Odds & ends
Ûž Ahhh, Friday. So hard to stay focused. You can while away the hours at work looking at pictures from the Hot Chicks with Douchebags blog. Captions include phrases like “Spot The Douchebag,” “SpongeBob SquareDouche,” and “Yayyy! We’re Douchebags!” Here’s my favorite, with the header “Yeah, but They Wouldn’t”:
Ûž I posted about Jackie Greene a while back, and I wanted to point out a very cool site if you are looking to hear more from him (he’s quite good): Stream Jackie Greene. The site was created by a fan, with Jackie’s help and approval, and features totally exclusive free content, rare songs, demos, b-sides, live stuff along with some of the albums. Not a bad way to occupy your ears.
Ûž On a more serious note: does anyone else not understand why this guy is going to jail? I keep reading articles about that tragic fire, but I have never found anything that led me to believe that the manager showed criminal negligence in causing those people’s deaths. It seems like they just want someone to blame? What’s up, my legal eagle readers?
Ûž At the end of every month, I turn to pillaging eMusic, enjoying the process of finding things to use my 40 monthly downloads on. This month I found a few cool things of note: A whole bunch of Minutemen music (see my Mike Watt post), the soundtrack for the movie Brain Candy (from Matador Records, featuring Matthew Sweet, Pavement, Guided By Voices, Liz Phair, etc), and a live concert recording of the epic R&B label Stax’s 1972 festival in Los Angeles, billed as “the black Woodstock,” with The Staple Singers and Isaac Hayes, among others.
If you’ve been thinking about trying out this newfangled system, do it now because after June 1 you won’t get the 50 free downloads (no strings attached) just for signing up. Click my banner thingie on the right sidebar and I get a little perk from your joining. And you get to select from the best music store on the web. So it’s a “win-win-win” situation.
Ûž KEXP, the awesome public radio station outta Washington, has started a blog with some good reads in addition to the live shows and streaming radio already available on their site. But, really, what I wanted to post was their statement of ethos about their feelings towards the word “blog”:
“If I hear the word “blog” one more time I’m going to vomit — but blogit, I’m going to blogity blog blog right bloggin now! I actually heard a commercial the other day where the guy is saying something like ‘man, I’m online blogging all the time and when I need a break….’ You can SEE the company president saying to his staff, ‘Now LISTEN, I keep hearing about this wacky blog thing out there and I want to make sure we’re hip to that vibe man.’ Then you can see the people making the commercial rolling their eyes at the copy they have to come up with. I feel for you. Hang in there….the commercial still blows though.”
Blog. Such a geeky little word for such a cool concept. Does anyone else have to regularly explain what a blog is, and then feel like a dork doing so? I say “it’s kind of like free-form journalism.”
Ûž HERE is something that is driving me crazy. Okay, I finally watched The 40-Year Old Virgin last night (and I literally was weeping from laughing so hard during the chest waxing scene, and I thought I would vomit because I couldn’t breathe. I want Steve Carell to come live with me and be my personal comedic slave). Anyhow, they use that song:
“Believe it or not, I’m walkin’ on air
I never thought I could feel so free . . .”
When I Google that song, I see that it is from Greatest American Hero TV show. Then how come I KNOW THAT SONG? As far as I recall, I never watched that show. Was that song used in something else? Anyone? It’s driving me crazy. Come on, children of the ’80s. Speak now. And I guess I should apologize for getting that song stuck in your head.
Ûž And finally, a Chris Isaak in-store in San Francisco today, for all you cool kids in the city (or cit-aaay, as Journey likes to call it). He really puts on a great live show, and everything sounds better free.
Name: Heather Browne
wasn’t that “walking on air” song featured in fahrenheit 9/11? at least that’s where i know it from…..just a thought;-)
schwarz — May 12, 2006 @ 9:31 am
nope, thanks for the suggestion, but that’s not it because i did not see that movie.
it’s something from the recesses of my memory. maybe i just absorbed it from the ambient atmosphere of the ’80s.
heather — May 12, 2006 @ 9:35 am
According to imdb:
“Hit #2 on the Billboard charts with his song “Theme From ‘Greatest American Hero’ (Believe It or Not)” in 1981″
If you’re like me, it was on your parents radio all the blooming time.
