2008 Pages of Fun Archive

Election 2008: Thank You For Not Voting

If you are not a democrat, voting in Chicago can be very disheartening. Usually the ballot consists of the federal races, about 200+ judicial retention choices, and a few dozen uncontested Democrats in local “races.” This year it's even worse. Polls show that hometown candidate Obama has an insurmountable lead in the state, and any other vote is more-or-less statistically irrelevant.

This is all somewhat besides the point. ActualIy, can't really stand by any of the other names on the ballot either.

Though I like his personality (McCain seems at least to have a genuine sense of humor unlike Obama's detached, scripted-feeling delivery) and liked way he's campaigned for the most part (the McCain Internet ads were aesthetically superior, funny and much more to the point in my opinion), McCain never emerged as anything other than a big-government republican. Sure he highlighted his anti-pork positions, but when the other shoe dropped during the height of the financial crisis, he sided with the majority of pro-bailout welfare statists. Obama just remained the legislative non-entity he has been for the past four years.

Normally in a situation like this, I would turn to the Libertarian Party, but Bob Barr is an opportunist tool—where's Harry Browne when we need him... dead, as a matter of fact. The rest of the choices were even nuttier than the Libertarians. I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils. I had made up my mind a while ago that maybe this is a good year to stay on the sidelines.

Last night, however, I had a better idea. In some ways it was inspired by Penn Jillette's no-ink temporary tattoo. Penn, rather than wimp out with a paint-on temporary tattoo, got a real tattoo. However, the artist did not use any ink. He went through all the hours of pain in getting a tattoo—which, really, is the macho cool part of tattoos—without the embarrassing permanent stain that he'd have to live with for the rest of his life.

Here's was my idea: I went to my polling place, waited my turn, signed in, was shown how to use the ballot, went to the booth, and turned in an empty ballot. This way I went through the whole painful process, and yet could say, “none of the above” without being accused of being an apathetic slacker (which, nonetheless, I am. But that's besides the point). This is about as close to being a performance artist that I am going to get, folks.

Before making my ultimate decision, I stood in the booth, I staring at the ballot and beginning to have second thoughts. The lure of voting just for that satisfaction of “pulling the lever” is very great. In the end, I'm glad I took that deep breath and stuck with my plan. Walking away from the polling place, I felt a sense of relief. I didn't accomplish anything other than increase the molarity of the vote pool, but at least I didn't waste my vote. In the words of the aforementioned Penn Jillette, “The only way to waste your vote, is to vote.”

Now, I've lied a little bit. I did actually vote in the three voter referendums that were on the ballot. Also, I voted to retain the judge that happened to be presiding when I got myself out of a ticket a few years ago. But, these were votes I could make that were not some sort of compromise or a lesser-of-two-evils choice.

Thank goodness all this crap will be over soon and maybe in 2012 a more individualist, liberty-minded candidate will emerge, but, until then, I am not holding my breath.

Posted on November 4, 2008 | Permalink

Election 2008: A Song for Obama

And now we my choice of a song for Obama. There aren't many songs with "Obama" in the lyrics that aren't sung by a chorus of creepy showbiz wannabe kids. Instead, I have gone with a more opinionated, thematic choice. The song is I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song by Sparks. If you read an Obama stump speech it soon becomes clear that, between the aspirations of hope and change, is an ever expanding laundry list ridiculous, undeliverable goodies to lure various voting blocks. Now, a couple of days before the election, the Obama campaign is spinning to try to curb the expectations of his minions. Well, I suppose if you think about it, he is promising change.

Download from here.

Posted on November 2, 2008 | Permalink

Election 2008: A Song for McCain

I have decided to add my own soundtrack to the final days of the Election. We will start with my choice for McCain's theme song. This is La Ballata Di Hank McCain by Ennio Morricone from the film Gli Intoccabili. I kinda want McCain to win simply so I can get four more years of mileage out of this track. I can't believe this song wasn't picked up by some McCain supporter and made into a glowing YouTube video. Oh, well. Enjoy!

Download from here. Stay tuned, my pick for Obama is coming tomorrow.

Posted on November 1, 2008 | Permalink

Election 2008: Despair

My first in a series of posts about Election 2008. Your choice this year: a huge government liberal or a big government conservative—neither of which showed an ounce of leadership skill during the bailout crisis.

Posted on November 1, 2008 | Permalink

Random Thought

Call me crazy, but A-ha's Take on Me has got to me one of the greatest singles ever. Seriously.

