I made this when I was thirteen. Gotta say I was pretty cool.

Let’s Push Things Forward- The Streets

Add It Up-The Violent Femmes

Voodoo Lady- Ween

Galang- MIA

The Safety Dance- Men Without Hats

Panda Panda Panda- Deerhoof

Sound is Vibration- Atmosphere

Sweet Troubled Soul- stellarstar*

Caring is Creepy- The Shins

Pink Bullets- The Shins

Daft Punk is Playing at my House- LCD Soundsystem

Dropout Boogie- The Kills

Last Resort- The Dead 60’s

Riot Radio- The Dead 60’s

The Quiet Things No One Ever Knows- Brand New

Say Yes- Elliot Smith

Yellow- Coldplay

The Crown of Love- Arcade Fire

Wake Up- Arcade Fire

Rebellion(Lies)- Arcade Fire

…are these five albums:

1) Ween’s “White Pepper”

2) Charlie Haden’s “Nocturne″

3) Vic Ruggiero’s “Understanding New Jersey/Living In Sin”

4) Boss Hog’s “Whiteout”

5) The Chemical Brothers’ “Brother’s Gonna Work It Out”

And today you’re listening to…?

A lot of “white” lately,

-Shady

Here’s Ween performing “Stacey” in 1991.  Best Parts:  A young Gene Ween and Dean’s solo.

Flight of the Conchords - “Ladies of the World” in 1999 on Newtown Salad (public access?).  What an audience.  Anyway, another great early performance from a duo.

Here’s another duo, Tenacious D, performing “Explosivo” in 1998 on what looks like a Comedy Central show.  And did the creators of Hancock rip off his get-up from Jack Black’s accessories here?  Who’s to say?

Next up is Bauhaus performing “Stigmata Martyr”.  Not sure what year this was filmed or how long the band had been together at this point, but it looks like an early capture.  Quality is a bit choppy, but a gem nonetheless.

And here’s my favorite “early performance” on Youtube - Steely Dan performing “Reelin’ in the Years” sometime in the early 70’s.  The video reads it was in 1978, but apparently that’s when this performance aired and not when it was filmed.  By 1978, Steely Dan had become strictly a “studio band”  but this video showcases their live capabilities. 

And those are my selections for now.  One day, I’m sure I’ll stumble upon some early videos of Pixies or Wilco and will have to add them to the list.  Until then, enjoy these selections hand-picked for your viewing pleasure.

Ween is geweldig. Vind ik (je mag je eigen mening blijkbaar nooit als een feit beschouwen)(vind ik best belachelijk). Ik bedoel, twee mannen die zich Dean Ween en Gene Ween noemen en liedjes maken over vliegen op hun piemel, dat doet mijn hart smelten.Waar mijn hart een stuk minder van smelt, misschien zelfs wel van versteend (oke, ik ben af en toe erg melodramatisch) zijn van die randdebielen die goede muziek op YouTube zetten (op zich een Goed Feit) en daar dan de in een naar-hun-eigen-mening-ongelooflijk-creatieve bui ongelooflijk trieste plaatjes van beeldhouwwerken, wolkenkrabbers (WTF? Daar zit vast een geheime terroristische boodschap in. Volgens mij zit dat tegenwoordig zelfs in mijn muesli) en andere shitty dingen bijzetten. Ik zeg: afmaken die hap. Dat was geen terroristische boodschap. Dat noemt men gerechtigheid.

Dan liever live-optredens met een kerstboom op de achtergrond:

Some weenie at Yahoo! omg! may have been weaned from a dictionary a little too soon:

This post is coming a little later in the day than I would have liked, but hey, shit happens.

AFI – Crash Love
Andrew Jackson Jihad, Mischief Brew – Split
Buck O Nine – Barfly
Buck O Nine – Songs in the Key of Bree
Buck O Nine – True or False
Chixdiggit – Born on the First of July
Chixdiggit – From Scene to Shining Scene
Chixdiggit – Pink Razors
Citizen Fish – Life Size
Diesel Boy – Rode Hard and Put Away Wet
Diesel Boy – Sofa King Cool
Diesel Boy – Venus Envy
Division of Laura Lee – Black City
Dutchess and The Duke, The – Sunset Sunrise
Eels, The – Hombre Lobo
Faith No More – Angel Dust
Lagwagon – A Feedbag of Truckstop Poetry
Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The – Where’d You Go
No Use For A Name – Leche con Carne
No Use For A Name – Live in a Dive
No Use For A Name – Making Friends
Noise By Numbers – Yeah, Whatever…
Specials, The – The Specials
Strung Out – Another Day in Paradise
Ween – Gabrielle
Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary

And to go with the announcement last month of their new record, a coming soon page for:

Eels, The – End Times

Artwork. Paintings. Drawings. Stuff hung in the Louvre. It’s classic, right? I’d like to think that a great deal of it is. Untouchable? I dunno, I guess so. Not untouchable enough that it doesn’t end up on album covers from time to time. As far as changing the meaning of the original work, I could care less. Yes, it seems I’m reaching for a “don’t care” attitude with this blog. But honestly, I don’t wanna write a classic today. I just wanna bring to attention some famous artwork that also made for some decent album covers. Maybe with a bit of snark thrown in for good measure. I don’t feel like picking an attitude and sticking with it today. So, let us begin.

—-

Coldplay – Viva la Vida —–> Eugène Delacroix – Liberty Leading the People

Ah yes, what a grand and marvelous piece this was. Until someone let that wacky Chris Martin paint the name of his album on top of it.

