Gravity and Fusion

Journey

2012-01-26T00:31:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been feeling pretty Nostalgic and during my lunch hour today I went looking for some satisfaction. I looked up for a book store that specialized in the new age-y, spiritual stuff and found one not far from my building (you're never too far from whatever it is you're looking for in Manhattan.)

So off I went and found this quaint little cozy bookstore called The Quest in midtown. The smell of the incense gripped me as I knew it would and calmed me immediately. It took me back to the days when these things meant so much to me. There was nothing as peaceful and enjoyable as going to one of these bookstores and browsing the books and all the trinkets, alongside the incense, crystals, candles and scented oils. I've become a skeptic since and have abandoned these things. But I'm trying to re-visit those same feelings I used to get when things weren't as bad as they are today. I don't know that I believed in all of it because it was not so hard for me to let it go. But I do remember the times before and how enjoyable these outings were.

Back where I lived in Arizona, there was an area I used to hang out at called Mill Avenue. I have no idea what it has turned into today but back when I was attending graphic design school, I used to love hanging around there. There were some record shops, a comic book store and one placed called Changing Hands bookstore where I would browse the used books, buy a pack of Tarot cards and maybe a nice blank journal, probably with something Egyptian on the cover as I did a lot of journal writing in those days.

So back at The Quest - I see it now, the Tarot card area. I see the Universal Waite deck, one that I already have but the one I have came in a different box. So let's buy another one for old times sake and pick up a few packs of incense and an incense holder. It will be like old times. Will it?

Upon my collection there is one that stands out. It's called the Morgan Greer deck. It's very special because it was given to me by a friend. Someone whom I sadly have no connections with anymore. And it is said that it's very special when someone gives you deck of cards. And It has always remained in my collection in its original box and I've done many readings with them in the past. They were given to me in the late 80s. Almost 25 years ago. I can hold those cards and can transform myself to those days and it will make me smile. It will also make my cry. Because I know that someone is missing now. And because it's over and now it's only a memory. If only I could get on some time machine and go back and tap on my shoulder and whisper in my ear and say "You are young and there's so much you can do. Don't think too much about where you can't be and instead make good with where you are at RIGHT NOW." I'm sure that he never thinks about it now and I don't blame him. I will also never understand the whole situation. I can look at things and smile and remember some really good times. I remember the songs, the mix tapes, I remember the restaurants and I remember the warm bright days. I remember a lot of fun times. But I also remember anger and other negative emotions. But I've only focused on the good parts today and I'm wishing for some of it back. It can never be like that again. Wishful thinking. It's the kind of thinking that can only be brought on by some kind of despair. I love him even though he doesn't believe it. And quite frankly, I don't know what brought on the things we did to keep us separated. We spent a lot of times together for a while and I'd like to think that it was because I was someone special and was fun to be around. It all ended sadly though and I was right to have left. The cards helped me make the decision.

In the background I can hear Depeche Mode's "Ultra" being played from beginning to end.

I took The Fool's journey that day in late August 1997. That journey has ended and it's time to close my eyes and step off the cliff one more time into the unknown.

Blondie - Mother (Guitar Center appearance)

2011-08-28T22:34:00.000-04:00

Blondie's long awaited album "Panic of Girls" will finally be available on September 13.

Telepathe - Throw Away This

2011-08-01T00:37:00.000-04:00

I went to clubs during the Freestyle days. I spent hours dancing to the likes of Noel's Silent Morning, Debbie Harry's In Love With Love, Depeche Mode's StrangeLove and asorted extended mixes by Madonna, Pet Shop Bosy, Information Society and Dead or Alive. It was night after night of orchestra hits overdose. This new track from Telepathe , the Brooklyn duo comes very close to that era. A fine mix of Electroclash / Freestyle. Sans orchestra hit.

Natalie / 10,000 Maniacs and REM for the summer

2011-07-23T13:38:00.000-04:00

So it's summer and I'm listening to Natalie Merchant's debut Tigerlily which was such a good album. This track is a great tune to relax to on a lazy summer day. My favorite.

San Andreas Fault

A couple of REMs for your summer mix:

Take a break and listen to Driver 8. Skip to 50 to get to the song already.

Gardening at Night

10,000 Maniacs performing a really good cover of REM's Don't Go Back to Rockville.

Another cover from the same CD - 10,000 Maniacs performing an equally great cover of Morrissey's Everyday Is Like Sunday.

blog? what blog?

2011-05-07T01:02:00.000-04:00

A little while longer and I'd totally forget I ever had a blog.

So I'll just ramble on since it doesn't look like I'm going to bed anytime soon.

Last summer I had deal with the fact that I have type 2 diabetes like some many people in this country. It was a brutal summer and I remember walking into my apt with shopping bag full of soft drinks and I would begin to gulp away like there's no tomorrow. One day I thought it was quite unusual that I wanted to drink WAY too much. And what's more I was turning to drinking a lot of water and going to the bathroom, like, constantly. Then my vision began to blur. I headed for the doctor then and learned what was going to be kicking my ass now in this life. But you get scared when they first tell ya. Who wouldn't be scared of something that could fuck up your organs and cause you to lose eyesight and limbs? I started doing what they told me. I ate right and stopped the sugar and lost a few pounds. My tests came out better after that.

During the holidays I was faced with some new stress-like situations at work. And then in February I was given the news that the partner I worked for would be moving to a new firm and would I like to go with? I said yes. So since March 1st I've been working in a new place right next to Bloomingdale's and a few blocks away from Central Park. Nice area and it's closer to home. My walk to the train station takes longer than the actual ride to work. The people are very nice at the new place. But I miss the girls I used to work with.

I haven't seen the doctors since. Did not have the time to put that together and I've not had the meds for a while and I've been going a bit stray with the diet. But not to worry (or for some people, don't be TOO happy), I'm getting a hold of the situation and will get back on track. Right after I deal with the crap that's going on inside my mouth. I've had to have a root canal done last week and the dentist says he can't put on a crown until I remove a wisdom tooth that's right behind the tooth that needs the crown. It's been so much fun!!

FLA Angriff

The last CD I bought was Frontline Assembly's Improvised Electronic Device, which was a fucking breath of fresh air finally! I needed that aggressive familiar EBM Industrial music to keep me afloat of things. But lately, I've also been listening to Kraftwerk's The Man Machine a lot - Something about that album makes me envision the imaginary world of space, machines and cities before life as we know it in the current space age.

Kraftwerk The Robots

Hows soon is now, Shayla?

2011-01-15T23:47:00.000-05:00

“The person who tries to live alone will not succeed as a human being. His heart withers if it does not answer another heart. His mind shrinks away if he hears only the echoes of his own thoughts and finds no other inspiration.”

Pearl S. Buck

How soon is now?

Nostalgia is a terrible disease.

Shayla

Christmas 2010

2010-12-24T06:34:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities. I for one am thankful for many things. I've had the wake-up call during the summer when health issues came pressing down. I've learned a few things and I think I can get a hold on things a little better in 2011. The tree for me symbolizes many things on a personal level.

I wish you all good health and happiness.

French & Saunders - Ding-Dong Merrily on High with Alison

2010-12-15T13:46:00.000-05:00

A little Christmas from the funniest duo ever.

Sign in to iTunes - get charged for buying nothing.

2010-12-10T12:23:00.001-05:00

12-08-2010 *DEBIT AUTHORIZATION Dec08 11:10p

AT 23:10 APL*ITUNES 866-712-7753 CA $ 1.00

All I did was sign into iTunes yesterday and they charged me $1.00. WTF?

New DM Remix album

2010-11-29T11:59:00.000-05:00

For release next year will be a new Depeche Mode remix album. Again, I'm not a big fan of remix albums but this one might be of interest because of the remixers involved. Some of the names being thrown around are Duran Duran ( from what I understand they will be remixing Personal Jesus), Aland Wilder, Vince Clarke, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs!, Brandon Flowers and Arcade Fire. I'm a little interested because the remixers are some ex-members of Depeche Mode and some pretty well known bands and not a bunch of DJs with funky names. I don't know that there ever was a Depeche Mode remix by a DJ that I liked. What I would really love is a nice Depeche Mode remix album done by band members and the songs chosen are from their early career. Which is why I chose a very young Depeche Mode picture and one that includes Alan Wilder. Alan seems to be invovled lately as far as joining Depeche Mode on stage recently to play the keys for the song Somebody. If this remix album is of newer work, then I may pass it up. I would be curious to hear of updated versions of the old material from Speak & Spell, A Broken Frame, Construction Time Again and Some Great Reward.

Blondie - "Mother In The Night"

2010-11-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

Blondie performs "Mother In The Night" on A&E's "Private Sessions" which I didn't know about and missed it. Is it me or is Debbie sounding just fabulous and looking great? I love it. Blondie's new ablum "Panic of Girls" does not have a release date yet, but I wish they'd hurry it up. I think it's going to be major.

2010-11-02T19:45:00.001-04:00

"I don't want to make synth music for the rest of my fucking life. It was a time when I was into that, but whatever, it's done with, it's gone. The whole genre is so over. It was my thing and I'm bored with it."

Source

Really darling, I mean, how old are you? You think the 80s was just a passing phase rather than a whole decade of the most interesting music, not just in Synth but in a lot of different genres. I bought your last album and quite enjoyed it and thought there was hope yet.

Best response I've read by James D. Stark:

"Guitar music is so over. Rock music has been going on since the '50s. Everyone's sick of that sound right? "

"If I see anything more '80s-themed, I'm going to bust."

You gor right on and bust, honey. You and your music career can go bust altogether. Get off my iPod.

You're a fabulous monster

2010-10-29T00:02:00.000-04:00

It's sad to think this is Marc's last studio album of original songs. I'll try to be articulate here, but as you know I am failing with such things among many other things. I do like this album, many songs speak to me. A lot of them touch on getting older, having to let go of a past and making some sort of exit. And some are about being different and celebrating being the fabulous monster (something like a bearded lady in an elegant Dior dress.) Certain songs remind of certain albums. I've loved pretty much all of Marc's solo efforts starting with Marc & The Mambas while he was still with Soft Cell. In just about every album, Marc will hit something deep within me, a song to hit that kind of pain you're feeling where everyone else is silent about. There's so much of me in his b-side track "Beautiful Losers" that I could not stop listening to it. Listen, if you feel alive, happy and lucky there's plenty out there for you. Take your pick. But yours truly does not have much of a choice. I need music that can speak to me and connect with my emotions and Marc along with very few artists have made that happen for me. I love this album (well, most of it) because he ditched all the synth stuff and actually hired some musicians. It felt like the old Marc. Listening to "Bread and Circus" reminded me of "Mother Fist." "Nijinsky Heart" made me think of "The Stars We Are." the single "Variete" is like something out of "Fantastic Star." But that album has never been one of my favorites. For the most part it is a pretty good album. Marc sings about being different as usual in "The Exhibitionist" and how ordinary is bad and strange is good:

Let's hear it for the Dog-Faced boy
Three cheers for the Alligator Girl
We can marvel at your surface
While you hid what's underneath
Strange is good

And I can't help the feeling I get when I listen to "Swan Song." I too feel like I've done what I can and now it's time to make that exit:

My times passed on
I no longer belong
So I'm saying goodbye
And I'll be gone
With my swan song

Marc has touched on all the things he feels sad about including what once was and now isn't "Soho So Long" It's a feeling I get whenever I walk down in any of the old stomping grounds here in NYC.

I will shut up now about Marc.

Some personal stuff:

It's was a pretty bad summer for me since July when I began to feel really sick and the doctor told me I had type 2 diabetes. This is a big blow to me as now I have to make these drastic lifestyle changes. In a world where there's hardly a pleasure, some foods fill the void. Now I have to watch every bit and count, count, count. I am minus a stone because of it, but that's hardly enough. I need to do more, more, more. I'm very unhappy about it. Downright depressed. And I've asked my doctor - It isn't because I'm fat or anything like that. I have diabetes because it runs in the family and two of my brothers have it. So I really shouldn't be surprised but at the same time, it's no picnic to be told you have a disease. Yes, if I lose a ton of weight, I can have better control over it, but that's it. It's just better control. It does NOT go away. I just feel like I've had it. How many slaps in the face before I lose it completely?

Suicides and bullying - I actually wrote this whole thing about the topic but I scratched it. I just don't think you need to hear it from me.

Anne Rice declares:

2010-10-05T15:08:00.001-04:00

I quit being a Christian. I'm out. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of ...Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen. 7/28/10

Anne's website.

