Slate did a great piece on the similarities between West Wing and the current political race.
Do yourself a favor. Check this out:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid988092926/bctid1434027921
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Judenhass is coming...
Monday, February 25, 2008
I'm F***ing Ben Affleck on Jimmy Kimmel
Well, I know, I know.....no videos, etc...blah blah....
But, come on!
Genius deserves to be spread!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
The Mountain Goats - Heretic Pride. A Shuffleboil Review
It's finally done. After living with the album for a few weeks, entrenching myself in it and waiting for the official release to pen my review I suddenly realized that the release date had passed and I was behind the curve. Suddenly everyone, even the estimable Scot, Toad, had put out their review. I hunkered down and put my feelings for the album to words.
As always it can be found at www.shuffleboil.com THE place for culture junkies. Have you gotten your boil on?
Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats
In “San Bernadino,” the second track on The Mountain Goats’ new album “Heretic Pride,” John Darnielle sings, “We got in your car and we hit the highway.” A simple line that, through the economy of language that is Darnielle’s specialty, gives away the entire relationship of the couple that has pulled off the side of the road to park at the motel and have their baby in bathtub. A married couple shares their cars. Single people own their own vehicles. It’s her car. It’s their baby. They aren’t married. And they “will never be alone, no matter what they say, [they’re] gonna be okay.” We believe him. Everything will work out just fine. It’s an optimistic piece to say the least. And it embodies everything that is great about The Mountain Goats.
The economy of language. The true power lies in the nuance. God is in the details. Most singer songwriters never get this. Most poets hide behind veils of symbolism and simile. John Darnielle inhabits his subjects and conveys their essences with just a turn of phrase, a specific pronoun, a descriptive Marcus Allen t-shirt. The album’s title is taken from one of the best tracks and in his press release/comic Darnielle makes a point to let us know that the heretic who is empowered by the “reckoning”, emboldened by his martyrdom, strengthened by his physical abuses, dies shortly after the song ends. The author is god to his creations and takes glee and pride in knowing that their lives don’t just begin at the first drum beat and end at the fade out. His characters pre-exist and post-exist in this universe that is The Mountain Goats.
That Darnielle is a master of the music-as-novella is not new information. The “alpha” characters who have been chronicled over the years in various songs and then as the main protagonists of “Tallahassee,” the first album The Goats did for 4AD, are fully formed, constantly evolving people who Darnielle keeps coming back to. Keeps writing about. They are, however, fiction. Making the colossal nature of the work that much more spellbinding.
There isn’t a substandard moment on “Heretic Pride”, though some have felt that it isn’t as focused as “Tallahasee” or “The Sunset Tree”. It doesn’t have a song as shattering as Get Lonely’s “Woke Up New” A MUST download track for everyone who has ever lost someone through breakup or death. This album is more of a collection of songs.
Like “Autoclave,” an urgent and ironically folky retro new wave throwback about a person who is so incapable of love that his heart acts as a dentist’s autoclave, destroying any emotion that comes near it.
Or my personal favorite (of the moment), “Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” In the case of that song, it isn’t a depiction of the famed horror writer who moved to Brooklyn to be with the woman he loved only to find himself more xenophobic and racist than before. Rather it’s how the main character of the song describes his own feeling of xenophobia and racism. He feels “like Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” Darnielle is nothing if not literate. This is Indie rock of a different sort. In a way, John Darnielle (The only real member of The Mountain Goats) is really an heir apparent to Bruce Springsteen. The Springsteen of Yore. When his songs were populated by “the magic rat” or “Wendy” or “Mary” or “The Saint in the City.” Springsteen fans have long lamented that the songs filled with stories of fictional characters through whom we could relate our own lives have given way to solid rockers and a more expansive worldview. Darnielle has remained true to his canon of characters. Creating new ones along the way, he inhabits these people, these works of fiction and, almost never does it feel confessional. Except that he is so true to his subjects that they almost always seem confessional. That is some great writing.
As a whole, “Heretic Pride” is a terrific and rewarding album. It only gets richer with each listen. And, as for a place to start listening to The Mountain Goats (who have some 14 albums to their name dating back to 1991), there really is no better place to start.
