'TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
unCONVENTIONal
By Baron Dave Romm
Shockwave Radio Theater Podcast now up and running! All podcasts also on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
The usual caveat: Luke Ski is a friend and Shockwave Rider. It's always tricky talking about the work people I know on a social level, but I make the sacrifice for my readers. Some of this rant was first spewn at a filk panel Luke and I were on at CONvergence 2005.
unCONVENTIONal is the latest album by the great Luke Ski. Ironically, unCONVENTIONal is designed to appeal to his most hard-core convention fans. You should be one of them.
Luke, sometimes, has an odd love/hate relationship with science fiction fans who go to science fiction conventions. Convention attendees are his audience, his customers, yet convention members are not. The distinction between audience at a concert and participants of a convention is hard to explain, but key to the dissonance Luke and other performers feel.
Older fen, such as myself, grew up reading books and going to conventions to meet authors as well as party with like-minded people who were family even if we had never met. Movies, radio and tv are great stuff, but sf starts with the written word. For most of us, filking is participatory music, usually new lyrics written to old tunes specifically so everyone can sing along, and performers often write and play their own songs in some variant of a Bardic Circle and worthy musicians are encouraged to add their talent. We like to hear songs about stuff we know that makes us a little different, that binds us as fans of a genre and, yes, keeps us a little aloof. Filking is fun because only we get the references.
Younger fen grew up on "Sci-Fi" as a genre, a media category that stretches from Star Wars to Star Trek and maybe to Buffy. This is hardly a new phenomena; when Star Trek fandom arose in the '70s, it nearly Plunged All Fandom Into War and caused all sorts of tension... until most of us just ignored the differences and went to our pick of the ever-increasing number of cons catering to specialized interests. Still, we now have a generation or more who were born after Star Wars... heaven help us we have young fans who were born after Star Trek: The Next Generation stopped production. To these young whippersnappers, Star Wars and Grease belong to the same cultural history. Again, all geezers go through a "you kids, stay offa my lawn!" period of lamenting that the younger generation just doesn't get it... while at the same time all the newly minted adults shake their heads at the boring stories of the, um, more experienced.
For some, conventions are the second derivative of experience. That is, we don't go to cons to read books or even necessarily to read the same books as everyone else, we go to cons to meet the people who wrote the books and to party with them. It's active participation, being in the game. For others, conventions are the experience in exactly the same way as going to the theater. You sit in the audience and expect to be entertained. It's passive, like watching the game on tv. No, not all of us from the older tradition are quite so active, and not all of the younger crowd required stadium seating. But I do see fewer and fewer young faces volunteering at cons, and fewer and fewer older faces at "filk" concerts featuring rap songs.
Just as we Baby Boomers lived in a different generation than our parents (Color tv! Stereo! Post-It Notes!), today's kids simply have different priorities. That is, they fall into different marketing categories and nascent entrepreneurs are aiming for their dollars. Not ours.
Luke Ski lives in the world created by science fiction fans, built by such people as Stan Freberg, Allan Sherman and (dare I say it) Shockwave Radio, and refined by Dr. Demento and Weird Al Yankovic. It's a world where popular culture is fodder for humor, and often the sole rationale for that humor. The best of this breed are funny in addition to the pop culture references: the worst rely just make a reference and expect you to laugh as if the joke were already made. I'm happy to say that Luke is one of the best of them.
unCONVENTIONal is vintage Luke Ski. One of his talents is expressing an entire movie's worth of character in just a few lines. He's at his best in Grease Wars, a retelling of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in a 13:41 minute medly of tunes from Grease. Leia in bobby sox. Luke in a leather jacket. Han riding a hog. The set piece is bracketed by an short introduction and outro. The CD is very much a concert, with spoken pieces in between songs and comedy skits. He does most of the CD in live concerts, in much the same fashion.
How does he remember all those words?
Sorry.
Between his rap songs and the longer pieces like Grease Wars, Luke stuffs an astonishing amount of lyric into a microphone. No singing along, no live musicians to bounce off an audience, no chance to feed off the energy of the crowd or perk up a dispirited one: Luke is giving a concert, damn it, so you better pay attention.
Luke raps away about The Geeks of the Industry and takes on the popular Nickelodean cartoon in The Spongy Dance (both parodies songs by by Digital Underground, whoever they are...), and raves about Vader Boy to an Avril Lavigne song featuring Carrie Dahlby and the Nick Atoms with loads of samples from Episode III. Firefly was a western in space, so it's not much of a leap to adapt Shel Silverstein/Johnny Cash's A Boy Named Sue to A Man Named Jayne.
The delightfully piquant Shoebox... er, -=ShoEboX=- of Worm Quartet shares the spotlight for a spoken interstitial or two plus the song Map Light which is conveniently a rant about a map light (sometimes its hard to tell with Shoebox titles) and how a right-hand seat navigator can annoy the driver. Local Mpls punk tv theme cover band The Nick Atoms play on several cuts and are the backing to a freestyle rap conveniently yclept The Great Luke Ski vs. the Nick Atoms. Ren & Stimpy pound out a Public Enemy rap. Luke manages to convince three women (one of them his sister) to sing Sex Kittens From Mars, full of double entendres and suggestive noises around some rapping by Luke; reminded me a lot of Ciccolina by Moist.
