"Super" Don't Make You a Man!

WARNING! Another political moment. Close your eyes, stuff cotton wads or jelly beans in your ears if you're not interested. Skip on down to the music.

MoveOn.org has an online petition, requesting the Democratic superdelegates to "let the voters decide between Clinton and Obama, then support the people's choice." I agree wholeheartedly with this idea and thought I'd share the link with you.

Peace and love on this last Valentine's Day of the rule of King George the...Whatever He Is.

My Back Pages, Vol. I

I'm sure it's not cool to be literate in the text-message age, but there it is - I can read! In fact, I love to read. I read alone, I read in groups, I read while eating, I read while driving sometimes (not recommended). Can't help it, I'm afraid. Taught myself to read before I went to kindergarten because I had to figure out what the hell was inside that big collection of Walt Disney encyclopedias sitting on the shelf in the upstairs hallway. (Seriously, this was a multi-volume hardcover set of all kinds of stuff Disney thought kids should know, from science to fairy tales. I learned a hell of a lot from them before I started attacking the World Book downstairs). I'd sit with my back up against the wall for hours, feet under the shelf, taking volume after volume down and devouring them. Their interpretations of classical mythology and the tales of the Brothers Grimm were especially good, enhanced by some excellent and quite frightening classic Disney-studios art.

Anyway, that has nothing to do with this post. Except that I've decided to pick up something I started more than ten years ago and then had to let go due to something I call parenthood. That's not over yet, but it's a little less 24-7. Every once in a while I'm going to write about a book I've recently read, whether you like it or not. Feel free to skip ahead to the tunes, because I'd be surprised if you read this far already. Just kidding. You stopped much earlier.


The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber

Once or twice a year I pick up and read a book that looks like a conventional best-seller type novel. This is a long habit started when I worked at a bookstore 20 years ago and wanted to be able to recommend something to our patrons besides science fiction or the latest book of surrealist poetry. That's how I started reading mysteries, too. A week ago at our local public library (support them, you bastards!) I grabbed one that didn't look too awful. Got very lucky this time, too.

The basic plot concerns the discovery of 16th century manuscripts that may or may not hold the clues to the recovery of a lost Shakespeare play, an original manuscript in Will's own hand. There's a wide-eyed young filmmaker as much in search of love as anything, a devious young lady on the run from her past, a bunch of well-drawn supporting characters including an ex-Polish spy/cryptographer (gotta have one of those!) and lots of Russian mobsters. All of them revolve around the wonderful Jake Mishkin, Olympic weight-lifting, womanizing, lawyering son-of-a-bitch son of a Jewish mobster and a Nazi-princess. Yowza! How can you go wrong, eh!

Well, in the wrong hands, very wrong. But Gruber layers story upon story, plot upon plot, taking us effortlessly back and forth from perspective to perspective, past to future, in prose that subtly changes as Jake changes, from the workmanlike to the poetics of the everyday and beyond. It's a treat to read Jake's confessions and to literally feel the language develop as he does. And, I'll admit, Gruber got me so into Jake and his heart that I was in tears at the end. Me and Jake.

I cannot and won't tell anymore about the book because it would be criminal to give away the plot, except to vent one little vent. I found it all remarkably plausible barring one little archaeological/geological moment in the book that gave away the ending to me. I'm a lifelong amateur armchair archaeologist and I married a geologist, so I pay attention to things that other folks might miss when such matters pop up in books. Still didn't ruin the book because this is far more about finding out what happens to Jake and friends than about finding any silly old Shakespeare manuscript.

Go, now, buy and read this shit! (Me, I'm going to the library to see what else they've got by Gruber!)

