Saturday, December 30, 2006

rock on and rock off


quickly...name your favorite record from when you were 13...ok, fourteen or fifteen. prior to my hearing x, the clash and any sort of punk rock and/roll, the stones, deep purple, and the always present led zeppelin exisited. especially the latter, zep mattered so much. i had decent taste too for i was still listening to bowie, your krla low rider stuff and al green on eight track in my mothers car but zeppelin was mine (and a kajillion other teenagers too). led zeppelin III remains a huge record in my headspace soundtrack. i hope you like it too after you hit this here download check out song "out on the tiles" - zep perfection. how i post this love of zep while listening to joanna newsom is beyond me but there is some connection...

Thursday, December 28, 2006

like a fruit, that's ripe for the picking...



i do not care about the year end as some guide post to reflect on the past 365 days however, i am a bundle of contridictions so i thereby give you an informal list of the best things of this thing called 2006.

where to start...how's about the phenomenal tribe called quest show at bumbershoot this year? ok, it rocked the hard jams like nobodys business. i have always wanted to see tribe and they delivered big time!! i saw lots of decent shows this year but that might be the best along with coco rosie. swimming in lake washington proves to me to be one of the finest experiences about living in seattle. refreshing, exhiliarting and downright cathartic, the lake hits me the right way. when there i run into people i see once in a while and the time down there just says 'summer'. the darger show at the frye art museum...dear god, that was a jaw dropper. i went three times and probably still tripping out. eating at the el asadero taco bus on rainer, the schezuewan (sp) noodle bowl and the kebab house in greenwood were the places to dine - all offer inexpensive, delicioso food all the time yet remain slightly chaotic in their own little ways. my nephews and neice - are simply the best. i love those kids and feel the finest word spoken that hit my ears this year hands down is 'uncle'. friends friends and how they put up with me and my on-going insanity, thank you all. and speaking of, ahem, friends, seeing some go to the wayside was a gift that keeps giving...hindsight always 20/20 eh? reading about sonny liston, bee season, the new yorker and entertainment weekly (did i just admit that) were all enriching. the magnuson-kelly experience in august was lovely and just perfect. so this year has been nothing less that extraordinary and i am so grateful. the best thing about this year? sleeping!

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

move it or movie it

i see a fair share of movies yet never enough. this year i did ok, not great but ok. same goes for the quality of films this year however i found a couple that really did it right. the first three that comes to mind are pedro almodovar's "volver", the nearly flawless "iraq in fragments" and "little children".

all three demonstrate the power of cinema for me. rich characters in both the feature movies and the doc, "iraq in fragments" showed me something i must remind myself of often - just how small this world is. tired of hearing and reading about iraq? me too but damn it, this movie is a must - not only for the incredible humanity but it clearly is one of the most beautifully shot movies about something so fucked up i ever have laid my eyes on. i have already wrote about "little children" and just cannot encourage you enough to see this fantastic movie! it is still resonating after a couple weeks...clearly shining brightly. almodovar's movies are like gifts for me - always a surprise and really exposing a part of me that i kind of forget exists. "volver" has pedro almodovar giving you his love of ladies (and his lovely ladies) with such compassion and admiration, one watches with complete thrill - !! i am so glad he keeps making such great movies, his consistancy really has to be admired and i for one cannot be happier.

strange but i found these movies fascinating where i did not think i would: "united 93" & "casino royale". hmmm! other films this year i really loved: "the departed", "neil young: heart of gold", "borat", "half nelson", "OSS 117: nest of spies", "heart of the game" & "babel". best movies i have not seen yet: "letters from iwo jima", "pans labryinth", "perfume" among others. most overrated movie of the year: "little miss sunshine" - c'mon, grandfather arkin dies and that sweet child does not have any emotional reaction whatsoever? that still bugs me. omigawd, movies this year i am going to see and i must be nuts: "dreamgirls" & "rocky balboa" - wtf, rocky? well, let me explain...i know someone

Friday, December 22, 2006

me versus me


coffee smells so good but is awful when it becomes part your breath. and i love coffee but have a weird thing about my breath being bad. i want to tell people i know that they have bad breath and sometimes i do, other times i just can't bring myself to do it. do my friends tell me when i have bad breath? betty does. i have another friend who i dine with now and again and he always tells me if i have some residual mustard from a sandwich on the face or something to that order with the silent finger pointing to his own upper lip. aren't we fortunate to have people like this in our lives? i think so but i am so unyielding when it comes to receiving other advice that i wonder how one differentiates between mustard, bad breath and everything else. i hear talk and talk and elicit conversations of all sorts but now i find myself thinking, if i have bad breathe - i tend to keep my mouth shut until i can brush my teeth or i stand at an appropriate distance to best suit my conversationalist. nowadays, i want to keep my mouth shut and i am realizing this prior to my opening and saying anything - how so new of me! and my blog will be taking a turn for that as i write about my favorite movies of the year, jesse paul miller, winters arrival, ferry rides to get a snack and how i want a cat and a dog and another cat. i talk too much but before i forget to mention i

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

bunny

vashti bunyan. who? vashti bunyan that's who. i was not sure who to listen to last night while eating stir fry with orange cat's bff so i threw on vashti bunyan's second *in thirty years* cd "lookafterring" and it was a perfect for the experience. joni came to mind which seems the only direction you need to go in. ok, wait - nick drake was tossed out there too...and true that. i mention this cd because i listen to so much loud music that sometimes when i have too much on my mind and just that perfect amount in my hands, going slow is the best for me. bunyan sings sweetly and without being too wispy or syrupy - go get this or the above first album by her "another diamond day"...i bet you like.

