Forgotten

Update on the post below:

I still haven't heard anything from the purveyors of the site that uses my site's name in their URL. A friend pointed out to me that their domain name is ".blogpot.com", not "rocknrollscientist.blogspot.com" so they probably scan through all the Blogspot sites and add those onto their blogpot domain. It's annoying nonetheless.

I want to add something else. I am not specifically Christian, and I have issues with many of the world's organized religions. But, I do have respect for some. I've come across too many zealots who don't care what I think or what I have to say, they only want to push their dogma and ideals on me. That's where they lose my respect. This past Sunday, I went to a mass at St. Leo's Catholic church in Detroit, MI. Normally, that would be the last place you would find me. But, this was a memorial mass for a close friend. I knew that he respected the church's bishop, but I didn't know why. The mass itself was nice, if a bit long, but everyone was so nice. No one was pushy about their beliefs, they were just genuine. I respect that immensely.

The next day, I went online to research the bishop because I was curious why Tim respected him so much. Bishop Tom Gumbleton was first ordained as a priest in 1956 when he was only 26. He was only 38 when he was ordained as a bishop in the archdiocese of Detroit. If you go to the AOD's site and check out the other Detroit bishops, their biographies are somewhat boring. But then go to Gumbleton's bio. The charity work and education just goes on and on and on. The man's a machine! Just this month he was in Ireland to show solidarity with five peace protesters who were on trial for allegedly damaging a U.S. war plane at a protest at Shannon Air Force Base three years ago. That protest was against the U.S. using an Irish base for their planes going to Iraq. Also, he turns 75 this year. To hear him speak at mass, you would never know he was that old. The Catholic Church requires that bishops and priests retire when they turn 75, but Gumbleton has no intention of doing that. He is definitely a priest who I can respect. That is rare.

I, For One Would Like to Welcome Our New Insect Overlords

A friend recently pointed out something to me. This is the thing, the actual URL to this website is http://rocknrollscientist.blogspot.com. You don't have to type that to get to the site, because I own the domain name rocknrollscientist.com. So, you can just type in that and get to the site. Or, you can type in the part with 'blogspot'. It doesn't really matter, they'll both take you to the same place. My friend Audrey emailed me yesterday to show me what happens if you accidentally type http://www.rocknrollscientist.blogpot.com. It's a religious site. Christian is the flavor. Right-wing sicko fundamentalist Christian. The real skeery types who go on and on about satan all the time. So, I finally had some time to deal with this today. I emailed them to find out why they're using an URL that is way too close to being the same as mine. This is what I said in the email:

Hello,I have a question. Is there a particular reason why you have chosen to use a URL that is so obviously intended to draw visitors based on people mis-typing the URL to my site? I own the domain rocknrollscientist.com. However, my site can also be reached at rocknrollscientist.blogspot.com. The '.com' URL forwards to the 'blogspot.com' URL. The reason I am irked by this is that I am not Christian, and would rather not be associated with your site. Please don't bother harassing me about my choice of faith, it's none of your business. Please also don't bother praying for me because I don't want your charity. Please just tell me why you are using the URL rocknrollscientist.blogpot.com. Your site obviously has absolutely nothing to do with rock and roll or science, so you are misleading people. One more thing: spell-check and grammar-check are really easy to use in Microsoft Word as well as every other web-page creation application. Look into it. It's too bad there isn't a dogma-check, too, because you need it.

I can't wait to see what they say in their response.

Reclamation

These are our demands...we want control of our bodies

I have no idea what Ian Mackaye specifically had in mind when he said that in the 1991 song "Reclamation" from the Fugazi album "Steady Diet of Nothing." But, it's come to mind a lot lately. Every time I hear anything about the Terry Schiavo issue, I think of "Reclamation." I cringe and think about how the Republicans will use this case in some way to further their goals concerning abortion and similar 'right-to-life' issues. Don't we have the right to not have our bodies be used for political gain? Fucking George W. Bush had to get up in the middle of the night last Sunday to sign something from Congress (who had an emergency weekend session) declaring that they want the feeding tube re-inserted. In the middle of the night! That's usually only for declarations of war and shit like that. After the case has been in Florida state courts for years, and the Florida Supreme Court finally ruled that the tube can be removed, W still felt the need to say, "you know what? We don't trust the states' opinions or courts, so why don't y'all eat shit and (don't) die? Cuz killin's wrong."