The Smell of Burning Paisley

The Rain Parade - Live in Atlanta, GA (1985)

I'm one of those guys who love that whole Paisley Underground movement, regardless of how it's perceived and often derided by folks. The neo-psychedelic flowering of the early 80s hit me right between the eyes, musically. (I'll go on at length about the Battle of the Garages LPs some other post, believe me.) And is there a better example of this than "You Are My Friend"? I don't know, I really don't. It's such a damn, damn, damn beautiful tune with a melody that I can't get out of my head once it's slithered itself inside. Hopefully it will nest inside of yours too. Then the snakes in our heads will have friends to play with!

This is a very powerful live show, though I'll admit I have better sounding Rain Parade gigs in the archives. There will be more, but until then...shit.

Our Founding Fathers, First In a Series

13th Floor Elevators - At the Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (1966) Part 1
13th Floor Elevators - At the Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA (1966) Part 2

A tribute to those that came before, the first of at least several. (How am I gonna get you guys some decent live Television if I don't get you some 'Elevators first? It just doesn't make sense!) Anyways, you can hear the 'Elevators in damn near everything, it seems. And this is a perfect way to hear them - live in their glory! The Roky Erickson CD Club put this sweetie out a few years ago, just one of dozens of lost live and studio recordings they distributed FREE to the fans, tens of thousands of fans, all over the world.

(Okay, here's the deal. Basically, I'm having trouble getting some stuff uploaded and deciding what I want to rip for you all and I already had this one done, so.......)

There's a cool new book about the boys out now, so go buy this paper shit and read it and then buy the music!

The Radiant Fuzzbox Wig Returns!

The incredible Plasticland perform "Make Yourself a Happening Machine" at the Stage Door. Don't know where the Stage Door is. Milwaukee? Chicago? Mars?

I got lucky enough to see them again a couple of years ago at a recreation of a famous 1968 happening, complete with bad poetry and horrible in-your-face 60s-style theatre, including (gasp!) flesh-colored unitards to simulate actual nudity. The only saving grace(s) of the evening were the multiple short sets Plasticland played between these pieces. Astoundingly beautiful, loud, roaring psychedelia, as always and ever from Glenn and John and company. In particular, "Mushroom Hill" was turned into one of the hottest pieces of krautrockian guitar-o-phonic space explorations I've ever heard! Drool-able, simply drool-able. Afterwards went backstage with my armful of LPs to get them signed and the gracious men from Wonderland invited me and pal Hagbard (you all know Hagbard, right? thought so...) to partake with them of the beauty that is Milwaukee. And a good time was had by all. 'Nuff said. (Well, I can say that if you appreciate great music and a well-mixed cocktail served in a homey-punk atmosphere, check out the Circle A!)

I've got some great live Plasticland shows to share with you all in the future, but until now, buy their shit!

A Love I Could Have Known

Thin White Rope - Live at the Arena, Vienna, Austria (5/6/90) Part 1
Thin White Rope - Live at the Arena, Vienna, Austria (5/6/90) Part 2

Back from the political boneyard. I made up my mind on something, though. I'm going to be posting live music for your pleasure M/W/F and either do nothing or get weird or vent steam or preach like the newly converted on the other days. Okay? Okay.

Anyway, where were you the first time you heard Thin White Rope? Don't remember?!? Gah, how could you not. Me, I was standing in my kitchen,trembling head to toe, spinning with the ecstasy of newfound guitar noises and primitive drums and a voice like Nixon on 'ludes, man - Nixon on 'ludes!!! - going on about crawling and pissing and freezing and generally scaring the shit out of me! It was beautiful. (I don't know if I mean that Nixon crap - first thing to come to mind is all. But it's a funny image, huh?)

Never got the pleasure of seeing the Rope live. I had to make a choice one night between them and a band that I've completely forgotten about. Bad choice. But I can slightly make up for it by presenting you with this great sounding show. Enjoy! (And buy some thin white ropey shit!)

I Want a Better World for My Son

September 11th did not dunk me in the waters of fervent, drunken, irrational patriotism like so many of my countrymen and women. Instead, it awoke me. And I awoke frightened. Frightened because I realized that the world really had changed - America and its people would now have to face the same fears and challenges to safety and the future that the rest of the world had been facing for so long already.

