Good Moanin'

Jukebox Upchuck #34

2007-04-01T07:59:00.000-06:00

"It's not you, really, it's me."

Apologies for being MIA lately. The usual reasons: work has me working, my free time has been costly, and then there's this little thing known as an impending move. Posts will be sporadic for the next few weeks.

To make up for it, here's a massive jukebox upchuck full of favorite songs of late.

Dusty Springfield – "So Much Love"
I've been listening to so much Dusty In Memphis lately, ever since my trip to Louisville. (Must have been the "Southern" exposure.) That's her in the above pic.

M. Ward – "Headed for a Fall"
M. Ward (and a host of starlets) do this Jimmie Dale Gilmore song some serious justice on Ward's new E.P.

Karen Dalton – "In a Station"
Her cover of the Richard Manuel-penned classic from The Band. You really need to own Dalton's In My Own Time.

Skip James – "Illinois Blues"
I love the guitar playing of this Mississippian legend. I made this song the focal point of a mix I sent to a friend titled Illinoiseboy Blues.

Love – "Alone Again Or"
Oh, how I do love the string/horn arrangements in this song. This is easily the best song Bryan MacLean ever penned for Love. Anyone heard either of his demos records that Sundazed released?

Hank Thompson – "Rockin' in the Congo"
I just love the concept of one of the most popular country artists of the '50s recording a song like this. Thompson beat Jonathan Richman to the punch on this one.

Los Yaki – "Baila el Fredy"
You know how much I love my international garage rock, and this south-of-the-border cover of the classic Freddie & the Dreamers tune is no exception. This comes compliments of Listmaker and his most recent mix, which I was lucky enough to receive.

Surapon – "Ding Dong"
Speaking of Listmaker, I'm surprised that this nugget from the Thai Beat series didn't make it onto If You Want My Listmaker, Volume 3.

Jody Miller – "Queen of the House"
I hadn't heard this ode to the '50s in a long while. A blogger (I forget who) linked to the video for this, which was just hilarious. I'd post it, but I'm too lazy. It's probably on YouTube though.

Wreckless Eric – "Whole Wide World"
I have to agree with Listmaker: The fact that this was the lone song that Harold Crick could perform in Stranger Than Fiction was a head-scratcher, but it's still an incredibly catchy tune.

The Stranglers – "Peaches"
While we're on the topic of songs that played prominent roles in films, I still can not listen to this song without picturing the opening scene of Sexy Beast, where Ray Winstone's character is almost annihilated by a boulder. This is the song playing at that time, as we get to know Ray's tanned gut all too well.

The Lemon Pipers – "Jelly Jungle"
I picked this up in Louisville last month. These Cincinnati psych-poppers are best known for their hit single "Green Tambourine", but I found their follow-up LP to be stupendously stupid and to my liking.

Merle Haggard – "I'm a Lonesome Fugitive"
This is one of my favorite classic country cuts. God I love the lead guitar "solo". I used to spin this on a regular basis when I DJ'ed. I've been thinking about talking to Murph about a one-off Noiseboy gig sometime this summer, before half my friends leave town.

Papercuts – "Sandy"
This totally reminds me of the love affair I had with indie pop about eight years ago. I love the gentle, dreamy vibe and the Rocketship-esque organ. This is taken from their recent album, Can't Go Back, on Devendra Banhart's Gnomonsong label.

Jukebox Upchuck #33

2007-03-20T19:06:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay, but it's that time of the year (NCAA) and I also just found out that a move is in my near future. So unfortunately, posts will be more sporadic.

I love just about everything that the Secretly Canadian/Jagjaguwar sister labels release, and I'm anxious to get my hands on the new Odawas record, Raven and the White Night. Cheesy album titles aside, I'm in love with this song and its atmospheric, Ennio Morricone, spaghetti-western vibe. I doubt it'll bowl you over, so give it time to grow.

