Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday Afternoon
It's now definitely snowing outside. On the plus side, I just finished writing (the lyrics for) a new sprawling, irregularly rhymed song. Also I just got my new schedule for the next couple months.
Trek and Beer
Last night I drank this beer while watching Star Trek (original recipe) before going out to eat pizza. It's like college: pizza, beer, and Star Trek. Or like how college would have been if Star Trek had been on. I'm considering writing a post on my favorite episodes, as I've watched quite a few now, but that would require more research, and the tapes are not easy enough to access that I'm going to bother. I will say some things, though.
The show is hilarious, and it's almost unbelievable that a show as good (albeit flawed) as The Next Generation could have been spawned from this. It seems like every other episode involves the crew going to some kind of historical earth planet/simulation. It's not even an allegory or anything; they just go to a Nazi planet to basically learn the lesson that Nazis are bad, which they can't even manage right, ending hastily and seeming to come to the conclusion that Naziism was just spoiled by a couple bad eggs. When they aren't doing that, there's some ridiculous allegory (half-black, half-white episode?) or future re-imagining of Shakespeare or something.
Everyone on the ship is a complete moron and if it weren't a show, they would have crashed into a star on the first outing. Spock is made out to be intelligent, but he really just makes ludicrous assumptions and proclaims them "logical." McCoy is hilarious but ultimately useless, just there to act as a foil for Spock. Chekov and Sulu do nothing, especially Chekov, whose only jobs seem to be making faces at the camera and not having any lines. Uhura's job can be done by pressing a single button. Somehow Scotty is always left in charge of the ship and somehow he always does exactly the stupidest thing possible. It's almost as if the writers had something against Scottish people. He really is that dumb.
Obviously Kirk is the focus of the show, and the writers could not have chosen a better direction. He's easily the best character in that he can magically fix every problem by
1) punching someone in the face
2) seducing a woman
3) seducing a woman and then punching her in the face
I absolutely love this show.
Wednesday Morning
I just finished a short story by Philip K. Dick called "Exhibit Piece," about a 22nd century historian who enters his exhibit on the 20th century and in so doing enters the 2oth century, but not as an outside observer. He is part of the past and the future, having a history in both times, and can't figure out how to get back. I won't ruin it for you, but it is excellent.
New people started work today, I guess, transferred in from somewhere else. I wasn't here for their introductions, so I'm not sure of their names, but I don't know the names of the people who were already working here for the most part, so it's not really a big deal, I suppose. I can see the nameplate on one new guy's desk, but I'm not totally sure how to read it. Japanese names can be difficult because characters generally have multiple readings, and in the context of a name, there is no real hint as to which it has. Sometimes they have readings that the characters usually don't have. Japanese names are more made up than English ones, usually, but certain ones are common, so a lot of times you can guess, but the characters for this guy's are weird and my best guess is Fumito, but I've never heard of anyone with that name before, so I think that's probably wrong. It doesn't matter because I can read his last name, which is all I need to know.
Some other people just came in and bowed and such. I have no idea who they are.
It seems to be snowing/raining outside. I can't really tell from here, but it seems cold enough that snow is possible. I'm also tired, so that might be making me feel cold. I have the Dylan song "God Knows" stuck in my head, but I don't know any of the words other than the title, so it is torturous. Yesterday it was "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" from the Tom Waits album Small Change. That made sense, though, because I was listening to that album. I have no idea where this song is coming from. The rain's really coming down now.
I had to look up that song title to make sure, and came across this quote from Bones Howe (quoting Tom Waits) about writing "Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)":
"He said the most wonderful thing about writing that song. He went down and hung around on skid row in L.A. because he wanted to get stimulated for writing this material. He called me up and said, 'I went down to skid row ... I bought a pint of rye. In a brown paper bag.' I said, 'Oh really?'. 'Yeah - hunkered down, drank the pint of rye, went home, threw up, and wrote 'Tom Traubert's Blues [...] Every guy down there ... everyone I spoke to, a woman put him there."
It's a pretty good song and I never skip it when I have that album on.
New people started work today, I guess, transferred in from somewhere else. I wasn't here for their introductions, so I'm not sure of their names, but I don't know the names of the people who were already working here for the most part, so it's not really a big deal, I suppose. I can see the nameplate on one new guy's desk, but I'm not totally sure how to read it. Japanese names can be difficult because characters generally have multiple readings, and in the context of a name, there is no real hint as to which it has. Sometimes they have readings that the characters usually don't have. Japanese names are more made up than English ones, usually, but certain ones are common, so a lot of times you can guess, but the characters for this guy's are weird and my best guess is Fumito, but I've never heard of anyone with that name before, so I think that's probably wrong. It doesn't matter because I can read his last name, which is all I need to know.
Some other people just came in and bowed and such. I have no idea who they are.
It seems to be snowing/raining outside. I can't really tell from here, but it seems cold enough that snow is possible. I'm also tired, so that might be making me feel cold. I have the Dylan song "God Knows" stuck in my head, but I don't know any of the words other than the title, so it is torturous. Yesterday it was "Bad Liver and a Broken Heart" from the Tom Waits album Small Change. That made sense, though, because I was listening to that album. I have no idea where this song is coming from. The rain's really coming down now.
I had to look up that song title to make sure, and came across this quote from Bones Howe (quoting Tom Waits) about writing "Tom Traubert's Blues (Four Sheets to the Wind in Copenhagen)":
"He said the most wonderful thing about writing that song. He went down and hung around on skid row in L.A. because he wanted to get stimulated for writing this material. He called me up and said, 'I went down to skid row ... I bought a pint of rye. In a brown paper bag.' I said, 'Oh really?'. 'Yeah - hunkered down, drank the pint of rye, went home, threw up, and wrote 'Tom Traubert's Blues [...] Every guy down there ... everyone I spoke to, a woman put him there."
It's a pretty good song and I never skip it when I have that album on.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Dance to the Nightingale Tune
Last time I covered up through Dylan's evangelical period, ending with Shot of Love. Now Bob takes another turn, dropping a lot of the overtly religious stuff.
Infidels (1983) - Bob's talking about Israel ("Jokerman," "Neighborhood Bully"), consumerism ("Union Sundown"), and, of course, love ("Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight"). Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits, and you can tell he's on the album, too. I like that sound, but overall the songs here are a little weak, with "Jokerman" being the only one I find myself coming back to. For a "story," I guess I will remark that I got this album from Creamy, who got it from the library, but was confused because someone had put it in the case for John Wesley Harding, so the titles didn't make any sense.
Real Live (1984) - A live album that basically just reworks songs to poor effect.
Empire Burlesque (1985) - I always kind of laugh at the cover of this one because of how 80's it is and how bad that looks on Bob. I don't ever listen to it, though, so I have nothing to add.
Biograph (1985) - This is a collection of greatest hits and unreleased tracks from throughout Dylan's career to that point. I'm meh about greatest hits albums, but like the devoted Bob fan I am, I love to hear unreleased stuff (which Bob is full of). I'm especially a fan of hearing stuff and being able to tell which album session it was originally recorded at because each album has its own particular sound. Thus, "Up to Me" (from the Blood on the Tracks sessions) and "Isis" (a live version from the Rolling Thunder Revue period) are favorites.
Knocked Out Loaded (1986) - This one is pretty short and seems mostly thrown together from unused stuff. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but "Brownsville Girl," an updated version of "New Danville Girl," which was originally recorded for Empire Burlesque but left unused is that multi-layered story type of song (in the tradition of "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," and "Isis" that I so love from Dylan.) It involves standing in line to see a movie with Gregory Peck.
Down in the Groove (1988) - is not good.
Dylan and the Dead (1989) - You might think that putting a sweet jam band behind the best songwriter ever would lead to awesomeness, but apparently all you get is lackluster reworkings of songs that were better 20 years before.
Oh Mercy (1989) - And he's back. Well, sort of, anyway. This album is generally regarded as a comeback of sorts, and it's true that it is leaps and bounds ahead of the last few. I like "Most of the Time," a pretty little song that I think (?) people may have heard on a soundtrack. "Man in the Long Black Coat" sets a strange mood and is probably the most celebrated track. "Shooting Star" is another favorite, though I can't really say why. There are a couple tracks not included that would later be reworked which were fantastic, too. The album is also notable for not having a picture of Dylan on the front.
Under the Red Sky (1990) - One step forward, two steps back. This album is basically unfinished, which is too bad, because it could have been pretty good. There are some songs written to Bob's (at the time) baby girl, and some that are just weird ("10,000 Men"), but apparently recording was hampered by Bob working with the Traveling Wilburys at the time. I love "Handy Dandy," though, which seems to be referring to Ronald Reagan (?). You'll notice I use "(?)" a lot; I think it conveys the proper reaction sometimes. Oh, yeah, critics hated this album, and it prompted Dylan to stop recording original stuff for a while.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3 (1991) - More unreleased stuff from throughout the career! From the Freewheelin' sessions, we get a new talkin blues, this one "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues". What are talkin' blues? It's a song form pioneered by Woody Guthrie which Bob had perfected during his folk years. I'm not going to try to explain it because I can't, but they are generally funny. To quote:
I got shoved down 'n' pushed around,
All I could hear there was a screamin' sound,
Don't remember one thing more,
Just remember walkin' up on a little shore,
Head busted, stomach cracked,
Feet splintered, I was bald, naked. . .
Quite lucky to be alive though.
It loses something without Bob's folky cadence, but maybe you get the picture. Oddly enough, "Talkin' Hava Negeilah Blues" isn't really talkin' blues in the traditional sense, but it's pretty good.
Since 60's-70's rock Dylan is my favorite, I want to mention "If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Have To Stay All Night)," "Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence," "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (alternate take)," "Santa-Fe," "Catfish," "Golden Loom," "She's Your Lover Now," and alternate takes of "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Idiot Wind." There are loads more, but you should listen yourself and try to pick out which sessions they are from.
Good as I Been to You (1992) - GAIBTY is the first of two albums of traditional (non-original) from Bob, and my favorite of the two. I just love the way he croaks,
Or else, you'll surely hang, says he,
and after that, Jim Jones
It's high up upon the nearest tree
the birds will pick your bones
The album is a reminder that he has some skills with arrangement that gets overlooked because of the lyrics.
30th anniversary somethingorother (1993) - I haven't heard this, but it's other people playing Bob's songs.
World Gone Wrong (1993) - More acoustic folk stuff, and a wonderful listen, though I have little to add.
Greatest Hits, Vol. III (1994) - This covers everything from Blood on the Tracks through Under the Red Sky, but I don't have anything else to say. The previously unreleased "Dignity" is a nice addition, though.
MTV Unplugged (1995) - Remember when MTV played music (this joke has been dead for a while)? Dylan rocks the house with songs from throughout his career, but maybe a little too country for some people's taste. I'm a fan. I got this album from Emily! who loved indulging my Dylan habit, though she didn't really like the album at all. I love it. To me, the versions of "Dignity," "Shooting Star," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and even (this makes me a heretic, I think) "Tombstone Blues" are the best versions. The album also gets bonus points for including "John Brown," which was one of those only-live songs that Bob seemed adamant about leaving off of albums. Eric and I liked to play "Knockin'..." as I recall, and this was the version I always found myself imitating because of the way he sounds like he is actually dying.
