Schedule

Sun 6: 3:45-cl
Mon 7: 4:45-cl
Wed 9: 9:45-5

Today at work a little girl who looked somewhere around nine or ten years old came up to me and asked me if we had a copy of the movie The Tingler in stock.

It took every ounce of my being not to take the child into my arms, hug her tightly, and whisper to her, "Thank you for renewing my faith in the youth of the future."

Itchy Bitchy Snatchy Scratchy

Last week when the AC compressor in my car conked out and not having the funds to repair it, I've been driving around with my windows rolled down, one arm resting or outright dangling out of the driver's side window at all times. Have developed a touch of what's commonly known as a "trucker's tan", though no outright burn by any reason, but I am an uncommonly pale individual by nature.

But here's the thing: In the past week I've developed these tiny little itchy bumps on the skin right around the elbow area, and only on top of my arm, not underneath. They're too tiny to see, but you can feel them like Braille, and appear to be neither whiteheads or blackheads so I don't know whether to rule out acne in this case. And it's only on that arm, the one exposed to the sun. I burst maybe two or three of them to see what's inside and it doesn't really appear to be anything, which doesn't make sense for something raised off my skin. But it burns if I scratch or pop, and only after soap and water does the pain start to subside.

I admit I've neglected my sunscreen this past week, since I usually slather it on when I go to the pool or expect to be out in the sun most of the day, which frankly I rarely am. Summer months I spend hiding from the elements, having spent far too long in the 80's sun-worshipping at the beach in little bathing suits with my friends, competing to out-Coppertone each other. I'm certain that I'll be inheriting the same cancerous lumps on my face the way my mom is suffering now, but until then I like to think that I have staved off the inevitable for the next twenty years by staying indoors during summer months to the best of my ability. But the last week or so, having run out of sunscreen, I haven't really thought to buy any more just for that one arm, since my only thought when I jump into the car is to get to where I need to be without melting. In the meantime I think I did a number on my elbow somehow, but I don't know if it's sun-related or what. And what to put on it to help.

Anybody who spends a lot of time with their arms danging out of car windows familiar with this condition?

Do Your Own Thing Unto Others

Born in 1957 in Peekskill, NY and residing in Seattle, comic artist Peter Bagge has had a pretty long and impressive underground comix career, editing Weirdo after Robert Crumb handed him the reins, as well as his own now-legendary titles Neat Stuff and Hate. But it's been a tad startling running into Bagge's work in slightly more mainstream media these days, like the Weekly World News and even MAD magazine, as well as allegedly animating commercials for Round Table Pizza, although I haven't been able to find any of them online. But as Bagge's material takes on a more political platform, the vocally Libertarian cartoonist has been featured prominently in the Lib mag Reason over the past decade. And sadly, not knowing, I have missed every one. That is, until now.

Everybody Is Stupid Except For Me And Other Astute Observations is a brand new collection of Peter Bagge's "cartoon reporting" taken from the pages of Reason over the last ten years, with all the wonderfully exaggerated rubber-limbed and wide mobile mouthed denizens that we have come to love and expect that inhabit his worlds. According to the back of the book, "Topics include the erosion of our civil liberties, ongoing boondoggles on the American public, the Iraq war, so-called art and so-called entertainment, the homeless, the mall-ification of America, politicians both in general and in particular, the conservative/religious war on sex and drugs, and whether citizens should be allowed to own bazookas." Bagge is often front and center at each report, allowing us to see the events from his point of view, which is oftentimes conflicted and confused as his inner thought-bubble tries to sus out the information -- and just as often, he sometimes never does.

Living in the relatively liberal city of Seattle gives Bagge plenty of material to work with. But in his strip "Confessions From A Reluctant Anti-Warrior" as Bagge (who strongly opposed the invasion in Iraq) takes shots at an anti-war rally in 2003, mocking the pretentious behavior of many of the protesters, he expresses a deep sense of

shame in a comic drawn one year later entitled "Confessions Of A Lazy Anti-Warrior", realizing in humiliation that when other people were making their voices heard, he himself did nothing the whole time except plop down in front of the television watching marathon reruns of Law & Order. Bagge isn't afraid to call himself out on his own bullshit when he recognizes that he deserves it.

More than anything, Bagge's work does what it always does with perfection, which is capture people doing exactly what people really do, and how they often think when they think that nobody else thinks that they are thinking it (sorry). His art is constantly moving, perpetually fluid, and instantly recognizable to a 21st century American culture raised on Tex Avery and Bob Clampett cartoons. Whether you agree with his politics or not, Everybody Is Stupid... is thought-provoking and, most importantly, hilarious. And as a long-time lover and collector of All Things Bagge, it's finally all mine without having go deal with the annoyance of scrounging up back issues of Reason magazine. (available through Fantagraphics Books, and most booksellers)

Shameless Plug, Part Dos

Like his brother Jaime, the other of Melissa's top two favorite cartoonists of all time has also made a mix tape of his favorite tunes también. Love that I finally get to hear Ike & Tina's "Contact High", even though I have the vinyl to Come Together (my turntable hasn't been working very well lately). I got it just because Gilbert once said in one of his comix that the song was "Amazing" (or as Fritzi above lisped, "Amathing!")

