Ahhh Ooooo...

Werewolves of London!

Happy Halloween--enjoy your weekend!

Solid Gold Dancers with Adam Ant!!

Oh my God, this is classic!  Why did I not see the wit of this when I was an angsty  teenager?  Why did I not see the fun of the kitsch?  It is only now that I can appreciate stuff like this.  I couldn't back then when I was lamenting the destruction of the Brazilian rainforest and all of my peers (most of my peers) were gung ho about Reagan and his policies.

Look at what I missed!!

Enjoy you Goody Two Shoes you.  Have a fun weekend!

Life out of Balance

Here is a video that converges two things I like: The Strokes and images from Koyaanisqatsi, which was just the coolest movie when it came out in the early 80's. It is fascinating to see now. Have you seen it? Koyaanisqatsi means Life out of Balance in the Hopi language.

In the movie you see through speeded up images of the beauty of nature: clouds, shadows etc. and the scurrying around of busy people, driving cars, walking down the street, entering and exiting trains. It is humbling to see how much we resemble ants.

The original music was composed by Philip Glass. Here's some of his work.

Enjoy your weekend.

Gone Daddy Gone

You know what is severely underutilized in the whole rock/pop/ska world? Yes, that's right--xylophone.

So, here's some for you from The Violent Femmes--Gone Daddy Gone.

Enjoy your weekend.

Theresa Andersson

I heard this musician on NPR recently. She is amazing. She uses foot pedals to loop herself, make a recording and then within seconds plays it back and plays with it. She harmonizes with her own voice, she plays a melody and then a solo against it.

It is not just gimmicky, it's good music, I think.

Enjoy.

Communication Breakdown...

It's all how you frame things, isn't it? If you can get things in perspective, shift your view, you can really understand things better, don't you think? Sort of a glass half full vs. glass half empty kind of thing.

Here's a blurb at Huffington Post explaining how the BP CEO, Tony Hayward, explains away the largest oil spill (Can I interrupt here and ask that we refer to this in a more accurate way? It is a gusher--much more than BP first reported. Estimates are now from 56,000 to 70,000 barrels of oil a day, not 5,000 as reported by BP, spewing up from the sea bed--not a "spill". Not a "leak". This is an oil geyser that they don't know how to cap. That amount of oil gushing into the Gulf is akin to an Exxon Valdez spill every five days. Wrap your brains around that...).

Back to Tony--he logically puts the whole geyser/gushing-oil-nonstop thing into perspective by comparing it to the size of the ocean. He says it's "relatively tiny"...

That's Fucking Brilliant!!

...and logical. So, don't worry your pretty little heads. Just get on with your lives. Nothing to see here. Move along. Let's stay positive!!

Drill Baby, Drill?

"Drill Baby, Drill" doesn't sound so fun now does it? The oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico is making it's way north where it will soon coat the shore, the plants, the animals. There is reportedly a stench hanging over New Orleans--the smell of the oil coming. Fishermen are scrambling to gather shrimp while they still can.

Here's John Lee Hooker watching the waterfront for his baby. It seems appropriate.



I cover the waterfront
Watchin' the ship go by
I could see everybody's baby
But I couldn't see mine
I could see the ships pullin' in
To the harbor
I could see the people
Meeting their loved one
Shakin' hand
I sat there
So all alone
Coverin' the waterfront

And after a while
All the people
Left the harbor
And headed for their destination
All the ships
Left the harbor
And headed for their next destination
I sat there
Coverin' the waterfront

And after a while
I looked down the ocean
As far as I could see - in the fog
I saw a ship
It headed this way
Comin' out the foam
It must be my baby
Comin' down
And after a while
The ship pulled into the harbor
Rollin' slow
So triple (?)
And my baby
Stepped off board
I was still
Coverin' the waterfront

Said "Johnny,
Our ship had trouble - with the fog
And that's why we're so late
So late
Comin' home
Comin' down"

Written in Reverse

Written in Reverse, by Spoon.

