Heaven 17 - Let Me Go (2006 Digital Remaster)

great song from the 80's, or greatest song from the 80's?

Star Wars Episode V Soundtrack - Rebel Fleet/End Title

so i'm traipsing around youtube again tonight, this time doing "john williams" searches. landed on the empire strikes back, and i remembered how surprisingly open-ended this sequel was. (going, i expected a re-hash of a new hope, but instead was left with an unfinished trilogy...who knew?)

Waiting - My Robot Friend (Featuring Alison Moyet)

youtubing last night...and listen to this: alison moyet vocals on my robot friend's "waiting".

first

http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-06-22/news/1970-a-first-person-account-of-the-first-gay-pride-march/

“Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.”

goodbye july - homo

beautiful

read this post, "dear friend". it says it so very, very well.

You say that you need to rely on God until you can believe in yourself again. That makes absolutely no sense. YOU are here. YOU have proven yourself to be an incredible woman, with incredible attributes. You have so many friends and loved ones who admire and look up to you. YOU. It has nothing whatsoever to do with God.

work stuff

so my boss was out of town this past week. this was supposed to be a kickback week, where i could get finished so many of those naggy little documentation things that having a boss around, does not allow for completing.

instead, two unrelated servers went kablooey AND a manager in another department decided she was too busy to fulfill a customer order (that only she can process)...meaning that i was on the phone all day attending to server recoveries and figuring out how to get past that non-servicey manager.

and i'm exhausted.

anywayz.

seriously

i love this show...

devo makes something for everybody - part II


the exasperation of the band versus the enthusiasm of the corpspeakers...kills.

can't or won't

last night i went to bed while the husband stayed up with his studies. after an hour or so, i sorta woke up, shivering from the cold...but couldn't or wouldn't get myself out of bed to get the extra blanket, sitting just 10 feet away.

and completely unrelated, here's a song i found here and there.


neverest, by hey champ

CD or itunes?

dear project leader:

devo have released their new album (about which i've written way too much already); the frustrating thing is that they've released three different versions of the album. which to buy? the CD, of course!

but wait, the CD doesn't have three of the songs that are found on the itunes deluxe edition. but who prefers download versions of an album to a CD? apparently those who sell music for a living.

according to the beautiful information on the web site, information is beautiful, the label releasing an album wil make $6.29 from an itunes download; whereas the same album sold in hardcopy CD format enriches the label company by only $2.00. (the artist gains 6 additional pennies in the CD deal, but you know, fuck the artist.)

hence, the death of CD's.

fwiw, still so loving "no place like home", from the new album.

blondie live

Blondie @ The Manchester Apollo 16/06/10



wow, the show has gotten better and better over the past dozen years, hasn't it? the new stuff sounds very intriguing, and i like the revamp of "two times blue" (which i saw them do last year). so excited to see them in august. and like lito said: really, orchid club? awesome. finally, may they never give up playing ATOMIC.

conan

funny, because it could be true...

Conan O'Brien presents "The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour" -- Cold Open with Crowd from Dan Dome on Vimeo.

devo - something for everyone

what i think of the new album, something for everyone, by devo:

we first heard fresh on the broadcast of the winter olympics, remember? and it was awesome, remember? a perfectly good single for a comeback album. i like it, as a strong lead to a pretty good album.

my friend bearzbub said please baby please is their "goody two shoes" take, and yeah, the percussion does go there. they tend to stick to what "devo" sounded like through most of the album, though. it's interesting that devo didn't attempt to do anything new with this album. sounds almost backhanded, but i think it is the only approach they should take. a band like devo is so unique in sound and packaging...it's what [they] do. and it's what we want them to do.

except the track, sumthin', which comes off as son of "whip it".

other tracks have simple 80's synth lead-ins, sounding like old video games, at times, but now layered over with giant bass and percussion. i told you about seeing devo live, right? the dreadfully painful vibrations because the volume was so incredibly high? several of these tracks would be perfect in that setting. (see them live, and hope they play several from this album.)

toward the end of the album, no place like home is a shockingly restrained tune. and you know who they sound like here? alphaville. seriously. i think i love this track. finally, march on: the call to arms that wraps up the album. devo has always led an army, and the war continues, apparently.

so yeah, march on.



no place like home, devo

devo - episode 1

well worth watching...



