Just a little bit longer

Sorry for the lack of updates recently. My new contract started yesterday (Monday) and it's been a whirlwind of trying to get in processed since. Hopefully things will have died down by the end of the week, and I can get back to the fun stuff.

I still haven't listened to the Acid Mothers Temple Family comp, the Japanese Independant Music comp, or the Ruins CD. I'm also still waiting on the Ami Yoshida CD, and Tashimaru Nakamura and Tetuzi Akirama CD. I'll try to get up a review of Sunburned Hand of the Man later in the week. I'm also getting ready to place another order with Eclipse, and may be another order with Tzadik.

So much music.

Needless to say, I am a happy camper. Though, I will be happeir once this contract is under way and I'm not so tired when I get home.

Scorces - l'or et l'argent

Subtle.

That is probably the most economic review one could do of this album. I actually first played this album yesterday. After an extremely frustrating and tiring day, all done on about 4 hours of sleep. I ended up falling asleep on my couch while I listened.

At first, I wasn't sure how I felt about this album. There is nothing here that I disliked, but at the same time, there was nothing to really pull me into the album. It just kind of sat there.

Since then, I've found myself listening to the album again and again. At first, i thought I was just giving the album "another chance." Now, I am not so sure. This album has somehow gotten into my skin. I find myself craving it's simplicity and subtleness. It was subtle in it's approach, but I am now hooked on this album. I imagine it will be some time before I go a full 24 hours with out listening to it.

The music itself is being created by guitar and pedal steel. There is an interesting origin story to the peddle steel in the Aug. issue of Wire. It seems the instrument was a gift to Heather Leigh Murray. But, that the giver refused to teach her how to play it, or possibly even tune it (i don't remember now). Instead the giver wanted Heather to find her own voice through the instrument. To play it her way.

Her way is a haunting, drone of sound that provides an under current to this album. Similar in feel to sound of hitting high tension wire. It provides a mesmerizing drone that allows the album to float along. Even when she plays "lead" the sound is more music concrete then country.

The album on whole has a droning, low key quality. The casual listener will be hard pressed to remember anything specific about this album after listening to it. No single instance or moment will stick in their memory. Instead, they will hear the drone in their sleep, and they will crave the sounds in their head. This album is addictive in it's simplicity. And will likely never fully leave you.

TiVo

An interesting little story about the effect TiVo could have on the mind.

Checking In

Well that was a bust.

You remember how I said that the storm had changed course and was now to go right over DC? Yeah, well, they were smoking crack. The thing got to about Richmond and hung a left for the mountains. We got some "feeder bands" (my new word for the day) that came through, but I don't think the brunt of the storm ever made it to DC. I crashed at around midnight, and when I woke up this morning, my alarm clock wasn't flashing. We didn't even get a power dip during the night (my alarm clock will reset and start flashing at any excuse).

We did have some flickering earlier in the night. Which lead to me turning things off and unplugging my router, modem, and answering machine. But, that was about it. Though, before I went to bed, Dominion Power (my power company, along with VA Beach and Hamton Roads) was reporting almost 1.5 million people with out electricity. Mark Warner, our govenor, said on the news that he expected it to be closer to 2 mil by dawn. But, that was before Izzie turned on her blinker and made the left turn, so who knows. They do expect it to be several days, if not a week or two, before everyone has power back.

We did have two neighborhoods evacuated around here. If you've ever been to Mount Vernon, it was the neighborhoods around there. They're very lie lowing areas and there was a fear of serious flooding. Which, they are still worried about. Since the storm ended up in the mountains, it'll be a couple of days before all the water gets into the Potomac and Bay, and then out to sea.

About the only cool thing to happen was I acctually saw the Emergency Broadcast System go into effect. I was watching the news, hoping for something interesting to happen, and had flipped over to catch a little of some vampire movie on Sci-Fi when suddenly the screen goes red and I'm told to turn to Channel 8 (the local cable news thingy, I never watch it, so I don't know what they carry, but they aren't network). I turn over there to find out that a flash flood warning is now in effect for my county. I'm on high ground though (the third floor on high ground) so I just turn back to the vampire movie. I'm guessing they can do this on a county by county basis.

The Federal Government made the call to close yesterday and today, not as much because of the storm, but because of Metro, the local mass transit. Metro feared people being blown off elevated platforms, and so closed at 11am on Thursday. Since, a lot of people who work in the city take the metro into work (so you can avoid insane traffic and parking problems) it was decided that it was easier just to close things down, since so many wouldn't be able to get home. I'm sure the fact that they got a load of shit during this winter for not closing during some of the worse snow storms, played in thier minds as well.

