Today in History

August 23, 1904. The automotive tire chain was patented by Harold D. Weed of New York. This has allowed us to do things like this:

It always amazes me to see old photos like this and see what old cars were capable of. Many of today's so-called 4wheel drive vehicles wouldn't be able to get half of the places these old cars made it. 

Sound City

This is one of those documentaries that I've been itching to see ever since I got wind of it. As I checked to see if anything new had become available on Amazon Prime Instant Video, I was excited to see this movie available for free streaming. I love watching music documentaries, and this one piqued my interest even more because it is directed by Dave Grohl. Dave is one of my favorite musicians, and I've watched his evolution from Nirvana drummer to Foo Fighters frontman over the years with admiration. He is incredibly talented as a musician and now the role of movie director can be added to his repertoire. The film shows the story of Sound City, a Southern California recording studio that has seen the recording of such monumental albums as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Damn the Torpedoes, Dio's Holy Diver, and Nirvana's Nevermind. Even as the rest of the music industry went digital, Sound City hung on to recording with tape and maintained the goal of capturing quality in music. So much of music today is digitally altered, and it can be hard to tell if a musician is actually talented or if a computer has made them sound good. The musicians featured in this documentary, who have all recorded at Sound City at one time or another, are those who are truly talented and view making music as an art. One of the best parts of the film is near the end, as it transitions from the Sound City story to showing the recording of a new album with some of the musicians that have recorded at the studio. Dave, Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), and Paul McCartney (who, looking at a list of albums recorded at Sound City, I'm not sure ever actually recorded there. But who cares, it's Paul McCartney) record a song for the new album. It's awesome seeing these two generations of musical icons come together and jam. If you love music, then check this film out.

More info can be found here: http://buy.soundcitymovie.com/

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet

Brigham Young: Pioneer Prophet, by John G. Turner, tells the story of a fascinating and complex man, one who was loved my many but reviled by many as well. Much like Richard Bushman's Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling, Turner's work shows that Young was human, complete with faults and mistakes. It seems at times that many members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (of which I myself am a member) view our prophets as almost mythical figures who were not capable of doing wrong. Of course, this is not the case. Brigham Young was a complex man who had his share of faults, along with the many good qualities he possessed. Turner (who is not Mormon) does a good job of addressing the many issues that arose as Young served as President of the church. As expected, he examines his handling of the Willie-Martin Handcart company tragedy as well as the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He gives praise to Young for how he managed to move an entire church across the frontier and establish a new Zion in the Rocky Mountains. I enjoyed this book and felt that Turner examined Young's life as objectively as possible. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in church history, or in the history of the American West or American religion in general.