Have you noticed that, too? His accent's almost gone. He's starting to talk like an intelligent human being. There was an article in Monday's Wall Street Journal that noted how much the Shrub's language has changed from the 2004 to the 2005 State of the Union address. He stopped saying "mah" in place of "my" and now he's actually pronouncing the 'g' in '-ing' words. His drawl is suspiciously missing from his speeches. The twang that he used to speak in is referred to by linguists as an Inland Southern accent. He used it to great effect to gain points with the red states, which as we all know are mostly in the south and southwest.

Now that he needs to actually gain the approval of the world to attain his imperialistic and self-serving goals, he needs to give off the appearance of an intellectual who sounds like a US president. He's still just a cokehead trust fund kid to me. I don't care how well he speaks.

Never As Tired As When I'm Waking

Coming soon, essays on post-Afghan Whigs Greg Dulli, post-Repeater Fugazi, and some other stuff. I promise. I've been lazy. Gimme a break.

Orthographic Projection

Last Call for Vitriol

I probably shoulda written this back on Wednesday, but work has been a little busy lately. So, Tuesday night, I unexpectedly went to a show at the Shelter. I didn't mean to. I was aware that the show was coming up, and I was curious, but I didn't intend to go. Next thing I know, there I am.

Remember the band Superdrag? They were great power pop type stuff. I think they had three or four albums altogether. I saw them on their last tour a year and a half ago at the Magic Stick (Detroit). It was really good. Just simple aggressively poppy rock and roll. Kinda like later Husker Du or the Replacements. I guess they broke up last year, and now John Davis, the singer is out on tour in support of his new solo album.

He played the Shelter on Tuesday, and I got there in time to miss all the opening acts, which is good because that may have been painful. I think there were maybe twenty people in the room altogether. Pretty bad considering that at least nine of those people were either employees or people who got in for free (like me). The first couple of songs weren't too bad. He had a full band with him; he was playing guitar, and then organ, he had a bassist, another guitarist and a drummer. After the second song, NO ONE was talking, and my friend felt the need to change that. It was so dead quiet, he just felt like there should be at least a little bit of noise between songs. He started going on about the new Star Wars movie. I thought it was funny. After the third song, Davis said that they were going to play the whole album because that's all they know. One of the bartenders yelled out to ask how many songs were on the album. Davis answers: "twelve." Bartender yells: "what track number was that one you just played?" Davis answers: "three." A few songs later we got up and left, and when I say 'we', I mean five of the twenty people (all of us are either employees or friends of) were suddenly gone. I felt bad, but it had to be done. This is why:

The songs that we did hear were good, they were poppy late-Beach Boys type songs. John Davis is a good songwriter and musician, there's no doubt about that. But...this is the thing: after Superdrag broke up, he quit drinkin', he quit doin' drugs, and he found Jesus. Don't get me wrong, there are musicians out there who can get away with that sort of thing, but when you come from something completely opposite...it has to be a hard transition. If I hadn't ever seen or heard them before, I might have liked the show more, but it was a bit much at times. I did like the first line of the third or fourth song: "every night is Saturday night, and I fucking hate it." I can relate to that. The next song kept going on about salvation and that killed it for me.

Is there life for John Davis after Superdrag? Maybe, I don't know. Others have done it, but the whole Jesus thing will hurt him, like it or not. A good example (minus Jesus) would be Bob Mould after Husker Du broke up. Several solo albums and several albums as Sugar, and he's still going strong. I also like Greg Dulli's 'solo' work a lot, too. He has no actual solo albums, just his post-Afghan Whigs work with Twilight Singers. More on that later.

