Category: music

always saturday

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Waterfall pavement shimmering Sunshine washes everything A basket of light, I am trusting To water the lawn is a wondrous thing If I could have it this way I know I’d I’d wanna live where it’s like today I’d wanna live where it’s always this way I wanna live where it’s always Saturday A chorus […]

Waterfall pavement shimmering
Sunshine washes everything
A basket of light, I am trusting
To water the lawn is a wondrous thing

If I could have it this way I know I’d
I’d wanna live where it’s like today
I’d wanna live where it’s always this way
I wanna live where it’s always Saturday

A chorus of laughter fills the air
Everyone’s going everywhere
So many choices it’s not fair
I hop in the car and I just sit there

I don’t need, need to think about how much I
I wanna live where it’s all the same
I wanna live where it’s all just like today
I wanna live where it’s always Saturday

In the shops are shining things
I can I can see them glittering
I wish that I could buy them all
I wish I lived in a shopping mall

Shady back yard afternoon
Summer clothes and tennis shoes
When the light begins to fade
A porch swing creaks with lemonade…

A shower of whispers glow and bloom
Late night movie fills the room
Streetlights twinkling like dew
I close my eyes, it ends too soon

All in dreams, I can dream now oh how I
I wanna live where it’s like today
I wanna live where it’s always this way
I wanna live where it’s always Saturday

—Always Saturday, Guadalcanal Diary

Get the actual song here – thanks to Gregg!

Hurts like Teen Spirit

elvis4 Comments

This gives me fuckin’ chills. Hurts like Teen Spirit A brilliant, absolutely brilliant mash of Johnny Cash vs Nirvana vs Blue Oyster Cult vs New Order by DJ Dangerous Orange; you can get the track here. That Johhny Cash song seeps into my skull anyway and I walk around knowing exactly what he’s talkin’ about. […]

This gives me fuckin’ chills.

Hurts like Teen Spirit

A brilliant, absolutely brilliant mash of Johnny Cash vs Nirvana vs Blue Oyster Cult vs New Order by DJ Dangerous Orange; you can get the track here.

That Johhny Cash song seeps into my skull anyway and I walk around knowing exactly what he’s talkin’ about. The fact that this mashup maintains that feeling impresses the hell out of me.

Props to my man Art at Mashuptown – I’ve been neglecting his site and have found a treasure trove of tracks I’ve not heard. As usual he’s got nuthin’ but the finest mash. Give ‘im a Hell Yeah for me.

Tremulous Antenna

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I just picked up another of those wonderful BBC live recordings. Though if you’re not a Be-Bop Deluxe fan, this won’t be that interesting. I’m a huge Fan – Be Bop Deluxe is just about my favorite band of all time; I think Bill Nelson’s a brilliant writer, a brilliant lyricist, and of course, a […]

I just picked up another of those wonderful BBC live recordings. Though if you’re not a Be-Bop Deluxe fan, this won’t be that interesting.

I’m a huge Fan – Be Bop Deluxe is just about my favorite band of all time; I think Bill Nelson’s a brilliant writer, a brilliant lyricist, and of course, a true guitar hero.

Of all the bands out there I wish I’d had a chance to see, they’re at the top of the stack, behind only possibly XTC. So these live recordings are like unwrapping forgotten xmas gifts.

Thus i give you Tremulous Antenna, a live recording from (I think) 1976.

It’s a stripped down version of BBD, without the heavy layer of production they often had in the studio; and unlike their classic Live in the Air Age, it covers most of BBD’s lifespan, with songs like Third Floor Heaven from Axe Victim, all the way up to Superenigmatix from Drastic Plastic.

It’s got some of Bill’s best guitar playing from the era, from when Bill was still willing to play guitar hero; it’s got a band where you can actually hear Charlie Tumahai’s bass playing, and better yet, his backing vocals, which never seemed to make it onto the studio albums.

There are some down sides; it’s a BBC studio recording so sometimes it’s sonically imperfect, and worse, Andrew Clark’s keyboards sound incredibly dated, a tweaky synth sound that was fresh and cool in ’76 but which sounds a bit like a toy keyboard today. Yet one has to remember the era and the limited options available to a keyboard guy who didn’t want to travel with a truckload of gear ala Rick Wakeman.

I’m a completist type, though, so for me this is a must-have (And yes, I know this is a re-release of a slightly older disc called ‘Radioland‘; this is re-mastered, sounds vastly better and has MUCH cooler packaging, so it’s the one to buy.)

And because I love you all, samples are here.

Elvis was a Spy

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Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, and I wish I could find the whole lyric to Elvis Was a Spy by the Frontier fuckin’ Wives, one of my favorite bands ever. Best I can do is to say here’s the song (this was broken when I uploaded it in aac/m4a, I just changed […]

Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, and I wish I could find the whole lyric to Elvis Was a Spy by the Frontier fuckin’ Wives, one of my favorite bands ever.

Best I can do is to say here’s the song (this was broken when I uploaded it in aac/m4a, I just changed it to mp3 so it should play now).

Elvis was a spy
And he died on his bathroom floor with his pants at his ankles
Poisoned by the russians ’cause he took all thier girls
and left them at home with nuthin’

My pal Lex was in that band, and in the heyday of San Jose’s 80’s music scene, they were the band. The one everyone wanted to play with, hang with, be friends with. The tiny recorded output does them no justice, they were awesome, yet as with so many, missed the window, burning out just before the record companies looked to the bay area and found acts like green day, primus, smashmouth, etc.

I miss ’em.

