Perfect.

No matter how broke I am or how desperate things may seem, I always have an extra two dollars to give to a homeless dude with originality.

While helping him light his cigarette, I also noticed he had vintage Smashing Pumpkins blaring from the headphones around his neck that were connected to his cassette Walkman. Double points awarded for exemplary taste in music and a truly retro personal audio device.

Excellent.

"Nothing comes close to the Golden Coast..."

Katy Perry's new single, "California Gurls."



Out-of-the-park amazing. I'm betting this is going to be a huge hit this summer and I'm not surprised they released it 3 months before the record is supposed to drop in August.

Take a listen here and then - with a straight face - try and tell me it's not the catchiest 4 minutes of music you've heard all year.

Fair play to Snoop Dogg, as well. I'm fairly certain that R.E.M. had pure intentions when they featured the mighty KRS-One on "Radio Song" 20 years ago (making it okay for just about anyone to do it), but it's still rare for the "Yo-Yo-Yo! Cameo" to do anything other than seem out of place or overpowering. Usually the collaboration is at the record label's behest, and 9 times out of 10 it's to bolster an otherwise weak composition and/or curry favor with a youth culture that is so starved for good music it wouldn't know a good tune if it backhanded them. In this case, not only does Snoop and his contribution serve the song, it actually enhances it; because it wasn't necessary in the first place and it's a great section.

Because there's so many producers involved it's difficult to predict whether or not Teenage Dream will have a cohesive feel, but if this track's any indication of the vibe then I'm sold. "California Gurls" is just slathered in Grade-A influences from the late-70's/early-80's: Prince, early Madonna, Morris Day & The Time, Shalamar, Kool & The Gang, Earth Wind & Fire...the list is endless. Any musician worth his or her salt who was born before the Reagan administration will agree that the song sounds like it could have easily been cut at Paisley Park Studios with Rick James at the mixing desk.

The best part is that an entire generation of kids who weren't even born when "September" or "Raspberry Beret" were a staple of FM radio are going to fall in love with those songs without even knowing it. It's quite possibly the most productive example of musical subversion I've heard in a very long time.

Katy gets points for being one of the few standout artists who also happen to write great songs and she's obviously got impeccable taste in rap; she loses points for using more than a half-dozen producers on her new record. Possibly that lack of good judgment is also why she's not only guilty of dating Russell Brand, but accepting his marriage proposal. As we all know, writing great songs doesn't keep you from making lousy romantic choices. I'm just as guilty.



Regardless, the new single is brilliant. I have a feeling I'll have it on perpetual repeat until at least after Memorial Day.

A "Rainbow In The Dark," indeed....

Sad, sad day for rock and roll. Ronnie James Dio finally succumbed to stomach cancer at 67. Here's Wendy Dio's official statement.

I saw Dio years ago on his Magicka Tour and I think the thing that pushed me over the edge to get tickets was not just because Dio absolutely rules, but because Yngwie Malmsteen was opening up and I just had to see that Cabbage Patch Doll-looking fucker do his shtick live. It was at the Worcester Palladium, one of the last places in the Commonwealth Of Massachusetts that you can go and see a ridiculously over-the-top metal show.

Yngwie was what I expected - laughably bombastic, bloated physicially and metaphorically, doing his best to make sure that when you look up "musical masturbation" in the dictionary it says "see Yngwie Malmsteen." In other words, he didn't disappoint in the slightest.

Dio was also what I expected - a kickass metal show. They played a handful of tunes off their latest record and stuffed as many hits into the rest of the set. Ronnie crouched and leered around the stage, aping theatrically and doing his best to visually interpret the lyrics with every gesture. You haven't lived until you've seen Ronnie James Dio perform "Holy Diver" live...visually or sonically. In other words, he didn't disappoint in the slightest.

A radio deejay friend of mine - Dave Lawrence - interviewed Ronnie several times and corroborated the unanimous impression he left on fans and industry people as one of the most genuinely nice guys in rock and roll. He basically made the devil horns we now see at every concert (regardless of genre) cool, and gave new fuel to a legion of Devil Music Preachers. For both of these things - to say nothing of his unbelievable musical legacy - I am eternally grateful and totally bummed it's officially come to an end.

Why God, why? Why take Ronnie but leave us Chad Kroeger? Why is it okay for Nickelback to continue but Heaven & Hell to stop? I know, I know...Your ways are not our ways....

RIP, RJD

New music: the ultimate bumout-blocker.

Dig it - Measure's posted a couple of great new tunes to sweeten the sound of life on earth. Hit up their Myspace page and watch yourself continuously hitting "Play" long after you're supposed to be back at work.

Not sure what medium I'll be using to entertain you next, but regardless of which project comes to fruition I'm fairly certain I'll be working "I Wanna Know" & "Make You Love Me" into it somehow.

