Who Are We Talking About Here?

While his musical aspirations may come as a bit of a surprise to some, ______ has been playing music with some of his Modern West band mates for nearly 20 years, he tells People.
"I remember looking into the crowd, thinking, 'This just feels right,'" he previously said about performing with his band.The 53-year-old has co-written six songs from the 12-track album, some of which will be available to country music radio this week, People reports.

Streaming Bob

Tell Tale Signs [npr]

An American's Dream

"One day I'm gon' grow up to be somebody..." thought the young boy.

These were the words of young boy with a dream. Despite being raised in the slums of Harlem, NY, little Duane knew that one day he wanted to help people. Even if it wasn't his ailing grandmother or delusional, overbearing father, it would be someone.

"That boy ain't neve' gon' 'mount ta nothin'" his uncle would say. And everyone laughed, except Duane.

"One day I'm gon' help people. If they'z sick, I'll help 'em, give 'em the medicine they'z need" little Duane would cry amongst the chuckles of his relatives.

"Boy can't even read, thinks he's gon' help people," and the laughing.

Well, little Duane grew up fast, studied his way to Medical school, taking a keen interest in pharmaceuticals and eventually providing an empire where everyone could get the things they need. He took his name, the name of his relatives and made it something - Duane Reade.

The Armpit Collection VII

Train Whistle Blues - The Legendary Jimmie Rodgers


Blues, country, and jazz, all in their prehistoric stages, coming together through one man. The music is personal, rhythmic, deeply melodic and cuts to a place that seems rightly familiar if you're an American. They say he's the father of country music, and he is. And as a matter of opinion, you could go one step further, grab Hank Williams and simply stop there and forget about the rest of country music all together. They are it! Alright, so there's some interesting points here and there through the years. But Rodgers had the fortunate circumstance and ability to combine interesting musical elements - like being at the fork in the road when it forked. He popularized a particular style of playing guitar and singing; convenient, natural, and legendary, yet managed to augment himself with interesting bands and use popular song structure. "Any Old Time" is probably the best example of his greatness. A lonely few measures of a guitar tune about a woman who's left and wants to come back, then the horn section and band kick in and holy shit, "...drop ME a line and saaaay no more you'll roam." It makes you smile, like an inside joke that everyone gets and musicians strive toward, still.

Girl Don't Tell Me

Deezer: (my Beach Boys mix)

Geezer Pleaser (jukebox)
Sneezer (be)
Teaser (Ed)
Freezer (Social Security checks)

Bill O'Reilly's Talk Radio Show Last Night

Bill O'Reilly expresses his feelings on the Wall Street rescue package. And, I kinda agree with him.

"Most talk radio is conservative dominated ideologues, or kool-aid drinking idiots. Idiots. Screaming at you "This is socialism, this is this this is that""It's Clintons fault, it's Clinton's fault." It's Clinton's fault? Clinton hasn't been in office in 8 years.

It's Bush's fault, it happened on Bush's watch. He could've prevented this. He could've gone easily and said Merrill Lynch is dealing in bad paper he could've said that.Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac they're dealing in bad paper, so you the investor, don't invest in those companies. You think they would've continued to deal in bad paper? No they would not!

But let's get back to this talk radio stuff. These idiots are misleading you they're lying to you They're rich, these guys, Big cigars, all of that! Private jets, "Oh yeah, my private jet!"And they're saying "No bailout, no no uh uh no way"Hey! You're going to get it, not them. That foreign investment pulls out, we are toast. And they'll pull out if that bailout doesn't happen. Are you getting the message here? Walk away from these liars, these right wing liars. Walk away from them, they're not looking out for you!

I don't even want to talk about the far left Barney Frank? Disgusting! Pointing fingers? It's you you big fat toad, YOU!Frank!You!Dodd, sittin' there [incomprehensible impression of Dodd] It's you Dodd, you! You knew! I swear to god, if they were in this room right now, I would hit them. Dodd and FrankThe house finance and senate finance. They knew!

