Carbondale was a small university town midway between Chicago and Nashville. I wasn't there in the 80's, but I was told it was the heyday not just for the town, but all the great bands from the indie labels of the day coming through to play.
I would say that I probably caught the end of that scene (Bands like Jawbox and The Didjits became regulars, and the school council brought in some great indie bands). There was a bit of a resurgence in the mid-90s, and there were some very talented local bands for a change. None of them went too far, but I still once in a while see the Bottletones (the most talented of the bunch) referenced on rockabilly blogs.
By the end of the decade, it was an open secret that bar owners were only interested in proven bands (and by proven bands, that meant Grateful Dead jam bands that could draw dozens of neo-hippies). Along the way, a new venue opened up (offering live music and a brew-pub). They did bring some of the best concerts I've seen (Monster Magnet, Rev. Horton Heat) and a variety of interesting acts
I can't complain. I saw a lot of cool bands come to town in my time there, but by the time I left, the music scene had dried up. Ryan Adams' band Whiskeytown, Chicago faves The Smoking Popes, and Th' Legendary Shackshakers were some of the last bands that frequented the town during my last years there.
Anyway, it was sad to see this article. Regulars will recognize the name Robbie Stokes. As is fitting to a small town, Stokes is the local legend, having played on a Mickey Hart album.
It is sad to see that C'dale music scene is being hit doubly by the tornado, and by the City Council (putting a ban on outside music). Though a scene can pop up anywhere, I hate to see C'dale hit like this.
For your old timers, you might appreciate this list of local bands. This will bring a lot of memories. Time to see if Girls With Tools were as good as I remember.
- Music:REM- Accelerate
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
garbagecanmusic 's last three posts, I feel that it's time to bring it up again.There's a lot of talk about movies and shows that appeal to both parents and kids, but you'd really have a hard time convincing me that anyone has done it better than the gang behind the Muppets.
I was the right age for the Muppet Show growing up, but looking back ,the footage appeals to me now for different reasons. Very few shows could match this for an eclectic guest list- and it was a mainstream kid-friendly show. Vincent Price, Steve Martin, Harvey Korman, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, John Cleese, Alice Cooper, Dizzie Gillespie, Debbie Harry, Johnny Cash, and people from all branches of entertainment.
It is held up well, and the characters are well, iconic.
As I reached my teens, there was Muppet Babies, which was again aimed at the younger set, but was just a fun show.
It would be a matter of time before the Muppets would hit the internet in a big way. Of course, as YouTube grew in popularity, we knew everyone would go back and post and watch those classic sketches.
Cynics like me (or at the least, Gen X'ers who have seen everything from their childhood adapted and remade, at this point) might be doubtful of how the Muppets could adapt to the 21st Century.
Then the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video "dropped" (as today's kids would say). and we found out the Muppets could be as good as ever.
Nine million hits means a lot of you have probably already seen it, but if you haven't you must. It is even better than it sounds in concept.
As far as me, you know my favorite muppets.
- Music:Jason Lytle - Yours Truly, the Commuter
I don't know where I was when I first heard the news (I suppose home watching tv), but it automatically brings up some obvious memories to me. I remember for years, that if you could get a piece of the Wall, it was a big deal.
I don't know that the younger generation will appreciate the Cold War tension. There's nothing that brings people together like the threat of nuclear annihilation (Morrissey knew this). We didn't have it as bad as our parents with the fall-out drills, but we had an Evil Empire looming over us. We had preposterous movies, super cool wrestling villians, and cheesy lyrics ("How can I save my little boy from Oppenheimer's deadly toy").
I remember a certain English class for whatever reason. I remember at the time that the group I hung out with referring to ourselves as The Deadbeat Club (from the B-52s song). Already, too pretentious by half, I thought the name wasn't obscure enough (I much would have preferred say, Rusholme Ruffians).
There is nothing like the camaraderie experienced at the age. If we could only bring that with us into adulthood. Every teen group of outsiders is as important as the Algonquin Round Table or Gertrude Stein's Montparnasse. How we do lose that?
The Berlin Wall held more importance for us since one of us had been an exchange student to Germany. He went as a studious quiet honor student, and came back a bleach-blonde out-and-proud punk with a handful of CD's that I never had heard of before (from bands I still only hear about from the most diehard goth).
"Smalltown Boy" is a cliche, but it's a cliche because it's true. This was all the kick any of us needed to look at leaving from the small town. I like to think that this is something only those from small towns can appreciate (I could be wrong, I suppose). I imagine that I wouldn't of been content to stay, and my life was already headed in that direction, but that time of my life was certainly the push. What would have been the alternative (loveless marriage? suicide?).
I suspect the younger generation has their boogeymen (Terrorists!), and everyone has a story to tell, but the fall of the Berlin Wall (terrible Jesus Jones song excepted) does make for a good one.
