The paranoid

edge to the beginning of the song is what originally sold me on the tune. Helicopters? Me thinks a fair amount of Peruvian Marching Powder was consumed during the making of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?.

(Though, really, my favorite tunes off the album, aside from Wonderwall and Don't Look Back in Anger? She's Electric and Some Might Say. Why? 'Coz they're fun, that's why)!

Also, this video feels like it would have made a nice plot point for an episode of Alias. The Bristows and the Gallaghers. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the havoc they could wreak!

"There will be blood tonight!"*

*With apologies to The Princess Bride

See what all the fuss

is about. (Cee-Lo is Darth, Danger Mouse is Obi-wan Kenobi. With his semi-trademark 'fro).


Also, I cannot believe that voice comes out of that person. Simply wonderful, and they're on Leno tonight. Again, the American music media is now catching on to something (Gnarls Barkley) that has been rather a big deal in the U.K. for the past 2 months.

Wouldn't you think that U.S. music mags would have people on staff who watch out for emerging bands in other markets? Or, maybe they do, and the previously mentioned staffers are complete crackheads.

As much as I

adore her, I have to say, your average Iowa State sophomore would have more sense than to drink Jager, then ride the Tilt-a-Whirl. The carnival ride. Not Mr. Gillespie. Though there have been rumors about that... just rumors, mind.

(Though I love the fact that La Moss did the puke-and-rally thing. Yes, I realize that says something about my personality. And not something attractive).

Okay...

Political Affairs aside, Rolling Stone magazine has peaked, in my opinion. I swear, they look at issues of New Musical Express (U.K. music mag) from 6 months previous, then pick whom they're going to hype as a potentially interesting band.

Case in point- I've been reading about BYOP for at least a year in NME. Seriously. Their lead singer, Jemima, barfed while on stage at Glastonbury 2005, wiped it up with a towel, then threw the towel into the audience. Again, seriously.

I haven't heard any of their stuff (Be Your Own Pet). I know they're from Nashville, and y'all know I really don't 'do' bands that aren't from the north of England. Except for The Killers. And Neil Young. And the Dixie Chicks. And Gnarls Barkley.

Just ignore me. I'll dither in the corner, alone with my incomplete and grammatically incorrect sentences.

One- U2 with Mary J

Y'all- this is truly fantastic. When Mary kicks it in with the "have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head," part-
I actually start to cry. And have, repeatedly.

This version originated, I believe, at the benefit for Hurricane Katrina victims.

There are certain bits of songs that can reduce me to a sniveling mess. The aforementioned bit is one of them.

Simply perfect.

Semi-weekly top 10

1. Rolling Stones- All Down the Line
2. Primal Scream- Call On Me
3. Oasis- Stay Young
4. The Jam- Smithers-Jones
5. Rhianna- S.O.S
6. Stone Roses- Something's Burning
7. U2 and Mary J.- One*
8. Happy Mondays- Lazyitis
9. Doves- Pounding
10. Libertines- Time For Heroes

*Yes, Bono annoys me the vast majority of the time. But my darling Mary J elevates this song to something quite sublime.

Whatever

Oasis (Top Of The Pops)

This B-side is one of my favorite Oasis tunes. Okay, I know that everything on TOTP's is totally canned, but this song is fan-freaking-tastic. Lovely Noel. Lovely Liam. Lovely Guigsy. Lovely Bonehead. Lovely Tony. Okay, disregard that last part. Boyfriend isn't exactly Bonzo, you know.

Roses

The Stone Roses - She Bangs The Drums

I love them. Love. Them. God (or Goddess) Bless Ian, John, Mani and Reni for creating such inspired (though not Inspiral, heh), blissed-out, vaguely menacing tunes.

(If any of my buddies would ever question my sanity in fancying Mani, I would direct you to the first part of this video. The dancing, the bass. Direct me to the fainting couch. Quite similar to Sam Rockwell doing-the-splits-while-smoking-thing during 'Charlie's Angels).' That's hot.

Chock Full of Awesome

Primal Scream ROCKS MTV LIVE

My first CD (single) purchase ever.

Have I mentioned?

that I sort of love Charlotte Church? Don't really listen to her music, but, hell, she's really funny. And a fantastic trash-talker. I appreciate this.

"I feel like an a***hole because I look like the top of a f****** wedding cake."

Oooh

Primal Scream - Country Girl

Love Bobby's Nudie-esque suit. Chick in the video totally looks like a combo between Heather Graham and Tara Reid. With a bit of Lindsay Lohan thrown in.

Talladega Nights

That would be the name of the new Will Ferrell, NASCAR-themed movie. Also featuring Ali G and John C. Reilly.
Will's name in the movie? Ricky Bobby.

This is the tagline for the movie promos-

The story of a man who could only count to #1

The sound you hear? Me laughing my ass off.

Also, Gnarls Barkley, whom I love, love, love, performed. Dressed up as characters from Star Wars. Whole lotta Darth Vader fabric for Cee-Lo, I'm thinking.

Harper

This sounds interesting... new book about Nelle "Harper" Lee.

