Ain't It The Truth

Image from Faith in America.

Monkey Gone to Heaven

Not much going to be happening here over the next week or so. (not even the Friday Random Ten) Don't impeach the Chimperor while I'm gone, OK?

Puttin on a flowered shirt and heading down to the Fest.


It's only knock and know-all, but I like it.
This year I'm doing Eleventy-fest, and I'm gonna need all your help.

You can check things out here. I may show up if the ZORG allows, and the creek don't rise.

Don't Quote Me On That.

Some of the best writers can use simile in a way that leaves you with an indelible visual, and instant comprehension of their meaning. Other writers can put together a phrase that hits you like a stick to the funny bone, making you choke on your food and spew soda on your monitor, humor that hurts.

The Rude Pundit hits the mark today with his opening paragraph:

Sometimes following Republican logic is a little like watching a ferret that just got into a meth stash. You're watchin' that twitchy fucker spin all over the place, and you wish that it'd just die already and get it over with instead of breaking all the glass in the apartment and bleeding and shitting everywhere.

I guess they were against withdrawal from Iraq before they were for it.


Go read the rest, as always, it's good. And foul.

Not Now James (We're Busy)

Been a busy week, me. Had nothing but paperwork to do. I remember when I started this career, and thought I would be designing buildings. Pshaw, as Blue Girl would say. (Blue Girl would also say “Bastard”, but we're not to that point of the post yet). Writing stuff, and talking on the phone. Then writing more stuff. Rinse and repeat.

But, I still managed to find time to post EVERY Frickin Day! Including last Sunday! That's something that hasn't happened in a while, and I'm gonna pat myself on the back, if no one else will.

Especially since S-Fest is coming up, and posting will be pretty intermittent then, mainly because I'll probably concentrate on the Fest Blog.

Lots of stuff happening this week, and no time to talk about it, so it slips under the Friday news cycle, and is gone. Lucky for somebody, I guess.




Anyways, here's the Bunch Of Ten Or So Songs, Sampled From My Music Collection. Today I'll do it direct offa my iPod, so it'll be like you're riding in my car.


12,655 songs, 34.8 days of music. Press Play:


1. Back In Black from the album “Back In Black” by AC/DC Awoooo!! Rockin the Friday!!!

2. Elvis Is Dead from the album “Time's Up” by Living Colour Reunited for Summerfest last year, and rocked. Definitely a hard rock start to the FRT.

3. I Can Tell Your Love Is Waning from the album “Crow Pot Pie” by Slobberbone Oooo, what a bringdown. Long slow disturbing song. There's a great triplet of verses that morphs the line 'As you're lying in the bathtub with shampoo in your hair' into 'As you're lying in the bathtub with blood all in your hair'. Also features the great line:

'Cause I could tell your love was waning from the looks and smell of it,
Like getting caught behind a cattle truck and all you smell is shit ...

4. Now That It's Over from the album “Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile” by Everclear Another Summerfest Band. Back to the rockin theme for today's random. And kind of works with the preceding song also.

5. Here Comes That Feeling from the album “Curse Of The Hidden Mirror” by Blue Öyster Cult More Rockin!! I'm makin the devil sign RIGHT NOW. ANOTHER band who's at Summerfest. Do I sense a theme?

6. Only The Stones Remain from the album “Gotta Let This Hen Out!” by Robyn Hitchcock Hitchcock and the Egyptians played S-Fest a few years back. They played the ROCK stage, oddly enough.

7. Boat Train from the album “Peace And Love” by The Pogues

8. The Soft Soil from the album “The Happy Club” by Bob Geldof This isn't very rockin at all. Dude. Play some Whitesnake.

9. Raymond Chandler Evening [Demo] from the album “Element Of Light” by Robyn Hitchcock More Robyn Hitchcock. Very mellow, actually.

10. Slit My Wrist (Live At Wnur) from the album “Slouching Towards Liverpool EP” by The Loud Family Great song, but still not rockin.

So maybe we get a few extras to end on a higher note, eh?

11. Back from Somewhere from the album “The Living End” by Hüsker Dü Now THAT“S some rockin. And Bob plays that Flying V, slung low like a Ramone.

12. Thru The Eyes Of Ruby from the album ”Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - Twilight To Starlight“ by Smashing Pumpkins The Pumpkins have been known to Rock.

