Friday I'm In Love

Sending the Friday Random Music Dump out to Don “Feingold” Quixote, providing the very modern definition of quixotic in his tilting at the windmill of Rubber Stamp Republican Judiciary committee. Truth to Power, indeed. Make us proud.


Desktop iTunes: 15874 songs, 63.36 gigs.


Oh, and Keanu Reeves is an idiot. First, Rape is not consensual. period. Non-consensual sex can be completely non-violent. Second, no matter how rough someone may like sex, if it's consensual, it's not rape. Dipshit. Third, Keanu, you're a fuckin moron. Please go away now.


1. Icky Shazam from the album “Suck” by Boris the Sprinkler Opened for the Figgs once, the singer wore a child's Batman costume. Snot-punk from Green Bay led by Reverend Norb. And only 1 minute 36 seconds.

2. See America from the album “Mobilize” by Grant- Lee Phillips

3. Peanuts from the album “Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings (Disc 1)” by The Police

4. Frail and Bedazzled from the album “Pisces Iscariot” by Smashing Pumpkins These guys still have a good thumping loud sound.

5. White City from the album “Peace And Love” by The Pogues Shane.

6. Coppers from the album “Life Won't Wait” by Rancid Modern punks picking up where London Calling left off. For all the grief they get, they are pretty good.

7. The First Time from the album “Zooropa” by U2 Hey, all you whiners saying the Kinks and Styx never show up on my random plays, my U@ never shows up either. The odds are the odds, boys. Hey, I notice Norbizness narrowly avoided a Styx based FRT today.

8. In Metal from the album “Things We Lost In The Fire” by Low

9. Chief Inspector Blancheflower from the album “Blueberry Boat” by The Fiery Furnaces I forgot I had this album. Weird.

10. Whiskey In A Jar (Long Version) from the album “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” by The Pogues Extra pogues. Like it's St Paddy's day or something.

11. That's the Way Your Crypt is Capped from the album “Arms & Legs & Feet” by Arms & Legs & Feet Great Milwaukee band from the 80's.

12. Happy Birthday from the album “Permanent Record - Al In The Box [Disc 1]” by Weird Al Yankovic

13. Am I Going Insane (Radio Edit) from the album “Symptom Of The Universe: The Original Black Sabbath (Disc 2)” by Black Sabbath Of course, this was the 13th song.

Song For A Girl Who Has One

Just read a pretty little piece over at Blue Girl In A Red State. Go read, I'll wait.


Isn't that great? Inspired by Vonnegut, without being derivative or plagiaristic.

One commenter says“ That post makes me wish I was more of a talker.” That post makes me wish I was more of a writer. Damn.

But the best part is the tagline:

You gotta love the song that's on or life's just not worth living.

God, I'm putting that on a T-shirt. Fuck that, I'm tattooing it on my ass.

She, and Kurt, are right. Today, I have had one hell of a good time.

Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead

You know me. Can't resist the meme. Especially when it involves music.

This time, I'm pilfering it from the lovely and talented Mac at Pesky Apostrophe.

So. The meme. It asks questions, you put your media player on “shuffle” and let it answer the questions. No cheating. Sure, a lot of it won’t make sense, but some of them are funny anyway.

How does the world see you?
We've Got A Bigger Problem Now- Dead Kennedys. Well played, iPod, well played. About Emperor Ronald Reagan, the man who inspired me to never become a conservative. California Uber Alles.

Will I have a happy life?
Sherry Darling-Bruce Springsteen. That's relatively meaningless.

What do my friends really think of me?
Promise Not To Tell- Split Lip Rayfield. That's what they say. Don't ask if you don't want to know. In psychotic punk bluegrass.

Do people secretly lust after me?
Once Around The Weekend - Paul Westerberg. Uh huh. That's not very helpful.

How can I make myself happy?
I'm A Rocker- Bruce Springsteen. Well it takes two Springsteen tracks, but that's pretty much bang on. Time to turn up and practice.

What should I do with my life?
Visions of Johanna- Robyn Hitchcock doing a cover of Dylan. He introduces it as his favorite song, and the reason he started writing songs. Maybe related to the question above?

Will I ever have children?
Forever - Cracker. Trick question. Already have one. I guess it got it right.

What is some good advice for me?
Wipeout- the Meat Puppets. Alright, dude. reading way too much into this random selection, I'd say it's related to one of the previous posts about the dangers of too much moderation, so I need to do something stupidly dangerous. Time to sign up for skydiving or get a motorcycle.

How will I be remembered?
Winning Side - Oingo Boingo. Hopelessly optimistic.

What is my signature song?
Charlotte Sometimes - The Cure. Now that's weird, because Mac got this song for the first question . Moody and dark though; that's probably not too far off the mark.

