Thursday, June 30, 2005
forgot about you, Crews
Sorry, bro. Got caught up with real-life work.
My stupid show is still on, later today - 3 to 5 pm, est, on WZBC.
Sorry, bro. Got caught up with real-life work.
My stupid show is still on, later today - 3 to 5 pm, est, on WZBC.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
now I can relive my Friday night
There were three or four of those bootleggers' tall microphone stands in the middle of the floor section at the Wilco show on Friday night. I don't know if tapers buy those seats specifically because they render the best sound, or if Wilco is boot-friendly enough to have a special section for them. Or maybe one guy set all of them up in order to hedge his bets. Either way, the tapes have hit the internet, and, thanks to a head's up Brandon, my non-BitTorrential ass can listen to them. I know there are about a billion Wilco bootlegs circulating out there, but considering this is the first and only time I've ever seen the group, this is the only one I give a hoot about.
There were three or four of those bootleggers' tall microphone stands in the middle of the floor section at the Wilco show on Friday night. I don't know if tapers buy those seats specifically because they render the best sound, or if Wilco is boot-friendly enough to have a special section for them. Or maybe one guy set all of them up in order to hedge his bets. Either way, the tapes have hit the internet, and, thanks to a head's up Brandon, my non-BitTorrential ass can listen to them. I know there are about a billion Wilco bootlegs circulating out there, but considering this is the first and only time I've ever seen the group, this is the only one I give a hoot about.
we control the world around us
Last season, after only a month, I wrote some shit about the Braves, and they quickly proceeded to perform like we expect them to.
Two weeks ago, I did it again, and since then they've been pretty damn amazing. The day after this latest post went up, Kelly Johnson broke out of his career-beginning slump in a major way, revealing me for the ignorant jackass that I am in the process. Andruw's been ridiculously awesome, and Smoltz has been pitching like it's 1996.
Obviously the Braves clubhouse regularly visits our humble site. Obviously they took our complaints to heart, and set about enacting positive change. Obviously our opinions are powerful and influential. Obviously you shouldn't fuck with Mesmerization Eclipse.
Last season, after only a month, I wrote some shit about the Braves, and they quickly proceeded to perform like we expect them to.
Two weeks ago, I did it again, and since then they've been pretty damn amazing. The day after this latest post went up, Kelly Johnson broke out of his career-beginning slump in a major way, revealing me for the ignorant jackass that I am in the process. Andruw's been ridiculously awesome, and Smoltz has been pitching like it's 1996.
Obviously the Braves clubhouse regularly visits our humble site. Obviously they took our complaints to heart, and set about enacting positive change. Obviously our opinions are powerful and influential. Obviously you shouldn't fuck with Mesmerization Eclipse.
Monday, June 27, 2005
oh what gloriousness this weekend be
Oh man, heavy fuck-tons of fun these past few days, unparalleled in recent years. Firstly we ate us some Thai food on Friday night, at the formerly redoubtable Brown Sugar, and proceeded to sweat like a burlap-clad Ustinov in the tropics. Spicy food plus Singha plus 90 degrees minus effective air conditioning equal one severely soaked handkerchief. Afterward we walked the block or so down to Agannis Arena to take in the Wilco / My Morning Jacket concert. Those hairballs from MMJ were giving the congregated Bahston assholes a crash course in primo Skynardism when we entered. BU or the dude who paid for this arena really fucking hates bags, though, as the headset chick had to rifle through both ladies' satchels. One was deemed too lengthy for admission (apparently CSC Security knows the minimum width of explosive devices); it was our designer friend's work bag, and so she had to stuff all her architectural documents and shit in my lady's bag and situate her purse beneath the stairwell. After passing bagchecks one and two, the missus's bag came into question at the foot of said stairwell, and was almost similarly denied entrance. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, and at least one foot-long purse made it in unconfiscated. But man, what bullshit! So we finally get to our seats, see about a half-hour of My Morning Jacket, and then grab a four-fifty Bud as soon as they're finished. At this point friendly Rob Lomblad (aka thefieldrecordist) comes to gloat about his third-row seat and backstage laminate deal. Some old buddy of his has become Wilco's fourth alternate clavinet tech, or something, and got non-Wilco fan Rob a free pass. We chatted cleverly and politely during the forty minute lull between bands, outdueling each other with our increasingly witty bons mots. Eventually Wilco appeared and filled a thoroughly enjoyable two hours with their highfalutin trad-pop-rock neologisms. There were a couple of encores, some hits, revisitation of olden chestnuts, personalized Boston University hockey jerseys, and only the occasional hint of hoary arena-rock cliche. All in all, a good show.
After an evening of rest, we woke up to find the thermometer nearing 100. Boston is a town largely without air conditioning, and on a day like Saturday that simply wouldn't do. We called up Brandon and Holly and asked if they wanted to go enjoy the air conditioning and Chik Fil-A at the mall in Burlington. They excitedly said yes, and so off we were to a typical suburban shopping mall located a half hour north of Boston. We ate some fried chicken products, wandered languidly through the mall, and then wound up seeing a movie across the street. Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a perfectly acceptable film, and not in any way a waste of our collective $28.00. Even more acceptable, however, was the amazingly frigid theater in which we got to sit for over two hours. After the film, we headed back into town, and dropped the future Virginians off at their pad in Somerville. We stopped at the grocery store before going home, where we picked up some stuff for the week. I angered my wife by buying a bottle of whiskey, and then placated her by not drinking any of it. Upon arrival home we sat around the house listening to records by Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, Van McCoy, Rod Stewart, OMD, and more. I drank a few deliciously cold bottles of Miller Lite, and the wife smoked a B&H or two. Around eleven or so the missus went to bed, so I dicked around on unplugged guitar for a while, before hooking up the GameCube and playing some fake baseball. Around one I watched a half hour or so of the syndicated WWF Raw recap show, whose name I have never committed to memory. I headed to bed at 1:30 or so, and slept very well indeed.
