Butch Walker in Chicago Set List, redux

Bibi is still processing the kick-ass show last night!

As you can see, feeling kind of shell-shocked by the whole incredible experience.  Butch did wow me--and the entire crowd!  Feeling a bit blue, thinking that now Bibi will have to wait for the tour Butch alluded to, maybe beginning in February of the new year.  At least, that will be when the album will come out.  Bibi has a tough time with waiting patiently for anything and now that she's realized the dream of seeing Butch live, well really, it will feel like an interminable sit in the bus station before she sees Butch again. 

Working on the set list; here's most of it:

ATL
Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car
Going Back Going Home
Pretty Melody
Dublin Crow
The Closest Thing
The Weight of Her
She Likes Hairbands
Race Cars and Goth Rock
Synthesizers (YES--he played mandolin!!!)
Summer of '89
3 Kids in Brooklyn
Sucker Punch

It was all Bibi could do to write halfway legibly--the paws, the paws--in the dark, too, jumping around, the drinks, singing, etc.  So will continue to work on this.  Amazingly, for Bibi, my opinion of some of the cuts increased dramatically upon hearing the selections live.  He also included a couple of new songs, sounded promising for the whole album.  (I know I left a couple of songs out--didn't get to write them down, but will get back to y'all with those.)  Butch is such a story teller.  A good amount of the joy engendered during the show IS Butch telling the back stories on the songs--such an endearing quality he has!  Funny, funny, funny, too!

Will say that Butch talked up his guitar ability, which is outstanding.  Will discuss this aspect of his presentation later/again.  He was truly impressive.  Hope to hear/enjoy this aspect of his talents even more on the upcoming tour.

BTW--although I tell everyone that Butch is NOT just another pretty face, DAMN, he was hot!  Not just Bibi--a huge number of us were swooning.  Couldn't get enough of looking at him.  And, of course, listening to him.

Love you, Butch!  Thanks again for bringing Bibi to Chicago!

Butch Walker ROCKS Chicago

He came, he sang, he conquered! 

Butch fucking Walker RULES!

Bibi is really tired--all that pent up emotion is out now--Bibi feels a bit like a deflated plush toy.  Don't know where that description came from, don't read too much into it.  A lot of that now-lacking energy Bibi had before the show at the Red Door was expended while jumping up and down, singing at full throttle, screaming on command (yeah, Butch can make his audience do anything), totally immersed in the talent, the beautiful, fabulous, glorious voice, and rockin' guitar work  Butch brought to his adoring fans tonight.  Part of Bibi's fatigue is probably due to finally taking a breath after a whirlwind visit to a greatly interesting and varied, beautiful city, as well.   But, clearly, most of this energy crash is due to finally getting to see Butch live, up close, in person.  Too sleepy now to rave on and on, in detail, WITH pictures, but Bibi promises, as soon as she gets settled back home, she will reveal all.

THANKS, Butch!  You were FANTASTIC!

Chicago, Chicago, while waiting for Butch Walker

A lot of the readers don't know, but Bibi is a total geek sometimes.  Sure, she's cool when it comes to music--here she is in Chicago just to see Butch Walker--the coolest, rocking-est musician currently working--and she's really got it going on with so many other facets of life, but put her in a new city with world class all-kinds-of-places and where does she go?  Well, in Chicago, she went straight from the hotel to the Frank Lloyd Wright prairie house exemplar, the Robie House, on the University of Chicago campus. 

Luckily, the guy in the museum shop let Bibi join the last tour group, already overbooked and in progress.  The docent (Mary) was very knowledgeable and Bibi had a quite enjoyable wallow in architecture culture.  That FLW was something.  But, it's Bibi and although it was getting dark, the field trip was definitely just beginning.  What else could she explore, discover, tour while on the campus of one of the premier American univerisities?  She wasn't sure how to get there, but persisted and found the nearby Oriental Institute and Museum, also on the U Chicago campus.  What a hidden treasure!  No set admission, $10 recommended and if you didn't have any cash, go ahead and enter anyway.  So what is this place, you ask?  I didn't get to really spend the time it merited, but it's all about Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Egyptians--what a collection!  Totally impressive, the colossal statues, the low key, accessible, down-homey way everthing was presented.  Loved it!  Here's their webpage:  http://oi.uchicago.edu/museum/  Be sure to check it out!  Here are a few photos:

Mesopotamian Lion

Egyptian cat mask (for a cat mummy)

Colossal statue of Tutankhamen

BTW--the new phone takes pretty good pictures, huh? 

So far, the trip has gone so smoothly, it's like "is this really a trip Bibi is taking?"  Paws crossed that it stays this way.  Just passing time waiting for Sunday night--doesn't seem possible that it's almost here!  Finally, Butch Walker LIVE, IN PERSON, ON STAGE !!! Fan question:  is Butch already in Chicago?  Think about it: Butch Walker in the same city as Bibi!!  Hope we get to hear some cuts from the new album and really hope there's going to be a tour in support of it.  Bibi on the road again (sigh, in a good way, though).

For now, plan to hit more of the sights tomorrow, including the (probably) overwhelming Art Institute of Chicago--omg, finally get to savor Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte--and (maybe) the Magnificent Mile.  While I'm a very resourceful kitty, when the directions begin with, go north (south, east, west, doesn't matter), I sort of glaze over and it gets really iffy on whether or not I'll get to my anticipated destination.  Managed it tonight coming back from the Oriental Museum, but it was a bit surprizing.  Of course, it doesn't matter as long as I get to the show on Sunday, so it could be like some of my other trips--might not get to see the original objective, but often get to see/experience some really off the beaten track places.

And this time, I owe it all to Butch Walker.  Wouldn't even be in Chicago except for Butch's show, so THANKS, Butch!

See you really soon!

Butch Walker: Set List for December 30 and 31

Butch tweeted today that he was rehearsing the set list for the upcoming shows!!!!  Bon Scott scream here!  Such welcome, highly anticipated news!   Completely unsolicited, here are my suggestions:

Bodegas and Blood
Sweethearts--still think a duet with a lucky fan would be a great idea and huge crowd pleaser
Summer of '89
Synthesizers
Closest Thing
Sucker Punched
Maybe It's Just Me
Don't Move
Canyons
Hot Girls in Good Moods
Bethamphetamine
Ships in a Bottle
The Weight of Her
Ponce de Leon Ave.
Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car
She Likes Hair Bands
Say It Isn't So
Even the Losers

Not sure how long the show will be, one constraint limiting the number of songs to make the cut. However, AC/DC's set list was 18 songs, including the two encores and my more astute readers may note, the list above has 18 suggestions.  And, no, didn't include some of Butch's standards, like The Best Thing You Never Had, Joan, 3 Kids from Brooklyn, Pretty Melody.  Hope some of the new album will be heard and that would also cut down possibilities from my suggestions. We will see, but hope a good number of these make it.  Paws crossed!

The winter holidays for a university employee are such that it's tough to remember what day it is. Trying to stay current, though, since I leave for Chicago on Friday.  (another Bon Scott scream here!)  In some ways, though, there's a regularity to the daily activities.  Early in the holidays, breakfast at the House of Pies one day was enriched by T, the assistant manager, coming by to let me know he's really been enjoying the Butch Walker Mixtape II.2 that Bibi gave him a couple of weeks ago.  Makes a fan's work all worth it to hear those words.

Once Sarita got here on the 23rd, the holiday craziness faded into the background, where it belonged, and the holidays truly began for Bibi.  Bibi evinces a cynical, seen-it-all façade, 

but is actually a sentimental mess, especially with the Neartown events so recent.  Have even been unexpectedly indulgent toward families with rowdy children in restaurants!  Christmas Eve at Raul's and Christmas Day at Nana's were really enjoyable with all the kids around.  Nana's was particularly memorable--we played a few rounds of Loteria.  Bibi came out the big winner in the last round--so surprizing!

