randomness personified

what randomness watches

For no reason whatsoever I felt like compiling a list of my twenty favorite films. It's a suprisingly static list. It's only fun, though, if you discuss and list at least your five favorites. Ready? Go.

1. Brazil
2. Manhattan
3. Touch of Evil
4. 8 1/2
5. Citizen Kane
6. Annie Hall
7. Dr. Strangelove
8. Der Himmel über Berlin (Wings of Desire)
9. Blue Velvet
10. L' Avventura (The Adventure)
11. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (Amélie)
12. A Clockwork Orange
13. Do The Right Thing
14. Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai)
15. La Dolce Vita
16. Drowning by Numbers
17. Stardust Memories
18. Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten (The Merchant of Four Seasons)
19. The Royal Tenenbaums
20. Chinatown

Eek. I'm a dork. Only one Lynch and probably the least popular Fassbinder, Greenaway and Antonioni. I likes what I likes, though. If you haven't seen my top ten, though, I can't recommend them enough. I think they appeal to pretty much all tastes. Well, except for "L'Avventura." That makes some people crazed.

This also all reminds me of the fact that my film studies prof in college told me, based upon an essay I wrote on "Easy Rider," that I should review films for a living. Like there's any opportunity for that...

it's a terrible thing to lose

The postman bought me a bit of a treat today. Waiting in my mailbox was a shiny new copy of the soon to be released album from randomness' favorites The Beautiful South. I'm more than a bit apprehensive, though. This write-up on their website certainly is fun and clever. I'm not sure that the lads can live up to it anymore, though. Sad, really.

THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH 'Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs'

Tricky subject: Johnny Cover version. Get it right and you're number one, top of the pops, garlanded with praise and plaudits. Just ask Gary Jules, the Pet Shop Boys and, of course,

The Beautiful South. Get it wrong and you're poor old Duran Duran, still living down their brave yet foolhardy stab at Public Enemy's 911 Is A Joke.

The art of the cover version has fallen into disrepute over recent years. Plundering Pop Idols and Light-Fingered Fame Academics have taken the fun out of it and turned the delicate art of re-interpretation into a sausage machine where bygone classics are fed in and bland, gristly fast food hits are skinned up and spat out for mass consumption.

The new album by The Beautiful South though harks back to a time when David Bowie's Pin Ups was as essential a part of his canon as Hunky Dory or Ziggy (how many people still think Sorrow is a Bowie original?), when Elvis Costello turned a generation onto country music with Almost Blue, when Bryan Ferry could encompass Dylan and Tin Pan Alley with a sublime swoonsome vocal on These Foolish Things, when Lennon could play raucous homage to his roots on Rock And Roll. To this roll of honour, now add the unwieldy title 'Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs', the eleventh album by The Beautiful South and a celebration of the pop song in all its gorgeous, goofy glory.

That's eleven albums. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun? It's now 15 years since the amicable dissolution of "the fourth best band in Hull" The Housemartins and the subsequent re-emergence of vocalists Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway as The Beautiful South, along with Dave Rotheray, Sean Welch and Dave Stead as the band's creative core. Throughout the 90s and into the new millennium The Beautiful South became a byword for the best in British pop: intelligent, sarky, ebullient, Northern. Along the way Heaton and Rotheray became the most successful British pop song writing duo since those two scousers with the little glasses and veggie burger sideline, Lennon and McCartney.

There are no Beatles tunes here on this splendid new labour of love from The Beautiful South but there are a dazzling personal selection of soul classics, glitter ball disco anthems, biker anthems and much, much more showing the good humour and good taste of a group that has always been a party waiting to happen. According to Paul Heaton, the songs are paramount. "We're not always fans of the particular band but we are always fans of the song. Our natural inclination is to be obscure I guess so we also wanted to put in a few standards. So I drew up a list and we all lived with a CD for while and then there was a whittling down process. We hadn't really done any of them live before so it was an interesting process. Some that didn't look promising turned out really well, others just didn't happen. We really wanted to do Rainbow's Since You Been Gone but it just never sounded right. But these are ones that really worked, arrived at sort of democratically."

One listen, however, and I'm more than just a bit afraid. Their attempt to turn "You're The One I Want" (yes, that one) into a slow, sultry burn totally misfires. Trying to turn "Blitzkrieg Bop" into a pop ditty? Not very wise. Adding a bit of twang to a otherwise standard take on "Livin' Thing?" Hardly interesting. Giving "Don't Fear the Reaper" a salsa twist? Dreadful. Taking on the Stylistics was, likewise, a bad call.