—-

Weezer – Pinkerton —–> Hiroshege – Kambara Yoru no Yuki

We get it Rivers, you love Japan. Well, the top half wasn’t really a part of the original piece, so Goddamn that half-Japanese album cover.

—-

Sonic Youth – Daydream Nation —–> Gerhard Richter – Kerze

A candle is lit, and a musical revolution begins… or something. Great record, great lighting.

—-

Crash Test Dummies - God Shuffled His Feet —–> Titian – Bacchus and Ariadne

Oh those wacky Canadians! Now they think they’re Greek gods! With a deep baritone voice like that, who can blame them?

—-

David Bowie – “Heroes”/Iggy Pop – The Idiot —–> Erich Heckel – Roquairol

While not technically the actual artwork, both these two were apparently inspired by this. I see it in Iggy, but Dave’s pretty much doing his own thing as usual.

—-

Ween – The Pod —–> Leonard Cohen – The Best of

Now, I don’t have too many problems with the other artworks displayed being used, but geez Ween! You should be ashamed of yourself! How could you defile the stone-cold classic The Best of? As far as I’m concerned, Ween can go jump off a cliff and die. You don’t mess with something as precious and life-affirming as Leonard Cohen’s The Best of. An American classic ruined by two PA stoners.

-Trevor

Go hug your hunny today, or your baby, whichever:

And dig on this tune, not that I’m traveling today or anything:

By the way, Woody Guthrie wrote that song, but the performance that you’re hearing is by Old Crow Medicine Show. Interesting in how this has had quite a resurgence in recent years in the circles of folk and newgrass. Not that I’m complaining. Frankly, I didn’t know much about this tune before a couple years ago. So, for that, thanks Old Crow Medicine Show.

And here’s some Ween for y’all to freak out on, from 2005 in D.C.

Some years ago, I used to make time to look forward to Frank on Friday from WNCW. And when I moved out of the listening area a few years ago, I wasn’t able to get it online.

For some reason the inter-web broadcast is illegal. I dunno. I think it has something to do with Zappa’s estate, which is persnickety about his stuff being out in the world.

Whoa! Wait! I found this! And it wasn’t even difficult to track down. Oh, inter-webs, you make everything better. Are you good on toast, inter-webs? Of course not. You’re better on an English muffin.

As I said a while back ago, I don’t know what Peaches in Regalia are, but I can imagine what they look like. A bunch of peaches walking down the aisle with doctoral caps and gowns. Hee hee.

I think that peaches may be one of the smartest fruits out there. Except, maybe avocados, which would probably be in the psych and philosophy departments. Peaches are more English, prelaw, com, rhetoric and letters types. Apples, for irony’s sake, are not in the education department (too literal) but are science profs.

Bananas? Anthropology.

Oranges are all business.

Limes teach Spanish.

Cherries are math and stats.

Pineapple – architecture.

Well. I’m glad we have that  settled. But I’m having trouble deciding which fruit would teach engineering courses. Suggestions?

ps – here’s one more!

“Wear your blouse

undone to here

and your skirt split

up to there…”

And one more, for good measure:

What could be browner than the Brown Trout Festival? It takes place in Alpena, MI – a small town far up north. If you put your right hand down on the table, palm up, Alpena would be on the edge, near the tip of your nose-picking finger.

It’s more or less a fishing tournament that’s seen better days. The Brown Trout population has diminished over the years (maybe because of the tournament?). There’s a large beer tent that rocks out with local bands and the recent addition of a “sexy body” contest.

Really, for most people, the Brown Trout Festival is all about getting wasted on a boat out in the middle of Lake Huron – but, if you catch the Big Brownie, a tagged Brown Trout, then you win a big purse – something like $25,000, I think. No, it’s never been done.

If you know brown, then you know WEEN. There’s no better foundation for the “Best of What’s Brown” than WEEN.

WEEN is the "Best of What's Brown"

Devon Stewart rocks the Shaefer studios while working on his self-titled solo project

Lil Wayne. Kanye West. Maroon 5. Rascal Flatts. Music purists loathe them for at least one reason — Auto-Tune, a downloadable audio processor that corrects vocal and instrumental blunders in order to attain perfect pitch. By using this program, a producer can fill in a recorded performance’s holes, smooth its edges and polish its smudges.  Everyone must use this to attain musical nirvana, right? Negatory. In fact, musicians that admire large holes, adore peculiar edges, and worship pesky smudges are alive, well and plentiful. They are lo-fi artists.

Lo-fi is a shortened form of “low-fidelity,” fidelity meaning the extent to which an electronic device such as a radio or television can accurately reproduce a sound or an image. Taken literally, lo-fi can be defined as low-quality sound.

Performers like Beck, The Black Keys, Dinosaur Jr., Modest Mouse and Ween have all retreated from that glossy, synthetic, superficial world into a barebones, bare-necessities cosmos, recording sound in only its purest, most genuine state. But it’s not just a hit with more mainstream acts either, and has slowly found its way into Syracuse University’s own music scene over the past few years.

MUSIC WITH A HUMAN FACE

Ulf Oesterle, an Assistant Professor in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries at S.U. and owner of local label Aux Records, managed a band between 1997 and 1998 that recorded an EP on South Campus over their Spring Break.

“People that are recording in lo-fi, they want to create something,” he said. “They don’t always have the means to create a product that is polished, but there is a certain beauty in these really cheap recordings.”