Time Travel 1982

2010-09-26T03:03:00.003-04:00

I could be alone in this but maybe nobody is talking about it but I find myself unimpressed and unsatisfied with anything new in the music world. Lots of things have changed and really I think the age bracket that I have entered into does not allow me to accept changes so easily. The changes are drastic. But that's me. And as I walked alone on a cool summer's evening on fashion week here in New York City - trying hard to move away from the crazy crowd - It was a madhouse of loud offensive beats and young hipsters who are brought up on mp3s and texting, sexting and what-have-you (any gadget with a lower case "i" before it) - when I noticed a record shop. I quickly walked in not really expecting all that much. I wasn't going to find that Chameleons CD that I've been looking for, I knew that for sure. But you walk into these places now and the cashier is that type of pretender where the music he plays will be some kind of punk band that is only familiar to himself and he's going to look at you like you had just came into existence in life and what you're wearing and decide to make those kinds of judgements - Like I don't belong in his domain because I'm probably only going to buy something mainstream. Well I didn't want to disappoint. Looking through the DVDs I saw the Blondie concert that immediately brought a bunch of memories. Off course I picked it up to buy right away - Mr. punk cashier giving himself a nod - I knew it! Well I could tell him a few things. I could tell him how I used to walk these streets long before he was born at a time when these streets were far more exciting and full of interesting people and shops.

I thought this concert was lost forever. I know that it was released video tape for a while but never bought it at the time. I was heavily listening to other things and figured I needn't go to the past. Little did I know that it would save my sanity in the years to come. Funny how when we're young we never think we're going to hit 40.

Well, here's the memory: Picture it, 1982, I was only 15 years old. At that time, the only cable TV we had was HBO. You had a little box on top of your TV and you used a little key to turn it on. Each month HBO would send their subscribers a guide and some notes on previews of what's to come in the coming month. When I saw that they would show a Blondie concert, I would feel what anyone would under the circumstances - the excitement to me was unbearable. I could not wait. At this time, Blondie had just released The Hunter album and nobody was talking about it. In fact, it was getting pretty bad reviews. But I was already in love with it as I think you'd have to have been a Blondie freak to love this album. Ms. Harry had just done her Koo-Koo album and after a Blondie Best-Of, they released this to the world. Most everyone said WTF! Which included the album cover most noticeably Ms. Harry's lion-mane hairdo. I loved it.

I loved The Hunter and I loved the movie Class of 1982 which nobody on earth knows anything about and I had gone to the movie theater to see that movie twice. But that's just something personal. I can't think about this album without thinking about that movie.

When the time came for HBO to show the concert for the first time, I sat anxiously waiting for it to begin. The hardest part was having to watch this with members of my family who do not share my passion. This is not the best Blondie concert. Most of the songs are pulled out from The Hunter and you only get a sprinkling of their older songs. The band does not sound very tight. It just didn't look like Debbie is much into it. One Way Or Another is an example. Her "getcha getcha's" barely making it through. Around the living room, people notice and begin their attacks. I want to watch this in peace. I'm overlooking any of these mishaps both on screen and in the living room and am just happy that I get to see my favorite band perform in whatever form they may be. I believe at this time Chris Stein was ill. He had this mystery illness that nobody can figure out.

The concert is only 11 tracks. One of which is a cover of The Stone's "Start Me Up." They could have removed that and placed another Blondie song. But something tells me that they may have pulled the best possible songs from that concert and the rest were not as better performed. But at the time, I was happy with it. I could not get enough of it. When I knew they would show it again, I played sick from school and stayed home to watch it. Now that's a fan. Right?

I went a step further and put a tape recorder to the TV speaker and recorded it. I listened to that tape a lot. So that's the memory attached to this DVD. What I am mournful about is the passion and dedication that I felt for something back then. Something missing in my life right now.

Playlist

Rapture

Island of Lost Souls

Danceway

The Tide Is High

Heart Of Glass

Hanging On The Telephone

Dreaming

One Way Or Another

War Child

Start Me Up

Call Me

It would be sometime in the early 90s that I got to see Debbie Harry perform on stage with Chris Stein. It was during Debbie's Def Dumb and Blonde tour and I have to say it was an amazing show. The concert took place in Arizona at a venue called After The Gold Rush. I remember a lot of Blondie songs were played and the band and Debbie out-performed that 1982 concert.

ETA: Actually I have to say that the first sentence in this post is not entirely true! I have listened to some new music as of late which is OK. I will write about that on a later post.

My Dad's a Smiths Fan

2010-09-20T15:16:00.002-04:00

Emily Capell

OMD - History of Modern

2010-08-30T13:45:00.000-04:00

OMD has returned with the single "If You Want It" which is pretty decent. The video for it looks a little like a Pet Shop Boys video (as someone on YouTube mentioned).

The ablum titled "History of Modern" will be released in the U.S. on September 28 in 5.. count 5 formats! When a CD release these days just won't do.

The sound is very familiar and is clearly recognizable as an OMD song. One might question when in the 80s this song was released.

I'm not a huge fan of OMD. I don't have all their albums but do love most of their singles as well as this new one.

For more info: OMD website

Blondie - Panic of Girls

2010-08-08T22:54:00.000-04:00

So this is the artwork for the new Blondie album. Looks pretty cool.

The album is supposed to have about 16 tracks. That's a lot of Blondie. One of them will be a cover of Michael Jackson's Don't Stop Till You Get Enough. Want to know what that would sound like? Here's a video of them recording it in the Studio.

The album will also feature the song What I heard. Here's a preview from IOW Festival this year.

I like the song a lot and am looking forward for the new album. They are still touring and seems like they've been doing it since their last album The Curse of Blondie.

Lady is People too

2010-06-09T12:32:00.000-04:00

Lady Gaga talking about the possibility of covering Depeche Mode's 1984 hit "People are People"

"I could really give it the melody it never had"

and

"I didn't know the band existed until I saw a mash-up of 'Paparazzi' with 'Just Can't Get Enough'."

Granted she's young - but it kinda bugs me that she's never heard of them until now and that she doesn't think People are People had any melody to it. It was 1984. Sampling was new and the song was supposed to have an "industrial" feel to it.

People are People stands on its own and I don't know what you can do to it today. Whatever you do, it won't be the same song. Gaga will put her spin on it and I predict an epic fail.

She does also say "I advise everyone to check out Depeche Mode, they are so underrated."

We're so glad you feel that way.

Return to Eden - Ultravox Live at the Roundhouse (London)

2010-05-30T00:09:00.000-04:00

Last year I had mentioned on this blog that it was going to be the year for Ultravox. I think it was. But not in the U.S. Still holding out some hope of a tour in the States though I don't know if the U.S. gives much of a hoot for this reunion. I for one was very happy to hear of it. Having listened to them non-stop since the mid 80s. I've never taken a break from them. They are one of the greats.

There's been a lot of 30 year celebrations going on lately and I had wished I could have been a part of this one. Let's face it, some of us aren't getting any younger and this is our last chance to say "thank you and good night" to those groups that are still standing and still want to pleasure us with their sound.

So Midge, Billie, Warren & Chris are superb in what they do in this reunion. Their sound is very tight and they seem so together with the whole thing. There's a lot of keyboard action going on and they are all played live - by hand. Isn't that refreshing to see? It's a great set-list of just about all the singles and a couple of album cuts.

Ultravox had only one other live album during the 80s. That of "Monument." It's pretty good, but this is much better. I was glad that they did the same closing at The Roundhouse as they did in Monument. The ending to The Voice where they all take to the drums. The DVD also contains a small documentary mostly taped by Midge about the buildup to the tour. Emotions are high as they meet up for the first time in over 20 some years.

It really takes me back when I hear All Stood Still or Sleepwalk and all I can think about is WLIR radio station playing them almost daily.

All I can say is if you're a fan of the band, do get this. I believe this is a limited release.

My top 15 Ultravox songs:

Vienna
Mr. X
The Voice
Rage in Eden
I Remember (Death in the Afternoon)
We Came to Dance
Hymn
White China
One Small Day
Visions in Blue
Lament
Serenade
Reap The Wild Wind
Love's Great Adventure
Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

Betty on SNL

2010-05-18T22:33:00.001-04:00

I know I'm late talking about this but...

I was chuckling to myself today on the way home from work. I couldn't get over Betty's appearance on SNL. This was my favorite skit. I actually thought she was going on the Saturday before. Then I missed the actual airing. So I went to prime time on demand and they had it up.

It was great to see Molly, Anna, Amy, Maya and Tina all together again. It was a real funny show and SNL hasn't been funny for me for a long, long time.

So onto my favorite skit. "The Wonderful Wizard of Ass!" (I don't know that what it's called, but it's the funniest line ever.)

Wizard..... of AAAASSS!

Don't stare that bitch in the face

2010-04-05T22:42:00.000-04:00

I got to see Clash of the Titans in 1981 when it came out. My brother took me which is very rare, but I guess even he knew I had to see this movie being that I was so much into fantasy and the like. I still love the movie and it was being shown last week. I sat and watched it and never thought that it was out-dated or anything. Same as if I was watching one the old Japanese monster movies. It's just something that was so cool to watch back in the day and you just have to take the trip back mentally and forget about today's technology to really enjoy these movies when they are shown again.

So last night I went to see the remake of this movie. I don't think this version of the movie was made with 3D in mind because there really wasn't anything 3D specific in the movie. Sure, in the begining it seemed all great and everything but by the time you get into the middle of the movie, it just didn't seem 3D anymore. I get that today not a whole lot of people are going to the movies because like the music industry, the movie industry is losing a lot of money to downloads. So if you want people to come, convert to 3D, charge extra and make some dough.

This remake was like watching one of those made-for-TV movies that you see on the Sci-Fi channel. Oh excuse me, Sy-Fy. I did like it though I don't think they should have strayed from the earlier version. There was a funny remark to the old one in the movie and I won't give it away. But I always thought the one thing that made the old version a little cheesy was that freakin owl.

The best part, to me, was the Medusa scene. Same as the earlier version. The Kraken wasn't all that impressive. I couldn't even tell what the hell the thing looked like in this re-make.

Anyway, it's not a total loss but it just isn't enough for me to want to see it again. Even for free on cable. Though I will still watch the old version whenever I get the chance!

And really, you're not missing anything if you don't see this in 3D. Save your money.

Life in the so-called space age

2010-02-25T15:18:00.000-05:00

Hotels Combined is already getting ready to reserve hotel reservations to - where?

Link

PSB Pandemonium Live

2010-01-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

Some info on the live CD/DVD due out on 2/15.

The cocert was shot at the O2 Arena, London on December 21, 2009. Would have loved to have been there for that one. I have said this before that this was by far the most fun and memorable concerts that I had ever attended for many years of concert going. If you didn't see it in person, get the DVD you will love it.

Here's a track-list:

o 1. More Than A Dream/Heart
o 2. Did You See Me Coming
o 3. Pandemonium/Can You Forgive Her
o 4. Love Etc
o 5. Go West
o 6. Two Divided By Zero
o 7. Why Don't We Live Together
o 8. New York City Boy
o 9. Always On My Mind
o 10. Closer To Heaven/Left To My Own Devices
o 11. Do I Have To
o 12. King's Cross
o 13. Suburbia
o 14. Se A Vida E/Discoteca/Domino Dancing/Viva La Vida
o 15. It's A Sin
o 16. Being Boring
o 17. West End Girls

The DVD contains the entire concert plus:

23. My Girl [DVD]
24. It Doesn't Often Snow At Christmas [DVD]
25. Love Etc [video/DVD]
26. Did You See Me Coming [video/DVD]
27. All Over The World [video/DVD]
28. 2009 BRIT Awards Performance [DVD] - Pet Shop Boys & Lady Gaga/Brandon Flowers.

Pretty Baby

2010-01-23T22:08:00.000-05:00

Brian Aris talks about photographing the beautiful Debbie Harry during Blondie's early years.

London is lucky to get glimpse of these fantastic photos of Deb. at Proud Gallery.

The above photo is not one of them.

Link.

Roads.

2010-01-23T21:50:00.000-05:00

Storm in the morning light I feel No more can I say Frozen to myself

Fantastic performance! and one of my favorite Portishead songs from the Dummy release. That entire album was on very heavy rotation during it's release (93? 94?). I can't tell you what it meant for me to have such an album to listen to during that time in my life.

***

I have been having quite a few sleepless nights in past few months. It's taken it's toll and I don't know the cause of it. Surely my depression is the same as always or perhaps it has begun to worsen. Something to that effect. I had these problems before but that was a long time ago when I was living in Phoenix. Whatever. Who cares.

***

So during one of those nights instead of just laying there for sleep to come, I decided to just get up and do something. So I turned on my computer and I can't remember what led me to it, but I downloaded one of those Linux distribution discs and installed Linux Mint to my computer. Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu but for whatever reason I decided not to go with Ubuntu and instead chose Mint cause it just sounded fresh.

Turned out to be a good deal. I installed the system in my seperate hard drive that had been sitting there since I got it with nothing in it. I didn't want to partition my system drive so it was a very easy instal. But you don't even have to do that (install on a HD). You can just work from the CD and play around with it to see if you like it or not.

Some Linux facts if you don't know anything about it.

It is a freely distributable operating system which will work on any PC or Mac (though Mac does run on a Unix/Linux operating system called "Darwin"). There are many "flavours" meaning you have a choice of many, many different systems. Some are put together with something specific in mind. Ubuntu is the most popluar with Mint being No. 3 most popular.

All software for Linux operating systems are free. There is *just about* every software that your computer might need including the Firefox browser, e-mail application and a number of essential tools. The only thing is that they are not commercial software so they are mostly clones of popular programs but work just as well like GIMP which is like Photoshop and Open Office which is like MS Office. I'm still having fun tinkering away with it and discovering new things. Give it a try if you're bored one day.