As always it can be found at www.shuffleboil.com THE place for culture junkies. Have you gotten your boil on?
Heretic Pride by The Mountain Goats
In “San Bernadino,” the second track on The Mountain Goats’ new album “Heretic Pride,” John Darnielle sings, “We got in your car and we hit the highway.” A simple line that, through the economy of language that is Darnielle’s specialty, gives away the entire relationship of the couple that has pulled off the side of the road to park at the motel and have their baby in bathtub. A married couple shares their cars. Single people own their own vehicles. It’s her car. It’s their baby. They aren’t married. And they “will never be alone, no matter what they say, [they’re] gonna be okay.” We believe him. Everything will work out just fine. It’s an optimistic piece to say the least. And it embodies everything that is great about The Mountain Goats.
The economy of language. The true power lies in the nuance. God is in the details. Most singer songwriters never get this. Most poets hide behind veils of symbolism and simile. John Darnielle inhabits his subjects and conveys their essences with just a turn of phrase, a specific pronoun, a descriptive Marcus Allen t-shirt. The album’s title is taken from one of the best tracks and in his press release/comic Darnielle makes a point to let us know that the heretic who is empowered by the “reckoning”, emboldened by his martyrdom, strengthened by his physical abuses, dies shortly after the song ends. The author is god to his creations and takes glee and pride in knowing that their lives don’t just begin at the first drum beat and end at the fade out. His characters pre-exist and post-exist in this universe that is The Mountain Goats.
That Darnielle is a master of the music-as-novella is not new information. The “alpha” characters who have been chronicled over the years in various songs and then as the main protagonists of “Tallahassee,” the first album The Goats did for 4AD, are fully formed, constantly evolving people who Darnielle keeps coming back to. Keeps writing about. They are, however, fiction. Making the colossal nature of the work that much more spellbinding.
There isn’t a substandard moment on “Heretic Pride”, though some have felt that it isn’t as focused as “Tallahasee” or “The Sunset Tree”. It doesn’t have a song as shattering as Get Lonely’s “Woke Up New” A MUST download track for everyone who has ever lost someone through breakup or death. This album is more of a collection of songs.
Like “Autoclave,” an urgent and ironically folky retro new wave throwback about a person who is so incapable of love that his heart acts as a dentist’s autoclave, destroying any emotion that comes near it.
Or my personal favorite (of the moment), “Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” In the case of that song, it isn’t a depiction of the famed horror writer who moved to Brooklyn to be with the woman he loved only to find himself more xenophobic and racist than before. Rather it’s how the main character of the song describes his own feeling of xenophobia and racism. He feels “like Lovecraft in Brooklyn.” Darnielle is nothing if not literate. This is Indie rock of a different sort. In a way, John Darnielle (The only real member of The Mountain Goats) is really an heir apparent to Bruce Springsteen. The Springsteen of Yore. When his songs were populated by “the magic rat” or “Wendy” or “Mary” or “The Saint in the City.” Springsteen fans have long lamented that the songs filled with stories of fictional characters through whom we could relate our own lives have given way to solid rockers and a more expansive worldview. Darnielle has remained true to his canon of characters. Creating new ones along the way, he inhabits these people, these works of fiction and, almost never does it feel confessional. Except that he is so true to his subjects that they almost always seem confessional. That is some great writing.
As a whole, “Heretic Pride” is a terrific and rewarding album. It only gets richer with each listen. And, as for a place to start listening to The Mountain Goats (who have some 14 albums to their name dating back to 1991), there really is no better place to start.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
come on, baby, Touch my blog!
The pain is still intense but the meds are Awesome! Norco! Valium! Bring it in baby.
oh and this is being written in a drug induced haze.
and, really, I just wanted to see if I could make a blog entry from my iPod.
I can.
Super cool!
oh and this is being written in a drug induced haze.
and, really, I just wanted to see if I could make a blog entry from my iPod.
I can.
Super cool!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Oh, Corey....
