Videos of the year

My usual criteria for "best video" is: the one I listened to the most, after I first posted it. This year, departing a bit, and starting with CUTEST VIDEO OF THE YEAR!

Or the decade, maybe.

Their little tails are so adorable!!! SQUEE!

Hopping goats (they're babies!!!! Ohhh my gaaaawwwwwddd!)



Funniest video, I found over at Tumblr, so unfortunately, not sure how to transfer it over here. So HERE is the link. Shake it off, shake it off... (I'm sure I've seen that guy.)

~*~

And here is Dead Air's official VIDEO OF THE YEAR. The thing is, I neglected to post it, just listened to it a bunch of times. Luckily, I can rectify that now. NOTE: The song is only about 4 minutes long (if that), but this video length is over 8 minutes. (?) The last 4 minutes are just silent. Not sure what's up with that... but the song itself isn't long.

It's totally addictive to anyone (like me) who grew up listening to old country music and slide guitars!

Ray Wylie Hubbard - Three Days Straight



I went down to see the fortune teller
was gonna get my future read
She looked at my hand, she said its bad
Crossed her eyes and fell back dead

I hate it when that happens.

Commercial: Tonight, WNCW-FM features the annual Warren Haynes Christmas pre-jam rebroadcast at 8pm EST, so tune in all you jambandz fans. (livestreaming HERE)

Happy Deadhead New Year, yall!

Collective security for surety

Last year, I wrote a piece called On the Future of Small Blogs... which turned out to be fairly prescient. Blogs like mine are closing shop right and left, even as the number of feverishly-self-involved Tumblr-blogs, which I admit I don't really get, expand exponentially as we speak.

Even though I don't get Tumblr, I do understand the reason for it (see link to last year's meanderings). It is a totally ungoverned, anonymous, proudly-mean place, like Reddit. When there are too many 'gated communities'--as the late genius JG Ballard often reminded us--people become hungry for chaos. And the stronger the gates, the more toxic and damaging the chaos will be.

The internet keeps splitting into more and more subcategories, subdynasties and sparkly-new social media sites ... I am reminded of the end of THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, in which our beleaguered protagonist realizes he is not going to die after all, but will instead get smaller and smaller and tinier and tinier... until he is microscopic. But he will still be here. I feel the exactly same way as a blogger.

The last line of the movie is every old-school bloggers cry into the night: I... STILL... EXIST!!!!

~*~

Lately I've been enjoying the fabulous Dubatomic Particles on Sunday nights.

Sharing the words of the prophet. He was right, you know.

Rat Race - Bob Marley and the Wailers



When you think is peace and safety:
A sudden destruction

Collective security for surety
Don't forget your history
Know your destiny

In the abundance of water
The fool is thirsty

~*~

PS: Speaking of small blogs, linking my friend Virgil's new blog. Wish him your best!

Move On Up

I heard My Morning Jacket's cover of "Move on up" last night on this blog's namesake, Uncle Dave's Dead Air. I then decided to look up Curtis Mayfield's original, which I have always loved passionately. And virtually simultaneously, Tami posted her last blog post, titled "Movin On Up."

Cosmic synchronicity!

Good luck Tami, wishing you all the best in your new endeavors. I will miss your blogular brilliance.

And Curtis, as always, we miss you.

~*~

Move On Up - Curtis Mayfield (1970)

Moment of Panic

Uncle Dave played this great tune last night on the radio-inspired namesake of this blog, Uncle Dave's Dead Air.

Airplane - Widespread Panic

Frank would have loved the Occupy movement

Frank on Friday really should be several hours long. Unfortunately, the only time they do that is during "pledge week"--which means I am one of the few people looking forward to WNCW's fund drives. PLAY MORE FRANK! Today, they played Sting and Zappa doing "Murder by Numbers" together in a live performance, simply sublime. Frank kept referring to him as "Mr Sting" which was funny and oh so Zappaesque.

We miss you, man!