- Music:Leonard Cohen- I'm Your Man
Thriller had some appeal to me, but Michael wouldn't have made the list of my ten or twenty favorite artists of the time. New wave started to hit about the same time I was learning Math and English. Not that I didn't like Thriller, but it wasn't a cassette (sic) that I would have bought. I was young enough that a song simply being catchy and upbeat like "Say, Say, Say" was good enough to like. I will still justify liking that song, but there was no excuse for "That girl is mine", and I liked it then too . ("Say, Say, Say" went to #1 on the US charts, "That girl..." to #2, yet 80's classic "Tainted Love" only barely broke the top ten here- I'm not the only one who retcons). "Billie Jean" I will argue is a classic and "Beat It" had Eddie Van Halen guitar, so it's crossover appeal was apparent.
With due respect to the 808 drum machine and the Audio Tune voice processor, R&B was a different beast back then, and I would think nothing of listening to Billy Squier, Greg Kihn, Cameo, and Shalamar. Even mindless dance music like Shannon's "Let the music play" had innovation behind it.
It should be noted somewhere that my two favorite artists were sweaty, crucifix-wearing, shirtless Brits Billy Idol and Adam Ant. I was a middle schooler who's two favorite songs included the lyrics "You see and feel my sex attack" and "If I strip for you, will you strip for me".
So, at the end of the day, I'm not convinced that Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne will turn our next generation into a bunch of degenerates.
I am pretty much as good as an argument of that. My favorite bands were either the last of the famous, international playboys (Duran, Bowie) or "anything goes" sex maniacs (Frankie, Dead or Alive). Meanwhile, I could see where this was headed, and quickly knew that i was going to be the last person in my class who would have a girlfriend.
That as it happened , was inevitably how it all ended, but I got an early start on how to craft a narrative (I'm not the first to tell the "I'm dating a girl two school districts over" story and not the last). Despite the music I listened to or the videos i watched, it was always my destiny to be the King of Pain.
Things for people like me get better as we get older. In that time around completing junior high, I had that first dance, first "steady" girlfriend, and had embraced the individual that God had stuck me with being.
I was just about to have my mind blown as a 15 year old hearing for the first time bands that didn't get played on the radio.
Before that happened though, bands like INXS and U2 had broken through and had become the soundtrack of my life. I had also, by now, (while loving all that came before) turned my attention to "serious" music like Springsten, Jackson Browne, Dire Straits, and pondered hopefully that the Russians loved their children, too.
"Bad" was out then, too and as big as an album got (this time Jacko employed Steve Stevens to sell "Dirty Diana" to the crossover audience), but by then (even at the time) Jacko's macho posturing seemed hokey. Even when shot by Scorcese and scripted by Richard Price, Jackson wasn't "street" in comparison to the pioneering rappers who were now coming along, and not "rock" enough to compete with the starting to detox Toxic Twins.
I didn't have a unhappy childhood, though I don't know that I would want to go back. I can't argue against Jackson's importance as a cultural icon, but his music wasn't that big of an influence on me.
- Music:The Who - Who's Next
A couple of you have already mentioned this, but it bears repeating, today is National Record Store Day.
I have already recounted most of this story, but it bears repeating. As cliche as it is (and it is), I can't imagine life without a passion for music, and specifically record stores figure into that equation.
I certainly empathise with Kurdt Cobain's decision to release an album with "Waif Me" so it could be sold in the discount stores. The only store in my town that sold music was Wal-Mart. To be a bit fair, their selection was more diverse than today where they carry maybe 50 or 60 titles. In fact, incredibly enough, I bought the Godfathers' More Songs about Love and Hate and The The's Mind Bomb there.
I can't say that I don't have love for the chain stores. As a teenager, I would seek out the top albums on Rolling Stone's College Rock chart, and brought home these amazing albums by Lou Reed, XTC, Camper Van Beethoven, and others. While years later, I would go to target to find those bands that they wanted to push by selling $7 CD's- bands that otherwise weren't on the radio or MTV. So, I was tuned into Muse ten years ago, before they got any kind of major stateside exposure.
I have hit plenty of chain stores, pawn shops, CD/video game resale stores, the Virgin megastore, and all matters of places that sell music over the years, but some are more iconic than others.
I still vividly remember a record store in the next town over when I was 15, though I can't imagine it was in business longer than a year. It had a sizeable and segregated section for "Art Rock" ("Alternative" was not yet a universal moniker for new wave and post-punk). If one was forward looking, those vinyl albums are probably worth a sizeable amount.
I was just discovering something new- music that didn't get played on the radio, and it all was so exotic. I can only hope that today's youth could experience somethig similiar (though, i don't know what. Maybe they will tell their children about napster and MySpace, and how it was).
