Friday, October 05, 2007

Twin Peaks




I am so excited! FINALLY - the ENTIRE SERIES of Twin Peaks will be available on DVD. I don't know how I missed the first season on DVD (and I was too mad to just buy season two), now I can have it ALL!!!! October 30.

My quest for the rest of the year will be to gather any and all TP memoribilia that I can find....

I used to have the "Secret Diary of Laura Palmer" by Jennifer Lynch, but I lent it to a friend after I read it - and never saw it again. BUMMER. So, I will begin my quest with my next paycheck - I have to do this economically......

SO if any of you run across any TP stuff....let me know! Most of you live in big cities - I am sure there is stuff out there!


And for your enjoyment - Here is the video from Julee Cruise "Falling"


And the original intro to the show!


Enjoy...and keep me posted!

Peace.Love.Live.
JPB

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

I Kicked the Habit

MUSIC FROM THE EDGE: KD LANG

I hesitate to make this public at this time, but I am so proud of my success that I must brag a bit. I am now 7 days free from cigarettes!! Each day gets easier - and I quit COLD TURKEY. I really have no real cravings for the nastiness (though, I admit that the "habit" part is the hardest to deal with.)

So in honor of this accomplishment, I would love to offer two songs from one of my favorite CD's. But a bit of background first:


KD Lang decided in 1996 that she wanted to follow-up her success (with Ingenue '92 and All You Can Eat '95) with a concept CD about smoking. This CD became the amazing work of Drag (double entendre' emphasized). Sire, her label at the time was not happy with Ms. Lang's decision to do a CD of covers, especially covers that had the theme of "smoking." Ms. Lang was not to be deterred, and found a home with sister label Warner Brothers which promoted this concept album to the hilt.

Though the CD failed to bring KD back to the pop singles chart, the CD managed to peak on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #29 (her best outing since 1992's Ingenue which peaked at #18). It would be six years before Ms. Lang would find the critical acclaim for a concept album she was expecting with Drag (THE GRAMMY), alas KD Lang won the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2003 for her "A Wonderful World" CD which featured Tony Bennet.

SO on this special day, I give you two tracks that relate to you my mood on smoking now that I have "kicked the habit!"

My Last Cigarette

My Old Addiction

Please support KD Lang by purchasing her CD DRAG at AMAZON or at Itunes Trust me, it will be well worth the money spent!

Peace.Love.Live.
JPB

Monday, October 01, 2007

Lost in the 80's: Olivia Newton-John



Meeting OLIVIA....she is so wonderful...I could not be a happier man!









I have to make mention of my friend John's famous blog "Lost in the 80's." He finally did me proud (he always does really) by giving Olivia Newton-John her due on his blog by including the great song "Electric" as a sample. Though I could have helped him with the research (surprised he didn't ask.... ), he did a great job with this post. So check him out and give him props. There is no one I know that knows more about the music from this great period in music than John... Totally AWESOME!


As a tribute to his blog post - here is the album cover (front and back) from the Soul Kiss album. As a 15 year old, gay boy in the making - this sealed the deal for my undying devotion to everything Olivia!




The top picture is from the back cover of the Soul Kiss album (taken by the famous Herb Ritts),- Olivia topless with a riding crop!!! It was amazing! While the second picture is the seductive cover for the ill-received Livvy album. Alas, this album wears very well over the years....it is in heavy rotation on my IPod, and is my second most-favorite ONJ album ever.

And not to forget that Olivia Newton-John is making her first appearance on PBS, premiering 10/2 on WLIW21 in NY and on other PBS stations in December, with her new special: "Olivia Newton-John: Live from Sydney"

Olivia has also began taping her new show on the LOGO channel called "Sordid Lives" based on the hugely popular festival film by the same name. 12 episodes have been ordered by LOGO and they are looking for a launch in early 2008.

Olivia also had the honor of being a part of the "Holiday Celebration at Ford's Theater" which will air on ABC in December





Finally, I have to mention that Olivia is still recording AMAZING music. Her current CD is titled "Grace and Gratitude" and was released in 2006 co-written by Amy Sky (who also collaborated with Livvy on the album "Rumor" released in 1988. You can download this CD at Itunes Olivia has also recorded another soon-to-be-released Christmas Album entitled "Christmas Wish"



SO....even though my dear friend John (and all of his infinite wisdom) has suggested that Livvy is in need of a comeback.....she's never really left! I will be posting some new rare tracks that are set to be released sometime soon...so be watching for my Music From the Edge posts....

UPDATE:
Thank you DJPault for your due dilligence in fact checking. You are correct about the photo credits on the front and back covers of the "Soul Kiss" album. The Herb Ritts photo was the inner spread from the album. The CD cover does not include this photo. I was not able to scan the "original" photo - but the 12" remix of Soul Kiss has the inner spread as its cover. So, thank you again for the correction - and for those wanting to see the Herb Ritts photo (which I have framed in my office because its SO HOT) ...here it is!



Peace.Love.Live.
JPB

The Busy Life!

Manic Monday! It has been an amazing two weeks! As most of you may, or may not know, I started a new job today! I am loving it - so different than what I have been doing for so many years! But this is the reason that I have been absent from the blog world as of late. I promise to return to the blogging world soon, I just need to get my bearings while trying to navigate this new job.....

Peace.Love.Live.
JPB