Odawas – "Alleluia"

Jukebox Upchuck #32

2007-03-10T17:15:00.000-06:00

The Mops are widely considered the gold-standard of Japan's "Group Sounds" movement, which in lay terms was essentially Japan's attempt to copy the chart success of the American and British beat movements. You've probably heard The Mops' contribution to the second Nuggets box, "I Am Just a Mops," a catchy if simplistic rock and roll dirge. But the bulk of their 1967 album Psychedelic Sounds in Japan sounds nothing like that. Containing a mixture of covers sung in English and originals sung in Japanese, Psychedelic Sounds showcases an incredible band fully capable of holding their own with their overseas garage-psych counterparts. You can tell where -- in part -- the group drew their influence by the bands they chose to cover: Jefferson Airplane, The Animals, The Box Tops, and The Doors. But it's on their original material that you can really hear the garage'edelic influence, specifically when lead guitarist Masaru Hoshi cuts loose. (Check the Hendrix influence on "Sleep, Jesus," which was released two years after Psychedelic Sounds.) This shit just flips my wig.*

The Mops – "I Am Just a Mops"
The Mops – "Asamade Matenai"
The Mops – "The Letter"
The Mops – "Sleep, Jesus"

*Note: The Noiseboy believes in balding gracefully, and would never actually resort to wig-wearing.

Jukebox Upchuck #31

2007-03-08T13:28:00.000-06:00

I've been asked before why I continue to dig deeper into the garage rock genre when it has already been excavated so thoroughly by the kind folks at Rhino, and the answer is, well, this...

Crystal Chandlier – "Suicidal Flowers"
Driving Stupid – "Horror Asparagus Stories"
Race Marbles – "Like a Dribbling Fram"
Adjeef the Poet – "Ieek, I'm a Freak"

All are taken from Pebbles, Vol. 3: The Acid Gallery.

Jukebox Upchuck #30

2007-03-05T17:11:00.000-06:00

Pardon the absence, but I've been swamped with work and family and March basketball. I'll try to do a better job this week.

I'm a late-comer to the Numero Group record label. But two weekends ago, while in Louisville, I picked up the first in their Eccentric Soul series, The Capsoul Label. This collection mines the depths of the Columbus, Ohio, label's five-year run, which spans just a dozen seven inches released during the first half of the '70s. It's an exceptionally well-done reissue, and if you dig these highlights, then it's well worth your money.

Marion Black – "Who Knows"
Bill Moss – "Sock It to 'em Soul Brother"
Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr – "You Can't Blame Me"

Jukebox Upchuck #29

2007-03-01T14:48:00.000-06:00

The Kinks are the most underrated rock band, in my mind. Sure, they've sold millions of records and recorded one of the most recognizable rock songs of all time. Yes, they singlehandedly spawned heavy metal and power-pop with a simple chord exchange and guitar tone. (Van Halen sure loves them!) And they're in rock's hall of fame. But still, people don't give them enough props. Still, people don't own every record they recorded from 1964-1971, as they do with The Beatles and The Stones. Still, we haven't found it necessary to idolize Ray Davies as we have done with Lennon, McCartney, Richards, and Jagger. And frankly, that's a shame.

I can only speculate as to the reasons why. It's true, The Kinks were a bit of an outsider band when The Beatles and Stones were at the height of their late-'60s popularity, largely thanks to Ray and his preference for intelligent, conceptual records, and songs with abstract lyrics that dealt with social issues and melancholy moods. Then, in the mid-'70s after several critical flops, the band did an about-face, reinventing themselves as a commercial hard-rock juggernaut. We tend to have lazy minds with selective memory, so we naturally gravitate toward "You Really Got Me" or Misfits-era arena rock, and don't give much thought to lesser hits (that are just as good) like "Tired of Waiting for You" or "Victoria" or "David Watts".

So to help correct that, here's a sampling of some of their lesser-known masterpieces from their brilliant period from 1966-1971. Do yourself a favor and investigate further, if you haven't already.

The Kinks – "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"
The Kinks – "Waterloo Sunset"
The Kinks – "Big Sky"
The Kinks – "Brainwashed"
The Kinks – "Get Back in Line"

If I had it to do over again...

2007-02-28T17:40:00.000-06:00

I would have spent more time in my formative years listening to music that makes me smile, and less time with the doom and gloom.

