Unnecessary Roughness

•January 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment

Watching American football is somewhat of a guilty pleasure. 

Living in Austin, the team to follow is the UT Longhorns. A college team, there is no pro team here. I have been lucky enough to go to a game here with 98,000 other screaming fans. Good fun indeed. They’re pretty good and I think were unfairly denied a shot at the BCS game (a whole other topic for discussion beyond me).

What I do find ironic though, is the penalty for unnecessary roughness.

It seems to me that the whole game is unnecessarily rough. Every now and then, a player gets called for being overly, in fact, unnecessarily rough.

It begs the question, what are most of the players doing the rest of the game, necessary roughness?

Posted in irony, sport
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KUSF Top Spins of 2008

•January 3, 2009 • Leave a Comment

From my joint favourite radio station in San Francisco KUSF, (the other being the home of the mighty Rev. Emmit Powell, KPOO) their top tunes for 2008. 

1. King Khan And the Shrines The Supreme Genius… Vice
2. The Dirtbombs We Have You Surrounded In The Red
3. Wire Object 47 Pink Flag
4. John Maus Love Is Real Upset! The Rhythm
5. Jeremy Jay Airwalker K
6. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Dig Lazarus DIg! Anti-
7. July S/T Rev-Ola
8. Portishead Third Mercury
9. Beach House Devotion Carpark
10. Wire Read & Burn Pink Flag
11. Sleepy Sun Embrace Sol Diamond
12. The Raveonettes Lust Lust Lust Vice
13. V/A Golden State Funk BGP
14. V/A I’m Not There Columbia
15. Fuck Buttons Street Horrrsing ATP
16. Sparks Exotic Creatures Of The Deep Lil’ Beethoven
17. Cat Power Jukebox Matador
18. Matmos Supreme Balloon Matador
19. Nick Lowe Jesus of Cool Yep Roc
20. Vashti Bunyan Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind DiCristina
21. The Magnetic Fields Distortion Nonesuch
22. Thee Oh Sees The Master’s Bedroom Is Worth Spending A Night In
Castle Face
23. Citadelle S/T Astaroth Records
24. V/A Swinging Mademoiselles Deux Silva Screen
25. Ersen S/T Finders Keepers
26. Deerhoof Offend Maggie Kill Rock Stars
27. Dub Trio Another Sound Is Dying Ipecac
28. Wooden Shjips Vol 1 Holy Mountain
29. V/A Pulp Fusion Africa Funk Harmless Records
30. The Reaction Right Now Starcleaner
31. Cluster Sowiesoso Water
32. Jonathan Richman Because Her Beauty Is Raw & Wild Vapor
33. V/A Funky Nassau: The Compass Point Story 1980-1986 Strut
34. Yelle Pop up Caroline
35. Spiritualized Songs in A & E Fontana
36. V/A Nigeria Disco Funk Special Sound Way
37. Ratatat LP3 XL
38. Mudhoney The Lucky Ones SubPop
39. Grails Take Refuge In Clean Living Important
40. V/A Phantom Guitars Psychic Circle
41. Stereolab Chemical Chords 4AD
42. Rodriguez Cold Fact Light In The Attic / Sussex
43. Crystal Stilts S/T Woodsist
44. V/A Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian
Blues. 1970-76 Sound Way
45. Ministry and Co-Conspirators Cover-Up 13th Planet
46. Calexico Carried To Dust Quarterstick
47. A Sunny Day In Glasgow Scribble Mural Comic Journal Notenuf
48. V/A Disco Not Disco Strut
49. Modey Lemon Season Of Sheets Birdman
50. Quiet Village Silent Movie !K7
51. Times New Viking Rip It Off Matador
52. Blanketship & Qulfus Motown Meltdown Gigante Sound
53. Flying Lotus Los Angeles Warp
54. The Ettes Look at Life Again Soon Take Root
55. Clutchy Hopkins Walking Sdrawkcab Ubiquity
56. Droids Star Peace Repressed / Barclay
57. V/A Latinamericacarpet Sublime Frequencies
57. The Dragons BFI Ninja Tune / Solid Steel
58. Cheap Time S/T In The Red
59. The Night Marchers See You In Magic Vagrant
60. Meat Beat Manifesto Autoimmune Metropolis
61. Chessie Manifest Plug Research
62. Maus Haus S/T S/R
63. Pluramon TheMonstrousSurplus Karaoke Kalk
64. Slits Return Of The Giant Slits Blast First Petite
65. V/A Bollywood Steel Guitar Sublime Frequencies
66. Andre Williams & The New Orleans Hellhounds Can you deal with
it? Bloodshot
67. Black Keys Attack & Release Nonesuch
68. Negativland Thigmotactic Seeland
69. V/A Obsession Bully
70. Hot Chip Made In The Dark Astralwerks / DFA
71. Earth The Bee Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull Southern lord
72. Atlas Sound Let The Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot
Feel Kranky
73. Vetiver Things Of The Past Gnomonsong
74. Boris Smile Southern Lord
75. Free Kitten Inherit Ecstatic Peace
76. V/A Mary-Anne Hobbs: Evangeline Planet Mu
77. V/A Carolina Funk Jazzman / Now Again
78. V/A Florida Funk Now Again
79. Miss Alex White & The Red Orchestra Space & Time In The Red
Records
80. Four Tet Ringer Domino
81. M83 Saturday=Youth Mute
82. Black Francis Sv N Fngrs Cooking Vinyl
83. Ladytron Velocifero Nettwerk
84. V/A Eccentric Soul: The Outskirts Of Deep City Numero Group
85. Dead Meadow Old Growth Matador
86. Group Inerane Guitars From Agadez Sublime Frequencies
87. Silje Nes Ames Room Fat Cat
88. Animal Collective Water Curses Domino
89. The Penetrators Bad Woman Slovenly
90. Foot Village Fuck the Future Deathbombarc
90.3 The Dodos Visiter French Kiss