The thing about Mint is that when you install it, a lot of the software comes pre-installed so you don't have to go looking for them downloading and installing them.

Linux Mint

Hmm.. Portishead and Linux in the same post. Surely, I need some rest.

One More Colour

2009-12-13T22:36:00.000-05:00

Jane Siberry. Anyone remember this chick? I know I have this single...somewhere.

One of those random "remember this song?" moments. YouTube is good for that.

Knittin' Mittens

2009-12-13T20:57:00.000-05:00

It was supposed to be a little smaller for a woman, but it's large enough to fit my hand. Wonder if my brother will wear such bald mittens. Very warm though. Perfect for snowball fights.

So hold me mom... In your long arms.

2009-12-06T01:11:00.000-05:00

"A certain American religious sect has been looking at conditions of the world during the Flood.

According to their calculations, during the Flood the winds, tides and currents were in an overall southeasterly direction.

This would mean that in order for Noah’s Ark to have ended up on Mount Ararat, it would have to have started out several thousand miles to the west.

This would then locate pre-Flood civilization in the area of Upstate New York, and the Garden of Eden roughly in New York City.

Now, in order to get from one place to another, something must move.

No one in New York remembers moving, and there are no traces of Biblical history in the Upstate New York area.

So we are led to the only available conclusion in this time warp, and that is that the Ark has simply not left yet."

Beginning of "Say Hello" by Laurie Anderson. As heard on the "United States Live" album.

In the beginning of "Home Of The Brave" (1984) where Laurie explains the meaning of the numbers "0" and "1" the language of machines. You will have wait about 4 minutes of performance before getting there but in my opinion well worth it. I loved "Home Of The Brave." Must find out if this is available on DVD.

From the "Homeland" tour (2007. Here Laurie performs "Only an Expert"
There's a little glitch at about 3:30 and a couple of more places.

(selected lyrics)
Now let’s say you’re invited to be on Oprah
And you don’t have a problem
But you want to go on the show, so you need a problem
So you invent a problem
But if you’re not an expert in problems
You’re probably not going to invent a very plausible problem
And so you’re probably going to get nailed
You’re going to get exposed
You’re going to have to bow down and apologize
And beg for the public’s forgiveness.
Cause only an expert can see there’s a problem
And only an expert can deal with the problem
Only an expert can deal with the problem

And even though a county can invade another country.
And flatten it. And ruin it. And create havoc and civil war in that other country
If the experts say that it’s not a problem
And everyone agrees that they’re experts good at seeing problems
Then invading that country is simply not a problem.
And if a country tortures people
And holds citizens without cause or trial and sets up military tribunals
This is also not a problem.
Unless there’s an expert who says it’s the beginning of a problem.
Cause only an expert can deal with the problem
Only an expert can deal with the problem
Only an expert can deal with the problem

The last part of "O Superman" with an insert not on the original.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justive is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms.

All Cried Out

2009-11-24T14:17:00.001-05:00

Here’s a transformed Alison Moyet singing “All Cried Out” on the Graham Norton Show. This song was from her debut album “Alf.” Such a long time ago. What a great song! We love her for this, “Invisible” and “Love Resurrection” which are also from “Alf.”

Some of us were lucky to see Alison and Vince perform on their Yazoo reunion tour which probably is not likely to happen again. It was a memorable evening.

Well, it's only bricks and mortar!

2009-11-08T00:34:00.000-05:00

So said Moz in one of his most amazing solo efforts ever, that being "Last Night, Maudlin Street."

I was recently visiting a friend where we began discussing books. We remenisced about the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop where I discovered some notable gay authors such as Gore Vidal and John Rechy. I mentioned that there was a possiblity of its doors closing once but that it had been saved. Then my friend said to me that earlier this year it had in fact shut down its doors for good. It made me very unhappy to hear this.

I suppose things like this are going to happen. And everytime it does, I feel a piece my youth and defining moments being taken away from me. The small record shops, and even the big ones such as Tower Records and Virgin Megastore don't seem to have a fighting chance now with the rotten economy together with on-line shops like Amazon and others. It's rather depressing now that the alternative is that you go out your door to go and buy the books or music you want. It's more common to shop by computer these days. We're all doing it so we have all contributed to this change.

But the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop was very important to me.

I must have been around 17 or 18. Walking around Greenwich Village on my own on a fine weekend where I saw the shop and decided to walk in. I'd never been in a bookstore where its entire contents were for and about gays and lesbians. I picked up several books and I remember what they were: Gore Vidal's "The City and The Pillar," John Rechy's "City of Night," and Laura Z. Hobson's "Consenting Adult."

I returned to the shop many times sometimes to just browse and sometimes to buy. Once on a sunny Sunday afternoon, I bought Phranc's "Folksinger" album. She's your average Jewish Lesbian Folk Singer who opened for The Smiths once and even for Morrissey. I remember playing this record when I got home and smiled about it and was very satisfied with how my day had gone. This is a personal statement, but I'm not having those days anymore. And thinking back at these memories are sometimes what I have left. When these places dissappear, I'm scared that the memory won't be enough. I'd like to keep pointing to these places when passing by with friends, and declare a moment of discovery, peace and self-realizations in a certain point in my life.

There's a point and time in your life that becoming old is furthest from your mind. You think at that point that you're never going to get older, lose hiar, go grey and fa....

Ok I'll stop now.

Visit the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop's website. There are many pictures.

HULMERIST - Re-Visited

2009-09-05T19:25:00.004-04:00

So last night I was feeling extremely Morrissey. Meaning I was sad, lost, alone and could not "find my place in this world." I could feel pretty high about life one day, such as being at a great concert and the next day I could be reminded how I still have far to go to be considered a "person."

And I said "V...Lots of things make you want to pop open a vein... But let's see if we can find something to replace that. Who knows what tomorrow brings.." You know the bullshit.

I was thinking about the early days of Morrissey solo bits and so I took a look into my box-o-video tapes and wondered "hmm.. which will it be? Live in Dallas? The Malady Lingers On? Introducing Morrissey? Ah, Hulmerist, that's the first one, let's re-live that moment."

I remember watching this a lot during its release in 1990. Moz was still so young, MTV was still showing music videos and 120 Minutes was airing. So music wise, it was still an exciting time.

In between the videos to the singles, you can a glimpse of adoring Moz fans going to the show. It's like Moz saying "I want the world to see how much I am adored and loved." From what I remember, when Moz first went solo and was to perform his first show, you got to go in for free and only if you were wearing a Smiths T-shirt. You see this in the video when people are lining up to go through security. There is one live performance in Hulmerist, that of "Sister I'm a Poet." Fans are constantly swimming through the audience to get to the stage and give their hero a hug, all the while Moz is showered in flowers from the audience. It was like The Smiths without Marr as Andy and Mike were also present in the videos.

I can't say whether watching this again since I don't know when the last time I watched it - made me feel any better. I know I smiled a few times and at times I felt like letting the flood gates open.

I've read lately that Marr is not opposed to a Smiths reunion. But much of that reunion rests on Morrissey which I feel will probably not want to do it. But think of the excitement this will cause among Moz fans if this were ever to happen. I think it would be big news in the music industry that The Smiths would reform if only for some live shows. Moz already performs the Smiths stuff during his live shows, but that's just a few select songs sandwiched between his solo stuff. Imagine a two hour Smiths concert! If it was one show one night in England, I might go out there just to be a part of it.

Pet Shop Boys @ Hammerstein Ballroom 9/2/09

2009-09-03T20:53:00.003-04:00

I'm actually down there somewhere near the front. Off to the right of the stage.

Well, this will go down in history as one of the most fun shows I've been to. I saw PSB once before on their last tour. It was nice, but I don't remember having as much fun as this one. Probably because the last time, they were in a bigger place with seating. This was general admission (if you had a floor ticket.)

At first glance their stage set didn't seem too impressive. It wasn't anything like the picture above. See what happened was that wall was a lot smaller at the beginning of the show. It collapsed to reveal behind it an even bigger wall, which later it also collapsed. It was just wild, I thought. What do I know? I needed some cheering up and this was the ticket.

The boys really had a lot of fun up there and they had these 4 dancers who ran around the stage. At one point throwing those boxes at each other. Assembling boxes, tearing them down, building them up. I don't know. It was a love affair with all things square. They even covered their heads in boxes. Something maybe Leigh Bowery might have cooked up.

The songs? There's music too!! The opening number was "Heart" and Neil sounded great. Though his voice seemed heavily processed, at times sounding as though he was lip-syncing. But I'm sure he wasn't. A lot of the set contained medley types such as "Pandemonium" going into "Can You Forgive Her." At one point I heard the beginning to "Paninaro" and I thought wow, this is a personal favorite! - but ended up with "Go West" which I think was the best part of the show!!

A great moment for me was when they performed "2 / 0" which was the first song from their first album "Please." I always loved that song. It really took me back.

"Why Can't We Live Together" was pretty good too and I think this is the song where the dancers came out wearing New York City building costumes (Empire State, Chrysler, Citigroup).

I thought it was a well rounded selection of songs. I loved hearing them perform "Being Boring" and last but not least a cover version of that Coldplay song. You know the one. Neil just HAD to do it in a crown and purple cape. But it was cool. The backdrop video looked pretty cool too in all black and white, Neil walking the streets wearing the king costume holding an umbrella. The song did also incorporate "Domino Dancing" so it wasn't a complete cover from beginning to end. I think as long as they were doing that, the Village People Cover "Go West," the Willie Nelson Cover "Always On My Mind," (and it was great!) - They should have also done "Where The Streets Had No Name."

"It's a Sin" was performed and right at the end we were showered with tinsel. Nice touch.

Their new material blended pretty well with the older ones. I have no complaints with this show. I had a lot of fun. The visuals were great. The performance was excellent. Total win.

"West End Girls" Ended the show.

Picture above was stolen from Brooklyn Vegan. Please click on the link more excellent pictures of the show.

Wonderland!

2009-08-09T22:51:00.004-04:00

Yes, it's another Burton film with Johnny Depp. Looks good!

Trailer here.

Marc

2009-08-09T10:45:00.004-04:00

I'm reading the latest blog post from Marc Almond's MySpace page. Aside from him having OCD and doing the same things over and over again in the same places, and aside from his and my dismay at fabulous cities being destroyed by tearing down old buildings, he adds that he has almost finished with his new album. It's a "band" album with real instruments much like "Stars We Are." He is revisiting his teenage years and will have 70s references all around.

"Orpheus in Exile" is out next month.

Marc also ends with:

SOMEONE TELLS ME ANDROGYNY IS IN NEXT YEAR. WHAT AGAIN? I CAN'T REMEMBER WHEN IT WASN'T. I LIVED THROUGH AT LEAST HALF A DOZEN ANDROGYNY REVIVALS SINCE THE ONE THAT I WAS ORIGINALLY A PART OF. AT LEAST IT MEANS THE ERA OF ENDLESS GIRL ACTS THAT STARTED WITH AMY WINEHOUSE AND MUTATED INTO LITTLE BOOTS LA ROUX ETC WILL COME TO AN END AS RECORD COMPANIES HAVE SIGNED EVERY SINGLE DAMN ONE OF THEM IN EXISTANCE AD NAUSEUM. BRING ON THE PRETTY BOYS AGAIN.

Up From The Debths (Godzilla)

2009-08-09T00:41:00.002-04:00

You'll enjoy this if you, like me, grew up watching Japanese monster movies.

O Superman

2009-08-07T23:03:00.002-04:00

Ok, I'm on a Laurie Anderson kick right now. I LOVE this mix!!

Depeche Mode's Tour of the Universe- August 4, 2009

2009-08-05T20:00:00.004-04:00

Last night I went to the Garden to attend yet another Depeche Mode concert.

I went by myself and I think at this point, any other way would probably make me feel out of sorts. Unless I'm with you off course! With you, I think the experience would be 100 times better! Thank you.

So I really wasn't expecting much and I was pretty proud of myself to stay away from any reviews or pictures of the show. I wanted the element of surprise to be there for me. I may be the only who gives a crap about that so I don't feel too bad about posting on the show for others to read if they haven't seen it yet.

I was proved wrong for not expecting much - for this concert just blew me away. I tell you the set list was just excellent! And the visuals they used blew me away too. By now, we have been treated to these kinds of stage visuals at just about every concert we go to and really there's nothing more you can do. But for the songs they chose and the visuals used to put it together really made it very unique.

Dave was in excellent form. He did his usual stage-running all over the place. The dancing and twirling was all there and done in the same place where you'd expect him to. The one thing I have to say is that Dave does not like to sing the choruses to all the previous hits. I wish he'd stop that. He's been doing this for the past few tours and it's getting on my nerves. He should sing the chorus at least twice and let the crowd do it at the end like when they used to do with "Everything Counts" in the old days. Dave, please sing the choruses. It makes the song incomplete when you don't do it.

Martin looked great and wants to let you know that he owns a lot of guitars. With each song, Martin switched guitars. He's like Cher.

