tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-107617122024-03-07T21:57:10.009-05:00Contentn.
1. The subject matter of a written work, such as a book or magazine. Often used in the plural.
2. The proportion of a specified substance.
adj.
1. Desiring no more than what one has; satisfied.
2. Ready to accept or acquiesce; willing.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.Michael Plankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13472982008431132718noreply@blogger.comBlogger552125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-49181775720419619252009-09-09T09:09:00.001-04:002009-09-09T09:09:01.560-04:00Video Vault: 999, HomicideI love old pre-MTV videos shot on plain white photography studio sets; see also Pop Muzik by M, Play For Today by the Cure, Radio Radio by Elvis Costello, I Know What Boys Like by the Waitresses, and about a million others.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMlpqOsc2BU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMlpqOsc2BU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><br />Posted on 9-9-09 (ha!).<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-177559786796959042009-08-09T23:22:00.000-04:002009-08-09T23:22:15.119-04:00Kill Yr CD: The Cars, Candy-O<a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2009/08/kill-yr-cd-intro.html">*See Kill Yr CD: Intro</a><br /><br />I really, really liked the first Cars album. It came out when I was about 12. I played it until it started to skip from the scratches in the vinyl, and then I played it until the needle wore the scratches down and it didn't skip anymore.<br /><br />That album, along with the first Police album, was the first "new" music that I listened to. We were all, then, into the rock gods of the 1960s, the heroes of our (figurative) older brothers. The Who. Led Zeppelin. Pink Floyd. The Beatles. Bands that were either dead, broken up, or -- worse -- still limping along.<br /><br />The first Cars album was new. Not just New Wave, which it was, sort of, but new. It had synthesizers. It had some nerdy guy yelping about nuclear boots and drip dry gloves. It was -- just a little bit, and in a good way -- weird.<br /><br />It was also familiar. With its songs about letting good times roll and moving in stereo and bye bye love, it had a stoner vibe that the long-haired dazed and confused crowd could nod along to. There were guitar solos. All in all, it wasn't a million miles distant from Foreigner or even Boston, who were the hot new rock acts of the day.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-RwMEswdsmRBgxen_tBlq6mN2OV67PnxmldVByJSlnPbMo1PHxB6L7CigSJmllQqU36eZR9rW5Mwipnasxc2HpOxhHWuFIskdtSg9m7qzA3dxoVPrMvk7ilC7RiFgJMvvxPhyphenhyphenw/s1600-h/Candy-O_-_The_Cars.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj-RwMEswdsmRBgxen_tBlq6mN2OV67PnxmldVByJSlnPbMo1PHxB6L7CigSJmllQqU36eZR9rW5Mwipnasxc2HpOxhHWuFIskdtSg9m7qzA3dxoVPrMvk7ilC7RiFgJMvvxPhyphenhyphenw/s200/Candy-O_-_The_Cars.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366322912416316178" border="0" /></a>Candy-O, their next album, took a sharp left turn away from all that. [Note obligatory "cars" reference to describe the musical direction of "The Cars." Clever, huh?] It wasn't mellow at all, like some of the first album was. There wasn't any stoner vibe. It buzzed. It clicked.<br /><br />The Cars always made a virtue of being shallow, or at least ironically appearing to be, so it's appropriate that the big change between their first and second albums should be perfectly reflected in something seemingly insignificant and insubstantial. On the sleeve of the first album, Greg Hawkes, the keyboard player, has standard issue rocker guy long hair and macho man mustache. On the second, his hair is still long, but it's trimmed and stylish, and he's completely clean-shaven.<br /><br />It's not just the hair, either -- his synths are more prevalent on the second album. It's a lot less rock and a lot more New Wave.<br /><br />They also brought the drums forward, and sharpened them up. I really like the way David Robinson plays on this album and the next one, Panorama. I liked the drums on the first one, too, but they sounded a little muffled and conventional. Here, they're bright and banging. Candy-O came out a few months before the first Joy Division album, which is famous for its inventive use of drums, but the Cars and their producer, Roy Thomas Baker, rarely get the kind of raves for their innovative drum sound that Martin Hannett did for Joy Division.<br /><br />Another thing I loved about Candy-O was how soon after the first album it came out. I was still wearing through the scratches on the first album when the second one came out, and it was cool to have them to play off each other.<br /><br />I had the vinyl, which I later replaced with CD, which I've subsequently ripped to mp3. At one point I also had the 8-track version. This album is best as a CD. The iconic cover art, and design, are a little much in an LP-sized package. In a CD case, it's much more discreet and tasteful. It's so clean! All that white, and the perfect straight lines. It's all shiny surfaces and sharp, straight edges. Just like the music.<br /><br />The 8 track actually had a slightly different running sequence, which wasn't unusual for 8 tracks back in the day. The particular order of the songs didn't matter as much as the overall feeling. There are three important moments, and they are all there no matter what the format.<br /><br />The first is the opening song, "Let's Go," an anthem written sideways. It opens with a climactic crash and then tears off with the matching guitar and synthesizer lines that was the signature sound of these guys at their best.<br /><br />The next is the bubbling, gurgling, weird, "Shoo Be Doo," building a tension that resolves in the perfectly-timed segue into the dark, dangerous title track, "Candy-O," one of the best things they've ever done.<br /><br />The third is the extended intro to "Nightspots," a blurping synthesizer workout that sounds like some sort of logical arcade. The juxtaposition of fun and danger clears the decks for the remaining songs, most of which sound like the soundtrack to a morning after a night on the town where the singer isn't quite sure whether he had a good time.<br /><br />The rest of the album is full of little pop gems and calculated Top 40 fare. What makes it work so well is the production. It's so clean, like they were playing under glass, like in one of those laboratories where the workers stick their arms in vacuum-sealed sleeves and reach into a box to do their work.<br /><br />The songwriting and production on the early Cars albums, especially this one, built bridges to more adventurous contemporary fare like Roxy Music, Kraftwerk and even Joy Division. Even if many listeners, myself included, did not venture across those particular bridges for many more years, just having them there made all kinds of other music so much more accessible than if there had been nothing but wide chasms to leap across.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-15758632072949053742009-08-04T23:09:00.008-04:002009-08-04T23:44:19.154-04:00Kill Yr CD: IntroI'm thinking about getting rid of all my compact discs.<br /><br />It should be simple enough. I have about eight or nine hundred of them, and I almost literally never listen to any of them anymore. There are a few scattered around the kitchen and in our cars, but those are the only places we even have a CD player anymore. I ripped everything to iTunes years ago, and the whole collection is safely digitized and backed up on multiple hard drives.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VBRGF3lrzWBOks3KxbUTRKGawTwX-HgyOYf2ghqmSLXMKIwjJUJ9pv7hJZilynsoGS5c733sUjHYpzcEiwzoL8qUyyeCtBPz-mQvkIOaB2Slha4Bt61PAraQHfWUOH9OD2fHHw/s1600-h/909684.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 100px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7VBRGF3lrzWBOks3KxbUTRKGawTwX-HgyOYf2ghqmSLXMKIwjJUJ9pv7hJZilynsoGS5c733sUjHYpzcEiwzoL8qUyyeCtBPz-mQvkIOaB2Slha4Bt61PAraQHfWUOH9OD2fHHw/s200/909684.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366320323519638274" border="0" /></a>They're really not worth much. There are a few places that will give you pennies on the dollar, or some shiny trinkets. I don't mind the poor exchange rate.<br /><br />It would clear out some space in the house. We have a big shelf in the computer room stuffed full of CDs, plus a few hundred laying hither and yon.<br /><br />It all makes good sense. But I can't pull the trigger on it.<br /><br />I am old enough to have once had a sizable collection of vinyl. I cashed it all in years ago, except for a few collector's items and stuff that can't be easily replaced. I didn't hesitate; I just sold it all for credit, and bought more CDs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_NPyAfazUjRPMz54VCgdNIhAztlEH1Z1ZP6pyNz2F1BVXZPUWgjuLBQS5YWu-0OkydoGcowikPan1ocTJy1SFnFSHIcqe0yBM3rm5ubX5hF4N2c6tEvqLqWGzCl8RIiUSKw5ug/s1600-h/Unknownpleasures.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji_NPyAfazUjRPMz54VCgdNIhAztlEH1Z1ZP6pyNz2F1BVXZPUWgjuLBQS5YWu-0OkydoGcowikPan1ocTJy1SFnFSHIcqe0yBM3rm5ubX5hF4N2c6tEvqLqWGzCl8RIiUSKw5ug/s320/Unknownpleasures.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366316647273947554" border="0" /></a>I think I am in the sweet spot of the compact disc market. They came out just about when I started college, and when I moved to Philadelphia, there were a lot of good places to buy rare and beautiful things. I spent mucho time and money doing so.