Blahg

22 April 2006

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were in town last night at the Fillmore. Their set lasted barely more than an hour. Granted, it was a good hour and Karen O sang/screamed her lungs out. Even so, I expect more than an hour from the main act... even if tickets were only $25... and even if the guitarist, Nick Zinner, was "not feeling well."

The band has a lot of moxie and many of their songs pack oomph, but they still need to work on their interactions with the audience. For the vast majority of the main set, they barely acknowledged the audience even existed. For the encore, though, it was a nice touch when Zinner took pictures of the crowd down in front.

There was also an opening band, Blood on the Walls. They were bloody awful. Perhaps the Yeah Yeah Yeahs go by that old theory, "the worse the opening band looks, the better we look."

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20 April 2006

I have to vent.

After another "newspaper test" in the garage, I have confirmed my 2003 PT Cruiser is STILL leaking oil and other fluids. This comes after having already taken the car in with this same issue THREE TIMES in the past several weeks, with Lithia Chrysler on Arapahoe Road in Englewood, Colorado, keeping my vehicle for a total of FIVE DAYS.

I complained to Chrysler's "Customer Service" department and they don't care.

I am disgusted and I will never, ever buy another Chrysler vehicle, nor will I patronize any other Lithia dealership. They need to make good on this vehicle - it's still under the original warranty, for Pete's sake!

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17 April 2006

Having read - and mostly enjoyed - The Da Vinci Code, I picked up the prequel, Angels & Demons, today. Dan Brown's not the world's greatest writer (having been to the Louvre a couple times in the past few years, I don't recall using a bar of soap in the men's room), but he is entertaining and The Da Vinci Code appealed to my appetite for Indiana Jones-style mysticism and conspiracies.

What the heck was Pocket Books thinking? Anchor Books (a division of Random House) released a very fine mass-market paperback edition of The Da Vinci Code. It's the standard paperback size, nicely flexible in the hands and comfortable to hold.

The new "premium" paperback edition of Angels & Demons is essentially a brick. Like one of those red bricks used in building houses. Sharing virtually identical proportions, it's also heavy, at least for a simple paperback. With a silly page size and layout that contains roughly 50 words to a page (only a mild - and sarcastic - understatement), Pocket has stretched the text out to 713 pages. Topping it off, the oddball design's narrow margins create a nuisance that requires the reader to contort the book into all manner of positions in order to read the inner words.

For its ergonomically hostile attempt at cashing in on the da Vinci craze, Pocket Books (a division of Simon & Schuster) receives the not-so-coveted Golden Pinhead award. In the process, they have contributed to further dismantling the already wayward paperback revolution by slapping on a list price of $9.99. Good grief. At least Target knocked 25% off the top, making it a somewhat less unreasonable $7.49.

Congratulations, Pocket Books. For all the wrong reasons.

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14 April 2006

For years now, my Mattopia.com business card - and the bio page at my site - has carried the tagline "Changing the world one word at a time."

While in NY last week, I stopped by a Starbucks (one of several in Times Square, but the most comfy of the bunch) for a grande capuccino. One of the workers was changing out signs on the shelves and, in the process, knocked one of the signs over, making a spectacular noise. Startled, I turned around, looked up, and saw they were putting up signs for the new Lionsgate movie Akeelah and the Bee. The tagline on one of the signs: "Changing the world one word at a time."

Dammit!! I want a piece of that action!

As a Liongsgate shareholder, I might well have to take a stand on this one.

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9 April 2006

Spotted this on theindyexperience.com, which in turn got it from BusinessWeek Online.

Steven Spielberg says this of Harrison Ford and his ability to play Indy Jones one more time: "Harrison Ford is still strong enough to pull a PT Cruiser on his back."

Hmmm... I might have to call Harrison the next time my PT Cruiser (still under its original warranty) springs a leak. It's been in the shop three times in the past four weeks for an oil leak. The gearheads at Lithia Chrysler (supposedly a 5 Star dealership) say they fixed it for good on Friday. I'll be the judge of that.

"This time" they used a dye in the oil to find the leak. Funny, that's exactly why they kept my car for two whole days the previous time - to use a dye. But they couldn't find the leak. Apparently thinking maybe my car healed itself, they gave it back to me and told me to keep an eye on it.

I put newspaper under the car when I got home. In the morning, a big ol' splotch of oil graced the paper.

So. We'll see if it's really been fixed "this time."

In the meantime, my advice is to avoid Lithia Chrysler on Arapahoe Road in Englewood, Colorado. They don't know their nuts from their bolts.