What do I think my current theme song is?
Obsessed with Aretha- Graham Parker. It's a song about selling out and fakery:

You get a lot of girl singers obsessed with Aretha
You get a lot of little swingers wishin' they could be her
Some of those sisters can rock and roll
All God's children gotta little bit of soul
But not that much no no no not that much

You get a lot of fat Christians you want to throw to the lions
Put em in a barrel, roll em off the top of Mount Zion
Ignorant acceptance is their only aim
With Jesus your life'll be better they claim
But not that much no no no not that much

Yeah but when you hear Aretha singing on some advertisement
Or with a big fussy band on some rock'n'roll museum concert
She's still got the lungs and the dress and the stole
You might even say the girl's still got soul
But not that much no no no not that much

You get a lot of little monkeys swingin' from the treetops
You get a lot of little flunkeys singin' on Top of the Pops
Some of them appear in the gutter press Tellin' you their lives are a mess
But not that much no no no not that much

You get a lot of little stringers pullin' out their penknives
Cuttin' up history Jugglin' with lives
Bein' a reporter is a glamorous trade
You don't even have to tell the truth to get paid
Well not that much no no no not that much

Yeah but when you hear Aretha singing on some adver tise ment
Or with a big fussy band on some hall of fame concert
She's still got the lungs and the dress and the mink stole
You might even say the girl's still got soul
But not that much no no no not that much

Not bad. I'll buy it.

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
The Sprawl - sonic Youth

What song will play at my funeral?
When The Generals Talk- Midnight Oil. Someone write that down and make sure it happens, right?

What type of men/women do I like?
Stars are Stars - Echo and The Bunnymen. I don't even like stars, I'd say.

What is my day going to be like?
The Cheerleaders- The Minutemen. This doesn't bode well.

past: will the nation grow? Prosperity may last.
Can we look at the problems ahead?
With our heads in the sand, we might as well be dead!
Cheer him on:
"The Leader Of The Team." He'll push on through at all cost to win!
But are we free to think for ourselves or doomed to repeat our mistakes?
Can you hear them call your name?
Can you count the lives they take?
Do you have to see the body bags before you make a stand?
Just a little bit too late. Watch the cheerleaders call our their names on the sidelines.
They can feel the players sweat.
I wonder if that is all they see?
All the rallies will never set them free!

d Boon wrote that in 1985. Could have been last year.

Natural Science

The Splendor and Beauty of Nature.

Warning: not for the faint of heart. Or while you're eating. Or anyone, really. Just don't click that link. I shouldn't have posted this. It's a mistake, you'll regret it.

The Squeeking! The chewing! The sounds will haunt my dreams.

Keep Yourself Alive

Well, nobody seems to be responding to my more lengthy rants, so I figure I might as well taunt Zelmo...

We had a spirited email exchange on the relative merits of bands who go through membership changes. However, rather than drone on and on about twee english prog bands, we specifically focused on histrionic english hard rock bands.

That's right, we argued about Queen. Or as I used to refer to them, The Bombast Boys.

They played the Bradley Center last night, so we went. The Urinal/Sentinel's review is here, but as with most of their articles, is sadly lacking, IMNSHO. The curse of editors and deadlines, I guess. Lucky for you I'm under no such restrictions. HA!

I'd been a pretty big Queen fan in high school, but the eighties were not kind to the band and I was going in other directions. Of course, since they remained huge in other parts of the world, there was no opportunity to see them round here. Once Freddie died, I missed any opportunity to see one of rock music's great showmen. So I decided that I would probably regret this opportunity, if I didn't take it. At least I would be able to judge for myself, rather than dismissing the efforts without firsthand knowledge.

But the band was always more than Freddie Mercury's back up band. As the review notes, Mercury is simply irreplaceable, nobody could ever fill that spandex. And the band is smart enough not to try.

The selection of Paul Rodgers is one of those things that makes you go “Huh?” when you hear it. what could the workmanlike blues rock sound of Bad Company possible have in common with the Glam rock of Queen? But at several points in the show, it becomes obvious that a significant part of the pairing is the affection and chemistry between rodgers and the other members of the band, especially Brian May. You start to realize that it might be possible for the band to develop a second phase of their career, respectful of the history with Freddie Mercury, but developing in new directions. Gemma Tarlach had an interesting article here on bands who've tried this (although I vehemently disagree with her dismissal of the Ray Wilson Genesis).

Rodgers has a fondness for rock histrionics, in his own way. While Freddie was fond of opera and British show hall theatrics, performing with over the top campiness, Rodgers is firmly of rock lineage, but is pretty comfortable holding the stage himself, and even if his vocal stylings may not have the pitch and timbre of Mercury, he still maintains a powerful voice that can hit the extremes when needed. Maybe some of his posing and stage antics seem a bit forced, but it seems that he's becoming comfortable with fronting a band very different from ones in his past.

The set list leans much more heavily on the harder rocking numbers than a typical Mercury fronted show would have, opening with “Tie Your Mother Down”. The mix was maybe a little weak on Rodger's voice, but his voice kind of covers much of the middle frequencies, so I think it would be hard to mix it into the forefront. It's probably also wise that they don't try.

Several times, Brian May and Roger Taylor stepped up to do some vocals. A high point was hit when May sat down at the front of the runway with a 12 string guitar (and a vacant stool for Freddie) to sing “Love of my Life” with the crowd joining in. Very pretty. Later, Taylor sang “I'm In Love With My Car” and made me think briefly that Queen could quite ably followed Genesis path by bringing the drummer out to step in as singer. But maybe Roger Taylor isn't quite the ham that Phil Collins is.

