Leeches & Slugs

...Leeching a subject title off Wolfie...


This weekend, I heard someone on one of those sunday morning NPR programs say, if it wasn't for Bogie's freakout scene in African Queen,
leeches wouldn't have such a bad rap.


Maybe so, but you gotta love the Banana Slug.

Largest of all north american slugs, second largest slug in the world, the banana slug is always a welcome sight, on our redwood woodlands walks. One of my more funny embarrassing moments, was on a san mateo county coastal hike, from shore to ridgetop (west to east). Climbing the trail for a short while, we spied a fantastic specimum. It was a brilliant yellow and probably close to 6 inches in length. A great start to the trek. Moving onward and upward, another couple of hikers came around a bend, heading down the same trail. Of course, I exclaimed "watch for this one great banana slug, about 50 yards down from here!" They gave me this blank look. Barely even grunted. What's up with that? How could that be construed as me being a wise ass?

Well, it didn't take too long for us to figure out why the look. Another couple of yards up the trail, we entered...Banana Slug Central. Tens, hundreds, perhaps more. It was almost surreal. And funny. As David George Gordon says in his 'Field Guide to The Slug,' "To err is human; to slime, sublime."

The Banana Slug is the UC Santa Cruz mascot. It was even in the 'race' to become California's Official Mollusk, but the govenor squashed the slug plug. Maybe he was a Bogart fan....or anti-hermaphrodite?

Brought to you by the letter H: Heat, Hiking & House Concerts

HEAT

We are having perfect september weather here. Hot, clear, sunny, dry. Just in case it needs repeating: never vacation in Nor Cal in July/Aug. The best time is right now - Sept/Oct.

HIKING

Taking advantage of said beautious outdoor FX, Deb & I did a nice, brisk, 7.5mile hike in Point Reyes Sunday. The Estero Trail, to be specific. .

This trail is in the northern portion of the park, which also happens to be a Thule Elk preserve. And because we didn't bring our cameras, we came upon a small herd about 2 hours down the trail. Here's some pictures by a guy who did remember to bring a camera.

I am still a little sore today, but it's the good aching kind.



HOUSE CONCERTS

I've reconfigured, reconnected, reogranized and redecorated the living room in preparation of the relaunch of our house concerts. I've been meaning to do this forever and we're finally there. We may have Seana Carmody & band in on next Oct 1. Locals, stay tuned - as soon as I know if Seana has the date open, we'll send an announcement. You probably should email me if you're reading this and interested in being notified - seating is very limited.

It's not a big deal setup, but I think it should be fine for these little intimate shows. Mackie 24x8x2 mixing bd, DbX quad compressor, Lexicon mpx100, Yamaha rex50, Panasonic DATSV3800 Recorder & Sony DATMan, Event 20/20 monitors {the pa ;-)}, Shure mics SM58s (2), Sony stereo compressor mic. You're free to use the Roland KR575 full keyboard digital piano, spanish acoustic guitar (A. Burguett) & we can't forget the Mele concert ukulele.

The National Security Strategy of the United States - the document

Well, the White House has released the document that is supposed to clarify Bush's stance on Iraq, terror and any other perceived national threats. I've only begun to dip into it, but it's supposedly "written so the boys in Lubbock can read it". I guess that means I should be able to absorb, if not understand, it.

As one NY Times article states: "One of the most striking elements of the new strategy document is its insistence that the president has no intention of allowing any foreign power to catch up with the huge lead the United States has opened since the fall of the Soviet Union more than a decade ago.

We're not just taking about Iraq anymore (Al Qaeda? What's that? ans: ancient history). Any country. Forget North Korea and Cuba. What about somebody already with a degree of global power. Say...The People's Republic of China, for instance?

Oh well, enjoy yourself, it's later than you think. Much, much later.

You had to be there?
If you have to hang around an airport, waiting for a plane, it might as well be at Kona.