The band converted their apartment into a makeshift studio by flipping mattresses up against the wall for soundproofing, plopping the drums in the middle of the living room, and building a vocal booth out of three other mattresses. Some current students have been following a similar path.

Devon James Stewart, a junior film major in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts and guitarist for local ska/experimental outfit Native Informant, also started his own electronic project using some lo-fi techniques. He sees the genre as a response to today’s financial climate.

“I think with the economy and the way the world is, people think that it’s harder to get your music heard, or its harder to make some money playing music,” he said. “So more people, more bands that are trying to do things are thinking of innovative ways to just try new things.”

Stewart uses Logic Pro Studio, Apple’s music production suite, to create his art. Stewart, who’s also a DJ, has used it to record songs outside, in a hallway, or on a flight of stairs to capture different room sounds.  He said lo-fi is a positive force because the musical process becomes solely concerned with the individual, not a huge record company.

“It takes it out of the hands of the industry and out of the commercial world. It gives it more of a human face,” he said.

THE DEMO AESTHETIC

Bob Dylan’s 1975 record The Basement Tapes was the first landmark lo-fi pop album. The disc distinguished itself by holding on to its flaws, playing off mistakes, and recording live. Thus, Dylan invented lo-fi’s calling card — authenticity.

“What does a song sound like in its unfinished state?” asked Theo Cateforis, an Assistant Professor of Music History and Cultures in the Department of Art & Music Histories at SU. “I think the idea of intimacy is important to lo-fi, that if you can imagine, ‘Wow, this sounds like it was recorded in someone’s bedroom,’ it’s a lot easier to imagine yourself in that space than it is to imagine yourself in Metallica’s studio.”

Lo-fi is about that demo aesthetic, he said. That gritty, dirty, distorted sound comes from the equipment.

Artists like Buddy Holly, The Beach Boys, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd all recorded on a reel-to-reel tape recorders. More modern musicians have used four-track recorders, namely the Tascam Portastudio, the first of its kind. With these, the artist records four separate instruments on four separate tracks and then blends them all together at the end.

Although it has become the norm to produce demos, Bruce Springsteen recorded Nebraska on the Portastudio, and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ axeman John Frusciante used it to create Niandra Lades & Usually Just a T-Shirt as well as Smile from the Streets You Hold. Newer models of this recorder have six and eight tracks, with some digital types going as high as twenty-four. People can find this kind of equipment on the street, Oesterle said.

“Some people are finding second-hand equipment and you’ve got a sense of trying to fix up this old gear, maybe analog gear that’s been discarded by most of the modern studios,” he said. “Some people, if they’re lucky enough to have GarageBand on it or some sort of rudimentary audio recording program, you can put together your music in that.”

FLOODING THE MARKET

But what about the critics who say lo-fi groups are flooding the market? It’s no fun if anyone can create some semblance of a studio in their own home, record some songs in low quality, and throw it on their MySpace page. Oesterle disagrees.

“From a perspective of music consumption, I think it’s great because people can put music together, offer it to fans or potential fans on any one of the social networks, and people can consume music, they can hear it, they can interact with it, download it, or stream it,” he said.

Kevin Hegedus, a sophomore music composition major also known as Mouf, began a lo-fi project called Mouth’s Cradle in the summer of 2008, making music based primarily on vocal loops. Using only his laptop, its internal microphone, GarageBand and a few outside instruments, Mouth’s Cradle recorded two EPs: Body Pop in 2008 and Beach Tales in 2009. He did it all for free.

“[Lo-fi] sounds very do-it-yourself-ish, but at the same time it has this really grainy rock quality, which, to me, is just so attractive and makes the music more real for me,” he said. “I think aesthetically, the raw sound is really beautiful.”

Another upside to marketing lo-fi is the live show. A fan may pick up a band’s album, like the music, and wonder about the quality, but still want to go see them live.

“I think if you have this really polished CD and then you go to the live show and the live show doesn’t hit the mark, doesn’t reach the level that the CD was, I think you’re disappointed a little bit,” Oesterle said.

“If you have a recording that is less than stellar but you go to the live show where they’re playing through a PA system that’s state of the art, which many of the venues have great PA systems, even small venues, the concert experience is more pleasurable at that point.”

GARAGEBAND NATION

Matt Gasda, a junior in The College of Arts & Sciences, sings and plays guitar and keyboards in the ambient act Bears in America, who are planning to record this winter.  He said some members of the group want to record in a more lo-fi way, with no mixing or overdubs, but he would prefer the expensive equipment.

“It’s a real choice — sometimes limiting gadgets in the studio results in a more spontaneous sound,” he said. “I think there is something worth investigating in that approach. Some bands, particularly pretty ones, could never do it. Pretty music requires delicacy.”

The lo-fi approach has become synonymous with old-time authenticity, a certain back-to-basics process designed to tickle our remember-when glands. People still buy and listen to vinyl records, not only so they can impress other people with their collection of trendy second hand knick-knacks, but also because the music can provide a sort of homely nostalgia.

Gasda had a somewhat humorous, ironic outlook on lo-fi and its future.

“It has certainly flooded the internet with atrocious, aesthetically empty music. But the radio is and was already flooded by bad music,” he said. “We used to have bad music controlled by major labels, now it’s controlled by young people with GarageBand.”

– Bill McMillan

On Halloween night, Pearl Jam played The Spectrum in Philadelphia, the final concert in the forty-five year existence of the venerable arena. At some point in the very near future, the building will be razed.

I’ve never set foot in The Spectrum. Obviously, I never will.

