CMR: Air- Premiers Symptomes

Ahhhh Air. I was intoduced to this band through a friend about 2001ish. A more aptly named band has never been. Air would be the national anthem of a country that defied gravity. A place where everyone floats in a warm climate and your brain has been saturated with painkillers. Yes, Air is an electronica mood band. But what is the difference between Air and say.... new age, waves crashing, wind blowing, cheesy crap. Well, the songs (if you can call them that) are cohesive, they go somewhere. It may be a slow relaxing pace but they are moving.
Air is made up of two French guys who like to wear suits. Premiers Symptomes is made up of thier singles before they became popular. So this CD is French electronica made up of pre-hits. Yes, I know that is a hard sell no matter what planet you are on but if you are relaxed and looking to stay that way "premiers Symptomes is the road for you.
I will admit that I have not listened to this album in a long time but once I did listen to it I realized this is not an album to listen to over and over again. This is an ocational taste of cloud only to be savored infrequently lest you start to fade away also.
I would go down the list of songs but they do not even list them on the CD and it really does not matter. Just plug in and space out man.

Craig's CD collection

O.K. the voice of Craig has been long absent from Eating the Pavement, but I am back and back with a mission. The mission is this: Go through my entire CD collection starting with the A's and review each one. In this way I will not only be throwing out some good tunes but I will give out some band history, and a little personal history that fits each album. This way not only will you get something out of it by getting a heads up on some music you may not have heard about before but I can review my relationship with the CD. So, we all get to learn something.
First of all "yes" it is a CD review not an MP3 review, I like Cd's I am going to be on my porch with a broom yelling at those durn kids to keep it down with their MP3's and shaking my tiny fists yelling about the old days. The fact of the matter is that I like Cd's I like the idea of an album, a cohesive whole that I can listen to. I like cover art, I like looking in the CD and reading about crap the band thinks I will find interesting, like thanking their Cat, or the guy who sold them blow. I can not do with with MP3's so there
O.K. the first CD in the shoot is.........THE AFGHAN WHIGS "What Jail is Like"

Here is the cover of the album. It was a promotional use only thing so I must have picked it up in a bargain bin somewhere.
The Afghan Whigs started up in the late 80's but really came into their own in the early 90's. Critical acclaim for the band was never a problem and they could use positive reviews as toilet paper and still never run out of them, the problem The Afghan Whigs had was popular success. I am always a little on the fence about what that means. Is that the difference between hundreds of thousands of dollars and millions? who knows? and if you do please tell me. The point is that they could not break onto anything but college radio.
The sound of the band is a lot like the Replacements getting squished into Mudhoney. Basically take a bunch of angst and sandwich it between bleeding guitars. What does that sound like? Well, pick up What jail is Like and find out.
Like I said I found this album in some used bin somewhere in Iowa City when I was going to college. I must have vaguely heard from a friend about them and the thing was probably like three bucks so "why not"
What Jail is Like is and EP, with three studio songs and several live songs. They take a stab at some cover songs too.
First up is of course "What Jail Is Like" the studio version which is great. singing in the car music has never been so fun, and that gos for most of the album. the song is about some girl and something and him complaining about his past behaviour but not really apologizing. It does not really matter because the feeling of the song comes through well enough to feel "emo" but in more of ballsy way because of the guitars.
#2 Mr. Superlove: GREAT, nowhere else in the world can a man scream out "I am Mr. Superlove" and STILL sound all emotional and tender. This makes it a great crossover song. Guys and girls all get something out of it. Girl-emotion. Guys-get to yell "I am Mr. Superlove" AWSUM.
#3 Go figure a dark version of "Dark End of the Street" I realize there are endless covers of this song and there should be as it is a great song but this version is the perfect mix. It is like the two were walking down the street and bumped into each other "HEY, you got your dark, brooding music into my well written, emotional song", "NO, YOU got your well written emotional song into my dark brooding music" and so on.
WOW three better than average songs, this review guy must LOVE those Afghan Whigs and have no perspective. "Not true" I say
#4 Little Girl Blue---what the hell, If the album sucked this is what it would sound like. Too much with the whine and the guitar
#5 What Jail is Like (live)- the live version- ehh it is O.K.
#6 Now You Know-life is short-push the skip button
O.K. we are in a tie here three good/three not so good and only one more song to go
#7 POW out of the park "My World is Empty Without You/ I Hear a Symphony (live) This last track is what kept me coming back. For the first year or so I would only listen to this song. it is a cover of the Supremes hit "My World Is Empty Without You" and in the middle of the song just for about 20 seconds they go into "I Hear a Symphony" also by the Supremes. The song makes me just want to end the review with "JUST GET IT, NOW", but I will review on.... The song is dark but retains it's poppy roots, brooding but not boring, The song is over six minutes long and at the end you want more. A live version with energy to spare. How they even picked this over forty year old pop song from Motown is a mystery but it works so well I am resolved not to question.
The point is "JUST GET IT, NOW"
I am not going to rate albums with stars or happy or unhappy faces or any other rating system. If you don't know what to do at the end of a review, I must not have written it very well but I going to post a photo of something that should be a short hand to understanding the review. This week----Me looking all broody and moody

M.I.A. takes the offensive

Life is a disjointed mess, but that's no excuse for my conspicuous absence from blogging. Unfortunately, I have acquired a job I like, so afternoons usually can't be devoted to the latest, online diatribe. I did want to call your attention to (so far) the best album of 2007- M.I.A.'s sophomore outing, Kala. I was an instant-fan of M.I.A. when I first heard her debut album, Arular way back in the day (like, 2 years ago). Unfortunately, the strong, independent mantra she lent to her songs didn't translate to her life and I soon found myself catching snipits of her songs in television shows and commercials. It's easy to shit on indie bands. In fact, the indie community has an ugly compulsion to shit on bands the second they find any success. Still, if you're a band like M.I.A. or Kasabian and your marketing image is all about breaking out of convention, then you sell your songs to corporations, then you're asking to get called out. With her new album, M.I.A. further-sinks any revolutionary, strong-female credibility when she teams up with Timbaland for the final track on the album, "Come Around".