Yesterday we watched Bull Durham.
Oh man, heavy fuck-tons of fun these past few days, unparalleled in recent years. Firstly we ate us some Thai food on Friday night, at the formerly redoubtable Brown Sugar, and proceeded to sweat like a burlap-clad Ustinov in the tropics. Spicy food plus Singha plus 90 degrees minus effective air conditioning equal one severely soaked handkerchief. Afterward we walked the block or so down to Agannis Arena to take in the Wilco / My Morning Jacket concert. Those hairballs from MMJ were giving the congregated Bahston assholes a crash course in primo Skynardism when we entered. BU or the dude who paid for this arena really fucking hates bags, though, as the headset chick had to rifle through both ladies' satchels. One was deemed too lengthy for admission (apparently CSC Security knows the minimum width of explosive devices); it was our designer friend's work bag, and so she had to stuff all her architectural documents and shit in my lady's bag and situate her purse beneath the stairwell. After passing bagchecks one and two, the missus's bag came into question at the foot of said stairwell, and was almost similarly denied entrance. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed, and at least one foot-long purse made it in unconfiscated. But man, what bullshit! So we finally get to our seats, see about a half-hour of My Morning Jacket, and then grab a four-fifty Bud as soon as they're finished. At this point friendly Rob Lomblad (aka thefieldrecordist) comes to gloat about his third-row seat and backstage laminate deal. Some old buddy of his has become Wilco's fourth alternate clavinet tech, or something, and got non-Wilco fan Rob a free pass. We chatted cleverly and politely during the forty minute lull between bands, outdueling each other with our increasingly witty bons mots. Eventually Wilco appeared and filled a thoroughly enjoyable two hours with their highfalutin trad-pop-rock neologisms. There were a couple of encores, some hits, revisitation of olden chestnuts, personalized Boston University hockey jerseys, and only the occasional hint of hoary arena-rock cliche. All in all, a good show.
After an evening of rest, we woke up to find the thermometer nearing 100. Boston is a town largely without air conditioning, and on a day like Saturday that simply wouldn't do. We called up Brandon and Holly and asked if they wanted to go enjoy the air conditioning and Chik Fil-A at the mall in Burlington. They excitedly said yes, and so off we were to a typical suburban shopping mall located a half hour north of Boston. We ate some fried chicken products, wandered languidly through the mall, and then wound up seeing a movie across the street. Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a perfectly acceptable film, and not in any way a waste of our collective $28.00. Even more acceptable, however, was the amazingly frigid theater in which we got to sit for over two hours. After the film, we headed back into town, and dropped the future Virginians off at their pad in Somerville. We stopped at the grocery store before going home, where we picked up some stuff for the week. I angered my wife by buying a bottle of whiskey, and then placated her by not drinking any of it. Upon arrival home we sat around the house listening to records by Fleetwood Mac, Dire Straits, Van McCoy, Rod Stewart, OMD, and more. I drank a few deliciously cold bottles of Miller Lite, and the wife smoked a B&H or two. Around eleven or so the missus went to bed, so I dicked around on unplugged guitar for a while, before hooking up the GameCube and playing some fake baseball. Around one I watched a half hour or so of the syndicated WWF Raw recap show, whose name I have never committed to memory. I headed to bed at 1:30 or so, and slept very well indeed.
Yesterday we watched Bull Durham.
Friday, June 24, 2005
yesterday's playlist
Thursday June 23 2005:
Deerhoof: "Spiral Golden Town"
Wee Turtles: "If You Ain't a Pilot Then You Ain't Shit"
Guided by Voices: "Tractor Rape Chain"
Tower Recordings: "Romulan Extract"
Mountain Goats: "Dance Music"
Gang Wizard: "For All Bar Trash Hessian Strutters, We Salute You!"
Elf Power: "Temporary Arm"
Oneida: "Still Rememberin' Hidin' in the Stones"
Parts and Labor: "A Great Divide"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth"
Braspyreet: "Takaisin Lapsiveteen!"
Trans Am: "Prowler '97"
Gang Gang Dance: fifth song from God's Money
I Believe in Atlanta: "Look at Atlanta"
Wire: "Mr. Suit"
Need New Body: "Mouthbreather"
Oakley Hall: "5 Sided Die"
The Go-Betweens: "Mountains Near Dellray"
Silver Apples: "Ruby"
Lovechild: "Know It's Allright"
Polyphony: "Crimson Dagger"
Pavement: "Extradition"
Wreckless Eric: "Let's Go to the Pictures"
Electric Eels: "Cyclotron"
The Fall: "Tempo House"
Sightings: "Back to Back"
Ricky Wilde: "I am an Astronaut"
Spires That in the Sunset Rise: "Tampico"
Yo la Tengo: "Autumn Sweater"
Electrelane: "If Not Now, When?"
Double Leopards: "Viking Blood"
Thursday June 23 2005:
Deerhoof: "Spiral Golden Town"
Wee Turtles: "If You Ain't a Pilot Then You Ain't Shit"
Guided by Voices: "Tractor Rape Chain"
Tower Recordings: "Romulan Extract"
Mountain Goats: "Dance Music"
Gang Wizard: "For All Bar Trash Hessian Strutters, We Salute You!"
Elf Power: "Temporary Arm"
Oneida: "Still Rememberin' Hidin' in the Stones"
Parts and Labor: "A Great Divide"
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: "The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth"
Braspyreet: "Takaisin Lapsiveteen!"
Trans Am: "Prowler '97"
Gang Gang Dance: fifth song from God's Money
I Believe in Atlanta: "Look at Atlanta"
Wire: "Mr. Suit"
Need New Body: "Mouthbreather"
Oakley Hall: "5 Sided Die"
The Go-Betweens: "Mountains Near Dellray"
Silver Apples: "Ruby"
Lovechild: "Know It's Allright"
Polyphony: "Crimson Dagger"
Pavement: "Extradition"
Wreckless Eric: "Let's Go to the Pictures"
Electric Eels: "Cyclotron"
The Fall: "Tempo House"
Sightings: "Back to Back"
Ricky Wilde: "I am an Astronaut"
Spires That in the Sunset Rise: "Tampico"
Yo la Tengo: "Autumn Sweater"
Electrelane: "If Not Now, When?"
