Just Your Standard Prop Bet

I was having a lazy conversation this afternoon with last night's Skillz bubble boy and all-around good guy Riggstad when I randomly mentioned that I was listening to a truly classic album by one of my favourite bands ... U2's Joshua Tree. I made the (somewhat grandiose, but defensible) claim that he coudn't name a better rock album that had been put out since its release on March 9, 1987. Riggs didn't refute my claim directly, but he said that Aerosmith's Pump (1989) was plenty good. Pshaw! I said.

I offered to take Joshua Tree against the field. Riggs hesitated to take the bet, at any stakes, so we need to figure out what the betting line should be, and the top contenders to dethrone the champion.

All opinions welcomed.

NB. It's no coincidence that my first car died but a few days after my Joshua Tree tape got mangled after years of constant use.

Will I be staying in town on the July long weekend?

Mark Knopfler

Jul 03, 2008, 7:30pm: Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver, BC

That pretty much says it all right there.

Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits

Here is a belated goodbye to one of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century:

Bo Diddley

In later years he starred in the famous "Bo Knows" series of Nike ads with Bo Jackson, but I'll remember him best for his superlative rhythm guitar prowess which he used to cross over from blues to rock 'n' roll. He put the rhythm in R&B. He was an innovator who developed the early electric guitar.

I can still hear him vicariously any time I listen to the Rolling Stones, U2 or Bruce Springsteen, just to name three popular musical acts still playing today.

Some Fine Duets

I've long been a huge fan of the incredible guitarist Mark Knopfler, who is best known as the frontman for his band Dire Straits, but who has gone on to an impressive solo career since that group broke up more than a decade ago.

Recently I've been listening to his solo work again and I picked up a truly remarkable album of duets he recorded over the past several years with another phenomenal musician whose profile is lower than her talent warrants, Emmylou Harris (whom I've seen perform live a few years ago during the Lilith Fair tour put on by another of my favourite singers, Sarah McLaughlan).

Check out a sample of these fantastic duets here, and then go buy the album. It's well worth it.