all news, all armchair, all the time: blog this, 2000

2000

december 29 it's about helping people
New TV ad copy for the Chevy Malibu, featuring music from INXS's "What You Need," in part: "Time isn't always on your side...." I don't suppose anyone at Chevy thought about how that might seem to Michael Hutchence's loved ones. Speaking of cars and ads, as I was going through my filofax and re-doing the address book (which entailed placing a lot of calls to see if certain phone numbers were still working ... more in a minute) I came across this old business card:
Since it's hard to read, the slogan beneath Peter's name is "It's about helping people...." (hence the quote for today). Pete, it seems, has done quite well for himself. We used to work together at Planet Records in Boston (not the one in Cambridge), and he had a nice flair for pop music with bands like The Sunspots (who I still have some homemade tapes of). Anyhow, once I asked him, on behalf of the NME who wanted (for some competition) a local Boston musician to compose a brief techno track -- this was back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when this stuff was still pretty new. Pete got into it and did something, although I don't believe the NME ever used any of it. Whether or not that was the bridge from straight pop into more electronic soundscapes, Pete finally made the bigtime of a sort last year when he composed the music for the VW Jetta commercial that features a somewhat bemused couple driving through New Orleans.
If that doesn't ring your bell, check out this graphic from the above linked article:
That oughta do it. Good going, Pete! Now, what about a Sunspots reunion? Back to the filofax address book update: Some addresses are just too hard to throw out, even when you know you'll never speak to that person again in the indefinite future. I have addresses for old college friends I haven't seen in years (Michelle Rosenthal, wherefore art thou?), musicians who have moved on (ah, good old Dave Rotheray -- and those financially and artistically bankrupt Trash Can Sinatras) and just plain old people who disappeared. I kept open a space for Darron Irvin/Montgomery to show back up in my life, and even had a brief scenario in my head where I could say, "Hey, I did always wonder where you were! I always knew you'd come back -- see, I even left a space for you in my address book!" But it's been five years (or will be, in March), and Darron is nowhere to be found. I haven't exactly paid a private investigator to locate the boy, but he's nowhere on the 'Net I can find, and his various permutations of names make it difficult to search.
So ... with this edition, he's out. As is Dave and Michelle. The Trash Cans are in pencil (the first stage of phase out). And then there are those who move so frequently, or who are expected to move, who are also in pencil ... and those who are fixed permanently -- either as friends or as addresses or both -- who get the pen treatment. You're in pen, you're set. For now. After all, time isn't always on your side.

december 28 (2) you can't say no in december

Fortunately, it's just about January. As promised, here's the photos. Apologies for those who don't care for a) babies b) big toothy grins c) large photos. Then again, Katie and Peter (Jerry and Alexis's kids; Emily isn't pictured) are pretty cool, eh?

Snow's a'coming! Yippee!

