#give warren zevon a chance

[sinceileftyoublog]

King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Album Review: Flight b741

p(doom)

BY KEITH MILLER

Prophetic indie rockers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s 26th studio album Flight b741 features the Australian sextet at their most raucous, hootin’ & hollerin’, and rambunctious yet. From take-off to landing, Flight b741 is a true-to-form blues album wherein King Gizzard has passed the mic from band member to band member to give the traditional blues pattern a switch-up.

Across its ten tracks and roughly 40-minute runtime, King Gizzard delivers an enticing album that’ll pair well with cookouts, yard work, parties at a lake house, and all around busy and sweaty times outdoors. From its harmonic vocals and borderline goofy lyrics down to the various instrumentation of clanging pianos, bumping bass beats, and uplifting guitars, my biggest complaint about Flight b741 is that it didn’t come out sooner. Grab your sunglasses and put on a pair of jorts--anyone who’s claimed to like “Dad Rock,” this album is for you.

My initial highlight from Flight b741 is the vocals. Stu Mackenzie takes lead vocals on the majority of King Gizzard albums, with Ambrose Kenny-Smith, Joey Walker, and occasionally Cook Craig, grabbing the mic and singing lead. But this time around, each band member was given the opportunity to write their own lyrics and sing a verse in as many songs as they like. Lead single “Le Risqué” features drummer Michael Cavanagh opening his verse with a hearty, borderline maniacal laugh before diving into a verse describing himself as a “pathetic forgotten steaze” with a “tiny prick.” These off-kilter moments are scattered throughout the record. The second single, “Hog Calling Contest”, features the band snorting, oinking, and squealing in the mic as they quite literally go “whole hog.”

After every play through, I find myself going right back to the start so that I can relive each song and peel them apart. The opening track “Mirage City” describes a beautiful oasis wherein its visitors can escape their problems. It’s a phenomenal opening track that sets the tone for the rest of the album. With multiple movements featuring horns, harmonica, and loud guitars, “Mirage City” is one of the album's best tracks.

When I first put on the album, I was finishing up work and had just started cleaning my kitchen. One of the earlier tracks, “Antarctica”, was playing, and it gave me a little groove. There was a pop in my step as I was wiping off counters and putting away dishes. “Antarctica” lets you bop along as the lyrics sing, “It’s gunna be a miss / I can tell we’ve got a snowballs chance in hell.” While I was moving and grooving and cleaning up my tiny kitchen, I was suddenly and completely frozen in place as Mackenzie closed out the song with vocals that sounded eerily similar to Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” And I loved it.

Flight b741 proudly shows its inspiration. There were multiple moments throughout the album that reminded me of Crosby, Stills & Nash, and a few others that harkened back to The Band. These moments are never too embellished. Flight b741 does a good job of keeping its listeners on their toes and giving the classic American rock sound a refreshing Australian twist.

After 12 years and 26 albums, some of us fans have to wonder, "How long can they keep this up?” King Gizzard is known for releasing a lot of music in a short time span. They’re known for leaning heavily into musical themes and gimmicks. From inventing new guitars for their microtonal explorations, to recording an entirely acoustic album, to making a jam band record that follows the classical Greek musical modes, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard know how to craft an album around a central theme or concept. Flight b741 has ten sturdy songs, three songs longer than their past four records, and if there is a gimmick, its that the band finally got to kick back and make some fun music with their friends.

Keith Miller is a writer living in Chicago who enjoys music, film, and literature. He’s helped a few startups in the Chicagoland area with their copywriting and blog posts. He is currently eating a sandwich.

[gentleoverdrive]

(148/?) When the winter comes, keep the fires lit, and I will be right next to you.

TW: This concerns the tragic passing of a beloved actor. If that sorta thing doesn't jive with you, feel free to skip this entry. It's understandable.

---- Saw the news earlier today that voice actor Billy Kametz lost his battle against cancer and it fucking gutted me. Beyond enjoying his fantastic delivery in many projects, the impression I had from every friend/associate/acquaintance that got to work with him and told me about him is that dude was an pleasure to work + get along with. ---- And, like, people need to understand: Those people? You cherish those mo'fos in any work environment. Anybody who can bring that twinkle into your eye + make you bring your A game? Those are the sort of people you associate with, that you check up on and that you try to make sure are around to help you out. ---- Even if this all sounds really cold and detached, losing a good dude just like that doesn't fucking jive with anyone. I mean, 35-- Thirty-Five years of age. That's fucking young. That don't make no sense. But then I remember: It's chaos, be kind. Cherish those you have and are grateful for while they're still in this plane of existence. Life is short like that. ---- Vaya con dios, Billy. Cuídese mucho por favor.

[mahsamarauder]

Keep Me In Your Heart For A While

James Potter was making faces at his son. Harry was squealing in happiness and clapping his hands. “Pongs” Harry happily screamed. James smiled at his son and kissed his forehead. Harry spent too much time with Sirius. Instead of calling James “Dada” he had started calling him “Pongs” trying to copy Sirius. Lily was “Mama”, Sirius was “Pafoo”, Remus was “Moony” and Peter was “Oormy”. Everyone were what they wanted to be except James, he wanted to be “Dada” or “Daddy” not “Pongs” but every time Harry said “Pongs” his heart would melt and he would forget all about this, all he would remember was that he has a son. Lily came downstairs and saw them. The moment Harry saw his mother he raised his arms in Lily’s direction. Lily picked him up.

“Harry, are you hungry?”

“Foo”

Well that meant he was indeed hungry. As Lily started walking towards the kitchen to pick up Harry’s formula, she saw James pouting like a child. She kissed his hair.

“James, stop being jealous of our son!”

“I’m not jealous of him. I’m jealous of both you. When you are together, I’m all alone. How is that fair Lily? No one should be with the only people I love without me present, even if it is themselves!” James exclaimed.

“First off, don’t let Sirius hear you, he’ll hang himself at the declaration that he is not one of your favorite people.”

“Blimey, Let’s tell him next time we see him, just to see his reaction.”

“James!” Lily exclaimed angrily.

“Sorry. But admit it, you have thought about killing him.” He smirked at his wife.

“Of course I have, you big buffoon. For the first five years I knew you two, all I wanted was to kill you.”

“Oh you wound me Lily, is that why you married me?”

“ no it’s….wait, don’t change the subject James. You know I hate it when you do that.” She gave him a deathly glare. “James there is nothing to be jealous of, you know that you big prat!”

She waited for his response, and did not hear one. She looked into the living room to see James closely inspecting the window.

“James, love?” She was worried. She was only teasing him. She didn’t mean it like that. “James I was teasing, you know I didn’t mean it right?” When she didn’t hear a response she git really worried. Even when they had screaming matches in Hogwarts, even when she humiliated him on a daily basis, whenever she called him he would answer her. This was wrong, something was definitely wrong. She moved into the living room with Harry in her arms. “James???” Lily put Harry down on the sofa and stood beside James. But the moment she got to him he turned around held her shoulders in his palms.

“Lily I think it’s him.” He looked at Lily. He knew what he had to do. He had to save his wife and child. This way at least he knew he had saved Harry and Lily and they would remember him with smiles on their faces, knowing that he had done what he could for them, in this case dying. Even though a voice told him Harry and Lily would not live to remember him when he’s dead but had to try. He had to. It was Lily and Harry. He had to.

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath Keep me in your heart for awhile If I leave you it doesn't mean I love you any less: Keep me in your heart for a while

“Him?? But James that means…”

“That means that Peter is a real rat and betrayed us. Lily listen closely, go to Harry’s room, I think I hid the cloak there. You can’t appereate with Harry but you can sneak out the window under the cloak. I’ll buy some time.”

Lily just nodded. This could not be happening. She looked into his eyes for a moment, her eyes full of love. Before she could declare that she loved him, he smiled sadly at her.

“I know, me too.”

When you get up in the morning and you see that crazy sun Keep me in your heart for awhile There's a train leaving nightly called "When All-is-Said-and-Done" Keep me in your heart for a while

Lily moved to the other side of the room to take Harry and brought him to James.

“Harry, bud, you and Mama are going on an adventure and I’ll be right behind you. You go and I’ll come later.” The tears stung his eyes. “Merlin knows that’s the first time I’ve ever lied to you.” He whispered and kissed his forehead. Lily put Harry on the kitchen counter and moved to the kitchen to take her wand when they heard The door burst open and realized what was about to happen.