I'm not a huge fan of drum solos. Actually, I hate them. But they're a good time to go get beer. This drum solo was mercifully short, and livened up by letting the session guys jam a little bit. There are also three Bad Company interludes that were pretty popular with the classic hits crowd, but the songs pale next to Queen's more textured, complex sound, and I would have preferred a couple more Queen songs instead.

The session guys. Nobody ever mentions them (except Wikipedia. Gotta love the Wiki) Jamie Moses on guitar, Spike Edney on keyboards, and bass-man Danny Miranda from Blue Oyster Cult on the Monster Bass. I love that guy, he has so much fun. Queen wisely decided to go for a more full throated approach to reproducing the complex layered studio versions of songs, and it really paid off. The additional voices made the backing vocals work, especially on the anthemic numbers like the show-closing “We Are The Champions” Actually, “Champions” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” were the two points at which Paul Rodgers made perfect sense as a vocalist, and actually fit the material better than Freddie Mercury might have. The vocal trade offs on “Under Pressure” also worked surprisingly well with the additional throats.

It wasn't all satisfying though. “Radio Ga Ga” showcased some truly awful lyrics. Although I understand the sentiment, I really think they should drop this clunker from their setlist. Forever. There's so much other stuff that would work better. Also, Brian May's guitar interlude was overly indulgent and more than a bit boring. As my wife said “It's certainly nice that he's having a good time.” OK, he's a guitar god and maybe he deserves it but, jeez, enough already.

The stage show itself was pretty simple but effective. Queen, more than any other band I've seen, make use of lighting from the back to overload the audience. Also makes for more effective audience connection, when the band can see the people out there. In addition, there were a couple of film montages, one showing the band in about 1975 or so in Japan; and the other during the operatic portion of “Bohemian Rhapsody” highlighting Freddie Mercury. The band made a point of keeping Freddie as part of the show without being maudlin about it.

It wasn't a sellout crowd, by a long shot. Most people share Zelmo's assessment “Queen without Freddy? Why Bother?” But to their credit, this didn't phase the band (Unlike those posers in Genesis, who broke up rather than play for less than 80,000 people. Tossers) . Brian May expressed appreciation for “allowing me to play Rock Star once again” and the smallish crowd didn't lack for enthusiasm. like Cheap Trick, they may not be able to hit the heights they once did, but in the end, it's still about playing music. And it's better than working for a living.

Another negative. When did we all get so old? Although enthusiastic, the crowd couldn't even muster a good lighter wave for the encore. Everybody stop smoking? There was certainly no stray whiffs of that sweet leaf. Nobody puked on my shoes, although someone did spill their water on my coat. (Water. Couldn't you even spill a beer?) I know, I know, it was the Bradley Center, but at least the corporate sponsorship was limited to VH-1. In tribute to Lester Bangs, someone should tour with Vick's cough syrup as a sponsor.

Also: $35 t-shirts. Give me a motherfuckin break.

Nothing's Gonna Change My Clothes

For those that have been following, Nick from Libertarian Librarian issued a challenge in the form of a laundry list of conservative gripes about Wisconsin (all due respect, Nick, but just as you expected some of my reactions on those issues, I feel I could have predicted your listing of most of them too. And if I'd been listening to Charlie Sykes or reading his transcripts, I would have been able to get the Board Member one also). Mini-rants, all. One in the midst had to do with the potential of banning smoking from bars and restaurants.

I held for the affirmative, because of a recent pleasant experience in Florida, which is a non-smoking state. I'm sure Nick maintains that my support is typical Democratic nanny-state do-goodism. Of course, the Tavern League is aghast and predicting doom.

I still maintain that the Tavern League has a tendency towards alarmism. Must be all those late nights closing up. A sight of the sky makes them feel that it must be falling. They also predicted doom when the drinking age was raised to 21.

And actually, I opposed raising the drinking age, although most people my age didn't care, since they had already made the age. Most of the opposition, other than the TL, was from underage people, who of course don't count because they can't vote and have no money. But I feel that the drinking age should be abolished altogether, and follow a more european model (I know, Nick, it's heresy!) There's a much lower incidence of binge drinking in countries like Germany and France, where alcoholic beverages are a part of everyday life starting in your teens. I think it would be beneficial because by the time kids would hit college, they would be able to handle alcohol much better, and be more well-versed in their reactions to it. Rather than finding out by puking in a friend's car after a wop party. Or worse.

Of course, part of that would be more serious penalties and enforcement of drunk driving restrictions. One advantage European countries have is greater density, so inns and pubs are nearby or easily accessed using cabs and public transportation. So, we'd have to plan our cities, towns and villages at a little bit greater densities (which is already being done- places like Seaside, Middleton Hills, the whole New Urbanist movement). Another side benefit would be the resurgence of the neighborhood tavern. I live in an area that had four or five corner bars within easy walking distance when I moved there. Now all are, regrettably, closed.

But I digress, eh? The smoking ban is, I think, a natural part of the progress toward generally declining smoking rates. No one, other than tobacco industry shills (how do they sleep?) disputes any longer the deleterious effects smoking has on your health. I anticipate that smoking will decline and eventually, future generations will look back and wonder how we survived at all, with common habits like that. Much as we regard people from the 1800's who drank absinthe or smoked opium on a regular basis.

