is this song a big metaphor for Adam & Eve cursing mankind? It could be a hint that "Adam" is spelled with an "a" and not an "o." Is the metaphor the silo being a bedroom and that they don't have a real relationship, just sex? I'm not sure. It could be.

At the very least on the surface this is a great song about a guy that wins over his love Marie in a silo. He wants to be with her so bad that he is tempted to bring on WWIII to be with her because he knows that their love couldn't work outside.

Because of the great descriptions and visuals (such as carving names in a heart onto a warhead or only one pin to show where his love is at) you root for him until you realize it would take him pushing the button to a bomb to be with his love.

This song touched me a lot more now then it did when I first listened to it because what's different is I can now imagine what crazy things I would do for the woman I love. Though I wouldn't do anything to hurt her or bring the end of the world there isn't much I wouldn't do for her. Even living in a silo wouldn't be all that bad as long as she was with me.

What I Wouldn't Do

I've loved this song for almost a year now, but I wish that I hadn't checked youtube to see if there was a video of the tonight.

Here's a live performance of the song.


I'll try to be a positive guy and say the good things about this performance:

1) The keyboard player sounded good
2) Allison Sudol wrote a catchy song
3) Allison Sudol looked cute

after that I got nothing...

I'll stick with the studio version. I just wish that I didn't know how much that they had to autotune Allison's voice to make it sound good.



It's a good thing that she wasn't at that Apollo in NY performing this. She might have gotten booed off the stage w/ her bad karaoke sounding voice. lol

Everything you need to know about Diamonds!

Here is everything you need to know about diamonds in ten minutes.



This shows what puppets we are in this country to advertising. How else can you explain little girls wanting to grow up and be Britney Spears?

Sacramento Kings come back from 35 down to beat Bulls!

On December 21st, 2009 the Sacramento Kings come back from 35 points down to beat the Chicago Bulls in Chicago.



The league Rookie Of the Year award is now Tyreke Evans award to lose. Clutch play in the end of three games this week by their rookie guard has now gotten him the national attention to make him the clear front-runner for the league ROY honors.

Cal keeps the Axe another year!

In what was probably the best Big Game of the Tedford era Cal beats the Furd in the Big Game to keep the Axe at home for another year.

112th Big Game Highlights (21 Nov 2009) from ieeeBear on Vimeo.

I'm already looking forward to next years home games. After some pretty tough home losses (U$C & Oregon State) the Arizona game and the Big Game reminded me of why I love Cal football so much. The pure joy of Cal coming through in a close game to pull it out is such a magical feeling. It was worth the miserable feeling on the long drive home after the U$C & Oregon State games just for the joy of the Arizona game. The joy of pulling out a victory against our arch rivals (while being the underdog) was just icing on the cake.



Go Bears!

The pain train is let loose in Detroit!

How often do you hear the tv announcers say "WOOOOOO?" Well get used to it because the Pain Train is departing. Toot! toot! Detroit signed 7th Round draft pic & Cal Alum Zack Follet to add some passion to their special teams and he delivered in his first week on the job with this vicious hit on Rams kick returner Danny Amendola. Check out the starting quarterback get hyped up about the hit.



It's because of hits like this that you still see a lot of #56 jerseys at Cal games. We Cal fans love this guys intensity and heart. I got to watch this guy blow people up with the Cal blue & gold on and I'm looking forward to seeing him do his thing in the silver & blue. His Cal highlights are a thing of beauty.

Zack Follet Highlights from sara lee on Vimeo.

Best of luck in the NFL. Make those other teams that passed you up pay.

The best Jahvid Best run I've ever seen

Cal gets back to their winning ways and everything is right in Cal-football land again.

Cal's #2 running back Shane Vereen might have had the better overall day, but Jahvid Best had the best play of the day. His run for 93 yards where he makes at least 4 players miss was Barry Sanders-like. It was a thing of beauty that will be shown for years to come.


Go Bears!!!

Natalie looks better then ever, but the song...

I'm not sure how I feel about it.



Her first new album since 2005 will come out this Tuesday (10/12). You can pre-order the import cd from Amazon here

Saigon Ft. Just Blaze - Gotta Believe It (official video)

Here's the first video to Saigon's Warning Shots 2 album coming out on 10/6/2009.



Hip hop needs more music like this. Good positive hip hop music. As always Saigon is on point with the lyrics and Just Blaze give Saigon a beat that reminds me a lot of T.I.'s "Live Ya Life." This will probably be the first autotune song that I actually support.

This could be the year that quality rap music made a comeback... Warning Shots 2!

Cal Bears Football 82: The Play

Watching this video of The Play, including new footage of the mayhem on the field and the exchange of The Axe.

Was it necessary for the Cal fan to give John Elway the finger after he had just had victory snatched from his hands? No... But the rest of the celebration was beautiful.

Go Bears!

