May 13, 2008

T-Paw Not Getting Any

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Over the weekend, Governor Pawlenty had this to say about his wife Mary:

"I have a wife who genuinely loves to fish. I mean, she will take the lead and ask me to go out fishing, and joyfully comes here. She loves football, she'll go to hockey games, and I jokingly say, 'Now, if I could only get her to have sex with me I'd really have it made.''"

Now T-Paw does and says nothing without thinking of the political ramifications. So what was the reason for calling out his wife on the radio? A couple of thoughts:

1. He's telling other 40-something men who have been married for years and also not getting any that "I'm just like you." Thus generating sympathy and more importantly, votes.

2. Signaling to the Republican elite in Washington, many of who are either having sex with boys or with someone other than their for-show-only wives: "I'm not doing my wife either, if chosen as VP I'll be just like you!"

3. Telling anti-feminist voters: When my wife doesn't put out in the bedroom, I just don't whine about it in private. I whine about it publicly on the radio, because I'm a real man, I don't let women push me around.


May 12, 2008

Favorite Concert Moments

What’s your favorite concert? It’s actually a hard question. It depends on where you are in your life, who you went with, how you were feeling. Below are my top concert highlights in descending chronological order. Question marks after a date means that I think it happened at that time but I could be wrong. What are some of your favorite concerts?

Green Day – Xcel Energy Center. September 2005. Billy Joe Armstrong introduced Holiday as a “big Fuck You to George W. Bush” and the crowd full of 10-15 year old boys and their parents went nuts. They played this song so aggressively that if Billy Joe had asked the crowd to storm the capitol we would have done it.

Rock for Change – Xcel Energy Center. October 2004. The last song was Rockin’ in the Free World with Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, R.E.M., John Forgerty, Conner Obst, and others. Pete Buck’s smile was so big, I could see it from across the arena.

Fred Eaglesmith – St. Peter, MN. September 8, 2001.
Fred was in fine form at a free concert in a park in St. Peter. He played every song you wanted and I heard Big Ass Garage Sale for the first time. He told a story about a Dar Williams making a hit of one of his songs by making it into a lesbian song. At first he was uncomfortable about it but after getting the royalty checks, he was “writing lesbian song after lesbian song.” Three days after this show the world changed.

Jonathan Richman – First Avenue. September 1996(?). We saw Jonathan watching the warm up act and my wife went up to him and said we were celebrating our anniversary and could he sing My Love is a Flower for us. About mid-way through the show Jonathan started one song, stopped a few bars in and said, I am suppose to sing this for Elaine and Dean, celebrating their anniversary. He then sang My Love is a Flower.

Johnny Cash – Orpheum Theater. June 1995.
Touring in support of American Recordings, the Orpheum was full of punks, guys in cowboy hats, and old duffers. I went with my dad and we sat in the 9th row. Johnny’s voice was perfect and I was blown away by the songs and the show. Oh the Jayhawks opened with an acoustic set.

Metallica – Target Center. Summer 1991(?). We were in the upper bowl and at one point during the show, the lights illuminated the lower bowl and all you could see were thousands of heads banging in unison, it was an amazing sight.

Meat Puppets – First Avenue Summer 1988(?). The Puppets absolutely jammed! By the end they were playing covers and you couldn’t keep up. They played a version of Rock and Roll that would put Zeppelin to shame (sorry Shane, but it’s true!).

U2 – RFK Stadium. September 1987. I think this was U2’s first big stadium tour but they still were connecting with the audience as if it were a 500 seat theater. They finished with “40” and the crowd kept singing “how long will we sing this song.” We sang it after U2 left the stage, we sang it filing out of the stadium, we sang it in the parking lot, we sang it in the subways and our cars going home. Truly inspirational.

Billy Bragg – 930 Club. Summer 1987. At the height of the controversy over funding the Nicaraguan Contras, Billy Bragg had a very political show in a very political City. Afterward he invited anyone from the audience to come backstage and discuss politics with him.

Ramones – American University. Fall 1986. They played in an old gymnasium with folding chairs. When they came out with the gabba gabba hey signs, they had me. The best I could describe it was the Beach Boys on crack.

