'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Tex-Mex From Seattle
By Baron Dave Romm
Last week's column is now a web page: The Heartland Project: Simple Truths for a Shameful Time.
Vagrant Records, out of Seattle distributes independently produced CDs, including some of their own, and their catalog goes well beyond Grunge. Warner Music Group just bought Ryko Corp, which is probably good news for the artists, but I cringe at the through of Frank Zappa being a part of AOL. I like to encourage independents.
Stone Crazy Blues Band's first CD is the 2006 release Barnyard Boogie. They are self-described as "a high energy Northwest based blues trio" doing "classic, modern, as well as original blues" which seems about right, though much of their energy is spent wisely: It's hard for a blues band to be tight and emotional. Too often, bands think that thrashing away at a driving beat is sufficient, but SCBB realizes that recorded music is a different art form than performing live. They are a pleasure to listen to the first time, and a pleasure to hear again. Recorded in Seattle, the photos on the CD look like a grunge band with some self-respect, but they sound like they're wearing Stetsons and bolos, rocking back on their heals to work their instruments more than the beer on the stool next to them. No sawdust at their venues, I'm guessing; the walls will be decorated with bull horns and rattlesnake skins and photographs of canyons.
The songs are a nice mix of country and blues. Most of the songs are original, but they nicely channel Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy williamson and Eric Clapton. Lots of references to chickens and roosters. The talking blues are also good rockers, especially Working Blues. Their instrumentals are working perfectly on this rainy day in Mpls especially the title song and the dark Introspect. I'm not going to say more about individual cuts. If you like laid back country blues rock with a driving beat, Barnyard Boogie will work for you. Recommended, and definitely iPod worthy (iPw).
La Familia is the second CD by The Plaintiffs, released in 2005. Joey Kline wrote all ten songs which their web site tags the songs with "desperation, betrayal, addiction". The CD is produced by Career Records of Montana, but the band has Seattle roots. If I had to invent a category for The Plaintiffs, it would be Gangsta Tex-Mex, sort of in the tradition of I Fought The Law but with a harder, more violent, edge.
"Damned if I do and I certainly won't" is a danceable hands
off song, continuing, "Stay away from me, I've got some walls around
my heart." I'm not sure if they mean it or are just trying to
attract women who are attracted to men who are bad for them. "Up my
meds and tell the Feds I'll send one hostage out. Give me a chopper
and a pilot that knows the route," threatens a man as he gives the
police a Final Chance. Lots of driving outlaw rock about
rampage and shooting first, especially the Tex-Mex title cut La
Familia, "Chollo tried to jack me for the tiniest marijuana. I
put a sombrero on his corpse now he smells like old Tiajuana." My
favorite cuts are the bass-driven rocker Skipjack about a
violent felon dreaming of horrible crimes; and their contribution to
the holiday season, Happy New Year:
Los Peligrosos hasn't officially released a CD yet, but I got a sampler released in 2005, with the six songs listed as mp3s on their site (plus a brief hidden track). Their major hook is that almost everyone sings, and many songs have two or more lead singers often taking different characters. Walked Out is fuzzy rock about a drunken wastrel who "didn't know what I had until the day you walked out on me." Smart move on her part. They make fun of rock fads in Flavor of the Week "Don't you know who I am? You might not know my name I'm big in Japan. I've got a cheap-ass guitar and a bad attitude. So that gives me the right to be bitchy and rude.... You better give me everything I demand because I'm in a hot shit band." These guys should meet the Hot Waffles. When you're not that hot, touring has its downside as they stay in cheap places like La Hacienda Motel. "Screamin' Mimi doesn't dance to please me" and is "the kind of person who's has something to say about everything it's got to be her way" but he stays with her because she has "one foot in the bedroom and one foot out the door" which is a position not recommented by the Kama Sutra. (You're Kind Of) Trouble explores a similar theme from the female pov. I guess it's better to love and be stomped on than never to love at all, unless it's the Alcohol Talkin', in which case she can successfully regret her decisions.
Any management company with the catchphrase "The more you drink, the better it sounds" probably needs to send their bands out for more seasoning. Still, I don't think Los Peligrosos has hit their stride yet and I'm willing to give them an encouraing word. For five bucks including postage ordered directly from the band, or ordered through the website, the Los Peligrosos sampler CD is iPw. Plus, the CD comes with a sticker of the "swords through the heart" logo on the upper right of the web pages.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, 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. To receive the show as podcasts go to Shockwave Radio Theater Podcast or paste the following string in your podcast software: http://www.romm.org/podcast and if that doesn't work try the link from Podcastalley.com's listing. All podcasts also on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air. --////
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Clinton Wants Billions to Aid World's Poor (Associated Press)
Former President Clinton's attempt to marshal the resources of the world's wealthy and influential to solve global problems resulted in $2.5 billion in pledges during a signature conference held last year. This year, he wants even more.