Since, I have had a lot of trouble dealing with my country's response to that day. Much of it has been hasty at best and terribly wrong at worst. But we get the leaders we choose, I think, and while we were unlucky to have those we did on that September morning, we were fully aware of the choices available to us at the next election day. The results speak for themselves.

But I think sometimes we can be slow learners, us Americans. Not that we never learn, it just takes several solid blows to the head and the heart to make us change direction. And now a new direction has presented itself, come up from this time of change, and I for one fully intend to support this new direction and do all I can to see it come about, to see the birth of a new American century. A century of progress and freedom and real democracy for all the people of the world, the kind of century I want my son to have, that I want all our children to have.

Thank you for your time.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

There's New Places to Explore

The Feelies - Live at Jake's, Bloomington, IN (5/4/91) Part 1
The Feelies - Live at Jake's, Bloomington, IN (5/4/91) Part 2

So, here we are. The Feelies. Doesn't get much better than this, brothers and sisters. The Feelies have provided a soundtrack to life and love for me and my wife for about 20 years now (along with Neil Young, The Mekons, Robyn Hitchcock, Velvet Underground and a few others). Guitars, guitars and - wait for it! - guitars - unmistakeable guitars! Once you have them in your head, they are there forever. Example: I put on a Wake Ooloo CD in the car a few weeks ago, first time I'd played them for her (oversight on my part!), and she said instantly: "Is that Glenn Mercer?" That's good, that's good!

I got a lot more live Feelies. Let me know if you like this one. There are two Feelies recordings available from Twin Tone, who have done something remarkable and are making custom order CDs available of OOP albums! Get The Good Earth and No One Knows now! And Glenn Mercer has a new solo CD out, plus those Wake Ooloos may still be available, so seek out the shit!

Sending You a Postcard

Green On Red - Live at Zeche, Bochum, Germany (10-4-1985) Part 1
Green On Red - Live at Zeche, Bochum, Germany (10-4-1985) Part 2

Yowza! I still get goosebumps when I listen to Green on Red - great hackleberry sized buboes all over my body that itch and swell and eventually explode in glorious Technicolor. No, wait, that's the Plague.

Okay. There are bands that define moments in the pop culture zeitgeist and Green on Red were one of them. The early 80s actually had quite a few bands like this, but GoR did it best. They put a whole bunch of stuff together - garage, punk, psychedelia, country, blues and old fashioned rock 'n' roll - and created a pure beast from it, a slouching, lumbering, screaming drunk of a beast but pure nonetheless.

From the first moment I saw the cover of Gas, Food, Lodging I knew something special had been achieved. That record just FELT right! And LOOKED right! And, boy, did it SOUND right! Still does. And this live recording (transferred from a vinyl bootleg, I think) is a near-perfect summing up of GoR from that time. Listen to the album and listen to this live show back-to-back, it'll do ya good.

Oh, yeah - go buy their shit!

Drinking with The Kings

Great Plains - Live at Stache's, Columbus OH (10-31-85)

I have lost a noticeable portion of my hearing. Why? Live music. I regret the loss but not the cause. One of those live shows was Great Plains at O'Cayz Corral (Madison, WI) sometime in 1985. A dozen, maybe two dozen people came out, the band looked exhausted (they sat down on stage for a good chunk of the show) but the music was good, even "great."

You were there, maybe, if not at O'Cayz and not for Great Plains, but you were there and you know what I mean. I'm not one to wallow in nostalgia. I detest and loathe nostalgia - it is a sickness, the kind that makes people vote for aliens out of time like Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton. But you know exactly what I mean about that time and place, which makes it easier for us to communicate. Communication is good.

And while I loathe nostalgia, I love history. Great Plains are part of our history. All those weird nights in all those weird clubs listening to weird music played by...people just like us. That's our history.

Enjoy your history lesson, kids!

And buy some of Great Plains' shit!