Posted on October 12, 2008 | Permalink

Revisiting Old Music Part (Fu-Go)

Fudge Tunnel - Hate Songs in the Key of E: Grungy metal. Not sure why I own this. All I know is that it isn't worth putting up for sale on Amazon.
Fugazi - 13 Songs: Stop all that slam dancing you punks. It's Fugazi! Classic post-punk record(s).
Fugazi - Repeater: Although there are not as many stand alone "hits" as there are on 13 songs, this is perhaps their best record.
Fugazi - Steady Diet of Nothing: There's something about the attitude of this record that turns me off. Ian Maykaye's vocals are at his absolute most annoying level on the attrocious track, Long Division. I stopped buying Fugazi albums after this (for a while at least).
Fugazi - In on the Kill Taker: Although the ultra cool opening is quickly squandered by Fugazi sameness, this CD redeemed the band somewhat for me. There are a couple of stinkers, but not bad overall.
The Galaxy Trio - In the Harem: Surf inspired instrumental music, but with a more distorted, 90s edge.
The Galaxy Trio - Saucers Over Vegas: More of the same.
The Giallos Flame - The Giallos Flame: Despite the corny cover, this is a pretty decent CD. The songs are inspired by the music of Gobin, Fabio Frizzi and other Italian Giallo soundtrack motifs. The tone fluctuates between jazzy, funky and synth-rocky (the latter being my favorite).
Girls Against Boys - Cruise Yourself: Groove-centric 90s hard rock. A laid back wall of sound.
Godflesh - Godflesh: Extremely heavy and slow. This is from before they discovered house music.
Godflesh - Streetcleaner: These are slow jamz for the grindcore set. Loud, piercing and slow. The slightly more experimental bonus tracks are better than most of the actual tracks on the LP.
Godflesh -Slavestate: A really great album. The gurgle and grind of the previous albums is honed in with a rhythmic, electronic backdrop. Not dance music, but a far more groovy version of Godflesh indeed.
Godflesh - Pure: This is my favorite Godflesh album. This is almost an industrial music album, but the samples and electronics are only there to color the edges of the mix. Unlike previous feedback heavy Godflesh releases, you can actually hear the instruments and what they are playing--this is a good thing.
Godflesh - Cold World: A nice Pure-era single. These tracks are as good as anything from that CD.
Godflesh - Merciless: How Godflesh lost her groove.

Posted on September 30, 2008 | Permalink

Revisiting Old Music Part (Fa-Fr)

Okay, I'm a bit backlogged with these micro reviews, so let us continue, shall we...

Famous Monsters - Around the World in 80 Bikinis!: Surfy, Cramps-like garage songs with a monster-girl shtick. Drums and guitars and no bass, but still pretty powerful and fun. Featuring the bassist from White Zombie on guitar and vocals.
Famous Monsters - In the Night: This one may even be better than its predecessor.
The Fall - The Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall: The Fall have like 3 dozen or so records. But of all the ones I have heard, this is my favorite. In fact, it might be on my top ten list... maybe, top twenty. But, still, it's great. Noisy, poppy and arty all at the same time.
Fear - More Beer: Fear's second LP couldn't possibly top The Record. This one is hit or miss. I Am A Doctor and Waiting for the Meat make this album worth a listen. The latter features a jungle rhythm/drum circle jam, that is an excuse for a goofy pun.
The Finks - Fill'er Up and Go!: This is one of the definitive records from the (pre-Pulp Fiction) 90s surf revival.
Fireworks - Set the World on Fire: Some raw rock and roll. Really lo-fi and scuzzy... in a good way.
Fishbone - Fishbone: A wild, booty shakin' classic. Fishbone never topped this. It's short, sweet and doesn't drift off into the soul/metal travesty that they evolved into years later.
Fishbone - Bonin' in the Boneyard: An EP from the Truth and Soul years. A couple of remixes and a throwaways and but still Fishbone in their prime.
Fishbone - Sunless Saturday: A CD single. I really did not like this album from whence this song came. A lot of folks really liked their new direction. I didn't.
Flour - Fourth and Final: More Illinois-soundin' Touch and Go stuff. This record get pretty pop at times and sounds almost like the Pixies.
Klaus Flouride - Because I Say So: Dead Kennedy's bassist noodling around in a studio. Not bad, but not what any young Dead Kennedys fan would really want to hear.
Klaus Flouride - The Light Is Flickering: I think I bought this for like $4. Again, way too mellow and derivative for someone from perhaps the greatest American hardcore band.
Front 242 - Geography: A very light and New-Romantic, almost Kraftwerk-sounding record. I actually like this CD better than their more defined industrial sound. I am a sucker for analog synths.
Front 242 - Official Version: This one is more aggressive and pounding. The blue print for late 80s electronic music.
Front 242 - Front by Front: Even more polished and refined industrial beats. This was back when dance music was played at 120 beats per minute (close to frequency of a heart beat) , and didn't try to be all glitch'd up and bloopy. If you know what I mean?