~*~

As I said earlier this week, the Occupy movement is under attack. Governor Haley (insert boos, catcalls, thumbs down, other rude gestures) cleared out Occupy Columbia from the Statehouse lawn, claiming protesters were urinating in the bushes. I wish I could have added my urine to the place, to express my dislike of our state government, as well as solidarity with the urinating Occupiers. Nineteen arrests.

First Amendment? What's that?

We need a lawyer to make the case that urine is a form of political protest. If you can artistically dip crucifixes in urine, it seems to me, you can pee on Haley's place of employment and claim that's political.

Alas, this is South Carolina, and we don't have any left-wing political lawyers here.

More nationwide:

Occupiers take over Brooklyn Bridge (Atlantic Wire)

Occupy New Haven meets NY Occupiers on other side of bridge (New Haven Independent)

Occupy Wall Street projects giant 99% logo onto Verizon building (Think Progress) Can you hear us now?

Occupy flash mob in Atlanta Wells Fargo bank (Twitvid)

Occupy Dallas Evicted (KDAF)

Occupy Austin Evicted (Austin Statesman)

Occupy Seattle means business (MyNorthwest.com)

Occupy Chicago protest results in 46 arrests on major bridge (Raw Story)

FBI Director Ducks Questions On Occupy Movement During SF Talk (SF Appeal)

Tea Party and Occupiers find common ground in Memphis (NPR)

Your soundtrack for today's readings!


Revolution - The Beatles



~*~

My husband's home state, Georgia, is next up for the "Personhood for Zygotes" people. They lost Mississippi, but they haven't given up. Not by a long shot.

Hanging out on Twitter last night, I finally got a "pro life" reply to my question: If you make abortion illegal, where will you get the money to build all those new jails? If there have been (as they claim) 53 million murders since Roe v Wade, where will they send all of these murderers? That adds up to the populations of several major cities.

Here is the reply, which was retweeted to me:

Woman who have an abortion should be put to death as soon as guilty gavel cones down. #prochoice is murder.

Silly me, asking about prisons!

I guess I should start asking, where will you get the money in the current economy to pay all those executioners? Or will they outsource that work, like they do call centers?

Pretty honest reply, though. At least the agenda is right out there: we looooove babies, but we don't care about the women who give birth to them and would prefer to kill them off.

Make no mistake, that is the agenda. And at least one of them is honest enough to say so.

Love, Devotion, Surrender... and other stuff

The hits on Amanda Knox's infamous "Foxy Knoxy" photograph are coming in, so that's how I know there is something happening with Amanda... as I've said before, I don't even need Google alerts. And yeah, there sure is. The Italian police are suing her for slander, since she claimed they roughed her up during interrogation.

Cops can sue perps and convicts? Oh, wait, this is Italy. You know, where the Vatican is. Their justice system appears to be running on Vatican time.

If American cops could sue us simply for badmouthing them, well, there might not be anybody left to pay taxes and hence, their salaries. Italian police need to get a clue, grow up and stop being babies.

And since they had no case against Amanda (which, take note, does not mean I think she is innocent; it means the state did not prove their case), they need to TURN HER LOOSE. Let her go.

Italian "justice" ... now we see how the Mafia was born. Gotta get justice some kinda way, right?

~*~

Everybody is mad at Carlos Santana for standing up at Turner Field and letting them have it in no uncertain terms.

Balls, Carlos has em. Or should I say cajones? :)

Needless to say, here at DEAD AIR, there is NO personal criticism of Carlos Santana allowed in any form, just like there is no criticism of The Who or the Dead or the Beatles, or musicians of that stature who have played an important part in Daisy's life. Okay? So: Watch your mouths! (seriously) If you want to argue against his position, that's okay, but we will not allow Fox News androids to come here and trash the 6th (possibly 7th; I'll argue the point) greatest guitarist in the history of the world (yes, I do rank them). This is not permitted; show some respect please.