The wind here is still a little gusty, but all in all, I've seen worse thunderstorms. At least for what we got here. Move out to the east, closer to the shore, or to the south, and I'm sure they'll tell a different story.

So, that's the way the story ends. I hope you guys had a more eventful night
then I did.

A Warning

Not sure if a review will come off today. The hurricane has changed course, and is now heading right for DC. When I got home I was surprised to hear sound when I walked in the door. When the power goes out and then comes back on, my CD player automatically starts playing. I must have left it on with the Pardons CD in, because when I opened the door, I was greated by The Pardons playing. Overall, a nice thing to greet you when you come in the door. Much better then the morning I was woken up by old Chumbawamba blaring out of my stero. This was nice and quiet, and even took me a minute to process what it was.

The power though has been flickering a little here. Nothing much, but i'd rather just turn things off and not run the risk of screwing something up. I'm on battery power on the laptop right now, just to be safe.

Isn't technology great?

No Review

Sorry there was no review yesterday. Work had been nuts and I didn't think I was in the right frame of mind to listen to something new. It was just to late when I got home.

Hopefully, I'll be able to duck out of here early today (there being a hurricane and all) and get one off tonight.

Speaking of the Hurrican. It's almost 2pm here in DC. The Federal goverment has closed for the day (this is a big deal) and apparently the news has been calling for the end of the world (I haven't watched TV in several days, so I'm not sure on specifics). So what is the sit rep here?

A light rain, some gusty winds, that's about it. We've still got a few hours before it really hits us, but I'm still calling for a dud. Hopefully we'll at least get a nice thunderstorm out of it. But, I'm not even promising that.

Bathing in Japan

From Antipixel, The Gentle Art of Japanese Bathing, is a really good over view of the traditions and rules involved in bathing in Japan.

Pardons - Charlie's Pardons

Take the ferocious line-up behind Acid Mothers Temple's Live In Japan album. Strip away the drums, bass, and guitarist Kawabata Makoto and what are you left with? The Pardons. You are also left with something that is about as far as from Acid Mothers Temple as you can get, and yet still be exploring a vein of the collective's sound.

Made up of Pardon Uno (Higashi Hiroshi) on synth and guitar, and Pardon Dos (Cotton Casino) on voice and synth. The Pardons are a gentle floating sound scape of spacey synth and delicate guitar fragments. Described by the AMT as "the synth-playing frontline dance brigade of AMT." The Pardons are anything but a dance band. This music is closer to ambient, then dance.

With the exception of the fifth track, Par Une Nuit Sans Lune, all of the songs clock in at around the 5 minute mark. With the sole exception clocking in at over 20 minutes, it also features the only segment that is not dreamy in nature. An extended (a minute or two) section of guitar feed back, followed by the hum of the guitar for several minutes. Minus this sole exception, the rest of the album is built around those gentle synth sounds played at a slow laid back pace. A few songs feature a reoccurring fragment, played on the guitar. And some of the songs also feature what is either more synth sounds, or a quiet, gentle voice. It's hard to tell given the over all feel and approach of the album.

While Live In Japan grabs you and shakes you to prepare you for a new psychedelic sound, Charlie's Pardons lulls you into a soft warm place where the listener might find themselves slipping in and out of gentle dreams. This is not to say the music is boring, just very laid back and calm. There is still the psychedelic atmosphere that permeates AMT. Instead here it is approached as a lazy Sunday afternoon trip. Instead of the frantic speed laced trip of AMT.

Highly recommended for rainy afternoons when doing anything just seems like to much work.

Saving For Later

From Beth at The North Carolina Experiment:

I talked with the crazy girl in the cube next to mine over a Cuban sandwich about our generation. This girl has really big ideas, the kind of ideas that make you dizzy at first until you see straight, a different kind of straight. Basically, our generation is small and sandwiched between two large generations. Every generation is good at something special, and our generation is supposed to be good at care taking, motivating, and setting fires. We are the screamers and the whisperers. We talk and talk and talk. We have to figure out how to communicate our ideas so that the larger generations can make them real, make something out of nothing. I guess what I am saying is that I have this really, really big idea. I want to make a snowman out of fog. I want to stop fighting over not fighting. I want to do it with a pen. I’m so small that I just don’t know how to make it happen

I can't fully process this right now. To busy at work. I'm saving it for later.

Going Experimental

I've decided to do a little experimenting with the blog. Since no one else seems to use the comments (with a few exceptions) I'm going to start using them. Just to post little notes and addmendums to various posts. For instance, that post clarifying my stand on Protestant faith, would have been a comment on that post, instead of a whole seperate post.

I'm going to include a "Recent Comments" section with in the next week to help keep track of these notes. Hopefully, this will push me to create more content, and less fluff.

