Radio Misadventures of DJ Turtle 11-11-08

As some of you know, your humble turtle has turned over a new leaf and became a DJ Tru3Style Radio. I decided today I would post my playlist and take comments from the gallery.


7:05 PM Caroline's Spine Soldier Song
7:10 PM Radford Long Way Down
7:15 PM Matt Nathanson Car Crash
7:20 PM The Verve Pipe Colorful
Breaking Benjamin Unknown Soldier
7:25 PM Evans Blue Kiss The Flag
7:30 PM Senses Fail Family Tradition
~Tru3StyleRadio~ Listener Controlled Tunes
7:35 PM The Wallflowers One Headlight
7:40 PM Nixons Drama Queen
7:45 PM The Exies A Modern Way Of Living With The Truth
~Tru3StyleRadio~ No Responsibility Request
7:50 PM Fuel Bad Day
Fair To Midland Walls Of Jericho
7:55 PM ~Tru3StyleRadio~ Pink Panther
Fosterchild Independence Day
8:00 PM The Hourly Radio Deaf Ears
~Tru3StyleRadio~ Listener Controlled Tunes
Babyface Tender Lover
8:10 PM Anberlin Never Take Friendship Personal
~Tru3StyleRadio~ Station Nation
Finch What It Is To Burn
8:15 PM Pop Evil Stepping Stone
8:20 PM Third Eye Blind Non-Dairy Creamer
8:25 PM Jet Black Stare The River
8:30 PM No Address Love At Your Momentum
8:35 PM Arlo Guthrie When a Soldier Makes It Home
~Tru3StyleRadio~ Listener Controlled Tunes
8:40 PM Soundgarden Fell on Black Days
8:45 PM Counting Crows St. Robinson In His Cadillac Dream
8:50 PM Blue October Sound Of Pulling Heaven Down
8:55 PM Better Than Ezra Misunderstood
9:00 PMRev Theory Broken Bones

Fried twinkies and fried coke balls for everybody....

Well it's that week again. The week each year when your college football addicted turtle shifts his focus to the state fair of Texas. Yes it's time for the annual Red River Shootout. Thankfully this year neither team fell victim to the look ahead trap so the two are both undefeated and still relevant in the college football title picture. I'm hoping for a great game and a Sooner victory of course.

Over the rest of the week I'll talk about the matchup as well as look to other games of import to me this week but I mainly wanted to break my disturbing blog hiatus.

Song lyric of the day
I've been inside my shell
I just came out to wish you well
And if I just explode
Would anybody notice me?

Radford -- Long Way Down

Upcoming Music List (after the turtle's defense and re-location hiatus)

I am creating this post to help me remember key dates and upcoming music albums and release dates. I ask my readership to help me keep tabs on such things and add to this as needed.

The list so far:

• August 19th: Black Stone Cherry -- Folklore and Superstition
• September 9th: People in Planes -- Beyond the Horizon
• July 15th: O.A.R. -- All Sides
• August 5th: Taproot -- Our Long Road Home
• August 5th: Goo Goo Dolls -- Greatest Hits Vol II: B-Sides and Rarities
• August 19th: Staind -- The Illusion of Progress
• August 19th: Toadies -- No Deliverance
• September 23rd: Ra -- The Black Sun
• October 28th: Breaking Benjamin -- TBD
• September 30th: Anberlin -- New Surrender
• Late 2008: Third Eye Blind -- Ursa Major
• March 2009: Default -- Still Standing
• 2008 TBA: July for Kings -- Revival
• March 2009 Blue October -- Approaching Normal
• October 2008 Snow Patrol -- A Hundred Million Suns

On this Memorial Day Weekend....

Remember (Saving Grace)
By Aaron J Coyner

She woke up that Monday morning
As her dad readied the boat
She looked up at the calendar
Memorial Day the note
And her mind it started racing
Through the history she read
Heroes that she never met
Now flashing in her head

The family party had to wait
For Grace to be at peace
She sat down with some paper
To aid memories' release
A girl of only 12 years old
Her heart in the right place
Bring the reason for the holiday
Into its proper space

And so Grace begins to write
Thoughts her family never knew
Each word pure and heartfelt
Ringing absolutely true…
Dear Hero, you don't know me
I'm just another name
But from my heart I thank you
For saving me the same

In class we learned of freedom
Of the rights that we should know
But in the same breath our teacher lashed out
At where you all must go
While on the news they scream and shout
Gleefully report the dead
They seem to have forgotten
That their freedom's on your head

But while the talking puppets babble
I would like for you to see
That the children and the real people
Pray for you thankfully
Please dear unknown soldier
Take these words to heart
We pray for your safe travels
Through lands war tears apart

And those that came before
That helped to pave the way
We pay them our deepest gratitude
Though words we cannot say
So my soldier hero
Though you don't even have a name
Please accept our thanks and blessings
For we love you all the same

Grace put down her pen
After signing what she'd wrote
She grabbed her hand-scribed letter
And went out to the boat
She then asked that her father
Tape the letter near the wheel
Because Memorial Day is hollow
Without remembering the heroes real

Thanks my friends for reading..... I hope you did enjoy.