Fox has been trashing him all day... just came from the JIFFY LUBE, where I was subjected to Fox blather about how Carlos has grown rich off the USA, when any fool knows that whoever recorded Love, Devotion, Surrender has earned the right to do whatever the hell he wants and of course DESERVES to benefit.

Now, if you'd like to argue his points, feel free. But no unkind words about Carlos.

Here is what he said:

Saying he represented immigrants, the Grammy winner said at Turner field, “The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves.”

On Friday, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill that requires many employers to check the immigration status of new hires and authorizes law enforcement officers to check the status of some suspects. The law, one of the toughest in the nation, is similar in some respects to one enacted last year in Arizona.

“This law is not correct. It's a cruel law, actually,” Santana, who emigrated to San Francisco in the 1960s, said after the ceremony. “This is about fear. Stop shucking and jiving. People are afraid we're going to steal your job. No, we aren't.

...

“This is the United States. This is the land of the free. If people want the immigration laws to keep passing, then everybody should get out and leave the American Indians here.”

If people want to have a respectful and intelligent conversation about immigration, I'm up for that. But we will not repeat the mistakes of THIS AWFUL THREAD. You must be able to account for the fact of the RICH hiring impoverished campesinos on the cheap. If you do not address that fact, it'll be the trap door for you. And no simple-minded bullshit like, "But it's already illegal to hire undocumented workers!" Yes, and monkeys might fly out of my ass... go to the rich golf course right next to my apartment building and try to strike up a conversation with one of the yard-caretakers. Just try it. Oh yeah, I'm sure they're all LEGAL as the dickens.

The rich vote for anti-immigrant Republicans, and without missing a beat, turn around and hypocritically hire illegal nannies and yard-workers. Then they watch Fox News and fuss over Carlos.

The nerve. The sheer nerve.

So, yes I'd like to have a discussion about the golfers and the other rich people like them, who say one thing and do another. Add up enough nannies, and you can see why poor Latinas climb fences to get here. It's not rocket science. If you are unable to address the DEMAND for immigrants as workers, do not attempt discussion.

But if you can, I'm listening.

More at Renee's!

~*~

Eminem, who can be a real misogynist and homophobic dolt, showed himself to be A HERO today, and DEAD AIR approves!!! (((applause))) At least he has himself some excellent CLASS AWARENESS, if nothing else... I assume it's because he comes from a good union town like Detroit. (My late father's license plate was the number of his UAW local, so yes, I am biased.)

Eminem took his millions and put his money where his mouth is. He has now earned the right (like the late Frank Zappa) to be politically incorrect and DEAD AIR will allow it, unless, you know, he turns into a serial killer or something:

Eminem Lawsuit May Result in Higher Royalties for Older Artists | Rolling Stone Music

The outcome of a lawsuit on behalf of Eminem against his record label Universal Music Group could radically change the way many artists are paid for digital sales. Eminem's suit argued that at least according to the language in his record contract, individual songs sold online count as a license rather than a sale. This may seem like a minor semantic argument, but according to Eminem's contract – and many others drafted before digital sales were realistic – it is the difference between the artist being paid 50 percent of royalties for a license or 12 percent for a sale.

And he WON, boys and girls!

I listened to a panel discussion on WNCW today, concerning the lawsuit and music licensing. This took years and teams of lawyers... only a multi-millionaire could even attempt such a thing. (Aside: It was so much fun to hear bluegrass artists praise Eminem... I imagine he is a star in all music communities today!) Short version: If your contract was drawn up before the dawn of the digital era, you are getting royally screwed. All of the older artists living off one or two hits, particularly. This means every time your song is sold online, they are keeping most/all of it, since it just wasn't covered in the original contract.

Old artists who started their careers before the days of computers? Record companies are stealing from them, basically. The resolution of this lawsuit creates a precedent and opens the doors for all of them to get what is rightfully theirs. Yeah!

Apparently this will also change the royalty-rules for other kinds of licensing, like for TV shows and movies... but I didn't hear all of that discussion. If anyone knows anything else, feel free to link in comments.

~*~

And finally, on a rather ominous note... Watermelons are exploding in China.