(Cue The Meters, circa '74)

Jukebox Upchuck #28

2007-02-26T18:31:00.000-06:00

You wouldn't necessarily know it from reading my blog on a regular basis, but I'm a sucker for The Magnetic Fields. Stephin Merritt is among the best pop songwriters of the past two decades -- if not the best. Plenty of people are already familiar with 69 Love Songs, but may not have explored his more electronic back catalog. The Charm of the Highway Strip, released in 1994, is his country concept record, and probably my favorite. For a change of pace, here's a couple tunes from that record...

The Magnetic Fields – "Born on a Train"
The Magnetic Fields – "Two Characters in Search of a Country Song"

Chairs are for sitting, vol. 3*

2007-02-25T14:03:00.000-06:00

There has been much dispute over the origin of the chair. Some say the chair dates back to well before Christ; others contend that its origins can be traced back only several hundred years. This photo clearly shows that chairs have been around at least as long as cigarettes.

*Historical evidence that chairs are indeed for sitting.

If I had it to do over again...

2007-02-23T06:02:00.000-06:00

I would have gone to see My Morning Jacket a couple more times on their 2004 tour for It Still Moves, one of my favorite records of the 2000s. Oh, how I long for the days when Jim James had a face full of hair. I just can't get into their new recordings; bring back lead guitarist Johnny Quaid!

Anyway, I'll be visiting MMJ's neck of the woods this weekend -- The 'Ville, Kentucky -- so no posts until Monday. Until then, let your hair down...

Jukebox Upchuck #27

2007-02-22T20:41:00.000-06:00

Apparently, Charlie Louvin is going to play Bonnaroo this year, which surprises me as he turns 80 this July. He and his brother, Ira (long deceased), formed one of the best country gospel acts of their day. You'll recognize "The Christian Life," as Gram Parsons/The Byrds, among others, popularized it among the cool country set. For some fucking stupid reason, the Country Music Hall of Fame waited until 2001 to enshrine them. It's easy to hear where all sorts of followers may have gained inspiration from their recordings; the modern act that always pops into my mind first is The Handsome Family. Here's a couple tunes from their essential 1959 album, Satan Is Real.

The Louvin Brothers – "The Christian Life"
The Louvin Brothers – "Are You Afraid To Die"

Jukebox Upchuck #26

2007-02-19T19:58:00.000-06:00

Pitchfork posted an mp3 today of Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal) doing an acoustic version of "Green Typewriters" by his old Elephant 6 mates, The Olivia Tremor Control. (You don't want to hear it, trust me.) But that got me thinking about OTC, one of my favorite unsung '90s bands. Here's a couple tunes from their superb 1996 debut, Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle. The band was/is the brainchild of a pair of guys from rural Louisiana, Bill Doss and W. Cullen Hart, who later relocated to Athens. They received help on this album from Robert Schneider and Jeff Mangum, among others. I opted for a couple of the more accessible songs from the record, but its strong suit is really the 25-minute suite "Green Typewriters," which incorporates lengthy bouts of natural ambiance with a string of brief psychedelic segues and one killer theme song. Well worth checking out.

The Olivia Tremor Control – "Jumping Fences"
The Olivia Tremor Control – "No Growing (Exegesis)"

Jukebox Upchuck #25

2007-02-17T10:53:00.001-06:00

Dungen's new album, Tio Bitar, is dropping on May 1 in the States. A few songs have already leaked, and the rockers sound dense and heavy, more so than just about anything on the spectacular Ta Det Lugnt. As usual, the record is sung in Swedish, so we don't have to worry about how corny the lyrics may in fact be. (Just a hunch; "Ta Det Lugnt", after all, translates to "Take it easy".) None of these songs are as immediately gripping as "Panda" or "Festival", as they each have a bit more prog in their DNA. That's not too surprising, as having seen Dungen live I can testify that at the group's core, they're a prog band. (And that's fine by me, something I wouldn't have necessarily agreed with two years ago, before, for example, I first heard Andy Votel's Vertigo Mixed.) May 1 can't get here soon enough...