Time Out of Mind (1997) - Dylan returns from the brink of death to play the vox and record 14 minute long songs about conversations with waitresses. It's a nice album, but it requires a couple of listens to get into. There is a White Stripes cover of "Love Sick" out there on the internets somewhere, if you are into that kind of thing. The album has a couple really great tracks, but I will let you decide which ones I like.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998) - Long enough title? It is what it says, a live recording from the famed Europe tour with the Band in which Dylan was heckled and booed by his fans, who would turn their backs to the stage when he started playing rock. Weird, eh? This includes the famous "Judas!" "I don't believe you, you're a liar!" exchange.
The Essential Bob Dylan (2000) - Another greatest hits album that I don't have.
Love and Theft (2001) - "Mississippi" was left over from the Time Out of Mind sessions, a fact that surprised me, given the difference in tone here. I love that song, though, and rank it as one of his best. "High Water" is another favorite. I got this one from Marisa, as I recall.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue (2002) - Probably my favorite live album, this is Dylan at his 70's best, wearing that stupid hat that he seemed never to remove for a few years, painting his face white, and playing Mexican travelogues with his trusty bassist (I think?), Larry, to whom he talks during the performance. I don't have a reason for finding that amusing. Anyway, the album is great.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall (2004) - Bob is stoned for what I think is Eric's favorite live performance. It's a good sampling of his early work, with Bob adding his youthful charm, saying things like, "I'm wearing my Bob Dylan mask," because it's a Halloween concert.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (2005) - A gift to me, and a wonderful one. Check out both the movie, which follows Dylan up through that European tour I mentioned, and the soundtrack, which has more music than is played in the movie. It's fantastic to watch his progression from voice of the people to rock legend as people around him fall behind his rapid evolution.
Live at the Gaslight, 1962 (2005) - Remastered old stuff, obviously. I like that "John Brown" makes another appearance, but the MTV Unplugged version is better, or at least more suited to my tastes. Basically one for the collectors.
Modern Times (2006) - Dylan is slick and swinging, hopping back and forth between the 12-bar blues and balladeering reminiscent of much older times. I love this album, particularly "Workingman Blues #2." Why does he always add numbers to songs? Regardless, the album is a permanent fixture in the car, as the 12-bar blues that make up just about every other track make for perfect driving music. There's some controversy about him stealing parts of songs from the public domain and not giving credit, but I'm too lazy to look it up. I remember our university president asking Eric if we had heard this album yet after one of our performances, which I think only he and maybe a couple faculty members appreciated.
Dylan (2007) - Another self-titled album? I haven't heard this greatest hits collection.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs (2008) - I heard this one on NPR for free, but not since it was first released, as that was a promotional thing. It seemed really good though, outtakes and alternate takes from Oh Mercy onward, which demonstrate just how much a track can change before being released.
Together Through Life (2009) - I just heard of this, as it isn't out yet, but I'm waiting patiently, of course.
Hey, well, that does it. Props to anyone who actually read through these updates.
Infidels (1983) - Bob's talking about Israel ("Jokerman," "Neighborhood Bully"), consumerism ("Union Sundown"), and, of course, love ("Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight"). Mark Knopfler of the Dire Straits, and you can tell he's on the album, too. I like that sound, but overall the songs here are a little weak, with "Jokerman" being the only one I find myself coming back to. For a "story," I guess I will remark that I got this album from Creamy, who got it from the library, but was confused because someone had put it in the case for John Wesley Harding, so the titles didn't make any sense.
Real Live (1984) - A live album that basically just reworks songs to poor effect.
Empire Burlesque (1985) - I always kind of laugh at the cover of this one because of how 80's it is and how bad that looks on Bob. I don't ever listen to it, though, so I have nothing to add.
Biograph (1985) - This is a collection of greatest hits and unreleased tracks from throughout Dylan's career to that point. I'm meh about greatest hits albums, but like the devoted Bob fan I am, I love to hear unreleased stuff (which Bob is full of). I'm especially a fan of hearing stuff and being able to tell which album session it was originally recorded at because each album has its own particular sound. Thus, "Up to Me" (from the Blood on the Tracks sessions) and "Isis" (a live version from the Rolling Thunder Revue period) are favorites.
Knocked Out Loaded (1986) - This one is pretty short and seems mostly thrown together from unused stuff. I can't say I'm a huge fan, but "Brownsville Girl," an updated version of "New Danville Girl," which was originally recorded for Empire Burlesque but left unused is that multi-layered story type of song (in the tradition of "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," and "Isis" that I so love from Dylan.) It involves standing in line to see a movie with Gregory Peck.
Down in the Groove (1988) - is not good.
Dylan and the Dead (1989) - You might think that putting a sweet jam band behind the best songwriter ever would lead to awesomeness, but apparently all you get is lackluster reworkings of songs that were better 20 years before.
Oh Mercy (1989) - And he's back. Well, sort of, anyway. This album is generally regarded as a comeback of sorts, and it's true that it is leaps and bounds ahead of the last few. I like "Most of the Time," a pretty little song that I think (?) people may have heard on a soundtrack. "Man in the Long Black Coat" sets a strange mood and is probably the most celebrated track. "Shooting Star" is another favorite, though I can't really say why. There are a couple tracks not included that would later be reworked which were fantastic, too. The album is also notable for not having a picture of Dylan on the front.
Under the Red Sky (1990) - One step forward, two steps back. This album is basically unfinished, which is too bad, because it could have been pretty good. There are some songs written to Bob's (at the time) baby girl, and some that are just weird ("10,000 Men"), but apparently recording was hampered by Bob working with the Traveling Wilburys at the time. I love "Handy Dandy," though, which seems to be referring to Ronald Reagan (?). You'll notice I use "(?)" a lot; I think it conveys the proper reaction sometimes. Oh, yeah, critics hated this album, and it prompted Dylan to stop recording original stuff for a while.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3 (1991) - More unreleased stuff from throughout the career! From the Freewheelin' sessions, we get a new talkin blues, this one "Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues". What are talkin' blues? It's a song form pioneered by Woody Guthrie which Bob had perfected during his folk years. I'm not going to try to explain it because I can't, but they are generally funny. To quote:
I got shoved down 'n' pushed around,
All I could hear there was a screamin' sound,
Don't remember one thing more,
Just remember walkin' up on a little shore,
Head busted, stomach cracked,
Feet splintered, I was bald, naked. . .
Quite lucky to be alive though.
It loses something without Bob's folky cadence, but maybe you get the picture. Oddly enough, "Talkin' Hava Negeilah Blues" isn't really talkin' blues in the traditional sense, but it's pretty good.
Since 60's-70's rock Dylan is my favorite, I want to mention "If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Have To Stay All Night)," "Sitting on a Barbed Wire Fence," "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (alternate take)," "Santa-Fe," "Catfish," "Golden Loom," "She's Your Lover Now," and alternate takes of "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Idiot Wind." There are loads more, but you should listen yourself and try to pick out which sessions they are from.
Good as I Been to You (1992) - GAIBTY is the first of two albums of traditional (non-original) from Bob, and my favorite of the two. I just love the way he croaks,
Or else, you'll surely hang, says he,
and after that, Jim Jones
It's high up upon the nearest tree
the birds will pick your bones
The album is a reminder that he has some skills with arrangement that gets overlooked because of the lyrics.
30th anniversary somethingorother (1993) - I haven't heard this, but it's other people playing Bob's songs.
World Gone Wrong (1993) - More acoustic folk stuff, and a wonderful listen, though I have little to add.
Greatest Hits, Vol. III (1994) - This covers everything from Blood on the Tracks through Under the Red Sky, but I don't have anything else to say. The previously unreleased "Dignity" is a nice addition, though.
MTV Unplugged (1995) - Remember when MTV played music (this joke has been dead for a while)? Dylan rocks the house with songs from throughout his career, but maybe a little too country for some people's taste. I'm a fan. I got this album from Emily! who loved indulging my Dylan habit, though she didn't really like the album at all. I love it. To me, the versions of "Dignity," "Shooting Star," "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and even (this makes me a heretic, I think) "Tombstone Blues" are the best versions. The album also gets bonus points for including "John Brown," which was one of those only-live songs that Bob seemed adamant about leaving off of albums. Eric and I liked to play "Knockin'..." as I recall, and this was the version I always found myself imitating because of the way he sounds like he is actually dying.
Time Out of Mind (1997) - Dylan returns from the brink of death to play the vox and record 14 minute long songs about conversations with waitresses. It's a nice album, but it requires a couple of listens to get into. There is a White Stripes cover of "Love Sick" out there on the internets somewhere, if you are into that kind of thing. The album has a couple really great tracks, but I will let you decide which ones I like.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert (1998) - Long enough title? It is what it says, a live recording from the famed Europe tour with the Band in which Dylan was heckled and booed by his fans, who would turn their backs to the stage when he started playing rock. Weird, eh? This includes the famous "Judas!" "I don't believe you, you're a liar!" exchange.
The Essential Bob Dylan (2000) - Another greatest hits album that I don't have.
Love and Theft (2001) - "Mississippi" was left over from the Time Out of Mind sessions, a fact that surprised me, given the difference in tone here. I love that song, though, and rank it as one of his best. "High Water" is another favorite. I got this one from Marisa, as I recall.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue (2002) - Probably my favorite live album, this is Dylan at his 70's best, wearing that stupid hat that he seemed never to remove for a few years, painting his face white, and playing Mexican travelogues with his trusty bassist (I think?), Larry, to whom he talks during the performance. I don't have a reason for finding that amusing. Anyway, the album is great.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall (2004) - Bob is stoned for what I think is Eric's favorite live performance. It's a good sampling of his early work, with Bob adding his youthful charm, saying things like, "I'm wearing my Bob Dylan mask," because it's a Halloween concert.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (2005) - A gift to me, and a wonderful one. Check out both the movie, which follows Dylan up through that European tour I mentioned, and the soundtrack, which has more music than is played in the movie. It's fantastic to watch his progression from voice of the people to rock legend as people around him fall behind his rapid evolution.
Live at the Gaslight, 1962 (2005) - Remastered old stuff, obviously. I like that "John Brown" makes another appearance, but the MTV Unplugged version is better, or at least more suited to my tastes. Basically one for the collectors.
Modern Times (2006) - Dylan is slick and swinging, hopping back and forth between the 12-bar blues and balladeering reminiscent of much older times. I love this album, particularly "Workingman Blues #2." Why does he always add numbers to songs? Regardless, the album is a permanent fixture in the car, as the 12-bar blues that make up just about every other track make for perfect driving music. There's some controversy about him stealing parts of songs from the public domain and not giving credit, but I'm too lazy to look it up. I remember our university president asking Eric if we had heard this album yet after one of our performances, which I think only he and maybe a couple faculty members appreciated.
Dylan (2007) - Another self-titled album? I haven't heard this greatest hits collection.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs (2008) - I heard this one on NPR for free, but not since it was first released, as that was a promotional thing. It seemed really good though, outtakes and alternate takes from Oh Mercy onward, which demonstrate just how much a track can change before being released.
Together Through Life (2009) - I just heard of this, as it isn't out yet, but I'm waiting patiently, of course.
Hey, well, that does it. Props to anyone who actually read through these updates.
Keep on Keepin' On
Like a bird that flew, on to part two!
