Metallica

I got Death Magnetic from the library tonite, not sure yet what I think, its very strong, like straight whiskey, I been listening to allot of these guys recently, the Ride The Lightening sessions and the Re-Load album, I really dig it, do you dig?

The Formula, Dandy Warhols, Moby, Cold!!

I re-visited Tim Fry's Formula MySpace page tonight - to give yet another listen to the new recordings - and I see he lists the Dandy Warhols as a friend! Wow, cool, and now that I see it, I understand the connection, I wonder how long Tim and his gang have been listening to the Dandy's? Courtney Taylor used to play drums in Neros Rome, another PDX outfit from waaay out of the past, man, I never thought much of them at all, but they were popular, I guess. A rare example of a talented drummer re-inventing himself as a guitar slinger vocalist song writer and fronting a success full band. Anyway, in my humble opinion, The Formula leans slightly more towards Roky Erickson than they do the Velvet Underground or Lou Reed, but again, the connection has been made. For some reason, these clicks led me over to Moby's MySpace page and as I write this I am listening to the big wonderful arrangements that he composes, I have been listening to PLAY a whole bunch lately, my daughter likes it too. Anyhow, I am gonna go to bed, its soooo cooooold in my place, brrrrr. If you read this, please visit my web page, thanks, there is some new stuff up.

The Best MySpace Pages (Musicians and Music)

I really don't care much for MySpace. I was booted off in about 2005 or 2006 (somewhere in there) for no reason that I could ever determine, and anyway, I have always felt that most of the pages are ugly and or boorish. The only pages I give a hoot about are the pages that represent musicians and the musicians that I like .... and the free music rules OK (like the Dandy Warhol's used to rule OK). Anyway .... the best layout I have EVER seen EVER for a MySpace page now officially belongs to Cleveland's own KICKDRUMS, it's just, gosh, awe inspiring - head and shoulders above anything else I have ever seen. So just tonite I am putting them at the number one spot...here is my hot list:

1.) The KickDrums - Outstanding layout, clean sharp songsmanship. I liked IDIOT SAVANT right away when I heard it. They give it away as a download, looks like they give away loads of Dloads. This layout just shocked me with its sweet ass animation and clarity of concept.

2.) Jessica Lea Mayfield - Only a pretty good layout, nice CD ad header at the top, overall a distant second for layout. The only reason I put her second is that I really like these free recordings, and this is the girl who used to be Chitllin. Seemingly her tour schedule has been taking her everywhere and she is in tite with the Black Keys . (Note: Jessica and KickDrums have close to the same number of profile views 233,848 and 246,880 respectively. The Black Keys have MILLIONs more hits than either one of these two artists at 2,813,390)

3.) Tim Fry and The Formula - I am putting Tim's project in here at third because I just listened to the posted recordings tonite and I find satisfying large roomy retro grooves and attractive breadth, appropriately and softly surfish with that guitar and those lyrics wrapping themselves around the theme. (The Formula has 29,474 profile views)

4.) Megapuss - Yeah, this is fun musical stuff, arty enough that it might take you a listen or three to dig/get it. This is Devendra Banhart and all his pals, I found him while surfing for Natalie Portman, this guy was her dude for awhile, I can see why, and I just watched some Star Wars a few days ago, it all fits together, right? Nothing special about the layout here, it's really almost too wide, but features a cool BIG bw picture. If you go to the Megapuss website you can download the lovely PDF document that goes with the album. (Megapuss has 132,357 profile views)

5.) John Fegy - Hmmm, John has upped the ante in regards to the listenability of both his voice and his recordings, he spent time on these and they sound all spiffy studio perfection: These songs are dressed up for a night at a five star restaurant. Layout is good, the most basic kind of good. John has posted some video to this page, and he lets us know what is gwink on with him, apparently he is getting all smarted and networked up at school and landed a job in, uhm, Antarctica. (John is currently showing 12,634 profile views)


6.) Alan Medej - I have liked and continue to enjoy Alan's recordings, even if his profile layout clearly illustrates the I Have A Way Too Wide MySpace page concept. (Alan is showing 18,497 views)

Ok, enough for now.