december 28 When your heart's on fire, you must realize ... Smoke gets in your eyes
Isn't it funny how when you actually pay attention to some lyrics (and, for that matter, some people, some places, some things) they just sound ridiculous? I'm surprised this song hasn't been taken up for a Gaviscon ad.
On that note, here are my top five reasons for not going home for an extended period of time any more (now, let's see if we can remember them for future reference):
1) The heat at mom's home dries the frick out of my nasal passages (and eyes and skin); it's like I've been in the desert.
2) Despite my chronological age, I'm still 14 (or younger) here: "Did you lock the door after you came in?" Nope, we don't lock doors where I live ... in NYC.
3) Driving. I'm so not a driving person. Put me on a subway, get me where I'm going; don't involve me in the process.
4) Despite the dry heat, the basement temperature hovers around 35 Farenheit, and that's where the cool TV and cable system is.
5) It is impossible to diet in a house where candy, chips, soda, dip and cheese are rife. Not that that's a bad thing. Just for me it is.
On the flip side, there are at least five good reasons for going home for a few days; among which are:
1) The 'rent and her hubby
2) Alexis, Jerry, Katie, Emily and Peter (even though Peter still is too young to do more than make milkshakes) -- there will be photos, though not of the shakes themselves
3) Rebecca and her hubby Paul
4) Lynda (who rocks because she took me to my first pro football game -- Ravens vs. Jets -- and the Ravens kicked ass! Who knew Poe would have something to do with pro football? Plus, who can resist a game where every time the home team scores they light off fireworks?)
* In a side note, Lynda and I are working on our pet theory that the American distaste for warfare has dropped proportionately in relation to the American mania for the NFL. You do the math. When was the first Super Bowl held, anyway? When did we start getting really pissed about Vietnam? There may be merit to this....
5) Yesterday and Today Records and the owner, Skip
So, I'll keep coming back ... again and again ... even if Amtrak can't get its finger out of its collective ass and move trains out on time on the Saturday before Christmas. I suppose I was asking for that, and in the end I got lots of free soda, chips and pretzels -- plus a free ticket -- but what a nightmare of sitting on a non-moving train for 3 hours! Meanwhile, the rest of the week off of work is devoted to doing whatever I darn well please. New Year's Eve should prove, well, interesting...

december 20 i, too am a jew, but not as jew as you
Once again, it's Marc Maron to the rescue with all the right words. The American public school system has left me brainwashed enough to adore singing Christmas carols, and some other element of my life convinced me at some point that volunteer work is a good deal (and it is), so at this most nuttiest time of year, what could be more natural than to combine the two activities?
Hence, I found myself at the Times Square Hotel singing with a bunch of others, wearing Santa hats, generally having a good time. (Find me a cynic who hates singing "Jingle Bell Rock" and I'll show you a guy who's getting coal in his stocking.) A side note: When I was a kid and sang a lot of this stuff in music class, every time we came to a song where Jesus was mentioned by name, I kind of mouthed it, thinking a lightning bolt might come out of the sky and hit me if I wasn't Christian and got into that kind of holy spirit. Meanwhile, that wasn't much of a consideration for the woman running this particular project, who hit us with so many downbeat Jesus songs (look, "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" is dull and depressing; "Gloria" is a gorgeous confection but the key is way too high) I was pretty much getting ready to kill myself.
Until it got worse. I'm not sure who came up with Hanukkah carols, but it had to be some equal-opportunity nitwit (the same ones who decided Kwanzaa was necessary) who didn't want Christians to forget there were non-Jews in the world. So what do we end up with? Dirges about dreidels and latkes that are somehow a little snide when they're not being totally ridiculous (though certainly not sillier than "Oh Christmas Tree") or sung in Hebrew altogether, hardly the most melodious of languages. In the back of our packet of 50-plus Christmas songs there are approximately four Hanukkah tunes (including Adam Sandler's ditty) which just proves once again -- not everything in the world is meant to be equal at every given moment.
This did not stop the five or six individuals who showed up as part of another singing group and instead joined ours to inject a few Hanukkah carols. They stood apart from our group, waited for a turn to be given them, and then blasted out (in nice harmony) several songs, a few of which were in our packet. Once they were done, and had sung their peace, they packed up and left. I suppose this is just weird conflicted shit on my non-mikvah'ed ass, but I found them totally obnoxious. And never more so when they refused to stick around and sing some more Christmas carols. Instead, we ended up with "We're done here, you people go ahead with your little Jesus fest, we're going home to make latkes." It all sat wrong. And all I could think of were Marc Maron's enduring thoughts... "I, too am a Jew ... but not as Jew as you."
In other thoughts, I've found two more wonderful sites worth looking into:
A real 8 Ball!
Spinnwebe
And lastly, here's where Lynda and I will be planting our frozen little butts on Sunday the 24th when the Ravens play the Jets in Balmer.

