My Thoughts on Magni, a Recently Released Album by Magni Asgiersson

I find this newly released compilation of material The Iceman, Magni Asgiersson, has offered on ITunes to be a lovely introspective piece. It feels and sounds like a body of work created by a man going through big changes in his life. There is a melancholy tone, an overall feeling full of longing and regret. A story that unfolds rather like a non-visual cinematic piece, yet musically woven to draw the listener into his world, into his heart and mind. The music reads like a love story from a man to one special woman, yet through life paths they remain star-crossed lovers, doomed by the restrictions of this world, this life to remain apart.
Read more here:Music Review: Magni Asgiersson - Magni


Magni Asgierrson releases his new album via ITunes. A haunting body of work that will invade your senses.

PaoloNutini Comes to Dallas House of Blues This Week

He's a darling guy, like his sound.

Magni, "When the Time Comes"

Gorgeous.

Time for a Zach Sandwich

Time out from the Taylor Hicks talk, time in for Zachary Levi. True, this has nothing to do with music, I'm just taking a break to catch a "Heroes" sandwich.

Boys just gotta have fun.

Check out this interview with Zach Levi (and his killer smile) on the set of "Chuck".

"Poofed" I have been censored.

Ok, I just got 'poofed' from a site I've recently raved about. "Why?", one might inquire. I'll tell you why. I deviated from topic. Topic at hand was this nutty, running along the lines of batshit crazy blog posting from this poor chick - obviously no one took the crackpipe juice away from her at the 'right time or place'. Storyline of The Author has the Lord interfering and assigning said hero of the story, (the description is spot on for our blog subject and noted Soulman) to marry the heroine of the (no, that's not heroin, as in the opiate, for any of you illiterates trying to decipher my ramblings) sad little religiously inspired tale. Anyhoo, this gal's subject matter of her story is named...are you ready? Tyler Nicks. (Ring any distant and perhaps tinny bells?) Here, I'll hold the barf bag for you.

I discovered this chick, last night, off of MFOYA, a.k.a., the Dark-Side as 'some' might say in hushed voices. Tonight my erstwhile pals at tfhzone were discussing this gal and her body of work. I interceded with a rather merlot laden, yet somewhat witty little tale (to me anyway) of a fantasy of mine involving Zachary Levi of NBC's "Chuck" and "poof" went my post. You see, This Week and perhaps longer if he plays his cards right, Zachary Levi is my Fantasy Man. I think it's the pen holder in his character's shirt pocket that does all kinds of naughty to my mind. Or his eyes. I'll get back on that.

I am writing about this because it felt like the old days when I'd piss off Mods on the A.I. Boards. One moment I'd be happily writing away, making myself laugh out loud and frightening the dog - then - right after hitting 'post'- "poof". I really don't take well to being poofed but hey man, I'll live on. I was getting bored with the current discussion on tfhzone that the few of us were having... OK they were having I was reading, so I thought I'd attempt to liven it up and break into a new vein. We could have all - OK there were only 3 of us. Think of it, all three of us could have been poised to fall into a typed out meandering of fantasy and possibly sexually innuendoed mayhem. But this wasn't to be, no, I was "poofed". I think it was my phrase about Zach 'giving it to me in my entryway'. I believe that was misconstrued. I meant... Oh hell I know what I meant. ;)

Shut to up anyone thinking that he's a bit younger than I - after all our birthdays just two days a part! And years - we are not counting the years - man that's just numbers, don't jack with me about numbers, I know numbers. It's my fantasy, hell, at least I'm not calling him Thackery Bevi.

Yep. Censored. Go I.

Amendment: I was reinstated, not Poofed. My bad. They still love me; all is good in this Sunny world I live within. (Now if Zackary would just ring that doorbell...)

"Good Love is on the Way" video

I was reviewing some Mayer youtubes and found this one taken a while back in Huntsville, Alabama. Great sound and quality, one of my favorite Mayer tunes. Love the guitar. Man, you can feel the Dickey Betts influence.


"Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"

Bo Bice's New 'Widget'

This is an effective means to showcase new music as well as interviews. Check Bo out here for more on his "See The Light" CD.

Now where's Taylor Hicks'version?