Wayyyyy back in the "New Video" days, I remember an older couple who used to come in. They had an apartment in an old Brownstone somewhere in the neighborhood. The only reason I remember this sweet, late 50something jewish couple was because of how proud they were about their neighbor. Come to think of it, he might have been a nephew. It was one or the other, this was, after all, 1985.
Why were they so proud? Because this nephew or neighbor had just gotten a starring role in a quirky little movie called "Lucas".
When we all saw the movie we recognized two things. Corey was really good, heartwarming and sweet. And Charlie Sheen was going to be a star.
The latter proved to be a lasting truth.
Corey on the other hand.....
http://www.coreyhaim.tv/
Oy vey.
Why were they so proud? Because this nephew or neighbor had just gotten a starring role in a quirky little movie called "Lucas".
When we all saw the movie we recognized two things. Corey was really good, heartwarming and sweet. And Charlie Sheen was going to be a star.
The latter proved to be a lasting truth.
Corey on the other hand.....
http://www.coreyhaim.tv/
Oy vey.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Shockingly popular
Those of you that don't know, I have been blogging the life of my daughter at two locations. The current one is called "Life with Zoe" and is located at www.zoelulu.blogspot.com. It's really just a way of communicating with family and friends about ZoZo and keeping everyone up to date on her progress and life and how it affects me.
The first one, the blog that started all of that for us was www.newlulu.blogspot.com. This was a real slice of life because we videotaped every hospital visit that we could, chronicled all the highs as well as the terror that Zoe might have cystic fibrosis. It was a great experiment and hopefully I can show it to her one day.
Anywho.
I get occasional comments on the videos because I upload them to YouTube and link from there to the blogs. It's the easy way, right? Well, it's also the most visible and what's weir is that I use YouTube the way it was originally intended: as a repository for videos for friends to show each other. But I get complaints that the vids aren't that "entertaining". Big fucking deal.
Actually, that's not what's weird.
What's weird, and I mean really weird is that this video has received 31,600 views as of this writing. Why? I have no idea. But I agree with one commenter, I do look like his retarded uncle. Well, I don't know him, but I bet there is a retarded uncle out there that I DO look like.
Why is it so popular? I have no idea. You tell me.
The first one, the blog that started all of that for us was www.newlulu.blogspot.com. This was a real slice of life because we videotaped every hospital visit that we could, chronicled all the highs as well as the terror that Zoe might have cystic fibrosis. It was a great experiment and hopefully I can show it to her one day.
Anywho.
I get occasional comments on the videos because I upload them to YouTube and link from there to the blogs. It's the easy way, right? Well, it's also the most visible and what's weir is that I use YouTube the way it was originally intended: as a repository for videos for friends to show each other. But I get complaints that the vids aren't that "entertaining". Big fucking deal.
Actually, that's not what's weird.
What's weird, and I mean really weird is that this video has received 31,600 views as of this writing. Why? I have no idea. But I agree with one commenter, I do look like his retarded uncle. Well, I don't know him, but I bet there is a retarded uncle out there that I DO look like.
Why is it so popular? I have no idea. You tell me.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Shuffleboil Post: Schoolhouse Rock!
Time to hep you cats to my latest post over at Shuffleboil. One of my favorites this month!
If you are between the ages of, say 30 and 45, no doubt you know all the words to the Preamble to the Constitution. You do not know this because you were in elementary school during the Bicentennial and American history education had reached frenzy. You do not know this because the 200th anniversary of the greatest document in our country’s lifespan was looming on the horizon. You know all the words to the Preamble because it was set to a song in one of the most popular installments of ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock.” Those fantastic four-minute musical cartoons that aired between “The Oddball Couple” and “Hong Kong Phooey, number one Super Guy”.
You know how a bill becomes a law because of “Schoolhouse Rock.” You know the sign for infinity because, after the little girl makes her figure eight they let us know that, if you put an eight on it’s side it’s “The symbol meaning . . . infinity . . . !”