I’ve never lived in (or near) Philadelphia and, unless Paloma surprises me and has it on her short list of potential future destinations, I don’t intend to.

But, as a kid, despite growing up some six hundred miles west of The Spectrum, the building had a prominent spot in my life and the lives of many of my friends. The Spectrum was home court for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.

In the pre-Larry Bird/Magic Johnson (not to mention pre-ESPN) era, the NBA wasn’t a big deal. We had the Pacers in Indianapolis, sixty miles away, and their games were shown on a local channel, but no one watched and, most seasons, there was little reason to do so.

The team that had our attention was the 76ers. There was the mammoth center Darryl Dawkins, shattering backboards with his dunks, who worked the media as savvily as Shaq with his eccentric ways. He christened himself “Chocolate Thunder” (one of many nicknames) and claimed his home planet to be Lovetron where his girlfriend Juicy Lucy still lived.

The team had guards like the scrappy Doug Collins and the lockdown artist Maurice Cheeks as well as sniper shot Andrew Toney. We loved the gangly forward Caldwell Jones as much for the fact that he was gangly and named Caldwell Jones as his game.

And, most of all, the Sixers had the good Doctor, the incomparable Julius Erving.

We all spent a lot of snowbound, Sunday afternoons hoping the Sixers would be on the weekly game of the week so we might get a glimpse of Dr. J.

(we often got our wish)

And to this day, I’m far more excited to see footage of Dr. J than Michael Jordan. I suppose it’s because he was likely the first athlete that made me stare dumbfounded, amazed at what I’d seen.

(and, as we didn’t see endless replays in Dr. J’s heyday, there was a mystique – usually, you saw the play live or you didn’t see it)

Erving’s high-flying exploits were often beamed into our living rooms on those drab, Midwestern afternoons from The Spectrum.

I think we even thought the name was cool. It sounded space-age, futuristic and intergalactic.

Maybe Chocolate Thunder was telling the truth.

It’s strange to think The Spectrum will be gone

There’s no shortage of music from Philadelphia natives. To be understated, there’s actually a staggering array of amazing stuff. Here are songs from four such acts – not necessarily classics, merely ones I wanted to hear…

The Hooters – All You Zombies
from Nervous Night

This was the introduction of The Hooters, who had a sizeable local following, to the rest of the country. All You Zombies hooked me first time I heard it in late winter/early spring of 1985. It had an interesting, reggae hitch and portentous lyrics.

Nervous Night left me mostly underwhelmed, but it had several hits over the next year or so. Their second record came and went pretty quickly (though I thought it had a couple of decent tracks).

A songwriter friend hosted a couple members of the band (main lyricists Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian) to do some writing years later. Apparently they were delightful guests.

The Stylistics – You Are Everything
from The Stylistics

I know that Philly is famous for soul music, but there are a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the genre. The Stylistics are one of those acts who I love the handful of songs I know and keep intending to check out their music beyond the hits.

They’re still on that list – thanks to a combination of apathy and forgetfulness – because I never tire of songs like Betcha By Golly Wow, I’m Stone in Love With You, Break Up To Make Up, and the smooth as silk You Are Everything.

Hall & Oates – Wait For Me
from X-Static

Whether you listened to a lot of music in the ’80s or not, if you are old enough to have been there, you likely know (or would recognize) a good number of songs by Hall & Oates – Kiss On My List, Private Eyes, Maneater…

And twenty-five plus years later, the stuff holds up and seems to have earned a measure of belated respect. As good as their big hits were, the duo had a lot of hits that seem to have been forgotten a bit – Did It In A Minute and Family Man come to mind – that were pretty fantastic.

I’d put Wait For Me on that list, too.

Ween – Flutes Of Chi
from White Pepper

I just didn’t get Ween. I tried. I really did.

Then, the duo put out White Pepper. Chock full of immediately engaging melodies, I couldn’t believe how effortless it was to enjoy. I intended to revisit their earlier albums but, White Pepper was released in 2000 and I still haven’t gotten around to doing so.

Flutes Of Chi always reminded me of XTC.

I had things to do, and was late getting out the door (is that not always the case with me and the first day of a festival? Why would I ever think it would be different?) but the one artist I wanted to see for sure fer shur today was Eminem. Yes, Eminem in his only concert this year. Me, the non Eminem fan, thrilled to see him.

It was raining when I left, so the less time spent outdoors, the better. It continued to drizzle, with spats of heavier rains, but no actual downpours. So wet feet, wet jeans, and cold, but not miserable. I bought a heavy duty rain poncho for the downpour, but the deluge did not come, perhaps because I bought the poncho for the downpour and thus jinxed it.

I walked in and Justice was playing. Because of the rain and cold, the crowd was thin-ish, but no less enthusiastic. The nice thing about the main stages at Voodoo in City Park, is the audience gets to stand on a paved track, so it may have been muddy elsewhere, and treacherous footing where the lighting was insufficient, but here it was solid footing, perfect for dancing. And dancing there was. In fact, the Man from Burning Man was there, a larger than life marionette, done up in El Wire. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, since Burners Without Borders were originally formed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Burning Man participants wanting to come down to Louisiana and contribute enthusiasm and work to rebuilding the devastated communities. They specifically helped rebuild a Buddhist monastery, in a documentary I saw detailing it. Anyway, here’s the Man enjoying Justice. Justice was cut off, their sound turned off, but you could tell both they and their fans could have easily gone on for another few hours. Besides, dancing in the rain kept one warm!

