It's time to choose

I think that more than ever, this is a time to look back to brother J.C. Crawford's speech which opened the MC5's show at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on the Zenta New Year, in 1968. That was a time of serious political unrest that was expressed heavily in the culture of the times. Now, however, is a much more serious situation. Everything that got better (possibly because of all the late '60s activism) is now getting worse again. It will only continue unless you stand up and vote. Let your voice be heard! It's time to testify!

"Brothers and sisters! I wanna see a sea of hands out there. Let me see a sea of hands. I want everybody to kick up some noise. I wanna hear a little revolution. Brothers and sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are gonna be the problem, or whether you are gonna be the solution. You must choose, brothers, you must choose. It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision. Five seconds to realize that it's time to move. It's time to get down with it. Brothers, it's time to testify, and I want to know are you ready to testify? Are you ready?"

Brother Crawford was just giving an emphatic and emotional introduction to the most important band in Detroit at the time. He was expressing the power of the MC5 in speech. Words like those aren't taken lightly, though. Sounding like a Southern Baptist preacher, he gets his point across. It isn't just about the music or the band or 1968. It is time for a revolution. Vote!

Stoned Slackers?

Okay, I'm sure a lot of you out there watch The Daily Show on Comedy Central once in awhile. Yes, much of it is satirical, but there is real news and real commentary going on there, it's just wrapped up in comedy and wit so it's easier to swallow. The polar opposite of The Daily Show would be Bill O'Reilly's The O'Reilly Factor on Fox. O'Reilly is commonly known to most of us as an ultra-right wing wacko who is the born/sworn enemy of liberal columnist and personality Al Franken. I mean, really, some of the things that come out of O'Reilly's mouth are just so baffling. Earlier this month, Daily Show host Jon Stewart appeared on The O'Reilly Factor as a guest. Ya know what Billy said to him? He said this "You know what's really frightening?" O'Reilly said. "You actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is scary, but it's true. You've got stoned slackers watching your dopey show every night and they can vote." Guess what, Billy? Comedy Central was so ticked off at that comment, that they went and did a study on the two shows' audiences. They found that Daily Show viewers are more likely than O'Reilly Factor viewers to have completed four years of college. Ya know what they also found? Viewers of the Daily Show are more likely to correctly answer political questions than young people who don't. It seems that all of these neo-cons out there like O'Reilly really don't understand us. Why is it that the protests at this year's Republican National Convention were the biggest ever? The last time anything even remotely like that happened was at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968, and it wasn't nearly as big as what happened in NYC this year. There's just so much protest action lately, it's insane. I can't keep up with all of it. This past Sunday, there was an anti-Bush bike rally on Belle Isle (Detroit), a silent protest at 9 Mile and Woodward in Ferndale (Detroit-area) put on by Veterans for Peace, and soon there will be an anti-Bush film festival downtown. Maybe the IMF protests and Seattle and Genoa and Goteburg were all just the beginning of a world-wide awakening. These activist groups have been bubbling under for years, and now they have REAL issues to fight over, they have serious goals. The young liberal cannot be avoided, neo-cons...watch out!

Ah, Mercury...Sweetest of the Transition Metals!

As you can see, I've made some changes here. I really liked the black background, but it was hard to read. The font in the blog posts is a little bigger, too. Another change is the little envelope symbol at the end of each post. If you click on that, it will let you email that particular post to anyone you want. Let me know what you think, I'm still customizing it little by little, and trying to familiarize myself (yet again) with CSS.

To Live and Learn

Lessons learned today:

1. "Everything bagels" - are they really worth it? Half of that crap falls off into the toaster, which unleases that awful burnt garlic smell. The other half of the crap gets stuck in your teeth when you're eating the bagel. Not worth it.