Andy still has no rhythm and I still don't think he does anything at the boards. But I love him all the same.

There was a big love affair with the drummer. He was the loudest and both Dave & Martin worshipped him from time to time. He was pretty good though.

Another keyboard player was present but I don't know much about him. There's really not much to tell about this guy.

OK, so I had scored a really good ticket. My seat was not too far off from the stage on the floor. I was in the middle of section 6. The stage extended out into the audience and for one song "Waiting for the Night" Both martin and Dave sang together at the front of the stage where it extended and I had a really good view of the boys from where I was at. It was very sweet and moving.

So here's the set list in no particular order. I'm going to list the albums in order of release and the songs performed.

Speak & Spell

none

A Broken Frame

none

Construction Time Again

none

Some Great Reward

Master & Servant - I would have never expected this but was totally surprised and was a great treat to hear it live again!

Black Celebration

A Question of Time
A Question of Lust
Fly on the Windscreen - Again I was pretty shocked when this came up.
Stripped

Music for the Masses

Strange Love - who knew this song was about foot fetish?? (visuals)
Never Let me Down Again - Ah, you can bet this will always be played, because, you know - you gotta do the wave!

Violator

Enjoy the Silence - Big crowd pleaser.
Personal Jesus
Policy of Truth
Waiting for the Night - A touching moment.

Songs of Faith & Devotion

Walking in My Shoes - Very emotional moment for me.
In Your Room
I Feel You

Ultra

It's No Good

Exciter

none - OK with me!

Playing the Angel

Precious

Sounds of the Universe

In Chains
Hole to Feed
Wrong
Miles Away
Jezebel

There were two encores - I have a feeling there might have been a third, but people began leaving after the second encore when the lights were still down. I was waiting for them to perform "Peace" because that was the one really good song on their new album. I was a little surprised that they left it out of the set unless they were preparing to play it during the third encore.

I wish they would have put in a couple of songs from their earlier albums. It would have been nice to see them do "Puppets" or "Photographic." How about "Boys Say Go!"

But I was very pleased with the set and there was not a dull moment - With the exception of the very new material, it was like vintage Depeche Mode. I was surprised that they really didn't play that many songs from the new album. That's OK with me too.

Sorry I don't have pictures. After all this time, I have not invested in a decent camera I could use to take pictures during these events. Maybe for the Pet Shop Boys coming up in September.

Pictures from Monday night's performance.

Crash Course in Science

2009-06-07T00:30:00.003-04:00

Well, this is the type of stuff we got exposed to as teenagers while watching TV on late night weekends. I remember the Uncle Floyd show very well. I watched it because either SCTV was going to start after Uncle Floyd or I was staying up to watch the rest of TV madness after SCTV. There was always that one guy in the background providing the laughter. He was the "studio audience" and never shut up with that annoying laugh of his. You can hear him shouting during the interview.

But this was a local show. You could have only seen this show if you lived in New York or New Jersey (I think).

Anyway, listen to this weird formation. It's total 80s weirdness. People experimented a lot with electronics in those days. I think about Laurie Anderson, Kraftwerk, and very early Cabaret Voltaire.

CCIS on MySpace

Keepin it alive.

Lovely Sioux

2009-06-01T21:35:00.003-04:00

I got lost on FABULON. It's a blog full the most fabulous images like the one above - and you kinda get lost in them. Not much words but the images speak for themeselves. Check it out.

Why has Siouxsie stopped? Isn't it time she gave us some new stuff?

They're lemony and they're mighty

2009-05-26T22:14:00.004-04:00

So I'm starting to import some CDs into my new computer and giving my iPod a fresh start. So far all the new stuff from Moz, Pet Shop Boys & Morrissey are in there.

So I'm going through my boxes as I have not straighten my CDs out yet and put them up proper - I spotted a much loved CD from times gone. The year was 1992 and it was slim pickings for me regarding this type of music. I think all that Seattle grunginess was coming towards us like some tsunami of flannel shirts and dirty long hair - I think it may have ruined it for me. Sort of clashed with everything I believed in. These were the days of Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Anything new by Morrissey at that time was a major life saver.

Side note - though the new Smashing Pumpkins might me worth looking into. Just heard a preview of their sound during trailers in movie theater (Star Trek if you must know).

Where was I? Oh, Ricochet. I can't remember what made me buy it. I hadn't heard a thing from it. But I got home, stuck it into the CD player and just loved almost every track. I haven't heard it for quite a while so it will be a welcoming sound during tomorrow's commute.

The Mighty Lemon Drops probably will appeal to those that are also into Echo & The Bunnymen, Jesus & Mary Chain, Lush and the like. And I write as if you've never head of The Mighty Lemon Drops but off course you probably have. I think "Inside Out" was a pretty big hit in the late 80s among the alternative playlists. Anyway, here's something out of Ricochet to help you decide on buying the whole album. I think they've been re-issued and re-packaged with extra tracks since.

Peace will come to me

2009-04-22T19:16:00.004-04:00

This is not a full review of the new Depeche Mode album "Sounds of the Universe." I must say that the track "Peace" has blown me over. Big time!

I heard the album today and in short I will say that it is analog heavy. They weren't kidding bout using a lot of vintage synths. The intro to "In Chains" says it all.

But "Peace" Oh man - I just love it. Somewhere out there Phillip Oakey is screaming "That's MY song." Just imagine Phil singing this and think of the pre-Dare Human League albums and you'd know what I mean. I daresay that this track borrows a lot from early Human League.

I'm staying away from anything YouTube related to DM or any review of any of their shows. I don't want any spoilers. And August is so far away!

I’m leaving anger in the past
With all the shadows that it caused
There is radar in my heart
I should have trusted from the start

V does DIY

2009-04-17T00:13:00.004-04:00

Hello, Hello!

It's been a month or thereabouts that I have not posted. Sorry if you've visited lately only to keep finding the last post over and over. I know when I followed some blogs it would frustrate me a little bit because of lack of updates. But there you go.

So what is the DIY that I'm referring to? Well, for a while I've wanted to put together a computer. Not one bought off the shelf, but one built by my own specifications and needs. The last PC I owned ran under Windows 95 and that was pretty brief. Since then I've been using a Mac.

Though I enjoy the Mac OS, I am not a fanboy. I'm bi. when it comes to platforms. Linux isn't that bad either, so I'm tri.

Anyway, I went over to NewEgg and proceeded to make my selections. I took some time off from work and waited for the goods to arrive.

Here's what I chose:

Processor: Intel Core i7 2.66 GHz

Motherboard: Asus P6T Deluxe V2

Memory: Corsair Dominator 6GB kit

Graphics Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon 4870 HD 512 MB

Power Supply: Corsair 1000HX 1000 W

Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar 750GB and 320GB (OEM)

DVD burner: LG (OEM)

Heatsink Cooler: Cooler Master V8

Enclosure/Case: Antec 900 two

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Wireless/Laser Mouse

Monitor: Samsung P2370 23" - This was actually bought separately at BestBuy.

OS: MS Vista Ultimate SP1 64 bit. (OEM) (32 bit will not recognize memory over 3GB)

So on Tuesday everything got here and I set to work. Took my time and by Wednesday afternoon, I had everything put together and ready to power-up. The one thing I didn't do was put in the heatsink & cooler. I decided on the stock cooler. I don't know what I'm going to do with the V8 but maybe someday I'll decide to put it on if my system needs it. The thing is the size of my head! I have a feeling it's not going to fit my case though.

Anyway, I was really nervous putting my finger on that power button. I read so many reviews on some of these components that I chose where they either didn't work or arrived DOA or are faulty, etc. I was surprised and kinda shocked that everything began working so smoothly. Antec has these really nice fans inside the case with blue led lighting. When those lights turned on, the fans began to whir, and my BIOS began posting, I couldn't be happier. Yay!

So there we are. Prior to this, I thought about buying a Mac Pro but I think this was the more practical approach for my needs at this time. And this was a more fun experience rather than just opening a box and turning the thing on. I feel better about turning on my computer knowing that I pieced it together rather than it coming from an assembly line (even though the components are put together on the assembly line - but there it is.)

OK, that's as nerdy as I'm going to get with this post.

Music.

Very briefly, I'm taking the Red Radio approach to the new releases (Depeche Mode and Pet Shop Boys). I've had the opportunity to download these albums but skipped it. I prefer the old fashioned way of waiting for the release date and buying the darn thing and listening to it as intended. Though I've heard several of the new PSB stuff, I don't have the album proper.

That's all I got for now - But before I go, check this out.

Yeah, I had one of those too (Amiga 500). I go way back. :P

Concert everybody

2009-03-16T22:28:00.005-04:00

I got my ticket today for Mode's Tour of the Universe. I didn't know they had added a second night until I was trying to get a good seat for the first night. So I decided to go for the second show (Tues. Aug. 3). I figure I can get a better floor seat for that night. And I did. But I did have a WTF moment for a little while. Did I just pay THAT much for a ticket? Again? Why always MSG? Mind you, I'm pleased that my boys like DM and The Cure can fill up the place after all these years - I guess that proves something. Don't quite know what.

A rush and a push

2009-02-03T12:27:00.008-05:00

Don't you all give up on me all at the same time now!

So it's been about two weeks and I haven't spread any words of wisdom.

Fact.

I haven't seen any shows lately. Or been to a concert.
Even an off-Broadway show. It could be me. Or it could be that nobody brings anything interesting to the stage anymore. It's all song and dance which I don't care for that much.

Book.

So I read one of Calvino's books: Cosmicomics.

I'm not articulate enough to explain and can only tell you that I enjoyed reading these wonderful and imaginative short stories written specifically for me. But maybe for you too, so check the link and see if it interests you. OK?

Music

There's still no U.S. release date for Grace Jones' Hurricane album so I guess I must order it from Amazon or something.

Moz to play at Carnegie Hall. I don't know if I should be shameful of this but I have not purchased a ticket. Have I said this before? Every time I see this guy perform, I always think it's going to be the last. That maybe he'll be retiring from the biz. But he keeps coming back! I'm thankful for his longevity and energy of going out there every year.

It was during his last tour I took a trip all the way to Atlantic City to go see him cause he had cancelled Madison Square because of illness. I thought I'd miss him. But a few months later he'd announced a whole week of shows in Hammerstein!

The most interesting thing about Moz concerts now is to see him perform Smiths songs. I'm always curious as to which one's he's going to pull for a particular show.

Recession.

I'm sure this is old news but we are saying goodbye to the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. The Virgin Megastore hasn't been in business all that long and it's already closing its doors in one of the most busiest places in the world. The one in Union Square is still open. I'm sure it's because it's a much smaller place and the rent isn't all that high there. But it's sad all the same. My neighborhood FYE just closed its doors too.

Circuit City is also shutting down. So what next?

I apologize for not checking in with the blogs regularly lately. I hope you understand.

I will be back with more music nostalgia. Stay tuned!

I look out from my window view......

2009-01-19T15:48:00.004-05:00

Read a book, maybe write a letter. Mother things are getting better.

Lately there's been some snow falls. It seems the most we've got since winters past. I welcome it.

So these are some window views from the fire-escape side. The other widow has my air conditioner in it so I can't open it.

And I *need* to invest in a moderately good digital camera. The one I've been using has had its run.

Atmos

2009-01-12T12:09:00.004-05:00

Atmospheric Optics is the place to go to and see lovely photos of sky phenomena.

Early morning with coffee and APOD. Never miss a day.

They posted this today:

Click on the pic to go there.

These things don't often happen where we are at. Though there was something happening in the sky once and some brilliant colors were displayed. It was not a rainbow because if twas just a patch of colors. Wispy clouds of brilliant color. Off course my friend said it was a miracle. She thinks in these lines and I'm always there to kill the joy.

What's happened to me? I used to be a much happier person when I was more superstitious, delusional and believed in magic. The shops I used to walk into to buy yet another pack of Tarot cards to add to my collection - That smell. The smell of incense. The sparkle of crystals everywhere, the books and candles. My pentagram - and all these things I have taken them away. I guess I no longer need to escape in that manner. I am facing things head-on. And it's depressing.

Happy 2009!

2009-01-01T12:01:00.003-05:00

Just a note to wish you all a Happy New Year! I wish Earth and all its residents a safe journey around the Sun yet one more time. Peace! Peace! Peace!

Jennifer, where are you tonight?

2008-12-30T21:39:00.007-05:00

I'm like Muriel in this sense - You know, she's the one in that movie "Muriel's Wedding" where she was put down by the girls around her for being stuck in the 70s and listening to nothing but ABBA while they listened to The Baby Animals and Nirvana.

I've been listening to the Eurythmic's second album "Sweet Dreams."
This is one of those albums you can listen to all the way through and enjoy every song. When you have that much talent, you can make it work with anything you got around you. This album was recorded using no more than an 8 track recorder, drum machine, some synths and guitars. As the saying goes "less is more." Annie and Dave make a perfect team as like Vince and Alison of Yazoo.

1983 was all about image, music videos as well as the music istelf and gender bending was the name of the game. Annie had short cropped orange hair and wore men's suits. It was a nice contrast to Boy George, Marilyn and Pete Burns.

