Talking Turkey
Global-A-Go-Go is featuring a bunch or rare Turkish CDs this week. Be sure to tune in this Friday from 5-7pm. If you can’t tune in, Bill usually posts the tracks from his show on Radio4All.
Until tomorrow evening, check out the final 10 minutes of this Turkish adaptation of Star Wars. Definitely one of the best foreign language, kung-fu, science fiction adaptations ever.
Geek Rock
I’ve been going through some new releases and have found some nice example of geek rock. Need some tunes to listen to while sorting your Magic The Gathering cards or debugging your app? Try these out.
Witch’s Hat - Huzzah!
I originally got this CD from a friend and promptly ignored it. However, after a post about this track on I Rock Cleveland, I checked it out. Suddenly, I couldn’t stop playing this dragon slayer of a song over and over again.
Dan Deacon - Crystal Cat
Dan Deacon has gotten numerous kudos for his latest record Spiderman Of The Rings. However, this video takes the danceable single from that record to a new level. Warning - may cause seizures.
For more Dan Deacon goodness, check out this early performance that was done on a morning program in Savannah, Georgia. If you look in the lower corner of the screen, you can see the time (5:54 am). While it’s not as compelling a song as Crystal Cat, I enjoy the idea of early morning TV viewers giving a collective “WTF?”
And check out the cables on that rig! Respect!
May was New Zealand Music Month
I was reading about Sir. Edmund Hillary’s birthday on Wired, when I stumbled on a New Zealand History site. Along with articles on Sir Edmund and Radiant Living, there was a fantastic series on New Zealand Music Month. I’m a sucker for all things from New Zealand, so I cruised around for articles on New Zealand’s pop music.
There’s tons of information on New Zealand Music, but my two favorites have to be Poi-E and Ray Columbus’s Invaders.
Poi-E
In the early 80’s a linguist came up with the idea of writing a song promoting the Maori language. The fruit of this concept was a song with a dance beat sung by a Maori chorus. There’s something very charming about the Polynesian singing set to synths and Linn drums - the song just makes me happy.
She’s A Mod
This other song was a number one hit in New Zealand not once but three times. The original hit number one in the 60’s and 80’s while a hip-hop version also hit number one in the Kiwi charts. With groovy lyrics and infectious beat what could top this song? Why, the dancing of course. But whatever is the bass player doing up there?
It’s good to be back….I think
After a few sessions of snarling at MySQL and my service provider, the site is back and healthy with the latest version of WordPress and considerably more capacity. There are still a few snags - I’m not positive that the database upgrade took. My categories are a little Katty-Wumpus. No problem though - I’ve picked up some very nice Wordpress books from APress. They had a very nice table at the AJAX conference that I went to last fall.
When Network News Attacks
I’ve been following the Columbia Journalism Review’s blog recently and picked up some good articles from them. This week is a doozy about fear mongering on morning news shows called Could You Spontaneously Combust During Sex? Not sure, but you could be burned during a surgery! Well, your chances of being burned while in an operating theater are 1 in 2.25 million - about one eighth your chance of being struck by lightning. The article then goes on to list actual stories from morning news shows including “Danger at the Wheel: How Safe is Your Carpool?” and “Addiction to Psychics”. Now, I cannot watch network news without a strong desire to either turn the channel or gnaw off my own arm. With all of the potentially useful things people could learn from television, it’s pathetic that this is what the networks run.
The Way Carbon Leaf Sees It On My Coffee
It’s no secret that I like the coffee and sink an inordinate amount of cash into the Starbucks near work. As I was finishing off my usual (a double tall latte - in case anyone’s buying), I noticed that the quote on the cup was from Carbon Leaf’s Barry Privett. I slid down the sleeve and read it - something about pain and adulthood. Intrigued, I decided to go to the section of Starbuck’s website that deals with the quotes on their cups - The Way I See It.