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) - In which Bobby writes a movie soundtrack. This album is generally ignored because of Dylanologists' focus on his lyrics and the lack of them here. It's pretty good, though, if you just want to listen to pretty western stuff. Bob also appeared in the movie, so it is a minor goal of mine to see this movie. I should also mention that this is the album which spawned "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," one of the greatest classics of rock n' roll ever. "There's guns across the river waiting for ya!" I love that line. Also, but maybe this is just circumstantial, "Billy, you're so far away from home."
Dylan (1973) - Apparently this album was a cash-in by Columbia made up of outtakes with little input from Bob. I believe it, because it is a wholly terrible and unlistenable mess. Coming from me, that should mean something.
Planet Waves (1974) - Dylan reunites with the Band! Other than having one of the best names ever, the Band is probably best known for backing Dylan on his crazy European rock tour and the song "The Weight." You know that song; it was in Easy Rider, "Take a load off, Fanny..." Anyway, this album is kind of meh, but at least has some accordion on it.
Blood on the Tracks (1975) - Boy loses girl. I don't want to write much about this album because it is too good and too hard to write about. Just listen and maybe you will like it. When I got this album for Christmas (thanks, ma!) I ended up listening to it almost non-stop, especially while playing Mario Kart: Double Dash on a Gamecube borrowed from Bender, so the two will always be linked in my mind with the particular smell of our basement.
The Basement Tapes (1975) - This is made up of stuff recorded earlier with the Band or various members of it, anyway, in the basement of Big Pink, the house in upstate New York where some of the members of the Band were living communally during Dylan's self-imposed exile from the public. There's a lot of history there and it led to these mysterious recording sessions being some of the most storied in the history of rock. Why were they so mysterious? Well, like I said, Dylan was hiding from his adoring (and crazy) fans, but also he apparently never intended to make an album. Dylan fans are a different breed of bootlegger, though, and just can't sleep knowing that the man has ever said/sung anything that they haven't heard. Seriously, I am a little obsessed with the dude, but some of these people are crazy. So, the record company released some of the songs in order to at least make some money off the recordings, since his fans were listening, anyway. How is the album? Pretty fun. Dylan makes up words on the spot, singing songs about laundry, apple suckling trees, and Acupulco. The Band does its usual job of playing whatever instruments they have on hand to create a sound that's like how music used to be in a time that never existed. Pretty fun. There are rumors of more complete bootlegs, but I wouldn't know anything about that...
Desire (1976) - I wrote about this one before, I'm sure, but I'm not going to go look up the link. Screeching violin; thumping drums; travels to Mexico, Mozambique, and sinking volcanic islands; ruins of ships; kindhearted gangsters shot down in the street; prize fighters wrongly jailed for murder; Bob coming apart at the seams. The last of his great albums for a while.
Street Legal (1978) - I know I've written about this one before. If Desire is Dylan coming apart, Street Legal is him in pieces. It's awful and yet somehow listenable. His heart's not in it and he can't figure out how he used to do it, but he seems unconcerned with that. Still he runs into some things that work, like you might expect a down and out genius to do.
Slow Train Coming (1979) - In which Bobby finds religion. It's actually more like he re-finds it. He was always practicing a kind of harsh evangelism; "... if God's in heaven, overlooking his preserve, I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve;" "I think you will find when your death takes its toll, all the money you had will never buy back your soul;" "and like Pharoah's tribe, they'll be drownded in the tide, and like Goliath, they'll be conquered." Now he is just being more specific about it. For as much as certain people I know might scoff at this album, it is actually pretty decent at being angry. Ok, "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" is stupid, but the title track is pretty cool, and "Gotta Serve Somebody" is good and references Bob's original name. Also, Lennon did his sardonic thing and responded with "Serve Yourself," so bonus points, as John would say.
Saved (1980) - Not so good...the title track is good gospel, though, if you like such things.
Shot of Love (1981) - I can't say I even like the title track to this, the last of Dylan's evangelical albums. "Lenny Bruce" is pretty alright, I guess. There are about a million outtakes for this album, which is a lot even for Bob.
I don't have the energy to push through the next few albums, which are generally not good, so I'll have to come back to this tomorrow. Expect more twists and turns along the road.
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) - In which Bobby writes a movie soundtrack. This album is generally ignored because of Dylanologists' focus on his lyrics and the lack of them here. It's pretty good, though, if you just want to listen to pretty western stuff. Bob also appeared in the movie, so it is a minor goal of mine to see this movie. I should also mention that this is the album which spawned "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," one of the greatest classics of rock n' roll ever. "There's guns across the river waiting for ya!" I love that line. Also, but maybe this is just circumstantial, "Billy, you're so far away from home."
Dylan (1973) - Apparently this album was a cash-in by Columbia made up of outtakes with little input from Bob. I believe it, because it is a wholly terrible and unlistenable mess. Coming from me, that should mean something.
Planet Waves (1974) - Dylan reunites with the Band! Other than having one of the best names ever, the Band is probably best known for backing Dylan on his crazy European rock tour and the song "The Weight." You know that song; it was in Easy Rider, "Take a load off, Fanny..." Anyway, this album is kind of meh, but at least has some accordion on it.
Blood on the Tracks (1975) - Boy loses girl. I don't want to write much about this album because it is too good and too hard to write about. Just listen and maybe you will like it. When I got this album for Christmas (thanks, ma!) I ended up listening to it almost non-stop, especially while playing Mario Kart: Double Dash on a Gamecube borrowed from Bender, so the two will always be linked in my mind with the particular smell of our basement.
The Basement Tapes (1975) - This is made up of stuff recorded earlier with the Band or various members of it, anyway, in the basement of Big Pink, the house in upstate New York where some of the members of the Band were living communally during Dylan's self-imposed exile from the public. There's a lot of history there and it led to these mysterious recording sessions being some of the most storied in the history of rock. Why were they so mysterious? Well, like I said, Dylan was hiding from his adoring (and crazy) fans, but also he apparently never intended to make an album. Dylan fans are a different breed of bootlegger, though, and just can't sleep knowing that the man has ever said/sung anything that they haven't heard. Seriously, I am a little obsessed with the dude, but some of these people are crazy. So, the record company released some of the songs in order to at least make some money off the recordings, since his fans were listening, anyway. How is the album? Pretty fun. Dylan makes up words on the spot, singing songs about laundry, apple suckling trees, and Acupulco. The Band does its usual job of playing whatever instruments they have on hand to create a sound that's like how music used to be in a time that never existed. Pretty fun. There are rumors of more complete bootlegs, but I wouldn't know anything about that...
Desire (1976) - I wrote about this one before, I'm sure, but I'm not going to go look up the link. Screeching violin; thumping drums; travels to Mexico, Mozambique, and sinking volcanic islands; ruins of ships; kindhearted gangsters shot down in the street; prize fighters wrongly jailed for murder; Bob coming apart at the seams. The last of his great albums for a while.
Street Legal (1978) - I know I've written about this one before. If Desire is Dylan coming apart, Street Legal is him in pieces. It's awful and yet somehow listenable. His heart's not in it and he can't figure out how he used to do it, but he seems unconcerned with that. Still he runs into some things that work, like you might expect a down and out genius to do.
Slow Train Coming (1979) - In which Bobby finds religion. It's actually more like he re-finds it. He was always practicing a kind of harsh evangelism; "... if God's in heaven, overlooking his preserve, I know the men that shot him down will get what they deserve;" "I think you will find when your death takes its toll, all the money you had will never buy back your soul;" "and like Pharoah's tribe, they'll be drownded in the tide, and like Goliath, they'll be conquered." Now he is just being more specific about it. For as much as certain people I know might scoff at this album, it is actually pretty decent at being angry. Ok, "Man Gave Names to All the Animals" is stupid, but the title track is pretty cool, and "Gotta Serve Somebody" is good and references Bob's original name. Also, Lennon did his sardonic thing and responded with "Serve Yourself," so bonus points, as John would say.
Saved (1980) - Not so good...the title track is good gospel, though, if you like such things.
Shot of Love (1981) - I can't say I even like the title track to this, the last of Dylan's evangelical albums. "Lenny Bruce" is pretty alright, I guess. There are about a million outtakes for this album, which is a lot even for Bob.
I don't have the energy to push through the next few albums, which are generally not good, so I'll have to come back to this tomorrow. Expect more twists and turns along the road.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Jester
I said I'd post something sort of big about Dylan, as John seems to like linking to my blog for such things, so how about I run through Dylan's discography and give a little comment about each. I think chronological order makes the most sense.
Bob Dylan (1962) - Bob got his start in the folk world, and that is reflected in this album dominated by his arrangements (or sometimes his stolen arrangements) of traditional songs. His version of "House of the Rising Sun" is notable, if not great. It's also interesting that this album features "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," which he has continued to play throughout his career as a straight rock number. The original "Song to Woody" is probably my favorite. This album is mostly for Dylan completists.
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) This is the album people think of when they think of Dylan, or so I think. The album cover should be instantly recognizable, with Bob and his girlfriend of the time, Suze, walking arm in arm. The album is definitely worth a listen. Some of the songs you know doubt know already; "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall." Others you may not have heard, but need to be heard if only for Dylan's bizarre sense of humor in dealing with racism, war and all that other stuff he's so famous for talking about; and I quote:
"Well, my telephone rang it would not stop
It's President Kennedy callin' me up
He said, 'My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country grow' ?
I said, 'My friend, John, 'Brigitte Bardot,
Anita EkbergSophia Loren'
Country'll grow.
Hilarious.
The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964) - Dylan continues his folkiness, with more tracks that you know and a bunch you probably haven't heard, but should. This one lacks a lot of the humor of Freewheelin' but is pretty great, anyway. His arrangements here are kind of lazy, and these songs are better heard from concerts of around the time, I think. I'm sure you've heard the title track, probably "When the Ship Comes in" and "With God on Our Side," maybe even "Only a Pawn in Their Game," but my personal favorite is "One Too Many Mornings," which I think is a great title.
Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) - This one's a bit more rock-y than the previous three, but still not the psychadelic Dylan tromping around with the band, hanging out with John Lennon and Allen Ginsberg. I actually almost never listen to this album, so I can't really say much. I'm sure you know "It Ain't Me, Babe," though that is one of my least favorite of Dylan's famous songs.
Bringing It All Back Home (1965) - This is where he starts stealing Elvis's thorny crown, but he's only halfway there at this point. The first half of the album is blues rock, which all his folky friends hated but I think is awesome. His bizarre sense of humor surfaces on tracks like "On the Road Again," and the epic "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream," a story-song that needs to be heard. He also shows he can right nice love songs with "She Belongs to Me." I'm sure you've heard the opening track, "Subterranean Homesick Blues." The second half returns to folk-style music, but he is heading towards the psychadelic here and away from his old-world we shall overcome rhetoric; "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" are all winners. Some people seem to dislike this album, but they are wrong.
Highway 61 Revisited (1965) - It starts with "Like A Rolling Stone" and ends with "Desolation Row." You need to listen to this album! Rolling Stone ranked it #3 best album of all time, if I recall, and while I like "What's Goin On," I have to say I feel Dylan got ripped off there. This album is fantastic, just blues and rock straight through on Bob's journey down Highway 61. He's spouting off psychadelic imagery like none other the whole way. I'm not going to list a bunch of tracks because it is great the whole way, but I should point out "Ballad of a Thin Man," a favorite of Eric's.
