One down
Ashcroft is leaving, thank the stars. Maybe he's knows something that we don't? Get ready for all the fat cats in the Bush administration to hightail it out in the next year or so, lining up their next jobs in the corporate world before this house of cards collapses on them. I'm not kidding, second terms are almost always a disaster and these guys know better than to get shit-stained by standing too close to the volcano of crap that is at the core of Dubya criminal syndicate.

Taken By Surprise
Popped down the road last night with an umbrella in my jacket and wandered into the Sondre Lerche show at the Double Door. It was shockingly good. Sondre played about 45 minutes solo with just his Gretsch hollowbody. Dude is a tremendous singer, somehow finding ways to make his songs sound plenty rich and detailed without a backing band. He's got the stage banter down too. I can't get enough of those jazzy chords he plays. For the last 4 or 5 songs, he brought on a backing band which was fine. I swear the drummer played the snare at below knee-cap level, looked weird but sounded good enough. As for singer/songwriter fellow type gigs, this was possibly the most satisfying I've seen all year. I walked home in the rain yet I remained dry. Magic.

The goons won the election, so what's next?
Yeah, I'm talking thinking outside the box that surrounds the box. Can we do anything about converting these nutty Evangelicals to rationality? Go door to door and force them to read about the Enlightenment, evolution and the history of the United States? Or are we doomed to live in a country with millions of Jesus-freak zombies for the rest of our lives? And note to the "morally virtuous" voter that might stumble on this. The jerks you just elected care little for your social agenda, and even less for your economic future and your children's health care and job security.

If you need to take a hit of brilliance and eloquence to get the bad news out of your system or just want a historical perspective on where the country is at, listen to Gore Vidal.

Palisades MP3s (Exclusive Downloads)
When I Start Jogging
Giant Pandas
The Anthropologist

Instructions: Click to download and add MP3 extension to the filename.

eric davis - guitar, synth, vocals, david wehr - bass, john dugan - drums.
recorded 2003-2004 by the agency at butcher shop and musiczone chicago, il. engineered by john dugan, mastered by joel kriske.

Night Before Election
This is the best graphic I've seen for understanding how close the election is going to be. The New York Times is giving the edge to Kerry right now. If I wasn't feeling like hell, I'd been at a rally somewhere like the Obama thing at the Allegro Hotel. Maybe tomorrow night?

This is a bit late, but if you are not in Chicago, you might not know that the charismatic and articulate Barack Obama is having to run against right-wing zealot Alan Keyes, who was flown in by the hapless Illinois Republicans from Maryland to run. Obama is a law professor who's been in Chicago for years. Carpetbagger Keyes has been good for entertainment value at least. He called Dick Cheney's daughter "a selfish hedonist" on the radio which was interesting considering that Keyes himself has a 19-year old gay daughter named Maya. Keyes also believes in conscription (mandatory military service) and called Obama a "socialist and a liar." Keyes will probably scare some moderates away from the Republicans (and possibly away from Bush). Does that mean the Dems can consider Illinois safe territory for years to come?

The last minute suburban race attack ads running tonight are too funny.

Net Detective
Googling your old band names is fun, n'est pas? Well not fun, but at least interesting. I came across photos of myself that I'd never seen before. Freaky. I also learned there's a Japanese Chisel rip-off band called Twinkle. Does anyone know anything about them?

Miss Misery
Another weekend which I managed to ruin by getting ill and this time I could not shift the blame to Maker's Mark but really only a lack of sleep on Thursday and Friday nights. Perfect Panther's Darkroom gig was reasonably well attented with about 50-60 people in the house at showtime. Our performance was fair, but probably much better than the last couple Chicago shows. This weekend was wall to wall rock gigs if you go in for that sort of thing. If I had the energy I would have had to choose between seeing the Clinic, Ratatat, Mannequin Men with the New Constitution and Plush. But standing for an hour anywhere just wasn't on my agenda.

With my ample couch time, I caught up on The Wire and watched not less than three Woody Allen films that were running constantly. "Love and Death" was the best of the bunch. It's a satire of Russian 19th century novels and the last of his "screwball" comedies. There are a million great lines. Woody Allen's humor and philosophy come together with such a light touch in "Love and Death" that it's hard to discern or notice any heavy message but I think it's a heavier movie than it seems. Allen called it his most personal film. And there are some great jokes about masturbation.

Oh yeah, vote for Kerry or you're not allowed to read me ever again.

Independent Chicago
The Independent Chicago compilation featuring "Gun Court" by Perfect Panther is in, or out, depending on your point of view. You can contact Fork Series about getting a copy. They did a nice job mastering from what I heard.

The Virtues of Effervescence
I've taken three Airborne Formula fizzy tabs in the past 24 hours and they seem to be valiantly railing against a gigantic mofo of a cold that wants nothing better than to bring me down. I've also got an all natural herbal buzz going. It would be premature to declare victory, however. I'm still weak and slightly dizzy. It's been torture trying to work like this.

The Modernist site had to come down because they were deluged with traffic for their new furniture and naked people pictorial by this hotshot South African photographer. Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure of seeing it myself.

Listening Station
Wolf Eyes "Stabbed In The Face" from Burned Mind (Sub Pop)
Yulduz Usmanova "Tak Boom"
Lilys "My Lord Will Be Gardening" from Precollection
Masta Killa "Old Man" from Chip's blog

I've got a short temper today, even got riled up enough to try to post comments to some dimwitted conservative blogs I came across. Feel my wrath.

This just in. John Peel died, Beaujon has a nice tribute to him you should check out. He also has a piece on Peel in the Washington Post.

More Peel obits here and here.

Respect.

Saturday Night Jive
While Ashlee S. was missing her cues, I was out on the town, the downtown specifically. I had a swimmingly fine time, but neglected to eat anything along the way. I won't go into details but I paid for that mistake. Oh my, did I pay. I think I was coming down with something anyway but I managed to make it eight-thousand times worse. I hated existence on Sunday. But over the weekend, I managed to see two bands I had been meaning to see (or see again) for sometime... VHS or Beta were better than I remembered while Mahjongg good overall, great rhythms for sure but kind of careless vocally in an off-putting way. I'm digging my ears into the "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain" double-CD version and loving it so far. I must admit I listened to a cassette dub of this album constantly for three months before it originally came out. I have it hardwired into my brain, and could even fake some of the tunes on the guitar for a while there. Pizzas here, gotta go.

100 Reasons to Boot Bush
I used to love reading the Nation, then it got really tired, but lately it's been getting good again.

Reality Check
This PIPA report explains how half the country could possibly support Bush.

Scheduling Conflict of the Month
So I'm building my night around The Office two-hour special tonight on BBC America. Then this morning ladyfriend asks me if I can go shopping with her at precisely the golden hour of my digital cable bliss. She's going to visit her best friend and new baby and I need to be there to pick out a baby book. Think about it... a baby book. The last thing in the world a baby wants is a flippin' book.

My parents are in town and my Mom had some good anecdotes last night connected with her recent high school reunion. It turns out this guy who was the teenage grease monkey who never studied much, but worked on engines all the time didn't end up working in a muffler shop as everyone guessed he might. Instead, this guy has something like a dozen patents in his name. He's an inventor and a successful one and not of just some obscure stuff like industrial plastic molding injectors or whatever. No, among other things, this guy invented THE AEROSOL CAN. Jesus Christ, you know. Of course, he now owns a chunk of land roughly the size of Bolivia and a small navy of boats. So everyone is on the dance floor and the reunion and they're playing Sinatra's "My Way" and the inventor guy is singing along "I did it my way" but adding at the end "and it worked" and laughing to himself. Okay, so my dad doesn't think it was THE aerosol can but just a version.

Weighing in on Crossfire
You could give a dog a crewcut with all the internet buzz on the Jon Stewart versus Crossfire exchange. I concur with Stewart in that Tucker Carlson is a maddening twerp who indulges in intellectual dishonesty to protect the idealogical goonsquad in the White House. But I don't quite agree that the "partisan hackery" that takes place on Crossfire is evil or poison for the political system. In fact, I tend to think having Begala and Carlson battle it out for a half-hour on the subjects of the day sometimes illustrates that there are real differences between the parties these days. Stewart seems to think that there's some opportunity for deeper discussion of the issues that's being missed. Perhaps, but what that would be, I'm not entirely sure.

The new Elliott Smith album should be heard here. It's his best I would say. One night a few years ago, Elliott bought me a drink and listened attentively to my sob story. What a guy.

Schoolboys No More
Thanks to Jotz for pulling this out. Let me put this New Jersey Star Ledger article in context. Two young men, one of a comfortable background and one of extreme privilege were buddies in college. But naturally, these friends of mine drifted apart by graduation. Both were partying and skipping class and having a good time I should note, but one (not the millionaire's son) had a harder time getting a diploma than the other. Skip ahead a decade and one has become a Republican congressman and the other an indie-rock hero. The rocker has a song on his new album about how disappointed he is in his friend for becoming a nasty, pro-life, pro-Bush Republican stormtrooper. It's quite incredible really, because for me what makes the lyric odd is that the liberal songwriter didn't notice that his close friend was a spoiled, selfish, smug rich kid way back in the day. I was there and I did. Come on, what did you expect?