Not only was the music memorable and unlike anything else, so were those albums. While the major albums looked like Tunnel of Love, Dream of the Blue Turtles, and Brothers in Arms, those images weren't nearly as arresting as this.
The albums in that store were like nothing else- the iconic Cure covers, the punk as f**k Dave Goodman Sex Pistols collections, the truly bizarre Zappa and Utopia albums, and many more.
There is another iconic record store in that town that has survived 20 years, mostly because though they weren't any cheaper, going in was the perfect Record Store experience. The owner a true child of that 50's rock sound with a silver pompadour- modern enough to embrace bands like BR549, but traditional enough that he still thought the greatest rock album ever was Live at the Star Club (To be fair, I can't argue this point).
I have so many memories of this place- the local musician who worked there who would recommend a band I have never heard and so after a visit, I would leave, now with, say Ultravox in my collection, and also where I took bass guitar lessons (mostly paid for by running errands for the teacher).
Even better than the local stores were the record stores in college towns which I would hit on the weekends as a High School senior. I made it my mission to get as many of the Smiths (and Morrissey) 12-inch singles (I ended up getting most, and after a life of shuffling from place to place, actually am amazed to find I now still have them in my possesion). Those Smiths records were unlike any others, not just for the music- the iconic pictures, the "made in England" stamps, they even felt different.
I am still amazed at the vinyl I have collected through the years- essential bootlegs like Metallic KO and It's Alive, picture discs, record company promos, interview discs, 80's new wave dance 12"'s, and a wealth of records given to me by my mother and by friends.
As I went off to college (and some of yer recollections may vary), but I thought the local college record store was pretty cool. An amazing collection of used discs and always the important new albums. Plus, it had a record store feel, with a litany of band stickers on the door, and that smell of incense. It even had a rastafari who worked behind the counter.
I was lucky that everything happened when it did, for in the last ten years, the way it was is no longer the way it is.
When I hear people talk about going to their local record store, it sounds so antiquated (I love it, but I don't expect it). First, chain stores like Best Buy came along to kill off the record store. They sold at half-price and dwarfed the selection. It is hard to beat that as a fan.
Then there was Amazon.com, which would have bankrupted me as a kid (I spent way too much on those Columbia House and BMG get a dozen cassettes for a penny deals in high school). It doesn't get much more convenient and customer friendly than Amazon.
With music blogs and P2P sharing, the concept of paying for music is almost done. At the very least, with itunes, the idea of buying albums is near extinction.
We have a decent, if not particularly great local record store, which I don't frequent nearly enough. They are celebrating Record Store Day with what may be the best band in the state, Poison Control Center.
This post is my contribution to Record store Day. If you have a local store, continue to support it.
- Music:Sinead O' Connor- So Far.. the Best of
Top of the Pops: As I mention every chance I can, I have shaken hands with 3 of the most influential Americans of the last 20 years: Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Newt Gingrich. I also have briefly met two Senators: Pat Schroeder and Chris Dodd.
I have seen Clinton three times, and once was a busstop tour, so it was brief, but I can see his appeal. Newt reminded me of someone's father-in-law.
Most people remember the first time they saw someone and their eyes met. I will never forget seeing Barack peering out from backstage. Barack is one of the few people who really electrifies a room by simply showing up. Also, he is very thin and lanky.
My Early Burglary Years (Florida edition) - I worked in a sports club in which I (if didn't meet) was around quite a few celebrities. So, I saw Brad Whitford of Aerosmith (I can confirm post-Toxic twins, he did drink O'Doul's), Clarence Clemons (indeed,the big man), ESPN's Stuart Scott and Chris Myers, Tampa Bay Bucs hero Lee Roy Selmon- to name a few. I stood about twenty feet awy from Roger Clemens (circa 1998) and his arms were huge. I also saw a few baseball heroes of the time- Jose Canseco, Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Vaughn, and Trevor Hoffman. (Hoffman was very cool).
My Early Burglary Years (South Central Illinois edition) - The restaurant I worked at before coming to Iowa was where two interstates met, so a lot of buses stopped. Most notably, Ronnie James Dio stopped there. I missed him (unfortunately), but I worked that night, and Christian rock legends Petra came in. I was always missing the real good people (Dio, WWF referees and ECW wrestlers).
My Early Burglary Years (Hate Your Friends edition) - In my college years, I did get to meet Evan Dando of the Lemonheads, as they were on their ascent (Yes, he was pretty much like what you expect, but cool). I also got to do a goofy interview with Velocity Girl.
I saw dozens upon dozens of concerts during this time, including one in which HR from Bad Brains kept going through the crowd back and forth. I shook his hand twice, because, hey, why not? The next night, he was arrested for assault and possesion of crack cocaine.
The biggest moment of these years, and one of what I consider life highlights was meeting Glenn Danzig and band backstage. I am a huge fan of his stuff, and with apologies to GCM who helped make this happen, it was so cool. He was very personable, and even answered questions about the Misfits. It was my coolest rock moment ever.