Dungen – "Gör Det Nu"
Dungen – "Caroline Visar Vagen"
Dungen – "Du Ska Inte Tro Att Det Ordnar Sig"

Jukebox Upchuck #24

2007-02-16T16:31:00.000-06:00

I've tried so many times to convince people that Chicago's Catfish Haven are worth their time that I've lost count. For the most part, I've failed. Whatever. I still dig 'em. They put on one of the best live performances you'll see from a trio fronted by an acoustic guitar. George Hunter fuses Joe Cocker with Sam Cooke in such an effortless way, it's disarming. So disarming, methinks, that it scares the bejesus out of most peeps. I've gone to Catfish Haven shows and witnessed Hunter lay it all on the line -- spewing sincere clichés as if they were cheaper by the dozen (just as the black soul brethren he cherishes once did before him). At these shows, white, typically snobbish indie kids look as if they're trapped in an uncomfortable half nelson, too dumbstruck and insecure to dance to a trio of white indie kids channeling black rhythm & blues. One can see their minds turning, scrambling to answer the question, "Where is my precious irony?" It's sad, really.* Ahem. /end rant, cue music\

Catfish Haven – "I Don't Worry"
Catfish Haven – "Let It Go"
Catfish Haven – "Down By Your Fire"

*Or, maybe they just need to be force fed some Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett?

Jukebox Upchuck #23

2007-02-14T19:09:00.000-06:00

Here's today's tunes, from Soft Circle, who Pitchfork raved about today. I know little about Soft Circle -- I'm a lazy researcher, so shoot me -- but I found these two trippy-dippy songs to be good "work music," i.e. music to listen to at work while working.

Soft Circle – "Moon Oar Sunrise"
Soft Circle – "Shimmer"

Jukebox Upchuck #22

2007-02-13T18:27:00.000-06:00

The Greenhornes' collaboration with Holly Golightly (originally from The Greenhornes' album Dual Mono*) was a perfect fit in Jim Jarmusch's Broken Flowers. I often daydream about being the lucky sort of person who gets to pick songs for soundtracks. How do I get that gig, anyway? While I ponder that, enjoy this sensational song that sounds as if it was plucked from the year 1968.

The Greenhornes – "There Is an End"

*Definitely worth tracking down, by the way; this song is a unique highlight in that it's the only one with Holly on vocals, but the entire record is great. ...Er, wait a sec, as Listmaker points out, she sings on another song on the album. That's what I get for going with my memory instead of pulling the record out. Lazy fucker.

If I had it to do over again...

2007-02-12T19:28:00.000-06:00

I would have moved to France a decade ago, formed a retro rock band, and competed with the Dum Dum Boys for superiority. I don't know much about these dudes, other than the fact that they have good taste in covers (The Modern Lovers, Suicide, Alex Chilton) and they've been around for 20 or so years. Oh, and they obviously dig Spacemen 3 and The Stooges. (Or at least they did in 1987.)

Jukebox Upchuck #21

2007-02-11T17:33:00.000-06:00

I've got a treat for you today, a few songs from psych-folk singer-songwriter Linda Perhacs. Her lone album, Parallelograms, was released in 1970, and you've likely never heard anything quite like it. Perhacs was a dental hygienist living in southern California when she recorded this record. Like many other fleeting female folk artists of her time, her music fell mostly on deaf ears, and she quickly reverted back to her everyday life. Members of the current "freak folk" movement have helped to uncover many gems -- from Karen Dalton to Vashti Bunyan -- and Perhacs' music may just be the most unique of them all. "Chimacum Rain" is simply gorgeous; "Sandy Toes" more straightforward; and the title track just brilliantly bizarre.

Linda Perhacs – "Chimacum Rain"
Linda Perhacs – "Sandy Toes"
Linda Perhacs – "Parallelograms"

Scary semi-nudes, part two

2007-02-08T16:55:00.000-06:00

R.I.P. We hardly got a chance to get to know your boobs.

Jukebox Upchuck #20

2007-02-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

These three extremely long-legged women from Brooklyn play keyboards! Lots of keyboards!! And I either hate or really like all of their songs that I've heard. There's no grey area. Here's one I like.