Jean Louise Finch is one of my all-time favorite fictional characters. And Bridget Jones. And Holden and Phoebe Caulfield. And Harry Potter. And Rob Gordon. Okay, this is something that needs to be addressed in another post.

For thousands of postwar American women, Scout is a touchstone of childhood authenticity. In some Mary Pipheresque prelapsarian state, we were all Scout once: unfiltered, free-ranging, with a physical confidence rooted in a prepubescent androgyny -- qualities inevitably poisoned by the idiotic affectations of adolescence. (When she senses the feminizing agenda her stuffy aunt has in store for her, Scout feels "the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in" on her.) Lee's magic (which some early critics perceived as a failure) was in ventriloquizing the experiences of a 6-year old in the voice of a grown woman, offering a bridge back to childhood. As a motherless child, Scout demonstrates how children treat life's curveballs as what happens, not what shouldn't happen, and adjust their expectations accordingly.

Adorable

Though this was on 'Countdown' with KO this evening, I spotted this on Cute Overload last night.

I kind of want an Alpaca. So fluffy! Obviously not going to happen, as I already have one fluffy pet. No need for another.

Diamond Dave Does Deliverance

But what about "Hot For Teacher?"







Maybe change the name to "Hot For Schoolmarm?"




As odd a concept as the record might seem, it mostly works. Hard rock classics like “Panama” and “And the Cradle Will Rock ...” retain the energy of early Van Halen, but with mandolins and fiddles instead of electric guitars and drums. The first single, “Jamie's Cryin',” takes a new, mournful tone with the acoustic instrumentation.

If you would ever

want to know why I would, in theory, of course, chuck my knickers in the general direction of Alan Wren, John Squire or Gary Mounfield, I would immediately direct you to the linked Roses DVD.

Okay, Ian, too. But definitely Reni and Mani, first. Rhythm section, indeed.

All right, all right, all right

I'm just sitting here, watching my special-edition DVD of the Greatest Album of All Time.

I'd like to also point out, in my CD case, at this exact moment, are 8 of the top 10 albums, 16 of the top 20.

Damn, I'm good.

Though, I would definitely, not maybe, flip the #7 and the #4. Who the eff cares what a damned computer sounds like?

Okay, I'd bump Sgt. Pepper's to #7, Revolver to #1, and put the Roses in at #2. And The Queen Is Dead in the top 5.

All right, my actual top 6-

1- Beatles- Revolver
2- Stone Roses- The Stone Roses
3- Oasis- Definitely Maybe
4- Smiths- The Queen Is Dead
5- Beatles- Sgt. Peppers
6- Oasis- Morning Glory


Top 20, via MEN

Greatest 100 Albums of All Time:

1. Definitely Maybe, Oasis

2. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band, The Beatles

3. Revolver, The Beatles

4. OK Computer, Radiohead

5. (What's The Story) Morning Glory?, Oasis

6. Nevermind, Nirvana

7. The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses

8. Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd

9. The Queen Is Dead, Smiths

10. The Bends, Radiohead

11. The Joshua Tree, U2

12. London Calling, The Clash

13. The Beatles (The White Album), The Beatles

14. Abbey Road, The Beatles

15. Up The Bracket, The Libertines

16. Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols, Sex Pistols

17. Four Symbols (Led Zeppelin IV), Led Zeppelin

18. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, David Bowie

19. A Night At The Opera, Queen

20. Is This It, The Strokes

Cash

Oooh- this sounds great. The VF article was very moving, and shows the depth of respect between Rick Rubin and Mr. Cash.

The only thing about this album that gives me pause is its brevity–just twelve songs over forty-odd minutes. Rubin had told me he’d been toying with making American V a double, given the wealth of material he had at hand, and pointedly said he did not want to keep releasing posthumous albums, Tupac-style, because “there’s something that doesn’t feel good about the Tupac-ing.” I have to think that more of the 2003 recordings will somehow see the light of day, per

Rock on, ladies

525 thousand records in the 1st week? Fan-freaking-tastic!

Also, I would feel badly, as a rock nerd, if I didn't point out that I'm not quite certain about whether a session musician's (AKA Chad Smith from the Chili Peppers who played on the DC's CD) album that they worked on (AKA 'Taking the Long Way') had ever knocked their actual band's (RHCP) album from the number 1 slot.

That train of logic made sense to me.....

Yay, Martie, Emily and Natalie!!!

Boy, they're sure smartasses at Mugglenet

Hee. Hee.

I'd just like to point out

The sheer lust that I feel for Mani (bass- Stone Roses, Primal Scream) is quite relative to the longing I feel for Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller. And Hooky. Okay, for most musicians from Greater Manchester. And Woking. But I digress.

NTodd is cool

Go there.

Loving. LOVING.

Gnarls Barkley's song, 'Crazy.' Sounds, I don't know, for lack of a better made-up word, Mayfield-ish.

Also majorly loving this 'Clockwork Orange' pic. Alex, look out!

I love this

Hunter Thompson-esque stuff.....