“Lily, take Harry and go! It’s him! Go! Run! I’ll hold him off.”

As Lily ran to Harry’s room with Harry in her arms, James realized he had no wand. He knew Voldemort can kill him in mere seconds but then again, every second counted. He was happy to die this way, for Harry and Lily.

Voldemort came to see James Potter standing tall in front of the stairs his figure confident.

“Move Potter. You are a Pureblood. When I kill the stains on your family tree, you can start anew.”

“No.”

“I give you one more chance Potter. Move, now. It’s shame to spill your blood.”

“No.” James never had felt more terrified but didn’t move a muscle. He was going to do it. This was it. He begged that Lily and Harry would survive to remember him. He begged that Remus and Sirius would take of Harry and Lily. He said his goodbyes to Harry, Lily, Sirius, Remus and even Peter.

Sometimes when you're doing simple things around the house Maybe you'll think of me and smile You know I'm tied to you like the buttons on your blouse: Keep me in your heart for a while

“Then die!” Voldemort raised his wand and whispered the spell. Before he was done James realized that Harry was young, Harry would forget his face, his voice his everything, so he begged that Harry would at least remember a glimpse of him.

Hold me in your thoughts, take me to your dreams Touch me as I fall into view When the winter comes keep the fires lit And I will be right next to you

The spell hit James And with that James Potter fell to the ground. His last thought was very desperate.

“Remember me, I love you.”

When she heard James tell her to go, She knew what was about to happen, she took Harry and ran upstairs to Harry’s room to take the cloak, that’s when she remembered that Dumbledore had taken the cloak. She put Harry and his crib and heard something fall. Her tears started falling. Even without seeing it she knew the sound of the thing that had collapsed on the ground belong to James. She knew he was dead. She knew she would die in a few minutes and Harry would join her. She was determined not to let him kill Harry, he had to kill her first if he wanted to kill her little boy. The only thing she wanted was for Harry to remember her and James if he survived, because when you remember your parents you feel a comfort wash over you. She wanted Harry to remember them so he would know that he was loved, even though not for long but he was loved.

Engine driver's headed north to Pleasant Stream Keep me in your heart for a while These wheels keep turning but they're running out of steam Keep me in your heart for a while

She told Harry she loved him and kissed him as much as she could before standing up to see Voldemort telling her to move. She refused. She couldn’t. How could he think she would step aside for him to kill Harry. She begged but it was no use. He rose his wand and whispered his spell and it hit her. Lily’s last thought was just like James.

“Remember us Harry, I love you.”

Song:Keep Me In Your Heart by Warren Zevon

Fanart credit: @alessiajontrunfio

[blissfulalchemist]

Ship Playlist

I was tagged by @faithchel Thank you so much! Here are all the ships!!!!

Catlina and John

1. Cowboy Casanova by Carrie Underwood

2. From Eden by Hozier

3. Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier

4. Never Think by Robert Pattinson

5. Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars

6. Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin

7. Thinking of You by Katy Perry

8. Poison and Wine by The Civil Wars

9. Watching for Comets by Skillet

10. Here we Are by Breaking Benjamin

Chance and Faith

1. Here by Me by 3 Doors Down

2. Remembering Sunday by All Time Low

3. Favorite Liar by The Wrecks

4. Ashes of Eden by Breaking Benjamin

5. Conflicted by Halestorm

6. Lost in You by Three Days Grace

7. Iris by Diamante and Breaking Benjamin

8. The A-Team by Ed Sheeran

9. Let Me Sign by Robert Pattinson

10. Chop and Change by The Black Keys 

Catlina and Rafael

1. Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop by Daniela Andrade

2. The Mortician’s Daughter (Overture) by Black Veil Brides

3. The Bones by Maren Morris ft. Hozier

4. Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier

5. Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) by Muse

6. Can’t Help Falling in Love

7. Un Poco Loco from Coco

8. Why Don’t We Just Dance? by Josh Turner

9. Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

10. Fred Astaire by Jukebox the Ghost

Chance and Rowan

1. Break Free by Queen (Okay the lyrics though are what make this)

2. Howlin’ for You by The Black Keys

3. The Only Exception by Paramore

4. Dust to Dust by The Civil Wars

5.  Woman, Woman by Awolnation

6. I Will Spend My Whole Life Loving You by Kina Grannis ft. Imaginary Future

7. In Your Arms by Kina Grannis

8. Whatever It Is by Zac Brown Band

9. Smile by Avril Lavigne 

10. Hold Me Now from Carole and Tuesday

Catlina and Cooper

1. Carmelita by Warren Zevon

2. So Close from Enchanted 

3. The World by Brad Paisley

4. Lookin’ For a Good Time by Lady A

5. As She’s Walkin’ Away by Zac Brown Band

6. Sweet Thing by Keith Urban

7. You Look Good In My Shirt by Keith Urban

8. Just A Kiss by Lady A

9. I Really Like You by Carly Rae Jepsen

10. Ophelia by The Lumineers

Chance and Wes

1. If We Were Gay by Ninja Sex Party (I had too okay)

2. Let’s Get Lost by Bat For Lashes

3. Your Love by The Outfield (Sorry Jo but like this is them back and forth okay)

4. Yours to Hold by Skillet

5. Make You Fell My Love by Adele

6. Location by AJR

7. Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen

8. I Won’t Give Up by Jason Mraz

9.  Colorado Sunrise by 3Oh!3

10. Do I Wanna Know? by Arctic Monkeys

[janiedean]

music meme

tagged by @rainhalydia ty!! <3

Rules: put your entire library on shuffle and name the first 5 songs and your favorite lyrics in those songs (if it doesn’t have lyrics, shuffle once more!!)

riiight so:

1. from me to you, the beatles

I've got arms that long to hold you And keep you by my side I've got lips that long to kiss you And keep you satisfied

2. like a hurricane, nils lofgren (originally neil young)

You are like a hurricane There's calm in your eye And I'm gettin' blown away To somewhere safer Where the feeling stays I want to love you But I get so blown away

3. lucky you, the national

You clean yourself to meet The man who isn't me You're putting on a shirt A shirt I'll never see The letter's in your coat But no one's in your head Cause you're too smart to remember You're too smart Lucky you

4. meet me in the alleyway - steve earle

Now I'm in the alley and I'm all alone Can't run can't hide from destiny Knew this day was comin' nearly all of my life Been done ain't the only boy from Tennessee To carve his name in cypress with a jawbone knife

5. hasten down the wind, warren zevon

She's so many women He can't find the one who was his friend So he's hanging on to half a heart He can't have the restless part

6. I see a darkness - johnny cash

Well, I hope that someday, buddy We have peace in our lives Together or apart Alone or with our wives And we can stop our whoring And pull the smiles inside And light it up forever And never go to sleep My best unbeaten brother This isn't all I see

7. I lost it - lucinda williams

I don't want nothin' if i have to fake it Never take nothin' don't belong to me Everything's paid for, nothing's free If I give my heart Will you promise not to break it?

8. last rites - the horrible crowes

Start up the car Bury your memories Call on your lovers Speaking slow and heavy Call up your boyfriends From out by the ocean While I get my last rites read by a thief

9. chances - john frusciante

I'm almost where I'll never be This is cutting off of fate like a string A line that falls to the floor And I'm not me anymore

10. I’m in love with my car, queen (lmao)

When I'm holding your wheel All I hear is your gear When I'm cruising in overdrive Don't have to listen to no run-of-the-mill talk jive

aaaand tagging @robb-greyjoy @thebluelemontree @moviestorian @twinvalyrianswords @haljathefangirlcat @feanoriel @distractedbylife @i-dreamed-of-u @lordhellebore and whoever else wants to ;)

[minipliny]

“I enjoyed reading 1851 novel, Moby Dick, but I really wanted to know how much 1970s Americana and Mountain Goats lyrics could be free-associatedly linked to it at 3am”: the playlist for you. 

