Baron Dave Romm
Borderlands
By Baron Dave Romm
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My suggestion for what to call this secular year: MMX, pronounced "MeMex".
Hidden Minneapolis: The Movies
Following on the heals of Hidden Minneapolis: The KMart Edition comes The Old Arizona Edition:
A direct sequel, though it stands on its own. (Note to self: bring tripod.)
Shout It Out Loud
Borderlands is an amorphous mixture of local talent. Kurt Griesemer, who writes most of the songs, has a lot of talented friends. While there is strong overlap with science fiction fandom's music circles, some of the musicians are unfamiliar to me.
Shout It Out Loud is the second Borderlands CD, but the only one available. The musicians on the CD are not necessarily the ones you might see in concert (as in the picture above), guaranteeing a different experience every time. Indeed, I've heard Kurt play many of these songs as a solo, or in the improvised milieu of a music circle, and it was a pleasure hearing full versions of his songs at the CD release party. And a completely different pleasure hearing produced versions on Shout It Out Loud.
Most of the songs are love songs, often heartfelt tributes to his wife Carrie, written over the years and finally arranged and recorded. Kurt has an ear for the hook and an eye for the image. Stylistically, the songs flit around "Folk" or "Folk-Rock", but they're more informal than most. Many folk musicians write very personal songs, and a love song to your wife is pretty personal, but Kurt also knows his audience. And his audience is largely musicians who might want to join in. These are songs for friends old and new.
One of my longtime favorites is Upside Down. That love makes you Dizzy is not a new theme, but Kurt puts his, er, spin on it:
The sun comes up the moon goes down
The moon comes up the sun goes down
And I'm with you and you're with me
We'll dance beneath the summer sky
Might fall down but we won't cry
Stand right up and dance again
Hoping it will never end
You turn me upside down
And like a top, spinning round and round
Until I fall into your arms (repeat chorus)
The Blues-Rock Dirty Little Secret is that "I'm looking for a woman who will understand me. I Will Be Your Man is straight Country about a man who will be there for her. The downside of relationships are explored when This Ain't No Love Song. But through it all, after 20 years, love triumphs and he wants to Shout It Out Loud.
Borderlands will be taking to the road, which is to say in and around Minneapolis, MN and Madison, WI. The concerts are always good, and will feature whoever of Kurt Griesemer's talented friends are available. Most likely, they'll do songs from the album plus a few others. They play a solid set of good songs. Worth a visit.
Shout It Out Loud is highly recommended. Borderlands is more traditional back-porch-foot-stomping folk, setting it apart from the raw emotion of Isabelle Delage or the self-deprecating edge of Nate Bucklin or the pop culture parodies of the great Luke Ski (he says, replugging a few faves that should also be in your collection). Definitely iPod worthy (iPw): The mp3 download of the whole album is a good deal. If you want to sample a song or two before buying the CD (old school!), then try Upside Down or any of the songs mentioned here; really all of the cuts are of high technical quality (thanks to Kurt and Scott Keever) and will serve as an example you'll want to hear more than once.
Until You Come Home
Until You Come Home: Songs for Veterans and Their Kin is a compilation of songs from various CDs, including Hail To The Thieves, reviewed here a while back. In the meantime, we lost Julius Margolin. George Mann continues the effort, fighting for the common man... and the soldier in the ranks.
Truth in reviewing: One of the reasons I can't identify with the label "liberal" is because of Buffy Sainte-Marie's Universal Soldier. Okay: If no one wanted to be a soldier, we wouldn't have wars. I get it. You get it. Unfortunately, The Bad Guys don't get it. You can convince us peace-loving Americans not to fight, but that leaves the Nazis/Viet Cong/al Queda/Hamas who want to kill us. Many of The Bad Guys would come here and massacre us in our sleep shouting "Death to America" convinced that they will be rewarded in the next life. Having a strong army necessary to a strong defense. Buffy was just wrong, and I had a visceral reaction against that aspect of the peace movement.
Yet one of the reasons I can't identify with the label "conservative" is in the use of said army. The best way to keep the peace is to be prepared to win a war if it comes. Pre-emptive wars need a damn good justification, and wars of aggression are unAmerican. That puts the onus of avoiding wars on politicians and the burden of fighting unavoidable wars on soldiers... and sends the responsibility back to the political arena to end deadly conflicts. I have an equally visceral reaction against the gung-ho pseudo-American types who think that every political disagreement can and should be settled by force of arms. The height of this disgusting stupidity was Bush's refusal to honor our fallen soldiers by showing their flag-draped caskets when they returned home. Thankfully, Obama has reversed that decision.
But I digress.
Until You Come Home is not anti-war; it is pro-soldier. By itself, a tremendous achievement. We don't need songs to say that wars kill soldiers; we get it. We need reminding of the sacrifices made by our brave soldiers; sacrifices of blood, of identity, of family back home.