Still, her music actually sounds like little-else in the musical landscape and that's enough to set her album a step above the rest. Once I stopped expecting her to be my Champion of the Underprivileged, I could enjoy her as a slamming dance track sans cliche.

M.I.A. pays tribute to Bollywood with "Jimmy":




80's Hip-Hop Videos go to Africa with "Boyz":



Enjoy.

Skullcrusher mountain

This is a little song that we can all relate to

Education Friday

I found this very interesting. The Pinky Show, where this clip is from, is producing some great & thoughtful political stuff.

Post punk 4-ever

Okay my biggest guilty pleasure is post-punk from about 1978-1988. So let us rock out.


Joy Division-- This is from 1979...british music is so hyper-bolic think 1969 you have the beatles and mere 10 years later you have this explosion of great weird pop music. I dismissed Joy Division for a long time. It was such big favorite with all the goth kids and I was punk rock--as much as kid from a small town in Nebraska could be punk rock.




Husker Du: It was an absolutely frigid and grey night in December '88 that Husker Du was to play the Ranch Bowl in Omaha. I had been waiting a couple months to see them. I went up door and there was sign that Husker Du had broken up. And it all felt much colder.




The Smiths-- I still believe this was the best pop band of the early-mid 80's. Plus I think all rock stars should have to carry around flowers.



The Pixies-- It was too bad that Nirvana and grunge gets all credit for breaking out "alternative" music. Grunge was well not really that good in retrospect. The Pixies were the best.

Top 5 week of 7/22

1) Uncommon Carriers by John McPhee. This really is a fascinating book. The premise is that John McPhee just tags along with the folks that move commodities across the United States. He rides along with haz-mat truck driver for a couple weeks and on barge through the Illinois river. I grew up reading the beats and folks like Henry Miller and Charles Bukowski. Now I really focus on history and non-fiction. So I am old but gosh darn it I more knowledgeable and probably more interesting to talk to at a BBQ or maybe not.



2) DEVO. DEVO out of all the new wave bands was the one middle America loved to laugh at the most. I am sure there were countless folks in early 80's that dressed up flower pots on their heads for Halloween. But they were really a great band.

3) Intelligence Squared. Discourse in America is pathetic. But what suffices for debate on CNN & MSNBC is well crap. It is this childish back and forth. So I was very happy to find this new podcast by good folks at NPR called Intelligence Squared. Last night I listened to the arguments on proposition "the global warming is a crisis". Listen I am a liberal sort that believes in environmental issues but the debate gave me pause. I was really surprised that in the 70's there was a lot doomsday stuff about global cooling.

You should listen.



4) Small Pond Fishing. With the new baby coming I haven't got to get away and fly-fish up in the mountains like I like too. I think that maybe coming to an end anyway. But I did sneak away to little pond at a city park I am close to on Sunday. I've always believed you make do with what you have. There is something glorious about water...you stick enough if it on top of the earth your bound to get something living in it. Sunday, I witnessed blue heron nesting, a turtle swimming, and a cormorant fishing. I fished for some big carp and I caught a couple of little bass. Don't worry I catch and release thus, no fish were harmed in the making of this blog entry.



5) Ultrasound. Geeze that is some crazy stuff.

ghost in the machine

If you haven't already checked it out already please read Kappa No He's Blog this week on the Japanese myth of tsukumo-gami, which basically are inanimate objects that have reached their 100th birthday and then become animated living spirits. Apparently you can tick them off during there inanimate stage and when they become animate lookout. "...they do have the capacity for anger and will band together to take revenge on those who are wasteful or throw them away thoughtlessly," says wikkipedia. So I will be spending this weekend with my durable goods atoning and apologizing for the abuse I have shown them. If only I had known.

Top 5 week of 7/15/07

I've got plenty excuses for my absence from the blog...but I will just move along to another awesome top 5:

1) Of Montreal. I picked up a lot music from my town library. It never ceases to amaze me what they stock on the shelves. Anywise I checked out Of Montreal CD entitled..."Hissing Fauna Are You the Destroyer?" I promptly checked in the CD at the end of borrowing period but it still showed up as checked-out on my account. I was worried and so I brought it to the 70-year-old Librarian's attention who promptly read out loud the title from the computer at the top of her voice, "Hissing Fauna Are You The Destroyer?" and just kinda stared at me. I just shrugged my shoulders. Enjoy.







2) Gardening like a hippie. Well the gardening is doing well. And I've been reading a lot of garden books by radical small farmers and gardening folks like Wendell Berry and Gene Logsdon. In between the microwave and McDonald's we forgot about good food and what it takes to make it. Anywise I suggest everybody read the omnivores dilemma and grow some food. I am now stepping off my soap box.



3) Pickled Pig's feet. I've been trying to cook more so I bought Rick Bayless's Everyday Mexican. In my town is a large immigrant Mexican population which translates into some great restaurants and some really good places to buy authentic Mexican ingredients. So a couple weeks ago my wife and I were at Mexican market and there they were on the meat counter-- a big jar of picked hooves just bobbing away. You feel very primitive eating the hoof and all but what the heck they aren't all that bad. Really we all eat the butt of the pig without blinking. I suppose my great grandfathers ate much worse.

4) Actually not dressing up in some weird costume to ride a bike or, alternatively, not riding to increase your lactic threshold or to break some record. Just riding a bike to enjoy it. (Note Craig's Photo...you should totally buy it from him).

5) Being a dad. So we are expecting at the Dart household so I am technically not a dad yet but close enough. I am pretty excited I am going to start watching a bunch of Leave to Beaver, Father Knows Best and My Three Sons re-runs to really work on my dad-a-titude before the tike comes a long.

New Music: Panda Bear

I have been jonesing for some new music for some time now. I don't know why, but I've burned through so many indie-pop bands over the last couple years, I'm feeling adrift on the indie music seas. There have been a few interesting sounds to keep me interested. The one that has held my attention the longest is the second album from Noah Lennox a.k.a. Panda Bear entitled Person Pitch. The album runs along psych/trance lines, yet the music evokes a bubbly, summertime wave a la The Beach Boys. That kind of music would usually have me running in the opposite direction, but Panda Bear manages to weave a dark undercurrent that prevents the album from sending the listener into a diabetic coma.

