Anyways – how about that Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in the newest, and hopefully last, Fast and Furious installment? Do not get me wrong, I loved the first two. But the last couple, meh. I would have left them out if I were in charge of this saga. But that is merely opinion.

I remember the very first F&F – The Fast and The Furious. One word – Wowza. I was so excited to be able to expound upon my car knowledge to my, sadly, less car obsessed friends in Junior High did not posses.

See, having an uncle who is one of the largest gear heads I have ever met made me realize that to talk to him for more than a couple of minutes and then descend into awkward silence, I had to become a gear head as well. Little did I know that my attempts to relate would lead to me being able to explain away the car jargon into words my friends could understand.

Watching that first movie made me want to run off and become a wheelrunner or a stunt driver or a drag racer. Anything that involved awesome cars that went that fast. I still hold that dream close to my heart ( my ’91 Taurus can’t haul ass like the Toyota Supra Turbo or the Mitsubishi Eclipse RS, but I make due with what I got), but more practical ideas have gotten in the way of fulfilling that one.

So… the newest installment – Fast and Furious. As usual, there is a conflict. This time it is with drug runs across the Mexico/United States borders…fitting for the times huh? And Dom (Diesel) and Brian (Walker) are waist deep in it all. There are chases, races, stunts, and FX that makes the head spin with trying to keep up with it all. The movie ends on a cliffhanger, like most have. Things are left up in the air – Did they? Didn’t they? Where are they going now? Those sort of questions.  

Did I also mention that the  ’70 Chevelle SS finally makes its way back into the car lineup? I quite literally fell out of my seat and gave a slightly high pitched scream when I learned this (ask the friend who told me… she can vouch for me). This is one of the cars on my dream car list. To have a ’70 Chevelle SS - especially if there is a free Vin Diesel inside would make my day.

I haven’t seen it yet. I feel like I have committed some travesty by not doing so. It’s on my list of movies to see – along with the X-Men Origins: Wolverine.. out on May 1st…so excited. But with my usual movie luck, I will most likely need to buy the DVD to see it. Oh well. I am not complaining about that.

Yes, this guy is another NACA Northern Plains find. Gotta love a place that gives out free music so I can refresh my collection and find what I like of what’s new.

From L.A., Andy is a beat-boxing singer-songwriting, acoustic rocker – who is also funny as hell. his impression of Timbaland… check it out for yourself.

yep, I said that  he beat boxes. With the best of them as a matter of fact – if I do say so.

I was fascinated by this guy improving his beat boxing and trumpet sounds without a looping rig. Everytime the beats were brought in, he would go at it. It was awesome to watch and listen to.

Plus, he’s cute. Am I right or am I right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4NjDqDKiII&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH1ev_PN7fg&NR=1

For the more interested of you who read this post, check out more on Andy via his myspace.

Lovesick Radio

So now that the video blitz is done…

Lovesick radio hails from the one and only rock capital of Columbus, Ohio. At NACA Northern Plains when they showcased I was instantly tuned in - which doesn’t happen that often to be honest.

It is refreshing to hear a rock band that can straddle the line of being popular and having an indie edge with ease – in most cases the band lands on either side with results that not always pan out.

And they do covers that are completely awesome. Check out the Eddie Money’s Take Me Home Tonight cover they do up above in this post if you are sceptical… there is also this crazy mash up of  Ice – Ice Baby, Under Pressure, and Dance Dance they do… but I can’t find it on youtube right this second *sigh*.

But tune in an ear and see what I mean. If you, by chance, become intrigued, check them out here.

Derek James

This guy is funky. And the funk is good. Derek is of the singer-songwriter disposition and he hails from from Brooklyn. His music is self-described as “Momma blushin’, old-school, bubble-gum poppin’ rock”. Combining rockabilly and swing sounds into the folky melodies of his guitar playing, Derek automatically had me hooked when he showcased at NACA Northern Plains.

Did I mention this guy rocks the kazoo like a mad man? No joke. He’s good at it. Check the youtubes and lend an ear.

And here’s his myspace if you are intrigued and desiring more info.

This to me is astounding. There is so much talent compressed into this select group of former nobodies that it is mind boggling really.

You have to check this out. I have no words to really express my amazement and wonder at this experience. All I can really say is that I am still wearing the bewildered grin on my face and the chills have  yet to go away.

And another thing, you are a SMUCK if you don’t check this out. Trust me on this one.

Here are a couple of my favorites that whoever reads this blog post must check out…NOW….

http://www.youtube.com/symphony

http://www.youtube.com/symphony

I’ve just gotten back from the NACA – National Association of Campus Activities for those who don’t know the acronym – Northern Plains Conference. I love going to this conference.

This is where I refresh and revamp my collection of indie and alt music – from the quasi-country folk to new-blues and the crazy different sounds of rock hanging around.

That and get a ridiculous head cold.

Look for some writings about some of this music. Some you may have heard of, others mayhaps not.

I just heard that apparently Mr. Johnny Depp has been in an episode of Spongebob Square Pants.

This needs to be investigated more. I am intrigued. He is everywhere lately.