Hammer Down
Thousands of miles of blacktop and many hours of rock later after an insano whirlwhind outing to DC and New York for Perfect Panther gigs, both of which came off shockingly well according to unbiased observers and undecided voters. I’ll spare you reader the superlatives and laudatory remarks, but suffice to say it was more than worth the 30 hours spent in the "van" over four days. We played with interesting bands (Bobby Birdman, 1999, Barr, Creeping Nobodies, The Disease, Brandon Butler and a few more) in front of great people and we drank for free in DC which was madness I don’t need to assure you. Thanks to my brother and Charles for getting us on some gigs and our friends in Carroll Gardens for putting me up and keeping the vino flowing until the morning. Bacchus smiles on thee. Thanks for the borrowed keyboards and drum thrones, you know who you are. Mad love to all the friends that came out to support. I managed to see about a dozen old chums in a 24 hour period. Familiar feeling of running on caffeine, adrenaline and then beer most of the time as diet deteriorated almost as rapidly as my sense of the humor, both settled in a gutter of ironic anti-political incorrectness that’s somehow a self-preservation mode brought on by being trapped in a vehicle with the same witty but really raunchy people for days on end. Mind needs a good scrubbing. It might have been the David Cross blasting forth from the SUV’s deck, the poor nutritional options available on the highway, or the sight of the regular but not doing too well people who hang out or work in rest stop diners all melding into a bizarre but strangely accurate vision of America as a wasteland of ghastly mass-produced food, giant tinted-windowed trucks, talk radio mind-controlled right-wing zealots and zombies and just plain sad folk dying slowly while over-consuming a bunch of lousy crap. On the other hand, the colors and the foliage (there was a lot of controversy on the trip surrounding the pronunciation of foliage) were just gorgeous, northwestern New Jersey is secretly underrated and Brooklyn was still Brooklyn, as enticing and rewarding as always, everything you could want and much too much more.

Mobile Listening Station
Afghan Whigs “Gentleman” (Elektra)
I think we listened to this three times, still one of the most gorgeously bleak assessments of the state of the sexes ever put to tape, despite the weird mix which favors the intricate drums over the slide guitar magic.
The Ex (Touch 'n Go)
Schoolgirl Report (Crippled Dick Hot Wax)
David Cross “SUYFB” and the other one (Sub Pop)
One disc blows the others away but I don’t remember which. So damn good, but so damn dark.
Biggie Smalls, various
"Sock it to 'Em Soul: 60's Club Soul Classics" (warner strategic marketing)
The Coup
Noonday Underground "Self Assembly"
This Crazy Bollywood compilation that simply destroyed our brains and rebuilt them about every 45 seconds for a full hour. I gotta get more music like this. Wacked-out wah-wah guitar fighting with sweeping strings, fuzzed bass and nutty song structures blending with Indian trad instrumentation to incredible effect. Some Indian teens in College park, MD suggested this to me about five years ago and I had forgotten how amazing it is. Title TK.
DFA compilation
Led Zeppelin “How the West Was Won”
The Libertines “The Libertines” (Rough Trade)

Deja Vu Weekend
Listening Station
Richard & Kool "Wingman" (Crosshair Music)
Eastern Lane
Van Hunt (Capitol Records)

I'm off to NYC and DC tonight.

Hell Freezes
I heard about this but now it is official. Slint are reforming for some gigs and curating the ATP festival. I actually was privileged to hear some super secret Slint outtakes last week and they reminded me how crazy I was for this band and their masterful "spiderland."

We're Internationalists!
I think most videos are crap but the new one from Sarah McLachlan really hit me in my idealistic, DIY heart.

DeeCee Cinematheque
Watch the Weird War video, directed by Eric Cheevers. Eric is fluent in French and horror.
Small version.
Large version.

Everything Must Go
I'm in minimizing mode, either because I've gotten bored with my toys and I'm ready to trade 'em in for new ones or perhaps because having too much stuff that doesn't work as well as you'd like is really a total drag. Initiating the CD/LP weeding-out project was cathartic. The next big cuts in the crap inventory will come from the department of vintage music gear. I've got an extra reel-to-reel four-track (a Teac A-3340S) that I'll probably unload if I can get it to work again. Working models are going for $400 online. There's a big heavy Yamaha keyboard that I love but just don't use too often unfortunately and a weird Italian analog/midi hybrid synth by Siel that someone will gladly take off my hands I would hope. If I can make the inventory reductions that I would like to, I'd like to get a decent new synth, maybe some microphones, oh and my turntable has been bugging me lately... ah man, here I go again...

In other news, saw the Libertines last night, loved the show and turned in a piece on them for the Chicago Reader.

Adventures of an Obnoxious Amateur Soundman
I stopped by Acme Art Works and saw Spires That In The Sunset Rise, The William Young and some art last night. The William Young are kind of a pirate meets Tom Waits trio with oboe, harmonium. They were fun but kinda jokey. Spires were exceptional, using harmonium, guitar, percussion, cello and doing a kind of psychedelic faux world music that sometimes reminded me of the Velvet Underground's "Lady Godiva's Operation" with howling vocals. I helped set up the PA for Spires when I noticed the speakers had been set up BEHIND the first band, which seemed a recipe for disaster. The show sounded great so I guess it pays to get involved. I believe they are touring with the Incredible String Band later this month. Last week, I saw PJ Harvey and she was incredible, much better than her new almost too sparse album Uh Huh Her. As for the debate, I thought Bush's anger was evidence that he's running scared. Kerry's use of the world "Orwellian" to describe Bush's Clear Skies Initiative made my night. It's really nice outside so I'm going to get out an enjoy it. Off to see the Libertines tonight.

Close to the Edge
Spent the evening absorbing radiation and scarfing Thai. I caught the Def Jam focused episode of VH1's "And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop," worth it even for the hip-hop skeptic. I suggest looking out for "The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison" documentary on cable especially if you have seen any of the Supermax docs out there. Try this mind-boggling, in that it's meaning goes beyond symbolic, factoid. Angola, Louisiana is named for the home of the African slaves that worked the plantations that are now the fields worked by the inmates doing hard labor.

No Respect
I know Caddyshack backwards and forwards and love it to death. Most of that film was improvised evidently and you get the feeling they were partying hard even while cameras were rolling. Like "Animal House" and early SNL, a lot of the comedy gets it's depth and bite from a critique of the class strictures and stuffy strata of American society. If you watch SNL these days, just notice how many gags are mocking poor, uneducated or disadvantaged people. Things have changed.

And so today I subjected myself (while "working") to a bit of Caddyshack II, a film in which the loathsome comedian Jackie Mason subs for recently departed funnyman Dangerfield, Dan Aykroyd takes over for Bill Murray and the groundhog drinks a Hires root beer left on the putting green during an opening scene. Chevy Chase IS in it, but barely. It goes without saying that it's an awful movie but it's kind of awe-inspiring in how awful it truly is. Aykroyd talks in a strange high-pitched voice as though he didn't want to be mistaken for Murray's mumbling groundskeeper. What's bizarre is that they reprise a lot of the signature scenes from the first film AS THOUGH WE"VE NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE.

Just Buy Them
So this is what happens in an election year. Tobacco farmers, General Electric, Exxon Mobil, electric utilities, movie producers, Hewlett-Packard, Eli Lilly and agricultural producers get big fat tax breaks! To make up for EU's protective tariffs, we're giving corporate America a $76 billion tax cut over the next 10 years.

Trading Up
Today, I dumped a lot of the CDs that are not, shall we say, in my area of interest. And no I'm not naming names. This week's cuts have been from the get-out-of-my-sight-immediately category. Though I'm sure I will have a few "where did that go? ah, I sold it" moments, something had to be done to put a dent in the pile-up. Through the magic of the trade and barter system I've come away with the Soul Jazz Studio One Funk comp on vinyl which sounds good on first pass, the revelatory Clash documentary "Westway to the World" DVD which I'm actually watching right this second, "The Harder They Come" DVD, an Atlantic soul comp that looks more interesting than it sounds, a dub record on the Attack label and a few soul 45s that need cleaning. Two of the record shops I visited were selling lots of bootleg live DVDs that were quite tempting, though ultimately too challenging to my conscience. I am left wondering who is getting what cut of the $20 they want for a DVD of a '78 Wire gig in Dusseldorf. I doubt Robert Gotobed is seeing a dime. I won't take too strong of a stand, there's always next week.

Two Weeks of the Panther
This Wednesday will be the band's first headlining club gig, which is great but still somewhat premature in that we don't have any records out. We should have CDRs for sale and t-shirts for NYC and DC gigs.

Wed. Oct. 06 - 8PM - 21+ - BOTTOM LOUNGE
PERFECT PANTHER
QUIETING SYRUP (ex Denali / mbr of Pinebender)
LEVIRIDE
ROBERT CHERRY

PP is also playing Washington DC Fri. Oct. 15 at the Warehouse Next Door and Brooklyn, NY Sat. Oct. 16 downstairs at North Six for CMJ festival.

You can hear Perfect Panther MP3s here. Both tracks recorded by Iceman at Soma.

Swift Fact Check
I stumbled, internet style, into this parody/response to the Swift Boat slander that has been aimed at Kerry.

Debate Aftermath
In a blatant attempt to steal the headlines from the news that he's been trounced in the debate and new polls, Bush and his cronies launch a major new offensive in Iraq. It's doubtful that we have enough troops to secure any cities we take, but that's irrelevant. Back home, the media is reporting that Kerry easily took the debate, um, or are they?