Replacements – 7th Street Entry. November 1985.
Part of their 5 night stay to celebrate the release of Tim. At the end of the show as they were being showered with quarters, dimes, and dollar bills, Paul Westerberg uttered the greatest concert closing I ever heard: What’s this shit, we don’t need it, we’re made of the shit. Keep your money, fuck you, good night.

Minutemen – 7th Street Entry. November 1985. They put on an awesome show and D. Boon slipped and fell down dancing in his own puddle of sweat. One month later he was dead in a car accident.

Urban Guerrillas – Williams Pub. New Years Eve 1984(85?). A beer and sex fueled musical party that crossed over two years. I think everyone who went to this show got laid that night.

Black Flag – Duffy’s. Summer 1984. This was the height of Henry Rollins as lead singer of Black Flag and he was in a word powerful. My friend Pete had a religious experience that night (partially thanks to Nigel the bus driver).

Soul Asylum – Whole Music Club. Spring 1984(?). Long before they were famous they were amazing in concert. This show wasn’t my first or last, but was particularly memorable for pure unadulterated rock and roll.

Suburbs – Cabooze. Summer 1983.
Their first show back after a successful California tour. The bassist Michael Halliday came back with a buzz cut which was all the rage with the California punks at the time. They then proceeded to tear the Cabooze apart, with Beej, climbing the lighting scaffolding all over the bar.

Replacements/Husker Du – First Avenue.
Summer 1982. My first show at First Avenue, my first Replacements and Husker Du concert. I went by myself. I was never the same and doubt that I’d even be writing something like this if it wasn’t for this show.


I am sure there are others that I will remember. So check back to see if I add anything.

May 09, 2008

Friday Random Top 10

Grand Theft Auto 4 sells $500 million worth of video games in a week, Iron Man sells $100 million worth of tickets in a weekend, it's a comic book world we live in. What's your Avatar?

This week's top 10:

1. In the Mouth of a Desert – Pavement
2. 21 Days in Jail – The Blasters
3. Modern Farmer – Young Wu
4. Words Fell – Lucinda Williams
5. Buddy’s Bolden Blues – Jelly Roll Morton
6. Elephant Stone – Stone Roses
7. Drummer Like Me – Trip Shakespeare
8. James Riot – Guided By Voices
9. June Salutes You – Guided By Voices
10. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues – Chris Thomas King

A little something for everyone. Some Pavement and GbV for you indie rockers, some blues, country, and something from Manchester's Factory. Wow!

May 07, 2008

It's Over!

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After last night’s decisive win in North Carolina and oh so close loss in Indiana, Barack Obama has basically, finally, sewn up the nomination. There really is no way Senator Clinton can win. You heard it in her speech last night, you saw it in Bill and Chelsea’s face. Now word has come out that Clinton has canceled all her public appearances today and that the Clinton’s loaned their campaign another $6.4 million for the North Carolina and Indiana campaigns. Very doubtful more money is going to come in.

As this sinks in I am sure in the next few days we will see more superdelegates pledge support to Obama. I am not sure if we will see a concession this week, but it is coming, What would be really cool is if Clinton was to endorse Obama Barack and then for them both to go on a unity tour of sorts through the remaining primary states, including Michigan and Florida. Their campaigning together would be important for a couple of reasons. It would prove to skeptics that both candidates are devoted to unifying the party against John McCain and it would help soothe over the anti-Barack sentiment among the Clinton supporters. Finally it would allow the last few states the opportunity to see the candidates in person and to build on the excitement this primary has inspired. Maybe Obama could sweeten the deal by using his mega-bucks to retire Clinton’s campaign debt.

That may be wishful thinking especially considering that we are talking about Democrats here but the bottom line is the campaign is over, Obama won, and now it is time to focus on Senator John McCain.

In honor of Obama’s win, here’s a video showing that Barack’s got game. Enjoy!


