Freak Sauce

hey freaksauce

2008-02-11T22:43:00.001-08:00

in case you are paying attention...

could be goodbye for you...

my friend flicka

2007-10-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

done and done.

night before last i was talking to a friend before going into the gym and something rang in my head saying, food blog. food blog. yes, food blog. well, a couple other things rang in my head too like how can i sleep with this woman again and i was kinda hungry. then i started to think, why not!? anywho, the time has come to put freaksauce to an end and start what i have been wanting to do for sometime now...write about my favorite lowest common denominator, food. the consumption, the processes and everything inbetween. please go and check out snacktruck and read all about my problems and foibles with sandwiches in seattle and my love of the ballard market.

until then - please let the only sauce be on your napkin.

hijacked

2007-10-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

wait a minute...perhaps i have said too much and now i feel like i revealed something i only wanted to share and not necessarily incorporate within. instead i was looking to inform not to motivate. dear reader, i must follow my own instinct here and say see you when i regroup and find out what is the impetus and then i will be able to report back.

have any of you see this movie 'funny games'. i wish you could. i will be right back...

dial m for...

2007-10-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

i wanna go see neil young next week and i did not purchase tickets. but i am still going to go down to the god forsaken place he is playing to see if i can get a scalped ticket for i think more than anybody, i want to see him more and more. i always get the sense that he'll play forever and ever but then i also think he might just say 'fuck it' and call it quits playing only once in a blue moon for the bridge school and that's that.

i am going to listen to this song by neil which i recently discussed briefly with someone about and find my way there...more later.

is my world not falling down
i'm in pieces on the ground
and my eyes aren't open
and i'm standing on my knees
but if crying and holding on
and flying on the ground is wrong
then i'm sorry to let you down,
but you're from my side of town
and i miss you.

turn me up or turn me down
turn me off or turn me round
i wish i could have met you in a place
where we both belong
but if crying and holding on
and flying on the ground is wrong
then i'm sorry to let you down,
but you're from my side of town
and i miss you.

sometimes i feel like i'm just a helpless child
sometimes i feel like a kid.
but baby, since i have changed
i can't take nothing home.

city lights at a country fair
never shine but always glare
if i'm bright enough to see you,
you're just to dark to care.
but if crying and holding on
and flying on the ground is wrong
then i'm sorry to let you down,
but you're from my side of town
and i miss you.

he stopped loving her today

2007-10-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

dress sexy at my funeral. damnit, that is funny. so funny that i am thinking to myself what gives about bill callahan. last night for my birtday i was (kinda) taken to see bill callahan perform. the fucker played for close to two hours! and it was all good and not in an "all good in the hood" kind of way, just all good stuff and great songs. watching him made me think about missing george jones this week...and i am not regretting that but i most certainly made a mistake. something about bill callahan rang of him being some kind of troubadour...rolling from city to city playing his smog. and people whooped and yelled ("thanks for coming bill callahan" -how idiotic) and loved him. at one point i wished for a marachi band to play with him, then i wished for kids to be behind him playing and clapping...then i kind of thought of a super group, callahan, will oldham, jim o'rourke and richard thompson was the wild card contribution. i guess bill callahan can play with anybody was what i left with and that is great for him.

too much to love, scarf, water spilling and garbanzo beans. everything has changed yet something remains.

dee dee R bitch

2007-10-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

i am turning 4t5 next week. thank god - maybe now i will start acting like an adult and not such a squirrel. i feel confident which is scary. which makes me wonder about myself...what is next? next being what is on my 'to do' list. i got a big to do done last year and that accomplishment makes me feel free and clear and looser than a goose. changes are great - i am all about them but something about being in my car night before last with rome and some guy bleeding from his ear, gurlfren on my side of the car yelling in a cell phone begging us to take them to the hospital...true story. rome's tells me it is my call and she looks both worried about US and THEM. still, this guy gets in the car, bloody and talking incoherently, the gal pal is now talking at a normal level (which in turn made me completely nervous) and off to harborview we go. and that is where they got out...it took a bit of time before rome and i actually talked about the entire debacle before she said how glad he was the only one going to the hospital (caustic sense of humor that darling friend of mine...)! tell me please dear reader, what would you do? and what do we all do daily that can help even if it all sounds wrong?

so, reflections and choices are always present - with that, enjoy this video of the bees which always brings a smile to my face.

212-243-3460

2007-10-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

i rant and rant about movies from the 8t's being so sucky. and i am right but i am also not compltely right...as in, there are some of my favorite movies from that decade that i go back to all the time. forget about "blue velvet", "raging bull" and "do the right thing" - no! "footloose", "st. elmo's fire" any john hughes films and "dirty dancing" are classics! wait, then there is "after hours" which i recently watched again for maybe the millionth time but this time came many years after my last viewing. first, i took many things from this movie like when paul, the main character loses his last twenty, he can't call anybody - no cell phone - and he can't just go to the atm, no such animal...in nyc no less. and speaking of nyc, the cab driver was some white dude. i am going to sound prejudice but in my time of living and visiting nyc, i never EVER had a white guy cab driver. period. so, this movie is dated for sure yet i laughed outloud at so many parts it has become a period piece. martin scorcese just hit every target here - easily his funniest movie and most overlooked. and what a cast too...rosanna arquette has some of the best lines about the wizard of oz, terri garr is hilarious, and catherine o'hara just peaks with her mr. softy truck. cheech and chong, john heard and linda fiorentino round out a stellar cast but griffin dunne just owns this movie with the crazed look in his eyes as paul.

get ye to netflix or your video store (does anybody still do that?) and get this movie now. laugh and laugh again.

step child

2007-09-28T13:55:00.000-07:00

for the longest time i used to think portland, or was some nice place to visit but once i left, i felt better that i was returning to seattle. nowadays, i am on the other side of the fence as i love to go there and i want to go all the time and not leave until i have searched every corner. and this is a new feeling but it was pushed over the edge with this article from day before yesterday's nytimes. earlier this year i visited 3x and all three times i hit some amazing dining places, purchased some great records, shoes and saw a great show by lucinda williams at the amazing crystal ballroom! so, this is not just about food but what i think portland has is that it has clearly defined itself as not being seattle or vancouver. and hell if i am not happy that i am in the middle here in the emerald city. so, no longer do i get excited that portland has no sales tax and people pump your gas...call me lewis and/or clark as i instead look forward to more adventures there. very soon too - maybe really soon.

more later!!

edmunds

2007-09-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

there are some things you cant cover up with lipstick and powder, i thought i heard you mention my name, cant you talk any louder ? dont come any closer, dont come any nearer my vision of you cant get any clearer, oh, i just want to hear girls talk! i got a loaded imagination being fired by girls talk but i cant say the words you want to hear...

sunday morning

2007-09-18T16:45:00.000-07:00

i love the feeling of relief. last sunday morning i got one after a long, long, really long saturday day and night. this relief started when i was at the el adadero on rainer ave. when i got a call...hearing a calming voice really helps soothe the nerves and as much as this sounds nuts, hearing someone who is less than soothing also has the same affect - or at least this time it did. what a relief to hear someone else frantic and cranked up...not me, not until saturday night. so, my fancy francy and i snacked on some mulitas (dear god - this might be the most delectable thing ever), some ceviche and tacos before moving on to bigger and maybe better things. saturday night was such a nutty pace with some (one) pot shah, tanG and ike the dog - i was glad to see sunday morning.

feeling a bit overwhelmed...try slayer or find someone who is that much busier than you will ever be.

all down the line...

2007-09-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

w
e
e
k
e
n
d
!

deck parties and seeing blue and read. maybe some david cronenberg but a lot of nothing. and aminal corrective.

vanjewver, bc

2007-09-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

did i mention i saw "knocked up" and loved it. i did but did i mention i saw "super bad" and loved it even more!! oh crap, that movie rules. i so love this push in humor that is simultaneously crass and touching. judd aptow & seth rogan are a one two punch right now in the cinema world and they are making god damned funny movies. after i watched "the 40 year old virgin" i thought, 'they have it' - it being their finger on what has been missing in comedies. i am not talking about buddy/action movies like "rush hour" which are humorless or adam sandler movies that are just downright bad...i watched one of his movies on a plane ride back from istanbul and it was great because it put me to sleep! what i saw was so unfunny with one of these most annoying people as a co-star, drew barrymore. these guys write guy humor that is so wrong it is right. and back to seth rogan...love him! i heard this guy on the radio recently and he had a canadian accent (love it)after all, he is from vancouver but he also had this incredibly funny stoner laugh. and yes!!! he is a stoner - uh, he is from vancouver after all. this is the kind of guy i can hang with...

this nerdlinger jonah hill along with michael cera (also canadian like rogen) aka george michael are total crack-ups too. i jonah and seth can be brothers with the jew-fros and just idiotic looks on their faces. i went to hebrew school with guys that looked like this but none of them were funny. these guys make me laugh...i hope they can continue to do so for a long time. so, go see "super bad" - movie of the year! so far...

earache my eye m

2007-09-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

i don't like technology, i love it. no, i hate it. wait, both!!! my cell phone and i are like mortal enemies and when it comes to using the computer - or needing it, i still find that i have this on going love/hate thing. fun isn't it *not really* - but the beautiful thing is that technology is changing rapidly and that makes me kind of adjust and change too. sure, the love/hate remains but where am i in the middle of all of this? soon, not dealing with it like i used to.

so that leads me to townes van zandt...oh, he's such a great singer! i love him and you can too downloading this amazing record "the late, great townes van zandt". wait, this did not come out after he died but years before in 1972. e n j o y - !