I Don't Want To Be Defeated I Don't Want To Be Defeated

Pride no longer has definition
Everybody wears it, it always fits
A state invoked for the lack of position
Strength is the bait that keeps us so busy
If it's perforated, then I tear it to bits
All sense lost in the frenzy
They should never touch the ground
Irony is the refuge of the educated
Always complaining but they never quit
Cool's eternal, but its always dated
They should never touch the ground
It's not worth, it's the investment
That keeps us tied up in all these strings
We draw lines and stand behind them
That's why flags are such ugly things
That they should never touch the ground - "Facet Squared" - Fugazi

Coming soon, an essay on post-Repeater Fugazi.

Getrunken in der Öffentlichkeit*

Random notes from a long weekend:

• Today is the day. I have no idea what that means, but I needed to start with something dramatic.
• Saltimbocca Alla Romana (veal) is damned tasty when done right. Check out the new Italian restaurant in Ferndale on 9 Mile where The Temple used to be. It's called Via Nove. Ignore the bad joke of a name (Via Nove is Italian for '9 Mile'). I also recommend the house chianti and our bartender Chelsey. Amy got the Cavettini with braised rapine, and that was good, too. All pasta is made fresh every day. Prices are around $20 average for entrees.
• If you haven't been to Tavern On the Park (Detroit) on a Thursday or Friday night yet, then you need to. They have a Batcave in the basement, their bathrooms are in the top five worst in Detroit, various types of bands play cheap shows, and they have really good DJs on Thursday and Friday nights.
• Salvador Deli in Hamtramck has one of the best brunches in the Detroit area, plus they have it on Saturday and Sunday. They also have one of the worst waitresses in Detroit, and she admits it. Yet we still go there.
• St. Patrick's Day Parade on Sunday: The Gaelic League, an Irish-American organization sold out to the almighty advertising dollar. When I asked for a Harp, I was told "sorry, we only have Miller products today." Keep in mind that in Detroit, the company that distributes Bass, Harp, and Guinness is the company that distributes Budweiser products. How can they do that? That doesn't make any sense, does it? Am I crazy for thinking that an Irish club should be selling Irish beer? It's not like this is some sports bar that has an Irish theme as a gimmick...it's the fucking Gaelic League! Whatever, Miller Lite gets me drunk, too.
• Arnanda's Taqueria deep in southwest Detroit has really good tacos for little money. Seriously.
• Drunk people shouldn't drive. Period.
• * - punk in drublic.

This Modern Love

I acquired a few new records lately. I feel the need to tell all of you fine people what these records are all about. Some are new, some are new to me, and some I've had before, but recently came back to. Okay, that may add up to too many items. I don't know. I don't care.

Right now, I'm listening to "Silent Alarm" from Bloc Party. At first, I just thought they were yet another Gang of Four wannabe band, but they quickly saved themselves from that fate before the first song was done. Comparisons to Gang of Four, A Certain Ratio, and The Cure come easily, but they manage to still sound unique. They aren't as danceable as Gang of Four, not as jazzy (yeah, I said it) as A Certain Ratio, and certainly not as down as The Cure. So what does that leave us with? It's interesting, that's for sure. It's just good. Well-written songs, tight production, choruses that I'm humming long after the CD has stopped, and aptitude. They can play, there's no sloppiness. I appreciate that sometimes. No, I'm not being sarcastic, I do love it raw, but sometimes a good recording is even better.

I also picked up "Dangerous Dreams" from Moving Units. I was reading somewhere that at a recent show, an audience member shouted out "Gang of Three!" That sums up this band. Nothing original or all that interesting here. But...but, I saw them live. I happened upon a show at the Magic Stick one Thursday night a couple weeks ago, and there they were. They were opening for Secret Machines. The Units were interesting live, I wouldn't say spectacular, but definitely worth checking out if they're opening for someone else you want to see.

I also got the new Beck album, "Guero" recently, you can scroll down a couple of posts for my lengthy review of that.

