Merry Christmas Babies

And so it goes...

Hard to believe its December 24th already! Where have the months gone? I have to believe you thought I'd done disappeared for good. But no, here I am. I've said my lack o' blogging in recent months has been about my crushing workload and its true. I'm swamped. But its been more than that. I'm in a different head-space and its sort of turned into a mental block. I'm working on four or five different projects right now and I confess to feeling a certain amount of guilt when I use any of my precious time for anything else. Of course that comes from having a 2 year old and 7month old baby at home as well, so when I'm not doing what they pay me for I'm running my ass off there as well. I figure that will pass eventually, but for now, yikes. I'm getting spanked.

I also think there are certain larger existential questions involved as well. I started this blog out of rage--post-2004 elections. Then it became a dumping ground for a lot of music writing I didn't have an outlet for. But I was pouring a lot into it because I think I was in deep despair about where I was and what I was doing. My work situation was significantly lame. It was a professional cul-de-sac and it didn't look like I was getting out. So who cares, right? Might as well spout off about the world and not worry about. Hence we're very nearly 2500 posts into the life of this thing! Unbelievable.

Things have changed on the work front. I'm an historian again. It feels pretty good. So I'm playing it as it lays. My extracurricular writing has suffered. (Although I did interview Robert Mercurio of Galactic for Verbicide the other day. Sweeeeeet...)

Now...after all that there are a few things I think we need to address. 2010 is upon us and you know what that means. Its time for the End-of-the-Year List-o-rama! And as we all know this was a banner year for music. So what were your faves? Send me your lists and I'll post them. I'll place a 25 album limit on the lists and of course if you want to submit something shorter that's cool too. And frankly I don't care what the hell you put on it so consider this free license. Let 'er rip. As for me, this was a banner year for the oldsters. Allen Toussaint, Kris Kristofferson, Smokey Robinson--unreal.

Also while I'm thinking about it, the poet-laureate of Athens, GA--Vic Chesnutt appears to have lapsed into a coma today. There are a number of news reports circulating on the internet including a rumor that it might have been a suicide attempt. Vic recorded two of his greatest albums this year. That's right--2 of them! So if you're into that kind of thing, offer up a prayerr for him and his family. He's a giant.

I'm going to turn in. Christmas morning with a 2 year old is going to come too soon. I love you guys. I miss you. Hopefully, more soon.

Shaun Rogers is a REAL MAN!

I promised myself I wasn't going to engage in this weekly self-flagellation but dammit I just can't help myself. Packers 31 Browns 3. Derek Anderson, 12 out of 29 for 99 yards. Another sub-100 yard passing performance. I forget--when the hell did we last score a TOUCHDOWN??

So I'm sitting on the couch yesterday afternoon watching the Vikings/Steelers game--two teams I absolutely loath, by the way--and I say to Beth, "Ya know, my life would be so much different if I just chucked the stinking Browns and picked another favorite team. I mean, look at how exciting this game is. Both these teams are actually exciting to watch. I could actually enjoy watching football on Sundays."

And of course, being the consummate realist, my wife says, "Yes, that's true, you could."

But I can't.

I can't stop being a Browns fan. It's like having a terminal disease. Unless some drunked up faith-healer shows up, lays his grubby paws on me and shouts, OUT! OUT YOU DEVIL!, I will always be a Browns fan. The hell with it.

So I sat down last night and thought of one good thing I can say about the Browns. Since then the list has mushroomed to two good things... And here they are:

1. Shaun Rogers is a REAL MAN! No matter how shitty they are, no matter how much the rest of the defense is buckling around him, Shaun Rogers plays like a wild man every single play. He's a one-man wrecking crew blowing up the interior of every offensive line he faces. And why does he do it? I mean its pretty clear the rest of those freakin' bums have just flat quit! He does it because he respects himself and he respects the game. No matter how bad it gets he's going balls-out. And that's the way it should be. I just pray that some decent team out there is watching the guy so that maybe he can get out of that hell-hole. He deserves so much better.

That's what I came up with last night. And then this morning I ran across this:

2. "The Hard-Luck Life of a Cleveland Browns fan:" This is it. This sums it up. Greatest line that I wish I had written? "The Browns were my team by birthright--not unlike jaundice or fetal-alcohol syndrome."