 Lots of fun and the kids were a big part of it, all the kids from age 4 to 85!  Hope your Christmas was a great one!

Butch Walker: Say It Isn't So and Drinking With Strangers in Paris

As the faithful know, Bibi LOVES Live From Daryl's House, Episode 54.  Episode 54



It brought about a seismic change in Bibi's already full life, introducing her to the great, the wonderful Butch Walker.  My favorite cut from that show is Say It Isn't So. Posted this so many times, here it is again.

 Once Bibi heard this, life changed!

I know set lists for performances are set in stone in advance of shows--at least that's how AC/DC and Bruce do it--but SO hope Butch will include it on December 30. 

Just so you get an even better taste of Episode 54, here's one of Bibi's other faves, Bodegas and Blood. 

Butch n Daryl's band rock it!

Of course, every song Butch does on the show is also one of my favorites:  Sweethearts, Mixtape, Closest Thing, Why Was It So Easy...so, there it is.  You may ask, what was the reason for this post?  While Bibi is not prepared to go into the existential why of blog posts at this time, today, the reason is that I had a chance to talk Butch up to someone who immediately got on the web to look Butch up!!!  So exciting when you get through to someone!!  Once I'd talked to D for awhile, thought, why don't I listen to Say It Isn't So and once I did that, well, slippery slope. Had to watch the other songs, too.  As a special treat (Bibi loves cat treats and this clip is a really great treat for you) here's the opening of Episode 54.  How Bibi met Butch the first time!!!!!!  You get a feel for Butch the person, what's important to him as an artist, a shortened form of what you would read in his book, Drinking With Strangers.  A very good read!  Plan to re-read it before the trip.  Why doesn't the book have an index?  Needs one.  AC/DC's Maximum Rock & Roll has one, although it could be better.

Introducing: Butch Walker


If you began reading these posts after my AC/DC phase, you (regrettably) don't know that during slow times within AC/DC's last tour, Bibi would fill in the gaps by blogging about individual AC/DC albums, songs, why they were great and should be in the rock pantheon of all time.  Wondered if I might do that about Butch Walker's music before December 30.  It's almost here (Bon Scott scream!) and even though Christmas is already exciting, knowing that I'll get to see Butch so soon, well, the excitement around Bibi is just palpable.  Feel like there's a slight buzz in the air around me, the sky is bluer, the air crisper.  Or maybe it's the cold front that came in last night, hard to distinguish.  Tough to concentrate on the day-to-day since I have the Chicago guidebook and see that the few days Bibi has up there are too short to fit everything in. 

Just so you know:  there will be no time for "hoping to spot Butch somewhere in Chicago" as occurred in Paris with AC/DC.  Bibi did enjoy meeting the fans outside AC/DC's hotel and Bibi was richly rewarded for sitting around in the bar, since I got to talk to Brian and Cliff--such sweeties--but really, Paris deserved more of Bibi out and about instead of hanging in a really expensive bar.  I read in one of Butch's tweets about an elite, pricey bar in Nashville.  Ha, ha, ha.  What a bunch of fiscal lightweights!  If they thought that place was rich for their (financial) blood, they would never be able to drink in Paris. 

Oh, and btw, the Ernest Hemingway house was sold this year to private owners. 

Bibi is checking now to see if visits are still allowed.  It could work out that I'll only get to take a picture of the residence and maybe think of a way to bring a dirt sample back to the ex.  Bit of a family story:  the ex always wanted to visit Graceland; Elvis was his hero.  The only time his family went to Memphis, though, Graceland was closed for the day.  So, the ex gathered some dirt from the property and kept it for years.  That is now lost to the ages, so I thought I would bring some dirt back from the Hemingway (also one of his heroes) house for him.  Bibi's thoughtful like that.

We'll see.

Butch Walker and Catching Up for the Holidays

Just heard from an old friend across campus; she asked Bibi what she had been doing lately.  In the recent past, anyone who asked Bibi about her life, they got a version of this:

In August I discovered a singer/songwriter/musician, Butch Walker and now blog about him, talk about him on fb, going to see his show in Chicago on December 30--in the same neighborhood as the largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the US and the birthplace, boyhood home of Ernest Hemingway. If it hadn't been for Butch Walker, Bibi would never have gotten a chance to do this!!! 

Here’s a recent picture of Butch, although, really, he’s not just a pretty face:

Fabulous, beautiful voice, talented musician, successful record producer (Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Avril Lavigne, Pink (his close friend), Gin Wigmore—Butch co-wrote A Man Like That with her, now the video for Heineken/the new Bond movie, Taylor Swift). I know, I know:  recognize these names, but have never listened to their music and realize I probably won't get to them.  (In a previous post, I alluded to Bibi's very full daily schedule.)

He’s all over the web, in a very good way; an excellent showcase for him is Live From Daryl’s House, episode 54. He sings a few songs from his latest album (The Spade) with Daryl Hall (yes, from Hall and Oates). AND, he sings Say It Isn't So with Daryl--a version that is SO beautiful, SO Butch, and yet, such a great collaboration with Daryl.  Well.  This is where I first saw Butch and fell completely in love, totally enthralled, besotted, beguiled.  Also, if you want to see his videos, try the YouTube video for Mixtape, Here Comes the…, Summer of ’89, Synthesizers (two versions—one on the David Letterman show (excellent) and the YouTube video with Matthew McConaughey (Butch is the bartender).  I've put together a few mixtape cds of Butch's stuff from four of his albums:  The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites, Letters, Sycamore Meadows, and The Spade, so let me know if you want one.  Each album has a different feel and sound to it: amazing!  He rocks, he croons, and all in between, he can do it all, believe me! 

I usually end with some personalized questions--how's it going for you at work,  how are the kids, how about those___ (fill in the name of the person's football/baseball/soccer team preference, as appropriate).
Since they know me, it doesn't throw them off, really, but I guess they do wonder how Bibi does it all.  lol

This usually fires Bibi up about Butch, how great his music is, etc.  And it worked again this time.  Think I'll take a few moments and watch Say It Isn't So. 

Thanks, Butch!  See you in two weeks!

Butch Walker: December 30, Double Door in Chicago

Bibi is just quivering in antici-----pation about the upcoming show!  Think about it: only 2 weeks and I FINALLY will get to see Butch Walker in person, on stage, total fan heaven!  Sure, have to get through the pre-Christmas craziness (for Bibi, the shopping is DONE, c'est fini, over with, finished, nada mas, forget about it, anybody else gets a lotto ticket, period), the Christmas tree is almost a work of art, but it's a work of art in progress until December 24 when SARITA GETS HERE!!!!  This year's tree is huge--at least 2 1/2 feet taller than last year.  It's kind of funny.  Putting the same number of ornaments on the tree as I usually do and the tree looks pretty full, so I wonder how I managed to put all those ornaments on a much smaller tree in the past.  Picking up around the house also a WIP, including updating the curtains in the dining room and my room.  Should go smoothly enough (tip to readers to help you transcend and actually enjoy these necessary, but sometimes tiresome holiday tasks:  listen to Butch Walker music for the relaxing and life enhancing Butch Walker Ameliorative Effect to work its magic.  Has worked for me several times in the recent past, don't see why it won't be a major positive factor now.)  Dentist visit on Wednesday, commencement on Friday and a Winter Solstice party with Stitch n Bitch crowd, visit Jimmy on Saturday--the wreath is ready and I have the ornament for the cemetery tree ready--start baking ginger cookies on the 23rd, wrap 2-3 presents and write 2-3 Christmas cards each day, should all fall into place.  OK, the Christmas cards are a bit later than hoped, but, hey.  Everyone should get their card around December 25.   Thought I could encourage myself on these two areas by making hot chocolate each evening after dinner to sweeten the deal, so to speak. 