Posted in music, radio
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Noise

•January 2, 2009 • 2 Comments

Anyone else seen the Tim Robbins movie Noise?

I think it grossed about $50 before going to DVD. I did see it though, and enjoyed most of it. 

Having lived for awhile in NYC, I can attest to the incessant cacophony of the city. It is, most definitely, a roar most of the time there, but you kinda get used to it.

Now, I feel myself more and more in sync with Tim’s character in Noise. We are assaulted by noise just about wherever we go in life. I feel like becoming a noise vigilante.

My peace-of-mind was shattered by the ongoing droning of leaf blowers…..endlessly all day.

Whatever happened to raking up the leaves? As far as I know, no-one near me here in Austin has a yard the size that warrants a blower going for hours straight.

Come on people. Aside from the noise, think of all that wasted gas or electricity. Use those dormant, overfed muscles for a change. Or get the kids to do it. That’ll get em’ away from the TV, playstation or whatever device is flavor of the month, that you complain about. 

We all might get a bit more peace of mind too.   Please…..

Posted in neighbourhood, personal
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And the mystery artist is…..

•January 1, 2009 • 1 Comment

Thanks to all who responded, seems as if I gave everyone too much help though…… 

It was Noel Coward singing one of his own songs “I Like America”, from this 1956 LP.

noel coward lp

Have another one lined up that is fiendishly hard…..Happy 2009!

Posted in music, personal
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Vinyl recently digitized

•December 30, 2008 • 8 Comments

Here’s a tune I captured from an old album I found.

I’m almost positive you haven’t heard before. I should use this as my theme song.

Any ideas who it is? Here’s a hint…….he’s a brit too.

Posted in music, personal
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Digitizing Vinyl

•December 30, 2008 • Leave a Comment

I have quite a lot of vinyl. I fully intend to keep it. And treasure it. Someone at work quizzed me recently about why I bother to digitize it. good question. Here’s my rationale.