After checking the luggage, it occurred to one of my traveling companions, fellow Mensa reject "Leo", that perhaps a cool beverage in the airport lounge might be an good way to kill some time. After several, our senses developed an unique acuteness; an extra-ordinary sensory ability. We began to...notice things. Sure, this lounge had all the *normal* bar decor one comes to rely on, to get ones' bearings...in bars. An exit sign, for example. But we noticed there was something slightly different. A neon satori moment was in the offing.

"Holy boogie-boards, Leo. We're not in the Hawaiian Islands....we're in the...."
(click on thumbnail to find out where we really were) -------->

These things are important

Real SF indie kids, debating whether Interpol's bassist smoked a ciggie cooly at this weeks' Bottom of the Hill show:

Yes, he did:
"here's to lighting a cigarette mid-way through your last song, and smoking it cooly."

No, he didn't:
When the singer lit that cigarette, it had to be the phoniest, most intentional,
unnatural and pretentious gesture made in San Francisco since Badly Drawn
Boy posed during his songs (!) for photographers. He'd been practicing with
the cigarette in the mirror, I'm sure, but it wasn't working.

He did:
thats what made it so funny. its so obviously uncool its back to cool.
he was so unphased by the phoniness of it all.

He didn't:
the bass player did annoy the fuck out of me as well. it all seemed
so contrived. but i thought they sounded great.

Diplomatic:
i actually enjoyed the poseur-ness of the bass player--it was part of
the show. in fact, i *appreciate* the fact that they were damned
image conscious. but then again, it is very cool to make high fun
out of hyped bands who look nice; their music be damned.

Above it all:
What the fuck is up with this. Why are people ripping on there clothes
(gay ties?), lighting cigarettes while playing, posing for the
cameras, there stage performance being soulless? I didn't come there
to fucking rip on the guys at all, I came there to support a band
that had a great album and who would play for me for 8 bucks.

Way above it all, cause he's punk:
Lastly, the flood of posters fixating on clothes, lighting cigarettes and
generally ignoring the music cements my already known low opinion of
"indie rock." I'd much rather watch someone make noise and set their
clothes on fire than discuss what those clothes looked like before they
went up to/in smoke.

At least I'm not posting Deadhead Jokes....

...instead, a recent batch of Rock N Roll Senior Moments:

Herman's Hermits: "Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Walker"
The Rolling Stones: "You Can't Always Pee When You Want"
Credence Clearwater Revival: "Bad Prune Rising"
Marvin Gaye: "I Heard It Through the Grape Nuts"
The Who: "Talkin' Bout My Medication"
The Troggs: "Bald Thing"
Carly Simon: "You're So Varicose Vein"
The Bee Gees: "How Can You Mend a Broken Hip"
Roberta Flack: "The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face"
Johnny Nash: "I Can't See Clearly Now"
The Temptations: "Papa Got a Kidney Stone"
ABBA: "Denture Queen"
Leo Sayer: "You Make Me Feel Like Napping"
Commodores: "Once, Twice, Three Trips to the Bathroom"
Procol Harem: "A Whiter Shade of Hair"
The Beatles: "I Get By With a Little Help From Depends"

New Ron Sexsmith - "Cobblestone Runway" due out Sept 24

The following is lifted from ChartAttack (by the way, in hindsight, wasn't "Blue Boy" a major disappointment?)

Ron Sexsmith Trying To Be Like Dylan

Celebrating the release of his sixth album Cobblestone Runway on
September 24, Toronto-based singer/songwriter Ron Sexsmith is full of
anticipation. One of his most "contemporary albums" to date (this
coming from a dude championed by Elton John and covered by Rod
Stewart, both bludgeoned by the brick of Contemporary), Cobblestone
Runway finds Sexsmith even more contemplative than usual.

"I think this is a pretty mellow record," whispers the boy-faced
giant. "I was curious to see what a different producer might do with
this album and, overall, I think he was able to bring me more up to
date. I'm not a producer and I don't make retro albums, but you
think `Wow, I've made a hit record!' Then you listen to what's out
there and you're like, `Gee, I guess I didn't.'"

That "gee, I guess I didn't" has plagued Sexsmith since day one. Even
with credits such as those previously mentioned and a more rock-
influenced fifth album, Blue Boy, produced by Steve Earle, the man
has never been able to break into the commercial realm. He admits
that after almost two decades it kinda gets to ya.