You think I could make that up?

Watermelons explode like 'land mines' in China thanks to chemical calamity

Chinese farmers discovered how science can go bad after fields of watermelons exploded like "land mines" after being over-pumped with growth chemicals.

The chilling chemistry calamity struck after a group of 20 farmers in Jiangsu Province used a growth accelerator for the first time during a period of heavy rains.

That caused hundreds of groaning melons to pop like balloons, state broadcaster CCTV reported.

See, this is why people eat organic.

Ain't this boogie a mess?

I need some soundtrack to getting tarred and feathered over at Womanist Musings. Comments welcome, here or there.

I am told there is something... off... about the language of my post, according to one gentleman-commenter. I told him, it is likely because I use the language of his mother, rather than his friends.

And a story from the 70s gets translated into a story from NOW, and found weirdly wanting. Well, that was then and this is now, could be why. (I am very, very weary of today's standards being applied to the past. Yes, we all know better now, but that was not the point of the story.)

(sigh)

See, this is why I am so reluctant to guest-blog. HERE at DEAD AIR, yall know I am an old hippie, and I am not taken to task for calling someone ELSE a hippie. Jesus H.

If I recount a story from the 70s, some of yall can even REMEMBER the 70s. ;)

Anyway, speaking of old hippies, Frank on Friday to the rescue! What would I do without this show, centering me every Friday at noon?

This one contains one of those incomparable Zappa guitar solos... and of course, Frank's famous dissertation on the meaning of the apostrophe, containing today's blog post title. (It sure is!)

Frank Zappa - Stinkfoot

Monday Music: Why we build the wall

I was driving through the bleak, forgotten areas of Jim DeMint's old congressional district today; not deliberately. En route to somewhere else and got lost. Ended up in the old Greer mill village, which used to be entirely composed of poor whites, then during the 80s it was entirely poor blacks... and now it is 100% Hispanic, including all of the skimpy corner food-marts (that don't sell actual food), the hair salons, gas stations and other tiny businesses. Does Senator DeMint know all of these brown people are here? Miles and miles of them? He must know. Do they mow his lawn or launder his dress-shirts that he wears to important Tea Party events?

Obviously, from the looks of the place, he counts on them not voting.

It had grown cold and dusky, as I meandered through the extremely depressing atmosphere... when suddenly, I heard this song on WNCW... it was perfect accompaniment for what I saw everywhere, all around me. It made me cry.

An excellent introduction to the holiday season. As Ebenezer Scrooge famously asked, Are there no poorhouses?

~*~

This amazing song is from Hadestown by Anais Mitchell. I could only find this version (with two songs). "Why we build the wall" is the first, "Our Lady of the Underground" is second. "Why we build the wall" ends at approx 4:00.

You must hear it.



The first song features Greg Brown, the second, Ani DiFranco.

Monday Music: Dreams I'll never see

Yes, I am at last prepared for Monday Music!

~*~

I discovered fabulous Ella Mae Morse through the totally indispensable Reverend Billy's Rhythm Revival, which we faithfully listen to every Saturday Night on WNCW ... behold the wonderful Miss Ella Mae!

(Apparently, the line "he was raised on local ways"--was originally, "he was raised on loco weed"--LOL.)

Ella Mae Morse - Cow Cow Boogie



~*~

Chris Stein's clangy guitar-impersonations of Duane Eddy are all up in my head, since I've heard this song about 3 times in the past week. The kids at work love 80s nostalgia, which is (oh dear God) from their childhoods! (Feel old yet?)

And now I am EARWORMED to death by Debbie Harry ... To-niiiiight, To-niiiiiiiiiiiight... and if I have to suffer with it, so do you.

Blondie - Atomic



~*~

Too personal to discuss, even for me...this is a beautiful song, which is engraved upon my heart forever (and the source of today's blog post title)...

I've had a very hard time locating it, which means it will probably get yanked by YouTube/Warner Music Group/Blue Meanies within the week. Listen to these sweepingly-lovely southern riffs now!