Even if you survive physically intact, the experience will change you in ways that are intensely personal and yet affect everyone you know.
The Casualty of War is not just the WWII vet, but his family: "They'd haunt his dreams, we'd wake to screams to know the horrors that he saw". Holly Near sees how war causes "the burden in my family and the sorrow in my town" and says I Am Willing to see change: "May the children see more clearly and may the elders be more wise, may the winds of change caress us even though they burn our eyes." Tom Paxton sings for the voiceless of The Unknown, as in The Unknown Soldier, watching people watching him be buried in Arlington. "Time to quit your grieving for your only loving son. Momma, I'm okay."
George Mann gets the first and last songs. Streams of Gold. about the how all soldiers share their hopes in battle, "I will walk this trail beside you till you're home." In Welcome Home, an old soldier at least has the peace of dying in a hospital accompanied by loved ones: "What a life you have led, what a story you've told. Welcome home."
You can preview the songs on Until You Come Home on CDBaby, but they deserve a full listen.
Until You Come Home: Songs for Veterans and Their Kin is from old lefties, but the the viewpoint is the soldiers. Highly recommended for anyone, regardless of politics, who appreciates our warriors or who has had their life changed by someone else's battle experience.
Vikings vs. Saints: So near, yet so far
The Jets were leading at halftime, but succumbed to the Colts in the second half.
The Vikings had numerous chances, but it's hard to overcome five turnovers. Brett Favre ended this playoff run as a Viking the same way he did two years ago as a Packer: With an interception. That the game went into overtime is an amazing feat for the Vikes, but a better end result for the Saints. Still, you would have won bets if you took the Vikings vs. the spread, and the over. Small consolation here in Minnesota, but hey.
When the dust settled, both favored teams won, and the inevitable Colts-Saints Superbowl will happen.
As a bonus, we get to ignore the Pro Bowl in the interim week.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Andrew Tobias: Daily Comment (andrewtobias.com)
My friend Peter Stolz has written some ads he'd like to have see up on TV for this race, and for pretty much any others. The first would just show all the landmark progressive legislation over the decades that the Republican Party has reliably and reflexively opposed - from Social Security and Medicare to the minimum wage, health insurance for kids, stem cell research, hate crimes legislation, tobacco regulation, and on and on. ... (His proposed tag line: "Vote Democratic, the party that votes YES for the American People.)
Susan Estrich: Political Tea Leaves (creators.com)
2. Women don't do very well running for governor or United States senator in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has said no to all eight women who have tried. No doubt there was something wrong with many of them. But with all of them?
Connie Schultz: Earth Cracks Open, and the Skies Fill With Prayers (creators.com)
Last Thursday, in a small church on Cleveland's west side, about 150 men, women and children had gathered to support immigration reform, but first they bowed their heads and prayed for the people of Haiti.
Jane Henderson: For Jayne Anne Phillips, fiction is more than entertainment (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
"Lark and Termite" is a book by a slow writer for slow readers. That's not an insult.
Shannon Rupp: Best-Selling Author in Denial to Social Realities, Pumps the Happiness Project (AlterNet.org)
Gretchen Rubin's book flogs American enthusiasm for positive thinking, despite facts to the contrary; just the sort of denial that prompted the economic meltdown.
Rob Mitchum: Greensboro writer Parke Puterbaugh riffs on his new Phish biography (indyweek.com)
As one of America's most famous cult bands, Phish has already inspired a mini-shelf of books over their 26-year career. But with fans whose devotion to detail borders on the sabermetric, most of these tomes are filled with set lists, statistics and song summaries that are strictly for devotees.
Lisa Verrico: White Rabbits are walking on the wild side (timesonline.co.uk)
Brooklyn-based sextet White Rabbits are electrifiying live and on record, perhaps because they all play like drummers.
Susan King: Julie Andrews believes in the tooth fairy, and much more (Los Angeles Times)
Julie Andrews wants to make one thing perfectly clear - she's not making a comeback as a singer.
The Ex: experimental noiseniks (guardian.co.uk)
Anarcho-punk activists or jazz/folk pioneers? Don't ask the Ex, writes Iain Aitch.
Garth Cartwright: Dr Feelgood's story hits the big screen (timesonline.co.uk)
Julien Temple's new rockumentary explores the proto-punk genius that was 1970s "pub rock" band Dr Feelgood.
Stuart Jeffries: Meet Gabby Sidibe, the star of 'Precious' (guardian.co.uk)
Her performance in the acclaimed film has made her an unlikely star. But is she anything like her screen persona?
Roger Ebert's Journal: "Caché:" A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma
I hesitate to employ the hackneyed word "spoiler" here, because no one in his right mind should read this without experiencing the film. I won't even bother with a plot synopsis. You've seen it.