"Anyone who declares a winner in this debate is a predictable partisan. They both did beautiful."
-Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia

This story and others purport that the debate was "a draw" while running unscientific polls that indicate that 70% of us though otherwise. This Sabato (who's on thin ice grammatically with a missing adverb) is either in the pockets of the Republicans, just completely not paying attention or hedging his bets on a conservative campus where he has to resort to outright lies to get tenure. Seriously, Bush took some direct hits and his feeble, repetitive mumblings about "hard work" can't have looked good to undecided voters. You could feel Kerry's confidence and momentum. Bush held his own? No way. He was embarassing.

I also have heard that only 8,000 Iraqis have been trained for anything, far short of the 100,000 figure that Bush was bandying.

Having poked around the web a bit more, it seems that the very same media outlets are indicating the Kerry scored with swing voters. Fair and balanced?

"Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2"
was brainy, beautifully animated and heavier on noir vibes rather than stylized violence. Where's a fan nerd site that unpacks it all for the manga novice? I ran into Iceman at the Rainbo who gave me the report on the Ramones doc. It sounds fascinating, tragic and rentable.

If you live a non-veg lifestyle and pass through Chicago, I highly advise you to make a date for Avec. Actually, vegans could just do few salads and the foccacia and be quite satisfied. Owned by the same people behind Blackbird, they serve exquisite small plates and a few entrees. The room is done in cedar and oak, resembling a long sauna with five eight-person communal tables. The food is right on the money. The perfection of the focaccia can't be explained and the stuffed figs are unforgettable. The giant wine list is intimidating but the servers are really into pointing you in the right direction. We ended up with a kind of fruity Portugese red that played nice with everything we ate. I bumped into Kiki Mercury for about the fourth time this week before she jets off to LA. I would have suspecting her of stalking me except that she was out with her mom, which doesn't seem very stalkerlike. Hopefully, she will be back as she's been a huge asset to the Chicago writer and partier scenes. Besides, she hasn't let me read her novel yet.

I'm dying to post MP3s and have tons of webspace with Comcast, but there's something that won't let me upload MP3s. I'm talking about my own music, not some pirated action. Once I can figure a work-around, I'll be uploading recordings of Palisades a recording project I did with Eric and David, some rehearsal tapes of a band called The Tax I've been trying out with, some solo demos and some Perfect Panther demos.

I've been listening to The Bees after hearing more about them from Dan in the New Constitution. It's a pastiche they're doing, but a good one.

Man, I'm nervous about the debate tonight.

My actual birthday involved almost no reckless, stylish indulgence but lots of wandering Western Avenue which is reportedly the world's longest road. It seemed proper to hit the local taco joints, thrift stores and Brazilian Legal Aid/Brazilian themed boutique while my exhaust system was being replaced. The total damage to my already critically injured checking account was $200, and considering I went there expecting to get out with a $40 muffler, it was a huge birthday bummer. Last night was chill, I even skipped a going-away party I was invited to. Today, I'm making up for it all.

I struck gold at Dusty Groove, nabbing a couple original Billy Paul LPs for 5 bucks, the Rotary Connection original LP for much more, but passing on the Trojan Rock Steady box set because honestly I have tons of Studio One and reggae comps that I have yet to really dig into. On Billy Paul, I've been digging the "360 Degrees of" best of for a while (LP is easy to find) and he's also been included on a lot of pricier Philly Soul comps coming out this year. In 2003, he was awarded $500,000 for his "Me and Mrs. Jones" recording, which you've probably heard on oldies radio many times. His case was a landmark in the fight of small production companies to get royalties from big distributors. Right now I am enjoying "War of the Gods" a bit more than "First Class" though it is the latter that DJs are all up in right now.

Birthday plans include seeing a movie ("Innocence: Ghost in the Shell 2" perhaps) and getting all Euro with dinner at Avec.

I made it down to see Ghost at the Empty Bottle. It was well worth sticking it out through Xiu Xiu who were just painful. The club was crowded, stinky and beers didn't really make me any more comfortable. The sound mix for Ghost was pretty horrible, the soundman had tons of reverb on Batoh's vocals which were also mixed too low. The band responded by rocking a bit harder, they were miles away from a sleepy ethereal space jam, much more like Can meets King Crimson. The set consisted mostly of material from "Hypnotic Underworld" with a few tunes from earlier albums thrown in. Batoh wore a purple velveteen suit with freaky drawings on it.

I also paid a visit to South Bend for a trouncing of the Huskies on the gridiron by the Fighting Irish, the weather was incredible and it was great to see my parents so active and upbeat. My brave fiance came along. I've always been a bit schizo about football and the sport doesn't even rate in my top ten. American football fandom resembles a kind of a cultural fascism that obliterates everything in its path. I did, however, do my fair share of fist-pumping and high-fiving on Saturday. I enjoy a lively passing game and most definitely got it.

The big bed swap took place over the last week. I came out a winner with a Queen size boat of Italian origin as did Human Torch who took my Full and almost new sheets over to his boho rocker pad above the Empty Bottle.

Direction last night sounded really amazing with Kevin from Hi-Fi Records and the Mannequin Men as guest DJ, but the turn-out was extremely light. Personal set highlights included The Bar-Kays, Billy Nichols, Miaow, Humble Pie, Ebony Rhythm Band a lot of what Kevin was spinning... By the way, the Wire has a great piece on psychedelic soul in this month's issue.


And yes, comments work again, my links are back up and I'm digging this new template. Note the pretty pictures too. MP3s coming soon.

It's my birthday and I have to go get a new muffler.

Comments don't seem to be working, I'll tidy up the code later today.

In the meantime, just read that pot actually has fairly mild affects on brain chemistry. Legalization now?

These are mine now.

Okay come clean. Who did it? Someone gave my home phone number to the inmates at Cook Country Jail. I received several collect calls today from dudes in the lock-up. If it's just random and they've got the wrong number, that's just plain weird. If you are on your way to jail, please don't call me.

How is Russell Simmons going to explain DefJam Fight for New York, the videogame of street-fighting thugs? How does that jive with Def Poetry? Which one is more painful to watch for 15 minutes? Respond now.

I'm writing for the Chicago Tribune now, check out my piece on Ghost in Friday's paper.

My birthday is coming up, who wants to get me the speakers or MP3 player from Front design? You know you want to.

Listening Station
.
The new Nick Cave double CD thing (ANTI)
VHS or Beta, Night on Fire (Astralwerks)

Sagebrush War anyone? I've been in guidebook heaven (hell?) the last couple weeks and I know more about Oregon history and national parks than I ever thought I would. I'm also discovering some interesting (and mostly moronic) libertarian literature that invokes the Sagebrush War for inspiration. For those that are not bored senseless already, the Sagebrush War involved the breakaway Republic of Nataqua which for 8 years existed outside the bounds of the US, California or Nevada territories. Susanville, CA was the capital... back to work...

This weekend, via email, I asked a few ex-coworkers with really boss blogs to link to me and thus far I have had a grand total of ZERO responses. Thanks guys. In the meantime, today's workday has been mostly concerned with editing pieces on singer/songwriters so I've been formulating a snide definition that covers most singer-songwriters, something along the lines of... "Someone with the ego to want to tell you all about themselves, but without the balls or brains to know who they are and what that is." Get it? Okay, it's a work in progress. Welcome to my process.

Supposedly, this is a great archive web site where you can snag web pages from the past. I have not really got into much, but I am told you can read just about everything I've written for places like Citysearch.com and CityPages over the years. Useful but truly scary in a way.

One of those Porsches (alright, the garish bright yellow automatic) went for a paltry $1,275 and the winner of the auction was... someone called "iliveforthelordjesuschrist" which suggests to me that I need to get one of these sometime in early '05 just so that someone with such a brazenly pious nom-de-guerre does not take home another German roadster. Sidenote: I read somewhere that the 924 was originally designed for Volkswagen who shelved it.

Listening Station
The Futureheads s/t (Warner)

Check out this review of Thee Snuff Project "Dyin Ain't Much of a Livin" CD on Splendidzine. It's quite complimentary if not bizarre in some respects as in those "Jawbox bass" references. No offense to Kim Coletta, but I don't remember Jawbox being known for really memorable basslines, fine band in their own way of course. I just find that DC music kids often have a way of seeing the whole music world through the lens of DC punk bands which of course is absurd since it was, at one point, one of the most isolated if fruitful music scenes in the nation. How can you not mention the Stooges of Spacemen 3 when reviewing Thee Snuff record? The Fall, yes, Fugazi, well maybe...

erm, and while I'm at it. This is absurdly inaccurate in almost every respect possible.

Listening Station
Reed/Cale/Nico, Le Bataclan '72

Borrowed this live CD from a friend. Is it a bootleg in lush packaging? It seems so. It's pretty great with Reed quipping one liners before each tune, acoustics aren't band at all despite what I had read online. They play VU, Reed, Cale and Nico songs, naturally.