"It's been bothering me that I've never been able to break radio.
Maybe this (album) won't either, but when I heard how it was turning
out, I thought it might be my best shot at having some kind of…
action. I've gone over with the maverick DJs, but never anything on
mainstream radio and that's where the general public learns about
music. They don't go looking for it. They're in their car listening
to E-Z radio and they don't really know what's out there."

Of course this isn't to say that Sexsmith doesn't enjoy his street-
level credibility. In fact, it's what keeps him going. The flood of
letters and emails help him acknowledge that his work is accepted.
But still, he admits that it would be nice to expand outside of cult
status sometime.

"There's a whole population out there that doesn't know I exist. I'm
prepared to never get past that though. I've had a pretty good
career. It's my sixth album, I tour, I play. That's great."

In keeping with his tradition of creating albums as a document,
Cobblestone Runway is a very simple affair, in that for all of his
talk about breaking through to the mainstream, Sexsmith admits that
its creation wasn't about building the Next Big Thing. Where many
artists whittle away years and thousands of dollars to create their
Piece De Resistance, Sexsmith is more grounded about the whole
affair. It's about giving the fans something to learn the words with…
nothing more.

"I can never see myself spending a year in the studio. I'm not
interested in that. An album is how you sound on that particular day.
It's not about spending time getting the definitive version. I'll
probably sing them better down the road. Some night in Pittsburgh
I'll sing the best version and no recorders will be around. You're
just trying to get this down on the tape the best way you can so
people can hear how they're supposed to go and move on. Dylan never
second-guessed himself. He made his albums and moved on. That's how
I'm trying to be."

Here we go again

This is the 3rd commenting service that has failed me. All in less than one month. Netcomments (blinked out without any notice), YACCS (didn't close, but won't take any more members, thank you) and now Haloscan (who seems to have vaporized yesterday). The last one wasn't very reliable, anyway. So now I'll take the lead from Mark&Marjorie and see if this Klink Family has any staying power.

And of course, all earlier comments are now bye-bye. I know all this is free, but it still sux...

I Like....To Hike

Silly post-hike musings are below, but they ought to be purged. Once the endorphins wore off, they didn't have much going for them.

Although I still kinda like the line "an industrial age in a skeleton..."

1.
Hiking begins like this:
In!
Out..........
In!

2.
Two-cycled combustion
an industrial age in a skeleton
steam, oily rags and no electricity.
Leashed dogs on the scent have never heaved
as furiously.

3.
An old rock, deep in eternal amusement,
decided to effectuate an ageless dream.
It is rich and well to have
the noble shining hiker
sit upon this suitably mossy site
and
seize
up.

The glory, the ease
I am
Plinth!

Jason Is Found

What a difference a day makes....
Sunday, not Saturday. D'uh.

Well, it was great to (finally) catch their show and to spend that quality barstool time with the curly and entertaining Jason NeSmith! Bryan Poole's new solo project, The Late B.P. Helium, has got more of the rock than Elf Power ever powered out. Apologies to Sofa for missing his show this eve - Jason comes through town just once in a blue moon.

Anyone from LA who is happening to read this, they say they're playing Silver Lake Lounge, Monday, sept 16.

Where's Jason?


So I went to Edinburgh Castle, here in SF, to see Jason NeSmith tonight. He called to say he'd be playing with Bryan Poole (aka Bryan Helium), bassist from Elf Power.

Well, I show up. I'm positive he said sept 14. I'm positive he said Edinburgh C. Only tonight's gig is "Pussylips." That's not exactly Jason.

It was spoken word, for a good cause. Breast cancer. Beth Lisick and a few others I didn't know. Beth, w/o her Ordeal; but she's always a pleasure, w/ or w/o the Ordeal. But I still gotta know, where's Jason??

Blocked Blogger Haiku

it can't be that hard
composing one pithy thought
one daily comment

Images....by Tyrone Green

Remember this? Now that's what I call poetry!

George Eliot (1819-1880)

George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Cross) once wrote:
"If we could hear the squirrel's heartbeat, the sound of the grass growing, we should die of that roar."