During the 1984 Grammy Awards, the Euryhmics gave an excellent performence of "Sweet Dreams." Annie looked rather like a young Elivs compelete with sideburns!

It's hard to pick a favorite from this album, but I will have to say that "Wrap it Up" is among my all time favorites. Annie sang this with Scritti Politti's Green Gartside.

Here's a version of the song and video. It's not the same as the one on the ablum, but still excellent and check out Annie's moves!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-24T19:06:00.006-05:00

This picture was taken sometime ago at Rockefeller Center. I thought I'd recycle.

Wishing everyone a great holiday and peace, joy and love and all that good stuff. Whether you're with friends, family or just on your own, may it be special.

I'm just kicking back watching "Mixed Nuts." I guess this is my pick of holiday season movies not to be outdone by "A Christmas Story." I don't know what it is about "Mixed Nuts" that I find so amusing. Maybe it's because all the characters are so dysfunctional and Liev Shriebner is in drag or that Steve Martin runs a suicide hotline business.

You can practically watch the entire movie on YouTube

Hearing sounds of celebrations makes me lonely too

2008-12-12T23:51:00.004-05:00

Finally the search is over! I have finally in my hands a newly re-issued CD of Visage's >> The Anvil << And with five extra tracks, it's a don't miss to any fan of the New Romantic scene.

Fronted by Steve Strange alongside Midge Ure, Billy Currie and Rusty Egan, Visage made some great pop music incorporating a lot of synths and clever guitar riffs. >> The Anvil << was originally released in 1982 on the Polydor label. This 2008 re-issue is by CherryPop a division of Cherry Red Records. This album is somewhat more darker than their self titled album which included the phenomenal Fade To Grey. Starting with a melancholy The Damned Don't Cry, then we go into a dark underworld night club scene at Anvil (Night Club School). The next track is my absolute favorite called Move Up. This track has been in quite a few of my mixtapes back in the day.

The five extra tracks:

We Move (Dance Mix)
Frequency 7 (Dance Mix)
The Damned Don't Cry (Dance Mix)
Motivation (b-side)
I'm Still Searching (b-side)
Mind of A Toy (Dance Mix)

Here's where I have a problem with this. Why isn't The Anvil (Night Club School - Dance Mix) included as an extra track? If it's because they could not squeeze an extra track to make it into one CD, they could have removed those that clearly were not part of the album. Both We Move and Frequency 7 appear on other Visage CDs. So it didn't make sense to me to leave out The Anvil and Night Train dance mixes which would have made it a complete re-issue of the Anvil production.

The CD comes with a booklet of pictures and bio.

But I'm not complaining. I'm just glad I finally got a CD of this. It was re-issued once back in 1997 but I had completely missed out on it. Not to say that I wasn't searching for it at the record stores. It just wasn't there whenever I looked.

Video - The Damned Don't Cry (embedding disabled)

Visage - The Horseman

Sufjan's stitches

2008-12-05T16:39:00.004-05:00

So I found this picture of Sufjan Stevens knitting up what seems to be a scarf. See, it's more common than you think, these men who knit.

Now I'm comming up for air

2008-12-04T21:39:00.004-05:00

I never had to call the tune
'Cause I always drifted with the tide of the moon
I would go out every night
Looking for someone to treat me right
Not a chance, not a hope in this world

The soundtrack to our lives change with the seasons. Now the weather has turned cold and along with it a slew of tunes that highlight certain moments in our lives. One song that has been on my list of tunes lately is Erasure's "Breath of Life." I was in my mid 20s at the time working for an Insurance company and I remember having to walk to work around 6 am and would listening on my walkman containing a mixed tape featuring this song among others like Pet Shop Boy's "Dreaming of The Queen" and "The Theater."

It was quite an interesting time as I had finally found a few people to hang out with during the weekends. We had the designated driver who would pick each of us up from our houses like some school bus driver and head out somewhere to eat. Then, we would hop to a few bars and have a few drinks, maybe dance and hang around. These were nowhere special and were just places to warm up. We had two clubs that we spent the majority of our time at and pretty much stayed there until closing. One was called Prestons and the other was The Works. It so happens that it was the most happening times at either of these clubs during those years.

But still things were very awkward for me. But I have to say that during that time, I think I did pretty well compared to today with the whole socializing thing. I don't recall any of those nights ever being bad. If you were looking for that other kind of good time, where you would leave with someone, then you'd have to come alone. Otherwise, there were a lot of us doing the same. There were all these groups of friends that would all show up at the same time and you kind of just hung around together, drank together, danced and gossiped and had some laughs jabbing at the other groups and making up some stories of who they were. As far as love was concerned, it was still a hopeless world out there. But if I cut out that thought, I'd say I had a heck of a time.

I can still hear the echoes...

"I got my education... I got my education"

"Miss thing... There is no guest list tonight!"

But you know, someone did save my life and I'm grateful for him. I was alone and friendless and there was all these fabulous clothes in the closet waiting to be worn. They thought they would never see the light of day.

"Why don't you put me on?"
"Wear me!"

I guess I had foresight for buying all those clothes. A phone call came one night and he said "A bunch of us are going out - want me to pick you up?"

Thank Zeus!

Erasure - Breath of Life

Planet Rock and World Destruction

2008-11-28T00:51:00.003-05:00

Afrika Bambaataa (Goerge Clinton) in the early years of hip-hop who recognized the genius of Kraftwerk - and incorporated their sound from "Trans Europe Express" into their classic "Planet Rock" in 1982. Excellent beat and bass - guaranteed to make you move it.

Later on Afrika teamed up with John Lydon a.k.a. Johnny Rotten and recorded "World Destruction." This song is just as relevant to today as it was back when it was first recorded in the 80s, especially with what's just happened in India.

They're not shy

2008-11-18T15:26:00.005-05:00

No - No - The 80s won't go away.

Well, I was STILL a teen and this song was on my Brit-pop compliation record, something called "Now That's What I Call Music." Anyway, it had the hits of the time and it was all too English. I never bought a Kajagoogoo album. Just that their pictures were in every magazine, be it No. 1 or Smash Hits. "Too Shy" was clever, catchy and had a fantastic bass line but here Nick Beggs looks ridiculous.

Anyway, they were part of that invasion along with Bowowow and Culture Club, so it deserves some sort of mention.

Kajagoogoo official website.

2009 - Year of Ultravox?

2008-11-16T21:02:00.007-05:00

Ultravox have put out re-mastered definitive versions of their first two albums Vienna and Rage In Eden. They are each two disc sets containing all the b-sides, live versions and 12" mixes.

The more exciting news is that all members have reunited to tour calling it "Return To Eden." There are no U.S. dates at the moment, but let's hope there are. I'll go to that show in a heartbeat!

My favorite 15 Ultravox songs:

Visions In Blue
The Voice
I Remember (Death In The Afternoon)
We Came To Dance
Sleepwalk
Vienna
Mr. X
Lament
One Small Day
White China
I Never Wanted To Begin
Hymn
Reap The Wild Wind
New Europeans
Mine For Life

Actually, this is a hard list to make as all the Midge Ure Ultravox almost are listenable all the way through. All except the album titled U-Vox. I don't know what happened there. Everything from Vienna to Lament is gold to me.

We will be re-buying these same albums for years to come! I had bought all the Ultravox CDs as they were re-released sometime in the early 2000s. There's always a twist and a reason for buying the new ones that come out. I'll buy them, as long as they don't come with a "tacky badge."

Ultravox Official Site.

Addendum: Also announced is a Greatest Hits CD/DVD package.

7 Random Facts meme - 2

2008-11-13T23:07:00.009-05:00

Steve tagged me for this meme which I did sometime ago, but I'll play along one more time to pull me out of the blogging slump I've been in. I will post the rules, but I'm afraid cannot follow all the way. This blog is kind of intimate to just a few people and don't have the 7 people to tag, therefore, I will post the rules in case you want to do it proper. Thanks Steve.

Below are the rules:

1. You must link to the individual who tagged you and post the rules of TAG (which you are currently reading).
2. Post 7 random facts about yourself
3. Tag 7 friends and link to them and
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a nice little message on their blog.

Here are my seven random facts about myself:

1. I wore black. A lot! Even before I knew about the whole "goth" thing. But this picture is from the late 80s at a friend's apartment in Tempe, AZ.

2. I used to buy records based on album cover and names of bands alone and sometimes I would luck out and I would become a fan. Three of them were Frontline Assembly, Fad Gadget and Christian Death.

3. In Junior High we took a class trip to Philadelphia, someone had a radio and we listened to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N Roll" pretty much the entire trip. Then we took a trip to Washington DC. My friend next to me had a radio, and we played Blondie's "Parallel Lines" album all the way through the entire trip. I provided the tape. In high school we took a trip to Salem Massachusetts. My friend had a radio and he played Frank Zappa's "Apostrophe" album throughout the entire trip. It was a blast. I met Laurie Cabot, the "certified" Witch of Salem there.

4. I didn't know how to prepare a proper portfolio so was not admitted to "The High School of Art & Design."

5. Once as a child I was playing around in a park with my brothers and a car going rather slow ran over my foot. When the crowd screamed for the car to stop, the driver stopped and went in reverse, again running over my foot. I wasn't hurt that much. (This would be the same place where we would watch for the swimming turtle, Steve.)

6. I fell in love with writing instruments at an early age when my dad brought me this really fabulous case of assorted pens. It included a fountain pen and even though I did not know how to write yet, I took an already written paper, put a blank paper on top of it and began to trace the writing with the fountain pen. At school, you were required to write only with fountain pens even though disposable pens were widely available.

7. I have always been fascinated with origins and watching things progress to their maturity. I love reading and learning about the origins of the universe, I love to watch plants grow from seedlings to plants and flowers. I love making strings of yarn into fabric and covering a blank piece of paper with lines, shapes and color to make "art." Also, composing music.

Some art I worked on while I took a class on Fashion Illustration at FIT. These previously posted before in another blog:

I know some of you have done this meme before, so I'm not tagging anyone but you're welcome to do it if you want to again and let me know so I can check it out.

No: I've Changed my mind again (aaaaw!)

2008-11-06T20:23:00.004-05:00

The Red Radio a pretty cool music blog has a nice rundown on the new Smiths compilation (The Sound of The Smiths). About every couple of years a new Smiths compilation comes out, but this one is different because both Moz and Marr have teamed up to put it together. Love the cover. I would get this one. It's not a bad idea because Moz is still actively recording and touring. There's just no stopping him. And in recent tours, Moz has performed quite a lot of Smiths songs during his concerts. I think during "Quarry" Moz gained a lot of new fans and this is a way for the new guys to get more familiar with The Smiths.

And over at Middle Eight, XO had a pretty nice post about all the new Moz/Smiths activity and he gave us a chance to "voice" out our list of 10 favorite Smiths tunes. I always love the opportunity to give a list of my favorite artist tunes. Get the details from Red Radio and Middle Eight.

Good Night and Than You.

2008-11-05T12:12:00.002-05:00

Watching TV last night was almost like watching Dick Clark's "Rockin' New Years Eve" and waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square. The cheering of the crowds, the dancing, the emotional outpour.

Here's something from Mike Moore:

"But today we celebrate this triumph of decency over personal attack, of peace over war, of intelligence over a belief that Adam and Eve rode around on dinosaurs just 6,000 years ago. What will it be like to have a smart president? Science, banished for eight years, will return. Imagine supporting our country's greatest minds as they seek to cure illness, discover new forms of energy, and work to save the planet. I know, pinch me. "

Speaking of which, you have to go see Religulous. A docu. by Bill Maher. It's a movie to offend anyone that has faith and follows organized relegions and to make those who don't laugh out loud.

Change Underway

2008-11-04T23:17:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Barack Obama on being elected our next president. This is no doubt a most historical moment in our nation. We can now breathe a sigh of relief and say goodbye to 8 years of Bush.

Watercolor practice

2008-11-02T00:33:00.004-04:00

I'll post this because it ended up looking like something. But I'm working on it and trying to practice (by the looks of it, I need plenty of it.) But it's progress all the same.

If any artist cares to share, just wondering what you prefer working with (watercolor brands, brushes, paper, etc..) I did this little piece with Winsor Cotman which I've had for years. One of the colors had completely dried up in the tube! Does this happen with the good brands? Is it cause it wasn't used for such a long time?

Head Sketch

2008-11-01T19:38:00.005-04:00

IF - Vacant

2008-11-01T11:46:00.004-04:00

Watercolor pencils (Caran D'ache) on watercolor post card.

Whatever Happened to the Gender Benders?

2008-10-19T00:24:00.003-04:00

Interesting documentary on YouTube about the New Romantics and those Blitz kids that frequented the club in that era. Commentaries include Steve Strange, Boy George, Marilyn and Marc Almond.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Those Post-It Doodles are back

2008-10-15T14:00:00.008-04:00

I was lacking confidence at first, but I persevered and lo. I have posted. I mean Post-It.

