Grammy Nominations

The 51st Annual Grammy Awards will air Sunday, February 8th, 2009 on CBS-TV. Nomnations were announced yesterday. The complete list can be found here.

Unlike a lot of other award show, I try to watch at least a few minutes of the Grammys, since the nominees actually perform on stage, and sometimes you get a memorable performance.

Can't say the same about the Emmys or the Oscars. But, wouldn't it make the broadcast more entertaining if nominees in acting categories went up on stage and acted?

Or casts from nominated movies and TV series were on stage reenacting scenes from their shows or films?

How 'bout a stage version of one of the death scenes from No Country For Old Men, complete with special effects, makeup, the whole nine yards.

Or in 2002, why not have Oscar winner Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton reenact their famous love scene from Monster's Ball.

Right in the middle of it, that's when you cut to the shot of Jack Nicholson for his reaction.

Now that I'd watch.

Back to the Grammys, below is a list with some of the notable Grammy categories that feature WJDK artists.

Record of the Year
Adele, "Chasing Pavements"
Coldplay, "Viva La Vida"
Leona Lewis, "Bleeding Love"
M.I.A., "Paper Planes"
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, "Please Read The Letter"

Song of the Year (award to songwriter)
"American Boy," Estelle Featuring Kanye West, artists/William Adams, Keith Harris, Josh Lopez, Caleb Speir, John Stephens, Estelle Swaray & Kanye West, songwriters.
"Chasing Pavements," Adele, artist/Adele Adkins & Eg White, songwriters.
"I'm Yours," Jason Mraz/artist and songwriter.
"Love Song," Sara Bareilles/artist and songwriter.
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay/artist and songwriters.

Album of the Year
Coldplay, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
Radiohead, In Rainbows
Alison Krauss & Robert Plant, Raising Sand
Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III
Ne-Yo, Year Of The Gentleman

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
"Chasing Pavements," Adele
"Love Song," Sara Bareilles
"Mercy," Duffy
"Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis
"I Kissed A Girl," Katy Perry
"So What," Pink

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
"All Summer Long," Kid Rock
"Say," John Mayer
"That Was Me," Paul McCartney
"I'm Yours," Jason Mraz
"Closer," Ne-Yo"Wichita Lineman," James Taylor

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals:
"Viva La Vida," Coldplay
"Waiting In The Weeds," Eagles
"Going On," Gnarls Barkley
"Won't Go Home Without You," Maroon 5
"Apologize," OneRepublic

Best Pop Vocal Album:
Detours, Sheryl Crow
Rockferry, Duffy
Long Road Out Of Eden, Eagles
Spirit, Leona Lewis
Covers, James Taylor

Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Alicia Keys and John Mayer, "Lesson Learned"
Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, "Four Minutes"
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, "Rich Woman"
Rihanna and Maroon 5, "If I Never See Your Face Again"
Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown, "No Air"

Gift Guide Trivia Winding Down

Thursday marks the final day of the Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Contest. Keep those gift guides handy. Wait until Friday to line your birdcage with them. Kidding. You can wait until the weekend if you want.

Also, make sure you're signed up for the $500 Holiday Shopping Spree as soon as possible. Following the daily trivia contest, we'll start drawing names out of the registration boxes for some daily prizes.

All daily prize winners will remain in the running for the big prize.

Show Biz: Wednesday 12/03/08

*** Musical tie-ins for the day: Restless Heart got the birthday slot as Paul Gregg from the group turned 54 today.

We played "Tell Me What You Dream."

For the 80's Escape, a hit song that was made more famous for its video, "Land Of Confusion" by Genesis.





*** We have iTunes set up on the home computer, and I guess I never realized that there was a lot more available at the iTunes store than just music.

I was browsing a Phillies message board, and found a post from a fan that was talking about getting some of the playoff games on DVD. Someone in the thread suggested getting the games off iTunes.

So, I checked out their selections, and found all of the 2008 Phillies playoff games, available for just $1.99 each.

Shazamm! I purchased their wins in the NLDS and NLCS, and when watching the games on Quicktime, the quality is great, there are no commercials, and it's certainly money well spent.

I'm holding out hope that I get some DVD's of the World Series for Christmas, but if I don't, then I'll head back to iTunes to download the rest.

Next, I want to see if I can download all of the Cubs playoff games from the last two years.

I'll look under the comedy section.

Show Biz: Tuesday 12/02/08

*** Happy birthday to Britney Spears. Jay mentioned today that it seems like Britney's been in the spotlight for a long time, despite her just turning 27 today.