Double Leopards: "Viking Blood"
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Scalia and Thomas on the right side of an issue, for once
I'm sorry, but this decision is absolutely horrible. I don't care what the legal rationale is. The government shouldn't be able to annex and sell residences for private development. So now sprawl will continue unabated even when the rightful owner of prospective real estate refuses to sell. Within 20 years Allston will be a suburb of Atlanta.
I'm sorry, but this decision is absolutely horrible. I don't care what the legal rationale is. The government shouldn't be able to annex and sell residences for private development. So now sprawl will continue unabated even when the rightful owner of prospective real estate refuses to sell. Within 20 years Allston will be a suburb of Atlanta.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
holy shit holy shit holy shit
Amazing news from the Globe.
The wife was majorly pissed last year when we didn't go to this thing. Her mom's been watching it on tv every year since the '80's, or something, and was hoping we'd go check it out in person. Instead the amazingly shitty band I was in played a show that night, thus ruining her family's dreams. This year, though, we shall most definitely be there, even if we have to start camping out on the 1st.
Amazing news from the Globe.
The Boston Pops has announced that three country music sensations -- Gretchen Wilson (''Redneck Woman"), Big & Rich, and Cowboy Troy -- will star at its annual Fourth of July celebration on the Esplanade. ...
''Obviously, we want something with national appeal -- and country fits that," Pops spokesman Sean Kerrigan said yesterday. ''These acts also have crossover appeal, which is what we're all about, too. Other than hip-hop, there's not a genre that we haven't tackled."
Well, actually, the Pops will be incorporating something akin to hip-hop this time around. Cowboy Troy, who raps over a country groove, is part of the rise of so-called ''hick-hop." He, Wilson, and Big & Rich are part of the ''Muzik Mafia," a loose collective that combines traditional and progressive country. Once viewed as an alternative to the Nashville scene, it crossed into the mainstream with a splash this past year. Wilson won a Grammy for best female country vocal performance.
The wife was majorly pissed last year when we didn't go to this thing. Her mom's been watching it on tv every year since the '80's, or something, and was hoping we'd go check it out in person. Instead the amazingly shitty band I was in played a show that night, thus ruining her family's dreams. This year, though, we shall most definitely be there, even if we have to start camping out on the 1st.
what a wrong-headed review...
... in which Bablicon's kraut-inflected jazz-prog gets labelled "spazz-core". 'Cuz, you know, six-minute-long piano-based pieces have much in common with the Locust and the Mae Shi. I haven't listened to the new Need New Body yet, other than the song I played on the radio last week, but based on this dude's inaccurate application of quasi-meaningless genre tags, I imagine it's probably not as mediocre as this review makes it sound.
... in which Bablicon's kraut-inflected jazz-prog gets labelled "spazz-core". 'Cuz, you know, six-minute-long piano-based pieces have much in common with the Locust and the Mae Shi. I haven't listened to the new Need New Body yet, other than the song I played on the radio last week, but based on this dude's inaccurate application of quasi-meaningless genre tags, I imagine it's probably not as mediocre as this review makes it sound.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
no time for explanations
My favorite records of the year thus far, in no particular order:
Gang Gang Dance, God's Money.
Excepter, Throne.
Oneida, The Wedding.
Stephen Malkmus, Face the Truth.
Crooked Fingers, Dignity and Shame.
Black Mountain, s/t.
Still Flyin', unreleased shit.
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm. (is this 2004?)
Skygreen Leopards, Child God in the Garden of Idols.
maybe more that I'm forgetting...
My favorite records of the year thus far, in no particular order:
Gang Gang Dance, God's Money.
Excepter, Throne.
Oneida, The Wedding.
Stephen Malkmus, Face the Truth.
Crooked Fingers, Dignity and Shame.
Black Mountain, s/t.
Still Flyin', unreleased shit.
Bloc Party, Silent Alarm. (is this 2004?)
Skygreen Leopards, Child God in the Garden of Idols.
maybe more that I'm forgetting...
Friday, June 17, 2005
live from my hexagonally shaped mansion high upon a hilltop in New Hampshire
Mesmerization Eclipse radio, Thursday June 16th 2005.
LCD Soundsystem: "Jump Into the Fire"
Swell Maps: "Let's Build a Car"
Built to Spill: "Three Years Ago Today"
Power of Zeus: "Uncertain Destination"
Pavement: "I Love Perth"
Need New Body: "Poppa B"
Killa: "Auringonlunta"
Kincaid: "Eleanor Roosevelt"
Television Personalities: "The Prettiest Girl in the World"
Bearsuit: "Cookie Oh Jesus"
Portastatic: "Too Close to the Screen"
Orange County Sound: "Friends of St. Thomas"
Malaria: "Your Turn to Run"
Husker Du: "Celebrated Summer"
Bugs Eat Books: "Dead Batteries"
Animal Collective and Vashti Bunyan: "Baleen Sample"
Lovechild: "Sofa"
Antena: "Achilles"
Yo la Tengo: "Planet # 9"
Tall Dwarfs: "Sign the Dotted Line"
Oneida: "Primanti Bros"
Dreamhouse: "track four"
Wizards from Kansas: "High Flying Bird"
Strapping Fieldhands: "Ben Franklin Airbath"
Kemialliset Ystavat: "Kumanutyn Kutsu"
Crooked Fingers: "Sleep All Summer"
Dick Kent: "Five Feet Nine and a Half Inches Tall"
Monoshock: "Everything Near Me"
The Fall: "Wings"
Skygreen Leopards: "Christ-Child Dances"
Mesmerization Eclipse radio, Thursday June 16th 2005.