Don't point a finger at anybody, I'll break that finger off! So you got corruption on the right, and corruption on the left. And who gets it? You get it, you, the hardworking person
The next politician that gets up their and points a finger, I'm go after them myself Shut up! Fix it! These are people's livesI got enough money in the bank. Unless a bank fails, I'm fine. But you're probably not fine. I'm lucky.

I'm tired of these charlatans on both sides. Lying to you, because they're ideological kool-aid drinkers or corrupt toadsAnd I'm talkin to you Barney FrankWho's the guy who was saying, "If you don't lend money to poor people you're a bigot"Who was saying that barney, WHO?![pause] I gotta take a break."

[source]

The Year of the Tasers

Rep. Barney Frank is funny

"McCain is Andy Kaufman in his Mighty Mouse costume - 'Here I Come to Save the Day,'" Frank said as he left a Thursday morning caucus meeting with House Democrats, saying the Republican presidential candidate's decision to enter the mix "is not helpful."

"He hasn't been involved," Frank said. "He doesn't know anything about it."

[source]

No Show My Ass!

Great Moments in TV History

Free Levi!

This is crazy because Levi does actually represent a demographic of political prisoners who are torn between sticking with their ideology and moving forward with the times. If they weren't so hung up on a few great tactics, strategies and talking points, this demographic of intuitive and resourceful Americans could help seal the deal and fate of America's attempt at turning the corner. Great episode.

The Interwebs

The Great Auto-Tune Debate of '08

So I must admit, I've long been skeptical of Auto-Tune. The thought of bad singers using a synthetic voice processor to make palatable sounding recordings is disheartening. And also there's just something about me that is still an analog purist so I've always hesitated. But as of late I've heard a string of songs, primarily in the hip-hop and R&B field, that is making me change my tune, figuratively. Guy's like Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Chris Brown are making this thing work, and they're kind of doing for the Auto-Tune what Roger Troutman did for the Vocoder. They've taken it from being a tool used to correct bad singing and made it into an instrument that can be tweaked and processed for full emotional and audial impact. And best of all they're feeding in good vocals to the mix now which I think is that final missing ingrident. Why have Cher's decaying howl singing "Believe" when you can have Lil Wayne's grimy growl or Chris Brown's young Mike Jackson pitch perfect style.

Smokin' smokin'

So I saw probably my favorite act of civil disobedience tonight... No, not a pocket knife slipped into the side of some yuppie (insert self-hatred here) with his Polo collar popped, smug son of a bitch... that didn't happen.

At about 3:25am at the 1st Ave. and 14th St. L Train subway stop, I walk down the stairs to get on the train. Just like a normal person, wearing a hoody, listening to the Misfits on my iPod. You know me, normal person...

I walk next to people waiting on the platform. We're all here for the same fuckin' reason. We don't have cars and need to get to Brooklyn, goddammit! "I'm going east, young man." Anyways... People are standing around in crowds and solo, but I see this "hipsteresque" (I don't want to go full fleged "hipster" ....... nevermind, she was totes v v hip; she was a "getting-on-the-subway-with-a-bike hipster") girl SMOKING A FUCKING CIGARETTE ON THE SUBWAY PLATFORM!

WOW! Couldn't wait to smoke. Had to smoke it right there, huh? Clever.

I make eye-contact with her. I see the barely-there cigarette butt waving in her right hand above her head. I have a split second to give her a smile of approval. JESUS, YOU'VE GOTTA LOT OF NERVE. For some reason, smoking on the subway platform, UNDERGROUND, seems like a capital crime. Not because I want it to be, but just because it is... To put things in perspective...

(I've seen people peeing on the platform, I've heard stories of homeless dudes whipping their dicks out in front of chicks. I image exposing oneself doesn't come without a dash of "I don't give a fuck!" And oddly enough, I think that's an understatement. Who doesn't "not give a fuck" these days? Whipping out your privates in front of stangers takes a different breed indeed.... back to the smoking girl...)

