ONE SPELL IS BROKEN, ANOTHER IS CAST

Surprisingly, no Van Halen this weekend. More proof that the year of Van Halen may be over.

Watched my son complete his testing and acquire his 1st degree black belt. At home I spent much of the day performing the mind numbing task of carving the last block of a print I'm working on. I was not planning on doing the music thing, but by 11PM boredom set in and I caved. I grabbed a glass of tequila and watched the DVD that comes along with The Very Best Of Echo & The Bunnymen, More Songs To Learn and Sing. I would have loved to smoke a cigar but doing so inside the house would result in my execution. Fortunately everyone was still awake and they did not mind my cranking the volume.

This CD and DVD expanded, remastered reworking of the classic 1985 hits retrospective features 20 career-spanning tracks that chart the band's evolution from 1980's Crocodile to 2005's Siberia. The DVD gathers eight videos from 1983-1999, many directed by acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Anton Corbjin.

Call of the addict
It bites deep into his soul
Looks for his next fix

Cigarette in hand
Poet with a microphone
Verse sung to music

High up on our throne
Silhouettes against the light
Follow where they lead

Word from up above
Sunglassed Muse up on the stage
Voice of an angel

Their songs of sorrow

Words from a land of darkness

Lit in black and blue

The four stand as one

A talent beyond belief

Swayed by their magic

Mumbling his words

Only adds to the mystique

He's screwing with us