I'm just getting up to speed on the Jessica Cutler AKA Washingtonienne sex scandal back in DC. Washington's first big web-related sex scandal. She's done an exclusive Playboy.com (not the magazine) pictorial and as an occassional contributor to Playboy.com I got something in my inbox about her interview and photos this morning. Basically, Jessica, this low level staffer on the Hill had a bunch of sugar daddies, at least one a Bush appointee and wrote about her experiences with them explicitly in her blog. I don't find this all that shocking. A friend of a friend in NYC has some kind of international businessman sugar daddy and I think it is a relationship that while widely considered a few clicks short of prostitution is extremely common in metropolitan areas. I'm sure if sugar mommies were more common, I could have used one in about 1994. Maybe it's my coffee talking, but I'm not so much appalled as curious. Also, having worked on Capitol Hill very briefly and spent a lot of time in the DC area, I know that while it is not exactly the most stylish of cities, it is probably one of the most sex/power mad places I've ever lived. People are working it. For more information on the scandal, check out Playboy.com or perhaps the ever popular Wonkette. Forget the election, people will be talking about this in DC for years to come.

Also check out this piece on dating chicks in bands by Meghan McEwen. It's silly, but actually incredibly accurate. Nice work Meghan.

I just came across something I wrote back in 2000 that made me laugh. Take the '70s rock trivia quiz. Answers to be posted later.

Maybe you are pulling off that 70s look that’s come back strong: feathered long hair, patches on your fading flared jeans, suede jacket with fringe, too tight rainbow colored three-quartered t-shirt and oooh yeah, a comfy pair of moccassins. But have you really got your 1970s FM rock n’ roll down? Back in the day, the real "heads" as they were called kept track of rock’s increasingly complex who’s who with an incredible amount of detail, even if they did most of their research lying on couches in smoke-filled, black-light lit rooms studying liner-notes to a pumping 8-track stereo. Maybe it’s time to get reacquainted with some of the stars of 1970s, the rockers, the singer-songwriters and even folkies that shaped the party decade’s golden sounds. Come on, turn the knob up and imagine that you are a ‘70s rock trivia "head" and check out XXXXXX.com’s ‘70s Rock Trivia Quiz. Warning. This isn’t Brady Bunch stuff. If you don’t know which New York City band dressed up in black and white make-up, elevator heels, had a hit with "Beth" and met the Phantom of the Park in 1976, then don’t even bother. (Answer: Kiss, man).

1. According to legend, what British titans of ‘70s rock renamed themselves (at Keith Moon and John Entwhistle’s suggestion) after going down badly in front of Scandinavian royalty on an early tour as The New Yardbirds?
a. Queen
b. Led Zeppelin
c. Jethro Tull
d. Deep Purple

2. What Canadian-born ‘70s rock singer/songwriter briefly played in the first mostly white act (the Mynah Birds with Rick James) signed to Detroit’s famous soul label Motown Records in the mid-1960s?
a. Emitt Rhodes
b. Todd Rundgren
c. Neil Young
d. Peter Frampton

3. "Bron-Y-Aur" was the name of Led Zeppelin’s what?
a. rare species of pet shark to which they were partial.
b. overweight Indian tour manager
c. Satanic spiritual guru
d. Cottage in Snowdonia, Wales where the band wrote much of their folk influenced acoustic material.

4. October 20, 1977 was a dark day for Southern rock because on that day…
a. Greg Allman quit The Allman Brothers to begin a successful solo career.
b. Molly Hatchet swore off drinking.
c. The Carpenters played a sold-out show in Atlanta, Georgia where fans behaved decently toward one another, cleaned-up after themselves, applauded the duo’s icky songs and went home thoroughly entertained.
d. A plane crash outside of Gillsburg, Mississippi killed Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister Cassie, one of the group's backing vocalists.

5. Walter Becker (bass) and Donald Fagen (vocals, keyboards) met at Bard College and played in band called Bad Rock Group in the late 1960s. In the 1970s they went by the name Steely Dan after a dildo in William Burroughs' Naked Lunch and made jazz-influenced records chock full of FM hits. Who was their drummer back in the early days?
a. Steve Martin
b. Tom Waits
c. Chevy Chase
d. Max Weinberg

6. Two years before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac, they were romantically and artistically attached, recording an album for Polydor called Buckingham-Nicks (1973). It stiffed, but ended up catching the ear of one Mick Fleetwood looking for a new guitar player. Stevie Nicks says that her major complaint about the album (done a few years before Buckingham told her "Go Your Own Way" on an A-side for the Mac) was what?

a. The fluorescent lights had been "too friggin bright" in the studio during the recording session throwing her off key.
b. Her ex-boyfriend Buckingham sounds more "feminine and mystical" than she does.
c. That Buckingham convinced her to pose bare-chested with him for the album cover, explaining that it was "for the sake of art."
d. That Fleetwood Mac never played or recorded any songs from the album.


7. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young were the ‘70s first real supergroup. Their three-part harmonies, powerful often politically aware songwriting made them instantly huge at a time when hard rock was the big thing. Which of the following CSN&Y factoids is false?
a. The second CSN&Y gig was Woodstock, where they sang the Joni Mitchell penned "Woodstock." However, they also played with the Rolling Stones at the hellish, violent Altamont Speedway Concert, just snuck out early to play a more groovy UCLA gig that night.
b. In 1970, National Guardsmen shot and killed four students at Kent State. CSN&Y recorded and released Young’s "Ohio" within ten days of the event.
c. Sometimes CSNY’s skyrocketing career looked as if David Crosby had made a deal with the Devil. The same day that the band’s first album went gold, David Crosby's lady, Christine Gale Hinton, was killed in a head-on collision as she took the couple’s cats to the vet in his VW bus.
d. While other groups were using more than 21 microphones, CSN&Y refused technological upgrades, playing stadium concerts using only three mikes.

8. Most lazy critics assume that the punk rock explosion was a reaction to the dullness of the music of the 1970s. History, however tends to favor the theory that punks were well studied in glam rock and power pop, and built on the mod and garage music of the ‘60s. Some punks, such as Joe Strummer of the Clash were even ex-hippy folk. What ‘70s guitar rock hero from the wrong side of the tracks was so knocked out by punk that he celebrated it by joining an "authentic" punk group?
a. Alex Chilton, who quit his pop band Big Star and started a group in New York called Television.
b. Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, who joined a group with ex-members of Generation X called Evil Empire.
c. Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy, who formed a bad-boy all-star group with ex-Sex Pistols Steve Jones and Paul Cook called The Greedy Bastards.
d. Randy Bachman from Bachman Turner Overdrive, who after cutting his hair into a mohawk on a dare, liked it so much that he guested with the political punk band Crass.

9. Yes, for better or worse pioneered the progressive rock sound of the 70s and broke new ground in spiritual flakiness and muzo embellishment. Jon Andersen wrote one Yes album inspired by Portrait of a Yogi and the Shastric scriptures he discovered in the East. What did Yes manager Brian Lane do to create the proper atmosphere for recording 1972’s hit album Tales from Topographic Oceans?
a. Sent the band aboard an ocean liner with nothing but instruments, curry and rice to record in the South China Sea.
b. He brought Indian Gurus for each member of the band, available to teach meditation 24 hours a day.
c. To give the studio the feel of a rural village, he had a picket fence built around the band, equipment set in bales of hay, and a full-size cardboard cow with mechanical udders.
d. Shaved his head except for a pony tail, dressed in silk robes, crossed his legs like Buddha and sat in Yes’ studio until the album was finished.

10. The Eagles were one of the most commercially successful bands on the 1970s. Their Greatest Hits has now outsold Michael Jackson’s Thriller and is the best selling album of all time. The Eagles, however weren’t always stars. They were LA session musicians assembled by producer John Boylan as the backing band for what singer?

a. James Taylor
b. Linda Ronstadt
c. Carly Simon
d. Cher

I read this article in Automotive or some car mag while getting my oil changed about how one of the '80s Porsches was a great used car, relatively inexpensive, easy to maintain and fun to drive, yadda, yadda. So that explains why I can't stop ebaying Porsches. It turns out the '80s Porsches are pretty cheap. There's even a 924 going for $250 right now, here in IL. Of course, it will sell for a few grand more than that and I would rather not deal with the insurance, tags, parking fees for another car, but it's fun to day dream. Maybe a Triumph or a Alfa?

Listening Station
Macha "Forget Tomorrow" (Jet Set)
Masaki Batoh "Collected Works 95-96" (Drag City)

Was it Sundance or IFC? Probably Sundance. I'm pissed as I was watching "Rude Boy" late one night on Sundance and figured it would be on again soon ripe for the taping (no Tivo or DVD recording here yet), and what do you know? Sundance says it's "not currently screening." Just a one time thing or what? Isn't cable all about re-running things ad nauseum?

This Newsday article about Dave Itzkoff is interesting for two reasons. The guy completely created this fictionalized version of himself to appeal to Maxim readers and he was completely depressed despite his success because of his relationship with his father. If I can get a review copy of the book, I'm all over it.

I heard that the brownie lady got busted. I'd do a story on her situation except that I have no time for the next month or so. I've basically gone from being a total waster in July to having the equivalent of two full time jobs for September. I'm bracing myself for it.

I had a review quashed by a higher up editor at RollingStone.com for no reason. I'm doing another review for them next month, but I'm still annoyed.

I banged out some CD reviews for StopSmiling's online edition.

Perfect Panther is playing tonight at Schuba's. I am drumming. We sound the best we ever have.