meeting of the mindz

2007-09-10T15:58:00.000-07:00

the view from the deck at my apartment is so nice. i sit outside and look at mt. rainer, lunar sightings, beacon hill and the baseball and football stadiums. incredible really! and i want to continue watching stuff from this point of view for it reminds me of the simple things. i love eating outside (thanks kak!) even if it is uncomfortable but soley because i find these two things about food remain somewhat true; 1. eating with your hands is fun and food almost always tastes better and 2. eating outside can be soooooo relaxing.

i mention this because i am being pulled across the world and as of late, i want to just quit my job, leave this point of view, move to san francisco and wear a sweater in august. i am going to try and find myself in vietnam and s.e.a. this january or february. when i come back - - then i will decide about this view. or my viewpoint in general.

i want a dog.

zombie flanders

2007-09-05T16:44:00.000-07:00

after much chat about music this weekend - and i am going to post my rants and raves about bumbershoot soon - i came to realize i have not been too inspired as of late. it got me to thinking about music that does knock me out every single listen without any pause or thought. almost a month ago i posted a tribute to nusrat fateh ali khan and now i am going rave about someone i never saw perform live. i have maybe two or three regrets about not seeing a performer or band - one of them is without a doubt and probably the biggest slip up i have made seeing tons of music, the mighty FELA KUTI. and i was recently listening to his "mr. follow follow" lp and it was just freaking me out. so insane, so inspiring and so god damned beautiful. i think everybody should listen to fela - - - so, here is fela's zombie lp for your flavor.

he played the olympic auditorium in the mid-eighties when this dofus missed him...uh, twice i believe. what was i thinking? or, what was i doing that made this glaring omission? either too much weed then or just too much which has me forgetting but let's not have regrets, let's listen and get off our asses!

do it to it.

there is only one thing worse than a hipster

2007-08-28T15:18:00.000-07:00

and that is a hipster my age - soon to be 45. still, this video is pretty damn good.

jg means jew girl

2007-08-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

doesn't this just make you happy? here we have my girl jay gee check, check, checking out the beastie boys (look carefully) and is oh so happy! i love this photo as it transcends the "being there" shot at a concert or event. to me it has more of an eyewitness effect that creates such emotion...i love it! i just had to share this one.

which reminds me - didn't i say i was taking lots of fotos these days? yes, below please find another shot. of course those in seattle know that is the koolest haus in our fair city, the downtown public library. i have waxed poetic about how much i love this place and just had to drop yet another bomb and say that with my driving by this place m-f, i find it to be one of most beautiful buildings in our fair world.

i have been undertaking photo taking in the past couple weeks withOUT good results. and i plan on taking more in and posting some soon.

it was fine at the time but the laws have changed...

2007-08-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

memories are funny and i don't want to think too much about the past other than a reference tool. yet, as i mentioned how last week i received a letter from a friend i have not spoke to in, uh - 22 or so years. how old are you? that is right - 22 years ago! and no biggie although i have yet to contact him. and this picture you see...a friends old place on a sunny day one year ago to this day when we seemed to talk and see more of each other (she also moved from this noisy yet sweet apt less than one month after this snap). but things get in the way or we get in the way - meaning, friendships/relationships expire. memories can't wait and memories live on. so, do i contact this guy and 'catch up' or do i just send an email, thank him and ask him how the hell did he get my address!? i bet he got it from here. i checked out some names, ok - a lot of names and there was a lot of addresses, phone numbers and year of birth. weird? not really when you get to think about it. orwellian? sure, i will buy that. all in all, i am just not sure what to do with 22+ years passing and reconnecting. i do not go to high school reunions for that very reason.

the past has passed.

everything happens to me

2007-08-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

japanese record buyer...lake swimmer...thelonius monk...mozzer - snoozer - breakfast...ali y kristy not kristy ali...bestest...roky...tanG & shah shah!...

"despite all our efforts, things will get better" - will rogers

feel

2007-08-20T17:19:00.000-07:00

a couple of you have asked me "what's up with the downloads"? i still don't know and after my earlier posting today - i'm breaking it down again to another d/l of one of my favorite records ever. yes, i say that a lot and often to the point where it really loses its own juice but damn it, big star has a place in my heart that is indescribable. backed with tons of way back machine feelings (hello, i got this record close to 27 years ago!) and some of the most heart felt lyrics ever, this - the first big star lp along with the other two el pee's by these guys just never stop to amaze. i recall seeing alex/chilton at al's bar in l.a. in 84 or so and i the wide eyed hopeful was thinking he'd do songs like "el goodo" or "thirteen" - instead he did not do one big star song. and he looked like he was pissed off the entire time...i loved it. bastard. so, hit the link here and listen to memphis lx and his co-horts in all their glory.

and after this weekend, i feel like i'm dying...i'm never gonna live again

old and stupid + young and stupid = stupid stupid

2007-08-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

last week i was dining on some crepe, soup and bun with my pal named rome and she said something funny that is resonating...she said "you are making too much of this". the "this" part is not important (remember, we were sharing food) - just that somethings are more important then others and i think we inherently know which are and which are not. how the hell do we get off track then if this intrinsic edge falls apart?

about a half hour ago, we just got out of the lake for a nice swim after some jamaica made by same said friend. while out there, she told me, she would save me if i was to feel like i was going to drown. and not to worry. emotions can be funny that way because now i got to shower and get that lake off me, she needs to finish making challah, grand hallways, drowning, etc. i ask myself, most things are rarely a matter of life or death...what is? what is?

so, that leads me from one of my favorite people to one of my absolute fave musicians in the whole wide world, van morrison. geez louise, i have written about him before but this live recording (in two parts no less pt. 1 and pt. 2) showcases van in his just his pitch perfect best in 1970. what does this have to do with vietnamese food, lake swimming and right from wrong? everything! and nothing.

death from above and below and along side

2007-08-15T12:50:00.000-07:00

often i get asked...what was the best concert you have ever seen. in fact, i just got asked that recently and i said the same thing i say everytime, "i have many best concerts" yet i always return to one which is when i saw nusrat fateh ali khan perform at the university of washington. to this day my mind is completely blown away by the grace, the power and pureness of his music. i recall my friend hParker telling me about his concert and how tickets were on sale at wall of sound record store...we left the spot we were standing at and purchased them immediately. it was like yesterday i was looking at the tickets and amazed i was going to be able to see such an amazing artist - little did i know i was going to see something much bigger than i anticipated.

the concert was simply mesmerizing. quickly i was hypnotized by the polyrhythms, the harmonium, the handclaps and the yelps from the audience everytime nusrat spoke. people were dancing and it was so filled with joy and happiness, i turned to the pakastani lady sitting next to me and asked "why are people so excited" looking for an answer beyond the obvious and i got it...she told me "these songs are so old, i have not heard them and i can remember my mother playing them for me when i was young" - and friends, she was not that young herself. nusrat and party would start playing and people would leap out of their seats clapping and reaching out to the sky! i was so moved by the music and the surroundings, tears came to my eyes. it was that damn good!

nusrat fateh ali khan died ten years ago to this day and two weeks after fela kuti died - - god, i felt like the wind was taken out of my sails. let's all remember nusrat and fela and their greatness!!

40 love

2007-08-14T02:51:00.000-07:00

last week my activity partner and i went to play some tennis. what a funny game in that i find it is such a social time for us which is funny because we do spend a lot of time together doing other things but this time our game was a late endevour so we did not incorporate a meal, a drink or anything. she picked up on this and so we got much chatting in that it left me with the impression that tennis is not a vehicle for excercise only but for close time. i recalled the last time i was playing with a different pal...he talked about such a variety of things we never get to talk about when around his wife or when i am working next to him (not neil). so, now i want everybody to learn how to play tennis as it has become my bar, my drinking hole - my social time. since i rarely (read, selective) invite friends over to my home so the tennis courts will work! i feel a sense of accomplishment.

which leads me down this path? communication comes in so many forms these days...phones, email, texting, instant messaging.....letters and cards. i still get a letter here and there from my dad but yesterday i got a letter that kind of has me thinking. i will tell you the end of the letter first, a suggestion for me to contact this guy by email, a phone call or another letter. that is what happens when you have not spoke to someone in probably, uh - 22 years! i got a letter from someone i went to high school with and now what do i do? i guess one just says thanks...? you tell me.

brenda or blendah

2007-08-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

you know what just makes me happier than the happiest of prozac people in this world currently? ichiro. he is so fun to watch, he is all baseball all the time...and everytime he is up to bat, someone around me comments on his weird stance, his pulling up on his jersey or maybe they comment on his sick swing but no matter what, he rules. currently, the m's are enjoying a tie for first place in the wild card race and that too makes me pretty happy.

you know what makes me saddder than the saddest teardrop? just hearing that your friends are going through a tough time. and that is maybe testimony to my good ears but i am hearing a lot of that lately. i hope you and you and everybody else has a wonderful something soon...and don't let it get you down.

so last weekend there was dancing in the street...zev was playing 4t5's on the street in fremont, a*garcia was hitting the groove with her new shades, people were digging the scene with the gangster lean and damn it, good times, good times. then there was this issue about weed smoking during the day along with parmesan and chocolate...lovely if you are in high school or overworked. touche! i am jealous.

i was also in lake washington on saturday. that is where all my thoughts slip out of my ears and into the water never to be found again. one thing i noticed about lake washington and swimming that seems to be an on-going thing, it is very wet.

hi to francie pantsy, ralph lauren the swimmer and that bike rider who's name i cannot recall right now...you are awful and awfully cute.

d I Y means do it yrslf

2007-08-10T15:53:00.000-07:00

note to la SWEET >>> nice foto. great, sexy shoes.

for everybody else here's what songs i have been listening to these days:

"damn right i'm somebody (pts. 1 and 2)" fred wesley and the jb's
"clek clek boom" voltair
"bird flu" m i a
"people's parties" joni mitchell
"the return of evil bill" clinic
"she's always in my hair" prince
"live with me" rolling stones
"impossible germany" wilco
"magic mountain" john fahey with cul de sac
"kamakazi" pj harvey
"justice to the people" the upsetters
"you go your way and i'll go mine" bob dylan
"unsatisfied" the replacements

have a nice weekend you guys! next week - baseball, drugs, devil in the red dress, kombucha, dancing in the street , bianci bike babe and thunderbird!

hennes och mauritz

2007-08-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

here is a picture of my pal megchops...she is pacNW through and through but she knows how to dress. most of my best dressed pals are not from here...my best dressed chums are east coasters transplanted to the land of blah dressing. not to say i am the best dressed man...even though i think i look great 90% of the time. but i digress.

are you familiar with h&m Stores? i have some clothes from this chain - they started in europe and i like the inexpensive, nice looking clothes they sell. they have been expanding in the states and well, they are opening a store in seattle at the u-village (uh, duh!) in spring of next year. does this mean people will actually get out of their fleece and birkenstocks and wear nicer clothes? we shall see yet i feel that change has been happening but only slightly. maybe h&m will help!!! now go and check out pike pine for some more seattle fashionista action.

swede like candy

2007-08-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

thanks woody.

nobody is born with good taste, its aquired. and how it is obtained is through another lead, maybe a book, maybe a person you know or maybe a friend or family member...that is usually the case for me. yet, how i got to know ingmar bergman and his movies was through woody allen. he lead me down that path not due to his style or his making 'bergman-esque' movies (and fellini-esque for that matter) but his chosen admiration in print. seeing "annie hall" and "manhattan" at the ripe ages of 15 and 17 made me feel more in touch with real filmmaking and although i was fortunate enough to have parents that loved film an awful lot, these were my discoveries. so, woody allen spoke so highly of bergman, his style and his writing that i did not 'get it' until i was in my 20t's watching "wild strawberries" and just getting blown out of the water by the expression, the imagery and the humanity. astounding. i must confess in that i have not seen a lot of bergman movies as he has a ton...but he has left me with a deep impression. and back to woody for a moment - he went as far as even using his cinematographer sven nykvist (seen above with ib) and his "crimes and misdemenors" (a personal fave) pays such a homage to bergman one might view it as too close but i think both of these guys stand alone. i want to write more about ingmar bergman but i best leave it up to you to seek out. go to the library and if you did not get any antonioni films, get those also.

triple trouble

2007-08-06T12:18:00.000-07:00

last week as indicated by yours truly, two biggies in the arena of cinema, dead. and now, lee hazelwood. dead. but lee was not a filmmaker but a musician...right? right indeed and i loved him. his voice was so incredible, lyrics so ridiculous and his life, apparently insane.
i am not quite sure what happened that made lee hazelwood such an icon in the early ninties and i can recall talking to people when i first moved to seattle in 1988 that he was a bit of an idol many here in the emerald city. i knew about his work with nancy sinatra only back then but little did i know about his many solo records. to this day, "love and other crimes" and "requiem for an almost lady" remain two of my favorite albums. lee’s music has been covered over the years by the likes of einsturzende neubauten, petula clark, lisa germano, dusty springfield, the jesus and mary chain and billy ray cyrus - hazelwood did not write "achey breaky heart". He did write "these boots are made for walking" which remains a crazy popular song and is sung at nearly every karaoke bar i have been to. lee ruled. a lot of his stuff has been reissued here so go and get some.

will i ever write about ingmar bergman?

marble mouth

2007-08-03T18:04:00.001-07:00

not too too long ago i posted a link to one of my favorite albums of all time, 'grotesque' by the fall. and that is that but now mark e. smith, the rat looking guy in the fall has a side project von sudenfed. i freaking love this song "fledermaus can't get it"
and i hope you do too.

my bergman tribute comes next week after i watch either "wild strawberries" again this weekend or "minnie and moskowitz". and don't even try and tell me what's up with that.

heaviest of weights

2007-08-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

oh goodness...in one week two big time filmmakers died, michelangelo anotonioni and ingmar bergman. sure they were old but this makes a mark showing all of us a couple things. first, cinema is about one hundred years old and technology is racing yet the quality of movies are very good but these guys (especially bergman) made unbelieveably great movies. more on bergman tomorrow but the other thing i want to highlight here is the acting also- both of these guys seem to get so much out of their ensembles. i was kind of blown away thinking about some of my favorite movies by these guys and after talking to my film pal pbsp about this, i can't get over just how great these two were. the picture you see here and above is from l'eclisse with personal fave, alain delon. what a movie...most folks talk about "blow up" by anotonioni but this movie resonates with me with incredible imagery that always seem to make me want to take more photos - to be more creative. i cannot recommend this movie or "the passenger" enough. no hot links here, just seek out. go to the library, go to netflix but do go. tomorrow i will hit bergman and how he was one of the first foreign filmmakers i got to know - - and i did not get 'it' until i was in my mid-twenties.

activity partner

2007-07-31T16:31:00.001-07:00

holy guacamole...what a month! where did it all go? it all seems so blurry but it is ending on a the same note where it started, just great and incredible. fortunate me as i know it is going to get better. i want you all to check out my guest blog entry at yard sale bloodbath if you desire and be sure to look forward to august having more pictures as i am going on a picture taking binge! i have an idea...yes, an idea but more on that later. lately i am starting to see things differently through the lens of a camera and through my own eyes which is going to lead me down a path i am very excited about.

that and i got asked last night to dj at seattle's hot(? - huh) new bar pony - wtf? uh, i am not sure about that because it was so uber hip and i am such a snob but who knows. let's see what i can muster up in the next couple weeks.

tiffany

2007-07-27T16:12:00.000-07:00

friday...hmm, 4:15, nice and warm outside?! um, that's right, the weekend is here bitches and i am off to the lake for a swim-a-roo! but first, here are some words and a vid for your approval. wait, didn't i already post a video this week? whateves because i am posting a video of the band i am seeing tonight, a frames.

anybody who knows me semi-well knows very well that i love this band. they make me laugh with how serious their music sounds but how NOT serious they are about their sound and just general demeanor. you got to hand it to a band that sounds this brutal only to be so much god damn fun in person. so, enjoy and i will also be sure to tell you next week about this retro food debacle brought to you by rakka deer.

tomorrow, yard sales with the gals from yard sale bloodbath!! more on that insanity later!

what's a boy to do?

2007-07-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

when i was in london a couple months back i heard some pretty dreadful music...and amy winehouse? i heard way too much ABOUT her and her music, ditto for the fratellis. re: a winehouse, what a hype machine for that scary looking woman...scary good. i must admit i do (did?) like "rehab" but now i just want her to go away. but some musical thing i wanted to blog about was BAT FOR LASHES who i think i like - the jury is still out.

tell me what you think? i dig this video.

sakura

2007-07-23T14:39:00.000-07:00

check out this picture of me with one my favorite people in the whole world, jean from maneki. i like this shot of us because every single time i go there, she wants to chat and we always chew the fat for an extended period of time. btw, do you have a favorite resturant? sure you do but do you have one where the owner snacks with you sometime or, does he/she let you in after they close and still serve you? and does this same owner make fun of you and your idiosyncrasies in the nicest possible way? did i spell that right? anywho, jean is the bestest ever and i am here to write it out and make it public.

maneki and jean remind me of so much i love about los angeles. which is maybe why i like it so much. maneki can be anywhere and it would remain the sweetest, nicest and most sought after place to dine in my eyes. i love it when people say that maneki is unorganized, bad service and uneven food but damn it, i am not sure where else i can get kinpira (gobo), crazy inexpensive kasu kama and pretty much some amazingly fresh saba grilled with just salt. bliss. i consider this place one of "my" places even though maneki is no secret to many seattlites yet i feel welcome there like no other place.

thanks to jay gee for the foto.

whiffle ball y pazole

2007-07-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

sunlight angles on a wooden floor at dawn
a ceiling fan is on chopping up my dreams
what is left of them i take to sleep again
where i dare pretend i'm more than i seem

tears get triggered, yours remind me
of the ice melting in my glass finally full again
so i listen for your lips to break apart into words

it definitely starts to spoil my heart
somewhere there's a war
sometimes there is art

feliz cumpleanos see r.

ooh my soul

2007-07-20T09:13:00.000-07:00

six years? you are right!

back and forth, push and pull. good with the bad and everything in-between. talkin' marquee moon and walkin' up a west side hill. bacon, coc, peliculas de almodovar, ups and downs. no matter what, you are always there. i hope i am there for you too.

wordless chorus.

best song ever

2007-07-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

clap your hands now people clap your hands.

talent is an asset

2007-07-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

kasu kama
elliot gould
lake swimming
hand stamped pasta
john fahey
ph beisbol
freidmann
55 oui
hypochondriac
jean und okasan
super bitchy
pdx
lL
waiting room
lo & yee
drawing blood
sheila take a bow
ak et rn
cancellations
marscapone
b,g,p y dt @ lago

ha ha - what a great summer so far!

chachi in charge

2007-07-16T16:57:00.000-07:00

embarrassed? no. kinda. but i did throw on the tv last night to watch "scott baio is 45 and single" coz' i love joanie and i love chachi and i love chachi in charge...but what the hell is this all about? well, frankly, a - ahem - reality show about scott baio being 45 and not married? commitment issues chachi? you bet! and i love the fact this guy is miserable (we are the same age) after having what appears to be a ton of women in his life. btw, erin "joanie" moran from happy days was his first on a sofa. that was a fantastic story when he told it...what the hell!? this show is only 8 episodes and we get to see him figure out what makes him tick around women...or, as much as a "reality" show will allow. this is ugly what i am about to write but i am going to do it but there is something really funny about watching someone my age on tv with this situation as i have been accused of being a commitment-phobe myself...usually by women. that is that and i am going to encourage everybody who reads this blog, ok - all 3.5 of you - to watch this amazing show. please oh please let heather locklear tell chachi in charge he is not all that. or, tell him his haircut in the 8t's was just wrong.

