all the news that print will fit.
|
|
| notes from underground - societal whispers all the news that print will fit. |
|
|
Thursday, February 12, 2004 np: aztec camera - stray aztec camera is a band i've flirted with a bit. but this is the first full album i've heard. it's quite a record. granted, from what i've read of it, it was their 'come-back' album of sorts. dates from 1990, was their..fourth or fifth album. and apparently their most highly regarded short of their debut. the jazz influence on the softer tracks is absolutely inescapable, but very beautiful. and the rave-ups "good morning britain" (featuring mick jones of the clash) and "how it is" are big rock songs in grand style. truly one of scotland's best musical legacies. well, i've had time to simmer down a bit following the grammys on sunday. i took notes during the show with the full intention of posting a rather lengthy diatribe. but now i simply feel like boiling it down. any awards show that opens with prince performing is dynamite. the man is still brilliant at what he does. how many hip-hop people will sting have to perform "roxanne" with before he just gives up already? listen, gordy. can you at least change the song you perform with everyone? i'm sure that chingy would love just as much to do "don't stand so close to me" as he would "roxanne." you're the songwriter, buddy. you don't have to give in to hip-hop's unnatural obsession with your street-walkin' madame. unless..wait..is it you that's making all this happen? tell me it isn't true! actually, it totally is. gordy's a whore, plain and simple. not to mention, the grammy announcer that referred to "roxanne" as a 'sting classic' should be taken into a room, made to listen to all of the police's records and then be shot for being stupid. seeing june carter cash win the best female country vocal award was lovely. something that wasn't shown was johnny cash's win for best short-form video for "hurt." a nice touch to two sadly missed and lovely people. the best stage performance of the night was easily robert randolph and the family band. they put every other lackadaisical performer on stage to shame...especially the absolutely lifeless parliament funkadelic. what a terrible cap to an otherwise very enjoyable funk montage that was. the neptunes won producers of the year. and it's about time. good for them. the warren zevon tribute was actually very touching. his posthumous win in the best rock vocal category was a nice touch, even if it's kinda obvious he probably wouldn't have won it if he'd been alive. and i'm with ali. richard marx? winning song of the year? for co-writing a song with luther vandross? wow, i've really been missing out somewhere. no, i haven't. nevermind. but still. shocking. the videotaped response of luther vandross to his tribute from alecia keys and so forth was really tear jerking. the man looks in bad shape. it's really sad to see such a powerful performer look so debilitated. but his voice still sounded strong from the small bit that he sang. finally, outkast. speakerboxxx/the love below. album of the year. not undeservedly. kudos to them for what is a brilliant record. -- a number of really unique and wonderful people have passed recently. julie schwartz was a monumental figure in the golden age of american comic books. his influence has touched generations of readers and future comic-book artists/creators alike. especially after reading the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay, this hits home. rudy phillips, the crowned king of the hobos, also died recently. he was 91 years old. he rode the rails during the great depression and thus is one of the living legacy to which woody guthrie paid tribute so often and so well. the following is my favourite passage from this obtiuary: "..the chamber of commerce in Britt, Iowa, began sponsoring the National Hobo Convention, an annual event that was launched in 1900 by a group of hobos from Chicago who called themselves Tourists Union No. 63. Phillips was heralded as the King of the Hobos at the convention in 1986, and crowned with an empty coffee can." first of all, tourists union no. 63 is one of the best names for a group of hobos i've ever heard. and being crowned with a coffee can is even better. there is a lost, irreverant beauty to our world where men like this succeed and survive. and it slips further away every day. progress has to happen. sometimes, it doesn't happen quickly enough. but sometimes the prices we pay are ones we can't always measure with instruments. -- finally, at least two of the subpoenas mentioned in the previous post have been withdrawn. steps in the right direction. the hellfires of this election are heating up. atrios and daily kos are worth reading on a daily basis, especially for updates on the ongoing search for WMDs (that is, W.'s Military Documents) and proof of just what exactly he was doing with his silver spoon back during the vietnam war. personally, i could tell you exactly what he could do with it now... posted by J. Neas | 2/12/2004 10:17:00 PM
Comments:
Post a Comment
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