(it is...) doing something blatantly wrong. There's no smoking on the platform, just like there's no smoking in church, you know? Never seen it done. AND SHE WAS DOING IT... She looked so cool. I wanted to be her, just not giving a fuck, confident as all hell... Telling any of the 8 million strangers in the City, "I'm smoking a cigarette somewhere I'm not supposed to. Bloomberg be damned!" So I walk on by, to the middle of the block-long walkway.

I light up.

Delicious. I've been smoking Parliment Lights lately (never while waiting for the subway though, it felt good). Camel switched up the flavor on their cigs a couple months back. No idea why... My own conspiracy theory thinks the government was cracking down on cigs with extraordinary amounts of nicotine, and Camel self-regulated to cut down. I always thought Camels had more nicotine than Marlboros, and that's why I liked them more. However, when I smoked a "new" Camel Light, I didn't feel the joy the old ones brought me. It was much more empty and weak flavored.... Anyways, I TOO WAS SMOKING WHILE WAITING FOR THE SUBWAY! Cool, huh? What's the worst that could happen?

(and my girlfriend smokes Parliment Lights)

I admit I looked left and right more than twice in the four minute timespan that it took me to finish (pound the cig). If a Cop was walking my way, I'd probably shit myself (BUSTED!), and then I guess wait to get shot... I heard NYPD never hesitates. Or maybe they'd consider me a terrorist and send me to Cuba for torture, leave me outside in an orange jumper, sweating while blindfolded, dogs barking in my face while I promise to never smoke underground, in public spaces no less, ever again.

Actually I got away with it. Most didn't notice. Someone walked by and said something to me, but I had my headphones up pretty loud; after the Misfits I listened to Bob Dylan's "Self Portrait."

You'll just lay there by the juniper while the moon is bright
Watch them jugs a-filling in the pale moonlight.

I start thinking how I need to talk to this girl. I walk up to her... she's listening to headphones, but peals them off her ears when I stop walking, directly in front of her.

"Were you smoking earlier?" Maybe I have the wrong girl.

"Why?"

"Because I think I saw you smoking earlier, and that's so badass! I've never seem someone smoke underground, on the platform before." She's smiling and I'm convinced she's friendly for someone talking to a stranger.

"Well, the sign said the train wasn't coming for 19 minutes! What was I supposed to do?" Sounding proud of her disobedience. I hear the train coming. She stands.

"You inspired me to smoke a cigarette too," I say hurriedly. She looks bewildered, maybe she misheard me. "I just smoked a cigarette over there," I clarified, pointing right.

"Yeah. It's just a fucking cigarette." The trains approaching, screeching, stopping... and she's about to get on. I tell her to have a nice night and get on a seperate subway car.

2 more stops.

Everybody's Doing the Goth (Still)!

From the NYT (I thought this was funny):

"“Lord Damien Stark’s Makeup Tips for the Bleak” (originally printed in Ghastly Magazine):
“Whiteface should create the illusion that you really are that pale, and not that you have a bunch of makeup from Walgreens caked all over your face. Done badly, Gothic makeup can look painfully stupid. After spending money on a decent base, take the trouble to apply it evenly. It’s appalling how many Goths overlook something so basic and vital to their entire aesthetic. Equally bad and unfortunately just as frequent is the tendency to overpowder and the tendency to end one’s pallor at the jawbone. I can understand someone having difficulty with liquid eyeliner, but some mistakes are just inexcusably stupid. Don’t make them.”"

Who's That Girl?

No that is not vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin. This girl has a box set of 34 CDs, has sang in 15 different languages, and once served in the European Parliament. Have you heard of her?

Old Joke, Very Applicable

"The only difference between Wall Street and the Titanic is that the Titanic had a band."

The Armpit Collection VI

Elvis Presley - Elvis Presley

The first great rock n roll record (and last?), for real. This is the type of album that sounds magical on vinyl, and yet it also sounds very appropriately old digitally. The vocals are incredible. Kicks in with the notorious Blue Suede Shoes, has the infamous Tutti Frutti, and is completely glorified by Blue Moon - Frank Sinatra can roll in his grave (but I'm sure we'll dig him up later). These are only the classics. It's also got One-Sided Love Affair & Tryin' to Get to You, actually, there isn't a bad song on the album. 28:03 of the original.