True Hip-Hop Stories: Big Daddy Kane

The story of the making of one of the greatest rap songs ever! (by one of the greatest rappers ever)

The making of...


The final video of the timeless 1988 hit "Ain't No Half Steppin"

New Natalie Imbruglia!!!

Now I'll go on the record saying that Natalie Imbruglia is my favorite pop singer/songwriter, but I don't know how I feel about this song. This is probably the first Natalie Imbruglia song that I don't like.



Considering that I have all four of her cds and almost all of the cd-singles (for the b-sides), I can't believe that I've found a Natalie Imbruglia song that I don't like. But the bright side is that this song has brought a new video (which she looks great in as usual) and a new album is forthcoming. And with some luck I might even be able to score a promo banner for her new album.

Here's another new song "My God." I thik that it's better than the other song, but nowhere near anything that she's put out before.



Her new album comes out in the UK on October 5th. Though I am not feeling "Wild About It" or "My God" I am looking forward to the 1st single "Want" which is co-written by Coldplay singer Chris Martin and produced by Brian Eno.

"A bit annoyingly we've given her the best Coldplay song of all time," Martin said when in Australia in March. "Half of me wishes we still had it. But she sounds brilliant on it." (Here's the whole article.)

That sounds like a song that can make up for these sorry excuses for a Natalie Imbruglia songs. I just hope that they release the album in this country so I don't have to buy an expensive import again.

If I lived in the UK I could already pre-order it here. To read why I'm such a big fan of Natlie Imbruglia (besides her beauty and great songwriting) read my previous blog entry on her that I wrote in 07.

Quan Goes Independent With Amalgam Digital

We're finally going to get to hear an album from the talented rapper/singer thanks to Amalgam Digital. Those in the know will remember when the world was introduced to Quan from his classic song "Just A Moment (ft. Nas)."



Here's a new video with Quan saying what's going on and give a nice freestyle to show that he's kept his skills sharp while he's been on the shelf (then released).



If we get two albums from Quan this year, Cormega's "Born & Raised", AND Saigon's "Greatest Story Never Told" this might be the best year for real street hip-hop since 1995... (If is the key word)

A Hip Hop Musical (and it's written by a real rapper, Sticky Fingaz)

The Sticky Fingaz movie "A Day In The Life" is finally coming out on July 7th. I can't wait. Here's the trailer (which also plays like a music video).

A DAY IN THE LIFE Music Video/Trailer from KB on Vimeo.

After hearing Sticky's debut album "Black Trash" and realizing how incredible the story was and wanting to see it created as a movie it's good to see that Sticky was able to make it happen (even if he didn't get to do the Black Trash movie like he originally intended).

I'm going to buy it, and the best price that I was able to find on the net is amazon which has it for only $ 9.99 (w/ FREE Super Saver Shipping).

If you love me for the beauty of my personality...

Then I'll stay here forever, Don't you see?

I just love the feeling and meaning of this song. I've always felt that when I fall in love again that I want to make sure that me and the lucky woman (lol) will both love each other for our personalities, how we make each other laugh, how we respect each other, and how we trust each other completely. This song illustrates that feeling perfectly and I feel that's why it speaks to me.


Angel Taylor - Maple Tree



This great song is available from Angel Taylor's debut album "Love Travels" that's only available digitally (on itunes). If you want to see her live you can catch her touring with another talented singer-songwriter, Kate Voegele.


Here's another song from her album titled "Like You Do."

I just know exactly how you feel...

Here's a song that I've been listening to non-stop for about a week now cause it describes perfectly how I feel. In the past three months I've met plenty of people who I knew I wouldn't have a future with (those are easy to filter). The hard part comes when you meet someone who on paper has a lot of potential, but for some reason you're hesitant to invest the time that they deserve to get to know them and their personality. It could be that they don't live in the same city, they don't seem to get my humor, or they're a Laker fan. (j/k. I really don't hate the Lakers that much, but I do love talking mess about them.)

But seriously... Whether that time is invested writing emails, calling, or dating... Everyone (with potential) deserves and needs time to show the beauty of their personality.

I know that I've been hesitant to go into the getting-to-know-someone stage lately and I think that this song spoke to me and woke me up a little.

Jenny Owen Youngs - First Person

First Person music video from Jenny Owen Youngs on Vimeo.

what's the worst thing, that could happen
but find out that we don't quite fit
but on the flip side, we could be just right
and sure there's the chance
that we'll both end up broken and split
but that's my kind of risk

i'm not trying to make you think
this is some kind of great big deal
i just know exactly how you feel

How can you not love that song? Besides, don't you know that people sing with more meaning when they close their eyes? This song is the opening song off of her album "Transmitter Failure" that comes out today (5/25). It's a forty second teaser of the song "Last Person" that appears later on the album.