1–LOVE OF THE COMMON MAN- TODD RUNDGREN

2–LIVING WITHOUT YOU- MANFRED MANN’S EARTH BAND

3–I DROVE ALL NIGHT-ROY ORBISON

4–MAMBO SUN–T REX

5–ROCK BOX–RUN DMC

6–COMPLETE CONTROL–THE CLASH

7–CONTACT HIGH–IKE AND TINA TURNER

8–DISTURBANCE–THE MOVE

9–SUCH A NIGHT–ELVIS PRESLEY

10–SHE WAS HOT–THE ROLLING STONES

11–LIVING SIN–EMERSON, LAKE AND PALMER

12–THE DAY MY BABY GAVE ME A SURPRISE–DEVO

13–SMOOTH DANCER–DEEP PURPLE

14–AVENUE A–THE DICTATORS

15–CAROL BROWN–FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS

16–GIRLFRIEND (REMIX)–AVRIL LEVINE W/LITTLE MAMA

Let X = X

Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums Of The 1970's

The ones I own:


100: Brian Eno Before And After Science [Island; 1977]
099: Neil Young After The Gold Rush [Reprise; 1970]
097: Various Artists The Harder They Come [Mango; 1972]
096: Iggy Pop The Idiot [RCA; 1977]
095: Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti [Swan Song; 1975]
093: Jimi Hendrix Band Of Gypsys [Capitol; 1970]
092: Kraftwerk The Man-Machine [Capitol; 1978]
089: Devo Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! [Warner Bros; 1978]
086: Joni Mitchell Blue [Reprise; 1971]
084: Nilsson Nilsson Schmilsson [RCA; 1971]
083: Iggy & The Stooges Raw Power [Columbia; 1973]
081: David Bowie The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars [RCA; 1972]
080: David Bowie Hunky Dory [RCA; 1971]
078: Anikulapo Kuti & Africa '70 Expensive Shit [Editions Makossa; 1975]
077: David Bowie Aladdin Sane [RCA; 1973]
076: Blondie Parallel Lines [Chrysalis; 1978]
075: Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy [Atlantic; 1973]
073: Van Halen Van Halen [Warner Bros; 1978]
070: Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon [Harvest; 1973]
068: Herbie Hancock Head Hunters [Columbia; 1973]
067: Pink Floyd Meddle [Harvest; 1971]
066: Big Star Third/Sister Lovers [PVC; 1978]
064: Iggy Pop Lust For Life [RCA; 1977]
062: The Cars The Cars [Elektra; 1978]
061: Beach Boys Surf's Up [Brother; 1971]
060: John Lennon Plastic Ono Band [Apple; 1970]
058: Miles Davis A Tribute To Jack Johnson [Columbia; 1971]
056: Can Future Days [United Artists; 1973]
055: Nick Drake Bryter Layter [Island; 1970]
052: Elvis Costello This Year's Model [Columbia; 1978]
051: Sex Pistols Never Mind The Bollocks [Warner Bros; 1977]
049: Marvin Gaye What's Going On [Motown; 1971]
045: Talking Heads More Songs About Buildings And Food [Sire; 1978]
044: The Clash The Clash [CBS; 1977]
043: Michael Jackson Off The Wall [Epic; 1979]
042: The Specials The Specials [2-Tone; 1979]
041: Fleetwood Mac Rumours [Reprise; 1977]
039: Suicide Suicide [Red Star; 1977]
038: XTC Drums And Wires [Virgin; 1979]
037: Elvis Costello My Aim Is True [Columbia; 1977]
036: Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here [Columbia; 1975]
034: Various Artists Saturday Night Fever [Polydor; 1978]
033: Wire Chairs Missing [Harvest; 1978]
032: Pink Floyd The Wall [Columbia; 1979]
031: Talking Heads Fear Of Music [Sire; 1979]
030: Miles Davis On The Corner [Columbia; 1972]
028: The Beatles Let It Be [Apple; 1970]
027: Led Zeppelin III [Atlantic; 1970]
026: Stevie Wonder Innervisions [Tamla/Motown; 1973]
025: Neu! Neu! [Brain; 1972]
024: Brian Eno Here Come The Warm Jets [Island; 1974]
023: Ramones Ramones [Sire; 1976]
022: Wire Pink Flag [Harvest; 1977]
021: Serge Gainsbourg Histoire de Melody Nelson [Philips; 1971]
018: Miles Davis Bitches Brew [Columbia; 1970]
017: Funkadelic Maggot Brain [Westbound; 1971]
016: Buzzcocks Singles Going Steady [IRS; 1979]
015: The Who Who's Next [Decca; 1971]
014: The Velvet Underground Loaded [Cotillion/Atlantic; 1971]
013: Nick Drake Pink Moon [Island; 1972]
012: The Stooges Funhouse [Elektra; 1970]
010: Brian Eno Another Green World [Island; 1975]
009: Joy Division Unknown Pleasures [Factory; 1979]
008: Gang of Four Entertainment! [Warner Bros; 1979]
007: Led Zeppelin IV [Atlantic; 1971]
006: Kraftwerk Trans-Europe Express [Capitol; 1977]
005: Bob Dylan Blood On The Tracks [Columbia; 1975]
004: Sly & The Family Stone There's A Riot Goin' On [Epic; 1971]
003: Television Marquee Moon [Elektra; 1977]
002: The Clash London Calling [CBS; 1979]
001: David Bowie Low [RCA; 1977]

Deep In The Heart Of Darkest America

Who knew People Magazine would print an article I'd actually want to see: I had no idea that Laurie Anderson finally wed Lou Reed last spring after all these years. Although I've been a big fan of both throughout most of my young life, it was purely coincidence that I managed to snag a used copy of the remastered version of Anderson's 1982 debut album Big Science just yesterday, which I have had on vinyl for eons and played an integral part in my college soundtrack. Quiet Sunday mornings on campus when my roommate was out of town was spent reading the paper and listening to Big Science and, if I was in a particularly wacky mood, her rare B-side "Walk The Dog", which backed her 1981 UK hit single "O Superman (For Massenet)". Laurie, an American avant-garde artist, sculptor, comic book artist (Baloney Moccasins in the 1970's) and audio engineer, was less interested in making commercial pop music than art until Big Science producer Roma Baran convinced Anderson that "Art objects were elitist and expensive. Records were cheap! Everyone could get the same work of art for almost nothing." and so the birth of Laurie's career as a musician/artist began.