Smoking bans will continue to take hold because the public will become increasingly in favor of them. In fact, Washington DC is currently looking at a smoking ban that comes from a public demand. A couple of interesting quotes here:

Bartender Mark Genberg, a smoker, estimated that three of 10 people who sidle up on an average night are smokers, down from six in 10 a decade ago

...

Jon Brothers, 32, a smoker, said he was ambivalent about the ban. “Don't get me wrong. I love to walk into a dive bar and people are smoking cigarettes or whatever,” he said. “But I think it's a good idea. It's not going to stop you from going somewhere. I'll have no problem going outside for a cigarette.”

This is interesting. Remember when restaurants were up in arms that they were being forced to provide separate smoking and non-smoking areas? End of the world. Three in ten now, 1 in ten in another ten years.

Nick's reaction to my response was thus:

So, you're okay with discriminating against people participating in a legal activity because you don't want to come home smelling like an ashtray? Oh, and the “go outside and pound a nail or two” option isn't acceptable in the currently proposed ban, since “The plan also would prohibit designated smoking areas ”immediately adjacent“ to outside public entrances.”

There are smoke free restaurants and bars in Milwaukee already-- if you don't want to smell like an ashtray, go there. Encourage others to go there. But don't tell me you're against writing discrimination into Wisconsin's constitution and then say it's alright to discriminate against smokers.

Legal activities are what we say they are Nick, and if it' s decided that smoking in tightly congested public places is illegal, then they are not participating in a legal activity, are they? But this becomes a case of personal freedom. As it's been said, my freedom to swing my fist ends at your nose. I'm not particularly worried about people who choose to smoke. I'll try to help friends and family quit, because I have personal feelings there, and I probably won't go visit a smoker's house very often (although we do have friends who won't smoke in their own home, out of concern for their own friends and children. We go there plenty). I think they'd all be better off if they didn't but hey. Some people make poor choices.

But my particular objection to smoking was music bars, not just bars and restaurants in general. I don't have a particular problem with going to smoky bars because I've always lived with smokers and can tolerate it. But my wife is allergic to the smoke, so coming home stinking of burnt tobacco can be problematic. But I have noticed that a night in a smoky bar feels a lot worse the next day than a night in a non-smoky one. The added impact of my body trying to clean out the smoke as well as the alcohol contributes to a more powerful hangover.

Unfortunately, it's not a matter of going to non-smoking bars, because I often go to see one of those musical combos all the kids are crazy about. It's a case of there only being one place to go, and tolerating whatever dive it happens to be. But in a case where less than half the people are smoking (just conservatively extrapolating using the bartender's anecdote above), which is the greater hazard: imposing an environmental toxin on over 50% of the patrons, or asking some of the patrons to step outside for their fix? I know one local musician who moved out of town and got into a different career, because she couldn't tolerate the smoke infested venues she was forced to play at.

HOWEVER.

Roy Edroso, a former punk musician, recently posted an interesting entry at his joint. Although it starts by talking about Lester Bangs, it eventually goes into a related discussion against moderation. As he says, “Moderation can get out of hand”. Also: “... if you think concerts are as good now as when people were getting routinely fucked up, you're dreaming.

He also quotes Bill Hicks (Hicks and Bangs. Two anarchic geniuses who died young. But would they, could they have been geniuses but for the lives of self-destruction?) ”You think the Beatles weren't high when they made 'Yellow Submarine'? They had to scrape Ringo off the ceiling for that one!“

He's absolutely, 100% right. To borrow a phrase from Our Librarian Nick, Dead On Balls Accurate (DOBA). It was said in the late 70's that Corporate Rock Sucks. Corporate Rock simply turned around and swallowed Punk whole, without even burping. And now, although Corporate Music is hurting because people are unwilling, finally to constantly swallow the feces that is being foisted over the airwaves and in megastores, the whole scene has been sanitized and cleaned to the point where even Holy Joe Lieberman doesn't object any more, not really. C'mon, Don Henley doing anti-drug commercials? What's next, Fleetwood Mac getting back together? ...oh wait.

Jon Langford, when asked about ”The Executioner's Last Songs“, said:

”I liked the idea of purging ourselves by singing all these death songs against the death penalty,“ he added, ”and I also liked the fact that most of the dark and murderous covers on the CD were the equivalent of hits in their day. The mainstream is a far more timid place now!“

There's no place for murder on the radio now. For all the handwringing about the horrible influence pop music has on the culture, the approved songs are, nearly without fail, banal and forgettable.

So, with the above novella- length mea culpa, I find myself tacitly agreeing with Nick about the smoking ban. Not because I buy the Tavern League argument, and I am not going to be campaigning against it. But in general, I find life is becoming too damn proscribed, and if America no longer represents the freedom to get blasted on cough syrup at a rock show, then we need to fight to get that back.

