scooter's spot v. 2.0

vacation...

2006-07-31T10:43:00.000-04:00

...I'm going on it.

I need to recharge my mind and decide whether or not this blog is something I want to continue doing. My motivation is down, my readership is down (or nonexistent).

Maybe it is because my creativity is down. I don't want to regurgitate other blogs' postings, and I find that is all I have been doing.

September 1, 2006...

See you then!

Overheard...

2006-07-18T10:12:00.000-04:00

Overheard in New York - It's a Better Idea Than Current Policy

Overheard in New York is the first of three 'Overheard' sites, which take something simple, like eavesdropping, and turn it into an even more voyeuristic pastime.

That's right, if you eavesdrop something really good, the site encourages you to send it in and share it with the internet. Currently, there is an Overheard at the Beach and Overheard at the Office; it is apparent which site features conversations from which local.

I haven't sent anything in to the site yet, despite the fact that some of the people I work with say the most ridiculous things on a relatively regular basis.

Anyway, I really like this posting, and the implications that are inherent within it. Some people can't tell the difference between fiction and reality, and in times like these (the brink of World War III, just to start things off), maybe we do need a Jack Bauer or Superman or Chef Gordon Ramsey or Supernanny to save the day...

It's a Better Idea Than Current Policy
Long Island mother: It's so sad about the kidnapped Israeli soldier.
8-year-old son: Yeah, when are they going to send Jack Bauer into Gaza to save him?
--40th & 8th

(VIDEO!!) the President and U2

2006-07-17T14:20:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that everyone and their mother has already had a chance to see this brilliant little movie.

But if you have not yet done so, watch it. The video editing is extremely good, and I haven't laughed as hard as when the Bush-y is batting his eyes lashes in a looooong time.

I wonder what Bono and the rest of U2 have to say about this...

Win A Camp Bisco VIP Package From Glide! Giveaway

2006-07-17T13:39:00.000-04:00

Win A Camp Bisco VIP Package From Glide! Giveaway

Glide Magazine is giving away a VIP prize package for Camp Bisco V, to be held the last weekend in August at Hunter Mountain in New York. The line up is excellent, the venue is supposed to be pretty good, and I've got high hopes for the weekend.

I probably shouldn't let anyone know about this contest, as it lessens my chances. But hell, if I win, great. If one of y'all win, then just hook up the person who you found out from.

ME.

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-07-17T13:01:00.000-04:00

I had a pretty rough week last week,and that's why I haven't really been posting all that much. Plus, to be honest, I don't think that anyone reads this site, anyway. (If you do, PLEASE leave a comment or two. I'd love to hear what my unknown readers have to say.)

But I like doing it, and it is definitely therapeutic in a lot fo ways, so I'm gonna keep on keeping on. Less on a defined schedule though; I'm gonna blog when I have something to write about, or if something interesting on the 'net jumps up and bites me on the nose.)

Until then, more secrets.

(VIDEO!!) Warren Haynes and Trey Anastasio shootin' the sht with a Funky Btch

2006-07-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

Here is a sweet little video (source unknown, but it is definitely proshot) of Trey Anastasio (formerly of Phish, currently playing in a four-piece with former Phish bassist Mike Gordon and Marco and Joe from the Benevento/Russo Duo) and Warren Haynes (Gov't Mule, also known as the hardest working guitarist in the jamband scene) sitting around a (clean) glass table, talking about playing the guitar and then wailing out to Funky B*tch.

I've never seen this before; long live YouTube!!

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-07-11T12:24:00.000-04:00

As always, courtesy of the fine folks at PostSecret.

My lady picked up the PostSecret book from my bookshelf this weekend, and her reaction was very interesting to watch. Sometimes she would laugh, sometimes she would show me the postcard or describe it, her words accompanied by a tone of approval or disgust.

I have a hard time passing judgment on the people who bare their souls to send in a submission to PostSecret. I can't even imagine having a secret so poisonous within my self that I would feel the need to send it in. I guess the act of sending in a secret is therapeutic, a step towards becoming well or accepting your condition.

So I want to thank all of the people brave enough to bare all for this project. May you find whatever you are looking for.

R.I.P. Syd Barrett (1956-2006)

2006-07-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

Guardian Unlimited Arts - Syd Barrett dies aged 60

Syd Barrett

Well, it took something like this to break me out of my blogging funk. Syd Barrett, one of the original psychedelic cowboys (especially on the European side of the pond) and the lyrical force behind early Pink Floyd's madness, died over the weekend as a result of diabetes.

Barrett, as it is mentioned in the obit, is considered by many to be one of the first casualties of the psychedelic movement, evoking, at least in my mind, the Grateful Dead lyric from "Shakedown Street":

Maybe he had too much, too fast...

