| The
Crossing - September 2006 Edition
Welcome back again. Hope
everyone is enjoying the cooler weather. With the change in season comes
the NFL season. Just want to say, may the best team win. For me, it’s go
Rams! There’s tons and tons of music and movies coming out and thankfully,
there seems to be some decent films starting to show up in the theaters
that are worth seeing. Always a good thing. As an aside, can you think
of some films released this year that might be nominated for Best Picture?
So far, I can hardly think of any quite worthy of a nomination. Hopefully,
there are some good things in the pipeline this Fall...
ARTIST of the MONTH:
I picked up the latest from
Iron Maiden the other day. First off, I picked it up cause I’m a fan and
wanted to hear it, but also I wanted to see if anything had changed in
their world. Seems there have been some significant changes which are worth
mentioning. If you’re not a fan or if you don’t even know who Iron Maiden
is, let me give you some background. Iron Maiden is, as they are now, a
six piece band that found its beginnings in the East End of London, England.
The band started to form in the late '70’s and released their debut album
in 1980. Their latest, entitled “A Matter of Life and Death”, is their
14th studio album. If you are into heavy metal or like heavier music you
may already be well acquainted with this band. If you are into newer metal
music of today and wish to get a better idea of some of the genre’s roots,
you’ll find that one of the bigger lifelines in the palm of Metal is Iron
Maiden. (Not to mix metaphors.) The music and
writing of Iron Maiden has
always been something akin to Dungeons & Dragons or maybe Indiana Jones.
It’s aural excitement and adventure and fantasy all delivered in a melodic,
heavy wall of sound. Inspiration comes from films and literature and history,
as well as some social commentary. It’s not to be taken overly seriously
but mostly as entertainment. With that said, one thing that has always
set Iron Maiden above their competition is their remarkable consistency
in their music and musicianship and their commitment to quality and to
their enormous fanbase. To paraphrase another famous metal band, they deliver
the goods! The main reason why I wanted to
make mention of them this
month is ‘cause with everyone, you eventually grow up and start writing
about what is important in your life and what is important in your hearts
even if it takes a while to finally reach that point. With the arrival
of the five year anniversary of 9/11, the ripple effects of this tragic,
historic day is still being felt around the globe. Many, many artists are
showing reflection of this day in their work and Iron Maiden is no exception.
On this day, I think the lyrics at the bottom of this page, written by
founding member Steve Harris, are as significant as any artist might be
writing right now. Read the words below and pause and reflect. For those
that died on September 11th, 2001 and for the days ahead...
Recently released and not mentioned in last edition:
* Ty Tabor - “Rock Garden”
* Shelby Lynne - “Definitive Collection”
* Steve Earle - “Definitive Collection”
* Black Tape for a Blue Girl - “Remnants of a Deeper Purity”
* William Elliott Whitmore - “Song of the Blackbird”
* Brian McComas - “Back Up Again”
* Jim Capalongo - “Heaven Is Creepy”
* The Elders - “Racing In The Tide”
* Buck Jones - “Lucky Star”
* Markus Rill - “The Price Of Sin”
* Jason Wilber - “Lazy Afternoon”
* William Lee Ellis - “God’s Tattoos”
* Cursive - “Happy Hollow”
* Edgewater - “We’re Not Robots”
* Katchafire - “Revival”
* Snowden - “Anti-Anti”
* Luca - Sick Of Love
* The Golden Dogs - “Big Eye Little Eye”
* Union of Knives - “Violence and Birdsong”
* This Day And Age - “The Bell and the Hammer”
* Eluvium - “When I Live by the Garden and the Sea”
* Modern Day Saint - “And Tomorrow We Will Have Nothing”
* Barlowgirl - “Another Journal Entry” (Expanded edition.)
* Flyleaf - “Flyleaf”
* Chantal Kreviazuk - “Ghost Stories”
* Aldo Nova - Best of
* Various Artists - “Rockabye Baby! Lullabye re-enditions of Metallica,
Radiohead and Coldplay.” Check out: here
* Brother Bear 2 - DVD
* The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - DVDs; each movie released separately
as well as together as a complete boxset. All three
films contain theatrical versions as well as special extended versions.
9/5
* Iron Maiden - “A Matter Of Life And Death”
* Audioslave - “Revelations”
* Kate Campbell & Spooner Oldham - “For the Living of These Days”
* Jars Of Clay - “Good Monsters”
* Hem - “Funnel Cloud”
* Alice In Chains - “Essential” (2 CD set; new date.)
* United 93 - DVD
* Unknown White Male - DVD
* Dead Man’s Shoes - DVD
* Kinky Boots - DVD
9/12
* R.E.M. - “...And I Feel Fine: Best of I.R.S. Years 1982-1987” (w/bonus
rarities disc.)