Ohio senator now supports ban on same-sex marriage (advocate.com)
In 2004, Republican U.S. senator Mike DeWine of Ohio was criticized by religious conservatives for failing to back a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions, which was overwhelmingly passed by voters. Now DeWine, who is facing a tough reelection bid in November, has said he will take a lead role in pushing for a U.S. constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the Columbus Dispatch reports.
Kim Ficera: Don't Quote Me: Lily Tomlin and Lesbian Visibility (afterellen.com)
"Somebody said to me they thought it was very interesting that [this year's Oscars] didn't have a single gay presenter, and I said to them 'What about Lily Tomlin?' and they said, 'Oh, I always forget she is gay. She's been gay for so long that I didn't think about it.' I thought it was an interesting answer. They looked right at Lily Tomlin and didn't see any gay people on stage. That's important." - Roger Ebert in a March interview with AfterElton.com
Robert Urban: Adam & Steve: A Big Gay Romantic Comedy (afterelton.com)
With it's colorful cast of oddball characters, raunchy burlesque sight gags, irreverent social humor and tongue-in-cheek puppy love, Adam & Steve is a queer take on recent straight films such as There's Something About Mary, Meet the Parents and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Chester cleverly deconstructs what is crowd-pleasing about sappy hetero romantic comedies and remakes it to be inclusive for gays.
Chris Kattan (out.com)
Michael Musto cozies up to the former Saturday Night Live star to talk about his fruity characters, pretty boys, and playing the straight man in his new movie.
Roger Ebert: Bonnie and Clyde (A Great Movie)
"Bonnie and Clyde" is a milestone in the history of American movies, a work of truth and brilliance. It is also pitilessly cruel, filled with sympathy, nauseating, funny, heartbreaking, and astonishingly beautiful. If it does not seem that those words should be strung together, perhaps that is because movies do not very often reflect the full range of human life.
Cartoons: Faith in the Funnies (beliefnet.com)
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny.
Jo, the (lucky) lizard molted this afternoon.
Saw a Volkswagen commercial with Speedy Gonzales late last night on KABC. Wonder if it'll air in prime time?
Here're all the Juno Award winners.
No new flags.
Producer Suspended
ABC News
The executive producer of "Good Morning America Weekend" has been given a one-month suspension after an 18-month-old e-mail critical of resident Bush was leaked to the press.
John Green's e-mail dated September 30, 2004, apparently was written during a George W. Bush- John Kerry debate. One read: "Are you watching this? Bush makes me sick. If he uses the 'mixed messages' line one more time I'm going to puke."
The e-mail appeared two weeks ago on the Drudge Report and has been the talk of the Internet. Green apologized well before the suspension occurred. He has been executive producer of the show since 2004, when it began.
ABC News
Chafes at Berlusconi Propaganda
Bono
Bono complained in a front-page commentary Sunday that he feels exploited by propaganda for the campaign of Italy's premier, which says the activist rock star is "grateful" to the leader for the nation's aid for poor countries.
Bono's photo appears midway through a 160-page glossy publication prepared by Silvio Berlusconi's party that is being delivered to millions of Italian voters before April 9-10 elections.
"Tragically, in these last few years under this government, Italy has become the last in the list among the 22 richest nations of the world in terms of per capita spending on behalf of the Third World," Bono wrote.
Bono
Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame
Fats Domino
Antoine "Fats" Domino didn't attend his induction Saturday into the Delta Music Museum Hall of Fame, but said he was deeply touched by the honor.
"I have received many honors in my lifetime, however none touch my heart as much as being recognized by the people of my home state Louisiana," the musician known for "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That a Shame" wrote in a letter.
Family friend Cleo Banquer delivered the letter, saying Domino didn't feel up to the 150-mile trip from Harvey, where he is living with his wife and daughter.
Fats Domino
Comedies On Hiatius
CBS
"The Amazing Race" has come to the rescue at CBS, switching nights to replace a pair of faltering Wednesday sitcoms.
CBS said Thursday that "Out of Practice" and "Courting Alex" are being benched after two ratings-anemic weeks running at 8-9 p.m. Wednesday. "Race" will move from its Tuesday 10 p.m. slot beginning Wednesday.
Replacing "Race" on Tuesday will be reruns of shows in the "CSI" franchise.
