Here are some of the new releases for today, September 30th, 2008 

Ben Folds- Way To Normal (available in a super deluxe set)
Another well-done effort from Ben Folds who is already well-established as a brilliant songwriter and storyteller. Rather than just kick back and enjoy, Folds continues to tour relentlessly and even has a new project in the works (So soon??)! He wishes to collaborate with author Nick Hornby (High Fidelity) on an album where Hornby would pen the lyrics and Folds would handle the music. Sounds fun!

Enigma- Seven Lives Many Faces (Double Disc)
This is the electronic groups seventh release. For those who crave a new ethereal album from one of the groups that does is best… Michael Cretu (producer/composer) has yet again delivered exactly what you need.

Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman- The Fabled City
Though most only know Morello’s work in Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave, few know his alter ego The Nightwatchman. This is Morello’s outlet for his liberal political views… or should I say another outlet since his political stance has always been clear. But this outlet is purely Morello doing a solo singer/songwriter effort so don’t expect the rockin’ sounds you are accustomed to from this incredible guitarist.

Jennifer Hudson- Jennifer Hudson
This is the debut album from Hudson, American Idol season 3 finalist and star of the movie Dreamgirls, a role that scored her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a SAG.

Kellie Pickler- Kellie Pickler
Season 5 finalist Pickler releases her second country album on the heels of her nearly platinum debut in 2006.

Lesley Roy- Unbeautiful
Roy’s debut is loaded with fun pop tunes and heartfelt lyrics. The one thing you’re going to miss on this heavily produced album is her raw talent. It’s nearly lost on the recording, but lucky for you we have some acoustic tracks that we recorded in our studio and you can find them on our AuNaturAlice page. It’s well worth the listen.

Ani DiFranco- Red Letter Year
DiFranco is obviously in a calmer place on her latest release. Motherhood and  a different maturity level have given her fans an amazing piece of work. Strange to hear DiFranco say the equivalent to “Stop and smell the roses…: is a bit surprising, but welcome!

James Morrison- Songs for You, Truths for me **Sam’s Pick**
Probably one of the best singer/songrwriters you don’t know very well… yet! We did play his single You Give Me Something on Alice last year, but unfortunately his debut album Undiscovered didn’t do nearly as much damage in the US as it did in the UK but it’s worth checking out as is this nobel sophomore release.

Additional Releases:
Tina Turner- Tina! (Greatest Hits/Rarities)
James Taylor- Covers
Joshua Radin- Simple Times
Jack’s Mannequin- The Glass Passenger **Sam’s Pick**
The Jesus and Mary Chain- The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities
T.I.- Paper Trail
Robin Thicke- Something Else
Todd Rundgren- Arena
Linda Eder- The Other Side of Me
Anberlin- New Surrender
Amon Amarth- Twilight of the Thunder God
Dion- Heroes: Giants of Early Guitar Rock
Trivium- Shogun
Jeff Lorber- Heard That
Monte Montgomery- Monte Montgomery
Barbra Streisand- The Essential 3.0
Neal Morse- Lifeline
Cherryholmes- Cherryholmes III: Don’t Believe
In This Moment- The Dream
Take 6- The Standard
Mercury Rev- Snowflake Midnight
Pete Seeger- At 89
Stephen Sondheim- The Story So Far…
Joseph Arthur- Temporary People
Helta Skeltah- D.I.R.T.
Bayside- Shudder
Jeff Loomis- Zero Order Phase
Tim Bowman- Tim Bowman
People Under the Stairs- Fun DMC
Murs- Murs for President

Live:
Newboys- Newsboys Live: Houston We Are a Go (CD/DVD)
Grateful Dead- Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978
Tori Amos- Live at Montreux 1991-1992

Holiday:
Faith Hill- Joy To The World
Melissa Etheridge- A New Thought for Christmas
Mary Chapin-Carpenter- Come Darkness Come Light: Twelve Songs Christmas
Amy Grant- The Christmas Collection
Bela Fleck & the Flecktones- Jingle All the Way

Interviews/Documentaries:
The Cure- The Document

Boxed Sets:
Roy Orbison- The Soul of Rock and Roll
Various Artists- That’s Amore: Italian American Favorites
Nina Samone- To Be Free

