Stripped

Cover art by Bastard High Deity Bill Watterson

Anyone else in?

Olympic Toilets ... Continued

The judges are closer than ever to the action!

Failed Attempts at Sexy Album Covers

From our friends at Cracked, 19 sexy album cover FAILS with entertaining commentary.

Happy Lurker Day

It is our resident Lurker's birthday. Pop a cold PBR and wish him well.

Here's the horoscope for someone with an Oct. 19 birthday:
Born October 19
You are more intuitive than usual this year, and often find yourself in the right place at the right time. Your instinctual judgment is enhanced, and creativity is boosted. Your determination to honor your deepest desires and goals leads you towards increased success. (Editor's Note: sounds like a banner year for lurking). Excess with personal finances is a potential problem if you are not careful. A balanced approach to life, in terms of realistic expectations, is the best approach for maximizing success.

And here are a few lesser celebrities who share a birthday today:
Happy Birthday to Saturday Night Live alum Chris Kattan (1970), South Park's genius co-creator Trey Parker (1969), Elf director Jon Favreau (1966), TV's favorite carpenter Ty Pennington (1965), pugilist and former world champ Evander Holyfield (1962), 3rd Rock's John Lithgow (1945), transvestite movie star Divine (1945), Harry Potter's "Professor Dumbledore" actor Michael Gambon (1940), and Brady Bunch patriarch Robert Reed (1932).

Floppy Weekend

You asked fer it, ya got it. Please enjoy not one, not two, but three Flop albums at F*&^ The Paradigm. For the uninitiated, Flop was, in my opinion, the finest band to come out of the Northwest in the 1990s.

What? Dave, are you nuts? Yes, I am. Nuts for Flop.

Flop, led by guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Rusty Willoughby (Pure Joy, Fastbacks, Llama) played amazingly catchy power pop with extremely dense and obtuse lyrics held together by amazing melodies and great vocals. I tried to model Pophead on Flop, but I didn't have the talent. Still, the ideas stuck and to me, Flop is the by far the best example of the early 90s power pop, heavy rock singles band (with the Smoking Popes a close second).

Album One is Flop and the Fall of the Mopsqueezer, an absolute tour de force. I defy anyone to find an album with a better first nine songs. The rest are great too, but the first nine rock my world. I've yet to meet anyone who didn't become horribly addicted to this album, forsaking work, kids, and spouses just to hear it. Kurt Bloch of the Fastbacks and the Fellows produced, there's a Ray Davies cover, and the Young Brians opened a couple time for the boys during this time period. 'Hello' is a special favorite, and a song I've covered many times.

Album Two is the slightly less successful Whenever You're Ready. By 'less successful', I mean 'still incredible, just not as incredible'. This was their major label debut, a deal that didn't really work out for them. Rusty writes amazing songs, but they are not exactly 'I love you' Top 40 fodder. Which is why we love 'em.

Album Three is World of Today, Flop's swan song. Tasty tunes and great production will keep you begging for more. But there isn't any. Enjoy, Bastards, enjoy.

PS: Did any of you *&^%weeds ever listen to the Parasites? Or that first Cheap Trick album? Feedback? Throw a brother a bone ferchrissakes.

Forward Thinking People....

.... will check out the Frosty Turnpike Patrol to hear the song I recorded for the Daniel Bull tribute album back in June. Danny was a New Orleans guy, a singer and songwriter who passed away from leukemia at a too-young age. His former partner Lauren is putting together a tribute to Danny and his songs, so we (myself, Dave Baker, Elzy Lindsey) chose 'Show No Concern' and gave it a good whacking in the studio. It was fun to play loud again.

I Wish That I Could See You Soon

Oh the French. My friend Andy sent me a link to this guy's (Herman Dune) website. Although there are many things unsettling about this video (he's French, he's wearing something pink and fuzzy, there are children in an abandoned hangar, etc.) there is no denying that this is an absolutely fabulous pop song. Enjoy it with your refreshing summer cocktail! I'm going to check out more of his stuff...

Continuing With the Gay Theme

The only CD my wife has had in her car the past couple months has been Lily Allen's 'Alright, Still...' After listening to it about 5 times, I have to admit that it's good. Really good. Jay, this is your daughter in 15 years. Enjoy.

For the People.