2. "Pentax Optio S4" - yes, this is a bad-ass digital camera. Yes, there are lots of options including black and white and white-balance control. Yes, it's so small it fits in an Altoids tin perfectly. Yes, the rechargeable battery seems to last forever. Yes, it's 4 megapixels. Yes, there's a 4x digital zoom and macro and super-macro functions. Unfortunately, the highest shutter speed is ISO 200. No high-speed photography happenin' here . Not particularly good for high-quality rock 'n' roll live onstage when yr right next to the PA. Secondly, the innovative sliding-lens design which is the reason the camera can be so small creates lots of problems. This is not a perfect technology. Most of the people who buy this camera have had no problem, but many have. These problems usually include fun things like the camera won't always turn on or won't always turn off, or the camera will turn on, the lens will open, then the camera turns off without retracting the lens. All on it's own. Sometimes, when the camera is on, and you go to use the zoom function, it just turns off, sometimes without retracting the lens. Considering this is a $400 camera, I'm a little pissed, because I am one of those people with this problem. Even more reason to be pissed is that from reading Pentax user forums, I've found that if you send the camera back to Pentax (still under warranty), they will fix it, but they will charge you roughly $144 because they claim it's "operator error" or "operator inflicted impact damage." There are people on these forums who have had their cameras for less than a week, barely used them, and then had these problems. Pentax still will not offer any refunds or free repairs and the model has been out for over a year. That's probably why they don't make it anymore. Sometimes, some things are too good to be true. That's what I've learned today with this camera. If you're in my shoes with this particular Pentax camera, sometimes if you just hit it while it's turned off and the lens is retracted, it will work again just fine. There's no way I'm sending it in to have Pentax tell me it's my fault. Fuck that.

3. There are too many damned shows this weekend. I can't go to all of them. Another lesson learned. Ya can't be everywhere at once. Tonight, there's Sonny Vincent (formerly of NYC punk legends The Testors) with Dead Moon (legendary Pacific Northwest garage rock) at the Magic Stick. At Alvin's, Avail is playing with Only Crime, Jericho, and the Whiskey Diaries. Your last destination for tonight should be The Painted Lady, Detroit's newest bar. Look below to the previous post for details on who all's playin'. Five bucks to get in. That grand opening event will continue tomorrow night, when there's lots more to do, and lots more bands. The Lager House will have Capitol Cities, the Nice Device, and Fifth Period Fever. Also on Saturday will be the inaugural show at the White Heather club, which is located behind Como's in Ferndale. The Holy Fire and Sleep At Last will be playing as well as a third TBA band. Doors at 6pm, $5 cover, all ages show, and sadly for some, no alcohol. The Magic Stick has Natives of the New Dawn, who have been described as a cross between Tribe Called Quest and Medeski Martin & Wood. Dubphonics, Colic, and SA and Tenacity are also playing. Doors at 9pm, cover $7, 18+ only. Same night, Saturday, in the Garden Bowl is DJ Gutterball, also known as yours truly. No cover all night. I play from 9pm to 2am. If I could be everywhere at once...totally omnipresent, I would be at all of these shows, but I will be chained to the DJ booth at the GB as usual.

It's Official

I know...Sonny Vincent and Dead Moon are playing Friday. So are the Tiny Steps, and somewhere is the Nice Device. I know. But...you can see most of those acts anytime. What you can't see anytime is the grand opening of Detroit's newest bar: the Painted Lady. If you scroll down a little ways, you can see my previous article about the new bar. Joe and Andy's opening weekend will feature live music from Human Eye, the Terrible Twos, and the Genders on Friday the 24th. The Go are supposed to play that night as well, but word on the street is that it might not happen, so a replacement is TBA. Saturday the 25th, will be The Valentinos, Tentacle Lizardo, Little Claw and Whores of Babylon. If you were at Joe Lampinen's birthday two years ago at the Garden Bowl, then you've seen the Whores of Babylon. Good Dead Boys punk from Grand Rapids (I think they're from Grand Rapids). Both nights are $5, doors at 9pm. Beers on tap all the time, not just right now are Pabst Blue Ribbon, Bass, Boddington's, and Guinness. Pints of PBR are always $1.50, and 8 oz shells of PBR are always .75 cents. The address is 2390 Jacob in Hamtramck. Phone number is 313 874 2991.

The End is Near

Enjoy it while you can...

my backyard in Detroit:

Birth from Wet

...no, the warm coffee-flavored water did not help. Neither did the real coffee that I made after that. I'm looking, but who's looking back at me?

Gripped By the Lips

Weak coffee has no place in the office. Okay, better yet, weak coffee has no place in my mouth. Ever. If I can pick up the pot, and see through the coffee, I'm dumping it. End of story. Be warned! If you are going to make coffee for anyone other than yourself, have some consideration for those of us who actually like the taste of coffee. If I wanted warm coffee-flavored water, I'd drink Sanka.

