Schu's Review: Dallas Smith "One Little Kiss"

Dallas Smith is back with another sure fire hit except this time, it's a familiar song. One Little Kiss! Jake Owen released this song on 'Days Of Gold'.
"One Little Kiss Never Killed Nobody". Outside of jokes about poisonous lipstick, the herpes jokes write
themselves. In all honesty, both versions of this song are great.  It's just a good song. Technology, drinking, late night visits, and relationships renewed. Back in my day, we just called 'em 'booty calls'.
Personally, I'm a big fan of Dallas Smith. Even when he was in that l'il ol' Rock Band from Vancouver! After seeing him Live (twice), I can attest; "This dude can sing. He's got the energy. He's vibrant and amazing with this crowd". Plus, his guitar player's a cool guy. From Northern Alberta, too. If you're a Dallas Smith fan, you've already heard the tune. If you're undecided, but you thoroughly enjoy laughing at the 'one night stand
and drinking cliches' in today's country music - then check out the song. You'll love it.

Besides a LONG WEEKEND, there's another big day coming up in May! That would be Pac Man's 36th Birthday! Although I'm more of a 'sports game' type of guy. (Particularly Hockey - thing is - I haven't played in a very long time. I'm, like, over 40 man. Come on! What 40 year old man plays video games?) Well, when it comes to Pac Man? THIS GUY DOES!  And, I'm kidding about the 'men playing video games' remark. Have you seen some of the games these days? INCREDIBLE! Let's take a trip back to an easier time. Back 36 years ago! PacMan is now eating Bran Flakes!

Pac Man Classic Arcade Flash Game

Friday April 15th - One Hell of a Festive Day

It's Friday the 15th!!! SO what, you say? Coachella fires up today.  After working in the Radio Industry for the past 20 years, Festivals are always a great time. Some of them are getting so big, it's hard to believe any other event would try to compete. Coachella is one of those. Here in Canada, a lot of the small Festivals are getting cancelled. The economy is in the dumper. So, when a Canadian Organizer realizes how much money an American Artist wants, well, they'll take a look at the Canadian Dollar, and toss in the towel. It's happened in Alberta, BC, and Ontario. 
But THIS isn't just a festival anymore. Coachella has become a legend. It's become a way of life. It's an experience fit for any type of music fan. Oh, and the celebrity trail is long and huge. Coachella has become a celebrity topic for late night TV! Some of them will even spend time at Coachella, doing their shows live. It's awesome! 
Indio, California becomes a metropolis of sonic proportions starting today! Of course, one of the highlights of this year’s festival is bound to be tomorrow night’s return of a reunited Guns N’ Roses. The band hasn't even started their full on tour! But, by the end of Coachella, the stories will be legendary. And, remember, there's social media these days.  Back in the good ol' days, G'n'R didn't have to worry about this social media world. If this weekend goes well, they could reach another level.  Hopefully they do - - have you seen their ticket prices? Throw in the audiences down in Mexico next week, and they will have performed in front of over half a million people in less than a week.  
Tonight, another reunion in Indio - - It's the original line up for LCD Soundsystem. Sunday night features Calvin Harris. In between time, just take a look at that line up above in the poster.  In addition to the headliners, this year’s fest includes Ice Cube, Disclosure, Ellie Goulding, CHRVCHES, Sia, Major Lazer, The 1975, Of Monsters and Men, Zedd, Halsey, Run the Jewels, Gary Clark, Jr., Sufjan Stevens, A$AP Rocky, Silversun Pickups, James Bay and Chris Stapleton.
Obviously there are large numbers of people who will actually save their money, and spend it on lucrative trips. Like going to Coachella? The good news is -  if you can't make it this weekend, YOUTUBE is live streaming the entire weekend.

