MINUTEMEN: THE CRUCIBLE

Chapter 14 PREVIEW: “Wind Sprints”

“This is Captain O’Shea,” the authoritative voice of the Captain crackled in everyone’s ear, “we’re out of time. Phantom’s on the move but we can’t get our vehicles out safely until the tank’s destroyed. Once we kill that Wraith we’ll only have about sixty seconds until the Phantom swings back around to check it out. Sixty seconds. That’s one minute get to your rally points before the Phantom’s back on station. Delta, you are cleared to engage. All other teams standby. Good luck.”

Gus tossed the now empty whiskey bottle over his shoulder and slipped his battered, olive green helmet over his short-cropped black hair. He inspected the magazine of his rifle once more and slapped it back into the weapon. The bar’s back door was already partially open, and the wind whistled through the opening in a high whine that contrasted sharply with the low, ground-shuddering hum of the unseen tank that waited for them in front of the building.

Tim McManus tried to ignore his shaking hands, hiding them by burying one in a pocket and the other seemingly casually draped over the barrel of his suppressed Battle Rifle. He glanced to the right and caught Rachel’s bright eyes locked on his gloved hands and realized the effort was for naught. She reached out her good arm, gave a supportive squeeze of Tim’s wrist, and nodded at him slightly. McManus took a deep breath as Reynolds clapped his hands together once and kept his eyes focused on the alley ahead.

“Delta Actual has eyes on the Wraith. Delta One-Two, found the sniper yet?”

“Do. Not. Stop.” Gus said with grave importance to the kids, eyes still locked on the open door. “Don’t look back until you reach your rally point.”

“Delta One-Two, hostile sniper acquired on the rooftop of blue restaurant across the street. Standing by.”

“You get lost, you activate your transponder and run some more.”

“Delta One-Three, in position by front door. Rockets ready, standing by.”

“Don’t linger in the open and don’t fire unless your life’s in danger.”

“Delta One-Two, clear to fire.”

“Firing.”

Despite the advance notice, Tim, Ron, and Rachel jumped as a loud crack split the air above them. Gus looked back over his shoulder one last time and opened his mouth to give one more piece of advice before being overruled by a flurry of Delta’s activity on the COM.

“Hostile down. Clear up.”

“Delta Actual, firing.”

“Delta One-Three, firing.”

From the kids’ position inside the bar’s kitchen, the distinct sounds of the human weapons all melded into a conglomeration of whooshes, splintering wood, back slapping concussive force, and the satisfying crunch of metal on metal that culminated in a high frequency shriek, a flash of bluish white against the bricks, and an echoing crash of the Wraith’s antigravity propulsion system suffering catastrophic failure. Tim could not help but notice the Master Guns’ grin on his face.

Captain O’Shea jumped on the COM immediately. “All teams go! Start the shot clock. One minute.”

“Don’t get separated!” Gus yelled, yanking the pin from the light gray cylinder and tossing it in a hard underhand throw toward the open street. “Stay with me!”

McManus was shocked at how fast the much larger noncom was. Despite hours of hard fighting in a city that was literally falling down around their ears, Reynolds showed no signs of fatigue, getting a good first step and launching himself into the tight, desolate alley behind the bar. Tim immediately slipped on a small, slick pool of blood and scrambled on all fours to leave the kitchen, only getting a moment to glance to his right as the other teams sprinted out in tight three man groups and leaped into their respective Warthogs. McManus could have sworn he heard a muffled laugh from Ron but pushed the thought from his mind, focusing only on moving as fast as possible to catch up with the rapidly shrinking form of Gus Reynolds.

“Hurry!” Rachel called after Tim, falling in stride with the sprinting Harvard Junior.

The agile Lynch did not waste a minute as they gained ground on the leader, taking Gus’ lead as he used a pile of discarded loading pallets to hurdle an overturned dumpster. The group leaped over the obstacle with excessive force, adrenaline supercharging their tired and muscles and sending Ron Parsons into a stumbling fall as he hit the ground. The lithe blonde sharpshooter cried out in pain and immediately bit his lip to stifle any further whining, cringing as Rachel and Tim took an instant to help him back up.

“Ok!” Ron wheezed, falling back in with the small squad. “This sucks…worse than the bar!”