(i thought it was going to be an extended concept video or something, but it really is a reality show! and only 5 minute episodes!)

gold star

i'm feeling somewhat accomplished, in that i lost 5 pounds this week with the WW @ W plan. (one earns a gold star for losing 5 pounds. go, me!)

of course as this was announced in the meeting today, the women in the group were all mumbling about how much easier it is for a man to lose weight than a woman.

because it would kill them to be happy for my little accomplishment. whutevs.

Blondie - What I Heard

hey! blondie performed a new song at the Isle of Wight 2010 festival. and you know what? it's a great song.

he's got a feeling

good to hear that I AM NOXIOUS is still at it. wish i could find his stuff for sale on the web somewhere, though.


I AM NOXIOUS - "I Gotta Feeling" (Black Eyed Peas Cover) from I Am Noxious on Vimeo.

WW @ W

at my age, something had to be done.

started weight watchers at work this past monday. been watching my POINTS all week, which has been an interesting hobby. i'm starting out with an allocation of 32 points per day, which is calculated from my height and weight and level of daily activity.

food points are calculated with calories, fat grams and fiber grams. i'm surprised that i have so much to "spend" each day.

M = 26.5
T = 30.5
W = 23
Th = 17
F = 31.5

monday was my first weigh-in. my next weigh-in is in two days. they say men lose weight faster than women, so as the only man in my WW group, the pressure is on for monday morning.

Thompson Twins - Lay Your Hands on Me

from where does the need to see an old video like this come?



it's not the world's greatest song. but i played it to death, back then.

the greatest album of all time?

when i was in college, k-tel records released a collection called, "the beat: soundwave of the 80's", which, surprisingly, encapsulated the oncoming new wave rather well:


A Flock of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away)
Kim Wilde - Kids In America
Haircut One Hundred - Love Plus One
Sparks - I Predict
Split Enz - I Got You
Graham Parker - You Hit The Spot
The Waitresses - I Know What Boys Like
The GoGo's - We Got The Beat
Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy
Duran Duran - Girls On Film
Thompson Twins - In The Name Of Love
Depeche Mode - Dreaming Of Me
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Joan Of Arc
Billy Idol - Hot In The City

nobody on radio or tv was playing this stuff...for a young student stuck in utah, this collection was something of a lifeline.

The Drums - Forever & Ever Amen

new video from yet another favorite new band...



the album is out (download only, no CD...booooo), and it's rather fantastic.

dan black - san diego

terrific concert experience last night: we saw dan black perform at san diego club, the casbah. the club is fairly intimate, which ended up being perfect for both acts on the bill, dan black and the opener, samuel.

it wasn't unlike having a performance in your own basement, as the club had all of 60 people or so attending, and the stage (just a 2-foot raiser from the floor) was small enough to allow the audience to be as close as they wanted to be. surprisingly, those in attendance gave a respectful amount of space between them and the performers. (the same can't be said for some of the comments coming from the audience, as san diegans tried in vain to bring out their inner redneck.)

samuel: liked a really, really amped up lounge singer. he wasn't my purpose for going, but he had crazy energy that engaged the audience quickly. his was a big pop sound with plenty of electronic gimmickry to keep it unique and interesting.

dan black: as good as i expected. he ran through almost the entire album, UN, and the audience was with him all the way, most singing along, some getting all trippy dancey in front of the stage (okay). he has a bass player who knows how to ring the hell out of a cowbell (with a side splash on the solitary cymbal standing nearby). what i wasn't familiar with was the keypad thingy dan manipulated throughout the performance. it appeared to be more than a sampler...what is that thing?

both performers were incredibly approachable and gracious after their sets...autographs from both, though truth be told, i had to get samuel's autograph for the husband, as he was too shy to approach him himself. dan autographed my CD booklet that i carried in. he was a real sweetheart. if he swings by san diego again, i will definitely make my way to another show.

finally, the casbah in san diego has a great, friendly staff. nice folks all around. great night.

beirut - a sunday smile

blondie's debbie harry is quoted, saying that this song is one of 30 they worked on for the new album...wonder if it makes the final cut?



album release seems to have been pushed off to september, now.

satan with legs

this creature kept me from using my front gate today.

how does one recover from that?

one doesn't.