Reissues:
U2- Under a Blood Red Sky (Digitally Remastered) **Sam’s Pick**
CCR- Green River
CCR- Willy and the Poor Boys
CCR- Bayou Country
CCR- CCR
CCR- Pendulum

DVDs:
U2- Live at Red Rocks (Remastered)

There’s nothing worse than being a metrosexual man who is caught wearing a fanny pack…

Slacker told Steve he could shoot him if he ever wore one.  And no matter how “stylish” this particular fanny pack was, or the fact that Slacker argues that it’s a man bag and not an actual fanny pack, a pact is a pact.

And so, Slacker rues the day he ever said to Steve, “Shoot me if you ever see me put on a fanny pack…” because today we gave Steve a gun.

See Steve shoot Slacker HERE

Today’s OPP: You’re UnInvited…

It’s not actually an Alanis Morrisette song but rather Marci’s problem with extra guests who were coworkers of her husbands when the invites when out but now that he doesn’t work there she doesn’t really want them coming.  Can you actually uninvite people?  And why would you want to?  If they come they’ll bring a gift after all.

A search of Emily Post’s etiquitte website comes up with nothing about un-inviting.  Which should tell you something…

When it comes to most expensive fights you’ve ever had…well Slacker’s a passionate guy so I’m surprised he didn’t fess up to throwing dishes or something.  But as for calls there was everything from actual stuff (motorcycles, cars) to money spent on bail ($35,000) then there was a shop they owned…but the saddest by far was the full ride scholarships (amounting to almost $200K) one gal gave up because she couldn’t stand being at the same school as her boyfriend.

And in closing…What Would Jou DO?  if you were out of work, couldn’t find a job, needed to pay your rent and the boyfriend offered to help you out?  It was close but “Don’t Take The Money” won over “Take It.”  Loaning money never works out well.  Don’t give money ever expecting to get it back.  Even if he offers…because he’ll ask you every day, “Where’s my money? Where’s my money…”

Huge thanks to everyone who attended last Saturday’s 3rd Annual Shopping Extravaganza at the Outlets at Castle Rock. It was a beautiful day (well, it started to cloud over later in the afternoon but for the most part? Gorgeous!) and there were so many special deals! If you weren’t able to be a part of this year’s event make sure you check it out next year… not only is the shopping a blast but half of every ticket goes to charity. Plus there are some pretty amazing prize giveaways, too!

I also wanted to say a special thanks to my Six in the City winner, Jennifer. She and her friends each received a hundred bucks to spend at the Outlets! As you can see from the below photo we had no trouble finding things to buy!

(l to r: Evelyn, Jennifer and Me!)

Jennifer’s other guests were still out shopping when we took the shot. Hard to rally the crew when there were so many deals to be had! Regardless, it was nice to meet all the ladies and hopefully we’ll bump into each other again sometime.

 xo,

Sam

I must have inherited my dad’s temper because I’m very slow to anger and it  takes something monumental for me to lose my cool. Sure, I get annoyed at stupid stuff that probably shouldn’t bother me but I try to be reasonable even if I don’t always succeed. But there is one thing that really gets under my skin and here it is:

People who flake out. And by flake out I mean those friends/aquaintences that you can never lock down for anything. I get it. We are a busy bunch of people these days… everyone is stretched but that’s no excuse to be flaky! I’m not saying I haven’t been guilty of this… cause I have. (shame!!)

I have a dear friend I will call Ted. (Don’t worry, Ted doesn’t live here and that’s not his real name.) I adore Ted. He’s a good person and fun friend but he has an extreme case of flakiness. Everytime anyone invites Ted anywhere whether it be over to dinner, to a party or out to see a movie he always has the same answer. “Yeah, that sounds good. Let’s consider that.” The problem? Ted never actually says “yes” or “no” regarding anything! Ted has shown up where he was not expected so many times it’s become a joke among his friends.

After many years of being friends with Ted I finally realized that in order for us to be pals I was going to have to accept this flakiness or just not hang with him. I decided to accept it and just let it go. True, he’s definitely at the worse end of the spectrum here, but there are plenty of other offenders and the problem seems to be getting worse.