sueno y moon


hi dean...how's things after luna? fine with me too - actually better than fine, things are great. what made me think of you and the galaxies of the past...? places, songs, and people, er, person for sure. but what exactly does it all mean when the first thing i thought of hearing you recently around turkey day that conjures up this text? sorry but the dream syndicate. at my new favorite blog detailed twang by a mr. jay hinman - he too recently wrote of your influencial quartet and their glorious "days of wine and roses" lp. i "you tubed" (love that!) and found y'all at the whisky *where i saw the dream syndicate play in the years past* doing "that's what you always say". fantastic!

and just last saturday night/sunday morning "the days of wine and roses" was a soundtrack to what turned out to be quite a sleep deprived yet delicious and luscious time. when one is listening to steve wynn sing "when you smile" and you just taste (or dream) that smile he is talking about, it heightens everything at once. at this point, nothing, nobody can save me - not you, not morrissey outside my door (who did not come in to chat - he just sang outside), and the phone did not ring. when you hear the dream syndicate dean, what do you think of? i most certainly get taken back to the the thoughts of the past when i was 20 years old when this crazy great record came out but these thoughts have seemed to be replaced by the most beautiful grey sunday december morning.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

fathers and suns


and plants and birds and rocks and things.

southern california. people refer to it with curtains of orange color, el lay or even a cultural wasteland but i big to differ. or, what it is becomes so much personalized and made onto your own. i've seen strip malls with any kind of food one can desire, brown people everywhere, distractions of all sorts, the omni present traffic and sleepy communities where everybody knows nobody. more than this, i can deal with this place like i never have before. i, tourist! and what a wonderful way to visit where one grew up. calling this home is best called "home one time", once - in a time where the same remained however the water was clean, orange groves exisited and the good old days where something parents spoke about. going down memory lane with friends and old neighbors is a bit much for this guy. looking back at the past gives one a navigation point but looking at my niece and nephew reminded me the good old days are happening now. kids don't kid. they live.
*thanks to floyd for the crazy pic of del taco*

Thursday, December 07, 2006

j o e y cunyq, cold, koolhaus







so i creep, yeah...just keep it on the down low



i am using shatner, a jew and a candian one at that, to lighten up this blog. his image says it all, "go and download some wierd soundtrack at archer-bullseye or for that matter, go to those links to the left and see what you can find. i'm amazed on what is out there...last week music from polanski's 'fearless vampire killers', popol vuh soundtrack to 'aguirre' and more morricone that one can fathom. or go for a swell fairport convention download at chocoreve...illegal? don't ask me and i am saying it is or it is not. just have fun and dear god, don't download that goonies soundtrack.

il gato nove code....! viva goblin e maestro argento!

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

411



clowtime is over. time to take cover. while others just talk and talk. somebody's watching where the others don't walk, clowntime is over.

this is the second time this week i am referencing elvis costello lyrics. i am either showing my age or my love of his prose or both. yes, both. still, i find solace in his words above since i am not sure what one, read, me, does with information that they just don't understand yet it involves them. i once asked the writer susie bright about the 'number' question after getting a new girlfriend some years back. i got the question, 'how many people have you slept with other than me'? it was not about telling her the truth i thought, but what she does with the information after i divulge. ms. bright agreed that honesty and being forthright was important but what happens after is touchy (no matter what the number). this dubious emotion came across me last night after a phone call from a friend and it caused some serious insomnia. i'd rather this blog not be some sort of therapy for me or you dear three or four readers, but tell me...if someone tells you something about yourself, how they feel about your friendship and you can't seem to make sense of it, what the hell do you do AFTER they tell you they can't carry on the way it has gone in the past. hell, i am ok with it to a certain degree but there is a nagging feeling i cannot escape. furthermore, i don't think said friend knows either - only known emotion is that it is wrong. well, shut my mouth.

this phone call was after seeing this amazing movie little children. don't read too much about it but do go see it. not often enough are viewers allowed to see characters so rich with emotion and complexity without sentimentalizing, this movie really rang my brain. sure suburbia is an easy target but this fine story exceeds the suburban city limits. kate winslet seems so daring and fearless in her role, one can't help wonder if she is acting at all - she was incredible. everybody was great in this movie! one line from the movie is all i will quote, 'beauty is overrated' yet that coming out of the mouth of a beauty no less! so when ms. winslet's character hears that, she too is not quite sure what to do with that information.

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

what does that word mean?


my favorite street in seattle is yesler. i like the name, i like where it goes, i like the bus route (#27) and i like i like i like. yes to yesler! yesler houses two of my favorite places: rl's home of good bar-b-que and the samayra center . these fine yoga people are outstanding folks teaching and bringing health to many in the emerald city. hold on, back to yesler and the many changes.

continuing to like seattle can be challenging at best and with the many chnages, read, condos and what not - one must keep a stiff upper lip. this last summer i was out hitting some garage sales when i was on yesler and i saw one in the garage of a new development. two people sat inside, a man and a woman. she was wearing a kexp sweatshirt made to look like a kiss army logo (oh the irony!) and about 35ish while he was just about 40 or so...can't recall what he was wearing. still, they had a bunch of nonsensical garbage, as if they did not have the where with all to 're-gift' everything but instead decided to sell it at a garage sale. wonderful. soon i the protaganist begged some answers out of them and heard him use the "g" word - gentrification. i told him i did not know what that word meant...and kindly asked for a definition. more words like diversity, changes, black, white were spoken by them...i used words like, jewish, micronerd, japanese, foreigners (gasp) and before you know it, i have two new friends that don't like me. when people who are moving into the neighborhood they feel is being gentrified and call out about gentrification, it seems like a chicken/egg syndrome. what kind of emotion was going through the brains of my yesler neighbors during this conversation was unclear. an unspoken truce seemed to be called and i proceeded to go and swim at the lake.

above is a picture of the corner of jackson and 18th, one block south of the mighty yesler. that is the wonder bread (oh the irony pt. II) factory soon to be demolished for more condos and apartments - and a retail center. i am all about positive growth in our city but one must suspend hope to a certain degree when we can only wish for low income housing for the many who need a roof. next up, the goodwill on dearborn and rainer! change is good and good change is better. isn' t it?