Tracklist under the cut:

1.Joni Mitchell - Urge For Going Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out See the geese in chevron flight flapping and racing on before the snow They've got the urge for going and they've got the wings so they can go

2. Warren Zevon - Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead Not everybody has a place to go And home is just a place to hang your head And dream of things to do in Denver when you're dead You won't need a cab to find a priest Maybe you should find a place to stay Some place where they never change the sheets And you just roll around Denver all day

3. Nina Simone - Sinnerman So I run to the river It was bleedin', I run to the sea It was bleedin', all on that day So I run to the river It was boilin', I run to the sea It was boilin', all on that day So I run to the Lord Please hide me, Lord.... But the Lord said Go to the Devil 4. Gladys Knight - Help Me Make It Through the Night Come and lay down by my side Til the early mornin' light All I'm takin' is your time Help me make it through the night I don't care what's right or wrong I won't try to understand Let the devil take tomorrow But tonight I need a friend  5.Buffy Sainte-Marie - Easy Like The Snow Falls Down Come to me Easy like the snow falls down Come to me 6. Little Feat - Willin' And if you give me weed, whites and wine And you show me a sign I'll be willin', to be movin' Well I've been kicked by the wind, robbed by the sleet Had my head stoved in, but I'm still on my feet and I'm still, willin'  7.Aimee Mann - Going Through the Motions Something isn't right I don't know how I know But baby, it's despite Your dog-and-pony show I can hear it coming You're only going through the motions, baby   8.Baptized by fire- Spinnerette Have you ever been alone Fighting your own war? Someone stole the life from you And now they're back for more Your heart is on the floor Beating out of control Oh, I don't want this anymore So I'll be sailing on Out into Bermuda blue Compass needle breaks Like the heart I gave to you I've been laying down in the devil's lair Sailing into the sun, I'll be baptized there   9.Asobi Seksu-Sing Tomorrow's Praise You've left without making a sound Lay your heavy hammer down For an ocean's not a simple way out Trees bend down and sway These leaves were falling anyway There's no time to walk away from this day Glowing reasons fray Chase these things that end this way Whisper words of faith and set out of place  10. Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats Some things you'll do for money and some you'll do for fun But the things you do for love Are gonna to come back to you one by one Love, love is going to lead you by the hand Into a white and soundless place  11.Wall of Death - Richard and Linda Thompson You can waste your time on the other rides This is the nearest to being alive Oh let me take my chances on the Wall Of Death On the Wall Of Death all the world is far from me On the Wall Of Death it's the nearest to being free    12. Silver Jews - People   I love to see a rainbow from a garden hose Lit up like the blood of a centerfold I love the city and the city rain Suburban kids with biblical names 13.Funkadelic - Maggot Brain I have tasted the maggots in the mind of the universe I was not offended   14. Tori Amos - Talula Say goodbye to the old world Ran into the Henchman who severed Anne Boleyn He did it right quickly a merciful man She said one plus one is two But Henry said that it was three So it was Here I am  15. Leonard Cohen - The Great Event It`s going to happen very soon. The great event which will end the horror. Which will end the sorrow. Next Tuesday, when the sun goes down, I will play the Moonlight Sonata backwards. 16. Dar Williams - Blue Light of the Flame As the earth melts at the poles I race to man the controls And I work harder, fiercer and smarter You're at the blue light of the flame Out beyond rescue Somebody let you Look into the blue light of the flame  17. Tori Amos  - Iieee I know we're dying And there's no sign of a parachute We scream in cathedrals Why can't it be beautiful Why does there gotta be a sacrifice Just say yes You little arsonist You're so sure you can save Every hair on my chest  18. Steely Dan - Don't Take Me Alive I hear my inside The mechanized hum of another world Where no sun is shining No red light flashing Here in this darkness I know what I've done I know all at once who I am  19. Buffy Sainte Marie - House Carpenter "Now you forsake your house carpenter "And go along with me "I'll take you where the grass grows green "On the banks of the deep blue sea."   20. Richard & Linda Thompson - Shoot Out the Lights Keep the blind down on the window Ah, keep the pain on the inside Just watching the dark. Just watching the dark Ah he might laugh but you won't see him As he thunders through the night Shoot out the lights. Shoot out the lights   21. Laurie Anderson - Pieces And Parts Out on the ocean, out of the water We look for signs of him He looks like a giant snow hill, a fountain Then he disappears. He's a speck on the horizon We see him only in parts The flash of a tail, his beating heart. He's in pieces and parts.   22. Leonard Cohen - Story of Isaac Thought I saw an eagle But it might have been a vulture, I never could decide.   23. Lucinda Williams & Mary Chapin Carpenter -  Sweet Old World See what you lost when you left this world, this sweet old world The breath from your own lips, the touch of fingertips A sweet and tender kiss The sound of a midnight train, wearing someone's ring Someone calling your name Somebody so warm cradled in your arm Didn't you think you were worth anything   24. The Mountain Goats - Autoclave Hand me your hand, let me look in your eyes As my last chance to feel human begins to vaporize Maybe it’s the heat in here, maybe it’s the pressure You ought to head for the exits, the sooner the better I am this great, unstable mass of blood and foam And no one in her right mind would make my home her home My heart’s an autoclave My heart’s an autoclave   25. Sufjan Stevens- In the Devil's Territory We stayed a long, long time To see you To beat you To see you At last I saw the dragons drying I saw the witches whine We stayed a long, long time But I’m not afraid to die

[krispyweiss]

undefined

Song Review: Linda Ronstadt - “Just One Look” (Live, April 24, 1980)

From the better-late-than-never and some-is-better-than-none departments comes news Linda Ronstadt is releasing an album of highlights from her April 24, 1980, concert in support of Mad Love.

“Just One Look” is the lead single from Live in Hollywood, which arrives Feb. 1, 2019, and features rock’s premier female vocalist performing cuts like Warren Zevon’s “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou” and Little Feat’s “Willin’” with an all-star group that includes guitarist Danny Kortchmar and drummer Russ Kunkel of James Taylor’s band and Feat keyboardist Billy Payne among others.

In concert, this cover of Doris Troy’s 1963 hit gives Ronstadt a chance to blow her pipes more than on the studio version. Kunkel and Payne, meanwhile, give the track extra punch that’s missing from Ronstadt’s own charting take on the song.

It bodes well for the forthcoming album and serves as a reminder of Ronstadt’s oft-forgotten rock ‘n’ roll prowess.

Grade card: Linda Ronstadt - “Just One Look” (Live - 4/24/80) - A

12/26/18

[braindamageforbeginners]

The Morning After/Diet

Cycle 9, Day 16

POST-FINAL INFUSION, CYCLE 9

Thankfully, a quasi-legal medical substance allows me to get through the night, and wake up feeling mostly-okay on post-infusion days. I’m still exhausted and fatigued, but caffeine does help with that, too. I guess the DARE program’s message should have been that recreational drug use was bad, but as an entire lifestyle, it might be neccessary (I say that knowing they’ll eventually have to stop chemo, because, again, these are dangerous, expensive drugs that will burn out one’s innards. Good news, the outtards are doing pretty well at the moment, which plays well to my plan to ask for more napalm doses until those wretched new cells on the block give up. There are a few people who know me personally who know there’s a non-minor chance I’m just too stubborn to die. Of course, it’s easy to say that now, after a clean scan (that occurred two weeks ago). And it feels good to say that,even for what’s usually the worst infusion in the series was easily treated by some aspirin, and my new bionic joints (although I still seem to get a nasty wonky leg after infusions). The bad news is that, even with my bionic joints, a simple high-speed walk around the neighborhood left me wobbly. So much for prosthetic devices (although it’s worth noting that gait issues are very common symptoms of  progressing brain cancer; which pretty much also means they’re a side-effect of chemo)..

Also, even though I’m still not looking at 401K options, I am getting a little better at reading between the lines about cancer statistics, and figuring that our society is completely riddled with bad health practices that will automatically make every health issue worse, including brain cancer (Dad recommended looking into going back to grad school for biomedical informatics, since that’s now one of my hobbies). Case in point, the average American turbo-loading on unhealthy diets. This wouldn’t normally be worth commentary, but when you spend most of your waking hours obsessing over your own health, you can get tunnel-vision and forget most of us aren’t leading terribly healthy lives, anyway; as I kind of realized yesterday taking my grandmother shopping. There’s endless fats, sugars, and all kinds of insanely unhealthy junk (so says the man on a potentially-fatal course of drugs). Before we continue, I’ve been asked if I’m on a ketogenic diet. No, I am not. I am on the Jack Lalanne diet (that was intended to be a joke, until I did a little research and found out that I am). I’d normally not go over that, except this is intended for the next set of folks in line, and ketogenic diet is en vogue with cancer patients. To dip into my biochem background, the ketogenic diet basically swaps sugars for fats, and it is a fad diet. Even though there’s more research being done on it as an interventional therapy (that’s “we’re doing something medically to treat an illness”), I only saw one study for GBM, and it only increased life expectancy two months, AND, to be effective, he patients had to be kept in a state of near-ketogenic shock and in the hospital constantly. We’ll call that “Plan B.”