Last week I was on a Suede kick, and now it's Pulp. "Hits" and "This Is Hardcore" are in rotation. Neither one is new for me, I had them long ago, but now I have them again. I like how Suede is like Ziggy Stardust and Pulp is like Roxy Music. No, I'm not going to elaborate, just figure that one out for yourself.

I also recently got "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept" from Louis XIV. I can't figure out where these guys are from, but I'm assuming it's somewhere here in Les Etats-Unis. I want to like them. Really, I do. But it's hard. The songs are good, they're fun, but I hear them, and I hear the Hives. The vocals, the guitar, the pace, the sound, the lyrics (almost), it's all the Hives. But it's fun. I'm sure they'd be good live.

That's all for today, kids.

God Killed the Queen

I don't know where this came from, but I like it. I've seen it attributed to former Monty Python member John Cleese and to someone going by the name "asciiwhite." I haven't been able to find a credible source for who the author is, but I like it and I'm posting it. Suck it.

To the citizens of the United States of America,

In the light of your failure to elect a suitable President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective today. Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths and other territories. Except Utah, which she does not fancy. Your new prime minister (The Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP for the 97.85% of you who have until now been unaware that there is a world outside your borders) will appoint a minister for America without the need for further elections. Congress and the Senate will be disbanded.

A questionnaire will be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed. To aid in the transition to a British Crown Dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. You should look up revocation in the Oxford English Dictionary. Then look up aluminium. Check the pronunciation guide. You will be amazed at just how wrongly you have been pronouncing it. The letter U will be reinstated in words such as favour and neighbour; skipping the letter U is nothing more than laziness on your part. Likewise, you will learn to spell doughnut without skipping half the letters. You will end your love affair with the letter Z (pronounced zed not zee) and the suffix ize will be replaced by the suffix ise. You will learn that the suffix burgh is pronounced burra (e.g. Edinburgh). You are welcome to respell Pittsburgh as Pittsberg if you can't cope with correct pronunciation. Generally, you should raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. Look up vocabulary. Using the same twenty seven words interspersed with filler noises such as like and you know is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. Look up interspersed. There will be no more bleeps in the Jerry Springer show. If you're not old enough to cope with bad language, then you shouldn't have chat shows. When you learn to develop your vocabulary then you won't have to use bad language as often.

2. There is no such thing as US English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take account of the reinstated letter u and the elimination of -ize.

3. You should learn to distinguish between the English and Australian accents. It really isn't that hard. English accents are not limited to Cockney, upper-class twit, or Mancunian (Daphne in Frasier). You will also have to learn how to understand regional accents - Scottish dramas such as Taggart will no longer be broadcast with subtitles. While we're talking about regions, you must learn that there is no such place as Devonshire in England. The name of the county is Devon. If you persist in calling it Devonshire, all American States will become shires (e.g. Texasshire, Floridashire, Louisianashire).

4. Hollywood will be required to occasionally cast English actors as the good guys. Hollywood will be required to cast English actors to play English characters. British sit-coms such as Men Behaving Badly or Red Dwarf will not be re-cast and watered down for a wishy-washy American audience who can't cope with the humour of occasional political incorrectness.

5. You should relearn your original national anthem, God Save The Queen, but only after fully carrying out task 1. We would not want you to get confused and give up half way through.

6. You should stop playing American football. There is only one kind of football. What you refer to as American football is not a very good game. The 2.15% of you who are aware that there is a world outside your borders may have noticed that no one else plays American football. You will no longer be allowed to play it, and should instead play proper football. Initially, it would be best if you played with the girls. It is a difficult game. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which is similar to American football but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full Kevlar body armour like nancies). We are hoping to get together at least a US rugby sevens side by 2005. You should stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.15% of you are aware that there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. Instead of baseball, you will be allowed to play a girls game called Rounders which is baseball without fancy team strip, oversized gloves, collector cards or hotdogs.