2008-10-13T13:18:00.005-04:00

There are times when I want to post something of a personal nature, but then I think twice about it. Because when you've got nothing nice to say, wait until you're 80 years old and publish a tell-all memoir like Gore Vidal has. Speaking of which, I have been reading "Palimpsest" and it's been pretty interesting reading about the author's life during the 40s and 50s. If there was any time in the world to be a noted author, I guess that's when it would be the right time. There's a decline in that sort of thing now (or has disappeared altogether.) I have more on this subject but will stretch it out in future posts.

Anyway, there are no bookstores in Astoria. I guess it has something to do with people that might want to read, learn something and get out of Astoria. Who knows. But I find it odd. So yesterday as I walked up Broadway, I did find a rather small bookstore. I walked in and there seemed to be no order to it. I looked around and, after a heavy breakfast before walking in, I was feeling pretty upset and could not wonder around as much as I wanted to. But I did see a hardcover version of Renault's "The Mask of Apollo." Used. I'm sure I've got a paperback of it somewhere at my other home. But whether I read it in its entirely or not is fuzzy. I've got several of her books most having Alexander The Great as her subject (have I actually read them??). Anyway, I paid for it and left the store. It was only $4.

Today while walking outside to get lunch, I found Hermann Hesse's "Magister Ludi - The Glass Bead Game." sold by an individual on the street for $2.

Who needs Borders?

Compu-er says noooooooo

2008-10-08T16:52:00.003-04:00

SHUT UP! Little Britain on HBO. Funny shit all around as only the Brits can make it. Matt Lucas and David Walliams are like the male version of French & Saunders, just as Fun Boy Three were the male version of Bananarama. Anyway, there are a host of funny characters. Some new and interesting ones and some familiar like Lou and Andy, Marjorie, Vicky (SHUT UP!), and Daffy (the only gay in the village).

I wish F&S would get an HBO deal too.

Touring The Universe

2008-10-07T06:50:00.003-04:00

In April, Depeche Mode will release their 12th studio album. They are in New York recording at the moment. Yesterday they gave a press conference in Germany discussing the European leg of the tour already announced. They're calling it "Tour of the Universe." From what I understand, they are playing cities where they never played before so I guess that would make it the "Universe."

Anyway, see for yourselves. I haven't watched the entire press conference yet, so I don't know if it includes any clips of their new sound. The album is again, being produced by Ben Hillier. As far as I got with this conference, they don't talk much about the new album. It's all about the tour.

Night Flight

2008-09-27T02:03:00.003-04:00

During the early days of cable, there was a show on the USA network called "Night Flight." It was a conglomeration of short films, music videos and funny shorts. One of the things I miss on cable before reality TV took over and made TV into the devil's paintbrush. Night Flight went into TV heaven along with MTV's 120 minutes and late night horror films hosted by Elvira. According to wiki, Night Flight is about to make a return, though I doubt it will be anything like what we saw back in the 80s. No more Bob, Church of the Sub-Genius I'm sure. But then, it may be re-runs, which would be great! A search on YouTube will give you a bunch of stuff that was Night Flight. Including the "1 900-Dude" bit, which I know I have on a video tape somewhere as I used to tape the shows on occasion.

Dude!

Arise!

Techno

2008-09-18T10:27:00.004-04:00

More here.

2008-09-16T22:42:00.005-04:00

So these are the books I've read recently and I think maybe tonight, I might hit The Strand to see what I can find. Probably books in the same area.

Gore Vidal - Creation - This is a re-read. The first time I read it I was half my age. I'm glad I picked this up again because this edition contains some chapters that were omitted in the first printing. And also after many years I understand the book better. I enjoyed reading it as much as I did the first time around.

This is history as told by Cyrus Spitama the grandson of the prophet Zoroaster. He's blind now and is dictating his life story to his nephew. He tells us about his childhood growing up in the courts of the great kind of Persia, Darius. He's close to his heir Xerxes. He's the guy that the Spartans fought during that battle of 300. Cyrus has an interesting life as he heads out to India, meets up with the Buddha and then to Cathay (China) who then meets up with Confucius. It's a battle of beliefs and culture. Lots of war, and court drama. You'll want to read it. I recommend.

Norman F. Cantor - Antiquity- It's OK. Gives you the basic knowledge you need to know on the topic. Egypt, Greece and Rome. But reviewers say there are many errors concerning dates and other things, so I wouldn't take it word for word. I understand Herodotus was wrong on many accounts as well.

Justin Pollard and Howard Reid - The Rise and Fall of Alexandria - In the end belief wins over ideas. It still echoes in today's world. Alexandria was the birthplace for all learning. The brightest minds came to this place and learned and thought mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy and other sciences. Here is where Eratosthenes measured the circumference of the earth by using just a couple of sticks and shadows, using his knowledge of trigonometry - and he wasn't too far off in his calculations. Just one of many discoveries.

Alexandria had a huge library of books. Only a few have survived. Who knows what other brilliance lied in those books which are now lost forever. In the end, religions fought over each other and books were destroyed because most were considered to be the work of pagans. Hypatia, who thought philosophy and science was dragged out into the public by Christians and torn to pieces. It's a sad story. Well worth the read.

The Beta Band

2008-09-12T20:58:00.002-04:00

Speaking of which. I was watching Jools Holland and saw this band performing and I thought they were pretty interesting. Looked them up on YouTube and found some more of their stuff.

"Squares"

1984

2008-09-09T20:57:00.007-04:00

Maybe for you, as well as me, 1984 was a pretty great year for music. If you were listening to the same stuff that I was. It was really like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet joint. The list of what album you were going to buy was endless. It was exciting, new and fresh. The synthesizer ruled the pop music world. I know you had a local record store that you went to. And I know the store had a name with the words "blankety blank Records and Tapes." Mine was "Numbers Records & Tapes" located in Jackson Heights. Last time I was in Jackson Heights, maybe a year ago, the shop was still open. I had gone in but something felt wrong. The records were gone and my record buying pal was not with me.

***

There were some artists who were very well known for using only synthesizers and drum machines as their only instruments. And some wanted to get away from that. One of them was The Human League. Though Hysteria was recorded using a lot of synths and drum machines, they did incorporate guitars and live bass for the first time. It was an unexpected surprise to me. Remember the days when you had to buy the album to know what it sounded like?

So last weekend I put on my headphones, lied down and listened to Hysteria all the way through and was really enjoying it. Had 24 years already gone by since the first time I listened to this? That in itself saddened me but at the same time remembered how much happiness it brought me when buying albums those days were so much more pleasurable and they were never so discarded too quickly. We listened to our albums over and over. Some of us made tapes of them so that the vinyl wouldn't be too used up or scratched.

Hysteria didn't do too well. It kinda bombed. But for me, it's one of my favorites alongside Dare. The album was a gate fold. See that's another thing that has gone out - The gate fold album.

The first track, I'm Coming Back is one of the better songs on the album, it hooks you in and want to hear more. The guitars come in during the chorus. I think I had to do a double take on this when I first heard and said to myself "wha...?"

The second track is one I've heard before called I Love You Too Much. If you hunted down Human League albums like I did, then maybe you came across the "Fascination EP" which I found much later on that it was erroneously released. It included a version of I Love You Too Much which I've been trying to find since the beginning age of the CD and have not found it yet. I liked that version better. It was faster, more synthier and louder. Gone, gone, gone... someone find it for me!

Then came Rock Me Again (and again) and I don't remember appreciating this at first listen. It was after a few more listens that it sunk in and got into this part of The League that would take them into that worldwide success of Crash.

Louise - Ah Louise. It's like their version of Soft Cell's Say Hello, Wave Goodbye. I bought the 12" single of this and it came with a lovely poster and a remix of The Sign which I prefered. But now I have to re-buy the Hysteria CD to get this extra track. It never ends. Louise had a great bass track. I listened to this track quite a bit and it was included in many a mixed tape.

The Lebanon - Possibly the only track that Hysteria is known for. I don't know how popular this song became but the radio stations did play this for a while. It had a very smart bass line and lots of guitars. Also, the only pop song ever written about Lebanon, a big plus for me.

Betrayed - This song sounded like it could have been a part of Dare. Good synths, non-dance track. I liked this song a lot.

The Sign - Good pop song and even better in the remix as I mentioned before. Everything will be fine... I saw the sign. Yep.

So Hurt, was O.K. While I was listening to this last weekend, I remembered this not being a favorite. But hearing it again, I was able to go through it with a smile only for nostalgia reasons.
Life On Your Own - Another single. This song I really loved. Loved the synth bass especially towards the end.

Don't You Know I Want You - Is this the sequel to Don't You Want Me? It's a great exit and sums up the album and you can hear a little of Crash in here - a prequel to what's to come from The Human League.

***

I can't find this in today's pop music. Perhaps it's age and maybe the mirror ball has stopped turning for me. Sometimes an album comes my way and I'll exclaim "this is it!" But it fizzles out too quick. I have blogger friends who write a lot about today's pop music and see how excited they are with some of today's releases. I'm jealous. I don't know what's happened to me these days but I don't find it relative to my life anymore or perhaps it's some sort of phase. I think maybe Goldfrapp has been the best out of them all. My favorite bands still release new albums today, but they don't bring me the same excitement and pleasure they did in their previous efforts. It does excite me in the beginning but then.... whatever. I hear that Grace Jones is about to release something new and I've heard one of the new songs. That excites me, but let's see what happens. Also, Depeche Mode is in the studio for another release. So I'll hope for the best.

What was your definitive 1984 release? For me, it was Depeche Mode's Some Great Reward. Sampling in the mainstream. That album was a goldmine and out shined pretty much everything else I was listening to. Sadly, 1984 was also the last time Visage produced an album and even sadder was that the album was not that good. Beat Boy will only be remembered as the album that gave us the title track and Love Glove.

2008-09-07T14:25:00.005-04:00

Epigram 31 - an epitaph

Tell me, is Charidas buried here?
"If it's the son of Arimmas you mean, he's here."
Charidas, how is it down there?
"Darkness."
What of Return?
"A lie."
And Pluto?
"A myth."
We're done for, then.
"I've given you the truth. If you prefer a pleasantry, beef's a penny a pound in Hades."

- Callimachus of Cyrene

My Wordle

2008-08-27T22:32:00.003-04:00

Wordle

Take me to Switzerland and give me a deck chair

2008-08-27T12:22:00.004-04:00

Silence can be deafening sometimes.

Sometimes, you want the noise.

Turn on the TV to hear some voices.

Turn on some music. But the music can take you places and do some sort of damage emotionally. What once was so enjoyable now takes you to some dark places.

I'm in such a place now. So I keep quiet. But the silence is too loud.

Anyway, here's everything you ever wanted to know about Enjoy The Silence that you didn't think to ask. More info than you need. Also is a list of artists who have covered the song like Tori Amos, Kim Wilde and Keane. Read about how Martin wanted to keep this song on the downbeat rather than Alan and the rest of the band's upbeat version.

Click linky: Enjoy the Wiki

Heat

2008-07-31T12:31:00.002-04:00

Tip from sidle-line.com. And check out the track listing.

I'm not a big fan of remixes.

Who remembers when Soft Cell re-grouped for a short time to release a collection called "Memorabilia" in the early 90s? It also included some of Marc's solo hits. If you'll remember, most - or I think all- the Soft Cell tracks were re-done in the studio with new vocals. Which for some reason did not do it for me. I never understood the re-doing of songs. We always go for the originals no matter how much better the artist has improved on their sound and vocals. Because in the original songs is where the real memory of it all is. I remember the newer version of "Say Hello..." and I said to myself "I just don't feel anything with this new version." The original one was full of heartbreak and you can feel it in Marc's voice. So I'll be interested to hear all these re-mixes anyway, there might be some gem hidden in there somewhere.

According to Marc's website http://www.marcalmond.co.uk/, the old Soft Cell albums are getting their re-issue/re-package routine. But according to Marc, he's not very happy at how Some Bizarre (the record label under all of Soft Cell's albums are released) are handling it. Marc wants to really give something to the fans (b-sides, etc..) and it seems that the label company is not cooperating and things are getting very complicated. At this point, Marc feels they should just release as they see fit and he wants to just concentrate on the new stuff rather than go back to the past. The reissues include "Non Stop Erotic Cabaret", "The Art of Falling Apart" (my favorite) and "This Last Night in Sodom."

"The Art of Falling Apart" to me is one of their best efforts. The images they invoke - of lonely hearts, insanity, fantasy, seedy, smokey bars aglow in deep red, on your last legs. not to mention the song based on the John Rechy classic "Numbers". The album was released as a double LP which included a synth version of a Jimmy Hendrix medley and "Martin" - "Martin" was a George A. Romero film about a kid who thought he was a vampire. Never saw the film. But I read the book while in high school.

"This Last Night In Sodom" - Marc says, this was their "Punk" album. Somehow, I don't think "L'esquelita" is so punk. About a drugged out drag queen, down in the dumps (a prequel to Saint Judy?) - Actually, L'esquelita was a drag bar here in the Times Square area, and during the time in the 80s when that area was all prostitution, drugs and XXX theaters, I'm sure the bar was quite a scene. Marc misses this part of NYC and later wrote a book of poetry which came with a CD of him reciting a few of the poems. The book/CD was titled "The End of New York"

"Sodom" was also a great effort. Songs like "Little Rough Rhinestones" and "Meet Murder My Angel" are some of my favorite tracks from this album. I've always loved Dave Ball's approach to mixing. Making it non-polished, dark and less robotic with the sequences.