Why We Drink

Sex on Fire

Sex On Fire

The Armpit Collection V

The Beatles - Abbey Road

One side of singles, One side of suites. Is this the best Beatles record? Is it more mature and natural than Revolver? More accessible than Sgt. Pepper? A better version of Let it Be? A Rubber Soul for wiser man? Does Magical Mystery Tour even count? Shall we go on? So this is the one Beatles record I'm taking with me. They hunkered down, went back to George Martin and did the fucking right thing. George is obviously well represented with one of the greatest pop singles of all time (Something) and one of the greatest pop non-singles of all time (Here Comes the Sun). John could've done Oh Darlin real justice, but Paul is at the top of his game there, not too mention the bass playing on this record is completely untouchable in rock/pop music. Paul's got some other nice ones on the second side. My favorite track is I Want You (She's so Heavy), classic John. Musically it's a satisfying meal with the time changes, harmonies, simple blues chords and lush sound. There's a couple of dodgy spots that make me reconsider if I've got enough room to maybe just grab the two Singles collections, but then I remember how amazing Because is...because it's round, because it's high, because it's blue, because it's their best record.

17 by Bob Dylan

after crashin the sportscar
into the chandelier
i ran out t the phone booth
made a call t my wife. she wasnt home.
i panicked. i called up my best friend
but the line was busy
then i went t a party but couldnt find a chair
somebody wiped their feet on me
so i decided t leave
i felt awful. my mouth was puckered.
arms were stickin thru my neck
my stomach was stuffed an bloated
dogs licked my face
people stared at me an said
“what’s wrong with you?”
passin two successful friends of mine
i stopped t talk.
they knew i was feelin bad
an gave me some pills
i went home an began writin
a suicide note
it was then that i saw
that crowd comin down
the street
i really have nothing
against
marlon brando

[source]

The Armpit Collection IV

Champion Jack Dupree - Blues from the Gutter

This is one of the first real blues records I heard. It somewhat jolted my intrigue towards the blues and I've found many great records by other bluesman since, but this record has always remained an ideal. What a title. What a piano player. What a singer. And what a band (the guitar playing is simple and monumental). "Slow down man, don't walk so fast." Produced by the recently deceased Jerry Wexler, I believe it's the Champion's first full album, despite being on many 78's before this. You gotta dial in on some of the lyrics, "lord when I get loaded, I just want my milk and cake." Or, "I hung around my friends and smoke reefer." Or, "climb up on the table honey, let the doctor see what else you got." I have since found a record that's a collection of Dupree recordings - just the man at the piano, and I ultimately prefer this setting, but as an album and an experience, Blues from the Gutter is as the title suggests, and what better place to look?

Jessica Simpson Hair Extensions

It's amazing what you can find on Facebook!

Just When You've Lost Faith in Pop Music...

Something like this comes along and shakes things up. Love 'em or hate 'em at least the man's trying to experiment with the idea and the boundaries of pop music. Sort of reminds me of the way that Prince shook shit up in the 80's. So yes, from the album apparently named "808's and Heartbreaks" (named after the famed Roland 808 drum machine from the 80's), it's Kanye crooning like he's Otis Redding with this low rolling euro beat. Guess he's been hanging out with Julius Casablanca and Daft Punk too much! But never the less, I don't think I've ever heard pop music that sounds like this, the vocals are auto tune distorted to the point of art, it has a Beach Boys style echo built in, the jazz piano, and the step drums, it's pretty goddamn exciting from the point of a listner. So get your mind right and have a listen. An then check out the MTV.com video of him doing this song at the awards. Glad someone's entertaining in mainstream music still.

http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=205860_-1__0_~0_-1_5_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281=

What Makes People Vote Republican?

