May 2012
1 post
A hero of mine on heroes of his...
“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
~ Bob Dylan
March 2012
3 posts
Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck the MPAA →
Six instances of the word “fuck” in a theatrical feature is an AUTOMATIC R RATING, regardless of if there is ANYTHING else objectionable present or whether or not the film is a documentary.
This counts even if the people saying the word “fuck” are real soldiers in the heat of battle being shot at or bombed, or actual young kids threatening other actual young kids with...
I've been pretty down of late, but BOY did this...
Who would ever have thought that one of the most bold, unapologetic, pull-no-punches, “oh no, they didn’t” eviscerations of one of this country’s current Presidential candidates would come from - of all places - the Russian press?
Yep.
While most of our insipid political leaders spout off about how our society’s freedom of the press shames the situation in Russia,...
Such a very sad day: RIP Peter Bergman.
So much of my young and impressionable psyche was molded (for the much better, I believe) by listening to the brilliant, worldly wit and caustic, progressive commentary of Peter and his brethren in The Firesign Theatre.
Apparently, Peter has died of lukemia.
He was TRULY a one-of-a-kind comedic genius and social critic, and were it not for his pioneering work there would surely be no SIMPSONS,...
February 2012
4 posts
One of the most important, chilling and...
Hyperbole?
Maybe.
Then again, maybe not.
If you, like me, have found yourself reduced of late to blubbering, incredulous bewilderment at the GOP and religious right’s incessant, ever-growing attacks on the ability of women in the USA to manage their own fertility and health issues - it’s likely because you -like me- didn’t really get the big picture.
While I understood (yet...
Sony Music's EPIC Whitney Houston Marketing Fail
For anyone out there that still needs further proof that the established record industry model is desperately clawing for every nickel and dime they can squeeze out of gullible consumers, rather than thinking progressively and trying to craft a profitable business model that’s based on the real world of today rather than the days of Ozzie & Harriet, dig this:
There was a time, not...
For all this talk about Whitney Houston, I've... →
I could not have said it better myself (so I won't...
I just happened upon the post below in the comments thread below this online article on how the Catholic Church’s opposition to the White House’s requirement that health insurance plans cover contraception is basically a bunch of megalomaniacal hogwash.
Here’s what one savvy person had to say about this ridiculous brouhaha which is being trumped up to paint OUR President as...
January 2012
4 posts
Casual Pixies fans - here's a wake-up call.
Think you have Frank Black Francis pegged? Think again.
He and his wife Violet are about to release their second CD under the band name Grand Duchy.
This is a concept album about their shared affinity for (and fetishizing of) Andy Warhol and his Factory crowd/days.
They’ve released an advance track from the record, which they admit is the one with the most overt references to the...
A very astute perspective on the irresponsible... →
Another great musician lost...
Tom Ardolino, musicologist and drummer EXTRAORDINAIRE from NRBQ passed away yesterday after an extended illness.
He was one of the most baddass, incredible trap drummers I ever had the pleasure to see and hear in person, and a darn nice fellow as well.
He hit SO hard and in such a unique way (watch this vintage live clip to see what I mean) he would not just break the drum heads and cymbals,...
The classic rock album that (almost) got away...
In 1974, Bob Dylan released the album Blood On The Tracks, which many consider to be not only one of his finest efforts, but one of the greatest singer-songwriter albums ever made. It has enjoyed great popularity and acclaim for decades, but many do not realize that the album they know and love is not the album as originally intended.
Literally on the eve of the LP’s release, Dylan decided...
December 2011
2 posts
November 2011
7 posts
Yes Virginia, some wealthy, popular musicians DO... →
Leave it to EC to put the lie to the diehard-fan gouging that confused and desperate record labels are currently engaged in through the release of lavish multi-media releases with snazzy packaging.
He knows most of this “limited-edition” stuff will filter out later as separate items, and he also knows that Universal Music Group has priced this set artificially high, even considering...
An American Icon has passed away. →
At 93 years old, Jeno Paulucci, inventor of (among other things) the Pizza Roll, has gone on to his sweet reward.
Learn all about the amazing life and accomplishments of this national treasure at the link - and dig this rare recording of a vintage Jeno’s Pizza Roll TV commercial written and directed by the great Stan Freeberg.
Long live the Pizza Roll!
File this one under "Karma" →
WatchVery nicely done and put.
I suppose this is the kind of rarely taken opportunity every sincere musician in a popular band surely longs for, whether they’re aware of that fact or not.
October 2011
1 post
"Repent, Cameron!" Said the Ticktockman... →
James Cameron is a talented technical filmmaker, but a lying plagiarist who for decades now has repeatedly taken credit for clever story ideas and script details written decades before. Now that he’s obscenely rich and famous (and could easily pay handsomely to license most any script, book or story he wants), he uses his money and legal clout to hide this fact and refuses to acknowledge...
August 2011
3 posts
Okay, has Jon Huntsman's Twitter account been... →
Running down a dream
Well, at long last, the call has gone out for talent to perform along the route of the upcoming Rock & Roll Marathon, a huge, internationally known traveling event for runners which fancies itself hipper than most other similar endeavors, and which is coming to Savannah in a few months. The organization which promotes this charitable athletic happening supposedly has locked the city in as its...
G.R.E.E.D. in the U.S.A.
My friend and fellow Savannah commentator Bill Dawers has a post up on his blog regarding what he views as surprisingly high ticket prices for the just-announced Veterans Day concert by John Cougar Mellencamp at the Johnny Mercer Theater.
Bill felt the pricing structure of this show was too rich for his blood, as it is for mine as well. I am playing a gig that night myself, but if I were not...
July 2011
4 posts
From a Norwegian friend...
Earlier today, a Norwegian gentleman who is a mild acquaintance of mine posted the following on his website, and I thought it was worth sharing, for anyone who may care. I am responsible for the emphasis added through the use of boldface and italics.
...
Gear Jammin' at the Fear Factory
In case you were not aware, for several months now, many foodies in Savannah have been openly questioning why there are virtually no mobile restaurants (or “Food Trucks”) in our fair city.
A significant segment of those who’ve raised this issue seem to be either transplants from other locales who -upon settling here in town- immediately missed a popular, affordable, fun (and...
WatchHere’s a decent song from Interpol accompanied by mesmerizing original animation from visionary director and TM acolyte David Lynch, which just hit the web today.
It was their first collaboration (the bandmembers are all avowed fans of Lynch’s work), and was used as a projection behind the group during this song when they played the main stage at Coachella a few months back.
Lynch...
Let's Get REAL: Herman Cain IS Wesley Willis.
Check this shit out: I thought WESLEY WILLIS died years ago.
Turns out, he changed his name to HERMAN CAIN and decided to use a fake Presidential Campaign to hype his new gospel CD Sunday Morning!
It was released today, and features the “all instruments simulated badly by a Casio keyboard” sound and crap-tastic vocal stylings we’d expect from Wesley.
Dig the blistering...
June 2011
3 posts
In case you were interested...
The folks over at the Creative Coast Initiative were kind enough to invite me to write a guest blog for their ongoing series of columns by local pontificators.
I applaud them opening up their site to such a wide array of personal opinions and outlooks, and was honored to take part.
My submission went online today and can be read (and commented on) here, although I also welcome comments below as...
Sarah Palin IS Margaret Meehan.
Here’s a short but well put piece on how the only thing more shocking than Sarah Palin’s proud public ignorance is the bizarre need many U.S. residents have for reflexively pretending her obvious inability to conduct herself in anything resembling an impressive or self-aware manner is not hideously, hideously embarrassing to both herself and her supplicants.
As my friend Jim Morekis...
If 83 friends put in $50,000 each, we could buy...
Back in the 1970s, recording engineer Rob Fraboni (the Stones’ GOAT’S HEAD SOUP, The Beach Boys’ “Sail On Sailor”, the PLANET WAVES LP, etc…) designed and built an incredible, custom recording studio in Malibu, Ca. for his friends Bob Dylan and The Band.
Overlooking the ocean, this amazing, secluded compound known as the Shangri-La Ranch included living...
May 2011
8 posts
Is this bluegrass?
Is it country?
Is it blues?...
In a completely uncharacteristic move, Bob Dylan...
For those of us who follow The Bard’s career, this seemingly self-penned posting on his official website (the first such announcement he’s ever made online), seeks to clarify the facts of his recent, brief Chinese tour - which earned him no small measure of scorn from pundits who assumed he had kowtowed to government pressure by censoring his song choices and/or lyrics in order to gain...
Scattered, Smothered & Covered (with some... →
Alejandro Jodorowsky speaks truths which I want to...
Do you know this man?
He is one of the most important figures in the worlds of cinema, comic books and the Tarot - just not according to most.
He is a also a brilliant mime and free thinker who espouses his own unique approach to manipulating the human subconscious for emotionally healing purposes, which he terms “PsychoMagic.”
Now, after 21 long years away from the director’s...
THE GREATEST MOTHER'S DAY SONG, LIKE, UM, EVER. →
With all due respect to everyone who’s been posting and sharing Mother’s Day songs today, this AMAZING live-in-the-studio recording of The Godfather of Soul from 1969 leaves yours spinning in the dust with a confused look on its face.
Sorry to say, but it’s just a natural fact.
For aural proof of the above claim, simply click on the title of this post and listen to this...
WatchI have never paid much attention at all to magician Criss Angel, but his TV specials looked like a bunch of cleverly edited camera trickery, and his entire “Miami Steve’ Van Zandt-meets-that kid who used to be married to Jessica Simpson’s younger sister is as ludicrous as it is unappealing.
This 12-minute impassioned rant by a longtime fan of stage magic who’d just...
April 2011
13 posts
WatchJerry Seinfeld is apparently something of a jerk in real life. But, um, yeah - what he said.
R.I.P. Roger Nichols - one of the GREATS. →
Snoop Dogg gets you instantly hammered. It's about...
America’s favorite accused murderer/porno film producer/kid’s TV star has just endorsed a line of EXTREMELY STRONG fruit-flavored Malt Liquor from the makers of Colt 45.
Each can of BLAST by Pabst contains as much alcohol as an entire 6-pack of PBR.
But hey - at least there’s no caffeine involved.
Can you dig it?
I love it when religious leaders say what's really...
Remember David Barton?
You know, the guy I blogged about a couple of weeks ago?
He’s the evangelical minister and shameful historical revisionist who makes a living out of writing and preaching the lie that the USA was founded as an explicitly Christian nation and promotes the idea that the U.S. government should “regulate homosexuality.”
???
Mike Huckabee recently told a...
REAL TALK about the violent ugliness that lurks... →
This looks VERY intriguing: a new Black-oriented... →
For years, I have watched BET deteriorate from a visionary, edu-tainment venture into (with a few notable exceptions which are NOT the norm) a miasma of lowest-common denominator programming which seemingly —insultingly, I thought— underestimated the very demographic it claimed to exalt.
Can this new venture rise above all that mess? If so, can it stay there without sinking to a...
Van Damme admits getting hopped up on goofballs... →