Along the way, I talked to a few bands either before or after their set. Most recently, one of my favorite bands British Sea Power who were supercool. Also, I met a couple of members of Yo La Tengo. Ira Kaplan was an indie-rock asshole (this was at the height of Lollapalooza and his stint at Spin magazine- not now, when he's not even the most famous person around named Ira.). On the other hand, James McNew was very cool.
Miscellaneous Debris - Besides knowing someone who went on Ricki Lake, I did have a college class (a class of about 15) with someone who was on Survivor.
I also met John Cena in traffic.
- Music:The Clash - Give Em Enough Rope
This is late, but a couple of celebrity deaths from last week.
Wendy Richard - Before BBC America brought hip English shows to our country, PBS showed a variety of 70s British sitcoms. Of the ones shown here, Are you being served was easily favorite. So though I am aware of EastEnders, I think of her as Miss Brahms, and it's sad to see her go. I figured she'd be a riot to hang out with.
Paul Harvey- Okay, he was 90, but Paul Harvey was an American icon.
I used to joke with a friend, who had the theory that Harvey had been dead for years, and his show was essentially put together by a Harvey soundboard; which explains the long awkward pauses: "and now........ page........two".
It could have been done by recording such recurring phrases like: "President", "Congress" "71-year old" "neighbor" "Bose radio" , and "Chondroiton".
His death doesn't discredit this theory either, as who would have the foresight to have him record the words "Barack" and "Obama".
One general opinion of Harvey has been that he was self-centered, hard to work for, and trying to push a far right agenda on America.
Possibly, maybe even likely, but I have a spot soft for Harvey. There was something charming in his newscasts.
Most of all, I was a big fan of "The Rest of the Story" growing up. I loved to listen to his storis on the radio, and would tune in when I could. I would also read and re-read (don't ask why) his books (or his son's books, it wasn't really clear) which collected the stories.
Maybe those stories work better for kids and young adults than they do as an adult (Oh, piano player named Reggie? That's Elton John), but those were a big influence on me growing up. I love the twisted ending, and the slow uncovering.
Love him or hate him, an American icon is gone.
- Music:Cranes - s/t
Although, I posted a tribute to Lux Interior upon finding out about his passing, I wanted to post some more, so please humor me.
I was lucky tobe around several people in high school who introduced me to music that wasn't being played on the radio. Obviously, some people had this experience some time in their life, while others didn't. To me, it was a big thing, and I feel lucky to have met so many interesting people and was lucky enough to discover "post-modern' rock in the late 80s/early 90s.
My first exposure to the Cramps was "Psychedlic Jungle", which like other bands that were new to me, was not a band that did much to me. PJ is a bit difficult as an introduction piece. Songs like "Goo Goo Muck" and "Green Fuzz" are admittedly difficult listening without context. Hard to classify as punk rock, and just damn weird.
It was a little bit later where I finally got drawn in with the Bad Music for Bad People compilation (still eailsy top ten album titles ever). The Cramps -were wieird as ever, with an album cover (cassettes at the time) that would scare your parents on that label for some weird music, IRS. "Garbage Man", "New Kind of Kick" and "She Said" were easily for a teenage punk to get into.
It was in High School, when the Cramps had the closest thing to a hit they had "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns." Everything about the Cramps was perfectly weird - their name, their lyrics, their videos, and their cover art didn't resemble anything on the Best Seller chart. Even compared to the major label alternative bands on Sire and Warner Bros., they seemed to be from a different universe.
When I think of the bands I first discovered in hgih school, I think of the ones that grabbed me right away, but I also think of the bands that took some time and distance to appreciate (the Cramps, the Residents, the Dead Kennedys).
I think of the Cramps in my college years too. Obviously, seeing them live- going through a time when I was able to see a lot of bands perform- I was lucky to see them perform at Mississippi Nights. A great live band- just like you hoped they would be. I picked up the disc that paored Psychedelic Jungle with Gravest Hits, and I probably played that disc as much as any during those years. Gravest Hits is such a great album- music my mom could like from a band that she would picket.
My friend JM introduced me to the Live at Napa State Mental Hospital video. This won't mean much to the YouTube generation, but for it's time, it was this legendary hard-to-find document.
The Cramps had one last hurrah while I was in college radio, Flamejob which was released at the height of "alternative" mania. It wasn't a very good album, but it was good to see the Cramps being promoted. I even have a small poster from it somewhere.
In recent years, I still listen to the Cramps quite a bit. Big Beat from Badsville, while not their best work is decent enough. The thing I remember most about the recent years (call him the post-music industry/music blog years) is discovering all of the original stuff. It's amazing how some of the strange songs that can only be Cramps songs are covers ("Bikini Girls.." for one).