Sunday, December 03, 2006

secondary modern



i really need to sleep but instead, i am thinking of the most beautiful painting. this one came to mind.

for you elGato.

goodnight.

Friday, December 01, 2006

everyday...not one day EVERYDAY



today is world AIDS day. today? every day is world aids day friends. i used to work many years ago at frederick and nelson in downtown seattle. f & n was a big old marshall fields department store and i look back at many aspects of that job fondly. the one thing i always reflect on was the best boss i ever had in my life, edward. what an exceptional person in every way. kind, gentle, caring, funny and downright good, he showed by example how to be. this was 1988 and my thoughts of edward still remain clear and vivid. i can still see him smile at everybody who he managed like he was your friend and made you feel very much like he cared. edward died of AIDS four years later which i found out by way of an ex coworker and to this day it brings me to unfathomable emotion.

today, there are about 40 million people living with HIV worldwide, and it is increasing in every region in the world. in africa, it is the leading cause of death -- 5,500 africans die each day from this insidious disease. every day is world AIDS day. we can work towards progress but we can only do it if we do it together.

thank you edward.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Sweden!



and yet more...yes, MORE crazy band pictures from sweden!

Monday, November 27, 2006

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Richie is a witch...



the last 24 hours i cannot stop listening to heavy metal. and dead moon. here is to a wonderful turkey day everybody...with some deep purple and dead moon.

54-40 or fight.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Fearless Johnston or Daniel Freaks


day before yesterday was a rainy day. and it rained some more. still, i was up early and the red envelope containing "the devil and daniel johnston" was staring at me and i was peering back. i got it out and away i went on this amazing travel though the life of Daniel Johnston. being a fan on the slightest but most certainly aware level, i found the entire 1:50 minutes of this doc fascinating in many ways. which says a lot due to my not really liking bio pics (which this is not) and i just wasn't sure i was in the mood. still, tea was made and i was riveted. this poor soul of a man is like nobody else and sure there are some characters out there but mr. johnston has a certain naivete that goes though his eyes and his highly expressive face. tragic for sure yet hopeful in some way, i hope everybody can see this great doc. this movie also reminded me that i really like his art work too...with the exception of some staged shots, this was fantastic all around.
later that night i moved from my couch a little to the west and watched another documentary "the fearless freaks". this as you might now already know is about the flaming lips. this too was also quite good however it missed the deeper intimacy that "devil" had. i like the lips and now i like them more after seeing this expose on them - and the 20+ years they have been around. the viewer gets great insight to the Coyne family and the many brothers. fantastic where the name of the movie comes from too! and funny thing too, i think many people get the idea that Wayne Coyne is some kind of nut - like, cuckoo for cocoa puffs nut - but he comes off so together and really super sweet. his music can certainly be nutty and bent but he comes off more like the pied piper with all of us following him as he sings all bloodied or in a bubble surrounded by fur suited freaks. coyne seems like someone i'd love to have dinner with and talk about 'stuff' with...nothing special, just stuff. later that night i went home and pulled out "the soft bulletin" and listened to side 2 since that was the side i placed down w/o looking. it worked and worked well. finally the punk rockers are being documented in movies...!

Friday, November 17, 2006

studio filled with sand, lsd and heartbreak - wouldn't it be nice!


i have a cassette player in my car but don't worry, i also have a five cd changer too. i listen to the cassette more if you include the time spent using it with my ipod adaptor. and i really wanna write about my ipod but i am already bored and so are you.

aren't you?


shuffle friends shuffle! shuffling songs on my ipoop is really where its at. oooh, john zorn, then aretha, maybe some kbd, maybe some ennio morricone...all are within reach however i let it just fly. i was doing that night before last and the song "i just wasn't made for these times" came on and i started to really freak out. god only knows (sorry, had to do it) i have heard that song a million and half times but this time i heard brian and his boys not from the beach sing and i was in a trance. "how dare you!" i yelled. where in hell does this music come from?!?! i'd be far from exaggerating to tell you i almost got in an accident...the car seemed to get out of control and started operating on its own. or, maybe - just maybe i lost control after hearing brian lose control.
shuffled. disheveled.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Monday, November 06, 2006

(i know) it's only rock and roll (and i still like it)






wait a minute...you have never heard of the cold war kids? how's about division day? or what about tapes n tapes...they were so four months ago. well, listen away to kexp in our fair city of seattle, they will teach you and so will myspace if you must go there. and do so for this lofty site on the worldwideweb will allow you to see pictures of these tussled youths and even listen to these among countless other bands. it has changed...not things are changing, IT whatever it may be, has changed. and now more than ever IT seems easier to pay attention just as easy as it is to just ignore it all.

i used to not necessarily take pride in knowing somethings about contemporary rock but i seemed to have just lost caring or desire. yes, someone will try and tell me about something or someone - if i was not such a snob i'd really pay close attention too. i think t. "purple" hayes was the last person i know who would talk about new bands and i'd listen to him. this feat was largely due to his unbridled and lovely enthusiasm doubled with his incredible knowledge. yet now i am now so far removed with so many tools to my access as i mentioned above. i'd like to think this is because i am 44 but tis' far too easy of an explanation for someone who still listens to way more music then most and gets so much out of my current blasts with the past. furthermore, independent is a word which is tossed around hollywood when it comes to making movies and it seems to be misused or i just do not get the meaning any longer...and the same goes for music and possibly even more so. i go to www.m-w.com for assistance and get nowhere or no, where? i don't know. is myspace defining independence? i have been pondering this for a smidge of time as of late and really, it all seems trivial when i know i will go home and listen to ornette coleman, led zeppelin, fairport convention or myself say what rev. lovejoy said on the simpsons, "this sounds like rock and/or roll".