<br /><br /><br /><br />I stand second to no one in my love of the iPod and iTunes. I bought my first iPod about six or seven years ago, and I still have it, along with a few others. I have one playing probably ten or twelve hours a day. I am listening to one now.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u5rKyUXgPKgn0FH8LHfKWEH7PFc49ytXtY8dMRm-2Z-YjSEzOTC3MrUSlfvZaSYb5-3Ju0CsCYEXpouExmepzOFnIyyPY4QHdzGx_YTuiMsz1_X9UpB9tgtmRXwuwTOKJnwNWg/s1600-h/Psychocandy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3u5rKyUXgPKgn0FH8LHfKWEH7PFc49ytXtY8dMRm-2Z-YjSEzOTC3MrUSlfvZaSYb5-3Ju0CsCYEXpouExmepzOFnIyyPY4QHdzGx_YTuiMsz1_X9UpB9tgtmRXwuwTOKJnwNWg/s200/Psychocandy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366317758500796658" border="0" /></a>As much as the iPod is an objet d'art, the compact disc is too, in its own way. A long time ago, the standard issue CD came in a cardboard sleeve that unfolded like a gatefold LP. Then the industry ditched that model and started jamming them into those familiar little clear plastic cases. Perfection! Square, solid, substantial, big enough to hold, but small enough to fit in your pocket. Just like an iPod. I love how it has edges, and how they feel pressed against your fingers.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UX9rvFhBc9GeflFnfeDA2vxThjNbFJu-VciYMYgLQKQGuTzR9twdW-iWb6a4-10YLlXlYEt0Uh3sbGxSG9UqHTyT-ERx8mHSXZxqSPZltsuTscqQ2iQIJCPGKw8nYdmGnON__g/s1600-h/MyBloodyValentineLoveless.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 99px; height: 99px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8UX9rvFhBc9GeflFnfeDA2vxThjNbFJu-VciYMYgLQKQGuTzR9twdW-iWb6a4-10YLlXlYEt0Uh3sbGxSG9UqHTyT-ERx8mHSXZxqSPZltsuTscqQ2iQIJCPGKw8nYdmGnON__g/s200/MyBloodyValentineLoveless.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5366318151158974594" border="0" /></a>But it is time to get rid of them. If I am really going to do it, I am going to have to hold a wake for a few dozen that mean the most to me. Even with that, I know there will be a few I just can't get rid of. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_pleasures">Unknown Pleasures</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychocandy">Psychocandy</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveless_%28album%29">Loveless</a>. Plus all the live bootlegs, remixes and CD singles I've accumulated -- real fanboy stuff. But the ordinary, run of the mill digital versions of albums have got to go. Starting now. I'm going to say goodbye to a few first, though.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-77152184781733297002009-06-26T21:17:00.003-04:002009-06-26T21:52:32.234-04:00We Are The World, We Are The Children<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Hey, 10 year old daughter -- do ya know who Michael Jackson is?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [snidely]: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Yah</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">-ah.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: OK. Well, he died.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [dismissively]: I </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">know</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Oh. How do you know that?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [airily]: There's these boys in my Sunday school class who are always talking about Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson. They like, love him or something.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: ... But ... when did they tell you that? I mean, when did you see them? Because he just died today, so...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [energetically]: Oh! He did?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Yeah.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [morosely]: Oh.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: But you know who he is, right? Or was, I guess.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [haughtily]: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Yah</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">-ah. Duh!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: OK.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [warily]: How old was he?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Hmmm... I don't know, about my age, maybe a little older.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [nervously]: Really?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Yeah, I don't know, I guess he was a few years older than me. When I was a little kid he was a big star. You know, for as sad, twisted and bizarre as his life became, when he was a kid, he was really something. What a talent! He was just electric, you couldn't believe a little kid like that could do the things he did.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [impertinently]: Yeah, </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">whatever</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Listen, by the time he was your age, he and his brothers were big stars with hit records, they were on TV all the time, and they bought a huge house in L.A. for their parents and all their brothers and sisters, and they all lived liked kings. What have you been doing these last 10 years?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [angrily]: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">Dad!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: And by the way, when was the last time you practiced piano?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [testily]: ... Dad, I </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">know</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);"> who Michael Jackson is. You don't have to tell me these things. I know things, OK?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: All right, all right. Did you ever see him perform? Wanna check out some YouTube?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [brightly]: Yeah!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: OK, searching Jackson 5... Here's one.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MYx3BR2aJA4&hl=en&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/MYx3BR2aJA4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Video begins. Dick Clark smoothly introduces a group of fresh-faced youngsters, led by an impossibly cute and charismatic munchkin with a stylin' vest and a foot-high Afro. They begin lip-synching "ABC."</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Huh, huh? What'd I tell you?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [confusedly]: Wait a minute...!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: What?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);">10YOD [earnestly]: <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Was Michael Jackson black?</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: ...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Umm....</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dad: Mmm...</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-11480259038301792202009-04-05T09:47:00.000-04:002009-04-05T09:48:25.188-04:00Video Vault: Nirvana, Heart-Shaped Box<div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nL-vTYbN6AY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nL-vTYbN6AY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-41577205715540089552009-03-14T23:41:00.005-04:002009-04-05T09:50:42.539-04:00Listening To: No Line On The HorizonOK, I've listened to this four or five times now, and here's what I think.<br /><br />First, my biases:<br /><br />I was a big U2 fan up through <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Unforgettable Fire</span> -- really, as big a fan as you could be. I didn't like their "Irish Cowboy" phase (<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Joshua Tree</span> to <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Rattle and Hum</span>). I started paying attention again during the Zoo years. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Achtung Baby</span> was a better concept than an album, but it got them back on track. My favorite U2 album is <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Zooropa</span>. I like some the Passengers album and some of <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Pop</span>, probably more than most people. The last two albums were good if a bit safe.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">No Line On The Horizon</span> is being pushed as a more experimental album. I say, bring it on.<br /><br />U2's biggest challenge has always been that they have no groove. In the second half of their career, they've usually approached this problem by dressing up the production on their records rather than revamping their songwriting. On the last two albums, they tried to pass themselves off as a blue-eyed soul group on a couple of songs, and it mostly worked. But most of the other tracks never really got off the ground, at least not until they played them live a couple of dozen times.<br /><br />The new single, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Get On Your Boots</span>, starts off like <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Vertigo</span>, Jr. and is full of promise, like they're going to keep pushing their boundaries. But it bogs down in the bridge part and veers off into weirdness for the sake of weirdness.