* Bob Seger - “Face The Promise” (w/DVD.)
* Kasey Chambers - “Carnival” (new date.)
* The Mars Volta - “Amputecture” (new date.)
* The Barenaked Ladies - “Barenaked Ladies Are Me”
* Everclear - “Welcome To The Drama Club”
* Veruca Salt - “IV”
* Los Lobos - “The Town and the City”
* Ben Kweller - “Ben Kweller”
* John Mayer - “Continuum”
* Chris Thile - “How To Grow A Woman From The Ground”
* Shawn Colvin - “These Four Walls” (Nonesuch label debut; Patty Griffin
and Greg Leisz guest.)
* Madeleine Peyroux - “Half The Perfect World”
* Cara Dillion - “After The Morning”
* Jim Cuddy - “The Light That Guides You Home”
* Richard Buckner - “Meadow”
* Eric Matthews - “Foundation Sounds”
* Starflyer 59 - “My Island”
* The Ettes - “Shake The Dust”
* The Duhks - “Migrations”
* Carbon Leaf - “Love Loss Hope Repeat”
* Aynsley Lister - “Everything I Need”
* The Album Leaf - “Into The Blue Again”
* The Black Keys - “Magic Potion”
* Magnolia Electric Co. - “Fading Trails”
* Now It’s Overhead - “Dark Light Daybreak”
* Kasabian - “Empire”
* Roddy Hart - “Bookmarks”
* Dan Reeder - “Sweetheart”
* Citizen Cope - “Every Waking Moment”
* Yo La Tengo - “I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your A**”
* Sandi Thom - “Smile...It Confuses People”
* Papa Roach - “Paramour Sessions”
* Dead Moon - “Echoes of the Past” (2 CD set.)
* Sirens Sister - “Echoes from the Ocean Floor”
* Sugarcult - “Lights Out”
* Avett Brothers - “The Gleam ”
* Jonatha Brooke - “Live in New York” (w/DVD.)
* Robert Cray - “Live from Across the Pond” (2 CD set.)
* Steve Hackett - “Wild Orchids”
* Mastodon - “Blood Mountain”
* Meliah Rage - “The Deep and Dreamless Sleep”
* KT Tunstall - “Eye to the Telescope” (Deluxe reissue w/DVD.)
* Robert Plant - “Nine Lives” (Post Led Zeppelin boxset; 9 CD’s and 1 DVD.)
* The Police - “Everyone Stares” (DVD documentary.)
* Blade Runner - DVD (New director’s cut.)
* Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope - DVD (2 DVD sets; These contain the
very original, unmodified editions first screened in
theaters in 1977, 1980 and 1983 as well as the special edition versions.
Sold separately for the first time.)
* Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - DVD
* Star Wars - Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi - DVD
* Lucky Number Slevin - DVD
* Goal! The Dream Begins... - DVD
* The Wild - DVD
9/19
* Neal Morse - “Cover To Cover” (Former Spock’s Beard singer covers U2,
Paul McCartney, Moody Blues, and Cream, etc.)
* Indigo Girls - “Despite Our Differences”
* Elton John - “The Captain & the Kid”
* Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy - “Then The Letting Go”
* Diana Krall - “From This Moment On”
* New Found Glory - “Coming Home”
* The Whigs - “Give Em All a Big Fat Lip”
* Sloan - “Never Hear the End of it”
* Corb Lund - “Hair in my Eyes like a Highland Steer”
* Jonny Lang - “Turn Around”
* Jane’s Addiction - “Best of” (new date.)
* The Pogues - 5 remastered reissues w/bonus tracks
* Various Artists - “My Name Is Earl”
* Various Artists - “Rockabye Baby! Lullabye Re-enditions of Pink Floyd
and Tool.
* U2 - “Live in Sydney on the Zoo TV Tour” (DVD.)
* Stick It - DVD
* Hard Candy - DVD
* The Proposition - DVD (Nick Cave project.)
9/26
* Soloman Burke - “Nashville”
* Jay Bennett - “The Magnificent Defeat”
* Sean Lennon - “Friendly Fire”
* The Lemonheads - “The Lemonheads”
* Bobby Bare, Jr. - “The Longest Meow”
* The Kennedys - “Songs of the Open Road” (covers project.)
* Sparklehorse - “Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain”
* The Black Crowes - “Lost Crowes” (2 CD set; new date.)
* UFO - “The Monkey Puzzle”
* ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic - “Straight Outta Lynwood”
* Scissor Sisters - “Ta-Dah”
* Sarah McLachlan - “Mirrorball” (Complete 2 CD live set.)
* Amy Grant - “Time Again: Amy Grant Live”
* Tori Amos - “A Piano: The Collection” (5 CD boxset.)