  1. Much of my collection is not available on cd or as a download (legal or not), so I see this as an obvious way to preserve it
  2. I actually listen to a ton of it, and sure its nice to be able to listen to it where my turntables can’t go
  3. I kind of enjoy the ritual of taking the trouble to go through side by side, track by track, digitizing it in real time. It relaxes me. Listening to it takes me back to when I first heard it, like flipping through my musical memories.

I use a ION turntable with USB straight into my laptop and use the software (audacity) provided, to capture the album, scrub out clicks, hiss and kind of major blemish.

Then manually go through and enter track breaks and names. Finally, copy the WAV files with tags onto m hard drive and then into iTunes.

Usually, the tags get lost (anyone any tip how to avoid this?), so I run through in iTunes info, update each track, and voila, c’est ca.

Will post a recent end product of my labor next time.

Posted in music, personal
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Trying for taco’s

•December 27, 2008 • Leave a Comment

So a few weeks ago, I promised to buy my pal at work Armando, king of taco journalism, some  breakfast tacos from a new taco caravan Al Pastor, recently opened near my house. And of course, since then, I have only seen the caravan open for business once, on a Saturday around noon. No use to a working man nor beast.

Not really sure how they’re making any $’s, but hey, guess they can open whenever they like. So knowing Mando was disappointed, and I thought he suspected I just kept forgetting, I took a picture to prove it, here it is, closed again.

Check out his taco journalism blog to get the real deal on taco’s in Austin!

Al Pastor - Closed again

Posted in food, personal
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Austin Xmas

•December 25, 2008 • 1 Comment

Checking out my new canon, these neighbourhood sights amused me. 

Homer at Xmas And being Texas, Homer takes time on his porch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

while even the cactus get decorated.

Cactus decorated

Posted in personal, photography, Uncategorized
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Tunes since the Summer

•December 25, 2008 • Leave a Comment

Too late for Xmas presents, so go out and treat yourself!

In no particular order, here’s what’s been gracing the turntable in the last few months.

  • Calexico – carried to dust 
  • Johnny Otis – the johnny otis show vol.1
  • Jazz at the Philarmonic – (nk cole on piano, les paul, lee young – lester’s bro’ on drums, outrageous!)
  • Victrola Favorites – Artifacts from Bygone Days
  • Art of Field Recording Vol. 1
  • Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes (CSNY revisited?)
  • David Byrne & Eno – Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (sophisticated pop music)
  • The Clash – give em’ enough rope (their underestimated masterpiece)
  • Champion Jack Dupree – Blues from the gutter (now this guy had a HARD life)
  • Butter 08 – butter (sometime jon spencer blues explosion, could’ve been the white stripes)
  • Lou Reed – rock n’roll animal (brought dog collars IN)
  • Bill Laswell – dub chamber 3 (NY’s bass/producer extraordinaire delivers)
  • Orchestra Baobob – live in dakar (sublime, joyous)

That’s all for now, support your local record stores, here in Austin get to Waterloo

Posted in music, personal
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From the Summer

•December 24, 2008 • Leave a Comment

As a few people have requested, here’s the last installment I sent this Summer of what’s been gracing the Turner turntable for several months….more to follow

Nick Cave & Bad Seeds – Dig Lazerus Dig (getting better the older he gets, the best band keeps turning up the volume)
Ojos de Brujo – Techari (spanish/middle east fusion)
Pine Leaf Boys – Blues de Musicien (cajun young turks keep it real)
3 Na Massa – (downtempo groove from Brazil)
Nortec Collective – Tijuana Sound Machine (border sounds)
Nigeria Disco Funk Special – Sounds of the underground Lagos dance floor 1974-79
Rachid Taha – Medina (Algerian sonic attack)
Devendra Banhart – Smokey rolls down thunder canyon (the new folk king comes good again)
Antibalas – Security (brooklyns finest continue to channel Fela)
Capt Beefheart – Clear Spot (perhaps the finest space blues)
The Budos Band – II  (fela meets blaxploitation)
Cat Power – Jukebox (beautful cover versions of some classics)

So that’s it for now….support your local indie record shops!

Posted in music
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