Anderson's themes concerning technology, ambition, shifting authority, and loss of identity in 20th century America are prevalent in nearly all of her works, after spending many years traveling and exploring (hitchhiking to the North Pole, working on tobacco farms in rural Kentucky, living in a yurt in Chiapas, sleeping in public buildings to document her dreams, experimenting with pranks with her old friend Andy Kaufman) to come to terms with the country of her origin and the people who live in it. "O Superman (For Massenet)" was her masterpiece, but the flipside "Walk The Dog", now a hidden bonus track on the remastered Big Science, was the song that first truly charmed me to pieces towards Anderson's work. And it used to annoy the holy hell out of my roommate, especially when she was trying to type up a term paper while it was playing.

So enjoy "Walk The Dog", now finally remastered and available for commercial pop music consumption! It should be noted for first-time listeners that Laurie often uses vocoders and pillow speakers in her mouth to alter her voice, sounding at times like a small child, a male counterpart, or an entire choir if need be. Positively schizophrenic it is. Am I the only one that laughs every time I hear this?

"Walk The Dog" by Laurie Anderson (MP3 file)
File available for 7 days.

Suffer For Fashion

It becomes immediately evident, the differences between working at an indie music store and working in a corporate-owned music store. Particularly, when everyone on staff contributes to making an in-store play mix of oldies, everybody scrambles to hit the "skip" button when my choice of Raymond Scott's "Powerhouse" comes on, because they would much rather prefer to hear "What's My Age Again?" by Blink 182. No wonder my friends hate shopping at my store.

I can't wait until next month when my song of choice will be "Rosamunde" by Heino.

A Funky Good Way To Start My Day

The Leader Of The Pack

Ellie Greenwich, RIP

Head In Hand...

I had a dream last night that actor Warren Oates came out with a brand of cookies called "Warren Oatie-O's" and he challenged me to figure out the cookie's secret ingredient.

Somehow I'm terrified that it has something to do with the rest of Alfredo Garcia. :-@

I. Like. That. Bat.

After all the years of playing this game since 1982, knowing it backwards and forwards and being able to maneuver even the "dark maze" with my eyes closed and the volume down while Journey's Escape album turned on the record player -- I never knew that there was a secret room. At least, I don't remember any secret room. Maybe I... did? But my memory isn't what it used to be. I'll have to ask my brother Cullen, who remembers every detail with Rainman savant-like accuracy. Heck, he probably has old notebooks filled with obsessive sketches of the contents in that room after just one glimpse. Yeah, it's been interesting to say the least, growing up with an autistic little brother.

But I really was hooked on Adventure back in 1982. With me being the only kid on the block with an Atari 2600 my friends would pour into my house to plop down on the floor beside me and help me work my way through those mazes while Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" cranked repeatedly in the background (and "Apache" by the Sugarhill Gang, which also got played a lot while this game was on the screen). And sure, the graphics are as rudimentary as they come, with a little square with a "sword" (which we all through looked like an arrow) and dragons that resembled something between a seahorse and a duck (that hyper-aggressive red dragon would nearly make me pee my Ocean Pacific shorts every time). Plus whenever Cullen would play and the bat would steal his key or sword, Cully would always mumble "I like that bat.", a sort of in-joke between us taken from an episode of The Flintstones where Fred would continuously chant "I like my mother-in-law." in a useless attempt to convince himself.

But you know, it was a fun game. A game that convinced me forever that it's not the snappy graphics that make a game actually pleasurable to play, but the nature of the gameplay itself. That infectious little mind-tickle that makes you want to keep coming back to scratch that itch over and over. Not like we obsessed over Tetris because somebody sunk a million dollars into the graphics department. Dang, I want another Atari 2600 again. With the original joysticks. The ones on the Atari Flashback just don't cut the mustard.

Shadowy Countfown

Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1990's

The ones I own:


100: The Orb The Orb's Adventures Beyond The Ultraworld [Big Life; 1991]
095: Massive Attack Mezzanine [Virgin; 1998]
094: Frank Black Teenager Of The Year [4AD; 1994]
093: Bob Dylan Time Out Of Mind [Columbia; 1997]
083: Pixies Trompe le Monde [4AD; 1991]
082: Sonic Youth Goo [DGC; 1990]
081: The Breeders Pod [4AD; 1990]
079: Dr. Dre The Chronic [Death Row; 1992]
077: Primal Scream Screamadelica [Sire; 1991]
075: A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders [Jive; 1993]
065: Daft Punk Homework [Virgin; 1997]
064: The Breeders Last Splash [4AD; 1993]
063: De La Soul De La Soul Is Dead [Tommy Boy; 1991]
056: A Tribe Called Quest The Low-End Theory [Jive; 1991]
054: Blur Parklife [SBK; 1994]
052: PJ Harvey Rid Of Me [Island; 1993]
049: Tom Waits Bone Machine [Island; 1992]
048: Portishead Dummy [Go! Discs; 1994]
046: Air Moon Safari [Astralwerks; 1998]
044: Boredoms Super Ae [Birdman; 1998]
043: R.E.M. Automatic For The People [Warner Bros; 1992]
042: Fugazi Red Medicine [Dischord; 1995]
038: The Jesus Lizard Goat [Touch & Go; 1991]
037: Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs [Merge; 1999]
034: Beastie Boys Check Your Head [Grand Royal; 1992]
030: Liz Phair Exile In Guyville [Matador; 1993]
028: Pixies Bossanova [4AD; 1990]
026: Weezer Weezer [DGC; 1994]
021: Björk Homogenic [Elektra; 1997]
020: Björk Post [Elektra; 1995]
019: Beck Odelay [DGC; 1996]
018: Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream [Virgin; 1993]
017: Public Enemy Fear Of A Black Planet [Def Jam; 1990] (wasn't this 1989?)
015: Radiohead The Bends [Capitol; 1995]
014: Belle & Sebastian If You're Feeling Sinister [The Enclave; 1996]
008: Pavement Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain [Matador; 1994]
007: DJ Shadow ...Endtroducing [Mo'Wax; 1996]
006: Nirvana Nevermind [DGC; 1991]
005: Pavement Slanted & Enchanted [Matador; 1992]
002: My Bloody Valentine Loveless [Creation; 1991]
001: Radiohead OK Computer [Capitol; 1997]

The Boy With Green Hair

A whole snappy new Audio Junk is back this week with more film samples and funk, rock, rap, soul, metal and more. Audio Junk is live every Tuesday night at 8:45pm on randomradioonline.net.