Rock Star 6767

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If you’re as hooked on Rock Star as I am, you should follow Big Dave Navarro’s blog, 6767. He’s got some commentary going that’s dead on about the issues with this season (though i think he’s still holding back a bit, you can tell by his body language that he’s frustrated with things, i think […]

If you’re as hooked on Rock Star as I am, you should follow Big Dave Navarro’s blog, 6767. He’s got some commentary going that’s dead on about the issues with this season (though i think he’s still holding back a bit, you can tell by his body language that he’s frustrated with things, i think much more than he says).

I keep meaning to post a summary on this show, both what I’m likin’ and my frustrations, but as usual, I can’t seen to line up the time and the inspiration together, they’re on opposite ends of the wheel. It’s been like that now for a good couple months, time and inspiration chasing each other around the tree. If they get faster maybe they’ll turn into butter.

Kick In the Eye

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And he spoke of pastures green
I was never told why
Each journey lasts an age
And my throat feels dry
It must be the lesson
Hidden deep inside
It must be the lesson
So roll the tide

So I began the crossing
My throat burned dry
Searching for Satori
The kick in the eye
I am the end of reproduction
Given no direction
Every care is taken
In my rejection

Kick in the eye

Every care is taken
With my rejection
And my abduction
To my addiction
Every care is taken
With my protection
And my abduction
From my addiction

Kick in the eye

-Bauhaus, Kick in the Eye

I wish I had something meaningful to follow that up with, or some meaningful reason to post it, but the truth is that I was looking for a line about a poke in the eye and wound up on this instead.

And I was looking for that only because I feel like I’ve had the classic poke in the eye with a sharp stick. I’ve got that walked into a door look going . And the worst part is, I have no idea what I did to my eye. I’d rather have a punch to make the story good, show you the skinned knuckles to go with it.

Grumble. I need an icepack. And a long island ice tea, while I’m at it.

Rockstar – thy name is mediocrity

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I’ve said before – i loved rockstar: inxs. But so far, I’m not loving rockstar: prefabSuperGroup. I loved rs:insx because – well, because of the guys in inxs. Gary Beers, the various and sundry Farriss brothers, the odd but talented Kirk Pengilly. This was a big deal to them, finding a singer. And not just […]

I’ve said before – i loved rockstar: inxs.

But so far, I’m not loving rockstar: prefabSuperGroup.

I loved rs:insx because – well, because of the guys in inxs. Gary Beers, the various and sundry Farriss brothers, the odd but talented Kirk Pengilly. This was a big deal to them, finding a singer. And not just a singer, a singer who had to fill some big fucking shoes without replacing the original guy.

That produced a sense of drama. There was a sad story beneath it all.

And then there were the singers; right from the start there was a deep pool of talent. JD, Mig, Marty, Sweet Susie McNeil; Jordis and Ty and Deanna. Ok, sure, there were some who were over thier heads, but there was a lot of talent, I mean al lot. Any of those people could have won, if not this, than something.

And I look at this installment, and see… Nothing.

Now, we have to take away the band factor. It makes a difference, but you can’t make another rs:inxs. But it’s the talent that troubles me. There’s one person who’s wowed me, Dilana Robichaux. She’s awesome. And after her there’s – a pool of mediocrity. Jill Gioia’s adorable, but average, Storm Large looked great in week one but ordinary in week two. Patrice Pike was boring the first go-round, though much better in week two. Lukas Rossi, who needs to lay off the foundation, has real talent and might be a dark horse.

The rest – range from forgetably mediocre to absolutely awful. I’m wondering how most of these people even got to the final, when some of ’em can’t seem to even carry a tune.

I’m wondering why the talent pool for this edition is smaller. That’s not how this should work.

I imagine I’ll keep watching. The house band simply smokes, i like Dave Navarro (though he’s getting a little too adorable for his own good), and the less Brooke Burke wears, the better I like her. And I want to hear Dilana sing more.

But it ain’t what I hoped. Where’s the fuckin’ talent, people?

Sleepin’ with Keith

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This is why I love Keith Richards (other than his obvious good taste in jewelry). On being woken up after brain surgery:      “I was pissed off when they woke me up because I was in such a good sleep.” Keith. Dude. I understand. Some days, a coma sounds fuckin’ grand.

This is why I love Keith Richards (other than his obvious good taste in jewelry).

On being woken up after brain surgery:

     “I was pissed off when they woke me up because I was in such a good sleep.”

Keith. Dude. I understand. Some days, a coma sounds fuckin’ grand.

Rock Star: Supernova

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I can’t help it. I’m already hooked. Rock Star: Supernova I watched the first one – and cared – because it was INXS and they had a back-story. A tragic, sordid death, a band trying to come back from oblivion. But I kept watching it because it was just good. Better than it got credit […]

I can’t help it. I’m already hooked.

Rock Star: Supernova

I watched the first one – and cared – because it was INXS and they had a back-story. A tragic, sordid death, a band trying to come back from oblivion.

But I kept watching it because it was just good. Better than it got credit for. It was well done, the house band was amazing, the performances, most of them, were good. Some of them were amazing. And the guy who won, JD Fortune, was exactly the right guy for the job.

But I figured, they can’t do it again. Not without INXS, who made it work. Not the band, but the people. They gave it soul.

But now, I’m watching the new one. With a pre-fab heavy metal supergroup called ‘Supernova’; Tommy Lee of The Crüe, Jason Newsted from Metalica, and Gilby Clarke from GnR.

And I’m thinking, wow, there went the soul.

And yet, I’m already hooked, after one episode. Even though only three or four of the performers were worth a damn; even though very little was really even memorable. I’m still hooked.

I can’t help it. And you know, I admit it, I’ve got a weak spot for Tommy Lee. maybe it’s just cause he looks like my buddy Lex, but something just makes me like the guy.

Anyone wanna make some bets on who’s makin’ it down to the final? Right now my picks are Dilana, Storm and the simply adorable Jill. And yeah, I’m bettin’ they go with a girl. But only if she’ll do triple penetration.