In the meantime, because chemo and/or zofran tend to stop you up; I thought it’d be easier to just eat loads of fruits of and vegetables to keep everything sluicing through me (that’s not true, I’m just terrified of laxtives; you can peruse the archives for that particular incident). I think I’m up to seven or eight a day, because it’s easier to maintain healthy habits than start and stop them (Jack had at least 10 raw vegetable/fruit servings a day). People often talk/ask about changes in taste because of chemo. I usually shrug because my own tastes are largely unaltered; however, upon reflection, pineapples got amazing in the last year or so. Add onto that at least 15-20 grams of protein before starting dinner or snacking, and, my rule is, you can eat as much as you want of whatever you want. I don’t think you’ll want much, though. If you’ve never heard of Jack, it’s a shame, because he pretty much invented modern fitness.movement. He’s credited with starting the first public gyms in America that featured things like barbells (he’s not so much “Old School” as much the guy who pours the cement foundations). And he lived to be 96, so, clearly, the man was doing something right. His dietary rule was - and this is a direct quote - “If it tastes good, spit it out,” So far, it’s worked fantastically for me (and that’s a pretty easy diet rule to remember), in the sense that I’m still alive and mostly-intact, and haven’t lost much weight (but my belt size has dropped by two inches)(to be honest, I have cheat days, and I do have the odd beer or Manhattan). That sounds all pretty narcissistic, but here’s the pay-off if you’re ever in the hot seat. If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness (another thing that skews GBM stats; if I get side-swiped tomorrow and die in a freak accident; that’ll get calculated into life expectancy stats, even if the cause of death is clearly a drunk semi driver), get into a level crazy health and/or physical activity. Cancer survivors have a severely reduced life expectancy, because of  all the side-effects and long-term damage associated with treatment. That’s not just brain cancer, it’s all of them.

And there are many, many cancers that were previously considered “acute” and have been reclassified as “chronic.”  My plan here is stolen from Ben Williams - stay healthy and alive long enough and well enough that the Warlocks will keep hexing me until I die, or the cancer (which is me, remember) does. I realize that seems grim and unpleasant as a philosophy, but that is the definition of a terminal situation. Someone will die. I’m damned if that someone is going to be me.

Because that’s not exactly an upbeat way of ending this post, I will point out that there are all sorts of nutritionists at the cancer center, who all have the secret to staying healthy during and after treatment, and, even though it’s a little mean, I do remember one of them mentioning, in a support group, something like, “It pains me to hear people say they want to eat healthy, but don’t enjoy the things that are healthy for them.” Which is an interesting statement to make to a bunch of people in chemo, because it’s not like anyone enjoys or feels great on a non-stop diet of mustard gas. I am now so deep in the Abyss that “unenjoyable” is almost a vacation. Still, I’m ready to endure more punishment, because my sense of humor is still there, and able to appreciate the delicious irony of an authority figure talking about the concept of “fun meals” with people who are now far beyond conventional fun. That seems horrible unless you consider the possibilities of unconvenional fun. Or getting funny, which was my coping method.

Also, because I’m getting restless with just the basic stress of undergoing chemo, micro-managing my health and keeping current with all my drugs, writing the tale/blog, and/or my ongoing attempt at a novel, I figured I’d start The Terminal Artists list. This will be an ongoing project, both as a form of therapy for myself, and because everyone who suddenly comes face to face with a life-altering and/or limiting illness could use it, and because it was a theme at the cancer writing group on Monday. So, the rules: 1. This is a list of people whose greatest - or best-known works (in a few lonely cases, the only books or poems some ever wrote were started when they began dying) were done in the final year of their life. I realize that “best” is highly subjective, and the idiom “best-known” would require a poll to establish. 2. Even though I use the word “artist,” I’ll happily use that as a catch-all for scientists, engineers, playwrights, dancers, athletes - anyone who produces/designs/discovers/creates anything that would positively impact those left behind is a contender. I just don’t want some estate attorney who cleverly scams their clients using loopholes in probate law; or a smuggler who figures a new way to smuggle and sell arms to UN embargo countries. Use your judgment, folks. 3. Ideally, you’d pair a specific person with their song/album/film/discover etc., but if it’s an extremely well-known (or prolific) artist/whatsit, I’ll bend the rules and do some research 4. people who are so prolific that they have works published after they die will be on the list, because the only thing cooler than giving the Reaper the finger and leaping on the keyboard (or easel, or guitar, or wet bench) is leaving such a vast, consistent body of work, it’s still considered awesome when you aren’t around to advocate for it

THE LIST SO FAR.... -Vincent van Gogh - “Starry Night” -Jimi Hendrix - “Angel” -Howard Ashman (Playwright/lyricist/) - “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin” - Paul Kalanithi (surgeon/writer) - “When Breath Becomes Air” -Nina Riggs (writer) - “The Bright Hour” -Warren Zevon - “The Wind” -Freddie Mercury - “The Show Must Go On” -Johnny Cash -Michael Crichton (writer, minor demi-god to all sci-fi fans) - Pirate Latitudes -Samuel Clemens (writer) - Autobiography -Roy Orbison (minor private music teacher - “You Got It”

[dresupi]

70s Song Prompts List

Now, I probably won’t be opening these up for another month or so, but I wanted to give y’all the definitive list of songs.  Just so you could go ahead and start mentally picking them.  <3 There are 150 songs here. I will be using each song once. Marvel ships only. And I will be allowing up to 4 prompts per url, with no more than 2 prompts per url being the same ship. So like, FOR EXAMPLE max 2 shieldshock prompts per person, if that makes sense?

So, just like, think about which ships and which songs you want.  I’ll give you more notice before I open them, probably a day or two’s notice.  <3  

Sign up here if you’d like to be tagged when I open up prompts.  

Prompts aren’t open yet, just giving you the list for now!

Song list under the cut for length:

25 or 6 to 4 - Chicago (1971)

A Case of You - Joni Mitchell (1971)

A Horse with No Name - America (1971)

Across the Universe - The Beatles (1970)

Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady - Helen Reddy (1975)

Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd (1979)

Atomic - Blondie (1979)

Baby Driver - Simon & Garfunkel (1970)

Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) - Robert Palmer (1979)

The Ballroom Blitz - Sweet (1973)

Bang a Gong (Get it On) - T. Rex (1971)

Barracuda - Heart (1977)

The Battle of Evermore - Led Zeppelin (1971)

Beast of Burden - Rolling Stones (1978)

Because the Night - Patti Smith (1978)

Behind Blue Eyes - The Who (1971)

Black Water - The Doobie Brothers (1974)

Blitzkrieg Bop - The Ramones (1976)

Block Buster! - Sweet (1973)

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (1975)

Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas (1976)

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Cherry Bomb - The Runaways (1976)

Child in Time - Deep Purple (1970)

Clampdown - The Clash (1979)

Come and Get Your Love - Redbone (1973)

Crazy Love - Van Morrison (1970)

Crazy on You - Heart  (1975)

Dance With Me - Orleans (1975)

Dancing Queen - ABBA (1976)

Desperado - Linda Ronstadt (1973)

Dim All the Lights - Donna Summer (1979)

Do It Again - Steely Dan (1972)

(Don't Fear) the Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult (1976)

Don't Go Breaking My Heart - Elton John, Kiki Dee (1976)

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen (1978)

Down -- Harry Nilsson (1971)

Down at the Tube Station at Midnight - The Jam (1978)

Dream On - Aerosmith (1973)

Dream Weaver - Gary Wright (1975)

Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Easy - Commodores (1977)

Ever Fallen in Love (With Someone You Shouldn't) - The Buzzcocks (1978)

Fire and Rain - James Taylor (1970)

Fox on the Run - Sweet (1974)

Give a Little Bit - Supertramp (1977)

Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (1973)

Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Grease - Frankie Valli (1978)

Guns of Brixton - The Clash (1979)

Hard Luck Woman - KISS (1976)

Have You Ever Seen the Rain? - Creedence Clearwater Revival (1970)

Heartbreaker - Pat Benetar (1979)

Heart of Glass - Blondie (1978)

Heart of Gold - Neil Young (1972)

Here Comes the Sun - George Harrison (1970)

Heroes - David Bowie (1977)

Hold the Line - Toto (1978)

Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede (1974)

Hot Stuff - Donna Summer (1979)

Hotel California - The Eagles (1976)

How Deep Is Your Love? - Bee Gees (1977)

I Don't Mind - The Buzzcocks (1977)

I Feel Love - Donna Summer (1977)

I Feel the Earth Move - Carole King (1971)

I Want You to Want Me - Cheap Trick (1978)

I Was Made For Lovin' You - KISS (1979)

Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin (1970)

It Never Rains in Southern California - Albert Hammond (1972)

The Jean Genie - David Bowie (1973)

The Joker - Steve Miller Band (1973)

Jolene - Dolly Parton (1973)

Joy to the World - Three Dog Night (1970)

Just What I Needed - The Cars (1978)

Keys to Your Heart - The 101ers (1974)

Killing Me Softly With His Song - Roberta Flack (1973)

Knock Three Times - Tony Orlando & Dawn (1970)

Layla - Derek & The Dominos (1970)

Lean on Me - Bill Withers (1972)

Let's Get It On - Marvin Gaye (1973)

Life on Mars? - David Bowie (1971)

Listen to the Music - The Doobie Brothers (1972)

The Logical Song - Supertramp (1979)

Lola - The Kinks (1970)

Love Her Madly - The Doors (1971)

Magic Man - Heart (1975)

Make Me Smile -Chicago (1971)

Maybe I'm Amazed - Paul McCartney (1970)

Me and Bobby McGee - The Full Tilt Boogie Band (Janis Joplin) (1971)

Miss You - Rolling Stones (1978)

More than a Feeling - Boston (1976)

Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra (1977)

My Sharona - The Knack (1979)

My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (1970)

My Way - Shirley Bassey (1970)

Night Moves - Bob Seger (1976)

Nobody Does it Better - Carly Simon (1977)

New Dawn Fades - Joy Division (1979)

Old Time Rock n' Roll - Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (1978)

One Way or Another - Blondie (1978)

Only Yesterday - The Carpenters (1975)

The Passenger - Iggy Pop (1977)

Paranoid - Black Sabbath (1970)

Rasputin - Boney M (1978)

Rich Girl - Hall & Oates (1976)

Rock N' Me - Steve Miller Band (1976)

Rocket Man - Elton John (1972)

Roxanne - The Police (1978)

Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting - Elton John (1973)

The Seeker - The Who (1971)

September - Earth, Wind & Fire (1971)

Shadow Dancing - Andy Gibb (1978)

She's Gone - Hall and Oates (1973)

Silly Love Songs - Wings  (1976)

Slow Ride - Foghat (1975)

Smoke on the Water - Deep Purple (1972)

Spirit in the Sky - Norman Greenbaum (1970)

Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (1971)

Starman - David Bowie (1972)

Stay Free - The Clash (1978)

Stayin' Alive - The BeeGees (1977)

Stuck in the Middle with You - Stealers Wheel (1972)

Superstition - Stevie Wonder (1972)

Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith (1975)

Sweet Thing - David Bowie (1974)

Sylvia's Mother - Dr. Hook (1975)

Take a Chance on Me - ABBA (1977)

Take it Easy - The Eagles (1972)

That's the Way (I Like It) - KC and the Sunshine Band (1975)

Three Times a Lady - Commodores (1978)

T.N.T - AC/DC (1975)

Turn to Stone - Electric Light Orchestra (1977)

Virginia Plain - Roxy Music (1972)

Walk on the WIld Side - Lou Reed (1972)

Walk this Way - Aerosmith (1975)

Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon - (1987)

Wild Horses - Rolling Stones (1971)

Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd (1975)

Witchy Woman - The Eagles (1972)

Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton (1977)

You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - Bachman Turner Overdrive (1974)

You Drive Me Wild - The Runaways (1976)

You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone (1977)

You Make Loving Fun - Fleetwood Mac (1977)

Young Americans - David Bowie (1975)

Your Song - Elton John (1970)

You're So Vain - Carly Simon (1972)

You're the One That I Want - John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John (1978)

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie (1972)

[unleashing-screamingtemporaldoom]

The Malapropism Paradox - A Rough Excerpt

Warnings: Stab wounds

Summary: This is part of the intro—one character has been discovered stabbed by an unknown person, and things start to come together. Excessive use of Stayin’ Alive (Bee Gees).

—*—

It was a dark and clear morning when Gerald died. Or, more accurately, when he was stabbed. And even then, it was only dark because of how early it was; the sun hadn’t had the chance to wake up yet. A few that had passed by the building around that time later recalled hearing an up-beat song with an almost pulsing drumbeat.

Gerald himself later recalled that he never got a good look at his (would-be) killer, but had noticed that the person had short hair (but even that wasn’t quite definite, because he later admitted that the person could have had their hair tied back in a ponytail, and also only narrowed down the suspects to only half of the general population in the near vicinity) and that they had a stereo that they had brought.

He said that they had used it to play Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees when they stabbed him.

Asbyte had found that playing music was a decent way to keep track of time while getting ready in the morning a couple of weeks previously. Because it had proven to be mostly effective, Asbyte had continued using it.

The morning Gerald was stabbed, Asbyte had started the morning routine to Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London and had, subsequently to turning it on, forgot it was on loop. Asbyte made it out the door on the morning of Saturday the fourteenth with Warren Zevon howling and singing about werewolves in her ears and a bag on her back.

Asbyte walked down the street, one earbud in, zipping her hoodie up as she walked in the hopes that it would provide a better barrier against the cool air. She ducked into the assumed-abandoned building--

“Hello,” Gerald holds his hands over his abdomen, shirt folded over and positioned under his fingers.

Asbyte stares as she takes the earbud out. “Um.” she manages to get out, processing what’s in front of her. “Are—are you okay?”

Gerald stares. “I’ve… been stabbed,”

Those words seem to help kick Asbyte into action. She starts working on untying him. “Who did this?” she asks after she finishes untying him.

“I don’t know,” Gerald answers, slumping a little as he relaxes somewhat, moving his newly-freed legs. “Could you please turn that off?” he gestures vaguely at the cheap stereo that was about to repeat Stayin’ Alive again, situated in the corner. Asbyte nods almost numbly before doing as asked.

“Uh. I’m Asbyte,” she crouches in front of the stereo and flicks it off. “How long have you been here?”

“Gerald,” Gerald says. “What time is it?”

“Eight-thirty,” Asbyte checks the time on her phone.

“I left my house at about five this morning. A little less than three and a half hours?”

“And you were listening to Stayin’ Alive that entire time,”

“It wasn’t exactly a personal or a conscious choice of my own, but yes,”

“...are you okay?” Asbyte repeats. Gerald squints.

“I was stabbed, other than that I’m great,”

“Oh! Oh. Do you want me to call someone? I can call someone for you. I’m sorry,” Asbyte begins moving quickly, sitting in front of Gerald and looking around herself before opening her bag and taking out a handkerchief. “Here, let me…” she trails off as she replaces his hands and shirt with her own, pressing down on the wound.

“You’re concerningly prepared for this,” Gerald comments, sucking in a breath through his teeth as hands change and Asbyte shifts forward.

Faintly, the song was playing from some small device, they could both hear the up-beat (and, in Gerald’s opinion, growing rather annoying) song beginning to play again.

“Uh. Can you... turn that off please?” Asbyte hesitates as she looks over her shoulder, trying to see who was walking in the definitely-not-abandoned building.

“Oh! Yes, of course, sorry,” and the person turns off the music, making an exasperated noise upon seeing that their earbuds hadn’t been plugged in all the way. “Sorry about that,” the person eyes Asbyte and Gerald. “Did I come in at a bad time?”

Asbyte shifts again, earning a grunt from Gerald. She looks up at him. “Sorry,” she doesn’t quite meet his eyes, keeping her gaze on her hands. “No, it’s fine. Actually, it might be perfect, can you call someone?”

