February 07, 2010
February 04, 2010
A Flying Saucer Creature Named Zog
From Vonnegut's Breakfast of Champions (1973):
"...A flying saucer creature named Zog arrived on earth to explain how wars could be prevented, and how cancer could be cured. Zog brought the information from Margo, a planet where the natives conversed by means of farting and tap-dancing. Zog landed at night in Connecticut. He had no sooner touched down than he saw a house on fire. He rushed into the house, farting and tap-dancing, warning people about the terrible danger they were in. The head of the house brained him with a golf-club..."
January 24, 2010
January 17, 2010
January 11, 2010
Fan Mail
So, I was having this lighthearted Facebook conversation with some old friends about a Chicago radio station. (click to enlarge)
Based upon the content of that thread, I was contacted privately by an old girlfriend whom I have neither seen nor spoken with in nearly 20 years. To be fair, this ex-girlfriend had contributed to this thread, but her posts don't appear because they vanished after she blocked me or whatever. Judge for yourself.
HER: "So, I see you haven't changed at all."
ME: "How so?"
HER: "You still look down on others (or at least seem to) in situations that do not call for it. It's tiresome, and I've seen it since high school. I expected that you would have grown up a little more by now."
ME: "What a cranky, unqualified message. You're coming out of the blue to attack me based solely on how you are interpreting a stupid Facebook thread when viewed through your 20-YEAR OLD (!!!) lens, lady. Lighten up and leave me alone."
HER: "No problem, Old Man. Have fun on your high horse! You will not hear from me again."
ME: "Fuck you."
January 10, 2010
January 03, 2010
December 27, 2009
December 20, 2009
Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World - Ep. 11: Dragons, Dinosaurs And Giant Snakes
This one cuts off a little abruptly, most likely caused by that dinosaur hunter's weird-ass wig.
December 13, 2009
December 07, 2009
Screwed By Grunge!
This playlist is the necessary product of two conversations I recently had with a couple of devoted music fans who are at least ten years younger than myself. For them, Nirvana (and Kurt Cobain in particular) represents the absolute best music of the 90s and possibly all time. History is written by the winners. I get it. But, man, oh, man, did I ever hate that whole grunge thing! My main gripe was that, in addition to much of the Seattle sound being comparatively dull, despondent and poorly produced, there was a steady stream of cool music coming out of England at the very same time. The British bands were employing a lot of the same tricks (the wall of sound, for example), but there was a cleverness and an arrogant sense of optimism in the way they blasted it into your ears. Maybe that's why it's not given much thought today: the stuff coming out of England wasn't angry or cranky enough. Regardless, it depressed me that the people I was speaking with had never heard of The Stone Roses. That self-titled first album is to me what Abbey Road was to many people of the previous generation.
So, my point is this: there is plenty of room in the music library for everyone, but pitted against one another on a level playing field of marketing dollars, the British kids on this playlist knock Seattle's dick in the dirt.
Related: The Golden Age Of 4AD