Makes me wonder what she'd think of the internet. And blogs.

A few other GE links:
Virginia Woolf on GE
George Eliot Fellowship
An Overview

Loser Of The Year: film director Rob Van Eyck

Peace

September is for Joan Osborne fans


If you agree Joan Osborne has a set of pipes that blow away most "divas," get ready for a big month.

She'll be on the Conan O'Brien Show, Wednesday 9.11; with backing from the Youthful Praise choir.
Could be just what the soul doctor prescribes, given this solemn anniversary date.

Next, her new album, "How Sweet It Is," is going to be released Sept 17. Tracks are *all* 60's/early70's classics. Check this out:
1. I'll Be Around
2. Think
3. How Sweet It Is
4. Smiling Faces Sometimes
5. Love's In Need Of Love Today
6. These Arms Of Mine
7. Only You Know And I Know
8. War
9. Why Can't We Live Together
10. Axis: Bold As Love
11. The Weight
12. Everybody Is A Star

I haven't heard any of it yet, but I have heard some of her songs from the film documentary on Motown's Funk Brothers, "Standing In The Shadows of Motown" and she is simply amazing on that.

The film is due for theatrical release Nov 15, but the soundtrack is coming out real soon: Sept 24.
Here's the track listing:
1. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave - Joan Osborne
2. You’ve Really Got A Hold On Me - Meshell Ndegeocello
3. Do You Love Me - Bootsy Collins
4. Bernadette (instrumental) - The Funk Brothers
5. Reach Out I’ll Be There - Gerald Levert
6. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg - Ben Harper
7. Shotgun - Gerald Levert featuring Tom Scott
8. What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted - Joan Osborne
9. I Heard It Through The Grapevine - Ben Harper
10. You Keep Me Hanging On (instrumental) - The Funk Brothers
11. Cool Jerk - Bootsy Collins
12. Cloud Nine - Meshell Ndegeocello
13. What’s Going On - Chaka Kahn
14. Band Introduction / Ain’t No Mountain High Enough - Chaka Kahn & Montell Jordan
15. The Flick - Earl Van Dyke

Go Joannie!!

Seems as if they're listening in:
Mon Sep 9, 5:13 PM ET
U.S. Forces Launch Big Operation in E.Afghanistan

2nd CD-r Comp Offer


In the time honored tradition of fiddling while Rome burns, how about another compilation offer? Same as last time, if you'd like a copy, just write me with your mailing address and I'll put one in the mail to you shortly.

This one I actually made up several years ago. It's called "Be Bop & Blew." A jazz set, which plays pretty well while sitting outdoors on a sunny sunday afternoon. We still play it quite often, so we must be having some pretty excellent weather, these days.

The tracks to "Be Bop & Blew":
1. Billie Holliday - Fine & Mellow (live, from Monterey Jazz Festival)
2. Count Basie - Blues Alley (mellow swing)
3. Duke Ellington - Limbo Jazz (another live track)
4. Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderely - The Masquerade Is Over
5. Mabel Mercer - I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore
6. Rod McKuen - I Dig Sausalito (he too confesses to listening to Mabel Mercer records)
7. D. Gillespie, S. Rollings & S. Stitt - After Hours (3 amazing horn players, round-robin-riffing)
8. Mavis Rivers & Shorty Roger - I Feel So Smoochie (see song questionnaire, from last week)
9. Dizzy Gillespie - Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (When Cadillacs roamed the earth)
10. Ahmad Jamal - Poinciana (a sublime version of this nugget)
11. Gil Evans - Where Flamingos Fly (mood indigo extraordinaire)
12. John Coltrane & Johnny Hartman - Lush Life (my favorite version of this song)
13. Abbey Lincoln - Live For Life

Do You Remember?

The week of remembrance is here. It began for us with two back-to-back 2hr sunday evening TV programs. An extended 60 Minutes and a Frontline focusing on the military and political machinations of the war in Afghanistan, so far.