Anyway, it's sad that Lux is gone. He was an American original that always maintained on the fringes of American culture. Like John Waters, he took trash culture and embraced it, and took us all along for the ride.
On top of that, you got a great love story. For being the most far-out subversive people around, Lux and Poison were together thirty-five or so years. How about that, Religious Right? Plus, for all the possible feminist protest about lyrics, the Cramps were one of a few bands with a female lead guitarist.
The Cramps are so different from anything else that it is hard tovfigure out their influence. Easily enough though, the Cramps more or less invented psychobilly. As a big fan of this genre, I appreciate the Cramps even more.
I'll leave you with a letter, a 20-year old Steven Morrissey wrote to Sounds magazine: The Cramps are worth their weight in gold for making the Police seem like a great big sloppy bowl of mush....The Cramps were enough to restore faith in the most spiritless. They have it all, and their drummer is the most compelling in rock history. Back to the Cramps or perish. It is written."
Garbagecanmusic earlier this week posted a story of 20-something Al Bedsitter.
Yes, it's true. Well, I am still as catty as ever. I think I have gotten better at holding my tongue. As Truman Capote could tell you, there are times when it is best to hold your tongue than tell a great story.
I still have that touch of Capote/Morrissey/Dorothy Parker/Wilde/Coward in me that wants to slag off everybody I don't like.
Anyway, the story is true. I slammed
garbagecanmusic for making a comment about my favorite artist."Why don't you like the Smiths? Did you get spurned by some new waver that picked Blane over you; so you burned all your New Order records and become a Heavy Metaller?"
Ha ha. I am awesome.
It is true I did it, but there are a few things to keep in mind 1) I was meaning it all in good fun 2) this was the early days of the internet, and what now would be an LJ post would be a rant that I sent by email and 3) lastly, and most importantly, I would follow garbagecanmusic into a fire if he asked me to. He quite simply has been one of the best friends I have ever had,
Also, "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside." is sort of a cheesy lyric. I can admit to it.
I am glad GCM hung around long enough to remain friends. He knows my personality, and hasn't deserted me to this point. I would never do anything to put him down.
Although, it should be noted that it is spelled Morrissey (two r's, two s's) and it's the Mozzer, not the Mosser.
- Music:The Pogues - Live at Brixton Academy
I got into a conversation about hobbies the other day. I strongly support the idea to have hobbies because you love them, and never to make money.
I was a comic fan before, during, and after the great 'comic speculation years', and it was crazy. Oddly, the comics I were picking up at the time did become worth something. while everyone was buying three issues of special hologram cover, I was picking up some new writers who I had discovered and liked named Ellis and Ennis.
So, I don't begrudge the new American dream. The old dream was to work hard and live well, the new dream is to do nothing and live well.
I lived during the Beanie Baby years in the whitest trash area of America and could tell you the market there wasn't going to last. When everybody has four of something, it stops being sought out.
I, myself, have seen my baseball cards go from nothing to something back to nothing. You see, I have the once -sought after rookie cards of such big name players as Mark McGuire and Roger Clemens, to name two, now disgraced icons.
In short, do what you like. If it's NASCAR or whatever, collect what you enjoy. Thimbles, salt shakers, galss shoes, shot glasses- enjoy your hobbies, and if you make money , off them great, but there's rarely a gold ticket.
Of course, that's easy for me to say, i had been planning an early retirement by selling by Barry Hussein memoribilia- Christmas cards, postcards, autographed books- and then the Rev. Wright thing hit.
- Music:Radiohead - in Rainbows
I am going to reveal my geekier side, but wrasslin' was the highlight of my weekend.
I got home around midnight on Friday to watch the UWF on ESPN Classic. I was stoked.
In my mind, I was thinking the circa 1986 Bill Watts promotion formerly known as Mid South Wrestling, which I remember being cool as hell.
Watts went broke just like that, trying to compete with the WWF (UWF- because the Universe is bigger than the world). Jim Crockett bought it, and it pretty much evolved into WCW.
There were some great names came through there (Sting came through there for one), and Jim Ross was the announcer.
Unfortunately, a friend informed they are showing the Herb Abrahms promotion of the early 90's, with Bruno Sammartino announcing. In this case, past their prime wrestlers like Paul Orndoff and Don Muraco.
I did watch it for awhile, though. I got to watch a young Cactus Jack lose to David Sammartino. Also, Dr. Death Steve Williams and Col. DeBeers (remember when South Africans were evil).
Anyway, worst case scenario, it got me to do a YouTube search for 'UWF" this weekend, and there's a lot of good stuff there, and it holds up incredibly well.
Excellent mic skills to match great wrestling skills. It would be intersting to see how big a star Nikita Koloff would be if he were to be in his prime today.
Flair, the Horsemen, Lugar, Windham, Ronnie Garvin, Sting, Terry Taylor, Chris Adams - a golden era in wrestling.