Friday, November 03, 2006

Bee See

don't be scared...that is peanut butter and it is cremeux peanut butter. ooh la la, it is not french peanut butter but canadian who for some reason (which we all know) have the audacity to have two languages spoken in their country...and let's hope it stays at two - cultural differences like, say, languages just seem to get in the way of progress. and i digress...for i am here to write about my recent trip to vancouver, canada. i mentioned some time ago i love it there - still do. i also wrote how i got some free canadian money and would spend it there - i did. lovely place. three friends and i went up there with the idea to just do tourist stuff...eat, stay at a nice hotel, see some sights and eat some more then head back. we accomplished it all...great trip...here are some high and lowlights.

this crazy indian place everybody (myself included) talks about eating at vij's www.vijs.ca is there and we went. or, kinda. one of us jumped out of the car at 5:42 to get our name in since they do not take reservations. we ended up sitting down at our table at 7:28. is it worth the wait, well - yes and no. yes, the food is that damn good but no because i personally hate to wait. i was lucky since lively conversation ensued along with an passing by snack in the form of an indian french fry/frite which were hot, spicy and delicious. i guess you all should go there but be prepared to wait. two of us were swarmy enough to eat a veggie hotdog on the street hours before...ha!

stanley park. lovely place even within the confines of ones car - our situation - and the pouring rain. yes, it rains in vancouver and it is quite forboding. nobody was really prepped for a rain walk so we drove and drove some more. not getting out, lowlight. it's hard to look at all that green and not want to jump out at it. next time, i rent a bike.

we shopped and i really wanted to get another hat. nope, ph got not one but two or wait, did she get three? either way, she made up for my desire but i am still with little hair and no hat.

why the peanut butter? we were all hungry upon our arrival in the city and headed over to sophie's cosmic cafe in kitsilano. well known, kitchy and just fine for a decent breakfast. and they have jam packets and pb packets as you see above. well, two overly made up and too much make up gurls are next to the four of us and they just must have been that much more hungry than us. these packets were opened and consumed...maybe three prior to the dishes they ordered arrived. now i cannot recall, did they use their fingers or did they use their spoons? either way, they dug in and we were the captive audience. highlight! and lowlight...

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

you got the flavor.........


most of my people know i don't drink booze. i kind of miss it yet i am not really drawn to it whatsoever. some friends know it is best i don't drink - like i don't really need the 'liquid courage' to just say and do whatever i please. troubling dear readers, trouble can be lurking so be warned. yet, i like the idea of just getting out of my head and just being turned inside out. this feeling does happen now and then in different forms and though different transgressions and actions so really, alcohol is merely an elixir best for others. And this is not to say i will not ever drink again - i just don't right now or have in many years. i do recall the last times of my drinking, i was drinking nothing but superior, premium alcohol. top shelf but nothing too freaky like $100 scotch but still, good shit for sure. now get this, the last taste of booze that entered my mouth and yes this is an update was BALVENIE scotch last saturday. the smell of the bottle opening entered my senses and it was inviting but not as nearly inviting as the smell as it came closer to me by way of the love child of vivian westwood and alexander mcqueen...where this, ahem - taste came from. clearly this was the best taste i have had in my mouth for quite a long time and overwhelming too. full bodied and delectable in every way i remember. or, maybe it was halloween, maybe gram parsons' brief meeting, or maybe it was just plain desire but one thing is for sure, i want another taste. same scenario, no glass is required, just better timing and i am there.

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Nanker Pheldge...!



No good, can't speak, wound up, no sleep.
Sky diver insider her, skip rope, stunt flyer.
Wounded lover, got no time on hand.
One last cycle, thrill freak Uncle Sam.
Pause for bus'ness, hope you'll understand.
Judge and jury walk out hand in hand.
Dietrich movies, close up boogies, Kissing cunt in Cannes.
Grotesque music, million dollar sad.
Got no tactics, got no time on hand.
Left shoe shuffle, right shoe muffle, Sinking in the sand.
Fade out freedom, steaming heat on, Watch that hat in black.
Finger twitching, got no time on hand.

Friday, October 20, 2006

Hey Jerome!



FRIDAY! So here is Bo Diddly...a god walking amongst us.

I love this guy....

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

happy happy joy joy!


as i write this entry..."you dropped the bomb on me" by the gap band is playing. what an insane song and it makes a great arguement to my bitching that the 80's produced some of the worse music ever. it did but this song is just so damn good! and to keep on the swing of things being so damn good, i am here to profess some shit that is just bringing it all together and working perfectly in this world of ours.





big star's third lp
pictures of my neice and nephew
pickled beets
my new iMac
vij's this last weekend
light rain during a walk
greil marcus, rebecca brown, deb caletti, c.rah, cupcake crumbling, harvest vine!
and this damn dog above who was next to me yesterday while driving up jackson @ rainer blvd

lucky me, lucky you!

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

bobcat and dogs



last night i saw a great movie...and i think it was great for many reasons. i have a problem sometimes with movies in that the characters are so out of this world - like nobody does what they do and they seem completely out of the human realm of emotions and actions. "sleeping dogs lie" written by bobcat goldwait (yes, that guy) was a honest, unflinching and funnier than shit look at how complex we humans are. and i laughed my head off at the blackest of silliness and humor. the more and more i thought about the movie i came to the conclusion how i just saw an outstanding take on what people do with honesty, secrets and what one does with information one tells their girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, lovers, family and everybody inbetween. again, unflinching and simultaneously touching - this is the kind of movie hollywood can learn from. making characters who are so damned absurd yet share the same things we all share from day to day. and in the absurdity, we see oursleves so clearly and it allows us to laugh at ourselves knowing we all do things which we might regret but it is what makes us so very special. bobcat was at the screening and he was funny as hell too...go and see this movie. the cute girl in the picture is the lead in the movie and she was fantastic! i hope to see ms. melinda page hamilton in more movies soon - !

on a side note - have you ever seen somebody flossing during a movie? three seats away from me some guy was flossing away to his hearts content! my pal Ph spys this guy and elbows me to his attetion...two letters: Ew! she and i are already laughing at the movie and now "FLOSSIE" puts it to a whole different level. and as if that was not special enough, he left the floss on the floor after he and his fanny pack left the movie. lovely.