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Get On Your Boots</span> sits right in the middle of the album. The album actually opens and closes with two different versions of the title track. So far, I can't tell them apart, but I like the gimmick. It's a good song too, a simple riff and rhythm that they've revisited several times since at least <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Achtung Baby</span>. The chorus and middle section seem a bit like an attempt to sound like Talking Heads circa <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Remain In Light</span> -- another trick U2 has tried several times over the years. It is not the last attempt on this album, either.<br /><br />One thing about U2 the last few years is they haven't been shy about trying to correct their mistakes, or at least improve their near-misses. For example, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Vertigo</span> was basically an improvement on <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Elevation</span>, which itself was maybe an attempt to salvage <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Last Night On Earth</span>. On the last album, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">City Of Blinding Lights</span> swung for the fences, trying to be a big classic arena rock anthem, and came up empty. Here, they to back to the well for <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Magnificent</span>, and it works a lot better. You'll be raising your cell phone high above your head to this one in a stadium near you later this year.<br /><br />In the same way, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Moment Of Surrender</span> is another stab at the duo of <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Stuck In A Moment</span> and <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own</span>. I think they got it right last time, but this is pretty good too, with a little bit of a reggae lilt.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Unknown Caller</span> is their most explicit <strike>rip-off of</strike> homage to <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Remain In Light</span> since at least <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Lemon</span>. I like it.<br /><br />OK, seeing a song title like <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight</span> raises all kinds of warning flags. Then there's the lyrics. On the last album, there was one line that was so bizarre that it overwhelmed everything around it: "Freedom has a scent, like the top of a newborn baby's head." In this song, Bono sings, "Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot." Plus, the bass rips off the 20-year-old Jesus Jones hit <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Right Here, Right Now</span>. Hmmm.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Stand Up Comedy</span> also recycles an old riff from somewhere (maybe Neil Young), and features the line, "Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady."<br /><br />In fact, this album continues and magnifies the trend that Bono has taken with his lyrics and delivery over the last decade, perhaps first demonstrated on the song <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">New York</span> on <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">All That You Can't Leave Behind</span>. It's a sort of casual, playful, irreverent Beat poet for the 21st century, (too) obviously influenced by rap. When it works, it's an inventive end run around the dead end that faces any rock band in its Xth year. When it doesn't, it produces an entertaining car crash.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Fez: Being Born</span> is more <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Remain In Light</span>, with the hip-hop trick of throwing in elements from other songs on the album. And here's an interesting thing: Is this album really all that experimental? No, not really. Most of it is pretty conventional, with fairly tame production. The obvious exceptions are this song and <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Get On Your Boots</span>. This album also marks the return of the Eno-Lanois production team as full partners. Their first collaboration with U2, 25 years ago, was on <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The Unforgettable Fire</span>, which was also billed as U2's (first) experimental album. Listening to it over the years, it's become obvious that it was pretty straightforward, except for one or two novelty tracks that tilted the whole thing ever-so-slightly toward the avant-garde. Same thing here -- none of which is meant to diminish the finished product, but merely to judge it against its own stated ambitions.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">White As Snow</span>, much like a bunch of tracks late in the running order of the last two albums (<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Peace On Earth</span>, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Grace</span>, <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">One Step Closer</span>) is simple, slow and direct. Under the right circumstances, it could be a fan favorite, but it'll probably be overlooked. The granddaddy of this type of U2 song is <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">The First Time</span>, from <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Zooropa</span>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Breathe</span> is the tough kid that hangs around with <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Get On Your Boots</span>, the muscle next to the flash and trash leader of the gang. This one works, and contains perhaps the best example yet of Bono's recent lyrical and vocal style.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Cedars Of Lebanon</span> is back to the vibe of <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">White As Snow</span>, with a more direct and specific lyric about the Middle East. Not too sure about this one. More <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Remain In Light</span>, together with a vaguely Asian feel that most people will assume is Eno's influence.<br /><br />One thing I liked about the last two albums was how Bono made a virtue of the limitations of his voice, pushing up against his range on pseudo-soul numbers like <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In A Little While</span> and <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Of The Species</span>. He seems to have given up on that here, opting instead for a unique mix of Dylan's talking blues and Sinatra's weary lounge act. At least he's not repeating himself.<br /><br />Overall, I like this album. It's ambitious, a lot less experimental than advertised, with a few major potholes and three or four tracks that will eventually rise above the rest as they become more familiar. The biggest surprise is the almost total absence of anything that has the Edge's fingerprints on it. For better or worse, this is Bono's album.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-23553600114623387102009-01-29T18:45:00.003-05:002009-01-29T19:17:31.475-05:00Watching: The Day of the JackalIt took me a while to warm up to this movie. The biggest problem is that it begins with the least competent attempted homicide since <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036775/">Double Indemnity</a>. Some disaffected French army guys, pissed off about Charles de Gaulle's capitulation in Algiers, stand along a wide boulevard in Paris and open fire as his motorcade whizzes by at <strike>50 miles</strike> 80 kilometres an hour. Of course, they miss. Then the narrator says, "As if by a miracle, neither [de Gaulle] nor anyone else was hurt."<br /><br />Wha? A miracle? Did these beauzeaus really think they were likely to hit de Gaulle with any of their shots, let alone kill him? Why didn't they roll something out into the road to stop, or at least slow down, his car? Then again, it's just like French soldiers to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maginot_line">fail to stop an enemy from advancing past their defenses without even noticing they were there</a>.<br /><br />Well, guess what? It turns out to be less a dramatic failure of the movie than yet another tactical error by French forces. The whole scene was, basically, historically accurate:<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_jackal">Une:</a><br /><blockquote>While the OAS did exist as described in the novel, and the film opens with a remarkably accurate re-enactment of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Bastien-Thiry" title="Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry" class="mw-redirect">Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry</a>-led attempt on President De Gaulle's life, the remaining plot is fiction.</blockquote><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Bastien-Thiry#Assassination_attempt">Deux:</a><br /><blockquote>The group set themselves up in the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart on 22 August 1962. De Gaulle's car, an unarmored <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citro%C3%ABn_DS" title="Citroën DS">Citroën DS</a>, and nearby shops were raked with machine gun fire, but de Gaulle, along with his wife and entourage, were able to escape without injury. After the attempt, some fourteen bullet holes were found in the president's vehicle, with another twenty striking the nearby Café Trianon, and an additional one-hundred-eighty-seven found on the pavement. This event was fictionalized in the 1971 book and 1973 film <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Jackal" title="The Day of the Jackal">The Day of the Jackal</a>.