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Brian Knight Rider, trailers, YouTube

New “Knight Rider” might not be so bad after all

Well, when NBC recently introduced a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR as the new KITT (Knight Industries Three Thousand) in the latest attempt to bring back the “Knight Rider” franchise — a TV movie scheduled to air next month, let’s just say I was underwhelmed. I mean, the original KITT — a modified, black t-top Trans Am — is an icon from my youth. And today’s Mustang just doesn’t look all that camera-friendly, in my opinion.

However, I must admit that this teaser that showed up on NBC recently has me excited. And Will Arnett is the voice of KITT…how awesome is that? And, just from the two words in this clip, he sounds great!

“Knight Rider” (2008) teaser

UPDATED…just saw that the second “Knight Rider” trailer is now on YouTube…

Brian arts, movies, Speed Racer, technology, trailers, YouTube

Movie Trailer: “Speed Racer”

“Speed Racer” trailer

As you can see, above is the trailer for the Wachowski brothers-directed “Speed Racer” movie scheduled for release on May 9, 2008.

Now, I loved “Speed Racer” as a kid and I’m not sure what to think of this quasi-live action film version. However, despite what most people think of the final two installments of “The Matrix” trilogy, Andy and Larry Wachowski make films that are visually stunning. And, in that sense, it looks like the Wachowski brothers have succeeded once again.

This movie “looks” incredible…whether or not the film is any good remains to be seen, in my opinion. But the trailer is fun, so check it out.

Brian artist, Christian Beach, David Bowie, Main Man Records, Music, MySpace

Bowie tribute album set for Christmas release

A few weeks ago, my good friend Christian Beach invited me to play organ on a recording of David Bowie’s “Five Years.” Well, I am pleased to report that Christian’s cover of “Five Years” will be the first song on the second disc of a 2-CD Bowie tribute album to be released by Main Man Records on Dec. 25.

Follow the link to find out more about Hero-The Main Man Records Tribute to David Bowie.

Brian artist, Artist to Watch, Music, MySpace, Oppenheimer, video, YouTube

Artist to Watch: Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer is a duo from Belfast, Ireland, who recently finished a U.S. tour opening for They Might Be Giants.

I know there are a lot of people out there who don’t care at all for opening acts, but I have had pretty good success at seeing openers who went on to bigger and better things. Actually, the first concert I ever went to was when my parents took me and my sister to what was then Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands for a Hall & Oates show. The opening act that night was a yet-to-hit-it-big band by the name of ‘Til Tuesday fronted by Aimee Mann. About a week later I saw their debut album, “Voices Carry” — on cassette — in a local store and bought it. A few weeks later, the album’s title track was all over the radio and on MTV.

So, anyway, I have had a pretty good history with seeing quality opening acts, especially in recent years. I saw Tegan and Sara open for Ben Folds at The College of New Jersey about five years ago and never heard of them before. Now, they seem to be all over the place. Then, I saw The Zutons and The Redwalls open for Keane a few years ago, the soon-to-be-all-over-the-place Nicole Atkins open for Mike Doughty, and the still-up-and-coming Dawn Landes open for Midlake just a few months ago.

And that leads me back to the point of this post: Oppenheimer has joined the list of opening acts I would certainly like to see and hear again…hopefully, as a headliner. They played a really strong set of synth-based, 2-to-3 minute pop songs, and their debut, self-titled album is more of the same.

And this quote from Oppenheimer’s Rocky O’Reilly reminds me of the days when my friend Christian Beach and I use to stand behind our array of synthesizers, samplers, drum machines and sequencers:

I could never imagine Oppenheimer being more than us Oppenheimers. We write and record all our own stuff, the creation is very studio based. It’s the two of us throwing our ideas back and forth at each other and seeing where it takes us. In that way I hope the live show reflects that process, that it is two people creating the sounds. On occasion people are upset that it’s not guitar/bass/drums, but that’s not really what we are about, it’s about pop/electronica and really it’s about having fun!

Here is dark, grainy YouTube video of Oppenheimer performing “This is Not a Test” during a recent CMJ show in New York City…

(photo and quote courtesy of Pixelsurgeon.com)

Brian baseball, Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Phillies

Congrats, Jimmy Rollins…2007 National League MVP!

(BBWAA) – Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, the offensive and defensive catalyst for a club that reached post-season play for the first time in 14 years by winning the 2007 National League East title, was elected the NL Most Valuable Player in a tight race against Colorado Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA).

Of the 32 ballots submitted by two writers in each league city, Rollins was listed first on 16, second on seven, third on four, fourth on four and fifth on one for a total of 353 points, based on the tabulation system that rewards 14 points for first place, nine for second, eight for third and on down to one for 10th. Holliday’s breakdown was 11 first-place votes, 18 seconds, one third, one fourth and one sixth for 336 points.

