Top 10 Albums of 2008

Bout that time of year again. My favorites of this year listed in no particular order....

1. The Offspring, "Rise & Fall, Rage & Grace"

2. Hayes Carll, "Trouble in Mind"

3. The Fratellis, "Here We Stand"

4. Hank III, "Damn Right, Rebel Proud"

5. Cowboy Mouth, "Fearless"

6. Ludo, "You're Awful, I Love You"

7. Scott Miller & The Commonwealth, "For Crying Out Loud"

8. Shurman, "Waiting for the Sunset"

9. Superuckers, "Get It Together"

10. Theory of a Deadman, "Scars & Souvenirs"

I'd throw in the local boys' releases this year from Ragweed, Mac, and the Stragglers, but I'm biased on those.

Ad agencies missing the point.

So you mean I smoke pot and get this job? Tell me where to sign. Seriously. It says there aren't too many jobs for potheads. Well, looks like all you need is one. And this will do.

New McClure Merch

Fall/Winter Line. Printing them this week. Check out mccluremerch.com to order yours for Christmas. Full zip hoody, regular hoody, and long sleeve tee. Just as good if not better than a lump of coal.

No news is good news.

I don't like news. Cuz when I usually hear any, its bad. On our drive home from work Wednesday, Melisa's check engine light came on. I hate idiot lights. There are a million things that one little shining beacon can mean. So, we take it into the dealership the next morning to have it looked at. Before we left work yesterday, I asked Melisa if she had heard anything about her car. "Yes. Yikes. I'll tell you about it when you pick me up." Great. I pick her up and she says, "Well, two things. They said my catalytic converter is going out. It will cost around $800 to fix." I guess they had asked her if her car was running bad. Bad how? "When you go down the highway, does your car ever cut out or ever feel like you're pulling a trailer?" Uh, no. Its been fine. I think we'll pass on getting it fixed for now. I hate catalytic converters. They started putting those on cars in the mid-70's during the gas crisis. All that emissions bullshit. I'm for cleaner running cars but I'm not fan of sticking something else on a car that it doesn't technically need to run. Its another "something" that can go wrong. I just want to tear it out and run straight pipes on all the cars I get... with a muffler of course.

Now, for the "Number Two" thing. Let me preface this. A month ago, I took our daughter, Averly, to the doctor. She was coughing a lot and generally just not being as happy as she should. We figure its allergies/ ear infection. Well it was sort of. She had an x-ray done then and she had congestion in her left lung. They prescribed her on and anti-biotic for the infection and a steroid for her lungs. Along with a nebulizer so we could do breathing treatments with albuterol we she would be wheezing. Wow, isn't that the stuff asthmatics use? Huh. They said they were going to treat this like pneumonia but it really wasn't. OK? So, for 14 days everything went well and we took her back for her checkup and she got a clean bill of health. Well, two days later, she started coughing again. Melisa scheduled and took Averly to the doctor this time. Another x-ray. She had congestion in her left lung now. and a different anti-biotic and steroid this time. I guess they were saying it is pneumonia now. Now, don't get me wrong. Averly acts like she feels fine. Plays and laughs and we all have a grand old time. She just coughs a lot. She'll wake up maybe a couple times a night having a coughing fit. So, here we are on day three of the new prescriptions. Melisa gets a call yesterday from the doctor's office. Said they were scheduling a sweat chloride test. Did you look at the link yet? See what sticks out? Cystic fucking Fibrosis. The nurse said its just a precautionary measure because the pneumonia came back and switched to the other lung. Recurring Pneumonia they called it. Great. They didn't see any abnormalities in the x-rays and if it was a very big concern we would've been talking to the doctor directly and not the nurse. So, Averly is having this test done at the Children's Center at OU Health Science in OKC. She's not seeing a "specialist" or anything. They're just doing the test. We have no CF in our family history and we both had pneumonia at a early age. Not six months "early" but early enough. And Averly has no other symptoms of CF. But you can still imagine our concern just when those words pop up. Oh, and they better schedule this "test" before the end of the year. We've already met our deductible for this year. Wish us luck.

Pownce... pwned

Got an email this morning saying that as of December 15, 2008, Pownce will basically no loner exist. I didn't use it that much. I posted a file or song every now and then. But I know people who used it a lot. Looks like they were acquired by Six Apart. I've never even heard of them. Oh well, another acquisition of the economy.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. We had fried turkey for the first time. That's the only way to go if you can avoid any fiery mishaps. All survived the initial insertion. My brother-in-law and I got a hall pass on Friday night so we went to go see the Stragglers play at Cain's while our wives stayed home with the kids. First time to see Jason sing since his throat surgery. He sounded great. I know the guys have been anxious to get back on the road. No Road = No Money. Stop by the merch booth next time you see them and pick you up a couple new designs. Guaranteed to satisfy. After the show, we knew some folks headed over to the Mercury Lounge. Yeah, that's just what we needed after we tried to drink Cain's out of alcohol... one more beer and a shot. It was a blast though. Took off back to Owasso and decided to hit IHOP. I guess we were the only two guys awake and a little inebriated in town. Good times were had. Don't get to party much with Rob. That basically rounds up my holiday other than the Pokes getting beat by those cheating Sooners. Going to Fayetteville this weekend to see Red & Carrie. Probably be the last we see them before they have their baby.