</blockquote>With enemies like these, who needs friends?<br /><br />Here it is, more or less:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yZg_O30TLZQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yZg_O30TLZQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-20632487602711573622008-11-07T22:13:00.005-05:002008-11-07T22:35:22.465-05:00These Go To ElevenTwo of the quotes below are from an actual <a href="http://www.pennlive.com/patriotnews/stories/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1225817718100520.xml&coll=1&thispage=1">interview</a> with the actual Alan White, drummer for actual prog-rock legends Yes, in the actual Patriot-News this week, actually. The rest are from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/">This Is Spinal Tap</a>. Which is which?<br /><br />(1) He died in a bizarre gardening accident.<br /><br />(2) You can't really dust for vomit.<br /><br />(3) Well, I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I weren't under such heavy sedation.<br /><br />(4) He actually died for two minutes, but the medics revived him, so he was pretty lucky.<br /><br />(5) And, uh, it was tragic, really. He exploded on stage.<br /><br />(6) Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported.<br /><br />(7) I think you always feel like he's in the band. I think he feels like he's still part of the band. He's just not in the band at the moment. Who knows? One day he'll come back and do something with the band.<br /><br />(8) Well, I don't really think that the end can be assessed as of itself as being the end because what does the end feel like? It's like saying when you try to extrapolate the end of the universe, you say, if the universe is indeed infinite, then how - what does that mean? How far is all the way, and then if it stops, what's stopping it, and what's behind what's stopping it? So, what's the end, you know, is my question to you.<br /><br />(9) They're two distinct types of visionaries, it's like fire and ice, basically. I feel my role in the band is to be somewhere in the middle of that, kind of like lukewarm water.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09me3RrWsvJFL7uPurVd686t63hadlwQoA6O9Ol4kh9Skiye9Ah0GEg2KhSPsJuy9FcaC6ukl_qFF4FheTaUMj0D8EL1oWUByoCnkFeeeF9VoH3uIKgMIhRLjJdHkvFSOnt6d0A/s1600-h/20060607-spinaltap.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 93px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg09me3RrWsvJFL7uPurVd686t63hadlwQoA6O9Ol4kh9Skiye9Ah0GEg2KhSPsJuy9FcaC6ukl_qFF4FheTaUMj0D8EL1oWUByoCnkFeeeF9VoH3uIKgMIhRLjJdHkvFSOnt6d0A/s320/20060607-spinaltap.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5266124789556421234" border="0" /></a>(10) No. No. No. I feel it's like, it's more like going, going to a, a national park or something. And there's, you know, they preserve the moose. And that's, that's my childhood up there on stage. That moose, you know.<br /><br />(11) These go to eleven.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-40763717079003093012008-11-05T21:32:00.013-05:002008-11-05T22:29:59.911-05:00Next...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2KDgDOwqrqVN7B-MYscx9Wnfric5P27qV28OZjofA1uum-i9uDJcBsY5PHfXwLU8RWZbMEH20rOHwl8QXuTQf1u-oS9AlihnZeiZwSaWM5boEqYwQDjkmoD4hFGUy6HSZKMOcw/s1600-h/180px-GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 130px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv2KDgDOwqrqVN7B-MYscx9Wnfric5P27qV28OZjofA1uum-i9uDJcBsY5PHfXwLU8RWZbMEH20rOHwl8QXuTQf1u-oS9AlihnZeiZwSaWM5boEqYwQDjkmoD4hFGUy6HSZKMOcw/s400/180px-GW-Bush-in-uniform.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265367849041844050" border="0" /></a>Now what?<br /><br />Well, we've still got two wars to fight. I want to see <span style="font-weight: bold;">President Obama</span> activate the Texas Air National Guard, call back everybody <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_military_service_controversy">whose service is in question</a>, and send them over to Iraq pronto.<br /><br />Also, anybody who had, say, <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2097365/">five deferments during the Viet Nam war</a> should be conscripted and sent to the front lines. With the bigger, better Democratic majorities in Congress, it shouldn't be hard to draft and pass the appropriate legislation. Give Cheney a shotgun full of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Cheney_hunting_incident">birdshot pellets</a> and send him on his merry way.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpidKT_2ZHi5_wpUgdAGEUdCe5uNf76jR6y0CESUUBKIAnhAYExw4xSAQvGiHJmp_DKXdQy7tFw3I8m3hXvIL-MaZeMtE63kBDvbL25n2Fclc89R7E8Coz48fM2O-izXcs18Firg/s1600-h/superstar1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 111px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpidKT_2ZHi5_wpUgdAGEUdCe5uNf76jR6y0CESUUBKIAnhAYExw4xSAQvGiHJmp_DKXdQy7tFw3I8m3hXvIL-MaZeMtE63kBDvbL25n2Fclc89R7E8Coz48fM2O-izXcs18Firg/s400/superstar1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265373201837929906" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYP6t_GFxw-R_g2aqkDZdvSUZuNNul5XNL2c_jBzewpDXiSSi29LxYFLIAz4mhs9dnK4WXETLovYC1gigGr6CbqIuGJHnfFJ9p8o96tMmWNE6OZoRDW7agd5UBG9BCuG0yPrziw/s1600-h/palinsuperstar.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeYP6t_GFxw-R_g2aqkDZdvSUZuNNul5XNL2c_jBzewpDXiSSi29LxYFLIAz4mhs9dnK4WXETLovYC1gigGr6CbqIuGJHnfFJ9p8o96tMmWNE6OZoRDW7agd5UBG9BCuG0yPrziw/s200/palinsuperstar.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265381111472926882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sarah Palin</span>, the exit door from the national stage is thatta-way. Some day, perhaps soon, the bizarre selection of this bizarre personage as a once-great political party's candidate for the second-highest office in the land may be viewed as a beautiful pop art stunt, an electric Kool-Aid freakout of the highest order, a surreal piece of performance art on a par with <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808013,00.html?iid=chix-sphere">Salvador Dali arriving at a lecture in a limousine filled with cauliflowers</a>. McCain's identification of <strike>Plain</strike> Palin as Teh Great Hope Of Th' Republican Party resembled nothing so much as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Andy Warhol</span>'s cynical, ironic elevation of a series of dope fiends, transvestites and lost little girls as "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol_Superstars">superstars</a>." Fifteen minutes of fame is just about right. I expect Palin to turn up next on a reality TV show, perhaps sharing living space with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Vanilla Ice</span> or one of the kids from Growing Pains.<br /><br /><span>Who do <span style="font-weight: bold;">the Republicans</span> have left?</span> 2012 is a long way off, and 2016 is about a million years away, but who do they have right now? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Romney</span>? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Giuliani</span>? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Arnie</span>? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jeb</span>? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mike Bloomberg</span>? Is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Karl Rove</span> going to stitch together some Frankenstein's monster in some dark laboratory somewhere?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">John Paul Stevens</span> can safely retire and let President Obama nominate his replacement on the Supreme Court to a friendly Senate.<br /><br />I would like to see <span style="font-weight: bold;">John Edwards</span> play a part in Obama's administration, if he wants to.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The South</span>, seriously, what the hell? <a href="http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/">Here's the map</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2RMayJFV2w69GfH1Am7LYKCUQ0iUpe0t-ag7xhw8h0lJtxC18QJrVzW9x5F6s5UCNmGpMtyazPqG3nK_Jgd7FheuS0kJiAfLmcbNHZmtgk_dXUd9h_p2_thuZwCyU_IFq2IpMw/s1600-h/lastmap.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 340px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2RMayJFV2w69GfH1Am7LYKCUQ0iUpe0t-ag7xhw8h0lJtxC18QJrVzW9x5F6s5UCNmGpMtyazPqG3nK_Jgd7FheuS0kJiAfLmcbNHZmtgk_dXUd9h_p2_thuZwCyU_IFq2IpMw/s400/lastmap.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265374309636866818" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2006/04/you-want-me-on-that-wall-you-need-me.html">I've said it before</a>: this country actually fought a bloody war to force these Johnny Reb states to stay in the union. At least Florida and Virginia came to their senses this year.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-80071315441057850082008-09-19T21:35:00.004-04:002008-09-19T21:48:31.829-04:00Watching: Vantage Point<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zL_T2Zp6IxoFLBB1cFW-yJY5gRURgnpyl9nSwtdTPo4FnFOrH5-7KSyL7CZeMZ_GNu1Pz0syDu8FqssN3EqYaBTwtalvebyVNZ2urvLq09PQyc0QZnUqnLLSbjw3bPncOAWqqw/s1600-h/MV5BMTQ5NDM0MDM3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjg4MjY3MQ@@._V1._SX100_SY136_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-zL_T2Zp6IxoFLBB1cFW-yJY5gRURgnpyl9nSwtdTPo4FnFOrH5-7KSyL7CZeMZ_GNu1Pz0syDu8FqssN3EqYaBTwtalvebyVNZ2urvLq09PQyc0QZnUqnLLSbjw3bPncOAWqqw/s320/MV5BMTQ5NDM0MDM3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjg4MjY3MQ@@._V1._SX100_SY136_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247912863778172034" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/">Rashomon</a> meets <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056218/">The Manchurian Candidate</a> for drinks at <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/">The Battle of Algiers</a>. They get drunk on cheap Spanish wine, then <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/">Crash</a> into James Bond, Jason Bourne and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102138/">JFK</a>. A few months later, they give birth to this premature, underweight bastard retard whoreson of a movie.