The Big Green House

Good rockin' tonight

Unless I get in a groove with this review I’m working on (and hey, anything is possible) there will be a broadcast on Radio Lethargico tonight, around 12:30 AM Pacific. Come check it out, if you feel so inclined.

Return Engagement

Last night's Radio Lethargico kickoff went so well, I'm replaying the set today at 11:30 am Pacific. Those of you stuck in cubicles are encouraged to tune in.

Ice skate sales in hell skyrocket

Replacements reunite for new songs. Although Paul Westerberg's best days are behind him, I still drooled a little when I read this.

Radio shock horror

OK, the big news is that I’ve got a streaming webcast now, Radio Lethargico. There’s an actual page for it, which I have added to the sidebar. The initial broadcast will be from 12:30 am – 2:30 am, give or take, tonight/tomorrow morning. The idea is to eventually have music playing all the time, but for now there will just be the occasional broadcast – mostly during the 12:30 -2:30 window, or 11:30 am – 2 pm. All times are Pacific, as if I need to tell you.

Also, Science Girl has even more pictures up. Go check ‘em out.

Fight for your right to party

What a bad weekend for music. Buck Owens and Nikki Sudden both passed on, and then there was that terrible murder/suicide over on Capitol Hill Saturday morning. The thoughts of Science Girl and myself are with the survivors, friends and loved ones of all those involved.

I’ve never had much use for electronica or any of that sort of thing, myself, but I‘d hate to see this become an indictment of a style of music rather than the tragedy that it is. Kyle Huff could just as easily have spent the evening at the Croc, or the Funhouse, or the Paramount, or Benaroya Hall for that matter. What sort of music he and the victims were into really doesn’t have much bearing on things. There will be some who’ll leap to the conclusion that a subculture they don’t understand (and that seems a little scary therefore) was somehow involved in the deaths of a group of young people, and we’ll get a few rousing chorus’ of “Won’t someone think of the children?”. Next thing you know, we’ll back to the bad old days of the Teen Dance Ordinance, or worse. I haven’t seen a lot of that yet, and I hope we don’t, but historically that’s been the sort of response one can expect from an event like this. Blame whatever bad chemicals (man-made or organic) that were in Huff’s head when he went and got that shotgun from his truck, but don’t blame the music.

In lighter news: I know I’ve promised changes recently, and so far they haven’t been forthcoming. Trust me, though; there has been movement recently in this regard. I should some have quasi-exciting news soon. Unfortunately, when this will happen is out of my hands at the moment, so sit tight and I’ll wait along with you.

Return to normalcy

Hey, I finally finished that review I'd been poking at for like a month and a half! Huzzah! Now all I have to feel guilty about is mundane stuff like forgetting birthdays, anniversaries, etc.

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Begorrah.

A senseless waste of human life

Still beavering away on that review. I think I may finally have turned a corner there, but that’s not why I’m stepping away from it for a moment. No.

I have a dream.

If we all work together, we can make it a reality. It will require sacrifice from all of us, although from some more than the rest of us. But it will be worth it, my friends. Oh yes, very much so.

What is this dream, this shining hope I have for all humanity? Simply this: every person involved in consulting, marketing and/or public relations, placed aboard a giant rocket and launched straight into the heart of the sun.

Harsh, yes, but fair retribution for foisting tidbits like this on the world: it took a 35 member “brand development task force”, working on behalf of the Washington State Tourism Office, a full 18 months (that’s a year and half, mind you) to come up with a new slogan.

The fruit of their efforts?

SayWA.

That’s no typo.

How much money do you think was spent on this project? Untold thousands, at the very least. Had they just corralled a few half-bright high school students and provided them with a couple of joints and a mandate to write a new slogan, I guarantee they’d have had something better than SayWA within an hour or two, and at a fraction of a fraction of the cost.

Being reduced to ash in the heat of a solar flare is really too good for them, but there’s a certain poetic justice to it. If we start work today, we can make it happen.

Smoking more and enjoying it less

I’m feeling very much out of sorts lately, for a variety of reasons, one of which being my apparent status as an anachronism, musically speaking. I still believe in rock & roll as a viable mode of artistic expression. “Clinging to outdated imperialist dogma”, as some would have it, or some such thing. Well, fuck it. It works for me; if it doesn’t work for you, that’s just fine. “To each their own”, said the farmer as he kissed the pig.

I dunno. I’m not sure I see the point in writing about things that nobody wants to hear anymore. I’m starting to feel like I’m pissing into the wind, which is not a good feeling for those of you unfamiliar with the experience. And I’m finding the actual act of writing harder to do, as well. It’s not that I don’t like it, I just can’t seem to, uh, do it.  I’ve been beating myself over the head, trying to finish off a review that I’ve had on my plate for a ridiculously long time now. I was working on it until four this morning. It’s a little bit closer to done, but not a hell of a lot. Which is pretty frustrating, y’know. This glacial pace is fucking killing me.

So that’s why things don’t scroll down the page as fast as they used to. It’s probably just something I need to ride out, I know. There are things in the works, but again, it’s moving in geological time.

*sigh*

I’ll be taking another whack at it tonight. Cross your fingers.

Odds & Sods

You can stream the new Centro-matic album, Fort Recovery, here. I suggest you do so; I did, and then I went out and bought the album myself. (Caution: not for those who don’t like feedback. Also, if the Crazy Horse vibe doesn’t work for you, this won’t be your cup of fur.)

~~~

Last week I said I’d write more about The Sword. Now this week is half-shot and I still haven’t done so. Well, alright. Let’s get to it: “You got your Sabbath on my Zeppelin, man!” “Oh yeah? Well, you got your Zeppelin on my Sabbath!” Pause for a moment of recognition. “DUDE!”

Age of Winters is the album. Listening to it made me feel all young and dumb again. It’s metal from the Olde Skool; no riff-deficiency or cookie monster vocals, just pure hot sludge like Mom used to yell at you about. Bonus points awarded for the “I put on my wizard hat and robe” lyrics. Big thumbs up.

~~~

Back in… gawd, when was it, February? Awhile back, anyway, I got an email from a local singer/songwriter named Ali Marcus. She’s got a self-made web-only album, and she asked if I’d review it. Well, I’m still working on it, but if you just can’t wait for me to get my shit together and finish the damn thing you could check it out for yourself right here. While you’re at it, her blog is here. Unlike Your Humble Correspondent, she actually puts some thought into her music writing.