december 19 is it you, is it me or is it simply jealousy?
I have been quoted! Here's a writer who took something I said about Radiohead and inserted into a quote-heavy piece about the Radiohead Kid A album. Which, as I noted in Alternative Press earlier this year, felt like the soundtrack to a movie that hadn't been filmed, and was interesting in parts, and pretentious in others. But then again, who -- and what -- isn't? (Okay, Dubya aside.)

december 12 everybody needs a bosom for a pillow ... mine's on the RPM
So if you go to here, that's one lyric you'll hear over, and over and over. (And that's one of the cooler songs.) Just back from Turks and Caicos (aka Turkoise) in the West Indies, with a nice brownish tan and a bit of sun poisoning, which itches. Should it itch? Photos on the way. Whilst there, met
1) ex-chiropractor who now has a bad back (oh, the irony) and loves to dive, plus his fairly wasted companion who wanted assistance finishing a bottle of Skyy vodka
2) former record exec looking for a new gig ... who recommended Steely Dan
3) a french phd student coming home after six months on the road
4) a russian named boris who resembled Hugh Grant
5) lots of corporate ladies and gents who loved beach volleyball (including one who claimed to be an ex Olympic athlete and one who tried out for the L.A. Raiders)
6) among many others
The question is, how does anyone do nothing for weeks on end? Some people came down for two weeks. Five days and I was itching (literally and figuratively) to be a bit more productive. Ah, but that cerulean water ... and that white sand ... and parasailing! More soon ... must do sugar cookies ... must decorate home ... must prepare for party....

december 3 my demons eat your issues for breakfast
So as the funniest man in the country walked in just a few seconds ahead of me into Caroline's (with a skinny dimwit by his side who lost her hat down the side of the stairwell within seconds), he subverted the structure of the line, bypassing all of the yahoos who were waiting to see him. When said yahoos got pissy at the subversion and called out, "We're in line to see the show," Messr. Maron turned 'round and told 'em, "Without me, there is no show."
Nobody sneers as genially as Marc Maron.

november 28 Latest daily headings and subsequent linkage thereto:
November 28 all day i dream a dream where feelings flee
November 29 so fall in, fall about, your country needs you now

