Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008)

He was a baaad motha ...

Music for the Tail end of Summer

Download my August mix :

All_Groweds_Up.zip (Groweds up)File by Bigupload.com

Music to slit your wrists by

i've decided to start sharing my bizzare musical tastes with you all.

Since I am no longer suffering from depression i thought it would be nice to revisit what i call my "Black Dog Mix".

Winston Churchill, 1874-1965 was Prime Minister of Britain in 1940-45 and 1951-1955.
He referred frequently to his family and friends about his 'Black Dog' which was a euphemism for depression.
He suffered with depression for most of his life and at times struggled to hide the extent of his black moods from his political colleagues. Interestingly he used to lay bricks as a means of distracting himself when depressed and felt that this kept the 'Black Dog' at bay.

Call of Duty 4, Battlefield 2: The Beatz

Somewhat poetic in a gruesome sort of ultra violent way.








By Serpento

LaMont and Fry Dance a Similar Step

This weekend as I was extolling the merits of a Bar with a jukebox, a misguided and terrifyingly youthful person attempted to force me to dance. This was not a dance-bar, or an anthro, or club, or discotheque, cotillion, ball, dance, danse, recital or strip-club. Nothing about this watering hole spoke "Dance" to me, but there i was, being prodded by someone who had obviously no idea what a drag dancing is to me. As is often the case, my academic godfather, Mr. Stephen Fry suffers from the same affliction, and also suffers from danceless music syndrome as well as an unhealthy love of the Swedish group ABBA.

I'll allow the master to say it hisself:

Gnarly

The new Gnarls Barkley video was banned from MTV because it causes seizures.
They must mean Seizures of awesomeness.

Teodoro Kennedy: Mistico Cantante del Norte

Know the songs, know the people.

I recall a few years back when my friend Jimu and I were at Oktoberfest. We had a hell of a time, and with my sparse German I was able to pick up on a few of the songs. Knowing full well that "Rosamunde" is also "Roll out the Barrell" and drinking a hell of a lot of beer, I was asked several times if I was German. To look at me, is to know damn well that the answer is "Not even remotely", though my Grandmother claims certain Austro Hungarian ancestry which has not been verified.

No, I am as Mexican as "Cielito Lindo". Nonetheless the elderly Germans around me decided that i MUST be German, how else would I know the songs?

Well, I make a point of learning THE song of THE country I'll be visiting. "Tulips in Amsterdam" , "Granada", "Kalinka", " La Vie en Rose", "Jambo Bwana", "Tie me Kangaroo Down Sport", "Oh Canada!", "God Save Ireland", and dozens more that I have stashed away in the recesses of my noodle, and most if not all I can sing in their native tongue.

I've found that nothing forms a more solid bond across nations than being able to join in a rowdy drunken song. It immediately changes you from "Foreigner" to "Friend", and the proof is in the pudding. As soon as I sent this to my parents they were not only hilariously thrilled, but they forwarded it to their spanish-speaking friends. Ted Kennedy knows the importance of a good rowdy song when you are trying to be inclusive and in his own silly way, ted Kennedy was as Mexican as "Jalisco no te Rajes".



If you want to try and decipher Senator Kennedy's Spanish you can find the Lyrics to "Jalisco No te Rajes" HERE

The kids these days..

Oh dear friends.

I'm going to lay off the politics for a moment, to bring you a little of what's what in the world of entertainment.

Please enjoy this lovely bit from our new intern Kelly. Kelly is 19 and thought this was the funniest shit she's ever seen.


Admittedly, i was skeptical at first, but the thing is pretty damn funny if you give it a moment.

Away from the girlishness, and back to some politickin' (Did you really think I would TOTALLY lay off?)

Jackie and Dunlap are two good ol' boys from Tennesee who have a hilarious show on YOU TUBE called RED STATE UPDATE. Obviously there is a Liberal slant to it, but its done in such an honest and sincere way, that even Republicans like Ol' Fred Thompson, have been known to call in. Dig this classic, right after the New Hampshire Primaries.



How bout some tunes, eh?
Serge Gainsbourg is the tail end of my French kick, but dig this groovy Reggae(?) tune.


Finally, something a little more mainstream.
You may recognize Yael Naim's music from the new Mac Air commercials, but don't let that turn you off. the Song NEW SOULis wonderful and the video ties it all up.


Tomorrow, I will be heading to THE SHAVE in Beverly Hills, and pending the Vote from the WGA, i will have my strike beard professionally shaven, with my brother there to document the whole ordeal.

Sgt. Pepper Deconstructed

Some talented fella managed to seperate the tracks of Sgt. Pepper, and the result is an undenaible testament to musical genius.