As Edroso notes, it's the chaos, the irritant nature of of rock n roll that created the social force. Corporate sponsorship of rock shows should be outlawed, not by legal fiat, but by the enraged backlash of people who despise the Rolling Stones for helping to push flawed corporate swill like Windows on their fans. What colossal arrogance and disregard for the people who put them where they are! The Who used to destroy their instruments to get a response out of a timid audience. Now, destroying you instruments is part of the show, paid for by the makers of those instruments. The encore is a given, and the T-shirts are de rigeur. Not to mention nearly all profit for the record label.

I often say that rock n roll is still alive in the nightclubs where bands like the Figgs put on a better show for five fans than someone like the Eagles can muster for 40,000. There's excitement when the Cloud Cult tour with painters who do real time artwork in response and in harmony with the music. The Mekons have carved out a niche beginning with punk, laying the seeds of alt-country now being reaped by Wilco, now collaborating on theatrical pieces and art installations. The record labels were befuddled by the Mekes when they were making music. They found a life outside the corporate mainstream by doing what was wrong, but what they wanted to do.

So here's to personal destruction, danger and living the life you choose, no matter what some medical do-gooder or religious moralist feels is right. Here's to darkness. Here's to light. Here's to the glorious results when chaos is allowed to thrive. Here's to smoking, drinking, and riding your bike without a helmet; every breath may bring you five minutes closer to oblivion, but without that buzz you wouldn't know you're alive. That, my friends, is what it MUST mean to be Free, or we are not Free at all.

Young Liars

Late afternoon, non-plagiarized Friday Random Ten. Sorry for the delay. Like you care.

This one's for Box Turtle Ben

“This is an ex-box turtle! He wouldn't VOOM if you put ten thousand volts through' em!”

Or, to channel Tom Lehrer:

“Plagiarize!
Remember why the Good Lord made your eyes!
Let no one else's work evade your eyes!
And plagiarize! Plagiarize! Plagiarize!”

1. A Skull, A Suitcase, And A Long Red Bottle Of Wine from the album “Invisible Hitchcock” by Robyn Hitchcock

2. Blues Mary from the album “Can't Have Nothin' Nice” by Gear Daddies

3. chivalry from the album “25 Years: Decade 2” by Mekons “I was out late the other night/ Fear and whiskey kept me going” what a brilliant couplet.

4. Poor Boy from the album “Way To Blue (An Introduction To Nick Drake)” by Nick Drake, yes, I bought this album because of the VW commercial. At least I didn't buy it at Starbucks. One of my more Boomer/Yuppie moments.

5. We Walk from the album “Murmur” by R.E.M.

6. A Million Miles Away from the album “Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits Of The '80s, Vol. 10” by The Plimsouls
Excellent slab of power pop. Peter Case never could hit this mark again.

7. Someone's Looking at You from the album “The Fine Art of Surfacing” by The Boomtown Rats Another fine piece of post-punk.

8. Motel from the album “100 Flowers Bloom (Disc 1)” by Gang Of Four GoF are Mekons contemporaries (and fellow art-school dropouts) , but the Mekes got fired after two albums. Guess Virgin didn't believe them when they said they couldn't play their instruments.

9. 100 Nights from the album “Holidays In Eden” by Marillion

10. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum from the album “Love & Theft” by Bob Dylan Bobby channels Tom Waits.



And for kicks, a Bonus Friday Meme from Hey Jenny Slater: The meme: What are the ten most embarrassing musicians/groups/acts you have in your music collection, and how many songs by each one do you have? This is gonna hurt, so send the children out of the room.

1. Easy: Journey. Two albums: Evolution and Infinity. Throwbacks to high school, before Journey turned into mega-super-stars, and then blew up under the weight of their egos.

2. Weird Al Yankovic. This has been a well-kept secret till now. Sometime in the future, my son will likely have to go for therapy and it'll be my fault. When he was an infant, when I'd get up in the night or early morning with him, I'd sit in the recliner and play “Al In The Box”, this box set of Weird Al's greatest hits. I'm so sorry, Eric.

3. Styx. And I'm not gonna tell you how many are on my list because it's worse than you might imagine. But no, “Babe” is not one of the songs. Still makes me retch.

4. The Alan Parsons Project. Not much excuse for this one. I'll never be an Insufferable Music Snob now, and I just have to accept that fact.

5. Tiny Tim. Well, technically, he's teamed up with Brave Combo doing a cover of Stairway to Heaven. But still, it's Tiny Tim.

6. Asia. One Song: Heat of The Moment. Power pop with proggy overtones is a weak spot.

7. Corey Hart. Yes, “Sunglasses at Night”. Well, there's a whole class of songs here, kinda. Many years ago, Rhino did a comp called Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Hits of the Eighties, and I've got most of the fifteen discs on my computer here. Lots of good stuff on there, and a fair number of overplayed klinkers like this. But this one is especially cringeworthy.

8. Head East. “Never Been Any Reason” If you grew up in the Midwest in the 80's, you saw Head East. I downloaded this stinker one drunken night so I could play it loud. Sounded pretty good, as I remember, but it's still embarrassing.