(Not meaning to be all-Screamers, all the time, but hey, there's a lot of stuff out there about them right now. And I really like the libertine-aspect of the interviews:)

Back then, the group's singer, Bobby Gillespie, rang up Eggleston to ask permission, and was invited around for breakfast drinks. 'Bill was wearing jodhpurs and leather boots,' Gillespie later told me, 'and was walking about with a rifle and bayonet. It was surreal.' He played them a Bo Diddley record, plied them with vodka and then sent them on their way with his blessing. You could say he out-Screamed the Scream.

One of the interesting aspects of this image refers to Eggleston's suggestion that a photograph is a kind of little death, freeze-framing its subject forever. According to Eggleston's son Winston, who handles his father's business affairs, his father always refers to Untitled, 1975 as 'Marcia whacked out on Quaaludes'.

Which, come to think of it, may be the best title for a Primal Scream song anyone has ever come up with.

Paris Hilton's new single

is entitled 'The Stars Are Blind.' And hopefully deaf, too. Hee.

Oh, and she's remaking 'D'ya Think I'm Sexy.' Not kidding.

Oy.

OHMYGOD

Summer 2007 is shaping up to be the best summer EVER!

While on her visit to India, Bloomsbury co-founder Liz Calder said in an interview that she suspects the final Harry Potter book will be released in 2007.

I'm really a grownup, I swear. I just really love the Harry Potter books. Note- I didn't say I was mature. Just an adult.

Alias

I've now had a bit of time to digest the Alias finale. Verdict- fantastic. They did a better job of wrapping up loose ends than I thought possible. And my boy, Sark, walked away to be hot, British and morally ambivelant another day. Mmmmmm....

The only possible way

that Primal Scream's new single, 'Country Girl,' could kick more ass, would be if you heard it performed live in an outdoor bar in the Deep South, with a whole bunch of Anglophiles who appreciate the Screamers, on a hot, muggy summer evening with a million stars overhead and an ice-cold beer in your hand. The beer should be wrapped in a napkin or a brown paper bag, so the 'sweat' doesn't make your hand overly cold.

Jumping up and down, full of the sheer wonder of being alive, drunk and listening to rock and roll as it should be played. Most of the time. I can just see Joy trying to teach me how to move my upper and lower halves in a relatively-coordinated way (dance) for the millionth time. Poor thing, she's certainly tried.

That's what the song sounds like to me.

It's official

NME is trying to kill me.



Paul Weller is to play a one-off free gig in London. The star will play KOKO in Camden on June 13 as part of the Jack Daniel's JD Set series of shows. Tickets will be fans, lucky competition winners and invited guests.

Levon

My favorite drummer-who-sings-ever (only slightly behind my beloved Reni. And Ringo), just got his own 'day' in Woodstock, New York, home to the Big Pink, birthplace to much fantastic music by Dylan and The Band. Oh, and that festival you may have read about.

I'm totally listening to "Ophelia" right now.

Marla Singer IS Bellatrix Lestrange

Ooooo, I am way, way too excited about this! I could totally see Bella as a chain-smoking, big hat and prom dress-wearing scary woman. Though she's obviously more unhinged than Marla. With the whole Death Eater thing and all. And Marla never killed Sirius Black. Stupid Bella.

I really need to quit temporarily confusing actors with the characters they portray. Could lead to trouble in the form of dreams where Tyler Durden blows up the Ministry of Magic as a statement against the bureacratic sector of the magical world. Cool.

Dear God, I really need to shut up now.

Big & dumb rock and roll?

I LOVE big & dumb rock and roll!

On Primal Scream's new album-

The distorted blues of We're Gonna Boogie leaves you reeling with shock: firstly that someone in 2006 has, in all seriousness, called a song We're Gonna Boogie, secondly that the end result is compelling rather than laughable

I could not be happier at this moment

Great things that happened today:

1. Arrived at Traci's on time to pick her up for road trip
2. Successfully purchased wine for store
3. Did not wreck delivery vehicle on Interstate while driving at rapid speeds with 10 cases of vino in the back
4. Got the following new Brit music mags, Q- with Oasis! on the cover, Uncut- with The! Stone! Roses! on the cover, and the new NME (alas, with Razorlight on the cover)
5. Recieved my B&N order, with the following items-
a. Joy Division- Unknown Pleasures
b. Happy Mondays- Platinum Hits
c. The Jam- The Complete Jam DVD set
6. Remembered Casey Jo's b-day with lovely gift
7. Discovered on aforementioned Mondays' CD an absolutely awesome cover of Stayin' Alive. Yes, That One by the Bee Gees.
8. Am currently watching Young! Wellah! in the 'Town Called Malice' video. Mmmm, mods.

Warsaw's later incarnation

Absolutely fantastic picture of Stephen, Ian, Barney and Hooky. (Since we're on a Joy Division-related digression here...)



via Gawker

My new snark idol

Meet Zoe Williams.

So sad. I have a sudden surge of sympathy for the man. He said at the time, "I'm lucky to have found a good woman who is strong like Linda". He went on and on, actually, about how "good" Heather Mills was, which always sounded a bit morally self-regarding, as if the more often you assert the goodness of another person, out loud, the more you ram home your own qualifications as an arbiter of such things. Oh, I've changed my mind again. Maybe he is an ass, after all.