13. No Reply At All from the album ”Abacab“ by Genesis gad, I almost took a mulligan on this one. I don't want to get into repeat of the debate on the virtues of this album, and the negative impact of Phil's Damn Horns. Needless to say, this doesn't rock.

14. Fight Fire With Fire [Live] from the album ”Device-Voice-Drum (Disc 2)“ by Kansas Although they are dinosaurs, this rocks a little bit more. At least they didn't go for the frickin horns. Although they are S-Fest stalwarts, they aren't there this year.

15. Tenderloin from the album ”Let's Go!“ by Rancid Now that rocks. In a completely non-ironic, energetic punk way.



Good end to a pretty good Random. Or whatever we're calling it this week.

One Thing Leads To Another

Not much time for blogging today, got a spec to finish. And specs are my favoritest thing in the world.

First off, a couple of very cheery links to articles showing that the people running our country apparently are so amoral, pathological, and misanthropic that they believe that torture of the mentally incompetent and threatening little kids to coerce their parents are acceptable means to political ends. Pathetic. Sickening. And not entirely unexpected, is it?

Second: Jonah Goldberg, the Journal-Sentinel's latest gobbling rightwing shill added to an already right swerving vehicle, manages to be so spectacularly clueless that he rivals my former Blood Pressure Warning Agent, Cal Thomas, for making it dangerous to read the damn paper. In a recent article, that I suppose is published in the Urinal since J-G is syndicated thanks to his mother, he strives to... well, it seems like he's trying to make a point that Bush deserves cuddles from the Left for not kicking the leaders of European nations on his current tour. Or something like that: it's all wrapped up in weird ideas about Woodrow Wilson and bizarre paragraph structure.

Anyway, Doghouse Riley takes Jonesy to school much better than I can, and the learning is hard. Very Hard. Go read, and hope that Jonah, who has shown marked lack of educational capacity over at Clownhall, takes anything away, or whether we just have to do it all again next week. And by 'We' I mean liberal bloggers who are much better and dedicated than I am.

Speaking of swerving Right, driftglass takes us on that journey, and demonstrates its eventual destination, in a Pythonesque way. With a bit of Douglas Adams.

Here's a quick bit of entertainment: Look at the statements, and decide which ones were said by Ann Coulter, and which by Adolf Hitler. I got twelve right. If they had done Joe McCarthy, it would have been impossible.


Fiinally, I've got the FestBlog 1.0 off the table and out into the Interwebs. I'll keep working on it, but most of the functional parts are there. Basically, It looks pretty, but there are parts that haven't been fully fleshed out. As Joe Bob would say, Check it out.

Pictures of Matchstick Men

You got me into this, you bastard. Getting away from that ratfuck insane Hume isn't worth this.


There was plenty of commentary on this photo and I was going to pass, but what the hell, I need a post and if the Republicans can slime Jack Murtha, an actual hero, we can certainly mock a couple of stereotypical chickenhawks. Tony Snow and Dan Bartlett accompanied Bush on his midnight sneak photo op in the safe zone of Baghdad.

This picture was taken on the way there. A portrait of two chickenhawks, indeed. Not only do they look more ridiculous than Dukakis ever did, they look like they both have just crapped their pants and are trying to find a way to blame the other.

The photographer was not allowed to take a picture of Bush. One account says that Bush did not wear protective gear, which seems... well, it seems like another fuckin lie. More likely he didn't have his codpiece, and refused to be photographed unaugmented.

Words From Heaven

Apparently, God has gotten quite fed up with all this bickering about homosexuality.


Seems to me quite a clear signal to all the believers out there.

Of course, that's not to say that they wouldn't just misinterpret the signal to reinforce their own prejudices (Yes! It happens!) and take it as a signal to begin the Gay Purges.

A Fierce Pancake

Another indecipherable title reference, another meme to steal!

We all know that I can't resist the stupid memes. they're like beer to a Homer for me.

This one doesn't have a cutesy name, at least; stolen from Mac at Pesky Apostrophe.