And speaking of experimental. For those that might care, the albums I got today (and hence you can expect reviews of soon) are as follows:

Pardons - Charlie's Pardons
Acid Mothers Temple Family - Do Whatever You Want, Don't Do Whatever You Don't Want
V/A - Japanese independant Music
Sunburn Hand Of The Man - Magnetic Drugs
Scorces - Lor et Largent
Ruins - Vrresto
Acid Mother Temple - Live In Japan

Obviously, you got the last one already.

My day

Ok, now that I have that out of my system.

Today started out rough. I woke up over an hour late for work. I hit red lights on the way in that I never hit. And my lighter suddenly decided to stop working. Today should have been terrible, but it wasn't. Instead it started to shape up like an ok Monday. Not great, but workable.

Then I got home.

I was walking up the steps to the apartment and thought to myself how I was waiting for the Eclipse order. I had a sudden surge of "may be its here." Then a quick realization that I just ordered the thing late Friday night/early Saturday morning, and it didn't go out until Saturday. Eclipse is in Arizona, how the hell could my order be here already?

I got to the last set of stairs and turned the corner. As I climbed the last batch I saw the boxes. Yes, there wasn't one, but two boxes. "Holy shit, the order's here already, cool! But, what's the second box? The order wasn't that big that he needed to use a second box." Then I glanced at the return address. Sonore Records. Shit, I'd forgotten about this order. Holy hell, I not only had the Eclipse order, but the Sonore order as well. The Sonore order included a Ruins CD and the Japanese Independant Music CD/Book. The book I've been waiting for. An A-Z encyclopedia of the Japanese Indie scene. YEAH!!!

So I lined up the CDs on the dining room table and thought about which to listen to first. May be Scorece or Sunburn Hand of The Man. I've never heard these guys before. But wait, I probably should listen to those disks when I've got time to really focus on them and take them in. I should probably start with something I know. A band I've heard before. That leaves Acid Mother Temple and Ruins. Hmm... I don't think I'm in the right mind set for Ruins. Let's go with the AMT.

And so I slipped it in. I decided to listen to the opening bit for a minute before going to check email and the like. After a few minutes, I sat down on the couch. An hour later I got up, speechless, typed out the below message and email of confusion and went for some dinner. Air, may be air will help clear my head. That deffinetly helped, and the below review was written. As I said in the comments. A bit oover the top, but I was going for that. And it's not bad for being the first real review I've written in a long time.

I have 8 more CDs to listen to over this week. Sometimes you just have to look around and think to yourself, "life is good."

Expect more reviews this week.

Acid Mother Temple - Live In Japan

How do I describe what I have just experienced? Experienced is the word I want. Heard is to limiting a word. It implies an auditory experience. What I just experienced came in through the ears, but the effect was beyond just simple auditory enjoyment.

Did I really enjoy that? I guess I did. I mean I want to do it again. May be even tonight. May be with headphones and a dark room. Give myself over completely to the sounds. I'm a masochist.

In this day and age, especially in the west, "psychedelic" has been taken over by meandering music, that occasionally has weird little funny sounds flittering around it. The music is usually built around either solos, floating over top pointless vamping and riffing; or a minimalist approach that introduces a simple idea and then beats it into the ground until it is dead and lifeless. Good "psychedelic" bands can do something inventive with one of these two ideas. Great "psychedelic" bands, make it sound fresh and new. By the equation is the same.

Then there is the temple. What beasts are kept at that commune? What magic is afoot on that soil that they can tap into and tame there monsters? How can they do this to a human mind with just music? It is just music isn't it? Two guitars, a bass, two drummers, three keyboards, these are just instruments, are they not? The six people who's name are on the poster, they are only human beings, correct? Then how is it that they can create this experience? How is it that they play with this magic?

The CD starts as is common for bands of this genre. A keyboard plays an electric drone of a sound while what sounds like a gong, or a heavy cymbal, is hit every 8-9 beats. It sets itself up as a minimalist approach to psychedelic. It is one of those bands. I like those bands. I listen closer to what is happening. Waiting for the predominant structure to take place, so that I can listen to the band deconstruct it. I'm used to this. This is not what happened.

About 3 minutes in, the guitar comes in. It is not playing a simple structure. It is not occupying space with the previous sounds. It is beating the living shit out of them. It jabs at first, it smacks the preconceived notions of psychedelic music around. It then takes a short break. Catches it's breath, composes it's thoughts. And then precedes to all out wail on those notions. It pounds them into the ground with such fierce determination that the witness is left scared, but excited. Something new is happening here. Something different. The witness, for we are not mere listeners. That would imply that we are simply listening to this act of revolution. The witness will be shown something that the witness has never experienced before. We are being born anew this night.

