Sigur Ros: "Kveikur" 5/5

                       
  
I am not a music critic. I wish I was. Rating and reviewing records has always been something I wanted to do...and to an extent, I guess, I have done so. Ridiculously amateurish Christgau-esque blurbs for the junior college newspaper...Lester Bangs-influenced rants on my blog...I even wrote four or five feature reviews for a mainstream classic rock website, paid with the CDs I wrote about...

 ...but even those were submitted with a sense of uncertainty and trepidition, a paranoid sense that somehow, no matter how much I thought they were decent pieces, they weren't good enough. I felt like the guy who solicited them wasn't nearly as pleased as he said he was. Of course if I was wrong, and most likely I was since people don't ask you to write more after publishing your first, I was only sabotaging my own prospects.

No matter. I still maintain that I am no music critic. I know this is a fact for one reason and one alone: Sigur Ros.

First off there aren't enough positive/complimentary words in my vocabulary with which I could use to describe their music and it's effects on me. Believe me, I've tried. Not only have I tried to describe these things, I've already admitted to not having adequate terminology...more than once! I seem to be stuck. I have come to the point where I'm totally unable to be objective about this band. Now one could make a good argument that there is no such thing as a record review that is actually objective. Art doesn't allow for it. Music eludes it. Always has and always will. But my devotion to Sigur Ros has crossed the boundaries into a place where they can absolutely do no wrong.

So it's hard for me to do what an album review should really do, which is to share the feelings, emotions, etc. the music stirs up within the author as he/she listens to and contemplates the material. I do want to share those things, but as I already said, words fail me. They always will when it comes to Sigur Ros. To make things worse a tendency I've accepted as fact that Sigur Ros is a "love 'em or hate 'em" proposition. I don't know that I would be able to change the mind of a hater. The music may well do that over time...case in point, I have a strong suspicion that "Brennistein", from the new LP "Kveikur", will convince those without a propensity for angelic voices that these guys really do have a much more abrasive side that will appeal. "Isjaki" and "Raufstraumer" pack some incredibly catchy melodic lines that in another universe only slightly different than ours might be considered as "pop music". All the while avoiding the "balloons in the sky, nature movie soundtrack" sweetness of "Hoppipolla". Certainly far removed from just about anything vocalist Jonsi unleashed in his solo run during the band's hiatus (which is not to dismiss that music).

The least a record review should do is be able to describe the music, even if only in the most general terms. Once again Sigur Ros make it difficult with the new album. Their sound and style vary (I don't want to say "progress") so thoroughly that you can't even say, "Well, it sounds a lot like 'Takk'" or "I think it shares a lot in common with 'Valtari'" because not only do the comparisons fail, they wind up sounding ridiculous. The only common denominator between the individual albums in their catalog, that is consistently present, as I see it, is the otherworldly, innocent, gut-wrenching, sometimes heartbreaking sound of Jonsi's voice. It is that voice, I have to admit, even though I hold the other musicians contributions in equal esttem, it's that voice that sucked me in, that held me firm, that brought me back and that will keep me until the day I die and if there's a good God out there I'll hear it even after.

There's a lot of ambient noise scattered throughout "Kveikur". It's almost as if they've recruited Einsterzende Neubauten to take the place of the string section that seems less utilized here than on previous works. Huge German radios with broken speakers, blaring with such volume that even white noise becomes distorted. The title track especially trudges it's way through the cacophony and turns into one of the heaviest Sigur Ros performance this side "Popplagid". When the band play this song in concert there is, projected on a huge screen behind them, archival film footage of pre-Hiroshima a-bomb tests...nuclear wind blowing back a line of trees like an Oklahoma tornado. These are the images that I can't help but think of when I hear "Kveikur" and though the rest of the album isn't as...what?...metallic...there is a feeling of "Phoenix rising from the ashes"...it's just that the ashes are fallout and the Phoenix is the hope of beauty's surviving, the redefining of innocence by necessity...it's the need to consign memories to a new oral tradition so that they aren't lost on the other side of the holocaust...

Oh and look just how pretentious I've become! That's "rockcrit speak". It may well mean a lot to me, or better I should say it likely makes sense to me but someone else? "What the hell are you talking about?" Right? Of course I'm right. Which is further evidence that I am no music critic. At least not past "The Beatles were awesome" and "Sadly Justin Beiber has not come into his own and by all accounts he won't during the course of his lifetime". Both of those, I would assume, are "Duh" statements. Everyone loves the Beatles. If you don't like the Beatles, even if it's just a song or two, I want nothing to do with you. You were born without a soul and you frighten me. Then again, if you flat out tell me, "I don't like the Beatles" I will naturally assume you are a liar and so it will be okay to socialize with you (to the extent that I want to socialize with liars, that is). And if you're one of those hipster jackasses who wants to be first in line at Starbucks every morning and you try to tell me that "nobody likes the Beatles anymore", or "oh, they had their day in the sun, but that's long past"...mister, you're a fool. Moreover you're WORSE than a liar because you obviously don't know what the hell you're talking about. Then again I should expect no less from someone who wears a dark orange t-shirt with the Reeses's Peanut Butter Cup logo emblazoned across the chest. In. Public. Trying to act like you don't care if people think it's "cute". It is "cute". But I don't think "cute" is what you were shooting for, was it, Hoss?

But I digress. I'm only harping on about the Beatles here to make a point about why I can never review a Sigur Ros record (though I try...obviously, I try). In my mind, and I am as convinced of this as I am you'll never see Slayer on the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Between the two Sigur Ros is the better band. Although I should probably say that I do consider the Beatles more of a "band". I'm certainly not taking away from what is undeniably the art of the Beatles' music, Sigur Ros, to me, are much more "artistic collective" than "band". I suppose that's what puts them ahead, in my estimation. I don't know if they're conscious of this combination of "artist" and "band"...they have more than once claimed in interviews that they're only in it to make the music, and I believe them. I also believe that this is what makes them even more purely creative on that artistic level. It just happens. I honestly don't think they "make it happen". It happens. And when that's the case, when IT is in charge... That's where I want to be...



   

Atheist Campus Crusaders - a favorite topic

This post was in response to an article in Religion Dispatches, Are Atheists the New Campus Crusaders?
(I would provide a link to the article but for some reason the site isn't loading.)

With all due respect to my friends who are atheists but I have to point out that, IMO, these non-theist college students are displaying every bit the level of hypocrisy found in many campus religious outreaches. My issue has to do with unbelievers constant complaint that Christians try to shove their religion down their throats. And it's true, that happens a lot. So the academic atheist's response? Shove their anti-religion "beliefs" down theirs. This all looks like "atheist evangelism" to me. And that very concept, as far as I'm concerned, is contradictory to their insistence that they are NOT a religion.

But what bothers me the most is what atheist crusader Jesse Galef had to say: “I don’t think it’s unfair to say that groups like (the former Campus Crusade for Christ) are our cultural opponents.” CULTURAL OPPONENTS??? I have to say it again...CULTURAL OPPONENTS??????????????? I don't discount the fact that Christians' built-in predisposition to proselytize can often come off as strategic assaults (if you've ever foolishly invited Mormon missionaries into your home you'll probably understand what I mean). But atheist evangelism has, at it's core, nothing more than breaking down and eradicating beliefs that pose no threat to them and are of no harm to anyone secure in their faith. There seems to be a distinct "meanness" in their zeal to "convert". I can't help but see them as obsessively wanting to take away something from people they look down upon (and don't try to argue that they DON'T look down on believers, because the very idea that someone needs to be changed, needs to be re-wired and de-programmed is as condescending as the old folks in the front pews tossing out the tired "love the sinner, hate the sin" saw when pressed to discuss the possibility of gays in their church).