It's just called A to Z.

accent: straight up Midwestern cowtown. Doesn't sound like an accent to me.

booze: Well, primarily beer. Good small local breweries preferably. Mainstream brews like Miller and Bud? ewww. I also like white wines, and have a soft spot for jinnantonnyx on a hot day, or rummencoaks. And good teguila, without the salad.

chore I hate: Paying Bills. And cleaning gutters. Because that involves ladders. See Phobias below.

dogs/cats: one dog, one cat. One guinea pig. Many fish.

essential electronics: Good God, the IPOD! My niece lost hers just before she graduated; I couldn't imagine even participating in public life if mine was gone, until I could replace it. I left it at the office one day and could barely sleep that night.

favorite perfume/cologne: Nothing. I like light flowery perfumes (on women, mostly) but my wife is allergic to most of the commercial fragrances, so I tend to be very sensitive to them; Lighten up on the fragrances, folks. A little goes a long way.

gold/silver: Silver. And copper. Copper is a much maligned metal.

hometown: Suburb of Madison Wisconsin. Madison is a good liberal benchmark, although the suburb I grew up in? Not so much. I don't go back.

insomnia: Almost never

job title: I run my own business, so I could be anything I want. CEO. President. 3rd degree Master Head Peon. Chief Bottle Washer and Stamp Licker. But I've never really been one for titles, so I just stick with the professional appellation Architect. It's the only title I really want.

kids: One, and he just got his Black Belt in Taekwondo last Saturday so don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

living arrangements: Own our house on Milwaukee's East Side.

most admired trait: Tall. I'm tall. And I've got great hair. But it's grey.

number of sexual partners: Not many.

overnight hospital stays: Tonsil removal when I was fourteen. Sleep apnea test a few years ago. That's it, not even when I concussed myself running a minibike full speed into an oak tree as a kid.

phobia: Heights. Which makes it effin' hilarious when I have to do a building facade inspection.

quotes:

Half of life is fucking up - the other half is dealing with it.

Want a good body? Work at it. Want to be a success? Work at it. Want to be truly exceptional? Be a touch insane...You need a little bit of insanity to do great things.

I like it though. Love it. Confrontation. Tension. Adversarial relationships. More please. It’s the only time it gets real.

Go without a coat when it's cold; find out what cold is. Go hungry; keep your existence lean. Wear away the fat, get down to the lean tissue and see what it's all about. The only time you define your character is when you go without. In times of hardship, you find out what you're made of and what you're capable of. If you're never tested, you'll never define your character.

- all four from Henry Rollins

“I haven't failed- I've found 10,000 ways that don't work.”

- Thomas Edison

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.

- Mark Twain

“Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.”
-Isaac Asimov

“To announce there must be no criticism of the president, or that we
are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American
public.”
-Theodore Roosevelt, Republican, president, veteran

“Enjoy every sandwich”
-Warren Zevon

religion: atheist, small A. It's not a religion, so it doesn't get a title. Once the Godtrip no longer does it for you, it's an adjective, not a noun. It's not the same thing, is what I'm saying.

siblings: One older brother, one younger brother

time I usually wake up: 8 AM

unusual talent: I can draw. Is that unusual? It's not common, I guess. Most people draw like a seven year old. That's usually because they stopped drawing when they were seven. I never stopped.

vegetables I refuse to eat: asparagus. I'll eat things like broccoli when it's in Thai food.

worst habit: Let's start a list, sheesh. I guess the worst is sloth. And the bonus is it's a Deadly Sin, too!

x-rays: Teeth. And my foot when I broke a toe in Taekwondo.

yummy foods I make: I should probably cook more. I make a decent jambalaya.

zodiac sign: Please. I don't believe in God, but I'm going to believe in this tripe? FWIW, it's Scorpio. One site provides descriptions:

1. is analysis, refinement, and discrimination seeking perfection and purification of the self. This is the sign of the craftsman.

The house where your sign rules is where you will be challenged to analyze your feelings in a practical, unemotional way. Here is where you can serve others in a quiet, unassuming way.

2 . is intense emotional power probing and penetrating into the unconscious; seeking the power of transformation at work in ordinary reality; seeking to accept all that is frightening or overwhelming.

The house where your sign rules is where you will be challenged to completely transform your life. You seek control in this part of your life and can be manipulative and secretive.

3. is eccentricity and radical individuality seeking freedom of the soul and communication with the group mind.

The house where your sign rules is where you will be challenged to seek new knowledge in order to break down old ideas. Here you are very much ahead of your time.

4. is self-expression seeking confidence, ease, and honor in the social world.

The house where your sign rules is where you will be challenged to “shine”; to apply the positive, creative qualities of your sun sign, and find a sense of inner peace.