The first act ends. An untitled act. It was not something planned or rehearsed. It was now. It was what had to be done to allow the witness to understand what is about to happen. It was necessary.

The second act begins. In E. The guitar is back, it is the leader of this gang. It gives form to the chaos. The sounds are back as well, but now they have assumed their place. They dance around the chaos. They give light to the darkness. They watch as a man, for he is only human, plays the fuck out of a guitar. Chords Chords Chords a little switch, and then Chords Chords Chords.

Our minds are being washed clean of the filth that we have been taught. We are being prepared for the coming of the one. And when we are finally clean, he comes.

The Speed Guru.

Little should be said of this act. It is best to experience, not to talk. Know though that it does not end. There are moments of calm. Where if one listens they can hear Japanese song from days gone by. But the calm does not last. The Guru is only considering his words before continuing with the lesson. And when the Guru is finished. You are a new person. You are born a new. You are prepared to take on the day anew.

This act of cleansing violence, this psychic rape, took place in a club. It can be implied that people were there. People who experienced this ritual first hand. People that saw the act take place, who can testify that it was committed by mere humans. These people are to be pitied and envied.

Welcome, to the Acid Mother Temple.

Still processing

An email, I just sent.

Um... Hmm... Ah...

What the hell just happened to me? I put the CD in, it seemed simple and harmless enough. Just put the CD in the player and hit play. May be listen to a little of it before sitting down at my laptop and checking email while listening to the rest of it.

That was about an hour ago.

What the hell just happened? It looked harmless enough. Didn't even have a case. Just a plastic bag with a little poster folded up acting as a slip case. There weren't any warning labels. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just a regular CD, of a show recorded in Japan. I mean, it's just a CD right?

What the hell happened? Why won't my brain work? Why can I not speak?

What the hell just happened? Acid Mothers Temple just happened. The CD is called Live In Japan. You have been warned.

What the hell just happened to me?

I need to go get some air.

Um...

I have just finished listening to Acid Mother Temple's album Live In Japan.

I am speechless.

I need to go process this.

What the hell just happened to me?

Picking Hold Music

Told you I was bored.

Beth is bitching about crappy service from her car insurance company (and rightfully so). This little bit is what caught my eye:

So I called them, and listened to the world’s worst holding pattern music, something like salsa meets reggae.

This reminds me of a story. Before I had my current job I spent two weeks working as a traveling PC tech. Basically, if you called Dell or Compaq (or a few smaller companies) for support and they decided that a part need to be replaced, I was one of the people who would come to your house/office and replace it for you.

Each morning we had to fill out paper work for the broken parts that we had to send back to the manufacturer. One day one of the guys I'm working with called one of the smaller companies to find out what he needed to do with a part and gets put on hold. Before the music starts playing, he's asked what kind of music he wants to listen to.

Let that sink in for a minute. They had different options for hold music.

Either this is the most considerate company in the world, or customers spend way to much time on hold, and this is an attempt to appease them. I seem to remember it being the second, as the guy was still on hold when I left to make my rounds.

Real Mexican Tacos

I don't really feel like working today, and don't really have anything pressing to do. I guess I should be reading about SQL Server, but I'm not. Instead I'm wasting time on here, just babbling.

If you ever get the chance to eat real Mexican tacos, I highly suggest it. What do I mean by real Mexican tacos? Well, for those that don't know. Like Chinese food, what Americans refer to as "Mexican" isn't actually Mexican. Instead it's usually Tex-Mex, an American version of Mexican.

There's a place in Woodbridge that serves authentic Mexican food, including great tacos. According to the coworker who turned me onto this place, they started out as a Mexican grocery store that happened to make tacos in the back for the local Mexican immigrants who wanted a taste of home. They became so popular that they eventually opened up a full restaurant.

So how authentic is this place? The TV is on the Spanish channel and the menu is in Spanish. The main menu has English translations under the Spanish. The daily menu for the tacos (what kind of tacos they have changes from day to day) is just written in Spanish on a chalkboard. If you don't speak Spanish, you can ask the guy at the register to translate for you.

I only go with the co-worker that I mentioned. He speaks enough Spanish to get by in there. About all I can do is count to a hundred and I know the name of a few tacos that I really enjoy. Its an interesting experience. With the exception of two or three times that I've been in there, I've been the only non-Latino in the place. And everyone is speaking a language I don't know. You get a real feeling of what life is like for immigrants in this country. But, it's a really nice place. Good simple food that fills you up in a healthy way.