The Thanksgiving Post... Everybody else is doing it.

Well, the Holidays are upon us. Friends and families are getting together with cheaper gas prices than we anticipated. That's a pretty cool deal. Up until May 21 of next year this will be Averly's first for everything. So, I'd like to start off being thankful for my baby girl. Who puts a smile on daddy's face every time she sees him... and vice versa. Second, my wife. Who puts up with my shit constantly. Letting me get away with more than I probably should. I know its like having two kids with her. Then, my family. I know that's usually a standard but I extend this to my friends as well. We are all some kind of dysfunctional, quirky, comedic, and talented group of brothers and sisters. I know I wouldn't have gotten where I am today without a little input from everyone I know. Kevin Welch said it best in one of his songs, "Let me introduce to you, my carnival of friends". I'm thankful for my job. I've been at Chris' ten years this year and I still look forward coming to work everyday. And I'm thankful for the music and the artists that make it. The music that let's us let loose on a weekend and the occasional weekday. The music that brings together the friends and hell, even supports my well being. Its been a great year so far. One of the best. I could go on from there but then it will sound like a New Year's blog. So let's just leave it at that. Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels. See you at Cain's Friday night.

The Reckless Sucker Pussy Heat Show

We got to the Diamond Ballroom a little after 7 Saturday night coming from our niece Tatum's birthday party in Owasso. We were full of pizza, pop, and cake ready to go. Met up with Craig inside. His first night out in a while. He was ready to party too. Glad we got there as early as we did. They pushed Reckless Kelly's show up 15 minutes. We were happy to see them in a place with some breathing room. Last time we saw them at the Dog, it was too crowded and uncomfortable for us. Actually got to "listen" to some of their new tunes live.  It was our first time to see them with their new bass player who took Jimmy's place. At first we were all, "who the hell is this guy dancing around on stage?" Until after the show we got to visit with the guys and Cody introduced him as Adam Odor. "Holy shit. THE Adam Odor? You're a lot taller than I imagined." Ran into Monty's mom there too. Hadn't seen her since we had Averly. Got to show her some pics. I can't believe she was out rockin' to Reckless just three weeks after hip surgery. That's awesome. Nashville Pussy was up next. Man, I love them. Dirty, nasty, gritty, rock n roll.... with two hot chicks in the band. I still have a crush on Karen. Intimidation at its finest. After the Pussy show, the Greatest Rock n Roll Band in the World took the stage. And folks, they were just that. The Supersuckers did not disappoint one bit. It was my second time to ever see those guys. That one hour set had me jumping around to all my favs. Glad they closed with "Born with a Tail". One song that makes me raise some hell. Picked up their new cd after the show and Eddie Spaghetti was signing them. I need to learn to not talk to bands when I'm half lit. "Mr. Spaghetti, you're almost there. That was almost a rock n roll show. Wooo!" Yeah dude, here's your cd. Now move along. We stayed for about three songs of the Reverend Horton Heat. I thought I could get into them. I absolutely love rockabilly and the old surfer guitar sound. But they just don't do anything for me. All of their stuff starts to sound like one big song. His geetar sure is purdy though. So we left and stopped off at IHOP taking Craig home. That was a damn good ham melt.

Makes me sick

When artists throw away their talent for the money and fame. I got a copy of Nickelback's newest cd "Dark Horse". I listened to it a couple of time. Doesn't even sound like a band. It sounds like some weird hard pop dj. This band was the shit in songwriting in early 2000. Now they've been absorbed into the machine and have been marketed to a "broader" audience at the sacrifice of their integrity. Maybe they wanted that. I've come to know some of the shit works. Some take the easy road and sign their life away. That's cool. I'm not your fan. It happens on the "country" side too. I absolutely loved the Lost Trailers. Great songwriting, a hell of a performance. Then something happened to them. I guess Ryder took the reigns and ol' Stokes took a back seat. They came out with their single Holler Back. Really guys? Seriously? I listened to their latest cd. Nope. That's not the Lost Trailers I knew. They have been absorbed too. Just keep playing the NASCAR circuit. I'm sure its good money. Then Jack. Jack. Jack. Jack. Where did I go wrong. Why did you leave me. I even tried to tell you, albeit when I was shitfaced, that you changed man. Why? Toby Keith? Stop it. We had a deal. Don't go with that guy. Your songs have turned to pop country shit. There's no edge. You've made it though. Even won awrds and shit. But it wasn't with the music I like. Good job though. I know now if I ever see your show, it's not going to be Jack Fucking Ingram. That makes me sad. Maybe one day we can sit and have another talk. I'll try to stay away from the whisky this time. It's not like I'm against the money and fame deal. Why can't artist's just do it without changing their sound? Look at AC/DC. Shit, they just put out a new album and guess what? It sounds like fucking AC/DC! They haven't change shit in over 30 years! Well, maybe a lead singer, but they kinda had to on that deal. If your sound is good. Just don't fuck with it. Robert Earl Keen hasn't changed. Willie Nelson hasn't changed. Todd Snider, Paul Simon, The Rolling Stones.... shit, I could go on. I'm sure everyone has their reasons and that's cool. I know they're all great people. It just makes me sick. Yeah.

Time to dust this thing off

Let's fire it up again. It's been a year.