Its just so hard to love something that brings you so much pain. Soooo much pain...

It's Friday! Huzzah! Huzzah!

Friday again... Can't believe I made it. And at the same time where did the week go? The beat rolls on here in the Old South. Its funny--we've been here since early August and we have yet to go out--even once--to check out the M-Ville nightlife. Such as it is. Everyone has told us about one bar in particular that is worth the trip. But it burned down the other night. I've heard it was a faulty grease-trap but I'm thinking central GA mafia. Suck all the coin out of the place then torch it. So the endlessly weird march rolls on...home...work...home...work...home...work...home. So be it. What does not kill us...usually just pisses us off.

You good people be safe this weekend. We'll be catching you on the flip flop. PEACE!

6. Hell YES They Should Be Pissed! Beware the ice-skating bears...

5. The Most Southern Place On Earth: This is going to be a recurring feature on T's C... Today I'm going to say its the snuff case at the Piggly Wiggly. I had to return something recently and as I stood there at the Customer Service desk a steady stream of elderly M-Villeans came by to partake of all the snuff-y wears. I'd forgotten the stuff even existed.

4. Best Streaming Reggae on the Internet? You probably don't think about this too often, but I listen to TONS of internet radio at work. As you can tell from TC Radio, I'm a fan of Last.FM. But when I am in serious need of the finest in roots rock reggae, it's Scratch Radio out of Canada. Not sure who Chris and Rita are but their station is one of the very best I've ever heard. EVER. No frills. Just the best in mento, ska, rock-steady, and rasta roots. Many thanks to them!

3. Marching In Step: How about a well-deserved shout-out to our pal Alex from Cullowhee whose book, Marching in Step: Masculinity, Citizenship, and The Citadel in Post-World War II America, has been released into the wild by UGA Press. Alex went toe-to-toe with the Lords of Discipline and made them his bitch. Way to go Alex--I've already ordered my copy from Amazon. Thanks to brother Richard for the heads up. All you history-types out there should be following his blog, Dispatches from the Historical Front. Great stuff.

2. ZombieFest 2009: We're still not sure Zombiefest is happening this year. We're just totally slammed. But that hasn't stopped us from our annual rite of dedicating most evenings to the Great American Horror Movie! We haven't been as systematic as we were last year when we managed to make our way through ALL the Friday the 13th movies and most of the Halloween ouevre. This year we've mixed in a few classics with some new ones we hadn't seen yet. Here are a few of the highlights for those who like myself think Halloween is the BEST HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR!

Peter Jackson's Dead Alive
Steve Miner's remake of Day of the Dead (Surprisingly good!)
Prom Night
Return of the Living Dead
My Bloody Valentine 3D
And a fabulous nudist/horror double-feature: The Beast that Killed Women and Monster at Camp Sunshine. So good and so good for you...

And we have a special tribute to Eli Roth upcoming... Oh yeah baby. I can hardly wait.

1. Vaya Con Dios Soupy Sales: Here's a little Trotsky's Cranium trivia for you. Soupy Sales's brother was a corporate attorney in my hometown of Lancaster, Ohio. When I was a kid we used to have a couple of Soupy Sales sitings every year. Really nice guy. This obit isn't too complete. I remember kicking back with a bunch of my cronies in the summer of '79, partying and watching the Soupy Sales show--I think on the Superstation... Does anyone else remember that? Unabashedly goofy but when you were in the appropriate frame-of-mind absolutely hilarious. How about a little video?



Go with God Soupy Sales. You will be missed.

Verne Gagne, We Hardly Knew Ye...

Wow, this is totally weird and disturbing and I can't believe I missed it. Too bad Bruno Sammartino wasn't there as guest referee. Perhaps this unfortunate bout would have ended differently.

This one from the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

"Back and To The Left..."

"...Back and to the left..."

The Listening Room: Pere Ubu

Pere Ubu--Long Live Pere Ubu!--Hearpen.com 2009

Some works of art you just have to earn. I suspect that might have been what Alfred Jarry was thinking when his proto-surrealist play, Ubu Roi, was staged in Paris in 1896. From the very first word ("Merdre!) the crowd was incited to riot--in the very best tradition of the avante-garde. And so it is no surprise that avant-rockers Pere Ubu would derive their name from Jarry's weird masterpiece and then, nearly 35 years after their inception, mount an ambitious staging of their own complete with soundtrack.