Au Revoir Simone – "Sad Song"

Jukebox Upchuck #19

2007-02-06T10:29:00.000-06:00

I took today off work to enjoy a day-long snowfall, or possibly to avoid having to be outside in it. It's eight degrees. Yesterday was a tad colder. And yesterday, I had to walk to work at 6:30 in the morning -- before the sun had fully come up -- because the car wouldn't start. Then, I spent the afternoon removing the old battery and installing a new one. I think I've earned a day indoors. But that doesn't mean I'm going to snub our first legitimate snowfall of the winter by ignoring the view from my window.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono – "Listen, the Snow Is Falling" (still one of my fave winter songs)
Galaxie 500 – "Listen, the Snow Is Falling"

Jukebox Upchuck #18

2007-02-04T10:51:00.000-06:00

Lee Hazlewood, whose songs are crucial to my way of life, is dying of cancer in his late '70s. Born a Dust Bowl Okie, Lee's reputation was earned as a producer/songwriter for such olden stars as Duane Eddy and Nancy Sinatra. While that rep is justified, it's caused many to overlook his own catalog of records. Over the course of 40-plus years, he's released a surprisingly small number of albums, taking off the bulk of the '80s and '90s. But the few songs he has recorded are simply spectacular. Lee belongs in consideration with all the great country-rock artists we normally discuss -- from Cash to Willie to Townes to Parsons. Two weeks ago he released what may well be his swan song, Cake or Death. Here's a sneak peak at his catalog.

Lee Hazlewood – "Long Black Train"(from 1963's Trouble Is a Lonesome Town)

Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra – "Some Velvet Morning" (from 1968's Nancy and Lee)
Lee Hazlewood – "I'll Live Yesterdays"(from 1971's Requiem for an Almost Lady)
Lee Hazlewood – "It's Nothing to Me" (from 2007's Cake or Death)

Bonus video: Lee Hazlewood – "No Train to Stockholm" (from 1970's Cowboy in Sweden)

If I had it to do over again...

2007-02-02T08:33:00.000-06:00

I would have made a point to introduce myself to this guy, Alan Gillett, who's from my old stomping grounds of Peoria, Illinois. Just watch the video, then read up on him. He's apparently performing at some sort of low-budget America's Next Country Superstar shindig a few years ago in Nashville.

Jukebox Upchuck #17

2007-02-01T19:11:00.000-06:00

How can I resist? Seriously, you know I've got a thing for panda bears and Photoshop. This is the solo project for the drummer from Animal Collective. Regardless of how you may feel about AC, check this song out. The album, Person Pitch (its artwork is above) is getting hyped as a second coming of Pet Sounds, which from the couple songs I've heard is a big stretch. But I do really like this. It's rhythmic/repetitive like AC, but with a greater emphasis on vocal melody.

Panda Bear – "Comfy in Nautica"

Jukebox Upchuck #16

2007-01-30T21:20:00.000-06:00

Oooh, I like this. This is nice. The man who sold this to me told me it sounded like Fleetwood Mac meets Ron Sexsmith ... and I still bought it!*

Midlake – "Roscoe"
Midlake – "Young Bride"

*with a discount, of course

Jukebox Upchuck #15

2007-01-29T16:21:00.000-06:00

I'm relying on my NYC readership to tell me whether Austin-NYC band VietNam is worthy of the hype they're receiving. I haven't heard their debut, just these two tracks, which I find intriguing as they mine Spiritualized territory. I'm therefore guessing that they might be a fun band to see in person.

VietNam – "Summer in the City"
VietNam – "Priest, Poet & The Pig"

Jukebox Upchuck #14

2007-01-27T11:47:00.000-06:00

Winning the award for Last Blogger On Earth To Post About The Shins New Record is ... me! Man, wasn't Oh, Inverted World a wonderful record? Too bad they haven't been able to measure up to it again. Ahh, but they are so good at melancholy. Here's one you know and one you maybe should.

The Shins – "Phantom Limb"
The Shins – "Turn on Me"

Spam me

2007-01-26T12:10:00.000-06:00

And now for some non-sensical, three-line poems made up entirely of the unedited subject lines of spam e-mail I have received lately.

Cialis Sells Like Hot Cakes
Hayek Sarah Michelle Gellar
love mandarin indonesian
So why are they so thin and fit?