You know this because Dave McCall of McCaffrey & McCall Advertising lamented that his son couldn’t remember the multiplication tables but knew all the words to a Rolling Stones song. You know this because mnemonics is strong and Bob Dorough and Tom Yohe, commissioned by McCall, created lasting visual images and songs and pitched it to a young exec at ABC named Michael Eisner who bought it. You know this because it was someone’s civic duty to use television to promote education and not just as a tool to sell toys and product and synergy.
You are lucky you know this. And, like me, you might lament that there isn’t such a thing out there for our kids today. Sure, there’s Noggin, which promotes connected learning. Or Dora and Blue and a bunch of others that are educational and fun. Heck, even Barney has some use. The babysitters as teachers, I guess.
But the power of the three-minute song. The craft of pop music. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, this is so magical in the way it bores into your psyche and becomes part of you.
I prefer to think about music the way Stephen Sondheim talked about it a few years ago. He went on and on about how music is really all math. Puzzles and math. It’s no secret that, besides being one of the greatest American composers of all time, he is also a master puzzler. Music crosses the barrier of the brain from right to left, and back, I think. It uses math to create itself and be interpreted but, without the art and soul, it would be lifeless and no one would listen. THAT is why it’s the universal language. THAT’s why “Schoolhouse Rock” works.
Now you can buy the entire collection of “Schoolhouse Rock” cartoons, including a brand new cartoon/song explaining the Electoral College, for $20 bucks at your favorite DVD store or online. Disney has released the quintessential set and you should buy it. Whether you have rugrats or not.
The layout is great. They’ve included some neat features like the ability to choose a selection of songs as a playlist and just play those tunes. I think about four or five seems to be the amount a kid can take before they overload. After all, these just aired, one at a time, between the crapola like “Laff-A-Lympics” and “The Brady Kids” and “The New Adventures of Gilligan.”
The second disc is chock full of extras: Behind the scene footage, commentaries, four of the alt rock redux from the ‘90s album of “Schoolhouse Rock,” some it’s fun, some of it isn’t, but it’s not the bonus disc you are buying, is it?
I have the entire collection of CDs that was released for the 20th anniversary but it only got listened to once or twice. My wife has the re-release of the cartoons on 5 cassettes on VHS. Really, VHS? This new collection is, well, it’s perfect. Every single “Schoolhouse Rock” song and cartoon on one disc. For a song! He he he…
One word of caution: while “Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here” is catchy and fun, I still only half understand what the hell an adverb is. And (dammit, there I go, starting sentences with a conjunction) included on this disc is “Money Rock.” “Money Rock?” Does anyone remember this? I don’t think money rock got as much airtime as “My Hero, Zero.”
“As your body gets bigger. Your mind will flower. It’s great to learn, cause Knowledge is Power!”
True dat.
*If you have the time and/or the inclination, the extremely offensive and hilarious animated program “Drawn Together” had an episode a few years back where “Foxy Brown” uncovered the dastardly plot of “The Board of Education.” He was a wooden plank who sounded spot on like the voice of “Conjunction Junction,” Jack Sheldon. Catch it, it’s hysterical.
If you are between the ages of, say 30 and 45, no doubt you know all the words to the Preamble to the Constitution. You do not know this because you were in elementary school during the Bicentennial and American history education had reached frenzy. You do not know this because the 200th anniversary of the greatest document in our country’s lifespan was looming on the horizon. You know all the words to the Preamble because it was set to a song in one of the most popular installments of ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock.” Those fantastic four-minute musical cartoons that aired between “The Oddball Couple” and “Hong Kong Phooey, number one Super Guy”.
You know how a bill becomes a law because of “Schoolhouse Rock.” You know the sign for infinity because, after the little girl makes her figure eight they let us know that, if you put an eight on it’s side it’s “The symbol meaning . . . infinity . . . !”
You know this because Dave McCall of McCaffrey & McCall Advertising lamented that his son couldn’t remember the multiplication tables but knew all the words to a Rolling Stones song. You know this because mnemonics is strong and Bob Dorough and Tom Yohe, commissioned by McCall, created lasting visual images and songs and pitched it to a young exec at ABC named Michael Eisner who bought it. You know this because it was someone’s civic duty to use television to promote education and not just as a tool to sell toys and product and synergy.