Wet From Birth

I disappear today. I don't know how or why, but I do. I'm feeling crippled somehow. Physically, I'm fine, not any unhealthier than normal. I have noticed that I've lost weight, so that's good (too bad I can't afford to go out and buy some clothes that fit). It's something in my head, and it's hitting me all over. I probably just need coffee. That, or a complete overhaul of my life. While I do have job security, it's a tedious and boring job, and I hope to not be here within a year. I also hope to be in Europe within five years. Not just vacation, I mean I hope to be living in Europe within five years. The question is where and how. Money's also been on my mind lately. I guess that ties in with the shitty job. All of these things, as well as affairs of the heart make me feel weak. I do too many things in the name of romantic idealism. I feel like driving to Chicago right now and making a visit I shoulda made a long time ago. It won't help anything, but I'll feel better.

Drunken Detroit

What's wrong with me? The Detroit area's newest bar has been open for two weeks, and I have failed to mention it. Even stranger is that I'm friends with the owners, and I still haven't said anything. Well, ladies and worms...it's about damn time I said something. The Painted Lady is in Hamtramck in the space where Lilli's 21 used to be. Not positive of the address, but I know it's on Jacob. The corner of Jacob and Joseph Campau is right across from the Food Basics plaza (formerly Farmer Jack). Unfortunately, Jacob is a one way street, and runs west into Campau, but you can deal with that. The bar is painted a bright royal blue color, and not hard to find. The owners, Joe Lampinen and Andy Dow have every right to be opening their own bar. They already have a regular crowd, and if anyone knows anything about bars and bartending, it's Joe. Pints of Pabst Blue Ribbon are ALWAYS $1.50, that's not a special deal, it is not limited, and it is not just available while supplies last. Eight ounce shells of PBR are also available for .75 cents. Other beers on tap include Bass, Harp, and Boddington's. Several beers domestic and import are available as well as the usual liquors, Rebel Yell included. They will be having shows there, but that doesn't start until the grand opening weekend, September 24th and 25th. Between the two nights there will be several bands including the Go, the Valentinos, and Human Eye. Keep in mind, too, that unlike Lilli's, the entrance to the Painted Lady is right in front (on Jacob), not at the side down that dark sketchy alleyway. The bar is open seven days a week, and is open from 4pm to 2am.

(Joe/Stacey/Andy: if I got any of that wrong, let me know)

I'm a Dirty Motherfucker

...dirty jeans and a dirty mind!

So, today I got a new CD in the mail. I can't remember the chain of events that led me to order it, but I did (maybe because every other sentence in Horizontal Action references Jay Reatard). It's the album "Grown Up, Fucked Up" from the Reatards. This shit is serious. Serious hate and rage-filled trash and roll. It came out back in 2000, but it's just as relevant now as it was then. Four years ago, I was in a position to actually hang out with and meet all kinds of people in today's garage rock elite (not just Detroit). So I did. Some of the coolest people I got to meet were the guys from the Compulsive Gamblers/Oblivians. These guys are from Memphis, just like the Reatards, except Jay Reatard was 17 when he recorded, sang and played guitar on this record. The guys from the Oblivians are in their 30s. The trash blues raw dirt-ass hate is still there on both sides of the fence. It makes me want to move to Memphis. Okay, not really. This record from the Reatards is just so trashy and mean. It's angry. I love it. Why do I like so much of this music, this dirty trashy punk rock 'n' roll? Is this the white man's soul music? Actually, yes, it is. It's not the anger, it's the emotive vocals, and the emotion in the voice. Not emotional like 'emo'. Fuck that. This is real emotion. No one's crying here. They're screaming. They're screaming cuz their cheating girlfriend broke up with them, they're screaming cuz they're broke and the rent's due, they're screaming cuz they need a beer to forget about their problems, they're screaming cuz they haven't gotten laid in a month, they're screaming cuz no one understands them. They got issues, and they're gonna let you know in the most emphatic way they can. This music is always rough, often it sounds angry even if it really isn't, but it just feels so right. I'm not a violent man. I don't get in fights. I think the last time I hit someone with the intent of hurting them, it was my sister, and I was 10 years old. I guess I'm a pacifist, and I believe in the power of words over fists. So, this trash lets me live out my violence vicariously. I highly suggest that if any of this interests you, you should go out and find any album you can from The Reatards, The Compulsive Gamblers, The Oblivians, The Dirtys, The Drags, The Atomic Fireballs, okay, just go and buy everything on Empty Records, In the Red Records, anything on Crypt Records, and Estrus Records. That should cover it. Basically, I'm talking about the garage rock that had balls, not just the blues. Real fucking raw power.