McManus’ senses were now completely overloaded. Between the staccato bursts of weapons fire,  the autumn breeze whipping up foreign scents of a city left to die, and the horrible rumbling avalanche of bricks, steel, and glass signaling yet another building’s collapse, Tim could hardly bring his eyes to focus as his loose helmet bumped roughly against his forehead and fell in and out of his vision. In a fit of frustrated rage, McManus took his free hand and ripped off the offending protective covering, tossing it behind him with no small amount of satisfaction. He could hear his ragged breath over the pounding of his boots, and his chest felt like a blast furnace after so many miles of sprinting, jumping, and hiding. He had almost forgotten about the chorus of urgent bursts of soldiers’ voices in his headset, a reminder of the scene being played out behind and among the small group of survivors.

“Hostiles spotted on Comm Ave!”

“Bravo sees foot mobiles on Newbury! They’re swarming in!”

“Tim!”

In the midst of the chaos and swirling multicolored smoke filling the alley and streets, McManus had not thought of the possibility that enemy troops might have joined the battle from other directions. That possibility suddenly became a reality as streaks of green and blue light hurtled down the alley at the suddenly exposed humans. Gus Reynolds put his head down and hustled to cover, sprinting left to take position in a store’s loading bay before bellowing at the group over the cacophony of battle.

“On me!” He roared, firing blindly around the corner at the advancing ominous silhouettes in the smoke. “Cap, this is Master Guns! We got hostiles in the alleyway blocking our route!”

Through the rising, swirling mist of the smoke, a new color flew through the haze; a bright glowing pink energy that seemed trapped inside tiny crystal shards. Tim could not help but stare at them as they whizzed by him at incredible speed and gave off a curious high frequency sound. The former student felt inexplicably transfixed at the curious projectiles until the series of crystals suddenly veered off their straight path and directly into the left leg of a soldier still in the middle of the alley. He cried out in surprise and pain as the pink curiosities passed through his thin leg armor and embedded themselves in his thigh. McManus could only watch, jaw slack, as the enchanting objects then exploded in glass-like shards, tearing open the unlucky Marine’s leg and dropping him as he clutched the gaping wound.

“No!” Tim instinctively yelled, drawing Ron and Rachel’s attention away from Reynolds and back to the center of the alley. Without thinking, McManus ran toward the screaming soldier, firing his weapon haphazardly toward the Covenant and sliding on his knees to reach the writhing victim.

“Don’t!” Rachel screamed, eyes open wide in terror as she yelled over the deafening barrage. “Come back!”

Besides introducing me to Ryoji Ikeda, Miles also shares a love of one of the greatest records of all time. Thanks for the review Miles! (If you want to review something for ducksbattlesatan drop me a line at noiseisnice@gmail.com – only rule is – nothing lame)

Double Nickels on the Dime is pretty damn perfect. Odds are you’ve heard of this by now but if you haven’t heard this behemoth of an album you really owe it to yourself to go out and get it. With this Double Nickels, Minutemen produced one of the most ingenious, creative, and charming rock albums of the 80s. The album is sprawling too, covering way more styles and subjects than most punk bands would. I know a lot of people who were intimidated by the amount of songs on this. It varies by a couple tracks depending on which version you get, it’s always a little shocking at first, but always brilliant. It’s unbelievable, 44 songs in 70 minutes, but what’s even more amazing is that there really is almost no filler on this album. I can’t think of a single moment on this album where I felt a song sucked, they all kick ass. In a movement that got pretty stagnant in the 80s, Minutemen are a punk band that is incredibly versatile. “Anxious Mo-Fo” immediately shows this, the jazziness of bass lines, to the bluesy guitar solo at the end are unique for a punk band, and these traits shine throughout the entire album. It would be stupid to try and describe all of the songs on this album, but they’re all awesome. There’s a great sense of humor throughout the whole album that keeps it enjoyable throughout, and it helps make some of the more serious moments on the album feel that much more powerful. The shift from the amazing “Viet Nam” into the gentle Spanish guitar of “Cohesion” is completely unexpected, but it works somehow. Get this album if you don’t, and if you have it think about the last time you gave it a spin, check it out again. This is the kind of album where your favorite song changes every time you hear it, and with so many damn songs you’re going to find new things to love after countless plays.

These have all been my favorite song off Double Nickels at one point or another; I think everybody who listens to this album accumulates a list.

Dr. Wu

Corona

Don’t Look Now

Viet Nam

You Need the Glory

West Germany

***Start Securing The Voting Process NOW*** Comment: The Wizard @ Free Republic

Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 5:33:01 AM by The Wizard

Now is the time to start securing the voting process,

because the enemies of America are already on the march to corrupt it and make it impossible to elect un-corrupt congress critters….

