Middle Aged Dads React to Classic Albums!

At-Home Concerts - Bill Janovitz - Virtual Happy Hours

There are a few bands that seem to have been with me most of my life. Like Green Day and Weezer, Buffalo Tom have been producing new material since my days in university. Sure, they’ve slowed down a bit, and their songs aren’t popping up in angsty teen dramas like they used to, but their soulful, guitar-driven alt-rock remains a staple on my Spotify playlist.

Lead singer Bill Janovitz, who has never lacked solo performances, was among the first musicians to stream live acoustic shows following the worldwide lockdown in mid-March. On March 21st, he performed 19 songs (!) in his basement with only a guitar, a piano and a harmonica. Bill isn’t just about his music these days though. Each of his Virtual Happy Hours began with his wife and adult daughter discussing the week, while Bill shows us how to mix one of a variety of martinis. Soon enough, he retreats to the basement studio and we settle in for a couple of hours.

These performances were quite literally the only firmly scheduled things I had in my life during the early weeks of the pandemic. With quarantine in full-force and everything else on-demand, these concerts provided just a little bit of normalcy in a world that was quickly unravelling.

http://billjanovitz.com/blog/

Song - White Reaper - Might be Right

White Reaper burst onto the alt-rock charts in the early days of 2020 with this tune. This Kentucky-based traditional rock band has been a welcome addition to a scene dominated by synth-driven nostalgia and folksy hipster jingles.

Might be Right follows a tried-and-true tradition in rock; balancing heavy lyrics (this one about a friend’s drug use) and catchy guitar hooks. Alternative rock stations have resisted adding such songs to their rotation in recent years, especially when those songs are by acts that aren’t already established. Sure, Coldplay, Weezer, Foo Fighters and the like will always have a place on the alt-rock airwaves but when a band like White Reaper not only gets airplay but reaches all the way to #1 on the Billboard Alternative Chart, it proves rock and roll isn’t quite dead yet.

TV Show - Evil (CBS)

Network television, for the most part, has split into three core genres over the years. Turning on traditional cable TV isn’t something a lot of us do anymore, but if you happen to, you’ll find your fill of procedurals, soapy dramas and reality shows. When CBS announced “Evil” as a new show for the 2019/20 season, the initial write-up was standard enough. It described a team of investigators, employed by the Catholic Church, examining strange happenings in and around New York City, and for those looking for exactly that, early episodes didn’t disappoint.

It’s the 12th episode though, which aired on Jan. 16th, that turned this show on its ear and in the words of TVLine.com “Evil Became a Whole New Show With That Bats--t Final Scene”. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say the trope of TV characters sitting opposite their therapist will have a lot to live up to going forward.

Evil is a show that is unique on network television. It feels familiar, in that it began with a “case-of-the-week”, but quickly moved into something new. For the viewer, answers are given quickly, but these revelations open up larger mysteries. It's the rare show that I have trouble predicting the outcome of and I have no idea what “Evil” has up its sleeve next.