Went over the fam's earlier today for homemade menudo--it was EXCELLENT--Nana has not lost her touch and Abel, Lydia (Nana's neighbor) and I decorated the tree.  Abel is such a sweet, cute little kid and he was so happy to be allowed to help us. 

Made me think about the children in Connecticut.  So, so sad.  True to his just-like-you-and-me attitude, Butch has tweeted his shock and disbelief; has been very affected by this unfathomable event.  Bibi was so happy to see a picture of his little boy and Frank the dog on his blog.  Butch seemed very happy, too.

It's that time of year:  thinking about family, loved ones close by, loved ones far away in distance, maybe due to issues from the past.  Maybe we can cover those distances during the upcoming holidays.  Hope the terrible recent events can give us reason to consider how important others are to and for us and maybe, maybe we can grab hold of each other and hold on tight for as long as we can.

Lincoln on a Day Off

Bibi often has elaborate plans for days off, but Thursday just sort of led to seeing Lincoln.  I know my faithful readers are surprized that I went to a Steven Spielberg movie.  What was the last Spielberg movie I wanted to see?  Had high hopes for the last Indiana Jones movie, but really, how could that movie work?  The script was contrived and weak at best--although using the lost English explorer bit was clever since David Grann's excellent book was so recent at that time--but, Shia LaBeouf, please.  Disappointing.  I joke that Spielberg's best movie is/was Jaws (still watch that one on July 4) and I liked 1941 (some really funny parts, especially Slim Pickens.  That bathroom scene still makes me double up, laughing), loved the first and third Indy movies, liked Empire of the Sun--thanks again for Christian Bale's notable debut--can still watch Jurassic Park and enjoy it, but Spielberg has always been a hit or miss director for me.  And once we were subjected to Schindler's List, well, it was over as far as Bibi was concerned.  Yes, the world was introduced to Ralph Fiennes, effusive thanks for that, but Spielberg's heavy handedness, his insistence on thinking his audience needed to be bashed repeatedly over the head with the evil and wrongness of the Holocaust so we would be sure to get the importance of his message, honestly.  Saving Private Ryan had that indelible, unforgettable early scene of the car coming to the house to give the family the bad news about the loss of the family son--exquisitely set up and photographed--but that really self-indulgent, needless beach landing scene, ugh, and the rest of the movie was like three or four episodes of Combat! strung together.  We all like Tom Hanks, but it wasn't enough to offset the rest.

So, Lincoln.  Of course, the production values were superb, the casting was excellent--still don't understand about casting Shia LaBeouf in the Indiana Jones movie--hard to pick a weak acting turn in this film.  Some interesting choices (Sally Field, James Spader), and they took the roles and ran with them; excellent.  Daniel Day-Lewis is usually great--did not disappoint.  I liked the way US Grant was portrayed by the script and the actor, Jared Harris.  Ever since I got a personal tour and explanatory lecture--very informative--at Grant's Tomb, I've come to think that Grant usually gets a bad rap as he's depicted in movies.  Here, he's a trusted Lincoln ally and it works very well within the movie.

The opening battle scene reminded me of Glory and Saving Private Ryan, but not in such a bad way.  Accepted, had to emphasize the brutality of the Civil War.  There is an early scene in which Lincoln is passing the time speaking to a couple of black soldiers and then a couple of white soldiers come by who happened to be at Gettysburg and could recite the Gettysburg Address between them.  Hmmmm.  One of the black soldiers takes the President to task about the inequity of pay and opportunity for advancement between black soldiers and white soldiers.  Hmmmm.  This soldier also amazes us (and Lincoln) by reciting the end of the Gettysburg Address.  OK, Spielberg didn't write it, but really? 

Most of the movie is a history lesson about the passage of the 13th Amendment, the abolition of slavery.  Have to hand it to the script and Spielberg:  they make it edgy, make us worry that maybe it won't happen, cutting back and forth among the many players and nuances of the issue.  Overarching all the frenetic activity is one's wonder that Lincoln coped with all this, directing a horrific war, depressing news of troop deaths, a less than placid family life AND he made it all come together and work.  The rooms which keep him more or less imprisoned are filled with furniture, desks, books everywhere, scattered maps and papers, people clamoring to see him, overwhelming to the ordinary person--but somehow, not to Lincoln.  He focuses on each person, each task at hand, looks at them closely and addresses them carefully.  Really impressive.  Of course, as the inevitable approaches, and that sense of foreboding is never out of the picture, you try to prepare for losing Lincoln, this very large and affably amazing presence who hated the war, hated the loss of lives, loved his family so much and cared about the country. 

Bibi read a review that suggested the movie should have ended at a point just before Lincoln leaves for the Ford Theater.  He'd had an excellent scene wrapping up some amendment matters, still impressing the men around him with his insight and folksy humor.  He leaves the area, walking through a series of arched doorways, almost like Citizen Kane.  Maybe that would have been a good place to stop.  But, being Spielberg, the movie didn't and while we're spared any assassination scenes, we do have to watch as young Tad Lincoln hears that the President has been shot.  Then, we're in the hotel room with the Cabinet members surrounding the death bed, Lincoln's cold, defenseless body, pitiably on display.  It's all wrapped up by Lincoln's second Inaugural speech--Lincoln immortalized.  Guess that's another way to end it. 

No way to stop Lincoln from being an Oscar magnet, so get over it.  Certainly it deserves recognition and accolades.  It's a stately, sometimes majestic, view of a small section of Lincoln's life, beautifully lit, filmed, and acted.  David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes, Tim Blake Nelson are all outstanding and deserve more than passing mention than they're receiving here.  Is there an ensemble Oscar possible?  Not a suprizing Spielberg movie--can he do that any more?  Worth seeing on an available afternoon.

Butch Walker as Spokesperson of the Year

Butch tweeted this photo of himself and can't specifically speak for the others who tweeted back, but who could even concentrate on whatever he was talking about?   (sort of a squelched Bon Scott scream here.)  Check out the picture!

Butch Walker, Spokesperson of the Year

For a moment, Bibi was like:  vision's blurry, I think I been hit....

Anyway, just so you know, Bibi's shallow, but not that shallow.  Butch was tweeting about Warby Parker glasses.  If you buy a pair of glasses, a pair of glasses becomes available for someone in need.  Here's their link:  http://www.warbyparker.com/  The frames look cool, are accessibly priced and they have a good story/objective.  Definitely, Butch should be declared spokesperson of the year.

But back to the picture, right?  You may ask, what is wrong with this picture?  Answer:  NOTHING!!  Absolutely nothing.  Really makes you think:  The only thing I'll hold against me is a picture of you tonight.


Thank you, Butch!

Christmas Cards and Butch Walker

Bibi thinks of Christmas cards as one of the treats of the season.  They make her feel all warm and toasty.  Better than fruitcake or egg nog, you get a respite from the day to day and think of old friends and acquaintances, family members you may not have seen for awhile.  Sometimes they send unintentionally funny pictures and those newsletter ones are often, truly sad, but informative in their way.  BTW--Bibi thinks fruitcake, in small portions, once a year is fine.
    
So, just saying, if anyone thinks of sending one, no problem.  It won't be re-gifted or automatically put in the trash.  another btw: if you enter fruitcake as a search term for the internet, you WILL get some weird pictures!
The point is, Bibi likes the custom of sending Christmas cards.  Every year, a lot of thought goes into THE cards Bibi will send, along with the stamps to be used, the best Martha Stewart frou frou to decorate the envelope, etc.  Every year, Bibi thinks:  day after Thanksgiving, will start the cards, be one of the first to get 'em out there....and....well, didn't quite make that objective.  Received a couple of cards yesterday.  Obviously, those people have no life. 