I am listening to RTX and getting the shit kicked out of me aurally.

RollingStone.com evidently thinks they posted my latest review for them, though I can assure you, they did not.

Still trying to get the Blackwell hook-up going again. His people are great, he's just busy and important and considering how much free time I have, I must be the complete opposite. I did chat with Carl from the Libertines today. He was soulfully intelligent and has quite an amazing way at looking at things, considering how chaotic and unstable his band situation. His co-frontman Pete Doherty is currently exiled from the band for doing too much of the drugs.

Miles, Dave and I went to the hookah bar so I that I could review it. The decor was bizarre, the belly dancer definitely doing Latin steps and the smoke quite delectable. I think it took a full hour to get our check. Good times. Ran into the New Constitution guys at the Rainbo and caught up with them. They're super nice. May have to convince them to let me executive produce their album or A&R them or do something biz-wise that will make all of us rich as hell.

Otherwise, I've just been completely deluged with work opportunities. It's going to be a busy and hopefully lucrative season which makes up for the all the total freelance partying decadence of the last few months. Having no time to go to the pool, fiddle with the guitar, write absurdly long emails may be a shock to the system at first, but watching the bank account rise is a novelty that I can't resist.

My parents moved to South Bend, Indiana this week. I'm certain to see more of them for the next few months. Or am I?

Lovin' the Lympics, aren't you? Tennis, swimming, fencing, soccer in abundance.

Top things of the week...
The Animal Collective (live at Open End)
Rodan (especially that Japanese beer with the owl logo)
scoring Spooky Tooth, Humble Pie, Robert Palmer, Stories and Grand Funk LPs for sixty cents a pop and some nice Japanese ceramics thrifting yesterday.

By the way, check the air in your car tires. I went to inflate my left front tire on the Golf and realized the tire pressure was below 10 PSI. The suggested pressure is around 40 PSI. I'm lucky to be alive.

I'm waiting for Chris Blackwell to call me back right now for an interview to run in Stop Smiling, should be interesting. I'm trying to keep the Island/Marley questions to a minimum. He's only in NYC for a short time, so I have to make the most of it.

In the meantime, I've been at war with my computer lately, but have won the latest skirmish. It turns out a lot of my Word files has the W97 virus or whatever it is called. Norton fixed those. In the meantime, I tried to install OpenOffice which is supposed to be an open source alternative to MS Office which I have been cursing lately for it's constant freezing up. Anyway, OpenOffice couldn't run, even with the X11 code installed etc. so I took that monster off. I'm not quite up on Unix and all the possibilities that it holds for Mac OS X. In general, it reminds me that my computer programming training ended in 1989 with C and I'm not sure that's a horse you can just get back on and ride.

I dropped off my amp and guitar to get repaired and set-up. I've just had it with that stuff being unreliable and hard to work with. Hopefully, getting the Vox fixed won't cost too much. I went out to Niles, IL where I believe Ludwig or Slingerland drums were once made (gotta check on that). There's like a weird little area with a music shop, comic shop and a natural foods store. Otherwise, it's not a very inviting suburb, though I saw some alright looking bungalows on the way in.

Oh, by the way, been daydreaming about a FLW house. There is one (the McCartney house I think) for sale near Kalamazoo for just over 300 grand, a steal. I've yet to dream up a way to finance it. Who's sick of rented apartments? Raise your hand. Oooh, actually the Eric Pratt house is up too. I want to live Usonian Automatic style.

Now back to waiting by the phone...

I'm back from New York, with lots to report, but in the meantime, there's a few things I've read this morning that are worth checking out. Jack Shafer of Slate comes down pretty hard on the media monopoly book and in many ways I agree with much of what he says (especially the part about most story ideas originating with the big four newspapers, none of which are owned by the big five media companies). Having found the Harper's article on Clear Channel from last year to be extremely half-assed and full of unsubstantiated assumptions, I was hoping he would get into that, but he doesn't.

I saw some amazing breakdancing on the train in New York, these teenagers were doing flips, one-handed stands, even spinning a bit with very limited clearance. They were really professional and charming and I was smiling by the end of it.

Passing through the WTC site twice as I caught the PATH train to and from Newark was really intense. I had no idea that the subway station looked out on the crater from the 9-11 tragedy until I got there and was therefore uprepared for the incredible wave of emotion that hit me when I walked through. Everyone stops, looks, takes photos. It's this incredibly quiet, still but massive space.

Nice work, this is really interesting. One of my old professors wrote this piece for Foreign Affairs on how sanctions actually did work in Iraq, we just didn't know it.

And also, if Steve Hawking can admit when he makes a mistake, why can't I? Simply put, because I don't make mistakes. Ever.

Townsend vs. Moore. I have yet to see F-911, but I am very curious. Moore is an imperfect documentarian, a bit loose with facts, etc. but on an emotional level he has a great way with images and words. Hitchens hates the film which makes me a bit less ready to embrace it. I tried to see it with my girlfriend on the 5th and it was sold out so we saw the very worthwhile "Control Room."

So this evening, I'm writing a little short story about cats that study at universities and fly by attaching aerodynamic wings to their little old paws. (My defense: it's a birthday gift.) And what happens? My best friend and confidant Misha takes a dive from my sunny three story balcony. Probably chasing a bee, but that is no excuse. Neighbor buzzes the front door and tells me that he saw my cat go flying by. Between freaking out, calling vets and trying to figure out what to do I really drained myself. Someone (who was working a 14 hour day) calmed me down, then the freak out began all over again because the cat started acting strange. Hours and hundreds of dollars later, all is well, x-rayed cat is hurting but drugged up and owner/parents are sedated by exhaustion, sauteed spinach, white wine, chocolate chip cookies and organic milk.

Jonathan Ames has a new book out and was on Letterman tonight. The new season of Ali G starts this weekend and Sacha Baron Cohen is interviewed in Vanity Fair (illuminating) and Borak was on Conan tonight. Both were absolutely brilliant if a bit over the top. TV talk shows are not about subtlety. More Baron Cohen here.

I'm pitching stories to some different publications this month, got some good contacts right now. Editors seem to be less responsive this summer than usual. What the hell is going on?

Kiki Mercury, Jason Modernist and DJ D-Mack get praise for being inspirational, conversational but almost never confrontational this past weekend. I felt like I was in the smart kid club at a new school. I missed the Dome of Doom party but I ate great Indian food at Bahbi's, went to the Green Mill, Oak Street beach, a couple lame bars, ate those little asian samosas at Marshall Fields and had a totally new Chicago experience almost every hour. The Modernist party was a bit sparse while Direction wasn't so bad. I ended up playing a lot of '80s stuff. I also noticed my copy of Magic Bus is worn out, has no low end whatsoever. I'm working on getting the M's to play at Direction sometime soon.

How Your Band Can Fire Bush

Serious props are in order to Damian for putting this together. I first met Damian when he was in high school and have always known him as a really can-do, creative guy with impeccable manners. Add this brilliant stroke of rock as activism to his resume. You can download the guide to How Your Band Can Fire Bush at okgo.net/images/bandsfirebush.pdf

Wait up dude and check this out if you think Nickelback totally suck.

Updated my audio driver for my USB Duo thingy. Thanks M-Audio. My Word program has been crashing a lot lately, making the project of writing a silly fantasy novel harder than it really should be. I wanted to do it in a week and still plan to. For some reason, I though the audio drivers might be crashing the computer. Anyway, I'm somewhat underwhelmed by Panther so far. Thrilled to hear about a new OS X update coming soon.

Listening Station
10cc Deceptive Bends and more...
David Bowie Diamond Dogs 2xCD
Jackie Mittoo & the Soul Vendors
Comets on Fire Blue Cathedral

This week was mainly about swimming, grilling, bugging editors about jobs and assignments and jamming on guitar. I did go out and drink outside at least once. Altogether an unproductive week except for delving into the fiction thing. I plan to finally write lyrics to one of the demos I unearthed from my Butcher Shop days. I interviewed Martina Topley-Bird last week and it was really cool, that should be running on Playboy.com at some point.

I'm part of the conceptual team doing the Modernist Society at the Darkroom. Our next theme night is going to be... St. Tropez Vice! Don't ask me what it means, the Riviera meets Miami in Chicago, right? Hopefully we can convince some people to wear their swimsuits.

thanks to chris for this article from Harper's which tracks the emails between to Hollywood TV writers.

not so tempting to write a script of any kind after reading this. I also love how the Seattle rock band Monkees show was such an "original" idea as if parody is SO hard to pull off.

I swam 1000 meters last night and played tennis for an hour this morning. I guess that explains my just got off a desert island hunger right now.

last weekend was spent in Soma Studios, banging out a new Perfect Panther demo, 2 songs tracked, one needs vocals and none of it has been properly mixed but all in all, it's a (if I may try to be objective for a moment) major leap forward from our first batch of recordings which were pieced together rather than tracked live. I think "capital letters" is cool but really think "the night" is more of a single.

also, finally getting ready to "release" the recordings that david wehr, eric davis and I have done over the last year or two. culling the best of the sessions into about a 40 minute CD and doing silkscreen cardboard CD sleeves. I'm going to see if I can secure some kind of distribution once we get it all set.

the garfield generating website has been frozen due to a cease and desist order. bummer. I hope you had a chance to experience it.

my family is in england and ireland right now and I'm jealous as hell.

god, wouldn't it refreshing to have a President with a vocabulary?

ha, this is pretty cool, whether you worship "the great magnet" or Thor. It's a brilliant way to take back the spiritual ground from the right-wing kooks.

argh, I have some weird pain in my shoulder which swimming laps doesn't seem to have made worse or better. About five minutes ago, I finally got a personal website rollin. There's nothing really there at this point, and I'll probably just create links to my portfolio, writing samples, the same old junk that's here, at least at first. I'm supposedly going to see the White Sox Phillies game tonight, if the weather holds or improves. It's been drizzling all day pathetically which didn't create the incentive to get organized at home that I thought it might. I did call and get my long distance service working again. Applause.