by Jonathan Haight

What makes people vote Republican? Why in particular do working class and rural Americans usually vote for pro-business Republicans when their economic interests would seem better served by Democratic policies? We psychologists have been examining the origins of ideology ever since Hitler sent us Germany's best psychologists, and we long ago reported that strict parenting and a variety of personal insecurities work together to turn people against liberalism, diversity, and progress. But now that we can map the brains, genes, and unconscious attitudes of conservatives, we have refined our diagnosis: conservatism is a partially heritable personality trait that predisposes some people to be cognitively inflexible, fond of hierarchy, and inordinately afraid of uncertainty, change, and death. People vote Republican because Republicans offer "moral clarity"—a simple vision of good and evil that activates deep seated fears in much of the electorate. Democrats, in contrast, appeal to reason with their long-winded explorations of policy options for a complex world...

For my dissertation research, I made up stories about people who did things that were disgusting or disrespectful yet perfectly harmless. For example, what do you think about a woman who can't find any rags in her house so she cuts up an old American flag and uses the pieces to clean her toilet, in private? Or how about a family whose dog is killed by a car, so they dismember the body and cook it for dinner? I read these stories to 180 young adults and 180 eleven-year-old children, half from higher social classes and half from lower, in the USA and in Brazil. I found that most of the people I interviewed said that the actions in these stories were morally wrong, even when nobody was harmed. Only one group—college students at Penn—consistently exemplified Turiel's definition of morality and overrode their own feelings of disgust to say that harmless acts were not wrong. (A few even praised the efficiency of recycling the flag and the dog).

[source]

In America...

Sports In Plain Site

-It is unsportsmanlike to run up the score, unless women are doing it.
-Rigging elections...cool. Rigging Olympics...that is fucked up.

-Even the sports world is getting more involved with politics: 1 * 2

-And vise versa.

Honrable Mention - Bloopers

Ill-il

One of my favorite totalitarian dictators of all-time, Kim Jong-il, is ill. Get well soon from the good folks at Plain Site.

Culture War!

The funniest funny video ever made with John McCain and Barack Obama

After working from home all afternoon Sunday, I went out drinking. Predictably, I am dreadfully, painfully, mercilessly hung-over this morning. I had resigned myself to a miserable morning until I saw this video which made laugh out loud (my skull pounded in pain with every well-earned chuckle). Thank you, maker of this meme-mashing masterpiece.

No Questions!

One more reason that I don't wont these people in charge of our country, refusal to answer questions. They bashed the media all convention long, complain of "sexism" if someone asks Gov Palin a difficult question or questions her experience, and after this weekend the McCain campaign is shuffling her off to Alaska to hide her away from reporters. This is why you don't allow people that don't believe in science to run for president.

Sonseed performs "Jesus is My Friend"

God?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told ministry students at her former church that the United States sent troops to fight in the Iraq war on a "task that is from God."

[source]

"It's Over"

Rolling Stones Gather No Moss

..."On a personal note," he started to say, "I moved into a new apartment last weekend." Baxter was excited to have finally caught the attention of the former mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Since he read the internets religiously, he knew she wasn't in Alaska anymore! She'd hit The Big Time. "That's right, I packed up everything I own: computer, guitars, clothes, records, and stereo. Goodbye Manhattan digs... a 'next chapter,' across the river in... in Brooklyn...."

Frothing at the mouth, she looked puzzled, shaking her head while clutching the American flag tighter. Baxter continued, somewhat nervous of her twitching, but eager to make his point. "I have about a hundred thoughts on the matter, but what do I know what I'm talking about?" Baxter instantaneously realized the old shit's changed. Sometimes it takes takes This American Life... to ... A tear intruded due to his inherent emo nature. He knew he was going to fit in perfectly.

"Don't be such a pussy!," she grunted. Pointing her finger and looking him straight in the eye, she screamed...

"I don't give a fuck what you're talking about. I've never been to New York City!"

Turn to the camera and show them who's boss... what's the worst that can happen?


Jesus wept.

[photo]