There's no other like Marc. I hold him dear to my heart. I mean, he sang dark and emotional songs for the gut-wrenched, miserable person. And some were just pervy. I just loved that about Marc. I remember the first time I laid eyes on him. It was during the "Bedsitter" video. A long time ago if you had HBO, you'd remember that between feature films, they used to show music videos. And one day "Bedsitter" came on and I was transfixed. I thought to myself "My god, a poofster like me.. in eyeliner and all in black," he's my man. Must know more. Must find out. Must get..... I think I was 16 or something. The rest of the family shouted "What the hell is that!?" Well, you just knew that at the disapproval of the family, it had to be good to get into Marc Almond and Soft Cell!

Anyway, that's my thing on Soft Cell (for the meantime). Long live Marc. Long live Soft Cell.

Little rough rhinestone
Where will your love go today?
Sometimes you think
You had none to start with anyway

And I find - I'm knocking for a good time - YAZ Live

2008-07-20T08:55:00.005-04:00

It was a total treat last night watching YAZ perform at the Beacon Theater.

What can I say about Alison's voice? It's as good as you'd hear it in the recordings. Full of emotion and soul. You know those other girls out there move about the stage with their fit slender bodies doing all those moves, and you think off course they can do all that. But a healthy gal like Alison letting lose during Situation seems to me far more enjoyable and real. The show opened with Nobody's Diary and I thought how great is this now that I get to see this live after all those years of listening to it on a mixed tape. All those years ago when I'd skip school to listen to my walkman, walking around in the NYC streets.

Vince kept the mix to its original format. Not like most bands who think years later when they perform something old, they have to change to a newer format to conform to today's sound. And all Vince had was a laptop and some tiny itty bitty controllers (it's like something out of Pluto Nash). He provided some backup vocals - in vocoder style. At some point, it looked very Kraftwerk. Behind each member was a screen depicting images. During Bad Connection, the images were that of computer games like Space Invaders and such. It was cute. Oh, and when they performed In My Room, Alison was seated in the middle of the stage on a chair clutching a pillow while behind her on the screens, a red light bulb swayed back and forth. During the middle of the show, Vince brought out a reel-to-reel from the side of the stage to the middle, pressed play and he and Alison left the stage. I guess it was a new thing he'd worked on for the show that didn't have vocals. Just sampled voices over the music. It was interesting. What else? All the party favorites were performed, Good Times, State Farm, Don't Go, Situation. And not to mention a most favorite of heartbreaking, pull out your hair, I've lost that man song - Midnight.

Vince has enjoyed a long time career making smart, enjoyable pop songs (the king of catchy single note melodies) with Erasure. But it was so great seeing Alison getting that reception last night from all those adoring fans who never thought that in the 2000's they would get to finally see her perform live. I wanted more. I want them to get to the studio and do some new stuff.

The sucky picture was taken with my cell phone. You want to go here to see some better one's of last night's performance.

Beyond the Bowl

2008-07-15T16:06:00.003-04:00

I saw this on Cosmic Variance and wanted to share. Click on Bruno to go there.

Anyway, I have a friend whom I converse on the phone with once a week and eventually, the conversation turns to either philosophy, religion, science or personal beliefs. Sometimes it gets heated up and sometimes it's just fun to get each other's take on what the universe is up to or what we think it is up to or what they tell us it is up to. But the last conversation left me in bitter tears and I wasn't able to handle it well. It was the statement made - that I am limited in my thinking! Oh there wasn't any name-calling or anything like that, but it was getting there. Two opposing views can sometimes really shake things up.

I'm an out-of-the closet Skeptic and proud of it!

You know if there are an infinite number of other universes out there, you know there's gotta be one universe where the Flying Spaghetti Monster is really god.

George Carlin - RIP

2008-06-23T09:55:00.003-04:00

I think he was one of the funniest stand up comics out there of all time. His comedy on religion, conformists and government was always the best. He died at 71 and he had an HBO special just a few months ago which was great, so he never lost his comedy greatness.

Anyway, here's a bit of his comedy genius:

The Cure at MSG 6/20/2008

2008-06-21T16:30:00.004-04:00

It's always fun to see a Cure show. They play for three hours and cover a lot of material from their back catalog. There was this moment of uplift when they played these blocks of songs that consisted of Feels Like Heaven, In Between Days, Friday I'm in Love, and Push. Then there was this whole other part where they did songs like Shake Dog Shake, One Hundred Years, Primary. Then there was all the encore songs that was the best. Boys Don't Cry, 10:15 Saturday Night, Jumping Someone Else's Train, Killing an Arab. Pictures of You brought a lot of cheer from the crowd and on a lot of the songs, you can hear the crowd singing along.

I wish I had known earlier that The Fuse network was filming the whole thing and showed two hours of it last night from 11PM to 1AM. It was already over by the time I got home and I don't know if they'll air it again. If they do I'll post the info. It really was great show and I'm glad I held on to the ticket from past September 2007 when they had postponed this show.

They did pretty good with the stage. The light show was pretty amazing and the visual backdrops were great too.

Picture credit goes to JLBNYC. Check the Flickr site for more pictures of this show.

Here's something from YouTube from last night: The Cure doing Baby Rag Dog Book.

Blondie facts

2008-06-18T16:40:00.005-04:00

From Chris Stein (taken from Blondie.net news)

1. First ever Video album released for "Eat to the beat" in 1980

2. First American #1 New Wave single "Heart of Glass"

3. First #1 Rap single in America "Rapture"

4. First reggae #1 single in America "The tide is high"

5. Oldest woman in rock with a #1 hit, when "Maria" debuted at #1 in 1999 in the UK

6. Parallel Lines sold sold over 20 million copies

7. Blondie has 4 American #1 singles and 7 in the UK

8. Blondie are the biggest selling american band in the UK Singles chart of all time

9. The single "Rapture" has been a Top Ten Dance single on the Billboard Dance charts in the 80's/90's/00's, 3 consecutive decades

10. Blondie appear on more soundtracks and compilation albums than any other artist in rock.

11. "Call Me" was the #1 single of 1980 in America on Billboard

lets also not forget what is kind of my favorite: blondie the only band besides the Beatles to have a back to back #1 and 2 on WABC in i guess 1981... rapture bumped tide from the top spot

WABC was the biggest NYC rock radio station for a long time now gone
-----
For more Blondie news, check out Blondie.net.

Front 242 "First Moments"

2008-06-17T13:11:00.002-04:00

I got the e-mail with the link for the files a couple of days ago and surprised that it was a torrent link. Well, whatever. It didn't matter to me. What I was expecting, though was two NEW F242 songs. One of them was probably called "First Moments." I was surprised after unzipping the files that they were in fact live versions of "U-Men" and "Im Rhythmus Blieben." My first reaction was, WTF. But then I got over it, listened to the two AWESOME live tracks and was satisfied with it. They were free downloads and the point of the thing was that they wanted you to determine different quality mp3s. I would not pay a cent for any mp3 that was less than 360kbps. I oped for the Apple lossless download. I have listened to these tracks quite a bit since I downloaded them. They are from a recent live show and I hope I get to seem them perform these songs again. Especially "U-Men." It's not disappointing if you're a huge F242 fan. I definitely appreciate the free stuff and the point they are trying to make. But on Side-Line's comment section to this, there were a lot of negative talk. Eh, kids today.

Yaz & Furs Plus Ladytron

2008-06-13T17:01:00.003-04:00

I suspect that if you like Yaz, you may also be a fan of the Psychedelic Furs. I read somewhere that they are the opening act for the L.A. show.

I hope they do open for Yaz here! That would be a kick for me. It will be the first time in years I show up for the opening. I usually come an hour later just to miss it.

My favorite Furs song? Love My Way.

I must write to you about Ladytron's Velocifero! A tip from my friend at Middle Eight. For now, I will say that it is FAR better than Witching Hour. It's like "Destroy Everything" many times over. Total electroclash goodness.

This is the time, now gimme the beat

2008-06-02T20:52:00.002-04:00

I bit the bullet on Yaz. I had a feeling they weren't just going to end it at a small venue for two nights. They booked at the Beacon Theater and as usual I waited around for a good seat to open up. I hesitated it for a while though. Tickets are way overpriced for my taste. But in this case, it's a once in a lifetime thing to get to see Alison and Vince together performing those great songs. These bands all seem to be touring at the same time. I wanted to check out Duran Duran, but who can make all these shows with these ticket prices? Then there's Echo & The Bunnymen coming to Radio City. They've been together for 30 years and to commemorate, they are performing their most celebrated album Ocean Rain with full orchestra. This is in October, but tickets are already on sale. I'm overwhelmed.

Ladytron plays at Terminal 5 on 6/25. I'd like to check them out. Also at the same venue, Boy George on 8/15 and The Faint on 8/18.

I got e-mail from Alfa Matrix about two new Front 242 tracks free for download. The premise is that they are providing downloads in several different compression methods for you do decide for yourself as to the quality of these mp3s. I think since the days of downloaded mp3s, people have forgotten how quality music is supposed to sound like. I'm not talking about the taste of your music choices, but the sound itself.

From Alfa Matrix:

It's up to the listener to hear the difference between the various audio
sound formats and thus hear for him/herself what good quality audio sounds
like. To get hold of this free 2-track download, which will hit the online
world on June 15th, you need to register here

We'll have to put you down

2008-05-08T13:17:00.003-04:00

I don't know if it had anything to do with recent events of the Kentucky Derby where a horse had to be put down. I don't know if it was that or if that even stirred my emotions and entered my subconscious and turned up in dreams.

Yeas, I had to be euthanized. It was doctors orders. Though it seemed that family and "friends" or what have you did not seem bothered by all this. I myself was going around in a hospital asking myself questions. But then you never remember every detail of a dream. But I do remember not thinking it was a big deal. Doctor says I gotta go. Not fit for life. And I had accepted that.. in my dream. But one thing bothered me. Would I really be dead? I mean, what if I seemed dead and they buried me not knowing that I was still somehow "alive." I was all set to go when I finally realized, based on that one thought, I could not do it! I can't accept my euthanasia because I don't believe I will be fully dead and I will feel the dirt on my face!

But it turns out that the doctor was not honest with me. I didn't have to be put down and (I think) he wanted the money. Can't really make heads or tails. But I woke and thought "Oh good, I really didn't really go through any of that." But I was a little upset that I had the chance to painlessly ... well... you know.

We can analyze this, but it's so obvious to me and to anyone who knows me what's going on here. But still. Just wanted to share.

Goldfrapp at Beacon Theater 4/29/2008

2008-04-30T20:47:00.002-04:00

Last night I went to see Goldfrapp at the Beacon Theater.

Sometime ago I did go to Beacon to see Margaret Cho perform. Before that it was over 20 years ago. So this was the first musical concert I've been to since then. A flood of memories as I tried to locate where I was and how excited the whole experience was. Now, a concert veteran of sorts, it was business as usual. Another show. That same feeling of anticipated excitement no longer in me. I doubt I ever will get it back. All shows that I've gone to since has been built upon that first night. It was a bit emotional really. So onto Goldfrapp. In short, I thought it was a fantastic performance. Alison is top notch. Her voice is beautiful and she is beautiful. And she loves to wear one-piece numbers. This time around, a peach colored once peace with winged sleeves and pom-poms. She would extend her arms into the air as she let out a siren call and she seemed to be communicating with heaven. The lights would respond and imagery was perfect. The show began very mellow starting with a Seventh Tree number (which one was it? I have not learned all the names of the songs... shame on me). But I recognized those which I loved from her new album. True, Seventh Tree was a departure from Supernature, but the mix between those three albums together with Black Cherry worked very well on the set. The first three (or four) numbers were very pleasant and mellow indeed. The audience kept to their seats. Until Satin Chic and some got up to dance. I think it was after Satin Chic when she began singing Number 1. that people remembered they were at a concert and all stood up to move with the music. Strict Machine really got the crowd clapping along. Strict Machine live has a great build-up to the first verse. Just lovely.

The background was panels of what seemed like basket weave. There was video imaging in the background - usually psychedelic images with lots of colors, squiggles and shapes weaving in and out. Kaleidoscopes and candy. Ooh-la-la was done in some kind of "yahoo" fashion and it still worked. My favorites from the new album are A&E, Little Bird , Some People and Happiness. Happiness being the stand-out track when I first heard the album and that's the song she ended the show with during the encore. We didn't hear Koko or Ride a White Horse which I was longing to see them perform.

I was very pleased with the show and I really enjoyed it. After four albums, Goldfrapp is still not a tour- every -state in the U.S. kinda band. So I feel bad about people not getting the chance to see their shows in other states. Maybe they'll return with more dates. They did come back twice to New York during the Supernature days so maybe I'll catch it again if they return.

