So who’s doing what this next week?

Big New Year’s Show plans?

Going to Family Groove Company in Dundee, IL, this Wednesday?

Leave some comments, Merry Christmas everyone.

Thought I’d put up a picture and a few tunes to celebrate today, the 4th of July, The United States’ Independence Day. I’ve found a few tunes that I think sum up today, and even one for the picture above. Everybody have a great day off, grill some food, drink some beer, mess around with fireworks or go see some pro’s do it, and maybe stop a second to take it all in and why we celebrate. Happy 4th everyone. Also, the tracks below labeled Team America are from the puppet comedy from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the same guys who made South Park and Baseketball. Make sure to check out the lyrics as well as the movie, the potty humor can be extreme, but is set off by the fact that they’re puppets and a lot of the jokes actually take a little intelligence. Ok, maybe not, but they’re good.

Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young - Find The Cost Of Freedom. From their 1974 album, So Far.

Team America - Freedom Isn’t Free. Thirty years later, Team America answers the question posed by CSNY long before.  As it turns out, freedom costs a Buck-Oh-Five. Get the lyrics.

Team America - America, Fuck Yeah. Get the lyrics.

The Guess Who - American Woman. Oddly enough, this was the first Canadian rock song to hit #1 in the American Music Charts which in turn put The Guess Who on the Canadian Charts. (Source: Wikipedia).

Wilco - Ashes Of American Flags. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Demos version, this was the earlier circulated version not on the final release. Find more information here.

Dave Matthews and Friends - American Tune. Cover of the Paul Simon tune, done on December 16th, 2003, at the Fleet Center, in Boston, MA. The show also featured Trey Anastasio throughout and appearances by Emmy Lou Harris, the show’s opener. You can download the whole show for free here at Nugs.net. Also check out the review at GlideMagazine.com.

Also, to those of you who expected anything by Bruce, sorry, I just wasn’t in the mood.

Nothing too long here today, just a couple tracks I know I enjoy, and to say Happy Father’s Day both to mine and all of you father’s out there. The picture above happens to be my favorite picture of my father and I, skiing in Winter Park, CO, a few years ago. It’s on the very tip of the summit of the park’s tallest mountain, called Mary Jane if I recall correctly. It made for some amusing shirts at the gift shop (like “I got high on Mary Jane,” “Ride Mary Jane,” etc.). That, of course, has nothing to do with why I like the picture.

Dave Katz & Ed McGee (of Ekoostik Hookah) - Cat’s In The Cradle. I know my Dad happens to be a Cat Stevens fan, and while the content of this first song is rather sad, if not tragic, it’s still a good one. I’ve chosen to feature a cover of “Cat’s In The Cradle” by some members of the band Ekoostik Hookah. You can see the whole show they played the track at here. The song is actually by Sandy and Harry Chapin, but was pretty much made famous by Cat Stevens’ cover.

Cat Stevens - Father And Son. The second song is another Stevens tune, this time his original studio version. One look at the lyrics will tell you a lot about this song, yet you’ll have to listen to really capture what Stevens seems to be sending to the listener.

Johnny Cash - Daddy Sang Bass. The last song is a little cheerier, it’s a Johnny Cash tune that doesn’t involve any shootings, drug addictions, or jail time. Hard to believe it’s really him, huh? It’s a good representation of those little things every kid seems to remember pleasantly about their father during childhood, regardless of how good or bad of a father he was the rest of the time. If you’re one of the people who can empathize with the first two tracks, hopefully this one might strike home with you, as well.

Any other particular tracks stick out to any of you?

First off, let’s not stereotype. Stoners and hippies are two different breeds. However, the current state of affairs seems to be that the two spend all their time together getting people confused about which is which. I’m not here to make that distinction, I’ll just throw out a few Sensible Drug Policy links and a couple MP3’s. For those of you that don’t understand why this post is up, head over to Snopes.com to learn about what pothead’s refer to as 420, and how it applies to today, April, 20th. They’ve got the goods on what’s true and what’s not.

Note: Let me say, right here and right now, that I support initiatives such as NORML, the ACLU’s stance on drug policy, and SSDP. That does not make me a stoner, it means I happen to be an open-minded person regarding Marijuana Prohibition and the misguided war on drugs. That said, enjoy the music and links.

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Snopes.com uncovers the facts on the term “420″

CannabisNews.com has an interesting, if not neutral, article about today.

Now for the music, some of my favorite pot-related songs:

Peter Tosh - Legalize It

Sublime - Smoke Two Joints

Bob Marley - Kaya

Bob Dylan - Rainy Day Women No’s 12 and 35 (aka Everybody Must Get Stoned)

Brewer and Shipley - One Toke Over The Line

Boston - Smokin’

New Riders Of The Purple Sage - Panama Red (live 1977-12-07)

John Prine - Illegal Smile

JJ Cale - Days Go By

Yonder Mountain String Band - Two Hits And The Joint Turned Brown (Live 10-31-2005 Urbana)

Enjoy everyone, and if you’re the type to celebrate today, do it safe. I don’t want any readers becomin’ no statistics today. Got that?

Happy VDay to all of you. This was a floral arrangement I made for someone for Valentine’s Day 2005. I’m pretty proud of it, I’m also good with wine bottles. Look forward to some sweet Smilin’ Singles later on in the afternoon, and maybe more. Until then go back and enjoy Sunday and Monday’s fine offerings, ok?

Other People Who Wish You The Finest Of Valentine’s Days:

You Ain’t No Picasso.

Music For Kids Who Can’t Read Good.

Gorilla vs. Bear.

Good Weather For Airstrikes.

Aziz Ansari Is Bored.

Cameron Deyhle.

Clever Titles Are So Last Summer.

i guess i’m floating.

Marathon Packs.

Product Shop NYC.

Mocking Music.

What Would Jesus Blog?.

Enjoy.