'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Kacey Jones
By Baron Dave Romm
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need to hurry to fix the problem.
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The Early CDs
The Wronged Woman has long been a theme in Country and Western, going back at least to Frankie and Johnny, with roots in Greek Tragedy and Shakespeare and other high falutin' book learnin'. Tammy Wynette sacrifices her pride to Stand By Your Man and and Kitty Wells blames men for her failures in It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Women and Barbara Mandrell feels bad while she cheats and Kay Frances insists You Make Me Puke and the road goes ever onward.
Meanwhile, Kacey Jones is has a grand ol' time makin' fun of her own failures and be mean to her exes.
Men Are Some Of My Favorite People is the earliest album available. (She released Born to Burn earlier, as Ethel & the Shameless Hussies.) By now she's a seasoned performer and the CD is a live concert with many of the songs that are her standards and are repeated one or more times on subsequent albums. A couple of songs will serve as examples of her self-deprecation and her ability to wield the rapier.
The tracks include many of the spoken intros. Jones loves to banter with the audience, and gains energy from them, but doesn't let the audience take over the songs. This is fairly rare, and serves her well on this and her later live album.
Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay, Of Dead is a more commercial attempt at mainstream country, and succeeds with some nice production and an eye on her image, though it's her shortest CD and the one she writes the fewest songs for. She snags Delbert McClinton for the duet You're The Readon Or Kids Are Ugly and channels Kinky Friedman for her version of Geography. She'll get local airplay during the holiday season with Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis though she may not get the card.
In her first two CDs, Kacey Jones connects with a live audience and taps into the rich history of Country and Western music. A strong start.
The Sweet Potato Queen Pair
Never Wear Panties To A Party is a more risque outing. The lyrics don't appear on the insert but you can buy a Pink Party Panty with the album title emblazoned on the front. She's hitting her stride with the country rock outing. The title song is fun and unabashed advice. (Though presumably she'll make an exception if you wear the panties she sells.) After a one night stand, Carol King asked Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Kacey's earthy answer is the bouncy ditty, I Thought He Was Mr. Right (but he left). For some reason the torch song about watching a former lover's trysts, "Just To Torture Myself", gets an "organic jailhouse version" which features some blistering guitar blues. We Need The Wood comes in two versions: G and PG. No, it's not as dirty as it sounds. She gives advice to a guy with a martyr complex, "Get off the cross, honey we need the wood." What makes it PG? "Shit happens."
Jones comes to grip with her inner and outer Sweet Potato Queen with "I Wanna Be A Sweet Potato Queen" and the rousing Mississippi march on St. Patrick's Day, "The SPQ Parade Anthem" Unbeknownst to many of us, The Sweet Potato Queen's Book of Love (print and audio), cookbook, fat-ass book, parade, etc are a bit of a phenomena.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Big-Ass Box of Music has Jones leaping on the bandwagon in a big-ass way: 73 minutes of music spread over 21 tracks. Most of the songs are about hedonism and engorged body parts, and often both. It's difficult to pick out a few favorites, since I'm smitten with most of the songs. "Sweet Potato Queens love Lolling In The Tub" (to the tune of Bringing in the Sheaves), about taking a looong bath. The bonus version has a Naughty Word, but is almost work safe anyway. How Far Can We Go Crazy is more rousing hard rock than country, but is also about lolling about in the tub. Then there's a terrific Grrrl Power anthem:She gives more advice reggae-style with We All Need to Get Laid, when a friend doesn't have enough nookie. The rock admonition to men Show Up Naked, Bring Beer because men are easy to please is echoed with a reprise of Never Wear Panties to a Party while she looks really hot in This Dress and brags about her breast enlargement in How Do You Like These Babies Now? It's not that easy, guys, since she has two different versions of a song that tells girls to hold off while leading them on, Never Give 'em Any. Doesn't seem fair.
