This Is What ...

This is what a Google image search of 'dylan' pulls up:

My Pants Feel Funny

Our significant others don't read this blog, do they?

Holy sheep shit. I'm like Iron Eyes Cody ovah heah.

Look What I Found

It's amazing what you can find on the internets. I simply Googled "hot chick sitting next to loser in cool t-shirt."

This was the only hit.

As the World Burns

Nice to have you back, fuckers!

I caught X with the Rollins Band Wed. night. I've been a big X fan since I don't know when, but I always knew that they were one of those bands that you could never really get until you see them live. I was right. Despite the fact that Exene Cervenka looks like a bag lady's grandma, and Billy Zoom could pass for a TV preacher, they rocked. Rocked, I say!

And Billy Zoom is a motherfucker! He had a big grin on his face the whole time and just T-O-R-E I-T U-P!!

The Rollins band was about what you'd expect. Henry certainly says what he means and means what he says. And he spits and blows his nose a lot. A L-O-T, I SAY!

The Perry Bible Fellowship

Nicholas Gurewitch makes The Perry Bible Fellowship. Funny and twisted.

Here are two of my favorites (click to embiggen), but you can see more here.

Tom Waits, Church Pews

I guess it is fitting that the seats at the Ryman are church pews. It is the church of country music (hell, of American music), and my favorite guest pastor was holding forth on the stage. Tom Waits is and always has been one of my favorite artists, but his rare forays onto the concert stage had me thinking that I would never see him live. Needless to say, this night was a dream come true.

Our seats were seven rows back in the balcony on the dead center aisle, so our view of the stage was excellent. The staging was very minimalist, with backlit scrims that subtly changed color adding the only 'show' to the show. Tom was accompanied by his son Casey on drums, a guitarist, keyboardist/percussionist, and the excellent Larry Taylor on bass. The setlist focused on relatively recent releases such as Real Gone and Mule Variations, but Tom did dip into his back catalogue for a lovely rendition of Tom Traubet's Blues and a raucous finale of Heart Attack and Vine. He was manic on stage, often careening around the mic stand or playing his guitar. He only played piano on a couple of numbers, accompanied only by Larry Taylor on the upright. His voice is a thing of wonder. Because of his recent singing style, many think his voice is shot. They couldn't be more wrong. On this night, he showed off all aspects from the hoarse whisper to the shrieky falsetto and all were excellent.

The biggest surprise of the night for me was the fact that he didn't talk a whole lot. He is well known for his lengthy ancedotal song set-ups, and he kept these to a minimum. When he did, he was hilarious. He claimed he hadn't played in Nashville in 17 years because his manager told him not to 'oversaturate the market'.

I'm not sure why he made this short tour (Lousville, Chicago, Ashville, Nashville, Cleveland, Memphis, St. Louis) as he has no new product out. Still, I'm thrilled to be able to say that I've seen him live. An incredible show.

Setlist:
Make It Rain, Hoist That Rag, Shore Leave, God's Away On Business, All The World Is Green, Blue Valentine, Down In The Hole, Cemetery Polka, Tom Traubert's Blues, House Where Nobody Lives, Cause Of It All, 'Til The Money Runs Out, Murder In The Red Barn, Shake It,What's He Building In There, Trampled Rose, Get Behind The Mule, Don't Go Into That Barn, It Rains On Me, Sins Of The Father, Going Out West, Day After Tommorrow, Heartattack And Vine

From youtube, a performance of Tom Traubert's Blues, shot from approximately where were sitting (this was the same basic view I had, except for where you can't see Tom's head!):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=SUJCXMinOII

Titannica

And now, some levity. The first time I saw this, I literally fell off the couch laughing.

The Return Of The Blogger Messiah

Hell, I just figured you guys were sick of hearing me whine about my house(s). Imagine my shock and surprise to learn that you really, really miss my spiritual guidance. Verily I have returned, my brethren, to lead you from the darkness, out of the wilderness and onto the path of an approaching eighteen wheeler.

