Rust Study

Neon Lights, BS & Other Ramblings

When I heard that Bull Shiter aka Blake Shelton had a new single out, "Neon Light" from his upcoming album "Bringing Back The Sunshine," I was intrigued. Starting out the song with a light Hip Hop beat didn't really draw me into the song, but the lyrics (written by Andrew Dorff, Mark Irwin and Josh Kear - a trio who had written hit-songs for other artists before) had a lovely retro feel - something I haven't heard quite in a while coming out of Trashville. The lyrics actually do tell a story and in the second verse actually get quite mean - even though the two last lines with the three word repetitive are contemporary stupid as the mentioned opening beat is required in 2014:

“I take a shot of I don’t care what you’re doing now
Chase that one with a cold screw you
When that’s done I just might wash it down with a big pitcher of someone new
That blonde, blonde, blonde at the bar, bar, bar
See if she wants to try an unbreak my heart, heart, heart”

The banjo, the slight guitar work, Shelton's vocal range during the choruses also speak for this single. The production by Scott Hendricks unfortunately does not. Even though there is cool, bluesy overtone to it, it's completely over-produced and over-compressed with several unnecessary layers, which lower the song almost past mediocracy.

But then once again, Blake simply couldn't shut up and the BS started flowing when he told Rolling Stone Country that "The song, the melody, the chorus is so George Jones or George Strait. It really is."
Nope, it's not, even though he also claimed to know the history of country music: "Of course, I’m always going to have the haters and critics out there that say it's not. But then, kiss my ass! I know more about those records than a lot of people."

Maybe he does to a certain degree, but then he would have had a good chance on being the leader to move some of the music back to it's more traditional roots. A song like this, with a late 80's early 90s feel to it would have sounded wonderfully. And producer Scott Hendricks should have known better. As the producer (with Keith Stegall) he not only engenieered Alan Jackson's debut album "Here In The Real World" which contained the lovely Honky Tonk anthem "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow" but also another ode to the legendary bar signs, in Brooks & Dunn's "Neon Moon" from their album "Brand New Man."

Even the James Stroud produced, two year old "Neon" by Chris Young, written by Texan master-songwriter Shane McAnally with Josh Osborne and Trevor Rosen which reached #23 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs sounds with it's leading steel guitar and fiddle more country as Blake's last outing. And if you want it really traditional just listen to Austin favorite Wayne "The Train" Hancock and his little ditty "Thunderstorms & Neon Lights" with the late great twangmaster Paul Skelton on guitar.

Blake Shelton - "Neon Lights"


Alan Jackson - "Chasin' That Neon Rainbow"


"Neon Monn" Brooks & Dunn


Chris Young - "Neon"


Wayne "The Train" Hancock - "Thunderstorms & Neon Signs"

Stairway to Heaven

Dog Days of Summer

Twenty20 Challenge - Vintage II / Fun

Twenty20 (formerly InstaCanvas) is a social media platform to showcase, discover, and buy the best in mobile photography & art.

The hold challenges regularly and for this weeks contests I entered my Instagram I shot almost a year ago. A friend of mine bought a 48 (?) Plymouth I did a photo study on.

Twenty20 - Challenge: Vintage II - Plymouth 

Another challenge open this week is Fun. I chose a Instagram I shot last summer of Country Funker (Mike) Barfield shot during one of his shows at the White Horse, in Austin, Texas

Twenty20 - Challenge Fun - Country Funker Mike Barfield

For more on Barfield follow him on his facebook page.

Shot with Motorola Droid / originally published on Instagram.

For my whole gallery on Twenty20, please visit here.

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Go Pro

Dean Carriere - Mount Everest - Top Of The World

Seit die ersten GoPro Kameras auf dem Markt erschienen und waghalsige Aktionen überall auf dem Internet dokumentierten - sei es das obige Selbstportrait auf dem Mount Everest von Dean Carriere - ein Sprung über eine Bergkante



- auf dem Skateboard - einem Mountain Bike - Motorfahrrad - oder mit einem Wingsuit durch das Tianmen Loch in China



- montiert am Heckteil einer russischen Mig 29, wo die Kamera bis zu 6 g-Kräfte aushielt

DCC - Mia

wurde ich zum wahren Bewunderer dieser kleinen, aber äusserst robusten, digitalen Kamera.

