Summer Is On It's Way

Summertime is just around the corner.  It's time to prepare your body's for less coverage and prepare your sensory organs for quality entertainment.

With Coachella going on this weekend, the Summer Festival Season is already starting.  Hipsters and music lovers are all preparing for their festival(s) of choice.  I'm looking forward to attending Lollapalooza in August, but there's a lot of time between now and then. 

I watched sets by Jake Bugg and Stars at Coachella on Youtube yesterday.  I was very impressed by Jake Bugg.  I'd been hearing about him for awhile, but wrote him off for whatever reason and didn't actually check him out.  I'm disappointed I did this.  He looks like a normal, young dude (he's 19).  I guess I assumed he was like one of those kids that get played on Disney Radio or something, but he's not.  He's a British kid who grew up with musical parents and has a throwback rock sound similar to the Rolling Stones and lists influences like Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers. Check out "Lightning Bolt".

Other music I've been into a lot lately (and looking forward to see at Lollapalooza) are Haim, Shovels and Rope, Charles Bradley and Frightened Rabbit.  Shovels and Rope I discovered after the Lolla list and then found out they were in the line-up.  They're a very good folk/country duo formed made up of a married couple who switch instruments and just seem to enjoy themselves a lot. Check out "Birmingham".

Haim is a band I've been pumped about since I discovered them a couple of months ago.  It's like Paul Simon had 3 daughters and raised them on Fleetwood Mac.  I urge you to check them out, so enjoyable. Check out "Forever".

Charles Bradley is the "Screaming Eagle of Soul".  He was born in 1948, so he's seen his share of life.  And from his music you can tell he's felt his share of struggle.  He's been taking off recently, and it's no surprise with how the American economy has been the past few years.  There is so much emotion and soul in his voice, anyone can feel the pain and relate to the struggle he sings about.  Check out "No Time For Dreaming" and "It's So Hard".

I've been a huge fan of Frightened Rabbit for years and am super excited about finally getting a chance to see them.  They're a Scottish indie-rock band that may not appeal to the masses, but they appeal very strongly to me.  Check out "The Twist" and "Swim Until You Can't See Land".

Feel free to let me know about any music you're currently jamming or looking forward to seeing.  I'm always looking for new music of all kinds to listen to.

Stay Fresh,
KK

Summertime.

It's officially Summer now, my favorite season of the year.  Mine isn't looking to be very special, but I'll enjoy it nonetheless.  I finally got to see Jeff, Who Lives At Home this week, since it came out on DVD/BluRay.  I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters as I live in the Midwest and am a busy man.  The movie was very enjoyable as I wanted it to be.  If you don't know anything about it, it was made by the Duplass brothers who made Cyrus with Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly.  One of brothers is also starring in this summer's Safety Not Guaranteed which I'm looking forward to seeing.

Jeff, Who Lives at Home stars Jason Segel and Ed Helms as brothers who have nothing in common.  Segel plays Jeff, who has no job and still lives with his mom and believes in fate and following the signs life sends you to get where you're supposed to be.  Ed Helms' character thinks he has it all together with his job and wife and his new Porsche.  It turns out neither of them quite have it all together.  It was a highly enjoyable film about different kind of people and learning to work together and respect each other.  The movies also features Susan Surandon as the mother of the two, and how she deals with getting older and her sons growing up and not being the perfect lovable tikes they were when they were younger.






I also recently saw the movie Goon, which was written by Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up, She's Out of My League).  It was a delightful movie about hockey.  I'm not a huge hockey fan, as my favorite sport is basketball and I'm usually following the NBA while the NHL season is happening.  The movie centers around a guy, Doug (played by Sean Willam Scott (American Pie, Role Models)), who is a bouncer, goes to a hockey game with his friend and ends up fighting a player who charges into the crowd after some trash talking from his friend (Baruchel).  After the fight, he's contacted by a minor league hockey team and gets added to the team as an enforcer even though he doesn't know how to skate or anything.  His parents don't approve of what he's doing, and there's a glimpse into the future of what he could become in a character played by Liev Shreiber. It's a good movie with good humor and a little heart.

Warm weather has arrived, and it is tremendous. I had been spending quite a bit of time taking walks, running and going to the park working on my shot, but lately it's been raining a lot, on top of me working overnights and sleeping much of the day. Summer is my favorite season for these reasons, the outdoor activities and a more active lifestyle is easier to live.

The NBA season ended, with the Dallas Mavericks beating the Miami Heat in 6 games. Congratulations to the Mavs for the achievement. The Western Conference still remains on top! I'm looking forward to see the reshaping that happens this offseason. The Nuggets have many free agents, its pretty certain they will lock up Nene and Arron Afflalo, their two biggest free agents, though, which is great. Its also been talked about that Timofey Mozgov will be playing more minutes next year, he has high potential and I hope he works out. Free agents I would like to see the Nuggets pick up: Shannon Brown, Deandre Jordan, Dwight Howard would obviously be welcomed, as well. I don't know much about the Draft prospects, so I won't say anything about that, I hope they can get a solid player who can make a contribution to the team.

I also recently joined the Twitterverse. I had been anti-Twitter for a long time, and it just won me over. Follow me...REALKristopherK.