Ed’s Top Ten Rock Albums of All Time

Here is my Top Ten Rock Albums of All Time list. Well, to be fair it includes nothing before the late 60’s. So here is to Chuck Berry (who is the TRUE king of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and who without there would be no Rock.) Keep in mind this is by no means a definitive list, and the entries are in no particular order. Feel free to comment and or add/correct any information you want. (My definition of rock = classic rock, hard rock, heavy metal, jam bands, progressive rock, alternative, new wave, etc.)

• Phish – A Picture of Nectar

The name of the bar that was Phish’s first official gig – Nectar’s (Burlington, Vt.). The entire album Picture of Nectar is non-stop Phish at their best, with classic songs like – Tweezer, Glide, Stash, Poor Heart, and my personal favorite – The Mango Song.

• Tom Waits – The Early Years vol. 2

Mr. Waits is a musical master, easily a living legend and one of the most influential artists of the last 50 years. The man is having an incredible career (spanning 4 decades and well over 20 albums). I like The Early Years Vol. 2 because it is a somewhat odd collection of Waits ballads, with a lot of actual singing, some of the best singing I think Waits has ever done. My two favorite songs from the album are; Mockingbird and Blue Skies.

• Jimi Hendrix – Live at Winterland

I have said it before and I will say it again; of course Jimi revolutionized electric guitar, but at the heart of Jimi was also a true poet and mystic. To me that’s what makes Jimi, - Jimi. A master artist and visionary, who fused together blues, rock, poetry, soul, spirit and much more. He channeled that energy through his guitar and left us an incredible legacy of music. Live at Winterland gives us what some people call ‘definitive’ versions of some Hendrix songs. It also kind of reveals his desire to move away from hits like “Fire” and “Hey Joe” and into something much more complex and undefinable.

• Grateful Dead – Built to Last

Of course the live performances are at the heart of what the Grateful Dead are, but I like this studio album a lot. The last official studio album release by the group, who by this point in time had been playing well over 30 years together.

• Rush – 2112

I was fortunate enough to see the Rush tour (Kansas City stop) about 12 years ago in which they replayed the entire album from start to finish. I entered the concert just a curious person wanting to enjoy a show. I left completely blown away and a Rush fan for life.

• REM – Fables of the Reconstruction

I like most things they have ever done, and everything they did from 1982 – 1986 (The I.R.S. record label years).

• Tool – Opiate

This album, released in 1992, is already considered a classic by most rock enthusiasts. Tool’s latest album 10,000 Days has a very complex and powerful sound. I like Opiate though because it is so raw and powerful, and an indication of their even more powerful sound yet to come. You can hear the progression of Tool’s sound in the progression of their albums. They only release an album about once every 2-4 years, but when they do you are assured it is a masterpiece. This is them at the start, raw and powerful.

• Neil Young – Prarie Wind

A fairly recent album (2005), it was put together in a very short time before Mr. Young had brain surgery. You can really feel his life flash before his eyes in this work. In my opinion a very beautiful, stoic, and touching album, from who can only be called a true master. The one and only legend Neil Young.

• The Violent Femmes – The Violent Femmes

One of the first albums that I really really liked has a young music listener. I’ve had the fortune to see them live several times and The Femmes never disappoint. They are truly one of the best live rock bands now and for the last 20+ years. There is a clip (from their collection album – Add it Up) where someone introducing them at a show once, says – “You can’t fuck with the Violent Femmes, YOU CANNOT FUCK WITH THIS BAND, they bring all their equipment on the bus.” This relates to the first time I saw them live, which was at an outdoor music fest where people were being stupid and throwing mud at each other and on-stage during some of the performances. When the Violent Femmes stepped on-stage they got like halfway through the first song when Gordon Gano stopped the music and said something like ‘alright If there is one more piece of mud thrown on this stage, we are gonna turn around and walk out and leave. It doesn’t make any difference to us, and if we do leave there’s probably going to be a lot of pissed off people who paid to see us play.’ Not ONE piece of mud was thrown on-stage or even in the crowd the rest of the show, and they were completely awesome. So truly, I am a witness – You Cannot Fuck With The Violent Femmes.

• Smashing Pumpkins – Siamese Dream

Yes, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness is good, but it’s my opinion they start to sound a little too pop in some of the songs in that album and thereafter. Siamese Dream is a pure, smooth, thematic well put-together album that they never replicated.