LCD Soundsystem: "Jump Into the Fire"
Swell Maps: "Let's Build a Car"
Built to Spill: "Three Years Ago Today"
Power of Zeus: "Uncertain Destination"
Pavement: "I Love Perth"
Need New Body: "Poppa B"
Killa: "Auringonlunta"
Kincaid: "Eleanor Roosevelt"
Television Personalities: "The Prettiest Girl in the World"
Bearsuit: "Cookie Oh Jesus"
Portastatic: "Too Close to the Screen"
Orange County Sound: "Friends of St. Thomas"
Malaria: "Your Turn to Run"
Husker Du: "Celebrated Summer"
Bugs Eat Books: "Dead Batteries"
Animal Collective and Vashti Bunyan: "Baleen Sample"
Lovechild: "Sofa"
Antena: "Achilles"
Yo la Tengo: "Planet # 9"
Tall Dwarfs: "Sign the Dotted Line"
Oneida: "Primanti Bros"
Dreamhouse: "track four"
Wizards from Kansas: "High Flying Bird"
Strapping Fieldhands: "Ben Franklin Airbath"
Kemialliset Ystavat: "Kumanutyn Kutsu"
Crooked Fingers: "Sleep All Summer"
Dick Kent: "Five Feet Nine and a Half Inches Tall"
Monoshock: "Everything Near Me"
The Fall: "Wings"
Skygreen Leopards: "Christ-Child Dances"
books - check 'em out.
Delayed a day, but here's my response to this, via Hillary.
Total number of books owned:
I don’t know, a couple hundred or so. Periodically the wife makes me get rid of some. I dumped probably half of what I had when we moved to Boston, including most of the college textbooks I’d been hanging on to. As is not the case with most media I own, it’s not enough to require alphabetization, but as is the case with most media I own, even if it were, they would not be organized in any coherent fashion.
Five books what influenced me:
Morning of the Magicians, by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier. My introduction to alchemy and esoteric (ie fake) history. Good primer on Nazi occultism, and marginally more credible than The Spear of Destiny. Persuasively argues that Atlantis was nuked by India 9000 years ago.
The Aeneid, by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Wherein I learn life's most crucial lesson: NEVER fuck with Juno.
A Whore Just Like the Rest, by Richard Meltzer. Excellent proof that a record review can have absolutely nothing to do with the record in question, as long as the writing is entertaining enough. Also a good essay on professional wrestling, one that I feel I agree with despite being far too young to have any experiences around which to frame an opinion.
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. I had already shaken off the incorrect beliefs picked up throughout the years from inaccurate textbooks and various family members by the time I read this (right, it wasn't about slavery, of course), so maybe it didn’t quite influence me that much. It is useful to remind ourselves how colossally fucked up race relations have been in America since, well, forever, though, and how biased or timid textbooks contorted and distorted the facts to justify our shameful behavior, and also how those with power and money control the flow of information to maintain their prominence. Probably fills the same role here as Zinn’s book for Hillary, and although I’ve owned that one for years, I’ve never actually, you know, read the damn thing.
A Harvard Education in a Book by the editors of the Harvard Lampoon. Along with Letterman, The Simpsons, and The Tick, one of the primary influences on my sense of humor. I used to think I could maybe do this shit for a living, which just goes to show how deluded and idiotic I was in high school.
Last book I bought: Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Frauds – American History From Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellisles, Ellis, And Goodwin, by Peter Charles Hoffer. Picked this up at the Borders at Logan Airport before flying out for the Mind Zap. Hoffer teaches at Georgia, and was my primary instructor my first semester of grad school. He was sort of a prick at times, but that’s the kind of shit you expect and deserve out of grad school, I guess. Anyway, this book is both a look at how history became a professional, peer-reviewed quasi-science, and how the profession’s credibility was damaged by a series of scandals in the early part of this decade. He goes hard after Ambrose and Goodwin, both of whom he dismissed in class as popular historians, and of course Bellisles, who’s ideologically motivated evidence cooking was pretty egregious. He takes it relatively easy on Ellis, but his actual history work was mostly on the level anyhow. As a dude with an interest in history, I thought the book was pretty fascinating, and a pretty quick and easy read.
Last book I read for the first time: Alpha and Omega: The Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe, by Charles Seife. Just finished this up on the train this morning. Makes me wish I was a scientist. Seife talks about the three great cosmological revolutions: the first involving Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo, and the refutation of Aristotle and the Ptolemaic system; the second with Einstein, Hubble, and the Big Bang; and, most recently, the discovery of dark matter, supersymmetry, M-theory, the ability to read the cosmic background radiation, etc. Seife makes everything clear and easy to understand, and also provides me with about four albums worth of France song titles.
Delayed a day, but here's my response to this, via Hillary.
Total number of books owned:
I don’t know, a couple hundred or so. Periodically the wife makes me get rid of some. I dumped probably half of what I had when we moved to Boston, including most of the college textbooks I’d been hanging on to. As is not the case with most media I own, it’s not enough to require alphabetization, but as is the case with most media I own, even if it were, they would not be organized in any coherent fashion.
Five books what influenced me:
Morning of the Magicians, by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier. My introduction to alchemy and esoteric (ie fake) history. Good primer on Nazi occultism, and marginally more credible than The Spear of Destiny. Persuasively argues that Atlantis was nuked by India 9000 years ago.
The Aeneid, by Virgil, translated by Robert Fitzgerald. Wherein I learn life's most crucial lesson: NEVER fuck with Juno.
A Whore Just Like the Rest, by Richard Meltzer. Excellent proof that a record review can have absolutely nothing to do with the record in question, as long as the writing is entertaining enough. Also a good essay on professional wrestling, one that I feel I agree with despite being far too young to have any experiences around which to frame an opinion.
Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen. I had already shaken off the incorrect beliefs picked up throughout the years from inaccurate textbooks and various family members by the time I read this (right, it wasn't about slavery, of course), so maybe it didn’t quite influence me that much. It is useful to remind ourselves how colossally fucked up race relations have been in America since, well, forever, though, and how biased or timid textbooks contorted and distorted the facts to justify our shameful behavior, and also how those with power and money control the flow of information to maintain their prominence. Probably fills the same role here as Zinn’s book for Hillary, and although I’ve owned that one for years, I’ve never actually, you know, read the damn thing.
A Harvard Education in a Book by the editors of the Harvard Lampoon. Along with Letterman, The Simpsons, and The Tick, one of the primary influences on my sense of humor. I used to think I could maybe do this shit for a living, which just goes to show how deluded and idiotic I was in high school.
Last book I bought: Past Imperfect: Facts, Fictions, Frauds – American History From Bancroft and Parkman to Ambrose, Bellisles, Ellis, And Goodwin, by Peter Charles Hoffer. Picked this up at the Borders at Logan Airport before flying out for the Mind Zap. Hoffer teaches at Georgia, and was my primary instructor my first semester of grad school. He was sort of a prick at times, but that’s the kind of shit you expect and deserve out of grad school, I guess. Anyway, this book is both a look at how history became a professional, peer-reviewed quasi-science, and how the profession’s credibility was damaged by a series of scandals in the early part of this decade. He goes hard after Ambrose and Goodwin, both of whom he dismissed in class as popular historians, and of course Bellisles, who’s ideologically motivated evidence cooking was pretty egregious. He takes it relatively easy on Ellis, but his actual history work was mostly on the level anyhow. As a dude with an interest in history, I thought the book was pretty fascinating, and a pretty quick and easy read.
Last book I read for the first time: Alpha and Omega: The Search for the Beginning and End of the Universe, by Charles Seife. Just finished this up on the train this morning. Makes me wish I was a scientist. Seife talks about the three great cosmological revolutions: the first involving Brahe, Copernicus, Galileo, and the refutation of Aristotle and the Ptolemaic system; the second with Einstein, Hubble, and the Big Bang; and, most recently, the discovery of dark matter, supersymmetry, M-theory, the ability to read the cosmic background radiation, etc. Seife makes everything clear and easy to understand, and also provides me with about four albums worth of France song titles.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
more Mezzy on the radio
Gotta shift on the big station, not V103, Saturday night midnight-7am. You can throw some sweet Belly and Candlebox requests at me.
Gotta shift on the big station, not V103, Saturday night midnight-7am. You can throw some sweet Belly and Candlebox requests at me.
and again
fun with radiowaves, today:
Crews, WXDU, 10:30 am to noon.
Me, WZBC, 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
It'll work with computers.
fun with radiowaves, today:
Crews, WXDU, 10:30 am to noon.
Me, WZBC, 3:00 to 5:00 pm.
It'll work with computers.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
instant content
As brought about by Hillary:
Total volume of music files on this computer: 1.5 gig. I tend to not delete that much. I really ought to, though. Oh yes.
Last CD I bought: The Power of Zeus, The Gospel According to Zeus. Also, on vinyl, at the same time: the Wizards of Kansas's self-titled album.
Song playing right now: “The Death Trip”, by the Power of Zeus. Just bought it yesterday, still breaking it in.
Five songs I listen to a lot these days: “A-V-P”, by Avarus; “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”, by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!; “Freeze the Saints”, by Stephen Malkmus; “I Turn My Camera On”, by Spoon; that second song on Gang Gang Dance's God's Money album.
As brought about by Hillary:
Total volume of music files on this computer: 1.5 gig. I tend to not delete that much. I really ought to, though. Oh yes.
Last CD I bought: The Power of Zeus, The Gospel According to Zeus. Also, on vinyl, at the same time: the Wizards of Kansas's self-titled album.
Song playing right now: “The Death Trip”, by the Power of Zeus. Just bought it yesterday, still breaking it in.
Five songs I listen to a lot these days: “A-V-P”, by Avarus; “The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth”, by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!; “Freeze the Saints”, by Stephen Malkmus; “I Turn My Camera On”, by Spoon; that second song on Gang Gang Dance's God's Money album.
they could still easily win this division
So the Braves definitely need to upgrade their offense and their bullpen. The former will happen automatically once Chipper returns in July, or whenever. The bullpen might be a problem. I still believe Kolb has the ability to be effective, even if he can't handle the closer role; he may not have an appropriate WHIP for a top setup man, but I would be surprised if he didn't eventually settle in as a suitable seventh-inning guy. Reitsma just might be solid enough, and since they probably couldn't afford to add somebody like Eddie Guardado or Jose Mesa (who I wouldn't be comfortable with, despite his last two seasons of goodness), they're probably pretty much stuck with him. When they traded for Hudson, your typical venters and sports-radio callers bitched endlessly about shipping out Charles Thomas and a top minor league arm for a one-year rental. People who aren't complete idiots, though, realized than Juan Cruz was probably the most immediately valuable part of that package, and his presence probably would have relieved much of the team's relief woes. Anyway, I think it's about time to pull the plug on Roman Colon, and maybe Bernero, and see if anybody down at Richmond or on the waiver wire would be an improvement. Also, with the eventual returns of Hampton and Thomson, and the emergence of Kyle Davies, perhaps they could send the intermittently effective Horacio to the pen.