2016 NHL Playoff Predictions

It's been a tough year for Canuck fans! (I'm a diehard)!  I KNOW! Nobody else is crying over it! I get it! Oiler fans are laughing, until we laugh back and throw draft pick jokes their way! Then they just say 'I'll beat you all up with my pipe wrench'!  Habs fans aren't fond of the Canucks either. Sure they'll go to games in Vancity, and bring half of the Canadiens' fan club with 'em. But if it comes down to arguing, Montreal will point to the old things hanging from the rafters at their own rink.  Flames fans? Hell, they don't even know where Vancouver is. Nothing exists past the Rockies.  Just like Leafs fans with the Ontario border! As for Winnipeg- well, we can all argue with those fuckers! They're just happy to be back in the NHL for now. Sadly, all of us are out of the playoffs this year. Even the Sens! They're still trying to figure out why! Was it the coach? The owner? Why didn't that Karlson kid throw us on his back?  We'll just let them stew on it a bit longer.
Here we are-- not a single Canadian team in the dance!  Might as well join the club and start making predictions for the Holy Grail this year!

ROUND 1



Islanders Panthers - A tough pick! I'm a huge Luongo fan. Of course. But growing up in the 80's, I saw some pretty good Islander teams. Still enjoy watching a few of their games each year. I'll go with Florida! Tavares, no Cup for you!

Oh tough! My second favorite team has always been the Flyers. I love how the rest of the fans in the league 'boo' the Flyers (for some odd reason, other teams' fans think the Broadstreet Bullies still exist). I'd love to see OV get a Cup, but I'm goin' with my heart. I pick The Flyers. 

Rangers are nothing without King Henrik! He's getting older. I can't see him toughing out a series like this. Although, Fleury has battled injury too. If we negate goaltending in this matchup, I believe the Pens win on sheer talent and full lines.

Sorry Detroit, your time has come! You have a great history. Like the Habs fans, you guys can keep pointing at the rafters (or the past as I like to say).  This HAS to be the year of Stamkos. Could you imagine paying all that money to the future of your team, and they can't even make it to the final? The hunger comes from the top and I believe Stevie Y can get the message to the team - This is your year. I pick the Lightning! 

Sharks have another aging roster of stars who 'almost' made it. How much longer can it continue? Look, we're all hockey fans, we hear the 'experts' talk about the leadership of Thornton and Marleau, then we hear the trade rumors. But you have to imagine they both might like a change of scenery just to avoid that crap each off season. Sadly, this will be another one of those off seasons. The Kings have everything they need to make it to the Cup final again. And it pisses me off. I pick the "gag" KINGS. 

This would be a great cup final in most years. But, first round? This matchup will be a great series, but like the Kings, I think the Hawks have the ingredients to go a long way in a tough race for the cup. If St. Louis can't pull off a victory in this series, I think we see some big changes in that line up. That's freakin' awesome! They have some great players, and I would hope my beloved Canucks could swoop in for the taking. HINT: Backes! Backes! (We did offer sheet the guy 3 years ago). Back on topic: Blackhawks will win. 

Two teams I could care less about. Dallas always sucks. Hate 'em. Minnesota is...well....they're a team with a goalie who used to play in Edmonton, right? Meh, who cares? Can Seguin and the Starlets make it past a stingy defence in Minny? Seriously, I don't know. Coin toss. Heads: Dallas. Tails: Minny.  Oh, look, it's heads. Dallas wins! 

Another series that should be a good Cup final! Alas, it will never happen and this will be a tough first round for both teams. I'm a huge Shea Weber fan. I'd love to see him make a Cup final, at least. Is Pekke Rinne good enough to make it past the Ducks potent offense? Tough call.  My Gawd, think of Getzlaff, Perry, Bieksa, Kesler, Freddy Anderson is a beast in net.  Boudreau is a decent coach, but after failing in Washington (even with Ovechkin), will this be the year Boudreau proves the Expert Panels wrong? I'm picking The Ducks! They are a strong, balanced team. 

Schu's Review: Madeline Merlo "Whatcha Wanna Do About It"