december 29	it's about helping people New TV ad copy for the Chevy Malibu, featuring music from INXS's "What You Need," in part: "Time isn't always on your side...." I don't suppose anyone at Chevy thought about how that might seem to Michael Hutchence's loved ones. Speaking of cars and ads, as I was going through my filofax and re-doing the address book (which entailed placing a lot of calls to see if certain phone numbers were still working ... more in a minute) I came across this old business card: Since it's hard to read, the slogan beneath Peter's name is "It's about helping people...." (hence the quote for today). Pete, it seems, has done quite well for himself. We used to work together at Planet Records in Boston (not the one in Cambridge), and he had a nice flair for pop music with bands like The Sunspots (who I still have some homemade tapes of). Anyhow, once I asked him, on behalf of the NME who wanted (for some competition) a local Boston musician to compose a brief techno track -- this was back in the late 1980s/early 1990s, when this stuff was still pretty new. Pete got into it and did something, although I don't believe the NME ever used any of it. Whether or not that was the bridge from straight pop into more electronic soundscapes, Pete finally made the bigtime of a sort last year when he composed the music for the VW Jetta commercial that features a somewhat bemused couple driving through New Orleans. If that doesn't ring your bell, check out this graphic from the above linked article: That oughta do it. Good going, Pete! Now, what about a Sunspots reunion? Back to the filofax address book update: Some addresses are just too hard to throw out, even when you know you'll never speak to that person again in the indefinite future. I have addresses for old college friends I haven't seen in years (Michelle Rosenthal, wherefore art thou?), musicians who have moved on (ah, good old Dave Rotheray -- and those financially and artistically bankrupt Trash Can Sinatras) and just plain old people who disappeared. I kept open a space for Darron Irvin/Montgomery to show back up in my life, and even had a brief scenario in my head where I could say, "Hey, I did always wonder where you were! I always knew you'd come back -- see, I even left a space for you in my address book!" But it's been five years (or will be, in March), and Darron is nowhere to be found. I haven't exactly paid a private investigator to locate the boy, but he's nowhere on the 'Net I can find, and his various permutations of names make it difficult to search. So ... with this edition, he's out. As is Dave and Michelle. The Trash Cans are in pencil (the first stage of phase out). And then there are those who move so frequently, or who are expected to move, who are also in pencil ... and those who are fixed permanently -- either as friends or as addresses or both -- who get the pen treatment. You're in pen, you're set. For now. After all, time isn't always on your side.
december 28 (2)	you can't say no in december Fortunately, it's just about January. As promised, here's the photos. Apologies for those who don't care for a) babies b) big toothy grins c) large photos. Then again, Katie and Peter (Jerry and Alexis's kids; Emily isn't pictured) are pretty cool, eh? Snow's a'coming! Yippee!
december 28	When your heart's on fire, you must realize ... Smoke gets in your eyes Isn't it funny how when you actually pay attention to some lyrics (and, for that matter, some people, some places, some things) they just sound ridiculous? I'm surprised this song hasn't been taken up for a Gaviscon ad. On that note, here are my top five reasons for not going home for an extended period of time any more (now, let's see if we can remember them for future reference): 1) The heat at mom's home dries the frick out of my nasal passages (and eyes and skin); it's like I've been in the desert. 2) Despite my chronological age, I'm still 14 (or younger) here: "Did you lock the door after you came in?" Nope, we don't lock doors where I live ... in NYC. 3) Driving. I'm so not a driving person. Put me on a subway, get me where I'm going; don't involve me in the process. 4) Despite the dry heat, the basement temperature hovers around 35 Farenheit, and that's where the cool TV and cable system is. 5) It is impossible to diet in a house where candy, chips, soda, dip and cheese are rife. Not that that's a bad thing. Just for me it is. On the flip side, there are at least five good reasons for going home for a few days; among which are: 1) The 'rent and her hubby 2) Alexis, Jerry, Katie, Emily and Peter (even though Peter still is too young to do more than make milkshakes) -- there will be photos, though not of the shakes themselves 3) Rebecca and her hubby Paul 4) Lynda (who rocks because she took me to my first pro football game -- Ravens vs. Jets -- and the Ravens kicked ass! Who knew Poe would have something to do with pro football? Plus, who can resist a game where every time the home team scores they light off fireworks?) * In a side note, Lynda and I are working on our pet theory that the American distaste for warfare has dropped proportionately in relation to the American mania for the NFL. You do the math. When was the first Super Bowl held, anyway? When did we start getting really pissed about Vietnam? There may be merit to this.... 5) Yesterday and Today Records and the owner, Skip So, I'll keep coming back ... again and again ... even if Amtrak can't get its finger out of its collective ass and move trains out on time on the Saturday before Christmas. I suppose I was asking for that, and in the end I got lots of free soda, chips and pretzels -- plus a free ticket -- but what a nightmare of sitting on a non-moving train for 3 hours! Meanwhile, the rest of the week off of work is devoted to doing whatever I darn well please. New Year's Eve should prove, well, interesting...