One impression reinforced by both is the chapter on Osama Yo Mama and his Alley Qaedas is far from closed. Yet we don't hear the president mentioning their names very much anymore. He now has Iraq - a more conventional target - in his sites. For the crime of trying to import exotic aluminum pipes. Somewhere in this, doesn't justice come into the mix? 3000 lives, families and a nation have already been assaulted. How about finishing that job, Mr. Bush?

His war on the environment, the absence of an economic policy and now this Iraq mess...he's more, so much more, than even I worried he'd be.

Seana Carmody's 'Struts & Shocks'
www.kimcheerecords.com


"Struts & Shocks" is a well chosen title for this collection of songs. They are whispered teases and confidences. Scolds, observations and jokes. Bits of conversation between good friends and lovers, on the whys and hows of relationship.

They are not themed around car parts, although there's at least one auto allegory in here. Nor are these histronic, angst-driven, obvious narrations, like those we hear daily, from the purveyors of the monoculture. The listener is given license for interpretation.

Seana's lyrics reside just barely subsurface, as winks, nods and ah-sos. Nestled, garden potatoes. Carefully cultivated, yet fecund, ripe and natural. Yummy. So, although printing lyrics may be pretentious, I, for one, would like to read the full menu, you know? Maybe a website can deal with that shortly.

Always known for her spare and delicate vocals, I have to say her guitar playing has also never sounded better. Adam Brilla, bassist, also adds some expressive guitar work to several tracks. Orrin Anderson's drumming is tastefully deferential to the songs, with a standout Ringo moment, or two, on "Stay Awake," the final track.



Breaking down the tracks, I don't hear a throwaway in the lot. Besides, the whole disc is a short listen. Some songs are barely 2 minutes long. That usually reeks of short blasts of retro power pop - thankfully, that's not the case here. If the lyric is over, so is the song. I like that.

The first 4 songs are an impressive sequence of bad/good/bad/good relationship tunes. "Rocket Out Of Time" uses a shimmering guitar and schoobie doobie wah wah chorus to give lift to a song that may be about clueing in a jilted, slightly tipsy, ex-lover. Like speaking to an indie stanley kowlawski, wailing 'why me?' in the snow out on your front sidewalk. Next up are "Mighty Bull" (with a great lazy guitar reprise, closing this gem) and "Tailgate" (uh-huh, car). My current favorite, "Sidewalk," follows. What a nice whoozy, summer-spacey, walking-around-in-love sorta song. How can you deny a line like: "Give me a secret, from your mouth to mine?"

"I Can Troll" (I can troll, I control) is a short tune, followed by yet another shortie - "Lazy Island." 'See the lazy island, where nobody's free.' Like reggae pop, the lyrics swim counter to the melodic current. Next up is "Tornadoes." Starting-out like some sort of soft acoustic madrigal heard in a late-night bodega, it ultimately crescendos into a gothic spire of near Procol Harum dizziness. Gaudi-esque? si! Her SyrupUSA phase is most noticable here.

"Deirdre" is a soft plea and firmly in Lee Hazzelwood territory. "Smoking In The Dark," fading in a bowl of FX, is followed by a wonderful closing track. "Stay Awake" is all too much & tomorrow never knows, confidently in the Beatle key. Whereas those guys once erected dayglo billboards for the masses, here Seana seems to be quietly speaking a similar message of optimisum, of self preservation, to just one listener. A plea not to fade away. Whether it's about a relationship, or a suggestion, an insistence, on life, this is a song you could play to your chemically impaired acquaintences. Or, maybe it's just about staying up real late.

Seana and band have clearly been working on their suspension. This ride is smooth, comfy and satisfying.
d

Comment on Commenting

Well it looks like Haloscan is sort of working again. But definitely not fully operational. I can comment on some messages, but not on others. Oh well, one thing that remains consistent - I sure know how to pick the winner dotcoms...

And Patricia, since I can't seem to use the comments to answer you, I'll do it here:
I hear you - your point is very well taken. I guess I think of myself as such a guy, if *I* like something, I assume the zeitgeist is going to classify it as boneheaded guy stuff. But I do hope everyone will appreciate my upcoming "Mullets Are In Again!" tribute page! ;-)

deano

Back from a long weekend

Got back from Hawaii last evening - great time. The Kilauea Pu'u O'o lava flow has reached the beach!