Cultural OPPONENTS??????????????? Why is that necessary? I'm not favoring believers over non-believers. I respect the right for everyone to hold dear the principles that give their lives meaning. Just because those principles aren't always the same with each person does not mean we have to go to war with those whose experience is not our own. And it doesn't mean that we have the right to demand that others adopt our principles because maybe we've somehow deluded ourselves into thinking that those we live by are better, are more rational, are more fulfilling than theirs. I'm not taking sides here, in this monumental CULTURE WAR (??????????????????????). I'd rather be a peacemaker. The only message I have to the atheist that has it's roots in religion is "do unto others as you would have them do to you". The only message I have for the believer that has atheistic overtones is "never stop exploring, always question". Those mandates are what I want to live by. And as much as I think those principle would benefit all of humanity I can't expect everyone in the world to adopt them.

Don't be such a sore loser...

Please, please, please stop your bitching and moaning, whining about how it coulda been, shoulda been woulda been, and just accept the fact that the majority of the country voted for Obama so now he's our president. That's the way it works, you know. How about instead of bemoaning the hell-bound state of the nation as a result of this fact you DO SOMETHING, you GET INVOLVED, you work with your "enemy" for the GOOD. I guarantee you they want the best for the country every bit as much as you do, so why not try to reach some middle ground instead of mourning the death of bipartisan politics? Watch C-SPAN for a while instead of Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity so you can reach YOUR OWN unfiltered conclusions and the same goes for us democrats with Jon Stewart, Bill Maher (yuck), 99% of Hollywood. We've all got to realize that these radio & tv pundits are there "for amusement only". They're entertainment and little more.

You will not see me shouting from the rooftops that my man won...nobody in this town would ever speak to me again if I did, not to mention the death stares. The idea of prolonging this whole ugly mess by posting "nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah YOU LOST WE WON!" memes on facebook. It's not for me to jump into the fray of figuring out why Romney lost. That's for the Republicans to sort out...like I said earlier, as far as I'm concerned the reason Romney lost was because he didn't get enough votes (I'm being facetious, of course).

And then I see so many people saying "pray for the president" and I think that's great. We hopefully prayed for Bush, Clinton, Bush Sr,, Reagan, Carter, Ford...yea, even Nixon (especially Nixon)...meaning to say that when we pray for someone we are supporting them and I only hope that such support will be manifest in other ways which manifest in physical ways. This action is the stuff with which God answers prayers. Pray for sure, but don't sit back and wait for God to somehow intervene. Remember that in this world WE are His hands, eyes, ears, etc. His will cannot be done if we use them seeking discord, division, isolationism, and all the other things that run contrary to the Law of Love.

Which is all to say that people have the power to change. A friend of mine once wrote, "Everything changes, change is all that there is" and that's so true. By it's very nature change is inevitable. I wouldn't presume to tell my conservative friends that they need to move over, get out of the way and stop holding that change back. Because I don't see them doing that. There's a cautious aspect to progress and I believe it's their job to reign in change that's unproductive and out of control. Unfortunately the definition of "unproductive and out of control" often seems radically at odds with the vision democrats have. Perhaps it is this balance that allows change to flow at a rate which supports social harmony. Just thinkin' to be thinkin' here...

...which I suppose means that there will never be a time when we're all gonna get along (an opinion which perhaps puts me at odds with the goal of a "Utopian" society I've been told is the goal of the Left). Hopefully I don't sound too esoteric to suggest that the very duality of the universe would seem to even REQUIRE the push and pull of our differing views.

But that does not mean we shouldn't nevertheless strive for harmony, peace, goodwill, and a willingness to overlook a few faults to achieve those things. Bipartisanship is only as dead as you say it it. It's only as dead as you want it to be. Of course there is no such thing as PERFECT bipartisanship. But there certainly is bipartisanship of a DYSFUNCTIONAL sort. If our nation can hold claim to any bipartisan politics at all there is no doubt that they are of the dysfunctional type. It's up to us to do something about that.

Re-reading those words I could almost see how someone might take them as a call for revolution. Encouragement to overthrow and topple the government. No, that's not how I mean it. Just get involved on a realistic level. Our elected officials should be prepared to do their job provided with INFORMED requests. House and Senate representatives should either have a case built by people who cared enough to seek out the facts FOR THEMSELVES or they should not even consider that they have a case at all. If this were the norm I bet things would look a lot different. People should not only know about the facts themselves but understand the whys and hows of PACs and other organizations/corporations that desire to influence votes and elections.

I could go on and on and on...I hope I didn't offend anyone, especially with those opening lines. It just seemed like so many people are dragging the negative aspects of this election out further, stretching them to see how far they will go before turning into something even uglier. I can't count how many people have said "I'll be so glad when this is over" and I definitely agreed. Some of these same people are still regurgitating talking points learned from Limbaugh, Beck, Levin, Hannity, O'Reilly, the usual lot. It's time for all of us to get serious about politics. It's become obvious that social media is going to be a hugely influential aspect of 21s century politics. Since everyone and their long deceased great great grandfather are on facebook and twitter there's no escaping it. Peer pressure to become involved is and will become even more strong. This is a good thing, but also not so much so. The viral misinformation and vitriol will likely continue into infinity. But hopefully more and more people will take it seriously, seeking out facts in the morass of bullshit.

And with such knowledge true change can hopefully be recognized by those cautious of it's dangers as well as those who would embrace it in hope for a better future than they were given. Recognized, acknowledged and unchained.

Meme-Warrior Politicians and other ruminations on the current political climate

For every informed citizen caught up in the "game" there are hundreds who don't know their heads from their asses with regard to even the surface intricacies of the issues. Too many of these people shape their opinions on little more than memes like this with maybe a dose of Rush Limbaugh, Chris Matthews, Glenn Beck or Jon Stewart to help shape their viewpoints with little if any regard to the strengths of the opposing party or the weaknesses of their own. It's a game, but so few know the rules and even fewer know why those rules are put into place. People who wouldn't watch 10 minutes of C-Span but will spend two hours stroking their position with Mark Levin or Alan Colmes neither of whom seem to give a rat's ass about anything more important than discrediting the other. You put these people in a room together and you won't get a single moment of intelligent discourse. No, but you just might see an all out bar room brawl. These people have absolutely no respect for their opponents. NONE. I despise George W. Bush and believe some of his actions were not only ill advised but maybe even criminal. Yet if I were sufficiently predisposed I could probably find several things he did that were good for the American people. I would recognize those things. And I'm not defending the democrats, either, because there are just as many on the left who refuse to admit that their "enemy" could do ANYTHING right. I don't think you're going to hear Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter throw out a positive remark about the President. He may as well be the anti-Christ and God knows there are plenty meme politicians who actually think he is just that.

Never mind that he's had a few victories of his own. Conservatives won't even give Obama credit for even playing a role in bin Laden's take down. And that's such bull. The man with his finger on the button is the man with the responsiblity, which makes him the brunt of the blame or the praised victor. Come on. "Obama called the SEALS and THEY got bin Laden". Who do you think gave the order to kill Saddam Hussein? Who killed him? Nobody remembers the guys name, and that's too bad because soldiers deserve recognition, but the fact is that history will show that George W. Bush got Hussein. History will show that Barrack Obama got Osama bin Laden. History shows that because in the end they were the ones whose careers were on the line. To give the impression that Obama was not directly responsible is to feed the fires of hatred that too many armchair politicians thrive on. Which I only bring up because it's a prime example of what I'm talking about. Let's not give credit to the man who would have been crucified if the SEAL mission had failed. What a double standard.

So...and here's the crux of my point I'm probably failing to make. Politics is some deep water. It is for the few to manipulate the many. It is too deep for most people to know what they're getting into and that's why it's easy to best them with facts because they just don't know them all, and most of the ones they DO know have been twisted beyond recognition by candidates who have no use for them. One of the reasons I consider myself a liberal is because I see it as an affiliation that questions everything and wants to know WHY. That's the most important thing I want to know, because if you can't tell my WHY something is I would say WHY BOTHER THEN? I get the feeling that a lot of meme-warriors have little concern for the whys and wherefores. A lot of the time it's just like an ego stroking club. Romney is the leader of one and Obama the other. "Like" their page and get a daily boost. Keep up with all the memes in favor of your party that are floating about in wanna-be-viral land by subscribing to "I am going to vote for Presiden Obama in 2012". It IS like the Super Bowl...Pittsburg Steelers versus Podunk Junior Varsity.