I guess Privett is on the cup since Carbon Leaf is in rotation on Starbuck’s XM Channel. The featured authors and contributors pages on Starbucks site contain mostly folks in literature rather than rock. You can read up on a couple of the authors if you feel inclinded. Most interestingly, people actually leave comments on the quotes and even leave their own quotes for consideration. Yep, people read something on the side of a coffee cup that urges them to respond. Of course, what’s sillier than going to Starbucks to comment on their coffee cups? Blogging about their coffee cups? Busted!
Southern Lord In The New York Times
Heavy Doom Metal label Southern Lord was featured in the New York Times this Sunday. For music that generally thought of as dark and inacessible, it’s some pretty good press coverage in a major media outlet. While not for everyone, Southern Lord is certainly putting out some of the most original music out there today. I have to admit that I’ve been captivated by Sunn 0)))’s and Boris’s latest releases. Nothing makes me happier after a long day at work then wave after wave of guitar distortion.
EHarmony Thinks I’m Special
Did you know that eHarmony cannot find a match for 1-in-5 profiles? And how would I know?
Killing time at lunch, I filled out my eHarmony profile and got back a very detailed relationship summary. I also was told that I was out of luck - I’m too difficult to match. Of course, the profile is free, so I’m not out any cash.
I’m not surprised to find out that I’m an extra special person. In fact, I like the idea of being incalcuable. That being said, the profile has some good insights. I had a friend read it and they agreed with most of it. You also get a relationship profile for an ideal partner looks like.
I guess I just need to spend more time in bars.
Art Brut Makes Me Want to Rock Out
After weighing our options between Essex Green at the Black Cat and Art Brut at the Satellite Ballroom, Michael and I headed up to Charlottesville to see Art Brut. He took a little convincing - a video of Bang Bang Rock and Roll didn’t appeal to him. However, after reading numerous positive live reviews, I became convinced that Art Brut was the act to see. I so like it when I turn out to be right.
Forgetting how short the drive is between Richmond and Charlottesville, Michael and I got there way too early. We hit the corner, settling in at Michael’s Bistro and Taphouse. We got generally ignored by the waitstaff, but managed to get a couple of beers and a hummus platter. Oh, how the waitpersons of Richmond have spoiled me!
We got to the Satellite ballroom in time to catch the start of Robocop Kraus. These German punkers pounded out some good old style punk-wave with the lead singer working hard to win over the small audience. I don’t ask too much more of an opening band than to play with heart and warm up the crowd. Robocop Kraus delivered on that mission and had a few good songs to boot. Eddie Argos and a couple of other members of Art Brut watched Robocop Kraus play; given that they’ve been playing together on most of Art Brut’s tour of the US, that’s a high compliment in itself. In fact, Argos seemed pretty comfortable with the small crowd, even hanging out in the alley next to the club for a smoke.
I’m not sure I can add much to others’ reviews of Art Brut. They’re louder and saucier live. The band, particulary the drummer, play like they’re on fire. Eddie Argos manages to be non-chalant and a showman at the same time, singing slightly hunched over the mike in his hand, then leaping around the stage then into the crowd. Argos even managed some rock kicks of nearly Pollardian proportions. Poppier songs from the record, like Moving to L.A. and My Little Brother, took on a punk rock stomp while the rocking tracks were turned up all the way to 11. The new songs sound good, but the ones from Bang Bang, Rock ‘N Roll remain classic. I guess the only thing I’d add is that Art Brut still gave their all for the small C’ville crowd. If the band wasn’t going full tilt, then folks in New York will need helmets for their Bowery Ballroom shows.
WRIR Fundraiser
The thank you cards from my birthday have been sent. My cars been inspected. I’ve been to the dentist and the doctor in the last month. Now, to complicate things further, WRIR is holding its third fundraiser. I’m taking a breather from last year when I managed two days as well as doing my show and updating the website. This year, I’m poking around the website, covering the phones on Sunday and spinning on Saturday. No taking days off of work so I can…work.
This year’s fundraiser does have some particularly colorful t-shirts. Other than that, I’ve been locked up in the west end, programming in Microsoft Word and some modeling tools. But the little station seems to be plugging along its manner.