This time around:.  Madeline Merlo "Whatcha Gonna Do About It".  This song has had my interest for the past couple of weeks. Not only because she's a stunner! She can sing!! Madeline has been working very hard for years at this craft. I'm betting she would say she's worked her entire life or a good portion of it.
Dan Swinimer (ManicDown) has been a huge part of her launch into Canadian Country Super stardom! Madeline's from BC (my homeland, another easy factor in deciding who to blog about!!) With Dan's help, she plugged away and then landed the opening spot on Dean Brody and Paul Brandt's massive tour last year. In my honest opinion, she's a very close vocal comparison to a young Martina McBride, and that's saying alot.  "Whatcha Wanna Do About it" has impact right from the start.
She hits the opening with anticipation, and energy! Although, it's a song about finding possibilities in a stranger, there's something different about this song. This is a girl who doesn't want to waste time. She knows a connection when she feels one. Yes, there are plenty of country songs about one night stands, and hook ups, and text-style breakups, but this song - it has power. It screams, 'Just get to the point'!
Madeline is definitely playing the 'good girl' in the song. She has all the ideas, but she wants him to do all the work. Thus, 'Whatcha Gonna Do About it'.  Something about that scenario is very hot. Beyond that, the fact she reminds me so much of a young Martina McBride (vocally), puts this song in the same breath as anything Jess Moskaluke, Kira Isabella, Brandy Clark, or Kelsea Ballerini is doing. I'm thinking the future is bright for this young superstar from BC. We will see some big things from Madeline Merlo down the road. For now, here's the video for 'Whatcha Wanna Do About It'......oh, and guys - you're welcome. It's pretty awesome:

Schu's Review: Limitless

When it comes to movies at the theatre, I've always enjoyed going for a good action flick or a comedy. Anything else, I can easily wait til it comes out on DVD. So, I was really waiting for Limitless with Bradley Cooper. The previews showed a distinctly different side to Cooper. After all, I've watched the Hangover about 8 times and he makes me laugh every time. This movie starts with Cooper being anything but funny.
He's disheveled, lives in a ripped up and rotten apartment, and is trying to write a boo. Eddie Morra is a bumb trying to be a writer. Not long into the movie, his girlfriend calls to provide us with Eddie's first dilemma: she dumps him on his ass. This is Eddie's motivation to get out and try to figure out what's going on with his pathetic life. He wanders around aimlessly trying to get his motivation, and he ends up meeting his ex-wife's brother. I mean, what are the chances? It's only New York City! Millions of people walking around, and Eddie bumps into his ex brother in law. They still get along too. It's unreal. "Hey, let's go for a drink". They do. Here's the best part: "I know you're my ex's bro and all, but dude, I'm stuck. I don't know what to write".
"I have an idea, Eddie. Why don't you take this pill I have. It's only a sample. But see this really nice suit I'm wearing? I can afford it cuz this pill kicks ass". "Really, how is a pill going to make me write a book?" Okay, he doesn't really ask that last question, but you get the idea. The pill is some kind of sample, and Johnny (the brother in law) works the streets trying to sell these things. The pill causes humans to access 100% of their brain. It acts very fast, too.  I caught myself wishing someone would come up with a pill to reduce my beer gut in 30 seconds, but I digress. Eddie takes the pill. You guessed it. His life turns around. He writes the book. It's awesome. He's wicked smart. Makes some money. Then, more conflict: the pills are killing  people, the lab rats, if you will. Wait. There's more. If the subjects 'stop' taking the pills, they die. It's a  conundrum. Get greedy, take too many, you die. Stop taking them, you die. Eddie's pills are running out. However, Johnny's been killed. See, that's why you never keep up those relationships with the ex wife's family, it's only gonna get ya in trouble. The previews really made the movie seem to be 'edge of your seat'. It
wasn't. It's a movie that's 'good' for DVD. Not for a theater. Cooper was good. Not great, but good. It was
a really predictable movie. The writers/director really tried hard at the end to make up for it, but by then, it was too late. Limitless was an average drama. A bit of action, not a lot. Robert De Niro was forgettable. The way his character slid into the plot and carried it along was very 'B-Grade". It felt like he made the movie as a favor to someone. As a villain, I didn't hate him. For Cooper, I didn't feel bad for the guy. I wasn't pulling for him. I didn't care if he found more pills and saved the world with books. Limitless was an average movie with a good cast. I'm sure a lot of people will enjoy watching it on DVD, when they're bored on Sunday night. But that DVD will be at your next garage sale, guaranteed.