Okay. Now you tell me which one of those applies to me, and which one is Scorpio.

Well, that was fun. At least I made a Monday post, and that's not very common.

Oh, and hey- I've got Summerfest tix for anyone besides Silent Mike able to ID the title ref. Without Googling. A couple of years ago, even Google wouldn't help, but the INternet IS, and it GROWS. Actually, I owe Silent some tickets anyways, so he counts too.

Father to Son

Based upon a nice little post by Blue Girl, I thought I'd rip her off and talk about Father's Day. (Not too proud to steal from fellow bloggers, that's me!)

My father never went to college, although he had an opportunity to. The town he grew up in had kind of an anti-college sentiment. I think that he always regretted that; although I had a job as a draftsman before I graduated from high school, he insisted that I go to college, somewhere, for something.

I'm lucky that I had the opportunity to thank him for that.

He (and my mother, for that matter) were both blue collar workers for most of their lives. We were what is now known as 'latch key kids' although at the time, no such terms existed. Our parents worked, because a middle class lifestyle costs. My dad always worked on projects around the house, and while he may not have been a craftsman, he kept the toilets flushing and the house painted. DIY was the order of the day, because tradesman were expensive. Since he worked in the plumbing industry, sometimes he could get a favor from a contractor when things were really SNAFU.

I got a serious work ethic from my Dad as well as a love for beer. I'm glad I didn't pick up his smoking habit, but he quit too when his doctor told him that something had to go. I also got a distrust of politicians, while at the same time realizing that Democrats, by and large were the only ones that cared about people like my family, even if only some of the time. He once confided to me that he was worried that my brother might have voted for Tommy Thompson.

He taught me the value of hard work, and the integrity of honest work, but also that work and money don't meant much if you can't enjoy them.

He also helped us all develop a love of animals. Dogs, cats, guinea pigs, snakes and lizards too (although Mom wasn't too keen on the last two) were all fair game. He always loved dogs, in particular a toy poodle named Chauncey that they got after I left home.

He had the best of all possible roles as a grandfather; my brother and his girlfriend had a baby girl, but when their relationship didn't work, my brother moved back with my parents and Mom and Dad helped raise her. That little girl graduated high school last weekend and is going to UW-Madison.

He was proud as hell when I started college in engineering. It didn't sit too well when I changed majors, but eventually it was OK. I married an engineer, so he still had an engineer in the family.

Dad passed away in 2003, and I still miss him, especially at times like last night, when my son received his Black Belt in Taekwondo, or last week when his little league team played Helfaer field in front of Miller Park.

I loved my Dad.

Coulter's Snatch

Yes, That's really a song title, and no, I'm not going to dwell on the screechings of this bloodthirsty harpy.

It's a song from Hamell On Trial, and it's hilarious.

Incidentally, Hamell On Trial says that he will be at Points East Pub in Milwaukee on August 22nd. I'm so there.


But mainly, I'd like to point out that notwithstanding the cliche of 'crazy radical liberals' there is NO LEFT COUNTERPART that spews the kind of hateful, murderous crap that Coulter does and gets a media platform to do it.

Nobody on the left is demeaning the victims of war and crime.

Nobody on the Left is calling for terrorist attacks on media buildings.

Nobody on the Left is calling for poisoning of judges.

And nobody - NOBODY- on the left is afforded the copious amounts of airtime for blathering and slandering like she is.

This is the face of The Modern Republican Party.



Friday Random MUsic Blurt. New meme: explain how these songs typify Conservative Principles.


1. I'm Deranged from the album “Outside” by David Bowie Bowie is a corporation, and really, what could be more conservative? Although this album is about psychotic serial killer who views the murders as art projects. Which is just weird. But not really conservative.

2. Bye Bye Love (Demo) from the album “The Cars / Deluxe Edition (Disc 2)” by The Cars

3. Crazy Crazy Angel from the album “First Band on The Moon” by Sigmund Snopek III Silent Mike has to tell me why this one is conservative.

4. Martha Polka from the album “Polka Comes To Your Haus!” by Polkacide “Ready on the left! Ready on the Right! Huh-huh-huh-huh!!” The clarinet player in this band has SKULL STUDS. Polka is a traditional music.So it must be conservative, skull studs or no.

