I vacillate between this song being #2 and #3. Today, it falls in the third slot. My favorite version of this is actually the live version that was released in his 1975-85 Box Set.
Browsing Posts published in March, 2010
Boomtown Rats – I Don't Like Mondays
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Based on a true story.
This was a seminal song in my formation. The song was featured in the movie of the same title that was released the week I began my senior year of high school. The themes in the movie of friendship and growing older were ones that would resonate with my nostalgic 17 year old self.
If you have never listened to this Canadian country-rock band then you are truly missing out. The album that features this song, Five Days in July, is a great place to start.
* This Review is from a free copy*
Daniel Gallagher is a former Boston police officer. After an exit from the force he ends up as a private investigator doing the obligatory adultery stakeouts.
At the same time two doctors who 20 years before were part of a real estate investment to build a medical plaza are gunned down within a couple of weeks of each other. Gallagher is commissioned by the first doctors widow to get to the bottom of the case.
What follows is a story that extends from Boston to Washington DC to Las Vegas in a blend of political suspense and whodunit.
This is a highly readable debut from O’Donnell that, although short on story line, will keep the reader turning the pages.
Runaway Dream: Born to Run and Bruce Springsteen’s American Vision by Louis Masure–This is a fine love letter to Springsteen’s defining disk. I had read much of this before but it was the most exhaustive take on this particular album I have come across. However, I am a bigger fan of Darkness on the Edge of Town.
The Preacher and the Politician: Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama, and Race in America by Clarence E. Walker and Gregory D. Smithers–The problem with much of the backlash surrounding Barack Obama’s membership at Trinity and his relationship with Reverend Wright during the 2008 presidential campaign was a failure to place Wright’s comments and sermons within the context of the black church in specific and race relations in general. The authors do a masterful job of providing the context for Wright and lay to rest the notion that we are a postracial nation. To make claims to that effect, they argue, dismisses the legitimate concerns of minorities. Obama’s eloquent address on race is included in this thorough and scholarly look at race in America.
The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian–Bohjalian has written a highly nuanced tale of suspense. Eight years ago, as a college sophomore, Laurel Easterbrook was almost raped and murdered on a deserted Vermont biking trail. Years later she is working for a homeless shelter and still bears the scars of that near miss. When she is tasked with going through the photographs of a recently passed client she realized that he was quite the talented photographer. However, there is much more to the story than just interesting photos. As Laurel traces his story she finds that there are some who will keep her from finding out the truth.
The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #4) by Rick Riordan –This is probably my least favorite of the four that I have read but it is still fun reading.
One of the finest break-up songs you will here. This performance has a quicker pace than the recorded version.
Nobody picks like Mark Knopfler and this is his finest song.
*I received this book as a free review copy.*
It is always evident when an author has fun writing a book. It is obvious in Nan Becklean’s debut that she writes with a great amount of love and investment in her story. As a result, you find yourself dragged in.
In a not so distant world the average life expectancy has about doubled. The impact that has on the United States economy and resources is nearly catastrophic. Enter the Heaven program which allows 85 year olds to enter and enjoy the last 10 years of their lives in luxury before mandatory disposal. In the midst of that scenario Becklean weaves romance, longing, redemption and even a bit of a murder mystery.
Becklean has done an admirable job of creating an engrossing story that at the same time takes American excess and the potential danger that it entails to task. Not the best book you will come across but not the worst either.
Frank Schaeffer knows fundamentalism. As the son of Francis Schaeffer he lived in the reactionary, judgmental excesses that is extreme Calvinism. He recounted his break from the religious right in his controversial 2007 memoir Crazy For God.
Now he returns with a look at the dangers of the twin extremes of fundamentalist Christianity and the militant intolerance of the new atheists. Schaeffer skewers both sides brilliantly and although he sometimes pushes the snark factor a little too far he knows from which he speaks. Although pointed he is fair. While he strongly highlights the speciousness of Dawkins (comparing him to Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap is a particular highlight) and the caricature that is Hitchins he holds respect for Dennet who refuses to veer into the same realm of disdain. On the other extreme he points out the consumer Christianity of Warren alongside the bizarreness of Lahaye and Jenkins.
In the second part he lays out the real heart of the gospel. This is no middle ground but is instead a third way, the way that Jesus mapped out. It is the way of love. Highly recommended.
