To quote The Dictators....

...'what's up with that?'

Did the last generation feel the same way when their cool songs were appropriated for TV ads? It was a crime to use 'Blitzkrieg Bop' for Budweiser....and there are more!

• 'Lust for Life' used for a cruise line...I don't know about all of you, but when I hear that song, I picture Ewan McGregor's head falling towards the floor in the opening scene from 'Trainspotting' after shooting up....not shuffleboard players.
  
• 'We Want the Funk' used for a freakin' minivan ad! Shoulda included George Clinton smoking a big fattie while driving the van....
• 'Everybody's Happy Nowadays' used for AARP....I have nothing against the AARP, and, well, it certainly got my attention...but it's just not right!
  
• 'One Way or Another' used for the Swiffer ads....now, Picture This, Blondie fans: Ms. Debbie Harry 'swiffering' her humble abode....
  
• Funniest use? The 'Mahna Mahna' song used for some crap Dr. Pepper product- it's not just an innocent instrumental used on the Muppet Show - it was originally written by Gert Wilden & his Orchestra who scored the erotic German films called 'Schoolgirl Report (Schulmadchen Report)' ....
• 'I Walk the Line' - even worse, the horrific cover of it used to hawk jeans, fer crissakes..

There are more and will be more, I'm sure...
Why are these horrid pairings so disturbing? It's not because of any romanticized notion of music from my younger days. It's that these songs were made in spite of, and never for, crass commercialization. If any current, MTV-dependent band wants to peddle their tunes to Apple for iTunes or iPod ads, it's appropriate...however, I don't recall any Blondie lyrics mentioning clean floors and sparkling bathrooms....or 'Blitzkrieg Bop' lauding the effects of crappy beer.

Music Review: Wombat Rock 2007

I received my copy of 'Wombat Rock 2007' at THE party of the year, the joey Zone's 50th celebration. I really believe you CAN judge a CD by it's cover and once again, I have been proven oh so right.

Where do I start? How about the first track: The theme to the Muppet Show in HEBREW.

There are a couple of excellent mashups, namely 'We Will Rock Your Dirty Deeds' (ACDC vs. Queen) and 'Call Me Hung Up' (Madonna vs. Blondie.) The other mashup, 'You Believe Me All Night Long' (Cher vs. ACDC) is a little harder to wrap my little ol' brain around, but a hoot nonetheless!

Excellent covers abound: Shonen Knife covering the Runaways' 'Cherry Bomb' (herro, daddy, herro mom, ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb!); an insanely enjoyable cover of 'Ghost Riders in the Sky' by Finnish death-metal band Impaled Nazarene; a spot-on cover of the Beatles' 'Drive My Car' by the Donnas and Patti Smith's great renditions of 'When Doves Cry' and 'Gimme Shelter.' The Los Futuristas cover of 'Now I Wanna Be Your Dog' is just crazy. Think Spanish lounge music. 'Layla' by 386 Dx is wonderful for a despairing drunk afternoon in the local pub.

There's a nice radio spot from 1970 advertising the Stooges to break up the musical manna filling the ears....and a killer skit called 'Spicy Pony Head' by Kasper Hauser. I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard ('eet ees a pony head but, uh...spicy...')

That's not all- in the "So Crap it's Hysterical' category there's a cover of 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' by Bill Cosby.......and that's so much more enjoyable than the excruciating cover of 'I Write the Songs' By Chuck Woolery. Really. And it's marginally better than Barry Manilow, but that's like saying a rotted fish head on your plate is better without the eye still in it....
I hesitate to include the Who's 'Girl's Eyes' in the category above, but it's still a contender - terrible song performed without any sack whatsoever.

'Super Jupiter' from 'Odyssey!Original Cast' I had never heard before- probably with good reason. Rhyming 'super jupiter' with 'super dupiter' has to be a crime somewhere.

This CD is staying in my car for the summer! Wombats Rock!

Please speak out against the REAL ID Act!

http://www.privacycoalition.org/stoprealid/#action

Discover Your Sins!

...as if you didn't already know them............

Greed:	Medium
Gluttony:	Medium
Wrath:	High
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Low
Lust:	Low
Pride:	Medium

Discover Your Sins - Click Here

Letterpress Things

I cannot say enough great things about John Barrett's Letterpress Things in Chicopee, MA. Supplies for letterpresses. Fonts. Beautiful old letterpresses for sale. And there's John himself- patient, friendly & a font (heh heh) of knowledge.

When I contacted John before visiting his place, he told me to bring my little Kelsey press. Good thing, too- he looked at my press, showed Bernie and me what needed to be fixed and gave me more advice and tips than I had anticipated or hoped for!

Kelly McMahon, who has a studio in VT, teaches a class at Letterpress Things.

If anyone out there is interested in the world of letterpress, I recommend starting in Chicopee!

Of course, any visit to Chicopee has to include a visit to the..... Hu Ke Lau

New London Rocks!

