Familiar American Bullshit

Listening to Carlin in our office today. Just wanted to share a part of his stand up that I find incredibly accurate. May not be laugh out loud funny when you read it… but that’s what Carlin is all about. Intelligence.

“There’s just enough bullshit to hold things together in this country. Bullshit is the glue that binds us as a nation. Where would we be without our safe, familiar, American bullshit?

Land of the free, home of the brave, the American dream, all men are equal, justice is blind, the press is free, your vote counts, business is honest, the good guys win, the police are on your side, God is watching you, your standard of living will never decline, and everything is gonna be just fine. The official national bullshit story. I call it the American okie-doke.

Every one of those items is probably untrue at one level or another, but we believe them because they’re pounded into our heads from the time we’re children. Thats what they do with that kind of stuff. They put it in the head of kids and pound it in there, because kids ya know kids, are too young to be able mouth a sophisticated argument against these kind of ideas. And so kids & up to a certain age kids are going to believe everything grown ups tell them. Everything! So kids never learn to question things.

Nobody question things in this country anymore. Nobody questions things. Why? Because they’re too fat & happy. People are way too fucking complaisant for their own good. Everyone got a cell phone that will make pancakes and rub there balls now ya know. So nobody wants to rock the boat. America in silence. Bought off in silence by gizmos and toys. So no one question things anymore. ” -George Carlin

The Truth.

“It is the duty of the human understanding to understand that there are things which it cannot understand, and what those things are.”

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

-Soren Kierkegaard

What’s Really In the Teaches Of Peaches?

Still loose, but a bit tighter, and a less rockier….

The new Peaches album (I finally absorbed it) is not what you think it’s going to be. Very different direction.  It’s more emotionally honest, feminine, and less punk, still electroclash and way more club ready.

Since most of my music links lead to Rhapsody (and not everyone has a subscription),  I am going to link you to lala.com, which I think is a pretty good site if you want to check out new music.

Check out her new single “I Feel Cream” for a taste of what’s she cooking upon this album

Click ——>I Feel Cream – Peaches

So what do you think?  Is this where she should be headed? I am surprised, but not completely shocked. Everyone gets older some time.  Just check out some of the other tracks on album Feel Cream and you will see what I mean.  Songs like “Serpentine” and “Mommy Complex” (both I really dig), and “Billionaire” (which I don’t really dig, but interesting effort on her part. I can definitely see dance club hipster, and unknowing clubsters dancing to this track), are still slightly pervy and sexually charged, but tracks like “Talk To Me” and “Lose You” had mature enough subject matter to impress me, and no,  I don’t mean mature as in the usual adult film star themed lyrics.  This change in sound is much needed change for her, but  I miss the punk rock  side that we saw in songs like “Kick it”, and “Rock Show”  off her former albums. Come on Peaches, don’t forget your rough side? (that was my favorite. hile this is a pretty good dance record, it’s non-existent as a rock record.)

I guess it’s alright though because what she does with production and beats on this album is ferocious. It makes her more of a musician than she has been on any other album. It’s a far car from the days of minimalist drums beats with whorish rap/singing. While I am a little disappointed there are no rock tracks on the record,  they wouldn’t have any place on here any way. This is a solid and complete club piece, and should be in seen in a different light from her other work.  I know that if I am in the mood for some super sexy (not sleazy),  dance tunes I can definitely turn to this album.  As a journey in electro this is a more sophisticated package done in a  Goldfrapp- style manner.

7.2 out of 10 .

Playlist In A Time Capsule: August

So I decided to not do mini playlists any more.  Instead I want to do one themed playlist per month. This month’s theme is “College”, (and yes I know I am a day early) . Take a peak inside what I was listening to from ‘99-’03.  Each and every song on this list has some kind of symbolism or memory attached to it.  I had a lot of fun making this list, and remembered so many things that I forgot.  Enjoy!