5. Mr. Jones from the album “Should God Forget: A Retrospective (Disc 1)” by The Psychedelic Furs Mr. Jones. Dow Jones. Duh.

6. Attacked By Monsters from the album “Monsters (Reissue)” by Meat Puppets Okay, this one is pretty obvious, isn't it? It's what conservatives say whenever anybody has the temerity to oppose them. It's Number One on Newt Gingrich's Patented Quibbling Points.

7. The Wrong Way from the album “Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes” by TV On The Radio

8. Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll (Bonus Track) (Live) from the album “Tyranny And Mutation (Remaster)” by Blue Öyster Cult Very conservative. Points out the direct correlation between massive conflagrations destroying our urban centers and Rock Music. Tipper Gore and Pat Boone approved. Not that they actually care about cities, though. The preference is for Rock And Roll to set cities on fire AFTER the funding for first response fire, police, and medical services is cut.

9. The Small Print from the album “Absolution” by Muse The Small Print is a legal term, and Contract Lawyers, are by their very genetics conservative. Also, Absolution is a Catholic concept, and the Catholic Church has abandoned any pretense of representing the downtrodden or the poor, or any of that hippy shit, and has reverted to its original constituency, wealthy, greedy benefactors looking for dispensations.

10. Cinderella from the album “Gentleman's Blues” by Cracker Gentleman's Blues is like White Man's Burden. And Cinderella exemplifies the conservative female role, pining away doing menial labor, powerless, until a MAN comes to take you away from all that. And make you do menial labor, but WHILE child-rearing.

This is fun. Let's do some more.

11. Final Hurrah from the album “Suicaine Gratification” by Paul Westerberg .... I got nuthin.

12. Neglect from the album “Live At The Metro Disk Two” by Mekons

I'll be looking strong and influential
In my office clothes
But when I'm home, I stare in the mirror
When there's no one else around
And practice saying over and over
Give me ten thousand pounds
Please

asking for money, and saying Please. In an office setting, so it's properly obsequious.

13. Emphysema from the album “Daysleeper - EP” by R.E.M. From smoking. Supports products from a tobacco state. And ignores namby-pamby do-gooder health warnings, which are anti-business.

14. Yahweh from the album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” by U2 Yahweh. Semitic. Neo-conservative.


There you go.

Dedicated Follower of Fashion

One more post because I can't resist.

Look:





Rick Santorum, who has always been so obsessed with gay sex that he can only be compensating, is apparently this close to breaking free of the repression. Liberace would be so proud, and so would his brother George.

Wake Up Sally (the Cops are Here)

Zelmo, not having one of these here blog thingies to vent out with, and jonesing for the blogging fix available hereabouts (Z doesn't get out much, plus his bosses are assholes so they probably block the good sites like Atrios or Cute Overload)

So he emails me. Hoping, apparently, to kick me out of my cold medicine coma long enough to blurt something into the ether, to be roundly ignored unless I manage to insult some half-assed 70's MOR band.

Ooops. got off track there. It's late.

Anyways, I got this from ol' Z:

Does this mean I can shoot them as they enter my house?

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/15/scotus.search.ap/

Referring, of course, to the recent ruling by The George W Bush Totalitarian Creation Institute and Hunting Club. I mean the Supreme Court. That places a warrant and police action above any privacy or property right you might think you have. Welcome to Russia, comrade. The State has no interest in you if You Are Not Doing Anything Wrong, and if we have to break your doors down to prove it, well, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few heads. Eggs. Whatever, they crack real good with these nice sticks.

Interestingly enough, he's not the only one who thinks that way: At TPMCafe, a lawyer named Nathan Newman is of the opinion that this doctrine is on a course to crash into the Castle Doctrine, in such a way that some very ugly cases are on their way.

Unfortunately, and apparently of no interest to Justices Roberts, Breyer, Thomas, and Alito who are not particularly worried about a few deaths on one side or the other, if they can bring their Corporate-Autocratic Nirvana one step closer to reality.

Note: This problem is already being well explored by the case of Cory Maye. If you think his race does not play a factor in the way this case is being pursued, I'd like to talk to you. Very slowly, quietly and calmly, while the sharp implements are removed from the vicinity. But overall, it does not bode well for the civilians.


There. The good old Random tomorrow, but probably late.