7. You should declare war on Quebec and France, using nuclear weapons if they give you any merde. (Merde is French for Shit.) The 97.85% of you who were not aware that there is a world outside your borders should count yourselves lucky. The Russians have never been the bad guys. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry guns. You will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous in public than a vegetable peeler. Because we don't believe you are sensible enough to handle potentially dangerous items, you will require a permit if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

8. July 4th is no longer a public holiday. November 2 nd will be a new national holiday, but only in England. It will be called Indecisive Day.

9. All American cars are hereby banned. They are crap and it is for your own good. When we show you German cars, you will understand what we mean. All road intersections will be replaced with roundabouts. You will start driving on the left with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

10. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips. Fries aren't even French, they are Belgian though 97.85% of you (including the guy who discovered fries while in Europe) are not aware of a country called Belgium. Those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut and fried in animal fat. The traditional accompaniment to chips is beer, which should be served warm and flat. Waitresses will be trained to be more aggressive with customers.

11. As a sign of penance, 5 grams of sea salt per cup will be added to all tea made within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this quantity to be doubled for tea made within the city of Boston itself.

12. The cold tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all, it is lager. From November 1st, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. The substances formerly known as American Beer will henceforth be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, with the exception of the product of the American Budweiser Company, whose product will be referred to as Weak Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine. This will allow true Budweiser (as manufactured for the last 1000 years in Pilsen, Czech Republic) to be sold without risk of confusion.

13. From December 1st, the UK will harmonise petrol (or Gasoline, as you will be permitted to keep calling it until April 1st, 2005) prices with the former USA. The UK will harmonise its prices to those of the former USA and the former USA will, in return, adopt UK petrol prices (roughly $6/US gallon - get used to it).

14. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not adult enough to be independent. Guns should be handled only by adults. If you're not adult enough to sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not grown up enough to handle a gun.

15. Please tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us crazy.

Tax collectors from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all revenues due (backdated to 1776).
Thank you for your cooperation.