Okay I'm just rambling now. Until next time, rock on!

Posted on September 29, 2008 | Permalink

RSS Migration

I am trying to automate my RSS feed using Feed43.com. Up until now I have been hand coding my RSS using FeedSpring. However, FeedSpring is starting to crap out as my feed gets longer and longer. So please, update your RSS aggregator (Google Reader is the best) with the new URL: http://www.feed43.com/5185026116140505.xml

Posted on September 27, 2008 | Permalink

Revisiting Old Music Part (Do-Es)

D.O.A. - Bloodied But Unbowed: Straightforward Canadian punk rock.
D.O.A. - True (North) Strong & Free: Slightly less punk, and a bit more cheesy bar band sounding. Dull.
D.O.A. - Murder.: Again, not the most innovative band around. Slightly better than the previous CD listed here.
Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless: She Blinded Me with Science is so over-played that I can't enjoy it anymore. Thankfully, many of the other songs are worthwhile on this CD: Europa and the Pirate Twins and Windpower stand out for me.
Thomas Dolby - The Flat Earth: Veers a bit into adult contemporary territory, but there's enough new wave-ishness here to keep it interesting.
Dollface - Corvette Summer: The finest band to ever come out of Peoria, Illinois. Every song is a gem here.
Dollface - Lights the Pilot: Geez, this band was good. Shoulda been bigger.
Drop Acid - Making God Smile: Kevin Seconds's post 7 Seconds band. Very 90's sounding. I saw this band open for Superchunk in Champaign, IL the night Magic Johnson revealed he had AIDS.
Drums & Tuba - Flatheads and Spoonies: Really they are drums, tuba and noodly guitar. Bought this on a whim after seeing them live. Different, but the songs get old pretty fast.
El Vez - How Great Thou Art: A certain amount of pop-music literacy may be required to really appreciate El Vez. Funny, but there's much more going on to really discount him as a "joke" band.
El Vez - Merry MeX-Mas: El Vez's first Christmas album. His cover of Feliz Navidad/Public Image is a classic. Highly recommended listening.
El Vez - Boxing With God: Religion-inspired rock from El Vez. His amazing skill as an arranger is in full play here.
El Vez - Sno Way Jose: More Christmas (and Hanukah) greatness.
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP: Okay, Wika bought this one. She got it at Wal-Mart so it is edited and bleeped. It's almost worth a listen just to hear how much this is cut up. Even if we could hear the bad words, this album still would suck as much as it already does.
Esquivel - Space Age Bachelor Pad Music: Wonderful, off-the-wall big band arrangements from the 50's and 60's from this musical genius.

Posted on September 27, 2008 | Permalink

Updated Art Gallery

I'm doing some under the hood updates of this site (click the Quick Links title bar. Magical, right?). The first major change is an updated portfolio page. No, no new art—just a fancy new thumbnail browser.

Posted on September 22, 2008 | Permalink

Martian Law CDs Are Now Free to Download

For those of you who don't know, I like to make music with my computer and have done so in one form or another since the days of The Music Construction Set on my old Apple ][+. In the mid-Nineties I began compiling my solo musical output under the moniker, Martian Law. The first record I produced was actually a cassette tape that I gave away as a bonus to people who bought one of my wood engravings. In hindsight, this tape is pretty embarrassing, but it did contain a few numbers that I still can appreciate.

In 1999 I followed my debut with my first full-length CD release, The Exciting Sounds of a Compaq P133. This disc was comprised of my first purely digital (no more cassette 4-track recording!) musical compositions. The sound is a little rough due to the primitive, non-pro software I used, but I am more-or-less happy with the way it turned out. I have now converted the CD audio tracks into super high quality MP3's and have made them free for you to download and add to your digital library. In addition, I have taken the songs that I composed in the years after P133 and assembled them into their own proper release, Upgrade Downgrade. This four song EP is sonically superior and is, I think, my finest work to date. Download and enjoy, and please let me know what you think.