<br /><br />What I learned from this movie is that the only thing stopping the terrorists from completing their evil (and complicated) plan to assassinate and/or kidnap the president (William Hurt!) is the serendipity of a little Spanish girl skipping frantically across 8 lanes of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/">Traffic</a>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-61069482643089124832008-09-16T20:48:00.004-04:002008-09-16T20:59:00.358-04:00Ironic Poseurs Of The World...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEQk3h9kNQgwNwVXcExsDt4oSVUpomxbUppFSQkdB2lPjjFSr0kbT9pP39pliUDSM-gNOjWSDB3bb3HqoGDPP26os5I2S59-qfcO79GfXrV1mIvjKt4K-gKr3I8IHkeI488vnNg/s1600-h/morrissey10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEQk3h9kNQgwNwVXcExsDt4oSVUpomxbUppFSQkdB2lPjjFSr0kbT9pP39pliUDSM-gNOjWSDB3bb3HqoGDPP26os5I2S59-qfcO79GfXrV1mIvjKt4K-gKr3I8IHkeI488vnNg/s320/morrissey10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246788129661241394" border="0" /></a>...unite and take over.<br /><br />The Fox TV network is using (a crappy emo cover of) <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Everyday Is Like Sunday</span> during its NFL promos. The original is a so-so track on Morrissey's debut solo album ~20 years ago.<br /><br />If you played word association, Morrissey is quite possibly the very, very, very last singer you would ever link with anything to do with the National Football League.<br /><br />Hang the DJ, indeed.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-47951101743014720252008-09-15T23:00:00.002-04:002008-09-15T23:00:01.049-04:00Video Vault: Nirvana, Smells Like Teen SpiritAt the 1:05 mark: Kurt roars, "With the lights out...," and the 90s begin.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.altmusictv.com/120/archive_mtvclassic.html#091591">Premiered on MTV's 120 Minutes 9-15-91.</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kPQR-OsH0RQ&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kPQR-OsH0RQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-41509307350680470022008-09-11T08:48:00.001-04:002008-09-11T08:48:00.376-04:00Really, Though...<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_bin_laden#Current_whereabouts">Where's Bin Laden?</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-37818206714462734492008-09-08T21:48:00.003-04:002008-09-16T00:50:04.171-04:00Music: Response<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFqHGub2d1NaD_SceyLakeWn9xmIdPe7NGKhY98T4lHipqBlPlFy4otc4yU3EkLZU2mZBCEAnOWPv86NTYqfOabQzSnR0bunEqdy8c4APxdCp6kiyJGr7nWpm-ejdtvIcLV76Zw/s1600-h/3421770_tml.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWFqHGub2d1NaD_SceyLakeWn9xmIdPe7NGKhY98T4lHipqBlPlFy4otc4yU3EkLZU2mZBCEAnOWPv86NTYqfOabQzSnR0bunEqdy8c4APxdCp6kiyJGr7nWpm-ejdtvIcLV76Zw/s200/3421770_tml.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5226774605495709362" border="0" /></a>Making movies about music is like blogging about... um, gardening -- no, needlepoint. No, that's not it, either. Uh, stamp collecting? Something.<br /><br />Really, I'll take <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047030/">The Glenn Miller Story</a>, which long ago drew up the blueprint and set the standard for this sort of thing. It's got all the familiar elements: Glenn struggles early on, even pawning his trombone, takes unsatisfying jobs in other people's bands, hangs out with Colonel Potter, then has a spark of inspiration, finds a core of trusted mates to believe in (and bankroll) him, hits it big, buys a big house, marries the girl of his dreams, writes a bunch of hits based directly on his life, gets addicted to smack, and...<br /><br />OK, he didn't get addicted to smack. They didn't do that back then, or at least they didn't make movies where that happened. What happens instead is that he joins the Air Force during WWII, and gets shot down over Europe traveling between shows ("gigs," as the hep cats refer to them), thus establishing a precedent observed by stars of all genres such as Buddy Holly, Jim Croce, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and my favorite star on all the K-Tel compilations, Manny More.<br /><br />I really like the way Glenn's death is handled in the film. He shares one last meaningful, playful phone call with his sweetheart, then climbs into the plane and it just sort of ... vanishes ... into the clouds, in a sort of apotheosis. They don't make 'em like that any more.<br /><br />They do, however, follow all of the other standard plot points established way back in the 1940s. I'm waiting for the <a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2007/10/rnrhof-follies.html">Kraftwerk</a> movie, which will probably never be made, so I've been watching a bunch of the others recently. (There's a bunch more I haven't actually seen, but that's not gonna stop me from writing about them.) Here's a rundown:<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358273/">Walk The Line</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Johnny Cash<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Guitar<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Cornpone Country/Nascent Rock 'n Roll<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Pills<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Jerry-rigging Confessional Folk/Singer-Songwriter to Rhinestone Country<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Man in Black<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Beloved American Icon / Pale Imitation of Former Self<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> In which a simple country boy uses his unique musical gift to escape a life of rural despair marred by tragedy, only to lapse into paralyzing drug abuse and marital infidelity, before finally being redeemed by the love of a good woman and becoming an American icon in the process.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Ring Of Fire</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0350258/">Ray</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Ray Charles<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Piano<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Copycat R&B (Nat King Cole, Charles Brown, etc.)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Heroin, believe it or not<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Shotgun wedding of gospel & R&B<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Black Man in Sunglasses (pre-Stevie Wonder)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Beloved American Icon / Pale Imitation of Former Self<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> In which a simple country boy uses his unique musical gift to escape a life of rural despair marred by tragedy, only to lapse into paralyzing drug abuse and marital infidelity, before finally being redeemed by the love of a good woman and becoming an American icon in the process. Oh, and he's blind.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Hit The Road, Jack</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097457/">Great Balls Of Fire</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Jerry Lee Lewis<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Pian'ner<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Backwoods R&B<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Teenage girls<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> The Killer<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> You can't kill The Killer.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm6o2FljFfl1KPPmr30hYw8Cy_gCkbParGUcW1Ws9jJHOjzHtOp0es8ZMWzE1Z72sjKMHNbhumJnly-ZpBAj8zTjI8yqAebyhWrWXL6dfLKDDH8ns8iX6JbUQNHGid4dCmQSGCQ/s1600-h/173098200.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjm6o2FljFfl1KPPmr30hYw8Cy_gCkbParGUcW1Ws9jJHOjzHtOp0es8ZMWzE1Z72sjKMHNbhumJnly-ZpBAj8zTjI8yqAebyhWrWXL6dfLKDDH8ns8iX6JbUQNHGid4dCmQSGCQ/s200/173098200.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243834196597259810" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Dennis Quaid is way too nice to play JLL. At least he used to be before he aged a bit and started taking oily roles in stuff like <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181865/">Traffic</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0297884/">Far From Heaven</a>.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Whole Lotta</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);"> Shakin' Goin' On</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090110/">Sweet Dreams</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Patsy Cline<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Both kinds -- country, <span style="font-weight: bold;">and</span> western.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Fringe jackets<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Polished Country & Western<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Sweetheart of the Rodeo<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Beloved Crossover Country Star Killed in Tragic Plane Crash (Pre-John Denver)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Yeah, I didn't actually get around to watching this one. Rented it and had it on the shelf for a week, but... eh. Jessica Lange, though.