Worrying about health care now is one thing, but the biggest challange we really have, the one no one is talking about, is the voting process that uses SEIU, ACORN and other corrupting elements, (Poll site abuse by the Black Panthers) to make sure these enemies of America and democracy can never be removed…..

AMERICA YOU NEED TO WAKE UP and realize this is WAR

How much clearer must it be….I call on those Minutemen of old, and true partiots to start protecting the voting process and the courts who we are expected to get justice from because the enemies of America are hard at work with a Liar in chief in the oval office and his minions bought and paid for in the congress…just look at Reid and Peeeelosi…are these the people you want running your congress????

Just sayin’ is all.

Mike Watt, American bassist

I’ve been reading an article this cranky guy wrote about his problem with something called:

Camel case is the insertion of a capital letter in the body of a word rather than at the beginning. The last straw for him and the reason for writing the article, apparently, was a phrase or brand name he came across recently that employed not one, but two insertive capital letters. The author does not reveal the identity of the dromedary-cased phrase, ostensibly because it incenses him so much that he doesn’t want to acknowledge its existence.

He makes the case that without spaces between words, wegetconfusedandhavetoreadeverythingoutloud, and when we do that, we’re basically walking around muttering brand names (the most common camel-casers). I believe, however, that a CamelCasedPhraseIsNearlyTheSameAsAPhraseWithSpacesBetween
WordsAndThisGuyNeedsToFindSomethingElseToGetCrankyAbout. Besides Irishmen and computer programmers, I think I have Mike Watt of mINUTEMEN behind me on this. Maybe even e.e. cummings. Ah, look; it appears that the author has already turned his crankiness to steamboats. Thank you for seeing the light, CrankyAuthor.

Dolla

Nick Walker

Askew.

Askew with our car Betty Bee.

Mon.

Mon.

Mon.

Tatiana.

Dunce.

Dunce.

???

Pose.

Augor.

Ser2.

Shepard Fairey loves Meat Puppets and Minutemen like we do.

Shepard Fairey.

Shepard Fairey.

Daryll Peirce on the wall with Galo and The London Police.

Daryll Peirce with an airplane in the sky.

Daryll Peirce on the wall with Galo and Jim Darling.

(Click here for the main Primary Flight site.)

Same year, new season.  Tonight the Michigan State Spartans are hoping to hand the North Carolina Tar Heels their first defeat in a rematch from last April’s NCAA Title Game.  It will be another early season test for both teams.  After their loss to Florida last weekend, Michigan State bounced back the next day to defeat Massachusetts, but has dropped to #9 in the polls.  North Carolina is #11.  Should be an excellent game (I hope).  Go Green!

the title of this is not meant to guide you

the title of this is…

the rain beats down is a cliché

but it happens more often than you’d think

without the pre-requisite irony

smug postmodernism

or the angular haircut of false angry young man

in too tight t-shirts

• minutemen: tour spiel

Nineteen Eighty-nine was a miserable year to start teaching political science.  I mean, between Tiananmen  Square, the Fall of the Wall and the revolutions that swept Eastern Europe  it was  almost impossible to stay on syllabus.  (And, yes,  we of the professoriate are such a myopically focused breed that staying on syllabus, come hell or high collapse of communism,  is our greatest goal in life.  Except, of course, that we almost never manage to accomplish that simple task….).  Most of my students these days were not even alive when the wall fell. When I first started teaching I asked myself “How do I explain a political world to students who weren’t around for Nixon?”.  Now they weren’t around for Reagan—or the Soviet Union and the Cold War.   Listening to all the celebrations and reminiscences of the Cold War and its end in the media the past week or two has come with a sense of nostalgia, therefore, for people of my generation.  Oddly enough, of all the history and factoids about the wall discussed on CNN and NPR one in particular–one particularly relevant,  I feel, for someone living in San Diego on the nation’s southern border—was the real, immediate human toll the wall claimed. 

Historians estimate between one hundred and two hundred people died ttrying to go over the Wall in its twenty-eight years, one hundred to two hundred people who gave their lives from a chance at freedom, at liberty and at a better life, plain and simple.  Over the last fifteen years, meanwhile, estimates of the number of people who have died attempting to cross over from Mexico into the United States  range from two thousand to six thousand.  That is a death rate ten times greater than the Berlin Wall’s—twenty times greater in a yearly average of mortality.