Covers of much less familiar tunes work much better, though. A take on Willie's "Valentine" works quite well. I'm sadly familiar with the British dance smash "Don't Stop Movin'" as originally recorded by S Club 7 and the Southies slow it down to a nice slow groove. A Rufus Wainwright cover is a curious decision but I quite like it. Finally, a cover of a song by an obscure German band called The Heppelbaums is perhaps the album's highlight.

All of it, though, makes me want to listen to this sublime cover from their first album.

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Or perhaps this one, from their fourth.

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I'll spare you the over-the-top covers of Bobby Darin's "Artificial Flowers" and the Doris Day chestnut "Dream a Little Dream of Me." Unless you really want them..

(addendum: Um. Actually, on a second listen, "Don't Fear the Reaper" is actually really effing brilliant. Launch.com probably summarizes my reservations even better than I could have...

Indeed, the very nature of the undertaking means that band's greatest strength - Paul Heaton's twisted-and-bitter lyrical brilliance that has always cut the band's MOR honey with waspish vinegar - is missing. Once you've accepted that fact, "Golddiggas..." has much to recommend it beyond Paul's always-gorgeous sodden-choirboy voice. It's a tribute to the South's lush way with a buttery patina of sound that this is much more than a semi-smirking novelty makeweight record between a greatest hits and the next studio album. Throw in the band's observation that hate as well as love has driven their playlist choices, and you're in for a treat.)

speaking of dates

Um, why did no one remind me that the new Jean-Pierre Jeunet starring my beloved Audrey opened this weekend in the city? Why? WHY?!

Sigh. I so would have braved pouring rain and 40 mph winds today for that. While I've gushed about Alexander Payne being one of the best minds in American cinema today, there's no doubt that Jeunet possesses singular genius. Sure, his one foray to Hollywood was a disaster at best, But his films contain spellbinding jewels and whimsy at every turn. Those of you who have only seen Amélie (and I use "only" very loosely as it's one of my favorites) really owe it to yourself to seek his other works out.

Now I have to figure out how I'm going to end up working in Manhattan in the next couple of days.

Be prepared, by the way. My film geek quotient goes up exponentially as the mercury drops and I'm really feeling it lately.

I was so desperate for celluloid that I tried to watch "Prey for Rock and Roll" this evening. I do love Gina Gershon, but any film that makes one long for the Justine Bateman classic "Satisfaction" is doing something wrong.

like a hurricane - randomness song of the week - 112804

"Love Ridden" by Fiona Apple from the album When The Pawn... (1999)

Sometimes a date kind of sneaks up on me. Sometimes I'm not even aware of the significance of a date until after it passes. For instance, I'm just reminded now that last week was the 25th anniversary of my grandmother's death. Jason's post about Fiona Apple gave me pause, though, as I notice that it's November 28th. Three years ago I had just moved to the Tri-State area and today marks the anniversary of the last time I spoke to someone who, at one time, played a large role in my life. I'm in a much better place emotionally and socially now, though at the time you'd have been hard-pressed to convince me of such. Looking back, though, I'm also reminded that this Fiona song was one of the last ways that she communicated with me. Pretty crazy. Pretty overwrought. Pretty creepy.

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turning sideways

Either Alexander Payne is a man charmed or he simply understands how to develop characters better than any director working in American cinema. I suspect it's the latter. Each of his films ("Citizen Ruth," "Election," "About Schmidtt" and "Sideways") have left the viewer feeling as though they've spent a slice of time with someone that they've come to know well and, in every case, learned to care about.

"Sideways" is a heartbreaking, life affirming tour de force that contains some of the finest acting I've seen in an American film in some time and one of the most profound, intensely personal scenes in recent memory. Ostensibly it's a film about two fairly pathetic middle-aged men making a last stand. Check it out, though, and I think you'll agree with me that it's about so much more.

the hits just keep on comin'

In the past I've written on these fine pages about the myriad of C-level talent that seems to grace the park across the street from me from time-to-time. Performers like the Smithereens, G.E. Smith, Jose Feliciano and Deep Banana Blackout have entertained dozens. The biggest stage for these luminaries is, of course, reserved for the dramatic lighting of Stamford's Christmas tree. This year we're very, very excited to present...