J — May 12, 2006 @ 9:53 am
Maybe this:
George Costanza used the melody from it on an answering machine msg on Seinfeld. “Believe it or not, George isn’t at home…”
yada yada yada…. :o)
-Erik.
wakeboarder69 — May 12, 2006 @ 9:54 am
PS:
A bit more bio on Joey Scarbury at: http://www.oldies.com/artist-view/Joey-Scarbury.html
J — May 12, 2006 @ 9:55 am
Thanks, J. Did anyone else choke a bit to see that ’80s music is now being featured on websites starting with “www.oldies.com”….?!?!?
heather — May 12, 2006 @ 10:02 am
My girlfriend has the same problem with that song. I watched the show when i was 4th grade, but she’s 8 years younger and has no recollection of ever having seen it, yet she knew every word of the song. It was fairly ubiquitous since it was released as a single, and still manages to pop up on softrock radio. We actually had te conversation trying to track down where she might have heard it in more recent years,but we still came up with nothing. Maybe it’s just something they cram into your DNA whenever you get immunized as a kid. That and the Oscar Mayer song.
Anonymous — May 12, 2006 @ 10:08 am
Damn way too much to comment on. Great website, gotta check it out.
Really gotta do the emusic thing. I’d love the stax show. Brain Candy is such a great soundtrack. I still listen to it often.
I loved all the music in Virgin. Using Asia’s “Heat of the Moment” was my favorite. Now I gotta go throw it in again to watch.
Mike — May 12, 2006 @ 10:33 am
thanks for the chicks+douchbags link. funny stuff.
nice instore photo of you and everywomans boyfriend.
jethronh — May 12, 2006 @ 11:23 am
i recognized the song/had it stuck in my head sadly, when seeing it. Was it on a commercial?
Dance Hall Hips — May 12, 2006 @ 12:20 pm
The tour manager had a duty to provide a safe environment for band to play if they were going to use pyrotechnics. He breached that duty when the place burnt down. It is a strectch but mostly someone had to pay the price. I’m not a lawyer, just a law student so take that for what its worth.
Aggressively Stupid — May 12, 2006 @ 12:59 pm
thank you very much for the link.
StreamJackieGreene.com
Ryan Clark Holiday — May 12, 2006 @ 1:00 pm
The
Anonymous — May 12, 2006 @ 1:16 pm
Hey, for a split second, I thought he (Isaak) was Larry Mullen, Jr.!!!!
Any ideas as to how everyone’s fave Roy Orbison singing-for-the-lonely wannabe manages to make his hair, well, do that thing?
Thanks for the pic, H!
renegade — May 12, 2006 @ 1:44 pm
From what I have read, he didn’t have the necessary permit for the explosives, or the clearance from the local fire marshall, and was aware he needed both.
I think the club owners are going to jail too. I guess the foam they used on the wall was against fire code.
Wolfdog — May 12, 2006 @ 5:33 pm
The TV show Earl recently featured it. That might be what put it in your head.
Anonymous — May 12, 2006 @ 6:41 pm
Mike Watt is a badass. That is all.
Shine on, you crazy diamond!
- christine
christine — May 13, 2006 @ 2:32 am
I recently had to work in Warwick RI.I was driving down one of the main roads at about 7:00 a.m. when i saw a parking lot with a bunch of wooden crosses in the back.That’s strange,i thought to myself when i suddenly realized it was the Station nightclub site.I can’t imagine what the people who experienced this tragedy must go through every time they drive down this street.
As for the tour manager.We know he never meant to hurt anyone but he is at least partly responsible.
I don’t need a legal expert to tell me this:If you go out in your backyard to start a campfire and accidentally burn down your whole neighborhood you probably won’t be guilty of arson but you will be held responsible.
That said,great music on your blog.A friend of mine has an excellent Mike Watt website sidemouse.com. No pun intended.
Philco Brothers — May 13, 2006 @ 5:18 am
I am one of those fortunate souls who get to listen to KEXP on the actual radio! Gotta love Seattle…
Chad — May 13, 2006 @ 12:38 pm
So that was the song George was singing too. Thanks wakeboarded69.
Hey, that emusic deal is pretty good. I think I might try it.
Gamer C. — May 13, 2006 @ 1:27 pm