And what did those two to six thousand people die for? A chance for greater freedom, greater liberty and at a better life, plain and simple. 

In the scheme of human history the United States stands out as the one place  that thousands of people have died trying to get into.  That is the greatest distinction between this society and all the despotisms and tyrannies that have dominated so much of mankind for so long.  The day people stop dying to come here is the day American Exceptionalism dies as well. Which is something all of us should keep in mind whenever America’s attention drifts back from healthcare, war and recession to more prosaic matters of hundreds of people dying each year on our own border, our reverse Berlin Wall.

In my more neofascist moments I ask myself, if we really want to build a lean, mean American fighting machine that can take on the world, who do we want living here?  A bunch of whining faux patriots screaming  that since they were born here by random genetic luck they actually deserve the blessings of liberty more than anyone else who wasn’t born here, even if they themselves have done nothing of note nor paid no sacrifice of value to get those blessings?  People like most of those beer-bellied, baseball cap wearing faux Patriot Minutemen sitting on beaten up old lawn chairs beside beaten up old  RVs scanning the border for illegal aliens while chugging Coors.  (Side note: when I see people camping outside of nuclear power plants  in protests for weeks on edge or sitting by the border of binoculars, I’ve got to ask:  Don’t these clowns have jobs and responsibilities?”.  But I digress.)

Orrrrr,  if you want a strong, exceptional America would you rather have a citizenship composed of people who were willing to cross hundreds of miles of scalding desert or hundreds of miles of shark-infested waters on driftwood rafts, risking body and soul to do so? Forget “Send me your tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to be free.”  The real motto of this country for three centuries has been “Send me your risk takers, your courageous, your dreamers willing to lay it on the line for a better life.”

So how about this: let’s take everyone  in America when they turn eighteen and drop them ninety miles off Florida or smack dab in the middle of the California desert and, if they make it to shore or to LA alive , we meet them, shake their hands and say “Welcome to America,  Citizen.” Or at least the Minutemen.  (Now THAT would be a great reality show:  “Survivor: American Citizenship Edition.”)

 Or at least let us acknowledge that those two to six thousand people who’ve died on our southern borders are every bit as much a testament to and martyrs for the same concepts of hope and freedom as those brave souls who perished going over that hideous wall.

1. Minutemen – Double Nickels On The Dime
2. Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade
3. Black Flag – Damaged
4. Dinosaur Jr. – You’re Living All Over Me
5. Sonic Youth - Sister
6. Meat Puppets – II
7. Saccharine Trust – We Became Snakes
8. Bad Brains – I Against I
9. fIREHOSE – if’n
10. Descendents – Milo Goes To College

NP: Califone – All My Friends Are Funeral Singers

Gloria Van Cleave who has been waiting for the TITLE of the vehicle for way over 2 years now has received an express letter from the Producers of JUDGE JUDY of T.V. fame.

Apparently they got word of the case in Small Claims Court and now want to do a show on her problems with Carpentersville Trustee Paul Humpfer! Tee-hee, now that’s funny!

Check out the letter on the link provided:

TheLetter

Nothing like putting Carpentersville back in the news.

The first important election day since President Obama won the White House is here today. This is also the day that might mark the official demise of Republicans as a viable political party. Regardless of whether New York’s 23rd District Congressional special election is won by the Democratic Party candidate or the third party Conservative Party candidate one thing is certain, the Republican Party will lose another seat in Congress. Despite the fact that the seat has been held by Republicans since the 1870’s and that the seat was most recently vacated by a popular Republican Congressman, the party now has no horse in this race. Republicans can thank Sarah Palin, Dick Armey and Glenn Beck for that.

In the eyes of Palin, Armey and Beck, the Republican party must be purged of all moderates so that only the wacky conservative wing will dictate policy. You are familiar with the wacky conservative wing aren’t you? You know, the Tea-Baggers, the Minutemen Militia, the Ku Klux Klan, Michele “Bat-Shit Crazy” Bachmann and the three aforementioned loonies. The problem is however, that only approximately 20% of the national electorate are registered as Republicans inclusive of the combined numbers of moderates and conservatives. The Palin clan’s plan of forcing Republican candidates to drop out of races by means of endorsing more conservative candidates from a bevy of third parties only ensures that membership in the Republican Party will continue to decrease. Only Palin and company could see any logic in this type of addition by subtraction. Then again, virtually all polling shows that conservatives do not fare well in education comparisons with liberals, so we cannot really blame them for not comprehending this funny math.