Anyway, they announced their engagement really quite soon, which is when it was reported that Paul and Linda's three children - Stella, Mary and James - disliked Heather. This is uncharacteristic of Stella, particularly, since whenever you see a picture of her, anywhere at all, she is always holding hands with somebody. She absolutely loves humanity! She wants to hold its ha-a-aa-a-and.

Congrats, Johnny Borrell

You've joined my very prestigious list of people who need, for the love of the Baby Jesus, shut the hell up.

1. Bono
2. Gwyneth Paltrow
3. Katie Couric
4. Chris Matthews
5. Jamie Foxx (because of his extremely icky album. No double entrendre was left unmolested)
6. Johnny Borrell

Seriously, the latest addition pains me. I really like Razorlight.

Oh. My. God.

MACCA DIDN'T HAVE A PRENUP? ARE YOU JOKING ME?

WHEN Paul McCartney wed Heather Mills in 2002 he decided against a prenuptial deal to keep his £825million fortune.

The couple said they were "too in love" to think about it.

But if they eventually divorce, Lady McCartney could walk away £200million richer.

Y'all, I think I could marry a guy in his 60's if I knew I could potentially walk out of the marriage with approximately 380 MILLION DOLLARS!

Someone needs to be canning their lawyers for letting them be that freaking stupid.

Handmaid's Tale, revisted

I don't know which part freaked me out most, this-

Check out the first paragraph of today's Washington Post story "Forever Pregnant," which explains that new federal guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ask "all females capable of conceiving a baby to treat themselves -- and to be treated by the health care system -- as pre-pregnant, regardless of whether they plan to get pregnant anytime soon."

Or this-

Apparently, all women "between first menstrual period and menopause" are now supposed to take supplements of folic acid, refrain from smoking, maintain a healthy weight and watch chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes. Other recommendations, mentioned lower down in the Post piece, are that women stay away from cat feces and "discuss the danger alcohol poses to a developing fetus."

I swear that tonight, just to stick it to those sick *&cks at the CDCP, I'm going to get drunk and clean out my cat's litterbox.

Y'all, The Handmaid's Tale was a CAUTIONARY STORY, not a freaking how-to manual.

Oh God

Yahoo just about gave me heart failure with this headline-

Oasis on hiatus

Till the next album, that is. Man, that headline is just MEAN. My first thought was, "Jesus, did Liam question the paternity of Noel's daughter, AGAIN?" But, all is apparently as well as it ever gets.

Hey Bono!

I don't give a rat's ass about what music Condi Rice 'likes'.

I mean, Aretha? Cream? Elton John?

Okay, maybe that last one. And Clapton was quite a right-winger in the '70's.




(Comments he made directly led to the Rock Against Racism concert series, featuring The Clash and The Buzzcocks).

But Aretha? PUHLEASE!

Maybe she listened, but she didn't listen to the Queen of Soul. Ain't no freaking way.

Pic from www.thedivas.org.uk/aretha

A-Freaking-men

See, ya'll, the Brits get it with the rock and roll. Four of the best frontmen to ever stand behind a microphone- Moz, Liam and Ians Brown and Curtis. Not going to quibble with the #2 selection. Also, yay Noel!

All-Time Best Rock Heroes (according to NME readers)

01 Kurt Cobain
02 Pete Doherty
03 Morrissey
04 Liam Gallagher
05 Carl Barat
06 Thom Yorke
07 Noel Gallagher
08 David Bowie
09 Ian Brown
10 Ian Curtis

Songs of the week

As I'm working for a florist, and it is Mother's Day weekend, and the grad weekend of both my actual brother and the poor-guy-that-is-unfortunate-enough-to-be-married-to my social-climbing sister, here's the week's tunage recap early. That run-on sentence made sense at the time of typing.

1. Libertines- Boys In the Band
2. Stone Roses- Bye, Bye Badman
3. Paul "I DJ'd at Spike Island" Oakenfold Featuring Brittany "I am Tai" Murphy- Faster Kill Pussycat
4. Happy Mondays- Step On
5. Primal Scream- Rocks
6. Morrissey- Suedehead
7. John Mellencamp- Pink Houses
8. Charlatans UK- The Only One I Know
9. The Smiths- Sheila, Take a Bow
10. Whiskeytown- 16 Days

Extra Awesome-ness tracks-
11. Gorillaz- Dirty Harry
12. Oasis- Stand By Me

Looky!

I'm hanging with the cool kids, if only for a self-promoting moment....

OhMyGodICan'tBelieveIt

I love Veronica Mars. Kristen Bell rules. That is all.

Excuse Me?

I love music lists. They tend to reassure me that my musical taste is vastly superior/ underappreciated compared to that of mere mortals. Snerk.

I was dinking around on the Crooks and Liars site, looking at video clips that tend to raise my blood preassure, and I saw that John (the C&L guy) linked to the Rolling Stone list of the top 100 guitarists of all time.

When I went to the list, I nearly passed out. Johnny Marr? Nowhere on the list. Joan Jett? #87. John Squire? Nada. Jack White? #17. Jesus.

They ranked Jack White higher than Steve Cropper (Booker T and the MG's), Mick Ronson (Bowie) and Jimmy Burton (Elvis). So not kidding.