These files are available through the file hosting service Drop.io. Each MP3 can be previewed and then downloaded to you local machine using the "download" links throughout the page. The preview versions are a lower quality MP3 than the actual download you will receive.

Posted on August 20, 2008 | Permalink

Neil Hamburger Pays Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales

My tribute to Planet Pimp Records has expanded! I finally got my hands on a copy of Neil Hamburger Pays Tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales. Read my insightful commentary and make sure to listen to the audio clip from side B. Prepare to shed yet another tear for Our Fallen Angel.

Posted on August 7, 2008 | Permalink

Revisiting Old Music Part (De-Di)

Devo - Now it Can Be Told: Despite being recorded during the waning years of Devo, this live album is actually pretty great. They even make the bad Total Devo tracks seem almost good.
Devo - Smooth Noodle Maps: Devo's last release is okay. I bit more consistant than Total Devo. But still nothing close to their glory days. The cover fo the Greatful Dead's Morning Dew is the best track on the CD.
Devo - Post Post Modern Man (single): A CD single from Smooth Noodle Maps. Nothing remarkable here.
Devo - EZ Listening Disc: Devo covers devo.
Devo - Hardcore Devo Vol. 1: Lacks the electronic polish of their best work, but most of this CD is essential Devo.
Devo - Hardcore Devo Vol. 2: Same as above, just more.
Devo - Greatest Hits: Most of my Devo collection is in the form of cassettes, so I bought this so I would have a CD version of their best stuff.
Dianogah - As Seen From Above: Two basses and a drummer. My friend Jay's band revived my waning interest in indy-rock in the early 00's with this CD.
Dianogah - Battle Champions: My favorite Dianogah album.
Dianogah - Millions of Brazillians: Not their best work. I think I was wanting more from their sound when this CD came out. I still like it quite a bit.
Dick Dale - Tribal Thunder: Dick Dale's awesome comeback album. Totally insane. Dick Dale was signed as a witness on my organ donor card for years.
Dick Dale - The Best of Dick Dale and his Del-Tones: More great Dick Dale - the self-proclaimed inventor of heavy metal(?!)
Didjits - Hornet Piñata: Champaign band. They were a great act to see live, but in hindsight, their music is kinda lame.
Didjits - Full Nelson Reilly: Same as above.
The Dirty Howlers: Great garage rawk from Chicago.
The Dirty Howlers - Behold!: Another batch of raw rockers from the Howlers. They broke up immediately after they released this CD.

Posted on July 31, 2008 | Permalink

Bacon Dogs!

Posted on April 24, 2008 | Permalink

I've Added a Quick Links Nav to the Site

A little maintenance note here: I added a few links to the home page in the form of that quick links widget off to the left. If you click the bar at the top it disappears. Pretty neato keano I'd say.

Posted on February 15, 2008 | Permalink

Twilight Zone for Your Listening Pleasure

Yesterday I came across this incredible Web log, Twilight Zone for Your Listening Pleasure. This guy posts tons and tons of great garage and rock 'n' roll records with large cover scans and links to the full albums in MP3 format. Usually, you just click in to the comments of each blog post and you are given a link the the MP3s in zip format. Cut-n-paste the link and you can grab the files for free. There is a limit of one package download per hour, but it's worth the wait to get your ears on some of these comps.

Posted on February 3, 2008 | Permalink

Revisiting Old Music Part III (Ch-De)

Happy New Year! My overview of my entire CD collection continues.

