When I’m on the road or in deep production, sometimes I can’t get a column done on time. To prevent quality loss, I thought I’d go back to our first year (2011) and republish some of the better music that didn’t reach the readership we have now. I apologize to the original readers who are still with us, but if...
Bentley’s Bandstand: January 2015
Kristin Andreassen, Gondolier. Beginning the year with an inspired singer-songwriter who, among many flights of fancy, wishes her childhood pet dog had been a horse, seems like a good way to get the party started. Kristin Andreassen’s first onstage experiences may have been as a professional clogger in Annapolis, Maryland, but it was clear from the start that singing was...
New Music for Old People: The 25 Most Appreciated Tracks of 2014
Hello, my favorite listeners! I wrote 47 columns this year and these were the 25 most talked about tracks in the emails and comments I received from all of you. It makes an interesting list as some of the music is NOT FROM 2014 — but was included in this year’s columns. This is where we differ from others. I...
Gift It! Spin Master’s Zoomer Dino
Radio-controlled toys have become increasingly sophisticated in recent years thanks to improved controller technology and an emphasis on personality. No longer restricted to fast cars and monster trucks, this line of playthings now also includes animals that can serve as proxy pets for children. One impressive example that has been flying off shelves this holiday season is Spin Master’s award-winning...
Bentley’s Bandstand: The Second Half – Favorite Albums of 2014
For music lovers, it’s always a kick to pick the favorite albums of the year. So much so that it’s twice as fun to do it twice—once at the end of June and now in mid-December. All the music mentioned below is an exhilarating and often educational ride on the sonic highway, guaranteed to get those aforementioned music lovers to...
An Interview with Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation
The weekend of December 12-14, 2014 will find Seattle- and San Francisco-area Trekkers convening at Creation Entertainment’s Official Star Trek Convention. Among the celebrity guests appearing at the concurrent conventions is none other than Jonathan Frakes, aka Commander Riker on seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and its four feature films (two of which Frakes directed). We caught...
Music Review: Bob Dylan – The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11
Volume 11 of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series offers a monstrous amount of material in a handsome, boxed-set package. Simply put, Columbia/Legacy’s presentation treats The Basement Tapes as they should be: a culturally and artistically important historical document. After all, the whole concept of the bootleg record started with these recordings. Bob Dylan, staying far out of site of the psychedelia-dominated...
Bentley’s Bandstand: December 2014
Time to clear the decks with a year-end round-up of albums and a novel released in 2014 that made it through the deluge. Each and every one of these 40 titles is worthy of interested ears and open eyes. And don’t forget to pay respect to Father Time on December 13 (12/13/14). It’s the last sequential date possible this century....
Blu-ray Review: The Expendables 3
Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD on November 25 is Sylvester Stallone’s latest all-star action blowout, The Expendables 3. Those who decried the PG-13 rating will eagerly anticipate the Blu-ray’s unrated edition (the theatrical cut is included as well), but don’t expect anything too different. The unrated version only adds five minutes and they don’t add up to any significant difference....
Sochi Update and Infostrada Sports’ Virtual Medal Table
Written by Ray N. Olsen, Member of the International Society of Olympic Historians Below is the final updated independent prediction of the medal count for teams in the 2014 Winter Olympics by Infostrada Sports.You will note that while the US is first (great) for Gold Medals by two over second place Norway (wow, they only have a total of 4...