If We Make It Through December

First 20 tracks on my iTunes kinda of wishing that I was around for the 1970's groundbreaking era of womens comix, and at the same time kinda sorta glad that I wasn't.

1. "Encore" - Cheryl Lynn
2. "Six" - Mansun
3. "D.A.N.C.E." - Justice
4. "Swanne" - Al Jolson
5. "Sugar Ray" - MIles Davis



6. "Rumors of A Dead Man" - Boo Yaa T.R.I.B.E.
7. "Huckebees Dream" - Tangerine Dream
8. "Ragtime Nightingale" - Joseph Lamb
9. "Rosalyn" - The Cold
10. "Young Americans" - The Cure



11. "Stay" - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs
12. "A Fifth Of Beethoven" - Walter Murphy
13. "Melancholy Vaudeville Man" - The Family Tree
14. "Sugar 'n Spikes" - Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
15. "Indy Day" - Step Kings



16. "Minotaur" - Clutch
17. "Leave My Kitten Alone" - The Beatles
18. "Dead End Street" - Lou Rawls
19. "Honky's Ladder" - Afghan Whigs
20. "Rock 'N' Roll Is Alive! (And It Lives In Minneapolis)" - Prince

Schedule

Tue 25: 4:45-cl
Thur 27: 4:45-cl
Sun 30: 3:45-cl
Mon 31: 4:45-cl
Tue 1: 4:45-cl

Fun And Games

Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums Of The 1980's.

The ones I own:

100: Minor Threat Out Of Step [Dischord; 1984]
099: Gang Of Four Songs of the Free [Warner Bros; 1982]
098: Cocteau Twins Treasure [4AD; 1984]
095: Duran Duran Rio [Capitol; 1982]
094: Meat Puppets II [SST; 1983]
093: David Bowie Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) [RCA; 1980]
092: Kate Bush Hounds Of Love [EMI; 1985]
091: X Los Angeles [Slash; 1980]
089: Boredoms Soul Discharge [Shimmy-Disc; 1989]
087: Prince Dirty Mind [Warner Bros; 1980]
086: The Police Ghost in the Machine [A&M; 1981]
085: Paul Simon Graceland [Warner Bros; 1986]
080: Husker Du New Day Rising [SST; 1985]
078: They Might Be Giants Lincoln [Fire; 1989]
077: The Smiths Strangeways, Here We Come [Sire; 1987]
072: Meat Puppets Up On The Sun [SST; 1985]
071: Replacements Pleased To Meet Me [Sire; 1987]
069: The Feelies Crazy Rhythms [A&M; 1980]
068: Talking Heads Stop Making Sense [Sire; 1984]
066: The Dukes of Stratosphear Psonic Psunspot [Virgin; 1987]
065: The Soft Boys Underwater Moonlight [Armageddon; 1980]
063: Young Marble Giants Colossal Youth [Rough Trade; 1980]
062: R.E.M. Reckoning [IRS; 1984]
060: Bruce Springsteen Nebraska [Columbia; 1982]
059: Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction [Geffen; 1987]
058: Elvis Costello Imperial Bedroom [Columbia; 1982]
057: Pixies Come On Pilgrim [4AD; 1987]
056: King Crimson Discipline [Warner Bros; 1981]
055: The Police Synchronicity [A&M; 1983]
054: Big Black Songs About Fucking [Touch & Go; 1987]
052: Eric B. & Rakim Paid In Full [4th & Broadway; 1987]
051: Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man [Columbia; 1988]
048: R.E.M. Document [IRS; 1987]
047: John Zorn Naked City [Tzadik; 1989]
046: XTC English Settlement [Virgin; 1982]
045: Prince Sign 'O' The Times [Paisley Park/Warner Bros; 1987]
044: Kraftwerk Computer World [Warner Bros; 1981]
043: Run-DMC Raising Hell [Profile; 1986]
041: Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill [Def Jam; 1986]
040: Dinosaur Jr. You're Living All Over Me [SST; 1987]
039: The Stone Roses The Stone Roses [Silvertone; 1989]
038: The Cure Disintegration [Fiction/Elektra; 1989]
037: The Replacements Tim [Sire; 1985]
036: Violent Femmes Violent Femmes [Rough Trade; 1983]
035: N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton [Ruthless/Priority; 1988]
032: Husker Du Zen Arcade [SST; 1984]
031: Sonic Youth EVOL [SST; 1986]
030: U2 The Joshua Tree [Island; 1987]
029: The Replacements Let It Be [Twin/Tone; 1984]
028: New Order Power, Corruption & Lies [Factory; 1983]
027: Michael Jackson Thriller [Epic; 1982]
026: Elvis Costello & The Attractions Get Happy [Columbia; 1980]
025: Black Flag Damaged [SST; 1981]
024: Gang of Four Solid Gold [Warner Bros; 1981]
023: The Jesus & Mary Chain Psychocandy [Blanco y Negro/Warner Bros; 1985]
021: Brian Eno & David Byrne My Life in the Bush of Ghosts [Sire; 1981]
019: Public Image, Ltd. Second Edition [Virgin; 1980]
018: De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising [Tommy Boy; 1989]
017: Minutemen Double Nickels On The Dime [SST; 1984]
015: XTC Skylarking [Virgin; 1986]
014: Sonic Youth Sister [SST; 1987]
012: Prince & The Revolution Purple Rain [Warner Bros; 1984]
011: Tom Waits Swordfishtrombones [Island; 1983]
010: Joy Division Closer [Factory; 1980]
009: Public Enemy It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back [Def Jam; 1988]
008: Tom Waits Rain Dogs [Island; 1985]
007: Pixies Surfer Rosa [4AD; 1988]
006: The Smiths The Queen Is Dead [Sire; 1986]
005: R.E.M. Murmur [IRS; 1983]
003: Beastie Boys Paul's Boutique [Capitol; 1989]
002: Talking Heads Remain in Light [Sire; 1980]
001: Sonic Youth Daydream Nation [Blast First/Enigma; 1987]

The Crushing

With a broken-down car and a weekend obligated to work, I'm missing my friends in Outer Banks right now. Too stormy to go outside. Lying in the dark with a toothache, listening to the pouring rain, and the song "Life On Mars" by David Bowie.