December 5, 2004
Acoustic Show
LATHAM PARK
"Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony"
15-30 Minute Show, 3 John Waite Songs. 3 Christmas Songs
John Waite To Perform Around 4:45 P.M
Stamford, CT

Wow! John Waite! The voice behind the Babys! The brains behind Bad English! There's no denying that "Change" and "Missing You" are brilliant slices of pop pabulum. But there's not a chance in hell that I'll suffer the 50 yard walk to see him.

randomness grooves 2004 style

Just in time for your holiday shopping pleasure, here are randomness' top 20 albums of 2004. We'll look in detail (along with an MP3) at one album per day starting Wednesday, December 1. Unless that sounds completely boring. Thoughts?

** Special Mention #1 ** The Clash -London Calling (re-release)

1. Wilco - A Ghost Is Born
2. Elliott Smith - from a basement on the hill
3. Rilo Kiley - More Adventurous
4. Elvis Costello & the Imposters - The Delivery Man
5. The Arcade Fire - Funeral
6. Morrissey - You Are the Quarry
7. Steve Earle - The Revolution Starts Now...
8. TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
9. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
10. Allison Moorer - The Duel
11. Eleni Mandell - Afternoon
12. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
13. Loretta Lynn - Van Lear Rose
14. The Sadies - Favourite Colors and Neko Case - The Tigers Have Spoken
15. Matt Pond PA - Emblems
16. Firey Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
17. Modest Mouse - Good News for People Who Love Bad News
18. Iron & Wine - Our Endless Numbered Days
19. Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter - Oh, My Girl
20. A.C. Newman - The Slow Wonder

happy, happy

Happy Thanksgiving, a holiday that's wrong on more levels than I can shake a stick at. Seriously. It really bothers me on at least three. Who am I to argue with a four day weekend, though?

This evening randomness will be dining at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill with a few friends who are equally without the requisite Thanksgiving family. It should prove to be a lot of fun and surprisingly inexpensive ($65 for their prix fixe menu). Tasty margaritas are also promised.

Until then I'll mutter a lot while watching my Lions get completely embarrassed by the Colts (remember when the Lions would always win on Thanksgiving?) and enjoy the surreal experience of watching the Macy's Parade with the sound off and Arcade Fire on the ol' stereo. Fun stuff. Fun stuff.

there's been a lot of talk about this next song

maybe too much talk...

I continued my boycott by not rushing out to buy How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The hype! The hype!

Okay, it had nothing to do with the hype. I simply had a really long day a client site. Maybe tomorrow. Until then I'll just listen to the time-worn classics.

Speaking of which, help me with a long-running internal debate. "Wire" from The Unforgettable Fire is unquestionably about heroin use. Common opinion is that my favorite U2 track, "Running to Stand Still," is as well. I'm not so sure, though. I've always heard it as a song about redemption and doubt. Sort of in the same vein as "Bad." Bono vox once said something about it being about a specific woman in a Dublin housing project but that has always seemed like a red herring to me. I don't think it's that literal. Am I crazy? Lyrics in the extended entry if you're unfamiliar.

This song is not a rebel song...

And so she woke up
Woke up from where she was
Lying still
Said I gotta do something
About where we're going

Step on a steam train
Step out of the driving rain, maybe
Run from the darkness in the night
Singing ha, ah la la la de day
Ah da da da de day
Ah la la de day

Sweet the sin
Bitter taste in my mouth
I see seven towers
But I only see one way out

You got to cry without weeping
Talk without speaking
Scream without raising your voice

You know I took the poison
From the poison stream
Then I floated out of here
Singing...ha la la la de day
Ha la la la de day
Ha la la de day

She runs through the streets
With her eyes painted red
Under black belly of cloud in the rain
In through a doorway she brings me
White gold and pearls stolen from the sea
She is raging
She is raging
And the storm blows up in her eyes
She will...

Suffer the needle chill
She's running to stand...

Still.

ana ng and i are, indeed, getting old

I just finished a lovely couple of hours watching "Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns," a fantastic little documentary about They Might Be Giants.

