I've probably spent too much time thinking about Frank Zappa recently, but the Zappa Plays Zappa show and an interview with Dweezil Zappa I posted at "Pop Life" gave me an occasion to reflect on someone whose music once meant a lot to me. After the show Wednesday, these thoughts:
1) I couldn't believe there were women there. I expected a good crowd, but I've never known a woman who liked Zappa's music.
2) I couldn't believe how many people under 40 were there. I expected old heads and freaks, but his music is so thoroughly absent from the culture today, it's hard to imagine anyone young knowing about it or caring. I suppose he is once again (or maybe has always been) a cult thing, and cults just won't go away.
As for his art, 3) The show reminded me how Swiftian Zappa's satire was, not in its outrageousness but in its privacy. Both could ruthlessly anatomize what's wrong with the world (and both found a lot wrong), but you can't infer from the mockery what people should do - only what they shouldn't.
4) The show in New Orleans leaned too heavily on Joe's Garage for my tastes, but that suite of songs got Dweezil out of his own guitar space enough to inspire his two best solos of the night. "Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt" prompted his most Frank-like solo, and while I didn't want or expect Dweezil to play like Frank, no solo on the Zappa Plays Zappa DVD was as pedestrian (on a high technical level) as many of the fleet finger exercises he settled for in New Orleans.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Another Obama Poem
From the series of Obama poems I'm working on:
3.
And this program.
When they ask "why
tutorials,"
more than ever
it tolls for thee,
American life. Strip him of his personhood.
Lowndes and Wilcox counties in Alabama,
they got me on the run.
I swear I might hijack a plane
until America will no longer have a high blood pressure,
and so I say to you today, in short,
in the pulpit and in the pews.
of black and brown and white children,
work it.
3.
And this program.
When they ask "why
tutorials,"
more than ever
it tolls for thee,
American life. Strip him of his personhood.
Lowndes and Wilcox counties in Alabama,
they got me on the run.
I swear I might hijack a plane
until America will no longer have a high blood pressure,
and so I say to you today, in short,
in the pulpit and in the pews.
of black and brown and white children,
work it.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
More Nugent
I can't help myself. Ted Nugent press releases are like potato chips - you can't stop at one. One poor Detroit high school decided to mentally handicap its graduates by having the last words they hear in their school be his. The Detroit News further gave him credibility by running his speech on its Op-Ed page. Here's what he had to say in all its reductive glory:
Gather around, high school and college graduates, and listen good - real good. What I am about to tell you will help you immensely throughout the rest of your lives if you commit to practicing Uncle Ted's proven modus operandi for a quality of life.
Work
Nobody owes you a thing. Everything you will get out of life will be based solely on what you put into it.
As humorist Mark Twain said, "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
The only free lunches are at the homeless shelter. If you want to dance, you have to pay the band. And you will get what you pay for.
Get a job. If you work hard, real hard, at your favorite craft, you will ultimately succeed. If you are lazy, you will not succeed. Expect to be fired over and over again and aimlessly drift from job to job, your soul as empty as your bank account.
Find your passion in life, your calling, something you crave, that special thing that makes you giddy. Set a goal and never, ever quit. When you get close to the brass ring, move it farther away from your grasp.
Do not complain. Any spineless whiner can do that. Instead, look for solutions to tough problems. This will earn you respect from your boss and get you promoted.
Never do anything for money. Do what you do exceedingly well and thoroughly enjoy, and money will come looking for you.
Be frugal. Live responsibly within your means. Bling-bling is not making ends meet.
Values
Never be afraid to let yourself go and exhibit unbridled raw emotion and enthusiasm. Emotions need exercise. March to the beat of making your own loud and obnoxious guitar breeding noises no matter how many times they tell you to turn down and stop the feedback. Following trends and peer pressure is for mindless sheep that are never happy.
Avoid negative people and slobbering hippies like the plague. They never accomplish anything. Surround yourself with positive people who are better than yourself and will mentor, help and guide you honestly.
If you want to know how others perceive you, look around at whom you associate with. In the end, all you have is your character and integrity. Do not ever compromise or sell them.
Take care of your precious, sacred temple. Eat smart and stay clean. Do not smoke, use drugs, eat or drink too much or chew on glass sandwiches. Partaking in these mindless misadventures will shorten your life.