Waiting on thee snuff project, completely MIA the last couple days as my brother has left his cell phone somewhere on tour. Please call Snuff, please. Come in Snuff, come in.

taking it light, mon.

just back from a caribbean getaway that really did the trick. stress gone, inspiration and new ideas re-energized. relaxing, romantic, kind of sporty too. I'm so relaxed and positive that I'm just starting to realize I should be looking for a new job, my current gig expires on May 28. Antigua was a great time. I did far less exploring the island than I had planned but could have cared less. the resort was really non-commerical, full of British folks that thought my girlfriend and I were really fascinating. we like the attention after a couple days of just looking at the Europeans and thinking what a deep salmon color they were going to turn when the sun came out. 1.5 days of rain got things off to a slow start. but unlimited pina coladas, Wadadli's (local lager) and some good cook-outs kept me very relaxed and well-fed. breakfast and lunch were reliable sometimes amazing, dinner hit or miss. when it was sunny, it was intense as we were closer to the eqautor than I have ever been. my zinc-oxid sunblock was no match for mr. sun and besides with snorkelling you basically turn your body into a big sun-absorber just as the protection is washing off. this might have been the most touristy but also the most authentic vacation I've taken. the highlight was probably seeing this insane steel band called Halcyon up on Shirley Heights, which is a former British colonial fort. The band was amazing and they were followed by a standard reggae outfit that got rained on just as the locals were flooding the joint for a mega jam. Unfortunately most of the reggae (okay, ALL of the reggae) we saw was sort of soft cover band with lots of synths and no sincerity or originality. people aren't so discerning of good reggae as you would hope down there. Anyway, i heard a lot of Legend done 20 ways but also some Mighty Sparrow and real classic stuff played in the resort. Rastas were plentiful in the towns and even worked the sports stand on the resort beach so it was a bit of a Jamaican feel that I wasn't expecting. Visually the coolest thing was watching the roving goats walk along the volcanic cliff rock walls right up at the water. I'm developing some photos soon and wishing I had taken many more.

Wow, this is obsession.

this says it all, or very nearly. why on earth would Bush keep bringing up Kerry's war record?

Go see the New Consitution and DJs Nice Station Zebra and Yvez St. LeRoc at Sonotheque, tonight 9pm-2am.

Listening station
A.C. Newman, "The Slow Wonder" (Matador)
Badfinger, "No Dice" (Capitol/Apple)

I'm just slightly concerned about a habit I've gotten into lately. Stealing the Wall Street Journal from the entryway to my office. There's a stack of them, which I presume are left for the investment/financial type guys that were once but probably not down the hall anymore. I take it and read it, no one knows or cares, but I still feel a pang of guilt as I skip gingerly up the stairs to my spacious third floor digs. I've actually found it to be quite an excellent paper especially since my union organizer pal told me it's the only paper he reads. It's not as pro-business on the front page as one might expect. It's not the New York Times bastion of liberalism that I know and love (and read online). But it works and the stories are sometimes unusual. I recently read about an artist who makes fictional animated films using some version of the videogame Doom. It's called Red vs. Blue. Sounded cool anyway. WSJ is also a good read if you care about what's happening in the economy for real. As in I had no idea that women's clothing sales are tanking right now. Simply shocking. I guess it's retailers lack of style or understanding, because in GB they are over the top selling crazy numbers in crazy designer department stores like Selfridges (which I do have to say I could spend a week in and not be bored). But back to my concerns about petty thievery. I seem to know lots of young fellas who think they can take batteries, fruit, etc. from little retailers and it's totally okay, punk even. Jerks, thanks for helping create another excuse for price-gouging, ultimately you are hurting the nice little old lady who does have to buy batteries and fruit. It just sets a bad example. And jeez, you were livin' off your parents until you were 28, why were you shoplifting you suburbanite thrill-seeking little bitch? Alright, I'll go easy. I guess I don't feel guilt or shame at taking the WSJ as much as the subliminal fear of getting caught. I look around and run away after I pick it up. My body language screams guilt from every pose.

it's brownie day at Brett's, I finished my big freelance project for the time being and I'm wanting a Gretsch guitar a la the Pro Jet, which goes for $389. Once I see one on eBay and unload some of my other crap I don't use, I'm going to treat myself.

Also, I'm gearing up for a visit from my folks and then a trip to Antigua, all in the merry month of May.

The New Constitution are playing direction on Monday night, 4/26, at sonotheque. Download the flyer.

Listening Station
The Action, "Rolled Gold" (Reaction)
The M's (brilliante)
Candi Staton (Honest John's)
The Aerovons "Resurrection" (RPM)
The Ponies "Laced with Romance" (In the Red)

good god, my CDs finally arrived and I'm listening to "Brain" by The Action and I am absolutely floored. What an amazing song! I love their soul stuff but I had no idea their psych-pop was so mind-blowing. No drugs, just one beer and pow. The Aerovons CD is great, but mostly for the production and arrangements, the lyrics are sub-Fabs for the most part but we can't all be Lennon/Mac. One tune is a blatant rip off of "Across the Universe" which they A's had heard before it was released. Candi Staton got only a quick listen, be back to that. I also got the Pony's album which sounds great (garagey, simple but unique) on first audition and hey, they live in the neighborhood. Up the wooden stairs...

I have to talk taxes for a moment, having just popped my joint in the mail a few hours ago. How much does it suck that relatively poor freelance writers and artists like myself have to fork over our bucks in April while these million dollar corporate clowns pay nada? I know I am stating one of the obvious contradictions not only in the current administration but in the whole insane pro-business culture that's permanately infected this country. For an example of what I am talking about, read here. I would never go on a cruise anyway, it's all sunburnt skin, disease and frozen food from what I understand, but Carnival lines though obviously headquarted in Florida is incorporated in Panama. Can't we press charges?

Then there is this column by right-winger Peggy Noonan. If her completely flawed logic reminds you of the Reagan era, it's because Peg was a speechwriter for that old guy. Basically she says the media being so liberal as it is (please), gave this bumbling prez an easy ride during his press conference because... well for no reason at all just because that's a crazed liberal thing to do! Huh?! Great column Peggy!

I've been toying with the idea of doing an article on indie-rock singer-songwriters... AKA the IRSS. Sure I love 'em, am one to a degree and have known dozens over the years but I've also noticed that they tend to turn into something really special and acquire a few unusual personality traits at a certain point. Once you get further and further away from these people they can actually be really something to reflect on, but often somewhat sad. In the extreme, they behave as if they are the second coming of Jesus except much more talented and not nearly as modest or realistic. They're victim/prophets who are great at borrowing and really bad at returning. They avoid self-criticism to an extreme. They often get less fun to be around as they tend get more and more into their thing. But in an instant, they can snap right out of it. Thankfully, for everyone, the dark side of the IRSS rarely takes over completely.

Here's an example. You are with a group of four people, one of them a singer-songwriter (actually all four of you are musicians or artists, but only one really fits the profile) and while hanging out in the city you see that someone has discarded a bunch of perfectly good records on the sidewalk after an unsuccessful garage sale. You amble up and realize that there's roughly four great LPs marked FREE. Great, you think, one for each of us ragged bohemians to add to our junky collections! Let's each pick one out. Cooperate. But no, someone is upset. Who? It's SINGER-SONGWRITER!!! The records, all of them, it seems were meant for IRSS all along. Oh? But how, is there a note? Did you know the owner? How do you arrive at such a conclusion IRSS? Quizzical looks all around. IRSS is frowning with disappointment. You are not the chosen one. IRSS is the chosen one, silly. Of course, not being fully blown IRSS types, each grabs one of the items and carries it home. Or alternatively, someone gives in to IRSS and hands theirs over, not really knowing why. IRSS builds up irrational resentment for those that are acting perfectly reasonably. And so on.

I've written the piece in my head several times, but I'm concerned about it coming off as some kind of mean-spirited character assassination which I don't want it to be. It's also the type of behavior that has to been seen to be believed. I'm talking jaw-dropping audaciousness on a weekly basis when you are in the world of the IRSS. And again, it comes and goes unpredictably. And I'm probably just as guilty of completely unconscious egotism as the next rocker, so I'm not prepared to make myself a target. Considered that IRSS idea quashed.

the wine by the way that I'm digging is the Sign of the Times Pinot Noir from Patricia Green Cellars, Oregon. You can read about her on various wine websites, as far as I can tell, she doesn't have her own site as of yet.