Throughout it I kept making one comment, "Oh, yeah! I loved that!" It seems that I completely abandoned TMBG after 1990's "Flood" and have no idea why. Sure, their recent output isn't as singularly brilliant as "Ana Ng" or "Birdhouse in Your Soul." It's not as witty as "Purple Toupee" or "Cowtown." It's not infinitely catchy like "Instanbul (Not Constantinople)" or "Don't Let's Start." It all, however, seems like it's pretty good stuff that I shouldn't have ignored.

It seems like I should pick up some of the recent albums and put them back on my radar. I doubt I'll start calling Dial-A-Song incessantly like I did in college. I do, however, think they can still make me smile.

hold your head high

More brilliant slogans and some great cafepress wares over at Oliver Willis' place.

(originally spotted at P. Frank)

how long must we sing this song?

You know, I might just pony up to see U2 on their impending 2005 tour. I've had a bit of an unofficial boycott going on for the last 15 years or so. All things must come to an end.

I've only seen the boys from Dublin once, in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome. I'm not sure how many people the Silverdome holds (held?) for concerts. When the Lions played there it held 80,868 in the stands. I found reference to 93,173 attending for some Wrestlemania or another. I'd find it hard to believe that there were fewer than that Thursday night to see U2 and Lone Justice. I was seventeen, excited to be out late on a school night but completely unprepared for the hassle that a gathering literally fourteen times larger than hometown proved to be.

Bono did an amazing job in connecting with that many people. Working an arena audience is an art and he's undeniably adept at it. However at some point it's just too much. So I skipped the subsequent shows at the Silverdome. I passed several times on the opportunity to see them at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. I think I missed out on one opportunity here, as well. But this new album is going to be huge. I can just feel it. Maybe it's time to accept that bigger, while not better, is just the way it's going to be. I've got good connections at the Garden and I have a feeling that they'll play there a few nights next summer.

Giants Stadium, though? I reserve the right to continue my absence.

still the biggest band in the world

Um. Who watched SNL last night? If you turned it off when you thought it was over you probably missed the greatest performance the show has ever seen. Even better than the time EC played "Radio, Radio." Certainly better than Eminem a few weeks ago.

U2 played their two normally allotted songs and the end seemed in store with the cast onstage. Bono suddenly got up and the boys played a version of a song they recorded almost 25 years ago. "I Will Follow" sounded fresh, intense and fucking essential. Bono climbed off the set and walked around the soundstage with the audience literally going nuts. I mean, nuts. Think Beatles nuts. He jumped on the lap of a woman in the front row who, erm, buried her head in his crotch. He jumped onstage with the cast and held onto Amy Poehler who , clearly a fan, was crying uncontrollably. I've watched it four times now and it still gives me goosebumps.

Bono. Fuck. Say what you like. He's still got it.

(addendum: the boys are playing a free show tomorrow afternoon in Brooklyn. Somewhere in DUMBO, St. Ann's I'd assume. Sadly I can't get out of work. Somebody please go!!)

randomness song of the week - 112104

"Wood Beez (Pray Like Aretha Franklin)" by Scritti Politti from the album Cupid & Psyche 85 (1985)

Why? Because I have a cold and I feel like crap. If "Wood Beez" can't make me smile nothing can. That's why. Enjoy.

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watershed

I'm not really an NBA fan. If anything, though, I'm a Pistons fan. By now we've probably all seen the melee Friday night over and over. Commissioner David Stern will hand out his final verdict today and his reaction needs to be far-reaching and emphatic.

Ron Artest backed away from a confrontation with Ben Wallace because, well, he's a big, scary fella. He didn't, however, seem to think twice about climbing into the stands to punch a fan who threw a beer at him. He likewise didn't think twice about punching a different fan who found his way to the court floor. The fans' behavior was embarrassing and wrong. Artest's behavior was dangerous, barbaric and inexcusable. If he's allowed to play another game in the 2004-05 season David Stern and, by extension, the NBA has no integrity.

sigh

You know, it's only a slight exaggeration when I say that I'd rather see the Wolverines go 2-9 defeating only Notre Dame and OSU than finish 9-2 like they just did by losing to those two rivals. Oh, well.

let them all talk

I'm trying hard not to pay attention to the U of M - Ohio State game because, frankly, it makes me completely insane every year. OSU's really not good but we've given up a touchdown already. Like I said, I can't pay attention.

Instead I'm trying to imagine the surreal conversation illustrated above. Thing is, though, I don't have to imagine it. E.C. interviews Joni in the new Esquire.