Ed’s Art Workshop is Now Regularly Updated

Check out the New Work section of my online art Gallery Ed’s Art Workshop. I’ve updated it recently with works never before seen online. And it will be udpated soon with a lot more work never before seen. Click on an image for a larger view and the title, medium, etc. Also if you haven’t seen the slideshows on the site, you should check out those too, complete with soundtrack. It might take a half a second for it to load so be patient. Also coming soon are small works (originals!) that will be for sale. Lastly if you want to exchange links with me, check out the art links.

Ghost Hunters’ Episode – “Ghostly Conversation” Review

Ghost Hunters’ (Wed.’s on Sci-Fi) episode: “Ghostly Conversation”, aired 4/16.
The TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) team Investigating Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire.

Dude…

That’s all I have to say……dude.

Seriously, there are some creeeepy EVP’s (electronic voice phenomena) they found in what is called the ‘Princess Room’. The room once occupied by Carol Stickney, the wife of the Hotel’s builder. The first EVP they played for the client in the reveal, with Tango and Steve in the Princess room sounds kind of muffled. The second one though,……dude…… Jay and Grant are sitting in the Princess room and Jay asks, “Princess are you here?” and in perfect response to Jay’s voice you hear a woman say, (in some kind of accent, I can’t quite name) – “hello is there someone there?” like she wasn’t expecting a question and was interrupted but now you had her attention…… Then Jay says, “Princess can you at least let us know you’re in here?” and again the same voice says “of course I’m in here where are you?”

Totally creepy, you really need to hear it to get the full effect. I’ve watched all of Ghost Hunters’ episodes and this is by far the best EVP they’ve found. This image of a woman flashed across my mind and chills ran down my spine. You get a sense of another-world, another-time, like everything is normal from her perspective and they’re disturbing her. Like she’s the one hearing voices and ghosts, not the other way around. Total goose bumps. It’s just like in that movie The Others with Nicole Kidman, (spoiler) when she figures out that they are the ones that are dead. Great episode.

A Look Into Ed’s Sketchbook: Man and Night Sky

Here’s another entry in my sketchbook, (just finished) this is about 8 x 11″ and done in pencil, pen and ink. You can see some numbers and words, just some playing around I’m doing with letters and numbers has visual elements, not necessarily with a direct meaning. In the picture there is this kind of recurring sun design that i do, but it’s a night sky…… “Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself; (I am large—I contain multitudes.)” – Walt Whitman. Comments welcome

Man and Night Sky, pencil, pen & ink. By Ed Tajchman

Finally Found A Good Sitemap Generator

Okay, I am writing this post because I have finally found something that should of been much easier to find – a sitemap  generator that makes reliable XML and HTML sitemaps. The one I found that is actually easy, quick, reliable, and completely free is: XML-sitemaps.com. I first started learning HTML when I used Microsoft’s Frontpage. After discovering the bulky code it produced I switched to the easy and free NVU/Kompozer. Both have WYSIWYG (What You See is What You Get) and source code interfaces, so that I could design while learning HTML at the same time. I just figured out the proper format to write an XML sitemap in (not that hard, but for a big site could be laborious) when I found XML-Sitemaps.com through the search engine info.com/.

Mario Chalmers Makes Insane 3-pointer to Tie, Kansas Beats Memphis in Overtime

This is to all you Memphis fans, all you North Carolina fans, even all you Davidson Fans and the media who adore you so much, to every analyst and every person who picked Kansas to Lose – HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

I just came from Massachusetts street in Lawrence, Kansas. Where people were handing me free beer, strangers were hugging each other, people packed the streets, climbing buildings & cars, screaming their faces off, participating in complete drunken insanity. Wearing my blue, red, and yellow (Jayhawk colors of course) superman shirt, girls rubbed the logo on my chest and told me thanks superman. This is the life people – everyone going crazy with joy and lined up for blocks! Celebrate Good Times, OH YEAH! OH YEAH!! (As soon as I learn how to upload pictures from my phone I’ll post some).

In your face Memphis – YOU SUCK! And everyone who picked Kansas to lose sucks too…. HAHAHAHAH!!!! (Good game Memphis. It’s just that I got irritated at Derrick Rose, who yesterday sounded so overconfident it was completely disrespectful to Kansas. That’s what happens when you don’t take your opponent seriously, – you lose.) Go and cry and realize how wrong you were.

We did it the hard way, coming back from 9 down with 2 minutes to go, the tying shot coming from Mario Chalmers, (aka – Iceman). He nailed a 3 point fade-away jump-shot while surrounded by Memphis players (including Rose) at the end of regulation to tie the game. KU dominated in overtime and we win! We got to that point by taking out three of the best players in college; Stephen Curry, Tyler Hansbrough, and Derrick Rose. (And by the way I though it was real Classy of Roy Williams to show up wearing a KU sticker. No one should have any bad feelings left for Roy, let’s respect the man.)