some girls are bigger than others

2007-07-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

how can someone so young sing songs so sad?

is it wrong not to always be glad?

westerberg, mars, stinson x2 (no slim)

2007-07-12T07:43:00.000-07:00

it's a bloodbath

2007-07-10T12:11:00.000-07:00

my pals at yardsalebloodbath had a sale of their own and here is my report.

so organized! so much good stuff! and wait, so many friends buying stuff! holy crap...what a concept...your friends buy your stuff. well that is not everything but people the ladies knew well came by and purchased items. something about that rang as an extension to the friendship i can't seem to put my finger on. i loved it for m, j and b on w already had prices that had the stuff moving yet they gave deep discounts to pals. again, i love it. and yet more interesting is the concept of the free box...watching them fill it up here and there and more stuff being moved out since now it was free (wait, i took some free stuff too) and not a dime...well, dear friends, that too is a yard sale situation that i admire. people are such weirdos at yard sales and i am no exception when looking from the other end of the telescope. nearly everybody who came to the sale wants to chat about thier purchase...like this guy who purchased a pin the tail on the donkey game - still in package - he wanted to talk about what he was going to do with it. i think we already know that and who put a quarter in this guy to think he can just spout out this kind of "TMI"!? and this casted a weird reflection on me...do i chat with people having sales? yes and no. sometimes items beg a convo but other times, chatting about what people plop on their yards, back or front seems futile and strangely awkward.

the sale was a success! i loved seeing the action from the steps of m's house and watching people move craptastic stuff from one home to the next is the ultimate in recycling. god, i shoulda brought some stuff but i slept late instead. and went to some sales and got yet more garbage to fill my life. ugh.

watts the fuck

2007-07-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

a couple months back - maybe longer, i read about this movie "killer of sheep" and my curiousity went through the roof. talking about how this movie was similar in the neo-realism of italian fifties cinema (what might be my personal favorite movement along with the french). the nice folks at northwest film forum got it in their schedule and i could not be happier. now, after seeing it and now that it is gone after two weeks, i regret not writing and telling everybody and thier bff to see it. i was not even sure i was watching actors during this sad, hopeful and completely engrossing 81 minutes. such a gentle movie that after the lights came up, i was slightly tripping on what i saw...like i was more a fly on the wall then i was a patron of the cinema. with images both gentle and difficult, this was a masterpiece.

that's it. done. i am gone. hey seattlites, enjoy this attempt at a emerald city sartorialist www.pikepine.com great effort here! well done and i actually saw some peepel i know - turn to the left bitch!

yr blues, yr birthday

2007-07-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

ok, it is back on. and funny time to restart (with the exception of yesterdays sesame street posting) and i am not feeling 100%. i went to bed with my head not doing too well and this morning is no exception. maybe it was the swim in the lake or maybe it was the contact high from watching the sake deluge at yet another japanese joint to snack at late. it all started on tuesday night when i felt this tugging at me that did not let up. i am blathering...

so, i seem to have quite a few friends who have their birthday in july...nybes, pbsp, nik, sheen, tr and some aquaintances. strange? no, but i do want to dedicate a song to all of them - north american scum by lcd soundsystem. just download this entire album as i know you are going to dig it. dance and do it alone.
uh huh,,,,,uh huh - you wouldn't touch us with a ten foot pole...

el canelo

2007-07-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

i started something i couldn't finish

2007-06-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

it was a year ago today i started this blog. and soon afterwards i did not think i'd be doing this one year later but i am. i have used this forum to pontificate about movies, music and some other random things i love. today is no different...

thanks to the few and not-so-proud who read my diatribes...you know who you are. thank you kindly!

i am hoping to scribble a couple things in the near future like griff jr.s return to the emerald city, babettes feast next weekend, ebay wreckage and a soon to be new place for me to eat at called jack's tapas cafe (mainly chinese) - thank you for the tipster jbeeh coz' i love water spinach.

ok,k

2007-06-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

kielslowski...
i do not know much about this guy so when the seattle film festival (which finally ended this last sunday - phew!) had a documentary on this incredible filmmaker, i decided i best check it out. titled "still alive", this touching and effective doc talks to all the right people who went to school with kielslowski, was taught by kielslowski and who worked with kielslowski and done with all the right angles. never too overbearing or drenched with sentimentalitity, this documentary gave insight to one of the finest movie makers in the last half of the 20th century. i got more of an impression that kielslowski was doing things his way although he was never quite sure what way that was...instead, he just created what he was feeling instead of having his own imprint - he just went with his gut. i get that impression from his "color trilogy" and "the decalogue". the mark of his movie's seem to be clear with a more linear movie like "the double life of veronique" which i also love but do not have the same affection for the previous mentioned craziness. if you know me well enough i have pushed people to watch "the decalogue" and have received mixed results from "i hated it" to "we could not watch the entire thing...". still, i stand by k. kielslowski and believe his movies stand alone among many others.

if i didn't love you

2007-06-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

after eating at maneki last night, i was listening to fountains of wayne with a pal and she asked me "who influenced these guys"?

that was a clever question only in that she already knew the answer and there is nothing like sarcasm after a deluge of japanese food. keeping the tongue firmly in cheek or close to, i told her squeeze appears to be a major influence and she did not know of such animal. ha ha - now who's older and wiser? not me, i am just older. so instead of playing squeeze, i just talked about other tangental things, laughter ensued and that is that. so today's download is one of those records everybody should own, ARGYBARGY!! what a funny record...sweet, romantic and sappy but damn it, exceptional songwriting to the point where i am going home to listen to it right now.

if i, if i, if i, didn't, didn't...

c.harper

2007-06-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

rest in peace charley.
every little thing about this guys illustrations i like.

lorna and henry

2007-06-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

oh my - what a weekend. i want to say i wish it was still happening but i rather say this, i am glad it is over. i crammed way too much into it, ate too much great food, saw too many movies, and was on my couch and the floor of my apartment for close to four hours on saturday night. i am feeling it and coffee is almost helping. i really hope you all had a great weekend too with whatever you did. i wish i was in bed reading a magazine or watching a dvd of some mindless movie, talking trash about madrona moms and west seattle ice cream.

in keeping with my download freakout, the previous feist record - not the new one, is here for your pleasure download it here!

hey, seriously let it die.

what a wonderful man!

2007-06-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

not too many years ago, about four or so, i met a woman who i took a liking to pretty damn quick. watching her take a tuna sandwich that was not hers for the taking had me captivated along with her crooked smile. still, ours was and remains a strange relationship as we pushed and pulled each other in every direction.

we tested each other, our limits and smarts. and just like the murakami novel, we seemed to be like satellites - going in opposite paths. hell, she even at one point moved to an island on the opposite side of the world...but i digress. yet to this day, we remain intertwined.

today we have a d/l of mmj "Z" and it's up for grabs. this same woman and i share the love of my.morning/jacket and now you can too. this, their latest record is one of the finest records to come out last year...i can't stop listening to it. live, these guys rock out so damn hard. i love 'em.

to nik.

sweet child owen men

2007-06-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

last night i finally got around to watching "children of men". i can recall wanting to see this movie over and over after hearing good, bad, great and just awful things about it.

i liked it. a lot. for me the best science fiction is not way out things that are so futuristic that i just cannot seem to believe any aspect of it...thereby my not being a star wars nerdlinger. instead i prefer that feeling and view of a story which almost appears contemporary, as though this is happening right now with some of your more way out things like a story similiar to "children of men". at times this movie had a strange cronenberg feel to it...something biological and futuristic simultaneously while still appearing like this can happen tonight or tomorrow. pushing that point one step further, the obvious and well done nod to politics (hello guantanamo!) and the insane view of what the apocolyptic future might look at was spectacular. i was kind of blown away by the appearance of every shot - the direction was just incredible. netflix saved the day although i must say that if i saw this in the cinema on the big screen...i probably would have been numb after the lights went up. instead, i did my dishes and said, clive owen is my favorite actor alive right now.

artists only

2007-06-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

track #4
small world huh?

so, so sick.

see my friends

2007-06-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

once in a smoke filled rage, i told someone who thought they knew everything about music that ray davies wrote better songs than that duo known as lennon-mccartney.

i stood by it and of course i was more trying to insight some kind of tension than make that exact point. still, i love them all and really, i don't want to say one is better than the other only because i actually find all three of these songwriters very different albeit from the same era. and sure, ray has been around for what seems forever, mark david chapman and the break-up of los beatles, blah, blah blah...well, i still cannot say enough great things about the first five kinks records. the second one, kinda kinks, i think is a masterpiece! every single song just bleeds british red blood all over the listener. ray davies' words just are so simple and so direct. god damn it, down load 'kinda kinks' here because you too must share the love. song titles in the comments...

kinda perfect

heaven must have sent you from above...

2007-06-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

dear marvin,

i miss you terribly. you are and have been and will always be my favorite singer. i can still recall the first time i heard "what's going on" as a kid. the song struck me as something i must listen to, that i had to pay attention to this for it was written for me and later to learn for everybody. hearing you for what seems like year after year - your music became a part of the soundtrack to my growing up in so.cal. sorry to say i also have the simple memory of the day you were shot and killed in 1984. how i can still remember talking about it with my friend dvaldez prior to going to see the cramps play at a club called ichabods in ftt which is now a burger king? memories can't wait. man, i miss you marvin! i bet you'd still be knocking us dead with new stuff if you were around but be sure, you have never left...

d/l the #1's made famous by marvin right here!

obvious #4

2007-06-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

chatting away on instant message not too long ago, i recently thought of a song i hadn't thought about it quite a bit of time. i am not going to tell you which song but i will tell you the artist...prince. i have never hidden my love of the minneapolis manic but one thing that amazes me most about him is that although i don't love everything he does but i am always interested. and the man has some b-sides that are unbelievable that you know really must check out along with mixes and tons of mish mashed stuff. go to the comments portion of this blog entry for details...so, here you go and there i go. the weekend is here!
CDs 1&2

las peliculas de habla espanol+ usted = ahora hablamos!