The Burning Man Man Dancing to Justice

Justice

Another nice feature Voodoo does is specifically geared towards large crowds and camping in front of one stage exclusively: cameramen capture the main act playing, and project it onto the screens of the other stage. For Justice, with an excessive amount of fog/smoke from machines, I rarely could even see the two artists. But I could usually see the cameramen, because their white bags protected their cameras. But if I turned around, and looked at the other stage, I saw a perfect image of what I could not see!

And then it was time to move over to the other stage and watch Eminem. Perhaps it is a good thing I am not a huge fan, as everything was new to me. His visuals were great, showing videos throughout, and his band was dressed in skeleton costumes. The opening were a few quotes that I didn’t quite catch, and then it launched into a video involving blood and death and corpses, appropriate for Halloween horror. Other videos had a comic book theme, toy soldiers by computer animation, computer graphics, etc. They may have been videos aired on MTV, I have no idea, they were all new to me. The advantages of being a casual fan.

Eminem

I can’t help it, I like Eminem. He makes me laugh. I can’t take him seriously. Despite his bravado and bluff, what lyrics I catch just amuse. “The FCC / won’t let me be!” Sure, he swears a lot, is offensive on purpose, but given the subject matter of some of his songs, it is obvious this is all just for show. It is his stage persona. What with him having the numerous alter egos Eminem, Slim Shady, Big Proof, etc., it is obvious that he is clear he as a performer is not the same as he as a person. “Ever since I broke up with / What’s-Her-Name…” Sure, we know more about his personal life because he is a celebrity who has had relationship issues, but chances are for most of us that if we were celebrities, people would know far too much about our relationship issues too. Why should he be different?

Anyway, he did not disappoint. I continued dancing the night away, and he ended the show. With an encore. (Come on people, if the house lights and roadies do not come out, the show is not over yet!) Eminem, with his sad, world weary, mischevious eyes, willing to play with different musicians, musical stylings and dance styles, put on an excellent show. I am so glad to have had the chance to see him.

Eminem

And off we all trudged, through the mud towards the other lights and music, to see the last song of Ween on the way out.

Ween Performing the Last Song of the Day

More tomorrow, as tomorrow is KISS. Thank you Henry Rollins for putting the image of KISS Nation in my head, making me curious to want to see The Nation.

Napisać dobrą piosenkę na poważny temat – to prawdziwe wyzwanie. Nie łatwiej jednak śpiewać o rzeczach błahych,  trywialnych, żeby nie powiedzieć bzdurnych, nie popadający przy tym w banał.  A to właśnie od bliska trzydziestu lat udaje się dwójce pseudo braci – Aron Freeman alias “Gene Ween”, a także Mickey “Dean Ween” Melchiondo, komikom z powołania, muzykom z wyboru. To pozornie beztroskie „rodzeństwo” zawsze trzeźwo oceniało swoje możliwości, nie siląc się na kanonadę niepotrzebnych dźwięków, a raczej na humorystyczne podejście do muzykowania. I taki właśnie jest ich najlepiej oceniany album w dyskografii – „The Mollusk” – pełen uroku, pełen humoru.

W muzyce Ween podoba mi się ta prostota i to, że za każdym razem słucha się tego z uśmiechem na twarzy. „Dean Ween” nie jest amatorem, to bardzo dobry gitarzysta – nie żaden tam wirtuoz, gra po prostu to co trzeba. Świetnie odnajduje się w różnych stylach – bo pamiętać należy, że kawałki Ween przy programowej prostocie są bardzo różnorodne. Poczynając od pseudo industrialnych nasyconych elektroniką rodem z Ministry czy Nine Inch Nails – „I’ll Be Your Jonny On The Spot” , na country i rockabilly („She Wanted To Leave”) kończąc. Między tymi spinającymi płytę kompozycjami odnajdziemy niezliczone pokłady psychodelicznego rocka -„Mutilated Lips” , „Cold Blows The Wind”, a także utrzymany w folkowo – pirackiej konwencji utwór „The Blarney Stone”.

Dużo dobrego można też napisać o wokalach Arona Freemana, które potrafią nadać prostej balladzie odrealnionego nastroju. Weźmy chociażby „It’s Gonna Be (Alright)”, będący czymś na kształt uduchowionej kołysanki. Jest też parę instrumentalnych smaczków. Niby nic wielkiego. Ot , takie sobie mało skomplikowane dłubanie przy klawiszach, ale też ma swój urok. Do prawdy nie mam pojęcia w jaki to sposób to całkiem tradycyjne granie i różne elektroniczne eksperymenty w ogóle się ze sobą nie kłócą. Słuchanie płyt Ween daje wiele satysfakcji, bo mimo nasuwających się co rusz skojarzeń i czytelnych punktów odniesień w historii, nie ma na nich śladu efekciarskiej żonglerki cytatami i niezrozumiałymi aluzjami, lecz czysta, rzetelna i pełna fantazji gra.

Niezwykła to płyta, na miarę takiego małego, aczkolwiek dającego wiele osobistego zadowolenia odkrycia. Wiadomo, Amerykę już, ktoś odkrył, ale Bóg jeden wie ile jeszcze małych wysepek czeka na zbadanie na bezkresnym oceanie niezależnego rock.

8/10

To inaugurate the Workerbee blog, and to celebrate the tenth year of The Cryogenic Strawberries as a band; we are proud to announce a limited 10 copy re-release of The Cryogenic Strawberries’ seminal album The Breaking Point. This album causes nose-bleeds and was once banned by the Geneva Convention, this might be your last chance to buy it before it is condemned further for it’s human rights violations.