Hubert's Poetry Corner
"Zhivago Effect on the New World Order"
The Weekly Poll
New Question
The 'LOL in the Boardroom' Edition
President Barack Obama told banks Thursday they should pay a new tax to recoup the cost of bailing out foundering firms at the height of the financial crisis. He said...
"My commitment is to recover every single dime the American people are owed. And my determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at some of the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people...We want our money back, and we're going to get it."
Citing 'obscene' bonuses, Obama to tax banks - U.S. business- msnbc.com
How confident are you that Obama will be able to recover those funds?
1.) Very - 'The Man' will be on 'em like a pit bull...
2.) Somewhat - We'll get back just enough so 'The Man' can claim success, but not nearly the total of what they scammed from us...
3.) Yer kiddin' me, right? I'm laughing with 'The Board'...
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Nielsen: Big Farewell Audience
Conan
Preliminary Nielsen ratings suggest that Conan O'Brien won a hefty audience for his final hour hosting "The Tonight Show."
O'Brien scored a 7.0 rating for his farewell appearance on NBC Friday, compared to a 2.5 rating for CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman" and, on ABC, a 2.8 for "Nightline" followed by 1.3 for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
These early figures, which reflect viewership in roughly 70 percent of the country, can't be reliably translated into audience numbers. An accurate viewer count is expected later this week.
O'Brien exited NBC after tumultuous negotiations that resulted in a severance deal signed last Thursday. His departure ends nearly eight low-rated months at "The Tonight Show," and, before that, 16 years hosting "Late Night."
Conan
Awards Mix-Up
Black Eyed Peas
US hip-hop band the Black Eyed Peas were mistakenly declared best international group at France's top music awards before the prize was given to the real winners, the German band Tokio Hotel.
Choreographer Kamel Ouali, who was presenting the prizes late Saturday at the NRJ Awards in Cannes, told the audience the US band had won but a few minutes later returned to the stage to say he had made a mistake.
Last year Katy Perry was mistakenly given the trophy for best international song when it should have gone to Rihanna.
Black Eyed Peas
Bids To Pay Musicians 'Lost' Royalties
MySpace
Social networking site MySpace, which has enabled many artists to launch their careers, is now helping to pay them back millions of dollars in "lost" royalties for songs and performances.
MySpace CEO Owen van Natta said Sunday the company had signed a ground-breaking deal with performance rights group SoundExchange to track down some 25,000 major, independent and unsigned artists owed more than 14 million dollars in unpaid royalties.
"The money will be put into escrow as we search for the acts," he said at the opening of the MIDEM industry trade fair, his first speech outside the United States.
Van Natta said he planned to use the MySpace platform to put the artists in touch with SoundExchange, a non-profit-making performance rights organisation that collects royalties for the streaming of music on Internet/satellite radio on behalf of sound recording copyright owners.
MySpace
Calling It Quits
Scorpions
The German rock band Scorpions is bringing down the curtain on a career spanning more than four decades.
The band, known for its early 1990s hit "Wind of Change" among others, said on its Web site Sunday that "we agree we have reached the end of the road."
It said it would end its career with a final album - "Sting In The Tail," to be released in March - and a tour that will start in Germany in May and take it across the world "over the next few years."
Guitarist Rudolf Schenker founded the band in Hannover in 1965. Singer Klaus Meine joined a few years later. Both men are 61.
Scorpions
According To Forbes
Biggest Duds
Sean Penn delivered "one of his greatest screen performances" in "All the King's Men," according to The Hollywood Reporter's review of the 2006 film.
Nevertheless, the Sony Pictures release earned just $9 million at the worldwide box office. Factor in its $55 million production budget and it amounts to Hollywood's biggest flop of the past five years, according to Forbes magazine.
After eliminating movies without star power, Forbes divided each movie's box office take by its production budget to figure out the shortfall. "All the King's Men" failed to earn back 84% of its production budget, bad enough to earn it first place among flops.
Other movies on the list of the 15 biggest flops of the past five years include "The Fountain" with Hugh Jackman, "The Invasion" starring Nicole Kidman, and two movies with Eddie Murphy: "Imagine That" and "Meet Dave."
Biggest Duds
Rampant In Pennsylvania
Corruption
After a six-year run in the NFL, Greg Skrepenak came home to Pennsylvania and parlayed his name recognition and hometown popularity into a seat on the Luzerne County Board of Commissioners.
He'd campaigned as a reformer. It turns out he was anything but: Prosecutors charged him last month with accepting $5,000 in gifts from a developer seeking public financing of a condominium project. He is scheduled to plead guilty on Tuesday.
Another day, another fallen politician in the coal fields of northeastern Pennsylvania, where FBI agents and federal prosecutors have spent the past year rooting out government corruption in a hardscrabble region known for its pay-to-play politics, suspicion of outsiders and resistance to political change.