Nipples To The Wind
Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay Or Dead -- Live!, her second live album in six releases, shows Kacey Jones at work. The first twenty-two tracks comprise eleven songs and their introductions. While the intros are brief, to the point, get the audience laughing and segue nicely into the song. Jones gives a great concert, feeding off the energy of the crowd but not letting them spoil the song for the CD. She hates going to the laundromat so laments I'm Down to My Christmas Underwear. This is now added to my Christmas cycle of songs (which I usually play in July.)
She gets serious about a relationship, since without love We're All in This Alone. Without love, you might as well get Dressin' Up for the Pizza Man. With a much older love, she's "i>Waitin' for the Guy to Die. What she really loves is safety of and nostalgia for My Own Bed.
"Nipples To The Wind, let the fun begin, nothing to defend, just nipples to the wind. chin up, chest out, that's what we're talkin' about..." Another bawdy, in-your-face anthem from Kacey Jones serves as the title track to the CD. This is another very strong outing for Jones, empowering women while laughing at herself along the way. She reprises Women Are the Rhythm of the World, A Woman's Mantra and But I'm Not Bitter among others, and picks up men Down At The Piggly Wiggly and wears This Dress...
Of course, I was smitten with Monkee Man, a love paean to Peter Tork. Ah, a Sweet Potato Queen who shares my musical taste. Clocking in at over an hour, this CD excites your fiddly bits even as it's work safe (depending on where you work). Like all the CDs I got directly from her, this one was autographed.
The personal touches are like the intros to the live albums: An extra that brings you closer to the artist. Kacey Jones draws you into her sensuous world and makes you want more. Most of her albums a stuffed with music, though many of the cuts are repeats or slightly raunchier versions.
Recommendation for an iPod worthy singer
All six Kacey Jones CDs are strong outings with and very iPw. I'm going to do something very rare and recommend a live album as the first one to get. Every Man I Love Is Either Married, Gay Or Dead -- Live! It has many of her best songs performed well. Like Carla Ulbrich who I talked about a while ago, Jones belongs in that glorious category of sassy women singer-songwriters who won't take shit and don't mind poking fun at themselves either. The next one to get (or if you get two) is Nipples To The Wind, then fill in your Kacey Jones collection. I still have one more left to go!
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. 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
The Gay Citizen's Action Guide (frontierspublishing.com)
We think Pride is great. We love the parades, the amazing costumes, and the spirit of revelry. But once the boas are put away, how do you keep the spirit of pride alive the rest of the year?
KEN KNOX: Top Draw (frontierspublishing.com)
It's a big moment for gay erotic illustration, and Glen Hanson is at the center of it all
Jacob Anderson-Minshall: Dancing on Razor's Edge (curvemag.com)
When Sean Dorsey confesses, "It's scary breaking new ground," it's hard to believe. After all, Dorsey is a critically-acclaimed dancer and choreographer who has been honing his craft for years. He's the creator and director of Fresh Meat Productions, an organization whose very name reflects the transgender man's commitment to showcasing new talent, and the powerhouse behind San Francisco's annual three day event, which, in its sixth season, promises audiences not one, not two, but nine world premiers.
Dana Stevens: Able Was I Ere I Saw Alba: The pneumatic star can't save Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (slate.com)
Jessica Alba, whose blank, cushiony face and pneumatic body make her the very template of the Maxim girl, has honed her acting skills since the first F4 movie. She's still awful, but not laughably awful; she might be able to pull off a self-mocking turn as a Bond girl, for example, an Ursula Andress to Daniel Craig's Sean Connery.
R.C. Baker: 'Mad' Max: No worries, indeed! 600 issues of Alfred E. Neuman now all digital (villagevoice.com)
If today's Mad has been overtaken by its children (imagine Saturday Night Live or South Park without it), the editors continue to nail the zeitgeist with such post-9/11 bits as "What Is a Terrorist?" Answer: "A terrorist wouldn't think twice about poisoning our air and water supply-like many American industries."
Matthew Weiss: Interview With Ted Allen (afterelton.com)
AfterElton.com interviews "Top Chef'"'s newest judge, Ted Allen from Bravo's "Queer Eye".