2007-06-07T12:43:00.000-07:00

the seattle film festival has started and so far, so - so, so - so? well, last night i saw an outstanding movie called "el violin". here you will find the trailer to this mexican movie that had me transfixed from the moment it started to the very end. i won't tell you too much about the plot but i will tell you that the acting, on the most part by the older character don plutarco and his grandson was pitch perfect. i was reeling after seeing this movie and i hope everybody will have the chance. netflix it, find it and just watch it. filmed in beautiful black and white, movies like this don't come out often enough!

love, song

2007-06-06T07:18:00.000-07:00

The change will do you goodI always knew it wouldSometimes I'm thinking that I love youBut I know it's only lustYour kiss so sweetYour sweat so sourYour kiss so sweetYour sweat so sourSometimes I'm thinking that I love youBut I know it's only lustThe sins of the fleshAre simply sins of lustSweat's running down your backSweat's running down your neckHeated couplings in the sun(Or is that untrue?)Colder couplings in the night(Never saw your body)Your kiss so sweetYour sweat so sourSometimes I'm thinking that I love youBut I know it's only lustThe change will do you goodI always knew it wouldYou know the change will do you goodYou know the change will do you goodDamaged goodsSend them backI can't workI can't achieveSend me backOpen the tillGive me the changeYou said would do me goodRefund the costYou said you're cheap but you're too muchYour kiss so sweetYour sweat so sourSometimes I'm thinking that I love youBut I know it's only lustThe change will do you goodI always knew it wouldYou know the change will do you goodYou know the change will do you good

I'm kissing you goodbye

stupid girl

2007-06-01T07:15:00.000-07:00

neil. i love ya and i don't care that you make weird records like trans or are you passionate (wait, i kinda like both of those) or that you are such a weirdo. you are my 'go to guy' and just recently i was watching "rust never sleeps" for the kajillionth time and was still astonished! electric, acoustic and noisy and cantankerous, neil - you are one lovely man. i was not sure which neil lp to put up on this blog of mine and decided on the mighty zuma - download it here!

not too long ago cnik and i were listening to this and she said it felt like the music was hypnotizing...as if it was meant to put the listener in a trance. maybe, however i am not sure what that means yet after listening to 'cortez the killer' (over and over) with all the noodling, maybe she was onto something. that joint rocks in at over seven minutes but it moves at a pace that makes one think it goes on forever...in fact it fades out and yet lingers. i just remember listening to this album over and over when i was 15 and now thirty years later i am still doing the same! now its your turn! happy friday y'all.

b and b and b

2007-05-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

so, last night the spurs beat the utah jazz - my least favorite team east of the mississippi! and the spurs...boring. i mean, kinda. sure sure they are good, damn good too and i want to rally around them but how come? the easy answer for my friends who know me and my love (later i will get to that) of basketball is that of the lakers abscence beyond the first round - losing to the suns who also choked later. but the spurs? borrrrrrring. sorry, boring. genobli and duncan and frenchy parker cannot make me feel excited like the suns do or golden state did. instead, i get to see another year of san antonio win (they will) and it just rings of the nba sucking that much more. what happened? many things like 17 year olds getting drafted and ginormous contracts...sure but how about the fact the nba just has not progressed in any way whatsoever. do we all know too much about the players - the owners (hello cuban!) and pretty much everything? that too me is the problem and in this information society where we supposedly know more with the information at our fingertips...i wishing i knew less. i don't want to know what lebron's shoe contract is paying him - can't i just watch his mad skills? and the kids got 'em. in fact, go cav's! please, somebody other than the spurs so i can feel like i am not watching the same old shit called the nba. if the most exciting thing for me about this years playoffs is to watch kenny, sir charles, magic and ernie on tnt...well, that is sad.

tomorrow, more music. i promise. and baseball too!

i love you you big dummy

2007-05-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

here it is, blam! the record that made me rethink everything about music "lick my decals off baby" . i swear to god, this record sounds better and better with every turn of the clock...and i can thank washburn for telling me over and over how seeing the magic band during this time was beyond mindblowing and just making me listen to this stuff. here, check it out right about here although from a different record - here is the magic band really kicking it hard...

holy mother of god.

dutronc v. fromage!?

2007-05-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

i work for a french company. i like french food. i like french pop music and i love jacques dutronc. this is his story and i did not write it (i edited it).
ah, french pop - so good! songs such as "et moi, et moi, et moi", "les playboys", and "le cactus" (a huge personal fave!), are many of this guys greatest hits. other songs include "mini, mini, mini", "le responsable", "j'ai un tigre dans ma guitare", and "l'opportuniste".

dutronc's songs combine american and british musical influences with french lyrical themes. many of his early songs feature a british garage sound comparable but no where near the same to that of ray davies of the kinks. dutronc's "la fille du père noël" and david bowie's "jean genie" share a riff likely derived from the yardbirds' accelerated version of bo diddley's "i'm a man" (the belgian singer arno recorded a medley of the dutronc and bowie songs ("jean baltazaarr") with the american singer beverly jo scott that highlight these similarities). however, dutronc is distinctive for his mocking attitude toward late 1960s french youth culture. dutronc's biggest hit was "il est cinq heures, paris s'eveille", with the classical flute player roger bourdin performing an essential part. in this song, dutronc paints an evocative portrait of the french capital in the early morning hours.
In 1973, "et moi, et moi, et moi" was adapted with english lyrics by ray dorset, leader of mungo jerry. "alright alright alright" became a uk # 3 hit for the group.
also in 1973, dutronc began a second career as an actor in the film antoine et sébastien, directed by jean-marie périer. in the following years, dutronc devoted most of his energies toward his acting career. he has appeared in films directed by the mighty jean-luc godard, claude lelouch and maurice pialat.

dutronc returned to music in recent years, and also has enjoyed a resurgence of popular interest in his music. since the early dutronc songs had a classic late-sixties freakbeat backing (provided by session musicians), his songs were played in the hip retro clubs of the uk and usa in the late 1990s, a practice which continues to this day. strangely, most of the people who will be dancing to the likes of "le cactus" will have no idea what the words actually mean and when translated by the ex colleague the french frau, it is about when life gets sticky - read, cactus. look at that 45 cover! he is celebrated in the 1997 cornershop song "brimful of asha" with the line: "jacques dutronc and the bolan boogie/the heavy hitters and the chichi music." oh yeah, those nutty punkers the black lips destroy one of his songs on the 'let it bloom' lp. they do not speak french well.

he currently lives in the town of monticello on the island of corsica. enough already, download his greatest hits here!! ciao!

4th time around

2007-05-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

to my favorite! happy birthday to you mr.zimmerman!

"everyting is broken"

"reaching out and touching her hand, whispering your secret emotion"

"i ain't no monkey but i know what i like"

"can you please crawl out your window"

"all i really want to do, is baby be friends with you"

i stood there and hummed,
i tapped on her drum and asked her how come
and she buttoned her boot,
and straightened her suit,
then she said, "don't get cute"
so i forced my hands in my pockets
and felt with my thumbs,
and gallantly handed her
my very last piece of gum

when the world hands you lemons, put them on ebay and i will bid on them

2007-05-23T12:12:00.001-07:00

i love ebay. i really do and i buy and sell stuff there all the time. i sell junk (soon a keytar like the one you see above!) and buy brian eno bootlegs (!). i leave feedback and try to be funny but thanks to jbh turning me onto this genius of a man who left feedback for people prior to ebay not allowing ANYBODY to leave feedback for ANYONE, this guy set the bar high for funny shit on ebay. just read some of the notes this guy left...HI-larious! this is the gold standard of ebay silliness. and i use his stuff all the time...so do other ebay pals of mine as recently ms did the same thing.

ha, ha, ha - keytar.

just a pawn out-played by a dominating queen

2007-05-22T12:20:00.000-07:00

today i listened to the new spoon record (d/l right here y'all). i was told it is a "grower" and i agree. well stated and furthermore, great to just hear good songs, well written and assured. what does that have to do with running? not a lot but a great lead into my new venture.

i have a great friend who knows way too much. i mean, she is smarter than most, creative and has an incredible restrain about herself that i find very admirable for yours truly is learing the great art of shutting up these days. and frankly, i barely say a thing these days to anybody! i rarely call anybody on the phone, i don't seem to email people and see what's up and now i just don't seem to have it in me for any effort for people. i am already a selfish one and now it is at a different and higher level than ever. back to my pal - she came over recently although we watched a movie, we chatted about jogging and running in general. she's a runner and spoke about how running is so good for clearing your head. i don't fancy myself a runner or even close to but i am game so that is a new adventure for me. and running to a garage sale is my objective this weekend before heading over to the other side of the pass for some m.i.a., manu chau, bjork action. then when we do make it to this god damned music festival, maybe i will jog back to my car and sleep inside it. i don't know but running makes me feel i am moving faster than usual and that is an accomplishment! running from what? a medic girl shot!

p/R

2007-05-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

a couple nights ago i watched american hardcore after many people in the know told me not to saying it is so bad. it was, and maybe worse. i just don't want this to be about what i saw vs. what the movie conveyed, instead i am just going to tell you that i am tired of punk rock as a lynchpin to a sub-culture 'unexplored'. i am soon to be forty-5 and if i hear anybody my age within fifteen years say "punk rock today is not the same. these people who call themselves punk rockers today are not...". how embarrassing. my first punk concert was 1978 (weirdos, plugz) and it was less than two years after that when i heard people seven or so years my senior telling me how punk was dead and gone. they were right and wrong but one thing for sure, i am not sure what is so nostalgic about punk rock right now or for that matter, the last five or so years!? punkers from the past are sounding more and more like hippies every turn of the documentary or countless book documenting the 'glory days'. whatever.