Hence, the future of the Republican Party appears to be doomed. Worse yet however, is that this new breed of ultra-conservative third party candidates appears to be as crazy and misguided as their supporters. The most vivid recent example of this is the aforementioned Conservative Party candidate in New York,  Doug Hoffman who recently said, “I pledge my sacred honor” to uphold Glenn Beck’s political principles. He also appeared on Beck’s radio show this week and referred to Beck as “his mentor.” If 23rd District voters send this guy to Washington they might then consider checking into the nervous hospital for a little electro-shock therapy. Let’s hope they see the light and elect Democrat, Bill Owens.

UPDATE: Palin and company have successfully wounded the Republican Party. Democrat, Bill Owens wins New York’s 23rd Congressional District. Republicans lose control of the seat that they held since the 1870’s. Good work, Sarah. Everything she touches turns foul.

Please click on the song link below to familiarize yourselves with the tune and to have more fun singing along with today’s song parody.

California Dreamin’ song link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xN9r0bWe78

CONSERVATIVE DREAMIN’

(sung to the Mamas & The Papas song “California Dreamin’”)

All their shirts are brown
(All their shirts are brown)
And their hair is grey
(And their hair is grey)
Listen to them talk
(Listen to them talk)
As they loudly pray
(As they loudly pray)
Scandal is their norm
(Scandal is their norm)
They have one every day
(They have one every day)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
And politics of hate

Members of John Birch
Some won’t admit they’re gay
But when they get down on their knees
(Get down on their knees)
That’s when they like to play
(When they like to play)
These slimy creatures should be told
(Creatures should be told)
Membership’s gone away
(Members gone away)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has led them all astray

(musical interlude)

Glenn Beck is a clown
(Glenn Beck is a clown)
What does Limbaugh weigh?
(What does Limbaugh weigh?)
Palin cannot talk
(Palin cannot talk)
She’s no Tina Fey
(She’s no Tina Fey)
Somebody should tell her
(Somebody should tell her)
To just go away
(To just go away)
Conservative dreamin’
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has become so cliché
(Conservative dreamin’)
Has lost all its cache´
(Conservative dreamin’)
Drives voters all away

I’m on my way out the door to vote in a certain Gubernatorial election today.

Let’s cross our fingers and hope we get a few “smaller government” candidates pushed into office before the night is out.

Wow.  No fence to help secure the border AND we’re going to bring the terrorists onto American soil.  You’ve outdone yourselves, Senators.  “Virtual fence?”  Come on, Washington.  We both know that’s “virtually” useless.

Here’s where you can find out how your senator voted: Senate Vote On Passage: H.R. 2892

Looks like we need the Minutemen back on the job.

Senate Votes Against Additional Wall On U.S.-Mexico Border

The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2010 after it had been stripped of the provision to build an additional 700 miles of reinforced fencing along the southern border.

The idea had been championed by Republican Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina who voted against the bill and criticized those who helped defeat his amendment.

“We’re learning there’s almost nothing politicians won’t do to get out of promises they make in the daylight,” he said, quoted by GovernmentExecutive.com.

However, Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee chairman Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, had argued before the vote that the wall was “too proscriptive and too costly,” and that the bill included funds to build a virtual fence along the border and to hire more Border Patrol officers, according to the news source.

Environmental and community organizations have also praised the vote. Sierra Club representative in Washington Michael Degnan commented that border walls have not been proven to stem illegal immigration, but they have a devastating impact on communities, families and the wildlife in the region.

Among other controversial elements in the $42.8 billion bill are the provisions that allow prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center to be transferred to the U.S. mainland for trial.

Tuesday, November, 3 is only days away.

If you have a local election upcoming, be sure to educate yourself on your candidates’ views. Also, don’t forget, that if neither for the two major parties has a candidate that represents your views running in your district, there are many great third parties who will appreciate your vote.

There is no excuse for not voting.



No ano em que finalmente chega ao cinema o quase “infilmável” Watchmen, é gratificante saber que a Panini relança a graphic novel que originou o longa-metragem.

Watchmen, com roteiro de Alan Moore e traço limpo e seguro de Dave Gibbons, foi lançado pela primeira vez no Brasil na década de 1980. Uma obra concebida por dois grandes artistas ingleses, sob o selo da DC Comics, e que nada mais é que um best-seller e obra-prima definitiva sobre super-heróis.