The visual symetry of the finished product is astounding.

Bienvenues aux le monde de Camille

Friends, it is a rare moment indeed when I cry the huzzahs of a chanteuse. Last I tried was the whole Mika/Grace Kelly thing, but this time i bring you something delicious and equally effeminate.

Camille.

Those of you who loved RATATOUILLE as I did, will recognise this lady from the audio track and the free CD we got in VARIETY today.

But there's so much more. I Encourage you to check out her site, HERE Or if you're too lazy, try the links below. A charming and very vrench voice with a superb energy and the ability to explore musical forms without losing her inherent froginess. Please, Please check it out, you'll be longing for Paris in no time.

Celebrating a Holiday Train-Wreck

This year marks the twenty ninth anniversary of George Lucas' epic disaster THE STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL.

It was broadcast in its entirety in the United States only once on Friday, November 17, 1978 on CBS-TV from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Though Lucas claims not to have been involved, and not pleased with the end result. He was later responsible for Jar Jar, The Ewoks, and 2 Ewok Movies. You be the Judge.

The film is sprinkled with Cameos, including (Embarassingly enough) most of the leads from the original feature.

Mark Hamill- Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford- Han Solo
Carrie Fishe-r Princess Leia Organa
Anthony Daniels- C-3PO
Kenny Baker- R2-D2
Peter Mayhew- Chewbacca
James Earl Jones- Darth Vader (voice)
Bea Arthur - Ackmena
Art Carney -Trader Saun Dann
Diahann Carroll - Mermeia Holographic Wow
Jefferson Starship
Harvey Korman- Krelman/Chef Gormaanda/Amorphian instructor

Art Carney and Harvey Korman are the only two that seem to understand what a fucked-up piece of bantha shit this whole thing is, and their odd little comedy bits make it almost watchable. Almost. I'm not sure what happened with casting on this, but the Imeprial guards sportin' the stache and the oddly gesticulating Imperial officers make me think no one involved had ever seen Satr Wars. Bea Aruthr's Cantina song and dance routine is one of TV's biggest WTF moments, though Greedo proves to be no Gene Kelly. I had to pause it just to keep the bile down my throat. Incredibly, Carrie Fisher's song at the end makes the whole mess SO worthwhile, but only if you've suffered the entirety of the nearly 2 hr horror. Also of note, is the super seventies animated short that introduces Boba Fett to the world, conveniently located between hr 1 and hr 2.

Enjoy.

The Star Wars Holiday Special.1
Uploaded by hansonataint

The Star Wars Holiday Special.2
Uploaded by hansonataint

The Star Wars Holiday Fiasco does not end with the TV horrors. A mostly unbearable Holiday album entitled CHRISTMAS IN THE STARS also made it onto store shelves.

With hits like :

THE ODDS AGAINST CHRISTMAS
WHAT DO YOU GET A WOOKIE FOR CHRISTMAS? (IF HE ALREADY OWNS A COMB)
**Available on LP
BELLS BELLS BELLS

You can sample an audio taste of the acoustically unnerving hell HERE

Happy Life day to all!

A witching weekend is brewing

Happy Haloween weekend everyone!

Vice becomes Renaissance

Both of the loyal readers of this blog may have noticed some not so subtle changes to the look of the ol' page. Gone is the flying pig of yesterblog, replaced with a much more contemplative and i hope, meaningful pilfered image. The old line about "swagger and emmys" is also gone, replaced with an Alforism (1) of meaningless depth that nonetheless holds truth for liars and intellectual thieves like me. YES, this blog entry does have footnotes, so fucking deal. The sidebar too, contains some interesting additions including a Barack Obama link for those of you who are realistic enough to know that he won't win the nomination, but ideallistic enough to believe he should, and a link to the world of dorky wonders that is DIGG. I've also done something almost unthinkable in days past and included a quote by Hoffstadter who i have always considered the Christopher Hitchens of his day (Correct, but kind of a dick).

"Why?" i can hear the ADD afflicted begin to holler internally. Fingers twitching at the mouse, ready to check out the Swedish chick who yarfed on YOU TUBE. Friends, i am experienceing one of those moments where i feel i have rediscovered my basic me-ness. Often i get mired in self-loathing (2) and indulgent mopiness about career and life, and forget what a great gift it is to be me, here and now.

I have many people to thank for this, but the whole damn thing can be traced to three things.



My friend Amanda Barnes and her superb musical taste.