Nice review by Eric R. Danton of local musical efforts in the Hartford Courant on Jan. 4:

"Various artists, "Towers of New London, Vol. 4: Eminent Domain" (Cosmodemonic Telegraph) - Connecticut's best rock scene shows why on this 30-song, two-disc collection of bands from the New London area. Contributions span a range of styles: There's old-school garage rock on the Reducers' "Yeh, Yeh Alright," shoe-gazer atmospherics on Low-Beam's "Pantastico," fiddle-laced roots music on the Can Kickers' "Johnny Walker," jug band-style "banjitar" on Hot Manouche's "Rocks" and brawny alt-rock on Ringers' "War Paint." This set is also beautifully packaged, with thorough liner notes and a short essay by Marko Fontaine, a DJ on WCNI-FM (90.9). Plenty of cities in this state are bigger, but none rocks harder than New London."

And congrats to Marko!

Santa's Kitchen!

I'm not sure what a 'date shake' is, but it sure looks naughty.....or nice.... http://www.theimaginaryworld.com/skCA.html

Thanks to the joey Zone!

Christmas ephemera!
http://tinyurl.com/yhnm5w

Happy Holidays!

In Memoriam: Elisabeth Gordon Chandler

Elisabeth was the founder of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts and up to her sudden death at the age of 93, she was still teaching a class every week and giving lectures. She was a very warm and intelligent woman who had an incredibly rich life. This upcoming weekend is the 30th year celebration of the founding of the Academy.

From the Lyme Academy College website:

November 30, 2006

It is with profound sadness that we announce that Elisabeth Gordon Chandler, founder of the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts, passed away on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 5:30 pm at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. Elisabeth was 93 years old at the time of her death, which was due to natural causes.

“Elisabeth Gordon Chandler was a personal friend and an icon of American fine arts. She was a woman of inspirational determination, a gifted artist, educator and mentor. We loved her as a friend, and admired her as a sculptor, teacher and trustee. Our entire college community mourns her loss,” said Alan Proctor, Chairman of the Board.

Frederick Osborne, President of the College said “Elisabeth founded the Academy when representational art and the traditional education of artists was disappearing in the Western world. Her vision through the academy has played a major role in reviving these legacies.

“She was a Renaissance woman, who firmly but gently led by the example of her own principled life and gave of herself with boundless generosity. She was a national treasure whose inspiration will always be embodied in the spirit of this Academy College.”
-Alan Proctor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, & Frederick Osborne, President,
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts

It's a Boojumhaus Hallowe'en!

Saturday was Hallowe'en for me- I have to work on the real holiday, so I made sure to get my creepy ya-yas out by attending the always entertaining, always amazing Boojumhaus Hallowe'en Party.

Costumes, competition, companionship & prizes! The attic cemetery was amazingly effective- I was creeped out when we all went up there to play 'Pass the Skull.'
Don't ask, the body's around there somewhere....

I am going to brag here & mention that mon copain (Dead Monkey Toy) won first prize in the costume contest! (the bragging part is that I made his hellish idea a reality.) I thought it was a close call, what with Kate Wombat as The Morrigan - fabulous headress!

I was having SO much fun, I forgot to take a lot of pictures, but you can see a few here: Queenly pix

And lovely Boojum photos here: Boojum pix

and Dr. K's pfotos here: The Pictures of Dr. K

I have a great picture of Arrrrr Hostess, but Our Host apparently became unwrapped halfway through the celebration....

Thanks, Boojums!

Catalog your own books....

As if I don't do enough of this at work, LibraryThing.com allows you to create a catalog of your own collection - to add titles, you search various sites, such as Library of Congress, Yale's collection, etc.

The first hundred or so entries are free, and it's very inexpensive to obain a lifetime membership....here's my catalog so far:

Books!

I have a ways to go.

Review: Rockabilly Tribute to the Ramones

Rockabilly Tribute to the Ramones

As a long, long, long time Ramones fan (for all of you under 30, this means 'since you were conceived') I'm always intrigued by covers of their music & different interpretations: The Ramones Songbook as interpreted by the Nutley Brass is a favorite.

I wasn't sure what to expect from a rockabilly tribute, but I was sure it was going to be punkabilly covers, which wasn't going to be different or exciting enough to my ears. But when I heard the first strains of 'Blitzkrieg Bop', I was delighted- this is straight-up old school rockabilly in the vein of Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly, et al. In fact, it's hard to tell when each song starts exactly which Ramones song it is until about 15 seconds into it, which is just brilliant! I am really amazed how well the Ramones songs translate into the rockabilly sound, and it's a testament to their fine songwriting abilities.

Oddly enough, the only song I felt didn't really work was "Do You Remember Rock 'N' Roll Radio?" and I could live the rest of my life without hearing 'I Wanna Be Sedated' ever again - probably my least favorite Ramones song of all time. 'Beat on the Brat', 'Teenage Lobotomy' and 'Blitzkrieg Bop' were 3 songs I felt were especially successful.

I was also surprised to see 'Bop 'Til You Drop' included, but it's extremely well done & doesn't even sound like a Ramones tune, which is interesting. The liners notes sadly do not list the musicians involved with this recording, but they run the rockabilly gamut of sound from Western swing to the more 'classic' rockabilly style.

A few of the songs could have been shorter by about 30 seconds or so, but then I'm so used to hearing them played at breakneck speed I may just have expected them to be done sooner....