9. Kansas. Another prog/guilty pleasure from my pre-college days. Again, too much to be proud of on my computer.

10. The KNack. Two albums: the first, and a recent called Normal As The Next Guy. I first got the album BEFORE they became omnipresent on the radio: if you can get past the overplay (and the overdone campy teen age horniness) they are a talented power pop band with a good ear for a hook. If you can't get over it, fuck you, they're not as lame as the Romantics, who are STILL overplayed, and also sold out to a beer commercial.


I'm not going to include the Golden Throats comps. Although technically, songs by Leonard Nimoy, Senator Sam J Ervin, and Eddie Albert would be embarrassing. But not in this package. If you're not familiar, check 'em out. Truly scary, and the best music to get your neighbors to call the cops on your party. “For the LOVE of GOD, would you stop playing the Shatner!”

I'm a Wreck

Holy schnikeys my knee hurts. It's been sore since last week, and my back was a bit sore earlier this week, but it all seems to have settled into my knee. I can barely take stairs. Reminds me of my Mom, who had arthritis bad enough to get both of her knees replaced with plastic-and-aluminum jobbies. They seemed to work pretty well. I wonder if that's where I will end up? Haven't had any real arthritis symptoms anywhere else.

It wouldn't be so bad if it had happened, say, while working on our house, or maybe during a heated sparring match. But I can't remember doing anything that would have affected the damn knee like this.

Hey, getting old sucks. But I don't think I'm the first to say that.

So it's the Big Mojo Nixon I'm A Wreck Friday Random Ten and St Patty's Day Hoo-Raw. So we'll be doing the random from the Irish music on my computer, here. This may not be what you're expecting.

670 songs. No comments or self rating.


1. Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go from the album “Red Roses For Me” by The Pogues

2. Take It or Leave It from the album “The Singles Collection (Volume 1 1996-1997)” by Dropkick Murphys

3. Me And Howard Hughes from the album “A Tonic For The Troops” by The Boomtown Rats

4. Long Way To The Light from the album “Bring 'Em All In” by The Waterboys

5. Even Better Than The Real Thing from the album “Achtung Baby” by U2

6. Young Ned Of The Hill from the album “Peace And Love” by The Pogues

7. John Law from the album “The Singles Collection (Volume 1 1996-1997)” by Dropkick Murphys

8. Go Home Paddy from the album “Home Of The Brave” by Black 47

8.5 Roads Of Germany from the album “The Happy Club” by Bob Geldof

9. How Come from the album “Pogue Mahone” by The Pogues

10. Miracle Drug from the album “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” by U2

11. The Electric Co. (Live 1983) from the album “Under a Blood Red Sky” by U2

12. In God's Country from the album “Joshua Tree” by U2

13. It's All Good from the album “I You You Me” by Brother

14. He Watches It All from the album “V Deep” by The Boomtown Rats

15. Love Or Something from the album “The Vegetarians Of Love” by Bob Geldof

15.5 The Little Death from the album “V Deep” by The Boomtown Rats

16. Orphan of the Storm from the album “New York Town” by Black 47

17. Listen from the album “All the Best (Disc 2)” by Stiff Little Fingers


That's seventeen because it's March 17th. Not enough Black 47 and too much U2, IMNSHO. Slainte!

Everything Right Is Wrong Again

My bestest buddy Cal Thomas, the pencil-necked preening moral scold who single handedly gave me high blood pressure, on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq:

"Speaking to the U.N. Security Council last week, Secretary of State Colin Powell made so strong a case that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in material breach of U.N. resolutions that only the duped, the dumb and the desperate could ignore it."

(Cal Thomas, syndicated column, 2/12/03)

Duped, dumb and Desperate. Hey Cal, WHERE were those weapons again? You duped, dumb and desperate religious thug. Constantly and consistently wrong, he still has a national stage to spew his noxious ramblings. Read a Cal Thomas column, and you can be sure of one thing: Time will present a Reality at complete odds with whatever bilious boilerplate he's stitched together from the decayed corpses of his 17th century worldview.

You can go read much more of the Rightwing Pinhead Brigades wrongness in this article at FAIR. A nice overview not only of the repeated erroneous assertions, delivered with the gravitas of absolute certainty, but of the demonization and marginalization of those of us who disagreed.

Oh wait! Here's another from Cal:

(4/16/03): "All of the printed and voiced prophecies should be saved in an archive. When these false prophets again appear, they can be reminded of the error of their previous ways and at least be offered an opportunity to recant and repent. Otherwise, they will return to us in another situation where their expertise will be acknowledged, or taken for granted, but their credibility will be lacking."

Cal is apparently unaware that there is an archive- the Internet- that is already saving these prophecies. But! Lawdy, lawdy, It's Cal's expertise and credibility that is destroyed by his own utterings! Blissful Irony! Recant and Repent, you vacuous toad!

Political Song For Michael Jackson to Sing

Joe Lieberman is an egregious squeezebag, totally out of touch with his constituents, with no loyalty to the Democratic Party or in fact, anything but his twisted visions of grandeur and power, who feeds like a leech on the condescending approbation of Republican Media Meisters, groveling like Grima Wormtongue for a few TV minutes on Focks News or the Meat My Press as a Domesticated Democrat; selling out his Party, his Country, and American Women whenever and as soon as the Republican National Committee even glances in his direction; a preening, pretentious, self-important moral scold who feels entitled to dictate the behavior of the rest of the world, except when it comes to Corporate malfeasance or a grasping, authoritarian Executive.