Draft Day 2008

Merely a parody song in honor of draft. Thanks to the Texas-based band iSOLA for the tune "Sam" on which it's based.

Hello, it's time to draft again
And I wish my team would finally win
Hello... hello

Hello it's time to draft again
And I wish my team would finally win
Hello.... hello

There is no point in trading up
Give away parts we've put together
The is no point in stars resigning
If there is no chance of the team's getting better

There is no point in trading up
Give away parts we've put together
The is no point in stars resigning
If there is no chance of the team's getting better

Hello it's time to draft again
And I wish my team would finally win
Hello.... hello

Hello it's time to draft again
And I wish my team would finally win
Hello.... hello

Is there a chance on this draft night
A running back to make us better?
A consistent force on key 3rd downs
Or capping off 6 points whenever

Is there a chance on this draft night
A running back to make us better?
A consistent force on key 3rd downs
Or capping off 6 points whenever

Hello it's time to draft again
And I wish my team would finally win
Hello.... hello

Theory's Scars and Souvenirs reasonably memorable

Often overshadowed by their Canadian rock brethen and friends in Nickelback. Theory of a Deadman has put out two solid albums previously and began to pick up notoriety when the single "Hello, Lonely (Walk Away From This)" picked up significant US radio time. Building on that success, Theory released its third Album, Scars and Souvenirs, on April 1, 2008.

Of the 13 tracks on Scars, only 2 in my opinion are hit or miss in general. The rest form a solid musical core for my listening pleasure. Starting with the criticisms I have, "Crutch" seems a little forced as an up-tempo rocker that breaks up a solid flow between "Not Meant to Be", "All or Nothing" and "Heaven (Little By Little)". The later track "Wait For Me" seems like a weak ballad by the standards of Theory's prior efforts. While I enjoy the lead single "So Happy", I'm not convinced it's a great choice as an album opener. Not sure to be honest which song I would use but it seems like "So Happy" might need a buildup.

The previous criticism aside, "So Happy" is a solid musical effort that's easy to like and understandably serves as a good single for radio. "By the Way", the second track which contains the title lyrics for the album, might be my favorite track. The lyrics tell a typical rock song story of a broken relationship and dealing with the day a girlfriend leaves for the last time but it attacks this cliched story with some vivid imagery not necessarily common in such a song ("The dust on floor piled up from the years of those scars and souvenirs. Now that you're gone it's easy to see.") "Got it Made is a fun, solid up-tempo track which brightens the mood after the somewhat dreary leadoff tracks. "Not Meant to Be", "All or Nothing", and "Heaven (Little By Little)" seem to be this album's equivalents to the "Santa Monica", "Say Goodbye", "Hello Lonely" complex from Gasoline though there are element of all three in each song so it's not a direct parallel. "Bad Girlfriend" is driving rock song about a stripper. We've seen this before though to be honest I have to give Tyler credit for fashioning a quality song around the opening lyric "My girlfriend's a dick magnet". The song in general reminds me of an edgier version of Nickelback's "Next Contestant". Next is the anthem for the disenchanted known as "Hate My Life." Maybe because I live it a little but that song's a lot of fun.

The last block of the album might be weaker on balance than the first 9 tracks but "Little Smirk" is a solid rocking relationship vengeance song. "End of the Summer" is decent but doesn't distinguish itself as more than a solid album track. I do enjoy the closing track "Sacrifice" which to an extent brings me back to the mid 90s with kinda a seattle-esque flare in the beginning. "Sacrifice" does make a solid album closer as it seems the Tyler comes to grips with closure and strives to move on.

All in all Scars and Souvenirs is a solid effort which is destined to remain on the playlist for some time to come.

8.25 out of 10

Thanks for reading..... now off to work.

Song Lyric of the Day
"I hate all of the hobos
Always begging for change
I don't like how I gotta work
And they just sit around and get paid"
Theory of a Deadman -- "Hate My Life"