Now, the offense, as I done notated, will improve simply by Chipper's return (if, thank God, he does). They'd still have one weak-ass outfield, though. Everybody and their mother is hot for the Bravos to pick up that jilted Red Austin Kearns. Gammons mentions both Kearns and Oakland's Eric Byrnes, who isn't that great of a player but who would still be a marked improvement over Kelly Johnson or Brian Jordan. Either would be an excellent move, if they could get them without giving up Davies, Marte, Francouer, or McCann. From the sound of it, Byrnes would have a higher asking price, even though Kearns is almost assuredly a better player. If they could get Kearns and Byrnes for a pittance, trade or send Johnson down, and seat Jordan squarely on the bench, then this team could easily rank alongside any other in this hotly contested division (once again the finest and most exhilirating in all the land). ESPN Insider also names Atlanta as being the prime suitor for Tampa's Aubrey Huff; the Huffster's having an off year, but he was terrific the last few seasons. I'd love to see him with a tomahawk on his chest, but I don't see it making sense financially, and I'm sure it would take more to get him than either Byrnes or Kearns. Giving up a top prospect for Huff, and then being financially incapable of adding anybody else, would not benefit the team, either presently or in the long-term, as much as acquiring Byrnes and Kearns would. So yes, Gammons actually had a pretty good idea on this front, one that I heartily endorse.
I never get to see any games, unfortunately, except for the Sox on Fridays and then whatever Fox decides to show (which has been entirely Sox thus far, of course). I'm missing it more than usual, as this five-team dogfight in the NL East would be more thrilling if I could see the games and not just follow the action on-line and in the box scores. If the Braves shore up their offense, if Kolb and the rest of the bullpen can settle themselves, if Davies can keep up the greatness, and if Hudson, Smoltz, Hampton, and Thomson all perform as well as we know they can, then there is absolutely no reason these Braves can't win this division. The Nationals and the Mets will both eventually fade, and by the end of August this will be a three-team race. The Marlins are still the best rounded of the three, but Philadelphia's killer offense and the Braves' rotation will keep them in the hunt. Atlanta can improve their offense enough to handle either team, though, and hopefully they'll do so.
So the Braves definitely need to upgrade their offense and their bullpen. The former will happen automatically once Chipper returns in July, or whenever. The bullpen might be a problem. I still believe Kolb has the ability to be effective, even if he can't handle the closer role; he may not have an appropriate WHIP for a top setup man, but I would be surprised if he didn't eventually settle in as a suitable seventh-inning guy. Reitsma just might be solid enough, and since they probably couldn't afford to add somebody like Eddie Guardado or Jose Mesa (who I wouldn't be comfortable with, despite his last two seasons of goodness), they're probably pretty much stuck with him. When they traded for Hudson, your typical venters and sports-radio callers bitched endlessly about shipping out Charles Thomas and a top minor league arm for a one-year rental. People who aren't complete idiots, though, realized than Juan Cruz was probably the most immediately valuable part of that package, and his presence probably would have relieved much of the team's relief woes. Anyway, I think it's about time to pull the plug on Roman Colon, and maybe Bernero, and see if anybody down at Richmond or on the waiver wire would be an improvement. Also, with the eventual returns of Hampton and Thomson, and the emergence of Kyle Davies, perhaps they could send the intermittently effective Horacio to the pen.
Now, the offense, as I done notated, will improve simply by Chipper's return (if, thank God, he does). They'd still have one weak-ass outfield, though. Everybody and their mother is hot for the Bravos to pick up that jilted Red Austin Kearns. Gammons mentions both Kearns and Oakland's Eric Byrnes, who isn't that great of a player but who would still be a marked improvement over Kelly Johnson or Brian Jordan. Either would be an excellent move, if they could get them without giving up Davies, Marte, Francouer, or McCann. From the sound of it, Byrnes would have a higher asking price, even though Kearns is almost assuredly a better player. If they could get Kearns and Byrnes for a pittance, trade or send Johnson down, and seat Jordan squarely on the bench, then this team could easily rank alongside any other in this hotly contested division (once again the finest and most exhilirating in all the land). ESPN Insider also names Atlanta as being the prime suitor for Tampa's Aubrey Huff; the Huffster's having an off year, but he was terrific the last few seasons. I'd love to see him with a tomahawk on his chest, but I don't see it making sense financially, and I'm sure it would take more to get him than either Byrnes or Kearns. Giving up a top prospect for Huff, and then being financially incapable of adding anybody else, would not benefit the team, either presently or in the long-term, as much as acquiring Byrnes and Kearns would. So yes, Gammons actually had a pretty good idea on this front, one that I heartily endorse.
I never get to see any games, unfortunately, except for the Sox on Fridays and then whatever Fox decides to show (which has been entirely Sox thus far, of course). I'm missing it more than usual, as this five-team dogfight in the NL East would be more thrilling if I could see the games and not just follow the action on-line and in the box scores. If the Braves shore up their offense, if Kolb and the rest of the bullpen can settle themselves, if Davies can keep up the greatness, and if Hudson, Smoltz, Hampton, and Thomson all perform as well as we know they can, then there is absolutely no reason these Braves can't win this division. The Nationals and the Mets will both eventually fade, and by the end of August this will be a three-team race. The Marlins are still the best rounded of the three, but Philadelphia's killer offense and the Braves' rotation will keep them in the hunt. Atlanta can improve their offense enough to handle either team, though, and hopefully they'll do so.
behind the times
Mesmerization Eclipse playlist from Thursday June 9 2005
Black Mountain: "Modern Music"
The Fall: "C'n'C-Hassle Schmuck"
Kevin and Chad: "summer: smile!"
Cob: "Heart Dancer"
Stereolab: "Stomach Worm"
Wingtip Sloat: "Arc of a Worm's Trail"
Lexo and the Leapers: "Alone Stinking and Unafraid"
Excepter: "Jrone (Three)"
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks: "Dynamic Calories"
Tower Recordings: "Qualify for Evolution"
Masters of the Hemisphere: "Raindrops"
Genghis Tron: "Arms"
Dead Raven Choir: "Christmas Meat"
Rosebuds: "I'd Feel Better"
Moby Grape: "The Place and the Time"
Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood: "The Life of Light"
Jah Division: "Dub Disorder"
Crooked Fingers: "Call to Love"
Oneida: "Charlemagne"
Allen Clapp: "Something Strange Happens"
Soft Boys: "Queen of Eyes"
Bearsuit: "Kiki Keep Me Company"
Fuchsia: "Just Anyone"
Chrome: "Perfumed Metal"
Amps for Christ: "King of Nothing"
Life Without Buildings: "The Leanover"
Portastatic: "Silver Screw"
Mesmerization Eclipse playlist from Thursday June 9 2005
Black Mountain: "Modern Music"
The Fall: "C'n'C-Hassle Schmuck"
Kevin and Chad: "summer: smile!"
