December 8

Hey Hey Momma: Black Dog, White Shoes

Last night I was reading an online blurb where Robert Plant responded to Led Zeppelin reunion rumors saying:

“It’s almost as if people can’t see that I have other projects. It’s like a woman with white heels and a pencil skirt passing by will attract my eyes, but most will miss it completely.

What?

Do other people fail to see the woman in white heels or does Robert Plant fail to notice people other than women in pencil skirts? Does Robert Plant hate the bubble skirt trend as much as I did? I think the woman is Berber music and other people don't see her because they are distracted by Led Zeppelin. Maybe?

That's okay Robert, sometimes similes just don't work out the way we want them to.

*I think everyone knows how desperately I wish that outfit of Jimmy Page's was a white jumpsuit rather than (one of the most awesome ever) pants/jacket combos.

Because you're mine

Last week, one of my friends sent me a message asking why I was not posting to my blog. I've been too busy at work and too tired at home to think about anything for months now. I've been relaxing with rock star biographies and pop culture podcasts that allow me to believe that watching hours of TV on Netflix is actually an intellectual exercise. My weekends have been filled with multiple seasons of In Treatment, Lie to Me, 30 Rock, and a couple British mystery/cop shows I can't even remember the names of.

Last night, after a weekend spent in fuzzy sweatpants with at least 7 hours of TV, I decided I had to wash my hair, put some makeup on and leave the house in search of human contact. Or at least in search of beer and pizza at my favorite local beer and pizza spot -- Piece. On the way home, filled to the brim with Camel Toe (a beer that has apparently never won an award but I know for a fact has caused at least 3 people who are not lightweights to leave the bar feeling mildly crazy)I decided to stop at the used book store around the corner. I was hoping they also stocked new books because the last time I went into Borders I could not find a copy of Keith Richard's Life: I think I got there a day or two too early. No luck on my Rolling Stones fix but I did go through a pile and came across this gem.



On its own, this is nothing special, although I have been wanting to read it. What really sold me was the inscription. I love used books with inscriptions and love to think about what happened between the gift giving and the recipient giving it away. My favorite up until last night was in my Collected Works of John Cheever:
Dear Mom, Happy Birthday, Love Ace.

My new favorite:



The inscription is date 10/27/2004 but it looks like Connie required more than just walking the line or maybe Rich? (Ron?) started to swerve. Or maybe they are still going strong and Connie just didn't like the book.

Roadtrip to Croatia

I found myself stuck on the edge of my seat watching this pixellated video, hoping nothing too dramatic happened to ruin it for me. Listening to a lot of The Be Good Tanyas and Frazey Ford today, haven't listened to TVZ in awhile though.

Little Joe

I've already shared my August 16, 1987 story and revealed that my All-Time Elvis favorites are In the Ghetto and Suspicious Minds.

The only left for me to do today is eat a PB and Banana sandwich for lunch, listen to all the Elvis I own and fill in gaps with internet downloads, and share this video where, far exceeding the expectations set up in the lyrics, Little Joe not only blows on the slide trombone, he does it while hanging upside down and pole dancing.



I also just spent the last 30 minutes browsing through Elvis T-Shirts and commemorative junk.

Crawling out from Under the Rock

The wonderful, gloomy, cool, breezy, rainy weather today has inspired me to cancel all planned errands and stay inside and be cozy instead. In honor of today's Lollapalooza lineup --sorry kids, I hope you all brought trash bags to wear. It really is better than 100 degrees with humidity! -- I am finally going to listen to some Arcade Fire. What has it been (two years?) that you can't read anything about music and not see something about them? I couldn't name a song although I'm sure I must have heard something. Same with Animal Collective.

I have a general blur in my mind of a bunch of bands that are NPR and WFUV Music podcast darlings over the last three years. None of them have really stuck with me but I know some were enjoyable. So I have made myself an Arcade Fire station at Pandora and I'll do a stream of conscious reaction for 10 songs.

1. Neighborhood #3 Power Out - I don't think I like this creaky, whiney voice (says the woman who loves Neil Young)

2. Lisztomania by Phoenix - Yeah, I remember this from a Podcast. Do I hate pop music? this just seems silly. Not absolutely offensive but not something I need to hear again.

