Herb Garden

Laura’s Blog Entry

Working in the garden this season has been really fun and rewarding. Last week I got the herb garden into shape and I can’t stop myself from admiring it every time I drive by. I did some major weeding, dropped in some annual herbs and mulched up a storm with a carload of mulch.

I had an overgrown patch that’s been out of control for a few years that I haven’t known what to do with. I decided to try a no-dig method of clearing it out completely and starting over. I put down a layer of cardboard and then a good 3-4 inches of mulch. That is supposed to kill everything.

I plan to just leave it for a year and next spring plant something new. I need sit out there on a nice evening with my sketchbook and wait for an inspiration. I could do vegetables, but honestly, my soil is poor and I don’t want to have to water that much. So various perennials is probably going to be the direction I go. I do think I will add another path of paving stones through it to make it easier to access the deep front bed. I hate wading through the ivy.

Here’s the herb garden all done, except I have since taken out one of the sage plants and replaced it with parsley.

I am dying to get to work on the front and back yards, but this week has been nuts with Mari having dance rehearsals each day. I was running around getting supplies for that and trying to keep my head above water. And getting ready to put out the June podcast.

Next week you will find me in a lawn chair with a cold iced tea. Every day. Monday through Friday. Recovering.

Peace: The Sleep Mix

Our band The Sleep has done a really cool remix for Depeche Mode’s next single, “Peace.” It is for a remix contest sponsored by Beatportal. This is the first official Depeche Mode endorsed remix contest ever!

Here’s where you come in. The 10 highest vote-getters will be submitted to Depeche Mode; the band and Mute Records will decide the winner.

Here’s how to vote:

Go here.

Register for the site. (Sorry you have to do this, but if you don’t, the vote won’t count!)

Sign in.

Click where it says “spin it.”

That’s it! We really appreciate your support on this. It is a rare chance to get our work heard by our favorite band.

Thanks, everyone!

Depeche Mode To Resume Tour on June 8

Laura’s Blog Entry

The news we have all been waiting for!

For those who may not have heard, a number of date on Depeche Mode’s Tour of the Universe were cancelled after Dave Gahan fell ill backstage with gastroenteritis just before show time at the Athens, Greece concert. The situation was further complicated by the fact that Dave was diagnosed with a small malignant tumor in his bladder. He has since received treatment and is cleared to perform again June 8 in Leipzig, Germany.

We are sending good wishes Dave’s way and are so glad he has had such a speedy recovery!

Ticketholders should check depechemode.com for the latest information on the rescheduled dates.

What the Kids Are Listening To

Laura’s Blog Entry

Mari has been hard at work on an animated music video and she gave permission for me to post it here.

The song is from a Hello Kitty soundtrack. Hello Kitty is way cool, but Mari’s gonna need loads of Depeche Mode to deprogram her from the pop she is getting into these days.

Bears of Winter – I.Machine

Neil’s Blog Entry

Southern-Fried-Industrial That’s Finger Lickin’ Good

I.Machine by Bears of Winter boldly defies genre. Yes, it is listed as “alternative.” Yes, there is an overall industrial/electronic style to the album with it’s ambient drones, dark, distorted vocals and deep synths and guitars. But with each track, we are introduced to an entirely different sub-genre, be it blues, grunge, R&B or southern fried rock to name a few. I know what you’re thinking and, yes, it is incredibly eclectic but it absolutely stands up as a whole piece beautifully. And I think that this makes it very original -  sonically speaking.

The production is very confident – meaning that from a musical standpoint, nothing is missing or lacking. And nothing is overdone. The songwriting is so strong that one could imagine these songs holding up no matter what instrumentation or musical style is used to bring them to life. Andrew Morse’s vocals are fantastic. And I swear at times he’s practically channeling Kurt Cobain.

Standout tracks for me are “Sacred” (which I think is an incredibly beautiful song about loneliness), and “By the River” which brings to mind what kind of music Trent Reznor would make if he and Nirvana jammed with The Allman Brothers. Another standout is “Hey Hey Human” which builds and builds to an anthemic album closer. Oh yeah, and the guitars on “Metamorphosis II” are absolutely perfect, creating quite a beautifully dark and moody atmosphere.

I highly, highly recommend this album – even for those of you who are not particularly into electronic or industrial music. This is just really brilliant songwriting with such feeling and edge, yet there is an elegance only found in the best industrial music. We will be featuring the track “Sca[r]red but Free” on the June podcast, so be sure to tune in for that. Below are some links to fulfill all your Bears of Winter needs.

Buy hard copies directly from the band here:
http://bearsofwinter.soembaresmaekrecords.com

Also available on iTunes, Amazon and CDBaby.

Listen here:
http://www.myspace.com/bearsofwinter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bears-Of-Winter/34761505126
http://www.last.fm/music/Bears+Of+Winter

Reminder: Depeche Mode Contest Deadline Is May 22

On the May podcast we announced that we have some lovely Depeche Mode Swag to give away, thanks to listener Brian. There are two prize packages, which each include a small poster, promo sheet and stickers.

To enter, all you need to do is go here and leave a comment telling us the following:

1)    What do you think of the new Depeche Mode album, Sounds of the Universe?
2)    What is your favorite track? (No bonus tracks, please.)

We will do a drawing on the June podcast to announce the winners. Hurry – the deadline approaches!

Cleaning Blitz

Laura’s Blog Entry

I really enjoy entertaining. It’s been quite awhile since we’ve done any, so I am ramping up for some dinner parties I have dreamed up. So far one is a reality while the other is just in the concept stages.

One thing I love about having people over is it gets me in gear to do spring cleaning tasks that are ignored during regular day-to-day housework. With my Friday deadline before me I feel like I am – so far – avoiding a frenzied freakout and just enjoying getting things organized and tidy.