* The Lake House - DVD
* Curious George - DVD
* The Notorious Bettie Page - DVD
10/3
* Evanescence - “The Open Door”
* The Killers - “Sam’s Town”
* Jet - “Shine On”
* Beck - “The Information”
* ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - “TBA”
* The Decemberists - “The Crane Wife”
* Linsey Buckingham - “Under The Skin”
* Robyn Hitchcock - “Ole! Tarantula”
* The Dears - “Gang of Losers”
* The Hold Steady - “Boys and Girls of America”
* Trey Anastasio - “Bar 17”
* Amos Lee - “Supply and Demand”
* Journey - 5 more remastered reissues
* Steve Perry - 3 remastered reissues
* X Men III: The Last Stand - DVD
* Thank You For Smoking - DVD
* Once In A Lifetime - DVD
* The Little Mermaid - DVD (Disney.)
10/10
* Sting - “Songs From The Labyrinth” (Sting goes lute.)
* Robert Pollard - “Normal Happiness”
* Mindy Smith - “Long Island Shores”
* Aerosmith - “Devil’s Got a New Disguise: Very Best of”
* Various Artists - Rockabye Baby! Lullabye re-enditions of The Cure and
The Beach Boys.
* A Prairie Home Companion - DVD
* Art School Confidential - DVD
* Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties - DVD
10/17
* Sarah McLachlan - “Wintersong” (Xmas CD.)
* The Tragically Hip - “World Container” (Produced by Bob Rock.)
* Damien Jurado - “And Now That I’m In Your Shadow”
* Tanya Donelly - “This Hungry Life”
* Goldfrapp - “We Are Glitter”
* Me First and the Gimme Gimmes - “Love Their Country”
* Badly Drawn Boy - “Born in the UK”
* Jeremy Enigk - “World Waits”
* Chris DeBurgh - “Story Man”
* Def Leppard - “Hysteria” (Deluxe Edition 2 CD set.)
* Over The Hedge - DVD
* The Breakup - DVD
* American Dreamz - DVD
* The Omen ‘06 - DVD
10/24
* Bright Eyes - “Noise Floor” (Bsides and rarities.)
* The Curtains - “Calamity”
* Europe - “Secret Society” (import.)
* An American Haunting - DVD
* Slither - DVD
* The Road To Guantanamo - DVD
10/31
* The Who - “Endless Wire” (Their first album in 24 years.)
* Meatloaf - “Bat Out Of Hell III”
* The Deftones - “Saturday Night Wrist”
* Graham Coxon - “Love Travels At Illegal Speeds”
* Willie Nelson - “Songbird”
* Various Artists - “Rockabye Baby! Lullabye re-enditions of Led Zeppelin
and Nirvana.
* Mission: Impossible III - DVD
* Keeping Up With The Steins - DVD
11/7
* Cars - DVD
* Wordplay - DVD
11/14
* Joan Osborne - “Pretty Little Stranger”
* Styx - “One With Everything” (DVD; live with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra.)
* Brothers of the Head - DVD
11/21
* Sufjan Stevens - “Songs for Christmas” (5 CD set.)
* Tom Waits - “Orphans” (3 CD set.)
* Oasis - “Stop The Clocks: Best of”
* Ice Age 2: The Meltdown - DVD
LYRICS of the MONTH:
Are you a man of peace
Or man of holy war
Too many sides to you
Don’t know which anymore
So many full of life
But also filled with pain
Don’t know just how many
Will live to breath again
A life that’s made to breath
Destruction or defense
A mind that’s vain corruption
Bad or good intent
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Or saintly or sinner
Or some that would believe
A holy war winner
They fire off many shots
And many parting blows
Their actions beyond a reasoning
Only god would know
And as he lies in heaven
Or it could be in hell
I feel he’s somewhere here
Or looking from below
But I don’t know, I don’t know
Please let me know what life is
Please let me know what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is
More pain and misery in the history of mankind
Sometimes it seems more like
The blind leading the blind
It brings upon us more of famine, death and war
You know religion has a lot to answer for
And as they search to find the bodies in the sand
They find its ashes that are scattered across the land
And as their spirits seem to whistle on the wind
A shot is fired somewhere, another war begins
And all because of it you’d think that we would learn
But still the body count, the city fires burn
Somewhere there’s someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why
Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is
For the greater good of God
He gave his life for us, he fell upon the cross
To die for all of those who never mourn his loss
It wasn’t meant for us to feel the pain again
Tell me why, tell me why.
Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), the song “For the Greater Good of God” off
of the album A Matter of Life and Death.
To learn more about Iron
Maiden and their mascot Eddie, please explore here. p.s. They really are
nice people!
http://www.ironmaiden.com/
See you in October...
Chris Barlow
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