Buzzcocks!

I love the Buzzcocks! And I always love hearing something by them that I've never heard before. Thanks to the wonders of YouTube, I found this song by accident. They have a great power pop sound, and I love the sloppy little solo that says so much in the middle. I love the way their guitars work together, and how their drummer keeps the good times rolling even while changing moods a couple of times through the song. Judging by how few people have watched this video, it seems like a lost treasure that deserves more attention. So here it is. Pete Shelley at his best!

Health Care Reform!

My friend Kenneth is one articulate fellow. Here is a short video he made which puts that fact into vivid perspective. I agree with him 100%! I love that he linked this video to Sarah Palin's Facebook page!

Peaches Meets Miss Piggy

I love the "Andy Griffith Show" version of this video (see below), but this Muppets version is hilarious! The editing is well done, and the band has always been one of my favorite bands, ever since I saw them play with Alice Cooper on The Muppet Show when they did "School's Out" together when I was but a wee child.

Peaches

Peaches is coming to Philadelphia in November! Yeah!!! My friend Josh and I were lucky enough to catch her in New York City a couple of years ago and she changed my life. The show was incredible. She sings, she changes costumes, she shows her wacky videos, and she even played an electric guitar. Her music is wild, and the topics she chooses to sing about are titillating to say the least. When I found this video, I realized that she is truly a genius. I can't wait to see her at the TLA in November!

Danny Macaskill

This guy is not only amazing, but he inspires me to get up off my ass and do something active and fun for a change. I think I'll dust off my skateboard and go for a ride tonight in honor of this fellow. I also really like the song by Band of Horses. I wish I knew more about them. It's kind of a sad song to pick for such an exciting bunch of action, but I really like the way the shots are all edited to its ups and downs. The song kind of makes me want to cry, but the video makes me want to laugh. Funny how that works.

Tom Wilkes Has Passed

One of my art/rock & roll heroes just passed away. His name is Tom Wilkes. He's the graphic artist who helped to create some of the best classic album covers of all time. Looking over his contributions to my record collection, I realized that he's helped to shape a lot of the images in my mind when it comes to the music/art combination. He will be missed! Here are some pictures of him and only a few of his great images:

Shit and Shine!

I've been dying to hear something new that I like, and I've decided that Shit and Shine is what I've been looking for. I'm a big fan of the Butthole Surfers, who always made me feel like there was an outer edge of groovy rhythm and rock that had still never been explored. Then they went poppish, and I started losing hope in the joy of wacky new music. That was many years ago. Lately I've been settling for old memories and traditional songs. Along the way, I've been turned on to Aquarius Records in San Francisco, which sends me an e-mail every few weeks, highlighting all of the great stuff I've been missing by being in the underbelly of the beast here in Delaware, where very little great music shines in to spread its life-giving light on my musical vacuum. So today, this morning, as the sun was rising, Aquarius sends me their latest. And lo and behold, their record of the week is a new one by Shit and Shine. When they mentioned the Butthole Surfers a dozen times as a comparison sound in that band calculus that they use to describe things most of the world has never heard, I decided to take a listen. And I am impressed. I love multiple drummers in a band. And I love more than one bass player too. Remember Green Jello? How about Grotus? I think Sharkbait had two bass players too, but maybe I was drinking back then. Anyway, I see four drummers lined up in Shit and Shine, and another one to the side. Five drummers?! There might even be more. Regardless, I'm hooked. The description offered by the music gods at Aquarius say this is some kind of London music collective, but I say it's awesome. Here's a video I found floating out there. Now I'm gathering loose change to buy the record, just to take a chance on something new and explosive. I need the inspiration, and I think I've found a little today. Hooray for me. Finally!

Sky Saxon Has Died

I love the sound of The Seeds. I'm sorry to learn that their guitar player, Sky Saxon, has died. This song is awesome!