(via Largehearted Boy)

pretty fly for a white guy

I'm so buying one of these watches. I don't even understand what they're supposed to be. It couldn't matter less.

mike wolf, art phag

One of my favorite things about living so close to NYC is the easy access to great art and art institutions. It also happens to be one of the few perks that I've been very, very good about taking advantage of. I've been a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the Met) since 2001 and tend to go at least once a month. I'd planned on letting that membership lapse, though, in order to become a member of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) when it reopened this month.

Today I finished early at a client site and decided to make the short walk over to the Met. I had planned on taking a quick look at the Gilbert Stuart exhibit. Well, I never made it to the exhibit. Instead I got caught in some goofy exhibits of European decorative arts. It was fascinating and, not surprisingly, these were galleries that I've never been through before. For those of you who have never been, the Met has over two million square feet of gallery space. Seriously. I've been probably more than fifty times. I still have vast areas that I haven't explored.

I got ready to head back out into the beautiful autumn evening and I felt a heavy heart. I seriously couldn't bear the thought of having to think about an admission charge everytime I wanted to visit the Met on a whim. So I turned around and went back to the membership table. Eighty-five dollars later I was re-enrolled for another year and, I might add, much happier for it.

MoMA opens tomorrow. Crazy lines will last late into the night for the celebration that includes free admission. Starting Sunday, though, it'll be $20 per ticket. Not for members, though. My $75 there will be very, very well spent. I'm already counting the days and marking the films (also also free) that I'll queue up for.

So starts the promise for another great winter for Mike Wolf, art phag.

dear jordan catalano

Let me get this straight. Scarlett Johansson is making out with you. You, however, are more interested in whatever's going on with your cellphone? Dude. I've been known to be more than a little obnoxious with my cell, too (chorus - "Noooo. You?"). I will, however, go on record that in that particular scenario my phone will (okay "would") be the last thing on my mind.

funny like a train wreck

It's official. I just watched Jerry Seinfeld do stand-up on last night's Letterman. He's now joined Cosby as a guy who just isn't even remotely funny anymore. Five minutes after watching it I literally can't repeat one thing that he said. It was as embarrassing as it was pathetic.

ain't that america pt.2

I don't know where to start. Certainly you've heard the flack about the Terrell Owens/Nicollette Sheridan opening to last night's Monday Night Football game. I finally saw the scene in question (having given up on MNF a long time ago and never bothering to tune in for "Desperate Housewives.") this evening.

Please. It's fairly tame. She drops her towel. You see her bare back for a couple of seconds. Are we really so puritanical that we find that offensive? I submit that you see more than that any night on primetime television. Any night.

But I'm going to mention the 1000 pound elephant in the room. I hate to think this about people, but is it racial? In 2004 is it still verboten to show an inter-racial hookup? One would have hoped that most people would have gotten over that, say, two hundred years ago. Perhaps not. I don't know.

meeting the beatles

I guess I'd call myself a Beatle fan. I mean, if forced to compile my 20 favorite albums certainly both "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul" would be included. Probably "Sgt. Pepper's," too. It's just that my Beatles knowledge pretty much begins with "Help!" I only know their pretty voluminous 1963-64 output from listening to my parents' old vinyl as a kid. I mean it's all skiffle laden with pronouns, right? Or is it? With that in mind I picked up the new Capitol reissues boxset today.

On a very quick listen to two of the albums, I'm both blown away and scratching my head. First of all, the clarity is pretty damn impressive. These weren't remastered, per se, but were mastered from "the original U.S. masters." I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I do know that they sound much better than the old 33 1/3rds. What's puzzling to me is the stereo separation. It's pretty much, well, fake. It's so heavily separated that it's pretty much laughable. It sounds good but by no means is it "real." The mono mixes are also included so I'll have to compare. At the very least they'll fill in a nice gap in my collection.

What's most troubling, though, is the packaging. I'm at a loss to explain it. Here. Allmusic does a better job...

It's good to have the American LPs on CD - and if the title of Capitol Albums, Vol. 1 is to be believed, the rest will follow in the near future - but it's hard not to wish that the packaging was a little classier. The box set is smaller than a book-sized box and it holds a small cardboard box creased in the middle that's the size of a CD when folded in two, but it always pops open and there's no writing on the spine of the box or on the mini-LP jackets for the four individual CDs, so it can't be put on the shelf (and, frankly, if it was on the shelf, there's nowhere to put the box).