I then spent Sunday night watching the Royal Rumble. This is probably the first wrestling ppv I have watched since Wrestlemania 17 in 2001.
It was worth it, though.
Things worth noting.
1. Both Jimmy Snuka and Roddy Piper made guest appearances. Both are horribly, sadly out of shape. I would have loved to seen Snuka fly off the top rope, but it would have been painful to watch. Both were in the same match as the sons of Carlos Colon, Dusty Rhodes, and Chavo Guerrero, Sr.
2. The big event was John Cena came out as a surprise and won the whole thing. Cena has been out with an injury, and this surprised everyone. I am not a big Cena fan, but have to admit he is the WWE's biggest star in the last five years,
The big thing isn't that Cena won (once he came out, you knew he would win), but that the WWE pulled this off.
In the age of the internet, and not being able to keep anything secret, the WWE pulled off the impossible. Only McMahon, Triple H, and Cena knew, and Cena didn't show up until right before the match.
So, that was my weekend, and for an added peice of wrasslin' geekiness, I've just started to read Bret Hart's book. Full report to come.
- Mood:
geeky - Music:Murder City Devils - Empty Bottles, Broken Hearts
This is the Happy Thanksgiving post.
I will not be doing anything particularly significant today. I have went home the last couple of years, but will be spending this one here in Iowa.
I am of course, very thankful for everyone who reads this.
When I was eight, I wrote poorly-written fiction about Conan the Barbarian. Now, twenty-five years later, I write poorly-written fiction about Presidential Candidates visiting my house.
I am thankful that I have a place to express myself, and am very grateful for the half-dozen to dozen people who, at least scan my posts on a regular basis.
You guys rule.
So, Happy Thanksgiving, and enjoy the day; and because posting the William S. Burroughs "Thanksgiving Prayer" is so two years ago:
If you've got a minute or twenty to spare
I remember watching the movie (based on the song) back in high school, and not "getting it".
Maybe, we were too young or didnt have enough background to understand it. Maybe, I was watching it with people who thought counter-culture began and ended with Perry Farrell. I remember that we were not impressed. Still, I like hearing the song on the local FM station every Thanksgiving.
I decided I might as well go and put a profile on the NaBloPoMo website, and make it official.
I was hesitant at first, because I didn't want all the weirdos and crazies here, but I don;t really have anything weirdos and crazies would want, so what the h---.
Besides, why not throw stuff out for people to read.
So, I made it offical, and that was when Nancy found my blog via the Randomizer, and tagged me with a meme.
It is the "Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself." meme, which I have seen, probably have been tagged with, but always avoided.
Well, as I have some relatively new people here and never done any sort of formal introduction, I figured this was as good as time as any.
So, here's 7 random facts about me. I'm not going to tag anyone, but do it if you want.
1. I was born in downstate Illinois (St. Louis-Paducah area for geography sake). I have worked (for at least one day) in six states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Iowa, Florida, Utah).
2. I have shaken hands or met the following people: Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd, Pat Schroeder, Stuart Scott, Glenn Danzig, Jim Ross, and Trevor Hoffman
3. I own probably around 500 books, maybe more. I live a very minimalistic lifestyle. I am very much like the line in Heat, I could drop everything in 30 seconds, and not be seen again. However, I would miss my books.
4. I have seen 200+ bands. I have seen most of my favorites perform at least once. I have also seen at least two friends have at least some measure of success in music.
5. I have various obsessions, as you know from reading my blog. Primarily, out of these is Former Smiths-singer Morrissey, who I consider the greatest wit of our time.
6. I am a fast food junky. My biggest vice is greasy food and soda. This is probably not a good thing.
7. I have been single for virtually all of my life. Not this "I lived with my girlfriend for three years" single either. It's amazing that I haven't started collecting my toenail clippings in a jar or figuring out the right angle to open the door when the milkman stops by.
So, there you go. it's like you've known me all of my life now.
- Music:Johnny Thunders - Live at the Savoy Club 1984
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
thewhyfivewith a nod to defrog (Puffyamiyumi and Dio-era Sabbath) and puffdaddydoggy who had great lists.Top Five Road Trip Songs
1. Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
This one is obvious, sure, but Springsteen chronicles Americana better than anyone. Songs like 'Badlands' and '10th Avenue Freezeout' are the perfect back-drop for that Great American Ride. Still, for lyrics and melody, "Born to Run" has to get the nod here. A classic song that I never tire of. To prove the Boss still has it, check out "Radio Nowhere", 2007's Road Trip song, and last year's rollicking We Shall Overcome.
2. Steve Earle - "Guitar Town"
Earle is another obvious choice. "Guitar Town" more explicitly is a road song. You don't have to drive a big rig, to feel the realness in this song. Also, i have to give a nod to Earle's cover of "Six Days on the Road." You can feel Earle's bloodstream as he sings "I take little white pills and my eyes are open wide".