Prince

SUPERBOWL Rehersal07 - Prince

I love most forms of music, and yes, I admit it: I love Prince. This press conference from a couple of years back proves he's still a powerful force in the universe. I've never seen anything like it. He even funks up the NFL network, no less!!

Bumble Bee

Here are two oil paintings of bumble bees I recently completed. They're each four feet by three feet, which makes the tiny little critters very impressive in all of their enlarged glory. It's the same little fellow in each. He still lives in Montreal, where I found him, but I'm sure he's forgotten me. Fickle little creatures, bumble bees.

Watchmen

After watching the new movie Watchmen today, this little bit of hilarity is a perfect counterpoint. The actual movie was great. I love the graphic novel, and the filmmakers did a great job translating it into a compelling flick. I've read and heard several bad reviews, but those critics can bite me. It was an amazing translation of the original story, and the visuals were mind blowing. All of the characters and plot lines were handled with just the right touch. Plus, I loved to see Kelly from The Bad News Bears acting again, as an adult. Of course, he was great in Breaking Away, but his role in Watchmen was just incredible: a Bad News Bear Gone Bad. Really bad. Bad but good. Really good.

Pylon

Another great guitarist is dead, this time of a heart attack. Randy Bewley died at the tender age of 53. As one of the unsung heroes of the Athens, GA, scene, from back when The B-52s and REM got most of the spotlight, Randy took a back seat to many of his contemporaries. It's a shame, because he had a cool, laid back style. This song, Danger, is a good example of his low-fi sound. RIP Mr. Bewley. I'm glad to know Pylon continued to play from the late 70s all the way until recently.

R.I.P. Kelly Groucutt of ELO

I think I'm just going to make this a place where I pay tribute to all of the great musicians who die every week now that everyone I've ever loved to listen to is getting to the age when that kind of thing happens. Every time I look at the news, somebody else who I admire has passed on to Rock & Roll Heaven. For example, the great bass player Kelly Groucutt died of a heart attack on Wednesday night at the tender age of 63. He was merely a babe! Well, when I was in Junior High, listening to my brother's radio show on WMPH-FM, Mount Pleasant High School's radio station (in Delaware), I remember calling him up to request this song, Mr. Blue Sky. It just seemed like such a nice little tune. (Dig the epic ending!) It always reminded me of a Beatles song, but since the Beatles were already done by that point, ELO served as my personal Beatles. Their albums were the soundtrack to my whole Jr. High experience. ELO wasn't exactly the coolest band out there, but I always liked how catchy their songs were ... and still are. Thanks Kelly!

R.I.P. Snooks Eaglin

Snooks died on Wednesday, down in New Orleans, where he made a name for himself as a legend while playing some great music. He has a really awesome guitar style that I've never seen before. Watch that crazy thumb of his! He picks with his thumbnail, which makes his little solos sound wild! RIP Snooks.

(I'd Go The) Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head, then forget it, and then try to get it back? Well, that happened to me this week.


This song has been haunting me since I heard it for a moment during the great radio show "This American Life" the other day. They had a funny segment by a comic describing how he was once his "Girlfriend's Other Boyfriend." It was a pretty hilarious ode to Valentine's Day. Anyway, ever since I heard the story, and the song, I've been trying to figure out who sang it, because it's a great love song, with a great vocal. Then, during my search, I found out where I had heard it before: Stranger Than Fiction. I think this is the best part of the movie, which was interesting on some levels, but less wacky than most Will Ferrell classics.

In my search for the song, I also found this cool little movie by Michael Saikin to go with the original song:


But the best part of my search was when I found the original songwriter, Wreckless Eric, performing the song himself, back when he was a Stiff Records recording artist:

the sopranos, uncensored. from victor solomon on Vimeo.

This is a classic example of the beauty of the spoken (dirty) word(s). It's mesmerizing!!

Lux Interior is Dead, again

RIP Lux. 62. Another sad departure.

The Sounds of Doom and Gloom!

This is wild. It's horrible, but it cracks me up!