And beyond that, he doesn't like Rock n Roll. Not even the Kinks, Nick.


Moderate my fuzzy ass. Ned Fuckin Lamont.

Everything Zen

Nick sez:

Well, you could always make the case that Winning Side is also one for GWB. So, what are your feeling on the Port thing, tc? Just curious.

Oh-- and do you have any Kinks on your Ipod? If not, shame on you. Ray Davies is a friggin' genius, and his music has stood the test of time as well or better than anybodys. If so, how come I never see it listed?

First things first: OF COURSE the Davies are represented: Village Green Preservation, Low Budget, To The Bone; many more in the vinyl flat rounds. Debating the genius thing, the Ray vs Dave thing, old vs. new, will need to be left to another time. They never pop up, because, well, 16,000 songs, it's just the odds. They'll show up sometime.

The Port thing. Hmmm. Curiosity is bad for cats, Nick. But since it hasn't disturbed my rest as much as the wiretapping and other issues have I'm not terribly informed on it, and don't have an overwhelming desire to delve into it too far. Several items though:

1. I think it's only poetic that after drumming up fear of muslims and overwhelming American Nationalism for five years that the deal is scuttled by a widespread xenophobic and American Nationalist sentiment. It's an amazingly tonedeaf political move, and may be an indication of just how distracted and exhausted Rove may be. It's worthy of a Democratic political foot-in-mmouth (other than the whole, you know, illegality part)
2. Contrary to the denunciation of opponents fro Limbaugh and Hannity, opposition to the deal does not necessarily imply racism.
3. For five years, the Democrats have been proposing arrangements to increase security and improve operations at America's ports. Each time, the Republican majority refused to entertain the motions/bills.
4. In the final analysis, there is a required process for such a deal, entailing, as I understand it, a 45 day period of discussion and research, as well as review by the Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Defense (as chair of CFIUS). These events did not happen, and thus, pushing the deal through was unjustified and likely illegal. Personally, I'd guess that there may have been some inkling that the deal would not pass muster, and so the need to sneak it through without proper review.

But Winning Side? the dubai ports deal, illegal wiretapping, Iraq's descent into civil war and chaos, the Plame investigation, "Osama Dead or Alive", New Orleans, the thwarted raid on Social Security, the Abramoff/ K Street corruption orgy, destabilization of the Middle East, estrangement of most of America's former allies, the total abdication of fiscal responsibility... And of course, the only external terrorist attack on American Soil in the last 100 years. If that's defined as winning, I think we're all better off losing.

Poison Years

According to the inestimable Bill at Cheers and Jeers, this Sunday marks four years that we've been living under the Color Coded Terror Alert System, the only noticeable affect of the Homeland Security apparatus, other than the constant breathing I hear on my phones.

He also points out that at no time have we been at green or blue status. So that's four years of trying to crank up the fears of a jumpy country. Is it any wonder that the Dubai Ports deal was met with a bit of...resistance?

But the Terror Alert System is notable among the Bush Administration Initiatives, in that it is one of the very few things they've done that hasn't actually made things worse.

So, hey, let's drink a toast to..., well to the absence of criminal negligence! woo hoo!

Just wait though. The DEpt of Homeland Security has started a program for faith-based security initiatives. So apparently they've given up actually looking for terrorists in favor of closing their eyes and praying. I'm feeling safe and secure, boy howdy, yes I am.



Anyways, in tribute, we're going to rate our Friday Random based on the song's Terror Level!



1. Jerusalem from the album “Americana Gothic” by The Letterpress Opry Eeeek! Its about the Mideast, so that brings the rating up. But the music is wholesome Americana, banjo, violin, and harmonies, so it's not in your face. I give it... YELLOW.

2. Powderfinger from the album “Weld 2” by Neil Young He's a Canadian. It's a song about killing. And it has the full throttle backing of Crazy Horse, so it's loud. Pretty Scary. It's a YELLOW.

3. Maps And Legends from the album “Fables Of The Reconstruction” by R.E.M. Gahh, who knows what an REM song is about? But these guys are LIBRULS, and Michael Stipe has teh GAY, so it's scary by itself. By the way, Michael, don't have a heart attack in West Virginia. Color: YELLOW

4. Neglekted from the album “1965” by The Afghan Whigs Scary music, and a freaky singer. So it's too scary for Clear Channel, certainly. I'd give it a blue, but that misspelling up there gives it a vaguely Russky look, so we better be safe ---YELLOW.

5. South Bound Saurez from the album “In Through The Out Door” by Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page worships the Devil. ORANGE!!!

6. Do You Want To Go Somewhere? from the album “For A Decade Of Sin: 11 Years Of Bloodshot Records” by Richard Buckner Richard Buckner is British. And Bloodshot Records is a small label, not affiliated with Patriotically Approved Mega Corporation Record Labels, Definitely anti-american. YELLOW

7. Side Of The Road from the album “Sea Change” by Beck I don't understand this one, so just to be safe I'm gonna go.... ORANGE!