I claim no prize...yet

X-Rays from peeling sticky tape. Cool!

This video is sweet, that is - if your into this kind of thing. Just before you watch this hearken back to the days when you were a child and you went to bed at night in your fresh, clean, dry flannel pajamas.....nothing? Granted when I was a boy going to bed in my flannel jams I was living in the great state of CA where, during the summers, it was hot and dry. So, what happened? Under the covers?? Uhm, gee I can't imagine anyone not having had the experience of creating giant sparky flashes - bolts really - of static electricity with their flannel PJ'S!! It's just a very vivid memory for me, really, I remember creating HUGE flashes of PJ lightening!! HA!!! Seriously, that fascination stays with me...I love cosmic rays...and lightening...and cloud chambers...and scintilators...and..gieger counters, and electrons, and lots of electrical things. So if your into that kind of thing you will really dig this video!

Lehman joins the Dead Financial Dinosaurs Club

Lehman joins the Dead Financial Dinosaurs Club: Lehman Brothers (LEH) has gone the way of the dinosaurs, joining Bear Stears and Freddie and Fannie in the financial graveyard of Catastrophically Lost Causes. Is it even worth noting that this is the single LARGEST bankruptcy in the history of the USA? 690 something billion dollars, according to CNBC, yeah, six times more than World Com, the only other bankruptcy that even comes close to Lehman in terms of dollar impact. And, whew, dig this analyst Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at NYU's Stern School, he is ALL OVER THE NEWS, and he is a super harsh BEAR, bashing EVERY FINANCIAL OUTFIT known to man, he says things are just starting to get BAD, and its going to get worse, he says, nonchalantly, that even Goldman Sacks (GS) may fall. And now we have AIG (AIG) seeking cash, stock crashing, and who is going to give em cash? Looks like the gov will give them a huge 85 Billion Dollar Loan....now that's a jumbo sized loan!

The LHC is coming....run for your LIFE!! Agh!

The LHC is coming....run for your LIFE!! Agh! The Large Hadron Collider is supposed to be coming up to speed and will be 'online' Wed. Sept. 10 2008 ... I have read there is a possibility that bringing this thing up to energy may end the world, something about it producing dangerous tiny black holes, that might grow and engulf the world ... oooh sounds refreshing ..... here is MSU's Kate McAlpine showing off with her somewhat infamous Large Hadron Rap... Hmm, this is a pretty cool little ditty. At any rate, I am sure the fact of this thing coming online is VERY exciting to all the graduate students involved in the project, and you can follow some of that excitement (if your inclined) over at this ATLAS control room... and at the ATLAS home page

Frances Bean Cobain at 15

Oooh, looks like F. B. Cobain has grown into a well dressed, high heeled, high fashion model. Fascinating. She looks terrific - I hope she can hang onto the ropes REALLY tight, you know what I mean, uhm, off balance behavior runs in her family tree....I am a huge Nirvana fan and I had almost completely forgotten about Frances...and now here she is....my own daughter is only a few years younger than the Bean and also born in Seattle...when I lived in Seattle and worked as a tour guide for Argosy Cruises I always made a point to mention to the cruisers to look for the house (among the many similiar looking huge mansions) just above and along the shore of lake Washington where Curdt had blown his brains out...it always seemed important to mention the house as we floated along past it...strangely, I never did visit the house myself, or Curts park, however, I will always remember the front page of the morning paper the day after Kurdt's body was discovered.

Lil Links Jungle

Lil Links Jungle!

Lil Links Abandoned

Lil Links Abandoned

Lil Links gone Wild

What happened to Lil Links?