It's About Time - Magni Releases His Album

Magni finally has released his long-promised album, you can find it on iTunes. Rather than the mild disappointment I felt upon listening to Taylor Hicks' "freshman" (from an Idol standpoint) CD, I am ecstatic over Magni's "freshman" offering from the Rock Star Supernova experience. I can't yet write anything that would sound comprehensive nor verging on rational intelligence since - at this moment - I'm completely, ridiculously, fangirly over the man's CD and that great voice. I'm excited he's got this piece of work completed and on the market. Excited doesn't seem the right emotion, but for now will do. I will let the CD settle within, mull it over, listen to it many more times, then present a fitting story regarding my enjoyment of this Gorgeous Man's voice and talent.

I'm just saying right now, check him out. You think you like good music and raw, underestimated talent - you will love and adore this Gorgeous Man. I know I do. Go now, listen to Magni - I can't stop.

Taylor Hicks' "Happier With Him" video

Taylor Hicks sings, "Happier With Him" bringing the soul back.

(video by skeeter226)
Taylor looks absolutely gorgeous - great sound;The Soulman in fine form.

This video by zurich343 has a closer viewpoint, but lacking in the sound department.


Man, groove on Soulman.

John Mayer's Voice Today

I - on a whim convoluted from the Patriots stealing the game today from the Cowboys - decided to check out John Mayer's blog. Haven't been there in a little while - was actually losing interest in what John had to say since much of it over the past several months was not worth my eye-ball time.

This though is... (copied from his blog posted tonight)

THE EVOLUTION WILL BE TELEVISED
It's been a long time since the days of my playing small acoustic club dates, and though I'm more than happy (and extremely lucky) to be where I am these days, one thing I've missed is the creative spirit of working without a net. Some of my best songs were written because I had a show nearing and needed more original songs to take the place of covers. It was creation by way of necessity.

It's been my stance for years that I don't want to work out new songs on stage for fear of them getting out in their raw form. I've always believed that in music, the first impression is the most lasting, and I wanted to have the say as to when a song would be heard and in what incarnation.

I'm ready to change that stance now. I've realized that there's a new level of access into my life, one that I accept as a by-product of both lifestyle and technology. And if there's going to remain such a large window into my life off-stage, I feel like I need to open the window to my music equally as wide. I am still as devoted to music as I've ever been, and I won't let anything redefine that against my will.

I'm going to return to that firefight, taking small late night gigs around New York City and Los Angeles, writing songs and playing them when they're still fresh. The date of the gig is my self-imposed finish line and I will play a new song with each set I perform.

Lat night I played a set at Mercury Lounge, where I tested a new song called "Let a Man Be Lost", and it was amazing to be back in that place of staring at my feet to read lyrics that I wrote that afternoon.

One of the side-effects of this process is that these works-in-progress will probably be available to you in one way or another. It's your decision to listen to them if you like but it's my decision to rework them, strip them down to just their title and re-write from the ground up, or just burn them down completely, never to play them again.

I'm also ready to accept the fact that some people will try and read into the lyrics and make gossip out of them, but I can't worry about that. Trying to avoid that would be the worst thing for my songwriting. I won't let the success I've had make me comfortable, or the media exposure make me fearful of expressing myself.

Stand-up comedians like Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld have it right. They get to the top with their act, only to deconstruct it and start from scratch in a brick basement. That's the only way I can see staying vital as a musician; picking fights with all the hundreds of excuses that curb creativity.
"Neon"

This is how I love Johnny.
Man, I may be back to loving this guy.

My Quest for Truth, Justice and Taylor Hicks

I happened upon a site on-line a short time ago that I thought might be an answer to my longing to find a group of folks to share real, direct, toss-out-the-Kool-aide, Taylor Hicks news and views. A quest to discover a real place to discuss Taylor, a place to discuss music in general, a place to occasionally enjoy a little harmless snark and speculation about the man I came to admire on American Idol.

In my web wanderings I came upon this site, TFHzone. I enjoyed the initial feel of the site, direct and honest. But one thing leads to another and the site has been slowly morphing, curtailing the blunt honesty and open discussions. I noticed vibe beginning to change when a topic was deleted that focused on on-line writers.

