Werf

I picked up "Boys and Girls in America" by The Hold Steady on vinyl last week (nice package, quality platter). It's Indie Rock influenced by Springsteen ( a la vocals). So far I'm enjoying it. Also, picked up Beirut "Gulag Orkestra" which is Balkan rock pop from a New Mexican dude, lots of brass, piano, some guitar. The singer (who is essentially the band) has a Thom Yorke thing going on. I don't have it yet, but I've been hearing songs from The Broken West on-line. They have a record out on Merge that I'll pick up.

Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is one of my all-time favorite records. I missed the last studio record and her live record. How does this compare in her overall body of work?

Just reading that interview got me high.

Was your source Ahmad Chalabi? (i.e., that claim is false) 'twas one of his beloved students, who was also a close friend of Braxton's assistant, and this person adores the Brax Master. I emailed Anthony with a question about one of his compositions and never got a reply, which is where my train of thought figures into this. No reply? No biggie, for me, 'cause I LOVE Braxton. I'd eagerly sit down and share a platter of Wimpie burgers with him, and talk the music.

His books were so good my mom hid them in her closet.

Did he reply to your email? I was told (by a very reliable source) that he doesn't know how to access his email account.

I burned through the first 800 pages, but put it down just after Christmas, and haven't resumed. This weekend, I'll lay on the couch, and finish it up. This is the most readable of Pynchon's books, for me. The flow is infectious.

I've loved Bruckner since I was in my early twenties, but this middle-aged chap will be rocking out to Guided by Voices tonight, with a side of creamy pop from Camera Obscura, after an afternoon of listening to various Roscoe Mitchell and AEC recordings.

I haven't heard any music yet, but the word I'm getting from like-minded folks is that it's another good Sparklehorse record.

The Neil Young is on vinyl Ex-celllent!!

I can't make up my mind on my favorite jazz releases, so far. There are just too many of them. But, on the pop rock front: Number one: Robert Pollard "From a Compound Eye" (along with the other Pollard projects, Takeovers "Turn to Red," Psycho and the Bird "All That is Holy," The Keene Brothers "Blues and Boogie Shoes," and Robert Pollard "Normal Happiness"). The rest, in no particular order: Belle and Sebastian "The Life Pursuit" Cat Power "The Greatest" Swan Lake "Beast Moan" Yo La Tengo "I Am Stronger Than You, and Will Beat Your Ass" Destroyer "Destroyer's Rubies" The Decemberists "The Crane's Wife" Sonic Youth "Rather Ripped" Mission of Burma "The Obliterati" Mountain Goats "Get Lonely" M.Ward "Post-War" Joanna Newsome "Ys" Bob Dylan "Modern Times" I got all of the former on vinyl. This year I've neglected those that only were released on CD, and still have these to check out: Neko Case "Fox Confessor..." TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain" Neal Young "Living with War" and some vinyl releases I've yet to hear: Bonnie "Prince" Billy "The Letting Go" The Hold Steady "Boys and Girls in America" Camera Obscura "Let's Get Out of This Country" P.J. Harvey "The Peel Sessions" Sparklehorse "Dreamt For Light Years In The Belly Of A Mountain" Loose Fur "Born Again In The USA" The Thermals "The Body, The Blood, The Machine"

I'll be interested to find what people think about this. I generally have enjoyed Pynchon's novels, but thought Mason & Dixon was long, overindulgent and worse of all quite boring. I'm 600 pages into "Against the Day" now, and loving it. The book is hilarious, fast moving, and yet very dense with description. It's almost a comical prose poem, with interludes of tragic violence, epic spectacle, and a stage that stretches from the American West, the Arctic, and Europe. There's penny dreadful adventures, miner anarchists, advanced mathematics, magicians and actors, science fiction, a revenge tale, and lots of slapstick. I can't wait to get home to read more.

I bet he slags him. I mean, Bird was one avante-garde motherfucker.

I love Chan (pronounced Shawn), and "The Greatest" is her greatest (although I do like her earlier, more dissonant stuff a la "Nude as the News"). Her record is one of my favorite pop platters of the year, and Matador released it on vinyl in a gorgeous RTI pressing. Tasty.

I never read his novel, but loved his short stories which were collected in "San Diego Lightfoot Sue and other stories." "The Detweiler Boy" affected my adolescent imagination when I read it originally in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction" when it was originally published. The guy reportedly died of a heart attack while banging away at the typewriter. Currently I'm 140 pages into the new Thomas Pynchon "Against the Day" which I'm enjoying. Only 980 pages left to go...

Phil Collins is a great drummer, who has devolved into a shameful schmaltz-monger. That said, props must be given concerning this reunion--- he was working hard trying to influence Gabriel to do a Genesis reunion, and wanted to retain the spotlight for his true talent: hitting the skins. The only reason this isn't a genuine Genesis reunion, with Steve Hackett included, is because of Gabriel.

A dozen White Castle sliders.

CHUCK ROCKS n' ROLLS!

I love it when Pete Cosey fucking FREAKS on that Strat, that gigantic mo-fo knows his feedback FREAKOUT!! It makes ripples of electric happiness wriggle and crackle

ZABADOW!! YEAH!

GREETINGS! MY NAME IS WERF!! AND THERE ARE MOTHERING FUCKING SNAKES ON THIS MOTHERFUCKING PLANE!

This was such a disappointment, especially since The Black Dahlia is such a thrilling read. All of the crackling tension, paranoia, and brutality was cast into a nostalgic window-dressing of a flick. I figured that DePalma was a good choice to translate Ellroy's tone into a decent adaptation, but this was so limp. L.A.Confidential KILLED in comparison. The cast was lukewarm, the props, clothes, cars, etc., spotlessly clean, thus unreal, and the violence and depravity was cast into the background. DePalma should've unleashed a few of his own demons into the mix, to up the ante, but maybe all of those slasher movies drained him. What a bummer.

I just watched video footage of Harris conducting a lecture on the process of composing this piece. He first, after speaking extensively with the church officials, wrote a free verse poem. Then he divided various lines of the poem into 8 movements. The first movement is Eden's Dream, which represents people living in the Garden of Eden, all as one. The second movement is Run, which layers various rhythms, minor sounds (dark), and happy sounds by the various instruments in modes that build into improvisations. In the third movement, Stainglass Times, Harris co-ops an early church hymnal feeling, like early Bach. The fourth movement is Portraits of the Promise, in which he mimics the momentum of people reaching up, as one, in a Pentacostal Service. Dancing Movement, Laughing Stars, is the fifth movement, where Harris taps into Buddhist or Beatific vibrations, creating a happy feeling. The sixth movement is Mara, who is a demon figure, tempting and distracting. This movement is based around one repeating chord, upon which the improvisation builds frenetically, and is one of Harris's showcases in the piece. Number seven is Snake Charmer, using clarinet to climb the melody. Eighth movement is One where the multiple rhythms and melodies from the previous movements coalesce into a tapestry of one. Harris sat at the piano and alternated from reading the lines of the poem, and then pecking the chords and melodies, while talking about the themes of each movement. He also demonstrated various modes, chords and notes that can cause specific feelings or emotions in the listener, and how he applies them to composition. Harris mentioned that this is the method he employs more with suite composition than with shorter pieces, where he might just improvises until the motifs of melody emerge, and inspire him to write. The guy is articulate, passionate, and joyful in his lecture style. WGVU TV is doing a five camera shoot of Thursday's performance for future broadcast on PBS, and for a DVD project.

Somebody eat a cheese steak for me, and don't forget the whiz.

http://www.omnitone.com/store/artists/brackeencharl.htm Omni still lists two.