It's why I hate to go into much detail about what I believe politically because at some point I'm going to get in just deep enough to be unsure and there's always some sharks armed with just enough ammunition to make me question the validity of what I have felt in my heart and tried to put in my head for most of my adult life. And sure enough when I get out of the waters and dig a little deeper I can find my own ammunition for when I want to best those pesky sharks. And I will, but it's like Dante's Inferno. It just keeps getting worse.

If I may continue with the analogy...those sharks don't know anything more than I do. But they stay where they're at and wait for the next diver. They aren't looking deeper. They're happy where they are. That's politics to me. It's way, way too complex for me to be so absolutely sure or get to the bottom of any issue. Maybe that's a weakness on my part, but I believe an election should be about weighing pros and cons, not trying to knock each other off the scales. I've given up hope that this generation will ever respect the office of the presidency itself as opposed to the man who sits in the Oval Office. Isn't that sad?

How about instead of slinging horse**** at our opponents we make better use of our time and try to educate all the people who need to be shown how to ask "why" and how to spot a lie when they hear one. Show them there's a higher path than posting negative images and stupid cartoons trying to best the other team. (I should take just a second here to admit that I have done that as well, so I understand the fascination). Teach them what they should know before they go to the ballots and if they don't want to learn we should do everything in our power to keep them FROM the ballots.

I know there's a long standing tradition of political rivalry that stretches back all the way to the founding of the country. It seems negative campaigning has been with us from the start. But do you know what? It's so stupid. It's counterproductive. Some traditions, through the passage of time, become good for nothing and no one. Those are the traditions that need to be tossed. And IMO this is one of them.

A short rant on something that should be obvious.

After much thoughtful consideration I have come to the conclusion that politicians don't deal in facts. They mix data, statistics, polls, opinions, then they wad it all up like pieces of paper in their fists to throw at their rivals. Nothings against the rules because when you get to a certain point there ARE no rules. They all lie, they all cheat. Their promises are made to be broken. Republicans, Democrats, they're all hyocrites.

Politics is a game, all the way from the top seats in the White House to the arm-chair pundits cheering on their team via Twitter and Facebook. I don't blame anyone for voting from their gut because it's six one way and half-a-dozen another. I've actually read posts from friends who say any bipartisan effort to resolve issues is outdated and a useless, ineffective means to an end.

The gap between "us" and "them" has never been so wide. Thick dividing lines have been drawn, they want to know which side you're on. I resent that I am put in a position where my choice of who to vote for opens me up to ridicule and ostracization. That sounds extreme but anyone who has watched these campaigns play out should see it plain and clear. How much of this anti-bipartisanship can we endure until civil war breaks out? That sounds extreme, too. I don't see how it cannot be inevitable as long as there is so much hate infusing the political climate.

I take comfort in the hope that the next generation will learn lessons from our obstinance and set things to right. I hope that their approach to politics rises above childish insults, bully tactics, personal attacks, "tit-for-tat" excuses, Tea Party isolationism, Occupy extremism, Chick-Fil-A support feasts, Chick-Fil-A "kiss-in" demonstrations, wars on religion, wars on women, wars on Christmas, wars in the middle east, AM radio spokesmen with more power than the president... I hope they can find intellectual and moral middle ground in understanding sensitive topics like abortion, sexual orientation, religion... I have faith that they will be able to approach one another with more empathy and acceptance than my generation ever could, deprived of a tool that connects cultures, attitudes, opinions... could it be that the Internet will teach our children more about understanding the plight of their fellow man better than ever we could? We shall see.

In the meantime here we are. Fresh from nit-picking all the rhetoric from the Republication National convention, ready to hear some validation from out of Charlotte. Or coming down off of that ecstatic cloud with the GOP nominating your man, ready to throw mud at the "socialists". It's all great fun, ain't it? I guess it all depends on how far down it is on your list of priorities.

Do you remember when? Does it make you feel older?

click on picture for link

These "Bet You're Not Old Enough To Remember" posts are like a plague on facebook, and yet I still am amazed at how old they make me feel. Of the 11 references in this article I immediately recognized every single one (even though a couple were barely memories even from childhood). I can sympathize with the youngster who doesn't recognize Eeell Gibbons, but SURELY everyone knows who Archie Bunker is??? And it isn't the fact that I recognize them that makes me old, or even that the youngsters might not recognize them. I feel old BECAUSE I *THINK* THEY WILL RECOGNIZE THEM. And then they don't. That's when I feel the real disconnect between the generations and realize I'm consigned to a particular place and time that is terra incognita for the movers and shakers of the modern world.

Not to say that some of the references deserve to be remembered. Some are better off forgotten for their actions/statements and others simply because their notoriety is so utterly trivial. Twiggy, anyone? Others barely hang on to their place in the nostalgia machine because they are an aspect of something just as trivial yet a bit more amusing. For instance, the rumor that Alice Cooper was the guy who played Eddie Haskell in "Leave It To Beaver". But it's all in vain, because only a couple of decades will erase all memory not only of Eddie Haskell but of Alice Cooper and "Leave It To Beaver" as well. Oh, sure, there will be revivals down the road. But even that phenomenon cannot completely save our pop culture heroes from obscurity. When's the last time you heard a big band blowin' out some swing tune from the 40s on the radio/internet/whatever? And that's not even 100 years ago. What was the scene like in 1912? Have to ask grandpa. See if he remembers.

Anita Bryant? Well, she's certainly no Fred Phelps, but do we really want to keep her memory alive as anything other than a cautionary tale? Even if you agree with the gist of what she had to say (I don't) surely there's no way anyone can condone the way she said it. Foster Brooks? Ah, yes, the good old days when alcoholism wasn't considered a disease. It was a time when 12 Step programs settled for 8 or 9 steps. The days when the Marlboro Man rustled herds of cattle and Spuds MacKinzie rolled out the kegs of Bud (I'll bet ya not too many people remember good old Spuds!). Bad stuff to be sure but I'd take it all back in a heartbeat if they'd get rid of all those emberassing Viagra ads. Oh for the good old days when an erection lasting longer than 4 hours was considered a good reason to pull out the ole Black Book, pick up the phone and start dialing. We didn't need or even want to know that such a miraculous phenomenon required a visit to the doctor. 4 hours, man, I'm not gonna need no doctor, I'm gonna need an undertaker (if you catch my drift, and I think you do, nudge-nudge, wink-wink, say no more).

I have to wonder, though, if my embarassment of Viagra ads isn't yet another vestige of my perception. My generation, as teens, may have had Playboy magazines stuffed between our mattresses...year old copies found in our dad's dresser, likely...but we were ignorant about sexuality. Well, obviously I can only speak for the male segment of the spectrum...I don't have a clue what the gals were up to. I only knew that they were usually a lot more mature about the subject so they must not have had a Hugh Hefner or a Bob Guccione to corrupt them.

What I'm (unsuccessfully) trying to say here is that I don't think kids get red faced at the concepts set forth in the disclaimer & side effects rider of a Viagra commercial. When I say "kids" I'm talking about older teens, younger tweens, and I may just be incredibly naive thinking that kids that age in my day weren't as enlightened, but I know I wasn't. I watch an episode of "New Girl" and I think, my God, that really goes for the blue humor (in case anyone doesn't remember the term, blue humor is basically the same as "dirty jokes". If "dirty jokes" has passed from the idiom I don't know what to tell you). I am probably a prude when it comes down to it, but I would be embarassed watching "New Girl" with my 27 year old daughter. Hell, I'd be embarassed to watch it with my 40 year old wife. I know, that's pathetic of me. Childish, even. I think of it as being "over protective" and maybe it's a hold out from the time when I beat that punk Laurence to a pulp for shouting obscenities within hearing distance of our elderly neighbor, Mrs. Huggins. I can't help it. I don't want my friends and loved ones to descend into the deep, dark, nasty pit I fell into long ago.