Schu's Review: Source Code

Source Code. Hey, it’s Jake Gylenhaal taking Keanu Reeves to the land of laymen’s terms. To be brutally honest, it was like watching the Coles notes version of the Matrix. One of my best buddies told me “I had to see this movie cuz Duncan Jones rocks. He’s the guy who did “Moon”. Well, I didn’t see “Moon” and I don’t really find a lot of director’s work different from the others. I honestly only have a few faves: Tarantino, Bruckheimer, Woo, Tony Scott. You know, the guys who can make a big screen movie loud and obnoxious? It’s not to say a guy like Edward Burns isn’t good. I like his stuff, too. Source Code really looked like a movie that would keep the action rolling beginning to end. But once I sat down, I realized there was a computer programmer and Quantum Physics major behind the scenes pushing play on this one. Gylenhaal was Colter Stevens. A guy who flew helicopters in Afghanistan. We found out he crashed, and lost most of his crew. Then he was put to work inside a government program. Of course, we don’t know this until he wakes up on a train for the second time doing the exact same thing. Hello, Groundhog Day! But, this isn’t a comedy. This government program was made by a math and computer genius, Dr. Rutledge. He has a team of military ‘computer geeks’ running this bank of computers from deep inside an Air Force base. The train has a bomb on it, bound for Chicago. It blows up. Like 4 times. Kills everybody. And every time it blows up, Colter Stevens gets ‘transported’ back to his ‘happy place’.
This is where he finds solace talking to Colleen Goodwin. A fellow Military Officer who tells him, “It’s okay, you screwed up this time, but we’ll send ya right back in there, and you can tell us who planted that bomb and why would they do something like that?” Now, you and I both know we would ask some pretty strong
questions if this happened to us. I mean, the first time I survived an explosion like the one in Source Code, I would probably thank my lucky stars I woke up dreaming. But, if I had someone telling me through a little computer screen I had to go right back in there, well, I would ask for something in return. Colter doesn’t do this until the end. So I giggled a little bit. Then I suspended disbelief cuz you know, it’s a movie.
So, Colter Stevens travels repeatedly back to the train. Back to the same spot in time. Then, searches for the clues to complete his mission. Oh, yeah, each time he wakes up on the train, the token ‘love interest’ is sitting right in front of him. Michelle Monaghan. Her name is Christina. He doesn’t know her last name though. In a Sixth Sense type of twist, we discover Colter’s a dead man computing. He actually died in that original chopper crash in Afghanistan, but this weird Quantum Physics Military Dude, Dr. Rutledge came up with a computer program that could attach to the brain of a recently deceased corpse, and plug into the ‘last 8 minutes’ of operation which every human brain has for ‘mortality storage’ when we die. It’s a stretch, but
it’s a cool theory in the movie. Rutledge says “the human brain will continue to function for 8 minutes after death”. Using some wicked smart algorithms, he comes up with a computer, some wires, and a dead soldier’s body inside a steel box, which probably is a metaphor for the physical hard drive we have on our desktops, I’m just guessing. Then, using quantum physics, and alternate realities, Dr. Rutledge thinks he’s found his perfect ‘specimen’ to attach his invention to. The problem is, Colter Stevens understands all that math. Plus, it’s Jake Gylenhaal. He knows how to swoon the ladies. And that’s exactly what he does to Colleen Goodwin, his commanding officer. He convinces her to let him go back to the train one last time to save Christina. Even though Dr. Rutledge said, “You can’t do that. You can’t change the alternate reality”. Well, this boy’s smart. He flew helicopters in the middle east, man. Quite frankly, Goodwin’s not liking the fact this Dr. Rutledge is treating her new friend like this. She hits ‘enter’ one last time, and sends him right back to the train. This time, though, Colter knows he’s dead. He sends an ‘alternate reality text’ to Goodwin. Then changes everything , including the detonating bomb. Goodwin then realizes her loyalties are not with crazy science guy. She unplugs the ‘machine’. We get a glimpse of Colter, inside the hard drive…. 'er….sorry, box. The back of his head is carved off exposing his brain plugged into wires. Oh, it’s only half of him too. The entire bottom half of his body was gone. We’re left assuming it was because of the accident. Don’t worry, though. In the alternate reality, Colter gets the girl, and keeps her. He’s really positive thinking though. Then, Goodwin actually received the ‘text from the alternate universe’. Weird. Overall, I liked it. Only giggled once. Because we see a train blow up 5 times!