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> Didn't see it, but I'm guessing <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Crazy</span>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450188/">La Vie En Rose</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Edith Piaf<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Voix<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Gutter sluts of 1933.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Veuve Clicquot, morphine<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Chansons de la rue, pour les bourgeios.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Jean d'Arc in a black frock.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Everything cool about rock and roll -- the drugs, the affairs, the nervous breakdowns, the burial in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Lachaise">Père Lachaise</a> -- without the actual rock and/or roll.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> La vie, l'amour, la mort.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368794/">I'm Not There</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Bob Dylan<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Guitar (Acoustic, then Electric) and God-awful screeching harmonica<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Copycat Folk (Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, etc.)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Marijuana, etc.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Letting other people do better versions of songs he wrote.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Jewish Guy in Sunglasses (pre-Lou Reed) / <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_dylan#Highway_61_Revisited_and_Blonde_on_Blonde">Judas<br /></a> <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Pending<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Todd Haynes almost makes amends for his <a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2006/05/watching_16.html">hatchet job on David Bowie</a>. This actually broke the mold, being a cubist portrait of the man, the myth, the legend, rather than another standard rags to riches saga. Dylan means nothing to me, except as the guy in the Traveling Wilburys who can't sing, but I enjoyed this quite a bit.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Like A Rolling Stone</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/">Control</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Ian Curtis<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Vocals (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Hannett#Career">overproduced by Martin Hannett</a>)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Copycat Iggy Pop<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Prescription meds for epilepsy<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Burroughs and Ballard re-done as minimalist metallic pseudo-fascist battle hymns.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Post-punk British Jim Morrison<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Tragic, Haunting Suicide Symbolizing Premature End of Promising Generation (pre-Kurt Cobain)<br />Glib Summary: I'm a big fan, but this was a pretty dreary affair. Fortunately, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274309/">24 Hour Party People</a> tells much of the same story with better drugs and a whole lot more breeziness.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Love Will Tear Us Apart</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie: </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363473/">Beyond The Sea</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Made to order pseudo-rock 'n roll novelty songs...eh, you know what? <a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2005/07/watching.html">I already covered this one.<br /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093378/">La Bamba</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Richie Valens<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Una Poca De Gracia<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> No idea.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Tequila!<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Kid Friendly Tex-Mex (much like Chili's restaurants)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Non-threatening Hispanic guy (non-Ricky Ricardo division)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Other guy in plane with Buddy Holly and that Bopper guy<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Yeah, I didn't see this one either. It was a big hit, though.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> Probably <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Do</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">nna</span>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108551/">What's Love Got To Do With It?</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Tina Turner<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Screech/blond wig<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Whatever Ike says.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Mascara<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Getting away from Ike.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Gypsy, acid queen.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> N/A<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> I only watched bits and pieces of this one.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">C</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">lassic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> Um, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Proud Mary</span>?<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie: </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0s6r0ayB8_yvl3GdZqRp8rHnTEDyMaG8JK8M2qNH4x0I3s2GmQ7eNS4plo6CoU9IWbyh7vNjT_mWdhKNZnrOcOHi-7YNV5RHuWGQ7rMvFv7H9fUsugmnhVTW0gWo3LCPD7eIhsw/s1600-h/01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0s6r0ayB8_yvl3GdZqRp8rHnTEDyMaG8JK8M2qNH4x0I3s2GmQ7eNS4plo6CoU9IWbyh7vNjT_mWdhKNZnrOcOHi-7YNV5RHuWGQ7rMvFv7H9fUsugmnhVTW0gWo3LCPD7eIhsw/s200/01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243837872356606738" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094747/">Bird</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Charlie Parker<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Saxamaphone<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Bop<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Heroin<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Be-bop<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Cool jazz guy<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Early demonstration of maxim "It's better to burn out than to fade away."<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Saw some of this one. Forest Whitaker sure was good in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455590/">The Last King of Scotland</a>, though.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> It's jazz; all the songs sound the same.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie: </span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091954/">Sid & Nancy</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Sid Vicious<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Leather jacket<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Jumping up and down in front of the stage<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> (yawn) Heroin<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Jumping up and down <span style="font-weight: bold;">on</span> the stage<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Glorious Disaster<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Junkie / accused murderer<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Art from trash.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">God Save The Queen</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101761/">The Doors</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Jim Morrison (and, duh, the Doors)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Vocals, leather pants<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Bad beach bum blues<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> LSD<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Norton Anthology of American Literature set to carnival-style pseudo-psychedelic blues<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Lizard King, natch<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Bloated Fat Parody of Self (pre-Elvis Presley)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Like, wow. Hey! Who let Meg Ryan on to the set?<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Break On Through</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446071/">We Jam Econo</a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> D. Boon (of the Minutemen)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Singer/activist<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> Punk rock (learned in Hollywood; drove up from Pedro)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> Corona<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> White suburban punks trying to sound like James Brown<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Flyin' the flannel<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> Criminally underappreciated proto-grunge martyr to the cause (pre-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wood">Andrew Wood</a>)<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> Sad punks talk, talk, talkin' about their long-ago glory days.