Hey! That's up for review!

    The National Basketball Association just crowned the Golden State Warriors as World Champions for the 2nd time in 3 years. In those 3 years, the Warriors have had the same opponent in the Cleveland Cavaliers.     I could say the Finals for the past few years have been exciting, but I'd be lying to you. I could say the NBA has done a great job of creating a league of parity, but again I'd be lying to you. What has happened to change the landscape to what it is today? Why does every series feel like a re-run?     The best NBA I knew were in the 90s. From 1990 to 1999, we saw 4 different NBA champions. We saw Jordan go 6-0 in finals appearances. We saw the Lakers dynasty get kicked off. This is when the NBA was at it's apex in my opinion.     The most important statistic from that era is in those 10 years we saw NINE different matchups for in the finals. Why? It's because the league was hungry. The Association promoted parity. It did not cater to super teams.    

    Listen to alt-J and you'll see the indie rock scene is alive and well thanks to their contributions out of Leeds, England. They offer a truly incredible sound led by one of the most unique voices in music today. Sometimes when listening to rock (especially indie rock) many of the artists start sounding the same but you'll never have that issue as soon as Joe Newman starts to sing. No one does it like he does.     Joe and the boys are back for their 3rd studio album, Relaxer. This album has a different feel for me than the others. Sitting at 8 songs and just 39 minutes, it's their shortest album, but doesn't quite have the homerun as "This Is All Yours" had. Happy to get more music from alt-J and I'm looking forward to catching them when they start touring the US again.      Let's take a look at the album track-by-track: "3WW" - Gives a great opening feel to the album. It's slow with a powerful chorus which tells us of the sta

    Last night, at the Hi Tone in Memphis, TN, a Welsh alternative rock band took the stage. Ritzy, Rhydian, and Mr. Thomas did what they always do... they brought the house down.     Every time I see The Joy Formidable I am reminded there is something that makes them unique. That being: They seem to really enjoy their music as well as each other. The on stage banter during song breaks and the interaction amongst one another during the show illustrates the tight nit family they are. It's truly enjoyable to watch.      They had a perfect setlist. Played all the crowd favorites even an "acoustic" version of "A Heavy Abacus." They ended the show with "The Whirring" and walked out under distorted reverb.      One thing I think they have mastered is filling the venue space with constant harmonious music. It almost feels like it is turning into noise but they tread the line wonderfully. I think that brings a unique energy to each of their shows and

LightonX is a web series featuring a group of teenagers who have to protect their planet against threats from another world. The newest trailer for LightonX titled "Being a Hero" dropped a week ago. It features 3 unknown teens being held captive by an unknown​ group of men. In an instant you see these 3 teens are not normal kids. They seem to be gifted in one thing... Kicking @$$! Before they are able to complete clearing the room, what appears to be the leader comes forward and using telekinetic powers rendering these teens helpless on the floor. It is a wonderful teaser trailer. You may find it here: https://youtu.be/5NvxV4m-_gs I did some reading up on the web series which is available on Amazon. The show has an X-Men meets Alien type feel to it. One group of aliens has decided to protect all human race against another group​ of aliens who are looking to use them as host subjects to further their intergalactic outreach. I look forward to learning more about the show an

    Sword and Scale is an American podcast that outlines true crime stories with witnesses, victims, journalists, and testimonies of criminals and 911 calls. Sword and Scale started January 1, 2014 and in one year had over 1 million downloads and is a staple in the Top 10 on iTunes in the "Science" category. Mike Boudet, the podcast founder, does a great job at producing the show. The music & sound effect choices, the well pieced together interviews, and arrangement of the audio case files are what make the program great.     I have only been listening to podcasts for 6 months. Sword and Scale was the first to get me to click the "Subscribe" button. From the first episode, I was hooked. I randomly picked Episode 50 which covered The People's Temple of Jonestown. I knew about Jonestown but had never heard the recordings from Jim Jones as he convinced people to take their own lives by ingesting a mixture of grape koolaid and cyanide. To hear Mike Boudet tell

    The Amazon Echo is a ~10 inch tall smart speaker that quickly becomes and integral part of your home. It comes loaded with a personal assistant named "Alexa" that operates in cloud space. Don't worry. If you have an ex-girlfriend named "Alexa", you may change the Echo's wake word in the settings to either "Amazon", "Computer", or "Echo". This smart speaker can help you with a wide variety of things such as: making to-do lists, streaming music from Amazon, Spotify, or Pandora accounts, letting you know about traffic on your route to work, updating you on weather conditions, and even give you a flash briefing of the news based on your news info profile.     The way my house is set up Alexa sits on my bar top that divides my kitchen and living room. I use it every day. Whether I want ambient music while I am reading or playing my guitar, or if I am on my way out the door and need to know what today's weather is going to b