May 05, 2008

Book Review: Perfect From Now On

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Guy grows up in a mid-size Midwestern city listening to radio stations that play Journey, Bad Company, and Styx, is introduced to “new” music through U2 and in college discovers such English bands as New Order and Joy Division and later champions “indie” band such as Pavement, My Bloody Valentine, and The Replacements. Finally the guy later discovers Guided By Voices years after their best albums comes out and is infatuated to the point that he collects everything they’ve ever recorded. Big deal, my life story right? Except that it isn’t me, it’s the story of John Sellers and he writes about it in the engaging book: Perfect From Now On, How Indie Rock Saved My Life.

If any of the above sounds familiar to you (and I know it does for many of this blog’s readers) then I suggest you either buy or get this book from the library. Besides being pretty funny, it is nice to read something that you yourself have lived. I remember those days in the 70’s when Styx was the high point of rock, and I knew, just knew, there were better bands out there. Also the excitement of being infatuated with a band that few knew about is downright palpable.

The books also has a number of quirks, like numerous asides in footnotes, including a 10-page(!) footnote, describing what Sellers did to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Ian Curtis’ suicide, numerous lists, a la High Fidelity, and an intricate formula you can use to determine how good a band is.

For me the highlight was the last third of the book where Sellers describes his discovery of Guided By Voices and through dumb luck and strategic friendships, is able to meet the band and Robert Pollard, gets to drink with them, and was able to attend their last shows. Also because he wrote about his experience, was ostracized by the GbV community and almost excommunicated by Pollard. As someone likewise infatuated with GBV, this part of the book was great. In fact I re-read these passages while listening to GBV, I think Sellers would understand.

May 03, 2008

Falcon Attack!

This morning a Perigrine Falcon (UPDATE: Apparently is was a Coopers Hawk) attacked and ate a pigeon in our back yard. Now we live in the City, 1/2 mile from an interstate (also 1/2 mile from a bird sanctuary). Not something you see often. The falcon left nothing but bones and feathers and afterward the Wrens came and used the feathers for their nests. Talk about your circle of life. Check out pic below. Click on photo to get a larger shot.

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May 02, 2008

Friday Random Top 10

So the kids have started to make movies and put them on youtube.com. This is one of their better efforts.

Also, here’s your random top 10:

1. Wigwam – Bob Dylan
2. Polly – Nirvana
3. Everybody Thinks I am a Raincloud – Guided By Voices
4. Senor – Jerry Garcia
5. High & Dry – Radiohead
6. I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash
7. Cool Blues/52nd Street – Charlie Parker
8. Drunk by Noon – The Handsome Family
9. Casey Jones – The Grateful Dead
10. Company In My Back – Wilco

I kind of like the vibe of this list. Introspective, quiet, a little slower. Nice way to open a Friday. What’s your top 10?

April 30, 2008

Why I Buy Books

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I have had friendly debates with Shane over at Greet Machine about buying books versus taking them out from the library. Shane works for the Library and as you can imagine, is a strong advocate for using libraries to fulfill your book reading needs. His argument, and it’s a good one, is why pay for a book when you can easily get it from a library? Furthermore, given the ease by which you can now look for library books on-line and have them delivered to your nearest library, the days of rifling through musty old stacks is long gone.

While acknowledging that Shane makes a strong case, (in fact I currently have 5 books out from three different libraries) I am still a book buyer. One, I am a notorious book re-reader and I love to go back to books I’ve read to re-read them whole or just chapters, passages even. Many times I will come across an item that reminded me of something I’ve read in a book I own and I need to revisit. Also, let’s face it, books in a book case look good in your living room and nothing says “hey look how smart I am” than bookcases overflowing with books. Finally there is something about pulling out a book to make your point in a discussion or argument or handing a book over to some one to enlighten them on a subject they are interested in.

I am reminded of this lately by a series of Nick Coleman articles in the Star Tribune. Last week, Nick Coleman wrote an article about Eric Sevareid, a Minnesota native who was recently commemorated by a stamp. Although a famous journalist, Sevareid first became known to Minnesotans as a teenager who, with a friend, paddled a canoe over 2000 miles from Fort Snelling to the Hudson Bay in 1930. He wrote about the trip in a book called Canoeing with the Cree and this book is the touchstone for any Minnesotan who is interested in canoeing, camping or roughing it in the great north woods. As Coleman wrote in his column, the book can be found “on the bookshelf in a lot of cabins and in the imaginations of Minnesotans.” This book and Sevareid’s adventures have literally thrilled boys (and girls) for generations. What is really interesting is that the book clearly still resonates today as Coleman followed up the original column with one this week about two boys who, having read the book in 7th grade, decided to recreate the trip. They graduated early from high school and started their journey this past Monday.