I don't know what the hell is up with this music video. Someone spent too much time with the video effects machine at a public-access, TV station. Enjoy the tune.

Updates

Craig: Peru or some other country where the water is not so good.
Brian: Alive and well settling into his rocky mountain home
Henry: Fly fishing the "run off" with zero luck.

Best song ever

Some Garden Pictures and Paul Simon

We have been ridiculously busy at the Dart Household. The Garden and the plants have been coming in and it really is starting to feel like summer.






The Gardening is really progressing:





This our compost if you look real hard you can see the
worms...which is a really great thing if your into composting.



My Corn is totally awesome.






And for some reason I've been listen to a lot of Paul Simon--I really
dig his mustache in this video.

A Last-Minute Read

On Friday, I purchased what I believe will be the last book I read in New York City. It's called Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898. It is a dense read- somewhere between People's History of the United States and any history textbook you red in college. The writing is a bit dry, but it's a fantastic story that every New Yorker (and American) should know. It's hard to think of Manhattan as anything other than a pancake island of paved grids and steel canyons. Nowhere in American can I so readily forget that weather does something more than inconvenience my daily commute. It is strange to read of early colonists as they gush about New York's tremendous, natural resources and arrogantly declare them to be limitless. At 1,400 pages, I'm sure it'll be a quick read...

The pending move is all that I can think about even as I try to wring every last experience I can from this city. Wednesday is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thursday is Shakespeare in the Park. Next week is Fire Island, the Whitney Museum, Donut Plant, a Vietnamese sandwich, and a couple more pizzas before we set sail on the 14th.

Gloaming

This week, I am obsessed with words. Particularly, I want to know the words that we are tied to. For example, I have a strange association with the word 'shame'. Inexplicably, the word connotes a feeling of gnashing teeth every time I hear it. I'm most-fascinated with words that nag me- words that carry such weight, I fall in love with them.

The word that currently fills my peripheral vision is 'gloaming'. I had heard the word a few times, but two years ago, as I was re-reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, I came upon the word and it inescapably burned into my mind. I had read Tolkien's trilogy twice before so I had surely read it before. Yet I was caught. I found myself injecting it into conversations and searching for opportunities to weave it into my writings.

It is defined in The New Oxford American Dictionary as a "twilight; dusk". The word is from Old English and from the Germanic word for 'twilight' and the word 'glow'. As Tolkien wrote it, and I imagine it, gloaming is that fleeting pause in breath between day and night. The world feels mysterious and full of anticipation. Dawn carries the pause to the nervous anticipation of a new day, while the gloaming possesses a reckless, Dionysian bent to it. Perhaps it is the way I feel at this point in my life. It is where I live- a space dancing along the edge of consummation. As I stand at the edge of another great life change, I peer through that mystical, gloaming light and wonder if, perhaps, despite the best-laid plans, I can glimpse the forces that will carry me on another unexpected journey.

Kenny Rogers scares the crap out of me

Man, my fellow bloger just creeped me out. I looked at that Kenny Rogers video, but I didn't have the sound. Creeeeeepy boy, What kind of puppets are those? They were the same kind that they used in that Genises video, and the same kind that were popular in the mid-eighties, when they had one of Ronald Regan that was showen on T.V. like seven billion times. Creepy then, creepy now.
Frisbee golf, man I love that game. It's FREE, which apeals to my cheap assedness, it's outdoors, which dosen't make me mad, and it's FREE. oh yeah, by the way it's free.
I do a little disk throwing with a few guys who are MUCH better then I am and they bring thier dogs. WOW, I have pictures, enjoy

Top 4 Fourth Week in May

1) Cloud Spotting and generally paying more attention to the sky. So it is storm season now on the great plains. So in the afternoon we are getting some fairly big storms coming in from the northwest. I don't know much about clouds I am still learning to identify them. I found this web site from the cloud appreciation society helpful...they have a manifesto...and why shouldn't they. We also had our spring influx of big huge water birds like the pelicans and the night herons. So there is very good reason to keep your head stuck up in the air...keep your mouth closed though. Oh and this is a night heron:

2)Swan Swan H REM-- REM was terribly important to me from that awkward 15 to 18 year old period. I used to play Life Rich Pageant over and over at the record store. Which I am sure was super annoying. I had never seen this video before. Michael Stipe looks well a little dorky. Enjoy it anyway.





3) Monty Don-- Okay so our garden is taking off. The problem is that gardening just doesn't have a lot of male role models. Further more there really isn't any super cool garden dudes. Like Tony Hawk for skateboarding. So I was real pleased to find Monty Don's book called The Complete Gardener. Monty is really into gardening like a rock star really is into his drugs. He has great passage where he talks about his love of his really expensive shovel and double digging. Anyway if you are actually gardening this year instead of wimping out to go on some exotic trip to let's say Peru I'd pick it up.

4) Anatomy of Murder-- I watch this movie on vacation. It is brilliant. The original novel was written by future Michigan Supreme Court Justice. I know a little something about trial law and I wish I could channel Jimmy Stewart sometimes. However, I am not that tall.

The Gambler Deconstructed

Small town Nebraska circa 1981 country was big: Alabama, the OakRidge Boys, and, of course, Kenny Rogers. Kenny with his mane of black/sliver hair and awesome grizzly man beard was a thoughtful almost philosophical artist in comparison to, "Oh play me some mountain music..." or some song that went "Elvira om-popa-uh-ma my hearts on fire for Elvira". No Kenny was laying down advice from his high perch on the popular culture mountain and all the kids on the bus knew the words by heart to The Gambler.





Okay so yesterday I heard this song on the radio. I just sort of stumbled on it. I still knew all the words. And alls I've got to say what kinda cockamamie advice is that. I'll tell you what kinda advice that is...it is the kind of advice you get from near dead degenerate on a train smoking cigarettes and begging for whiskey. Or in other words not very good or even comprehensible advice.