Which takes me back to where I came from...This is the kind of thing that makes me feel old. Kids are just smarter than they were when I was one of them. More savvy. Even the miscreants have more street smarts. I don't guess I should expect, or be disappointed, that they don't know Joe Friday or the Indian guy getting all teary-eyed because pollution has ruined his ancestral hunting grounds. It goes both ways, to a small extent. I don't think I would recognize Kim Kardasian if she had one of those "Hello! My Name Is..." tags on her blouse. I've never gotten more than 10 seconds into a Britney Spears song. I'm clueless as to why anyone gives a flying fart about Lindsey Lohan. I feel like a dirty old pervert when I contemplate how really good looking Zooey Daschenel is. I can count the number of post-2000 bands I really like on one hand. TV? Is the news on yet? Okay, you turn it on.

In the long run I think these facebook "nostalgia" posts are so popular because they would seem to suggest that, hey, I may be old but I've got something you don't have! Unfortunately the typical response is probably hey, that's ok, you keep it. It makes us feel good to be reminded of those things which, hey, even WE had forgotten until someone else's post reminded us. We like this stuff because it gives us a chance to revel in the generation gap. It's a bittersweet undertaking but one that offers perspective. Not just of how wide that gap becomes the older we get. We can recover memories lost between the horns of that gap by viewing a You Tube video of the Groovy Ghoulies. A picture of Linda Blair becomes a piece in a jigsaw puzzle that's always been there, scattered with all the others around the part you've already put together. It just somehow came loose, waiting for you to find it and put it back where it belonged. The bizarre experience of playing cardboard records cut from cereal boxes, held down on the turntable with nickels, becomes an esoteric bond between those for whom the very idea isn't patently ridiculous. "Hey, you think Marilyn Manson is outreagous? Well, come over here and let me introduce you to Alice Cooper". "Yes, son, that's the third re-make of this movie. When we get home we can watch the original. It's so much better." A bridge of sorts.

Assuming, that is, that anyone wants to cross it.

a short rant about Spotify's iPhone app

If you're thinking of going premium with Spotify for the iPhone app don't bother. It's a piece of crap that crashes every 20-30 minutes. That said, the service is worth the money even without it. Still it bothers me because if you tell me I'm going to get something for my money I want EVERYTHING you offered. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of by the developers who have been aware of the problem for a long, long time and have not addressed it. It CAN'T be a major bug so what's the deal? You know? Boo hoo! Punks! Thieves. Disappointing. But hey, for 10 bucks you can turn your laptop into one of the biggest, most diverse record collection you could dream of. Perhaps it's too much to expect to be able to do the same with an iPhone. No? Then why did you wastrels tell me it was part of the deal? This is the kind of stuff that turns your ordinary upstanding citizen into a Unabomber. Like when the Man keeps you down, you know? Makes you think they've got you sunk, pushed down to some bottom level of their insidious Monarch Mind Control techniques. It makes you give up all hope for the technology that brought us the Internet as well as the social corruption & degradation it brought along for the ride. I feel I've been exiled and excommunicated by the high priests at Spotify who pontificate and praise the many wonders of their product while turning a blind eye to it's defects and shortcomings. They sit around plotting and scheming all day long to find a way to get the licensing for Beatles songs, Pink Floyd songs, Led Zeppelin songs...I say WAKE UP!!! Beatles fans can listen to their CDs and MP3s cuz you KNOW they've already bought 'em. Floyd and Zep fans, too. Hell, they can just turn on the classic rock radio station and wait a few minutes, they'll hear something by them. I say STOP MESSING AROUND WITH THAT, SPOTIFY!!! Get your spit together. FIX yer apps. Start firing your developers, take a trip down to Silicon Valley and find some new ones, for God's sake. Ones that can take charge of the situation. Ones that can, in the words of a great postmodern thinker, GIT 'ER DONE. I'm dead serious about this. I've been let down too long. I see people cancelling their subscriptions left and right because of this. Yes, you goofballs, I've thought about it, too. Lucky for you you've got a few things going for that none of the other streaming subscription music services I've seen have. Bigger file size/better sound quality is the hook you've got me reeled in on. Trust me, that's the ONLY thing, because as far as selection and UI are concerned Rhapsody and Rdio both are comparable and in some ways even better. But they've got crappy sound quality. Really crappy. That might not be an issue with some people and as such I don't have any qualms about recommending either service over Spotify to those people. I hate to do that, too, because I'd rather be true blue to the core. I'd rather be faithful and loyal to a company that I believe in. I don't pay for Internet services as a rule. But I've made the exception with Spotify and that's got to mean something, right? All they need do is fix the crashes and I'll gladly give them enough free PR to afford the licenses for those Beatles songs I mentioned earlier. Punks! Get with the program! NOW! FIXXXXXXXX!!!!


Update: Ummm, well. I guess I should apologize. A helpful member (Moderator) of the Spotify Community gave me the solution to my problem, which was simple as changing a streaming setting from "Normal" to "High". How was I to know? I always figured "normal" meant "normal". Doesn't matter, though, because all is working properly. It wouldn't be a bad idea for the developers to put a troubleshooting page in the app. 

Sigur Ros: "Valtari"

I remember when Sigur Ros' last studio album came out. I debated long and hard whether I should listen to the full-length stream of "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" or wait another week until the official release. Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I spent considerable time with the low-quality stream. I recall being hesitant at first because the record was so much different from it's successor, "Takk".

"Takk" is, in my humble opinion, probably the best record ever made. Sounds like lunatic hyperbole, doesn't it? I don't expect anyone to jump on the bandwagon...Even now I can hear the choruses of "are you crazy?" So be it. There's a spirit about their 4th album that moves me every single time I hear it (and trust me I've listened to it countless times). There's not a single moment on the entire album that fails to impress. It flows seamlessly from song to song, an hour passes and you wonder where it went off to. Even so, the songs stand on their own every bit as successfully. It's easy to get lost in "Takk". It's epic. There's not an album like it. There will never be another album like it.

So why did so many people expect "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" to be anything like "Takk" or any of their other records, for that matter? Why were so many disappointed? To my credit it didn't take long for me to integrate this observation into my expectations of the music. Okay, so getting used to the first single, "Gobbledigook", was a whole 'nother story, but I won't go into that, other than to say that I still sort of have to mentally disengage that song from the rest of the album before I can appreciate it totally.

I confess I didn't quite "get" "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" on the first few tries either. A couple of songs really stood out for me initially. "Gódan daginn" and the title track, for instance, sounded like exactly what I believed Sigur Ros should sound like. "Ára bátur" showed a lot of promise, but I figured it would take some time to find the right state of mind to appreciate it fully. "All Alright" is such a fragile song that it's hard to listen to even after all this time, though I've toughened up my Inner Child since then to the point where I can actually hear without feeling too unfomfortable. "Inní mér syngur vitleysingur" and "Vid spilum endalaust" were so far out of the expected mold that I thought for sure I wouldn't cotton to them. But guess what? They are a couple of my favorite Sigur Ros tracks now! I don't know how many other people who bought the record and felt let down eventually came around, but I can honestly say that "Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" is right up there with "Takk" on my list of best Sigur Ros albums.

It's been three years since all that...three years with Sigur Ros on "hiatus" while Jonsi donned a bird outfit, wrote a slew of really good pop songs and toured the world with a show that was a real life-changing experience...though I wouldn't know that personally, since I was unable to arrange a trip to Laurence, Kansas. My life remains, at least in that aspect, unchanged. Jonsi was relatively "everywhere" last year, from a television ad (???????), a slew of talk shows, even composing the complete score for "We Bought a Zoo". Seeing as how 99% of all Sigur Ros fans love Jonsi and are on board with practically everything he does, one could be forgiven for suspecting a distinct possibility that the next Sigur Ros album ("please, Lord, let there BE a 'next' Sigur Ros album") might just contain some pop elements. After all, there were indeed a few songs he was playing that could well have been proper Sigur Ros numbers ("Tornado" & "Grow Till Tall", for instance).

Three years gone. Prayers are answered. And no, there will be no "Takk" sequel. Not even a ""Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust" " sequel. No "( )" sequel and no "Ágætis byrjun" sequel. Nothing that bears any resemblance whatsoever to Jonsi's "Go" stuff. Instead...