Blonde on Blonde (1966) - This album starts with "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," known to most people as "Everybody must get stoned," but doesn't really get good until track three, "Visions of Johanna." This is one of the first Dylan albums I got, and it remains a personal favorite. Ris's favorite "I Want You" is on this album, as well as "Just Like A Woman," which I'm sure you've heard. Track twelve, "4th Time Around" has a special place in my heart for being Dylan imitating Lennon imitating Dylan ("Norwegian Wood"), and ending with the lines "I, I never took much/I never asked for your crutch/Now don't ask for mine." Also worth noting is the massive "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," taking up an entire side of the record. "My warehouse as my Arabian drum," indeed.
Greatest Hits Vol. I (1967) - All good, but everything is better in album format.
John Wesley Harding (1967) - This might be my favorite Dylan album of all. If you have been listening to these in order, you should notice that this album is markedly different from the previous three. Bob suddenly switches from psychadelic rock to a much simpler style, forgoing the bizarre imagery in favor of dense lyrics that are still being picked apart by scholars. The album has something like a bazillion biblical references throughout and people should notice "All Along the Watchtower," a Dylan composition made so famous by some other dude that people tend to forget who wrote it. I actually like Bob's version better, but I'm just a heretic, I guess. One short story.
Eric and I decided to play at one of IWU's undercover events, which gives you the chance to perform two covers. I forget which song we played first, but the people didn't like it, it seemed to us, probably because they are philistines and thus could not appreciate it, so at the last minute we scrapped our second cover in favor of "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," a lengthy talk-song with the same three chords repeated over and over again and a story that seems to be a morality play, but we never could really figure it out. It was amusing (to us) to watch the audience reaction go from interest to boredom to actual annoyance. As I recall, we celebrated our moral victory over the forces of bad taste with a couple ice cold PBRs.
Nashville Skyline (1969) - Dylan tips his cowboy hat and smiles at you from the cover of this acoustic country album, seemingly intended to confuse his fans. There is a mention of this album on an old SNL skit with Colin Quinn and Sting, talking about how it was a bold move, but I don't remember the skit and it was terrible, anyway. The man in black, Johnny Cash, duets with Bob on the first track, so I think Eric and I will have to cover this one if our paths should cross again. If you hate Dylan singing through his nose all the time, you might like this one because it is soft and sweet and he croons in a totally different voice, celebrating loves lost and won, and pie, of course.
Self Portrait (1970) - Only Dylan could make an intentionally bad album and still have people (somewhat rightfully) defending it. I also love the album cover, which I think he drew himself, because it is so terrible and reminds me of a book Emily! checked out from the library.
New Morning (1970) - It's worth noting that from 1963 to 1970, Bob recorded ten albums of original work, including a couple double albums. That's productivity, but he's about to slow down as he enters another period in his career. New Morning was presumably conceived as the comeback album to be paired with Self Portrait, having been recorded basically at the same time. Oh, Bob. This album is good, but not as great as the past few. Still, a couple tracks stand out. "If Not For You" was later covered by Dylan's buddy George Harrison. "Day of the Locusts" seems to be about Bob getting an honorary diploma. "Went to see the Gypsy" is about Elvis living in Las Vegas. "The Man in Me" was made famous by one of my favorite movies, The Big Lebowski, and is probably the catchiest thing Bob ever wrote. Check out the movie or the album.
Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1971) - Another greatest hits album, so you know, but there are a couple rare tracks which I love. This was actually the first Dylan album I ever owned, I think, and I had (have?) it on vinyl! "I Shall Be Released," "You Ain't Going Nowhere," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," and the lovely "Tomorrow is a Long Time" are all favorites.
I have to go to a children's center, so early era Dylan will have to suffice for now.
Bob Dylan (1962) - Bob got his start in the folk world, and that is reflected in this album dominated by his arrangements (or sometimes his stolen arrangements) of traditional songs. His version of "House of the Rising Sun" is notable, if not great. It's also interesting that this album features "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down," which he has continued to play throughout his career as a straight rock number. The original "Song to Woody" is probably my favorite. This album is mostly for Dylan completists.
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963) This is the album people think of when they think of Dylan, or so I think. The album cover should be instantly recognizable, with Bob and his girlfriend of the time, Suze, walking arm in arm. The album is definitely worth a listen. Some of the songs you know doubt know already; "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall." Others you may not have heard, but need to be heard if only for Dylan's bizarre sense of humor in dealing with racism, war and all that other stuff he's so famous for talking about; and I quote:
"Well, my telephone rang it would not stop
It's President Kennedy callin' me up
He said, 'My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country grow' ?
I said, 'My friend, John, 'Brigitte Bardot,
Anita EkbergSophia Loren'
Country'll grow.
Hilarious.
The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964) - Dylan continues his folkiness, with more tracks that you know and a bunch you probably haven't heard, but should. This one lacks a lot of the humor of Freewheelin' but is pretty great, anyway. His arrangements here are kind of lazy, and these songs are better heard from concerts of around the time, I think. I'm sure you've heard the title track, probably "When the Ship Comes in" and "With God on Our Side," maybe even "Only a Pawn in Their Game," but my personal favorite is "One Too Many Mornings," which I think is a great title.
Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) - This one's a bit more rock-y than the previous three, but still not the psychadelic Dylan tromping around with the band, hanging out with John Lennon and Allen Ginsberg. I actually almost never listen to this album, so I can't really say much. I'm sure you know "It Ain't Me, Babe," though that is one of my least favorite of Dylan's famous songs.
Bringing It All Back Home (1965) - This is where he starts stealing Elvis's thorny crown, but he's only halfway there at this point. The first half of the album is blues rock, which all his folky friends hated but I think is awesome. His bizarre sense of humor surfaces on tracks like "On the Road Again," and the epic "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream," a story-song that needs to be heard. He also shows he can right nice love songs with "She Belongs to Me." I'm sure you've heard the opening track, "Subterranean Homesick Blues." The second half returns to folk-style music, but he is heading towards the psychadelic here and away from his old-world we shall overcome rhetoric; "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" are all winners. Some people seem to dislike this album, but they are wrong.
Highway 61 Revisited (1965) - It starts with "Like A Rolling Stone" and ends with "Desolation Row." You need to listen to this album! Rolling Stone ranked it #3 best album of all time, if I recall, and while I like "What's Goin On," I have to say I feel Dylan got ripped off there. This album is fantastic, just blues and rock straight through on Bob's journey down Highway 61. He's spouting off psychadelic imagery like none other the whole way. I'm not going to list a bunch of tracks because it is great the whole way, but I should point out "Ballad of a Thin Man," a favorite of Eric's.
Blonde on Blonde (1966) - This album starts with "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," known to most people as "Everybody must get stoned," but doesn't really get good until track three, "Visions of Johanna." This is one of the first Dylan albums I got, and it remains a personal favorite. Ris's favorite "I Want You" is on this album, as well as "Just Like A Woman," which I'm sure you've heard. Track twelve, "4th Time Around" has a special place in my heart for being Dylan imitating Lennon imitating Dylan ("Norwegian Wood"), and ending with the lines "I, I never took much/I never asked for your crutch/Now don't ask for mine." Also worth noting is the massive "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," taking up an entire side of the record. "My warehouse as my Arabian drum," indeed.
Greatest Hits Vol. I (1967) - All good, but everything is better in album format.
John Wesley Harding (1967) - This might be my favorite Dylan album of all. If you have been listening to these in order, you should notice that this album is markedly different from the previous three. Bob suddenly switches from psychadelic rock to a much simpler style, forgoing the bizarre imagery in favor of dense lyrics that are still being picked apart by scholars. The album has something like a bazillion biblical references throughout and people should notice "All Along the Watchtower," a Dylan composition made so famous by some other dude that people tend to forget who wrote it. I actually like Bob's version better, but I'm just a heretic, I guess. One short story.
Eric and I decided to play at one of IWU's undercover events, which gives you the chance to perform two covers. I forget which song we played first, but the people didn't like it, it seemed to us, probably because they are philistines and thus could not appreciate it, so at the last minute we scrapped our second cover in favor of "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest," a lengthy talk-song with the same three chords repeated over and over again and a story that seems to be a morality play, but we never could really figure it out. It was amusing (to us) to watch the audience reaction go from interest to boredom to actual annoyance. As I recall, we celebrated our moral victory over the forces of bad taste with a couple ice cold PBRs.
Nashville Skyline (1969) - Dylan tips his cowboy hat and smiles at you from the cover of this acoustic country album, seemingly intended to confuse his fans. There is a mention of this album on an old SNL skit with Colin Quinn and Sting, talking about how it was a bold move, but I don't remember the skit and it was terrible, anyway. The man in black, Johnny Cash, duets with Bob on the first track, so I think Eric and I will have to cover this one if our paths should cross again. If you hate Dylan singing through his nose all the time, you might like this one because it is soft and sweet and he croons in a totally different voice, celebrating loves lost and won, and pie, of course.
Self Portrait (1970) - Only Dylan could make an intentionally bad album and still have people (somewhat rightfully) defending it. I also love the album cover, which I think he drew himself, because it is so terrible and reminds me of a book Emily! checked out from the library.
New Morning (1970) - It's worth noting that from 1963 to 1970, Bob recorded ten albums of original work, including a couple double albums. That's productivity, but he's about to slow down as he enters another period in his career. New Morning was presumably conceived as the comeback album to be paired with Self Portrait, having been recorded basically at the same time. Oh, Bob. This album is good, but not as great as the past few. Still, a couple tracks stand out. "If Not For You" was later covered by Dylan's buddy George Harrison. "Day of the Locusts" seems to be about Bob getting an honorary diploma. "Went to see the Gypsy" is about Elvis living in Las Vegas. "The Man in Me" was made famous by one of my favorite movies, The Big Lebowski, and is probably the catchiest thing Bob ever wrote. Check out the movie or the album.
Greatest Hits, Vol. II (1971) - Another greatest hits album, so you know, but there are a couple rare tracks which I love. This was actually the first Dylan album I ever owned, I think, and I had (have?) it on vinyl! "I Shall Be Released," "You Ain't Going Nowhere," "When I Paint My Masterpiece," and the lovely "Tomorrow is a Long Time" are all favorites.
I have to go to a children's center, so early era Dylan will have to suffice for now.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Cap'n
Ahoy, there! If you were linked here from John's blog and are looking for sweet, sweet Captain Beefheart stories, know that I searched my previous posts very hard but couldn't find anything. I'm pretty sure I did write something about the Cap'n, though.
Like John said, he often worked with Frank Zappa, as they were lifelong friends, and have (had?) similar weirdness. Zappa was somewhat successful commercially, however, while Captain Beefheart was not really ever. On the other hand, CB's infamous album Trout Mask Replica is generally heralded as the best experimental music album ever or something. Here's a picture of the album cover I stole from Wikipedia (that means it is free):
You can tell just from that that is amazing, and also that it will be right up John's alley. Beefheart is also credited with being a huge influence on later dudes such as Les Claypool and Tom Waits. What's he sound like? You probably won't like him. I don't know which album that is from; it's not from Trout Mask Replica, and that's the only one I know, but it does sound similar to some of TMR. Yeah, he pretty much always sounds like that, growling over guitar timed precisely to sound wrong about things that really don't make any sense. Here he is live, in all his glory. I can't find any video links for TMR, but it is even better (weirder) than those.