so, i am feeling this new hotshit band, pissed jeans so off to ballard to check them out. i love the guitar sound on their records and heard they ripped it up live so i had to go due to all of this nostalgia of punk and rock. after one song, they had amp trouble - both the bass player and the guitarist! then they got it going again and they hit some grooves that were slanted and jagged - especially the exceptional drummer and guitarist. the singer, well, lead singers and i have issues...i just have trouble with them and the theatrics, read, what else can i do but sing/yell. this guy held his own and the bass player was, well - he played very diligent and controlled but that was the last thing i wanted while hearing furious guitar playing. all in all, pissed jeans hit some targets and were very good however i'd like to see them one more time and ideally a house party would be fun. oh yeah, they played loud (love that!) and played for only slightly over a half hour (love, LOVE LOVE THAT!). i went outside of the sunset tavern and watched matthew eat two hot dogs and erin eat two veggie dogs. street food was discussed and i talked with a guy from germany. lovely evening. party with me punker.

for a minute there, i lost myself

2007-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

i have decided to start this up again and welcome back! i am writing to you and you know who you are - no names necessary. i will tell you this, i miss you terribly - think about you all the time (s/s, nod^bowl) and will look forward to our next visit.

so, hmmm - in the near future i will be writing about new favorite place to dine at, basketball playoffs, this insane record i got at the thrift store, a band which i am very excited about seeing 'pissed jeans' and my visit to sanfrancisco. as my friend j in sf says, "barry bonds is a dick but he's our dick".

she nailed it.

it's not up to you

2007-04-26T13:10:00.000-07:00

bjork. you weirdo. you foxy, you bebe le strange you hang out with matthewbarnetta. you really make me wonder. and you say this:

"i mean, the human race, we are a tribe, let's face it, and let's stop all this religious bullshit. i think everybody, or at least a lot of my friends, are just so exhausted with this whole self-importance of religious people. just drop it. we're all fucking animals, so let's just make some universal tribal beat. we're pagan. let's just march".

her new record 'volta' comes out in a couple weeks and i love it. i just like that she pours herself out there and makes an imprint that goes way beyond "oh, that is bjork" - i think that just does not give her the credit she richly deserves. her music is nearly impossible to describe unless one takes the simplist of routes and just minimizes it to "just bjork". there is a certain sound, thing or whatever that makes her music more yours than hers after listening. one gets his or her own impression and leaves with something that might be similar but is quite different than the next person. like her or not, she doesn't seem to care. i get that reminder and the strangest feelings when i listen to this record and her last two previous (and completely difficult) releases - specifically, i always have choices. how they affect other people is what is the difficult part.

leon on me

2007-04-25T14:50:00.000-07:00

"some people live their lives like the meaning of life is to maximize pleasure and minimize pain
when this is fruitless, because true happiness can not be found in pleasure, and pain is unvaoidable.
the true meaning lies in traveling through these experiences".

leo tolstoy.

i get a lot from this but mostly this - there are no guarantees of outcomes in life so try everything. it is always worth the risk.

kritickal

2007-04-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

ever been to rehab? me neither but kinda. nevermind. the new wilco album "sky blue sky" is the plat du jour here and i have been listening to it for close to a month now. soon to be released i got a copy illegally (let's not act like that is not possible) and i am kind of enamored with this band who i like a lot but never seem to just put both feet down and just love. i got really close with everybody else's fave "yankfoxhotl" and deservedly, exquisite record for sure but sky blue sky seems to reach me in a different way. no bouncy, proficient yet wonderful production by o'rourke but a more stripped down, almost simple approach makes this lp just that much sweeter and effective. the song "hate it here" was playing in a coffee shop about a week ago and it sounded great amidst the coffee orders, grinding and just the usual ruckus one hears at a coffee joint. i already liked that song a lot yet hearing it and having to pay a little more attention to it, i found tweedy singing to me when he was singing the other soong "shake it off". shake it off! indeed!

great songs? you bet. slight and well written: definitely. yfh? no. smart? rhodes electric piano? good chops? check. check. check.

alphabet

2007-04-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

when was the last time you wrote somebody a letter? not a card but a handwritten letter placed in an envelope, stamped and sent it off? i just did and i must say it felt satisfying. very satisfying. i once wrote many a letter to people but email just takes this once incredible form of communication and put it in a different place in our minds. i got a handwritten letter not too long ago and it was so amazing albeit short and to the point. and i am fortunate to have a friend in town who writes letters, thank you cards (for the simplest of things too...very kind) and it really has an affect. i need addresses so i can send more letters and for thirty-nine cents, this has to be one of the greatest deals going. hell, cards work too and i am going to hit up sas for some more of her exceptional cards.

nah x2

2007-04-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

memories of good and bad can be difficult. and today i believe is a day which i cannot seem to remember if an incident, the worst day and best day of my life, happened or not. i recall many details but the exact day remains unclear. i was working at the metropolitan towers as a temp. i received a call from my agency and they in turn asked me to return a call to my friend betty in so.cal. to cut a long story short, she told me my mother had died. i probably told you the story on how she found out and then called me - which is detailed and strange for sure so i won't get into that. back to memories...this is such a blur. i don't know what day betty called me and worse yet, i don't know the day my mother died. all i knew was that she was dead and i felt it. and i still do. i consider today the anniversary of my mothers death and i am posting this thought..."don't wait!". don't wait to tell your parents anything that you have been wanting to say. good stuff would be nice but damn it, this is a selfish move i am requesting so say whatever you must but say it! and let's not just keep this to parents, say it all to your friends, sisters, brothers and dogs and cats. say it all people because if you don't and things change - like say, death, your chances are mighty slim unless you believe in something i just don't.

if my mother was alive she would be simultaneously pissed off and happy i wrote this. pissed because it was about her but pleased knowing that what i ask of you is the shit. period.

thanks to rn, mp and eas! for my memory does serve me properly and they met up with me on this very day six years ago and that means a lot.

it's not

2007-04-17T11:33:00.001-07:00

well people are tricky,
you can't afford to show,
anything risky, anything they don't know
the moment you try, well kiss it goodbye

so baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator
and let me fall into the dream of the astrounaut
where i get lost in space that goes on forever
and you make all the rest just an after thought
and i believe it's you who could make it better
but it's not - no it's not

barely there

2007-04-14T19:00:00.000-07:00

have you ever listened to something then you just can't stop listening to it over and over.

here's the video to the one of the many songs by panda bear i can not for the life of me stop listening to.....so, so good!

bee eye tee

2007-04-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

yes, i am b.i.t., back in town.

and thanks for the love from all of you expressing how you missed me (aw!) and asking for some time from your friend who loves istanbul and grapefruit juice. am i jet lagged? no but i will tell you this, if you say

oye!

2007-04-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

one of my oldest pals washburn once told me our actions not our words show us who we really are.

and i take a lot away from that. these words have not rung so true than as of late for i was just today in the middle of talking to someone telling me one thing and then doing another later. we are all full of complexity and contradictions, this i do my best to understand but why say something only to later not honor your own words? i have no easy answers for this and wish to just be at peace with the idea of expectations and people in general. and mostly, with myself.

something about being in istanbul really pushed this point and it is resonating.

and really, its not a matter of life or death...what is?

time to take over...more about istanbul soon. time to sleep.

closest shave

2007-04-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

i had an idea after being here a couple days in istanbul...get a haircut and a shave. let's face it and i don't mean to be crass, but the men here all have moustaches and seem, er - hairy. well, enough of my observations and onto my finding a barber - which was easy, they are everywhere! well, seeing one on an alley like corridor was highly alluring combined with the place had two chairs and both barbers seemed to be on their way to seventy. oh yeah, the place was completely blue on the inside. i cannot attach a photo which i will do later but i did proceed with the haircut and shave plus more. the haircut, simple stuff since i do not have a lot of hair...i got my head washed after with some very hot water. i jumped when it was poured on me but not nearly as much as when i was getting lathered up for the shave. you see, the man next to me getting a shave made a slight but noticible jump as he got nicked...holy crap. i can see the blood through the white foam on his face but that was that. my face is completely lathered and out comes the blade. by the way, no english has been spoken except my saying thank you. the shave proceeds and my barber suddenly changes his tone and starts what sounds slightly arguementative with the other barber. holy crap pt. II! this was not the most unusal thing so i just relaxed and just thought, this is fun. slowly and steady, i proceeded to get a clean, nearly flawless shave. yes, i got some blood spilled but after the blade was put away, i got a face rub with what smelled like and FELT like lemon juice or something like it. if you are thinking, that must sting, well it did like a bee sting as it slowly went away. phew. then my barber - the other at this point is drinking beer - give my head a major rub down, powders my face and then proceeds to massage my temples, ears and the top of my head. i am on about 40 minutes at this point where he cleans up the white powder *huh* and hits me on the back as he removes my towel from my back. i left and got some fresh squeezed pomegranate juice to relax with. my total for this barber experience...15 turkish lira = 11 dollars.

pix coming soon after i get home soon but this was the istanbul experience i think i will look back at and just marvel that was not historical.

here comes an irregular

2007-04-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

ever get the feeling you have been cheated? of course you have and that is an uneasy feeling for sure. in istanbul one must suspend a certain sense that you, or me to be exact, are a westerner. i mean, i hate the idea that we must separate one world from another and frankly, that is not what i am doing here however i get asked if i am spanish, japanese and even turkish during my time here. personally, i am kinda complimented but i say i am american, from the us.

today going to the spice market again was fun and just hitting the perfect amount of insanity. the next stop was to the right, to the turkish bathouse. for 54 turkish lira which currently hits about forty usd, you get time in the very hot steam room, a massage and a complete bath including a major scrub down. no, please don't go there - and i am talking to you bksmag - this was crazy good after a couple days of walking and checking out this phenomenal city. sb thinks it is at a crazier level than tijuana when it comes to the hawkers of goods but we both laugh at the entire debacle of being asked if we want a carpet or something else we never EVER would want. i like the turkish bath experience so much i think i am going to hit it again before i leave.

amigos mas ultimos pero hasta entonces, permanecen arriba no bajos y recuerdan que alguien le ama. laters!!

esperanza pt. I

2007-04-05T13:12:00.000-07:00

a friend sent this quote to me about 2.5 years ago after not talking to each other for an extended period of time.