"Valtari". Not since "Von" has there been a Sigur Ros album so challenging, so demanding of your complete and total attention. If I may speak only for myself, it's a DIFFICULT album. Perhaps some of the difficulty is the afore-mentioned process of trying to seperate "Sigur Ros A" from "Sigur Ros B". But it's hard because you really do have to LISTEN to get the desired effected. You can't hit the "play" button, settle back and read a good book. Not to say that a couple of the songs in the second half don't make beautiful ambient music. They certainly do. But unless you're concentrating on the sounds as they come out of the air, following without trying to comprehend them, you won't get pulled quite as deep into the experience.

I've read a few reviews of the record and for the most part I don't think they've given it the credit it deserves.  That's not to say that the opinions haven't been favorable. I guess 3 1/2 out of 5 stars in Rolling Stone is nothing to scoff at, seeing as how a lot of REALLY good albums pull "only" 3. Spin gives "Valtari" 7 out of 10, which seems more realistic but their website doesn't show the actual review so I don't know what their writer is judging. Pitchfork has even less love, with only a 6.1. Even so, such rankings are nothing to be ashamed of. Still I don't think the disc has been received in the way it should have been.

And this is why...

I saw a reviewer on YouTube give his take on the album. Somewhere lost in the typical "record review jargon" the reviewer was spurting he said, and to paraphrase only slightly, "'Valtari' isn't my favorite album in Sigur Ros' catalog"... I thought, "Dude! The record just came out two weeks ago!" The guy struck me as being a fan and since he spoke in terms of "favorites" I assumed that he had the band's other discs ranked in some semblance of preference. Who knows, maybe his initial instincts will serve him faithfully and it won't become an album that, in his opinion, won't hold it's own with their earlier work.

But, and I've probably said it here already, "Valtari" is not the kind of record you're going to "get" in just a few listens. Though it may not be apparent to many who primarily listen to "popular music", "Valtari" holds a lot in common with modern symphonic music. I can't describe exactly what I mean by that, only to say that the more you listen, the DEEPER you listen, the more you appreciate (ugh! I KNOW I've already said that more than once!!!). Take a symphony by Gustav Mahler. The second one, for instance, aka "Resurrection". It's length is staggering. It violently pulls you into it's world with one of it's primary motifs. Then you practically drown in all the different melodies, textures, etc. until by the end of the piece you're not really sure exactly what you've been through. But you know that there's something, some "things" you've missed. Pieces of a puzzle which, when put together, will make the the artistic vision a bit clearer and the listening experience more fulfilling. With Mahler (and practically all classical music in general) there are a LOT of puzzle pieces. And it's not so much that the pieces "complete" the symphony. You'll eventually learn that the symphony can NEVER be complete. Because it's dependent upon the listener to determine HOW the puzzle pieces fit together. It's an interactive process in which the brain is given free reign to assemble and dissemble sounds and melodies at it's pleasure, at it's whim even. It cannot be complete, but the more you listen the more you are familiar with the possibilities, having noticed or used them before in some combination or another.

This is how I listen to "Valtari". It's no less challenging, in it's way, than Mahler's second. Ian Cohen, in Pitchfork's review, speaks of the album as "leaving you to fashion highlights out of relativity". Maybe I'm just looking for something different in the music I generally listen to but WOW that sounds like it would be AWESOME!!! Isn't that what postmodernism is all about? He describes the music as "work, a trudge, asking for too much by way of demanding nothing concrete." This demand, he feels, is "due to Sigur Ros' unwillingness to exert any sort of artistic will on the listener".

Mr. Cohen, I can understand how you might feel that way, though the assertion that the band is artistically lazy gets under my skin. And I won't insist that "Valtari" is a "maximalist version of  "( )'", even though you think we hardcore Sigur Ros fans might use it as an excuse. I'm surprised you compare it to "( )" after all. Not that you're the only one, but I suppose it's difficult/impossible to find a point of comparison for something like "Valtari" in the entire SR catalog.

There IS NO point of comparison. Listening to "Valtari" IS work, though I would add that it's only a "trudge" for those who think they've already got a firm grip on what this band is all about. Which is not meant to suggest that they haven't crafted a recognizable style and sound in the past. I only mean that if you think you're going to pigeonhole them and put them in a box, you'll be confused when they fly out and you probably won't recognize them anymore. That's the point when you'll have to decide if it's the band you're running with or just the songs. Not to say that it's a bad thing to be "all about the songs". But that's something that hardcore fans of Sigur Ros, and most other bands as well, have gone beyond.

It's at that point when people will say to you, "Oh, well, you'll just like anything that band does, whether it's good or not". On one point that is a correct assessment. Yes, I admit I will like anything Sigur Ros does. They'll put out an album that sounds like death metal cum  Partridge Family and I will listen so hard and so deep and with such respect for what they are capable of that, yes, I'll likely find a lot that appeals to me, even in a record like that!  

Okay, so...the reason I'm writing all this is because a friend of mine asked me to. Well, that's  not quite true...he asked me what I thought of the album. There's no false humility in claiming that my opinion was especially important to him. I was the one who introduced Sigur Ros to him. He happened to be one of the lucky ones who walked into the store while I was playing "Aegetis Byrjun" on the stereo. He fell in love with the band there and then and has since seen them several times (a fact which has never failed to rankle me, as I've only seen them twice). Since then he's asked for my take on every new Sigur Ros album that's come around the bend. He said he was slightly underwhelmed with "Valtari". Or at least his first impressions weren't as favorable as they had been with previous records.

Of the "Sigur-Ros-Can-Do-No-Wrong" fan type, I had the primal urge to defend it...even though I was somewhat underwhelmed myself. That's where all this "give it a few listens before you judge" comes from, I'm sure.  I've said it, I've repeated it, I've implied it...the plea "don't give up on it so quickly" is all I can offer, but I think it's valid. I believe this album will reveal itself slowly, as the band members themselves have said.

Having been almost a month now since hearing the LP in it's entirety, the question is "Well? How did it hold up for you? Was it worth the time and effort to sit through the whole thing as many times as you have?"

Yes, it has. Although I don't think I've even broken the surface of what it has to offer I have nevertheless found myself in a place where I'm comfortable and, how should I say it? Prepared for where it will lead through the days to come. At first it sounded almost unfinished. Now I can appreciate a sense of sparseness for the sounds to float within, seldom anchored by gravity. There are still a couple of things about the record that disappoint. The mixing/production quality on "Varúð" is, to my ears, atrocious. It is possible that Alex Somers & the band did this on purpose, but this detracts significantly from the song, IMO. There are other places that the production could be, once again IMO, improved. Nothing that would completely ruin the overall experience, though. Also it just doesn't feel right to me for the last three songs to be completely devoid of  a "proper" vocal part. "Proper" as opposed to the voice being used as an effect, which is all very nice, but one primary reason I love Sigur Ros is Jonsi's voice so I was kind of hoping it would put in at least one more appearance before the album's finish.

As for the individual songs... "Valtari" rises out of the mist with a song that translates as "I Breathe". "Ég anda" sounds like a house filled with ghosts. Disembodied voices floating in a large, dark room. I don't usually think of music in terms of "thought pictures" (for lack of a better term), but I can't help but envision these wraiths trapped in time and space, for some reason tethered to the world, unable to slink into eternity where they belong. The lead vocal comes in and I imagine it's an incantation chanted over the spirits, a spell to melt the cord and usher them from a prison they've almost grown used to. "Ég anda" is one of three songs that I immediately enjoyed, that only took a couple of listens before they hit.

"Ekki Múkk" is one of the three, though it had a head start, being the first song to leak from the album. As with it's predecessor, "Ekki Múkk" rises up from silence with an eerie feel. There is a similarity, for me at least, to the material on Jonsi and Alex's "Riceboy Sleeps" album, which is perfectly fine with me, since that one has grown on me to a marvelous degree since it's release. The "ace in the hole" for this song are the chilling string arrangements from Amina. Jonsi shows off his ability to hold a musical note until cows come home. Such an awesome song, I don't know that I'll cotton to any of the others as I have this one.