Inigo Thomas: The Myth of Monastic Peacefulness (slate.com)
Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor, a writer and a man of famous charm, has, in his 90s, been all but canonized. Anthony Lane wrote a loving appreciation of him in The New Yorker last year: St. Paddy, patron saint of British travel writing, ideal dinner-party guest, a treasured national secret.
Interview by Michael Kress: The 'Super-Believer' (beliefnet.com)
Naomi Judd discusses her Sunday-morning talk show, why she's grateful, and the valuable lesson she learned from Buddhism.
Bonnie Ruberg: It Takes Two? A Beginner's Guide to Solo Sex Games (villagevoice.com)
Having cybersex in virtual worlds is a lot of fun, but it's not the only way to get off to a game. There are tons of sex-based video games available online that don't require the social graces of cybering with another human being. These titles run the gamut from sensual to explicit to hokey-and from free to downright expensive-but they all have one thing in common: they can be played alone.
Reader Comment
Basketball's Over
Hey Marty!
Just thought I'd let you know that the NBA finals were over with on
Thursday (The Spurs swept the Cavaliers in 4 games if anyone cares). So
they won't be screwing up our TV viewing for another year. Thank you,
Spurs!
Pam in Pendleton
Thanks, Pam!
Sorry that one slipped by me.
6 days a week I use a couple of hard copy TV guides, courtesy the Sunday newspapers.
Since both papers are delivered on Sunday, and I need the listings on Saturday, I've been using AO-Hell's.
Will try Titan TV next Saturday - it takes longer to load, but seems more reliable.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Bit of a marine layer keep it sunny and a bit cooler.
Called dear old Dad for Father's Day.
He reminded me I promised a visit this summer - several times.
Better look into it.
Establishes Scholarship
Charlie Gibson
ABC News anchor Charles Gibson urged Union College graduates to practice honesty and fairness Sunday and established a scholarship in his father's name.
"It sounds old-fashioned, but I will tell you there are ethical imperatives in this life," said Gibson, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during the ceremony. "Compassion. Honesty. Fairness. Trustworthiness. Respect for others. If those things are not the bedrocks of your life, you will suffer for their absence in time. And I would wager you won't much like yourself."
Gibson's father, Burdett, grew up in Schenectady and graduated from Union in 1923. The anchor of the top-rated network evening news show contributed $75,000 to help create the Burdett Gibson Class of 1923 Scholarship, which will be awarded each year to a student in need.
Charlie Gibson
Tops List Of Best Action Films
'Die Hard'
"Die Hard," starring Bruce Willis as a tough cop battling terrorists, was named the best action film ever by Entertainment Weekly magazine -- two weeks before the series' fourth installment, "Live Free or Die Hard," hits theaters.
The magazine on Thursday unveiled a list of top 25 action movies picked by its writers and editors spanning a wide range of films: from 1938's "The Adventures of Robin Hood" to director Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" in 1954 (No. 6) and the 2004 computer-animated film, "The Incredibles" (No. 25).
Space adventure "Aliens" followed "Die Hard" in the No. 2 slot with "Raiders of the Lost Ark" at No. 3 and "The Road Warrior" and "The Matrix" at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.
'Die Hard'
Russia's Classical Olympiad
Tchaikovsky Competition
Once the Olympiad of classical music, Russia's top international music prize the Tchaikovsky competition opened this week hoping to restore its lost glory after more than a decade in the doldrums.
Around 200 young pianists, violinists, cellists and singers from 34 countries will perform over the next two weeks before juries of top musicians in Moscow's grand but run-down Conservatory, hoping to become the virtuosos of the future.
Organizers hope that more entrants, increased sponsorship, open voting and more prestigious juries will return some of the luster the four-yearly competition enjoyed prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Tchaikovsky Competition
Hosts South Korean Wedding
Robot
A robot on Sunday acted as master of ceremonies at a South Korean wedding in what its creators claimed as a world first.