Let's look at the advice the dying sage whiskey grubber gives before he dies in sleep:

"You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em.
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.
You never count your money, when you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin', when the dealin's done."

Not much advice for a two minute ballad, but when you separate the wheat from the chaff that is all you get. There is the hold'em/fold'em advice; walk away/ run advice; and there is the countin' advice. What clearly stands out about the hold'em/fold'em advice and the walk away/ run advice is that it is all very, very, very, very vague. I'd say it is not even helpful. Maybe the gambler could have gave some more tips about when to run perhaps and maybe some examples of what is hold'em situation. I think the song says a little more about Kenny, than "the gambler", that Kenny could be hoodwinked by this old guy that only wants his whiskey by vague sayings he perceives as wisdom. And further Kenny thought this advice was sooooo important he had to record a song about it. Now there is the countin' advice, you shouldn't count your money when your sittin' at the table. Okay that is flat out stupid. You probably should know how much money you have when you go gambling because you may not be counting much when the dealing is done because you made a bunch of dumb bets not knowing how much money you had following the gamblers advice.

Top Five the 3rd week of May

Went on vacation and... well my life got all messy... but I am back here is my top 5:

1) Happiness: I thought a lot about happiness while on vacation. Not the hey-I-am-feeling-great-today-kind-of-happiness but the Aristotle's view of happiness-- which a little more about contentment and well being. I am re-reading this book called Creating the Good Life : Applying Aristotle's Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness by James O'Toole. It sort of an Aristotle for dummies-mid-life-self-help-book. I really have enjoyed it. The reader digest version is this: the true test of happiness is will you be happy when you look back on your life from your death bed. You know little regrets. You spent your time wisely on good things. And also you should create some sort plan so you won't be full of regret when you eventually end up on your death bed. Of course this all gets a bit heavy and has made me feel guilty about playing hours of mine sweeper.


2) Not watching the freaking news. I realized I have an utter disdain for the local news. I've noticed more and more that it just makes me anxious. This morning on the local news I learned that there is rapist on the loose; children fall out of apartment windows; and somebody starved a seven year old to death. I understand that all of these events are tragic and we as humans are drawn to tragedy. It is all to overwhelming. In a big metro area stuff statistically is bound to happen...but do we really need this magnifying glass we call the news. Here an article from John Stossel (the guy with the mustache on 20/20) that kinda illustrates my point.

3) Yo La Tango-- Gots to love them. I think they have been around for like trillion years. But I love their new album "I am not a afraid of you and I will beat your ass", which in addition to a fairly good album title is also a great motto for your crest of arms--should have one of those things. Here is a nice video...if you can't get you tube just think of your favorite Yo La Tango song and hum it for a couple of minutes...or listen to any bumper music on This American Life.



4) Civil War on Great Courses-- I've been listen to college courses on tape for awhile now. I am really a geek. Anywise my background in science so when it comes to history I am as they say, inexperienced but willing to try. The Civil War was a real gap in my understanding of U.S. History. This course is great. I recently read Confederates in The Attic and I think that is great place to start to learn about the Civil War also the Ken Burns Special that aired a few years back.

5) Poem of the week:

This Is Just to Say
by William Carlos Williams

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Old Guy Radio

Although I spent most of my college day listen to the ruckus of Henry Rollins, Fugazi, and, stuff like Helmet as get older I love singer-song writers more and more--maybe it is the sudden drop in testorone in middle-age. I cannot stop listening to Sufjan Steven's album the Avalanche. It is compilation of out takes from the Illinois album. I think the whole thing comes off better than the original album.

Enjoy:

This video is fairly lame but the song is beautiful





This is some high school choir covering the same song. I'd say equally as cool.

Good Stuff: LCD Soundsystem

Everybody needs validation at certain times in their life. Art serves two, primary functions: 1) to challenge 2) to comfort. Last week, I discovered a group of artists that are firmly providing me with heaping tablespoons of comfort.

LCD Soundsystem has just released a fantastic album called Sound of Silver and it rocks. If you haven't heard of LCD Soundsystem, you have to immediately stop what you're doing and go buy a copy of their first, self-titled album.

That's o.k.... I can wait...

Here's a music video of one of the goofier songs to prod you along...


Good stuff. It's always nice to have an indie rock album you can actually listen to on an exercise bike (my current obsession).

Well, now you have to go out and get their newest album that continues the energetic, fun pace but with the addition of two songs- "North American Scum". The second song would be my enablement Manifesto if it had been written two years go- "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down". In true, Indie fashion, the band has produced a music video for "North American Scum" that succeeds in lacking any wit AND permanently scarring the song for all future listenings.

So, close your eyes...


Now, go have some fun...

Top 5 week of 4/22--ahh Omaha

I am going back to Omaha this week. I grew up in the river city. I get all nostalgic about the place. Here are five things I love about Omaha.

1) Goldberg's Bread Pudding-- Breading pudding gets a bad rap because usually somebody's mom made with wonder bread and bunch of raisins = gross. But Goldbergs at 50th & Dodge makes the best darn bread pudding-- try it with ice cream.

2) Fish and Chips at the Dundee Dell-- The old Dell was great. It was right on Dodge Street, Omaha's main street, most of the seats and booths were broke...the bathrooms stunk, at least the men's room did...and it was great place to have a drink. The speciality was and is fish and chips served in a little aluminum sack. The trick is to douse the breaded fried fish and chips with about a quart of malt vinegar so you get this salty-sour-fried-fish stuff that is great after you have drank about 3 pints of Guinness. The Dell has since moved. It is actually in the Dundee neighborhood proper...the fish and chips are still very good.

3) Stoysich-- Omaha's stock yards brought in thousands of immigrants in the early 20th Century, many of them from mainland Europe. Most of them settled in South Omaha like my grandparents. Stoysich in the heart of South Omaha is remnant of the era: a true old world butcher shop with what seems like hundreds of meats, especially sausages. One my favorite things is to go to the back of the place and pick up one the cooked the sausages they sale...you then proceed put the sausage on a hoagie-like-bun and fill it full of sweet peppers. So good.