There's really not much to the next track, "Varúð", other than a nice three note chorus from what sounds like a boys choir. It builds and builds and builds but inevitably reaches an anti-climax. I keep expecting Orri to kick into a heavy duty full drum assault but all I get is the pounding of what sounds like a tribal war drum. Nothing wrong with war drums and the such...I hear them more as "build up" and not "climax" (haha). Its not the main reason I'm ultimately dissatisfied with the song, which is the production. Since I've already commented on it I will move on..

Next up is the other song that I immediately loved. A truly beautiful piece of music, "Rembihnútur" spends it's initial half gathering up the sounds and snatches of melody that will eventually dominate the song. Jonsi sings a soft lullaby and then it all erupts into one of the most beautiful melodies I've ever heard from him. The harmonies and multi-tracking only sweeten the sound. Maybe it is those harmonies that remind me, for some inconceivable reason, of the Beach Boys, with their tight vocal interaction. I felt the same way about "Hoppípolla" when I first heard it. Once again, I have no idea why I make the mental connection, as I am not not a fan of the Beach Boys. I do, however, acknowledge the awesome quality of their combined voices.

I don't have the vinyl version of "Valtari" (as I have not owned a turntable in decades), but it's easy for me to hear the dividing line of side A and side B on the CD. As such I have had a difficult time getting past "side A". That's not to say that the last four songs are inferior to the first in any way. Still, I feel kind of drained by the time I get to "Dauðalogn", which is not a good thing seeing as how powerful the song is. It doesn't help either that I can't shake a melodic resemblance to "All Alright" that makes me suspect lazy recycling. I know Sigur Ros has far too much integrity to have ever done something like that so I have done my best to separate the lines and have paid more attention to the expressive qualities of the vocal. Using this approach it's easy for me to hear "Dauðalogn" as one of their best songs, able to hold it's own with just about anything they've done.

Before the album came out the band licensed the CW Network show "Vampire Diaries" a portion of "Dauðalogn". It was used in a scene where a two people are seen in a car underwater, having obviously just crashed into it. There are long shots of a woman, bubbles slowly exiting mouth and nose, sitting resigned to her fate with a look in her eye that is chilling. And there in the background is Jonsi singing, Icelandic or glossolia God only knows, and it just goes so well with the images I can't help but be impressed. I watched that and I kept repeating to myself, "DON'T think of this every time you hear the song!" I hate to have a video producer's vision provide the soundtrack to any song I listen to. But it's been hard to keep from it. The fact that it's a CW show makes it even worse. But what's done is done. I've found a way to mentally evict the offensive elements while still keeping the elegiac sense that was so awesome in the juxtaposition of song and drama.

"Varðeldur", one of the last three tracks, all basically instrumental, sounds to me like little more than a lengthy epilogue of it's predecessor. It took a few spins of the entire CD before I realized that's not what it actually is. On it's own merits the song is just this side of ambient, something you'd find on a Brian Eno album. The same holds true of "Valtari", the album's namesake which translates into "Steam Roller". Not exactly "steam roller" as you'd expect with a metal album, still there does seem to be a slow, lumbering motion that gives the unlikely title credibility.

Bringing it all back home is an experimental number called "Fjögur píanó". "Four Pianos". The idea of the song was for each individual musician to play an uncomplicated piano part to a simple loop. None of them would be in the same room at the same time and none would hear the parts that were played by each other. When the four completed this process they mixed the parts together and the result is "Fjögur píanó". Knowing that gives a much deeper appreciation to what they've attempted with the experiment. I could go into my whole spiritual mumbo jumbo about the source of inspiration and how it might work itself out in a situation like this but I'll spare you. Suffice to say it's a very enjoyable number and a successful outcome for the test. The pianos fade into a last spill of ambiance that eases the listener out of "Valtari" back into the mists from which it came.

And there it goes. Like the snake eating it's own tail, drawing you, beckoning you to play it again. To travel full circle again, finding bits and pieces of sonic bliss you missed the last time around. Worth the trip. Yes, I say it's well worth the round trip.

Liverpool Legends...June 26,2012...Branson Missouri

The wife's been itching for a vacation and I figured it would do me good as well to get out of the house for a few days. We decided to go to Branson, Missouri, which is basically a tourist trap for people in the heartland who won't commit to Vegas or the coasts. Not that I'm putting it down. There are a lot of cool places to see and things to do. The main draw of Branson is live shows. Mainly country and western tributes, "jubilees" and "jamborees". Mickey Gilley has a theater there. Jim Stafford as well. The Oak Ridge Boys is probably the most recognizable act to own their own theater in Branson. LOTS of tributes, impersonators, and artists who have passed their "heyday". Ticket vendors are everywhere. 

I'd only been in Branson once before today. We stopped here for a while on the way home from a Sigur Ros concert in Kansas City. We didn't have time to do much of anything that day. There's a place called the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum that we checked out. A lot of fun. They've got a hologram of Walt Disney or somebody that I thought was fascinating. I'm obsessed with holograms. 

The one attraction I saw at the time that really interested me was a big theater completely decked out in Beatles regalia and the words "Liverpool Legends" in big letters on a banner that hung over the entrance. It looked like a really big deal, obviously a Beatles tribute band. I didn't know if show was a long-running affair or for a limited time but I decided that if I ever came back to Branson I would go see Liverpool Legends.

Resurrection Band: "City Streets", "Alienated", "The Chair"

Easter weekend is usually a good time for me. I reflect upon the reasons I'm a Christian and come away with a new sense of conviction. This weekend wasn't like that and I really don't know why. There's been so much "atheist talk" with my son this year that I guess it's wearing me thin to the point where I almost lose the hope that keeps me going. In the long run I won't lose it because Jesus won't let that happen, but nevertheless I fear that my bipolar disorder has swung way down to a troubling low. I take anti-depressants and have done so for at least a year. They did me a lot of good and the effects were recognizable. I'm afraid I've built up a tolerance level to them. I'm doing some of the same things and thinking some of the same thoughts and feeling the same way I did before I began taking them. So either it's a huge emotional drop that will correct itself in the same manner that a manic phase does not last forever, or I need to look into getting a new anti-depressant prescribed. If you only knew how much I loathe that possibility.

I didn't come here to talk psychiatry or mental health. I just wanted to share an awesome video I just found of the Resurrection Band in performance circa 1981. It took me back to the good old days after I'd first become a Christian. Christian rock music helped me survive the conservative, ultra-literal church mindset in Oklahoma. Resurrection Band was probably the first evangelical rock band I ever heard. They kicked ass so hard it wasn't even funny! Not too many, if any, could keep up with them. They were truly anointed, and this bugged the Bible Belters to no end. Unlike a lot of CCM rockers they didin't ape any particular "secular" band. They didn't have to. I don't care what you believe in, or don't believe in, if you like good rock music you would do yourself a favor tracking down "Colours" and "Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore".

The video is an excerpt from a show in Puerto Rico. It starts out with "City Streets", moves on with "Alienated" and closes out with an incredible song about people with disabilities, "The Chair". I'll warn you that the last song is cut off about 15 seconds before it ends, and this is extremely frustrating because "The Chair" is by far the most powerful song of the three. Like I said when I posted it on YouTube, singer Glenn Kaiser could have been a huge rock star had he chosen to play anything but Christian music. If you don't think so by the end of this video then I suppose you and I have radically different opinions about the requirements for such fame and success. It doesn't matter, though, because it's probable that Kaiser would not have been a fraction the performer had it not been for the inspiration from and conviction of his faith in Jesus Christ.

Modern country music in the ring

Notice he wasn't wearin' black back when this picture was taken

Yeah, Johnny! That's the way I feel about what passes for country these days. Most of it. If only you were still around to provide a little perspective.

But since that's not looking like it's going to happen anytime soon, I've got another idea:  MMA cage matches between modern country music stars.

Eric Church vs. Keith Urban, that would be a wager easily won.

Montgomery Gentry vs. Rascal Flatts: three men down, two riding Harleys to the honky tonk.

Trace Adkins vs. Toby Keith, since guns aren't allowed in the ring you would be smart to put your money on Adkins because, face it, he is one big, tall mother lover. He's survived a gunshot wound to the abdomen, in case you didn't know, so it's obvious who has the advantage in this match.