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For Fans of: Ween, The Residents, early industrial, insanity, and Devo

Sziasztok…

Jaja…Töröltem minden posztot mert uncsiztam őket..Le is lehet érte cseszni, hisz jogos..

Nem volt mit írnom hisz nem történt semmi, de rámtört az írhatnék nagy unalmamban hiszen most van is mit írni..

Október 25
HoolieWeen
&
Dancsi sweet seventeen

[Sok boldog szülinapot neki]

Hát igen a délután elég huzos volt ugyanis sacc/kb 4 órát késtem barátosomtól->ErykScene

[ akiröl sajnálatos modon mostanság semmi hír]

Hát nade az este kárpotolja mindezt..Hálovín party, nagy készülődés..

Hajat vasal, szem kihuz, arcot púderol hiszen marionett bábu voltam aztán go GLAM

Indulás necces mert mindenki megbámult de nem is fontos hisz ők nem tudják de én igen hogy ezen az éjjelen be KELL öltözni!!!

GLAM előtt kevesen, de ahogy gyültek az emberek..elképesztő volt..Egy villanásnyi tali és duma Wiktorral aztán irány befelé.

Odabent pulcsi lead,pózol néhányat Hoolieval és Dancsival.Utána 370-es szám a tombolán, meg egy
Piros Papírt, amire a Horrorkirály-Horrorkirálynőnek jelölt emberek nevét kell írni.

[Jelölésem nem publikus, hisz ez egy oan dolog]

A 3 Szőke

Lementem a lépcsőn.Gyerekek, k*rva szép ülőgarnitúra van ott és gyönyörű az egész.
Továbbmentem,jobbra megint néhány ülőhely,és jéé^-^…egy WiwiennGrosse.Balra diszkóterem full feketében,keverőpulttal, nagyon királyos volt.Továbbmentem.Ot volt a bárpult…Nagyon szomjas voltam,de persze Wiktor letámadott h vegyek má vmi piát,uh vettem 1 vodkanarancsot amit megittunk szépen kettecskén. Jobbra megint gyönyörü ülőcuccos.
És most jött az a szoba ami a táncterem után a legjobb.Körbe a fal mentén ülőhelyek,néhány asztal,egy lámpa ÉS egy diszkógömb.Ha megállsz vhol a szobában és nézed a földet akkor forog veled a világ Nagyon bejövős volt
(de részegen nem ajánlatos…garantált taccs)

Éjfélig semmi xtra csak dumálgatások és egy csajszy rokája majdnem a rajtam..-.-”.

Éjfélkor: zene elhalkul,fények tompulnak.A táncterem közepéről kiemelkedett egy kifutó,és percekkel később. elkezdődött a cover-show.Bocs,de nem sorrendben lesznek leírva az előadások.

Legelső szám az Marilyn Mansontól a This is Halloween volt.Bejelentették a Horrorkirályt és Horrorkirálynőt,Hopát & Dancsit, akik egy 100000 Ft. értékű portfoliót nyertek Paprika Christian-tól,majd kisorsolták a tombolát,egy vízipipát,és leleplezték Frances Horror-t is.Volt még Britney Spears – Toxic,
Pink-től a Lady Marmalade (Moulin Rouge,ha így beugrik),
Kelly Clarkson – My life would suck without you, Pink – Sober,ami  tökéletes polgárpukkasztás volt:).

*Hoolie képmelléklet…[Bocsi de késik majd bepotolom]*

Megy a zene,Hoolie táncol és egyszer csak Betty szószerint beesik a színpadra,egy borosüveggel,egyszál fehérneműben×D.Iszik, közbe megy a show. Hoolie megrángatja aztán visszalöki,majd később a hajánál fogva ráncigálja,Betty visszamegy a földre,Hoolie kirántja a kezéből  az üveget és hozzávágja a falhoz.A dal végén Hoolie felhúzza Bettit,és megcsókolja

Jollett megcsinálva és az a részegség és a csok..abszolute élethű..hát..mind1:D

Meginterjúvoltam a részeg álommanót.

Azt mondta hogy nem volt ennyire megbeszélve,meg is volt döbbenve.Tehát Hoolie jol produkált *taps*

A cover show után egy csomó szülinapost felhívtak a színpadra,és kaptunk éneklést meg islert gyertyával, hisz én is szülinapos voltam.

Majd kimentünk és leültünk és a hamutálban volt egy fél isler és Wiwienn jóízűen elfalatozta…
Egészségedre
Nem kommentálom tovább

Utána diszkó volt,meg ivás,meg pihenés,meg balhék.Ez utóbbiakat nem részletezem.

Egyszercsak elkapott a vonat Beálltam a végére,és az egész klubot körbevonatoztuk,bementünk a táncterembe és ott is táncoltunk.Utána roma zenét nyomattak vagy mit, mi meg ott roptunk Hopa csinált vidit majd nézzétek meg;) Hát az amit ott Eryk és Ábel lenyomtak közbe az sem volt semmi..Utána még volt egy kis “mai” zene és 4 kor bomlásnak indult az egész party vége a bulinak

Én nagyon élveztem a bulit és várom a kövit,
amely nem lesz más mint:

Halloween Wallpapers

Halloween Wallpapers 13 Halloween wallpapers at 1680 x 1050 pixels.

Grade gefunden und dazu Kostenloser Download

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/32859

Gotta love this sign. Either they have a sense of humor, or beachgoers are more liberal in this particular country.