Maybe more on Hawaii later, but first I see Haloscan, the 'comments' server I'm using here, experienced a series of Denial Of Service attacks over the long weekend. Sorry about that...

deano

That Song Survey


You know, 'which song reminds you of...?' Here's one that recently hit my in box, with my responses. Give it a try - answers are considered subject to daily change, so we won't hold you too accountable for your choices...

Reminds you of an ex-friend: Empty Sky - Bruce Springsteen
(the term 'ex-friend' is open to interpretation)

Reminds you of your childhood: I've Been Lonely Too Long - The Young Rascals

Makes you cry: Free As A Bird - The Threetles

Makes you laugh: It's Been A Great 3 or 4 Years - My Morning Jacket

Makes you wanna dance: Sylvie - St. Etienne

Reminds you of the one you want: Hearts On Fire - Gram Parsons & Emmy Lou Harris

Reminds you of an ex-love: Tiny Dancer- Elton John
(I have to go pretty far back in time to get to the ex-loves!)

Makes you very, very sleepy: Through The Hill - Andy Partridge

You wish you wrote: Reckless Burning - Jesse Sykes

You wish had been written for you: I Feel So Smoochie - Mavis Rivers

Fills you with complete joy: I Hate Hate - Cornelius

You never want to hear again: Candle in the Wind - Elton John

You want to get married to: Love - John Lennon
(I'll settle for a renewing vows ceremony)

You want played at your funeral: Why Me - Kris Kristofferson

Makes you want to mosh/slam dance: Rape Me - Nirvana

Sums up your teenage years: Something In The Air - Thunderclap Newman

You used to hate but now love: I'm been stuck on this one!

You like to wake up to: New Morning - Bob Dylan

You like out of your parents record collection: South Pacific s/t

Your parents like out of your collection: Probably the John Denver tribute cd - Take Me Home

You love that you wouldn't know about if it wasn't for a friend: Wild Life- Papas Fritas

You think of someone who died: Hear Me Lord - George Harrison

You love the video more than the tune: A Little Less Conversation - Elvis vs JXL

Reminds you of your first crush: Different Drum - Stone Ponies

You love which is from one of your favourite movies: Serenade For Winds - Mozart (fr. Amadeus)

Makes you think of the moon: Blue Glasses - Smokey & Miho

Makes you think of sex: Miss Riddle - Boz Scaggs

Makes you think of being alone: anything from Red House Painters

You love to hear at clubs: dj cheb i sabbah (i prefer the chill rooms)

This site is so macho!

Motorcycles, Hot Lava, Elvis, er, another Elvis...
Need to work on...balance. Maybe too much testosterone.

So, how about something, for the laydeez?

Elvis vs. JXL


If you watched any of the World Cup, you're already familiar with "A Little Less Conversation, Elvis vs JXL" (a remix of a Presley song, by Junkie XL). I guess it's a commercial now (by Nike), so the song is rapidly becoming something else entirely. But, the video...that still stands. I like it. Want to see it?

Should I buy a Bonnie?


My buddy in blogness, Mikey today mentions VW is bringing back the Microbus. To which I say, okaaay....but what's really beehiving my hairdo is the news that Triumph is recreating the classic Bonneville! The motorcycle that nearly did in Bob Dylan.

I haven't mentioned this news to Deb yet, but I think I'm due for yet another mid-life (we don't use the word crisis...we prefer) indulgence. It's cheap too: only about 7K! And good for the environment. Anything else?

I don't wanna pickle,
jus wanna ride on my motorsickle.
and I don' wanna don' wanna tickle,
jus wanna ride on my motorsickle.
and I don' wanna die...
just wanna ride on my motor....
...cy
...kul
(good ol' arlo gutherie)

Hot Lava

Here's one of my real all-time favorite websites. I go back to it often & it rarely fails to make me go "oooooh."

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatories Kilauea Update page. One of nature's amazing displays of power and beauty - come out and see it with us sometime!