I can't begin to express how fantastic it is to be friends with someone who is not a pain in the ass about being a musical genius. Mere mortals (Myself included) are rather retarded when it comes to music. When they discover something , they become covetous and snotty. Keeping their new musical finds to themselves, trying to one-up each other in obscurity and devoting themselves to a band who may or may not be a flash in the pan, or worse a big hit. Immediately I think of the pain in the ass Radiohead and Dave Matthews fans. Remember Dave matthews? Yeah, he had some sucky college band that stoners and frat boys thought was deeply musical when it was in fact, only incessant. Radiohead? Oh yeah! You take something that sounds like a computer belching, and add to it a whiny and misanthropic fetus, and again use the ol' Greatful Dead/ Phish technique of making your songs enternal, and you get a slightly more snobbish group of self congratulating stoners and former frat-types.

What makes Mandy so absolutely brilliant is her ability to find the ONE. There are sucky bands out there who by the grace of god manage to fart out one song that epitomizes a moment in time (3). Mandy will find them, fuck them (Musically of course, not literally) and not call back the next day. Musical one night stands. On the other hand, she can recognize musicality. You know, complex chord progressions and shit we don't understand but gives us goosebumps. Like a timpany in the middle of an orchestral swell, or a choral peice during a particularly bad/good moment. Mix this with the ability to visually connect the possible longevity of a band, and you have a music machine (4). In my world, these people are called either misanthropes, because they live lonely lives filled with new dicoveries and lack the skills to share them, or Record executives who aren't people in the strictest sense of the word. When you have such a person and they happen to be a wonderful and devoted long-time friend with some basic people skills, you thank the universe for it, beg for mixes and suggestions, and pray to god you don't fuck it up. More than ever my life is full of fun, creative sounds that aren't brutalized by mass taste, electronic enhancement, or kitsch, and I have Amanda Barnes to thank for continually pointing me in the right direction.



VICE MAGAZINE

Disgusting, wrong, snobby, filthy, sexy, deviant, no concept of advanced algebra. No, i'm not quoting my high school teachers, I'm referring to my new online guilty pleasure. Oddly enough, i have found a friend in a magazine that dwells on some of the beautifully grotesque and harsh moments in life. The closest i've read in any sort of Hip-Lit to a reality that i enjoy, this may be the only widely read lifestyle mag that i look forward to, like all the girls i wanted to fuck in high school looked forward to teen beat, and people magazine. I swear, looking at the Afghani opium trade and sweaty chicks in 80's clothes makes me remember life's worth living, and keeps me from snapping an Actor's Demo DVD and using it as a shiv on the rest of Beverly Hills.


MY PAD

Yeah i have an awesome pad. I own a bar, my room is sweet, i have adult fucking furniture, and three 8 foot Oudry paintings that will adorn my far wall. You know what? After moving from shithole to shithole all around LA, living with a cunty girlfriend and innumerable roomates with fucking issues about how i shouldn't piss in the bathtub, or leave my underwear in the living room, i finally have a place that they all wish they had the taste to adorn, the money to afford and the fuckwithal to trash and clean at their leisure.

In short, my life rules, and my blog will shows it.


1. An Alforism (literally distinction or definition, from Greek αφοριζειν "to define") expresses a general truth in a pithy sentence repeated by Alf because he finds himself clever.

2. When I draw comparisons to Hunter Thompson (See Blog Postings Feb. 2005)

3.THE BLOW,THE MOUNTAIN GOATS, MIKA

4. CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH, LILY ALLEN

Arrivederci Luciano!

1935-2007


With Barry White


With James brown

My Generation

I promise to Blog with finality about my triip, and all the other insane stuff I've ebeen up to. However, at the moment the muse does not strike, and I am forced/please to present the Zimmers. Old music made new By Old people.

Me Like-a Mika

Ok, i know that the average age group of my blog readership is not in their early twenties, except for Ben, and Fran's Boyfriend, and Tab's Boyfriend. But my female friends who try to seem younger by dating children aside, we are, as the poet said "No Chickees of The Springe". So i feel its partially my duty as someone who's fingers are on the proverbial pulse of the proverbial artery, running through the proverbial neck of the actual nation, to educate my less hip friends as to whats what. Behold the Next Hey-Ya. The prancing pixie fellow is Mika, and the song is called GRACE KELLY. As far as I can figure Mika is celebrating the fact that he could either be Grace Kelly or Fred Mercury, and being bestowed with twigs and berries he chose the latter, much to our benefit. Enjoy it. Bounce to it. Create memories to it. I think it may be one of those songs.

The Chief Feels Good

Biongboing recently posted a link to this awesome memorial mashup by the organist at Trinity Wall Street church in NYC. It appears the very talented pipe organist joined "I feel Good" and "Hail to the Chief" in an awesome tribute to James Brown and Gerry Ford.