December 2006
Musical Spotlight: Adam Green
There are no artists working today that sound like Adam Green. He combines fairy tale melody lines with indie rock instrumentation, clever lyrics and a voice that’ll make your grandmother swoon.
Microsoft Giving Out Free Laptops, Screwing Self
Well hello there Mr. Willy Gates. Remember me? That would be a surprise, seeing as you totally forgot to send me my free Vista laptop. I heard through Slashdot that you were distributing these devices to bloggers as a way of saying thanks for all the hard work, covering technology and your Win-dows computer system. It’s actually lucky you didn’t send me one, because if you had, I would have broken into your house on Christmas eve, dipped your dog into liquid nitrogen, and shattered his frozen dog corpse with the laptop as your wife and children came down the stairs to open presents. I don’t even know if you have children or if you lay eggs or something, but boy howdy would they be disturbed.
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Depp to play Freddie Mercury in film?
According to an article in The Independent, Johnny Depp has been tapped to play the role of Freddue Mercury in a rumored upcoming film, produced by Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Productions. Brian May, wunderkind Queen guitarist, has confirmed that the film is in development, as well.
The film would tell the life story of flamboyant Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, a.k.a. Farrokh Bulsara, born in Zanzibar in 1946 and tragically died of AIDS in 1991.
Depp, who has already expressed his deep admiration for rock & roll in basing his Pirates of the Carribean character, Jack Sparrow, off of Rolling Stones guitar legend Keith Richards, also has a musical background in recording with Oasis. According to the article, May described Depp as “fantastic”. “He would be a worthy counterpart for Freddie on screen. I don’t think I can say any more right now,” he added.
Christmas Peel
To celebrate the season, here’s a collection of hip tunes that’ll really get your engines started:
1- All I Want for Christmas
2- Dragon’s Door
3- Drummer Peace
4-Christmas Dan
5- Mr. Grinch
James Brown, 1933-2006
James Brown, the legendary and influential R&B singer, died early Monday at Atlanta’s Emory Crawford Long Hospital of heart failure at 73 years old.
I… Robot?
It seems that today is apparently a slow news day, aside from Ahmadinejad’s routine “nuclear power” schtick, but that gets so old after a while. So, what does one do when there is seemingly no good news available to discuss?
Lou Reed and John Cale: Berlin
Since Lou Reed is bringing Berlin back to the stage, I thought it would be a good time to play this video. Other ex-Velvets John Cale and Nico also on stage.
LMIRL, FO REAL!!!11
Just cruising the internet researching e-monitoring when I came across this helpful guide for parents. The Internet Lingo Guide offers parents a chance to communicate with their teens using hip cool slang, and to thwart their evil attempts at privacy. Some examples….
Love You Till Tuesday - David Bowie
Song and Mime by David Bowie.
A Bunch of Whores: Factory Girl
Lou Reed was right. They are “a bunch of whores.” I’m glad Dylan is suing these people, but I’m still left with a lot of discontent.
Are those guitars supposed to sound like the Velvets? Does Sienna Miller know Edie Sedgwick wasn’t british? Darth Vader? Jimmy Falon?
The highlight for me was hearing the line “The whole world’s burnin’ up and this cat’s makin’ god’s outta garbage.” Bob Dylan only talks like that when he’s winding up the press as anyone who’s seen Don’t Look Back or No Direction Home could tell you. Actually, Bob Dylan never talks like that, that’s just bad writing.
From what I’ve read on Sedgwick, Warhol and Dylan the relationships in this film have been totally distorted. The most obvious distortion: Andy Warhol was gay. No way around that one…. unless you’re a screenwriter trying to glorify a heroin addict like Sedgwick.
I feel bad about Guy Pierce’s involvement. He’s a good actor and he looks like he’s done a good job getting Warhol, but the dialogue, plot and other casting choices are going to haunt this film.
Live From The Apollo By The Raconteurs (Manchester, 15 Oct 2006)
I’ve heard the Raconteurs were better live, and I’d say that’s an understatement. A lot of songs their first album, Broken Boy Soldiers, lacked energy. I had to listen a few times to get into the songs, but once i did it was well worth it. With their live performances, they’ve managed to cement a reputation as a great live act, and more importantly they’ve managed to put some real thrust in their catalog.
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Poetry: “Dream Farm”
Since everyone loves poetry here is a poem about the affects of solar power on the human spirit.
Dream Farm
But each night since, a second moon stares upside-down into the bedroom. The sight never quite gets natural.
Lahore and Feral Doves
Since you asked, this is an ornamental Pigeon called the Lahore. It was bred for it’s size and gentle nature.
I enjoy looking at this magnificent creature. Incidentally, “Pigeon” is usually used when the animals are large, whereas smaller specimens are referred to as doves. The common pigeon that you see in the street is called the “Feral Pigeon”, but was originally named the rock dove “until the British Ornithologists’ Union and the American Ornithologists’ Union changed the official English name of the bird,” according to wikipedia.
So be thankful that you have the feral pigeon, they’re a valuable food source and really a magnificent treat to see in the wild, so don’t kick them. Unless you really have to.
Retarded Tiger
There’s an article in the New York Times today about the photography of Taryn Simon. There’s a retarded tiger in it.
White Tiger (Kenny) Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge Eureka Springs, Ark.: In the United States, all living white tigers are the result of selective inbreeding to artificially create the genetic conditions that lead to white fur, ice-blue eyes and a pink nose. Kenny was born in the care of a breeder in Bentonville, Ark., on Feb. 3, 1999. As a result of inbreeding, Kenny is mentally retarded.
Thought you should know.