Smack dab in the middle of unCONVENTIONal are four cuts of Survivor The Animated Series and one of The Simple Life. Luke plays most of the parts himself, from Hank Hill to Bender to Cartman. Since I don't care for Survivor, these didn't do much for me. (No, I didn't like Drawn Together either.) A lot of your appreciation of these skits will depend on how well you think Luke does as an impressionist. Luke, as usual, does a good job of distilling characters and putting them into odd situations. Other (more whipper-snappery?) fans of Luke liked them better. Ah well.
Luke knows his audience and has paid his dues. I think he's trying to fill up a narrower niche than he has in the past. Being a big fish in a small pond is one way to make a name for yourself. As a marketing strategy, I hope this works: Luke deserves a larger audience than his convention appearances. Still, I hope I don't land outside his circle of reference. At the moment I'm in danger of being downright avuncular.
unCONVENTIONal runs nearly 78 minutes, more than was possible to put on a CD a decade ago and nearly to the current maximum. If you liked any of his previous works (search the archive of Baron Dave's music recommendations), you'll like something on this one. unCONVENTIONal will rank with Uber Geek and Worst Album Ever in the great Luke Ski's discography.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a Live Journal demi-blog, 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 , and you can hear the last two Shockwave broadcasts in Real Audio (scroll down to Shockwave). Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
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Mr. Hawk Reviews
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) [view trailer]
Directed by
Garth Jennings
I've always loved the books and the old BBC show so I admit I came to the
big screen adaptation with a lot of baggage. I did love the opening sequence
and that great song "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish" but some things
went downhill after that. Mos Def is very unconvincing as Ford Prefect,
there seems to be none of the galactic travelers's weariness about him.
Martin Freeman
is a decent Arthur Dent but he really lacks the confused
outrage called for in the role. I mean his home's been demolished, his
planet's been blown up and some creep took off with the woman he was falling
in love with. Sam Rockwell does fit his part well, though the writing for
him leaves a little bit to be desired. I love the new Trillian,
Zooey
Deschanel. She is perfect for the part.
Stephen Fry
does the voiceovers and
is excellent.
The total special effects package is up to modern standards but I do wish
they had looked at the old TV show for the book entries. The Heart looks
great but John Malkovich's' half body was old when it was done in "The Wild,
Wild West".
The plot was fairly close to the book but needed so more of the old gags
from it. The deep thought sequence could have had all its old gags and not
added more than a minute of screen time. I did like the addition of the
rescue of Trillian. Side note: look for the original Marvin in line. While I
know that the old mini-series had a run time of about 170 minutes this
version has a run time of 109 minutes and could have easily used some more
time.
As a whole the film is enjoyable though and can stand alone as a decent
interpretation of Douglas Adams' vision. One thing I really like is the
price of the DVD. You can pick it up for less than $17 at the Temple of
Greed (WalMart) and its comparable priced elsewhere.I would recommend renting
first though to see if the humor is your cup of tea before buying. If you
buy I would also recommend buying the older mini series just as a
counterpoint.
By the way I was real disappointed we didn't get to see the ravenous
Bug-blatter Beast of the Trall on screen.
~ Mr. Hawk
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Archbishop Bruce J. Simpson: Journey back to Hope (advocate.com)
During a visit to the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library, I wondered: How could things have changed so far, so fast, in only five years? How had all of those accomplishments simply vanished under George W. Bush?
Jerome Cleary: An open letter to Arnold (advocate.com)
Dear Governor $chwarzenegger: You know what makes a family. Don't be a girly-man. Have the guts to stand up for equality and allow marriage equality in California
Peter Dreier: Bush Helps Disaster Profiteers (AlterNet)
President Bush is taking advantage of the Katrina tragedy to get rid of workers' protections in favor of higher profits for politically connected corporations.
Paul Krugman: Not the New Deal
(Click on "Columns," then on "Not the New Deal")
Now it begins: America's biggest relief and recovery program since the New Deal. And the omens aren't good.
Sheerly Avni: Joking Along Color Lines (Pacific News Service. Posted on Alternet)
As 'The Aristocrats' opens nationwide, co-director Paul Provenza explains why Chris Rock and Whoopi Goldberg are the only blacks in his documentary.
Karman Kregloe: Remembering Greta Garbo (afterellen.com)
She's a gorgeous Hollywood superstar without a husband or even an official boyfriend. She shuns questions about her relationships, and her best-loved films are those in which her affairs with men ended tragically or are merely incidental to the larger story of her personal quest. Her talent as an actress is legendary, but, unlike her celebrity peers, the topic of her personal life is largely ignored by an otherwise relentlessly tell-all press.
Eddie Shapiro: The Life of the Party (Out.com)
Broadway baby Chita Rivera talks about turning a life on the stage into an autobiographical musical.
Hurricane Katrina Video Clips
10 Video Clips About the Botched Reponse to Hurricane Katrina
Purple Gene's
"Movie Trivia Notes"
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Still sunny & cooler than seasonal.