*sniff*

But I Don't Have One Of Those

Downloaded this tune about a week ago from the terrific music blog Crying All The Way To The Chip Shop, run by an online British expatriate associate of mine named Lee. Lee says that when he was a kid he and his friends used to giggle on the playground while making up their own lyrics to this song:

A penis, a penis
The greatest gift that I possess
I thank the Lord
That I've been blessed
With more than my share
Of a penis

And now, thanks to Lee, so shall I.

:)

The Friday Five:

1. What time of the day is your favourite, and why?
The early mornings, when the sun is just getting up and most of the world is still asleep. It's so quiet and calm, and I feel like I can get a lot done during that time, before the rest of civilization awakens and starts making their own demands of me.

2. What's the best time to take a walk, and where to?
When I lived in the Ghent neighborhood of downtown Norfolk, I loved walking through Stockley Gardens and Colonial Place. The Gardens at night were so dark and silvery in the moonlight. And if I was really lucky, I didn't get mugged.

3. When can you work best?
Depends in what I'm doing. When I'm at work, I work best, well, at work! When I'm at home I try not to lift a finger for any reason. After work, I'm dead to the world.

4. What to do on sunny mornings and stormy evenings?
Sunny mornings I love to be outside if I am able, walking with my iPod before the day gets too hot. Stormy evenings I'm usually scurrying about gathering candles in case my power goes out.

5. When you look outside right now, what do you see?
A lawn that needs mowing.

Two Minutes Hate

Can somebody please help explain to me the appeal of Kings Of Leon? I mean, they're okay, I guess. Sounds like everything that, you know, ever sounded like them that came a million times before. But I know so many people who are utterly ga-ga over them, people my age who have heard everything from Television, The Strokes, everything derivative of that sound, and actually say that Kings Of Leon are their all time favorite band. As in, all time favorite band. I mean what the hey? Am I alone here, or what?

Or what.

Tracks Of My Tears

Looks like no trip to Outer Banks with the gang this summer. None of us were really sure if it was going to happen or not, since it was all depending on when or if Alvin could clear his work schedule to take a weekend off as planned. But the only weekend he'll have off for awhile is this weekend, and we're invited to come up and stay with him but I have to work Saturday and Sunday. But hey, it's all good. I'm still planning to take those four days off after Labor Day weekend, and Joe and I were discussing possibilities of maybe heading over to Blackburg to catch a VT game and visit Lucy (Joe's mother lives on a small farm in Blackburg), if my car can hold up for the trip. But we'll see. Al left a message on my cell phone just this afternoon so we haven't had much of a chance to plan for anything else for the moment.

In other news, the Wherehouse Music at Ward's Corner in Norfolk will be closing its doors this Sunday. Now Wherehouse is also owned by my store's parent company, BUT I've been told that it's not going out of business, just closing due to a possible lease dispute. Our company has hired this tenacious pitbull of a lease negotiator who has managed to talk one store's landlord in Salt Lake City from $49,000 to $29,000. And he was just in town last week, so I suppose it could be possible that this was one lease he couldn't negotiate. Still, I'm always skeptical. I don't know if we'll be getting their product but some of their staff will be on hand at our store until they can find new placements in the company. My, how generous of them.

But Wherehouse was only Wherehouse for the last several years or so. Although I had heard rumors that the location had been a restaurant and other businesses in the past, pretty much for as long as I could remember it has been a music store under some name ever since I was a little girl. Back when it was Tracks I was a child who was sent to a doctor's office in Ward's Corner every Saturday morning to do all sorts of strange tests that to this day I'm still not sure why (visual, perception, etc). I hated every Saturday morning being spent in these offices, and my father, to cheer me up after picking me up, would do two things: Buy me a Fig Newton bar (those large individually wrapped ones, because I really loved those buggers back then) and take me to Tracks to buy me a record or 8-track of my choice. He even bought me a wooden record crate with the Tracks logo -- an old-timer train conductor -- on the side, which I had all the way up until just after college. Back then the upper-outside of the building near the roof was decorated with giant canvases of album covers, and I remember my father telling me that he had heard that the attic of the store held an art studio where staff would paint the album covers and switch them out every few months (still don't know if this is true, but I hear the attic does contain a lot of old artifacts from those days). My dream back then was to one day grow up and work in that attic painting album covers all day, to be hung on the outside of that store. And in a way, I never let go of that dream.

Ironically, as a hyperactive child running amok inside Tracks every Saturday afternoon with my dad, there was an 18-year-old boy working there at the time, probably chasing me around the store with great agitation, grabbing all of the many breakable objects out of my hands. Ten years later that boy would gradually become one my my best friends, Mike Williams, who still comes over my house to play video games every Monday night. Mike still has the giant Tracks logo sign from the store on his back porch, too enormous to bring in the house.

Tracks later became The Record Bar, and I think somebody once said Mother's Music as well, although I don't remember that. Later in the 90's it was Blockbuster Music, and then Wherehouse Music, and now....

Now given the climate of brick-n-mortar music retail, will it ever become a music store again? Somehow I have my doubts. I guess I'm sadder about Wherehouse closing not so much because it's just one of many music stores to come and go at that location. But because I get the sense that this time, it will be the last.