Calma! Com “definitiva” não quero afirmar que nada mais de bom foi feito desde então. Muito pelo contrário, claro. Mas Watchmen é sem sombra de dúvidas um divisor de águas e se nós, simples mortais, ainda temos dúvidas profundas de nosso lugar na existência, pelo menos não precisamos mais dizer o mesmo do universo dos super-heróis. Afinal, na obra, Moore define muito bem “de onde vieram” os combatentes da justiça, “o que são” e “para onde vão”.

DE ONDE ELES VIERAM?
Com engenhosos flashbacks, Watchmen mostra os Minutemen, grupo de heróis dos anos 1940, época mais simples e inocente, onde os adversários da lei e da liberdade eram bem melhor delineados. E é nesse passado, ricamente detalhado na HQ, que Moore monta sua complexa trama. É na origem dos super-heróis que também nascerá o grande mal. A sombria ameaça que permeará a história e fulgurará implacável nas últimas páginas da revista.

O QUE ELES SÃO?
No presente (ou no presente de 1985), os Watchmen assumem a bandeira da justiça. Mas esses heróis, herdeiros dos extintos Minutemen, vivem numa época muito conturbada. As fronteiras entre o bem e o mal não estão mais nitidamente demarcadas. Eles são falhos e desacreditados.

PARA ONDE ELES VÃO?
Moore, implacavelmente, também apresenta o futuro dos super-heróis. Quem será ele? O quase-deus Dr. Manhattan? Não, esse é apenas o “ser absoluto”! Assustadoramente, aquele que guiará a humanidade talvez caminhe entre o bem e o mal, entre o heroísmo e a vilania. Mas para saber quem é, você precisa ler Watchmen…

Watchmen, edição especial da Panini, é apresentada em dois volumes (212 páginas cada) e totalmente recolorida!

Well, since The Swagger Sticks are off until mid-November (we’re playing our video release show at The Bootleg on Sat, 11/14/09), I’m making an effort to go out and see some shows. And, since I missed The Shakers on Wednesday and The Aggrolites in Pamona on Thursday, I made sure to make it out to Alex’s Bar in Long Beach for Mike Watt and Stab City. The flu was responsible for Stab City’s last minute cancellation but, fortunately for me, what followed was an amazing night of music…I saw all four bands and it could not have been better. On the bill were Telomere Repair, The Radio Sweetheart (I love that name), Los Mysteriosos and Mike Watt and The Secondmen.

Power to the Pedro! Mike Watt & The Secondmen

Openers Telemer Repair were filling in for Stab City at the last minute. They played some of the most searingly angular punk I have ever heard. The trio’s musicianship was off the charts. They made Gang of Four sound like a Vegas lounge act. I was totally intimidated by them until I traded CD’s with the bass player and then the band’s girlfriends, who were minding the merch table, gave me some stickers. They were all incredibly nice. I am a fan for life.

The Radio Sweetheart!

Next up was the all-girl punk trio, The Radio Sweetheart. Lead singer Dylan Kent had the most vicious punk guitar tone imaginable and the rhythm section was right on. I fucking loved it. Later that night I asked Kent about her rig and how she got such an amazing sound. She said, “You know, you’re talking to the wrong person about this stuff…I just turn everything up as loud as it will go.”  And that, my friends, is what makes punk rock great. If it sounds good, that’s all that matters. Added to that was a dead-on cover of The Pixies ”Isla de Encanta” at the end of their set. Now if only we can convince TRS to let The Swagger Sticks open for them.

The third band was Long Beach’s very own, Los Mysteriosos, in what can only be described as Latin surf  meets meets a “Fiesta of Flamenco.” Dios Mios, these guys rocked. You don’t need to speak Spanish to understand the ways of the Matador and, as Los Mysteriosos will tell you, they are the only ones who can make a Chupacabra dance on its tail!

When San Pedro natives Mike Watt and The Secondmen hit the stage I wasn’t sure what to expect. Watt had sat patiently on his amp the entire night smiling as he watched all three of the opening bands. I don’t think he got up once the entire time. He could have just as easily showed up five minutes before his set but instead hung out all night talking to friends and fans (myself included). That should tell you something about Watt – he’s one cool cat.