Like John said, he often worked with Frank Zappa, as they were lifelong friends, and have (had?) similar weirdness. Zappa was somewhat successful commercially, however, while Captain Beefheart was not really ever. On the other hand, CB's infamous album Trout Mask Replica is generally heralded as the best experimental music album ever or something. Here's a picture of the album cover I stole from Wikipedia (that means it is free):
You can tell just from that that is amazing, and also that it will be right up John's alley. Beefheart is also credited with being a huge influence on later dudes such as Les Claypool and Tom Waits. What's he sound like? You probably won't like him. I don't know which album that is from; it's not from Trout Mask Replica, and that's the only one I know, but it does sound similar to some of TMR. Yeah, he pretty much always sounds like that, growling over guitar timed precisely to sound wrong about things that really don't make any sense. Here he is live, in all his glory. I can't find any video links for TMR, but it is even better (weirder) than those.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Comedies
I mentioned on Dan's blog that I don't watch dramas now and don't really see the appeal any more, but that I love comedies, so I will talk about them now.
The Office - I think Dan mentioned this show a few times, if I haven't, and if you haven't heard of it, you are probably living under a rock or are my mom or something. It's set in an office (huh huh) for Dunder Mifflin, a paper company, and follows the day to day travails of Jim Halpert, a salesman there. The comedy is very character driven, with Jim and his love interest, Pam, the receptionist, being the only normal people on the show. The other main characters include Steve Carrell as the childish, egotistical, stupid, yet somehow endearing boss Michael, and Dwight, Jim's rival salesman with delusions of being a totally bayd dude. Also Dwight lives on a beet farm. There are a bunch of other characters, my favorite probably being Creed, but you just have to see the show to understand how good it is. There is a lot of drama type stuff earlier on between Jim and Pam, which I guess a lot of people really got hooked on, but I found boring. Now that that is pretty much settled, I'm happy, though the humorous parts may not be as good as they once were. It's still hilarious, though.
I should mention that it is based on a British show of the same name which has Ricky Gervais in the boss's role. I've seen one season (series) of that, and while it is funny, and the boss absolutely hysterical, I'd have to say the American version is much better.
30 Rock - This show stars Tina Fey, basically playing herself as Liz Lemon, the head writer of a show at NBC. It's also very character driven, with Liz being neurotic, Alec Baldwin's corporate character being somewhat evil but charming enough to get away with it, and Tracy Morgan (as Tracy Jordan) being a completely nonsensical celebrity who does whatever childish thing he wants. Tracy is the best part of the show, and if I could recommend an episode to point this out, I'd say watch the one where he is on Larry King telling people to panic about the economy. This last season is actually slightly annoying because there is too much focus on Liz not being able to find a man, which is an absurd plot point because she is Tina Fey. Also, that sometimes ends up sounding like a tv version of Cathy.
Curb Your Enthusiasm - If I recall correctly, this is an HBO original. I watch all these shows via the internet, so I don't really have to worry about that. It stars Larry David, who was the creator and basic inspiration for Seinfeld. It has a lot in common with that show in that a lot of the humor comes from the minutia of daily life, but it is quite a bit different in that Larry (as himself) is much less considerate a person and is in a situation where he doesn't really have any need to maintain social standards. Storylines usually focus on him being kind of a jerk, making a feeble attempt to fix it, then giving up and suffering the results. I can't recommend it for everyone, but I love it.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - From FX, maybe, but I think rebroadcast on Fox? It was apparently made very cheaply, like $60 for the first episode. It follows the stupid and petty affairs of three friends, Mac, Dennis, and Charlie, who run a bar in Philadelphia. Dennis's sister Dea, who is a waitress there, is also a main character, and later Danny Devito joins as Dennis and Dea's dad, although he turns out not to be their real dad. Basically they are all horrible people and argue over stupid things, going to stupid lengths to get back at each other. Other times they are just selfishly trying to get themselves something with no concern for anyone else. Dennis thinks of himself as "a winner," being handsome and getting whatever he wants; Mac thinks he is really bad and is always doing stupid karate moves and showing off his muscles; Charlie is a complete moron who huffs glue, can barely read, and is obsessed with a waitress; Dea likes to pretend she is more noble than the others despite her being the same, and likes to think of herself as a psychologist, having failed out of college with a psychology major. The show is hilarious because they are all terrible and basically end up having terrible things happen to them as a result. Again, not for everyone.
Peep Show - I talked about this show before, I think. It's British and is shot from the point of view of the characters, mostly the two main ones, Mark and Jeremy. We often get to hear their inner thoughts, too. Mark is the prime example of a nerd. He is terrible with women, completely hates social situations, enjoys reading history and playing video games, and generally lives a life of quiet desperation. Jeremy thinks of himself as a musician, but he is really just a leech, living almost entirely off Mark, and generally treating him badly, but usually returning to him by the end of an episode. This is another show where things rarely go well for our main characters, and the end result of their schemes is generally a humiliating scene for them. I think it's great, but who knows if you will like it?
I should mention a couple others that I sometimes watch:
Scrubs - I think this show has been on for like 8 seasons or something. Some people are absolutely diehard about it, others claim that it used to be funnier and that they are just reusing the same jokes. Having watched almost all of it, I can say that it was never really funny, and it continues to be mediocre at best and irritating at worst. It follows a few characters who work at a hospital, and usually ends with the main character, J.D. giving some sappy monologue about what lesson he's learned. There's a lot of character drama which gets really annoying after a while. I do keep watching it, so I guess it can't be that bad, but only when there is nothing else to do.
The Big Bang Theory - This show is about nerds. Occasionally it is worth a chuckle, but it's pretty typical trash sitcom fare. It's another one of those shows that I will watch if it's raining or something. They are usually pretty accurate about their nerd stuff, though, so bonus points for that, I guess.
The Office - I think Dan mentioned this show a few times, if I haven't, and if you haven't heard of it, you are probably living under a rock or are my mom or something. It's set in an office (huh huh) for Dunder Mifflin, a paper company, and follows the day to day travails of Jim Halpert, a salesman there. The comedy is very character driven, with Jim and his love interest, Pam, the receptionist, being the only normal people on the show. The other main characters include Steve Carrell as the childish, egotistical, stupid, yet somehow endearing boss Michael, and Dwight, Jim's rival salesman with delusions of being a totally bayd dude. Also Dwight lives on a beet farm. There are a bunch of other characters, my favorite probably being Creed, but you just have to see the show to understand how good it is. There is a lot of drama type stuff earlier on between Jim and Pam, which I guess a lot of people really got hooked on, but I found boring. Now that that is pretty much settled, I'm happy, though the humorous parts may not be as good as they once were. It's still hilarious, though.
I should mention that it is based on a British show of the same name which has Ricky Gervais in the boss's role. I've seen one season (series) of that, and while it is funny, and the boss absolutely hysterical, I'd have to say the American version is much better.
30 Rock - This show stars Tina Fey, basically playing herself as Liz Lemon, the head writer of a show at NBC. It's also very character driven, with Liz being neurotic, Alec Baldwin's corporate character being somewhat evil but charming enough to get away with it, and Tracy Morgan (as Tracy Jordan) being a completely nonsensical celebrity who does whatever childish thing he wants. Tracy is the best part of the show, and if I could recommend an episode to point this out, I'd say watch the one where he is on Larry King telling people to panic about the economy. This last season is actually slightly annoying because there is too much focus on Liz not being able to find a man, which is an absurd plot point because she is Tina Fey. Also, that sometimes ends up sounding like a tv version of Cathy.
Curb Your Enthusiasm - If I recall correctly, this is an HBO original. I watch all these shows via the internet, so I don't really have to worry about that. It stars Larry David, who was the creator and basic inspiration for Seinfeld. It has a lot in common with that show in that a lot of the humor comes from the minutia of daily life, but it is quite a bit different in that Larry (as himself) is much less considerate a person and is in a situation where he doesn't really have any need to maintain social standards. Storylines usually focus on him being kind of a jerk, making a feeble attempt to fix it, then giving up and suffering the results. I can't recommend it for everyone, but I love it.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - From FX, maybe, but I think rebroadcast on Fox? It was apparently made very cheaply, like $60 for the first episode. It follows the stupid and petty affairs of three friends, Mac, Dennis, and Charlie, who run a bar in Philadelphia. Dennis's sister Dea, who is a waitress there, is also a main character, and later Danny Devito joins as Dennis and Dea's dad, although he turns out not to be their real dad. Basically they are all horrible people and argue over stupid things, going to stupid lengths to get back at each other. Other times they are just selfishly trying to get themselves something with no concern for anyone else. Dennis thinks of himself as "a winner," being handsome and getting whatever he wants; Mac thinks he is really bad and is always doing stupid karate moves and showing off his muscles; Charlie is a complete moron who huffs glue, can barely read, and is obsessed with a waitress; Dea likes to pretend she is more noble than the others despite her being the same, and likes to think of herself as a psychologist, having failed out of college with a psychology major. The show is hilarious because they are all terrible and basically end up having terrible things happen to them as a result. Again, not for everyone.
Peep Show - I talked about this show before, I think. It's British and is shot from the point of view of the characters, mostly the two main ones, Mark and Jeremy. We often get to hear their inner thoughts, too. Mark is the prime example of a nerd. He is terrible with women, completely hates social situations, enjoys reading history and playing video games, and generally lives a life of quiet desperation. Jeremy thinks of himself as a musician, but he is really just a leech, living almost entirely off Mark, and generally treating him badly, but usually returning to him by the end of an episode. This is another show where things rarely go well for our main characters, and the end result of their schemes is generally a humiliating scene for them. I think it's great, but who knows if you will like it?
I should mention a couple others that I sometimes watch:
Scrubs - I think this show has been on for like 8 seasons or something. Some people are absolutely diehard about it, others claim that it used to be funnier and that they are just reusing the same jokes. Having watched almost all of it, I can say that it was never really funny, and it continues to be mediocre at best and irritating at worst. It follows a few characters who work at a hospital, and usually ends with the main character, J.D. giving some sappy monologue about what lesson he's learned. There's a lot of character drama which gets really annoying after a while. I do keep watching it, so I guess it can't be that bad, but only when there is nothing else to do.
The Big Bang Theory - This show is about nerds. Occasionally it is worth a chuckle, but it's pretty typical trash sitcom fare. It's another one of those shows that I will watch if it's raining or something. They are usually pretty accurate about their nerd stuff, though, so bonus points for that, I guess.
:-/
So far I have gotten one acceptance and two rejections. I'm still waiting for two more responses, but so far the ratio is not good. One school that accepted me the last time I applied rejected me this time, so I am thinking being in Japan for two years has hurt my application, or more people are applying because of the bad economy, or some combination of the two.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Good News, Everyone!