Find a relaxing hobby to recharge your batteries that has nothing to do with your profession. I have found that peaceful time with family, friends, loved ones and my dogs, fishing, hunting, shooting, setting rocks on fire, giving birth to brass rainbows by shooting machine guns till barrels burn up, and killing sacred protein with sharp sticks recharges my batteries beyond redline. I cleanse my soul as I cleanse the good mother earth by eating her surplus.
Take the time each day to show love and affection for your family and loved ones. The smallest gesture goes straight to the heart.
Never miss an opportunity to say thank you to the men and women in our military and law enforcement. They are the defenders of freedom putting their lives on the line for you so you can reach your American Dream.
Politics
Be intelligently and effectively defiant. Defiance is the very spirit that gave birth to this country when our forefathers fought against overwhelming odds, signed the Declaration of Independence and fired the "shot heard 'round the world." Lock and load. Really.
Remember Rosa Parks. Be prepared to defy stupid laws and regulations wherever you find them. Raise hell. Vote smart.
If you have not made a few well-deserving idiots boil over in anger by the time you are 25, get busy. We live in a target-rich environment of liberal denial.
Famous philosopher and legendary San Francisco police detective, my hero Dirty Harry, once said, "A man has got to know his limitations." This is good advice.
Stand up for what you believe. Remain polite and courteous, but never back down. You have an obligation to leave America in better shape than when you arrived. Work to ensure that future generations of America have a better shot at the American Dream as well as more freedom, more liberty and more pursuits of happiness than you did.
Trust your gut feelings. Only trust people who have earned your trust. Trust but verify. Never trust the French.
Have fun. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Live smart, live good. Rock hard.
Ugh.
Gather around, high school and college graduates, and listen good - real good. What I am about to tell you will help you immensely throughout the rest of your lives if you commit to practicing Uncle Ted's proven modus operandi for a quality of life.
Work
Nobody owes you a thing. Everything you will get out of life will be based solely on what you put into it.
As humorist Mark Twain said, "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
The only free lunches are at the homeless shelter. If you want to dance, you have to pay the band. And you will get what you pay for.
Get a job. If you work hard, real hard, at your favorite craft, you will ultimately succeed. If you are lazy, you will not succeed. Expect to be fired over and over again and aimlessly drift from job to job, your soul as empty as your bank account.
Find your passion in life, your calling, something you crave, that special thing that makes you giddy. Set a goal and never, ever quit. When you get close to the brass ring, move it farther away from your grasp.
Do not complain. Any spineless whiner can do that. Instead, look for solutions to tough problems. This will earn you respect from your boss and get you promoted.
Never do anything for money. Do what you do exceedingly well and thoroughly enjoy, and money will come looking for you.
Be frugal. Live responsibly within your means. Bling-bling is not making ends meet.
Values
Never be afraid to let yourself go and exhibit unbridled raw emotion and enthusiasm. Emotions need exercise. March to the beat of making your own loud and obnoxious guitar breeding noises no matter how many times they tell you to turn down and stop the feedback. Following trends and peer pressure is for mindless sheep that are never happy.
Avoid negative people and slobbering hippies like the plague. They never accomplish anything. Surround yourself with positive people who are better than yourself and will mentor, help and guide you honestly.
If you want to know how others perceive you, look around at whom you associate with. In the end, all you have is your character and integrity. Do not ever compromise or sell them.
Take care of your precious, sacred temple. Eat smart and stay clean. Do not smoke, use drugs, eat or drink too much or chew on glass sandwiches. Partaking in these mindless misadventures will shorten your life.
Find a relaxing hobby to recharge your batteries that has nothing to do with your profession. I have found that peaceful time with family, friends, loved ones and my dogs, fishing, hunting, shooting, setting rocks on fire, giving birth to brass rainbows by shooting machine guns till barrels burn up, and killing sacred protein with sharp sticks recharges my batteries beyond redline. I cleanse my soul as I cleanse the good mother earth by eating her surplus.
Take the time each day to show love and affection for your family and loved ones. The smallest gesture goes straight to the heart.
Never miss an opportunity to say thank you to the men and women in our military and law enforcement. They are the defenders of freedom putting their lives on the line for you so you can reach your American Dream.
Politics
Be intelligently and effectively defiant. Defiance is the very spirit that gave birth to this country when our forefathers fought against overwhelming odds, signed the Declaration of Independence and fired the "shot heard 'round the world." Lock and load. Really.