The newcomer grins. “Yeah, I have my phone on me, so I can call anyone,”

Gerald smiles, huffing a laugh, and Asbyte’s careful not to let her hands move or change the pressure on the wound as she responds. “Okay, that was great, but--”

“I know, medical attention,” the newcomer nods. “...you can call me Mallowan,” Mallowan says.

Gerald nods. “I’m Gerald,”

Asbyte doesn’t turn as she answers. “Asbyte,”

Mallowan drops down to crouch by Asbyte, accidentally nudging her. Gerald sucks in another breath through his teeth, clenching his jaw and a fist as Asbyte moves.

“Sorry,” Asbyte mutters, righting herself and throwing Mallowan a sideways glance. “I can call, if you--”

“No!” Gerald is quick to interrupt her. “Please. If you’re going to call someone, please have Mallowan do it,”

“Right, right, sorry,” Asbyte half-smiles apologetically, turning her head to look at Mallowan.

“Already working on it,” Mallowan sighs, trying to get the phone to work properly and quickly. “There we go,” Mallowan stands, pacing while talking to the person on the other end of the phone.

“I guess I should be trying to distract you?” Asbyte finally looks at Gerald’s face, eyes searching and posture visibly relaxing when he gives a pained grin.

“Nah. Bee Gees singing the same thing over and over again is doing a pretty good job,” Gerald jokes. Asbyte smiles.

“I figured they would,” she pauses. “Do you have any family?”

“No, no. Well, I have parents, but. No,” Gerald answers.

Asbyte nods. “Do you have anyone I should call, or…?”

Gerald shrugs one shoulder. “Nah. Anyone who needs to know can be told later,”

“Okay,” Asbyte nods. “Would it. Uh. Sorry if this is weird, but would it be okay if I went with you? To the emergency room place?”

Gerald smiles and nods. “Hospital?”

“Yeah, that!” Asbyte nods.

“If you want to, you can. Company might be nice,”

“Okay! Cool. I might have to get some of my homework at some point,”

“What classes?”

“Psychology,” Asbyte answers.

“That’s where I recognized you from!” Mallowan returns to crouching next to Asbyte, phone in pocket. “Do you have Harris?”

“Yeah! That’s right, you sit… kind of near me?” Asbyte nods again.

“That sounds right. With the room shifting so often it’s hard to have a definite location,” Mallowan agrees. “If you want me to, I can get the stuff for you,”

“Oh! Sure,” Asbyte nods. “I can text you my address, uh. I can’t really get my phone out, but it’s in my pocket if you want to put your number in,”

“Alrighty,” Mallowan carefully slips a hand into Asbyte’s jacket pocket and takes out her phone. “Password?”

“Two, one, four, one, nine, nine, one,” Asbyte lists off the numbers, watching Gerald carefully to make sure she doesn’t accidentally hurt him.

“Alright,” Mallowan nods, typing the numbers in quickly, then slipping Asbyte’s phone back into her jacket pocket. “Is it alright if I wait with you two? I have some snacks and water if either of you need it,”

“Some water sounds nice,” Gerald agrees, and Mallowan takes out a bottle of water. Asbyte watches as Mallowan stands and steps closer to Gerald’s side, assisting him with the water.

[concerthopperblog]

Whitney Rose Goes Independent and Adventurous on 'We Still Go to Rodeos'

Canadian roots singer-songwriter made her name with a subtle croon that reminded many of '60s artists like Lesley Gore (whose “You Don't Own Me” she covered). But since moving to the roots music mecca that is Austin, Texas, Rose has been more experimental in her music, and in her career. Her new album, We Still Go to Rodeos, retains much of the classic country styling that initially built her fanbase, while expanding her reach into more rock-oriented fare.

The biggest change many will notice on We Still Go to Rodeos is a new producer. While, with the exception of a self-produced EP, Rose's two previous albums were produced by Mavericks frontman Raul Malo, this time she brought in Paul Kolderie, whose resume includes Uncle Tupelo, Toots & the Maytalls, and the decidedly un-roots groups Radiohead, Hole, and Morphine. While the Latin undertones Malo brought to her previous projects are missed, Kolderie's production work fits Rose well.

The album's best song is also its first one. “Just Circumstance” is a mid-tempo country rocker about a girl who, despite making a series of bad choices in life, is the album's most sympathetic figure. She begins the song taking the rap for a boyfriend who left her pregnant and prison-bound with no support. But, as Rose notes later in the song, prison “was not much worse than what she had at home.” The difficult decision to give her baby up for adoption is delivered in a straightforward way that dwells no more on it than the girl does (“she didn't hold her when she had a chance, just straight into the happy couple's hands.”) The song also shows just how much her life in the South has influenced Rose, with the chorus (which begins with the “can't believe no one's written it before” line “no pomp, just circumstance) ending with “they all say 'bless her heart, she never had a chance.” Maybe Canada uses “bless her heart” with the same mixture of pity and scorn that any Southern lady does, but it doesn't seem likely.

The most electric (literally, beginning with a wailing guitar lick) is the driving “I'd Rather Be Alone.” This is the new Whitney Rose in full bloom. If “You Don't Own Me” were written in a different time, or by an angrier songwriter, it might be “I'd Rather Be Alone.” Detailing the slow decline of a relationship, Rose wails “These days are killing me slowly. I'd rather be alone than lonely.” It's the biggest vocal stretch of her career and she nails it.

An example of Rose's improvement as a songwriter (she penned all of the album's 12 songs alone, a first for her), is the album's title track. The tale of a couple who celebrate their simple blue-collar pleasures of county fairs, midways, and rodeos could easily be a stock standard “lowest common denominator” country radio nostalgia hit for someone like Jason Aldean. But the reason Rose can pull it off is that she never works in caricature, resisting the temptation to exaggerate or romanticize, choosing instead to subtly rely on her voice and understated lyrics to paint a much fuller portrait.

Guests on We Still Go to Rodeos are plentiful and heavier on talent than name recognition. Guitarists Gurf Morlix (Warren Zevon) and Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen), drummer Lisa Pankratz (Billy Joe Shaver, Hayes Carll), and bassist Brad Fordham (Jerry Jeff Walker) all bring experience and ability, but no ego to cloud Rose's crystal clear vision.

We Still Go to Rodeos is a subtle but significant transformation for Whitney Rose, an artist who was already among the brightest young artists in Americana. Becoming truly independent, owning her own work, playing with new sounds, and taking complete control of her own songwriting fits her well. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

[plungermusic]

Altruism’s all very well, but what’s in it for Plunger ?

Plunger missed Benjamin Folke Thomas’ last sold-out gig with Dave Burn at the Green Note after giving up our ‘in’ for someone else in a rare (admittedly lager-inspired) act of generosity: reverting to type we made sure we bagged ringside seats for the return match.

Benjamin (clad in surprisingly climate appropriate Hawaiian shirt given this was what’s laughingly known as ‘spring’) announced he would be doing only obscure back catalogue numbers, “and none of the hits…” Despite that opened alone with the old favourite Gettysburg, a bustling Atlantic City-meets-Mr Tambourine Man epic, epitomising his strong vocal and striking use of imagery. There were some lesser known gems in his solo stint, including the chiming Greenwich Village vibe of Struck Gold with some Youngian harp, the melancholy finger-picked circular reverie of Bullet Proof, an uptempo boogieing Dream About You Baby and the bouncy country-inflected Martyr’s Cross with self deprecatory, matter-of-fact lyrics that raised some laughs.

Dave then joined Ben for another couple of ‘hits’, the lilting music box picking of Copenhagen and the breezy Jackson Brownesque Rhythm And Blues. Ben has amassed a tight knot of loyal fans, (many here having been at his previous show in darkest Hampshire), and they showed their enthusiasm with frequent bursts of joining in, on the latter number being urged ever higher in the closing bars by a playful Ben. The crowd choir also got in on the act for another golden oldie, Gimme A Smile, the first song the pair ever wrote together, where Dave’s heartfelt mellow lead vox contrasted with Ben’s rich baritone vibrato.

There were more chances for communal singing in another recent live favourite Paul Newman, a surprisingly moving serious/not serious epic dream narrative with fine high harmony ooh-oohs, and in the sunny uptempo Love Somebody. Darker moods came in the impassioned refugee-inspired polemic Finn, the hypnotic picking underpinning a brooding tale of struggle and flight, Dave adding brittle crystalline high capo’d chiming guitar, and with a mantra quality to the closing refrain.