There is nothing easy about Long Live Pere Ubu! It is an artistic provocation. The comparisons to Captain Beefheart and musique concrete are inevitable. But I prefer David Thomas's recent assertion that this is the "only punk record that's been made in the last 30 years." He's right--in the best sense of the word "punk." There was a time--before all the pop formulae and marketing--when diversity marked the world of punk music. It was meant to confront, challenge, and tear down the walls that our crumbling post-industrial society was throwing up around us. Bands that were nothing alike aesthetically could make common cause under the punk banner because it was all about creativity. Not so anymore. Long Live Pere Ubu is a disturbing record. Its sounds span the gamut from post-rock to noisy dissonance to wonderful if eerie patches of ambient electronica replete with belching and what sound like other bodily functions... Thomas's familiar warble is accompanied by the great Sarah Jane Morris of the late, great Communards. She's the perfect companion for Thomas's (and Jarry's) crazy tale. This is bizarre stuff and ultimately REALLY rewarding. This band just gets better and better. Highly recommended.

Their 2008 staging of Bring Me The Head of Ubu Roi! was done in collaboration with the Brothers Quay who've produced set and animation for the forthcoming DVD. (I really cannot wait.) Have a look at their video for "The March of Greed."

The Listening Room: Grant Langston

Grant Langston--Stand Up Man--MSG Records 2009 CD:

So if you're wondering why I'm so cranky, a HUGE reason is my damned insomnia. Of the many things I hate about not being able to sleep is that once you get into those early morning hours and you're too tired to sleep all you get on the tube are those ludicrous infomercials that you can actually feel sucking the intelligence out of you. Lately, though, I've lucked out. One of the local channels has been re-running Burt Reynolds's 70s and early 80s ouevre. Genius. Smokey and the Bandit, Smokey and the Bandit II, and of course Burt's stuntman epic, Hooper. As campy as those movies might be--as smug as Burt's muggin' for the cameras is--those movies are comfort-food for me.

Maybe that's why I was a little reticent when I saw the song, "Burt Reynolds Movie Brawl," on Grant Langston's new record, Stand Up Man. My knee-jerk love affair with country music has rendered me a wee bit protective. Sometimes when I see song titles like that I worry the artist is making fun or being campy and not taking the genre as seriously as I demand he or she should. (And after all it is all about ME!) But that's my inherent arrogance running amok. And in the case of Langston--no need to worry. He's the real deal and he's lucky enough to have a hilarious sense of humor so songs like "BRMB" and "Shiner Bock and Vicodin" are funny and kick-ass at the same time.

Langston is one of the reasons I am continually blown away by whats happening in the southern California Americana scene. I've been lucky enough to have friends sharing CD after great CD with me and most of the stuff is top-shelf and flying under the radar. Grant Langston is a case in point. He wears his influences on his sleeve. There are hints of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard and maybe, MAYBE a bit of George Jones. There is a singular clarity in Langston's singing-style that reminds me of the countrypolitan greats. But don't let that fool you--his band the Supermodels really wail. One second you're laughing ("Shiner Bock and Vicodin's" cautionary tale about substance abuse and crashing your ex-girlfriend's wedding...) and the next you're stomping your foot on "Damn Good Day" as the band sounds like its about to blast loose from its moorings and take-off into the stratosphere.

But don't take my word for it. Check out his website. He's streaming the album. It's just as good as I'm saying it is. Buy it. Support regional country music.

Gifts That Just Keep On Giving

I've had one of those weeks where you go to sleep on Sunday night and wake up and its Friday. I've been working non-stop all week. Up at 6--shut it down around midnight. Productive, yes--satisfying no. Life's a blur with its own strange momentum. There is no simplicity in this here world right now. Everyone has a bitch. No one wants to be accountable for any damn thing--especially when it conflicts with their own faux-narrative of how life should be.

And yet for all the struggles I heard this evening that an old high school buddy lost the job he's had for the last 17 years--on the eve of sending his oldest son to college. Two days ago I got an email from a friend who was just diagnosed with leukemia. To say the "grass is always greener" does a real disservice to this human condition of ours.