Bibi stays busy.

Bibi's life is so full:  work, naps, eating treats, chasing Hendrix, naps, breakfast, naps, blogging about Butch Walker, thinking of ways to get more recognition for Butch Walker, dinner, getting the new printer set up, learning the new phone, time just flies and before you  know it, time for another nap!  Just remembered one of Bibi's favorite jokes:  fruit flies like bananas.  time flies like an arrrow.  Funny, huh?  Just love that one!

Finally got the stamps for the cards--no not those really unimaginative Christmas ones--who makes the selection of the USPS Christmas stamps?  So lame!  Anyway, got the stamps and am assiduously working on the cards for the lucky recipients.  Should I include a Butch Walker Mixtape with each one?  whoa, lot of work with that idea...or one of the Butch Walker "looks like a business card" slipped into the envelope?  Too much like one of those annual newsletters?  Bibi will ponder on this.

Speaking of Butch, Bibi wrote to the reporter who reviewed the Stones concert in NYC the other day and asked that he consider reviewing Butch's Chicago concerts.  His name on the article was a hot link, so I saw it as an invitation to email.  We'll see.  My new phone can't seem to alert me when there's a new tweet, so I'm always a bit behind on those, but it does seem that Butch doesn't have time to tweet as much as he did in the past.  Bibi says that's GREAT NEWS!  He's busy working, working, working, which is really what a fan wants, right?  There will be new output soon and paws crossed, can't wait to hear how great it will be. 

Found out that in the Twitter world, you WANT followers.  Sure, I see that for celebrities or wanna be stars, but for the usual person (or cat), really?  Bibi leads a fascinating life (see above) and has lots of profound thoughts to share--check out the other blog posts--but in general, isn't Facebook and/or going to the analyst/or confession(!) already too much sharing?  Plus, Bibi still spends time talking to the fans at acdc.com.  We mostly complain about the site and wonder when we will ever see the guys in concert again, but still.  So, I'm not fully integrated into the Twitter concept.  Like any fan, I want to know what Butch is doing:  did he go to Starbucks today?  what weird art thing does he now have gracing his environment?  (an area where Butch and I would have to agree to disagree) what fan's birthday is he exalting by tweeting them? and the inevitable occurrence of no-matter-what-Butch-tweets, at least one fan will tweet back, "I love you, Butch!"  I think I like those the best.  A true statement of what being a fan is all about:  we love our object in a very special, but real way and we need a way to let them know now.  Sort of instant Christmas cards all the time.

Love you,  Butch! 

New York Times Review for Butch Walker, December 2012?

Sent out the requests for reviews of Butch's Chicago shows and WOW! got a reply from the NYTimes!  Not just the computer-generated "Thank you for your recent inquiry....", but a follow-up email  from an assistant to an editor.  I know, I know, it's not much, but he did say the Cultures editors would look at the request.  So, fingers crossed!  Although Bibi used the NYTimes email as a model for the other two, each was crafted with a view toward each publication's ethos; think I hit points that each will (hopefully) respond to.

Bibi feels good about the work put into the due diligence for review requests.  On other fronts, gave away another Butch Walker card yesterday to G who sold me my new phone, the Sony Xperia. (No complaints, so far.)  She seemed amenable to at least watching the Synthesizers video on YouTube.  Didn't have any of the Mixtape cds with me (what a bad fan I am!!), but did give Mixtape IV.2 to one of the profs today.  He's from Georgia so he was intrigued by my recommendation of Butch, interested to see how another Georgia boy is expressing himself.

No pictures of Bibi exhausted, so inserted one of Hendrix. 

You get the idea.

Am curiously fatigued by all this fan activity, although in a positive way.  Butch is busy in the studio--GREAT NEWS for all of us--so there's much anticipation in the Butch fan-world. Maybe he'll play some new stuff at the upcoming shows?

Butch Walker in Chicago, December 30, 2012

Make it quick as a kitten jumping on and off the dining table:  PLEASE, Butch--play Sweethearts at the show on December 30!  PLEASE!  As part of "gettin' into it" this morning, listened to the fave (Say It Isn't So, now up to 6829 views) and it went down so easy, the office seemed very light  and airy, none of that usual oppressive Monday gloom--the Butch Walker Ameliorative Effect at work.  I thought, well, why not go through the entire Episode 54 (Live From Daryl's House) and update the stats while you're at it?  Multi-tasking, right?  Always try to play the cuts in order of appearance, otherwise, it's just chaos in Bibi's otherwise oh-so-ordered world (HAH!), but somehow, got stuck on Sweethearts.  Such an underrrated gem!  So adorably likable (like Bibi) and ineffably sweet in all the positive ways.

Bibi loves this one! 

Wouldn't it be the coolest if Butch played this song at the show AND made it one of those fan participation things that he's done in the past where a deleriously lucky fan gets to sing with him?  Total "fan"tasy, right?    Seen a couple of those videos and the poor girls were so Butch-struck that they could barely stand, so maybe Butch doesn't do that anymore.  But, still, what a concept!  What a song!  Hold me to your chest 'cause I can feel your heart jumping!  Tell me about it!

Love you, Butch! 

Butch Walker's Upcoming Shows in Chicago

Every Christmas season, Bibi swears she will NOT succumb to those sentimental Christmas movies one more time and yep, here she is just crying while most of Bedford Falls fills up George  Bailey's house, adding their donations to the basket of money, start singing carols, miraculously his hero brother shows up and everyone toasts to the richest man in town.  Get it?--George is engulfed by so many friends, who love him--the richest man in town and everyone realizes how lucky they are to be alive, including the viewers who watch this every year.  Gets Bibi every time.  (tiny litle sniff here)

So, hmmm....where has Bibi been?  During the Thanksgivng break, LOTS of big blog about action to be taken on behalf of Butch, spreading the word about his shows in Chicago . . . and then?  Loss of nerve, loss of focus, just plain loss of words?  No, actually Bibi was a bit under the weather after a regrettable encounter with leftovers.  But, during her few coherent, waking moments, she spent a lot of time thinking about the Butch review requests to the NYTimes, the NYorker and Rolling Stone.  In fact, the NYTimes version is just about done.  It's concise, makes cogent points that any subscriber to the Times would make, it's affable, reasonable with a dash of fan fervor mixed in; looking good.

Guess we can credit The Butch Walker Ameriorative Effect for the recovery Bibi made over the week, although it would have worked faster if Bibi had been able to even make the effort to listen to music.  After what remained of the work week was finished, had to run the errands, get a few Christmas decorations to fit in with this year's color scheme, so cranked up The Spade.  MAN...WHAT A RECORD!!! 


Opens with a great, crunchy guitar riff, the drums jump in and PUNCH IT Chewy!, we're into Bodegas and Blood for real.  Damn, it's good...no, IT'S GREAT!!!  Just the beginning, too.  The whole album is an unbelievable, pounding powerhouse of songs.  One after the other:  Every Single Body Else, Summer of ‘89, Sweethearts, Day Drunk, Synthesizers, Dublin Crow, Closest Thing To You I’m Gonna Find, Bullet Belt, Suckerpunch--all terrific, knockout examples of what Butch does so well--write, collaborate, sing, play guitars and banjolin in a fucking fantastic way that draws you kicking and screaming (in a rocking live-show way) into a totally energizing, full out immersion listening experience.  I've tried to pick a fave cut.  Got it down to Bodegas, Summer of '89, Sweethearts, Synthesizers, Closest Thing, Suckerpunch--you see the problem.  How can so many be THE favorite?  I listen to this cd a lot and it continues to please.  No fast forward, no skipping songs, just straight through every time I get in the car.  Don't play it at work--the f and s words, you know.  Truly, truly a great album, world!