Allman Brothers Band - Dreams

The Infamous Stringdusters

The Infamous Stringdusters at the Bohemian Cafe, this afternoon! A splendid time was guaranteed for all.

This was taped as part of WNCW's fabulous TOWER OF SONG series.

Random Friday notes

At left: Mr Cyril is now 7 months old!





Like everyone else in the USA, I am presently bustling, rustling, hustling... and trying to dig out from under mounds of email (as well as real-life junk mail), Mr Daisy's comics and kitty detritus, to prepare for the holiday week coming up.

How is everything with you?

I have decided to run for County Council, as I mentioned here. I figure it can't hurt. I know for sure I will get at least a dozen votes!

Visit the Greenville Greens page on Facebook! And if you are in Greenville County, vote for me! (Don't worry, I'll be reminding you at least a million times before the election.)

Transgender Day of Remembrance was yesterday. Please pay your respects.

Good reading for Friday:

Is Adoption a Feminist Issue? (AdoptionTalk)

Pharmaceutical Giant Paid $500,000 to Psychiatrist Who Used Chicago's Poor as Guinea Pigs (AlterNet)

New Study Shows Women Still Underrepresented in Leadership Roles (ACS Blog)

Regarding that last point... I repeat, vote for me!

I am gonna be a grandma again! Am I old or what?

Very happy and very pleased. :)

~*~

And now, our musical accompaniment for this post.

I was gonna use the following video for Tuesday's alcoholism post, and then decided it was too irreverent... I went with Hank Williams instead. Today, feeling a bit irreverent, which I once again blame on Frank Zappa's ghost (listened to Frank on Friday, of course!)... thus, I now freely offer this irreverent look at junkiedom.

Observations:

1) Why on earth didn't they give Slash the Nobel prize for playing like that?

2) Axl appears rather fried, thus illustrating his familiarity with the subject matter.

3) I love when substances take "human" form; i.e. John Barleycorn, Mary Jane, Mr Brownstone, etc. (On a rather Calvinist note, this particular personification always reminds me of the Devil card in the Rider-Waite tarot deck, with the chains on the humans.)

This is live from 1988, a bit of nostalgia for you metal-heads.

~*~

Guns N' Roses - Mr Brownstone

Darkness, Darkness

Presenting one of my all-time favorite songs... I first heard it when I was 12 years old. It touched me in that deep, deep place you can't verbally express ... and it always has.

As a child, it articulated my fears of unpredictable adults and their behavior at night, when the whiskey came out. I would often pretend to be asleep when I wasn't. Darkness, darkness, be my pillow, is a calming mantra I actually used before I even understood what I was doing. I can well remember edging into sleep while repeating the words to myself in my head, like prayers.

Uncle Dave played it some time ago on Uncle Dave's Dead Air, namesake of this blog. I was so thrilled to hear it again. I've also enjoyed other versions, by Mott the Hoople, Richie Havens, Cowboy Junkies and others.

But this is the perfect one.

The song was much-beloved by US infantrymen serving in Vietnam; many felt it perfectly described their fear of nightfall.

PS: There are still soldiers in Iraq. Bring them home now.

~*~

(written by Jesse Colin Young)

Darkness, Darkness
Be my pillow
Take my hand
And let me sleep
In the coolness of your shadow
In the silence of your deep

Darkness, Darkness
Hide my yearning
For the things I cannot be
Keep my mind from constant turning
Toward the things I cannot see now
Things I cannot see now
Things I cannot see

Darkness, darkness
Long and lonesome
Ease the day that brings me pain
I have felt the edge of sadness
I have known the depth of fear
Darkness, darkness, be my blanket
Cover me with the endless night
Take away, take away the pain of knowing
Fill the emptiness of right now
Emptiness of right now, now, now
Emptiness of right now

~*~

Darkness, Darkness - The Youngbloods (1969)

Fire on the Mountain

In every blogger's life, stuff happens that you just can't write about... and I am there right now. Lots of interpersonal strangeness on my job, people unexpectedly coming and going, and I'm sorry to say I can't tell you about any of it.

