Reader Poll -- We want to hear from YOU!

What's cool now? What are some things you've recently discovered or gotten into? We want to know!

Presumably anyone reading this is part of a fairly like-minded circle of people with similar interests. So here's the idea:

From the list below, send an email with what you would "highly recommend". Please send a minimum of 5 answers (there is no maximum). Submit your answers via email to wide2rec@gmail.com (please, not in the comments section) Later on, I will share your suggestions on a future Wide to Receive missive and hopefully we can all find something new & cool to check out!

The categories are:

• Book
• Comic book series or graphic novel
• A good bookstore
• A good restaurant
• A good record store
• Magazine
• The best place to get a good ___ (eg. burger/taco/drink etc) - specify what & where
• TV series
• Movie
• Video game
• CD
• Band or musical artist
• Website/blog/Twitter

What you choose to recommend is up to you: for example, you can name a bunch of things in the same category (eg. recommend a list of books), or you can pick & choose a bunch of categories. The only other real criteria is that your selections should be relatively current/recent things (like, something that has been released/published within the past couple of years). Try to "stay off the beaten path" a bit: the point is to help each other to discover new & different things. (So for example, yeah we already know "Lost" is a good show... try to tell us about something we might not have seen or considered.) Also, it's ok to name a store, restaurant, etc that might be in a different city but try to stick to locations that most of us might actually visit (ie, Canada or US)!

Got it? Good! Now start thinking! I look forward to seeing your answers.

In search of kindred spirits

I was flipping through an old Star Hits (aka Smash Hits) magazine this morning and came across the RSVP page, where people could place ads looking for pen pals. With a wistful look back I remembered how all youth-oriented media at the time seemed to have places for kids to hook-up and find pen pals. (Even I used to have 2 pen pals that I connected with via the "Big Blue Marble" tv show back then!) Of course the whole "pen pal" thing has gone the way of the dodo, given the advent of Internet message boards, and probably too because people are a lot more suspicious and protective of their kids and of strangers these days. It's a different world for sure.

Looking over the RSVP page, I was struck with how interesting these kids seemed. Here are a couple of examples:

"16 year-old liberal philosopher mourning the loss of London Calling, seeking value of life, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions fans and world travelers..."

"Help me!! Stuck in suffocatingly small town with no style. Love to hear from any diehard Bow Wow Wow fan..."

"Seeking Progressives who believe everyday is Halloween. Detest: red meat, phoniness, top 40. Thrives: black clothing, skulls, clubs, Cure, big hair, '60s make-up..."

"Yowch, you creeps! I'm a 17 year-old thing and I like Eurythmics, Tears for Fears, The Smiths and Sting. Also into Depeche Mode, Frankie and classical. Must be an individual and a vegetarian (no, not really). Write soon."

"Seeking all those into Bloom County, The Blue Gels, Italian drummers, gargling Windex, and the now theory of the Universe. Absolutely NO weirdos!..."

Wouldn't it be fun to write some of these people now and see if you got a response...? I mean, these addresses are likely their parents' houses and surely there's a chance your letter would reach someone & get passed along. Based on these ads, they sound like pretty interesting people that I'd like to know!

With all the connectivity we enjoy now, it's probably hard to imagine how isolated some of these kids felt back then (although I remember it myself growing up). Living in a little hick town somewhere, with no one around who shared your offbeat tastes and interests, seeking acceptance and like-minded individuals in the pages of a monthly magazine, checking the mailbox each day with eager anticipation...


(Jesus, living in SJ today isn't all that different!)

Suave!

(Please click on the title of this post to see the video of "Digging Your Scene". You won't regret it!)

I've been thinking a lot lately about this album, The Blow Monkeys' Animal Magic, and how HUGE this was to me at the time (1986). This album stayed with me for many years and I'm pretty sure that if I dragged out the ol' record player & put it on today I'd still dig it. In retrospect, I think this album had a lot of influence over my musical taste. If I had to pick one word to describe The Blow Monkeys' sound it would be "suave". Dr. Robert had the most elegant voice (and at the time, look too). Their sound was sophisticated, yet fun, and lyrically really smart. They were a new wave band but had a wonderful blend of pop, soul, glam/Bowie, and jazz-elements going on."Digging Your Scene" is certainly on the soundtrack of my life (It's still on my mp3 player today!).

Equal to Animal Magic, I had a cassette EP of "Forbidden Fruit" that was perhaps even more brilliant: there were 2 songs in particular that I thought were absolutely beautiful: "My America" and "Wild Flower". The Forbidden Fruit EP also had a wild long mix of "Sweet Murder" feat. Eek-A-Mouse. Maybe when I'm done typing this I'll go down to the basement & see if I can find it again!

Admittedly I couldn't really get "into" their subsequent stuff, although now I'd probably be willing to give it more of a chance. I'm fairly certain I'll have a new appreciation for it now.

Oh and footnote: apparently The Blow Monkeys have re-formed and are touring again.