NtC’s College Playlist ‘99-’03 <—–click

Misirlou (Single Version) Dick Dale Wasted Days The Slackers Die, Die My Darling Misfits New Thrash Sublime Hope Descendents Flower Liz Phair A Box Full Of Sharp Objects The Used Tip Your Bartender Glassjaw Funland At The Beach Dead Kennedys To All My Friends Lagwagon I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (Remastered Version ) The Ramones Janie Jones The Clash Last Nite The Strokes Teenage Dirtbag Wheatus 9th At Pine Less Than Jake The Warmth Incubus Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough Michael Jackson Jungle Fever Chakachas Let’s Groove Earth, Wind & Fire I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend Too Reel Big Fish I’m Like A Bird Nelly Furtado Roads Portishead You’re So Rad Bouncing Souls B.O.B. Outkast Parking Lot Pimpin’ Jay-Z Shimmy Shimmy Ya Ol’ Dirty Bastard Is That Your Chick (The Lost Verses) Memphis Bleek Vivrant Thing Q-Tip So What’cha Want Beastie Boys Spill The Wine – (with Eric Burdon & War) War This Is Love P.J. Harvey Baby Got Going Liz Phair Idioteque Radiohead I Wanna Be Your Dog The Stooges 2:1 Elastica Fast As You Can Fiona Apple Breathe (Breathe In The Air Pink Floyd Scarlet Begonias The Grateful Dead Down On Me Janis Joplin Goodbye Forever Alkaline Trio Possibly Maybe (Lucy Mix) Bjork Unison (LP Version) Bjork You Vandal Saves the Day Circles Soul Coughing Signals Over The Air Thursday Short Skirt/Long Jacket Cake Table For Glasses Jimmy Eat World Heroin The Velvet Underground Straight To Hell The Clash You’re So Last Summer Taking Back Sunday Honky Tonk Women The Rolling Stones Got To Give It Up, Part 1 (Single Version) Marvin Gaye Where Is My Mind? Pixies Jungle Boogie Kool & the Gang Black Out Pavement Let’s Spend The Night Together The Rolling Stones The Fairest Of The Seasons Nico Ring Of Fire Johnny Cash Let’s Stay Together Al Green Tired Of Sex Weezer Living For The City Stevie Wonder Radio, Radio Elvis Costello Fell In Love With A Girl White Stripes The Something Special Bouncing Souls Take Five Dave Brubeck Battle of Who Could Care Less Ben Folds Hallelujah Jeff Buckley Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental) Vince Guaraldi

My Moon, My Mansion…

This is an interesting interview.  I like knowing that much of the work on her album was done in one take, but most of all I really liked seeing the inside of that darn infamous mansion that she recorded in.  It looks like a real cool place to record music, especially of this genre. The rest of the interview isn’t anything I didn’t already know, but it’s a quick watch.  Check it out…

and just because I love this video, mainly because I want to run through a field of fireworks at night:

It’s A Curse

OK,  OK, OK… So, this is a little out there, but bear with me on this one…

Every time I listen to this song I think I should have really been a music video director.  Throughout the years (probably starting around age 8 or 9),  I can’t help but just visually go somewhere in my mind when I hear certain music. I have been creating music videos in my head for quite some time now, and I just had to blog the idea for this one.  Perhaps it has something to do wiht the fact that I most certainly have synesthesia,  (just recently realized this), but it’s not exactly the same thing.  If anything it just points to the fact that I am yeah, crazy.  Just kidding, better word, creative.

OK picture the scene.  It’s  a stormy night, and the camera is from the perspective of our main character: lanky hipster A.   In sepia toned black and white film we see him come across a somewhat haunted looking house. He walks inside to find a party going on.  Everyone at the party is wearing vintage Peanuts Halloween masks on their faces, and wearing the same outfits. The men are wearing white collared shirts with black slacks and thin black ties, while the women are wearing 60’s A-line knee length dresses.  As the lead moves from room to room unmasked he notices that everyone is just standing around with party punch in their hands. No one is really moving or drinking.  As he walks into each room, he finds that the motion of his steps starts to create a sort of electricity. Perhaps it’s like a thin white light flowing through the ground, and sometimes it’s like a spark coming through his eyes. (would relate to some kind of motif that he is not pretending to be anyone but himself. The whole masked/unmasked theme.)

At first the electricity from the lead creates a little buzz. The guys start to tap their feet, then the women start to bend their knees. As he grabs a cup from one of the party goers, he takes a sip and then hands it back to them. The party goer takes a sip from the cup and he begins to dance.  Maybe something a little old school and silly like the Watusi.  Once the party goer starts dancing the crowd stops doing their lame half dance movements to stare at him. (Enter close up shots of masked part goers here).  They then violenty break out into dance.  As the song builds they all start to go a little more nuts, and by the end of the video everyone is in full swing. People start jumping on the couch, throwing cups, pillows, picture frames, random other party elements like streamers, silly string, food bowls, it get kinda kooky.  As the party gets more animated, the sepia toned film starts to warm  into a brighter red until the color looks like it is about to burst, and the film actually seems to tremble. For a split second it seems like the camera is broke, and you see VHS type fuzz. We then quickly return back to the party scene, and  before you can even blink the whole screen is in full color.