4) Field Club Neighborhood-- I love old houses. I live in one in my home town. Some of the prettiest and coolest houses reside along Woolworth Street in Omaha. I've spent hours just driving the streets marveling at some the great architecture.

5) Woodman Tower-- This is an icon to me, and I'm sure many other Omahans. It is a big old box of building. But it was a marvel when it was built in 1969. It represented to me the sort of industrial spirit of Omaha, but it is dang ugly that is for sure.

Music Man

So, through the miracle of buying used music from Amazon.com (I'm cheap) I bought a bunch of new (to me) Cd's. I even ventured out a bit and bought some Cd's I didn't know anything about like:
Phantom Planet-a solid sort of O.K. band. Music I would not regularly like that much but, if you listen to it enough (which I did because I paid for the damn thing and I'll get my money out of the sumabith)it is infectious, mostly just that "California" Song. It's a corny song and just O.K. but here is the thing. Listen to that song like ten times, while singing along and by the tenth time you will be pouring your heat and soul into it, taken over completely by the sad sappiness of the song. So, I want everyone to go out, listen to the song and come back and tell me if this is true or not I dare you. This is kind of like a chain letter, by getting others suckered into the song I can be free of it.

Other Cd's
Neko Case "Fox Confessor Brings the Flood" Great music, keen artwork with (surprise) Foxes.

Flaming Lips "At War with the Mystics" Love those lips

Dandy Warhols "thirteen tales from urban Bohemia" Right on Music

Musical Sustenance: Part Deux

Henry's right. We DO need more jazz in our lives... and Euro-dance music!

We should listen to more jazz...dontcha think.

Five things I will Miss When I Leave NYC

1) Doughnut Plant - located a couple blocks south of Delancey Street on the Lower East Side, the Doughnut Plant offers a fantastic and ever-changing selection of flavors. Over the years, I have sampled ginger, Meyer lemon, Pistachio, Coconut creme-filled, Tres Leches, Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Rose petal donuts... and I have yet to come across a flavor I didn't like. Their cinnamon rolls and sticky buns rock, too. The donuts are made primarily for gourmet food stores in the City and whatever they have left over is sold from 6:30 a.m. until they run out.

2) The Metropolitan Museum of Art - For New York City residents, it's pay-what-you-like and that makes it the best deal in the City and, perhaps, the world. Their collection is staggering. Morgan and I have spent many Friday nights here, sketching and taking pictures. You can take it to another level, rent an audio guide and spend endless hours in the many, themed galleries. It's phenomenal.

3) Chinatown - This neighborhood intimidated me the most when I first moved to NYC but it quickly became my favorite. I love the Vietnamese sandwich shops, the vegetarian dim sum, the Chinese bakeries, and a small, Thai supermarket that gets me kaffir limes for my curry pastes. It's one of the few neighborhoods still feels like a neighborhood. As I walk the streets, it feels both alien and comfortable and never disappoints.

4) The Bowery Ballroom - The best music venue in the City. It strikes the perfect balance between size and intimacy- there's not a bad seat in the house. The sound system is spot on and the lineup is a Who's Who of the indie music scene, and it's Clear Channel-free. I've seen everyone from Courtney Love to The Kills to the Notwist to the Wrens and the only reason I don't go every night is I'm an hour subway ride from home at the end of a show.

5) The Zip Code - I'll admit it. It feels cool to say that I live in New York. As a kid, the idea of living in a city of this size and density was terrifying. Despite the gentrification and precipitous drop in crime since the 1970s and 80s, this city is still a tough nut to crack. It's as expensive as hell and harder than ever to make it as an artist. I haven't fulfilled the grandiose plans I carried with me to the city, but simply living here has made me a survivor and proud that I have been able to hold my own in this city for this long.

My Top V for the Week 4/15--the ides of April

1) Mischke-- Mischke brodcasts out of St. Paul, Minnesota out of KSTP 1500 which is a blow torch so I could pick up in Nebraska where I went college. Some of the most brilliant radio you have ever heard--and really there is no one like him. You can now pick up the podcast. http://www.mischkemadness.com/

2) Chickens--Ah chickens. Looks like the wife and I will be inheriting a set of backyard chickens. We are lucky that our town is where all the old farmers retired because livestock is generally permitted. A cow used to live in a yard across from the golf course for years. I've raised chickens twice prior...I've witnessed my dog swallow a chick whole--suffice to say I wasn't as happy about the ordeal as the dog was. I've seen with my very eyes a turkey in full attack mode against one of my little bantams--it was prehistoric. And of course I ate a lot eggs. I firmly believe life is much richer with chickens. http://raising-chickens.com/chicken-coops.html

3) The Elected live show on XM--who are these fellows? Very good show. http://www.myspace.com/theelected

4) Krautburgers-- Yummy cabbage, hamburger, salt and pepper baked in bread.

5) Yoga-- Okay so they came up with this Yoga-thing in India a trillion years ago and its all new-agey and weird, but really it is like the best thing in the world...especially, if your some thirty-odd-some guy with high cholesterol and demanded by his doctor to relax. I do hatha Yoga with a bunch of old ladies at retirement center-- you take what you get out here in the wild west. It reminds me of kintergarden nap time and p.e. I think at some point we will need to get out a parachute and shake it with foam balls on it circa 1979. http://www.yogajournal.com/

Condiment King

So,I had to go to the grocery store and I was wandering around, as I am want to do in food stores (oohhh so many colors and shapes) then I came across my favorite area. The condiment section, I did not buy anything of course because I am in condiment rehab. I have a sickness that makes my buy way too many sauces and and dressings so my wife has forbade me from buying anymore until we get rid of what we have in about five months if we start using barbecue sauce (my true Achilles heal) on our cereal.