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">History Lesson, Pt. 2</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Movie:</span> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iggy_pop#Future_biopic">The Iggy Pop movie they're supposedly making starring Elijah Wood as Iggy</a>. It'll probably be called <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Lust For Life</span>, or <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">The Passenger</span> if they're feeling sinister (and haven't heard of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000774/">Antonioni</a>).<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Performer:</span> Iggy Pop<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Instrument:</span> Vocals, peanut butter, broken glass<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Original Musical Style:</span> White boy garage blues rock<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Drug:</span> More, please.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Musical Innovation:</span> Putting id directly into amplifier.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Image:</span> Street walking cheetah with a heart full of napalm.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Died As:</span> <strike>Pathetic junkie</strike>...actually, against all odds he survives to this day.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Glib Summary:</span> It is highly unlikely that this supposed movie will actually be any good, but eh, who knows?<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Classic Song Used As Way Too Obvious Music Cue:</span> Any of about a dozen -- <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Nightclubbing</span>, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Funtime</span>, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Gimme Danger</span>, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Down On The Street</span>, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">Dirt</span>... I'm going with <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">No Fun</span>.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-20750850398614212692008-08-30T09:33:00.009-04:002008-08-30T13:45:47.031-04:00MoronMore On The VP PickA series of corny jokes for a corny pick:<br /><br />Seriously, I thought he was going to pick Bigfoot.<br /><br />Did you know that McCain is more than three times* as old as Palin?<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">*May not be mathematically accurate.</span><br /><br />McCain: "Palin? Where's she from?"<br />McCain Adviser #1: "Juneau?"<br />McCain: "No, I'm asking you... Where's she from?"<br />McCain Adviser #2: "I don't know. Alaska."<br />McCain: "Well make it quick, I need to pick someone right away."<br />[ba-domp-bomp]<br />(That one's older than <strike>dirt</strike>McCain!)<br /><br />Her kids are named Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.<br />From <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_palin#Family_and_personal_life">Wikipedia</a>: <blockquote>Palin admits that she used <a set="yes" linkindex="365" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana" title="Marijuana" class="mw-redirect">marijuana</a> at a time when the state had legalized possession of small amounts.</blockquote>Insert pothead joke here.<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqk3ILLvs_onO4svQktRon6Ta2KwqTsm1jGYQyMwvRbgcZ6IRRwLQOpK1QOMJCAz8p7Q3Dwz-ct8cNT9DtHdWasucQUiWeOYRjkxrpnY9U4H9xpPPGRGxAS7A4hPns5BJjrzVnRg/s1600-h/505px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_22a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqk3ILLvs_onO4svQktRon6Ta2KwqTsm1jGYQyMwvRbgcZ6IRRwLQOpK1QOMJCAz8p7Q3Dwz-ct8cNT9DtHdWasucQUiWeOYRjkxrpnY9U4H9xpPPGRGxAS7A4hPns5BJjrzVnRg/s200/505px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_22a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240306866230728626" border="0" /></a>Hubba...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwJQ6Z6Bufj4SmzL3EwIRv8i_11tbZJhmPmytdda2hyq1vOtZE1mWlOOBMBUmPkbhwLtWxte1fjJT5N8JcA2Hjjj6wQLlH_oMgB9ICSHgzm9ExIHIfKwFNkU2QK9eYrHsFyUazQ/s1600-h/400px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_18.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfwJQ6Z6Bufj4SmzL3EwIRv8i_11tbZJhmPmytdda2hyq1vOtZE1mWlOOBMBUmPkbhwLtWxte1fjJT5N8JcA2Hjjj6wQLlH_oMgB9ICSHgzm9ExIHIfKwFNkU2QK9eYrHsFyUazQ/s200/400px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_18.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240306805671173266" border="0" /></a>...hubba...<br /><br /></div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ-6PSNHx-NmSD9Ci7d-9Dg2t0PhyphenhyphenD5EjI5cBbGbscsnQOoVtaxi6ltDoJ5nPcoIpsNwbuuu-lNxSPTXeS9BpuiUmRs4ZyNhfJ78TaKUwNVzgloPRSfUdK6_zbRSgeoG-T3O5Qg/s1600-h/800px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_19.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwJ-6PSNHx-NmSD9Ci7d-9Dg2t0PhyphenhyphenD5EjI5cBbGbscsnQOoVtaxi6ltDoJ5nPcoIpsNwbuuu-lNxSPTXeS9BpuiUmRs4ZyNhfJ78TaKUwNVzgloPRSfUdK6_zbRSgeoG-T3O5Qg/s200/800px-Sarah_Palin_Kuwait_19.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240306094277331458" border="0" /></a>...and more hubba...<br /><br />...but is she going to <a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2006/02/as-if.html">shoot anyone in the face</a> if she becomes vice president?<br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-73243546902181404992008-08-30T08:17:00.007-04:002008-08-30T09:27:02.938-04:00Vice President in Charge of Teh Hot<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9yNRG0M0DogdDvGYknnJPN8D89MSNvICRNKwg_ui5emKEWY7WynApMQsVmnYTRY1U1eBNYvv9n_kq7-_1no-Af9AZGVxEzz8WRVQ3gyFHYn2jinv1awsUCEiqzzCPipsti5yqw/s1600-h/vp-maccain-cp-5416664.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz9yNRG0M0DogdDvGYknnJPN8D89MSNvICRNKwg_ui5emKEWY7WynApMQsVmnYTRY1U1eBNYvv9n_kq7-_1no-Af9AZGVxEzz8WRVQ3gyFHYn2jinv1awsUCEiqzzCPipsti5yqw/s200/vp-maccain-cp-5416664.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240301203166752834" border="0" /></a>A series of real-life emails:<br /><br />First, "Beavis"* to "Butthead"*:<br /><blockquote>Whoa.<br />Sarah Palin is HAWT.</blockquote><br />Next, "Butthead" to "Beavis":<br /><br /><blockquote>She could be a VPILF.</blockquote><br />Finally, "Butthead" to "Beavis" again:<br /><blockquote>Apparently, McCain has already "tapped dat":<br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">McCain taps Alaska Gov. Palin as vice president pick</span> (= real CNN.com headline)</blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Heh heh. Uhhhh.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;">*All names changed for deniability purposes.</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-74254514653703581862008-08-25T23:34:00.002-04:002008-08-25T23:42:31.371-04:00Seriously......five years, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Iraqi_Freedom#Casualty_estimates">four thousand dead soldiers</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Iraqi_Freedom#Criticisms_and_costs">three trillion dollars</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Iraqi_Freedom#Casualty_estimates"></a>and we still can't get Iraq to win even one stinking <a href="http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml">Olympic medal</a>!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-2708452798626110812008-08-21T20:52:00.003-04:002008-08-21T21:26:50.386-04:00It Was A Dark And Stormy KnightAl Qaeda spent over two years and half a million dollars to train and prepare at least 19 guys to hijack 4 planes to crash into 4 targets on one day.<br /><br />Pikers.<br /><br />In the new Batman movie, called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/">The Dark Knight</a>, the Joker strings together plots at least as elaborate as 9-11 two, three times a day, single-handedly terrorizing an entire city with one scheme after another. Now he's robbing a bank! Now he's assassinating the mayor! Now he's kidnapping the district attorney! Now he's blowing up a judge! The police chief! Another guy I can't remember! Now he's hijacking a SWAT convoy! Now he's bombing a hospital! Did I miss any? I think I missed a few. <span style="font-style: italic;">Mr. Joker, sir -- it's time for your three o'clock detonation.</span><br /><br />At about the two hour mark of this movie, I was exhausted, and I started to go numb from all the mayhem. It was just one set piece after another, with no rhyme or reason other than to serve as a grim march to an inevitable one-on-one showdown between (go figure) Batman and the Joker.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg8u9Dv1pXKCRV1W84ILOHBVU2O0RpCN80yurke5W5p_Gk-eB2ewYKH8B368vPTC1GZDmssNoRmCJFkmpJxArZd_85qFT1vBOpfaTk4icuD7uAI1JkD0eAu1G7cnq81bEp9c0rQ/s1600-h/The_Dark_Knight_Pics_35.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 172px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFg8u9Dv1pXKCRV1W84ILOHBVU2O0RpCN80yurke5W5p_Gk-eB2ewYKH8B368vPTC1GZDmssNoRmCJFkmpJxArZd_85qFT1vBOpfaTk4icuD7uAI1JkD0eAu1G7cnq81bEp9c0rQ/s200/The_Dark_Knight_Pics_35.