You are lucky you know this. And, like me, you might lament that there isn’t such a thing out there for our kids today. Sure, there’s Noggin, which promotes connected learning. Or Dora and Blue and a bunch of others that are educational and fun. Heck, even Barney has some use. The babysitters as teachers, I guess.
But the power of the three-minute song. The craft of pop music. Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, this is so magical in the way it bores into your psyche and becomes part of you.
I prefer to think about music the way Stephen Sondheim talked about it a few years ago. He went on and on about how music is really all math. Puzzles and math. It’s no secret that, besides being one of the greatest American composers of all time, he is also a master puzzler. Music crosses the barrier of the brain from right to left, and back, I think. It uses math to create itself and be interpreted but, without the art and soul, it would be lifeless and no one would listen. THAT is why it’s the universal language. THAT’s why “Schoolhouse Rock” works.
Now you can buy the entire collection of “Schoolhouse Rock” cartoons, including a brand new cartoon/song explaining the Electoral College, for $20 bucks at your favorite DVD store or online. Disney has released the quintessential set and you should buy it. Whether you have rugrats or not.
The layout is great. They’ve included some neat features like the ability to choose a selection of songs as a playlist and just play those tunes. I think about four or five seems to be the amount a kid can take before they overload. After all, these just aired, one at a time, between the crapola like “Laff-A-Lympics” and “The Brady Kids” and “The New Adventures of Gilligan.”
The second disc is chock full of extras: Behind the scene footage, commentaries, four of the alt rock redux from the ‘90s album of “Schoolhouse Rock,” some it’s fun, some of it isn’t, but it’s not the bonus disc you are buying, is it?
I have the entire collection of CDs that was released for the 20th anniversary but it only got listened to once or twice. My wife has the re-release of the cartoons on 5 cassettes on VHS. Really, VHS? This new collection is, well, it’s perfect. Every single “Schoolhouse Rock” song and cartoon on one disc. For a song! He he he…
One word of caution: while “Lolly Lolly Lolly, Get Your Adverbs Here” is catchy and fun, I still only half understand what the hell an adverb is. And (dammit, there I go, starting sentences with a conjunction) included on this disc is “Money Rock.” “Money Rock?” Does anyone remember this? I don’t think money rock got as much airtime as “My Hero, Zero.”
“As your body gets bigger. Your mind will flower. It’s great to learn, cause Knowledge is Power!”
True dat.
*If you have the time and/or the inclination, the extremely offensive and hilarious animated program “Drawn Together” had an episode a few years back where “Foxy Brown” uncovered the dastardly plot of “The Board of Education.” He was a wooden plank who sounded spot on like the voice of “Conjunction Junction,” Jack Sheldon. Catch it, it’s hysterical.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Sooper Toosday.
Tomorrow's a big day. Super Tuesday. Mardi Grande. I'm voting for Obama. I think. I have my reasons. They have to do with Lincoln. Blah blah. Truth is, you don't really care. Suffice to say that Honest Abe never got elected to the Senate in the two attempts and he was a one term congressman when he ran for highest office. He also presided over a civil war and held the country together and i think we are in a sort of civil war now with the whole red state, blue state thing. We need a president to bring us back together for a while. I think he's the guy.
Oh. So, i guess I did give my reason.
But, talk about synchronicity. You know how I have been creaming all over the new Mountain Goats album? Well, APR asked Darniell and the Goats to write a song about Super Tuesday and they did. Funnily, for a band that sounds so sweet and folky, they use a lot of dark images. I, personally, enjoy the one about the "I Voted" sticker being a "mark" of some kind.
Update: Link is not available due to legal stuff. Go Here to hear it.