The itself supermodel son
her write about losing
astride heckling
return address megalomania

Maffia Presley
Crime mob rar
feisty greedy
Enlarge your income

Radical Muslim drinking enemies’ blood
overcrowded natural history
4 FEET AND RISING SLIGHTLY.
rung patriarchy

The vendors have a genuine reason for sale
Full heart
Old Together
nutritious betray

Jukebox Upchuck #13

2007-01-24T18:07:00.000-06:00

It's amazing to hear just how far Kevin Barnes has come in a decade.*

Of Montreal – "I Can't Stop Your Memory" (1997)
Of Montreal – "Suffer for Fashion" (2007)

*But he's still writing about broken hearts.

If I had it to do over again...

2007-01-23T16:54:00.001-06:00

I would have believed the hype the first time around concerning Karen Dalton. To think that I've been depriving myself of Dalton's raspy croon for the past year ... tsk tsk. I'll post more mp3s at a later date, but consider yourself warned: she was the real deal.

If I had it to do over again...

2007-01-22T10:06:00.000-06:00

I would have interviewed Ian Svenonious instead of Ian MacKaye when The Make-Up opened for Fugazi in Peoria in '95.*

*Seriously, The Make-Up were a LOT more fun that night — even though this video is obviously not from that night.

Jukebox Upchuck #12

2007-01-20T10:02:00.000-06:00

It's not too often one hears a song quite like this. Mother Tucker's Yellow Duck are now just a footnote of the late-'60s Canadian rock scene. They were from Vancouver, toured with the likes of Deep Purple and Cream, and released one full-length for Capitol, but never hooked on with a fan base despite efforts like this...

Mother Tucker's Yellow Duck – "Kill the Pig"

Celebrity Basketball with Dan Quayle

2007-01-19T09:34:00.000-06:00

Little known fact*: Dan Quayle averaged 15.3 points per game in the 1983-84 U.S. Legislative League. His uncanny ability to nail a three pointer (35.6 percent on wide-open shots) led him to often be picked fourth for five-on-five teams. "'Deadeye Dan', as we called him, could really convert a right-handed layup with stunning consistency. Give the guy 25 to 30 shot attempts a game, and he could get you 20 points," said teammate Bill Bradley. "His only drawback was an occassional tendency to corral a defensive rebound, and then immediately shoot the ball -- at the opponent's goal. He wasn't so good at thinking on his feet, as they say."

*Actual fabrication

Jukebox Upchuck #11

2007-01-18T16:43:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite flicks of all time. Talk Hard!

Leonard Cohen – "Everybody Knows"*

*It's a shame they went with the Concrete Blonde cover on the soundtrack instead of the original.

Pandamonium #2

2007-01-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

Patty Puke, the Party Panda, crashed another toddler affair this week. She does love her cake.

Jukebox Upchuck #10

2007-01-16T10:15:00.000-06:00

Here's something that the elementary schoolteachers who read my blog will likely dig ... my fave Jens Lekman song sampled by a host of first-, second-, third-, and fourth-graders from a Maryland after-school program. Hear more at their MySpace page, and be sure to check out the Sufjan Stevens sampling "First Ladies Anthem". For real.

Rappers Delight Club – "When We Were Kids"

Jukebox Upchuck #9

2007-01-15T16:49:00.000-06:00

Apparently, iTunes won't permit you to download only Spoon's new single off the Stranger Than Fiction soundtrack. Instead, you have to download the entire soundtrack. Pity, that.

Spoon – "The Book I Write"

Jukebox Upchuck #8

2007-01-14T23:03:00.000-06:00

I found this strange melancholy song from Swedish songstress El Perro del Mar — a friend of Jens Lekman — to be quite addictive. The rest of the tunes on her Myspace page are worth checking out as well.

El Perro del Mar – "Party"

Jukebox Upchuck #7

2007-01-13T00:29:00.000-06:00

Still sounds good after all these years!

Archers of Loaf – "Greatest of All Time"

Jukebox Upchuck #6

2007-01-12T11:19:00.000-06:00

"A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird. B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word." C'mon, tell me you don't hear The Trashmen's classic hit in the verse's guitar/vocal melody. Even that sneaky lyric part way through the song, "Well, everybody knows..." But fuck, is this ever catchy in a totally dumb way. Just don't pay no mind to the words.