The reason I love condiments so much, well every other food item is pretty much locked up. In the cereals it's all about the major cereals, same with meats, and even frozen foods, soft drinks, and bread. It's all about General mills, Coca Cola, Jimmie Dean, Wonder Bread, blah, blah, blah. Even if you think a new exciting food item is on the market-- trust me it's not, because look a little closer and it is make by some big boring company. BUT not the condiments my friend. The condiment sections is the last frontier for an euntriprnurial young up and comer. I LOVE condiments. You could be in your backyard throwing together a bunch of crap to bbq your beef and and the next day put it in a bottle and take it down to the local HY-VEE store an who knows they might put it on the shelf right next to the big boys of barbecue sauce. It's only in the condiment lane that I realizes there are sauces I can't live without. There is a sauce for wild game, yes if you have shot something yourself and need a sauce for it some redneck had gone into production for YOU. Hell there were at least five such sauces last time I saw, granted I live in Nebraska but still.

There is a jar called "The Gravy Master" no, it's not gravy in a can, it's some sort of gravy concentrate, I don't know, so you can, what, add a little and save the time and money making all that gravy by yourself. I'm not sure, but that is what I love about the condiment section, it's full of mystery, questions about lifestyle, and just strange condiments. Who IS the "Gravy Master" some mad condiment making fool with delusions of grandeur no doubt, but just maybe he is the master of all the gravy he oversees. Who knows but condiments is where the Gravy Master's dreams came true.

I will be back to talk about condiments again my friends don't you worry.

My top 5 week of April 8th

1) Harakiri dir. Kobayashi--Criterion Collection, www.criterionco.com. Movies can be such a wasted medium. When do you get the general public to sit down for two hours and really pay attention to anything. Harakiri is up there with old Shakespeare a meditation on death and culture. I won't ruin it for you but really the best movie I've seen in awhile. Makes you wish the cineplex folks made just a little better movies.

2) Giant Pumpkins, www.giantpumpkins.com/. I am really working hard this year to learn to garden with my wife-- who is like the best gardener in the world. However, I am set on going full bore and growing a giant freakin' pumpkin. At the end of the Summer I want a semi with a crane to come over to my house and move the thing down the County Fair. I'd like to block up traffic for a couple of hours. At the Fair I will proceed to have the crane lower my giant pumpkin down on all its competitors and crush the competition--literally and figuratively, but mostly literally.

3) The Comics Curmudgeon--joshreads.com/

Newspaper comics generally stink...well it's okay to say so.

4) The Thomas Jefferson Hour, www.jeffersonhour.org/ , I am radio junkie. Like-I-bought-a-shortwave-radio-in-the-90's-and-listen-to-it-after-my-wife-goes-to-sleep junkie. So I love this modern world and all those podcasts. The Thomas Jefferson Hour at first blush seems all too very dorky. Premise: Clay Jenkins pretends he is Thomas Jefferson and he talks about stuff. Once you get over the whole historical reenactment thing it is very interesting.

5) The Vaselines. I think bought this album in college because Kurt Cobain really liked them. Anyway I've been listen to it again you should as well.

My Wii Obsessions: Warioware and Zelda

My right arm is aching this morning. I believe that I am suffering from the Wii equivalent of tennis elbow. The culprit is a game I picked up a couple of weeks ago called Warioware: Smooth Moves. I know that Morgan and I haven't been entertaining very many guests over the years, but never has that been so acute as right now.

This game is meant to be played with others... many others... preferably under the influence. The game supports 12 players and is a frenzy to play even in single-player mode. Hundreds of mini-games reside beneath the hood. I have been squatting and waving and punching and shimmying to the tune of a frenetic and catchy (EVIL) soundtrack. I got the Wii because I wanted something fun to do with people who weren't gamers. Too bad the system didn't come with neighborhood friends.


The other game that's taking up too much of my time has been the Epic known as The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. This game is HUGE. I have been playing it for 2 months and I'm still not finished with it. The save screen logs the number of hours you put into it and I'm somewhere around 59... if only I got paid for such commitment. Normally, this sort of gaming activity would be a deal-breaker with my wife, but fortunately the game is beautiful to look at and the puzzles are so much fun, Morgan has spent more than an idle hour or two helping me work through some of the more-challenging levels.


The plot of the game is pretty stock but the execution is fantastic. Rather than subject the gamer to another hack-and-slash fest, Zelda is provided with a fantastic array of tools and weapons that allow him/her to swing from claws, smash ice blocks, capture objects with mini-tornados and walk along the bottom of lakes. The first 2 hours of the story are terminal as the game tries to teach the in-and-outs of the movement and combat systems, but when the story picks up it's fantastic. I have played dozens of fantasy games and this quickly became my favorite. If you own a Wii, you should own this game.

Venus

I understand that it is self-flagellating to watch the Academy Awards every year. The movies I love are rarely nominated and the winners are frequently the least-deserving- I don't know what the hell Academy members were thinking last year with Crash. I'm going to be good, though, and not bitch about this year's performance. There are plenty of snarky comments to be found on the Internet and in print. My issues with this institution go so far back, it's not worth the breath. I've got a friend-of-a-friend who is an Academy member, however, and that means that for 2 weeks of the year, I get to watch half the films I kinda wanted to see but wasn't interested enough to pay $10.75 for the privilege. This year, the movie I heard the least about was the one I enjoyed the most - Venus.

I knew that Peter O'Toole was up for an Academy Award for his role in Venus but heard little about the film. Peter O'Toole plays Maurice, an aged actor in the twilight of his career. Remembered mostly for his glamorous past and forgotten by the younger generation, he spends his twilight years playing dying grandfathers in films and wandering to the theater or the diner with actor-friends of his generation. The film has a smart, touching plot between Maurice and a young, street-smart woman who he calls "Venus", yet that is the least-interesting aspect of the film. Venus is a portrait of being old - how it feels to be old, how old people are treated and the roles that the elderly are expected to fulfill.

It never fails to amaze me how American culture (or most Western cultures, for that matter) treats it's elderly population. They are stereotyped in film and television as less-than-human children who shuffle, complain and fear change. Reality is that families and the culture largely ignores them or panders to them in condescending ways. What was natural and expected at earlier ages becomes lecherous and sinister in the later years. Somehow, elderly people are supposed to become softer, safer and less of whatever they were in their prime. I suspect it might have something to do with a contemporary fetishizing of youth combined with a terror of growing old.