Nothing against you guys, I've just been down the last few weeks. And nothing kills fun like stress. But I have recently rebounded, so thanks for not letting the blog die.

Speaking of down, getting old blows. I suppose the effects of aging are cumulative (shit, it's all downhill from 18), but boy have they begun to accumulate. I'm not talking about anything as serious as Joe's erectile dysfunction, just little stuff: thinning, graying hair, mysterious aches and pains that come and go, a crown for a tooth that's been filled one time too many, my fucked-up macular degeneration thing.

It's not vanity; it's mortality. C'mon - let's cry like bitches!

Dear Joe

Dear Joe,

Remember when we were all young and energetic when this blog was conceived by Jay? Remember how we conspired to change the world? How we were going to tell the people what was up, and what was real? Remember our optimism and 'can do' attitude? Jay was like Jesus to me. And now?

Joe, I understand your frustration with this 'blog'. Maybe its time to bring in some new blood. Maybe it is time to pitch the whole thing into a big barrel of nuclear sludge and bury it under New Jersey. We need our leader. We need inspiration. We need the return of.......


......... Jay. When Jay is back, things will get much, much better, and we won't be stuck with a picture of Bryan Adams as our last post ever.

With love,
Dave

Groovin' in Vancouvin

This blog is lame. I'm going to Vancouver. Today, I am 38. Ugh. Ya'll should go to Arthur Lee's funeral.

I can die now

Brothers, I went and saw Ray Davies Saturday night at the Paramount (similar to the Orpheum). I hemmed and hawed about going, and had basically decided I wasn't, but then Jack and I were downtown Saturday afternoon, so I stopped by the box office to see what kinds of tickets were left. Turns out they had just released some tickets in the FOURTH ROW!! I was dead center, in the orchestra pit.

What was great was that he had a full-on rockin' band. I was kind of afraid he'd be doing the solo acoustic thing, but he let it rip. I think I'll be needing to get his solo album, because the stuff sounded great. Of course, he threw in a few Kinks songs (my favorites being 'Till the End of the Day' and 'Celluloid Heroes'). He's a real entertainer, with a lot of energy and he absolutely belts 'em out. He told a lot of stories about being in the Kinks and his brother coming up with the 'barking dog' guitar sound.

That show goes up near the top on my all-time list.

Set list here.

Alive!

Okay, okay. Jeez, I lie in the floor in the fetal position, crying and clutching a bottle of gin to my chest for a couple of weeks because my house isn't selling, and everybody's all "Where's Jay? Where's Jay?!"

It's called a nervous breakdown, mutherfockers! Look it up.

Dream Boogie

I just finished reading Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick (author of The Old and New Testaments, sometimes referred to as the Elvis biographies: Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love). I read it more as a fan of Guralnick than Sam Cooke , having loved the Elvis books and his Sweet Soul Music. I always thought Cooke's music was a little on the light side -- nice to listen to, but without the gravity of Ray Charles or Lou Rawls or some of the other soul greats. I have a new found respect for the singer and his songs now, though. He had an amazing talent not only for singing and performing, but also for recognizing trends in music. He was clearly ahead of the curve from both an artistic and business perspective.

Guralnick is obviously a fan, but he still gives Cooke an extensive, honest examination. The descriptions of the studio work and performances are amazing, as is the amount of, erm, action, that Cooke got. Which, I guess was ultimately his downfall.

It took me about a month to read, and it was funny that even though I knew how and when he died, when I finally got to that part of the book, I got kind of depressed. I guess the depth to which the book goes illustrating Cooke and his gifts drove home how senseless his death was. Even if it was more or less his own fault.

Great read.

I Did It, and You Can't Stop Me

I have created a 'My Space' music page! http://www.myspace.com/popheaddave

Figured I may as well have a way to share tunes with family and friends. I'm still working on it right now. Jay, I'm curious to know which Pophead numbers featuring you and Sean I should add. Two cents, or even three, please.