Update: Here are the lyrics at least
Down to the Ark"
The candidates met up in North Dakota
And they donned their black robes there in the chapel hall
They said a brief invocation to their cloven-hoofed prince
And they signed their names in blood on the vestry wall
In Christ you know there's neither high nor low
And the void will claim all creatures small or bright
Seal up the borders or let everybody in
In the order of the serpent, there'll be neither left nor right
And we pull down our blindfolds
And we reach out for the lever in the dark
Get a sticker for our shirts as we head into the sun
Proudly bearing the mark
Headed down to the ark
The applicants went down to Oklahoma
And they hired an accent coach to teach them the western twang
And several post-born babies learned the hard way:
Vampires only kiss you if they've sharpened up their fangs
And as Minnesota fell, so went Missouri
We met at VFWs in the snow
And we voted down the tax codes, and we voted down the war
So many names to choose from, just one way to go.
Oh. So, i guess I did give my reason.
But, talk about synchronicity. You know how I have been creaming all over the new Mountain Goats album? Well, APR asked Darniell and the Goats to write a song about Super Tuesday and they did. Funnily, for a band that sounds so sweet and folky, they use a lot of dark images. I, personally, enjoy the one about the "I Voted" sticker being a "mark" of some kind.
Update: Link is not available due to legal stuff. Go Here to hear it.
Update: Here are the lyrics at least
Down to the Ark"
The candidates met up in North Dakota
And they donned their black robes there in the chapel hall
They said a brief invocation to their cloven-hoofed prince
And they signed their names in blood on the vestry wall
In Christ you know there's neither high nor low
And the void will claim all creatures small or bright
Seal up the borders or let everybody in
In the order of the serpent, there'll be neither left nor right
And we pull down our blindfolds
And we reach out for the lever in the dark
Get a sticker for our shirts as we head into the sun
Proudly bearing the mark
Headed down to the ark
The applicants went down to Oklahoma
And they hired an accent coach to teach them the western twang
And several post-born babies learned the hard way:
Vampires only kiss you if they've sharpened up their fangs
And as Minnesota fell, so went Missouri
We met at VFWs in the snow
And we voted down the tax codes, and we voted down the war
So many names to choose from, just one way to go.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Sarah Silverman is F*cking Matt D*mon
I needed a laugh. I needed a Sarah Silverman type belly laugh.
Here it is.
(I promise no videos after this for a while.)
Here it is.
(I promise no videos after this for a while.)
Friday, February 1, 2008
Sax Rohmer #1.
The Mountain Goats review is coming. I promise. I am still digesting this album. It takes many many listens. It demands an audience. Nothing perfunctory here. Simply put, it's fantastic.
Until the review comes, let me whet appetites with this glorious video from the first single.
Yes, I know John Darnielle has a difficult, nasally voice, deal with it. At least he doesn't sound mentally challenged like Colin Meloy.
Darnielle's lyrics are more than half the song. His words are tantamount to reading novellas. Or, in the case of his "Alpha" series, tomes. The alpha series deals with a mutually destructive couple that are drinking themselves to death rather than excape each other. Their lives are chronicled on "Tallahassee" and I haven't begun to plunder that one yet. Nor have I sunk my teeth into "The Sunset Tree, which is about an abusive father. Or Get Lonely. Which contains one of the greatest songs of breakup (or death) I have ever heard.
The first video from "Heretic Pride", Sax Rohmer #1 is here. The video (equally amazing) for Woke Up New is below.
"Woke Up New" from the album Get Lonely.
Until the review comes, let me whet appetites with this glorious video from the first single.
Yes, I know John Darnielle has a difficult, nasally voice, deal with it. At least he doesn't sound mentally challenged like Colin Meloy.
Darnielle's lyrics are more than half the song. His words are tantamount to reading novellas. Or, in the case of his "Alpha" series, tomes. The alpha series deals with a mutually destructive couple that are drinking themselves to death rather than excape each other. Their lives are chronicled on "Tallahassee" and I haven't begun to plunder that one yet. Nor have I sunk my teeth into "The Sunset Tree, which is about an abusive father. Or Get Lonely. Which contains one of the greatest songs of breakup (or death) I have ever heard.
The first video from "Heretic Pride", Sax Rohmer #1 is here. The video (equally amazing) for Woke Up New is below.
"Woke Up New" from the album Get Lonely.
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