I Don't Wanna Go Down to the Basement

Three fairly random yet interesting things I've heard in the past 24 hours:

1. "I called all the fags, but they were out of service"

2. "Wanna have sex?" "Sure, I have nothing better to do"

3. "There's about 50 guys playing bagpipes in the parking lot at Circuit City by Tel-12 right now."

I just felt the need to share, that's all. Have a nice day.

I Wanna Live!

Damn. Johnny Ramone is dead. Here's the full story from Yahoo! news:

CHRIS T. NGUYEN, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Johnny Ramone, guitarist and co-founder of the seminal punk band "The Ramones" that influenced a generation of rockers, has died. He was 55.

Ramone, who had been fighting a five-year battle with prostate cancer, died in his sleep Wednesday afternoon at his Los Angeles home surrounded by friends and family, said the band's longtime artistic director Arturo Vega. "He was the guy with a strategy. He was the guy who not only looked after the band's interest but he also was their defender," Vega said in a telephone interview from New York.
Ramone, whose birth name is John Cummings, had been hospitalized in June at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Johnny Ramone was one of the original members of the struggling Ramones, whose hit songs "I wanna be sedated" and "Blitzkrieg Bop," among others, earned them an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.
Johnny Ramone co-founded "The Ramones" in 1974 in New York along with singer Joey Ramone, bassist DeeDee Ramone and drummer Tommy Ramone, who is the only surviving member of the original band. All four band members had different last names, but took the common name Ramone.
Joey Ramone, whose real name is Jeff Hyman, died in 2001 of lymphatic cancer. Dee Dee Ramone, whose real name is Douglas Colvin, died from a drug overdose in 2002.
Clad in leather jackets and long black mops of hair, the group started out in legendary New York clubs like CBGB and Max's Kansas City, where they blasted their rapid-fire songs.
Since its debut album in 1976, the band struggled for commercial success, but they left a formidable imprint on the rock genre. Though they never had a Top 40 song, the Ramones influenced scores of followers, including bands such as Green Day and Nirvana.
Even Bruce Springsteen was moved. After seeing the Ramones in Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen wrote "Hungry Heart" for the band. His manager, however, swayed him to keep the song for himself and it became a hit single.
The band had encounters with other big names, including producer Phil Spector, who collaborated with the band in 1980. During the session, the late bassist Dee Dee Ramone said Spector pulled a gun on the band.
"The Ramones had it rough," said Vega, who's worked with the band for 30 years. "The band almost had to be protected from people who were taking advantage of them. There was never any money made."
Johnny Ramone changed that by demanding more money for performances, but still kept a close watch on the band's budget; Vega recalled how Johnny Ramone would insist that the band drive nonstop between Boston and New York for shows instead of spending the night in a hotel.
In addition to his financial conservatism, the guitarist was politically conservative — the late Ronald Reagan was Ramone's favorite president, Vega said.
Fans have remained loyal to the Ramones, and the Ramones over the years have been loyal to their fans. In 1979, while shooting scenes for the film "Rock 'n' Roll High School," the Ramones — ignoring the director's order — played a concert-length session for fans who had paid to be extras, Vega said.
"The Ramones never ever lost their image, their aura of being the ultimate underdog, the voice of the angry young man," Vega said.
A tribute concert and cancer research fund-raiser was held Sunday in Los Angeles to celebrate the band's 30th anniversary. It featured performances from Los Angeles punk band X, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Henry Rollins and others.

Along with his wife, Linda Cummings, Johnny Ramone was surrounded at his death by friends, including Pearl Jam rocker Eddie Vedder, singer Rob Zombie and others. Other friends who gathered at his Los Angeles home included Lisa Marie Presley, Pete Yorn, Vincent Gallo and Talia Shire.
He is survived by his wife and his mother, Estelle Cummings. He will be cremated during a private ceremony.

today your love, tomorrow the world

Are they talking about trees?

A couple of days ago, I was driving down Detroit's now-infamous 8 Mile road. It really isn't anything all that spectacular. However, there do happen to be a lot of strip clubs on 8 Mile. So, I was sitting at a traffic light and looked over to the side. There was a telephone pole with a sign tacked to it. The sign said "STUMP GRINDING" and listed a phone number. In the background was the strip club the Booby Trap. I laughed my ass off. I'm assuming the sign was advertising a service that removes tree stumps, but with the Booby Trap right there, it just seemed like the ad was for something else. Sometimes I have a one-track mind.