Whew.  I don’t know. It felt good to just put that out there.  Hey, it’s just a thought, and it’s been awhile since the film/ TV production days… You feel me? Maybe it’s time to start going on a more creative path with my career.

In addition to that I got some music videos running around in my head to songs like “Hotel Yorba”, “Lust For Life”, “Watching The Detectives”…

Yup. My Sentiments Exactly.

Perhaps part of the reason why I hate flying  (you’re in a seat in the sky…creepy!), but whatever dude, it’s the wonderment of modern man.  Don’t be so vapid and ungrateful!  I agree, everyone has ADD with little to no appreciation for what kind of power we have at our fingertips.  Think about it, we could still be  chasing  buffalo, and wearing leaves on our privates.  So thank you Alexander Graham Bell,  Isaac Singer,  Richard Trevithick,  Thomas Edison,  and Wright Brothers, and so on…

Unbearable

“For Franz music was the air that comes closest to Dionysian beauty in the sense of intoxication. No one can really drunk on a novel or a painting, but who can help getting drunk on Beethoven’s Ninth, Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion, or the Beatles’ White Album? Franz made no distinction between ‘classical’ music and ‘pop’. He found the distinction old-fashioned and hyprocritical. He loved rock as much as Mozart”
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Summer Music & Gem Sweaters.

LOTS of summer music that  I haven’t reviewed yet.  Keep yer eyes peeled.  Reviews are coming your way…

In the meantime here’s something that might make you go WTF? Then after a few more views giggle a bit.  If you’re a man I am sorry, odds are you won’t find this funny.

I discovered this chick a few days ago.  She reminds me of some of the antics I used to pull when I was in college, and a little zanier.  Although you would never catch me wearing a gem sweater, or gold stretch pants, I can appreciate where’s she coming from.  If you have the XX chromosome and were alive in the 80’s you know you made puffy paint gem sweaters  and proudly displayed them.  That’s just how it went down.  I looked up this comedienne, Leslie Hall on wiki, and she was born the same year I was… It all makes sense.  Although I am not one for kitschy hipster sentiment. (Especially for the 80’s I know I have referenced it quite a few times lately, but I must say the 80’s are not really my thing, just a childhood thing I suppose.)  Anyway, rock it Leslie.  Get crafty!

This vid really makes me laugh. Reminds me of someone I shared a lot of laughs with. I love her sense of timing and how deadpan she can be.  Ha!

More Leslie on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/lesliehall

To check out Leslie’s wide world of zany, and her museum of gem sweaters (yes she has a huge collection and has posted them all online) go to www.gemsweater.com.  The fact that a person has done this, just blows my mind.

You know, I haven’t posted anything newsworthy in quite some time.  Doesn’t mean I am not up to date, but after a month of straight rain in NYC, morbid economical news,  and completely violent international events I am trying to keep it light.  Hey it’s summer!  Enjoy it while it lasts.  Maybe in the next few months I will go back to some more socially conscious posts.

Keep it breezy!

A 1980’s Masterpiece.

Tonight I watched the movie Splash on DVD for the very first time.  Seeing the movie in high definition was quite an experience.  I am used to watching the movie with a crackly overlay of video sweetness.  God, do I love this movie.  What a better movie for a then wee little lassie to fall in love with than Splash? After this movie I knew that I had one goal in life- to become a mermaid.  In the next for years after I saw this movie and took a bath or went into the pool I pretended to be a mermaid.  Oh what and imaginative little girl I was.

Although, I do kinda question my parents discretion on this. This movie is a bit too sexual, and slightly adult for a young kid.  I mean there is drinking, Penthouse, sex, nudity, and some mild cursing.  Maybe they just thought I was well adjusted… or maybe  kids weren’t as coddled as they are now?

Anyway, viva la 80’s.  If you want to catch it on youtube you can start here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUJcDPXByyI

I was in a crappy mood today, until I watched this cheesy, aquatic fairy tale  package of 80’s feelgoodness.  Thanks Ron Howard, John Candy, Tom Hanks, and Darryl Hannah I needed that.