8. Echo Beach from the album “Then Again: A Retrospective” by Martha And The Muffins Another Canadian. Ewww. This song highlights some of the best eighties synth-wave around. As ymbol of a place you'd want to be other than where you are. Thus, by definition, un-american since we all know there is no better place ,ever! YELLOW.

9. Look At You Over There, Ripping The Sawdust From My Teddybear (Demo) from the album “The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper (Disc 3)” by Alice Cooper We've talked about this before. Alice Cooper destroyed Western Civilization in the 70s, and is now reaping his rewards. This has it all: Scary Title, scary lyrics, and is just generally anti-social. YELLOW YELLOW YELLOW.

10. All Along The Watchtower from the album “Transistor Blast - The Best Of The BBC Sessions (1978/79 Live In Concert Recordings)” by XTC More british new wavers, doing a cover from that black guy that desecrated the National Anthem, who was covering That Damn Hippie Bob Dylan. YELLOW!


So there. You can see how over a representative set of data, you can obtain a similar result to the Colorrific Security Alert Playset. I guess I won't be criticizing it anymore.



And a few bonus randoms, throwing some good vibes out Ann Richards way (get well fast, Ma'am!)

11. Private Archipelago from the album “Light Music For Dying People” by Sordid Humor

12. Here Comes A Regular (Live) from the album “Inconcerated Live” by The Replacements This was recorded at a later show at the UWM Student Center. If you listen very carefully, you can absolutely hear me in the crowd.

13. Drilling Holes from the album “Marbles (Disc 2)” by Marillion

14. Robbery, Assault And Battery from the album “Seconds Out (Disc 1)” by Genesis Ooops, one for GWB.

15. Winning Side from the album “Boingo Alive (Disc 2)” by Oingo Boingo

Work All Week

Blah.

What a suck of a week, Friday Random ten-and-then-some.

Got my hair cut yesterday, and Gina and I had quite an animated socio-political discussion. We get along just fine, cuz we're both former anarcho-punk musico parents. But it did make me feel better that at least Dear Leader and his corrupt minions had a worser week. Much as that may damage my karma.

Without further ado, let's see how much my music sucks this week. Desktop iTunes; 1196 artists,1373 albums, 42.5 days of noise...


1. I Push Right Over from the album “South Mouth” by Robbie Fulks I love Robbie. He played Sprecherfest last summer, and there was a thunderstorm that stopped his set (didn't want to get 'lectrocuted) so when the rain didn't let up, he went in the big barn and played a nearly unamplified, well lubricated solo set. Maybe It wasn't entirely professional, but it was loose and fun.
2. Fish And Bird from the album “Alice” by Tom Waits. Dark. Darker. Darkest.

3. Not That Funny from the album “Tusk (Disc 1)” by Camper Van Beethoven A full-album cover of the bloated Fleetwood Mac Magnum Opus. It's just funny, and the weird vocals work Nicely after the Waits. Weird and wonderful, and also checks Rock Lobster lyrically.

4. Anytime from the album “Infinity” by Journey Geez. Embarrassment bomb. I'll just go and die now.

5. Chain Lightning from the album “Presto” by Rush Don't judge me! Don't judge me! Alright, I guess that's the point of the FRT. I suck. This kind of stuff is the reason I will never be elevated to Insufferable Music Snob status.

6. Ballad Of Dwight Fry from the album “The Life And Crimes Of Alice Cooper (Disc 1)” by Alice Cooper Ahh, Alice. Remember when Alice Cooper was the epitome of evil, and going to destroy Western Culture? He wears Makeup! And has a girl's name! And sings about insanity, sex, and death! (Not like those great old country artists, who sang about, insanity, sex, and death). Now he's a Republican and golfs. Oh, sweet innocence of youth. Incidentally, all the culture warriors who rail against the degradation of supposedly naturally moral American standards are destined to look just as foolish as the Parents Against Alice Cooper.

6.5 . Fuffle from the album “Wacos at the Abbey” by Waco Brothers blather between songs. It makes sense in the context of the album

7. John The Baptist from the album “1965” by The Afghan Whigs More evil music.
8. Peanuts from the album “Live! (Disc 1) ” by The Police From when they still had a bit of punk edge.

9. Dynamite Walls from the album “Skyscraper National Park” by Hayden Hayden is a reclusive singer from Canada, who recorded his first two albums in his bedroom. This starts to get a bit noisy.

10. Peace from the album “Make Believe” by Weezer

11. Star from the album “Gentleman's Blues” by Cracker

12. Private Life from the album “Boingo Alive (Disc 2)” by Oingo Boingo More boingo. Not planned, Nick, I assure you.

13. Youghal from the album “Skull Orchard” by Jon Langford Langford's going to be in town in April. In fact, he's doing an early show in Chicago with Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby that I'm thinking about going to, if I can drum up some companions.

14. It's A Long Way Back from the album “All The Stuff (And More) - Vol. II” by the Ramones onetwothreefour. what more is there to say?

15. Medicine Show from the album “This Is Big Audio Dynamite” by Big Audio Dynamite Mick Jones post-Clash. Dynamite by Flea.



That's it. I'm still ill from number 4 up there. ewww.