This discussion evolved into a critiquing and an expression of opinions for a relatively new product being formed called "Modern Whomp Magazine". Apparently the young woman who is developing this magazine, Claudia Oakenfull, threatened the owner/operator of TFHzone.com with legal harm should they continue to use their First Amendment privileges. Considering that Ms. Oakenfull is now a self-made editor and self-proclaimed writer she should be ashamed to take such action. It should be looked at as Ms. Oakenfull stepping on and violating TFHzone's rights to freedom of expression. Seems to me, reading the Constitutional law, perhaps Ms. Oakenfull may be the one in violation and subject to legal pursuit for her very threats. Afterall, isn't it a writer's right for self-expression? Is this still America or have we decided to opt for laws governing Russia, with censorship celebrated. Honestly, that is what Ms. Oakenfull is perpetuating, censorship and stifling of another's freedom of expression. It smacks of hypocrisy and violation of the writer's code.

What would happen if you wrote a letter to an editor of your local newspaper saying your thought his last article to be ridiculous or poorly researched and then had lawyers at your door citing you for libel? It wouldn't happen and couldn't happen because no law was broken.

Slander defined: A type of defamation. Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community. Because slander is a tort (a civil wrong), the injured person can bring a lawsuit against the person who made the false statement. If the statement is made via broadcast media -- for example, over the radio or on TV -- it is considered libel, rather than slander, because the statement has the potential to reach a very wide audience.

Okay, reading that definition, Ms. Oakenfull could not cite slander since all statements regarding her numerous run-on sentences were true. Any English or Literature professor upon reading Ms. Oakenfull's material would agree.

So let's look at libel, another nasty little legalese term that possibly could be viewed:

Libel: noun
A false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person.
or:
A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation.

Pay careful attention to the key wording in all this; FALSE. Nothing was said that wasn't true about Ms. Oakenfull. Even some good advice provided to enable writing improvements. I have to say I like the look of her website, it's very attractive and she plays some good old Taylor Hicks tunes. I admire the enterpreneurial spirit; thing is, she's not a gifted writer. Obviously she doesn't want to be informed of that fact, nor does she take criticism well. Reporters and writers need a thick skin, should she be the author of much of the publication, she better develop an elephant hide.

Sadly the TFHzone site has modified even further from this point with numerous topics taken down, deleted. I have no idea why. I keep visiting and reading because I have enjoyed my time there. On a search for more Hicks' news and views I came across a site I kept reading about call MFOYA. I wondered what the fuss was about and satisfied my quest this week and discovered Making Fun of Your Ass. Focus of this group seems to be mainly in debunking the Taylor Hicks' rumored romance with Caroline Lyders and I must say, MFOYA makes a tenaciously compelling argument. She is like a pitbull on this topic (yet I see no lawsuits emerging from any court).

I especially enjoyed the topic posted called Doogie H. Douchebag and Company targeted towards one previously thought of Taylor Hicks confidant and expert. It was entertaining to read all the posts. Regarding the subject of the post - I had extended a hand in friendship toward this individual during the early months of Taylor's Idol quest. I had the first fanblog and he the first website. We e.mailed once when I warned him about the first t-shirt he was marketing on the site. The shirt featured an outline of Taylor Hicks. I extended a warning that he may have to stop with the shirt. Indeed, almost immediately after I contacted him, he was told to take it down. I went through a similar situation with Bo Bice during season 4 so I had some experience in marketing likenesses and Idol - it ain't gonna happen. After that he pretty much ignored me, I never understood why.

Bottom line, it's a good site to check out and visit.

Finally finishing up this posting with some local Taylor Hicks news. Taylor is scheduled to revisit Dallas after the first of the year. Read here: Taylor Hicks visits Greenhill School. "...Students, parents, and faculty will get the chance to enjoy American Idol's 2006 winner, Taylor Hicks, at their yearly Greenhill Gala. This year's event is titled "Heart and Soul" and will feature catering, a live auction, and a dance floor to move your feet and shake your... well whatever you got to shake." It's for a good cause, proceeds from the Gala will go to the Greenhill Endowment for Financial Aid.

First Hicks promotes lake property in Alabama, now the Greenhill School.