Everyone likes getting mail, I think. For some reason it is so much better than email or phone calls or instant messages. It probably has something to do with it being so tangible, but maybe it has something to do with the effort. So, I'd like to thank Emily! K, even though she won't read this for sending me some wonderful mail, one small envelope containing a card, and in that card, another, smaller envelope with yet another card, and so colorful all the way through. :-)
Also in the mail was an acceptance letter from LSU, so maybe I will go there. I don't know, but it's a relief to get at least one acceptance. So, I'd also like to thank Americans' (probably most of the world's people's) general disinterest in math for making my applications look good. :-)
Also in the mail was an acceptance letter from LSU, so maybe I will go there. I don't know, but it's a relief to get at least one acceptance. So, I'd also like to thank Americans' (probably most of the world's people's) general disinterest in math for making my applications look good. :-)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Didn't We Just Leave This Party?
Remember when I said it was finally spring? I thought so, but this morning, this happened.
Thanks, global climate change.
Thanks, global climate change.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Weather Report
It was gray out, then I went to pay my hospital bill. When I went back outside, the weather had cleared up. I found this on Newsweek.com. I think my audience will appreciate that.
Aspiration
People often start terrible pieces with, "The dictionary defines [] as []." In that spirit, the dictionary lists three meanings of aspiration. One of them is a linguistic term, having to do with the buildup of air before a consonant sound one is hope or desire; one is taking a foreign object or fluid into the lungs. Actually it is more complicated, but these three will suffice.
Today I was drinking some miso soup and almost choked on something in it, but it was alright. But then my chest started hurting pretty bad about once a minute. I went back to work and it kept hurting, and I thought maybe I was going to vomit, which would have been a relief, actually, but I instead just got really pale and sweaty, so I asked for somebody to take me to the hospital. I got a chest X-ray, but they didn't see anything, so they sent me to another hospital to get a CT scan, which also turned up nothing, despite the pain not going away at all. They couldn't help me out, but they gave me some stomach medicine (?). The pain was in my chest and back, where the food was probably stuck, but they couldn't find it and figured it would just go away, but told me to come back if I had a fever or difficulty breathing.
So I went back to work, but just lay down in a side room for an hour or so. They sent me to my friend's house instead of home because they didn't want me to be alone if it got worse, so I was there a while. Then I ate dinner and the pain just went away as if by magic, so my theory is that something was stuck in my throat just above the glottis or thereabouts, and eating knocked it back out. I don't know why that didn't happen when I ate lunch, but whatever. I am happy not to be doubled over in pain.
It really hurt, but probably not that bad overall. When the pain stopped, which it was doing all the time before returning, there was nothing wrong, and it was not nearly as painful as that time I had gastritis or whatever and they thought I might have had appendicitis or something. But it was up there. Anyway, I'm fine now.
Today I was drinking some miso soup and almost choked on something in it, but it was alright. But then my chest started hurting pretty bad about once a minute. I went back to work and it kept hurting, and I thought maybe I was going to vomit, which would have been a relief, actually, but I instead just got really pale and sweaty, so I asked for somebody to take me to the hospital. I got a chest X-ray, but they didn't see anything, so they sent me to another hospital to get a CT scan, which also turned up nothing, despite the pain not going away at all. They couldn't help me out, but they gave me some stomach medicine (?). The pain was in my chest and back, where the food was probably stuck, but they couldn't find it and figured it would just go away, but told me to come back if I had a fever or difficulty breathing.
So I went back to work, but just lay down in a side room for an hour or so. They sent me to my friend's house instead of home because they didn't want me to be alone if it got worse, so I was there a while. Then I ate dinner and the pain just went away as if by magic, so my theory is that something was stuck in my throat just above the glottis or thereabouts, and eating knocked it back out. I don't know why that didn't happen when I ate lunch, but whatever. I am happy not to be doubled over in pain.
It really hurt, but probably not that bad overall. When the pain stopped, which it was doing all the time before returning, there was nothing wrong, and it was not nearly as painful as that time I had gastritis or whatever and they thought I might have had appendicitis or something. But it was up there. Anyway, I'm fine now.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Happy Life Day
Last night I watched "the worst two hours of television ever." Yes, I'm talking about the Star Wars Holiday Special. It is bad on a surreal level. I had to take breaks while watching it just to assure myself that I hadn't fallen asleep and was dreaming it. It's really unbelievable. I'm not going to try to recap it explain it in any way. The wikipedia article should do fine for the curious, and for the masochistic, here's a link to the video. They may take it down, but if they don't, you've been warned.
Friday, March 20, 2009
J List
Despite no request for it, I will post a list of J artists I sometimes might listen to a la the JLink, but avoid ones that John has already mentioned.
James McMurtry - I found out about this dude via a Slate article which was overblown, but that is what happens when you let English professors write about pop music. This dude writes Americana, kind of like a John Mellencamp or even a Bruce Springsteen, but a little further west and a little more country. Be warned, it is pretty country, so if you can't take a little twang you should probably avoid him. He does sing pretty much straight though, sort of talk singing, letting the words do the talking, which is good, because he is pretty good at evoking a bleak midwestern meth-addled wasteland and doesn't need to country swagger to prove it. Oh, and he's the son of Larry McMurtry, so you might like him, pops.
John Mellencamp - If you were born in the U.S., you almost assuredly know his little ditty 'bout Jack & Diane. You have probably also lived in a little pink house, so you probably know this dude. I'm not going to bother talking any more about him because I don't really know much more, anyway.
Jim Croce - He's the baddest man in the whole damn town. Don't tug on Superman's cape.
John Coltrane - If I knew more about critiqueing jazz, I would say more than he is pretty great, but I don't.
John Lennon - Worth a mention outside of the Beatles because everyone loves "Imagine," and with good reason. I always think it is so weird that even religious people seem to embrace it despite its very clear humanist message. Of course he did plenty of other cool stuff, too. He also recorded a bunch of non-listenable garbage with Yoko Ono as well as the track that just has to be skipped when listening to the White Album. Yeah, you know which one.
Not in the right order, I suppose, but there you go. As a bonus, somebody John mentioned that just needs to be listened to one more time.
James McMurtry - I found out about this dude via a Slate article which was overblown, but that is what happens when you let English professors write about pop music. This dude writes Americana, kind of like a John Mellencamp or even a Bruce Springsteen, but a little further west and a little more country. Be warned, it is pretty country, so if you can't take a little twang you should probably avoid him. He does sing pretty much straight though, sort of talk singing, letting the words do the talking, which is good, because he is pretty good at evoking a bleak midwestern meth-addled wasteland and doesn't need to country swagger to prove it. Oh, and he's the son of Larry McMurtry, so you might like him, pops.
John Mellencamp - If you were born in the U.S., you almost assuredly know his little ditty 'bout Jack & Diane. You have probably also lived in a little pink house, so you probably know this dude. I'm not going to bother talking any more about him because I don't really know much more, anyway.
Jim Croce - He's the baddest man in the whole damn town. Don't tug on Superman's cape.
John Coltrane - If I knew more about critiqueing jazz, I would say more than he is pretty great, but I don't.
John Lennon - Worth a mention outside of the Beatles because everyone loves "Imagine," and with good reason. I always think it is so weird that even religious people seem to embrace it despite its very clear humanist message. Of course he did plenty of other cool stuff, too. He also recorded a bunch of non-listenable garbage with Yoko Ono as well as the track that just has to be skipped when listening to the White Album. Yeah, you know which one.
Not in the right order, I suppose, but there you go. As a bonus, somebody John mentioned that just needs to be listened to one more time.
More Pancakes
Normal pancake, right? Wrong. I replaced the milk with chocolate banana milk. The carton had a woman in a bunny suit serving a smaller carton of chocolate banana milk on it. I thought that was pretty meta nonsense. Anyway, it worked out pretty well. I also drank some peach drink and that was pretty good. Last night I watched this movie, which was amazing. It's like Star Wars if Star Wars were made by French people on a budget of $100 and also it was terrible. There's a robot with a cowboy accent, a bluish dude, a guy who looks like my buddy Rocky, and David Hasselhoff. Also a giant stop-motion robot, cavemen, and the ultimate weapon, which turns out just to be flashing pink lights that give people a headache until they go crazy. I am not kidding. You can find the whole movie on YouTube, so check it out.
My last update was recent and didn't have any comments yet, so be sure to read that one if you want to see pictures of flowers as opposed to pictures of pancakes.
I Do Not Know My Own Strength
I was just brushing my teeth and snapped the head off the toothbrush. What's up now, plastic?!?!
Enjoy these pictures of spring flowers.
These were all taken on a little path up a hillside (mountainside? I am not sure of the cutoff for mountains) near my house. Spring is finally here after a couple intermittent bonus rounds of winter. The timing is good, as today is vernal equinox day. It was like 16 degrees or so today. To convert to Fahrenheit, just think back to Algebra. Conversion is necessarily linear here, so you just need two points to figure the conversion. The obvious points are f(0) = 32 and f(100) = 212, but any will do, including everybody's favorite f(-40) = -40. The rest is left to the reader as an exercise.
On an unrelated note, I went to a graduation yesterday (Thursday here). I didn't really have to do anything, but it was nice to be included with the staff, as opposed to the guests. It doesn't really matter either way, but it's nice that people think I am contributing, at least. After that, I had the rest of the day free to either stay at the school or go back to the BOE, neither of which would involve any actual work, so I stayed and talked to the principal, who is a cool dude with all sorts of knowledge. We talked about all sorts of stuff and I played piano, which he seems to really enjoy. He said I should play background music at a bar or something because I can string together jazz chords. That would be a dream job for me, by the way, so if anybody knows a place, let me know.
Enjoy these pictures of spring flowers.
These were all taken on a little path up a hillside (mountainside? I am not sure of the cutoff for mountains) near my house. Spring is finally here after a couple intermittent bonus rounds of winter. The timing is good, as today is vernal equinox day. It was like 16 degrees or so today. To convert to Fahrenheit, just think back to Algebra. Conversion is necessarily linear here, so you just need two points to figure the conversion. The obvious points are f(0) = 32 and f(100) = 212, but any will do, including everybody's favorite f(-40) = -40. The rest is left to the reader as an exercise.
On an unrelated note, I went to a graduation yesterday (Thursday here). I didn't really have to do anything, but it was nice to be included with the staff, as opposed to the guests. It doesn't really matter either way, but it's nice that people think I am contributing, at least. After that, I had the rest of the day free to either stay at the school or go back to the BOE, neither of which would involve any actual work, so I stayed and talked to the principal, who is a cool dude with all sorts of knowledge. We talked about all sorts of stuff and I played piano, which he seems to really enjoy. He said I should play background music at a bar or something because I can string together jazz chords. That would be a dream job for me, by the way, so if anybody knows a place, let me know.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Refreshment
Hey. What's up? I know it's a day or two late, but look at this:
I mixed green food coloring in with some pancake mix and tried to form it into a shamrock shape. I had the pancake mix because I was supposed to have a cooking class with a class of fourth graders a few weeks back, but they all had the flu, so it was cancelled.
The delicious green results. Japanese people think pancakes are candy, not breakfast, so Japanese pancakes are sort of too sweet, but it was still pretty alright.
I made some spaghetti a while back, too, so I thought I should have some wine with it, but that plan was hindered by my disliking wine. Instead I bought this "Italian Screwdriver" in a can that looks prettier than it tastes. It wasn't terrible, but the flavor was just sort of undirected sweetness. I also bought a can of some Italian citrus drink which I drank a few days later but didn't take a picture of, and that was way better. It tasted like Squirt.