Ween: Ocean Man

• Lady GaGa: Everyone and their grandma’s dog will be doing this one, but it’s timely and fierce.
• Kanye West: a bottle of Hennessey and a leather top. Tip: keep interrupting people when they speak.
• Michelle Obama: Just look generally fierce. Avoid blackface.
• La Roux’s Elli Jackson: Pasty look, colorful jacket and red Elvis wig. Avoid whiteface.
• RuPaul: just drag it up in high heels and big hair.
• Swine Flu: dress as a piglet and cough on people.
• A “Single Lady”: learn the dance moves to Beyonce’s song and wear something skimpy.
• Anything Circus-y: Britney did it, P!nk did it, Take That did it and Kelly Clarkson wanted to.
• Michael Jackson: anything MJ will go and flow in 2009.
• A Republican: Red tie, Rochester Big & Tall suit, frown and the smell of ignorance.
• Farrah Fawcett: blonde wig and a whole lotta volume.
• Glenn Beck: bad suit, tears in your eyes, quiver in the lips and just plain lie.
• Jonas Brothers: requires a threesome, huge brows and chastity rings.
• Perez Hilton: colorful sweater, colorful hair and gossip all night.
• Brüno: camp it up but be gentle, now!
• Twitter: come as a blue bird and refer to people with an “@” before their names.
• Marge Simpson: blue hair, yellow paint and naked.
• New iPod Nano: pick a color and stick a camera in your back.
• Glee Club: any character.
• Ongina: my pick.
• Kathy Griffin: fire-ginger wig that doesn’t touch the side of your head and be loud.
• Gloria Estefan: Why not?

“When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable. I see no foe. I am related to the earliest times, and to the latest.”

Henry David Thoreau

Our trip options had been narrowed down inadvertently by the stone cold clerk at the Army Surplus store – we would have to wait another day in order to get the remaining strap for my hiking pack.  Our idea to speed to Utah to see Bon Iver was no longer in the cards, and all that remained for choices were to stay in Colorado a week, or heading north through Wyoming en route to Montana.  I wasn’t too upset though, considering how lame a Bon Iver show could be in a park, surrounded by Mormons.

Although, I did hear rumor that Joseph Smith made a mid-set appearance and the place went wild.

With time to kill before hitting the road, we stopped at a grocery store to get supplies.  We loaded our cart with non-perishables (dried fruit, nuts, soup) and food to keep in our cooler (fruit, lunch meat, cheese).  After last year’s road trip, I ended up losing 10 pounds due to a combination of hiking and the healthy diet we adhered to.  I looked forward to shedding the pounds I gathered while nursing my Tim Duncan foot.

If it worked, I knew I had the next big diet fad on my hands.

We stopped by the cosmetic/pharmacy section to pick up toiletries like toothpaste, all-natural camping soap, Advil, and flushable Wet Wipes in travel pack size – yes, we were going out into nature for a month, but leaves just don’t cut it in the wiping department (although they do cut, if you catch my drift).  Paul decided we needed vitamins, so I grabbed a bottle of “Centrum: For Men”.  

“No, no, no, Andy,” he replied, putting the Centrum bottle back on the shelve and grabbing a bottle of Flinstone’s Chewable Vitamins.

“Dude, those are for kids. We’re men!” I shouted, picking the Centrum bottle back up and pointing at the word “Men” boldly printed on the front of the package.

He grabbed the bottle from my hand and examined its label, followed by a quick scan of the  bottle’s label.  “According to this, two Flinstones equal one Centrum.  Plus, they taste better.”

I ripped the Centrum from his hand and pointed to the label again. “But look! Centrum promotes prostate health.” He ignored my protest, tossing the Flinstones into our cart.  It wasn’t worth arguing, plus, I always thought Flinstone vitamins were damn tasty.

If only they made Flinstone vitamins that promote prostate health.

Once we had our cooler loaded and packed my canvas Spurs bag with the non-perishables, we returned to the streets of Cheyenne, once again passing the innumerable Crown Royal banners.  Eventually, we hit the highway for our return trip to Laramie. We decided we’d stay at Vedavoo once again, although we might venture out and find somewhere else to set up camp.  

As we drove, I began to feel more and more sick.  I didn’t know if it was from lack of sleep, or if my breakfast of homemade Rat Poop Power Bars was taking its toll.  Paul pulled into the same rest area we stopped at the year prior with an enormous statue of Abe Lincoln’s head.  

While Paul went inside to grab maps and brochures, I laid down on a bench beneath Abe, feeling my aches and pains worsening. Looking up at Honest Abe’s beard, reaching down toward me, I wondered if my trip would be over before it started.  I could feel the ache of my Tim Duncan foot, the little black spot in my eye continued to swim across my pupil, and my ears popped like a bowl of Rice Krispies. And now dizziness, a headache, and stomach pains? How would I survive a month in the wild with all these ailments taking over my 30 year old body?

"A headache, dizziness, and ears popping? I can relate."

Paul returned with a stack of brochures and smile on his face.  “Dude! We’re set; I found a sweet map of…” His excitement diminished, seeing me slumped over below the statue. “What’s wrong with you?’

I explained the stomach ache, the dizziness, and all the other mounting problems.  I’m sure I sounded like a whiney bitch. “You just need to eat, dude.”  I followed him to the car, and followed his command, forcing down a store bought granola bar (no rat poop for me), and a bag of fruit chews.  Paul chose to drive and we returned to the road, heading toward Vedavoo.