I know that my raving Anglophillia tends to blinker me a bit, but for the love of the Baby Jesus, Marr or Squire didn't make the list at all? God. GOD.

Hey Willy Wonka! Are you missing someone?

Via the insanely gifted wenches from Go Fug Yourself-

Oompa-loompa doompety-doo
I've got another fugging for you.
Oompa-loompa-dumbety-dee
Tanorexic fame-whores are frightening to me.

Jen Garner rules

For many, non-Sydney Bristow-related reasons.....

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Garner, Cicely Tyson, Regina King and Deborah Santana are scheduled to travel to New Orleans today to highlight the special health and psychological needs of Gulf Coast children. The group will be led by the Children's Defense Fund.

Hee. On rock managers...

#4.

In Britpop's stag-night atmosphere, order of a kind undoubtedly still had to be kept. For excitable Oasis, a particularly firm hand was needed - as road manager they employed ex-soldier Ian Robertson, famous for his strong-arm tactics. Ultimately, these were his undoing - he was allegedly fired while holding Liam Gallagher aloft by the throat. As his legs bicycled frantically in mid-air, the singer was nonetheless still able to gasp the words: "Yerfookin-sacked."

Keith. My man.

Hon, just because the tree is there, doesn't mean you need to climb it in order to prove it exists. I don't care what that Ronnie says....

Embarassing

I tend to be, shall we say, a bit obsessive. And right now, I'm completely and utterly obsessed with bands from the Greater Manchester, England metro area. I mean, ALL bands. You name one, I have recently purchased an item from their back or current musical catalog. Or bought one of those incredible Brit rock mags analyzing every detail of their work, personal life, substance use issues/preferences.

The Smiths? Heaven knows I'm not miserable now. Stone Roses? I wanna be adoring them! Happy Mondays? Step right on, man! Joy Division/New Order? No blue Monday here! Oasis? I'm mad fer it, me!

See? Rather pathetic isn't it? And the really bad part is, I talk about my bands so much that I can drop references into conversations with my family/friends/co-workers-about say, Bez from the Mondays, or my slight crushes on Johnny Marr, Mani or Hooky, or my deep and abiding love for Noel Gallagher- and they ARE AWARE that these individuals not only exist, but probably could name a few legal issues experienced, songs written, famous concerts attended/given by previously mentioned persons. .

People, this is SE Iowa. "Honkytonk Badonkadonk" is a hip tune for most residents in this neck of the woods. And as a result of my compulsive self, my 50 year-old mom (who loves Eric Clapton's solo work and the Eagles- not judging, just a fact) could tell you why the Sex Pistols concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall was important. And some of the bands that resulted from that concert. And sadly, probably that the original name of Joy Division was the Stiff Kittens. And who Martin Hannett was.

The previous items show me several things-

1. I really need a career change
2. May possibly need to get a life
3. I CAN influence people. Not so sure about winning friends, though

Anglomania, continued

But I forgot Victoria Beckham! Doesn't she look great? Loving the shoes! Glad you didn't bust out the chaps tonight, Posh!

















Sky News picture

Met Anglomania Gala

I am gonna die. Look at Kate's outfit. The skinny leather pants,the jacket, the hair, the smoky eye, the pale lip. I bow down before the Queen. Though not McQueen..... at least at this moment.










Compare with:
I have no idea what posessed Sarah Jessica Parker to don this travesty. I know it's McQueen. I GET McQueen. This, not so much. I think he was going for a Vivienne Westwood homage, only to have it go dreadfully wrong. Yeech.

*pictures from Sky News

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

No more Footballers Wives! AARRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHH! No more thinly-disguised versions of Coleen McLoughlin (Wayne Rooney, Man U) and Posh Beckham? Repeat, argh!

They can't take my Tanya Turner away! I mean, look at her, standing between her fat football-managing husband, Frank, whom she eventually kills with a combo of Viagra and cocaine and her swings-both-ways lovah, Conrad! And even wearing the same dress as Conrad's former Bollywood star wife, Amber, and the fact that she once slept with Hazel, the chick in the red hat, does not appear to bother her in the slightest.

What will I do for my bleached-blonde, coke-addicted, manipulative wench fix?

I have not adored a TV character like this since Sydney Bristow on Alias, who thanks to freaking ABC, is ALSO being cruelly wrenched from me. And don't even get me started on Mr. Sark, the ever-so-delightfully evil British! accented spy on Alias.... Sob. No more possibility for Sarkney action? I am bereft.

Damn you, Footballers Wives, damn you!!!!! Also, damn you, ABC, damn you, too!

*Piccie from http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Songs Currently On Heavy Rotation

1. Tart, Tart- Happy Mondays
2. Jailbird- Primal Scream
3. Cruel To Be Kind- Nick Lowe
4. She's Tight- Cheap Trick
5. Badge- Cream
6. Had Me A Real Good Time- Faces
7. Not Ready To Make Nice- Dixie Chicks
8. Rockin' In the Free World- Neil Young
9. Higher Ground- Stevie Wonder
10. This Is The One- Stone Roses

Bonus-
Slip Away- Clarence Carter
Man In the Cornershop- The Jam

I suppose....

that even if I lined up for tickets, say, now, I still wouldn't stand a chance of actually obtaining tickets to Glastonbury 2007.