In any event, what would I do without my UNCLE DAVE? Relaxing last night and drifting off to sleep listening to his excellent jams. Decided to share one of those songs with you here. Not the best visual quality, but it sounds pretty good.

It just seemed appropriate right now:

Almost aflame still you don't feel the heat
Takes all you got just to stay on the beat
You say it's a living, we all gotta eat
but you're here alone there's no one to compete
If mercy's in business I wish it for you
More than just ashes when your dreams come true

~*~

Fire on the Mountain - Grateful Dead

DEAD AIR always did like Iowa!

Once again, listening to the ever-fabulous Frank On Friday...who gives me the courage to confront the right-wing bobbleheads running my state. Sometimes I wonder what he would say if he were still here. Frank Zappa, your country needs you.

Moving to Montana soon
Gonna be a dental floss tycoon

And speaking of Montana, Governor Brian Schweitzer has just caved in time and has accepted his state's stimulus funds.

That leaves us.

South Carolina. The first state to secede from the Union, sweet schoolchildren are frequently reminded!

(((fumes)))

Yes, our beleaguered state is still fucked, as previously written... the deadline for accepting the disputed $700 million is tonight, and Head Dick, Governor Mark Sanford, is still holding quite firm on not accepting it. A press conference/brawl ensues within mere minutes, down in Columbia, and as the infamous Texas Chainsaw Massacre trailer asked: Who will survive, and what will be left of them?

As Kia, commenting on my previous thread, stated: "Surely it's a sign of the apocalypse when Lindsey Graham is a voice of reason."

I couldn't have outlined the situation any better.

Frank, we need you man. Come back, come back...

~*~

I've been a busy little bee this week, but as always, managed to catch some interesting internetz action.

Lindsay Beyerstein attempts to discuss the very serious subject of clitorectomy in New York State and the laws pertaining (or not) to its continued practice:

According to one estimate, 41,000 women in New York are at risk of being cut, or have already been subjected to genital cutting. This estimate is based on data from the 2000 census, so clearly more up-to-date information is needed.

Female genital cutting can range in severity from a harmless ritual pinprick to the complete surgical removal of the external genitals. These procedures can cause acute and chronic infections, loss of sexual sensitivity, difficult labor, and PTSD.

According to a lawyer quoted in the article, no one has ever been charged under New York's anti-FGM statute or its federal equivalent since the laws were enacted in the mid-nineties. The last state-level FGM outreach program in New York took place a decade ago.

Scary stuff.

And of course, before you can say FORESKIN, various obnoxious males show up and hijack the thread: WHAT ABOUT MALE CIRCUMCISION?!

((((reads post back))))

Well, what about it? That was not the TOPIC, assholes. Guys were not the subject. I realize this is disorienting for you, since GUYS ARE ALWAYS THE DAMN SUBJECT. (Of course, if Lindsay had issued a "no guy zone" statement on the thread, they would undoubtedly start screeching about that, too.) Lindsay writes:

Can we ever have a discussion of FGM without the neonatal anti-circumcision crowd hijacking it? This has happened about four times already, and I'm getting sick of it. I'm sympathetic to your position, but folks, please don't commandeer every single thread about female genital cutting. Have some perspective, here. You're cheapening your own cause by hijacking FGM discussions.

Yes, there exist variants of FGM that are roughly anatomically analogous to neonatal hospital circumcision--but they are more like points in logical space than health concerns. The main, pressing, public health problem of FGM is analogous to removing the entire penises of male adolescents (and, sometimes, turning the whole bleeding, unsterile mess inside out and stitching it back together).

There are extremely active forums for you to discuss the evils of neonatal foreskin docking. Please take your concerns there.

And did they? Ha, are you kidding?

As if on cue, typhonblue, a well-known and tedious internet-obsessive on the topic of MALE circumcision, shows up and starts preaching and monopolizing the subject on behalf of the poor oppressed men. (Because you know, men are just more important than women, and don't you forget it.) Even after being politely asked NOT TO.