Well, hard to believe as it is, she's been around for over a decade.

She hit the big time with "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" in 1997. Now she's back with the inevitable comeback album, which hits stores today, and possible tour next year.

She's also on the cover of this week's Rolling Stone. Spears may be just 27, relatively young, but as I mentioned this morning, there's a lot of mileage on those tires.

Even though Britney's birthday is fairly significant in the music world, we went with a bit of a curve ball today for the musical selection.

Nelly Furtado turns 30 today, and our musical tie-in was Furtado's "Say It Right"




*** Earlier we told you about ASCAP's list of the top 25 most performed Christmas songs for the past five years, based on performance data tracked by Mediaguide, the radio airplay monitoring service.

What we didn't give you on the air was which artist's rendition was considered to be the most popular. Here's the list...

1."Winter Wonderland" - performed by The Eurhythmics

2. "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" - performed by Nat "King" Cole

3. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" - performed by The Pretenders

4. "Sleigh Ride" - performed by The Ronettes

5. "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" - performed by Frank Sinatra

6. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - performed by Michael Bublé

7. "White Christmas" - performed by Bing Crosby

8. "Jingle Bell Rock" - performed by Bobby Helms

9. "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" - performed by Gene Autry

10. "Little Drummer Boy" - performed by The Harry Simeone Chorale & Orchestra

11. "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" - performed by Andy Williams

12. "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" - performed by Brenda Lee

13. "Silver Bells" - performed by Kenny G

14. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" - performed by Amy Grant

15. "Feliz Navidad" - performed by José Feliciano

16. "Frosty The Snowman" - performed by The Ronettes

17. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - performed by Burl Ives

18. "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" - performed by Johnny Mathis

19. "Blue Christmas" - performed by Elvis Presley

20. "(There's No Place Like) Home For The Holidays" - performed by Perry Como

21. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - performed by John Mellencamp

22. "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" - performed by Gene Autry

23. "Carol Of The Bells" - Performed by David Foster (instrumental version)

24. "Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed the World)" - Performed by Band Aid

25. "This Christmas" - Performed by Gloria Estefan


*** The 80's Escape today was "I Miss You" by Klymaxx, a Top 40 hit in 1985.

Sweet (Rick) Roll

Forget turkey, stuffing, candied yams, and pecan pie, the real treat of Thanksgiving was a "Rickroll" courtesy of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I'm sure one of the organizers heard us talking about it, and knew it would be a great idea. Rick Astley, unstoppable!

Show Biz: Monday 12/01/08

*** The Police Blotter this morning featured several doozies as usual. My favorite was the one involving the naked man, tasered by the cops.

Tasers and nudity, how can you go wrong?


*** I was able to avoid all stores on Black Friday. Well, almost all. I did have to stop at a Walgreens to pick up a set of Christmas tree lights, and an extension cord.

Fortunately, I didn't get trampled to death.

We have a pre-lit tree, and it's worked well for several years, but when we assembled the tree Wendesday night, there was one strand of lights out.

That's two emergency stops to Walgreen's in the past few days. And they're not even a sponsor! Yet.


*** The 80's Escape for today was "Shake It Up" by The Cars. Got a suggestion for the 80's Escape -- weekday mornings at 8:15 -- send it along here.

And, We're Back...

Okay, the hamster is back on the wheel, and the show has begun.

Since we started at 6:58am, we missed out on the birthday segment. Which reminds me, something that I'd like to start doing on here is putting information each day regarding our birthday musical tie-in. If not a video of the song, at least the info on what it was.

Same deal for the 80's Escape each morning. This way, if you don't get to hear the segment, you can check back to the blog and see -- possibly with that song's music video -- what the song was.

Holiday Gift Guide Trivia continues this week, so stay tuned.

Yes, We Are Off The Air

Well, this is a nice way to start a new week, and a new month. In case you're coming here this morning to find out why my voice sounds like a steady stream of static today, it's because we are -- for now at least -- off the air.

As far as I know, all our bills are paid. But, then again, I don't know much.

I do know we are working on getting our transmitter problems fixed -- which is located several miles from the studios -- and we'll be back up and running shortly.

Show Biz: Friday 11/28/08

*** Everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? As I mentioned on the show we had a busy, but very enjoyable day.

It started at my in-laws for turkey dinner #1. A crisis was averted when after our youngest daughter, Sarah's bip was misplaced, I ran over to a nearby drugstore to purchase a new one.