Seneca Lake Jam

Charlie Brown at Seneca Lake Marina

The true story of Dick Proenneke

Yep, Dick was 51 years old when he decided to go off into the wilderness of Alaska and build himself, by hand (and leg) with hand tools only, a nice sturdy log cabin! Oooh, man, fuggetabout that Christopher McCandless guy (the subject of Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild") THIS guy, Dick Proenneke, is the REAL item. He hand built this lil sturdy cabin, then moved in, and lived there for about thirty years - AND he DOCUMENTED the whole thing via film and copious notes!!! Wow. I just saw this today on WVIZ and I kept saying to myself (as I watched the documentary) who is this guy??? Well, I found out - here is part of the doc.

Acoustic Guitar Sound 101

New Tusq saddle & brass bridge pins! I ordered these goodies from Musicians Friend, the first time I have ordered anything from them. The TUSQ SADDLE is a generic Taylor Compensated (B String) saddle, 1/8Th inch wide. In fact my saddle slot is 3/32 inch wide, however, it was VERY easy to simply use sand paper to adjust the width of the saddle. The height of the saddle needed some adjustment as well, and again, sand paper does the job fine - I did use a vice-grip like tool to hold the saddle between to scrap pieces of wood while I moved it back and forth across the sand paper. Also the length of the saddle needed to be worked - I hacked a piece off the length with (of all things) a hack saw. The shape of the top of the saddle was fine, no adjustment was needed, and after it fit the slot in height, width and length I put the strings on and BINGO it sounded great! The compensated B string is almost crucial to getting an acoustic guitar tuned up properly. And the newly installed brass bridge pins really add to the sound of my guitar, making it sing very sweetly in the high end - and the mids are stronger - lows are more focused. Overall, the combination of the brass bridge pins and the unique TUSQ saddle have improved the sound of my guitar substantially. I am a happy camper!!!

Half a Rainbow!

Half a Rainbow!

Meredith Whitney: NYC Queen 'Bear' Bee

If you were getting your market NEWS buzz on today then you may have seen the most recent cover of FORTUNE magazine unveiled on the CNBC Squawk Box this morning PROMINENTLY featuring Oppenheimer & Co. 'Star Analyst' Meredith Whitney looking VERY wealthy, VERY smart and VERY beautifully & powerfully attractive while she dutifully points out that the ECONOMY is headed for 'DEEP RECESSION' (as in the BOTTOM of the DUMPSTER). And this gorgeous bear REALLY KNOWS HER STUFF & she is STRUTTING it after having written about Citigroup (stock ticker symbol, C), in Oct. of 2007, basically telling the world that they would have to CUT the dividend ... which, it turns out, Citigroup DID do as did OTHERS (National City, NCC, among them). It was a prediction that, at the time, STUNNED many in the financial world, and since her prediction turned out to be 100 PERCENT ACCURATE, well, she got the Big Hot Spotlight turned towards her, and now she continues to BASK (if even uncomfortably) in that BIG HOT SPOTLIGHT. Just don't try to give Meredith ANY S**T because THIS PIC is of HER HUSBAND John "Bradshaw" Layfield who is the, uhm, LONGEST reigning WORLD CHAMPION of 'SMACKDOWN' HISTORY (yes THAT SmackDown as in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) previously known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF)) ... yup, Wall Street's current FAVORITE HOT FEMALE ANALYST is married to ... appropriately enough ... THE SMACKDOWN KING!