We love the big island! And now, here's the information section of this installment:

The Hawaiian islands owe their existence to a "hot spot" - a large stationary magma concentration in the mantle - that has changed location only slightly over the past 70 million years. This hot spot is now located beneath the southeastern part of Hawai`i. Let's just rename said 'hot spot' "Pele" and be done with it! Here's an interesting picture of the long trail of islands and marine seamounts created by Pele:

More on Pele's Sisters, the earth's hot spots:

A little bit more on Pele (full name: Pelehonuamea) herself (from a Kona Coffee site - the best coffee on the planet!!). And finally, a synopsis of the epic poem of Pele, Holo Mai Pele

Aloha nui loa,
deano

Revisiting Elvis Costello's "When I Was Cruel"

I've been taking flak from "some people" (ahem), due to my negative opinion of Elvis Costello latest 'comeback' album: When I Was Cruel. Je me tiens accusé of dismissing it "on principle." Whoah. Being principled is too close to being predictable, in my book. So I decided I'd better sit myself down and make another attempt to hear the album - as George Michaels said - without prejudice. And I did, last evening. Here's my revisitation review. I tried to be objective. Honestly! After all, I was, I am, a fan.

I think I know why I had an earlier problem with the CD. I was letting the stinky songs dominate my opinion. I couldn't hear anything else. And for sure, there are some huge dumps on this one: Soul For Hire, Spooky Girlfriend, the title song, My Little Blue Window and worst of all, Dissolve. They all suffer from a sense of EC trying too hard to live up to his Clever Songwriter Role. Either they're too fussy, too busy, or they're simply silly.

* Dissolve: Obvious lyrical metaphors. Very unbecoming. Is it a protest song? A breakup song? I see EC at his breakfast table, dropping a tablet of sugar into his cup and going 'oooh, dissolve...like dissolving relationships.' The dissonant repetitive chord thing is trite. The huffing on the harmonica sounds like something I would do at karaoke. Yikes all around.

* My LIttle Blue Window: The verse melody echoes earlier EC; Blue Chair, maybe. The chorus is an entirely another matter. Horrid. Lyrically, there's an implication that he is aware of his listening audience. How we wait to hear him spout poetry and wisdom (we do / we did). Perhaps there's also something about him confessing not being able to bring the tune-smithing like he used to. Is he asking someone to take over; pick up the baton? Or is he saying he's counting on us to help him let him know what he's doing wrong? Either way, it comes across as a voice from above, talking down to the unwashed, the unclever.

* Soul For Hire: Musically, an attempt at atypical instrumentation, sounds and time signature. But as with too many of the songs on the disc, the vocal dominates the mix. The music is too oppressed, by the words. But that's a secondary peeve. The primary is this songs' subject: jaded jurisprudence? Wha? Why? Eh?

* Spooky Girlfriend: Yuck. Hate it. Any wonder why Kate is 'Of The Antarctic?' Shane MacGowan's auto-bio has some interesting perspectives on ol' EC, the ladies man.

* When I Was Cruel: Like Soul For Hire, this is a passionless morality play. The music bores me and the lauded-in-the-press ('so modern, so Naughts') repetitive sample tells me rock critics need to listen to more of todays' musicians. They'd be amazed by the likes of Cornelius, Enon, DJ QBert, Dan The Automator, etc, etc.


OK, breathe. Don't get mad at me. Next up are some of the things I like about the album!


* 45: almost a showcase for why Bruce Thomas is no longer here. The song fade is the best part of this song.

* Dust 2... ....Dust: Cute titling, looks good on the jacket and liner notes. Musically, I think I prefer ...Dust, over Dust 2... Lyrically-speaking, it goes along really well until we hit the Juggernaut part. Loose that verse and it's the standout track(s) on the album. Also his vocals are more natural. He sounds best when he isn't wearing his 'I Am A Singer' hat.

* Daddy Can I Turn This?: Blood & Chocolate-esque, EC's guitar playing borrowed from electric Neil Young; both good things. I think I'd like it even more if the band became totally unhinged. Tear it up. But that middle eight about the flashing lights seems orphaned. Otherwise, no prob.