3. Wiseblood - "PTTM (Petal to the Metal)"
This gets the nod over other Jim "Foetus" Thirlwell songs by the chorus of "Petal to the Metal, Yeah". Still, Jim has quite a few songs that makes you want to put petal to the metal ("Free James Brown, So He can Run Me Down"), and with his instrumental project, Steroid Maximus, he has made the perfect soundtrack to anyone's Spy Hunter/James Bond/ Hawaii 5-0 fantasy.
4. Iggy and the Stooges - "Search and Destroy"
This song gets the nod, but any of the Stooges' stuff will make you go 50 in a 35. There is a reason why admen like to use songs like "Search and Destory", "The Passenger", and "Lust for Life" in their commericals. They are better than any drug.
5. New Order - "Crystal"
New Order has to be here, because I never tire of Bernard's voice. No matter my mental state or mood, Bernard is the perfect singer. New Order has made some perfect wide-road-ahead songs- "Crystal", "Regret", and Monaco's Sumner-soundalike "What Do You Want From Me?", and that's just within the last 15 years.
After compiling this list, I realized that Depeche Mode's "Behind the Wheel" would have been a good choice. Well, I already made the list, but certainly Music for the Masses (and 101) is one of those great road trip albums, with songs like "Never Let Me Down Again" that give this feel of expansiveness and open road.
- - -
For full disclosure, I do listen to a lot of talk radio and spoken word discs when I make those long travels (generally by myself). New Order gets a lot of play, and The English Beat's Greatest Hits is another perfect travel companion.
When I did road-trip (with my pal JM), I remember a lot of Black Flag and Zoviet France. in fact, plenty of punk, and plenty of industrial (Swans, Dead Voices on Air, Neubaten).
- Music:The Velvet Underground -Loaded
I am starting to dig into the recorded works of Townes Van Zandt. He was a huge influence on one of my favorite musicians, Steve Earle. Earle famously said Townes Van Zandt was the best songwriter in the world, and he would stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in his cowboy boots to say that.
Townes is not as accessible to rock ears like Earle, but he's worth checking out. He reminds me in many ways of Richard Thompson. Although their musical styles are different (While Thompson's work is informed by British folk, Van Zandt draws from American country and western), they both have a way to turn a phrase, and tell a story through song.
Van Zandt has one of the great songwriter quotes ever. When asked why all his songs were sad, Townes replied, 'Not all my songs are sad. Some are hopeless."
As a child, I grew up in a family that listened to country music. As a kid, I did not like country, preferring the electro New Wave sounds of the day or the guitar rock of the Scorpions, Ratt, and Autograph. However, even as an 11-year old kid, I was enamoured of this song.
It is really one of those great all-time American songs. It's excellent. It tells a story, has memorable characters, has some incredible imagery, and it's amazingly concise. Anybody who ever tries to sit down and write a story should strive for that goal.
sigma7's post about the raise to the Federal Minimum Wage ($5.85/hour.)I remember back when I was making $6 an hour, working hard at a crappy job, and thinking it was a decent enough wage.
I am now old enough to remember the days that I was a teen and didn't even make $5 an hour.
You know I could think and re-think my move from where I am from and where I am now, but there's a good reason as any just looking at wages.
Back home, eight dollars an hour is a job you have to compete to get. Here, even fry cooks laugh at that amount. Sure, the cost of living is more here, but really not that much.
You know, now is a good time to mention that I get two 'comped' lunches this week, but when I was making six bucks an hour nobody gave me a free anything. Ain't that America?
- Music:The Moody Blues- "I'm Just a singer..."
As an aside, here's the latest on that Benoit wikipedia entry, if you missed it.
And now on with the countdown
Last week (and next week and the week after that, and...) we were being invaded by presidential candidates. This week, though, it is hair metallers, as Des Moines has its annual hair metal festival. A novel enough concept, good only if it wasn't for the usual knack of picking the hottest weekend of the year, and the incredulously expensive tickets (55 bucks- are you friggin' kidding me).
So, let's hit the line-up (For full disclosure: I survived the hair metal years, and my love for the Pixies and the Stone Roses during that time has now been vindicated.)
Seven Mary Three- One of these things are not like the others. Never mind, though, welcome to the has-been pile! I hated this band and all the awful grunge clones that appeared at that time. Also, poo on them for ruining the word "cumbersome"
Brent Muscat- This has being advertised as Faster Pussycat, but I am guessing from the website that it's just him and Taime Downe will be nowhere to be found. In full disclosure mode, FP was one of the few glam bands I thought were good. I haven't went back to see how they hold up, but at the time, I gave Wake Me When Its Over quite a bit of airplay.
Warrant & Winger- Do I need to make a joke here? Let's move on.