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237146738712781970" border="0" /></a>Of course, this is what I paid my nine bucks for. You go to a Batman movie to see Batman matching up with the villain -- and is there any more classic protagonist-antagonist matchup in pop culture than Batman and the Joker? They didn't share nearly enough screen time together. They had one good scene in the police station, but their first meeting, at Bruce Wayne's party, just kind of...ended, and the final showdown was a huge disappointment, with the bat flapping off to attend to some crisis the Joker had manufactured, leaving him (literally) just hanging around.<br /><br />There was far too much extraneous stuff about Harvey Dent. It reminded me of Peter Jackson's King Kong movie -- <a href="http://michaelplank.blogspot.com/2005/12/watching.html">put the monkey on top of the building already!</a><br /><br />Here's another thing. OK, it's based on a comic book. But it's <span style="font-weight: bold;">based</span> on a comic book; it's not an <span style="font-weight: bold;">actual</span> comic book. In a movie, you've got to occasionally have some explanation of how a character arrived at a particular location. Practically every scene in this movie, at least after the first 30 minutes, depended on one character or another literally stepping out of the shadows and BAM! into the action. It's OK once or twice, but after a while it begins to call attention to itself. It's just tiresome.<br /><br />Yeah, yeah, Heath Ledger was pretty good. Christian Bale was good, Maggie Gyllenhaal was an improvement over Katie Holmes, etc. It wasn't enough.<br /><br />For a while right after it came out, The Dark Knight was ranked Teh Greatestest Movie Of All Time!! on imdb. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/chart/top">It has now slipped to number 3</a>, between The Godfather and The Godfather II. Ha! It might not even rate ahead of The Godfather III. I mean, it was OK, but just glancing down the list, Seven Samurai is number 13. GoodFellas is 15. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Freaking Kane is 29!</span> C'mon! Number 100 is Jaws. Is this movie better than Jaws? I don't think so. A year from now, neither will anyone else.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-69586395260883783572008-08-19T23:03:00.001-04:002008-08-19T23:05:13.562-04:00This Cracks Me UpObvious, sure, but well done:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i48BP1PUoFI&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i48BP1PUoFI&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-64258283110787401632008-08-17T21:36:00.000-04:002008-08-17T22:48:54.164-04:00Goldie Yawn<span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/olympics/2008/writers/michael_farber/08/17/amazing.phelps/index.html?eref=sircrc">Phelps claims Olympic-record eighth gold medal</a><br /></span><br />Meh.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJUsRZOCeVEUkbC4_yDfUuwoZdVf1uFEcp7KlKmvMAlCz4AAUhg0sjWMyekCfVogLWuupHP2DBeCMmeTf9U-FkyOqILN_Q6p8rhfbdphYUhbheSximwZ6uLpa7AaXsNY7NiGAcA/s1600-h/nancy_kerrigan_biography_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJUsRZOCeVEUkbC4_yDfUuwoZdVf1uFEcp7KlKmvMAlCz4AAUhg0sjWMyekCfVogLWuupHP2DBeCMmeTf9U-FkyOqILN_Q6p8rhfbdphYUhbheSximwZ6uLpa7AaXsNY7NiGAcA/s200/nancy_kerrigan_biography_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5235683204827658834" border="0" /></a>The problem with swimming and a lot of other sports in the Olympics is, what can you do to stop this guy? Nothing. If he can swim faster, there is nothing you can do about it short of pulling a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonya_Harding#The_Kerrigan_attack">Gillooly</a>. You can't play defense in swimming, or in gymnastics, or most of the track and field events.*<br /><br />It's the same in golf. What can you do to stop Tiger Woods? It's basically reduced to an exhibition of one guy's skill at performing a particular physical activity.<br /><br />So the first thing they should do with sports like this is give the competitors a chance to play defense. If Michael Phelps had to swim through a pool full of goons pulling him underwater while he tried to butterfly 100 meters, that would be a sport worth watching.<br /><br />The other thing about the Olympics is, if they are going to play volleyball on sand, why not other sports? Why not the marathon or the floor exercise in gymnastics. Basketball would be pretty cool on sand, too. It would stop them from double-dribbling all the time, anyway.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >* Yeah, yeah, there's some </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" >minor</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" > stratetegizatizing as far as setting a pace, knowing when to hold 'em, knowing when to fold 'em, knowing when to walk away, and knowing when to run... but it's just not the same.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-83991862529606995682008-08-15T23:44:00.005-04:002008-08-16T08:27:02.470-04:00Blogging A Dead Horse<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Your vigilant media at work, meeting outlandish claims with a determined skepticism:</span><br /></span><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a set="yes" linkindex="27" href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/15/bigfoot.body/index.html"></a></span></h1><blockquote><h1 style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a set="yes" linkindex="27" href="http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/15/bigfoot.body/index.html">Reporters grill men on Bigfoot body claims</a></span></h1><b>(CNN)</b> -- A pair of Georgia men faced more than a half-hour of skeptical questions from reporters Friday as they defended their claim that they stumbled upon the body of Bigfoot while hiking in a remote North Georgia forest.</blockquote>Five years ago, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_mass_destruction#Media_coverage_of_WMD">not so much</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhwTX1gJLnVKHX8K7VXr6xZovTgC6bGJoC-iuvdBdDp9AYoVJko_Ad3fZSBojbC9Gr_r0M6S4RXuriwxpJUkOp3e42RF7e5dsXtsdHa2ZKsTheBVKNRcv0TMfOGSrvsVnd_hipg/s1600-h/powell_anthrax_jbc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZhwTX1gJLnVKHX8K7VXr6xZovTgC6bGJoC-iuvdBdDp9AYoVJko_Ad3fZSBojbC9Gr_r0M6S4RXuriwxpJUkOp3e42RF7e5dsXtsdHa2ZKsTheBVKNRcv0TMfOGSrvsVnd_hipg/s400/powell_anthrax_jbc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234957938221879730" border="0" /></a><br />A free press, guardian of the nation.<br /><br />If these knuckleheads have really found Bigfoot, maybe we can send them after bin Laden next. At this point, he's just another mythical creature in the hills, but no one seems to be looking for him.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-78422017504517670322008-08-10T11:20:00.003-04:002008-08-10T11:22:07.243-04:00Hijinks!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksJRc2c4A4pGC_Ue9M25Pkpg9zepBTwbnKZZ_fv3cfyeMvB8LQL1Slw6NhiruvmwJ-jUl3WZcqwEUyVZ7y-GbavRMjYSFzl1dloty4r59uCK6uN7zJ1Ic7NiuOS1Alse9UCYmRg/s1600-h/agvb.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiksJRc2c4A4pGC_Ue9M25Pkpg9zepBTwbnKZZ_fv3cfyeMvB8LQL1Slw6NhiruvmwJ-jUl3WZcqwEUyVZ7y-GbavRMjYSFzl1dloty4r59uCK6uN7zJ1Ic7NiuOS1Alse9UCYmRg/s320/agvb.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232909645572974066" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-48005383822610528132008-08-08T19:41:00.002-04:002008-08-08T19:49:28.992-04:00Video Vault: 808 State & MC Tunes, Tunes Splits The AtomThis should've been MASSIVE. It came out at the same time that Vanilla Ice, Everlast and other good looking white rappers were hitting it big on the pop charts, back around 1991.<br /><br />The bass line is sampled from the last section of "I Am The Resurrection" by the Stone Roses... Madchester, the dance capital of England...<br /><br />Posted on 8-8-08 (ha!).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x5J2Dfi_0no&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x5J2Dfi_0no&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-43304690132350835262008-08-08T07:11:00.002-04:002008-08-08T07:15:19.632-04:00Video Vault: Robert Hazard, Escalator of Life<a href="http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/20080807_Philly_rock_legend_Robert_Hazard_dies_at_59.html"><span style="font-size:100%;">Philly rock legend Robert Hazard dies at 59</span></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WE8D4tHOg7k&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WE8D4tHOg7k&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10761712.post-80251212040882839362008-08-07T21:21:00.005-04:002008-08-07T21:31:47.335-04:00AlbumCD Cover Bingo<a href="http://www.psotd.com/">PSoTD</a> seems to have abandoned <a href="http://www.psotd.com/posts/1156430094.shtml">this feature</a>, so I'm <strike>stealing</strike> claiming it for my own.<br /><br />All of the below are compact disc (remember those?) covers from the dying days of the rock era. List the name of the performer and the title of the CD to win, uh, nothing. Grudging admiration, perhaps.<br /><br />Answers later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEgHfqZjoZnV4rIFpViSQnmqvIQTsRhj14NiLfE5lUGqT884iUtnodH1SzDpHv6XU_lfTLvBih81SdIPB-qusvT5jQMYZmH3D_Xgg2qGplmkGS544b14iLsWJrPzrCghs5lZYqQ/s1600-h/cdcoverbingo1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYEgHfqZjoZnV4rIFpViSQnmqvIQTsRhj14NiLfE5lUGqT884iUtnodH1SzDpHv6XU_lfTLvBih81SdIPB-qusvT5jQMYZmH3D_Xgg2qGplmkGS544b14iLsWJrPzrCghs5lZYqQ/s400/cdcoverbingo1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231950896841534546" border="0" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stop The <strike>War</strike> Occupation.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6