I know, I know, not only shouldn't she have one by this point - she's almost 2 1/2 years old -- but this would have been a perfect opportunity to have her quit cold turkey. And, of course, quitting cold turkey...on Thanksgiving...it really was set up nicely for us.

But we couldn't do it. She mainly uses it when she's sleepy, and ready for bed. Judging by the mood of the room after a full plate of turkey, gravy, potatoes, etc., we all could've used a bip by the end of the afternoon.

From there it was on to my brother's house. He and his wife were hosting their first Thanksgiving, and it was a really nice time. Counting us, my parents, and his wife's side of the family, there were about 20 of us there.

Now, it just worked out that we arrived just as they were serving dinner, and not wanting to be rude, we, of course, had a plate of food. Again, it was all very good.

One of the highlights of the night was after dinner when several of us gathered around the TV to take a stab at playing the Wii. Bowling and Golf were the initial sports of choice.

Then, we discovered boxing. It's simple enough, in theory: Hold the two controllers provided, and make boxing motions during the fight. You actually can jab, uppercut, roundhouse, all the moves you associate with boxing.

Turns out, my daughters are a little better at it then I thought. Not sure if I'm happy about that, or frightened.

Our oldest daughter, Megan, who had never played the game before, proceeded to knockout my brother, a veteran of the game, in two separate matches.

Then I took her on, and got knocked out as well.

Of course, Sarah wanted to play also. The first go around, Megan dropped her like a sack of potatoes, as Sarah really had no idea what she was doing.

But...in the second fight, Sarah -- who was basically just moving her arms around without any rhyme or reason, but it was working -- took out Megan with a 3rd round knockout.

And, credit to Megan, who took it in stride, and was laughing about it, as she felt the same way we did after losing to her.

It was a fun way to cap off a great day. A day that featured a (ahem) 1-2 punch of turkey dinners that still has me feeling (burp) stuffed.

Here's me showing Sarah the ropes...



Megan tries to land a "right", moments before her Wii fighter gets knocked out by the Diapered Destroyer, Sarah...

Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Has Begun

Today marks the beginning of our annual Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Contest. Hopefully you have your gift guide, which may have arrived earlier this week at your door.

They are also available at various businesses in the area -- keep listening for the list of Holiday Shopping Spree participating sponsors to find out more.

Inside the gift guide are answers to questions that we will be asking the next several days.

When we ask the question on the air, the first person to call in with the correct answer, and the page number you found it on in the gift guide, you'll win a prize from one of our Shopping Spree sponsors.

Good luck.

Happy Thanksgiving

Jay and I, and our families, extend to you a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thanks to you for listening to the show, and now, visiting the blog. Spread the word.

We hope you have a great day, and that the Eagles get their act together and win tonight. Well, that last part is mainly my hope.

I'm still trying to recover from Tuesday night's series finale of The Shield, so a day full of food and beverage should help to do the trick. I know for a fact that there very well could be blog readers here who have yet to see the finale, so all I'll say is, I am really going to miss that show.

Today, we'll be visiting my in-laws in the afternoon, eating a full plate there, and then trekking to my brother's house, and likely having at least a half-full plate there. He and his wife -- newlyweds, married in May -- are hosting their first Thanksgiving. My parents will be there, too, and even though it will make for a late night -- for me at least -- it's going to be a lot of fun.

I doubt I'll have time during the busy day to sneak in a viewing of my favorite Thanksgiving related movie, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Maybe before the weekend is out.

As funny as it is, it's also very touching, and, yes, I get choked up everytime John Candy comes over to Steve Martin's house at the end.

Plus, it's always a treat to see the scenes that were filmed at the "Braidwood Inn" -- actually, the Sun Motel -- along I-55. Coal City is also technically in the film, albeit briefly, in a scene where Martin and Candy drive by the Coal City exit.

If I can't watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, then I could always watch my beloved Eagles play Arizona tonight.

That'll reduce me to tears, as well.

Almost Turkey Time

A little holiday humor on Thanksgiving Eve...

A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

"Pop, what are you talking about?" the son screams. We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her."

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts, "I'll take care of this,"

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?" and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Okay," he says, "they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way."

A classic. Jay and I will be along Thanksgiving morning to provide you with more yuks, and maybe some yams, too.

$500 Holiday Shopping Spree

Hot off the presses, here are some of the details for this year's $500 Holiday Shopping Spree...