For that matter, avoid Chrysler altogether. I was far from pleased with how Chrylser HQ handled my complaint. Their advice? To keep working with the dealer and, if need be, go to a different dealer.

That's hardly the way to stand behind the service that is supposed to be guaranteed by that 5 Star designation. And they're clearly not concerned about the possibility of losing a customer for life.

I'll give 'em five stars for incompetence.

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8 April 2006

I think it's pretty amazing Mattopia Jones made it out to Shanghai, China, before The Rolling Stones.

Talk about leaving no stone unturned. Heh heh.

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11 March 2006

Doing some housecleaning on the music page, so I'm moving this stuff over here for posterity...

The Golden Circle: A Stack Ranking of 2005's Best in Music

Best Albums

• 1.0 - Garbage - Bleed Like Me
• 1.5 - Oasis - Don't Believe the Truth
• 2.0 - Gorillaz - Demon Days
• 2.5 - Starsailor - On the Outside
• 3.0 - White Stripes - Get Behind Me Satan
• 4.0 - Bruce Springsteen - Devils and Dust
• 5.0 - Paul McCartney - Chaos and Creation in the Backyard

Best Concerts

• 1.0 - U2 - 12 December - Bobcats Arena, Charlotte
• 1.0 - U2 - 9 August - Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, Spain
• 1.1 - U2 - 20 April - Pepsi Center, Denver
• 1.1 - U2 - 19 December - Rose Garden, Portland
• 1.1 - Paul McCartney - 1 November - Pepsi Center, Denver
• 1.2 - U2 - 5 August - Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann, Nice, France
• 1.3 - U2 - 21 April - Pepsi Center, Denver
• 1.5 - The Rolling Stones - Pepsi Center, Denver
• 2.0 - Depeche Mode - 11 November - Magness Arena, Denver
• 2.1 - Sophie B. Hawkins - 10 September, The Walnut Room, Denver
• 2.2 - Bruce Springsteen - 7 May - Lecture Hall, Denver
• 3.0 - Lenny Kravitz - 11 May - Fillmore, Denver
• 3.3 - Moby - 30 April - Fox Theatre, Boulder
• 3.4 - Liz Phair - 29 October - Gothic Theatre, Denver
• 4.0 - Stereophonics - 31 May - Bluebird, Denver
• 5.0 - Bob Dylan - 28 March - Fillmore, Denver

Best Opening Acts

• 1.0 - The Zutons, opening for U2, Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann
• 1.0 - Keane, opening for U2, Parc des Sports Charles Ehrmann
• 2.0 - Wendy Woo, opening for Sophie B. Hawkins, The Walnut Room
• 2.1 - Cat Martino / Mark Gardener, opening for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Bluebird
• 2.4 - Franz Ferdinand, opening for U2, Estadio Anoeta
• 2.5 - Kaiser Chiefs, opening for U2, Estadio Anoeta
• 3.0 - Merle Haggard, opening for Bob Dylan, Fillmore (Denver)
• 3.5 - Amos Lee, opening for Bob Dylan, Fillmore (Denver)
• 4.0 - Nikka Costa, opening for Lenny Kravitz, Fillmore (Denver)

Songs

• 1.0 - All These Things That I've Done - The Killers
• 1.0 - Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own - U2
• 1.5 - Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz

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8 February 2006

Mr. The Edge, you're welcome.

In a year that's been painfully short of things to smile about, I wanted to give a "shout out" to my four Irish rock star dependents and congratulate them on their Grammy sweep. Seeing them perform is one thing that never fails to make me smile.

Bono's right, by the way. Sometimes you can't make it on your own.

Now then... Here's Mattopia's 2006 Manifesto, a little something concocted over the course of the evening: Because Arcade Fire demand it, Mattopia will adjust. Because Gorillaz do, Mattopia will feel good. Because Sir Macca is an inspiration, Mattopia will never stop doing what it loves. Because Mick says it can't be done, Mattopia will get satisfaction. Because Mary J. Blige would agree, Mattopia will do what it should, without drama. Because Heineken is the official brew of the Grammys, Mattopia will tip back a pint... or two. Because Stevie Wonder sings it so beautifully, Mattopia will find higher ground. Because The Edge is The Edge, Mattopia will get back on that guitar thing. Because Bono leads the way, Mattopia will continue to dream out loud, in high volume. Because my dad wouldn't have it any other way, all of the above will be done.

I suppose I should throw something in there about getting a date in 2006 (you know, the O'Jays... Love Train), but there's no need to get carried away.

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7 January 2006

For my dad, Fred. The Original Honorary Mattopian. 2 April 1926 - 7 January 2006 I miss you, Pa.

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