Jim Cramer: The REAL American Idol

I don't watch much TV anymore but recently I have re-discovered Jim Cramer and Mad Money. If you pay any attention whatsoever to Wall Street then you probably know Cramer, and if you have been following the Credit Crunch / Housing Market Crisis then you probably have seen some of the more entertaining episodes of Mad Money - I want to point out a couple of these episodes, like this recent piece where Cramer explains that the bank stocks have hit bottom. In a flash of irreverence and brilliant candor, Cramer uses wobbly Lincoln Logs cabin props to illustrate his thrust - check it out.
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I think it's safe to say that Jim Cramer has developed into the single most significant and recognizable figure in Wall Street journalism, he is like a crazy Wall Street weatherman pointing out storm fronts and dry spells while he bangs on his sound effect machine, shakes his props, gets his Booyah! on - he is the most consistently entertaining figure at CNBC and I think I only recently was able to completely grasp Mad Money's significance - will the REALLY real American Idol please stand up, Simon Cowell take note that Cramer is able to sing like a canary in a coal mine - just watch a few episodes of Mad Money, you will get it, for instance, here is a link to Jim Cramers Historic Credit Crisis Meltdown Warning Rant , this goes back a year, and it's a doozy, a real CLASSIC, a GEM - Jim Cramer, live on CNBC, basically ranting, raving that the FED was CLUELESS about what was developing (just prior to the Bear Stearns failure) -- this, folks, is MADatory viewing.
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(If for some stupid reason the link does not work, then CNBC may have moved the content, whatever. Just Google up Jim Cramers 2007 Credit Crunch Rant or something along those lines and you WILL find this classic gem of live television perfection probably on YouTube if not Google Video. Or just check out thestreet.com for ALL of Jim Cramer, Mad Money episodes, and the rest of Cramers crew - they're the bomb)

Clean Energy

The Other Shoe

Has the other shoe, uhm, er, dropped?

Nelson at Art Walk

Nelson at the Art Walk - we both took turns playing the street corner there in front of the good ol' Eye Candy Gallery, and the crowd was very responsive and appreciative.

Big Art 3

Big Art 3

This is another pic of the Big Art Thing, it was made with a piece of found glass, what was a stereo cabinet door or something like that, I recently recovered a couple more good solid stereo cabinet door type pieces of glass and will work up a couple of new pieces of art to fit them.

Big Art 2

Big Art 2

Big Art Thing

This is a Big Art Chunk that I recently completed, it was fun to put it together - the glass was found at the tree lawn, some kind of stereo cabinet door, then 30 bucks bought wood, foam core, and matting and nails. Neat-O isn't it?

KickDrums & Verbal

Oooh I really liked the recent article in the Scene detailing the massive efforts of the Kickdrums to produce themselves into the middle of the MUSIC BIZ ... I like that kind of thing ... & I just downloaded the FREE album of MP3 tracks from KickDrums & Verbal (Idiot Savant) and I am tweakin' out with the sondz right at this very moment ... this is indeed some smooooooooooth sounding shit, very well produced (needless to say ... these guys have worked with, like, some of the most talented rap acts) and the sound of Verbal's vox, heh, it's like a good whiskey, neat & easy, I recomend that you gets these tracks, that is if your at all jonesy to know what is hip in CLE sounds.

Recording Caving Blues

Gary n i recorded a new song, something with lyrics written by a buddy of his ... its a very good blues .... it's on his MYSPACE page, go on over there and check it out

Derek Deprator - Cobra Verde - J. Mascis - J. Fahey

Soooo, I went on down to the Bookstore on W. 25th this past SAT. specifically to listen to, say hello too, and jam with Derica (Derek Deprator - some of you know him as the cross dressing feller playing slide guitar who shows up round town at various cafes and night spots as well as the open mic nights) and low and behold he was not wearing a dress, he had a jeans kinda thing going on, and right off the bat I would like to go on the record as saying that, by jove, D looks alright in a dress and anyhow when you see him in jeans n a T-shirt you will understand. Ah, so,, not too long ago Derica was playing at the now-defunct West side open-mic-live-music-cafe-coffee house MOCHA DREAMS (again, now defunct) and I picked up a couple lil' home burned CD's he was toteing around with him - one of them a small CD in a guitar string bag the other regular sized CD in a plastic bag, each with 3 songs - and, you know, time went by, like it does, and I had been listening to them two CD's for weeks, and really digging them plenty!! The more I played the CD's the more I found I liked them and several of the full-band songs really began to get stuck to my ears, and continue to do so, and I wanted to let him know that the recordings were working for me, I was groovin' on em', and I wanted to jam with him, so I made a point of going out to see him. And so we did jam a bit and I mentioned to him I liked the recordings and he explained to me he had been in and out of bands for years, including the Cobra Verde guys, and, hmmmmm, a little internet research and whadaya know, Derek played on Easy Listening and his name is right there in the guitar playing credits along with J. Mascis of Dinosaur Jr.! For some reason this impresses me when in fact I probably didn't need to be impressed exactly like that anyway, but seems important to mention. .. . anyhow, DD has plenty of recorded stuff out there on the net, I just happen to have been grooving on these full band recordings he has been sittin' on, I guess he is going to release them onto some kind of disc soon......more later.