Speaking of good drinks, here's Yebisu's new (?) white can beer. I don't remember what it was called and I can't find the can so I probably already recycled it. Very nice.
Asahi Cool Draft was pretty alright. Wasabi Mayo Doritos were better.
I mixed green food coloring in with some pancake mix and tried to form it into a shamrock shape. I had the pancake mix because I was supposed to have a cooking class with a class of fourth graders a few weeks back, but they all had the flu, so it was cancelled.The delicious green results. Japanese people think pancakes are candy, not breakfast, so Japanese pancakes are sort of too sweet, but it was still pretty alright.
I made some spaghetti a while back, too, so I thought I should have some wine with it, but that plan was hindered by my disliking wine. Instead I bought this "Italian Screwdriver" in a can that looks prettier than it tastes. It wasn't terrible, but the flavor was just sort of undirected sweetness. I also bought a can of some Italian citrus drink which I drank a few days later but didn't take a picture of, and that was way better. It tasted like Squirt.
Speaking of good drinks, here's Yebisu's new (?) white can beer. I don't remember what it was called and I can't find the can so I probably already recycled it. Very nice.
Asahi Cool Draft was pretty alright. Wasabi Mayo Doritos were better.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
会者定離
Since John hasn't explicitly issued me a challenge for a couple of days, but I have to avoid digital hypocrisy, enjoy this non-musical post.
Today was my last day of work before spring break. In Japan, the school year is divided into three sessions (trimesters?) instead of two semesters, with the last one ending with spring break. School starts again in April. On a side note, I struggle to come up with the English names for months because I've never been very good at connecting the month name with the number, and the current Japanese system for months simply names them by numbers, so I had to think about that and wanted to type 四月.
I'll still be here for another few months, teaching through the first trimester, but this is probably the second saddest part of the year because some of my favorite students are graduating to junior high and some of my teachers are inevitably going to be moved by the forces of Japanese bureaucracy to other schools, maybe others in my town, but probably not. That's compounded by the fact that the ministry of education has decided that English education should be mandatory for fifth and sixth graders, meaning my job is going to change to teaching at two schools a day and only to the upper grades. :-(
But such is life. On the plus side, I get to give speeches to kids that aren't old enough to understand why it's sad to see them move on, which gives me a chance to use Japanese sayings like 虎穴にいらずんば、虎子を得ず, "If you don't enter the tiger's cave, you won't get the tiger'z cub." Or, as in the title of this post, 会者定離, "all those who meet must part." All good things...
Today was my last day of work before spring break. In Japan, the school year is divided into three sessions (trimesters?) instead of two semesters, with the last one ending with spring break. School starts again in April. On a side note, I struggle to come up with the English names for months because I've never been very good at connecting the month name with the number, and the current Japanese system for months simply names them by numbers, so I had to think about that and wanted to type 四月.
I'll still be here for another few months, teaching through the first trimester, but this is probably the second saddest part of the year because some of my favorite students are graduating to junior high and some of my teachers are inevitably going to be moved by the forces of Japanese bureaucracy to other schools, maybe others in my town, but probably not. That's compounded by the fact that the ministry of education has decided that English education should be mandatory for fifth and sixth graders, meaning my job is going to change to teaching at two schools a day and only to the upper grades. :-(
But such is life. On the plus side, I get to give speeches to kids that aren't old enough to understand why it's sad to see them move on, which gives me a chance to use Japanese sayings like 虎穴にいらずんば、虎子を得ず, "If you don't enter the tiger's cave, you won't get the tiger'z cub." Or, as in the title of this post, 会者定離, "all those who meet must part." All good things...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Everyone Loves the Frontman
Since John has apparently issued me a challenge of responding to his daily music blogging, and since the breadth of my musical knowledge is far less impressive than his, I've decided to post a little explanatory response to something he might have mentioned off hand recently, but I may have just imagined, and didn't want to take the time to confirm it, either way.
So, what are the twelve-bar blues? The twelve-bar blues is a chord progression, or rather a family of slight variations on a chord progression, common in jazz, blues, and rock, that is, unsurprisingly, twelve measures (or bars) long. Behold my comma usage! You could just look this stuff up on Wikipedia and probably get more for your money, but please waste blogger's bandwidth instead.
The basic chord progression goes like this: 4 measures of I, 2 measures of IV, 2 measures of I, 1 of V, 1 of IV, and 2 of I. For those of you without any music theory, I, IV, and V refer to the major triads built on the first, fourth, and fifth steps of a major scale. There are plenty of variations on this. Usually, triads are too pedestrian for jazz, for example, so everything needs to be a seventh, especially the V (that is, it would almost certainly be replaced with a V7). The I chord would likely be made more colorful with the addition of a 6. The second measure (a I chord) would often be replaced with something like a iv7 chord. Sometimes the 1oth measure (a IV chord) is left as a continuation of the V(7) from the previous measure.
So, what's it sound like? I'm pretty sure you'd recognize it if you heard it, if you didn't follow all that chord symbol garbage. Try giving the jazz standards "In the Mood," or "Woodchopper's Ball" a listen. If you like the Beatles (that is, pretty much if you are human), their version of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," George's original "For You, Blue," and the aptly named "12 Bar Original" are all good examples. Dylan's "Outlaw Blues," from the album Bringing it all Back Home has a nice blues sound to it. Of course, so does just about every blues song ever, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about that to make recommendations. Edit: I'm going to go ahead and suggest Robert Johnson's "32-20 Blues" anyway. His album, Modern Times, which is basically a tribute to old style music like 50's rock and 40's balladeering (?) features the twelve-bar blues in the tracks "Thunder on the Mountain," "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "The Levee's Gonna Break." I'd be remiss not to mention Elvis, who built his career on twelve-bar blues tracks like "Hound Dog," which is just an awesome song, even if you think you are too good for Elvis.
Want to be a rock musician? Don't know how to play any instruments? Here is how you play the twelve bar blues. First, locate the C (any will do, but I suggest middle C) on a keyboard type instrument. It's the white one just below any of the pairs of black keys (not a trio of black keys). That is your first scale step, the tonic pitch, the base note of a I chord. Learn to play that note for four measures, or goof around with some other notes (best stick to the white ones for now), but stick around that one, because rock music isn't supposed to be complex. Now, you need the IV, so what do you do, well, if the C is the 1st step, count up the white keys till you get the the 4th step, the F in this case. It should be just below a block of three black keys. That's the subdominant tone, if you are curious or prefer words to numbers. Play that one for a couple measures, then go back to the 1st step. You'll probably know intuitively and won't have to count measures. Now count back up, but this time go one more to the 5th step, the dominant tone, a G in this case. Then down one, then down to your starting place. Bam, twelve-bar blues! You're almost as good as the Big Bopper.
If playing one note is beneath you, how about this, play the fifth above each of those notes at the same time. That is, play a perfect fifth interval (still not a chord; chords require at least three notes). If that doesn't make any sense, what I mean is, when you play a C, play a G with it; when you play an F, play a C with it; and when you play a G, play a D with it. Always put the fifth above the root of the chord. It's not strictly necessary, but since this music isn't exactly filled out, it won't sound right if you start inverting your "chords." If you are totally bayd at piano (that is, you have been using one hand to do this, like a pro), you can try adding the third step of each of the chords, which you should be able to figure out by yourself, but be warned, playing straight up triads like that, without inverting or anything, makes you sound like a square.
For "advanced" playing, you can color up your chords. For example, when playing the I chord (suggest just a perfect fifth interval in the left), alternate with each beat between the fifth (a G on C) and a 6th (an A, the note above that). You will notice a very familiar bass line by doing this. Slightly harder is going G-A-Bb-A. You are now using a C6 or even a C7 chord. Keep it up, Mingus! You can basically do the same thing with the other chords and become a jazz master. Now, just learn how to play with two hands, and you are well on your way to opening for Jerry Lee Lewis.
So, what are the twelve-bar blues? The twelve-bar blues is a chord progression, or rather a family of slight variations on a chord progression, common in jazz, blues, and rock, that is, unsurprisingly, twelve measures (or bars) long. Behold my comma usage! You could just look this stuff up on Wikipedia and probably get more for your money, but please waste blogger's bandwidth instead.
The basic chord progression goes like this: 4 measures of I, 2 measures of IV, 2 measures of I, 1 of V, 1 of IV, and 2 of I. For those of you without any music theory, I, IV, and V refer to the major triads built on the first, fourth, and fifth steps of a major scale. There are plenty of variations on this. Usually, triads are too pedestrian for jazz, for example, so everything needs to be a seventh, especially the V (that is, it would almost certainly be replaced with a V7). The I chord would likely be made more colorful with the addition of a 6. The second measure (a I chord) would often be replaced with something like a iv7 chord. Sometimes the 1oth measure (a IV chord) is left as a continuation of the V(7) from the previous measure.
So, what's it sound like? I'm pretty sure you'd recognize it if you heard it, if you didn't follow all that chord symbol garbage. Try giving the jazz standards "In the Mood," or "Woodchopper's Ball" a listen. If you like the Beatles (that is, pretty much if you are human), their version of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," George's original "For You, Blue," and the aptly named "12 Bar Original" are all good examples. Dylan's "Outlaw Blues," from the album Bringing it all Back Home has a nice blues sound to it. Of course, so does just about every blues song ever, but I'm not knowledgeable enough about that to make recommendations. Edit: I'm going to go ahead and suggest Robert Johnson's "32-20 Blues" anyway. His album, Modern Times, which is basically a tribute to old style music like 50's rock and 40's balladeering (?) features the twelve-bar blues in the tracks "Thunder on the Mountain," "Rollin' and Tumblin'" and "The Levee's Gonna Break." I'd be remiss not to mention Elvis, who built his career on twelve-bar blues tracks like "Hound Dog," which is just an awesome song, even if you think you are too good for Elvis.
Want to be a rock musician? Don't know how to play any instruments? Here is how you play the twelve bar blues. First, locate the C (any will do, but I suggest middle C) on a keyboard type instrument. It's the white one just below any of the pairs of black keys (not a trio of black keys). That is your first scale step, the tonic pitch, the base note of a I chord. Learn to play that note for four measures, or goof around with some other notes (best stick to the white ones for now), but stick around that one, because rock music isn't supposed to be complex. Now, you need the IV, so what do you do, well, if the C is the 1st step, count up the white keys till you get the the 4th step, the F in this case. It should be just below a block of three black keys. That's the subdominant tone, if you are curious or prefer words to numbers. Play that one for a couple measures, then go back to the 1st step. You'll probably know intuitively and won't have to count measures. Now count back up, but this time go one more to the 5th step, the dominant tone, a G in this case. Then down one, then down to your starting place. Bam, twelve-bar blues! You're almost as good as the Big Bopper.
If playing one note is beneath you, how about this, play the fifth above each of those notes at the same time. That is, play a perfect fifth interval (still not a chord; chords require at least three notes). If that doesn't make any sense, what I mean is, when you play a C, play a G with it; when you play an F, play a C with it; and when you play a G, play a D with it. Always put the fifth above the root of the chord. It's not strictly necessary, but since this music isn't exactly filled out, it won't sound right if you start inverting your "chords." If you are totally bayd at piano (that is, you have been using one hand to do this, like a pro), you can try adding the third step of each of the chords, which you should be able to figure out by yourself, but be warned, playing straight up triads like that, without inverting or anything, makes you sound like a square.