"i soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within."
-lillian smith

now she told me to go to bed. thanks for both sets of words.
it is late in istanbul. more tomorrow...

fred travalena!

2007-04-03T14:24:00.000-07:00

today was such a sleepy day. it was grey and i took a long, long walk. yes, i got lost. so i hopped on a bus and took some photos from the top half. yes, i got lost again. i did not matter for i found a post office to send a letter.

and as much as i want to write about the ica and the wonderful peter seville pieces there or maybe i should write about the national gallery or even trafalgar square, i rather hit some old freaksauce and i mean the wonderful world of you tube again. in complete wtf tradition, here is jermaine jackson with two members of devo from some eighties show.

AND they are introduced by fred travalena! talk about a has been who never was...

heathrow is an early call tomorrow and then i land in istanbul. i am off to bed and then let's see if i can post more nonsense but i promise no more of this junk.

won't you shoot my neighbor(hood)?

2007-04-02T16:23:00.001-07:00

today i finished our photo shoot for shooting portobello as indicated below. well, i am pleased with what we completed yet i feel as though i could have been more creative. the 5ive clues as supplied by rough trade records were as follows:

FIXED CLUES
Clue A – An iconic building, the vision of “the man with the Midas touch”.
Clue B – The host with the most, counter culture at its best.
Clue C – This Xtra Large record label makes music behind Thom Yorke’s Eraser.
Clue D – Alice once kept his pet Coopered up in this unlucky place.

OPEN CLUE
Clue E – Performance (anything related to performance, within the music theme)

now these are the two of the five we sent in...ugh. that's someone we found in the top shot for clue d: the portobello hotel. and right here for clue b is a homage to rough trade records. oh well, it was fun and that is what counts, right? i will link to the site again after they have posted the winners and i believe most if not all the pictures submitted. until then, goodnight...remind me to tell you all about my melotonin dreams. no wait, don't.

ask me ask me

2007-04-02T01:44:00.000-07:00

another day of sunshine? sure, bring it on! and good thing for sb and i were signed up to do the photo scavenger hunt called shooting portobello sponsored by the nice folks who brought you the fall and mozzer's group in the 8t's. what a great concept and i was totally down so off we went after we had our clues emailed to us. sb was keen in figuring out the places whereas i gave some musical knowledge to assist but barely for the internets once again was our tool. we went to the hotel where alice cooper's snake had a bad time, we checked out where the entire side of a building had the mural completely dedicated to thom yorke's solo record "the eraser" and we also went to a building where the man with the midas touch designed. hell, i still have to take more fotos to complete this thing today! i will report back again dear friend once this mission is complete and fotos will follow.

after shooting and eating a falafel, i had to check out more of the flea part of portobello and found some records to look at...all too damned expensive and not that exciting. but i did have some great people watching, checked out some english vintage wear and sat in the sun reading about istanbul. all of that was nice but now it is time for some more, ahem, culture. so i am off to the british museum while sb goes to the gym...and good move - mind blowing. like the met in nyc, this behemouth is best tackled on a 'choose a room/era' and go check it out. i choose to go and check out the chinese room, then to this special exhibit on italian 20th century prints which were exceptional. one in particular struck me by georgio deChirico "ed ecco un gran drago" which translates to "and i saw a beast rise up from the sea". not so metaphysical but more something you'd see in some apocalyptical vision - this drawing was great!

sunday sun. sunday's son.

teenage wasteland

2007-04-01T03:24:00.000-07:00

the royal albert hall. it is an underestimation of words when one thinks of the many people and performances there. i decided i must take a tour since this was the home of the famous and in my humble opinion, revolutionary moments in modern music..."JUDAS!!!" is all i can say.

a strange yet sunny day in london and i am going inside this hall for a hour seems almost crazy but i must. i was the youngest of the 21 person group at double 4's and one of the three from the us of a. still, i was excited because i just had to take in where so much historical shows have happened. ok, mostly the dylan thingy as noted above but still, here stands the place. the guide was great and she even said people like hendrix, eric clapton have played there as well as more "iconic" performers like sinatra and liza minelli have also. LIZA? whatev. the place is phenomenal and exquisite in its beauty. we got to see the queens room, go from the top to the bottom and hear some of the soundcheck of the band which were to play later that night. who you ask? you ask correctly for it was the last half of the who performing to a sold out show later that night and yes, i got to hear a good chunk of the soundcheck!! mostly drums, then guitars then all of a sudden, the opening keyboard riff from 'baba o'riley' and i am awe struck. then the guitar part, it sounded loud and live but please note immediately, this was not pete townsend nor roger daltry at this soundcheck but still, i was felt pretty taken by the entire thing. i left feeling as though it was a good call to check it out and i refrained from yelling judas!

later that night sb and i headed out to hammersmith to have some indian food at sagar which was rated one of the finest vegetarian indian places in all of london. it did not disappoint! i saw they served dosas and that got me excited considering i only know of a place in bellevue that serves them near my place. we ordered quite a bit of stuff and not one thing was even close to uninspiring. the okra dish we had and the saag paneer was pitch perfect. i went straight into a food coma and i was so damn tired, i opted out of going and seeing damon albarn's latest nutter fest, the good, the bad and the queen. good thing too because they were coming on way too late (after midnight) and i did not want to watch john cooper clarke before them. and damn it, a mighty expensive ticket too at $80 dollars! it was also sold out and who knows what a scalper would have charged me...

give me coffee and tv instead.

chorizo vs. rothko

2007-03-31T14:44:00.000-07:00

a classic: never EVER grocery shop when you are hungry. well, i went to the borough market...dear god, i went while i was hungry. very hungry and although i had a plan of chorizo and rocket sandwich, i still had to look at everything. every single damn thing before i finally gave into the sandwich and i am so glad i did. it was phenomenal as described by blemby and she was not exaggerating. yes i was starving but i will also have you know the mustard i threw down on this monster of a sausage was like bright yellow wasabi as in my nasal passage was cleared all the way to my eyeballs. loved every damn bite. but wait, did i mention i was starving? yes, so i spyed this line (queue if i was even more pretentious which just might not be possible) of people getting burgers. lamb, pork and stilton and beef. what's that you say - - correct in that i chose the pork and stilton...with extra cheese as the guy who sold it to me said, "that's how me and my mates eat 'em". ok, bring on the angioplasty because that will kill me but i am dying happy.

we are at the london bridge which means we are near the tate modern. off we go and i was impressed however the exhibit currently there was less than inspiring, the gilbert and george show was more trash and flash than interesting. as for the permanant collection, good stuff for sure but modernism is being redifined so to see abstract heroes like rothko and pollock seems a bit dated. yes, they most certainly have a place in history but it seems like the turn of the millenium needs them to be elsewhere. blah blah blah for really, to see these guys, some miro stuff, cubism (which reminded me of last december early mornings)was nothing to scoff at. i did not ride the slides but i did marvel at the looks of the people as they hit the end of their rides.

sb and i went back to the borough market for some stuff for dinner which included a visit to neals yard dairy for cheese which was a blast to try so many damn cheeses and some morrocan fruit like tasty tangelo like oranges and the amazingly superb and sweet galia melon which i had in espana a couple years back. did i mention i was hungry...no more. next up is the tour of the royal albert hall and the crazy portobello SATURDAY market. oh yeah, i want indian food too.

mercer street

2007-03-30T02:09:00.000-07:00

the shins. ah yes, the shins. most people dismiss them as a simple little band, that 'garden state' song band (worse) or they dig 'em. i like them because i like the way james mercer sings and harmonizes his voice with his bandmates. i am in london and seeing the shins was one of those nice timing things the day i landed, uh, yesterday. the london crowd loved them as though they were at a party...i looked over at people around me and they were smiling, singing along with them and just pleased as ever as mercer and company sang what seemed like every song they knew including an encore of the modern lovers song which i cannot recall since i am jet lagged yet jojo's song is still going through my head but i will rememeber probably after i have my chorizo and rocket sammich that jbh tipped me off on.

oh yeah, my camera fell out of my pocket at the concert and i noticed as i was almost out the door of the forum when i decided to go and "find" it. i was sitting upstairs which means i have a fighting chance. i get up there and this is after walking back through a crowd of hundreds. lo and behold, there it is. i am very happy about that - dear god, losing my camera hours after arriving would have been a double bummer.

hey, gots to go but i will check y'all laters.

primavera

2007-03-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

spaceshit

2007-03-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

time is such a forgiving thing for music. in the not-so-long ago past i would have really laughed if you told me i was listening to emerson, lake and palmer and that remains true today. i am laughing just thinking about it...but if you mentioned the electric light orchestra, i think i would have laughed yet again. but i am listening to elo on a quite a clip, like, every other day or so. i have downloaded, i am listening the greatest hits cd i got at the goodwill two years ago and i am pulling out records i have not listened to in years. recently i was at easy street records and purchased a god damned japanese lp of 'discovery' and i love it. am i crazy? no! in a world where pop songs are here and there - jeff lynne and company did a pretty damn good job of writing some not good but great songs like "showdown", "can't get it out of my head" and "evil woman" which i recently personally dedicated to someone i adore - that got a good life. anywho, i am not sure whether to be embarassed or celebratory but i can't stop listening to "turn to stone".

i saw them at anaheim stadium in 1978, smoked some brown weed and barely can remember anything other than that god awful spaceship they did the show in. and i searched and searched but could not find anything about them lip syncing that show and the trouble they got into. well, here are some of your more common and not so common elo factoids. note the third one down...hamburger. hilarious!

save me. no really, save me.

carioca funk insanity

2007-03-15T17:29:00.000-07:00

i just got this cd you see here in pdx last weekend! volume II of the "rio baile funk" comp and it is nuts. fans of diplo and m.i.a. would love this however i have to say this is difficult at best to like. i hear strains of older hip hop stuff along with some strained carioca and i just can't get enough. the beats bump, then they bend - the music is fun, insane and unnerving, which means, I LOVE IT!

you will too. find it and git yr freek ahn.

the most beautiful

2007-03-14T04:35:00.000-07:00

happy birthday eLeGant one.

an invitation...