Take a second and ponder… I’m sure you can think of at least one person you genuinely like that does this to you. You are always the one trying to lock down any sort of plan-simple or not-and this person can not be counted on for anything including a simple answer. What causes someone to act this way? Some ideas:

• they are making sure they don’t end up having a better option than the one you’ve presented
• they truly have a fear of committing to anything-even a cup of coffee
• they want the option of saying ‘hey, I said I MIGHT come… “
• they don’t even know they are being flaky

I don’t know! When I say I’m going to be somewhere and then I don’t feel like going I usually suck it up and go.. Occassionally, I have been legitimately feeling really crappy and didn’t choose to go.

Like I said before, I’ve had my moments of flakiness, too, but I’m trying to be better. Even though I’m busy (we all are!) I have been making an increased effort to be that person that can always be counted on to keep her word. In addition to that I’ve been trying to reach out to my loved ones more and make more time for those important personal relationships I have. Sometimes I neglect those and that is so unhealthy. Those are the people that enrich my life and those I can count on for support in good and bad times. And yet they can fall behind in the list of priorities. I say, “Don’t let it happen!”

Down with flakiness! Whew… I feel MUCH better. Haha!

Thanks for reading.

xo,

Sam

Let’s say you’re having a rough day.  Your shoulders ache and you’re tired.  Steve’s the kind of coworker to sense your needs and rub your shoulders.  And he’s GREAT at it!  But is that over the line?  Too creepy for words? Skeezy?

Is Steve the office creep or is it okay to have that coworker who gives you a good old fashioned shoulder rub when you need it?  We’re not talking sensual massage here…but working the kinks out.

Today’s 5 o’clock phone call FREAKED us out.  Well not Steve, because he doesn’t believe any of this stuff.  But Slacker=goosebumps.  In the true tradition of our dynamic duo they now have a bet going about sleeping overnight in haunted places in Denver.  If you have a suggestion, if your house is haunted, if you want to participate in the “Tour Of Terror” (as it’s now been dubbed) email us:  slackerandsteve at alice1059.com

Here are some of the new releases for today, September 23rd, 2008. Enjoy!

Plain White T’s- Big Bad World
Though most of us heard Plain White T’s first when they stormed in with the sweetly stalkerish song, “Hey There, Delilah” the band has been together a decade. Though they have a smattering of other albums, this is their second major label album, the followup to 2006s Every Second Counts. The band continues to grow and mature through their music. Plain White T’s are playing the Broomfield Events Center Oct. 17th with Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional as part of the Rock Band Tour. 

Everlast- Love, War & the Ghost of Whitey Ford
Yes, the title of this record makes it obvious that Everlast is giving us a sequel to their breakthrough album, 1998s Whitey Ford Sings the Blues. One of the standout tracks is the first single, “Folsom Prison Blues”… a  Johnny Cash cover laid over the music from Cypress Hill’s “Insane in the Brain.” Everlast’s last effort, White Trash Beautiful came out 4 years ago.

Pussycat Dolls- Doll Domination
The cast of the PCD bring you another CD packed full of the pop delight they are famous for. If you sport for the deluxe edition, you’ll get 5 bonus tracks that feature each of the dolls on never-before-heard solo tunes. There are some great collaborations including Missy Elliot and Timbaland.
 

Additional Releases:
TV on the Radio- Dear Science **Sam’ Pick**
Lenka- Lenka **Sam’s Pick**
Cowboy Mouth- Fearless **Sam’s Pick**
Demi Lovato- Don’t Forget
Jackson Browne- Time the Conqueror
Bette Midler- Jackpot- The Best Bette
John Oates- 1000 Miles of Life
Sing it Loud- Come Around **Sam’s Pick**
Thievery Corporation- Radio Retaliation
Hank Williams III- Hank III Collectors Edition (Limited)
Jenny Lewis- Acid Tongue
Jazmine Sullivan- Fearless
Old Crow Medicine Show- Tennessee Pusher
Metal Church- This Present Wasteland
Fourplay- Energy
Cold War Kids- Loyalty to Loyalty
Mogwai- The Hawk is Howling
Joe- Joe Thomas, New Man
Evergrey- Torn
Lincoln Brewster- Today Is The Day
Sonic  Syndicate- Love & Other Distasters
Randy Rogers- Randy Rogers Band
Max Richter- 24 Postcards in Full Color
Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile- Self
Brightblack Morning Light- Motion to Rejoin
Laura Warshauer- Laura Warshauer
Dave Holland Sextet- Pass It On
Swallow the Sun- Plague of Butterflies
Monkey- Journey to the West
Franco De Vita- Simplemente La Verdad
McCoy Tyner- Guitars
Friendly Fires- Self-titled
Uli  Jon Roth- Under a Dark Sky
Blitzen Trapper- Furr