FYI:  Bibi is not an iPod person.  It's not just the ears; don't really get that whole shut out the ambient noise thing.  Tried, but really, don't I need to hear what's going on in my surroundings at all times?  Sure, I'm in boring places as much as the next cat, but Bibi has found that a very good rule to live by is:  alert is better than not.  Crossing the street, waiting at a ___'s appointment, driving long distances, seems like being able to hear is better than not.  Also, have never been able to crank up the volume on an iPod like I can in the car.  Note to anyone thinking about buying a Miata:  the speakers are very good and if you have to drive places, there is NOTHING so satisfying as the pleasure of the top down with the music blasting while you're speeding down the highway.  Yep, your hair is a fucking mess, but you can always put on a ski cap and maybe a vest, and just try kinda hard to make it not look like ya tried at all.

OK, soldiering on with the review requests--want to send them out this week.  Will let you know!

And just because, here's a pic of Butch during the filming of the video for Summer of '89 with character actor Seymour Cassel. 

Adorable!

The Beatles, AC/DC, and Butch Walker

Honestly, is there ANYTHING more joyous, more energizing, more totally FAB than the sound of the Beatles singing She Loves You in the morning?  Bibi jumps up and dances around every time she hears it--can't help it!
The Beatles, rocking it! 


Unless it's the great, growling, take no prisoners Highway to Hell (just love to wake up to HTH)

AC/DC with the incomparable Bon Scott  


Or, my favorite for the past few months, the totally beguiling, Say It Isn't So by Butch Walker and Daryl Hall.  Just so completely in love with this Butch version.

 Butch n Daryl harmonize so well

I know my faithful readers know all this, but just saying. 

Of course, there's I Saw Her Standing There, Paul being his so eager, irrespressible self:  well, my heart went boom, when I crossed that room, and I held her hand in mine...and before too long, I fell in love with her....it was awhile before I realized what he was really talking about--years, maybe.  It was a different time.

Paul is the cutest one! Still say so! 
For the longest, for me, the Beatles were everything the greatest singing group in the world could be, period.  No subtext, no guile, no underlying other entendre.  Didn't know what that was back then.  We were so blissfully unaware of what life was going to bring our way eventually.  Me and my other geek friends were the best fans any band could want.  For us, all-consuming, unceasing, unwavering fan-love forever.

It was the beginning of my life as a fan.  Looking back on it, Bibi realizes her parents were kinda cool.  Think about it:  blue collar Mexican-American family in a small, predominantly white Texas town (black families lived across the train tracks from the rest of town) and my parents allowed me to put a huge "Ringo for President" sign in the living room window.  The directions to our house included:  you'll know you're at the right house if you can see the Beatles posters in our daughter's room from the street.

Time passed. When I become a huge AC/DC fan in 2008, everyone's surprized at my intensity.  Why?  Being-a-fan guidelines didn't change.  Is there another fan-model?  Saw AC/DC in concert as often as I could, bought all their cds, read and learned as much about them as possible, and in these cyber-info days, that's a lot, invested in the odd AC/DC treasure here and there, very similar to my Beatles' devotion.

Now, here we are and Bibi has discovered Butch Walker--the coolest, most talented singer and songwriter currently recording and my task is clear:  convince everyone that BUTCH fucking WALKER is THE man to be listening to.  Was at the storage place today, getting Christmas decorations out and found George Harrison's Best Of cd.  Thought, well, I was listening to The Spade, Butch's latest, total kick-ass cd, but could take a short, reluctant hiatus on that.  What Is Life came on and POW!!! it hit me:  George perfectly covers how fans function for their idols. 

What I feel, I can't say/But my love is there for you anytime of day

But if it's not love that you need/Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed

Tell me, what is my life without your love/Tell me, who am I without you, by my side

(Bibi will remind everyone: she doesn't mean any of this as weirdo, no-life, stalker stuff, okay?)   Anyway, the neat thing is that fans can listen to this song and completely accept that our idol thinks the same way about us, too. (They do, right?)  Artists need an audience (You can buy every copy of your record with your money/But you'd be your only fan) and fans need artists to follow.  So the whole fan-object thing works out really well for both sides of the equation. 
Humanities majors--we see correspondences everywhere.  The one Bibi sees with Butch Walker is that Butch deserves all the fan devotion possible, just like the Beatles and AC/DC.  So, rock on, Butch!  The fans need new stuff from you soon!  Please!

Waiting as patiently as a diehard fan can for the new record and in the meantime--check you out in Chicago!  Come on everyone, Bibi says you should go, too.

Butch Walker and Fan Loyalty

The holidays give Bibi time to reflect about important life matters. 

From last year, Bibi thinking profoundly again.

My relatively recent introduction to Butch Walker and consequent fabulously hard fall for his music almost instantly became a source of wonder for friends and acquaintances.  (Guess I was a bit intense about it. Not like now--lol.)  I've gone out of my way to give reasons why--think I've done a more than adequate job with that.  However, just the other day, I thought:  whoa, feel kind of casual about Butch Walker right now; like the initial rush I experienced in listening to his music, reading his book, watching videos of his live performances, et al, has leveled off.  Felt relaxed, almost indifferent to checking out his recent tweets.  hmmm, not a bad feeling, everything was just okay.  Even thought about changing the Butch Walker cd in the car to, I don't know, something else.  I had been thinking about Tom Petty cds, ie, don't have any, so maybe would go buy some.  Got in the car and Hot Girls in Good Moods came on....BAM!!!  That raw, growly guitar intro, party adrenalin charged, and WO-HO that breathy, slithery, too-cool-for-you voice: 

I got a girl that lives at the mall / She dances on the dark side of the disco ball / Drives a silver Mercedes / Made in the 80s / Swears and stares at the buckhead ladies....

As if I'd just heard the song for the first time (suddenly stinks of Foreigner here, I know), there was this overwhelming wave of OMG and, please, more. . .  more. . .  more. . . BUTCH WALKER!

And that's how I got past that feeling of being over Butch and then completely swooned back into being so enthralled by him in about 10 minutes one day.  That's really intense. 

Hey, Butch:  give me everything you got....please!

PR for Butch Walker

So, who does this for Butch?  Is the job currently unfilled?  Shouldn't there be frequent, or going with the absence makes them scream for more theory, even infrequent mentions of Butch in the media?  He played at the Los Angeles Petty Fest recently which gives Bibi a case in point:  where is the follow-up buzz about his  performance?  He KILLED with his version of Breakdown on the first night. 

Butch says: It's alright if you love me, it's alright if you don't...

                                                                      this pic is from the second night of Petty Fest West

Let's be clear on this:  Bibi would strongly vote (4 paws worth) against Butch appearing during half time at football games.    Seems that Lenny Kravitz's management is utilizing the any publicity is good publicity model to re-energize his career.  hmmmmm.  However, there must be some middle ground where knowledgeably timed press releases and/or noteworthy appearances, like Petty Fest, could raise awareness without being a sell-out junket for Butch, right?  This leads to discussion of why Butch Walker isn't better known and appreciated. Have lots to say about that, but that's a different post, or two. 

As devoted readers, you know Bibi intends to check with the NY Times and the NYorker about their plans to review Butch's upcoming shows in Chicago.  Oh, right, also something to Rolling Stone.  Content and stylistic questions arise:  use of the impersonal voice, signaling not only decorum and reason, but good taste?  Or, go with the naturalistic, giddy, total fan tone?  As a subscriber to both pubs, imply exasperation that this hasn't happened for Butch already?   (Maybe their people have already informed Butch they will be catching the shows?)  There's really no way to say to the NYT or the NYer, "Who does Butch Walker have to ---- to get attention from your organization?"  Maybe you could say it to RS, but why give those guys the satisfaction?  Bibi is saying this from a fan perspective, it's not what Butch would say--ever--since we all know Butch won't sell out--an issue germane to the point brought up in the last paragraph.