I was standing up in my seat in my booth at the Jackpot Bar, screaming my head off with everyone else, with my fists shaking in the air in victory. (The video below is from a fan at Allen Field House). Wow, one of the most fun experiences of my life. Chalmers is now a KU legend, Bill Self is the MAN, and this was one of the greatest moments in Lawrence history. YES! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS KU JAYHAWKS!!!

Abuoh Vision, Art by Ed Tajchman

This is one of my many works of art that has never been posted before online. Done a number of years ago it’s a companion to the work Houba Vision. Clicking on the image will take you to where a larger version can be seen at my online gallery: Ed’s Art Workshop, in the ‘New Work’ section. I know it says it was made in 2003 but I’m just catching up organizing my large collection of unpublished art, therefore it’s new to the world and goes in the new works section. The piece is marker on foamcore board about 24 x 30″.

Abuoh Vision, by Ed Tajchman, 2003.

Rant of the Day: Get Over Yourselves!

Allow me to step up on my soapbox here and deliver a litte rant about a pet peeve of mine. One thing that bugs me is pretentious people. One characteristic of pretentious people is the inability to accept the return of constructive criticism, especially after they themselves pass judgment. If there is one thing I am it is honest, and if someone can’t deal with that, then that is their problem.

As an artist and a writer I am constantly putting myself out there and dealing with the reaction. ANY reaction is a good one in my book; thinking I’m insane, completely disagreeing with me, agreeing with me, a point by point debate, anything that gets a conversation going or a dialog of open non-judgmental thought. What’s missing from that equation though sometimes is respect. I’ve met lots of people who yes, believe it or not, can engage in a serious debate while remaining polite and respectfully listening and responding to another’s ideas.

Pretentious people have a habit of blindly following their narrow field of vision and their narrow outlook on life. Anything that falls outside of that view, they immediately dismiss and label it lesser than themselves, rather than actually trying to understand it. I have more respect for a person that honestly disagrees with me and engages in a conversation why, then someone who is blindly polite, a kiss ass, or fake. Oh, fake people are the worst, I sometimes dislike the way my mom is so direct with people, but I respect her for being honest and open. Anyways, that’s my rant of the day, feel free to sound off yourself and completely disagree with me!

Kansas Destroys North Carolina 84 – 66!

We totally owned their ass for 30 minutes of this game. WOW, in all your faces, ROOOOOOCK CHALK JAAAAAAAAYHAWKS! We win 84 – 66, It’s 1988 all over again, (the last year we won the NCAA championship). Earlier, Roy Williams talking about KU’s defense vs. North Carolina’s transition game said – ‘we can win in the sixties, but we like it better when we win in the 80’s.’ Well how about this Roy – North Carolina LOSING in the 60’s!

We let our insanely dominating performance slip a little bit at the end of the first half and for the first 10 minutes of the second half. But Kansas finished this game the way they started it – in total DOMINATION of the Tarheels. Tyler who? was he that Hansborough guy – the one on the floor the whole game? lol…. In your face Roy Williams, time to wipe that smug look off of your face. You went down in an almost humiliating defeat. I guess that makes us even coach, no more boos from KU fans we promise.

No one saw that coming – the totally dominating, shot blocking, ball stealing, alley-ooping, 3-point hitting, Harlem Globetrotter-style circus, that Kansas reigned down upon North Carolina at the start of this game. We saw a little bit of that at the end too. North Carolina scored a season low 27 in the first half, made it interesting with their own bit of dominating in the second half, but they just ran out of gas. Kansas wins 84 – 66, see you on Monday night Memphis!

5 indispensable Completely Free Programs:

These programs I use almost on a daily basis, all of them are completely free and if you haven’t used them, you should check them out.

AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition – In my book the best free anti-virus software on the web. One of the most widely used and trusted programs for computer protection.

Advanced Windows Care Personal Edition – By far the best registry cleaner I’ve ever used. Simple to use and very efficient, it cleans up and deletes old unused files and has a lot of other tools also. But those are the two I use the most.

Paint.net – A very useful image editing program that offers many of the same features Adobe Photoshop uses, and has what I consider a more intuitive interface.

NVU/Kompozer – (Kompozer is the unofficial bug-fix for NVU.) The best free WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) web-authoring software out there, hands down. It has a source code option and a very easy to use WYSIWYG interface that creates fairly clean HTML code.

iTunes – Like Apple needs any more publicity, right? But this is easily the best media organizer/player out there, free or not. Much better then Windows Media Player, iTunes is almost flawless.