Step Back From The Console

Jed Whedon, brother of Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) and co-writer/composer of Dr. Horrible Sing-A-Long Blog just directed Felicia Day (Penny from Dr. Horrible) in a music video called "Do You Wanna Date My Avatar", in support of Felicia Day's web show The Guild, about a group of online gamers. Music by Jed Whedon, lyrics by Felicia Day.



Utterly addictive! I can't stop watching. And empathizing. Dear me.

Back To Life, Back To Reality

No new Audio Junk last night. Joe had a telephone interview with professional wrestler Ivan Kolof around that same time so he ran a "rerun" in its place. Plus after seeing District 9 and getting tired and sunburned from the pool, we were both ready to chill for the rest of the day. At least my back isn't as red as my face. I swim in T-shirts these days for that very purpose. And I've had enough "boob-slips" in my lifetime to keep me perpetually paranoid. But these days skin preservation outweighs modesty. Seems to be the case more often.

Speaking of District 9, I've been ravenously eating like one of those prawns, and I don't know why and I can't seem to make it stop. And everything that I'm eating tastes terrible, as if I want something specific but my body won't tell me. Not only have I fallen off the wagon I can see the wagon disappearing over the horizon. I need help. I need... something. I need, hell.... I need to stop drinking coffee.

Shameless Plug

One of Melissa's top two favorite cartoonists of all time, Jaime Hernandez, author of the "Locas" storyline from the seminal Love And Rockets, wants you to hear his mix tape of favorite tunes. ¡Excelente!


Stay - Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs

Hang On Sloopy - The McCoys

A Whiter Shade of Pale - Procol Harem

Get Up (like a sex machine) part 1- James Brown

Sunday Morning Comin’ Down - Johnny Cash

Everybody Loves Me, Baby - Don McLean

Then Came the Last Days of May - Blue Oyster Cult

Sweet Jane - Mott the Hoople

Come and Get Your Love - Redbone

Do We Still Do It? - Slade

Teenage Kicks - The Undertones

I Wanna be Sedated - The Ramones

Party Train - Gap Band

Looks That Kill - Motley Crue

Here Comes Your Man - The Pixies

Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.

I Will Always Love You - Dolly Parton


Listen HERE!

The Last Assembly

Bobcat Goldthwait Making A Musicial Based On A Kinks Album:

It seems a bit odd to make a musical like this, but then again, the Kinks were apparently "writing full-tilt rock operas" when Schoolboys in Disgrace came out in 1975. The Kinks are an English rock band probably best known for their songs "You Really Got Me" and "Sunny Afternoon." The album actually has a story to it, about a "naughty little schoolboy" and his gang that always played tricks on the teachers. When he gets "into very serious trouble with a naughty schoolgirl," the Headmaster decides to disgrace the naughty boy and his gang in front of the whole school, causing him to turn into "a hard and bitter character" afterward.

***

When I saw Bobcat in a comedy club in Austin back in February he was discussing his latest directorial outing World's Greatest Dad and I admit I was slightly hesitant (I don't know why, because I always liked Shakes The Clown), but I am hearing really good pre-buzz about that movie from people whose opinions I often mirror -- plus I love Goldthwait, and as evidenced by the Dead Kennedys reference he made on stage (that the audience didn't seem to get) he appears to be a musical kindred spirit as well. And The Kinks are one of my favorite bands of all time. If this has already been greenlit, you better believe I'll be first in line.

Trick Of The Light

First 20 tracks on my iTunes embarrassed as hell that I never once picked up on the irony of the message on Keith Moon's chair after all these years.

1. "Spellbound (By The Devil)" - Dimmu Borgir

2. "Cold Wars" - The Rezillos

3. "France Culture 1970 (II)" - Albert Ayler

4. "Memories" - Public Image LTD.

5. "I'm Yours" - Prince

6. "Theme Form Pigdeon Come" - Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel

7. "High Speed GTO" - White Wizzard

8. "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime" - Korgis

9. "Fury" - Prince

10. "Bestia" - Hello Seahorse!

11. "Mother" - John Lennon

12. "Marooned" - Wire

13. "Spirits Rejoice" - Albert Ayler Quintet

14. "The Sick Bed of Cuchulain" - The Pogues

15. "It's So Wonderful" - Johnny Williams

16. "Candy Man" - Mary Jane Girls

17. "Spring Rain" - The Go-Betweens

18. "Minority" - Green Day

19. "Confusion" - New Order

20. "Piece Of My Heart" - Erma Franklin

Adventures Close To Home

They'll make a Bobblehead out of anything these days:

Never been a GG Allin fan. I guess I understand what he was going for at the time, but at some point when does real life turn into performance art, then into contrivance? The only thing I used to own by GG was a bootleg video of one of his performances in New Orleans, to an audience of about five people, all with their backs pressed against the wall while GG put a bucket on his head and ran around in circles like... well, like a dog with a bucket stuck on its head. I laughed myself silly. Was I supposed to?

Actually the time I met Tesco Vee I remember him being a really, really nice guy. And he loves ABBA, and not in an ironic way, either. I love that he has it stitched to his pants and shoes on this one. What's not to love about a man whose tribute to The Beatles is entitled "1 Down, 3 To Go"? (although I suppose that title needs to be revised)

Given the achingly torturous choice of seeing The Dwarves and Basehead on the same night, I flipped a coin and went to Basehead. But about 90% of my friends attended the Dwarves show and the reports back where, well, considerably more hilarious than Basehead, who was great in his own right. But that was to be expected. Maybe someday when Basehead and the Dwarves realign on the same night, I'll... well, probably wind up seeing Basehead again. But not like anybody's gonna come around and make a Bobblehead out of him anytime soon.

Schedule

Wed 19: 10-5
Fri 21: 4:45-cl
Sat 22: 11:45-5
Sun 23: 3:45-cl
Mon 24: 4:45-cl
Tue 25: 4:45-cl
Thur 27: 4:45-cl

Tangled Up In Blue

You're Bob Dylan? NJ Police Want To See Some I.D.

legend Bob Dylan was treated like a complete unknown by police in a New Jersey shore community when a resident called to report someone wandering around the neighborhood.