Nun mussten die GoPros allerdings einen weitaus grösseren Stress-Test bestehen.


An Hula Hoop Ringe montiert wurden sie an die Cheerleaders des US-Football Clubs Dallas Cowboys abgeben. Amerika's Schätzchen waren gerade in Cozumel, Mexiko um einen Badekleider-Kalender zu schiessen.

Und ganz dem GoPro Motto "Be A Hero" (Sei ein Held) hielten die Kameras auch all anderen g-Kräfte und Reize ab. Im untenstehenden Video sieht man mehr. 

Meine Wunschliste wurde erweitert (nicht mit den Cheerleaders aber mit den Kameras), aber bis anhin habe ich noch keine Kameras gekriegt. Vielleicht kann ich eine in der täglichen Verlosung auf der Facebook Seite von GoPro. gewinnen. Den Kalendar der Dallas Cheerleaders kann man im Übrigen hier bestellen.

Quellen: youtube, GoPro, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Das Original wurde im Zeitfresser Blog am 11. 1. 2014 veroeffentlicht.

Cowboys Cheerleaders Go Pro

Dean Carriere - Mount Everest - Top Of The World

Since the first GoPro cameras came up and actually filmed some daredevil action either a selfie by Dean Carriere on top of the world on Mount Everest (above) or in the snow,



on a skateboard - mountain bike - motorcycle - flying with a wingsuit through Tianmen Cave in China


or even mounted to a tail of a fighter jet, withstanding 6G

DCC - Mia

I have become a big fan of these robust digital cameras.


But now the GoPros had to endure another and probably the biggest stress test ever.
They were mounted on hula hoops and the hoops were given to the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to play with while shooting their Swimsuit Calendar in Cozumel, Mexico.



And true to the motto of the GoPro, "Be A Hero" the cameras were able to withstand all the g forces here as well, just check out the video below, capturing all the action. 

I put them up on my wishlist (not the girls, the cameras!), but to no avail yet. Maybe I win one in the daily drawings GoPro has on facebook. The swimsuit calendar of America's sweethearts can be found here

Sources: youtube, GoPro, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Originally published on 1/11/2014 in Tidbits

Colorful Stroll In The Fog

Decaying Christmas Tree

After posting the black and whites from my morning stroll in the fog, here come the color ones - yes even when the weather is miserable you'll find interesting other pursuits to shot and share. Since I wrote my dys-fun-ctional Christmas blog, I was actually waiting to shoot a decaying Christmas tree and surprise, surprise, I found one across the street. As John Prine would have it: I guess that love Is like a Christmas card You decorate a tree You throw it in the yard It decays and dies And the snowmen melt Well I once knew love I knew how love felt But on to some more colorful themes and vibes, even though that colorful leaf is one of the last one on the tree and i dying too - but the light on it was just gorgeous. So please enjoy some leaves and bushes with tears (Tränen) or simply water droplets (Wassertropfen) on it. Let me know, which ones you like best.

Beautiful, orange leaf

More Waterdroplets

Water Droplets On Bush

Tear / Träne aka Wassertropfen / Water Droplet

All shot with Nikon D7000 / edited and cropped in Picasa Originally published 1/09/2014 in "My Photography"

Colorful stroll in the fog

Decaying Christmas Tree

After posting the black and whites from my morning stroll in the fog, here come the color ones - yes even when the weather is miserable you'll find interesting other pursuits to shot and share. Since I wrote my dys-fun-ctional Christmas blog, I was actually waiting to shoot a decaying Christmas tree and surprise, surprise, I found one across the street. As John Prine would have it:

I guess that love Is like a Christmas card
You decorate a tree You throw it in the yard
It decays and dies And the snowmen melt
Well I once knew love I knew how love felt

But on to some more colorful themes and vibes, even though that colorful leaf is one of the last one on the tree and i dying too - but the light on it was just gorgeous. So please enjoy some leaves and bushes with tears (Tränen) or simply water droplets (Wassertropfen) on it. Let me know, which ones you like best.