The Challengers - Lloyd Thaxton Goes Surfing with The Challengers: One of the best of the early Sixties surf bands. A very polished sound.
The Challengers - K-39: Another great Challengers record with even more focus on Delvy's drums.
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Ferociously Stoned: Great song writing, lots of hopping big band-ish numbers and the wonderful The Lifeboat Mutiny. A couple of funk laden stinkers, but aside from that and maybe some thin production on the drums, I love this record.
The Cherry Poppin' Daddies - Rapid City Muscle Car: A far more consistent album than the previous, and just as good. The best tracks here aren't quite as good as the best ones from Ferociously Stoned, but nothing to complain about.
Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves / Alien Soundtracks: Contemporaries of Cabaret Voltaire, Chrome were just about as noisy. Chrome stuck to a more traditional guitar, bass and drums for the core of their sonic abstractions. There are some toe tapping tune hidden in here.
Circle Jerks - Group Sex / Wild in the Streets: A punk band that everyone had to have listened too when they first discovered punk. The songs don't hold up that well these days, but they are short and it's over before you get bored.
Circle Jerks- Wonderful: I think I bought this CD for 2 or 3 dollars used. The lyrics are funny and the musicianship is improved, but the songs are really stale compared to my favorite Circle Jerks' record, Golden Shower of Hits.
The Clash - London Calling: I don't know. I think this may be one of the most overrated records ever. It's not awful, I guess. But it just doesn't clique with me. There are plenty of memorable moments, but outside of The Guns of Brixton I find this stuff plain boring. It's like fairly proficient bar-band music with (politically) revolutionary lyrics. Meh. And if I never hear the excruciating anthem Death or Glory again, it will be too soon.
Chris Connelly - Stowaway: RevCo / Ministry singer does his best David Bowie impersonation yet.
Coyle & Sharpe - On the Loose: Incredible man-on-the-street gags. Pure genius.
Coyle & Sharpe - Audio Visionaries: More Candid Microphone weirdness. Not as good as On the Loose but still is hilarious.
Criswell - The Legendary Criswell Predicts! Your Incredible Future: Be amazed as Criswell gets about 99.9999% of his predictions wrong. Nakedness is a key element of many of them. Funny and weird and mastered as a single 45 minute long CD track.
The Dave & Deke Combo - Moonshine Melodies: Hillbilly bop. Great musicianship and a great sense of humor.
The Dave & Deke Combo - Hollywood Barn Dance: More swinging hillbilly music. Better than the first CD. A whole barnyard of fun.
Sammy Davis Jr. - Greatest Hits: I have a real soft spot for Sammy Davis Jr. There's a lot of delicious cheese mixed in with the big band numbers, and man was that guy an Entertainer (with the capital "E"). The live version of Come Back to Me will blow your socks off. It makes any live rock band you've heard feel like a 2 hour conference call with regional HQ.
The Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables: When I started this project, I was dreading revisiting these DK albums. Jello became soooo annoying later on in his career. Anyhow, I was surprised that much of this was still pretty good. It holds up much better than the drab SoCal punk of bands like Black Flag. Inventive guitar playing and more abstract political snarkiness make this a classic. Even though the CD I got is mastered like crap.
The Dead Kennedys - Plastic Surgery Disasters / In God We Trust, Inc.: More awful sounding production/mastering from the DKs. The music is still pretty good. In God We Trust, Inc. is the weaker of the two albums on this CD. Not quite as inspired as Fresh Fruit but good.
The Dead Kennedys - Frankenchrist: This album sounds great. Too bad most of the songs are crap. The lyrics are forced and the songs are starting to get too long without going anywhere.
The Dead Kennedys - Bedtime for Democracy: Jello is in full on annoying mode on this record. Again, the songs are too plain or just go on too long.
The Dead Kennedys - Give me Convenience or Give me Death: A great compilation of singles and imports. Mostly from before the band went sour.
Death Valley - ¡Que Pasta!: Nice Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western inspired instrumentals.
Deke Dickerson - More Million Sellers: Wonderful collection of rock 'n' roll and country numbers from Deke.
Deke Dickerson - Mr. Entertainment: A collection of extras and rarities. As one might expect, not as consistent as his albums but includes some of his best songs such as Double Zombie and Muleskinner Blues.
Deke Dickerson - In 3 Dimensions: Another great record from guitar geek Deke. Nicely divided into three groups of styles: rock 'n' roll, rockabilly and hillbilly.
The Denison/Kimball Trio - Walls of the City: Jazzy guitar-drums combo. Some pretty off-the-wall guitar work, but suffers from every song sounding pretty similar.
The Denison/Kimball Trio - Soul Machine: Much more diverse and interesting than the previous CD.
Devo - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!: An all-time classic from the definitive new wave band. Quirky, energetic and flat out genius.
Devo - Freedom of Choice: My favorite Devo album. The perfect blend of electronics and standard rock instrumentation. Most punk-types prefer their 1st album, but this one works much better as a whole for me.
Devo - Total Devo: The "comeback" Devo album that was a flop. It's not awful, but the spark is gone. Too overproduced and sequenced, unlike the early era albums which were a melding of man and machine. This was the first DDD CD I ever owned.

Posted on February 2, 2008 | Permalink

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