CBS
Benefit New Orleans Musicians
Online Auctions
In a rare alliance, a wide range of musical artists and competing concert promoters are combining efforts in an online ticket auction to benefit Music Rising, the musical instrument replacement fund founded by U2's the Edge, producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar chairman Henry Juszkiewicz.
Some 60 artists will work with Ticketmaster, Live Nation, House of Blues, AEG Live and Nederlander Concerts on the fund-raising program, which targets Gulf Coast musicians who lost equipment in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The auction, which began Saturday (April 1) and runs through the month, taps into fans' growing interest in bidding online for concert tickets. In this case, fans can bid for tickets to more than 80 concerts, including shows by Queensryche, Nine Inch Nails, Ben Harper, Def Leppard/Journey, the New Cars/Blondie, Melissa Etheridge, Brad Paisley and the Warped tour.
Online Auctions
Turning Into Reality TV Show
Miss America
The Miss America pageant will broadcast a seven-episode reality show/documentary series next year to draw in viewers and let the audience choose some of the finalists, officials announced Saturday.
Country Music Television will air the seven-episode "Finding Miss America" in the days leading up to the January 2007 pageant, the network and the Miss American Organization said.
Each episode will focus on a group of contestants as they live together and compete in preliminary competitions: evening wear, swimwear, talent and the one-on-one interviews with judges.
Miss America
Blasts BET Music Videos
A.J. Calloway
The former co-host of BET's popular "106 & Park" show blasts what he calls the destructive messages of many of the show's most popular music videos.
A.J. Calloway co-hosted the show for five years with Free, whose given name is Marie Wright. Both left the show in July.
"I couldn't watch my own show with my niece on my lap," Calloway said this past week at South Carolina State University as part of the "Black Student Today" panel. The discussion focused on the impact of hip-hop music.
"Pick your five favorite songs," Calloway said. "Write down every word that's in your favorite songs. Read it back to yourself and think about what that has put into your head."
A.J. Calloway
DWIs? IOKIYAR
Raj Bhakta
Raj Bhakta, the aspiring apprentice turned aspiring politician, acknowledges that he has been arrested twice on drunken driving charges.
Bhakta, who was fired by Donald Trump during the second season of the NBC reality show "The Apprentice," is the Republican challenging Democratic U.S. Rep. Allyson Schwartz for a seat representing suburban Philadelphia.
Bhakta on Friday confirmed the authenticity of a June 1997 arrest report posted on "The Smoking Gun" Web site. He also disclosed that he had a second such arrest in Colorado.
Raj Bhakta
Toilet Stolen
Jerry Garcia
The long, strange trip continues for Jerry Garcia's toilet. Police say the Grateful Dead leader's commode was stolen recently from a driveway along with three other toilets and a bidet, The Press Democrat newspaper reported Saturday.
Garcia's salmon-colored toilet was the subject of a legal battle before it was finally moved to Sonoma, to await shipment to a Canadian casino.
It's unclear if the toilet was swiped by a wayward Deadhead or a thief remodeling a bathroom. Police have no suspects or leads.
Jerry Garcia
1 Down...
Winchester
The famous Winchester rifle glorified in American Westerns may have fired its last shot as a plant where it had been manufactured since 1866 closed its doors last week.
One hundred eighty-six employees of the US Repeating Arms Company plant located in New Haven, Connecticut, were thanked for their work Friday, two days after the facility stopped all manufacturing activity, said Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo, a spokeswoman for the city government.
US Repeating Arms Company and its New Haven plant belong to Belgian manufacturer Herstal, which has purchased from US firm Olin the right to use the famous brand name.
Winchester
Family, Friends and Fans Honor
Buck Owens
Dwight Yoakam, Trace Adkins and Garth Brooks were among the more than 2,000 friends, family members and fans who crowded Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield, where country legend Buck Owens died of a heart ailment at his home March 25 at age 76.
The memorial service opened with a photo montage set to some of Owens' greatest hits, and included performances by Yoakam and Adkins, and a surprise appearance by Brad Paisley.
Owens' three sons, John, Buddy and Michael, remembered their father as a stern but loving figure, whose advice they still carry with them.
Inside the church, flowers were arranged in the shape of Owens' trademark red, white and blue guitars. A huge U.S. flag hoisted on a fire rescue ladder flapped above the church. Some people arrived in black suits and dresses, while others opted for traditional country gear - cowboy hats, boots, jeans and big belt buckles.
Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. was born in 1929 outside Sherman, Texas, the son of a sharecropper. His family moved around during the Great Depression, and Owens was performing in taverns by the time he was 16.
Buck Owens
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