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Folk Music


the el G recently asked me what my favorite bob dylan record is.

i said blonde on blonde. i am sticking with that. next after that, nashville skyline. ask me again tomorrow.

discuss.

advice? everybody has some...



what could be the best advice i have ever got was "don't forget to breathe". i was on the top floor of a church on 86th and Amsterdam - right around the corner of Barney Greengrass in the upper west side of manhattan. i got these wonderful four words from leon maitre my then yoga teacher while living in ny. at first those words muttered from this haitian guru seemed flip, then silly then highly prolific. we all get stressed and overwhelmed and one of the phenomenas that occur during these times is our breathing pattern changes - sometimes stops. not completely but we gasp and don't even know it. i don't want to sound quasi-zen here but i ask all of us to breathe deep. perfection. did y'all get that burrito and nap i asked you to do!?

so that leads me to my latest list of shit i am listening to these days. yesterday i got one of those things at the ballard goodwill >>> leo kottke. no, he ain't no john fahey (who i loooooooooove!) but he is still an exceptional geetar player. as of late i seem to be paying attention to aimee mann, ennio morricone, late seventies stones (black and blue, some girls), replacements, tribe called quest and if i get back my pedro almodovar soundtrack cd back from west seattle, i will go back and listen to that. no rush since i am never at lost on stuff to listen to. tonight i am digging out billy bragg, dengue fever, cecil taylor and maybe just maybe, something to dance to.

BIFF BANG POW!

this weekend i won a record by the CREATION on eBay. two great things came from this purchase, one was the guy i purchased this double lp from was in seattle and he delivered the lp to my home (he went under the name SEXY WIZARD - oooh!). the other thing was it reminded me how cool the CREATION were. shel talmy produced, crazy guitars, semi-snotty vocals make these guys one of those often praised by record dorks (myself included) as well as one of those groups anybody who likes rock and/or roll should love. dig.

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

body movin'



yes i do this blog at work.
why the hell not? i am listening to wu tang clan (enter the 36 chambers baby...) and thinking to myself how f'd up everybody is these days. people, it is not the end of the world. everything will work out just fine - or, remember what the kinks told us in 1967 'everybody's going to be happy'.

do something good for yourself - buy yourself a treat. go and get a burrito, play some tennis, take a nap, laugh at yourself god damnit and hit the street. remember, i dig you. thanks.

Monday, October 02, 2006

harvey danger



one of the greatest pleasures in seattle is the frye art museum. hands down - this place is a real gem and has been for years and years. http://www.fryeart.org/ i used to live in the first hill neighborhood (which to this day is one of my very favorite neighborhoods) which shares digs with the frye. in my humble opinion, what makes a great museum or gallery is having an exceptional permanant collection and a cuturtorial staff that takes risks. that does not sound too difficult and the frye accompishes both. in the recent past, they have had some impressive shows, fairfield porter (a huge personal favorite), contemporary latino art, mark ryden, a performance by tracy and the plastics among many other fantastic shows and exhibits. it comes with great pleasure to once again sing the praises of the frye with the current showing of henry darger's work. if you know that name - well then stop reading and go or go again. if you don't and are kind of curious, go immediately! upon my second viewing yesterday, i got a moody feeling that was difficult to put my finger on. dargers work is impressive on many levels but what i got most from yesterday was the accessability and humbleness of it all. the entire time i was checking the panels and drawings out, i was holding a friends purse which anchored me - it seemed to have kept me steady while looking at mr. dargers "grand scheme". bring a purse, a bag or whatever and hold onto your thoughts and flow with this incredible show.

i plan on seeing it again before it leaves on october 29 to see what goes on in my noggin after another walk through. my last push: the frye is free, parking is free. this is seattle's museum!

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Tusk, Tusk!


about three or so years ago i was at the fremont market trying to find yet more records and i stumbled upon another foxy jewish girl who i *ahem* talked to and hung out with. i'd rather not go into her home smelling like dog (and not a nice smell) or that she easily told me about the anti-depressants that "actually work" for her...and she lived right accross the street from a cemetery - - but i digress for i'd rather mention that she was an unemployed photographer. and a good one too - well, she hipped me to the mighty MASTODON too since she took snaps of her favorite bands also. she pushed me to listen to 'remission' cd and it was good. really good! so i pose a simple question - can Mastondon save heavy metal? i think so and they are currently on tour so me thinks i best go see them since i blew it by not going with the aforementioned jew girl. she talked and talked and talked and talked and talked some more and i recall thinking she was smart, good looking, on anti-depressants but it just did not add up right. what you ask? everything and nothing.

i just want MASTODON to rock!

Thursday, September 07, 2006



i moved to seattle in 1988. i was chasing after then girlfren patsy and well, that is enough about that. really all i am doing by framing that time and moment is to highlight some of the *duh* changes that have happened to seattle since then. i lived in fremont...which is the self-proclaimed, "center of the universe". yes, that is dumb, pretentious and every other thought going through your head. i then moved to ballard - the neighborhood slightly northwest of fremont. this was the early 9t's and people used to ask me why did i live out there. i can still recall the time my pal jana gave me a ride home from her and then boyfriend now husband tom's place and told me "you live way the fuck out here - why?". like she was kind of pissed about it. bring this to present day and i hear "ballard is the new fremont" while waiting for a table at la carta de oaxaca in 'old ballard'. i am seriously disturbed by this statement in that what really separates ballard and fremont other than leary way? not a lot in my no-so humble opinion. both have too many crappy bars, not enough affordable housing and when i saw a black person - i nearly fell off my chair...but don't worry, she was under 30! am i being too critical? no, i just think that seattle has some serious identity issues when a resident can think that one neighborhood is the new facimilie of another when in fact they resemble each other in every which way imaginable. hell, they even have the same damn record store - within 3.5 miles of each other. maybe ballard is different in that there is not a thai place around every corner (no thai people) or perhaps ballard is unique in that they have old people and the norge people....oops, that was so 15 years ago of me.

now, can seattle please be the new seattle?