Go Uncle Neil!

Awesome.

Possibly the cutest thing ever

Amazing bass, indeed

It always makes me happy to find written evidence that others think in the same way that I do. I had just finished raving about the quality of bassists from Manchester, when, lo, what do I find on the MEN website? An article about Freebass. Yes, that would be the band with Mani, Hooky and Andy Rourke. And a poll. Obviously, my boy, Mani won.

Spinal Tap jokes are not appreciated. Also, I think Andy needs a nickname. To fit in properly.

Chock full of awesome-ness

To say that my new DVD, "Gorillaz- Demon Days, Live at Manchester Opera House," is chock-full of awesomeness, would be the understatement of the century. When I saw it at in the music section at Target today, I blinked, rubbed my eyes, then repeated the process. One does not expect to see DVD performances of Brit cartoon supadupa stars at Tar-Jay in SE Iowa.

'Feel Good, Inc.' is fantastic. That bassline is fierce.De La Soul, so stinking, effortlessly cool.

'DARE' kicks butt, mainly because everyone (musicians, audience) seem visibly thrilled to pieces that Shaun nearly hits all his marks, no one being more suprised and happy than the Reverend Ryder himself. Crowd was going craz-y. Craz-y.

Also, 'Dirty Harry' rules. And I want to look like Rosie Wilson when I grow up. That is all.

Graphic from http://www.asthetik.com/sentimentalist/images/gorillaz.jpg

I worship these women

The ladies of Go Fug Yourself.

The best from the post?

"Look. When InTouch and US Weekly are speculating that the pregnant starlet girlfriend of one of the biggest stars in the world is wearing a prosthetic belly, you are, at the VERY LEAST, in the middle of the most poorly -managed public relations disaster this city has seen in many, many, many a year."

Ooo, BOY!

My right-winger brothers are going to have KITTENS!

Keep on rockin' in the free world, Neil.

I am sitting here

silently weeping. There exists, a special 2-DVD edition of '24 Hour Party People.' Which includes:

... a subtitle trivia track which you can let run throughout the film. All the songs and mix details are provided for the music that's played, plus their chart positions upon release. There are also some snippets about the popular culture of the time.

And

Jon Ronson chats about Shaun Ryder and Ian Brown as being perfect popstars: "talented, grumpy, messianic, and monosyllabic".

The Happy Mondays' Shaun Ryder and Bez provide their jittery take on the Factory Records days (Shaun is infinitely better when he's chatting with a fag in his hand). Both only have good things to say about Tony Wilson.

I am actually crying right now. Ooo, this could get expensive....

And it's not just me! James "The Man" Wolcott name-checked 'Party People' today. So there!

Songs I'm Currently Listening To

A lot. In case anyone was wondering... ha ha!

1. Age of Consent- New Order
2. Dolphins Were Monkeys- Ian Brown
3. Number 1- Goldfrapp
4. Some Velvet Morning- Primal Scream
5. 16 Days- Whiskeytown
6. Kaleidoscope- Ride
7. Wrote For Luck- Happy Mondays
8. Fade Away- Oasis
9. Ophelia- The Band
10. A Certain Romance- Arctic Monkeys

Bonus track- Parklife- Blur

Holy Moses

For f@#'s sake, do not let them name a single thing EVER AGAIN! They've proven themselves not up to the task.

I'm assuming the Martin kids are going to be attending Brit public schools. Lord of the Flies territory. Those poor children are already going to receive some almighty beatdowns, since their mother is unable to quit ripping on the U.K. for more than a month at a stretch, and their dad is, bless him, a bit whiny, isn't he? But the names, darlings, the names! Unfortunate wealthy children.

Jo Rowling is my hero

Not only does she write wonderful books for children, that are sophisticated enough for adults, she says things like:

I mean, is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'?

And, my favorite:

'Stupid Girls' satirises the talking toothpicks held up to girls as role models: those celebrities whose greatest achievement is un-chipped nail polish, whose only aspiration seems to be getting photographed in a different outfit nine times a day, whose only function in the world appears to be supporting the trade in overpriced handbags and rat-sized dogs.

That last bit is truly inspired. I love you, J.K.

Gorillaz in NYC

The following made me burst out laughing-

You'd be forgiven for thinking that that was as weird as the evening could possibly get, but then you'd have forgotten about Shaun Ryder. The famously addled Happy Mondays singer, who was clearly on something, took the stage with his leather jacket in one hand, a lollipop in the other and his fly unzipped. He bumbled around the stage as Rosie Wilson sang, eventually traded lollipop for microphone to deliver some incomprehensible babbling, and then crouched down as Wilson was dancing and appeared to be trying to sniff her ass.

Catherine Keener is so lucky

Well, in that she associates with fantastic looking men! Not only was she married to Dermot Mulroney in actual real life, in the new movie Friends With Money, she's hitched to Jason Isaacs. Who plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies. Lovely, just lovely.