3. Karma Police by Radiohead - Oh yeah, I couldn't pick Radiohead out of a lineup either. They are a 90s band right? Okay, so the theme here is warbly, high voiced men? Why is/was Radiohead such a big deal? Are these the guys with the Broadway show now? Or is that Green Day? Ack, end of song with ear piercing feedback.

4. Kids by MGMT - feeling cool, I've heard of MGMT too. Kind of like this one: when the music isn't annoyingly perky there is a bit of a New Order Low Life sound.

5. Old Flame - hmmm, still don't like the lead voice, not loving the chorus aspect either.

6. Tenuous by Andrew Bird - okay, I know Chicago guy Andrew Bird. First voice I've really liked so far. I'm a sucker for the word gamey, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist sorts though. Do I like what I know or what I hear? No I like the little cowboy sound and the goofy space noises.

7. Sunlight by Death Cab for Cutie - I'm starting to get indiepop fatigue. All of these men have a certain oompa loompa nasal vibration quality to their voices. Trying to reconcile this and put into context with old favorites like Jeremy Enigk and Matthew Sweet, in my mind's ear they had that too. I'm recalling that I can't listen to Sunny Day Real Estate or either of those guys for too long either without feeling drained.

8. Boy with a Coin by Iron and Wine into 12:51 by the Strokes- Thought about Jeremy Enigk all through these 2 songs. Saw Iron and Wine live a few years ago though.

9 Intervention - Okay, this one started and even with big big church organ sound I felt dread. Different singer though? I think I don't like Arcade Fire? I want to turn this off or go out into the rain and do errands .... but the vocals are growing on me and it is making me think of something. Can't think with this music on though. Psychedelic Furs song? Something around there, need to come back later or this will drive me nuts.

10. Clark Gable by The Postal Service - The Killing Moon! Echo and the Bunnymen. Now that the song stopped I can think again but how in the world did that song make me think of Ian McCulloch? Oh, I should be listening to this new song that sounds a lot like the other songs.

This 10 song experiment has mainly proved to me that I am hopelessly stuck in the past. I'm always surprised by the younger people I talk to(mostly women, the men I know who listen to music seem to have broader tastes) who say they don't know about a pre-1980s artist because they weren't born yet. We do have these magic inventions that record music! You can even listen to the music of dead people! But I am oppositely bad, I'm more in touch with music made when I was 2 than when I was 32.

I'll work on it, familiarity with music tends to bring more appreciation. One-time listening on my laptop is not really the way to fall in love. I will admit though, that as I type this up I am listening to my new Pandora station (The Killing Moon) and feeling put out that they are giving me Oasis.

Chaps and an Eyepatch

My niece is six years old and interested in Webkinz. My sister bought me a stuffed iguana so I could adopt him and play online with them too. I've spent the past month spinning the Wheel of Wow, answering quiz questions aimed at 5-year olds, making two-dimensional hamburgers, finishing lots of word games and gambling with bingo games, virtual scratch-off tickets, and slot machines. All in order to win Webkinz money that I can use to send goofy virtual gifts to my niece and sister and buy stuff for Stooges.

I'm pretty good at the word games and I am kicking ass at "Make Eleven Solitaire." It's rewarding to know that my college education has prepared me to quickly make combinations of 11.

7 + 4
3 + 8
5 + 6
6 + 3 + 2
9 + Ace + Ace
4 + 4 + 2 + Ace

With my domination of Webkinz World (not counting any games involving aiming, shooting or quickly using the arrow keys) I've been able to earn a lot of points. In addition to sending my niece virtual packets of seeds to plant in her virtual garden and my sister a tiara and a hot dog, I've been able to set Stooges up in a swinging bachelor pad. He's got a bedroom decorated like a garage with a zen bed. He's got a fridge in his kitchen that looks like a giant speaker. He has three giant TVs in his den. (Note to Webkinz Central -- your Electronics store is shamefully short of everything but TVs. I bought the only musical instrument you have, a "for decoration only" guitar, but that is it: no stereos, no keyboards, no turntables!) Best of all though, I bought Stooges a pair of chaps and an eye patch and ever since he's felt like a rock star. He can't sing or play music but that didn't matter, he looked the part. At least until the other day when my sister sent him a Carmen Miranda fruit hat.

it goes well with his eyepatch and chaps.