I'll only add that keeping the four albums in the box is pretty much pointless. They continously fall out.

Also purchased today, Neko Case's "The Tigers Have Spoken" and a Steve Earle DVD of an old show from Austin City Limits.

little pleasures

Am I the only one who loves the wooshing sound that a match makes when it's lit? I mean I really love it.

Err. I was afraid of that. I'm not a pyromaniac. Really. Wait. Where are you all going? Come back here!

a question of morals

I'm at a client today. Getting here required getting a gypsy cab at 125th Street. The fare was $6. I told him "make it $8" and gave him a twenty. He gave me change and started to drive off. I looked in my hand and saw $17. He must have thought he gave me two fives, not a five and a ten. I could have jumped in the street and waved him down. Should I have?

Incidentally, this isn't the first time that this has happened. The third, in fact, and all three times with gypsy cabs.

Discuss...

have i faaailed?

I'm totally a sucker for "Bands Reunited" on VH-1. It puts a human face on some really marginal bands that I normally couldn't care less about (Scandal? The Alarm? Kajagoogoo?) and often provides a fun little dose of feel-goodness.

This round, though, features an episode titled "Backstage Pass" which details some of their less than successful attempts. Two prove how completely out-of-touch the producers of this show must be.

At some point they decided it would be fun to try to reunite Generation X. Hmm. Let's see. Billy Idol - intolerable mess with zero career. Tony Scott - intolerable mess who seems to think he has a career with global laughingstock Sigue Sigue Sputnik. Can't imagine why that didn't work out.

My favorite, though, has to be the decision to try to reunite The Smiths. Shall we examine the participants?

* Messianic lead singer who is enjoying his grandiose career resurgence.
* Insolent, brooding guitarist who continues to try to have a post-Morrissey career.
* Bassist who was bitterly kicked out of the band for a vicious heroin habit.
* Drummer who recently said in a Mojo interview - "The idea of standing within 20 feet of Morrissey and enjoying it? It's just not going to happen."

Oh, wait, did I forget to mention that the drummer engaged in a very public and nasty court battle with the band's leaders over royalties?

Yeah, good thinkin'. Good thinkin'.

at the end of a really long, depressing week

Perhaps only Wreckless Eric can understand. Sadly he's since moved to France and gone insane. Such is fate. Such is fate...

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run, don't walk

To view the charming trailer to the upcoming Wes Anderson Project, "Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"

eharminme: an update

I know you've all been waiting with bated breath to hear updates on my little eHarmony exercise. So far, so boring. It's like this, every week the fine folks at eHarmony push me six to eight potential matches. I sort through them and boot the ones that I don't want to even attempt. Things like typing in ALL CAPS, indicating that you're looking for "someone to help with travel expenses" or living in some forsaken burb that I've never heard of get you bounced.

Should you make it past my not so selective process I'll see if you communicate with me. Chances are you won't because you're either appalled by my profile (at which point you'll close me with the aforementioned "other") or you'll play along until you see the photos of my ugly mug. At that point you'll enter into the "open communication" stage where we'll exchange e-mail addresses and pretend that each other doesn't exist. It's pretty functional. Pretty normal.

sheila take a bow

Coming soon... The Smiths: The Musical?! Stretch out and wait.

(via Largehearted Boy)

my sentiments exactly

Because I'm proud to be both a Card-Carrying Liberal and a member of the Arrogant Northeast Liberal Elite.

(wantonly nicked from Lady Crumpet)

puffy amiyumi storm america!

Most of you probably are unaware of the wonder of Puffy AmiYumi. I'm only hip to them due to the long-term ranting of Deano. For the uninitiated, they're a cultural phenomenon in Japan that I can't really even do justice. They're a "band" in the same manner in which the Monkees were a band. Known simply as Puffy in their native land, they're two women who were found via a mid-'90s talent search. Their marketing machine in Japan even puts those little Olsen trolls to shame. Their sound is pure jangly fun (their recent releases have been produced by Andy Strumer, formerly of Jellyfish) and glorius J-Pop. I really adore them.