For "advanced" playing, you can color up your chords. For example, when playing the I chord (suggest just a perfect fifth interval in the left), alternate with each beat between the fifth (a G on C) and a 6th (an A, the note above that). You will notice a very familiar bass line by doing this. Slightly harder is going G-A-Bb-A. You are now using a C6 or even a C7 chord. Keep it up, Mingus! You can basically do the same thing with the other chords and become a jazz master. Now, just learn how to play with two hands, and you are well on your way to opening for Jerry Lee Lewis.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Super
John seems to have illogically linked to my blog once again, so here's my take on Six Ways. I am blessed with having an exceptionally poor memory for events of my own life while being able to retain Chinese characters and other things I read well, so take this as you will, but you have been warned.
We used to hang out and play ska music or some approximation of it in The Shed before it was once again returned to its original purpose of holding tools and soccer balls. The lineup changed a bit, but as I recall, there was a front man, sometimes a guitar player, a bad drummer who was really a bad trumpet player, two trombone players, a bassist, and a saxophoner (this should be the word). Also Dirty Bill used to hang around and complain about how terrible we were, so I guess you could count him, or Krev, maybe?
I'm pretty sure we only ever played "Sell Out," and maybe one other RBF cover, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "The Rascal King," and probably some other ska song that we had managed to get sheet music or tabs or something for. We had one jam called "Underwater somethingorother." The word "somethingorother" was not part of the title, but I can't remember what the exact title was. That pretty much just amounted to one riff from the horns and a lot of some effect on the guitar. I also recall John crooning the line, "Corned beef makes me feel fine in the morning," for another original composition, but I have no other memory of that one.
I would upload a picture of us in action at one of the two (?) things we ever played for, but I don't have any. Maybe someone can send one in?
We used to hang out and play ska music or some approximation of it in The Shed before it was once again returned to its original purpose of holding tools and soccer balls. The lineup changed a bit, but as I recall, there was a front man, sometimes a guitar player, a bad drummer who was really a bad trumpet player, two trombone players, a bassist, and a saxophoner (this should be the word). Also Dirty Bill used to hang around and complain about how terrible we were, so I guess you could count him, or Krev, maybe?
I'm pretty sure we only ever played "Sell Out," and maybe one other RBF cover, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones' "The Rascal King," and probably some other ska song that we had managed to get sheet music or tabs or something for. We had one jam called "Underwater somethingorother." The word "somethingorother" was not part of the title, but I can't remember what the exact title was. That pretty much just amounted to one riff from the horns and a lot of some effect on the guitar. I also recall John crooning the line, "Corned beef makes me feel fine in the morning," for another original composition, but I have no other memory of that one.
I would upload a picture of us in action at one of the two (?) things we ever played for, but I don't have any. Maybe someone can send one in?
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Musicale
What up? Comment, please. I am taking a hint from John and casually demanding people comment on my blog to keep contact with them, although John's blog is a lot better than mine. Lately, he's been logging some time (b)logging some of his favorite music, going in anti-alphabetical order by artist. You can check out his blog by clicking this, or by clicking on the JLink link over on the side there.
I mention his blog not just because it's amusing/inspiring/edutaining, but also because he linked back to my blog, referring people here for Tom Waits information. Sadly, my blog is lacking that, so you'd probably be better off with Wikipedia. I searched my old posts and found this one detailing Mule Variations, and this one which has a link to a Tom Waits video on it. Maybe there are others, I don't know, but I think most bloggers would make you do all the work yourself, so be thankful for that much, I guess.
To offer up a little insight before bed for those opposed to Wikipedia's maginficence or whatever, Tom Waits is a singer/songwriter who got his start in the 70's (?) and continues to record and perform. He's also an actor and is probably best characterized as a performance artist. He started his career basically as a lounge singer, playing mostly jazz and blues influenced pieces in which he detailed the beauty found in the gutter. He's gradually moved away from the piano and from his often sentimental music towards more experimental music and spoken word pieces, often with a lot of odd percussion. He's basically been playing the part of American eccentric for the last few decades, popping up every now and again with some play/album/whatever project, telling chuckle-worthy stories of a dubious nature in his completely destroyed voice. John mentions his collaboration with Primus on "Tommy the Cat," which is definitely worth a listen. If that link worked, which it doesn't seem to be doing for some reason, then you should know Tom is the one doing all the gruff talking parts, Les is the one doing the talk singing in a way I haven't figured out how to describe. For the record, I have no idea how much input Tom had into the writing of the song, if any. You should check out John's blog for more details when he gets to P. Right now he is on T, so all I am asking is give P-S a chance.
I mention his blog not just because it's amusing/inspiring/edutaining, but also because he linked back to my blog, referring people here for Tom Waits information. Sadly, my blog is lacking that, so you'd probably be better off with Wikipedia. I searched my old posts and found this one detailing Mule Variations, and this one which has a link to a Tom Waits video on it. Maybe there are others, I don't know, but I think most bloggers would make you do all the work yourself, so be thankful for that much, I guess.
To offer up a little insight before bed for those opposed to Wikipedia's maginficence or whatever, Tom Waits is a singer/songwriter who got his start in the 70's (?) and continues to record and perform. He's also an actor and is probably best characterized as a performance artist. He started his career basically as a lounge singer, playing mostly jazz and blues influenced pieces in which he detailed the beauty found in the gutter. He's gradually moved away from the piano and from his often sentimental music towards more experimental music and spoken word pieces, often with a lot of odd percussion. He's basically been playing the part of American eccentric for the last few decades, popping up every now and again with some play/album/whatever project, telling chuckle-worthy stories of a dubious nature in his completely destroyed voice. John mentions his collaboration with Primus on "Tommy the Cat," which is definitely worth a listen. If that link worked, which it doesn't seem to be doing for some reason, then you should know Tom is the one doing all the gruff talking parts, Les is the one doing the talk singing in a way I haven't figured out how to describe. For the record, I have no idea how much input Tom had into the writing of the song, if any. You should check out John's blog for more details when he gets to P. Right now he is on T, so all I am asking is give P-S a chance.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Worst Cover of Anything, Ever
This is an affront to all that is good and holy. Kindly die and be forgotten forever, MCR.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Fish Master
I ate this fish tonight. It's called karee, which I think is like flounder or something. It looked like a frying fish, so I did that with it, and that worked out pretty well. The salad is made of edible chrysanthemum and some other vegetable that I'm not going to bother looking up. It seems like fried fish usually comes with lemon slices, so I bought a lemon and, weirdly enough, sliced it.Cooking is very strange when you aren't using a recipe. It is like art or something because you have to picture what you want beforehand and figure out how to get there. Obviously, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This time it turned out pretty well, despite the fish seemingly being designed not to be cut up, being a flatfish with all the organs pushed to one side.
Which reminds me, intelligent design is ridiculous. There are only two Americans within an hour of where I live, I'm pretty sure, and neither of them believe in evolution. When somebody mentions that, I instantly lose respect for them. You pretty much have to be an idiot not to think evolution by natural selection is the right theory. It seriously makes me very mad to think that my country is being represented here by people who are not only ignorant but willfully ignorant, and all too happy to spread their disdain for science and reason anywhere they can get a foothold. Seriously, stupids, leave Japan alone.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Hard Rain
I've been trying to fix the whole in my musical knowledge where jazz should be lately by listening to John Coltrane and Charles Mingus, just for a start. While they are both really wonderful even after only a cursory listen, with Mingus standing out as being particularly inventive and fun, I find myself return to the places I'm familiar with, like Tom Waits's proverbial rain dogs. In this case, I mean returning to my idol, Bobby Dylan.
He's like that, though, always having something to return to, no matter how you feel. I'm listening to Hard Rain tonight, an album probably not many of you are familiar with out there. It's a live album recorded in 1976, part of the Rolling Thunder Revue, post Desire. I think I've mentioned Desire on here before. It's really the last in his string of great albums starting with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Desire is preceded by Blood on the Tracks (technically by The Basement Tapes, but that was recorded earlier), one of his most famous albums. Blood is simply beautiful in its sadness, generally seen as Dylan's reaction to his separation, mostly soft songs of confusion and hurt and definitely worth a listen. Desire is part travelogue, part angry calls for justice on behalf of American anti-heros, and part desperate last cries at a failed relationship. It is probably his most intense studio album and wonderful, even if it requires a few listens to get into past the immortal "Hurricane."
Enough background, then. Hard Rain is from the tour presumably in support of that album, but only features one track ("Oh, Sister") from it. He's backed by similar instruments, anyway. There's screeching violin and drums that somehow come off as a mix between haphazard pounding and pinpoint accuracy. Dylan's own performance is what I love, though. It's really as if he can't stand what he was thinking when he wrote/recorded the originals. "Idiot Wind," the closing track, is a little disappointing, but "Lay, Lady, Lay," "Shelter from the Storm," and "I Threw it all Away" all come off almost like him mocking his own efforts out of self-loathing and doing a great job the whole time. He turns some of his most touching, softest songs into multi-layered battles with himself, winning by yelling over top of his band, who is trying their hardest just to keep the songs some sense of orderly, it seems to me.
Critics don't like this album, and I see why; the band lacks the energy to really capture the songs in one way or another. The critics are really right in complaining about it, but sometimes it is just right. It's Dylan right as he is finally collapsing, before he is mumbling from the ruins of his life on Street Legal, before his conversion to fire-breathing evangelism. Dig it tonight.
He's like that, though, always having something to return to, no matter how you feel. I'm listening to Hard Rain tonight, an album probably not many of you are familiar with out there. It's a live album recorded in 1976, part of the Rolling Thunder Revue, post Desire. I think I've mentioned Desire on here before. It's really the last in his string of great albums starting with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Desire is preceded by Blood on the Tracks (technically by The Basement Tapes, but that was recorded earlier), one of his most famous albums. Blood is simply beautiful in its sadness, generally seen as Dylan's reaction to his separation, mostly soft songs of confusion and hurt and definitely worth a listen. Desire is part travelogue, part angry calls for justice on behalf of American anti-heros, and part desperate last cries at a failed relationship. It is probably his most intense studio album and wonderful, even if it requires a few listens to get into past the immortal "Hurricane."
Enough background, then. Hard Rain is from the tour presumably in support of that album, but only features one track ("Oh, Sister") from it. He's backed by similar instruments, anyway. There's screeching violin and drums that somehow come off as a mix between haphazard pounding and pinpoint accuracy. Dylan's own performance is what I love, though. It's really as if he can't stand what he was thinking when he wrote/recorded the originals. "Idiot Wind," the closing track, is a little disappointing, but "Lay, Lady, Lay," "Shelter from the Storm," and "I Threw it all Away" all come off almost like him mocking his own efforts out of self-loathing and doing a great job the whole time. He turns some of his most touching, softest songs into multi-layered battles with himself, winning by yelling over top of his band, who is trying their hardest just to keep the songs some sense of orderly, it seems to me.
Critics don't like this album, and I see why; the band lacks the energy to really capture the songs in one way or another. The critics are really right in complaining about it, but sometimes it is just right. It's Dylan right as he is finally collapsing, before he is mumbling from the ruins of his life on Street Legal, before his conversion to fire-breathing evangelism. Dig it tonight.
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