Watched most of the Emmy's. Was disappointd nobody really went off-script.
Updated the Emmy Awards - 2005 page with all of last night's winners.
Hey - it's my birthday.
20th Annual Benefit Concert
Farm Aid
Farm Aid staged its 20th annual star-studded benefit concert on Sunday, pledging help for overlooked rural victims of Hurricane Katrina and defending against charges of financial waste.
The day-long show at an outdoor arena south of Chicago grossed $1.3 million in ticket sales and played to an enthusiastic crowd of more than 28,000.
Farm Aid's founder, country music legend Willie Nelson, performed alongside board members Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Dave Matthews as well as Wilco, Buddy Guy, Widespread Panic and other performers.
The Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy has graded Farm Aid an A-minus is terms of financial efficiency, ranking it ahead of charities including the American Heart Association and Amnesty International.
Farm Aid
Hurricane Alters Reality
TV Journalists
Jeanne Meserve is haunted by voices in the dark pleading for help. John Roberts won't forget the woman whose husband of 53 years died at her feet. Shepard Smith remembers seeing bodies on highway ramps around the stadium where he had often driven to football games. Campbell Brown never wants to lose track of the 9-year-old who scavenged for water to keep his grandmother alive.
Smith, Fox's chief anchor, reported on the plight of people stuck on the highway seeking help that took days to come. As their anger increased, so did his.
It was that emotion, and the angry confrontations with public officials by familiar faces like ABC's Ted Koppel, NBC's Tim Russert and CNN's Anderson Cooper, that made clear to viewers how desperate things had become in New Orleans.
For the rest, TV Journalists
Rock 'N' Roll 'Archeologist'
Peter Blecha
Peter Blecha calls himself a rock 'n' roll archeologist.
Blecha has travelled the globe acquiring the rarest, most historic, most innovative specimens ever made.
He has helped to assemble one of the world's most significant collections of historic guitars and other rock memorabilia, highlighted by more than 100 of the world's earliest and "first-ever" electric guitar specimens.
Now Blecha, the former chief curator at the Experience Music Project, is sharing his quest in "Rock & Roll Archeologist: How I Chased Down Kurt's Stratocaster, the Layla Guitar, and Janis's Boa, to be published in November by Seattle-based Sasquatch Books.
For a lot more, Peter Blecha
Injures Leg During Crue Concert
Vince Neil
Motley Crue lead singer Vince Neil is recovering from a leg injury after slipping off stage during a performance.
The band was about five songs into the concert Friday night when Neil leaned over to sing along with the audience and slipped off stage, said police spokeswoman Sylvia Abernathy.
"I just felt something snap in my leg," Neil wrote on the band's Web site. "I just couldn't go on."
The band said on its Web site that Neil partially tore part of his calf muscle. He planned to perform on Sunday night in Memphis, Tenn., and no shows were being canceled, the band said on its Web site.
Vince Neil
Apologized for Drug Use
Kate Moss
Supermodel Kate Moss acknowledged to the Hennes & Mauritz clothing chain that tabloid allegations that she recently used cocaine are true, an H&M spokeswoman said Saturday.
Moss, who is to model one of H&M's upcoming clothing lines, has apologized for her drug use and promised in writing to abide by a company policy that models be "healthy, wholesome and sound," spokeswoman Liv Asarnoj said.
The Daily Mirror tabloid printed images from a video which it said showed the model doing five lines of cocaine in 40 minutes at a late-night music recording session, preparing them with a credit card and snorting the drug through a five-pound note.
Kate Moss
In English
'A Little History of the World'
Seventy years after it was rushed into print, a history book beloved by readers of all ages around the world is finally coming out in English.
E.H. Gombrich, the scholar best known for his classic, The Story of Art, was a 26-year-old scholar in 1935 when a British publisher asked for his opinion of a children's history book, which was supposed to be translated into Gombrich's native German.
Gombrich was bored by the text, and thought he could do better. The publisher, Walter Neurath, took him on, but on one condition: that he finish the book in six weeks.
What seemed like a rush job was treated by reviewers and the general public as an admirable, accessible summary. A Little History of the World was an instant success and has been translated into 18 languages, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.
For the rest, 'A Little History of the World'
Nude Swimmers Abandon Swim
Loch Ness
One lap of Loch Ness was barely tolerable, but two more proved too much Saturday for a group of nude swimmers who surrendered to bad weather.
The four men and two women, taking turns of an hour each, began their charity stunt Friday night and completed their first 23-mile lap Saturday morning. And that was all, as temperatures sank and winds rose.
"We swam all through the night and successfully completed one length in 14 hours and four minutes but the conditions were so bad we couldn't go on," said Kevin Mitchell, 56, the first swimmer to set off Friday.
Loch Ness
Moving On
Spelling - Shanian
Actress Tori Spelling and her husband are reportedly splitting after a year of marriage.
Spelling, 32, and actor-writer Charlie Shanian, 36, married in July 2004 and have been living apart since the beginning of August, People magazine reported.
Spelling - Shanian
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