Have to craft a concise, coherent request, emphasizing increased readership satisfaction that such a review  would engender for the NYT and the NYer, both of which continue to seek ways to connect with a younger base.  (whoa, Bibi, MBA!) Need an engaging opening, finish with a flourish, of course.  Keep forgetting that I have to send something suitable to Rolling Stone, too.  Given their past unfathomably dismissive treatment of Butch, that will be a tough one.  Same music mag that dismissed AC/DC, right?  Anyway, back on point...include pictures?  Links to live performances?  Don't want that old Salieri criticism (something like):  Ah, Mozart, you are passionate but you do not convince.

Maybe Bibi hasn't mentioned a small pr effort she's been working lately:  made some business cards with Butch's picture, webpage and link for Episode 54 of Live From Daryl's House.  I leave them at just about every store or public place I go.  Today, at the Clear Lake Half-Price Books found the Letters cd--second time I've found a cd by Butch at this location!--and as I was paying, I told the guy about Butch and gave him one of the cards.  He said he'd check Butch out on the web.  Grass roots, I know, but presidential elections have been won using this angle.  It could help in raising Butch Walker awareness, too.

Butch Walker Story for the New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone

Bibi was wondering if any of the influential print/online news sources will be reviewing Butch's shows in Chicago.  Using Kevin's advice from Home Alone: don't be afraid of the basement, just check it out.  (That's what Bibi heard.) So, I plan to email the New York Times,  the New Yorker and Rolling Stone.  Not that I read RS with any regularity, but I do read the other two all the time.  AND, Rolling Stone seriously owes Butch after that introduction at Petty Fest a week or so ago.  Watch that flub here:

  Butch at Petty Fest, Break Down 

Can almost forget the mis-introduction.  Butch delivers a sizzling version of Break Down, like the pro he is!  Again!




It may be a long shot, but due diligence on the part of an avowed Butch Walker fan is the way I look at it.  They might not know that Butch will be performing in Chicago in December and if I don't say something, they could miss out on an article their readers would otherwise clamor for, right?   Butch has merited at least mentions by all three in the past, so it's not like he's an unknown entity to them.  He's talented, personable, a great interview, a notable crowd draw for boisterously memorable shows,  and the holiday season needs some non-holiday articles to get us into the new year.  Win, win, win, win all the way around.

Will begin work on the email tonight; has to be truly readable and worth following up.  Have some time before December 30, but want to give them some lead time and you know how it goes sometimes. 

Fingers crossed!

Thanksgiving and of course, Butch Walker

Yay, Thanksgiving!  It's a great time marker--the year's coming to a close soon and let's think about how things have gone so far.  The good and the bad, the ups and the downs, what's been accomplished, left to be done.  Uh-oh.  Could get scary and maudlin fast,  mine field promenade area, so let's not go too far.  What to be especially thankful for?  In the land of milk and honey to spare, now that the President is elected and our way of living is secure once more, so thankful that the family is fully-employed, homes secure, in relatively good health.  Hope things hold through the holidays.

But let's get serious, right?  Really thankful for discovering Butch Walker.  Found a cd cover I hadn't seen before:   
Another one of the things I really like about Butch--he has such a sense of humor!  Not just a pretty, pretty  face with a great voice and music.   lol I realize I lose some of the significance since I never saw, much less heard the cds that are being spoofed.  But now, would really like to have the cd.  My Black Friday schedule:  get up at the usual weekend time (10 am ish), breakfast, drive to Clear Lake to check out the Half Price Books where I found my first Butch Walker cd, The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker.  That location will always have a cherished place in my heart.  We'll see.

For a long time now, I've gone to bed early....well, not really, just quoting from one of my readers' favorite books, In Remembrance of Things Past. another lol  The point is that Thanksgiving is such a time of remembering the past, triggered by food, food smells, for Bibi, food tastes, since she can't smell anything.  Mostly, Thanksgiving reminds me that family is interesting and great for me in limited, if intense, doses.  The food is secondary to catching up, touching base, sharing the day, the recent events.  Hope everyone has a great day!  Also, don't get trampled tomorrow at the sales.

Have more to say on other Butch-related topics, so later!  Love you, Butch!

AC/DC now available on iTunes! Worthy research project.

WOW!! Huge AC/DC paradigm shift!!



End of an era. 

You know how it is for humanities majors (though Bibi has an MBA; she will always be a French lit major/English minor--you thought cats couldn't do that?), what is the significance of this move on the part of the greatest living rock n roll band?  No new albums need be expected?  Future set lists will be Greatest Hits' Compendiums?  Of course, that's what the usual show has always been, so not a stretch there.  Only difference:  no down time that the new songs gave you so you could go get a beer or go to the bathroom.  And like any true, diehard fan:  since all the hits are great, who cares which songs they play as long as they tour? 
Angus always gives Malcolm props for being the brains in the group, so maybe Mal thought it was the optimum time for this moneygrab?  Not that AC/DC shouldn't do this--their music is well worth every shekel it makes for them.  If there were some easy way to track the revenue, another very interesting research effort.

There was some cachet for me about this kinda Luddite attitude AC/DC had about iTunes, though.  I didn't buy that it was only because AC/DC wanted purchases made of entire albums; seemed more intrinsic to the  AC/DC ethos of good old fashioned rock n roll that had to be heard as scratchy vinyl or cds that skipped every now and then.  ahh, the good times.

Butch Walker's Birthday at Petty Fest in LA and lessons in how to drink wisely

Looks like an excellent time was had by all at Petty Fest--and why not?   You knew the music was going to be great: Tom Petty's stuff is the epitome of classic rock n roll, resonating for so many of us, no matter the background or age, with its far-ranging emotions and experiences set in a rocking, must-enjoy again and again blend, guitar band best, often magical in its intensity and effect.  When we saw him back in the early '90s, or maybe that was the really late '80s--ah, les neiges d'antan, right?--what a show it was!  Still have the t shirt, somewhere.  The stars of Petty Fest, including the surprize guests, were some of the best of the best musicians.  Maybe some desperate wannabes were there, too.  No names and no judgment here. (Can't stop you from checking out YouTube on your own, though.) 

Of course, Butch was the best one: kick-ass rocker talent and professionalism on full-out display, total class act.  If I had been there, would I have left after he played? 

First night, Butch did Breakdown--excellent, ever so delightfully sinister version.  He shaded it with just a soupcon of bitter experience and lots of self-assured confidence.  Goes down so good n tantalizingly tasty!  
Butch Hancock, er Walker, Tom Petty's Breakdown,

Bibi wonders, though, what was the person filming this thinking?  Me, I would focus on Butch Walker--he's the featured musician, he's singing lead, he's playing the rock star role completely--yet, the camera meanders around, filming the other musicians, Butch is often just out of camera range or kind of fuzzy.  Why? Anyway, here's a still of the stage while Butch is playing:  Butch at Pettyfest 2012)

and an even better photo:

Butch (looked and) sounded fantastic on his birthday AND his hair was perfect!  Loved the whole look!  (Bibi never claimed to be profound.) He took being introduced by the wrong name like a man, shrugged it off with a jab at Rolling Stone.  (The guy doing the introductions is an editor/writer at RS.)   Cool for Butch!  Jameson's was one of the event sponsors and understand there was a lot of free range drinking going on, so some flubs were to be expected. 