Remember Rosa Parks. Be prepared to defy stupid laws and regulations wherever you find them. Raise hell. Vote smart.
If you have not made a few well-deserving idiots boil over in anger by the time you are 25, get busy. We live in a target-rich environment of liberal denial.
Famous philosopher and legendary San Francisco police detective, my hero Dirty Harry, once said, "A man has got to know his limitations." This is good advice.
Stand up for what you believe. Remain polite and courteous, but never back down. You have an obligation to leave America in better shape than when you arrived. Work to ensure that future generations of America have a better shot at the American Dream as well as more freedom, more liberty and more pursuits of happiness than you did.
Trust your gut feelings. Only trust people who have earned your trust. Trust but verify. Never trust the French.
Have fun. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Live smart, live good. Rock hard.
Ugh.
McCain Tuesday in Kenner.
Kat and I watched Tuesday night's primary coverage in the Kingpin, and we noticed how small the crowd looked for McCain. Almost everybody picked up on that, assuming he was speaking to a small crowd of invited supporters. Actually, that was the Pontchartrain Center, curtained off to size suitable for the invited public that actually showed up. The announcement was in the Times-Picayune that day.
During his speech, he talked about making the hard choices. The bar wondered "which hard choices" - my take: McCain had the nerve to take both sides on the issues. Greg Sanders at the Huffington Post rips McCain for doing this where Hurricane Katrina is concerned.
During his speech, he talked about making the hard choices. The bar wondered "which hard choices" - my take: McCain had the nerve to take both sides on the issues. Greg Sanders at the Huffington Post rips McCain for doing this where Hurricane Katrina is concerned.
What Happens Next
Now that it looks like Hillary Clinton will finally bow out, the next question is whether America will elect an African American. Friends in the office are skeptical to the point of doomy; I'm less so, for reasons Jeff Chang discusses yesterday's post at Can't Stop Won't Stop.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
More Mail Fun
The temperate language hyping this book on the death of wrestler Chris Benoit caught my eye:
WRESTLING'S DEATH GRIP ON ITS STARS
Non-fiction book Ring of Hell lays bare the unbelievable true story of Chris Benoit and the global pro wrestling racket
Beverly Hills, CA - ”Many people consider the world of wrestling to be a harmless American pastime. Perhaps they should contemplate the alarmingly high death rate among its wrestlers. Phoenix Books presents author Matthew Randazzo V's behind-the-scenes expose of the World Wrestling Entertainment organization, Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry. Ring of Hell is the story of Chris Benoit, the beloved WWE superstar who stunned America in June of 2007 with the bizarre double-murder of his wife, Nancy, and seven-year-old son, Daniel, in a tragic turn of events that ultimately led to Benoit's suicide.
While the outcomes of the WWE matches are pre-determined, the effort put into those matches takes a huge toll on the wrestlers' bodies. Ring of Hell reveals in heretofore unpublished detail how the pro wrestling industry tempted and encouraged a troubled man to embrace a lifestyle of self-destruction, which included years of heavy amphetamine, steroids, alcohol, painkiller, and psychiatric drug abuse. Benoit was a small man desperately looking to succeed in an industry dominated by giants.
Randazzo writes an uncensored account of how the industry aided Benoit in cultivating his basest qualities until they consumed him, merging the family man so many admired and the self-mutilating wrestling junkie into one. Randazzo conducts countless exclusive interviews with former employees of the WWE, divulging first-hand, eyewitness accounts of the rampant drug abuse, sexual misconduct, organized crime ties, and fatal contempt for the wrestlers in its employ.
Ring of Hell examines and answers the following questions:
What caused the catastrophic psychopathic breakdown of Chris Benoit?
Why does the pro wrestling lifestyle of international TV celebrities come with an occupational mortality rate worse than that of drug dealers?
What has been the daily reality of the average pro wrestler over the past twenty years?
Why have the McMahon family's business practices accumulated such a high body count, and why does it persist?
Are more tragedies like Chris Benoit's inevitable?
Is the pro wrestling industry unsalvageable?