Rollins, 28, who batted .296 and scored 139 runs, was the first player in history with 200 hits (212) and 20 doubles (38), triples (20), home runs (30) and stolen bases (41) in one season. He set a league record for shortstops with 380 total bases, breaking by one the previous mark of the Cubs’ Ernie Banks in 1958.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (.268, 47 HR, 136 RBI), the 2006 winner, placed fifth this time behind New York Mets third baseman David Wright (.325, 30 HR, 107 RBI, 113 R). Rounding out the top 10 were Braves third baseman Chipper Jones (.337, 29 HR, 102 RBI, 108 R), San Diego Padres pitcher Jake Peavy (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 240 K in 223⅓ IP), Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (.332, 22 HR, 103 RBI, 104 R), Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols (.327, 32 HR, 103 RBI) and Florida Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez (.332, 29 HR, 81 RBI, 212 H, 125 R). In all, 26 players received votes.

Rollins and Howard are the 11th set of teammates to win the NL award in consecutive seasons and the first since the Giants’ Jeff Kent (2000) and Bonds (2001). Cincinnati had three teammates win successively in 1938 (Ernie Lombardi), 1939 (Bucky Walters) and 1940 (Frank McCormick), as did the Cardinals in 1942 (Mort Cooper), 1943 (Stan Musial) and 1944 (Marty Marion). Other back-to-back, MVP-winning teammates were the Dodgers’ Campanella (1955) and Don Newcombe (1956), Wills (1962) and Koufax (1953), the Cardinals’ Orlando Cepeda (1967) and Bob Gibson (1968), the Reds’ Joe Morgan (1976) and George Foster (1977) and the Pirates’ Dave Parker (1978) and Stargell (1979).

It marked the seventh time a Phillies player won the award with Rollins joining Howard, three-time winner Mike Schmidt (1980-81, ’86), Chuck Klein (1932) and Jim Konstanty (1950). It was the seventh MVP for an NL shortstop, a list that includes Banks, a two-time winner (1958-59), Marion, Wills, Dick Groat (1960) and Barry Larkin (1995). Shortstops have won in the American League eight times.

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images.)

Brian artist, Brian Kelley, Music

New song in the works

So I finally got around to writing and recording a new song this past weekend. Well, it’s really more like a sketch of a song, but it creates a foundation for something that should be one of my better works.

The drum/percussion parts will be changed and I’m not sure the bridge is going to stay the same. But the verse and chorus parts are pretty much established, although I might make an adjustment in the verse parts to make them a bit different from the intro.

Basically, it still needs a lot of work…and, as is often the case with my stuff, lyrics/vocals. However, this is the first thing I have written and managed to record in about a year. And, except for the faux acoustic version of the “Technology and the Arts” theme I recorded for that podcast, this is the first time I have recorded on my MacBook (using GarageBand, of course).

So, here you go…enjoy my latest musical creation (but keep in mind this is a work in progress).

“Alliel (Rough Demo Mix #1)” (4:42 / 6.5 MB)

Brian Artist to Watch, Music, New Jersey, Nicole Atkins, video, YouTube

Artist to Watch: Nicole Atkins

I saw Nicole Atkins open for Mike Doughty a couple of years ago (in fact, keyboardist Dan Chen left Mike Doughty’s Band to join Nicole Atkins & The Sea a few weeks earlier so the set had a bit of a reunion feel to it).

Anyway, I enjoyed what I heard that night and have kept an eye/ear on Nicole ever since. I downloaded her wonderful “Bleeding Diamonds” EP from iTunes some time ago and her recently released full-length album, “Neptune City,” has been garnering tremendous reviews. She has an incredible voice and is an amazingly gifted songwriter.

Nicole Atkins & The Sea made their network television debut Oct. 30 with a performance of “The Way It Is” on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” which you can see in the video above.

Nicole and her bandmates have also been featured in a recent American Express commercial.

More importantly, Nicole is a fellow Jersey Shore native so I really would like to see her succeed. And I think she will. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that 2008 is going to be THE year of Nicole Atkins.

Brian Jim Dowd, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Flyers, sports

Jim Dowd: The Pride of Brick, NJ!

Fellow Brick Township High School alumnus, Jim Dowd (#34 in photo), scored his first goal as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers last night against his two-time former team, the New Jersey Devils. Dowd redirected a shot from the point past Devils goalie Martin Brodeur at 10:49 of the second period in the Flyers’ 4-0 victory.

It’s so nice to see Dowd, a 16-year NHL veteran, playing for the Flyers. I know the whole “Jersey Boy Playing with the Jersey Team” story was nice for the media and all…but it was really hard for me to root for my fellow BTHS Dragon as a member of the hated Devils.

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)