"D" is for "DOCTOR WHO"

Yeah, it was almost Def Leppard.

DOCTOR WHO is more than just science fiction. It's science magic. It's fun, it's nuts and - most importantly - it goes on forever.

Yes, I'm a big proponent of knowing when to call it quits. But the fact that the character can regenerate and change means that the show can, too. It has a chance to recharge, reimagine and reemerge into something new and old and better than before.



Once again, I'm late to the party. I caught the occasional episode as a kid on PBS, the ones that starred that guy who looked like Bob Dylan on the BLONDE ON BLONDE cover (Tom Baker). I didn't realize how good it was.



English nuttiness on a budget, time/dimensional traveling police call boxes and Freema Agyeman - it's magic, all right.

Man, Have I Been Lazy

Forgot to complete the alphabet.

Oh, and need to to by best of 2008.

Man. Sorry.

ABC's of Cool: "H"

'H' is for High Fidelity.

High Fidelity is Nick Hornby's finest novel to date. Thirtysomething Rob finds himself at the end of a longterm relationship. In order to figure out who he is and why it all went wrong, he revisits past ex-girlfriends while trying to win back his last one, Laura.
And it happens to be one my favorite all-time books. Top five, I swear.
It's probably the one book out of my collection that I never keep long. I give them out like Halloween candy.

Also, it was adapted into a pretty good movie, too.

ABC's of Cool: 'T'

"T" is for "Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines"
Argentian poet, Pablo Neruda, wrote some of the best poetry of the 20th century. I write this as a person who typically associates the "poetry" with "bad" and "13 year old overweight Goth girls."
But this one's different.
Judge for yourself and read along with Andy Garcia as he recites the poem.



"Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines"
Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example,'The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.
Through nights like this one I held her in my arms
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me sometimes, and I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.
Her voide. Her bright body. Her inifinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.
Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my sould is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her.

The Smithereens Strike Back!

Look at that. The Smithereens are doing a second all-Beatles cover album.

While they're last album, "Meet The Smithereens" certainly didn't sound like Beatles, it had the right feel.
Covers are tricky. While a band or performer wants to put their own stamp on a song, they certainly shouldn't mimic. The Smithereens were smart enough to invoke the feel of the Fab Four and retain their own distinct Smithereens sound. Here. Give a listen and have a look:



I have high hopes for this one. See you Sept. 2, "B-Sides the Beatles."

And while I'm on the topic of great covers by the Smithereens, here's a gem from the past -- "Time Won't Let Me" from "Timecop." I reckon their manager broke the news like this: "Good news, bad news, boys. Good news, your song's going to be in a movie. Bad news, you're shooting the video with a coked up Jean-Claude Van Damme."

ABC's of Cool: 'B'

'B' is for 'British Spy Movies and TV Shows of the 60's'
Kind of a long one, I know.
But who couldn't love all the creative and cool swinging spyware of the 60's? From "The Avengers" to "Danger Man" (AKA "Secret Agent Man") to "The Saint" to James Bond, Britain exported an unrivaled world of intrigue, wonder and excitement. Eventually, it died down, but not before influencing how the world perceived the intelligence community. And yes, it's partially to blame for "Austin Powers."

Check out the color intro to "The Avengers," starring Patrick MacNee as John Steed and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Emma Peel:

The ABC's of Cool: "A"

'A' is for 'All Things Must Pass'

The triple-LP from George Harrison was his first work after leaving the Beatles. I don't know what sort of creative plug he felt or was imposed upon him while in the Beatles, but whatever it was, his music was poured in to this album. Produced by Phil Spector, the original version of "AMTP" featured the famous title track, "My Sweet Lord", a song co-written by Bob Dylan, and a backing band including Eric Clapton, Jim Keltner, Ringo Starr, Alan White, and members of Yes and Badfinger.

Nothing's left to say about this album except it will change your life, show you what music's about and give you glimpse in the wonderful mind of George Harrison.

Over thirty years later, and we're still talking about this one.