Fax Machine Anthems

Remember when Beck's album Mellow Gold came out and it was a big freakin' deal? I'm not just talking about the singles or "Loser," but the whole record. I'm sure someone else had already tried, but no one else had so seamlessly blended folk and hip hop and rock elements in one album. At first it felt like a novelty to me, but the songs were actually really good. I haven't heard his first two records, A Western Harvest Field By Moonlight and Stereopathetic Soul Manure, so I don't know where he was at that point, but if I were to guess based on titles alone, I'd say the former was probably a folk record and the latter was more of the audio collage we're now so familiar with. Then came One Foot In the Grave on K Records. The 'cool' kids heard that one, but it existed in a galaxy far away from mainstream radio, so it didn't sell as well. It's a good album. All folk. Very simple. In 1996, Beck's first collaboration with the Dust Brothers (producers of Paul's Boutique) came out. Odelay was like a revolution. There were plenty of groups out there who were already blending hip hop and rock and electro, and some were doing it well, but they were all kind of gimmicky. Like Cibo Matto for an example. Odelay was a party album, every song could've been a hit single, and I'm not sure, but I think most of the songs appear elsewhere as remixes. So basically I'm just trying to say that this shit was good. Seriously good. A couple years later, in 1998, Mutations came out. Not quite a proper album, it was a collection of songs that had been recorded over a period of four years, and he decided to re-record some of them with his current touring band and release them. They were good songs, but the album as a whole wasn't all that strong. Midnight Vultures came out in 1999, and it had some big name guest stars like Beth Orton and Johnny Marr. It was a very cohesive record, but it just didn't move me. At that point I stopped paying attention. A few years later, he put out Sea Change (2002), but by then I had lost interest. Then, a few months ago, I was watching the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At the very end is a song from Beck, and I wasn't sure where it was from. I assumed it was on Sea Change because that was the record that I was least familiar with, and the song was too well recorded to have been from any of the earlier albums. Remember that Mellow Gold was recorded for only $200. So I got ahold of Sea Change and went through the whole album but couldn't find the song. Turns out it was only on the film's soundtrack, but this sparked an interest in Sea Change. It's an album about loss, and in this case lost love, I think, but later it helped me with the loss of a friend. All the songs are country folk/rock type things. Almost painfully depressing. It reminded me a lot of Nick Drake. Actually, I wrote a post about this album a couple months ago. Check the archives. So, anyway, I recently found out that Beck has a new album coming out. I got ahold of it last week (actual release date: 03/29/05), and I listened to a little bit of it, but I was pissed. He went back to the audio collage/pastiche sound. I didn't want that. I wanted more music like he made on Sea Change. But, I guess people do move on. I think this new album Guero is the best he's made in years, possibly since Odelay (not including Sea Change because that was a totally different sound). This makes me want to listen to him again. I think we take it for granted now, but he really made the hip hop/electronic/rock/lo-fi thing big in modern music. On Mutations and Midnight Vultures I was over it. I didn't care all that much. This is different. Much different. He's not necessarily innovative, but he's staying just ahead of the times. Right from the start "E-Pro" has a driving guitar line with hip hop beats. Suddenly memories of driving around getting high listening to Odelay fill my head. "Que Onda Guero" is only half in Spanish, and I have no idea what the fuck he's saying. 'Que' is that, 'onda' is wave, but I can't figure out what 'guero' means. Anyone know? This one has the hip hop thing going on, too, but with a Latin feel to it. In fact, I think Beck could be considered a modern Tropicalia artist. Tropicalia (or Tropicalisme) was a movement of politically-minded Brazilian musicians in the sixties who blended American psychedelic music with their native sounds of bossa nova and samba. Many of those artists are still making records, like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. Back to the record. Track three is called "Girl." It starts out with a really cool electro intro that could've come right out of an early Nintendo game. It's pure pop, though, and the electro thing isn't all through the song. Great chorus, too. Musically, track five almost makes me think of Motown. "Black Tambourine" has a motown feel, but then this little guitar riff kicks in that makes me think of U2's live album Rattle and Hum for some reason. The next song, "Earthquake Weather" is a little downbeat. The actual beats make me think of "High Plains Drifter" from the Beastie Boys (without Kerry King's guitar), except wetter if that makes any sense. This one has a really good falsetto chorus in it. Then this acid guitar line comes in on it. Am I being too detailed? Who cares. Whatever. It's a really good record, and it's renewing my faith in Beck as a relevant, innovative, and talented artist. "Hell Yes" is the album's first single, and I highly, highly suggest you pick up the Hell Yes EP just for the remix. It has a robotic vocal in the chorus, and that's always a winner in my book. His flow in this one reminds me a lot of Grandmaster Flash. Stop gasping in horror, you elitist. I'm serious. There's also an Asian-sounding girl sampled saying "I like your bass" and "your beats are nice." It's fun. You also can't help but love a chorus that includes the line "...fax machine anthems, get yer damn hands in the air!" The next one, "Broken Drum" is almost industrial sounding in how heavy the drums sound. The vocal has an effect on it, too. Kinda reminiscent of Mellow Gold in that sense. Some good samples on the chorus with this one. "Scarecrow" is sort of a return to the more modern Beck of Midnight Vultures. A little loungey sounding. Twangy guitar. "Go It Alone" is almost a G. Love type of thing with a better beat. Okay, maybe that's what everything Beck does is about: G. Love but with a better beat. I think. No, I know. It is. "Farewell Ride" starts out a bit too much like "Devil's Haircut" from Odelay, but it's soon redeemed in the first verse. He reaches out vocally more on this one. Damn, this is a good record. "Rental Car" is pure pop. Actually reminds me a lot of the Rentals' second album. The last song, "Emergency Exit" is pretty slow. Very lo-fi like Mellow Gold. I guess you could say this album is like a good mix between Mellow Gold and Odelay with some modern electronic elements. I like it.

10:15 Saturday Night

Mmmm...chicken livers. It's like they melt in your mouth. I've never had anything like it.

Pixellated Halftone

The Chicago tribune chose not to run this comic today. It's "The Boondocks" from Aaron McGruder. I really don't see what all the fuss is about. I love this comic. There's always a lot of biting social commentary going on. Check out more of it here.