Cob: "Heart Dancer"
Stereolab: "Stomach Worm"
Wingtip Sloat: "Arc of a Worm's Trail"
Lexo and the Leapers: "Alone Stinking and Unafraid"
Excepter: "Jrone (Three)"
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks: "Dynamic Calories"
Tower Recordings: "Qualify for Evolution"
Masters of the Hemisphere: "Raindrops"
Genghis Tron: "Arms"
Dead Raven Choir: "Christmas Meat"
Rosebuds: "I'd Feel Better"
Moby Grape: "The Place and the Time"
Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood: "The Life of Light"
Jah Division: "Dub Disorder"
Crooked Fingers: "Call to Love"
Oneida: "Charlemagne"
Allen Clapp: "Something Strange Happens"
Soft Boys: "Queen of Eyes"
Bearsuit: "Kiki Keep Me Company"
Fuchsia: "Just Anyone"
Chrome: "Perfumed Metal"
Amps for Christ: "King of Nothing"
Life Without Buildings: "The Leanover"
Portastatic: "Silver Screw"
Friday, June 10, 2005
this is probably spreading faster than my bloated ass...
but some dude linked to an mp3 (or other such pertinent link) for every band mentioned in "Losing My Edge".
Thanks be to Rip for the head's up.
but some dude linked to an mp3 (or other such pertinent link) for every band mentioned in "Losing My Edge".
Thanks be to Rip for the head's up.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Help me Help Interpol
I need mp3's of Dead Meadow's "Stacy's Song and the Rock-A-Teens' "Black Metal Stars." If anyone has them or has access to them I need them for Interpol's takeover on 99X tomorrow. My email address is egarstin@gmail.com. Carrie, why don't you just go out and buy those CD's and give them to me then, you can get that much closer to them, I'll even tell Carlos your NAME. Oh Shit! Fuckin' Faintin'
I need mp3's of Dead Meadow's "Stacy's Song and the Rock-A-Teens' "Black Metal Stars." If anyone has them or has access to them I need them for Interpol's takeover on 99X tomorrow. My email address is egarstin@gmail.com. Carrie, why don't you just go out and buy those CD's and give them to me then, you can get that much closer to them, I'll even tell Carlos your NAME. Oh Shit! Fuckin' Faintin'
Monday, June 06, 2005
DVDs will kill us with nostalgia
We're pretty much addicted to watching old television shows on DVD. That was basically all I got for my birthday last week, along with a few clothes and a cd or two, and so for ten days now all my wife and I have done at night is sit at home and watch old tv. And damn if it ain't fun. I've long said that Newsradio was probably a better show than Seinfeld, but reassessed that claim after getting hooked on reruns of the latter over the past year or so. I was as big a fan of Seinfeld as possible during the first four seasons, but felt that it got markedly worse as it went on. I had stopped watching it entirely by November 1994, specifically after the episode when George ate a snack cake out of his girlfriend's parents' trash-can. By that point the show had become a caricature of itself, I thought. I didn't watch an episode again until its last three weeks on the air, in 1998. There are probably a hundred episodes I had never seen until the last year, and through syndication I've been able to catch up on many of them. For the most part, they've all been pretty great, and, having not seen Newsradio in five years or so, started to think that Seinfeld must have been better.
The first two seasons of Newsradio are now on DVD, having been released around the same time as the fourth season of Seinfeld. I can't say that Newsradio is a better show overall, but I find it undeniable that these first two seasons are far better than Seinfeld's first two years, and also better than what I've seen of Seinfeld's last four seasons. Newsradio is more like a typical sitcom, but it's a sitcom that's perfectly cast, excellently written, and highly adept at straddling both straight-forward, nominally realistic sit-com humor, and the sort of absurdism found in more bizarre shows like Get a Life and The Young Ones. Whereas Seinfeld actively strove to break through the strictures of network situation comedy, Newsradio maximized the potential within that framework. Seinfeld was the more adventurous program, but, in many ways, Newsradio was more likable, and, with the exception of one, maybe two, years of Seinfeld, the more humorous. I respect Seinfeld greatly, and believe the fourth season to be maybe the greatest season of any live-action television show ever, but, overall, I personally enjoy Newsradio more. I realized that after finishing up the first two seasons Saturday night; it was really quite depressing, knowing that, after four or five nights of continuous viewing, it would be months before I got to watch more Newsradio. We immediately followed that up with the aforementioned season four of Seinfeld, which, like I said, is one of television's most impregnable fortresses of excellence. It truly is as close to genius as television can come. And yet, coming after such a concentrated dose of Newsradio, a show I hadn't seen a minute of in five years, even this unassailable masterwork is kind of a let-down. So, yes, I realize and freely acknowledge that Seinfeld, specifically the fourth season, and perhaps the third as well, is a better show than Newsradio. But that doesn't change the fact that I personally enjoy Newsradio more.
We're pretty much addicted to watching old television shows on DVD. That was basically all I got for my birthday last week, along with a few clothes and a cd or two, and so for ten days now all my wife and I have done at night is sit at home and watch old tv. And damn if it ain't fun. I've long said that Newsradio was probably a better show than Seinfeld, but reassessed that claim after getting hooked on reruns of the latter over the past year or so. I was as big a fan of Seinfeld as possible during the first four seasons, but felt that it got markedly worse as it went on. I had stopped watching it entirely by November 1994, specifically after the episode when George ate a snack cake out of his girlfriend's parents' trash-can. By that point the show had become a caricature of itself, I thought. I didn't watch an episode again until its last three weeks on the air, in 1998. There are probably a hundred episodes I had never seen until the last year, and through syndication I've been able to catch up on many of them. For the most part, they've all been pretty great, and, having not seen Newsradio in five years or so, started to think that Seinfeld must have been better.