Tiro the robot assisted at the wedding of Seok Gyeong-Jae, one of the engineers who designed it, and his bride at Daejeon, 130 kilometres (78 miles) south of Seoul.
"This is Tiro, master of ceremonies for today's wedding," the robot -- featuring a cone-shaped body, two arms and a dark-glassed face with eyes and a mouth of flashing lights -- said in front of smiling guests.
In a male voice, the robot introduced the couple to the crowd, let the couple bow to them and performed its programmed duties.
Robot
Asks Congress To Fund Drug Court
Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen says a drug court saved the life of a friend of his who was self-destructing from drug and alcohol abuse.
The actor was in Washington this past week to urge Congress to provide funding for drug courts, which provide addicts with lifesaving alternatives to prison.
Sheen told George Stephanopoulos in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC's "This Week" that he used his friend, whom he did not name, as an example as someone whose addiction could have led to death.
Martin Sheen
Arrested In Altercation
Kristy Swanson
Kristy Swanson pressed assault charges on Sunday against the ex-wife of her companion and former skating partner, Lloyd Eisler, the actress' representative said.
Police took pictures of bruises on her back and other parts of her body to document the injuries that Swanson claimed she got during a scuffle with Eisler's ex-wife, Marcia O'Brien, on Friday in Canada, according to Swanson spokesman Michael Sands.
O'Brien filed a complaint against Swanson first, however. Swanson told People magazine she was arrested Saturday night for allegedly assaulting O'Brien. Swanson, 37, said she was released after posting bail in Kingston, Ontario.
Eisler, 44, a former world champion pairs skater, and Swanson met in 2006 while filming the FOX reality series "Skating with Celebrities." Eisler left his wife for Swanson, whose film credits include "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Kristy Swanson
Memorabilia Auction
Elvis Presley
A gold-plated gun and a pill bottle owned by Elvis Presley, an umbrella twirled by Marilyn Monroe and Alfred Hitchcock's passport were among items that attracted bidders at an auction Saturday.
The umbrella used by Monroe in a famous 1949 seaside photo shoot by Andre de Dienes sold for $42,000 at the annual Julien's Summer Auction, CEO Darren Julien said in a statement. The buyer, William Doyle, said he planned to display the umbrella at the Museum of Style Icons in County Kildare, Ireland.
Hitchcock's passport sold for $19,200 during the eight-hour auction at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Presley's gun commanded $28,800, while a microphone used by the rock icon on the Louisiana Hayride in the 1950s sold for $15,000.
Elvis Presley
Mating Hares Block Runways
Milan Airport
Wild hares at Milan's Linate airport seem to have only one thing on their mind, and their excessive mating and growing numbers have blocked takeoffs, landings and radar systems.
Officials on Sunday mounted a daylight raid to keep these furry creatures off the runways, part of a twice-annual capture to keep the airport population under control.
Blowing whistles and waving their arms frantically, some 200 volunteers spooked the hares out of their holes and into waiting nets. The animals - 57 hares and four wild rabbits - were put in wooden crates and transferred to a wildlife preserve, officials said.
Usually the hare hunts takes place overnight, when the airport's runways aren't terribly busy, but because there were so many hares this season, officials mounted a daylight capture so volunteers could better catch their bounding prey.
Milan Airport
Green Bean Surprise
Snake Head
Earl Hartman was a little rattled by something he says he found in a can of green beans: a snake head. The Philadelphia man said he found the inch-long head on his plate Wednesday night, right between a chicken breast and buttered noodles. He said it came out of the green bean can.
"When I sat down, I noticed something didn't look right," Hartman told WCAU-TV. "It didn't look like a green bean."
Hartman said he called the Pathmark store where he bought the beans, and got a call back from Seneca Foods in upstate New York, where the vegetables were canned.
Rich Savner, a spokesman for Carteret, N.J.-based Pathmark Stores Inc., confirmed that a customer reported finding a "foreign substance" in a can of green beans, but said officials had not determined what it was.
Snake Head
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