Winter Took His Life

it's been awhile since I have mentioned this music, I just took another lil' trip over to the juggernaut of MySpace land and listened to this music, it is very peacefull and pretty and you might like to listen to WINTER TOOK HIS LIFE (the artist(s) live in Göteborg, Sweden)

Wild Fish Food

Tonight I got this nice piece of salmon to eat, it is/was wild salmon versus farm raised (which I had a couple weeks ago) and it cost more than farm, and overall it was better in that it was 'thicker' somehow, thicker in taste and a lil bit firmer in texture than the farm raised...i like both. I also made some garlic mashed pots and had some steamed broc...a nice energizing meal. I also dropped into Audra Kubat's blog and her MySpace page, and looked at some YouTube video of Jessica Lea Mayfield..i wont bother to link em here, uhm, because if you google either one of those lady singer songwriters you get a bunch or good links. I have some new songs, gotta get em mixed nice and I will put em up here....my daughter has written and recorded a couple songs with me, i will put those up soon. more later....thanks for dropping in!!!

my guitar collection

I have added a BASS GUITAR to my mini arsenal of cool instruments, heh, and, bonus, it is gently used and I have no problem carrying it in a trash bag, which is what i have been doing. so, how are all of you? to my surprise i ran into allan madej just the oher day and he actually has read this blog o mine, which is so nice to hear because i have been a bit dormant but not dead dointch know. i have some new songs reordd i will get em posted to me site here in the very near future. and what have i been listeniging to i will tell you wright now....JESSICA MAYFIELD (I now am convinced she is bound for greatness, she is featured on the new Black Keys album) and Ashley Brooke Toussant who has, it seems, moved to Chicagoland. and her new songs are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetness she is on myspace at this link. and yes the new Black Keys album sounds awesomenessly gooooooooood as is should, no more basement cool sounds these are more sophisticated type studie (Suma Studios) oh sounds. the new album is NOT on iTunes just yet you get two of em on myspace for FREE. i like free.

Alan Madej, Tori Sparks, Chittlin,

Oh, I see that for some reason the link to ALAN MADEJ did not make it into the list so here it REALLY is ALAN MADEJ those piano pies are really airy and pure and sad sounding i really like it looks like ALAN M. will be playing at Edisons Pub in Tremont JAN 24 i wonder if he has band mates planned er what....gosh, CHITTLIN changed her whole persona she is, like, mature now and its really good music I wonder if she is gonna make a career out of it or what i have not heard her live yet i will some day...TORI SPARKS has changed her whole online vision as well, and she has had some music licensed as well, something to do with MTV, very sweeeet

Free MySpace Music

As much as I don't like MySpace it does have a huge following of artists and there is great music to be had....just check out the pile of links I have setup over there on the right side of the page...lemme point out a few choice ones...NAPALM BEACH is classic PDX rock from the good old days...PALE HOLLOW is Mike Allen and his sparkling recordings which are now in an official CD package which I have not seen...JEFF GUHDE is playing standup bass and he has some new recordings posted...ALAN MADJE has some really pretty and raw piano pieces posted to his myspace...oh gosh just pick any of he links and you will find out what i like and you might like it too...in other news KATE VOEGELE is now officially big time, her web has changed, she is on TV, and on tour, her music is licensed in several different directions and she is in Bay Village at the high school this weekend