The beautiful game

Indeed! I need to lie down on my fainting couch for a bit. Mmmmm... Freddie

My mother must never read this

It would just ruin Sir Tom for her. I'm capable of keeping a secret. Though it would be way, way worse if she found out Van Morrison is a Scientologist. Tom Cruise makes her slightly crazy.

She's managed to survive my dramatic ass for 30 years, but that Van-related item might prove to be her undoing.

This is strangely endearing

Oh, my fandom tendencies could force me onto this route soooo easily, it wouldn't even be funny.

Years ago when a friend and I went to pay homage at Salford Lads Club, we found that the iconic doors used on the cover of The Queen Is Dead had been painted blue!!! We went straight over the road to a DIY store and bought exactly the right shade of green paint and a couple of brushes and restored the doors to their rightful state.

On your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness

Went to the Houston Chronicle's website with the hopes of seeing the reviews of last week's Oasis concert there. In a fairly small venue. Yes, I am totally regretting moving from the Bayou City at this point. The Chron's music blog had an icon of Liam, but no freaking review. That's just mean. *head desk*

Wasn't a total loss, though. Tom DeLay has apparently dropped out of his re-election campaign in Texas.

So we've got that going for us, which is nice.









(with apologies to Caddyshack)

Wrote For Luck

For an explanation of the loud groaning-type noise you just heard, see #20. The noise (groaning) would be coming from my co-workers.

Sooooo getting the album...Since Martin produced some of the Roses's work, I'm guessing their effing record label wouldn't let one of their songs on. Asshats.

Lindsay, sweetie.

When accepting an award at a children's show, thongs are not acceptable undergarments. Especially when wearing a short, flippy skirt. Emphasis on 'flippy.'

9 to 5

Again, Ms. Dolly is a national treasure.

Oh, because while I don't know what, if any, work she's had done on her face, it certainly looked as if Fonda's cheekbones were trying to escape their casing and possibly merge with her brow bone. And because she was sharing a couch with Dolly Parton -- or a reasonable facsimile thereof -- a woman who is fond of such aphorisms as "Honey, if it's saggin', baggin', or draggin', I'm gonna have it nipped, tucked, or sucked!"

But Fonda perservered. "I just came back from Scandinavia and France," she said. "And they still have their faces there, you know what I mean? I just thought: Man, somebody's gotta give a face to old age!"

Solemn pause.

"Well, it ain't gonna be me!" shrieked Parton.

As I've no iPod, here goes

my semi-weekly list of songs that I've listened to more than a million times. This week.

1. Mardy Bum- Arctic Monkeys
2. Juicebox- The Strokes
3. Ooh La La- Goldfrapp
4. Fly- The Jam
5. Teenage Kicks- The Undertones
6. This Is the One- The Stone Roses
7. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me- The Smiths
8. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree- KT Tunstall
9. Cigarettes and Alcohol (live)- Oasis
10. Wings of Speed- Paul Weller

Bonus-
Bonzo Goes to Bitburg- The Ramones

Roses for Helen

This is so awesome. Helen Thomas (little tiny veteran reporter in the middle) deserves a dozen roses a day.

Let alone 100! dozen roses. Yay DU!

And, I have to say, that's a hell of a lot of roses. Glad I didn't have to condition them -strip thorns, leaves, etc....

Well, this is just depressing

To the band formerly known as The Smiths,

Guys, I know your respective artistic integrities and all that are at stake, but think of the fans! Especially those of us who weren't cool enough/didn't have access to college radio during The Smiths heyday. Those of us who liked Def Leppard. Or Journey. Not me, of course. Ahem.

And it must be said, Johnny Marr (far left in piccie) is so, so cute to me. Now (2006), too. Morrissey was/is pretty and everything, but Johnny- mmmmmm...... Lovely.

Yes, I am aware I have a serious tendency to fancy guitar players of Irish descent from Manchester, but oh well.

Everybody has their thing.
(With apologies to the writers of "Can't Hardly Wait.")

Hee. Pasty is pretty.

Went to one of those "spa" parties tonight. You know, one of those Pampered Chef/Mary Kay parties. I live in rural Iowa, believe me, this is quite exciting for a Thursday.

Well, let me tell you what happened. The Spa Lady in charge did that thing where they hold a black light up to your face to show sun damage. And guess what? She made me stand there while all 20 women got the black light treatment, 'cos my face was so without sun damage-type issues.

My 'flawless' self even looked better than the 17 year-old at the party. (Ages at the party ranged from early 50's to said teenager. Including a girl from my grade in school). Okay, so the Spa Lady pointed out that both my nose and chin were quite oily (tell me something I don't know), but hell, I'll take oily over wrinkly any day!

See, Joy, being chalkish is good!

The Kids Are Alright

I now have hope for the youth of this country. A reminder, they (the awesome students protesting) did not make the choice to come here, for the quasi-xenophobes out there, who are apparently saddled with the surnames of Fire Thunder, Lighthorse or similar. Because, you know, they have NEVER been immigrants. Snark.

I personally came from the fertile IA soil, unencumbered by ethnicity, despite the fact that I emerged from the loins of folks named Ertz, Nielsen, Schmidt, Janssen, MacDonald, Yohe, Stumph and Reif:) I'm American, dammit.