• Listen to 95.7 FM, WJDK for a list of businesses where you can sign up for the grand prize.
• Filling out forms at those businesses also qualifies you for various prizes from those sponsors that will be given away daily starting 12/08.
• Prizes can also be won by participating in our Holiday Gift Guide Trivia Contest. Gift Guides are available this week. Answer the questions we ask live on WJDK by giving us the answer and page number you found it on inside your Gift Guide. Entry forms for the $500 Shopping Spree are in those guides as well. Trivia starts 11/28.
• The grand prize drawing will be 12/18 at 6:50am on both 95.7, and 103.1 FM.
• You'll have 15 minutes to call in and claim your prize. We'll draw a new name every 15 minutes until we get a winner.

Complete rules are at the station. Keep listening -- always a good rule of thumb -- for more details, and good luck!

Show Biz: Tuesday 11/25/08

*** Remember Larry Mendte? "Scary Larry." Mendte, who was a investigative reporter at WBBM Channel 2 in Chicago from 1991-1995, has been sentenced to six months house arrest in Philadelphia for hacking his co-anchor's email account.

House arrest? Great. How many email accounts will he be able to hack into while being forced to stay in a house for the next six months?

Considering he's also been linked to hacking a second co-worker's account, any thing's possible.

I'd hate for him to hack into my email and see all of the fan mail I've sent to Dave Savini, Chuck Goudie, and Pam Zeckman over the years. It could be embarrassing for him.

Well, this case pretty much trumps everything else on the "embarrassing" front. Although the clip below comes close.




*** Thanksgiving is only a few days away. Remember, Jay and I will be on the air Thursday morning from 5:30 - 9:00am to provide the backdrop for your turkey prep.

Hopefully the rough economy won't prevent you from having a big meal with all the fixins'.

If worse comes to worse, you could always cook your shoe. Are those Hush Puppies?

Show Biz: Monday 11/24/08

*** Ahhh, there's nothing like Thanksgiving week: Food, football, and good samaritans coming to the aid of innocent victims by whacking carjackers with frozen turkeys.

Those wacky North Carolinans.

According to the AP, "Police said 30-year-old Fred Louis Ervin of Raleigh stole money from a Garner BP gas station before running across the street to a Harris Teeter in Fuquay-Varina. There, he began beating Irene Moorman Bailey while trying to take her car. Other shoppers came to the woman's rescue, including one who hit Ervin with a frozen turkey."

Tis the season.

Could frozen turkey beatings become one of your new Thanksgiving traditions? Don't forget to vote on whatever tradition is currently your favorite on our poll question to the right.


*** We're days away from getting you official information regarding our WJDK $500 Holiday Shopping Spree.

Things will be pretty much the same as in year's past, except this time around, it will be in-store registrations that get you qualified, not mailed postcards.

As always, keep it tuned for all of the latest. Promos start Wednesday.


*** After reading this week's Neilsen numbers, it struck me that I hardly watch any of the shows that consistently crack the top 10.

I don't watch Dancing With The Stars, or CSI, or NCIS, or PB&J, or ASAP, or pretty much any other show using just initials - or SUJI's as I call them.

Here's what I try to watch each week: Dexter, True Blood, 24, Family Guy, Heroes, The Shield, Friday Night Lights, The Office, 30 Rock, The Office, Survivor, and The Amazing Race.
When they're in season, I also like Scrubs, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, Rescue Me, Mad Men, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Of course, with two young kids in the house, it's difficult keeping up with these shows. Although I think I'm all caught up on Dora, Barney, Jack's Music Show, Hannah Montana, The Wizards Of Waverly Place, and Cory in the House.

I need to get out more.

Baby On The Way For Jay

In about a month or so, newsman Jay Capron, and his wife Devon, will be having their first child. Friday during our lunch hour, we surprised Jay with some food and gifts.

We gave Jay the full treatment, having him wear a mini-bib while sampling actual baby food, offering him a "placenta pie", and for good measure, I gave Jay some practice by having him change my diaper.

The baby is due on December 26th.

Here are some pictures from Friday's festivity...

Jay shows initial excitement before realizing the gifts are for the baby, not him.


Awkward smiles abound as Jay pulls out a negotiation tool on Mike in an effort to get more air time during the show.


Well, Jay is eating for two now. Or is it three?

Show Biz: Friday 11/21/08

*** Randy, we hardly knew ye. Fists were pumped in the air at my house after Randy was voted out of last night's Survivor episode.

Always nice to see a good old fashioned con job, as Bob gave Randy a fake immunity idol that Randy thought was real. Expecting to be voted out, Randy played the fake idol, which Jeff Probst threw into the fire after revealing it was not real, several other contestants -- most notably, Sugar -- busted out laughing, and obnoxious Randy was sent packing.