In the 'mixed reviews' category:


* Tart: I was really enjoying the lyrical visuals of fruit in spanish gutters, but EC vocals get sort of whacked on this one. Nieve's keyboards open it nicely, but he leaves the studio during the verses. A little piano intermezzo would be welcome. Throughout this record, EC seems hesitant to let the band help him carry the weight.

* Alibi: Clever lyrics, but musically, this sounds like a tiny snippet, an afterthought, from Brutal Youth. This one would be as interesting to me as a spoken word piece.

* 15 Petals: The drums, bass and keys get a nice percolating syncopation going. Then, then, EC adds...a horn arrangement. The bubbling becomes bumbling. It turns the streamlined silverliner into something like a runaway gypsy wagon. But the scene is a hollywood version - you see the rails beneath the wagon. The wagon isn't really out of control, kids. Don't worry, everyone will be safe, by commercial. Enough! Roy Nathanson is right there, playing on this; I'll bet this could have been another song entirely if a horn man was allowed to do his thing. Lyrically, my first thought was 'cheapskate!' She oughta leave the deadbeat. But I've misunderstood lots of EC's lyrics in the past, so maybe I am again.

* Tear Off Your Own Head: Like Tart, I was merrily enjoying the Revolver-esque ride, listening to nice womanly empowering sentiments, using puppets and dolls very suitably. So why does he have to dumb it down with "You could make somebody a pretty little wife, But don't let anybody tell you how to live your life." Sheesh, uh yeah, EC, we got the message. To answer his much-older question: no, you don't need to draw us a diagram.

* Episode of Blonde: Maybe more here than meets the eye. Which is risky business for me and I'm glad Mr. Costello can still make me feel slightly uncomfortable. However, it also might not be that dangerous and therefore it gets a mixed review placement. I know, I'm not being specific in my distaste..probably not fair...I'm far from perfect....

* Radio Silence: This should have been *The Song.* It's clearly echoing and updating the sentiments within the once monster 'Radio Radio.' Not only has radio died, it's not even human anymore. Why not another call to arms? EC, lead us to the walls of Jericho and a mighty horn we shall blow. But....oops, he forgot to bring it. His vocal is sing-songy and there's barely a melody here, let alone a marching anthem. Maybe that's the point - 'signal fading, listen to what I'm saying.' It's too late to rush the radio ramparts. Guess EC is already past the point of no return. Also, how much of the songs' sentiment is "Play Me" and not "Play Some Real Music." In Radio Radio, he was saying kinda the same double message; only then he was making real music. The two requests were interchangable. Interesting that now there seems to be a distinction. He says, 'From this distance, it's hard to tell the difference between a poet and a hack.' And the furthest distance is the one pointing inward....eh?


All in all, not a record I will listen to in the PM. Maybe in the morning, while I'm still trying to sort of what's going on with the day. There are no answers on 'Cruella,' but confusion is well served.
dmmm

"Beat Gecko" CD-r compilation offer

Here's a CD-r compiliation I just burned. I think it came out decent.
Write me if you'd like a copy.
It ends with a bunch of covers, so it has some singalongability.

1. KINKY - Ejercicio # 16
2. CORNERSHOP - The London Radar
3. ENON - Biofeedback
4. MATES OF STATE - Hoarding It For Home
5. FAUNA FLASH - Mother Nature
6. JAMES HARDWAY - Speak Softly
7. SMOKEY & MIHO - Blue Glasses
8. PETTY BOOKA - Bla Bla Bla Cha Cha Cha
9. GAULOISE - Gauloise
10. PRINCESS SUPERSTAR - Bad Babysitter
11. CORDUROY - Motorhead
12. I AM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER - The Postcard
13. CHATEAU FLIGHT - Lola Rastaquooere (serge gainsbourg cover)
14. KARMACODA - Free To Be
15. CAPSULE - On A Plane (nirvana cover)
16. STORM INC - Rape Me (another nirvana cover)
17. JOHN B. STROHM - Nobody Wins (kris kristofferson cover)
18. ANN MAGNUSON - Moonage Daydream (bowie cover)