Posted
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Book I, "Free: The Future of a Radical Price": Chris Anderson, the author of the truly-engaging mass comm/business book "The Long Tail" is back this summer, with a title that's going to appeal to anyone figuring out how to make a dime in modern day media; you can probably glean the book's topic from the title, alone. The blips written about the work, to date, make this sound like a must-read. So much so that I plan to buy the book. For money. Day it comes out. Cash money.Book II, "Masters of Reality": There's no series that I find more variable that the 33 1/3 collection of titles on individual records. Pick up one and it's an in-studio look at the recording process. Pick up a second and it's a review of the genre spawned by said album. Pick up a third and it's a novella loosely-based on the work. That's kinda the approach of this one, which is penned by Mountain Goats member John Darnielle. It tells the story of a youth, coerced into an institution, who reacts poorly when his cassette copy of the titular Black Sabbath release is confiscated. Readable, yeah, and about 50-times more enjoyable than the dreadful mess that paid tribue to PJ Harvey's "Rid of Me," but I'm still not sure I can throw down $10.99 for every, slim, 100-page, interesting idea that comes along from the press. (Times are tough; don't know if you've heard.) Nonetheless, glad to see this series clicking along, with books that you can devour in the smaller part of an afternoon, if so moved.
Pimping, Silver Tray: Speaking of cash, I think this is the point in the proceeding when I'm supposed to solicit friends, acquaintances, random passersby and all others to chip into the KDHX till, with a timely (and generous) pledge to the spring membership drive. Me? I'm coming in with a robust $35 this Friday, so match my cheap ass, at least.
Band, Rare Bird: Fact of the matter is this: if punk and progressive rock were lined up right now, vying for my attention, I'm gonna my back out on punk for a little more fling-time with prog. Sorry, just the way it is right now. And I'm somewhat miffed that no one, ever, told me about the most amazing Rare Bird. What a completely delightful bit of overwrought '60s/'70s musical fare! Cannot stop thinking about buying their whole collection, an expensive proposition, considering that virtually nothing's available on iTunes and their LPs are generally in the $20 range, for original vinyl. In time, they will all be mine. Don't take my word, though. Watch and listen.
Snack cracker: ak-mak 100% whole what stone ground sesame cracker: I dig the all-lower case naming. And the remarkably flavorless taste! Delicious, in a completely benign way.
Guilty plesaure, Octomom: At some point, you just give in and realize that you're no longer following a news story "for class conversation purposes." You're simply hooked. So much so, that your secret shame eventually Googles you over to a Fox News culture blog named (no lie) "Pop Tarts" and that said blog used the word "sordid" in a headline in relation to Octomom. Man. Can't make it up. Glad that cable subscription's still off, or there'd be real trouble.
Phrase, "getting you (blank) on": Here's another entry inspired by classes. Students laugh when middle-aged white people say things in the classroom like, "let's get our study on" or the slightly-varied "let's get our discussion on"; or when reaching for a sip, "let me get my green tea on." The variations are endless and there's never a time during which the uncomfortable chuckles won't be there. Go ahead, be someone's embarrassing uncle. The half-hearted titters will warm your ears and tickle your heart, trust me. Can't wait for next semester's post-ironic, intentionally "dropped" catch phrase of the moment.
Field trip, Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago: Got UE on the brain and this hot-spot in the Windy City's got me all a'twitter. Dig the pics and you'll understand why.
Sought I, eBay dealer: I thought, in this economy, that every 10th person was on the web, selling other people's crap. Not so, it seems. My hookup seems uninterested in my current load of unwanteds, so... readers, please recommend me somebody in the game. In the meantime, I just scored two Nov. 9th CDs, so make a bid directly to me, on those; if you know what they are, you know how nice a find they are.
Sought II, photos of burnouts: I'm working on documentary about St. Louis AOR bands from the golden age of KSHE and we need some photos of, quite honestly, white STL kids with mullets, drinking beer from tin cans of Busch Bavarian, while leaning against their Camaros. Well, that'd be the super-all-star shot, but if you know of someone with any stash of righteous Sweetmeat-styled kids from our town's run of the 1970s, please let me know.
Sought III, lottery info: You can't win it, if you'r not in it. So, help a brother out: what lottery games are the ones to play for big payoffs? I don't wan to play my $1-a-week for a potential $50-100 payoff. I want millions. And, yet, I really haven't a clue as to how any of this stuff works. Something anecdotal would help. And something that I can play and win between now and April 15 would be best. Thanks, in advance; best info gets a cut.
Uh-oh-should-be-good-but-oooh-it's-been-awhile-new, Coumadin down/alcohol okayed: Been cleared to imbibe. Let's get our drink on!
Inside joke/YouTube video, Beatnik Herman: Well worth 90-seconds of your life:
3 Comments:
Just when I thought it was safe for me to leave the blogs from STL behind, there this pops up in my twitter stream. :(
Within 10-minutes of posting, a disaffected reader. Yes!
By 
Thomas Crone, at
7:12 PM
ha! entertaining & informative post.
By Sara Kempff, at
10:44 AM