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

he shoots, he scores!



recently i asked some friends to write an entry to this *ahem* forum of nonsense known as FREAKSAUCE and my pal gNat stepped up to talk thrift scores. sCores not stores and well, he likes to junk. and he likes to eat too...here he is in all his taco truck glory on rainer ave. right smack in the middle of the emerald city. here is his take on his latest newest grabs at the thrift. i cannot believe this bastard scored a silver apples lp!

can you dig it sucka? thanks gNat.
____________________________________________________________________

Thrift Scores

The key to successful thrift store shopping is persistence. When I first started thrifting I was consistently frustrated by my lack of scores. Returning home with a pair of ill fitting levis 505’s and a scratched Neil Diamond record does not provide a strong incentive to spend your weekends in dirty stores populated with sketchy characters. Why was I not scoring the vintage designer shirts? Where were my first press Blue Note LPs? Complaining about my lack of success to a friend elicited the simple but sound advice. “Keep going, go out farther and go more often” was Leynas advice. I have been successful at thrifting ever since. I have provided a list of a few personal favorite scores accumulated over the years. If you ever see me at the Kent Value Village say hi; but not until I have ravaged the waist 32 jeans in pursuit of Levis 517 orange tags.

Silver Apples- “Contact” on Vinyl in great shape. I was nearly passed out from excitement and riffled through the remaining LPs in hopes that I had hit a vinyl mother lode. No such luck. Found at the Tacoma Value Village

Yves Saint Laurent Pin Stripe Suite- In perfect shape, cut well, a dream. I had this piece dry cleaned and lengthened the pants and now have a killer suit.

Sony Stereo System- Found at the Kent Shop and Save. This system included a 5 disc changer, Receiver, Dual Tape deck, and radio receiver. Still had the Bon Marche sticker on it! I had my friend go find speakers for it I could guard the system from the vultures gathered around. I was very fortunate to score this high value piece as I was right next to the employee when he put it on the floor.

TI-82 Graphing Calculator- While admittedly not a terribly exciting score this piece save me $79 as I needed it for a class and I found this one for $2.

Friday, August 18, 2006

shaabat shalom y'all


time for a lazy posting. why, well more than likely it is because it is friday and i just don't have it in me to write too much. i will say this, i am considered by some to be 'the most vile, selfish freak on the planet' (a compliment) however when i hear that description of anybody, i think of black sabbath. they were scuzzy looking for sure back in the day and recently i had a conversation on what is the best sabbath album...by the way, most say 'paranoid'. i think 'paranoid' is a scorcher but i like 'masters of reality' and 'volume 4' for many reasons but one is due to the complete insanity of every song. there is a certain disconnect i get when i hear black sabbath...they seem so much more original then when i was in high school in the late seventies. i reach out now for sabbath and i am compltely satisfied. who knows, maybe next time i will go and check out 'fireball' from deep purple or some hawkwind to rock out but for now, "children of the grave" will kick me hard.

next postings i am hoping to have some guest stars...and i will step aside and let someone else rant or rave about something, anything.

Monday, August 14, 2006

thrift sauce



i have been told not to do this but i am going to tell you all about this dofus i encounter at some of the local thrift stores while junking. i will not tell you his name but this "cat" prowls around looking for god knows what...i have seen him purchase beach towels, records (always crappy ones - thank goodness), electronics and really whatever he gets his hands on. while i was flipping records i met him at the ballard value village and where he proceeded to tell me that he has a ton of records for sale, cheap. me the opportunist said ok and then he invited me to his house. ok, it is getting weird. i say no but he can call me at work - he does and i tell him where we can meet - a parking lot, well lit and away from my office and his home. HE HAD THE WORST RECORDS EVER and i don't mean the soundtrack to sound of music bad but stuff like eric clapton, james brown singing 'living in america' and just garbage. i purchased nothing and he then invited me to 'get high in my truck'. i declined and i don't want to lead you down a path that he is some kind of predator coz' i don't think he is nor do i want to convey that. he is just a nerdlinger looking for friends or something. months after this incident i am talking about other junkers and i find out this guy is a scurge among other folks who love the thrifting and he is a bit of a liar >> like, when he sells at the local fremont market, he sells over $1,000 worth of stuff and some of that is cashews (huh!). well, everytime after i get this information, i see him and say things like, "i can't talk to you - thanks'. one moment i let it out and called him weird when he was talking to me after my not reacting to anything he is saying. wrong move...he goes on to call me dildo and how i am the weirdo. first, calling me dildo was just freaky - - i have been called asshole and dick but not dildo. it just rang of something else although i am not sure what. i see him again at the goodwill where i again am looking though records and he comes over and starts to look at the same ones pushing the ones i viewed back into my hands. this idiot gets totally riled up after i tell him to knock it off and he goes off on me and tells me that i am just a jerk and he has never done anything to me and he will "kick my ass" if "i keep it up". i am a psycho now and tell him 'yeah right - get the fuck away from me - - you do know that everybody thinks you are a pain in the ass'. wow, i am really on (idiot) but he ends up getting in my face and i think he is either going to kiss me or punch me or both. disturbed and slightly curious what will happen next, he ends up grabbing all the records i was looking at and walks away mumbling.

now when i see this knob, i just look directly at him and he looks away. friends told me not to post his photo and i have but since you can't see exactly who this is - here you go. this guy is someone that makes your day for being such a weirdo and at the same time is complete and total freak sauce. if you see him, run away. FAST.

Friday, August 11, 2006



ah, van morrison. that's all...go listen to him. here are the ten records that i have been listening to as of late.