There was one dinner party where I felt the need to pull out furniture and vacuum behind it. And scrub the stove with a toothbrush. Good times! This round involved pulling up registers for the heating and air conditioning system and vacuuming out the ductwork and scrubbing the registers. The air just feels fresher in here now, I’m telling you.

Also I took down all the pots on the pot rack and cleaned the grid.

And a very satisfying job of reorganizing the Depeche Mode memorabilia.

Up this week: kitchen tile and steam cleaning the wood floors. It’s all so very satisfying. I swear I sleep so much better when I am cleaning like this. Physically tired and emotionally balanced. Well, physically tired anyway.

So what little cleaning task has been nagging at you lately?

White Pizza

Laura’s Blog Entry

I got this recipe from wonderful cook and Depeche Mode Devotee HeatherReMix. It is all kinds of yum. I was looking for some more vegetarian pizza options other than just a bunch of veggies on top of red sauce and cheese. I could tell just by reading it that I was going to love this one.

Highlights include caramelized onions, fresh tomatoes and basil. Delish. My only change was that I got lazy and used a Boboli crust. Click on the link below to view the recipe:

White Pizza

I Went To See Star Trek With My Dad

Neil’s Blog Entry

I went to see Star Trek with my dad. Not so blog worthy on its own, but bear with me.

My dad and I have seen every “Star Trek” movie together since the release of  Star Trek: The Motion Picture way back in 1979. Say what you want about that first film, but it still has a special place in my heart. True, Laura and I sometimes put that on when we can’t get to sleep at night. But I can still remember watching it on the big screen with my dad in my hometown theater.

And I remember crying when Spock died in The Wrath of Khan. (Just a little; I swear.) I remember laughing at The Voyage Home. I remember the passing of the torch in Generations. And I loved it. I loved them all. Even Nemesis.

I was a big “Star Trek” fan. I never went to any conventions or anything like that, but I did have a fairly large collection of memorabilia once upon a time. I am also slightly embarrassed to say that I once owned a Starfleet uniform. (Urgh. Did I actually type that? Hrmm. Yeah, I did.) I also once had coffee with William Shatner. Srsly.

Now my dad is not what you’d call a fan of “Star Trek.” In fact there were several movies in which I’d have to explain who this character is or why this guy is trying to kill this guy, etc. It just became something that we did. A father-and-son type of thing. Like fishing. Or playing football. We watched “Star Trek” movies together.

Back in 1979, I was much too young to go to the theater by myself and so it made sense that Dad would take me. But when I was older, and a new “Star Trek” movie would be released, Dad and I would end up seeing it with each other. Even in college, when I moved from my home in Hanover, Pennsylvania, to Cincinnati, it would just work out somehow… I’d be in Pennsylvania on break… or Mom and Dad would be visiting in Cincinnati… and sure enough, there’d be a “Star Trek” movie playing and we’d go see it. Same thing once I married Laura… we’d be visiting over Christmas, and Dad and I would say, “Hey look! They made another one!” And we’d be off to the movies.

And it was not something that we actually even noticed right away. It just sort of happened. In fact, it was in 1996, when First Contact came out, when I said to my dad, “Hey, did you know we’ve seen every one of these movies together?” “We have?” he answered, “How about that?”

This new movie – which I’m sure I will talk about in our next podcast to great depth – was originally scheduled to open in December of this past year. I called Dad when I found out about it and we tentatively penciled in a showing sometime when I’d be in Pennsylvania between Christmas and New Year’s. Several months later, the release date was changed to May 2009. Neither one of us had plans for visits in May and I thought to myself, “Ah well, it’s okay. You don’t have to go see every one with Dad.” But then it hit me. 1979. 2009. We had been going to see these movies together for thirty years.

This was something that I did with my dad. This was something that we shared. And this was something that I was going to do again.

I called Dad shortly thereafter and told him I had a plan. We would pick a town somewhere between Cincinnati and Hanover, drive and meet there and see the new “Star Trek” movie. A four and a half hour drive for a “Star Trek” movie? Of course he said, “Yes.”So taking a day off work on Friday, May 8th, I set off at 7:30 in the morning – knowing my dad was doing the same 500 miles away.

We met in Washington, Pennsylvania and grabbed a bit of lunch before hitting the Mall Theater for our movie. It was great. There I was once again, an eleven year-old kid sitting in the theater with my dad. Watching “Star Trek.”

After the movie, standing across gas pumps, my 82 year-old dad says to me with the biggest smile, “Are they going to make another one?” We fueled up, hugged goodbye, got into our respective cars, and drove away. I’d like to say it was because I was tired from the drive, but my eyes were stinging with tears.

“Are they going to make another one?”

Still with no pithy catchphrase,
Neil

Depeche Mode Spoilers and S**t

Laura’s Blog Entry

Depeche Mode did a warm up show for the Tour of the Universe on May 5 in Luxembourg. This first clip contains spoilers, so you have been warned. Me, I want to know every possible detail about the show before I get there. That way I know where to watch at any given moment. And I know not to bring my 10-year-old since “Strangelove” is a bit strange.

Here’s the show finale. Please note Martin is wearing one of THE BEST outfits ever! Fantastic. No kidding. I bet that man sparkles in the dark.

Below is a little catch-up on the in-studio web clips they have released.

The Prada Cape. This makes me smile. I love that such a funny guy writes song that can make me cry.

Producer Ben Hillier keeps his composure despite MIDI issues.

Martin and Dave work on vocals for bonus track “Ghost.” These are the harmonies that keep bringing me back.

Martin lays down a guitar line for “Ghost.” If you aren’t bobbing you head to this song I question if you possess a pulse.