Catalogues:
Wynonna Judd- Wynonna Collector’s Edition Tin

Soundtracks:
Sex in the City, Vol. 2: More Music
Nights In Rodanthe
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Arthur

Live:
David Gilmour- Live in Gdansk (Double CD/Double DVD)
Within Temptation- Black Symphony (CD/DVD)
Theo Travis and Robert Fripp- Thread
Otis Reddiing- Live In London and Paris

Holiday:
Spryo Gyra- A Night Before Christmas
Barlowfirl- Home for Christmas  **Sam’s Pick**
Heart- Heart Presents a Lovemonger’s Christmas (this is a reissue)

Reissues:
The Replacements- Pleased to Meet Me (Original Recording Remastered)
The Replacements- Tim (Original Recording Remastered) **Sam’s Pick**
The Replacements- Don’t Tell a Soul (Original Recording Remastered)
The Replacements- All Shook Down (Original Recording Remastered)
Graham Nash- Songs for Beginners (Original Recording Remastered)
Laura Nyro- Mother’s Spiritual (Original Recording Remastered)

xo,
Sam

Shockingly making Slacker yack is not as hard as one may think.  Our bold, former rock star has a bit of a weak stomach as it turns out…

Somehow silly bets turned into a lot of stories about eating weird things.  Lots of bugs.  Licking cockroaches, swallowing worms, mmm delicious.  If you didn’t know men could turn that shade of green you really ought to watch the webcam more often!

Today’s OPP was rather serious. Ryan wrote us about making a decision regarding his health and proposing. If you still want to send advice (or warm wishes to him) email:  slackerandsteve at alice1059.com and the guys will pass your thoughts on to him.  Here’s more INFO from the Mayo Clinic on Male Breast Cancer.

After the 5 o’clock phone call, “I’ll Never Do BLANK Again,” there was a rousing conversation about whether or not cleanses are a good idea…which somehow turned into hydrocolon therapy and whether high-colonics are a good idea.  Which somehow turned into whether or not shaving/waxing/using depilitories on your chest hair was a good idea.  Which then became the 6pm topic about Manscaping (Is Hair In Or Out?).  We’ll draw the flow chart later…

Every so often, my coworkers Slacker and Steve do a segment called “Bring it Back.” It’s a portion of their show where they talk about things that we love, but we don’t see around anymore. A while back when I was filling in for Steve, Slacker and I decided to do a “Bring it Back” and I talked about Tiger Tails. TTs are a twinkie-like pastry but they have coconut and fruity stripes on them. Little did I know they still made them in some places and I was brought a huge bag of them by a listener. Awesome!

Last night, I was thinking about an icon that I recall from my childhood. From time to time I’ve asked people if they’ve heard of him: Mr. Yuk.

Roughly half the time the person I ask knows what I’m talking about and the other half of the time I get a blank stare. Or better yet, that funny smile that people give me when they think I may be a bit daft. Actually, I get that look a lot… but I digress!

I did a simple search on the wonderful Mr. Yuk and if you don’t know about him, you can brush up HERE. Take a second and check it out. The story is very interesting and it’s hard to believe the creator of this icon won only a tape recorder for her creation.

Growing up, I had my own set of Mr. Yuk stickers and I knew what they meant. The odd thing is I don’t remember my parents putting the stickers on any of the household cleaners or anything. I asked them about this a couple years ago and my mother answered that I wasn’t one of those kids that seemed to be interested in consuming things that were not commonly known as ‘food.’ Not hard to believe since I pretty much stayed out of trouble when I was little. I know I know… must’ve saved it up for adulthood. Haha.