Although we were denied any penguins or ice-cream men, Ben’s wry humour was in evidence throughout, both in inter-song banter (Dave’s capo-placement blindness being one example) and in his songs themselves: celebrating his recent signing to Aveline records Ben declared “I hate the music business” before playing Tasteless And Complacent, a jangly pettyish number with more high harmony ooh-ing, and Petty-style flavours appeared once more in the chugging chords of One Day, a jaundiced look at the lure of sell-out success. After informing us (to cheers) of his upcoming marriage Ben gave us One More Chance, a sprightly James Taylory melody on the cheery subject of what would happen if his wife-to-be left him, and the melancholy Postcard From Cazal (a short tale of misery in France) was preceded by the Pinteresque mini-drama of its writing.

“Dave Burn wrote this song, he let’s me sing it sometimes… and this is one of those times” heralded a less bitter tongue-in-cheek look at life on the road, Vans, and two other covers completed the setlist: the shitkicking country bustle of Nanci Griffith’s I Wish It Would Rain with sweet two-part Nashville vocal harmonies and, in keeping with BFT tradition, a closing Warren Zevon song, the celtic-flavoured ballad of Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner capped the dark undercurrent of much of the evening.

Fantastic singing, stylish playing and intricate and intriguing lyrics combined with a surrealist mash-up of the bleak and light-hearted, the comic and the deadly serious are hallmarks of all Ben Folke Thomas’ shows and long may it be so... well worth selling your own granny for.

[diane-jones-blog]

Creative Writing 2017

Click click, click clickedly click on an on it goes, at first he thinks he is imagining the repetitive sound going around in his brain, is it his tinnitus back with a vengeance, Nooo he says aloud, the word slipping out before he manages to cover it with a hastily invented cough which he hopes smothers it Jesus he says to himself stop being so paranoid.

He smiles to himself in a moment of bravado, just because your paranoid he thinks does not mean they are not out to get you, satisfied with this little bit of courage which he has bolstered himself with, he returns to finishing his notes on this morning’s project working session.

The sound emanating from the other side of the office continues, it sounds to him almost line a train gathering speed, instead of fingers typing rapidly on a keyboard creating new missives in which to aim in his direction each he suspects carefully formulated with a sting in the tale, He lets his imagination run a little bit and sees his nemesis dressed as Robin Hood dipping arrows in poison before shooting them with devilish accuracy towards him,

Fuck he thinks to himself he is sending me emails again, what he wonders ever happened to civil conversation or requests, no this is death by email, one followed by another and by another until he is lost wondering which to answer first, which is important, can he ignore any of them, is this normal. Is Evil Arthur normal, for this is the name that he has started calling his nemesis.

The typing stops he stays sitting at his desk wondering when part two of this ongoing ritual will commence, five, four, three, two he is counting them down now, Stanley who is behind him picks up his phone he hears it rather than sees it, but he has seen it so often before that it is imprinted on his brain, although at the moment he cannot see them  he knows Stanley is looking at Arthur, I’ve got your text he says, He wants to scream, your desk is only a foot behind me, Arthurs is only three feet away from you, do we really have to go through this masquerade, fuck we are adults, no I’m not a mischievous voice says to him, and he realises that he is not taking this as serious as usual, disappearing into his  mind and attempting to channel a home grown version of a Monty Python sketch from the life of Brian,

Five, four, three, two he is counting them down again, he knows what is coming, and here it comes in quiet measured tones,

Thomas did you get my emails, no he replies in a leisurely manner carefully choosing his words there must be something wrong with your computer are your sure you sent them.

But of course he does not utter these words as his confidence has been seriously undermined these last few months, instead he says I’ll get right on to them, He is sure that EA is grinning malevolently    at him, you will not break me he says to himself, fuck you, but it feels more like bravado and not at all like the truth, which is that he is uncomfortable and does not want to be here,

He has noticed recently that he is no longer making eye contact with them, his confidence is if not gone then seriously going, there are still moments of bravado that he clings on to , but less and less of them as each day passes. You’ll never take me alive he says to himself, imagining himself like James Cagney up on a tower shooting down on them, he can see their faces clearly, nobody puts baby in a corner,

This last comment brings him back to reality, the James Cagney reference was cool but how did it morph into a Dirty Dancing reference, too much pop culture he thinks, before a moment of panic hits him and he realises he really should be answering those emails,

But then he thinks no matter what I answer, they will come back again to me carefully sculptured and designed to take even more of my confidence away.

He opens his desk and glances down at the last notes from their last management supervision meeting where they had spoken together one to one, he had signed off whatever Arthur had written, not really agreeing with everything but scared to disagree and question, you are such a fucking wuss he says to himself, then admonishes himself, he pauses and looks down at his thumb, Sense memory he thinks before he throws in too much education not enough decision making,

He is remembering that he underwent the entire  meeting with the top of the pen digging into his thumb, obscured from Arthurs vision but a vital tool for him to stay strong, He remembered the questions not so much the details but rather the way they probed him making him feel uncomfortable all under the guise of etiquette and rules, pushing him in directions and then pulling back at then throwing in little digs, He dismisses this, I’m paranoid he says, stop it, finding it difficult to breathe he stands up and heads downstairs to the kitchen area away from them, People don’t get Stockholm Syndrome or PTSD from working in an office do they, you’re not Patty Hearst he says thinking for a moment about the Warren Zevon song Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, WTF he says, focus focus focus, for god’s sake focus. He realises he is using distraction to stop thinking that he will have to head back upstairs and face them again, and he realises he is ok with this and lets his mind wonder for a while, nursing the warm tea in his hand, as he looks outside at the grey overcast sky.

Am I over intellectualising it he says to himself, Jesus he says are all my conversations today going to be internal will I have the chance to talk or engage in any friendly banter, He thinks back to when his friend Denis shared the office with him, somebody he could talk with and have genuine conversations, instead now he is on his own, but he thinks Denis shared similar thoughts and feelings about the Job, and had experienced the same daily behaviours with their focus on non-communication and wearing down the individual. So he is not imagining it, this gives him a sense of strength, now he says fuck them, will not let them drown me. He feels emboldened now still hesitant as he finishes washing his cup and heading back upstairs to the office.

Dorothy Parker comes to mind, “What fresh hell is this” he smiles energy levels returning to a base level, he opens the door to the office,

Have you looked at those emails yet EA says in a tone guaranteed to get right under his skin, but he thinks to himself not today EA, Fuck you

Not yet he replies a smile plastered across his face, I’ll get right on to them

You might eventually get me he says

But not today. 

[theavengingmusicjournalist]

Noise in the Attic, Jan. 15 Get to know your night’s entertainment!

(Musicians answered questions through Facebook messenger)

Pamela Flores

Pamela Flores, 30-years-old, having grew up between Jersey City and then Sayreville, says she is lucky to have called many places home since then.

Flores is a second time performer at the Noise in the Attic shows. “Playing music for a special cause is right down my alley and I am always happy to support the amazing causes that Noise supports,” says Flores.

The bluesy soul singer says we can definitely expect a lot of bad jokes, stories of ex-boyfriends, and a few songs in between! Those songs will be influenced by blues rock, southern rock, and gospel.

“I am not sure if that shows in my music but those genres forever give me goosebumps when I hear them,” said Flores.

The Jersey City, Sayerville, and amany places inhabitant, says some of the tunes she has been getting into are by, what she calls a bluesy rock goddess, otherwise known as, Susan Tedeschi from Susan Tedeschi and the Tedeschi Trucks Band.

Rock n’ roll Pam! I am sure we will have a lot of fun listening and watching you perform. Also, I love that about influences, they don’t have to create or craft your sound direction, but give you belief and fuel to grow your craft. I surely look forward to your set and meeting you! Blues on!

Jesse Elliot

Jesse Elliot, a 30-year-old folk rock, americana musician originally from Lawrenceville will be coming to Noise in the Attic this Jan. 15! “I am excited to be playing Noise in the Attic and that the show’s proceeds will support Catsbury Park,” said Elliot.

Usually playing between Philadelphia and New York City, the musician regularly will perform with his five piece band. Now an inhabitant in Princeton Junction, Elliot said he will be performing originals from his debut record, I Gave You My All. In addition, will also be presenting “new, yet-to-be released material,” said Elliot.