Some people just don't have any decency; their basic sense of overweening entitlement and abject rudeness just take over everything.

Lindsay is far nicer and much more tolerant than I am.... if any of you assholes show up hijacking HERE, I will eat you for a nice little snack (burp). And I am in a rather contentious mood and kinda hungry, with all this calorie restriction... so bring it, you unsuspecting penis-obsessed pseudo-trolls!

Yum, yum!

~*~

Longish thread at Astarte's Circus, titled Be the President or Marry the President, brings up fascinating questions about whether being a First Lady is something to aspire to, in and of itself. Admittedly, I am rather clueless concerning some of the comments. I don't think Octo was criticizing Michelle Obama, per se, but questioning the whole First Lady cult...of which I am also periodically critical. But check out the thread and comments and see what you think.

Can we criticize the "First Lady culture" without also criticizing the woman who is First Lady? This echoes several old (and unresolved) feminist questions: can we criticize the housewife cult, the Playboy Bunny cult, the supermodel cult, etc etc without criticizing women who have personally made these choices? How to criticize the male-dominant culture, without hurting or disrespecting women within that culture?

It is like we don't quite have the language for what we are trying to say, and what we seek to do...

~*~

And the GOOD NEWS:

The Iowa Supreme Court has just ruled in favor of same-sex marriage!

YES! Congratulations on your progressive politics, Hawkeyes! Alas, a blog, and Feministe are also presently discussing the ruling.

~*~

It's bloody embarrassing how many of my previous musical posts are missing their centerpiece. Warner Music Group, bad capitalists extraordinaire, have taken away so many of my YouTube presentations--they are as bad as WalMart for stealing neighborhood fun away.

Nonetheless, I plow onward... let's hope some brave tunes remain!

Meanwhile, here is the song I can't get off my mind/official earworm for this week, which also helpfully fits into our Hawk motif:

Jayhawks - Waiting for the sun (1992)

Reverend Billy brings us all the (old) hits!

What on earth would I do without the totally indispensable Reverend Billy's Rhythm Revival!? Last night, he played an amazing singer I was only marginally aware of, South Carolina's own Baby Washington. Immediately, I knew Dead Air has been waiting all this time for her wonderfulness. Let's hear it for husky-voiced, alto girls! (I am one, too.) Just take a listen to this.

The old-timey drive-in visuals for this first one are great, too. This particular tune sounds like a Bacharach-David song, who influenced the songwriters Holley and Raleigh, according to the guy who put it on YouTube. It shows!


That's how heartaches are made - Baby Washington



~*~

This is an excellent up-tempo, Northern Soul song... GREAT!

Think about the good times - Baby Washington



~*~

Soul ballad with some antique cars as accompaniment (?)... hey, I was just thrilled to find the song!

Nobody knows, nobody cares - Baby Washington



~*~

And then, Reverend Billy wound up his show with a surf band, The Pyramids.

Penetration - The Pyramids



~*~

Here they are with shaved heads in Bikini Beach. And check those choreographed dance moves; the lead guitarist even does a back-flip, impressing Annette Funicello (Frankie, you will notice, was never impressed by anything). Not sure what the guy in the monkey suit is doing sitting at the table, I guess you'd have to watch the whole movie. And then Don Rickles, of all people, appears in the middle of the video, with a bird on his head. Those wacky 60s!

Bikini Drag - The Pyramids



I bow before the good Reverend and profusely thank him for his knowledge of musical arcana!

Left Lane Cruiser

Good live jams today from the intrepid (and very loud) Left Lane Cruiser-- featured at the redoubtable Bohemian Cafe, where I stop in every week or so to hear the tunes. Then I usually head next door to Horizon, where I purchase some excellent music to satisfy my soul, and take note of whatever Gene says we should be listening to. (Left Lane Cruiser was also being taped for WNCW's wonderful TOWER OF SONG radio show.)