I was thinking today, while we ate there, about the fact that the restaurant doesn't go out of it's way to be friendly to non-Latinos. Don't get me wrong; the people are always nice and understanding for customers who don't speak Spanish. I mean things like the menus being in Spanish, and things like that. Is there anything wrong with this, I thought? It isn't terribly inclusive of everyone. But, then again, for people who are not from this country, and are looking for a little place to remind them of home, it's probably a welcome site. So, I figure it is a good thing that its set up as it is. Some of their customers live in a culture where they are outsiders. They may not speak the language well, and may not be completely familiar with the customs. This is a little spot where the rolls are reversed. Where they know what's going on, and I'm the outsider. And I, personally, don't think it's a bad thing for them to have that in their lives.

Plus, they make great tacos.

Ok, that was weird

So, I made the post below about the NC Experiment blog and then sent a little email to Beth, saying that I dig her site and trying to figure out where she got her slide show from. I also asked if it was cool to link to her site. The primary audience for her blog seems to be friends and family, and I figured it would be polite to ask if it was cool to publisize.

So, after I sent the message off, I head out to grab the clothes out of the dryer before they lock the door (next apartment will have a washing machine and dryer in the apartment). After I get back, and put the clothes away, I go back to screwing around on the web and end up looking at my refer logs. And damn if Beth's site doesn't pop up. It looks like she came in through her refer logs.

Now, I'd included a link to this site in my email, but I can't help but wonder that she just randomly ducked in through her logs, only to find a message that was praising her.

Hmm... Now that I think about it, it doesn't sound as funny (it being refer logs and all) But it was a few minutes ago. Of course, I overslept this morning, and am still half asleep after downing a the big cup of coffee. It's going to be one of those days.

BTW, I've already heard back from Beth this morning. She's cool with the link and says that you can find the Java code for the slide show here

Changes

I guess I'm in a talkative mood tonight. I think I've posted more in the past few days then i have in the last few months. Probably the last year if you just look at posts where I acctually provided any kind of content. Hopefully, things will stay this way.

Anyways, I've been making some changes to the layout here, trying to get things set up with the new birth of the blog. I know I'm going to be making one more change to things (the name of the blog). But, I guess the rest will pretty much be in place for the time being.

The main changes that have happened (beyond finally getting the stylesheet to work right) are the links. I've included links to the labels that I'm ordering from and the magazines that I'm reading. I've got a feeling that music will be playing a big role in things now. And instead of having to create a link over and over again, it just makes sense to create perminant links on the side.

I've also decided to change the name of the blogs I list. I had given the names of the writers before, back when I was trying to be a good member of the blogging community, since that seemed to be the norm. I then looked at the list, and realized that with a few exceptions, none of the people listed are likely to be names that mean anything to most readers, and so I changed it around to the title of the blog.

I've also added a new blog to the list, The North Carolina Experiment. I came across this site, after poking around the blogger site near the end of last week. I've been going through the archives and waiting for new entries ever since. I'm not really sure why I feel so compelled to read this blog. With the exception of Boing Boing, Adventures of Accordian Guy, and Tokyo Tidbits, all the other blogs listed there are people that I have some kind of relationship to. Jesse over at The Three Dot Column is on a Moorish Othodoxy list that I'm on, the rest are friends.

I guess the reason that I'm so intruigued by the NC Experiment is a voyeristic nature. The same reason that I read Tokyo Tidbits and Accordian Guy. But, something is different. Tokyo Tidbits is set in a city that I've found myself facinated by. And Joey, over at Accordian Guy, is just full of funny stories. Beth at the NC Experiment though, is different. It's more low key then Joey's stuff.

I've been thinking about this off and on all weekend. The best I can come up with is that it's really well written. So much so that I'm feeling very self concious about my own abilites (I used to be able to write, somehow I lost the touch). She also has many of the same faults as I do, and views the world with a similiar outlook. I guess its an issue of taking satisfaction that you aren't alone and that others feel just as akward and celebratory about life as you do.

Its either that, or I'm falling in love with her. :)

Changing direction

There have been a few changes in direction with this blog, since it was first created. The latest change, I feel needs to be addressed.

A little over three years I finished my last trial. It was particularly hard one to go through, though they have never been easy. This one ended in the loss of a friendship, when I made a rash decision that was motivated purely by me being burnt out and wanting to avoid drama. I needed time to lick my wounds, and pushed someone away that I shouldn't have. I regret this. Even more because attempts to mend things have resulted in either anger or nothing from the other party. I fucked up, and I don't think I'm ever going to get the chance to make things better. That saddens me, she was a little flakey, but a fun person to be with, and I think I'm a poorer man for not having her as a friend.