Its pretty cool connecting with lots of musician friends all over like this, and an easy way to share music with each other.

The Great Deluge

Just finished Doug Brinkley's The Great Deluge, the first full work to deal with the minutiae of Hurricane Katrina and its effect on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. A pretty cool read, although Brinkley being a resident of New Orleans can't help but write in a pretty subjective manner quite a lot of the time. The history guy in me says, "Uh.... you can't pass judgements like that." The New Orleanian in me says, "You Go Girl!" or something like that. Summary: Mayor Nagin: BAD! Gov. Blanco: OK. President Bush: BAD! FEMA and Sec. Chertoff: Really, really BAD! NOPD: THE WORST! Oh yeah, and local first responders and the Coast Guard are GOOD! REALLY, REALLY GOOD! Brinkley is pretty scathing towards Mayor Ray and Mssrs. Chertoff and Brown, but I have no problem with that. Pretty compelling stuff, but I doubt it will turn out to be the definitive version of events, as its come out just too damn fast.

While on the subject, I went to N.O. for a week or so last month. Let's just say there's a long way to go. My friends are making due, but they all have this glazed look about them. Services you once took for granted are not always there anymore (fried shrimp po' boy at 2 am on a Sunday? No problem! At least not in the past.....). I would say that 70% of the city is still mostly uninhabitable, and rebuilding is present, but not widespread. Don't forget about New Orleans guys, cause it still needs a lot of positive thoughts.

Power Pop Poll

Okay losers, name your ten - no, 15 - favorite power pop tunes of all time. Daunting, no? Here's my list, off the top o' my head.

01) What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love and Understanding - Elvis Costello
02) Surrender - Cheap Trick
03) Turning Japanese - The Vapors
04) Cruel To Be Kind - Nick Lowe
05) No Matter What - Badfinger
06) She's Tight - Cheap Trick
07) Glad Girls - Guided by Voices
08) Miss Teen Wordpower - The New Pornographers
09) September Gurls - Big Star
10) Pump It Up - Elvis Costello
11) Just Broke Up - Smoking Popes
12) Is That Love - Squeeze
13) Teenage Kicks - The Undertones
14) Another Girl, Another Planet - The Only Ones
15) My Sharona - The Knack

I'll be very suprised if Dave's list doesn't heavily feature Mr. Costello, and I'll be downright disappointed if Joe's list doesn't feature an early Who song or three ...

One Day It Will Please Us to Remember Even This

New New York Dolls album. The track on the Uncut CD this month ("Dance Like a Monkey") is excellent. I haven't read what Uncut has to say about the album, but that song is a blast.

The Killer Kane documentary is also pretty amazing. New York Doll, I believe it is called. Yes, that's it.

And apricot of nothing, Dave, I drove through New Orleans Monday and it was haunting. I just can't believe it's still that bad. Just blocks and blocks of empty buildings.

Back among the living

Well, that was a short three weeks. I'm back in Austin and at work. We had a great time hangingoutonthebeach, goingtoDisney, and whatnot. My little sister had her baby while we were there, which was convenient. I also attended my HS reunion (20th) and had a really good time -- even got the 'least changed' award, which was disturbing as I've tried very hard not to be the loser I was in high school these last 20 years. Maybe I should have worn shoes to the get-togethers.

I'll try to post more in the next few days as I've got a lot of commputer time on my hands, what with having a job and all now.

Pics from my trip here. As if you wanted to see them.

Sales Update

In case you were wondering, the Subteens CD, "Burn Your Cardigan" is currently:

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #509,119 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #508,699 in Music


Somehow the album moved up 500 places in one day!

And in case you think I'm making fun, I'm jealous that Subteens even have product listed on Amazon! That's more than I can say for my weak-ass shit!

So you say its my birthday, eh?

Yes, yes, it is my birthday. The final birthday of the dirty-thirties. So far so good. YOUR TIME IS COMING YOUNG WHELPS!