Tim McGraw vs. George Strait, well, it's bad enough that Tim buys his cowboy hats at Big Lots or that George is probably at least 20 years older, the fact of the matter is that George Strait is the king. One pop to the noggin and McGraw will learn a whole 'nother meaning to "Live Like You Were Dying".

We could do a special "C&W Veterans Match" and pair up George Jones and Merle Haggard. They're both past their fighting years, you have to cut them some slack. George has overcome a lot of obstacles. He's beat alcoholism, he's beat cocaine abuse and he even beat a couple of his wives (not verified). A formidable opponent. But on the other hand Merle Haggard just got out of the hospital having whipped pneumonia or some other potentially deadly malaise, so that SOB is TOUGH! And obviously he's still at the top of his game, so I have to lay my wages at the feet of the "workin' man". Sorry, Possum.

Zac Brown vs. Scott McCreery: surprisingly enough I think Scotty would win, simply because I don't see Zac as the kind of man who would strike a kid. Not just out of respect for the "right thing to do" but even more out of respect for the law. He's obviously a tough guy, but I doubt he wants to find out just HOW tough behind prison walls.

Sugarland vs. Lady Antebellum...I think that one will be a tie. The Antebellums certainly outnumber the Lands three-to-two but once that Sugarland dude gets his wacky signature hat knocked off he will be pissed to the gills and a force to be reckoned with. He could very well, in such a state of righteous anger, pull down a good 2/3s of the Ladys, but that one guy with the tattoo might be able to fend him off for a few minutes at least.

Taylor Swift vs. Martina McBride...Reba McEntire vs. Sara Owens...Rodney Akins vs. Dierks Bentley...Brad Paisley vs. Alan Jackson...Billy Currington vs. Big & Rich...What a great bill! The mat will be spattered with blood and Tennessee whiskey when the last cowboy has gone home. A lot of superstars will leave the arena on stretchers and even more will require extensive first aid from qualified paramedics. And I don't mean band-aids and alcohol. I'm talking about stitches, splints, neck braces, IVs, the works. Some will never make another country music video for the rest of their lives. Many will take the stage with a limp from now on. As for the winners? A chance to pray for Keith Urban's recovery. Membership in a tiny, exclusive, elite club of people who have prayed for Keith Urban's recovery. New-found respect from fans who won a lot of money betting on them. Another chance to write the perfect country song, somehow incorporating their victory into the mix with momma, trains & getting drunk. Respect. Winner take all. Until the casino hosts another C&W cage fight extravaganza.

And when the bell has rang for the last match of the last C&W MMA cage fight in history, there will be only one man left standing. He'll have knocked the hat off Tim McGraw's balding head. He'll have bought Josh Turner a ticket for that long, black train and stood at the station to make sure he got on. He'll have put Hootie back in the Blowfish. He'll have put Kenny Chesney in a Jimmy Buffet tribute band and made sure he never played in Nashville again. He'll hide Willie Nelson's weed and laugh to watch him frantically searching for it. Cruel. He'll have made Blake Shelton scream so hard, so loud and so long that he will forever lose his voice. And he'll keep kicking ass until he's 100 years old, when he'll retire and go back to roping cows on the range. "I was a young troubadour when I rode in on a song," he sings, words were never spoken as true as they, "I'll be an old troubadour when I'm gone." That'll be a long time to come. Until then, watch and be amazed as GEORGE STRAIT wreaks havoc on the state of country music in these times.

"Gravedigger" - Dave Matthews Band/Willie Nelson

Okay, folks, the time has come for pondering our mortality. And what better way to do it but through the all-inclusive medium of music video, right? The genre well known for tackling the really "heavy" topics. From R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" (spiritual uncertainty), Tears For Fears' "Shout" (Janovian Primal Scream Therapy"), Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" (bullying & suicide), Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" (national indifference) and Poison's "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" (botanical certainties), these 3-4 minute gems are the perfect vehicle for dispensing deep philosophical & philosophical ideals into the minds of the attention-span-challenged Joe Public.

Death. It looms large and is frightening in it's ability to loom larger and even larger with each passing day. It is pervasive. Duh! We take it for granted. Duh! But seriously, it does seem like we subconsciously marginalize it, perhaps in an effort to cope with the magnitude of fear and uncertainty that is a common denominator of all mankind...let me be clear, I understand that many people have found ways to conquer what I would consider the "fear" of death. I'm sure they would feel insulted by my suggesting that we all, alike, are terrified by it. Still, I have not met a man yet who could tell me that he wasn't afraid of death in his final moment. 

But back to what I was saying. We marginalize it. We trivialize it. We compartmentalize it. Anything we can do to not have to face it's reality. Our language is filled with metaphors & colloquialisms that reduce it to an impotent word in a throwaway phrase: "Dude, I'm gonna KILL you!" "I love you to death." "Meryl, that dress is TO DIE FOR!" "Dead ahead". "I'm just DYING to meet you!" "I listened to Rush Limbaugh's show yesterday and there must have been at least ten minutes of DEAD AIR during the commercial breaks," "Urgh! Your breath smells like death!" "Jimbo, you're so funny! You SLAY me!" "You gotta love Jerry Lee Lewis! He's 'The Killer'!" "I just died in your arms tonight." "Dead heat". "What a great performance, Mr. Cobain! You KILLED it!" "Turn me on, dead man." 

We watch movies that depict death and dying in the most realistic manner and it doesn't affect us one bit. I'm not talking about the "Saving Private Ryan"s or the "Schindler's List"s. I mean "Dawn of the Dead". "Day of the Dead". Night of the Living Dead". "The Evil Dead". "Dead and Buried". "Diary of the Dead". "Braindead". "House or the Dead". "Zombie Strippers". "All You Need is Brains". "Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies"....in fact, the pervasiveness of Zombies is so prevalent in this day and age that I could write a whole 'nother article about it ("All You Zombies" by the Hooters, "Zombie" by the Cranberries and/or Fela Kuti, whichever way your taste lies, the television series "The Walking Dead"...the possibilities are endless).

Nevertheless there are times we are forced to take it seriously. An attentive viewing of Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" is a sobering experience. How can you listen to "Love Will Tear Us Apart", knowing that the composer killed himself, without being just a little bit spooked? You watch "The Crow" and you can't help but find yourself super-attentive to the scene where Brandon Lee gets killed, and it actually disappoints you to learn that the actual killing was cut out of the film. As a child you are fascinated and repulsed by the "Faces of Death" video, watching it becomes a reluctant rite of passage. You may even feel cheated when you find out, as you get older, that the vast majority of stuff in that film is staged, faked, bogus. 

You wonder...even as we minimalize it, even as we fear it, we are compelled to "look it in the eye". To perhaps place our own individual existences within the context of the Greater Reality.

At any rate, the two videos I wish to share are about as somber a rumination on the Grim Reaper's handiwork as any I've ever seen. The first one is by the Dave Matthews Band, an original song called "Gravedigger". Though I'm not much of a DMB fan, I will confess to liking this song. It is a relentless comment on death's indifference. It claims the guilty and the innocent alike. It could care less about justice.

The second one is Willie Nelson's cover of the same song. Where Matthews version was frightening, Nelson's is creepy and spooky. All the more so since much of it takes place at "his" gravesite. Willie almost seems to be taunting his fate with quirky facial expressions that verge upon the bizarre. He sings the song very well, with his typical warbling voice. This is another aspect that sets it apart from the Matthews original, which has quite the defiant tone to it. Willie's, on the other hand, is one of acceptance and certainty. 

Decide for yourself which is the better of the two. You don't have to watch them in order.

food food food good lord how i love food

I usually don't attend "family functions", but today was my wife's grandmother's 90th birthday so I decided to make a surprise appearance. The venue for the celebration was Sirloin Stockade, home of one of the finest buffets I have eaten at...better than Golden Corral, that's for sure. I overdid it, as I knew I would. Decided to post what I ate so that someday I can look back and say, "Good God, how could you eat that much food???"