Vampires and Failures

Coulter? please. not on an empty stomach.
Zarqawi? Good Riddance, but does it end the WOT? Come on, the guy couldn't even handle a weapon. Hours after he was blown to bits, bombs were set off in 6 locations in Baghdad.
Gay Marriage? Slowly becoming more acceptable. The history of civilization is the expansion of personal privacy and liberty. Opposition to the rights of homosexuals will eventually join opposition to voting for women and opposition to freeing the slaves.
Estate Tax? Those poor oppressed children of insanely wealthy parents will somehow have to find a way to live on just a ridiculous amount of inherited wealth, rather than ludicrous amounts of inherited wealth. Cry me a river, choadnuggets. Better yet, have your servants pile into a human pyramid and sing 'Man Of Constant Sorrow“ you cretinous grasping cobags.


Ehhhh, screw all that.


19 days to Summerfest. A slim chance to look beyond the hideous, diseased world we are sliding into, and enjoy some of the better parts of life: music, friends, beer, food, and sun. Other than greed and power obsessed corpo-political monsters like Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Bush, that's really all most people want. And I refuse to believe that there isn't a way to allow everybody to enjoy it.


Random songs from 16,525:

1. Femme Fatale from the album ”Cinema Verite“ by Dramarama Great lost band doing a Velvets song. Sublime.

2. Hots On For Nowhere from the album ”Presence“ by Led Zeppelin

3. Amateur Hour (with Erasure) from the album ”Plagiarism“ by Sparks

4. Dreaming on the Edge from the album ”Salad Days“ by The King of France

5. insignificance from the album ”25 Years: Decade 3“ by Mekons It's been a few weeks since the Mekes have shown up on the FRT.

6. Greenshirt from the album ”This Year's Model“ by Elvis Costello & The Attractions Elvis, of course, is going to be at Summerfest. I can't imagine it to be a good forum for him, but we'll be there. I've seen him 4 times before, and it's always superb.

7. Money Talks from the album ”A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC“ by Hayseed Dixie Hey! A Conservative Song!

8. In The Evening from the album ”In Through The Out Door“ by Led Zeppelin 2 in one FRT? That's kind of creepy. Oh well, at least it's not the Scorpions or something like that.

9. Leaving New York from the album ”Around the Sun“ by R.E.M.

10. Mister from the album ”Never Make It Home“ by Split Lip Rayfield Sadly, they will not be making it to SFest this year, due to an illness of one of the band. One of the best reasons for universal health care: most musicians can't afford it.



That's all. Get back to work, Peter is watching.

Video Killed The Radio Star

Our Corporate Masters must be ready to deal a death blow to YouTube.

It's simply too cool.

And now, I've stolen the code to embed YouTube videos, so I can be like Bluegirl and Tres ChunderNozzles to load up my bandwidth with pointless and disturbing videos.

But not Sadly No. They are definitely out of my league, and I bow to their Internet Mastery and Kitties of Death, plus they played a Mekons video last week, (which prominently featured Sally) thereby permanently anointing themselves as cool.

well, but then they had a picture of Pat Boone in a flag shirt, so it kind of trends toward even. I guess we'll have to see how they do.


But first, a preview of Apple's latest commercial:

Yes, Macs are so easy to use a caffeinated kitty can do it. And be cute as a button while doing it.

Faith No More

A man called upon God, “..if He exists,” to save him as he climbed into a lion cage. Guess how THAT ended. Go on, guess. I'll give you a hint: it wasn't with an image of Jesus on a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.


Can I ask Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell to proclaim their faith with similar deeds, rather than words? And until they do, they can just sing “The Ballad Of How You Can All Shut Up”

Devil Song

I just made a comment on this thread over at 3Bulls (don't visit. It's weird and incomprehensible, as well as filled with strange ideas about pork)

But now, I can't get that stupid song out of my head.

Get Out, DAMMIT!

if I can't get it out, I just know I'm gonna end up at iTunes buying it. Dammit.

Hammering In My Head

Woke up with a headache this morning. And before you start casting aspersions, I did no drinking last night. I think it's a preemptive attack because Riversplash has erected a beer tent outside my office front door and I can't go out to play this afternoon.


So herewith is the FRT, Can You Keep It Down edition.


0. Hammering In My Head from the album “Version 2.0” by Garbage Not even remotely random. just hanging in there from when I selected the post title.