  1. captain fantastic and the brown dirt cowboy - elton john
  2. astral weeks - van morrison
  3. love is a real thing: the funky sounds of west africa - various
  4. holy ghost - albert ayler
  5. naturally - sharon jones and the dap kings
  6. kinda kinks - the kinks
  7. naked city - naked city
  8. fear of a black planet - public enemy
  9. the woods - sleater kinney
  10. everybody's talkin - fred neil

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

pink prisons


i want to get out of town. i was just in southern california and now i need to get out of the country. i have enough miles to get to europe and to be perfectly frank, that is not where i want to go. i would much rather go to vietnam or to malaysia or thailand. my pal romanik told me to take off to india...and she might be right. i think it would wake me up from all my kvetching and make me check myself and get over the bullshit i create for myself.

where do you want to go? a couple days ago i was imagining myself in japan with a certain unamed friend. her and i were hanging out, eating soba, taking fast trains and staying in small rooms with all kinds of remotes. just when i was thinking of this i got an email from my oz pal bruce and he sends me a photo of him with thurston moore in japan at a bar in tokyo called alcatraz. there were pictures of them in a pink prison, drinks served in baby bottles, bedpans and served by nurses. see picture.

again, where do you want to go. i am leaving somewhere and i think it might be idaho.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

trailer trash

i feel like a teenager when i see this movie...when i hear the soundtrack - by the beserk GOBLIN - it still freaks me out. so now you too can watch this. i don't think i will ever tire of this movie....

Thursday, July 27, 2006

você fala o português? você foi a Brasil?



revivals or reunions of bands generally speaking do not peak my interest too much. soon seattle will see SCRATCH ACID perform and after seeing the line up for the Touch and Go anniversary show in Chicago, one wonders if possibly big black or the digits will follow suit and tour. dinosaur jr, pixies, your favorite eighties band, your favorite ninties band and your favorite music is happening all over again - good thing? i guess so only because i am older and realize it would be impossible to see certain bands/performers unless they actually do remake, remodel, reunite and play. i personally cannot dig up Thelonius Monk and bring him back to life so my 'wish list' will remain buried and never forgotten. still, last night i went to see OS MUTANTES perform. i am going to ask you first to check out this clip from you tube since it is vintage OS MUTANTES and clearly a lovely example of how damned great they are back in 1969. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJCR69qM8TM this clip features original singer Rita Lee who did not reunite with brothers Arnaldo and Sergio Baptista. Ms. Lee was missed due to 'completist' emotions but her substitute, pictured above, Zelia Dunkan did an outstanding job!! The entire show was an absolute joy in every way...a celebration of music nearly impossible to catagorize other than wonderful. They played all the songs everybody wanted to hear but the highlights for this dork was "Ando Meio Desligado" and the mesmerizing "FUGA #2" (just like the above you tube link). The encore of "Panis et Circenses" heralded a triumph for those who are weary about reunions...like me.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

thee Oh See!


orange county. that is where i grew up and grew out. i moved when i was 25 to seattle only to move back to so. cal (to boyle heights no less) but what is it about oc that has people love and hate it so much. there was a time when people were embarrassed to 'admit' they were from orange county due to the (sometimes true) reputation of it being a vapid land void of any culture. oc was in many ways the younger runt brother or sister to LA in my mind. i don't think this stigma still surrounds oc any longer due to the even more vacuous television shows like THE OC and LAGUNA BEACH - both of which i watched ten minutes of each and discovered MELROSE PLACE never left the air, instead the reincarnation was present. i leave this weekend to the OC to see family, sun in the sun and eat mexican food that tastes good. really good. i am very proud to be from Orangutan County and everytime i am there i think that and i think i can't wait to leave - i am so glad i do not live there any longer.

see the above image of a flier for U2? that artifact was for a show in anaheim march 16, 1981. at that time i was writing for flipside fanzine http://www.flipsidefanzine.com/ and i interviewed three quarters of U2 (the drummer did not want to be interviewed). get this, i did not submit this to flipside - which later was probably a good thing considering later i would do more reputable interviews like PAUL WELLER - i submitted my piece to a start up magazine by some woman named STORMY KNIGHT. i kid you not about both my interview and her name. btw, she put a member of the BOOMTOWN RATS on the cover since they were already 'established'.
i actually rode my bicycle to this club (where later i would see bands like the Plugz, Blasters, among many others [i was told later SLAYER would play there often too!]) and took my sisters tape recorder to hear bono pontificate about being in the US. i actually think i have the tape of this interview...they were all quite nice and what not but i can also tell you that i had friends tell me immediately after this show that U2 sucked, i sucked for telling them about it and al k., editor of Flipside told me he would print the interview if i wanted to give it to him but i can still recall the look on his face and he was just being nice. OC, thanks the memories.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

everybody's got to eat



over last week i had the worst cold in years. so much so that i barely did a thing beyond just sneezing and blowing my nose (and whining). the silver lining is that i went through a bunch of netflix rentals which is pleasing due to my sometimes and too often procrasternation. in one day i watched a personal fave again, "Mon Oncle" http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=111 which was delightful in every way and i also watched a current hollywood movie, "The Matador" starring Pierce Brosnan. this movie was entertaining (remember, i had a BAD cold) and it kept me captivated but once again, pop music - or, punk rock music rears its head again in a movie completely out of the blue. without giving away the plot or revealing any spoilers to those who want to watch this fodder, "garbageman" by the cramps comes on...well, fantstic i think. all i can hope for is a big fat payday for Lux and Ivy of the Cramps for this entry into the soundtrack of what is a more mainstream film (read, hollywood). yes, the buzzcocks were on the toyota commerical, iggy has "lust for life" on a cruise ship commerical (dear god - sign of the apolcolypse?) but now this and i am quite sure many more to come. what this highlights to me is really the coming of punk rock integrated in every single way similar to the way hippie music/culture did sometime ago. i don't care, everybody has to eat.