So here's to all of us who are fighting our own personal wars. I'm sure there's a helluva reason we're doing it. I've just sort of lost track this week of what that reason is? Why don't I just stop all this blather and focus in for a few on the quirky, the bizarre, the elements that comprise this diverse world of ours.

5. Vaya Con Dios "Johnny Fontaine:" One of my favorite characters in the first two films in The Godfather trilogy was the Sinatra-like, "Johnny Fontaine," played by the great Al Martino. Of course Martino's screen godhood was secured in the scene where he begs Brando for help in securing a role from an intransigent film mogul and the Don slaps the shit out of him for cryin' like a bitch. But my favorite Johnny Fontaine scene is in G2, when Michael Corleone is in Vegas laying out his masterplan for taking over the city. He tells Johnny that he'll be needed to perform so many shows per year in the mob-controlled casinos. Fontaine doesn't miss a beat. He smiles and says, "Of course Michael, anything for my Godfather." No hesitation--its all about loyalty. Damn straight. Al Martino died this past weekend. He's gone to that great Copacabana in the sky. Go with God Al Martino. You will be missed.

4. The Tao of John Farrell: OK--another Cleveland rant. Sorry. Can't help it. When the Tribe fired Eric Wedge, the word was out that John Farrell was a shoe-in to be the next manager. Farrell was a middle reliever for Cleveland back in the 90s. He was the Director of Scouting and with Mark Shapiro was responsible for bringing great players like Casey Blake and Grady Sizemore to the team. For the past few years he's been the pitching coach of the Red Sox. And oh yeah, before I forget, Farrell and his family still freakin' live in Cleveland in the off-season! Perfect fit right? Two days ago Farrell issues a public statement--I don't even want to talk to Cleveland management about the position. I'm good where I am. What the hell??

What does John Farrell know that we don't know? Wrong question. We know exactly what he knows. Shapiro completely gutted the team this year. I watched Rafael Betancourt pitch for the Rockies the other night. Cliff Lee looks like the reincarnation of Cy Young pitching for the Phils. Sabathia might just carry the Yankees on his big fat ass all the way to another world championship. I mean it just goes on and on and on. Farrell is a true baseball man. He knows the game. He knows that whoever takes the Tribe's helm is going down in a fiery ball because THEY SUCK! I predict that one of these days really soon Farrell is going to manage in the bigs and when he does it'll be for a solid ball club and they're going to win. Mark my words.

[P.S. Browns 6 Bills 3. Even in victory we blow.]

3. Fearless Freaks of the World UNITE! Yep--there's a new Flaming Lips album out. I haven't heard it. Haven't even seen it. Don't care. Just knowing its out there makes my world a little better place. You just know there's a Listening Room coming down the pike.

2. Celebrate Obscurity! I've said it before and I'll say it again Smog Veil Records is the coolest label in America. Fellow Buckeyes, be aware that they're putting out Tin Huey reissues! And even better they've reissued the legendary Easter Monkey's record along with some interesting special features which you just have to check out. Smog Veil has single-handedly taken on the important task of documenting that historic North Coast music scene so support them. Buy their records!

1. Plant An ACORN; Watch It Grow: I guess as a disclaimer I should mention that I worked for ACORN in DC for a little while. For a summer to be exact. Issues: clean water and low-cost housing. It was an OK job--good idealistic and like-minded people. Its kind of strange watching the organization get kicked around these days. I probably don't have to point out the perversity of trashing those who speak for the most defenseless in the society. Of course that's ACORN's sin--giving voice, teaching the voiceless to speak for themselves. That makes them a real threat to the hypocrites who so detest their "subversions." And yes, I saw the videos of the conservatives posing as pimps. (Sort of redundant, huh?) Pretty sleazy--no doubt about it. But its a little childish to run around like "Captain Renault" in Casablanca shouting "I'm shocked, shocked to find out there's corruption in urban politics!" Of course there is.

This article doesn't take sides but it does try to tease out some of the complexity of how government and community organizations interact. Community organizers have certain skill-sets that make them invaluable to city governments that are actually trying to get something done. Again that's what makes the right hate ACORN so much. An informative piece of journalism.