White Lion - or more specifically White Lion 2, which probably means it is just Mike Tramp or just Vito Bratta (and yes, I can still name two members of White Lion. My pop culture knowledge is impeccable). After looking at wikipedia- it's Tramp, and Bratta has left the industry. I had punk friends who loved them, but ever got too much into them .
Vince Neil- You know Motley Crue certainly became a bloated rock machine (and it's fun to annoy their fans by suggesting the John Corabi album was the band's best work), but the early stuff was pretty good. A music critic once suggested if Shout At The Devil came out today on say, SubPop, the indie kids would go crazy, and I don't doubt it.
Vince though is responsible for the death of the drummer of the band (and ended the band, really) that I consider the best of 80's glam. I thought Hanoi Rocks were great when I was in high school, and I still stand behind them. If you think Appetite for Destruction came out of nowhere, then you have some research to do. You can give me grief in the comment section below.
...then along came VCR's, and we could tape it. So we would tape a two-hour program, just to capture the five minutes we really wanted to see, and we hoped that everything worked and we programmed the right time and right channel.
Morrissey appearance on Letterman taping on June 25, broadcast moved to June 29
- Mood:
old and in the way - Music:Camouflage- Voices & Images
Friday, I along with half of the city watched your Iowa Cubs play the New Orleans Zephyrs. This was the night that the I-Cubs set their new record for attendance.
While it was just about the perfect night for baseball, I suspect as well, that almost everyone (myself included) had come across some discount tickets.
As far as the game went, it was a fun game to watch, I guess. The play was sloppy as hell. The Zephyrs won 18-12. For anyone who is thrown off, this is indeed a nine-inning baseball game. The I-Cubs had three errors on the night.
Principal Park (nee Sec Taylor Stadium) is a great place, as I have mentioned before. It totally feels major league (and at the same time, has major league prices, too.)
Highlights and lowlights included a baby getting nailed with a foul ball. I can't believe that never happened at any game I have watched. The baby got bonked real good (close to where we sat) and hopefully, was alright.
Also, someone I worked with, proposed to his girlfriend (Should I rant on this later or let it drop? I dunno).
The big draw on Fridays is that there are fireworks afterwards. I don't know why that is such a draw, but it is. Still, you watch a game where the I-Cubs were effectivly out of the game from the second inning. There's not reason to celebrate.
I am a Mets fan, so I was glad to see the Zephyrs win. Maybe, this is a story for another time, but I was the right age when Doc Gooden and Darryl Strawberry were the most exciting stars around, and I've always stuck with the Mets.
I went with a Cardinal fan, who got a kick out of Ken Oberkfell being their manager. It makes me feel old because I saw Ken play back in the day.
Also, worth noting is the fact that Fernando Tatis plays third base for the Zephyrs. Tatis, for one year, was the most exciting young prospect in the majors. The Cardinal fan and I both reminisced about a time when replacing Tatis with a youngster named Albert Pujols seemed like a bad deal.
Tatis has been plagued by injuries, and has went here and there. He currently also shows up in recent steroid rumor circles surrounding Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa.
Also, on the Zephyrs (for those MLB fans out there), their catcher is Sandy Alomar, Jr. Sandy is 40 years old, and was a big star about ten years ago. There apparently is a lot of job security in being a catcher.
All inall, a fun time. Afterwards, went to the local watering hole, and saw the drunkest girl I have seen in some time.
I will probably be away today, watching the Pocono 500 at a place where everyone knows your name. puffdoggydaddy, we can compare notes later.
- Mood:
blank - Music:The Cure- Disintegration
Sundown Towns by fellow Illinoisian James Loewen
Some of you may already be familiar with his previous books like Lies Across America which is a fascinating read.
Anyway, I haven't read the new book, although I am told it is good, if a bit long; but I will try to check it out.
The website is pretty interesting, too, not least the index of Sundown towns.
It was interesting to read about the towns near where I grew up, and also the towns I live near today.
I would be surprised, but I am not. The surprise comes with hindsight, I guess, or maybe incredulity at the past. However, i am aware that this was the way life was in certain towns.
My home town is not listed, but it surely fits into the category of Sundown town. I remember hearing stories, and there was some KKK activity in the area growing up.
I went to grade school (Kindergardenthrough 8th) with one Black girl. I think really up to the mid-90's, there was only ever a handful of black families that lived in the county. The 2000 census even still shows the county as 94% white, and the town 97% white.
So, it is an embarassing history, but as in cases with this, one that should be told. Another nearby city isn't mentioned on the website here, but is mentioned in a related article.
Anyway a fascinating site, and check out the author's home page for a lot of interesting historical tidbits. He tends to lean to the left, if that is a problem for you, but otherwise, a lot of interesting trivia.
- Music:Anything Box- Peace
Profile
- bedsitter23
- Viva Hate!
Syndicate