I'm so kidding. I hate that knee-jerk patriotism. Of course my future is informed by my past. To claim otherwise is just moronic. There are lots of both good and bad things about this country. I think that the students demonstrating in LA and around the country exemplify one of the finest characteristics of (some) Americans, the willingness to take to the streets when things are going wrong.

Yay Jimmy!

"Stairway to Heaven" voted the best guitar solo of all time? Sounds like a great excuse to get out the 'dragon pants' picture, which gets my vote for one of the best stage costumes of all rock time.... With added bow action!

Fav Zep song? Oh, there are so many.

1. Celebration Day
2. Misty Mountain Hop
3. How Many More Times
4. Bring It On Home
5. Sick Again
6. Traveling Riverside Blues

I know they're somewhat derivative, but as I've explained before, I Do Not Care. Led Zep, oh God, rocks. Sorry, Jimmy, Bob, John Paul and Bonzo, I cannot do you justice.

I still love you, John!

As a woman of a certain age, ahem, 30-ish, I adored Duran Duran. Loved them. John Taylor with lipstick and eyeliner? Yummers!

Caveat: I was 7 when 'Rio' was released, and I also had crushes on Barney and Hooky from New Order at approximately the same time. So they balance each other out, or so I'd like to think.

It all went straight down the crapper into the neu-country wasteland that was my adolescence, though with occasional Stone Roses/Brit pop forays out of the wilderness. But I digress.

Q Magazine released its list of the worst albums ever, with the Duranies's "Thank You" coming in at #1. I originally thought, "Well, that's a bit harsh;" then I read the tracklisting.

Must look at John Taylor in eyeliner to gain strength to carry on....Okay, I'm back, but help me out here, John. What grade of pharmaceuticals were y'all under the influence of when you thought, "Hell, let's cover Public Enemy!" Or, sweet Lord, Lou Reed? LOU REED, man! I'm not thinking it was Coke Classic. At least in liquid form, ahem.

John, where are you? Are you dancing on the sand? Were there wolves? Tell me they were hungry! They'd damn well better be, 'cos that's one hellacious-not-in-a-good-way album.

Okay, this is ridiculous

From August of 2001 until June of 2005, I was a teacher in a school district-which-shall-not be-named in Houston, Texas. My school was very diverse, and largely impoverished, and about 70% Hispanic, though those items are not automatically related, mind.

This new law that amoral f*&# Sensenbrenner- who, in my mind, is way overcompensating for being heir to the Kotex fortune- is proposing is completely without moral value. Anyone who helped someone who turned out to be illegally in this country, would be charged with a felony. In other words, you could let someone critically injured in a car accident bleed out, without being charged, because they were an illegal alien. Maybe I missed something, but that seems both awful and wrong to me. Not to mention, tempting Karma just a little too much for my comfort.

And, I would be a felon. Last year, one of my students, who came from an absolutely involved and totally supportive family, came to me to ask if I'd write a letter to INS to help her family not be deported. I did, they didn't get sent back, and now her parents are in the process of becoming citizens. I knew they were here illegally, and I didn't care. I consider my student asking me, trusting me, to help her family, one of the greatest honors of my life. So much that, 9 months on, I still cry when I think about that absolute trust.

In conclusion, this law wouldn't be considered if the perception (conventional wisdom and all that) of an illegal immigrant included the word "Caucasian." That is all.

Ronnie and Keef

I cannot even imagine Ronnie Spector and Keith Richards showing up at my house for tea. Totally surreal.

And the circle is complete

Zak Starkey to possibly join Oasis on a permanent basis.

This last line is why I am truly in unrequited love with Noel Gallagher:

"If he came to me tomorrow and said, 'I want to leave The Who and join you lot permanently,' I'd say, 'Brilliant. Get me your dad's autograph and you're in.'"

Joe Conason rules

And this little prick is well, a bit of a prick, isn't he? Entitled Mofo.

Almost without fail, when reading crap like this, I have "Town Called Malice" by the Jam running through my head. Actually, "Eton Rifles" would be way more appro, but there you are.

No improvement necessary.

It is nearly improbable, nay impossible, for this commentary to be improved upon. No additional gilding of the lily, shining of the silver or burnishing of the brass possible. All right, I made those last two up.

Ignore my mauling of the English language, just go look. Funny!

My NCAA brackets were just shot to hell

And I don't care....

Snakes in planes? With Samuel L. Jackson? And added cursing? I'm So Going, it's not even funny. And I don't even like snakes!

As film backstories go, this one is fairly serpentine. This month, New Line Cinema's "Snakes on a Plane," which wrapped principal photography in September in Vancouver, went back before the cameras for five days of additional shooting at the Lot in Los Angeles.

In this case, it wasn't the usual reshoot, hastily assembled to fix a nagging story problem. Instead, the studio decided to create new scenes that would take the movie from PG-13 into R-rated territory.

The article continues...

The audio bit uses a Jackson sound-alike shouting, "I want these motherfucking snakes off the motherfucking plane!" Soon, the growing legion of fans added their voices as they demanded that that phrase also appear in the movie.