Twenty-three people in Luzerne County - including a school superintendent, three county judges, four courthouse officials, and five school board members - have been charged so far in a variety of unrelated schemes.
Corruption
Celebrates 50th Birthday
Bubble Wrap
People have walked to the altar dressed in it, protected their garden plants with it, even put it on display at highbrow art museums.
Mostly, they like the sound it makes when they destroy it, piece by piece, which largely explains the appeal of Bubble Wrap, the stress reducer disguised as package cushioning that maintains an inexplicable hold on pop culture.
The product once envisioned as a new type of wallpaper turns 50 this month, and enthusiasts' obsession with it has spawned more than 250 Facebook pages devoted to Bubble Wrap.
Ken Aurichio, communications director for Sealed Air, the Elmwood Park-based company that manufactures Bubble Wrap, thought he'd witnessed every form of Bubble Wrap mania until he received a wedding invitation last year from a woman in Ohio who said she would wear the product on her trip down the aisle.
Bubble Wrap
Beefy Trikes
Aging Bikers
Arthur McCoy didn't let the amputation of a leg because of cancer stop him from riding motorcycles. The solution to his disability came in the form of a third wheel.
McCoy is among a growing group of aging motorcyclists taking up trikes: three-wheeled motorcycles that provide the stability and nearly all the comforts of a car while still allowing riders to feel the wind in their face.
A motorcycle rider since the 1960s, the 71-year-old from Lomita said his customized trike has made it possible for him and his wife, Dora, to go on long-haul trips to Arizona, Texas, Arkansas and Virginia at least once a month. They are members of Brothers of the Third Wheel, an international club for trike enthusiasts.
Motorcycle industry experts say they expect to see more trikes on the road in the coming years as baby boomers, the largest group of motorcycle owners in the country, age out of their two wheelers.
Aging Bikers
Another Warning
Sitting
Here's a new warning from health experts: Sitting is deadly. Scientists are increasingly warning that sitting for prolonged periods - even if you also exercise regularly - could be bad for your health. And it doesn't matter where the sitting takes place - at the office, at school, in the car or before a computer or TV - just the overall number of hours it occurs.
Research is preliminary, but several studies suggest people who spend most of their days sitting are more likely to be fat, have a heart attack or even die.
In an editorial published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Elin Ekblom-Bak of the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences suggested that authorities rethink how they define physical activity to highlight the dangers of sitting.
While health officials have issued guidelines recommending minimum amounts of physical activity, they haven't suggested people try to limit how much time they spend in a seated position.
Sitting
PA Ice Bar
Damenti's Restaurant
At one eastern Pennsylvania restaurant, getting a cold one is no problem: Everything is on ice - and under it, and surrounded by it.
Damenti's Restaurant in Butler Township has set up a temporary freestanding bar with a pirate theme in its backyard that is almost completely made of 50 tons of ice.
To keep the ice from melting, air conditioning brings the mercury down to about 20 degrees. Owner Kevin McDonald says he's hoping the novelty will bring in the crowds.
About 40 people can fit in the 480-square-foot structure. The decor includes a skull and crossbones that covers an entire wall and pirate motifs and sayings etched into the walls both inside and outside.
Damenti's Restaurant
Weekend Box Office
'Avatar'
James Cameron's "Avatar" is on a course to sink "Titanic" at the box office.
No. 1 for the sixth-straight weekend with $36 million, the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle lifted its domestic total to $552.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Avatar" raised its worldwide total to $1.841 billion. That's $2 million shy of first place behind Cameron's last movie, the 1997 shipwreck epic "Titanic," at $1.843 billion.
The studio said "Avatar" has hit $1.29 billion in international ticket sales, passing the $1.24 billion mark set by "Titanic." The saga set on the alien world of Pandora is also en route to overtake "Titanic" in domestic sales. After 37 days in theaters, "Avatar" soared past "The Dark Knight" on Saturday to become the second highest grossing film.
Screen Gems' apocalyptic thriller "Legion," featuring Paul Bettany as an Armageddon-fighting fallen angel, debuted behind "Avatar" at No. 2 with $18.2 million. Fox's family fantasy comedy "Tooth Fairy," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a hockey player who spreads his wings as a magical deity, took flight in the No. 4 spot with $14.5 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Avatar," $36 million.
2. "Legion," $18.2 million.
3. "The Book of Eli," $17 million.
4. "Tooth Fairy," $14.5 million.
5. "The Lovely Bones," $8.8 million.
6. "Sherlock Holmes," $7.1 million.
7. "Extraordinary Measures," $7 million.
8. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $6.5 million.
9. "It's Complicated," $6.2 million.
10. "The Spy Next Door," $4.8 million.
'Avatar'
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