Also, this week, I had a chance to chat with Hans Wurman's son Alex. He's no longer in Oak Park, IL but now LA. He composes scores and incidental music for a lot of big Hollywood movies, too many to mention really. His personal website. He's been really cool about helping me add some more historical stuff to my article on the recording studio I'm doing for the Chicago Reader. It will run next week rather than this week according to my editor.

my buddy Taka, alluded to during the very genesis of this storied blog, has a great website that features his photography. this guy is for real. go to it now.

so the nightlife report for this weekend. i actually was out and about quite a bit. I played a gig on Friday night with perfect panther opening for the make-up (I mean Weird War) and Transziztors from Detroit, the latter turned a good performance considering it was their second gig. They've got a bit more of a bubblegum meets garage sound and a few kinks to work out (the "lead" guitar sounded kind of wimpy to me). Saturday night I went out to dinner with some friends after getting my rear window replaced. Somehow Tim and I busted it by loading our gear in awkwardly and then slamming the window. The price of a good night rocking the city? $180 it seems. After dinner, my crew hit Sonotheque which was really pleasant especially as I was poured perhaps the largest glass of red wine I have ever seen, a bartender friend suggested it, can't remember the name but will check it out tonight, fantastic. Just as sonotheque was beginning to fill up, we uprooted and went to the Empty Bottle to catch the M's who have gotten a lot of attention in Chicago lately. Somehow it was inevitible that almost no one went to this show (they had sold out the night before at Schuba's). The band was very good, but in a way I was slightly less impressed than I hoped to be. It does sound like the group has a bit of T Rex and Kinks listening in its indie guitar pop sound, but I just couldn't get over the Lilys thing. The Lilys, if you don't know, made a few of their best records ("Better Can't Make Your Life Better," etc.) by copping a late-'60s Kinks sound (though the production reminds me more of the Monkees, very thin and seperate with lots of tambourine, etc.!!!) Since then, I don't think the Lilys' albums have measured up, but they are looking for a drummer right now to tour Europe this summer but don't seem to want me. I'm just assuming it's because I live too far away from Philly. No offense taken, really. Last night, post-Sopranos and giant brunch and huge dinner, I tried to go to the Modernist Society at Darkroom. I was there and chatted with Miles a bit, but felt like I should already be in bed.

here's the children's chair I got a few weeks ago. It's the Casalino 1.

I think this is crazy.

Awesome thought-provoking radio? Check out Air America.

I'm trying to make up my mind whether the Bush administration is completely inept as Al Franken's radio show, Clark's testimony and these Rice's hearings seem to be indicating. Or, as my friends in political organizing and labor movement and columnists such as William Greider believe, that the administration is not simply NeoCon (neo-conservative) but actually radically reactionary and that certain movements such as running up an insane deficit, allowing unemployment to flourish, starting so many wars that the word will hate our country for generations to come is actually a STRATEGY, that it is being done thoughtfully and on purpose. I have to say at this point, I side with the former opinion. These guys are idealogues, but they are too incompetent, out of the loop and off their rockers to have a masterplan. The mess our country is in makes no sense even to true NeoCons. It's radical idealogy run amok. Idealogy is the justification, not altering reality. That reality has been altered in such a completely chaotic and destructive way by this administration. It bothers us, but it doesn't bother them. I have no point really, I just don't see that this is a materfully executed shift to the right. It's basically just radicals in power that can't be controlled by Congress or the people. Vote 'em out and hopefully things will change.

Perfect Panther is playing Friday night at the Empty Bottle with Weird War. This is Andrea's last show with the group. She wants to work on her own stuff and concentrate more on guitar.

I finally gave in to the demons of online shopping and made use of that Barnes and Noble giftcard that popped up in my wallet over the weekend. I ordered some smokin' reissues I've had my eye on (okay, in my Wish List) for a while. I got the Aerovons CD, the Action "Rolled Gold" and the Candi Staton CD (although I was hoping to get it on vinyl, but I can't wait the two weeks before it comes out). Now it's just a matter of postal service efficiency. I heard about the Aerovons on Voxtalks, this total snobby amplifier and '60s music nerd website. The actual guitarist from the band, who now scores commercials and the like, was posting about his band amid all the Beatles trivia and Vox amplifier ephemera. They recorded for three months at Abbey Road Studio 1 while the Beatles were in Studio 2.

Last night I went to this fun little gig in River North of all places, the redwalls and the new constitution at Wall to Wall recording studio which was formerly a Columbia College recording facility. It was a good party, but the sound mix for the bands wasn't exactly club quality as the vocals got drowned in a maelstrom of guitar blast. I missed the redwalls who inexplicably played first (for their parents' sake) and the whole thing wrapped up before 9pm. I even had time to go play guitar at my rehearsal space with a couple beers providing the courage to practice vocals while wailing away (on the guitar that is). All in all a weird but refreshingly different night. I hardly saw anyone that I see all the time except Cynthia Plastercaster whom I finally had a chance to shoot the breeze with. So nice. At the end of the night, I still had a hard time getting to sleep because of the trippy time change thing and the fact that swimming laps as I did Sunday morning invariably turns me into some kind of supermotivated superhuman for about 24 hours until I crash back into lazy mode. "Sopranos" got taped so I've got that waiting for me tonight. Lovely.

Also, the sonotheque website is finally up thought there's no mention of my gig there. I'll make inquiries.

I've got tons of work to do right now and it feels good. I must be old then, eh?

I finally sent Simon, my buddy in Surrey, UK, a CD of OS X stuff and another one of Perfect Panther demos. He's incredibly modest considering his band just recorded with Alan Moulder and shot the video for their first single. At the moment, the name of his group completely escapes me.

some photos from the Logan Square Auditorium gig.

direction
And hey, I'm spinning records with DJ Yves St. LeRoc at Sonotheque tonight, on Chicago Ave. near Ashland in Chicago, IL.

I've got my work cut out for me having taken on a big freelance assignment that's due in full in three weeks. I'm going to have to spend Saturdays locked in my home office writing just as the weather is making amends for the long winter we endured this year. Memo to self: move to tropical climate. In the meantime, those Fred Perry tennis shorts are gonna have to be patient. But as for weather, I'm looking forward to a week in Antigua in May, snorkeling, relaxing, laying in the sand, soaking up the all-around Caribbean decadence. Whatever gets you through the day, I suppose.

Big ups to Tim Ice for doing the mods on my Vox Cambridge amp. It sounds twice as loud and the tremolo sounds slick and pro too. Also big thanks to all the dudes I emailed with esoteric questions such as "which lead do I cut on the optocoupler? my amp doesn't work!" I probably learned a tidbit about electronics despite the fact that I left the hands-on aspect of the work to the iceman. I'm not stupid, now I'm dying to get home and plug in and put it through some paces.

I opted to see Franz Ferdinand Friday night rather than hit the openings at Three Walls, etc. in part because I had been out drinking at Rodan the night before and didn't want to travel far from home and in part because I had a suspicion that this slightly hyped band (by NME anyway) might be worth it. I lucked out. My ladyfriend and I were both very impressed and thoroughly entertained by the FF set. it wasn't really that crowded and I ran into good ol' Justin C. who's playing in the Panthers now. I've got a review underway of FF that I might post here on with the Modernist. The Reader wanted a thesis and I really didn't have one. Sorry Reader.

Is anyone as impressed with this guy Clark testifying before the 9-11 commission as I am? American hero or just the right guy in the right place for once? Unflappable. I was once offered an internship with the National Whistleblower Center but I opted to go on tour with a rock band instead. What the heck is up with Connie Rice? She can go on TV and spout all sorts of Bush defensive flack but she can't testify before the Congress because of the precendent it might set? Please. I can't wait 'til we throw this sad group of bums out on their right-wing asses.

listening station:
Neil Young, On the Beach (Reprise)
Sondre Lerche, Two Way Monologue (Astralwerks)
All Night Radio, Spirit Stereo Frequency (Sub Pop)

Last night was a gas, man. I had heard that Logan Square Auditorium was a tough place to play because the stage sound was pretty bogus and the room sound was echoey and hollow. In fact, it wasn't too bad sonically and was really comfortable otherwise. If I noticed anything, it was that the loudest band Electrelane (and they were really loud) sounded the fullest as it's guitar amps were really cranked on stage and therefore didn't get eaten up by the crowd as Ted Leo's and Perfect Panther's did (bands with little amps for rocking clubs). How do I know? I recorded most of the show in stereo to minidisc with help from Dave L. of the Pharmacists. Actually everyone sounded good. I've never done sound (worked the PA) for a big live show (maybe some basement gigs), but I get a bit obsessive about it. After all, it can be the difference between an okay night and a great night out for hundreds of people. LSA is also a great old building with interesting detailing, and unusual urinals. The whole area of Logan Square has amazing architectural detail. I want house now.

So Jason from the Modernist took some photos of the band. It'll be cool to see how they turn out, for me at least. You wanna see too?