Jenny Owen Youngs - Last Person

If you need a song to explain how you feel if you do get to know someone, date for a while, and then realize that you're not right for each other... Jenny Owen Youngs' got you covered there too with these two gems.

Here's "Led To the Sea" which is my second favorite song on the album.



Here's the video "Clean Break" which was the first single from "Transmitter Failure."

Jenny Owen Youngs - Clean Break from Jenny Owen Youngs on Vimeo.

Kate Voegele - Manhattan From The Sky

For some reason I had a feeling to check Kate Voegele's web page to see if she has any new music coming out. I still listen to her debut album "Don't Look Away" album quite a bit. I'm glad I did because I saw that she has a new album, "A Fine Mess," coming out on 5/18/09.

Of the four songs from her upcoming album that are on itunes (and that have been performed by her character Mia on "One Tree Hill") this is the song that really stuck with me. I love the mood, meaning, and sound of the song and have been listening to it on repeat since I first heard it. I got the same feeling when I first heard her song "Only Fooling Myself." (which was one of the songs from 2007 you need to hear post)





After digging for a little info on her upcoming album I came across this article on the Aceshowbiz page where she describes her inspiration for writing the song:

Voegele states the idea for the piano-driven pop number came to her while she was sitting in a plane, 30,000 feet above New York City. "I was just thinking about how Manhattan looks like a little piece of Lego," Voegele recalls, "but once you're inside, it's totally crazy and messy and there's a wonderful chaos going on all around the city."

My interpretation of the song is it's Kate describing the excitement that you get when you want to get to know someone that you're interested in. You know that they're not perfect and that they have flaws but you're still looking forward to getting to know their beauty, personality, strengths, and weaknesses.

You are my Manhattan from the sky
You look so neat and tidy when I’m way up high,
But I know your streets are lined with a fine mess inside
And I wanna come down and walk around your mind.

I will be buying the deluxe edition of her cd the first week it comes out and would see her concert in June if I was able to make any of those dates. Hopefully I'll be able to catch her next time.
A Fine Mess comes out on May 18th. Let's support great music and talented musicians. You can preview more of her songs on her myspace.

Oh, and for the record I only know that she performs the songs on "One Tree Hill" from reading about it. I don't watch the show. Just putting it on the record. :)

Stephen Lynch - Crazy Peanuts

Here's Stephen Lynch performing "Crazy Peanuts" off of his new album "3 Balloons." A song that describes the characters of of Charles Shultz's timeless comic strip.



I couldn't describe his album better then his website could:

3 Balloons is Stephen's first new album in over four years, featuring all-new material, and recorded in a studio: "My last two albums were recorded live in concert, just guitar and voice, and I wanted to do something different this time. Whenever I write or perform a new song, in my head I hear pianos and drums and tubas and string sections and jug bands and children's choirs. I want you to hear those things too. Except we couldn't find a children's choir whose parents would let them sing about drug mules and transsexual prostitutes. Maybe next time.''


This guy cracks me up. I've got to see him next time he comes to the area.

Real Hip-Hop is coming Back!!!

First Saigon dropped his "All In A Day's Work" album. An album recorded in a little over a day (26 hours) with Statik Selektah that is more than 95% of the rap game could accomplish if they had five years. I purchased it on the first day it was released and know that it's a piece of timeless hip hop that will still have replay value many years from now. That's what separates Sai from many of the here today gone tomorrow rappers that are out there. He doesn't just make music of today. He makes music that will outlive him.

Here's the 1st offical single "the Rules" from the "All In A Day's Work" album.


(Speaking of Saigon, here's a video that I just recently found on youtube for his mixtape classic "True Story" which was first released on his 2005 mix cd "Abandoned Nation Vol. 1") This song is a great example of why I tell people that Saigon is a more lyrical and real version of Tupac.


Now the super group Slaughterhouse (consisting of Crooked I, Royce 5'9, Joe Budden, & Joell Ortiz) released a video to their instant classic "Move On (remix)."

The lone west coast representer "Crooked I" bats clean up and absolutely bodies this track (starting at 6:05).

Back in Cali n*ggas blaze and stress
waitin' on Detox to save the west
Even if that sh*t is dope
it ain't givin' you n*ggas hope
unless your signatures wrote
on a check from Interscope (nope)
Move on...

This could turn out to be one of the best years for quality hip hop music in a long time with releases from Saigon (the Greatest Story Never Told), Cormega (Born & Raised), Crooked I, and Dr. Dre (Detox).

Now if we could only get them to start playing some quality hip hop on the radio... But the more people are exposed to real lyrical rappers like these individuals they will be as disgusted as I am every time I hear Lil' Wayne, a casual rap fan, or some weak-sauce magazine like Blender (that doesn't know anything about hip hop) say Wayne's the best rapper alive.

Just like people remember how AI crossed over Jordan, all I can remember when I compare Lil' Wayne and TI is when TI murdered him on "Swagga Like Us."