2007-03-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

dear dean,

so you got a new record out with ms. britta? fantastic! i've heard songs but not yr entire effort. i will try and see you at the triple door next month...being el gato reyna, that might not be easy. yes, i gots the credit card, i dig your stuff but my west side life with pal syl makes me think best i stay put...you know i can take down that building with one leap! but thanks for the invite.

peace and love,

c. orange c.

dear c. orange c.

i have a pretty good idea who will be there - and i am not sure she knows we are playing there. give her the downlow and see you next time.

dean/w

so hey! wanna go? let's go together!

daylight savings time

2007-03-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

last week i saw/ran into kat who does a garage sale blog (or kinda) here in the emerald city. i told her she was my summer friend since we seem to only see each other in the summer (uh, duh) and talk garage sales, crap that is sold there and our 'scores'. seeing kat and having this crazy spring like weather recently *thank god!!!* makes me think, i need to have a garage sale. yes, i want to have one and get rid of stuff i just don't want any longer that might just sell at a sale.

i think my garage sale days of going every week will still exist yet i am not sure if i can bring myself to buy the way i have in the past 3 years. ok, six or seven years. ALRIGHT, 20 years.

someone stop me.

letters never sent

2007-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

who is that guy you see...who cares.

may i confess something?

i am an elton john fan. i think i will be for life. today in istanbul i heard britney, bob marley and some turkish artists, don't even ask me names. then i over heard'daniel' by elton and i was taken by the song and how amazing it is. then it reminded me an friend who i just am never sure about. just prior to last summer arriving, i had a difficult time with this friend. i was not sure whether i could hang with her - she always seemed to put me into a state after seeing her. we'd have breakfast, maybe see a movie or meet for a drink and afterwards many times, i'd long for her. it was as though she was more beautiful the more i got to know her yet she was married and that shut the door on these emotions. yeah right! instead of shutting the door on these feelings for her, they accelerrated with every turn i took with her. one night we were visiting jean's place on 6th and she looked exquisite and more than usual. i think i fell in love with her all over again. later that night i wrote her an email...telling her to stay away from me (again) because i loved her and i can't be with her. i never sent it. i wish i did. now, i have these same thing in letter form half way around the world.

my confession is that i want to send this same email again. yet everything has changed. or, has it?

idealism is what precedes experience, cynicism is what follows

2007-03-02T12:55:00.000-08:00

i rarely eat pancakes
i like girls who like pink floyd
melotonin makes me dream and i remember them

have you ever been mellow

ggb

2007-03-01T11:58:00.000-08:00

i cannot see every movie i want to but i try. they slip through the cracks or even worse, they never play here in the emerald city (hello sherrybaby). i am not going to talk about how stupid movie distribution is since we here in seattle are luckier than most cities from a cinema standpoint. but i digress...

last night netflix brought me "the science of sleep" starring gael garcia bernal and serge gainsbourg's daughter charlotte. did i like it? sure in what might seem like an unenthusiastic way but i highly recommend a viewing. this strong opinion is based on many components which stand out as great reasons to see it as apposed to the jumpy narrative which is difficult to follow and the lack of story all together. i loved gael! who doesn't? my pal who i watched it with was nearly twitching every time he smiled on the screen as though he was flirting with her...and he's got that amazing star power - he just looks like a movie star! michel gondry pushes creativity and explores film making like a kid experimenting with building blocks, pushing it higher and higher - making something albeit i am not sure what with this movie. i did find myself laughing at the absurdity of it all and one of my favorite things about this movie was that every character seemed to be wearing the same thing throughout the entire movie! bernal made me laugh with his silliness and there are some pretty sweet moments with ms. gainsbourg - especially when he gets drunk and feels the pangs of jealousy.

so, blah blah blah. i love netflix.

girls will be girls and boys will be from phoenix

2007-02-27T20:22:00.000-08:00

never in my many years of seeing bands did i ever run across something as strikingly original and challenging as the sun city girls. the only thing that comes close was seeing mark pauline at the contemporary temporary in la around 83, johanna went sometime in 81 or so...non and monitor were interesting for sure yet too arty for my then 20 year old tastebuds. the sun city girls are just a spectacle and a treat and frightening all at once...one of the last times i saw them perform was in tacoma at the java jive and they went from a free jazz freakout to 'natural high' by bloodstone - perfectly crooned with the falsetto voice not missing a note. after that, i recall them hitting all spots musically which words are difficult to describe however let it be known, my jaw was on the ground.

i recently learned the drummer charles gocher passed away last week after a long battle with cancer. i want to wish him and his family peace and thank him for pushing me to the limits on my musical knowledge.

paz.

i am going to jump out your window

2007-02-23T03:26:00.000-08:00

and fall on my head...

i forgot to mention - - happy new year!

Horace Greely did not say that...!

2007-02-20T10:50:00.000-08:00

i am drawn to sad art, literature, music and words. this is not to lend to the idea that i am sad or tragic for pretty much everything is damn good in my life. still, i want to dive right into the sadness with all that is around me - - especially music. more than a couple years ago i really got into joseph arthur's "come to where i am from" which deals with death, addiction, break-up's...but in a good way. that album turned me inside out with his singing "i wonder if you think about me...what i heard is you consider me dead. i guess that's fair of you, i was never good to you. i am ashamed of making you feel all my pain. when i sleep, sometimes i still think we speak. is it a dream?". well, that is just a smattering and i really want to talk about lucinda williams' new record "west". i love lucinda and her words always sink into me like ink on paper and this record hit me immediately. she lays it all out on this recording and her voice sounds more assured than ever with a hearbreaking verve that is close to chilly. the opening track "are you alright" had me in a grip while sitting and listening to it that i just put it back on immediately after hearing the five minutes go by the first time. this track and really, all of them are resonating as i hear the echo of ms. williams saying "unsuffer me" as though we were the best of friends.

i joke when i wrote above that joseph arthur sang songs about despair, etc. in a good way but not really. what i am trying to say is more about the universal connection we all have with these sad situations. lucinda williams really nails it here. along with joni's "blue", zimmerman's "blood on the tracks", beck's "sea change" this is a drop dead amazing recording. and i for one can't stop listening.

persistance wears down resistance

2007-02-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

i just had a challege...i was about to start reading one my weekly magazines which arrived yesterday. no, not the decision between the new yorker or entertainment weekly (laugh with me people) but what to listen to while doing so. it was a battle between elo - because i love 'showdown', augustus pablo or sly and the family stone. winner: sly and the family stone but out of nowhere, right under the sly cd is "grotesque" by the fall. god, i can't read while listening to this distracting record and i am proving that right now by typing this dribble.

i feel old saying this but that might be because everybody i know is younger than me however this record brings back some pretty good memories. punk, er, whatever makes me feel old. listening to elton john or bowie should since i was listening to them when i was 12, not like the fall when i was 18. i was young at 12 and at 18, i was like i am now, a know-it-all who really barely knows a damn thing. worse but the fall remain. i saw them in brighton when i was 18, high on hashish and i still count that show as one of my favorites. delta five opened and damn it, this was pretty impressionable to a 18 who thinks he knows everything. mark e. smith scared me and still does. weirdest looking guy ever. i have a download for you if you want and here it is http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5OA78US6.

yes, i really was thinking about listening to elo. saw them when i was 15 and did not have a clue.

V (an vliet) [meets] D (evoto)

2007-02-14T02:49:00.000-08:00

i'm living like crazy
driven to be lazy
i blush like a tomato
pale as a chipped potato
you're a real peach
just out of reach

we're all cooking the same goose
a recipe of fiction
i stew in my own juice
in another kitchen

you think i'm a lame duck
i don't give a real f*#k
i don't give two hoots
you're too big for your bossy boots
i love you you big dummy

well fitting levi

2007-02-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

i push. i pull.
and an awful lot these days. this morning i wake up to say to the person closest to me "what's next?". i get no answer so instead i read primo levi and he takes me out of my head into the stratosphere.

in case you don't know, primo levi was born in turin, italy, in 1919, and trained as a chemist, was arrested during ww dos as a member of the anti-fascist resistance and deported to (member of the tribe) auschwitz in 1944. his experience in the death camp and his subsequent travels through eastern europe were the subject of powerful memoirs, fiction and incredible poetry which my dad told me about years ago - did i listen to him? kinda. kinda not. mr. levi died in turin in 1987. sometime this year, more of his writings are going to be published and i for one can't wait. his stuff always makes for perspective and reflection for me - or, a wake up call telling me to do it to it! i thought the green onion pancake was special AND IT IS, but this guy makes it all happen.

viva primo!