Er, yeah. Anyway, I'm reading this shocking (okay, not so shocking really) piece on Salon about how there are all these chemical sites in the US where really nasty potential weapons of mass distruction are leaking. Many of the sites are private chemical labs not too far from residential areas. One of the worst ones was/is called, no joke, Armageddon Chemical where this chemical genius starting mixing flourine with anything else he fancied as some kind of side business. I have yet to finish the article, but this alarming situation calls to mind Superfund sites, and this program that was designed to address the basically 1000s of environmental dumps that the EPA had to clean up. I don't remember the details, but Superfund was a big government buzzword in the late '80s. I'm going to have to track down some stats on how successful it was. Get me the GAO on the phone. I would think it is still going on, unless Bush cut the funding. The Harper's reader in me also wonders if Superfund was a kind of financial boondoggle disguised as an environmental crisis. As in, someone made a ton of money cleaning those sites up. And someone made a ton of money checking to see if they were cleaned up. And on and on. You make the mess, I clean it up, the public pays. We win, they lose. And I'm fairly certain that in most cases the polluters didn't pay, but again I have no facts to support it. What happened to Superfund? Maybe it can swoop in and save us from WOMD in our backyard.

Activity report:

Gearing up for a couple of really great Perfect Panther gigs with friends' bands (Ted Leo this week and Weird War a couple weeks later). We seem to be playing $10 and up shows lately, but the bills (The Stills, Quasi, etc.) have been really strong, so you can't really complain. At least, I'm not complaining. Perfect Panther's website is still in progress. Until PP get it together, check out the schedule at the Empty Bottle. Hopefully, we will remember to burn some CDRs to sell and bring flyers for our next show.

Over the weekend I did the following things: played guitar, went to IKEA and this gross mall in the suburbs (don't go on a weekend), put up curtains, three loads of laundry, went thrifting with Matt Steinke, rehearsed with Perfect Panther, ate at a mediocre Asian restaurant. I bought a great modern plastic chair at the thrift store, not sure of the designer provenance yet, but will look into it. It's German-made. Oh yeah, it's a kid's chair, which is maybe some kind of subliminal joke on the fact that Kelly and I keep joking around about having kids. It's not happening anytime soon. I also, in one of those magical "no way dude" thrifting moments, picked up another 4-track 1/4" machine, a TEAC 3340-S. It's more old-school than the Tascam 34B I use, but might be really cool once it gets cleaned up. It was a bargain too good to ignore.

Now playing:
Blonde Redhead "Misery is a Butterfly" (4AD)
Franz Ferdinand (Domino)
Mojo Music Guide Vol. 3 "Raw Soul"

Some dudes I know and their blogs. Actually, I will move these to my new links section.

Miles
Jeff

If I have not been writing so much here, it's that I'm not writing much, it's just that I am not writing much here.

Just as an update, I've been writing quite a bit but mostly editing for Citysearch.com lately. I also did some PR writing for Upshot's retail design group and had an article published in Brandweek magazine. It's not as boring as it sounds. The fun stuff I've been writing is for the Modernist (modern culture, internalism, sex and tasteful naked photos!) and for an upcoming issue of a Chicago-based Stop Smiling magazine. I also do the odd review for RollingStone.com Believe it or not, RS pay quite promptly.

A bedside magazine stack says something about who's in the bed, but I'm not sure what it is. Let's take a look at what's piling up this month and make some snap judgements about my personality and psyche.

So I once again have a subscription to Vanity Fair because I wanted some light reading and actually I'm totally digging it. I enjoyed this article on these kids who remade "Raiders of the Lost Ark" shot by shot on no budget. I guess the video is making the rounds. The new issue of VF has an article about how awesome blogs are and how lame Andrew Sullivan is, so it's right-on really. I don't care as much about Hollywood as VF does, but VF has got Hitchens.

My stack also includes Vice Magazine which initially I hated, then loved, now just read for giggles. Basically the CD reviews are terrible and uninformed and written in snarky one-liner prose that is sometimes clever but usually just snide. Don't trust them at all. The articles, on the other hand, are sometimes really great, provocative and very pointed. I liked the piece by this woman who used to run drugs for Pablo Escobar, for example. And they mock Canada which is always entertaining. It's not serious as a publication but I get some kicks out of it. It's also Free at my neighborhood youth-oriented clothing boutiques. Though I know someone who sued them for changing her article and got tons of money and it doesn't surprise me.

The New Yorker. You can't be a writer and not read it. You're kidding yourself if you ignore it. It's perhaps just a shadow of the pre-Tina Brown New Yorker, but it's influential, usually very well-done and relevant. That said, I hardly ever make it through the fiction. Does short fiction always leave me unimpressed and why? And why do they love Steve Martin's writing? It's not bad, so much as it's just facile.

The Onion. I dig the AV club Q&As.

The latest Eastbay catalog. You can never have too many pairs of trainers and at $35 a pair you won't feel guilty about having new shoes again.

Galactic Zoo Dossier. Steve Krakow's psychedelic compendium. This guy in my neighborhood does this and he is (like me) an obsessive fan of psych rock, prog and mod-psych. He writes this cool little personal bios on each group. Drag City recently published the first few years in book form with a CD sampler.

Various issues of Uncut and Mojo that are months old. I must reload on those now.

Er, yeah. There are a few books too. The Golden Compass is as good as they say and Middlesex starts very slow therefore I have put it aside. I've got some Lester Bangs and some other stuff going for variety.

Okay, back to work, but this time with Mojo radio playing on my headphones.

Here's one opinion on the Starsky & Hutch question...

Remakes and fakes: the side effects of digital cable.

Maybe I am trying to have it both ways when it comes to retro remakes. Starsky and Hutch (Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson's potentially funny, but possibly disastrous remake of the TV series in movie form) has got me thinking of this on my lunch break. I like Stiller in Flirting with Disaster and Wilson in Bottle Rocket, but is their talent going to do anything for this film? With Hollywood's track record on remakes, I'd probably guess that we are in for a world of pain. '70s culture came back strong if somewhat edited and more cleaned-up than anyone paying attention would have liked in the last ten years and hasn't really gone away. Hollywood's response has been to remake kitschy '70s culture a la Charlie's Angels for the contemporary market, with a combination of clumsy mean-spirited irony, sloppy stylistic update and empty-headed, cynical plotlines. Some remakes have been of critically-lauded films that never had a commercial breakthrough (an awful Get Carter, a passable Solaris) with results tending to edge toward the painful. Some, such as Tim Burton's unnecessary Planet of the Apes, should have come with a warning. This sh*t will piss you off. Trying to think of a remake that Hollywood has pulled-off that hasn't been some combination of torture and cringe will make you crazy. I'm coming up empty right now on that question. Admittedly, these films probably aren't made for me. I do like some Hollywood movies and there have been some amazing films in recent years. But remakes are somewhat different. They are made to build up massive hype with ad campaigns and a complicit film press, open big and quickly be forgotten except as further DVD options. They're usually jammed with stars, slicked up to the point of being weightless, and pushed so hard you can't avoid them. Teenagers see them, people make money. What really do these films do but hammer home that Hollywood is completely lost? There are only a few filmmakers capable of creating anything with any weight that attempts to define our time. '70s remakes tend to fail so fully because they reveal such an absence of anyone having any fun amid the cynicism. Charlie's Angels comes to mind. The original was innocent, dumb, eye-candy TV that was a contradiction that said a lot about the '70s. Were women now liberated and independent, or just so long as they could use their feminine wiles and short shorts to nab the bad guys? Did the sexual revolution apply to women? The Charlies movie was really not the baby of trash TV king Aaron Spelling and therefore lacked his owned unconscious but confused view of female power and sexuality. The movie instead decides that hey, dopey chicks kick ass but they look great. The Charlies movie is sexed up but in such a boring way that it plays like a long commercial. And I can't remember much else about it to finish the punchline. The other thing is that there's a difference in expectations between TV series (low) and movies (high). The TV series (like the SNL character or the Kids in the Hall) doesn't have the same timing when brought to the big screen. The simple, stupid premise of a TV gets drawn out in a film, to the point of being insulting to our intelligence. Anyway, how dare you bank on my memories of crappy pop culture stuff that we all love if we happened to grow up with it? I mean The Wash?!? Alfie? If you don't have the ability to go back in time, just control yourself. Part of me wants to say: Don't make these movies, please. After all (note to filmmakers) THEY ARE ALREADY MADE AND AVAILABLE ON VIDEO.

On the other hand, I sometimes like, even love, music remakes, cover tunes, bands that sound EXACTLY LIKE OTHER BANDS. Why? They are hard to get wrong (when they are right, they are still slightly wrong, but it's kind of okay... it's just music, and it belongs to everyone, eh?) and they aren't meant to supplant the original, so much as pay tribute. At least sometimes. I did just hear a cover of a Bob Dylan song, then a disgusting cover of a Joni Mitchell song on the local dingy commercial alternative station. Both made me wanna wretch. No wonder the White Stripes are huge, they sound like gold compared to that kinda garbage. They play so much crap like that on XRT in Chicago. Remember the year when everyone played "Heroes" by David Bowie. The Wallflowers and Oasis did a version of it. It was a bit annoying, but in a way it was kind of magical. Everyone suddenly saw what an amazing song it was, simply in it's form, not the original presentation, but it was still this Bowiesque artwork seeping into the culture because it was brilliant boundary crossing modern music. Perhaps that is the difference between music covers and these crappy filmic remakes. The song is a form that be endlessly remade in various styles with different singers, production styles, etc. and STILL BE RECOGNIZABLE, therefore having a bit of the integrity of the original. In the end, it is a kind of homage that's foolproof. If you botch it, at least you were just being a fan, not SPENDING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. With that said, I want to see this remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark that I read about in Vanity Fair. Sounds so obsessive that it's gotta be about love.