- (oog. I'm taking a mulligan on this first one). -


1. Burning For You [Live] from the album “A Long Day's Night” by Blue Öyster Cult . One of my favorite has-been bands, who are taking the Cheap Trick philosophy: “We may not be selling out stadiums any more, but it can still be about the music.” They still put on a very good show, even without laser lights, and Buck Dharma is still an amazing guitarist, and they're gonna be at Summerfest on Opening Night, so I'm gonna be one hurtin cowpoke the next morning. (Hey, Silent Mike, we gonna get together that day? I got some tix for ya).

2. Rain Song from the album “Rising Tide” by Sunny Day Real Estate Semi grunge band who went prog, before The Mars Volta did it. This is a superb disc, and obscure as all get out.

3. The Seeker from the album “The Revolution Starts Now” by Steve Earle This is a GREAT album. That's all there is to say about it. Read the new Rolling Stone article by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and put this on. The Revolution Starts...NOW.

4. In The Mood from the album “Different Stages 1” by Rush Old stuff, back when they were more of a Zep tribute band, before they developed a style of their o

5. One Hundred Years from the album “Pornography” by The Cure pounding, industrial goth, from their first great album. I thought we were going to keep it down, weren't we?

6. Last Song About Satan by Slim Cessna's Auto Club Yes, it's just as great as the title. Neo-bluegrass stomp. Gives Split Lip Rayfield a run for their money.

7. Flowers from the album “Camper Vantiquities” by Camper Van Beethoven

8. Special from the album “The Blind Leading The Naked” by Violent Femmes

9. Submarine Bells from the album “Submarine Bells” by The Chills

10. See A Little Light from the album “Workbook” by Bob Mould First solo album. very nice and pretty quiet for this Loud Boy.


Beginning of Fest Season Bonus Five:


10.5 4th Of July from the album “The Unforgettable Fire” by U2 Little nothing song, so it only gets a half.

11. Bravado from the album “Rush In Rio (Disc 1)” by Rush more Rush, dood!!!11!! Rawk!1!!

12. New Day Rising from the album “The Living End” by Hüsker Dü Here's Bob when he's being LOUD. Given that Kennedy article, We can hope there's a New Day Rising. We have to; or else the America that was founded 230 years ago is gone, replaced by an oligarchy at best, an arguable autocracy, with demonstrable fascist tendencies. Yes I said it.

13. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) from the album “At the River's Edge - Live in St. Louis” by Styx Normally I might have mulliganed this one, but I already took one mulligan, and besides, they are playing at Summerfest Has-Been Theatre, so I'm gonna let it slide. This one's for Zelmo. And Van, who had all the keyboard solos memorized in college, and I'm certain that he doesn't read this crappy lil blog. (Silent Mike- did you ever connect with Van to get the Geeks tape duped?)

14. Frederick from the album “Land (1975-2002) (Disc 1)” by Patti Smith Fantastic song.

15. Love on a Farmboy's Wages from the album “Mummer” by XTC A friend of mine saw them on their only real tour of America, opening for The Police in Madison. He maintains that XTC was far better Gordon and the boys, which I have no trouble believing. I wish I had been there.




An inconvenient Truth is going to run at The Oriental this month. You can pledge to see it here. Unless you've decided to swallow the bilge being spewed by the petro industry, it's an important piece of scientific journalism and purportedly points toward some possible solutions, in lieu of being simple disaster hyping. Regardless of whether global warming is attributable to human causes or natural variations, the potential impact on humankind is disastrous, and ameliorating the effects should be of concern to everybody. Ask the dinosaurs; it doesn't matter that you may not be directly linked to the environmental changes.



The new MacBooks are offered in black. Meh. I don't think it's that great. Black laptops are for normal drones. I guess if you work for The Machine and don't want to stick out with a frosty chillin white Book, or a smooth aluminum techno-slab, but otherwise, it's a bit too retro for me. Apple books were black and curvy while the rest of the world was still lugging anonymous grey blocks around. I still miss the bright orange iBooks. But then, I think rain is wet, so who am I to judge?

Those Darn Accordions

Zelmo! I guess we haven't been keeping up. I didn't know you went to Sweden.....



Brought to you by the Institute of Irresponsible Posting, Department of Gratuitous Music-Related Cheesecake. Thanks to Doghouse Riley, Gentlemen, Scholar, and all around Fine Citizen.