Dylan was in Long Branch, about a two-hour drive south of New York City, on July 23 as part of a tour with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp that was to play at a baseball stadium in nearby Lakewood.

A 24-year-old police officer apparently was unaware of who Dylan is and asked him for identification, Long Branch business administrator Howard Woolley said Friday.

"I don't think she was familiar with his entire body of work," Woolley said.

The incident began at 5 p.m. when a resident said a man was wandering around a low-income, predominantly minority neighborhood several blocks from the oceanfront looking at houses.

The police officer drove up to Dylan, who was wearing a blue jacket, and asked him his name.

According to Woolley, the following exchange ensued:

"What is your name, sir?" the officer asked.

"Bob Dylan," Dylan said.

"OK, what are you doing here?" the officer asked.

"I'm on tour," the singer replied.

A second officer, also in his 20s, responded to assist the first officer. He, too, apparently was unfamiliar with Dylan, Woolley said.

The officers asked Dylan for identification. The singer of such classics as "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Blowin' in the Wind" said that he didn't have any ID with him, that he was just walking around looking at houses to pass some time before that night's show.

The officers asked Dylan, 68, to accompany them back to the Ocean Place Resort and Spa, where the performers were staying. Once there, tour staff vouched for Dylan.

The officers thanked him for his cooperation.

"He couldn't have been any nicer to them," Woolley added.

How did it feel? A Dylan publicist did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment Friday.

****

24-year-old police officers never having heard of Bob Dylan. Like Elvis Costello once sang, everything means less than zero. Then again they probably haven't heard of him, either.

I agree it would have been funny if Dylan had answered each one of their questions with "The answer my friend, is blow it out your ass blowing in the wind."

I Can't Get My Dishwasher To Stop Beeping

Wish for cooler weather... get rain. And lots of it. But you won't hear me complaining. Other than not being able to swim today. I've hardly had a chance to use the pool all summer, and since my diet is only about 50% raw vegan these days my exercise quota isn't exactly being met. But it did allow me to leave the house for a jaunt down to my store to pick up a few used items that I had on hold. And I know, I've been trying to cut back, and I have. But well, Samuel Fuller. And an out-of-print Dead Milkmen CD. And and and.... Samuel Fuller?

Have been on a Sam Fuller kick these days, and his 1957 western Forty Guns is one that I have never seen, but have read about just recently about how underrated a classic is really is. And being a Fuller film as well as starring my childhood favorite actress Barbara Stanwyck (I was a huge Big Valley freak as a little kid) there's no way I was passing this up. Just check out badass Barry Sullivan walk straight up and bitch-slap this young upstart with a pistol completely confident and unfazed, and then chucks his limp body into a nearby wheelbarrow and takes off with him. Fuller rules!

And having long debated about it I finally sprang for the Coffin Joe Trilogy box set, consisting of 60's Brazilian horror master José Mojica Marins' surreal threesome At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul, This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse, and Awakening Of The Beast, all of which I believe I have seen some fifteen years ago when I lived in Ghent and had access to the local hipster video rental. Each DVD set comes with a nicely drawn B&W comic book written in English and a snazzy black coffin box that initially made people think that I was buying the Misfit box set instead. I'm happy to be revisiting these films again. Plus Steve from Skinnies ragged on me years ago for liking these movies, so naturally I'm going to add them to my collection! ;)

And I caved in on some music as well, especially in light of the fact that I don't buy all that much music anymore. But a used copy of Iggy Pop's 1977 solo debut album The Idiot was going for $2.99, and other than the song "Nightclubbing" I have nothing else from this album. Not counting David Bowie's cover of "China Girl", which is also featured on this disk. Bowie did co-write the song with Ig, as well as produce the entire album, so he's more than entitled.

The recent death of Mink DeVille charismatic lead crooner Willy DeVille provoked me to nab a used copy of the 1981 Coup De Grace, featuring an entirely new band (save for DeVille himself) and produced by Jack Nitzsche, and filled with the sounds of soul, doo-wop, and Cajun influences that have made the band a respectable stand-out in the NYC seventies punk scene, without really ever being a punk band at all. But getting mad play at CBGB's and a lot of love from famed no-wave scenester Lydia Lunch helped get Willy and his poor boys the recognition from the right people that they deserved. RIP Willy.

And I was debating about getting The Dead Milkmen's 1990 release Metaphysical Graffiti because, quite frankly, I didn't even bother to get it back when it came out when I was working at The Music Man and could have gotten it on discount -- because as much as I love the Milkmen, and had been anticipating this release for some time, I didn't really like it very much at all. But my friend just dave bought a copy, which is how I heard what I did from it at the time, and he made me a mix tape of what he thought were the highlights of the album. Particularly the various "untitled" monologues in between song tracks, and since this album is now out of print I had been wildly eager to find that one funny bit about the "Lesbian Eskimo Midget Left-Handed Ninja Albino" that always had us in stitches almost twenty years ago (eghads!). So hell yez it came home with me! Keeping one CD for one or two tracks isn't uncommon in my collection. But times are tight. You soon may get your own opportunity to own this sucker yourselves.



The only video clip I could find of this track is this rather cute interpretation of the bit by a little boy with terrible-bad lipsynching skills. But his attempt is endearing. And I love the little smile of satisfaction on his face at the very end when he announces that he has gas. :)

And All I Ever Make At The Beach Are "Sand Boobies"

This woman is amazing. Look at the judges and the people in the audience crying.



Apparently the words that she writes at the end say, "You are always nearby".

Thanks to Phil for the link.

A Comedy Tonight

What am I amped for these days? Well, not much, really. But in the midst of all this catching up with old film noirs there are actually a few Hollywood (and not-so-Hollywood) pictures coming up or in the works that I wouldn't mind checking out in the near future.

Like, say...