After the trial I spent a year or two in hibernation. As I said, I needed times to lick my wounds and try to make sense of what had just happened to me. I flirted with trying to live a normal life during this period, but ultimetly found it distasteful and boring. I was not built to live the normal life. My priorities are not thier's, and I crave magic in the world to much. I prefer to see things with the eye of the "adult child" (to use a Taoist reference). I'm not always successful, but I try. I also finally came to terms with my inner geek during all of this, and I feel better for doing so.

About a year ago I started to get fed up with hibernation and started feeling restless. Unfortunetly, I'm not much of a social person in the best of circumstances, and in this Bablyon, it's even worse. So I turned restless on the vine, trying to find my place in all of this. I picture this as the birthing pains of the new me. The trial being the conception. I decided that what I needed was god. I needed to reconnect with the spiritual in my life. Hell, it's worked in the past. Hence all those posts about Christianity and Islam and other things. I was trying to force myself into that role, and picking up where I left off. Except I'm no longer the person I was when I let things drop. And recently, I've decided that its wroung to force these things. Instead I'm focusing on the passions I do have right now, following them to their ends, and seeing where things take me. I'm sure I'll end up at religion sooner or later, but I think I need to take the new me for a test drive first. I must know myself better, before I can try and know god.

This acctually leads into the next part of this post. I was reading through some old entries and I came across this entry, where I said the following:

But, my instinctive suspect also extends to Protestant scholars. And I am instincevly accepting of John P. Meier, a Catholic priest.

I was struck by how badly I worded this phrase, and now feel the need to go back and do a little damage control. First, I have no problem with any of the Protestant denominations. I am not so full of myself to think that I have any answers when it comes to religion, and in fact am suspicious of anyone who things they do. The rant is in relation to Historical Jesus research. A subject ripe with dogmatism. Since I was raised Irish Catholic, I am aware of the dogmatic tendancies of Catholics. And so, when reading the research of a Catholic priest, I feel comfortable in being able to feel out the dogma. And reacting as I feel the need to do so. Other denominations though, I'm not as familiar with thier doctrines, and so it is harder for me to reconize when a piece of information is being put forward because the evidence is pointing in that direction, and when they are making the evidence conform to their dogma. And so I end up questioning everything.

I'll probably reread this in a few months and decide that I completly misrepresented myself, but i guess that's good enough for now.

Budget weekness

Every month I set myself a budget, and ussually it's not the same budget that I end up with at the end of the month. More often then not my downfall is music. I just don't seem to be able to go a full month with out buying new music. Esspecially now that my interest has been rekindled. New music makes me feel better, it reminds me that there is magic in the world. I need it.

So, a couple of days ago I placed an order with Eclipse, even thouugh I probably shouldn't have. And then yesterday, while I was picking up some books on Transact SQL, so I could read them over before this new contract starts (that's what i tell myself, in fact, I'll flip through them about a month after I've started the contract) I picked up When The Man Comes to Town, from Johnny Cash. I've been listening to this album pretty much constantly since. Some songs I prefer more then others, but the over all feel and vibe is just so emersive in it's sparseness. Rubin did a great job producing this album. I need to pick up the other three albums he did with Johnny and the box set when it comes out. The feel of this is perfect. It reflects that organic quality of Johnny's voice. And provides a vision of a man who is facing the end of his time, and is not scared of it. Just the production work of this album is brilliant. And while right now I'm not a fan of all the songs chosen for this album, there's nothing here I don't like, and I imagine everything will grow on me.

Hurt is playing right now, or exactly, it just ended. The way the piano builds at the end of the song until it over takes everything else, except Johnny's voice. Brilliant.

Back to the bookstore thing. I have this reoccuring vision when I go to the bookstore, that the people behind the register are building mental images of people, based on what they buy. It's probably not true, but it's also probably what I would do in thier place.

Because of this I like to throw them off a little. Get a little eclectic in my purchases. This last time wasn't to eclectic, the Johnny Cash CD, the Transact SQL books (database programming if you don't know) and a copy of The Economist (I picked up a copy of the Economist a few weeks ago, because of a cover story where they blasted the PM of Italy, for using his post to escape the law and make money. I kind of dug the news they have on the entire world, instead of just focusing on the US, so occasionally, I pick up a copy to see what's going on in the world. Basically the same reason I read Z Magazine and Monthly Report, but I subscribed to them, instead of just randomly picking up copies)

Last time I bought a SQL Server book from Microsoft, a book on hacking with Google (Google Hacks, from O'Rielly), a copy of the new Wire, and a copy of the new NewType USA (Wire = finge music; New Type = anime). Then I tried to use my credit card before my check cleared, and got a denial. Luckily, I had enough money left on my check card. Budget shot to hell.