Ever remember seeing a relationship fall apart in front of your eyes?

Here it is...

An Appropriate Song

OK. I'm trying to do my part for the upcoming homeschooling conference. I agreed to be on the Children's Workshop Planning Committee so that I could help arrange presenters. I will be rewarded with a hotel room and free admittance to the conference for my entire family--this goes a long way. We will all appreciate it and enjoy the conference. That is good and I am glad for it.

However...

Of the several workshops I lined up, a full five have recently been dropped because one of the presenters realized he couldn't do it--after agreeing to months ago. FIVE workshops to be replaced! Arggghghghghggh!

And, another presenter hasn't returned phone calls or e-mail. That represents another FIVE workshops. I'm still hopeful about that one, but where's the communication? "Where are you wonderful presenter who agreed to do it oh these many months ago?!" Do you guys hear me yelling? That is because I'm feeling anxious and desperate and frantic.

You can't always get what you want...

Is There Life on Mars?

Is there? Is there life on mars? Maybe a stray amino acid or some other unknown life building block? It could be there frozen in the polar ice, couldn't it?

It's all a bit wistful.

Still, a good song.

Enjoy your weekend.

That Highway

If I was going on an adventure, I might go down Highway 61. As it is, we might just go to Park Day instead which involves no highway travel... this time.

Enjoy your weekend.

Don't Let it Bring You Down

Feeling down? It's only castles burning. Find someone who's turning...

Because I hated Disco and Listened to The Loop

There are some groups that bring me right back to the late 70's early 80's and remind me of the Chicago music station The Loop which played: Journey, The Who, Rush, REO Speedwagon and not anything pop. Well, not too pop. It was very anti disco. As Steve Dahl said, "Disco sucks!"

My kids love to sing YMCA at distant in-law cousin weddings though... My disco-hating young teenage self would be aghast, but my 40's kid-loving self thinks it's cute. Standards, schmandards.

Let's enjoy some Journey, shall we? The lyrics are fun to follow along with too. "SONG BREAK" Hilarious. Somehow, every group from that time reminds me of Spinal Tap...

Golden Years

Remember when you were young and you really had no sense how fast life goes? Life hadn't touched you in the ways it has since. Maybe you had less regrets, fewer mistakes, loftier goals.

"Nothing's going to touch you in these golden years."

That's OK. There are still happy times ahead--a whole lifetime.

No regrets--whatever past you've had is what got you to here now.

Maybe the Golden Years are still to come.

Summer in the City

It hasn't been that hot around here for a while. We did get up into the 90's at some point, but it's been relatively cool around here, for Chicago.

Still, it is summer in the city.

Remember dust on records? And, it didn't even matter...

Please Don't Let Me be Misunderstood

You know who likes The Animals? My Mom ! I don't think she knew of them in the 60's--she was too busy raising kids. She likes them now.

I understand Mom. You are not misunderstood...

So, here's a fitting song.

1865 (96 Degrees in the Shade)

It's only getting to the 80's around here this weekend, not 96 degrees in the shade. And, our politics has cooled off, unlike in Iran or other places in the world.

How hot is it where you are, literally and politically? Any rebellions against cruel, fat governors on your island?

Here's a history lesson from Third World.

Warn Your Children...

My friend M. brought her acoustic guitar to the park today. She played Joan Baez songs and others including this old one, The House of the Rising Sun.

Here, The Animals perform their version. It's pretty good too.

Who knew you could rock out with an organ?

We're Going To Be Friends

Isn't this simple song so guileless and sweet?

Enjoy.

What Kind of Ray?

Gamma ray: Electromagnetic radiation emitted from excited atomic nuclei as an integral part of the process whereby the nucleus rearranges itself into a state of lower excitation (that is, energy content). Sci Tech Encyclopedia

Huh.

Or, a song by Beck. Enjoy Gamma Ray.