december 20	i, too am a jew, but not as jew as you Once again, it's Marc Maron to the rescue with all the right words. The American public school system has left me brainwashed enough to adore singing Christmas carols, and some other element of my life convinced me at some point that volunteer work is a good deal (and it is), so at this most nuttiest time of year, what could be more natural than to combine the two activities? Hence, I found myself at the Times Square Hotel singing with a bunch of others, wearing Santa hats, generally having a good time. (Find me a cynic who hates singing "Jingle Bell Rock" and I'll show you a guy who's getting coal in his stocking.) A side note: When I was a kid and sang a lot of this stuff in music class, every time we came to a song where Jesus was mentioned by name, I kind of mouthed it, thinking a lightning bolt might come out of the sky and hit me if I wasn't Christian and got into that kind of holy spirit. Meanwhile, that wasn't much of a consideration for the woman running this particular project, who hit us with so many downbeat Jesus songs (look, "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" is dull and depressing; "Gloria" is a gorgeous confection but the key is way too high) I was pretty much getting ready to kill myself. Until it got worse. I'm not sure who came up with Hanukkah carols, but it had to be some equal-opportunity nitwit (the same ones who decided Kwanzaa was necessary) who didn't want Christians to forget there were non-Jews in the world. So what do we end up with? Dirges about dreidels and latkes that are somehow a little snide when they're not being totally ridiculous (though certainly not sillier than "Oh Christmas Tree") or sung in Hebrew altogether, hardly the most melodious of languages. In the back of our packet of 50-plus Christmas songs there are approximately four Hanukkah tunes (including Adam Sandler's ditty) which just proves once again -- not everything in the world is meant to be equal at every given moment. This did not stop the five or six individuals who showed up as part of another singing group and instead joined ours to inject a few Hanukkah carols. They stood apart from our group, waited for a turn to be given them, and then blasted out (in nice harmony) several songs, a few of which were in our packet. Once they were done, and had sung their peace, they packed up and left. I suppose this is just weird conflicted shit on my non-mikvah'ed ass, but I found them totally obnoxious. And never more so when they refused to stick around and sing some more Christmas carols. Instead, we ended up with "We're done here, you people go ahead with your little Jesus fest, we're going home to make latkes." It all sat wrong. And all I could think of were Marc Maron's enduring thoughts... "I, too am a Jew ... but not as Jew as you." In other thoughts, I've found two more wonderful sites worth looking into: A real 8 Ball! Spinnwebe And lastly, here's where Lynda and I will be planting our frozen little butts on Sunday the 24th when the Ravens play the Jets in Balmer.
december 19	is it you, is it me or is it simply jealousy? I have been quoted! Here's a writer who took something I said about Radiohead and inserted into a quote-heavy piece about the Radiohead Kid A album. Which, as I noted in Alternative Press earlier this year, felt like the soundtrack to a movie that hadn't been filmed, and was interesting in parts, and pretentious in others. But then again, who -- and what -- isn't? (Okay, Dubya aside.)
december 12	everybody needs a bosom for a pillow ... mine's on the RPM So if you go to here, that's one lyric you'll hear over, and over and over. (And that's one of the cooler songs.) Just back from Turks and Caicos (aka Turkoise) in the West Indies, with a nice brownish tan and a bit of sun poisoning, which itches. Should it itch? Photos on the way. Whilst there, met 1) ex-chiropractor who now has a bad back (oh, the irony) and loves to dive, plus his fairly wasted companion who wanted assistance finishing a bottle of Skyy vodka 2) former record exec looking for a new gig ... who recommended Steely Dan 3) a french phd student coming home after six months on the road 4) a russian named boris who resembled Hugh Grant 5) lots of corporate ladies and gents who loved beach volleyball (including one who claimed to be an ex Olympic athlete and one who tried out for the L.A. Raiders) 6) among many others The question is, how does anyone do nothing for weeks on end? Some people came down for two weeks. Five days and I was itching (literally and figuratively) to be a bit more productive. Ah, but that cerulean water ... and that white sand ... and parasailing! More soon ... must do sugar cookies ... must decorate home ... must prepare for party....
december 3	my demons eat your issues for breakfast So as the funniest man in the country walked in just a few seconds ahead of me into Caroline's (with a skinny dimwit by his side who lost her hat down the side of the stairwell within seconds), he subverted the structure of the line, bypassing all of the yahoos who were waiting to see him. When said yahoos got pissy at the subversion and called out, "We're in line to see the show," Messr. Maron turned 'round and told 'em, "Without me, there is no show." Nobody sneers as genially as Marc Maron.
november 28	Latest daily headings and subsequent linkage thereto: November 28 all day i dream a dream where feelings flee November 29 so fall in, fall about, your country needs you now