That's enough for now. Just felt like sharing.

The Waiting Game

One of the worst things about listening to obscure music is having to order it and then wait for it to show up. Don't get me wroung, I love dealing directly with small labels. Hand written notes, random free things thrown in, the knowledge that all the money is going to good causes, it is a good feeling. But, I want my music now! I don't want to have to wait a week or so to get it.

I just won two CDs off ebay:

Toshimaru Nakamura And Tetuzi Akiyama - Meeting at Off Side Vol. 2
Amy Yoshida - Spiritual Voice

And I just placed an order with Eclipse Records:

Scorces - L'or et L'argent
Sub Burned Hand of the Man - Magnetic Drugs
Acid Mothers Temple - Live In Japan
Acid Mothers Temple Family - Do What Ever You Want...
Pardons - Charlie's Pardons

Now, the waiting game. I got an email from Ed at Eclipse that said the order will go out on Saturday, so that should be here soon. The ebay stuff though will take longer. It's going to be five days just for the payment to clear (paypal sucks!!!) and then it's time to wait for USPS.

Listening to Johnny Cash right now.

Bittersweet Week

Man this is turning into the most bittersweet weeks in musical history.

We start the week off with the announcement that the Pixies are reuniting. These leaves the indie world in fits of joy and glee. Harden indie kids all over the country are wondering what this strange feeling on thier face is, and then realizing that it's a smile.

Then today, there's a little extra with the announcement that The Talking Heads are releaseing a box set of unreleased material.

But, all of this is now over shadowed by the announcement that Johnny Cash really was mortal and has now left us. Damn. That's about all I can think to say on that, Damn.

Of course, he's with June now, which is good. And my grandfather had the same nervous system disease that Johnny had, so I know how hard that was on him (though god, he looked in good health compared to my grandfather, who was diagnosed around the same time). So may be it's for the best. But, Damn, he was Johnny Cash, and I never got to see him play.

All the Cash stuff I own is on vinyl (most snagged from my parents) and the tuner I have now can't handle a record player. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a new tuner right now, so I could listen to some Cash. I think I'll go download some stuff instead. And pick up a few CDs, when I can afford them.

Damn, how can Johnny Cash be dead?

Rebirth?

So, somethings have been going on in the background recently. There is a new blog in the tsuibhne.net circle. It's not quite ready to go prime time yet, but I'll throw up a link when it is.

The new blog will feature a new writer, my friend Ali. Ali and I have been chatting back and forth for a couple of months now, and he was the prime source for a lot of the Islam stuff that's been posted recently. Because of this, I'm going to hold off on posting things, and instead leave it up to him. I've got high hopes for Ali's blog. I'm not kidding when I say this guy's got material coming out his ears. Originally, I was going to just post his stuff here, but quickly found myself buried underneath a ton of material, and I made the call to just give him the tools to do it himself.

This space is also going over a little change. You'll notice the change in look. I've finally got the stylesheet working, and I decided to take things back to the default. There's still a little more work that needs to be done, but this will probably be the general idea for the near future.

Content wise, hopefully things will pick up a little bit around here. I'm starting a new contract on the 22nd, and things are going to depend on how much that kicks my ass, but I do have some things in mind that I want to post about. Mostly, music. I've been eating up the catalog over at Tzadik Records. And I've got a feeling that I'm going to be equally taken with the selection at Eclipse Records, Improvised Music of Japan, and Sonore. There's probably also a few other labels I need to check out.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I have finally taken the plunge into out and out fucked up music, and I'm loving it. I still dig a good pop song, and acctually spent today listening to The Kingston Trio. And the Neil Diamond and Cat Stevens are still on my ipod. I'm just expanding things.

So, hopefully, in the near future, you'll see posts concerning Painkiller, Naked City, another Ruins album, a Ruins and Derek Bailey album, Improvised Music of Japan 2002-2003, and a few other things, that are still coming in the mail.

Oh, and tsuibhne.net is going to get a total over haul in the near future. Right down to it's purpose and function. I'll talk about that more though when it launches. I'm thinking about getting a new domain name for that project, we'll see though.

The Ring Series

A few weeks ago I was shopping for some new anime, and while I was looking around I happened to see a copy of Ringu on the shelf. Ringu is the Japanese film that the American film The Ring, was based on. Acctually, Ringu is also known as The Ring, but people seem to refer to it as Ringu now to seperate it from the remake. But, that's not the point.