I don't know how these guys keep writing songs better than their last. Laura & David are two of the most gifted artists I've ever played with or whose music I've had the pleasure of scripting television to. Talk about healthy competition...it's enough to make a guy come out of retirement and start writing songs again.

OFFICIAL PRESS STATEMENT re: INTO THE DRINK

Hi, gang:


A ton of you have reached out to me looking for a response to recent events so out of respect to so much concern and support, I’m finally breaking my silence. I’ll try to keep it brief, but you know me – I’ve never been brief about anything. I don’t even wear briefs.

Sometime around 7:30 last Thursday night my mom was kind enough to forward me the oh-so- delightful “Lowdown” she received as a faithful member of the Liquidassets.tv mailing list. I hadn’t seen it yet. Quite frankly, it was only a little over 6 hours earlier that I had been fired as host of Into The Drink, a show I was given the very unique, 12-episode pleasure of writing, directing and hosting.


I’ve had better Thursdays.




I can certainly understand why a lot of you would come away from last week’s formal statement with more questions than answers:

“LiquidAssets.tv, producers of "Into the Drink," has announced that after careful television market research and industry analysis, it has decided to appoint Nick Lucey as the new host of the dive travel television show for Season Two.”

I don’t know if this is true or not. All I can say with certainty is that this information was never brought to my attention. Maybe “industry analysis” did indicate that a show airing in 65 million homes across the United States and in several major foreign markets required a complete stylistic overhaul, a veritable reconstructive surgery of scripting, directing and on-camera talent.
Regardless, I don’t think it warrants debate - ultimately the fate of Into The Drink rest in the hands of the people it always should have: the viewing public.

I won't put on a macho facade for you; anyone who's seen the show knows that wouldn't fit quite right on me, anyway. The truth is I am deeply hurt by both the way it went down and the fact that a few decided for many that it had to go down at all. Creatively, Into The Drink was my baby. I wrote it, directed it, hosted it, even meticulously picked the majority of the music for it. To have that taken away from me – just as I felt I was personally reaching a point where I could deliver an even higher standard of programming to you – is a real bummer. I’m not angry; just sad.

There is no merit in pointing fingers or casting aspersions; we all fall short of the Glory. The remaining crew have my absolute blessing as they forge ahead without me. I wish all of them luck in their endeavors, whether it be with Into The Drink or any other projects they choose to undertake. Each of the Liquidassets.tv crew brought to the table an essential set of skills the others did not have and worked tirelessly with those skills to bring Into The Drink to the millions of homes it is now currently airing in. They all equally deserve the opportunity to reap what they've individually and collectively sown and I would never stand in the way of that.

Bands, sports teams and TV shows regularly adapt smoothly to changes in the lineup. We all know I’m not deficient in the ego department but I’m not so vain as to think that Into The Drink can’t go on to become a global sensation either in spite or because of my removal from the equation. I’m hoping it goes off like gangbusters, because the world needs this show. It’s also
highly plausible that the world needs this show with a host that is less of a smartass. Although I have to admit…that was my favorite part of the job.



When I look back over the last two years of working on Into The Drink, I feel an intense amount of gratitude. God has blessed me with every desire of my heart and I have been to places and seen things that, in many cases, I didn’t even know existed. I have been transformed by the experience. I’ve come out a different person than I went in, and in the best way possible. I’ve
realized more dreams in a year than most people do in a lifetime. Professionally, this has been the most rewarding experience of my life. To look back in regret simply because my shift is over would be ungrateful. Then my folks would give me an earful about being ungrateful, and I’d just as soon avoid that altogether. It’s been a rough week as it is, you know?

I want to thank all of you, and I mean that sincerely. I have met hundreds of people over the course of shooting this initial season and whether we spent 30 seconds together in an airport or weeks living next to each other on an island in the middle of the ocean, each and every one of you has left me with something. Each of you have, in your own unique and special way, helped to mold and shape me into the man I am today. That man walks boldy into the next chapter of his life and for that I cannot express my appreciation enough. You have afforded me a great life.

That any person would believe in my talent enough to give me a single cent of their hard-earned money or a second of their very valuable time is touching in a way that I will never be able to fully articulate. There are moments when I think about it that I swear my heart is going to burst. The love and support that you have all shown me both during my tenure as host of Into The Drink has been overwhelming. I used to think that all I owed you was my best effort; now I realize I owe you that and a big, warm hug.

It’s Good Friday. The day better than any other to reflect on how lucky we are to be afforded the gift of Grace. For me, it’s also a solemn reminder of what it is I am truly defined by.

My 7-year old earns his Orange Belt in karate next Saturday. He also has a girlfriend who, apparently, is a great kisser. Suffice it to say joy is manifesting itself in areas of my life I was neither expecting nor could have imagined would come so soon. I have no reason to believe it won’t continue in more ways than I can comprehend.




I love you all. Thank you for being my friend.



With a grateful heart,





-Aaron

It's all good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11