WRESTLING'S DEATH GRIP ON ITS STARS
Non-fiction book Ring of Hell lays bare the unbelievable true story of Chris Benoit and the global pro wrestling racket
Beverly Hills, CA - ”Many people consider the world of wrestling to be a harmless American pastime. Perhaps they should contemplate the alarmingly high death rate among its wrestlers. Phoenix Books presents author Matthew Randazzo V's behind-the-scenes expose of the World Wrestling Entertainment organization, Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit & The Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry. Ring of Hell is the story of Chris Benoit, the beloved WWE superstar who stunned America in June of 2007 with the bizarre double-murder of his wife, Nancy, and seven-year-old son, Daniel, in a tragic turn of events that ultimately led to Benoit's suicide.
While the outcomes of the WWE matches are pre-determined, the effort put into those matches takes a huge toll on the wrestlers' bodies. Ring of Hell reveals in heretofore unpublished detail how the pro wrestling industry tempted and encouraged a troubled man to embrace a lifestyle of self-destruction, which included years of heavy amphetamine, steroids, alcohol, painkiller, and psychiatric drug abuse. Benoit was a small man desperately looking to succeed in an industry dominated by giants.
Randazzo writes an uncensored account of how the industry aided Benoit in cultivating his basest qualities until they consumed him, merging the family man so many admired and the self-mutilating wrestling junkie into one. Randazzo conducts countless exclusive interviews with former employees of the WWE, divulging first-hand, eyewitness accounts of the rampant drug abuse, sexual misconduct, organized crime ties, and fatal contempt for the wrestlers in its employ.
Ring of Hell examines and answers the following questions:
What caused the catastrophic psychopathic breakdown of Chris Benoit?
Why does the pro wrestling lifestyle of international TV celebrities come with an occupational mortality rate worse than that of drug dealers?
What has been the daily reality of the average pro wrestler over the past twenty years?
Why have the McMahon family's business practices accumulated such a high body count, and why does it persist?
Are more tragedies like Chris Benoit's inevitable?
Is the pro wrestling industry unsalvageable?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Give in to your Worst Instincts
Sonic Youth is about to release Hits Are For Squares, a limited edition, Starbucks-only CD that collects songs from SY's storied history as chosen by celebrity friends and fans.
The premise has two drawbacks. One is that famous fans seem to like the same songs as everybody else, so there are few big surprises here. The stars also give the CD a Cool Kids Club vibe, as the band seems to surround itself with indie cinema heroes and musical peers who are all just too damned hip. Is a song any more noteworthy if Portia De Rossi or David Cross likes it? See below, enjoy a half-soy, half-skim decaf fair trade latte and enjoy the ambient self-satisfaction.
Tracklist:
“Bull in the Heather” selected by Catherine Keener
“100%” selected by Mike D
“Sugar Kane” selected by Beck
“Kool Thing” selected by Radiohead
“Disappearer” selected by Portia De Rossi
“Superstar” selected by Diablo Cody
“Stones” selected by Allison Anders
“Tuff Gnarl” selected by Dave Eggers and Mike Watt
“Teenage Riot” selected by Eddie Vedder
“Shadow of a Doubt” selected by Michelle Williams
“Rain on Tin” selected by Flea
“Tom Violence” selected by Gus Van Zant
“Mary-Christ” selected by David Cross
“World Looks Red” selected by Chloe Sevigny
“Expressway to Yr Skull” selected by Flaming Lips
“Slow Revolution” exclusive new Sonic Youth recording
The premise has two drawbacks. One is that famous fans seem to like the same songs as everybody else, so there are few big surprises here. The stars also give the CD a Cool Kids Club vibe, as the band seems to surround itself with indie cinema heroes and musical peers who are all just too damned hip. Is a song any more noteworthy if Portia De Rossi or David Cross likes it? See below, enjoy a half-soy, half-skim decaf fair trade latte and enjoy the ambient self-satisfaction.
Tracklist:
“Bull in the Heather” selected by Catherine Keener
“100%” selected by Mike D
“Sugar Kane” selected by Beck
“Kool Thing” selected by Radiohead
“Disappearer” selected by Portia De Rossi
“Superstar” selected by Diablo Cody
“Stones” selected by Allison Anders
“Tuff Gnarl” selected by Dave Eggers and Mike Watt
“Teenage Riot” selected by Eddie Vedder
“Shadow of a Doubt” selected by Michelle Williams
“Rain on Tin” selected by Flea
“Tom Violence” selected by Gus Van Zant
“Mary-Christ” selected by David Cross
“World Looks Red” selected by Chloe Sevigny
“Expressway to Yr Skull” selected by Flaming Lips
“Slow Revolution” exclusive new Sonic Youth recording
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