I’d seen Watt at The Echo about five years ago and, I have to admit, my simple I-IV-V mind had trouble digesting the free-form song structure. If Zappa had played bass he might have come close to Watt. On this night the Secondmen were on absolute fire and, combined with Watt’s incredible bass mastery, they worked together to form slightly more accessible songs (translation: this time ‘I got it’). The result was that Watt and his longshoremen absolutley blew my mind. I was mesmerized. 

Never mind the fact that Watt founded some of the most influential punk bands in history like The Minutemen and fIREHOSE and that he’s recorded with members of Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Pixies, Nirvana, The Lemonheads, Dinosaur Jr, Black Flag, Soul Asylum, Screaming Trees etc.  And yes, forget about the fact that he played bass on Iggy Pop‘s tour a couple years ago. None of it matters. That’s because tonight was all about Mike Watt and The Secondmen. See their MySpace link below for upcoming shows. You won’t want to miss them.

 Thanks to Alex’s Bar for putting together a great night of music. It was my first time there and I had a blast.

If you come across any great local LA bands that you think I should check out please leave me a comment or hit me up on The Swagger Sticks MySpace page. I look forward to hearing from ya! ~ Aron

Links:
Telemer Repair
www.myspace.com/telomererepair

The Radio Sweetheart
www.myspace.com/theradiosweetheart

Los Mysteriosos
www.myspace.com/httpwwwmyspacecomlosmysteriosos

Mike Watt & The Secondmen
www.myspace.com/secondmen

Mike Watt Bio
www.allmusic.om/MikeWatt

The Watt From Pedro Radio Show
www.twfps.com

Alex’s Bar
www.Alexsbar.com

AFG Must Rock!
Check Out: www.myspace.com/TheSwaggerSticks

I don’t know when Kyle de Beausset finds the time to actually go to classes up there in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  De Beusset runs Citizen Orange and is one of the brains behind the on-line immigrant rights network, The Sanctuary.  He’s also a valued regular MexFiles reader and sometime commentator.

Going on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” — which seems to exist for the sole purpose of letting the eponymous presenter, Bill O’Reilly, refer to those being interviewed as “stupid” or “pinheads” or “left-wing kooks” when they challenge his … shall we be polite and say… dated ideas about the world?

Kyle was supposed to have five minutes to explain exactly why he took time out of his already overloaded schedule to take on Jim Gilchrist,  fuhrer of the “Minute Man Project,” known associate of neo (and retro) Nazis and — in de Beausett’s main complaint –  ally and supporter of terrorist Shawna Forde.

In early October Kyle began using different university mailing lists to build support for uninviting Gilchrist to speak at Harvard:

“It might be an interesting intellectual exercise for Harvard students to hear extremist views,” de Beausset wrote in one of these e-mails, but he added that the “broader implications of legitimizing these extremist views with the Harvard name” were more important.

While another presenter — arguably saner and better mannered — was substituted for O’Reilly — Kyle was cut short when the presenter failed to rile him, or to shake his obviously correct sense of the law and civil rights.

On Citizen Orange, Kyle explains the points he was not able to make:

The only way to truly understand the consequences of hateful speech like Gilchrist’s is to hear the audio of Brisenia Flores’ mother when she dialed 911 to report that her husband and her daughter were shot and killed. (WARNING: Listening to this audio might be traumatic for those who have suffered violence.  I have only listened to it once and that was enough.)  Jim Gilchrist is a close associate of Shawna Forde’s and has defended her in the past.

Writing about his immersion into the snakepit of cable television opinion shows, Kyle thought he “messed up.”  Not at all… the program was meant to pit crass v. class.  Crass had to fight dirty, and still didn´t win.  Kyle,  in the true spirit of the Harvard undergraduate, he impressed them with his prowess, and did not let the Crimson down, to use the phraseology of Harvard Class of 1947’s immortal Tom Lehrer.

Writer-director Ben Wolfinsohn fashions a deadpan satire of the high-school experience with this low-budget mockumentary that features a who’s who of the Los Angeles indie rock scene. Camera crews follow nerdy teens Caleb (Dean Allen Spunt of the band No Age), Sabrina (Jennifer Thorhill of Mika Miko), Erin (Jennifer Clavin, also of Mika Miko), and Eddie (Bobby Sandoval) as they suffer through the humiliations of senior year while being filmed for a documentary about high-school life. The comedy also features Becky Stark of the indie pop band Lavender Diamond and Mike Watt of the legendary punk trio The Minutemen.