“I know just the thing to raise your spirits,” Paul said, fiddling with his I-POD.  I groaned, expecting him to play some form of grinding metal that would take my headache to new heights. As I laid my head back, a strange sound emitted from the speakers. It was Ween.  When I first heard the lyrics, the song choice became blatantly clear:

Ocean man, take me by the hand, lead me to the land that you understand
Ocean man, the voyage to the corner of the globe is a real trip
Ocean man, the crust of a tan man embibed by the sand
Soaking up the thirst of the land

Ocean man, can you see through the wonder of amazement at the oberman
Ocean man, the crust is elusive when it casts forth to the childlike man
Ocean man, the sequence of a life form braised in the sand,
Soaking up the thirst of the land

For a month Paul had been referring to me as Ocean Man, a nickname I never understood, but on this afternoon, surrounded by the burnt orange crumbling hills of Wyoming and Ween drowning us with their spacey sound, I finally understood. I was the “childlike man” taking Paul through the land I understand (although I would contend that Paul “understands the land” better than me). The both of us were going to be on the road for a month, soaking up the thirst of the land in hopes that it would endlessly splash around in our memories for years to come, or for at least the next 8 months until our next trip.

By the time the song finished, all my problems had disappeared.  My sick stomach had eased, the ear popping ceased, and the spot in my eye took a break from obstructing my view.  Who knew Ween had such magical healing powers?

Ween-itusin: Medicine for the Soul

Before heading out to set up camp once again, Paul decided we should stop in Laramie.  Since he lived there while attending the University of Wyoming, he wanted to take a gander at the latest in the little mountain town.  Seeing a used bookstore, Paul stopped abruptly announcing, “And now we get you a copy of ‘Lord of the Rings’”.  

In the store, I located the Tolkien section quickly and fingered through the various editions of “Lord of the Rings”: the classic cover, the movie cover, and the special 50th edition cover. While the classic was cool in a retro way and the movie cover was new and shiny, the 50th edition cover was beyond description. On the front, an image of a Charlton Heston looking Gandalf holding the ring douche-illy in his hand while a semi-retarded Frodo peaks from over his shoulder.  So when it came time to choose which two dollar copy of “The Fellowship” I wanted, it was a no-brainer.

"LOTR"? More like "Of Mice and Men".

Paul followed me to the register with a couple books, one which was the size of a brick.

“What is that?” I asked, wondering if Paul was buying more Dick this year.

“War and Peace,” he responded, trying to sound natural.  I kept the giggles to myself, thinking of how the year prior he read “Harry Potter” books the entire trip, and now he was making a giant leap from a book about wizards to an over 1000 paged novel of epic proportions about the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society.  If only I could get my 8th grade girls to make that type of leap from “Twilight” to “Edith Frome”.  

With new books to enjoy over the next month of road tripping, we headed back out on the road toward Vedavoo once again. Instead of heading up our usual gravel road, Paul took us to the backside of Vedavoo, a sprawling pasture of green grass surrounded by the strange rock formations that make the Vedavoo so unique.  

Quite a Voo.

We pulled into a parking area and began prepping for another night in the wild. With our new camouflage packs, we began packing the necessities: sleeping bags, pillows, matches, soup, etc.  Despite missing what the Army clerk called, “A vital strap” I decided to use my pack anyways.  I tied my new 5 lb tent to the back, and we headed off into the wild.  

We walked up a path for a quarter of a mile, and then Paul veered off, heading us straight into the brush. I followed him, hiking up a slight incline into a swarm of pine trees.  The mosquitos were unbearable, so I stopped and pulled on a sweatshirt and stocking cap.  Although my foot ached, I kept moving, seeing this small upward jaunt as the first test for my foot. If I couldn’t climb this rocky foothill, I’d never survive in the mountains of Montana.  

15 minutes into our upward journey, the rain began to sprinkle, and then grew into an all out drench fest.  I quickly joined Paul who took shelter under a nearby pine tree.  We sat under nature’s canopy for a while, talking calmly about the joys of being back in the wild.  Paul asked if I’d seen “The Hangover”, which I hadn’t.  As the rain continued to pour down around us, Paul professed the greatness of the film, giving me a quick set-up of the film. Being a big fan of Zack Galifianakis, I already planned on seeing the movie, but now I’d heard several raves of approval and knew I couldn’t miss it.

When the rain finally calmed down, we left the safety our pine umbrella, and continued climbing, moving into more rocky territory. As we moved up, the dark storm clouds slowly made way to powder blue sky with beams of sunlight peaking out from behind white clouds.  It was like we were literally climbing up into the heavens. When I finally reached the final boulder in my path, I pulled myself up, ignoring the heavy pack on my shoulders.  

Heaven beside you.

After a while of silent solitude, Paul sat nearby. We started talking about our trip so far and where we’d go from here.  At some point, Paul brought up his dad and how he was worried about him.  After seeing his father cringing in pain from his back, Paul lamented it was the first time he saw his dad as getting old. Even I could tell his dad had gained some weight from the year before, and as he moved about the farmhouse, his back pain looked unbearable.

Paul’s discussion of his dad made me think of my dad and how I’ve worried about him for several years now, ever since he was life-flighted to Sioux Falls, South Dakota due to a heart scare. Paul asked why I never vocalized my concern to him, but I couldn’t come up with an answer.  I guess it’s just weird to make the shift from being taken care of, to taking care. 

Sitting there on top of that large rock, I thought about how the two of us were at that strange stage where you have to watch your childhood hero face their toughest foe: age.