Influences of Elliot include Elvis Costello, R.E.M. and  Neil Young!

Sounds like we are going to have a wonderful displayal of both music and art by you, Jesse. I look forward to experiencing your sound, while hoping to catch some shows in the Philly and NYC area!

Matt Dubrow

Matt Dubrow is a 25-year-old from Oceanport. Saying that his music is basically country, Dubrow adds that he does his own thing with some songs about wanting to dance like a ballerina to songs about death to, overall, bringing on a pleasant distraction to the crowd.

With all this said, Dubrow says he will be playing all original tunes at Noise in the Attic. Additionally, when asked about Noise, the diversified musician said, “Playing Noise in the Attic is cool. I have gone several times just to support the causes the show is centered around, and this time, getting to play feels exciting.”

The performer said that some people find his songs funny. With this in mind, Dubrow’s main influence on his most recent music is Warren Zevon, however, has also just gotten off a huge Strawbs kick, as he said.

You seem quite funny Matt and between you and the other musicians, I am more than delighted and honored to laugh, enjoy, and listen to all of your passions. I am excited to listen to your diversity and interesting sounding music. See you on Sunday, Matt!

[Stay tuned for other artists to this article! See you this Jan. 15 for Noise in the Attic, benefiting Catsbury Park!]

Joey Henderson 

“Playing at noise in the attic is like putting on wool socks that just came out of the dryer, always cozy!” Said Joey Henderson of the band Splenderson.

Henderson is 25-years-young and tells me how it continuously amazes him how lucky we are to have such a vibrant music scene in our little corner of New Jersey.

This Sunday, the bluesy rock, nostalgically influenced alternative 90s rock musician will perform mostly original tunes that, Henderson says, are stripped down from their electric rock roots.  

“I thoroughly enjoy playing them acoustic because it gives me the chance to look at songs from a new angle,” said Henderson.

The Splenderson bandmate says that the band is something long in the making for himself. He says he has written for quite some time, finally having found the right group of musicians to help him get the music out for the world to hear.

Having found the right chemistry in his band, Henderson says that his most current musical influence is Ween, a 1984 alternative rock band straight out of New Hope, PA.

Thank you for your passion and words, Joey. It’s refreshing to feel excitement from what you’ve written me and then put it into a journalistic snippet such as so. Rock on! Tomorrow night is going to be wonderful.  

[braindamageforbeginners]

Cycle 8, Day 2

I realize I didn’t write anything yesterday, which is understandable since Day 1 of each cycle is a circus (I have to give all sorts of samples - speaking of which, I think that the ability to pee into a up on command is one of those rare God-given talents that you’re either born able to do or not; Gods know I’ve involuntarily been doing it long enough now). Good news, based solely on my bloodwork and labs, I’m quite healthy (that’ll be on my gravestone “He was weird as hell and medically unique, but his teeth and bloodwork were consistently good”).

Sill, any day I miss writing is not a good one, particularly since GBM eventually robs patients of the ability to speak and articulate. I have  a working hypothesis that folks who produced their best work in their last few years of life (Warren Zevon, Freddie Mercury, and van Gogh all come to mind) did so because they knew the end was coming, and this was their last chance to leave a mark. No one’s given me a firm exit date, and, based on bloodwork, thing’s are looking good for my ultimate life-goal of going for the GBM-survival record (which I believe is 25 years), but I’d still be a fool to assume I’ll get anything close to as much time as I’d like (bad news folks, the same applies to you, even if you’re 25 and healthy).

I’m also dour because, well, I usually am on day two of any cycle. The Marizomib won’t be out of my system until this evening, and I’m on Temodar until Saturday, so I’m extra emo and grumpy (even though CBD and zofran take the edge off chemo side-effects, there’s still a pervasive, low-grade, hung-over/flu sensation that keeps my inner Julie Andrews from coming out).

I also have to go to the doctor’s (like, a GP) which is not a happy prospect, in the least. I’m used to all the medical folks at the hospital, but I’ve been under specialized care for so long (Mad Scientist is still listed on most of my records as my GP, even though she’s actually sub-specialized within neuro-oncology). Still, my poor-person insurance demands it as a part of continuing seeing the Warlocks and their staff, and, as Dad points out, it would be good to have someone to treat me if I came down with measles or broken a leg. So, I’m tackling that particular issue this afternoon. I have a few friends active in the medical world, so I’d point out that, according the British Medical Journal, “medical misadventure” is the third-leading cause of death in America (cancer is #2, so I’m just rolling the dice this afternoon). I’ve also read that younger doctors are better phsycians than older ones, because they ask for help. In other words, in beneficence vs non-malfeasance, I’d encourage everyone out there to first ask if they aren’t inadvertently worsening the situation by getting involved. Ideally, this visit would involve the approach the genetics team and Shrink takes; a hearty handshake, signing of the forms, and sending me back to it, possibly with a return date. As I’ve noted previously, I’ve had to learn the hard way that figuring out when to exercise agency or authority is more important than how or what you use it on.

[concerthopperblog]

Whitney Rose Goes Independent and Adventurous on 'We Still Go to Rodeos'

Canadian roots singer-songwriter made her name with a subtle croon that reminded many of '60s artists like Lesley Gore (whose “You Don't Own Me” she covered). But since moving to the roots music mecca that is Austin, Texas, Rose has been more experimental in her music, and in her career. Her new album, We Still Go to Rodeos, retains much of the classic country styling that initially built her fanbase, while expanding her reach into more rock-oriented fare.

The biggest change many will notice on We Still Go to Rodeos is a new producer. While, with the exception of a self-produced EP, Rose's two previous albums were produced by Mavericks frontman Raul Malo, this time she brought in Paul Kolderie, whose resume includes Uncle Tupelo, Toots & the Maytalls, and the decidedly un-roots groups Radiohead, Hole, and Morphine. While the Latin undertones Malo brought to her previous projects are missed, Kolderie's production work fits Rose well.

The album's best song is also its first one. “Just Circumstance” is a mid-tempo country rocker about a girl who, despite making a series of bad choices in life, is the album's most sympathetic figure. She begins the song taking the rap for a boyfriend who left her pregnant and prison-bound with no support. But, as Rose notes later in the song, prison “was not much worse than what she had at home.” The difficult decision to give her baby up for adoption is delivered in a straightforward way that dwells no more on it than the girl does (“she didn't hold her when she had a chance, just straight into the happy couple's hands.”) The song also shows just how much her life in the South has influenced Rose, with the chorus (which begins with the “can't believe no one's written it before” line “no pomp, just circumstance) ending with “they all say 'bless her heart, she never had a chance.” Maybe Canada uses “bless her heart” with the same mixture of pity and scorn that any Southern lady does, but it doesn't seem likely.

The most electric (literally, beginning with a wailing guitar lick) is the driving “I'd Rather Be Alone.” This is the new Whitney Rose in full bloom. If “You Don't Own Me” were written in a different time, or by an angrier songwriter, it might be “I'd Rather Be Alone.” Detailing the slow decline of a relationship, Rose wails “These days are killing me slowly. I'd rather be alone than lonely.” It's the biggest vocal stretch of her career and she nails it.

An example of Rose's improvement as a songwriter (she penned all of the album's 12 songs alone, a first for her), is the album's title track. The tale of a couple who celebrate their simple blue-collar pleasures of county fairs, midways, and rodeos could easily be a stock standard “lowest common denominator” country radio nostalgia hit for someone like Jason Aldean. But the reason Rose can pull it off is that she never works in caricature, resisting the temptation to exaggerate or romanticize, choosing instead to subtly rely on her voice and understated lyrics to paint a much fuller portrait.

Guests on We Still Go to Rodeos are plentiful and heavier on talent than name recognition. Guitarists Gurf Morlix (Warren Zevon) and Rich Brotherton (Robert Earl Keen), drummer Lisa Pankratz (Billy Joe Shaver, Hayes Carll), and bassist Brad Fordham (Jerry Jeff Walker) all bring experience and ability, but no ego to cloud Rose's crystal clear vision.

We Still Go to Rodeos is a subtle but significant transformation for Whitney Rose, an artist who was already among the brightest young artists in Americana. Becoming truly independent, owning her own work, playing with new sounds, and taking complete control of her own songwriting fits her well. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.