The first two seasons of Newsradio are now on DVD, having been released around the same time as the fourth season of Seinfeld. I can't say that Newsradio is a better show overall, but I find it undeniable that these first two seasons are far better than Seinfeld's first two years, and also better than what I've seen of Seinfeld's last four seasons. Newsradio is more like a typical sitcom, but it's a sitcom that's perfectly cast, excellently written, and highly adept at straddling both straight-forward, nominally realistic sit-com humor, and the sort of absurdism found in more bizarre shows like Get a Life and The Young Ones. Whereas Seinfeld actively strove to break through the strictures of network situation comedy, Newsradio maximized the potential within that framework. Seinfeld was the more adventurous program, but, in many ways, Newsradio was more likable, and, with the exception of one, maybe two, years of Seinfeld, the more humorous. I respect Seinfeld greatly, and believe the fourth season to be maybe the greatest season of any live-action television show ever, but, overall, I personally enjoy Newsradio more. I realized that after finishing up the first two seasons Saturday night; it was really quite depressing, knowing that, after four or five nights of continuous viewing, it would be months before I got to watch more Newsradio. We immediately followed that up with the aforementioned season four of Seinfeld, which, like I said, is one of television's most impregnable fortresses of excellence. It truly is as close to genius as television can come. And yet, coming after such a concentrated dose of Newsradio, a show I hadn't seen a minute of in five years, even this unassailable masterwork is kind of a let-down. So, yes, I realize and freely acknowledge that Seinfeld, specifically the fourth season, and perhaps the third as well, is a better show than Newsradio. But that doesn't change the fact that I personally enjoy Newsradio more.
Friday, June 03, 2005
yesterday's playlist
Excepter: "The Heart Beat"
Stephen Malkmus: "Baby C'Mon"
Brian Eno: "Third Uncle"
Gang Wizard: "Given a Slave"
Edgar Broughton Band: "Death of an Electric Citizen"
Minutemen: "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs"
Home: "My Friend Maurice"
Earth: "Harvey" (Justin Broaderick remix)
Lucksmiths: "The Music Next Door"
Big Dipper: "Impossible Things"
Langhorne Slim: "Drowning"
Les Georges Leningrad: "Supa Doopa"
Spoon: "I Turn My Camera On"
Howling Hex: "Pair Back Up Mass With"
Go-Betweens: "Boundary Rider"
Electrelane: "Gone Darker"
Unrest: "Isabel"
Mainliner: "Solid Statis"
Alexander Spence: "War in Peace"
Wedding Present: "It's For You"
Devo: "Auto Modown / Space Girl Blues"
Laudani: "Abigail Lovely Mean"
Fall: "Prole Art Threat"
Mae Shi: "Body 1 Bite 1"
Mae Shi: "Body 2"
Black Dice: "Schwip Schwap"
Joan of Arc: "When the Parish School Dismisses and the Children Running Sing"
This Heat: "Health and Efficiency"
Excepter: "The Heart Beat"
Stephen Malkmus: "Baby C'Mon"
Brian Eno: "Third Uncle"
Gang Wizard: "Given a Slave"
Edgar Broughton Band: "Death of an Electric Citizen"
Minutemen: "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs"
Home: "My Friend Maurice"
Earth: "Harvey" (Justin Broaderick remix)
Lucksmiths: "The Music Next Door"
Big Dipper: "Impossible Things"
Langhorne Slim: "Drowning"
Les Georges Leningrad: "Supa Doopa"
Spoon: "I Turn My Camera On"
Howling Hex: "Pair Back Up Mass With"
Go-Betweens: "Boundary Rider"
Electrelane: "Gone Darker"
Unrest: "Isabel"
Mainliner: "Solid Statis"
Alexander Spence: "War in Peace"
Wedding Present: "It's For You"
Devo: "Auto Modown / Space Girl Blues"
Laudani: "Abigail Lovely Mean"
Fall: "Prole Art Threat"
Mae Shi: "Body 1 Bite 1"
Mae Shi: "Body 2"
Black Dice: "Schwip Schwap"
Joan of Arc: "When the Parish School Dismisses and the Children Running Sing"
This Heat: "Health and Efficiency"
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
radios hummin'
Thursday is the best day of the week. Not just 'cuz it's named after Thor, and not just 'cuz of that totally bitchin' whino-screamo band from Jersey (or Long Island, or wherever the hell), and of course not just 'cuz it's the gateway to the weekend (that magical time when my acoholism is totally accepted and understood), but also, and primarily, 'cuz of the fact that the remnants of the Strange Gang have not one but two radio programs to enjoy on this most special of weekdays. And tomorrow will be a Thursday even more special that previously thought possible, as our man Crog will be sitting in with Crews on WXDU from 10:30 am to noon. After that, take a break, eat some lunch (the more fried and cholesterolly the better), and then tune into WZBC at 1:00 pm for a special early edition of Mesmerization Eclipse radio. There won't be a Crogers, but hopefully it'll still be alright enough without him.
Thursday is the best day of the week. Not just 'cuz it's named after Thor, and not just 'cuz of that totally bitchin' whino-screamo band from Jersey (or Long Island, or wherever the hell), and of course not just 'cuz it's the gateway to the weekend (that magical time when my acoholism is totally accepted and understood), but also, and primarily, 'cuz of the fact that the remnants of the Strange Gang have not one but two radio programs to enjoy on this most special of weekdays. And tomorrow will be a Thursday even more special that previously thought possible, as our man Crog will be sitting in with Crews on WXDU from 10:30 am to noon. After that, take a break, eat some lunch (the more fried and cholesterolly the better), and then tune into WZBC at 1:00 pm for a special early edition of Mesmerization Eclipse radio. There won't be a Crogers, but hopefully it'll still be alright enough without him.