I hope every one will think less of me for this, but I am obsessed with that song Poker Face by Lady GaGa. I’m not proud of it. But I cannot help it. This damn song has been stuck in my head  for just about three weeks now.  It’s addictive, and I would rather shoot myself in the foot than admit that. But, alas, here I am.

What is it about this song, and others like it that even if they cause you to shudder – ones where you know every lyric and you find yourself dancing to it - that cause you to have the urge to listen to them repeatedly? Songs where you secretly hope that they will comse on the radio when you tune into a station?

I don’t get it.  

At least I haven’t bought the song on iTunes. Yet.

I have been watching alot of older films on Turner Classic Movies lately – move over Food Network and Bravo, I may have a new favorite channel – and I can’t help but mope over the loss of the leading man of decades ago.

Every man in the movie business was trim and fit – they took care of themselves at all times, staying in fighting form – physically and mentally, no matter how pididdly their role be.

Seeing Burt Lancaster in The Rainmaker when he was in his prime: broad shouldered, tall, walking into the frame with a confidence long lost… I couldn’t help but be drawn in by the image I was seeing. And his voice. Forget about it. I could listen to him read me the phone book and still be smitten with his timbre.

Watching these men delve into their characters as if their livelihoods depend upon every scene filmed is staggering and over whelming sometimes. Paul Newman’s Brick Pollitt, Clark Gable’s Rhett Butler, James Dean’s Jim Stark; these performances still chill me as if it were the first watching them all over again.

Watching Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly dance makes you forget about things for a while. I often find myself slightly swaying in time with the music as I watch Swing Time, wishing I could dance with Fred Astaire like Ginger Roberts did. At random moments, I often find myself whistling the title song to Singing in the Rain - Gene Kelly’s gem combining the best of him, hilarity and great stepping.

I was mulling all this over when I went home for a couple of days. Strangely enough, it was my grandma who could answer this.

“You need to realize Casey, these…men…nowadays don’t give a farting fig about how they look outside a movie. All they care about is the money at the end of the filming tunnel. There may be some, like that George Clooney – now he is a silver fox – who still hold themselves up to the standards that the men from the movies I used to watch in the theaters held themselves up to. But that’s rare. And it’s a sad thing to know.”

Hearing that from my grandma didn’ t reassure me any, but it did make sense. Things are sadly different now in the film industry – so much differnent than they were decades ago, a generation or two ago. How would these men be and act if they were actors now, instead of then? Would it make a difference? Would they still be the way they were, regardless?

Will this be too much? Pirates are big business, there is no doubt. But with the mixed reviews on POTC: At World’s End – some praised it’s crazy Hitchcock-ness story line, while others ranted about the length and tired plot – there is talk about if this possible movie is a franchise’s last-ditch effort to gain all they can from the Pirate craze.

Naturally, there will be Capt. Jack Sparrow – what would a Pirates of the Caribbean movie be with out that Pepe Le Pew, Keith Richards inspired man? It wouldn’t be a movie, that’s what.

And if rumors are correct, the plot will be all his to plunder (sorry, had to. And as a fair warning, there may be a few more horrible Pirate jokes and puns…just saying). Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom have both decided to not return to the movie series. Understandable. But what will a plot be without the key romantically tied couple?

Apparently, this movie will be the continuation of the last bit of film after the credits in the third one: Jack is off to Florida to find his Fountain of Youth. Though right now, this all hear-say since the movie is still in pre-production planning and brainstorming – so it hard to say what exactly the plot will be of. One thing that we can all be sure of – where there is Jack, trouble and the crazy antics caused by it are not too far away.

Oh – Jack Sparrow has a brother. yep. Keith Richard’s fantasticly played pirate is not Jack’s only living family. If the grape-vine is accurate, Russell Brand was originally slated as the brother. But, since this is a Disney produced and funded film, and Brand completely slamming the Jonas Brothers – Disney’s trio of brown haired, squeaky clean adonisis – he’s out of the running.

But. There is always a but. To draw more people than the Forgetting Sarah Marshall star would have in combination with Depp, talks have started to cirlce around Robert Pattinson – yes the Twilight vampire heartthrob – as the replacement for the role.

Hmmm…. I am not entirely sure on this. Can Robert shed his stoic self and become a zany brother to the king of off-beat characters? My jury is still out on this.

Though Mr. Depp has made his interest in reprising his role and taking the wheel of the plot (see, told ya there would be more), ther may be a bit of a conflict if the projected date of 2011 to 2012-ish is to come true. Johnny already has three other pots on the burners: Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, HBO’s TV movie about Pancho Villa, and the next Batman – as the Riddler. If Johnny wants to sleep at all in the next couple of years, something is going to have to give. And, I say this hesitantly and sadly, the only project either not in production or in post-porduction is the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. A Pirates without Johnny? Would there even be one then?

If the murmers of the grape-vine are correct, the juggarnaut Pirates series is not planning on sailing off towards the horizon after a peaceful three-part adventure (had to get one more in). If Disney can pull this off, and make it work as well as the other thre, I am willing to give it a go. But I am still on the fence. If this movie does move into produciton, then I will make my opinions firm. All there is left to do now is wait.