I found the movie facinating. I spent the next several days looking at the site linked above, which is an exaustive collection of information on the series. The whole thing starts with three books, then there were two Japanese films, released at the same time. Ringu, based on the first book, and Spiral, based on the second book. Spiral bombed, and later a new "sequel" to Ringu was released Ringu 2. This was followed by Ringu 0, a prequel. There's also been a Korean remake, one or two made for TV movies in Japan, a Japanese TV show (supposedly, all the TV projects suck) and a manga (Japanese comics) or two. It's a pretty thorough series.

The US has seen the American remake, the first Japanese film, and the first book. The other two books are supposedly coming, and apparently, the remake is going to lead to a sequel here in the US. The rest of the stuff has to be imported.

The reason that I mention all this, is that I just got a copy of the Australian versions of the "trilogy" (Ringu, 2, and 0). It was coded Region 0, so I was able to watch it on my DVD player. I watched Ringu 2 tonight. I'll probably watch 0 tomorrow.

God I love this series. I need to find the books, and I want to track down the Korean film and Spiral. Ringu screwed with my head a little bit. Nothing major, but it just kept creaping into my thoughts. Listening to the Boredoms is a new experience now. And even the Painkiller box set took on an added element of oppression. These bands just remind me of the film. The ambient stuff from Painkiller just reminds me of the mood of Ringu. And the jump around nature of old Boredoms reminds me of the video.

Ringu 2, was a different animal from Ringu. It tends to have more of a "horror film" feel to it. But, only uses a little bit of the horror vocabulary that most Americans are used to. Don't get me wroung though, the film was great. Just different. And I think the different works. It keeps the viewer on thier toes. It's close enough to the first to pull you in, but then twists things slightly to give you a new angle.

I seem to remember reading on the web site above, how the compiler was dissapointed in the sceintific explanations of the second film, for what was going on. That it seemed to rob some of the supernatural from the first film. May be it was the subtitles (why do people even bother with white subtitles? What's the point, just make yellow the default and be done with it) but I interpreted the doctor's explanation as just his way of seeing things. And I think whether he was right or wroung, is really left up to the audience. Again, the film doesn't give answers to any of the important questions. Just to the ones that it needs to answer for the sake of moving the story forward. The rest you need to figure out. But, may be I'm just used to ignoring the "logical" answer.

In short, if you dig good suspense/horror, see Ringu, if you really like Ringu, it's worth trying to track down Ringu 2. I'll give my thoughts on 0 later. I reccomend trying ebay for the films. Make sure they are Region 0 though, if you live in the US. And more sure it has subtitles.

The rebellion of folk

The August issue of The Wire has a cover article on the "free folk" scene. It's a great article. The only probelm I have with it is now I need to go spend money on exploring this scene. I mean I HAVE to go spend the money. Any day now the check I sent for my credit card should clear, and then I'll be placing an order with Eclipse Records, which distributes a lot of this stuff (along with distributing Acid Mother Temple Records).

Since I haven't heard any of these bands, I've got no idea exactly what they sound like. From the article though, I'm imagining some kind of "ruralish" version of no wave. There was a lot of talk about free jazz ideas, like letting the music play you, and the spiritual feeling of the music. The conviction that they spoke with is half the reason that I need to check this stuff out. There's also a punk element to the sound. Esspecially the idea of anyone being able to get up on stage and playing.

For a couple years now, I've been refering to punk as post-60's folk music. In it's purest form, it is the music of the people. While everything else can be debated about punk (sound, ethics, style, etc.) the idea that anyone can do this, is constant. People don't play punk because they think they are a really great musician, and want to express themselves, they do it because it looks fun, and why shouldn't they? They have something to say that's just as valid as whatever someone else has to say.

I love this idea. There's a freedom in just doing something for the hell of it. That freedom can be powerful. It can lead to revolutions, and can change the world. I can't help but wonder what the world would be like if more people bought into this. If the cult of celebrety was finally killed off, and people realized that no one is more important then they are. That no ideas are more valid or superior to thier own ideas. What the world look like?

I've been meaning to pick up a guitar for over a year now, and figuring out how to make my kind of noise with it. I don't particularly care about learning how to play it. May be a couple of blues chords to kind of get started. But, I'm more interested in making my own sound out of it. Something that's uniquely me. If all I do is focus on what other people think things should sound like, then what's the point?

I've got a feeling that that sound will probably be some kind of rhythm-based beast. I go back and forth between picking up an acoustic or electric. After reading the free folk article, I'm leaning towards acoustic again.

I need to get my finances in order.

I'm listening to the Kingston Trio right now. I probably should put some Pete Seeger back onto my iPod. The Kingston Trio CD I've got on here ends with a version of Seasons In The Sun. God, I love this song. I want it played at my funeral. The Kingston Trio version is cool, but my favorite version so far is the Black Box Recorder version. (right click and do a save as on that link, hopefully it'll work)