So, when we got Mr. Yuk stickers I would stick them in my sticker book (yes, I loved stickers!), on my barbi doll accessories, my closet doors, mirrors or even my little brother if he was being a pain in the butt.  Mr. Yuk is nostalgic for me and hey… a great idea for keeping kids away from potentially poisonous substances. Brilliant really since he really does look yukky!

Is there anything like this that YOU remember from your childhood? Something you thought was pretty darned cool but you just don’t see it around anymore? This is my version of “Bring It Back!” Thanks Slacker and Steve for letting me borrow it.

xo,

Sam

p.s. Mr. Yuk image courtesy of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg where Mr. Yuk was “born.”

Arr mateys!  Today be Talk Like A Pirate Day–one of the greatest holidays ever invented, clearly.  Don’t believe it?  They have a website and everyone knows all you need to be official is a website… Need help honing your mad pirate-talking skills?  They’ve got you covered HERE.

3:11pm: Slacker is the Kevin Costner of pirates…switching between talking like a pirate, a German, and a drunken leprechaun…

3:45pm: S&S don’t believe in picking up hitchhikers.  But apparently Denver folks don’t all feel the same.  We got soooo many calls from folks who had picked ‘em up or were pro at hitching themselves.  Some sad stories as well that bring the point home: as much as it may seem brave to hitch or pick up a hitcher, it’s probably not the wisest move.

5:02pm: Even if you’re not a romantic at heart today’s OPP did tug at the heartstrings a bit.  Even Steve almost converted…okay, not quite, but still.  Kelly saw a girl on the highway.  They exchanged glances as they were stuck in traffic on I-25 Northbound in the narrows between Colorado Boulevard and Sante Fe Drive.  Eventually she quickly scribbled her name and phone number on a piece of paper and held it up to the window.  At that exact moment the proverbial traffic waters were parted and traffic started moving.  He lost his girl and her phone number!

Here’s what we know: Her name starts with C. She drives a silver or gray car.  She is a brunette with blue eyes. And we want to find her.  If you’ve got info (or you’re her) please email the guys at:  slackerandsteve at alice1059.com

5:52pm: “You Wouldn’t Believe Me If I Told You” is the greatest topic ever. Well..that and “My Life Is White Trash News Flash”.  Seriously, the stories these guys get are incredible!  What’s interesting is that a lot of the stories revolve around fate and destiny and happenstance…which just drives the point of the OPP home further.  Wouldn’t it be amazing if Slacker & Steve found the hot brunette from the highway and then that story could become a “You Wouldn’t Believe Me If I Told You” tale?

6:36pm: We learned something new about Slacker today.  As much as he hates white and creamy and the thought of it makes him gag he still requires mayo for his tuna fish salad.  Steve brought him Miracle Whip instead and thus the battle of MW vs. Mayo began.  Worse still, each guy is a little bit bi and switches between the two depending upon what meal they’re savoring.  Stranger things have happened other than arguing about the difference between white and creamy products.  For the record, it does say “salad dressing” on the MW label…

 You may know all ready about our next exclusive acoustic show… AuNaturAlice 4. We are featuring future Alice stars Jon McLaughlin and Delta Goodrem (and more to come!). The last three AuNaturAlice shows have been truly amazing nights of live music and I’m looking very forward to this one.

The bad news? It’s sold out! Don’t worry, we’ll have some chances for you to win free tickets, but if you had your heart set on seeing the talented Jon McLaughlin, you can!

Jon is headlining Pinktober in support of breast cancer awareness and he’s playing  a special show at The Hard Rock Cafe here in Denver Wednesday, October 1st. The ticket for this show is only $10 and the proceeds go the Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure! You’ll be helping a great cause and seeing some great live tunes. The best part? It’s an all ages show so anyone can go support this wonderful event.

If you want to get your tickets in advance, head to www.ticketweb.com or you can try your luck at the door.

I hope you choose to be a part of this incredible night!

Thanks so much for reading,

xo,

Sam