Canoeing with the Cree’s place in Minnesota life represents the greatest reason for owning books: The ability to say to your mom/dad/sister/ brother/son/daughter/spouse/friend “I loved this book and I think you will too, here’s a copy.” It’s that shared experience that binds us tighter, says to us, “we may have differences but we have a lot in common too.” Sure you can do that with a library book but a library book lacks that permanence, it limits the ability of the book recipient to one day pass the book on to another, to further the connection.

April 29, 2008

Prince or Miley?

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Sure I could use this space to talk about the “sexy” Miley Cirus pics and the need to tart her up to transition the billion dollar Miley brand to one that appeals to teens and moves her away from pre-teens, but that would be puerile. Or I could mention that now Hilary Clinton has offered the economically questionable idea for a gas tax holiday and is now so desperate that she’s willing to offer crass policy initiatives that appeal to base instincts but actually do more harm to the American public than good. But I’m sick of politics. Heck I could even rave about Jared Allen but that would mean I would have to talk about the Vikings.

Instead, in these days of lame cultural irrelevancy, it is still good to know that Prince once again demonstrated that, if he stays away from the weird stuff, can pretty much blow the rest of us away with his ability to rock. In case you weren’t there or didn’t see the reviews, Prince absolutely tore up Coachella on Sunday night. It was a two hour set that included a 20-minute show with Morris Day and The Time, a bunch of hits, a cover of Creep, and of course an earth shattering rendition of Purple Rain. Much like he did at the Super Bowl a couple of years ago, “Prince reigned supreme” and gave the rest us of hope that maybe, just maybe, rock and roll is still alive and can provide transcendence. Well that or at least a good time for a couple of hours.

You Tube has a couple of videos of the show but most of them have the sound removed. Prince’s version of Creep is still available and is below. The camera work is pretty bad but the sound is great. Also at about the 5:45 mark, Prince tears into an amazing guitar solo. Worth it just for that.


April 28, 2008

Depressing

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Let’s review:

The Weather has been horrible. Cold, wet, cold, cloudy, miserable, cold. Except for a few days April has been an extension of March and March was an extension of February. When or when are going to have a proper Spring?

Road Construction. With bridges closing daily, Interstate 35 under construction, Lyndale Avenue soon to be torn up, residents of SW Minneapolis will soon need helicopters to get around. With gas at around $3.50 why are we driving anyway?

Twins. Even worse than expected. Losing 10-0 to the Rangers!?! Pitching is becoming more and more disappointing, Liriano is no way ready. Except for a Morneau, hitting has been lousy, defense too. I was hoping for 78 wins, I’m thinking that 70 wins might be more likely.

Movies and Music. When was the last time a decent movie came out or a good album? I don’t think I’ve seen a movie since February. I don’t think I have heard anything released in 2008 that is worth keeping, haven’t seen a show all year either.

Politics. Obama can’t seem to seal the deal and Clinton is more than willing to tear down Obama to get elected this year or in 2012. Voter fatigue has officially set in.

Anything good happening out there? I need to know.

April 25, 2008

Friday Random Top 10

For my class Monsters, Robots, and Cyborgs, I am writing a 10-page research paper on the Cloverfield Monster and representations of 9/11 in cinema. Do you know of any academic journal articles that have looked at this same issue? If so, let me know.

Here’s this week’s Top 10:

1. Whip It – Devo
2. Teenage Depression – Eddie & the Hot Rods
3. I Can’t Stand It – The Underbeats
4. Long Black Veil – Johnny Cash
5. A Punch Up at a Wedding – Radiohead
6. Alcohol and Pills – Fred Eaglesmith
7. Oh, Me – Nirvana
8. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies
9. Thank the Lord for the Nightime – Neil Diamond
10. Have You Ever Been Lonely – Patsy Cline

Whoa, after getting my “new wave hits of 70’s” on, this list gets pretty dark pretty fast. Even thanking the Lord for the nighttime feels sinister amidst Long Black Veil and Have You Ever Been Lonely.