If a Tree Falls in the Corridor, Does Anyone Notice?

(here's some info for you provided by Noel)

Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple is pleased to offer a three session meditation course. The purpose of the course is to provide instruction on meditation postures, yoga stretches that help improve one's meditation practice, mindful breathing and concentration. Our emphasis is on developing a deep sense of peace that we can take back into the rest of our lives.

Still Point is offering a three-week meditation course that meets on Sundays from 1-3, beginning this Sunday, September 12th. The cost is $60. Details at www.stillpointzenbuddhisttemple.org. You can call 313-831-1005 to register.

All classes will be held at Still Point.

All welcome. Always.

Hot Sugar

Okay, as promised, here's a record review. I'm not sure when it came out, but I think it was in the past month. Today's review is of the brand spankin' new Mooney Suzuki record, "Alive and Amplified." First off, I want to start with a little back-story. Sometime around the year 2000, the NYC band played a free show at the Magic Stick in Detroit. I don't really know the circumstances around the show, as far as why they were there playing for free, why they were playing in the space behind the bar, or who they knew amongst the budding local garage rock elite. I should know, I worked there almost seven days a week at the time, but I was probably drunk. No wait, I remember, I was drunk, that's right. I think the connection involved the White Stripes somehow. Anyway, the handful of people who got to see that show were fuckeen blown away. This shit was hot. Lots of '60s rock 'n' roll energy. Their first album, "People Get Ready" came out that year, and it was full of the Kinks and the MC5 on coke. Lots of cliche, but it was the good kind, not the kind that gets old quick. A couple years later, in 2002, they put out their next album, "Electric Sweat." I heard it, I wasn't all that impressed. It just wasn't as focused as "PGR." I should probably go back and listen to it again. So...with all of this underground credibility (hot sounds and hot friends) behind them, the garage underground was horrified to find out that the Matrix were producing Mooney Suzuki's new major label album. Yes, horrified. If you aren't familiar, the Matrix are the production team best known for making Avril Lavigne an alterna-rock goddess of sorts. Thus the feeling of defeat that is felt by MS's fans. They are justified. Just slightly. Okay, the band has never been known for spectacularly insightful lyrics. The real pull of this band is how they manage to emulate so much good party rock n roll, like the MC5, Mott the Hoople, the rockin' side of the Kinks, the Faces, and Humble Pie. The previous records sounded dirty and tough, full of soul. This record accomplishes none of that. You could say this is their Lenny Kravitz record. I'm not sure how to fully explain myself on that one. It's glossy, but rockin'. There's definitely a new approach going on here. Sometimes, the studio tricks are a bit too much, and sometimes they work. The title track's chorus vocals sound fucking incredible. The drums are huge, the keyboard is tight. It's all there, it's all good. But, when "New York Girls" fades out towards the end, then comes back in again all strong for the coda, it just sounds like they're trying too hard to emulate '70s radio rock. The first track, "Primitve Condition" has a guitar line that's phased, and it just doesn't fit. You can tell they didn't use an analog guitar pedal, they used a rack-mounted digital effects processor, and didn't even try to make it feel warm. The whole record just sounds like it gave the Matrix a chance to pull out all the stops and make a huge gradiose self-indulgent rock record. I don't know whose influence is involved here, but even the song titles and the cover art reflect a big change for the band. They want to be big rock stars so badly it hurts. The album art actually looks like a combination of throwaways from the artist who did the cover of "Abraxas" from Santana, every Funkadelic record, and "Bitches Brew" from Miles Davis. Previous albums were very lo-fi with the artwork. Song titles in the past were just song titles, nothing special, but this album's all about standing on top of your guitar amp while coaxing the crowd into clapping along with the song and that sexual strut. Okay, maybe this is where the Lenny Kravitz thing comes in, because I think he can get away with song titles like "Shake That Bush Again" and "Loose 'n' Juicy." Yeah, you read that right. We're talkin' about four white guys from New York City who just lost all their soul, they have no place writing songs about those things.

Bottom line: this is a highly, yes, highly entertaining record, but you're much better off going back and getting the first one if you don't already have it. Then go out and buy everything from the MC5 and the Faces, because they had the soul that Mooney Suzuki lost in this translation. Get "Alive and Amplified" out of a used bin if you can.

The Blood of Occupation

Looks like Dubya's cup runneth over. This pic is a fountain in New York City, where all of the fountains have been dyed red to symbolize the bloodshed in Iraq: