One to watch

I am reluctant to admit it because he is such an inveterate shit talker, but I dig Everett True.  

Everett routinely turns me on to cool music that no one else is talking about; music that hits a nerve with me.  Then he gives credit to the web bots of Youtube. 

Gavlyn is young and undoubtedly still has some artistic growth ahead of her but she already possesses a deft old school style and charisma in spades. 

Her laid back delivery reminds me of Guru.  

I dig her crooked teeth - her sly smile is all the more mesmerizing for them.   

But if you think this all about watching some barely legal hottie in a baseball cap,  play a track again with your eyes closed.   This chick is hungry.  

  

Vader and son

So J.J. Abrams is gonna direct the next Star Wars movie and I find myself ambivalent.

I think this is a byproduct of the current lens through which the entire Star Wars Universe is viewed at my household.   You see, my five year old son is really into Star Wars right now even though he has yet to see any of the movies.

How is that possible you ask?  Well, there are Star Wars Legos (which drain my wallet) and Star Wars Angry Birds (which drains my phone's battery).  

They are both little bizzaro worlds of the Star Wars movies and toys I grew up with.  

I mentioned this to my wife recently; how strange it was that all our boy knows about Star Wars comes through Legos and Angry Birds and she says to me, "Oh, we were driving the other day and I told him all kinds of stuff."

M: "Like what?"  I ask nervously...

D:  "Y'know, stuff like Luke and Leia are brother and sister.  And Darth Vader was their father..."
...

She tells me this like she is checking it off a list of basic factoids of citizenship. Like she told him "The President lives in The White House.  And we all can help to choose who gets to the job by doing this thing called voting".

....

.... 

Is this (....) the blog equivalent of squinting your eyes and staring in disbelief at the soulless way in which your loving spouse just callously ruined one of the greatest reveals in cinematic history for your offspring? Cuz that is what I am going for here.

Occasionally my wife and I lie to ourselves and say, "Oh maybe he won't remember this less than stellar moment of my parenting" but deep down we know it is something we utter to smooth over fuck-ups big and small.  We both know this kid never forgets a thing you say to him. 

This probably has just as much to do with my ambivalence.  What is the point now of getting excited about moving through the Star Wars and Empire with young grasshopper?  

Then a few days later, I find this book by Jeffrey Brown at the library.  Its broad and gentle humor helped me to ease back up.  

You can find this readily at the moment and I suggest you seek it out.  It is short but definitely sweet.   Here is a taste. 

 This book rekindled my hope in a Star Wars that I can share with my kids.  I didn't know that was a big deal until I realized it had been lost and regained. 

One label changes for another...

D: There is some freaky noise coming from The Enclave.  Did you leave something on?

M: Oh, I probably left an album on the - HEY!  That is Tortoise's first record! That is some groundbreaking music right there.

D (smirk): Oh, I had no doubt you would typify it as such, BUT once you are no longer down there listening it changes into freaky noise. 

P.S. Searching for an image of Tortoise's first record also turned up these two images that I felt compelled to share. 

Give your opinion?

I can't decide which one of these gifs I like better.  Both are handy to have around...

The Taxpayers

My good friend Dem told me I had to do what I could to spread the word about this band - The Taxpayers - and their latest release.   

Dem wrote an article about the band HERE with some assist from his cohort Becky- it is the first music article he has written in almost four years.  One listen to the music below and it is clear why The Taxpayers demanded a return to the computer keyboard.   Like he mentions in his article, these guys have an authentic edge about them.  

This is a jazz punk concept album that swings with ferocity.  Henry Turner was a pitcher for Georgia Tech in the 1970s but he threw his arm out before he made it to the big leagues.  He lived much of his life homeless.  

That might lead you to believe that the album is a monochromatic downer but it isn't.  It packs a lot of emotions and it is gloriously messy.   

The songs all work as individual tunes but overall I guess I would say that it is very humanistic body of music.   

Most depictions of homelessness in music fall into two distinct camps:

The "homeless as magical" myth variety -- Arrested Development's "Mr. Wendell", Los Lobos's "Angels With Dirty Faces", Roger Miller's "King of The Road", etc. 

Or the "Pity these poor wretches" variety -- "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins or Elvis singing "In The Ghetto" are two examples. 

The Taxpayers have deftly avoided these broad stereotypes.  They knew this guy and they are honoring his life by presenting it straight up. 

As Dem writes - "Henry Turner. Was he simply a misfit? Some of us are. Was his life one of misfortune beyond his control or missed opportunities that he chose to ignore? Was he an asshole or was asshole-ism his defense? None of that is important. Henry Turner was a person and his dignity as a person is revealed in the course of these songs." 

The Taxpayers have such songwriting elan that I hope that my few loyal readers will give this record some serious time and attention.  It will be rewarded.  

Bowels of Bargain Bin Hell!

This guy is a genius. Certifiable.

He calls himself The Blasphemer and makes sacrificial art out of bargain bin castoffs.  

You can find even more his work HERE 

AND if you act within the next 20 hours or so you can even bid and win one of his original dark artistic enchantments.   Just visit that damned marketplace for the occult: Ebay 

Buck Gooter

I got an email yesterday from G$.  The only text was in the subject line: "check this out (loud)"

Turns out this was sage advice and I suggest you follow suit.  

G$ reads the email updates from Permanent Records thoroughly and religiously.  I appreciate that fact immensely because I get turned on to a lot of great scuzzy and weird rock without quite the hit to my pocketbook.  

I am gonna to check out more Buck Gooter on Youtube just as soon as I can my baby daughter to stop wailing and get back to sleep.  Seems that she is sensitive to Witch Molecules.