Inglourious Basterds: Another derivative Tarantino outing? How could it not be, even though from the looks of the trailer this picture doesn't quite resemble the 1978 movie of a similar name. But as a film critic friend once pointed out, Tarantino movies are riddled with proverbial hyperlinks (click on this hat and it's the same hat worn by so-and-so in the 1972 blaxploitation film, yada yada) and the dialogue can be a little eye-rolling at times. But Tarantino still gets points in my book for stealing with love; love for the original subject matter that makes his projects more like homages than originals. But I'm cool with that. Whether this is gonna rock or blow, remains to be seen.

Ponyo: Hayao Miyazaki's latest endeavor about a goldfish who wants to live on dry land with the humans has the look and feel of Miyazaki's childlike yet wildly imaginative My Neighbor Tortoro, which could prove another under-appreciated children's classic, with English dubbing provided by Cloris Leachman, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, and Cate Blanchett, to name a few. I don't miss Miazaki movies, and I don't plan on missing this, either.

District 9: I was skeptical about the previews at first, being more often jaded by big budget sci-fi movies in the last twenty or so years. But reading up on first-time director Neil Blomkamp's project full of no big-name actors about humans sharing the earth with space aliens, dredging up old issues concerning apartheid in the film's location in Johannesburg, sounds considerably more cerebral fodder than your typical Independence Day good-guys-prevail summer silliness. A journalist friend of mine already attended a preview and loved it. I'm there.

I Need That Record: I had posted the trailer for this documentary about the decline of the American independent record store sometime last year, and it has probably already come and gone through the theater circuit (it was gong to play at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin a few weeks after I was set to leave), but given my, well, given profession, the subject matter is of obvious interest to me. Obligatory documentary talking heads include Lenny Kaye, Thurston Moore, Mike Watt, and Noam Chomsky, plus more.

Coco Avant Chanel: Audrey Tautou plays Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, the French fashion designer who went from poorhouse to creating the House Of Chanel by nearly single-handedly liberating the newly emancipated female form from hobbleskirts and corsets, with creations that are still in vogue today -- the classic Chanel suit, the "little black dress", Chanel No. 5 perfume... it's about time somebody told her story. And not on some Lifetime movie of the week. Her worldwide influence on the 20th century deserves slightly more reverence than that.

Toy Story 3: Still in production, I do believe. But if it lives up to the last two pictures, I can't see how I can afford to miss this. So long as Joan Cusack returns as Cowgirl Jessie, I'll be the first in line on opening night.

Lemmy: I just learned about this documentary on Motorhead's famously charismatic bassist/lead singer Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister just this morning, and the first thing I though was, "You mean they isn't already a movie out about this guy?" Because this guy's influence in the music as well as pop culture world is... well, wow. Joe got to meet him while playing pinball in a Virginia Beach bar. My best friend S. used to crack up parties by doing a frighteningly uncanny impression of his famous warty mug by placing a long strand of black hair over her upper lip and grimace. And he was on WWE! And the freakin' YOUNG ONES, for crying out loud! And the only funny moment in the entire movie Airheads. Yes, his time has come.

Taking Woodstock: Demetri Martin plays real-life Elliot Teichberg in Ang Lee's latest about the events that lead to the famous final musical hurrah at the end of the 1960's. Have heard really nice things about this one, and Ang Lee is sometimes hit (Sense And Sensibility) sometimes miss (Hulk) but always food for thought in the way he visualizes his initial ideas. And like Lemmy and I Need That Record, the subject matter is draw enough alone.

Plan 9 From Outer Space (With Rifftrax Commentary!): When Mystery Science Theatre 3000 ended its television run ten years ago, host and head writer Mike Nelson formed Rifftrax, an audio podcast of wisecracks overdubbing for home DVD use over selected bad films. Now Nelson has teamed up with former MST3K alumni Bill Corbett (Crow T. Robot) and Kevin Murphy (Tom Servo) to "Riff" a colorized version of the 1959 Ed Wood atrocity Plan 9 From Outer Space, which will be showing in various movie theaters across the country on August 20th, including my own (I was surprised, too). I already have the day off, and Joe is going to try and get off work early that night to attend. Looks like this is the only one on the above list that might actually get seen before anything else. Gads, I'm a nerd.

Soul Exchange

Rashied Ali

Les Paul


RIP

My Reflection In The Coltrane

We are now officially selling vinyl at my music store. Or at least we will once we get these first six boxes of records priced and find some place in a store full of CD racks to place them. It's all brand new stuff, too, from new artists like Kanye West to James Brown and Toots & The Maytals, Q-Tip, Queen, Diana Krall, DJ Shadow, Tom Waits, Cream... and no, I seriously don't suspect that we'll start

taking back used records now that we are selling them new, and in fact a skeptical aspect of myself thinks that a good chunk of these records came from the Virgin megastore in Los Angeles, which our company bought while the rest of the Virgins were going under and closing. This makes me wonder if 1.) we'll only be getting what Virgin can't sell, or 2.) they are liquidating Virgin out in L.A. and we're helping. Still, it's pretty interesting, seeing vinyl making a return to

the music store business. But you know, I probably get at least three or four customers a week asking if we sell vinyl, so there's obviously some sort of market for it out there. But I'm not exactly sure what people are looking for on vinyl. We have Mos Def's new album The Ecstatic on LP, but I have never had a hip-hop fan come in looking for records, although I'd imagine deejays would be seeking them out for mixes and samples (most local club deejays probably go up to Washington DC for their dance/hip-hop records, since they have the best stores for such things). Is the soccer mom who asked me about vinyl last week looking for the latest Dave Matthews Band? Because we got that in on 33 1/3 as well. Anyway, it will be intriguing to see what sells and what doesn't. I'll keep you a abreast. (heehee)

Use It Up And Wear It Out

Audio Junk is a mix of music and samples, funk, soul, metal, rock, rap, and much more -- every Tuesday night at 8:45pm EST at randomradioonline.net. Download last night's episode today!