They've recently been making inroads in this country, too. Last month they played a hugely sold-out show here at Webster Hall. Their latest release had a song in disturbingly cute English. Their forthcoming US release is almost entirely in English (mind melting samples here) The crowning glory? Their anime show is about to be carried by Cartoon Network. I'm not sure what niche they're going for but it just might work.

man, i'm tired

But luckily not this tired!

this is the part where jeff's head explodes

Wilco, tonight on Leno. Fine. I'll TiVo it.

Wilco, New Year's Eve. Madison Square Garden. Um. Uh. Um. Err. WHAT?!

I'm all happy for the guys making the bigtime but the freakin' Garden? The openers are Sleater-Kinney and the Lips but still...

Wilco? The Garden? New Year's Eve? Sorry. Just can't wrap my brain around it.

something that made randomness happy

The season premiere of "Arrested Development."

Hopefully you're all aware of the brillance of this show. Even Opie's narration is pretty damn funny. Good, smart stuff. I still think of it as my little secret, though, and am afraid that Fox is going to pull it any second.

randomness song of the week - 110704

"Neighborhood #2 (Laika)" by Arcade Fire from the album Funeral (2004)

I anticipate that Arcade Fire will leave the electorate as divided as some other recent little vote. I happen to love it. I'm willing to be in the minority, though. Remember, if you snag it you must comment.

(right-click, save as)

when the going gets tough the tough buy cee dees

I decided to partake in a little retail therapy on a lovely Saturday in the city. At the splendid WFMU CD Record Fair I managed to buy a bunch of stuff while meeting up with the lovely Christine and the esteemed Ken Goldstein, Esq. Nothing is better on sunny autumn afternoon than CD purchases followed by maple syrup candy at the Union Square Greenmarket and capped off by the season's first soy eggnog latte.

CD purchases were complete insane...

"Funeral" by Arcade Fire Arcade Fire have generated more hype amongst the New Yawk indie rock hipsters than anyone since The Strokes (before their second album sounded exactly like their first which sounded like exactly 521 bands that had spawned between the two releases). Lemme tell ya, it's deserved. It's dark but uplifting. It's loud but quiet. It's completely indescribable and completely brilliant. Run, don't walk.

"In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3" by Coheed & Cambria Because I keep hearing that I would like it. (addendum: Whomever told me that should be shot. It's like Metallica meets Rush meets Queensrÿche. I'll be giving this shit away. Seriously effing awful.)

"Sung Tongs" by Animal Collective I've had this album in MP3 form for some time and love it.

"Vintage Slide Collections From Seattle 1" by Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players If you don't know what this is then I'm not about to explain it lest you think I'm a bit "touched."

"Branches and Roots" a two disc FatCat records compilation.

"Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town" by Emmylou Harris Probably the least acclaimed amongst the early albums recently re-released by Rhino. It's my favorite, though.

"Lo and Behold" a sampler from the weird ambient label Lo Recordings.

and some crazy Cornelius thing that I thought was an album but it really half of some sort of effed up aural project. That kooky dude.

So. Lots to listen to and forget about the end of the world as we know it...

because I simply can't take it anymore

Here are some singing horses!!!

A song about cheese!!!

the enlightened majority

I know I should probably stop reading these things lest I suffer a complete nervous breakdown. Those who don't learn from history, though...

I find this chart incredibly galling. It's from the so-called Pipa Study from October 21. The entire thing can be viewed here in PDF form.

It's sad, really, and reflects what I've been hearing from people who voted Bush, complete misunderstanding of the issues. The whole report is full of such disturbing news and, before you go all nutso, the survey showed that Kerry voters had a much better understanding of the facts. The beliefs on Iraq alone make me want to cry.

king george

It's nice to see that W. doesn't gloat and is humble in victory. It's particular telling that he chose to make a quip in response to this particular line of questioning. From yesterday's press conference...

Q. Thank you, Mr. President. How will you go about bringing people together? Will you seek a consensus candidate for the Supreme Court if there's an opening? Will you bring some Democrats into your cabinet?

A. Again, you violated the one-question rule right off the bat. Obviously you didn't listen to the will of the people.

make no mistake

I don't want to keep talking about this stuff. I don't want to be in a non-stop frenzy. Really, I don't. I want to get back to talking about cool music, good food and cute girls.

I understand that talking about politics turns a lot of people off. I understand that not all of you share my liberal bias. I know a lot of you would like me to just shut up.

