August 17, 2004

"He only broke the TV because she said 'I want something more.'" - Volcano, I'm Still Excited

I was minding my own business over the weekend and Mr. Obb pointed me to the Coolidge Corner Theater web site, where I spotted a notice that the Jandek documentary is coming there. I am very excited about this, as the documentary was the subject of a Junkmedia piece a year and a half or so ago, and it sounded really fascinating. I collected some links for those not down with the Jandek myth; I am not very familiar with the music at all, but the tale of the prolific recluse is fairly gripping. Anyway, here is Jandek 101.



[This is where there would be a series of three links, if Blogger wasn't totally sucking for me these days. Oh well, click this huge linked blob. This is enough to make me switch to another blog setup. Thanks Blogger.]


Also over the weekend I saw parts of two rock 'n' roll concerts on public TV, which were relatively moving in their own way. The first was Phil Collins live in France, which I guess is a DVD now or something. Anyway. My observation is goddamn that guy had a lot of top 40 hits in the '80s. I watched four cuts in a row and knew them all. And they didn't even come off half bad, in their glossy '80s pop way. I think the names were "Something Happened on the Way to Heaven," "Sussudio," oh, well, I just spaced the other two. Anyway, he performed in the round with a huge band. Which was important, because the guy was dwarfed by the stage and the lights and all that. And he has an odd stage presence, doing wierd physical comedy bits a la Buster Keaton, or literally just jogging around the circumference of the round stage. Just jogging. Wierd, huh?


The other concert I saw was last night. It was Phish, from a forthcoming DVD I think called it. I always appreciated Phish, as they were phoisted upon my by all my friends at Bucknell my freshman year. And I dug their inventiveness, musicianship, and even some of the hooks. I just couldn't stand their whole scene. I couldn't stand that their name was basically half of Fishbone. But anyway, what I saw on the video last night was actually outstanding. Outstanding. Now that they have officially broken up maybe I will look into their post 1993 efforts a little. And I definitely want to see the rest of that DVD.


Wow, Phil Collins and Phish in the same blog entry. Things are getting wierd around here.

It was only a matter of time before the major labels started to try to pervert MP3 blogs. The New York times has the coverage [right here should be a link to a story about major labels trying to trick mp3 bloggers].

[Right here should be a bit about Bob Mould's blog. Blogger, you suck.]

his blog. This is the holy grail for me. Not the Bob Mould part, but the part where a musician who I respect starts posting the recordings that shaped his musical life. Check it out. I wish all my fave musicians did this.


Cover art is close to complete for the Fong comp. Still tracking down the final two songs. In doing so I have gotten in touch with a lot of folks from back in the day. Including Rob Meltzer, who told me about his new movie project, which sounds hysterical. It is called "I Am Stamos." He is sending me a copy. I am sure it will rock.


Not a lot else to report. The Murph came and went. Now we just pretend he is here, but hiding. He is sneaky.


Scored Wilco tickets for October 1st, and just finished reading Greg Kot's Wilco book "Learning How To Die." Good book, though it gives short shrift to the events of the last 6 months, and perhaps would have benefitted as a whole from ignoring them. But anyway, it was a good read. Much better, so far, than the Pavement book "Perfect Sound Forever" I just started last night. That fella writes sorta boring, or at least he does in the first chapter. And I think I am having a hard time valuing his opinion, because he admits up front to not getting into Pavement until right before Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, by which time most of us were already completely devoted to the awesomeness that was "Slanted + Enchanted." Oh well.


That is all.

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