Peter O'Toole does a spectacular job as the aging actor whose mind is still sharp, whose passions are still potent even as his body slowly gives way. Forrest Whittaker might have given the performance of his life in The Last King of Scotland- his Oscar acceptance speech was passionate and inspiring. However, Peter O'Toole performed an act of courage in exposing himself to the potential ridicule as a dirty old man by an audience that no longer sees him as Lawrence of Arabia or Henry II. He serves up his persona and our memories of him as a passionate, vigorous soul and uses it to expose our assumptions of what a human being should be in his/her later years. In a business based upon vanity, Peter O'Toole continues to both challenge and unsettle. He stood and delivered and I hope that I will carry half that that boldness into my later years.

Onibaba

I am a lifer. I was an enthusiast throughout my childhood. I studied them in college. I even subjected myself to the machina of the Dream Factory during the mid 1990's in the hope of making them. Motion pictures have profoundly moved and shaped me. So, it was no small event when enthusiasm turned into cynicism a few years ago. The art form that gave me so much suddenly felt like a shallow, corporate shell of what I once loved. Sometimes I begin to wonder whether there are no longer inspiring surprises to be found. Though I have not seen every movie made, I have seen thousands of films- enough to believe that there is little out there to amaze me... then, something comes along that kicks my ass, rekindles my love of cinema and reminds me that no matter how long I live, there will always be surprises. This week, I sat down and watched the 1964, Japanese cinema classic, Onibaba.

Onibaba is one of the creepiest movies I've seen in years. Set during a civil war of medieval Japan, an old woman and her daughter-in-law live in a small hut amongst a sea of tall grass. They eke out a living by selling the armor and weapons of unsuspecting soldiers who unwittingly stumble into their grassland trap. With aid of halberds and a deep well, the women murder and salvage for millet and sake. The film is sparse on dialogue and instead fills the narrative with expressionistic cinematography and a minimalist sound. In an age of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and Howard Shore it is a blessed release to watch a film that doesn't try to relentlessly steer me with orchestrated Muzak. The wind and clacking of the the long, grass stalks create an unnerving environment where death appears and disappears with startling swiftness.

What most struck a nerve with me was the primal quality of the storytelling- this is not Kurosawa's Japan. The characters are primal in their desires. Starvation, lust and violence drive the narrative from the start. The opening sequence of the film follows the women as they kill a pair of soldiers, strip their bodies, dump them into a hole, scarf a quick meal in their hut, then collapse on bamboo mats. The younger woman's lust for a man sends her racing through the tall grass at night into his arms, despite the terrifying possibility that a demon lives amongst the grass. All the characters are unsettling with their voracious, relentless appetites. A major part of the film's hook is that one never knows who to root- each character is fatally-flawed in more than a few, unpalatable ways. Onibaba reminded me that it is not spectacle that makes memorable movies- it is character. This film has it in spades.

Pan's Labrinth "Payback"

As I am sure we are all aware, the democratic country we live in is a boon to free speech that we all enjoy taking for granite every day. So, I want to give my appreciation for free speech by not erasing Brian's blog about Pan's Labyrinth. By holding back and NOT destroying an opinion that one may not agree with or just happens to be WRONG we all benefit by opening our minds just a bit more and letting new misguided ideas in. And with that I say "RISE UP people of the world and see Pan's Labyrinth."
O.K. so Brian is not "wrong" because of course how can an opinion BE wrong but still... As you might suppose I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth much more than Brian. Now to be fair, I read his blog and he mentioned that he had maybe "bought into the hype" of the movie. He had heard a lot about it in advance about it's originality. Now my good friend Brian is based out of New York, a regular movie mecca. I am conversely based out of Omaha.. that city in the bastion of cutting edge art and free thinking. Yoga classes are held in the park while coffee houses speak of new eastern philosophies. I feel sorry for Brian in his po-dunc, back-water, small-minded, hick town that he likes to call "The Big Apple" no thank-you I much prefer my cosmopolitan, eco-friendly, muti-cultural Omaha, Nebraska. Why just today my boss showed me a "funny" Internet clip of a re-arranged Kentucky Fried Chicken sign that read "HILARY SPECIAL, 2 fat thighs, 2 small breasts, and 2 left wings" I chuckled heartily about his keen insights on the Democratic senator. ha ha ha 2 left wings indeed! so clever. The point is that I did not get ANY information on Pan's Labyrinth before I saw it because... well... you know I live in a film gulag. In all fairness we do get some independent movies here in Nebraska the last one was called "Happy Feet".
I was thinking of writing about how much I enjoyed Pan's Labyrinth but now I think I'll just whine about the lack of good film here. No, no I'll stay focused.
Me and Brian just felt differently about that film. I found the back and forth between reality and fantasy extremely well done. The representation of Franco's Spain as seen through the fantasy world of a young girl was very compelling, creating conversations that were provocative. I also found the "reality" story just as good. the suspense of the whether the rebels will be found out or not. I didn't even know they used CGI, that is how good it was. I thought it was all dude's in costumes. O.K. I knew they CGed the legs a few times but all in all a bit of quibble if you ask me.
I can sympathise with Brian. I know what it is like to be expecting greatness and not have it happen, that is why all movie fans should move to Omaha, where you quickly learn to expect nothing, and are always pleasantly sup prised to find you were right. I'm off now to the latest indi film coming out here. I think it's from France, I believe it is pronounce "Grid-loc Gang" hmm I'll let you know.
late

Pan's Labyrinth

Morgan and I decided to take advantage of New York's movie matinees ($6 before Noon) and schlepped down to 67th and Broadway for a flick. The critics had been gushing about this film since it was first released at the end of last year and we were eager to see something fantastical. I have been obsessed about macabre children's stories (i.e. Alice in Wonderland, the Oz books, anything by Dahl), and this film seemed to fit the bill.