Beautiful, orange leaf

More Waterdroplets

Water Droplets On Bush

Tear / Träne aka Wassertropfen / Water Droplet

One of my shots was included in the finals of a weekly photo challenge - theme was "Pattern In Nature" - go check all the finalists out. Great slideshow!

International Amateur Photographers IAP's Slidely by Slidely Slideshow

All shot with Nikon D7000 / edited and cropped in Picasa

Morning Walk In The Fog

Tree in the fog - Baum nebelverhangen

Went on a stroll in my neighbourhood this morning - and even though everything was damp and foggy - I found some great subjects - all the black & white shots are in here, the color shots - less foggy will be in a seperate blog.

Agave Cacti - Agave Cactus

Loneliness - Einsamkeit

Mailbox - Briefkasten

Originally published in my photography blog (2014-01-09)

Morning Walk In The Fog

Tree in the fog - Baum nebelverhangen

Went on a stroll in my neighborhood this morning - and even though everything was damp and foggy - I found some great subjects - all the black & white shots are in here, the color shots - more colorful will be in a separate blog.

Agave Cacti - Agave Cactus

Loneliness - Einsamkeit

Mailbox - Briefkasten

All shot with a Nikon D7000 - edited and cropped in Picasa

Sunset In Vienna, Georgia

I had to beg my friend, Laura Johnson, that I can share this awesome sunset shot from tonight (2014-01-07) close to Vienna, Georgia in "My Photography" blog. Being a professional photographer for over 35 years in one way or another - that's what we are always waiting for and hardly ever get.

I truly think that picture could win some awards, and it's less the beauty of the sunset and more the dynamic composition of the whole picture.

Shot with iphone / no filters / a bit of contrast on my side...
This was originally published in My Photography blog.

Sunset In Vienna, Georgia

I had to beg my friend, Laura Johnson, that I can share this awesome sunset shot from tonight (2014-01-07) close to Vienna, Georgia in "My Photography" blog. Being a professional photographer for over 35 years in one way or another - that's what we are always waiting for and hardly ever get.

I truly think that picture could win some awards, and it's less thee beauty of thee sunset and more the dynamic composition of the whole picture.


Shot with iphone / no filters / a bit of contrast on my side...

Les Femmes du 6ème étage - (The Women on the 6th Floor)

Set in 1962 in Paris, this French/Spanish movie by writer (with Jérôme Tonnerre)/director Philippe Le Guay is a lighthearted comedy-romance, with some subtle social economic undertones. On one side there is Jean-Louis Joubert (greatly played by Fabrice Luchini) and his neurotic wife, Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain), members of the upscale Bourgeoisie, with two sons that are away in boarding school. After their old maid quits/gets fired, Maria Gonzalez (Natalia Verbeke) gets hired. With her sheer presence and pride, she starts unraveling the social order in this huge apartment complex in Paris.



All the laborers (maids) live in small garrets (mansards) under the roof (on the 6th floor) of the building in less than acceptable conditions. Monsieur Joubert, who has lived in this building all his life, as his parents and grandparents have, suddenly starts to realize the "joie de vivre" of all the Spanish domestics who keep the "dead society" on the floors below them, tidy and organized. Even with the social undertones, the movie is funny, light, easy digestible even with the subtitles, in case you don't speak French and/or Spanish.

It's not a must see, but you may spend the 104 minutes worse. I'll give it ★★★(★)  out of ☆☆☆☆☆ stars.

Dandelion - I Will Survive

Amazing this dandelion is surviving growing on dead grass and against a steel wall in the background. As they say you can't really kill a weed.

Nikon D 7000 / Picassa / Instagram
originally published here

Sunrise

Beautiful Sunrise after a really chilly night Nikon D7000 / cropped & edited originally published here

Dandelion - I Will Survive

Amazing this dandelion is surviving growing on dead grass and against a steel wall in the background. As they say you can't really kill a weed.