The Fratellis – "Flathead"

Jukebox Upchuck #5

2007-01-11T08:33:00.000-06:00

A tip of the hat to Soul Sides for this one, a complete redo of a Clipse song featuring a backing track from '70s funkster Lee Fields.*

Clipse – "Mr. Me Too" (Z.A.K. remix)

*I bet even Listmaker finds something to like here.

Pandamonium #1

2007-01-11T00:09:00.000-06:00

Ladies and gents, meet Patty Puke, the world's lone Party Panda.* We'll be checking in with Patty off and on over the course of the year as she travels the world in search of the ultimate party. Feel free to click the pic to get up and personal.

*Yes, I have too much time on my hands.

Scary semi-nudes, part one

2007-01-10T15:34:00.000-06:00

Maybe this is what GW wants to speak to us about tonight.*

Someone call the humane society already.

*Update: Surprisingly, it was not.

Jukebox Upchuck #4

2007-01-09T07:07:00.000-06:00

Call me a stick in the mud, but I could care less about the University of Florida winning the NCAA football championship. Until the BCS gets a legitimate playoff system in place, it's all just child's play...

Will Oldham – "Puff the Magic Dragon"
Broken Social Scene – "Puff the Magic Dragon"

Chairs are for sitting, vol. 2*

2007-01-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

Lawn chairs, which came about in the early 1950s with the invention of lawns, revolutionized sitting in much the same way that tract homes revolutionized neighborhoods.

*Historical evidence that chairs are indeed for sitting.

Jukebox Upchuck #3

2007-01-07T21:52:00.000-06:00

Handsome Dick Manitoba lives for...

The Dictators - "(I Live for) Cars and Girls"

If I had it to do over again...

2007-01-06T16:35:00.000-06:00

I'd still skip a full day of high school classes to see these guys in concert.*

Man. Fucking Mudhoney were the shit in 1991. Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge is still one of my favorite records of all time.

*This time, however, I would not get caught.

Albums I wouldn't mind hearing #1

2007-01-06T00:06:00.000-06:00

Obviously, I'd like to hear this before I, too, am six feet under. I first thought this was a gospel record for the elderly, but it turns out it's a fiery sermon to troubled youth. Beware guns & doping — or else!

Note the white leather boots. Nice!

Jukebox Upchuck #2

2007-01-05T10:05:00.000-06:00

The beach always sounds good in January.*

Nagisa Ni Te - "Me, On the Beach" (variation of their original)
Jens Lekman - "Me, On the Beach" (cover)

*Seriously, right now it's 80 degrees on the Virgin Islands.

This idea is so good...

2007-01-04T18:55:00.000-06:00

...I may run with it myself. What a productive way to recycle filth. Peep the newest poetic offering from the recently- determined-to-post-on-a-regular-basis df.

“Tried soft is the best way to gain money then”

No fraud anymore!
Save your money now!
Play and Win
Be happy with it!
Test the sweets of the life yourself
Re: your dot
Re: my swath
Re: your pyxi
Re: my impis
Its for u
Meds from USA. What else do you need?

Someone beat me to it

2007-01-04T14:35:00.000-06:00

Can you believe it? I swear I had this same idea when I was 14: Welcome to Hot Doug's: The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium.*

They even stole my idea for a theme song!

*I'm not kidding.

Jukebox Upchuck #1

2007-01-03T21:20:00.000-06:00

I did not know that Simon Joyner was so wild & free with the rock 'n' roll. I still think he does Omaha proud in a way that Conor Oberst only wishes he could.

Simon Joyner & the Fallen Men - "Medicine Blues"

And I just bought a 2007 wall calendar...

2007-01-03T11:38:00.000-06:00

Damn it! The stars of Negro League baseball ain't got nothing on ...

Order your copy today!

Word to your mother*

2007-01-03T09:22:00.000-06:00

The better sports anchors can't be satisfied by simply talking about sports.

YouTube

*I would not actually say this to your mother.

Chairs are for sitting, vol. 1*

2007-01-02T09:48:00.000-06:00

Notice how the couple appears at relative ease, both man and woman feeling comfortable enough to remove their headwear. Wicker has a way of soothing one's nerves.

*Historical evidence that chairs are indeed for sitting.