I know when I unexpectedly went out to a wine tasting on Thursday--what? Bibi went drinking on a school night?!?!  Bibi doesn't EVEN drink--then we moved on to not one, but two more bars, there were probably many mots inattendus sprinkled in the lively converations that, hopefully, promptly wafted into the alcohol-induced ether.  Probably, each of the people I was with (M, J, S, and wow! can't even remember the other guy's name) just remembers a quite enjoyable evening.  No hangover either!  So, Bibi 's recommendation:  if you're going to drink when you have to go to work the next morning, drink sparingly of the wine, eat as many of the exotic hors d'oervres as you can nonchalantly quaff (a nod to Butch's sage advice:  ‘Cause we’re hotter when we don’t give a damn) and then switch to good, mid-level Champagne for the rest of the evening.  End the evening with a few bites of food, take a shower and go to bed.  Worked for me.

Haven't seen a video of the second night of Petty Fest, when Butch played "Even the Losers", but heard he brought the house down.  No less than a Butch Walker aficionada would expect.  Will keep checking YouTube and report later.

Today's tweets from Butch signal a move from LA to Georgia (should watch the stock market for the butterfly effect from this announcement) and a renewed sense of purpose in terms of new material for an album.  Whatever it takes, Butch!  The fans are solidly behind you on this and are fervently awaiting the songs AND the tour!

Butch Walker and the Looming Fiscal Cliffs--no not really!

Haven't had time or energy to talk about Butch in the last few days.  What with work, life, and the looming fiscal cliffs facing America, the air is filled with dread, right? . . . although, like all of Butch's fans, that doesn't mean I don't think about him throughout the day.  Especially about seeing him in Chicago in December (Bon Scott scream here, but only on the inside.  I'm in a public place.).  If other fans are like me--and why wouldn't we basically all be the same?--you spend some time watching for tweets, checking for anything new on butchwalker.com, are there any YouTube videos of Butch we haven't seen (see below), and what about that Calvin Klein ad from back in the day?  Is that really Butch Walker?  Guess we've all done things in our past that we wonder about later.  Not apologetically, necessarily; we just wonder about how/why we did them.  What we fans do know is that over time, Butch has inhabited many personae (ooooh, there's that big brain on Bibi, again).  Just look at his hair through the years, listen to his albums, the interviews some lucky, lucky few were able to score, to get a multi-faceted picture of THE Butch Walker.  Sometimes, in my more idle moments, I wonder if I would have liked Butch through all his versions since I'm so picky about tiny little things in general.  Slippery slope there.  Like the fiscal cliffs, maybe.  It must be very frustrating to be an economist listening to the inanities coming out of non-economist legislators' mouths and outright dodos talking economics.  Glad I'm not them and please, Mr. POTUS, don't bring Larry Summers back (that guy! what a jerk) to muck up the waters more than they are.  Looked at from that vantage point, guess waiting for Butch to make a concert appearance is relatively anxiety-free.

Last weekend, got a chance to talk Butch up to some new people.  Well, new people in terms of their connaissance de Butch Walker.  Some of them have known me for dog years and they're French.  Gave them copies of The Butch Walker Mixtape IV.3, talked about Chicago in December (woo hoo!), got suggestions on which smart phone to buy.  They're on the upper end of the economic scale so of course they said the iPhone. Unequivocally, they love their iPhones 4.  They like me, so they were very indulgent about this Butch Walker phase, listened with interest about how it has evolved, what Butch is all about.  Guess that's why I like them, too, right?  They've been with me since before the AC/DC-Angus phase.  Marc has a special place in my rocker heart since he's my Paris AC/DC concert buddy as well as my entree to the guys' hotel.  I will always and forever love him for that.  Plus, I like these people so much, I not only drank (and drank) Champagne and had a couple of shots of bourbon with them to celebrate Marc's birthday.  They only buy the good stuff, so it's not so bad as having to share Andre with people at the usual parties.  So, it was a very pleasant time, indeed.  Hope they follow through and really listen to the BWM IV.3 (includes Freak of the Week).

Recently, Butch suffered what could have been a career-shattering blow to the face from one of his band mates.  Chipped tooth!  In the LA culture, devastating.  Butch really suffers for his art!




I guess the moustache is coming along...okay?  Thought/hoped there might be then and now moustache photos on Movember, but not so far.  If he were to do that, would it mean more donations?  Think about it, Butch.

Also, saw a funny video of someone playing Let It Be in the background with Butch saying let it be in the right places in the song.  Honestly, what fans think is entertaining.  I thought it was very entertaining.

Butch hangs out in a musical bar

Have to say--again--Butch is really easy to look at.  And he's so camera-ready!  It  just loves him!  To our benefit.  Thanks, Butch!

Back to the Basics: Butch Walker

YAAAAYYYY!!! Finally the election is done!  Bibi got an email from the re-elected President (!!!) to cap off a tough campaign for all of us. Exhausting! Our American way of life is safeguarded for another four years and now we can get back to the basics of blogging about Butch Walker...and if any news comes up, AC/DC!    

I'm sure that this picture from Butch was among the factors that worked toward the election result:



That good ol' Butch Walker Ameliorative Effect at work! 
Thanks, Butch!

Win a Red Vinyl Edition of AC/DC's New Live LP!

Hadn't been to acdc.com in awhile--the site is not well-managed and whoever is purportedly in charge of it and takes our $40/year doesn't care--but have always enjoyed (most) of the fans who post comments.  Met a few--like all rabid, er, devoted fans, well, there's a continuum of crazy for the band, right?  I'm sure that to some, I may seem over the crazy end for Butch Walker, but I'm told that I was that way about AC/DC in the early days, back in 2008-9.  Makes me a bit sad--you mean I won't always feel this strongly about Butch Walker?  I still think that if AC/DC were touring, my enthusiasm and interest would be back up there.  Plus, that's what being a fan is all about:  fervor and single-minded devotion.  I could go on and on....Maybe next time.

Anyway, one of the fans on acdc.com let us know about a contest to win a red vinyl 3-disc set of Live from River Plate.  I put in my entry, which requires you to reveal your fave live song by AC/DC.  (sarcastic snort here)  Right, give me a break!  But, I said Whole Lotta Rosie.  If you've seen 'em live, you know that AC/DC's entire show is a total energy overload--the only let up in the sustained adrenalin rush that re-charges again and again each time the guys whack us black n blue with each mega-rockin' classic is when they play one of the new songs--but Whole Lotta Rosie, as they say, has it all.  The lyrics, sleazy and oh so Bon Scott, hammed up by Brian, Angus at his half-dressed, guitar god BEST (it's played after The Jack so he's down to his school boy shorts)--his riffs are UNBELIEVABLE.  The exchange between Malcolm and Angus kills.  The rhythm section is just jackhammerin' it throughout.  There is nothing to rival Malcolm, Phil and Cliff backing Angus.  Ahh, the good times. 


Can't wait to see you again, Angus!

If you want to enter, go here:  http://www.spin.com/articles/acdc-live-river-plate-new-album-best-concerts-contest

The Butch Walker Ameliorative Effect at Work

Lordy, lordy, some Mondays are the most soul-deadening days of the week!  Just getting to work was an ordeal--two wrecks to get past.  So much for getting (vaguely) to work "early" or at least not late.  Once I got there, almost immediately:  REGISTRATION EMERGENCY!!!  Geez, everybody get a grip, please.  No emergency except once again, some people insist on not doing their work.  Instead, let's get everyone in the tri-state area hyped up about . . . n o t h i n g.  Bibi wishes they would just deposit the paycheck in the account and DON'T MAKE ME COME HERE everyday for this abuse.  Nothing for me to do but stay calm, go to the internet, click on to Butch Walker Say It Isn't So, sit back and let it flow over me.  I was soon restored, set the "emergency" right and was (more or less) ready for the rest of the weirdness that came down the pike for the rest of the day. 