So, I bought the Left Lane Cruiser CD, titled Bring Yo Ass to the Table, because I really wanted to hear it, but at a reasonable decibel level.

And hey, just for the record, I saw the Ramones three times back in the day; I know LOUD. But sheer teeth-rattling volume never used to give me the kinds of headaches it does now. Just getting old, I reckon. ((sigh))

But hey, I'll buy the CD and turn it down, okay? You guys seriously rock!

Free Planet Radio

Today, a visit to the Bohemian Cafe, where I was lucky enough to catch Free Planet Radio, a world music trio from Asheville, featuring (left to right, in photo) the talented Chris Rosser, River Guerguerian, and Eliot Wadopian. I was so impressed I bought their CD, The Unraveling (click on link for a listen)--conveniently being sold right next door at fabulous Horizon Records.

This was a special taping for WNCW's Tower of Song series.

Thanks for the fantastic jams!

BELE CHERE!!!!!!!

I used up my Flickr account for the month, bah. Thus, I labor onward with Picasa.

I do not enjoy how Picasa doesn't let you copy and paste the photographic alignment. Or rather, there is probably a way to do this, but my puttering and muttering can not unlock the key to the magic GRAPHIC DESIGN GENIE that will impart this arcane knowledge to me. Harumph! And so, apologies for the horizontal (and decidedly uncool) layout below.

More photos available on my Flickr page.

~*~

I love Bele Chere with a passion!!!! This is Asheville, North Carolina's 30-year-old street fair, which (yes, I realize!) has been corporatized, blah blah blah, unlike Comfest, the similar street festival I grew up with in Columbus, Ohio. There are people passing out dog food samples and Sensodyne and trying to sell you cell phones. I try to ignore the annoying capitalism, hawking wares everywhere. The wonderful part of Bele Chere is seeing the People Like Us come out of the woodwork, the offices, the mountains, the cities, wherever we are. The invasion of flower children and hippies is something to behold. I want to kiss everyone I see.

And speaking personally, I love seeing a profusion of older white women with LONG HAIR, a rare and exotic species to which I belong. (Cultural note: Older Latino and Asian women are obviously allowed long hair, but I first started getting harassed to cut my hair and "do something with it" when I was about 20 years old. PS: I have done something with it, and this is it!) It is GREAT to see so many transgressive, menopausal women who have similarly dug in their heels. I LOVE YOU, DEAREST LONG HAIRED LADIES!!!!!!! And their equivalent, the old guys with ZZ Top beards and braids in the back. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Asheville, like Austin, is fabulous, liberal and tolerant. They recycle with a vengeance, and I am NOT the only vegetarian on the block. The bad news? Rich people want to live there, thus intrinsically changing the basic nature of the place. Authentic hippies can't afford it anymore and have moved over to West Asheville. There is a brawl taking place over the center of town, and like Greenville, the infestation of MILLIONAIRE CONDOS is imminent (see below*). Let's hope they don't turn the place into a hippie-theme park, but that is the fear many locals have.

Meanwhile, I loved it, as I always do. I partied and danced in the streets with everyone else.



First, we drive up the Blue Ridge Mountains to get to Asheville. It's beautiful and calming, like a pilgrimage.















*As noted above, the condo developers are at the gate. The Mountain Voices Alliance collects signatures of folks opposing the downtown Parkside project.
















The Lee Boys kick out the jams!













Beautiful women dance to the Lee Boys.














Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty Band, as close as I could get.







And the crowd, from a distance, rocking to the Booty Band.









And now, a word from our sponsor!










The Grascals, bluegrass band.















A beautiful, graceful mime.


























Menage, or two of them, anyway, at the Mountain Xpress folkie stage.















Butterfly mural















There is always one unhappy person. He proudly posed for the picture, and then (very politely, calling me ma'am) supplied me with a Jack Chick comic! Nothing but the best for Bele Chere! (The music, people and food are all top-notch, so the Jesus-tracts are similarly at the forefront of excellence.)












Your humble narrator