The film is slicky-made- everyone is lit in that even, one-hour television drama style. The CGI scenes were generally effective, but there were a few moments where I couldn't help but notice how artificial they looked. In one scene there was a beautifully-rendered, writhing, mandrake root while another shot had a Spanish Captain staring through binoculars at terrible, CGI campfire smoke.

The story is strong in formula but there are some nice plot twists to be found. The film contains a significant (and somewhat indulgent) number of squirm scenes. I like the idea of a dark, dreadful fairy world but most of the gore is used to redundantly underscore the evilness of the Captain. Although many images are striking and effective at establishing tone, after a while it felt like they were more for the filmmaker's amusement than the story's needs. Though Ofelia's faun and faeries are interesting, they are simplistically rendered and do little to reflect upon either Ofelia's past with her dead father or her escapist perception of the world. I have seen enough magical beings in my filmic lifetime so their mere presence wasn't enough to induce a "wow" from me.

Writing fantastical stories is not difficult. I can let my imagination run wild and concoct wildly fantastical creatures and worlds. With the help of special effects artists and scenic sculptors, I could readily make a convincing world that is completely unfamiliar from our own. What makes great fantasy, however, is when those images are wrangled into the service of a specific, tangible equivalent. The Wizard of Oz (the film) showcases Dorothy's need to escape the mundane, American plains and learn that the world is cruel and one needs family to endure those trials of life and those characters (the witch, the scarecrow, the tin man) arise from the people and life around her. Roald Dahl's tales choke with the challenges of growing up amongst the cruelties of peers and adults and his villanous characters are often extreme representations of those personality types. The Brothers Grimm collection of folk tales are moral tales given fantastical vehicles to express them.

The most compelling character of Pan's Labyrinth was a strange, unnamed creature who kept his eyes in his hands. There is a brief shot where Ofelia enters his room and sees paintings along the ceiling that depict him killing and eating little children. Although the moment was brief and never referred to again, it intrigued me and, unlike nearly every character in the film, made me want to know more about this creature's story and Ofelia's relationship to him.

I enjoyed an opportunity to see a film that looks at World War II from a small corner of the world, à la For Whom the Bell Tolls, but I would have liked for the fantasy elements of this film to carry my perspective of such times to a new place rather than to showcase untethered imaginings. Still, if you like watching bugs turn into faeries, books whose pages morph from empty to ornate, or brief snippets of gore then this is probably the film for you.

Fun With Airlines

So this year for Christmas I went to Sweden with my wife (who is Swedish). We have spent the last few years right here in Omaha, Nebraska for Christmas but it was time to spend a Christmas with the Swedish side of this marriage.

To get to Sweden from Omaha you have to catch a connecting flight in Chicago. It may be shocking that there is no direct Omaha-Stockholm flights, but it turns out that is not a financially viable line. Once I entered the Chicago airport, I noticed a subtle change- subtle as in jump right up into your face and say “NOTICE ME NOTICE ME”. The people who work at the airport have a bit of an attitude. As I walked to my connecting flight I could hear around me courteous airport staff helping passengers. “Did I SAY you have to go through security again” one annoyed, rage-filled staffer told a quivering old lady.

In this world of mass travel via airplane there are a lot of obstacles to sanity and comfort. For some reason when I overheard this conversation it made me reflect on the wonderful world of airplane travel. I have broken this up into a few different parts.

Tickets: About ten to fifteen years ago airlines finally took the leap into electronic tickets. Kicking and screaming, the whole industry took a leap they should have taken twenty years earlier- a leap that not only makes travel easier on the passengers but saves the airlines huge amounts of money and time. I bring this up first because I see the ticket as the hallmark of airline progress.

Take something that benefits EVERYONE and drag your feet for years. If this is something you personally engage in, watch out- you might be an international airline.

Putting your flight, seat, and gate number in a clear-to-see and find area of the ticket is NEW. In the 90’s my airline tickets resembled numeric crossword puzzles, with gate, flight and seat information scattered indiscriminately across an ocean of random numbers that have meaning only to airline workers or some pagan airline. You would have to forsake your own personal faith and pray should you ever want to decipher your ticket and find your gate. Let me say that again, making the word SEAT big and placing YOUR seat number next to it is a NEW invention of the airlines. Somebody came up with that just ten years ago and that guy got a big raise, and robust men patted him on the back, and said things like “Johnson- ticket make good read. Me CEO, me big man, now I make plane go zoom zoom hee hee.” Some of you might notice that I didn’t say a woman invented this concept and that must be true. There is no way a woman was involved because a woman would have figured out tickets should be easy to read on the FIRST DAMN ONE EVER PRINTED.

I am not going to obsess on the walk through security because everyone knows how ridiculous it is and I just…it just hurts my head. But I will note that because I remove my shoes, take off my belt, stripped off my dignity and submit to random acts of searching stupidity I no longer have to be asked the dumbest questions created by man i.e. “are you carrying any weapons?” When my wife went through the final step to getting her green card I had to go in with her and prove we were married. Here are some of the questions they asked her. “Do you have any relatives you are bringing with you into the U.S.?” Fair enough, a question worth asking I suppose. This was followed up with “Are you a terrorist?” I kid you not, that was a real question. There was also, “have you ever been or are you currently involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs?” Maybe these are not stupid questions maybe our jails are so packed because questions like these catch criminals all of the time. Maybe this is the greatest invention in crime fighting since Batman- I doubt it, but I digress.

The most interesting thing I have found out about airport security is the differences that occur country-to-country. If you are at an airport in the good old U.S.A. well, be prepared to have your grandmother strip searched and tasered for having a pair of knitting needles. Are you leaving Sweden? Well, expect a polite, non-rushed security check that might also resemble a line at the grocery store. Did you just get done vacationing in Laos (yes, Laos has an airline, called Lao Air, Fun Fact: Lao Air is one of only two airlines in the world that does not make public it’s safety record….yea) Walking through security in Laos is a lot like just walking, there is not much of a check. Now I have to think this is because A. Laos has never had a terrorist problem. OR B. Even terrorists who are going to blow themselves up are afraid to fly Lao Air. O.K. now I’m not even digressing I’m just wandering around the landscape of airline security.