Oh, and I think this was the first band that incorporated harp playing as part of the set.

Here's a link to some pictures from this performance at some site. Don't miss Goldfrapp if you're a fan and they're playing near you. You'll love it.

Some are a melody and some are the beat

2008-04-20T18:00:00.007-04:00

I think my iPod may be dying. I've had it for about 4 years now. I'm surprised it's lasted as long as this. Who knows, maybe it's just a little thing that the Apple people can fix. But I do want one of the newer ones. But right now, I can't think about buying a new gadget. But I do need my music for my commutes to and back from work.

The last show I went to was Moz's show back in October. So it will be 6 months until I go see Goldfrapp at the Beacon Theater. Should be nice. Then I've got The Cure lined up at MSG. I should have given up this ticket when they called it off the first time around. Because then they started selling for a night at Radio City Music Hall. That would be a better place to see them. That's where I saw The Cure for the first time in 86. Over 20 years ago.

It's a little weird going to see bands that I've seen so long ago for the first time and they're still going at it. When I was just 18, these guys were people I looked up to and thought they were so ahead of me in years. But now, I just realize that they're only a few years older than me.

Hmm... I feel a list coming along. Eh, for whatever reason and as reference to me in the future should this still be around.

I present, V's concert history (as close as he can remember it) covering the early years.

1985

Depeche Mode (Beacon Theatre)
Oingo Boingo (At The Ritz now Webster Hall)
The Damned (At the Ritz)

1986

The Cure (Radio City)
Simple Minds (Radio City)
Siouxsie & The Banshees (Radio City)
The Cure (At The Pier)
Depeche Mode (Radio City played for 3 nights went to 2)
Book of Love (The Ritz)
Erasure (The Ritz 1st U.S. show)
The Communards (The Ritz)
Book of Love (again The Ritz)
Book of Love (Somewhere in Long Island)

1987

Erasure (The Ritz twice)
At this time I was supposed to go see New Order with Gene Loves Jezebel and Echo & The Bunnymen (all in the same show) but I never made it. I was in bad terms with the people going and had to prepare my move back to Phoenix.

1988

Depche Mode (Compton Terrace before 101)
Echo & The Bunnymen (Mesa Amphitheater)
Depeche Mode (Compton Terrace during 101)
Book of Love (After the Gold Rush)

1989

Laurie Anderson (can't remember the venue)

1990

Debbie Harry (After The Gold Rush)
Book of Love (After The Gold Rush)
Depeche Mode (Somewhere in Atlanta)
Depeche Mode (A stadium in Phoenix)

1991

Front 242 (Club Rio)
Frontline Assembly (Silver Dollar Club)

1992

Morrissey (Compton Terrace) Can't remember if this was 91 or 92

Anyway, that's as far as I go. Let me assure you that the rest is mostly the same as above with the exception of:

Belly (in the 90s)
The Ramones (early to mid 90s?)
Kraftwerk (late 90s and as recently as 3 or 4 years ago)
The Psychedelic Furs (late 90s)
Marc Almond (late 90s)
Blondie (late 90s No Exit tour)
Delirium / Conjure 1 (early 2000s)
Diamanda Galas (early 200s)
Soft Cell (early 2000s)
Madonna (A couple of years ago )
Nitzer Ebb (A couple of years ago)
Pet Shop Boys (A couple of years ago)
Goldfrapp (A couple of years ago)

I could go to more shows today but I'm not as enthusiastic lately. Missed Skinny Puppy not too long ago and I recently missed out on Siouxsie last October and also Debbie Harry. I may even miss out on Yaz!! But I'm going to try and make it, if I can find a ticket when I'm ready to buy one. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm really tired of going to all these shows alone. Meant nothing before, but as the years have gone on, it has some sort of significance.

On Earth, no one can hear me scream

2008-03-26T21:36:00.005-04:00

It's a total coincidence that I got a bug to get me some Sci-Fi books last week and then to find out that Arthur C. Clarke had passed away. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. Who do you think passed away the first time I got a telescope?

Now, if it was not a coincidence and I went to get some Sci-Fi books, you'd think at least one of them would be a Clarke novel. Not so, but I'm very sad to hear of his passing. He had visions of the future which was yet to be realized. He should have copyrighted his ideas.

Anyway, these are the titles I walked away with:

Frank Herbert's "Dune"

This was not really on my list, but I substituted this for a book I didn't find. I've always wanted to know what the fuss was about. I don't know anyone that's read this book but it is one of the most popular science fiction book ever written. Never seen the movie either so no spoilers.

Robert A Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange land"

I've read a couple of Heinlein's books and that was because an old timer stood next to me while I was checking them out and told me I should read his books. So I picked out a couple then and totally enjoyed them. So I can't wait to read this one of Heinlein's best work.

Philip K Dick's "Valis"

"God, as it turns out, is a virus perpetrated upon us by an orbiting satellite." Well, that's all the convincing I needed to get this in my hands. Can't wait to read it. Philip as most know was also the author of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" which was later turned into a movie called "Blade Runner."

There were a couple more on my list which I didn't find but will have to look elsewhere. Maybe a trip to Strand bookstore.

I know at least a couple of you like to read, so I'd like your opinions on my choices.

I wanted to get back into Sci-Fi / Fantasy reading because they have always brought me joy and I just love imagining and creating in my mind the worlds that these great authors draft for me. I'm also a sucker to some of the more light hearted fantasy series like that of Piers Anthony's "Xanth" series and David Asprin's "Myth" series. I got a couple of those too.

Obtaining concert tickets in the space age

2008-03-25T13:50:00.003-04:00

OK, so things have changed. How many are you old enough to remember what it took to buy concert tickets? Did you have to take a day off from work? Did you have to ditch school? Did you have to wake up way early in the morning and drag yourself to the venue box office, get on line with people who have already been there hours earlier and hope for a good seat?

Used to be how it went. And maybe in some parts, it's still like that. Is it like that everywhere still? I don't know. All I know is that now, in order to get a ticket for a show, you got to the box office or get them on-line. And now they have this thing where you are alerted pre-sale tickets. You know, where YOU get a chance to buy a ticket before it goes on sale to the public. Meanwhile, everyone is getting that e-mail. It's nonsense really because I've never gotten a good seat during the pre-sales.

So I really want to see Goldfrapp at Beacon Theatre. It's a special place for me. It's the first venue I went to for my first concert experience. That being Depeche Mode on March 16, 1985.

In the past few years, I would try to get these tickets online and if I didn't quite like the seat, I would "search again" and it would pick a different seat each time until I could find one that's satisfactory and purchase it. This time around though it wasn't doing it. I kept getting the same nasty seat. So I came back the next day and still I was getting the real bad seats, like the ones in the "Obstructed View" area. Who wants that??

I let it go for a week or so. My only risk was that the show would be sold out. But I had a hunch that the *GOOD SEATS* were going to be open for the later sales. Turns out I was right. And it's been like that all along. And you possibly know this. I've always gotten better seats when I came in later in the game then when the sales first started.

So the lesson is: Pre-sale doesn't exactly mean you're getting the front center row. If anyone has gotten these seats on the pre-sales, then let me know. You want a good seat, wait around a little and then go for it. But then you risk the "sell out" thing.

You don't represent me!

2008-03-14T13:28:00.002-04:00

This is a "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" moment.

It's just scary that there are still people making these kinds of speeches and getting away with it.

Want to know? Read here.

Thank you.

P.I.D. No. 15

2008-03-12T17:25:00.004-04:00

Been a sicky for the past week. But getting better. Here are some quick post its. OK, people go on about the Pilot G2 pens but I hate the darn things. As you can see, they don't dry quickly and smudge thus ruining your "masterpiece."

Wilder on the sate of music

2008-03-02T17:02:00.004-05:00

Read this interesting article Alan Wilder wrote for Side-Line about the state of music these days. Some interesting insights on sound quality (the decline of sound quality through mp3) and music distribution, etc. Click image for link.

2008-02-28T21:38:00.005-05:00

I was too young to understand all this but late at night the TV would be on and my older brothers would be watching SNL. I laughed I guess because they were, not fully knowing exactly what they were laughing at. But some things I didn't even have to try to understand. Like when Chevy would take a fall in the beginning of each show. I'd have to say that the time when I really began watching SNL was about the time when Charles Rocket was in the show. It was also a time when there used to be a show called Fridays. That's when we first got a taste of Michael Richard's comedy. And if that wasn't enough late night comedy, there was also SCTV with Eugene Levy, John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, etc. Lots of funny stuff going on during that time. Smart, goofy comedy. Add to that Midnight Special and the British Kenny Everett Show, Monty Python and you'd wonder when TV went so bad? So I got the first season of SNL in order to watch all this stuff that have not had their re-runs recently. But don't be too surprised if you didn't find it as funny as it was back then. Just they way some things go. Chevy Chase saying "I'm Chevy Chase and you're not" seemed a lot funnier back then. But not to worry as there are still plenty of timeless funnies here. I've only been through two of the eight discs in this set. I'm waiting for the one season to come out when Blondie made their appearance. The whole thing reminds me of Junior High and subway cars covered in that wonderful graffiti. I thought they were great works of art.

So I had this transistor radio that I would place by the window and I think it was during Saturdays that Kasey Kassem had that top 10 radio show. I just wanted to find out which number in the top 10 Blondie's Rapture or The Tide is High made it to. Somewhere between Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 and John Lennon's Imagine. This was 1980 and rap music was mostly an underground movement at the time. But a band from the CBGB's punk scene brought it to the top 10. I certainly had never heard anything like it. When I first heard Rapture (it made it's debut on Solid Gold when Debbie was hosting it), I was wondering why she was talking throughout the song.

Here's a movie I can't live without Life of Brian, I think is one of Monty's best made film. Poke fun at religion, and you can't go wrong. I bought this for $20 at Borders the other day. It's a great value for a 2 disc set (The Immaculate Edition). It's tempting to watch it now, but would like to save it for a more appropriate time. It's almost here.

View & P.I.D. No. 14

2008-02-22T17:06:00.004-05:00

View from an office, somewhere in Manhattan. A chilly, snowy and grey day. The view wasn't always like this. Whenever I came in the room, I would look out at this area and just be amazed with wonder and awe. The sky wasn't as visible as you see here. That empty area in the middle, where now there is so much sky is where the World Trade Center used to live.

Post-It-Doodle No. 14

These three tracks came up on my pod's shuffle this morning. And it made the commute this morning bearable.

Nitzer Ebb - Shame

Nitzer Ebb - Warsaw Ghetto

Frontline Assembly - The Blade

Post-It Doodlers!

2008-02-14T20:07:00.003-05:00

Yep! There some others out there doing this!

First check out The Post It Project in which I'm a contributor now. And lots of links to others who are now doing Post-It Doodles. Some fantastic stuff out there.

Check 'em out!

P.I.D. No. 13

2008-02-14T17:41:00.004-05:00

It's Post-It No. 13! and it falls on Valentines day. V-Day! So in honor of V-Day, I give you my "black hearts" post-it.

Deb's IF I HAD YOU video

2008-02-12T14:23:00.001-05:00

Click image to see.

The Debster has a new video for "If I Had You." What I like about this video is that one, I think she looks great. And two, I love those old Debbie clips. It's a celebration of her career as a woman in rock.

Phone picture tags

2008-02-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

Me and my brother are playing phone picture tag. He sends me pictures of the desert where it's 75 degrees, I send him pictures of the city where it's snowing and below 30 degrees. He tells me he's wearing shorts while I send him a picture of me all bundled up.

But I did like the recent picture. It reminds of the first time I moved to Phoenix and upon waking up in my brother's apartment, this was pretty much the image that I saw out the window. Clear, blue skies and hot air baloons hovering up the sky. Landscapes of cacti and other desert-y things. Anyway, it's quickly owtgrown as it would be to any New Yorker or anyone from a big city (I'm so over it...)

What is funny about this is that they (meaning my brother and anyone living out there in Phoenix). Think because we have a winter season here, that we must be miserable and want to be out there on the sunny side. That may be true to some people, but it sure isn't true of me. Anyway, in contrast, below is the picture I sent to him outside the Native American museum.

No doodles, just words.

2008-02-11T13:51:00.000-05:00

I deserted The Monster Island sometime ago. The island and its occupants (The Monsters) have been calling my name saying things like "You are needed here." and "You can do much better here."

I don't know. Sometimes I feel like going there and visiting with the monsters. But then I tell myself that towards the end, really nobody cares. The whole "I'm doing it for myself" thing is such bull. Off course you're doing it to get someone to notice, react, interact and give you feedback. Otherwise, it would be done with pen and paper, and "only for myself." I do know for a fact that writing comes a lot easier when I'm all about the feelings and emotions. A particular event that I'm fond of or not so fond of.

Sigh... I will try and get back to the swing of things soon enough.

I may begin a new blog featuring just the knit projects. Who knows.

Currently reading:

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

You know, I became a skeptic once I began to take science a serious look and started reading up on it. From the bits and pieces that I took from these books, I started wondering how people get so delusional about such things? I will get into it later, but not today. I'm still in the middle of the book.

Right, cheers, thanks a lot.