Nikon D 7000 / Picassa / Instagram

Sunrise

Beautiful Sunrise after a really chilly night

Nikon D7000 / cropped & edited

13 for 2013

2013 was an amazing year with quite a great amount of very favorable listenable music - quite an amazing fact is that most of the "boys" couldn't hold up with the "girls" - so my year end list - 13 for 2013 is mostly female dominated. Check all the video links out, go buy these artist's product and enjoy a great variety of Americana, Folk, Country, Roots Music that made my last year in a musical sense very enjoyable. All the artists below are listed alphabetically as I spent almost as equal time to listen to all them.

 Amanda Pearcy - Royal Street - "Better On My Own"

Ashley Monroe - Like A Rose - "Like A Rose"

Brandy Clark - 12 Stories - "What'll Keep Me Out Of Heaven"

Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay - Before The World Was Made - "Let's Go To Lubbock On Vacation"

Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Cheater's Game - "Long Way Home"

Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell - Old Yellow Moon - "Hanging Up My Heart"
 

Holly Williams - The Highway - "Drinkin'"

Kacey Musgrave - "Same Trailer Different Park" - "Merry Go 'Round"

Lindi Ortega - Tin Star - "Tin Star"

The Mavericks - In Time - Back In Your Arms Again

Norah Jones & Billie Joe Armstrong - Foreverly - "Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine"
 

Patty Griffin (w/Robert Plant) - The American Kid - "Ohio"

Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain - "You Can Have The Crown" / "Some Days"
 

Other honorable mentions this year include - Wink Keziah, Delbert McClinton & Glen Clark, Guy Clark, Dayna Kurtz, Jaida Dreyer, Dale Watson, Neko Case, Son Volt, Milk Carton Kids, Shiny Ribs and Jason Isbell plus a ton of amazing live shows I've seen in 2013. Please go out and see live music as often as you can.

 If you may want to be featured on this list next year, please let me listen and review your releases - you find all my contact information right here: www.facebook.com/amucommunications. Blog was originally published here

13 for 2013

2013 was an amazing year with quite a great amount of very favorable listenable music - quite an amazing fact is that most of the "boys" couldn't hold up with the "girls" - so my year end list - 13 for 2013 is mostly female dominated.
Check all the video links out, go buy these artist's product and enjoy a great variety of Americana, Folk, Country, Roots Music that made my last year in a musical sense very enjoyable. All the artists below are listed alphabetically as I spent almost as equal time to listen to all them.

Amanda Pearcy - Royal Street - "Better On My Own"


Ashley Monroe - Like A Rose - "Like A Rose"


Brandy Clark - 12 Stories - "What'll Keep Me Out Of Heaven"


Brennen Leigh & Noel McKay - Before The World Was Made - "Let's Go To Lubbock On Vacation"


Bruce Robison & Kelly Willis - Cheater's Game - "Long Way Home"


Emmylou Harris & Rodney Crowell - Old Yellow Moon - "Hanging Up My Heart"


Holly Williams - The Highway - "Drinkin'"


Kacey Musgrave - "Same Trailer Different Park" - "Merry Go 'Round"


Lindi Ortega - Tin Star - "Tin Star"


The Mavericks - In Time - Back In Your Arms Again


Norah Jones & Billie Joe Armstrong - Foreverly - "Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine"


Patty Griffin (w/Robert Plant) - The American Kid - "Ohio"


Sturgill Simpson - High Top Mountain - "You Can Have The Crown" / "Some Days"


Other honorable mentions this year include - Wink Keziah, Delbert McClinton & Glen Clark, Guy Clark, Dayna Kurtz, Jaida Dreyer, Dale Watson, Neko Case, Son Volt, Milk Carton Kids, Shiny Ribs and Jason Isbell plus a ton of amazing live shows I've seen in 2013. Please go out and see live music as often as you can.

If you may want to be featured on this list next year, please let me listen and review your releases - you find all my contact information right here: www.facebook.com/amucommunications.