I... just... can't...

welcome to denmark

I don't like reporting this any more than you want to hear it. But, frankly kids, something's rotten -

*Kerry just might have won Ohio and New Mexico

*There's photographic evidence of questionable actions with Ohio ballots

*Kos wonders aloud if exit polls aren't more accurate than Diebold.

*Wired reports widespread glitches and concerns that just a fraction are reported.

*Computers in NC lost 4500 votes

*There's evidence of hackers targetting the e-votes and evidence that they were successful in an attack in Washington.

The last thing I want to do is to come off as a sore loser. None of my statements thusfar demonstrate that (despite some bizarro comments). On the contrary, I'm an ENRAGED loser.

However, I also don't like feeling I live in some Banana Republic.

ain't that america for you and me

Thanks to Dennis for the link.

from our friends across the pond

Thanks to Susan for the link.

rage hard

Please excuse the cryptic lyrical ramblings of the last 24 hours here. It's been a tough time. I'm sure I don't need to detail it. The initial euphoria of the exit polls quickly extinguished by reality left me dazed and stumbling last night. I don't think it had much to do with the Maker's Mark, but I could be wrong on that account.

Today I awoke with a pit in my stomach. Some said they were deflated. Some claimed to be dispondent. Not me. I was enraged. A fire burned in me that I've honestly never felt before. I literally found myself screaming before noon in a greater quantity than I've ever screamed in my entire life. You know what? It felt, and continues to feel, right. I have every intention of channelling this fire, this rage for the next four years. I will not rest.

Why? Because, make no mistake, this nation has been hijacked. Our country has been co-opted by the Religious Right in a manner that is not at all different than the way Islamic Fundamentalist have hijacked their religion. We're being lead by zealots. As your favorite lefty atheist I've never felt more out of step with the mainstream.

So now what? Are we to sit idly by while the zealots systematically dismantle a woman's right to choose, the environment, our foreign relations, the economy, and our freedoms? Are we to simply turn a blind eye as another 100,000 Iraqis are slaughtered and untold numbers of our own die for a pointless cause? Are we supposed to follow in lockstep while our Constitution is sullied by the language of hate? I know that I, for one, can't do that.

George Bush said in 2000 that he would heal a divided nation but instead acted as if he had a mandate. Now he makes the same hollow statements but has strength in numbers all over the Hill. Frankly, though, there is no common ground with the self-righteous and that is the nature of the enemy we face.

He will appoint at least three Justices over the next four years. We'll be living with that legacy for the rest of our lives and, frankly, there's nothing we can do about it. He will denude the wilds of Alaska. Their senator-elect will join him in that heinous endeavor. He will continue to pander to large corporations and those with large bank accounts. He will continue to receive messages from his god and will continue to refuse to change course. We know what we're in for, folks.

But you know what? We can do this. It's not optimal. It's not even remotely agreeable. But we have a powerful collective voice. Let's not go mute. Don't lose hope. Don't lose perspective. Don't lose your rage.

and another thing

The electorate keep saying that this election was all about "moral values." Moral values? You tell me which of these candidates has greater moral values -

Candidate A
*devout, church-going Catholic
*served his country in wartime
*established a record of being tough on crime as a prosecutor
*practices a doctrine of inclusion

Candidate B
*claims to take messages from his god but rarely manages to attend church services.
*didn't fulfill his promise to serve his country in even the most lenient capacity.
*established a record of failed businesses and less than honest business practices
*intends to amend our Constitution with hate.

Odd...

you can be active with

the revolution starts now when

Zogby calls it at 5:00

Zogby calls it at 5:00 p.m. EST

This is starting to look like the happiest day of my short, pathetic life.

meltdown

Let the record show that at 4:52 p.m. mrw finally lost his senses in election paranoia and began singing "Stray Cat Strut" a cappella in the office.

I'm not kidding.

at the half

We're midway through today's voting. Shouldn't we have a halftime score? I mean it seems like the right thing to do. I can't stand the suspense, frankly.

Maybe we could have a little intermission gala featuring a "wardrobe malfunction" by the hotter of the Bush twins? Maybe have the Stones perform? Somebody get MTV on the phone.

My line this morning was over two hours long. It was also the first time I've ever voted in a stereotypical voting booth. Michigan and Georgia always used punch cards. I had some stupid local Republican running for what might as well been Dog Catcher try to talk to me about his platform. I was having none of it. What was your experience like?