but i just do not think i like seeing babies in ramones or dead boys t-shirts and that sort. punk rock families might disagree but i just don't want these kids to rebel against what their parents thought was cool when in fact, it is cool. babies just do not need punk rock t-shirts.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

joni doe


to start the weekend off right - uh, that is last weekend, i moseyed over to west seattle and this time it was not for a husky deli ice cream cone...the west seattle summerfest was happening! and musicial guest that friday evening was no less MR. JOHN DOE (seen above) bringing a primarily acoustic affair to the people. i dig Doe...he's like everybody's pal, always looks great and at a very informative time of my life (1979), he pushed me to think that rock meant something other than led zep, stones and all that ilk. he's always been some kind of hero without really trying and me not being exactly sure why. yes he's played in many a great band, x, flesheaters, knitters and i kinda like some of his solo stuff. well, he played all kinds of songs including "kissing so hard", "fourth of july" and an outstanding version of "i must not think bad thoughts" which he mentioned the night or so prior to his stint in west seattle, he watched "your larger seattle band (hello PJ) cover this same song while he watched along with his two daughters...surreal". john doe doing a woody guthrie cover that night did not even make my eyebrow move in any one direction but when he whipped out a cover of joni mitchell's "case of you"...well, i thought the earth was going to open up and swallow everybody. sorry, but that is just weird or is it? i am left not sure how much of a fan john is of joni but it made me scratch my head in wonder.

i ended up getting a husky deli ice cream cone. one can't go to west seattle and NOT get one!

Thursday, July 13, 2006

...and you'll be singing the blues

few records freak me out. even fewer impress me past that initial freak out point. ladies and gentlemen, all thirteen of you - i present to you, the GETO BOYS.

the night before last i am seeking out records to play and stumble on the fluid (see below) and then i move on over to "G" and here we have H-Town's finest - these guys were and still are like nobody else. willie d., scarface and the always preposterous bushwick bill. the record you see to your right is the notorious DEF AMERICAN record rick rubin put out and it was profane, crass and just that inane enough for me to write about today. every single song on this record offends someone, some thing in some way...women, men, white people, black people, gays, dogs, cats, you get the picture. the original release of this lp had samples that were later taken off due to steve miller not wanting his 'gangster of love' to be affiliated with the GETO BOYS version which heavily sampled from his 7t's shit song. i pulled out this monstrosity of a record and threw it on my turntable and the same feeling came over me...omigawd, this is so wrong yet so amazing. i can still remember sitting in my car listening to this on the way to smalls k.o. with betty and both of us just laughing from the hardness of it all. bushwick, scarface and willie d. wrote lyrics that were no doubt an expression of what they viewed and thought but this ain't no NWA or PUBLIC ENEMY yet it stands right up there with these two contemporaries. many cited this as just 'too much' - they were wrong. the cd (without the many obvious samples) is still in print and quite a bombastic thump.

Do it like a G.O.

lamestain, wack slacks, harsh realm & cob nobbler



can you name any great bands from COLORADO? i can and the first four lp's are simply amazing records, we are talking about...THE FLUID!

Sadly neglected in some weird way and completely denied the recognition they sorely deserved, the FLUID were so not grunge that they just got lost in the middle of the late 80's, early 90's. A shame really coz' i can still recall the blazing hot and frenzied shows at the central tavern and the vogue here in the emerald city fifteen plus years ago. i write this due to my not sure what to listen to last night and i went to the few records i have alphabetized and saw "clear black paper" (scum copy on blue vinyl) and threw on side 2. out comes "try, try, try" and i am immediately launched into the memory of the five members spazzing out with lead singer john robinson working the crowd like a chippendales dancer in front of a bachelorette party. god damn, these guys were so good it pushed me to write this today and seek out this http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/06/colorado_callin.html

leave it to WFMU's awesome blog to have not one but two killer vid's for your pleasure. enjoy and now tell me about any other band from colorado and not the derelicts. please.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Apes Ma

hmmm,

after visiting j. HINMAN's - rather tasteful and oh so good - blog today www.agonyshorthand.blogspot.com and seeing his posting on Capt Beefheart (and not seeing eye to eye on his AGAIN well written points), i decided to remind myself of the brilliance known as the MAGIC BAND by paying a visit to the current 'crack cocaine' of the internet, you tube. i've never seen this clip and all i can say is, party with this punker.

get down and stay there.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

folk music's bob dylan


my pal washburn is a never ending plethora of information about all kinds of things. i usually lean on him for info on music and it eventually gets to SPIRIT or some story about brian wilson - both very entertaining and lovely. he hates or at least i think he hates LEONARD COHEN. i don't, in fact, i love COHEN. for many reasons i love leonard cohen and many are sentimental (mccabe and mrs. miller, old girlfriends, etc). recently i was accused of loving a certain restaurant because of the memories attached to this fine establishment...wrong! the food is great there but i digress. i adore leonard cohen for many sentimental and sappy reasons but i also love him because he is a jew, he is a purported 'ladies man' and he has a sense of humor that translates in both his books and music. i once talked to him on the phone about something we shared (other than being jews and purported ladies men)- - our love of the show LOVE CONNECTION. i once had a friend that was his personal assistant...and it is a long story and not worth getting into that.

uh, i did go and see the new COHEN documentary "I'M YOUR MAN" about a month ago. at first i did not like it, then i liked it and back again to thinking it was empty to back to I WANT EVERYBODY TO SEE THIS. the fact this doc was made while lenny is still alive is testimony to the filmakers and the performances by antony, rufus and his sister martha are quite good but the winning performance is by cohen's back-up singers JULIE CHRISTENSEN and PERLA BATALLA doing a chilling and perfect version of "ANTHEM". yes there are some weirdo names including uber weirdo mel gibson and yes, U2 are in it but overall, this doc is worth it. ask me tomorrow, i might say stay away coz' i did leave thinking i wanted more anecdotes from COMMANDER COHEN.