I soon realized that I would have to stay late.  No problem:  let's listen to The Butch Walker Mixtape II.2.  Really have been preferring IV.2, but whatever.  So, yes, I was able to get through the rest of the late afternoon with equanimity.  I'm telling you:  there is NOTHING like the Butch Walker Ameliorative Effect (BWAE) to get you past the rough spots of the day. 

Didn't use the ultimate in BWAE today--certain pictures of Butch--but here's one for my vast and loyal readership. 
Bibi hasn't expressed her views on guns previously, cats don't think about guns much, but I will say I was  surprized that Butch was into this.  Don't think it means he packs heat everywhere he goes and that he's NRA, so will just leave it at you can never tell what those rock stars will be into for their leisure activities.

A bit nervous (not quite as if in a room full of rocking chairs) about the election results tomorrow.  Thinking I will stay up late, if required.  Paws SO crossed!

Thanks, Butch, for helping me through today!

The Butch Walker Mixtape IV and IV.2

Had a doctor's appointment and--COOL--gave away two of the Butch Walker Mixtapes (II and II.2) to the really nice doctor's assistants (Bibi's policy remains:  protect identities of the blameless).  Got to talk Butch up a bit, too, why I liked him--he's not just a pretty face--he's a really talented singer and songwriter, has some GREAT recordings and videos,  AND, he had a great look going for Halloween:

 
Arlo "The Apache" Laine from Inglorious Basterds

'Course, you can't take it away from him--he is a good looking guy!

He shaved as part of his pledge work for Movember; I was a bit off put; I've grown accustomed to his (moustachioed) face. 
Here's the link if you want to make a contribution to this group that works on awareness of male health issues:  Movember

So easy to digress...I spent some time thinking about why Butch's work is so good.  A fan's dream assignment, right?  Listened to cuts from Letters on the way home, pondering.  I'll be honest; of the four cds I have:  The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker, Letters, Sycamore Meadows, and The Spade--Letters is my least favorite. (significant glances around the room)  I know.  Blasphemy! 



Mixtape
 Maybe It's Just me
#1 Summer Jam
Don't Move
Best Thing You Never Had
Race Cars and Goth Rock

Of the 12 songs on the album, these 6 are SO strong, such completely cohesive creations, melding the lyrics, Butch's expressive, wistful, often ethereal, sometimes frustrated voice, instrumental breaks and riffs so effectively, although I sometimes listen to the other songs, I usually end up just listening to these songs again and again.    Maybe It's Just Me--okay, a bit unfair to other songs in existence since this one makes such great use of that keyboard bit from everyone's favorite guilty pleasure song, Brandy, repeated at key points in this song--and then, Butch's liquid voice, in the words of the best sensitive guy-boyfriend ever: Maybe we should be alone forever after/... I can't wait for you to shine/, and THIS phrase: The only thing I'll hold against me is a picture of you tonight.  (Anguished Bon Scott scream here! from Bibi) SUCH a love song.  When I hear it, I can almost forget that the first time I saw the video for it, I realized  it was what must have been the highlight of an Ashton Kutcher movie.
Mixtape has such great stand alone phrases:  You say hello, Inside I'm screaming I love you/ ...
You drive away from my car crash of a heart/...
It crushes my head when you call me your friend/...
You can't hear the pain I feel....
It's love and I'm in it/You gave me the best mixtape I have and even all the bad songs ain't so bad/
Just wish there was so much more than that about me and you/
Whoa. And, if you ever see the version of Mixtape from Butch's dvd, Live at Budokan, the section of the dvd filmed in Atlanta, omg!  He goes full out on this one to unbelievably moving effect.  I've read that he no longer does Mixtape in concert; well, what a loss.  Here's the version from Live at Daryl's House.  Butch does it beautifully and Daryl Hall and his band are way better singers than the fans at Butch's shows (lol)

Mixtape, Live from Daryl's House

#1 Summer Jam:  Great line--Won't you come back Sunday/Every day's a Monday now that you're gone.  We won't go into an explication de texte on the first couple of lines of this song, but those lines alone encapsulate that something about Butch's songwriting--his ability to succinctly and in a musically effective way express a place we've all been for at least one set of ineffably incredible moments in past; whew!

Don't Move:  What an impassioned love song--Listen to me as my hands shake/Cause I want you, I need you/I can't live without you, baby/Baby don't move at all--Butch's delivery is phenomenal.  His voice is so full of hurt, regret, hopeless hope.  Again, to see him sing this one in the Live at Budokan dvd--fab u lous!   Here's a live version from 2009:
Don't Move
The Best Thing You Never Had is an anthem among bitter break up songs and really hits you in a place you thought you'd gotten past a long time ago.  The fans just love to sing along with this one at the concerts to the point that sometimes Butch just plays guitar.  Hopefully, he'll include it on December 30th, though, and I can sing along, too.  Great, gutty delivery song!

Race Cars and Goth Rock:  I've read that some of Butch's work could be classified as emo.  He does seemingly reveal a lot about his personal life experiences in his songs.  That said, rationality indicates that for all his songs about heart wrenching breakups, it's just not possible that there have been so many breakups in his past.  Maybe the few break ups there were have been so imprinted on Butch's psyche that he can revisit those rare occurences and write yet another song about coming in second, not being the one.  Whatever, this one adds his feelings of being the cultural outsider, not so much out of her league, but out of her social network.  And his knowledge that even if the object of his unrquited affection realizes she's mismatched with her current guy, she's not going to leave him.  He views her and that time with a regretful, but distanced eye.  I'm a broken down Camaro overheated but you'll never know you're the one that caused this crash.
Butch's metaphors...so expressive!

This pondering led to the creation of the Butch Walker Mixtape IV and IV.2


Butch Walker Mixtape IV and IV.2


She Likes Hairbands

Maybe It's Just Me

Mixtape

Don't Move

Best Thing You Never Had

Race Cars and Goth Rock

Oooh, Aaah…

Hot Girls in Good Moods

Bethamphetamine

Too Famous to Get Fully Dressed

When Canyons Ruled the City

The Weight of Her

Going Back/Going Home (not available on IV)

Here Come the . . .

Ponce de Leon Ave.

Ships in a Bottle

Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car

Bodegas and Blood

Sweethearts

Synthesizers

Closest Thing to You

Sucker Punched

One day, I will master the technical skills to actually and finally make my Butch Walker Mixtape, but that day's not here yet.

Butch Walker Stats Updated

As my legions of faithful readers know, Bibi has many, many talents and skills, but understanding how YouTube gathers data is NOT one of them.  For a few days last week, the counter on Say It Isn't So was stuck on 4688.  Maybe someone reported this, or, as computer things do, fixed itself, because today, October 29, the count is up to 5145.  Whew--what a relief!  My excel spreadsheet rejoices!  Just love seeing Butch's so-happy face before and after on that one.  And, of course, to hear his beautiful voice with Daryl Hall.  Such a wonderful version!

Butch tweeted last night that he had cried and now felt great.  hmmmm.  I tried to cajole him out of any funk by joking about it.  (Important note to Bibi:  no more stupid tweet responses. Please.) Being the ever so sensitive Bibi, though, I've been concerned for him.  (Fans are SO symbiotic with no encouragement at all.) Maybe he was worried about something, got great news and cried--I've done that.  That's the way I want to think about it.  After all, if he's really sad about something, for all my wonderful abilities, there's nothing I can do to help.  It's too helplessly true, isn't it?  Some of our most painful emotional experiences, we have to endure alone.  At least for me, in those tough times, whenever someone offered their totally useless sympathy or advice, the first comment that came to mind were those immortal 3 little words from the Terminator:  Fuck off, asshole.   And today, been watching the  different numbers from LFDH, Episode 54 to reassure myself that Butch is okay.

So, for what it's worth, love ya, Butch!  Hang in there!

Had to listen to Say It Isn't So again before signing off--the count is up to 5151!