The Connells Albums: Soon Back in Print

This is GREAT news, not just for people who like good music but for anybody who appreciates fairness. After a decade of being unable to make any money off their impressive catalogue of work due to corporate asshattedness, it appears that the Connells' albums will soon be back in print and available for a new generation to discover good Southern jangle rock.

Am I the Only Person

... so immature as to snicker upon hearing or reading any form of the word "taint" when used in relation to the latest allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests? Just wondering.

They're Infuriating Nutcases, Sure

...but at least they can sometimes be entertaining.

This first one comes from V. C. Rogers for the Durham-Raleigh Independent Weekly:



No commentary is required for this one, either, except perhaps to declare it the best bumper sticker I've seen in an awfully long time. These are available for $2 from Northern Sun:

You Lie!

So after taking a day to consider his options, Rep. Randy Neugebauer admitted on Monday that he was the jackass who shouted "baby killer" on the House floor Sunday night. The thing is, he claims that he actually said "it's a baby killer," referring to the abortion funding deal, not to Rep. Bart Stupak himself.

Uh, yeah. That's the best he could do? Randy, really, after 15 hours of hiding, you weren't able to come up with something more believable than that? You're pathetic.

No! They Really Printed That?!

Browsing through the record reviews in a recent edition (#54) of the punk zine Razorcake, I was surprised to find a review of a new Flipper album.

Aphid Peewit heaps praise on this new album, Love. But he does have one complaint:

My only gripe with Love is that their dadaistic [sic] sense of humor, exemplified in classics like "Ha Ha Ha," "Brainwash," and "The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" sadly seems to have been packed into the urn along with the remains of Will Shatter. And Flipper without their absurdist humor is like a thalidomide baby without a clown nose.

Holy crap! That has to rank somewhere in the top ten of the most tasteless lines I've ever read in print. And if I weren't laughing so hard, I'd perhaps gather the energy to be offended and/or outraged.

Alex Chilton

Found several good Alex Chilton articles, obits, and appreciation pieces online today. 99% of folks are referencing the same few songs, which is fine really -- "In the Street", "Thirteen", "September Gurls" are all pretty amazing -- but there are so many more gems out there, and the man should be known for more than just the songs that helped make other bands famous 20 and 30 years after he first wrote and recorded them.

From the first three Big Star albums:

• When My Baby's Beside Me
• Don't Lie to Me
• O My Soul
• Mod Lang
• She's a Mover
• Thank You Friends

Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens reformed Big Star back in the 90s and put out a new studio album in 2005 called In Space, and these next two tracks (30-second samples only, sorry to say) are from that album. I *highly* recommend getting this album. It's a shame that their 4th album rec'd about as much attention as their first three originally did. The first song, "Dony" is mighty good (can't find any samples of it to link to, unfortunately) while "Mine Exclusively" should shock and amaze you: I'd put it up against "In the Street" any day, it's so good (in other words, buy it, buy it, buy it, BUY IT!!!):

• February's Quiet
• Mine Exclusively

And here are some samples of his solo stuff:

• Stuff
• Lost My Job
• No Sex

And some more solo stuff, but from the very much dark, bizarre side of his solo career (not for the faint of heart!):

• Boogie Shoes / My Rival / Hey Little Child
• Take Me Home and Make Me Like It
• Can't Seem to Make You Mine
• Free Again

Policy Change

Effective immediately, anyone who eats or chews gum while talking on the phone with me will be penalized. (That's right, Elliot from the Help Desk, I'm thinking about you, you lint-licker.) I can't at the moment say what form that penalty might take as that will largely depend up my mood at the time of the incident. Just know that the policy is now in place and that the penalty may be quite severe.

Your understanding and cooperation is appreciated.

Why I've Never Been Able to Board the Pitchfork Bandwagon

I can't read Pitchfork reviews of this sort without wondering if the writer is serious or merely having us on:

Tarot Sport marks a comprehensive stylistic shift for Fuck Buttons-- from experimental noise to a sort of modernized electronic take on classic post-rock structures-- but also represents a subtler, more mature approach to songwriting and a sharpening of their craft.

I mean, really now, doesn't that read like something from Monty Python or Kids in the Hall?

As Paul Westerberg once commented, "And it's all a bunch of shit."

Hiding from Fame, Setting Gerry up for Another Big Fall

The AP asks, "What's in J.D. Salinger's Safe?"

I'm deeply disturbed by the question because I fear it can only lead to Geraldo Rivera, a work crew, and a live TV special. On the plus side, the schadenfreude would be even sweeter this second time around.

(Unrelated question: Am I really one of the very few who is annoyed by Catcher in the Rye? It's one of those books that everyone is expected to fawn over, but I just can't do it. One of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th Century? Really? According to Time Magazine, yes. According to me, no freakin' way. Portnoy's Complaint (also on Time's list, sadly) leaves me similarly weary: the constant bitching and moaning of the two books' narrators is too much for me to overcome.)

Corporations and Free Speech

So the Supreme Court ruled moments ago that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals. Do other basic rights apply to corporations, as well? For instance, will corporate officers be able to take the Fifth if they feel their testimony might incriminate the companies they represent? And what about Second Amendment rights? How much more exciting and interesting will the Microsoft vs. Google and the Google vs. Apple wars become if those companies can now keep and bear arms?


UPDATE: A friend responds to this by observing that, "Conservatives will be happy with the 2nd amendment rights just as long as Microsoft and Apple can't get gay-married."