What’s your Top 10?

April 24, 2008

Another Bridge Closed

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Further evidence of Republican dis-investment in the State came to light today as Hennepin Co. announced that the Lowry Avenue Bridge will be closed (the 2nd bridge in a month over the Mississippi River). I guess we should take comfort in the fact that the State is closing bridges before we get this again:

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If the I-35 bridge wasn't proof enough, clearly the lack of $$$ for transportation improvements is coming home to roost. I think we should have Governor Pawlenty, former Legislator Phil Krinkie, and members of the Taxpayers League drive over the Highway 61 bridge in Hastings every day as punishment.

April 21, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI Visit

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Three years ago Catholics were heartbroken when “The People’s Pope” John Paul II died after a long and successful Papacy and was a few weeks later replaced by Bavaria’s Cardinal Ratzinger. Elderly, conservative, dour, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI promised to be short and uninspiring. Modern Catholics hoped that Pope Benedict XVI would be a transitory figure slotted between the populist John Paul II and some future, younger, worldly (hopefully liberal) Pope.

In those three years, however, Pope Benedict XVI has proven not to be at least not so dour. Of course he is still elderly, and basically conservative, but his genuinely pleasant demeanor has come through in spades. This was particularly evident in Pope Benedict XVI's recent visit to the United States where Benedict won over the faithful with public masses at Nationals and Yankee Stadiums, visits with Church sexual abuse and 9/11 victims, and visits to a Synagogue and Mosque.

The Press even tried to get the Pope to weigh in on such hot-to-trot social issues such as homosexuality, but Benedict wouldn’t take the bait, claiming to only want to talk about the sins related to the Priest sexual abuse scandal, but not linking the issue to homosexuality as some anti-Church conservatives always like to do.

All-in-all a successful visit, and probably the only one we’ll get during this Pope’s lifetime. I think most Catholics were impressed with what they saw and probably have a gentler attitude about Pope Benedict XVI and his Papacy.

April 18, 2008

Friday Random Top 10

Replacements first four albums remastered plus 20 unreleased demos and outtakes coming out Tuesday. Are you buying them or not? I’m on the fence. Here is this week’s Top 10:

1. UFO – Dudley and the Doo-Rytes
2. Blood & Roses – The Smithereens
3. Sand in my Joints – Wire
4. And your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles
5. Senses Working Overtime – XTC
6. Why Can’t I Be You? – The Cure
7. My Name is Jonas – Weezer
8. Skyway – The Replacements
9. House of Cards – Radiohead
10. Nobody’s Lonesome for Me – Hank Williams

Nice list again. That XTC song is one of my faves and would be one that I would put on my early 1980’s life soundtrack. Apparently John Lennon hated Bird Can Sing, but I think it’s a great song. Then again, what do I know?

What’s your Top 10?

April 17, 2008

AndyYou thought the McCain Girls were bad....

Just think, what if you were a Microsoft Sales Rep with the task of trying to get your customers to "upgrade" to Vista. Sales, kinda slow aren't they? We'll maybe you need a motivational video. Not only a motivational video but one with by a Bruce Springsteen imitator. Think that would help you move Vista off the shelves? Well then, straight from the Microsoft Corporate office... Mr Microsoft Vista Sales Rep this one is for you...



Recent Comments

Favorite Concert Moments (3)
Snyder wrote: I'm pretty sure I was at that Metallica concert bu...[more]

Friday Random Top 10 (4)
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Falcon Attack! (5)
Timmy B. wrote: very cool and cleaning up those rats with wings. c...[more]

Where Are They Now -- Urban Guerrillas?? (34)
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It's Over! (2)
Freealonzo wrote: I know, I know, she just keeps coming like a zombi...[more]

Book Review: Perfect From Now On (2)
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