Granted, Randy amped up the negative attitude in order to insure people would try to vote him out, thus -- in his mind at least -- making the Bob-give-me-the-idol ploy a good one, but Randy was a jerk in this game well before last night's strategy played out.

Now we get to look forward to Randy's appearance in the finale as a judge who gets to ask the finalists questions prior to the final vote to see who wins.

Get your popcorn ready.


*** We gave you the story earlier about the pallbearer that was tasered by the cops while in the middle of a funeral for his dad.

Anytime we get a story involving someone getting tasered, the clips I always lean on are...

Andrew Meyer, University of Florida - "Don't Tase Me, Bro"




and, my personal favorite, the TV reporter in Texas

Show Biz: Thursday 11/20/08

*** Hugh Jackman is People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2008. Not that I'm an expert at being able to decipher what makes a man worthy of that title, but I suppose People magazine has done a decent job of selecting the "winners" each year.

Well, most years. There's still no possible explanation for having this guy get the prize in 1992.


*** It won't be long before you start hearing Christmas Greetings from area sponsors on WJDK. Some will even begin before Thanksgiving. Too soon?

How about Christmas music? When would you like to start hearing Christmas music on the morning show?
And, while we're at it, do you prefer my method each year of bringing you an assortment of holiday tunes each day, as opposed to the same twenty or thirty standards that seem to get played the rest of the day, or would you prefer I stay with the classics everyone knows and loves, but that we all hear way too much this time of year.

Let me know by clicking here.

Dentists

Had a teeth cleaning last night. I never look forward to dentist visits. Few do. They're harmless enough, as long as you take good care of your teeth. I do a decent job, but need to floss more.

You, too, right? And, you say the same thing to the dentist that I do, too I bet. "Yeah, I'll work on it better this time."

Uh huh. And then you floss for about three days, and that's that.

In my teens, I had to deal with the joy of braces. Although, it did give me a chance to meet my orthodontist, who about 10 times per visit would ask me to, "Bite, hmmm?" I actually hid a cassette recorder under my jacket during one visit, just to capture that phrase forever. It's part of our vernacular to this day. "Hey, dad, did you try that celery and dip yet? Bite, hmmm?"

My current dentist always has an eclectic mix of music playing over the speakers at his office, which helps keep my mind off of whatever work is being done, as I try to anticipate what genre is coming next. Reggae? Jazz? Thrash Metal? You never know.

Also a treat, the waiting room video that plays on a loop talking about how to take better care of teeth. There's a section featuring tooth-brushing monkeys, which always kills.

When you're having your teeth cleaned, do you find it hard to focus your eyes anywhere specific? It feels awkward to make eye contact with the hygienist, so I usually pick a spot in the ceiling and look there.

It's not that I'm rude, and don't want to interact with her, but, it's not exactly easy to answer any of their questions when your mouth is wide open, she's scraping away at your teeth and gums, and there's a suction hose hanging out of your mouth -- or, Mr. Thirsty, as my favorite fictional dentist, Tim Whatley calls it on Seinfeld.

My blood pressure was a bit high before the cleaning -- the first time they've taken mine during a visit -- but, I chalk some of that up to the fact that I was at the dentist. You can't help but get at least a little bit antsy about your visit, even if it is just a cleaning, and then when they tell you you're getting your BP checked, there's another dose of angst, hoping that the numbers are good.

They should take my blood pressure at home each night when both kids finally go to bed. It would probably resemble a first round NCAA Tournament score, something in the 80 over 50 range.

As each cleaning begins, it's impossible for me to not think about the classic Bill Cosby routine about dentists.

Show Biz: Wednesday 11/19/08

*** Rolling Stone recently unveiled their list of the Top 100 singers of all-time. Aretha Franklin -- who appeared on last night's Dancing With The Stars -- was voted No. 1.

The rest of the list can be seen here.

These lists are always fun to discuss, since everyone will have a different opinion. But, I do have one bone to pick with this list: Bob Dylan is ranked No. 7? Of all time? We're talking best singers? Really? The nasally voiced guy that sounds like a goat being milked with P12 sandpaper?

WJDK favorite, James Blunt, voted for himself. Really?


*** During the birthday segment today, Jay mentioned that it was Ryan Howard's birthday today -- the first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Jay paused, then said, "The World Champion Philadelphia Phillies." Thank you, Jay. It still has a very nice ring to it.



If you're wondering how I reacted when they won it, well, it was pretty much like every Phillies fan in this next video.



See what you have to look forward to Cubs fans?