1st Trip:
Salad: iceberg lettuce, blue cheese dressing, shredded Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, red onions, jalapeno peppers, bacon bits (real, not the fake Bake-Os kind), green pepper, cottage cheese

2nd Trip:
Pulled barbecue beef, baked beans, steamed carrots, french fries, dinner roll

3rd Trip:
Taco salad: tortilla chips, seasoned ground beef (a LOT of it), beans, lettuce, taco sauce, melted cheese, just a few chopped red onions, sour cream

Ah, it doesn't really seem like all that much now that I read it back. But I was still eating a long time after everyone else had finished. I'm a slow eater, but the sheer amount of food took a long time to devour.

To top it off, whenever I eat at buffets like this I always make myself an ice cream cone to eat on the way out. I'm really good at making them. The ice cream sticks up, like, 6 or 7 inches out of the cone. So high that I fear it will fall over, but it usually doesn't.

It's been about 8 hours now since I enjoyed this fine repast. I can't say I'm very hungry at the moment, but I may eat a few chips with salsa later. The local store is having a sale and Red Gold salsa is marked down something like $1.30, selling for only 99 cents. I bought my first jar of Red Gold a couple of months ago and it's very good. The hot variety is definitely not false advertising. Hot hot hot! I like hot stuff, but I can't handle it. So we get medium. You have to eat quite a bit of medium before your tongue will start to burn, but burn it will. The wife picked up 3 jars when she first saw it on sale and I went back a couple of days later for 5 more.

I better lay down and rest for awhile...

Music service merry-go-round

Much has happened on the subscription music service front. Many times I have thought about writing about it. Many more times I have decided against it because I just haven't been in the mood to write much of anything. Well, that's only partly true. A few times I started something and gave it up a couple of paragraphs in because it was so lame. Or I should say it was lamer than the norm I've established on this blog....

Okay, that's not fair. I think I write halfway decent for a personal blog that will be viewed by very, very few people. It was never meant to be about quality writing, anyway. Nevertheless, the subscription music service situation since I last posted has been interesting (at least to me) and something I am up for writing about.

(Actually I have written two or three scraps of poetry that I don't think are too bad. They can be found at Bipolar Confessional, a clearinghouse for all of my poetic inspiration.)

So, when last we met I had cancelled my SiriusXM Satellite Radio, a service which had served me fairly well during the last 8 years. I did it to save $5 a month by switching to Spotify for my streaming music needs. However, when I got fed up with the loathsome Spotify iPhone app and a few connection drop-outs I decided to switch to Rhapsody. There was a 2-week free trial on it, and as far as I knew I was on a month-long freebie with Spotify (which didn't turn out to be the case when they renewed my membership after I cancelled...at least I thought I cancelled, I only let it slide because I wasn't sure I'd done it right). I knew that Spotify used higher bitrate files than Rhapsody and yes, I was concerned that the sound quality would be an issue. Still, the music database of Rhapsody is incredibly huge...whether it's bigger than Spotify's, I don't know, but they do have stuff that Spotify doesn't...I also really liked Rhapsody's music/song organization capabilities. They definitely beat Spotify hands down on that front. To top it all off in Rhapsody's favor, I never had any problems with their iPhone app. It was easy to use, though I couldn't say if it was easier than Spotify's because theirs kept crashing on me before I had the chance to notice.

Well, here's how it all turned out. I found that Rhapsody's sound quality was a much bigger issue than I though it would be. I didn't think I'd notice it what with my crappy hearing, but it was very noticeable. I decided to ditch it before they got the chance to charge me and re-upped with Spotify. I screwed that up, too, because I clicked on "renew subscription" with a almost 2 weeks left on the month I hadn't wanted anyway. I know, I'm a wimp for not sticking up for myself. But it was just so much easier to take the loss without going through the bs that would surely accompany fixing it up.

The iPhone app situation still bugs me. I've tried everything I know of to do...deleting and re-installing from the phone itself, deleting and installing from iTunes, nothing works. All I can do is hope and wait for an update that addresses the issue. I like the service, and use it enough to justify paying $10 a month to use on my PC alone. Hopefully they'll will come out with an Android version I can use on my Kindle Fire and even more hopefully it will be free. Not that this will atone for the worthless iPhone app. They're a growing company, more users everyday, they've got Mark Zuckerberg offering rave blurbs for crying out loud. SURELY it's only a matter of time before they get all of this ironed out.

Here's the kicker. I guess it had been at least a couple of months after I cancelled SiriusXM and I'm not ashamed to admit I was starting to miss it. I knew I would. I'm positive the marketing geniuses at SiriusXM have a perfect understanding of when someone is missing the service the most after cancelling...and that's when they send the bargain "Come back and we'll give you a hell of a deal" offers. 6 months for $25. When you consider that a typical month of SiriusXM service runs a bit over $15 you have to admit, this is a well-baited hook. We had a little extra money put back so I swallowed my pride and hooked it back up, this time with the understanding that I WOULD keep the Spotify along with it.

That's where I'm at now. Definitely noticing the better sound quality on Spotify. Sometimes I still get connection drop-outs and they are very, very annoying (especially when listening to a classical piece). For now I'm content to bite the bullet. The XM is hooked up in the bedroom, where it always was. I listen to it every night before falling asleep. So glad to be able to "channel surf" again. Sound quality is disappointing but I'm almost convinced that the problem there is with the stereo system I've got it running through. A new one should be at the top of my wishlist.

not gonna mourn for Whitney...

Question: Do you agree with governor Chris Christie's decision to fly the flag at half mast as a memorial to Whitney Houston? Why or why not!

Answer: A flag flying at half staff indicates the mourning of a public official, a fireman, a policeman, a war hero... Someone who has served the public. A president, a representative, and yes, a fallen soldier (although if we were to memorialize every man and woman lost in battle the flag would be at half mast every day, and who's to say that wouldn't be appropriate, but these heroes fight for the freedom that is symbolized by the flag, it's more a memorial for them that it fly high because they gave their lives so that it might).

A half mast flag should be reserved for someone to whom all members of the community/country owe a debt of gratitude to. With all due respect to Whitney Houston, she was a pop star. A talented pop star. How many other talented musicians and artists have died without notice from anyone but longtime fans? Or even big name stars that everyone has heard of? They made music that appealed to a segment of the population.

Those of us who are indifferent to her music? What has she ever done for us? The soldier died for us. The president kept the country running. The governor spoke for us. The senator/congressman took our concerns to the corridors of power. The policeman protects and serves. The fireman risks his life battling the forces of nature. Whitney Houston? She had a slew of hits early in her career. She made a movie that recieved, for the most part, universal bad reviews, she tried really, really hard to make a comeback, with no success, in what was very likely an attempt to keep her name in the public eye she participated in a reality television show in which she displayed many less-than-admirable character issues...you'd be more likely to see her on the cover of the National Enquirer than Billboard...

I don't mean to belittle her or cheapen her career accomplishments...God knows there are few out there who would not give an arm or a leg for the success she had. My point is that we don't owe her anything.

I know I don't. I am sensitive enough to feel saddened by her loss, just as I would the passing of anyone who I knew, in the real world or through the vehicle of pop culture, television, radio, etc. But I will not mourn her. I will not grieve her, any more than I would grieve for the people whose names and pictures I see in the obituary column of the newspaper. It's not because I didn't appreciate her music (I don't) or even that I don't appreciate her contributions to music in general (although I'm hard pressed to come up with any). I simply can't figure out, for the life of me, why I should care. It boggles my mind that so many do, on such a massive scale.

Still I'd be willing to bet that there are more people in this country who could care less. Who never bought a Whitney Houston CD. Who never took notice when one of her songs came on the radio. People to whom her music never spoke. She didn't owe that to us, it's true. But she didn't do it for us, either.

I could care less about the fact that she used drugs. That's not the point, at least it's not for me...I think it probably is a valid point, but it's not the main one that keeps me from patting Chris Christie on the back and congratulating him for recognizing Whitney Houston as "New Jersey's native daughter". I mean, that's the most legitimate reason I've heard for lowering the flag. I can see the logic in it. But when it's all said and done I still have to stick with my original position that she simply hasn't met the requirements.
IMHO, because I don't make the rules.