Syd never had the fame of the rest of the band; in fact it wasn't until he left and David Gilmour joined up that their international appeal (in the form of selling a gizillion copies of their albums, especially Dark Side of the Moon) was cemented. Rumor has it that Syd was immortalized by his old band in the album Wish You Were Here, and I have read that the rest of the band took care of his financial needs since they could afford to do so. Syd actually shied away from the spotlight; his seclusion in his mother's basement was part of his madness.

Maybe, just maybe, Roger and David can see Syd's passing as a momentous occasion and turn their hatred into something productive, like maybe a tour?

Also, the long-awaited DVD edition of Pink Floyd's Pulse is being released today. It has been ten years in the waiting and should be pretty sweet.

And after work I'll upload some old school Floyd for your eardrums.

Headlines!

2006-07-06T10:08:00.000-04:00

MiamiHerald.com 07/06/2006 Armed man draws police

I just love this headline. Of course the man has to have arms to be able to draw the police! Have you ever seen an unarmed man draw the police?

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-07-03T10:01:00.000-04:00

I take back the last post. I had to share some secrets with y'all today, because PostSecret sure has some good ones this week.

ISP problems cause my vacation...

2006-07-03T09:52:00.000-04:00

So have you been missing me as much as I've been missing you?

I have had some service outages courtesy of Comcast this past weekend, so I couldn't post. Now, it is pretty much time for a holiday bender, so I'm not going to post.

See you later this week.

Weekly News Briefs - June 28, 2006

2006-06-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

Got a bunch of interesting (or disconcerting, depending on how you look at it) news stories for y'all this week. They range from chain-smoking monkeys kicking the habit to cat-devouring raccoons; cops flashing coffeehouse employees in the name of love to an over-zealous ex-lover with a Van Gogh complex. These stories are so odd that I couldn't even make them up.

Let's go!

***

Chron.com - Police: Spring man mails finger to ex-girlfriend

File under: Deserving of that restraining order

It is not the first time a jilted ex-lover did something stupid to reach out and touch their former beloved, and it surely won't be the last. But cutting your finger off and entrusting it to the United States Postal Service is an interesting way to do so.

The best part of the story:

Corpus Christi Police Capt. John Houston said police weren't sure which finger was removed or how, but that it appeared to have been washed before it was mailed Friday.

"It was a clean cut," Houston said. "It wasn't mangled."

Good to hear that the unidentified wack-a-doo had the sense of mind to not only wash his finger before hacking it off, but to keep the cut clean when he did so.

***

WAWS FOX30 - Man Robbed by Teen Girls, Thought He was Meeting MySpace Friend

File under: Payback's a bitch!

Last week's Weekly News Briefs featured a story about a girl and her mother who were suing social networking website MySpace for allowing the fourteen year old to be sexually assaulted.

Well, this week the tables have turned. Apparently, two teenage girls lured an older man out to a secluded spot with the promise of ""something fun" before robbing him at gunpoint.

The best part of the story:

The girls didn't get much because the victim had forgotten his wallet. They let him go, unharmed, and he called police.

Number one: Who forgets their wallet when they are going to meet a sexy new internet friend in person for the first time. What if she wants a soda, how are you going to impress the lady?

Number two: You figure that if the two young vixens were smart enough to set up this scam, they'd be smart enough to realize that the dude was going to call police ASAP. I guess he remembered his cell phone.

***

Yahoo! News - Kicking the habit no monkey business for chain-smoking Chinese chimp

File under: Monkey business

Apparently, Chinese people go to the zoo so they can see monkey's smoking cigarettes. If the monkeys are between butts, patrons throw one into the cage. Is there something wrong here, people?

The best part of the story:

Xiku the chain-smoking chimpanzee has almost kicked his deadly habit thanks to the efforts of zoo keepers in China, but it has taken a beer or two to help get him through detox.

I see. It is better for a chimp to be an alcoholic than a smoker.

***

SR.com: Detective charged with exposure fired

File under: What was he thinking?

52 year old cop falls in love with 23 year old coffee shop employee. Cop whips out his member and shows it to employee when it is time for him to order his cup of joe. Cop loses his job.

The best part of the story:

He told Airway Heights police that he was hoping to build a relationship with the 23-year-old woman, and he thought she had mutual feelings for him. Mastel told police he realized he as wrong when he saw the look on the woman's face after exposing himself.

So let me get this straight: this brilliant man who is authorized to carry a gun thought that showing his shriveled old man member to a young lady would help to build a relationship with her? It never worked when I tried it...

***

MercuryNews.com - Raccoon suspected after 3 cats eaten

File under: Scary, scary vermin!

This story really freaks me out. Not only do you have to worry about raccoons carrying rabies, now you have to fret about raccoons eating your house pets.

Did you hear me? Raccoons are eating cats!

The best part of the story:

"The raccoons leave the head and shoulders,'' she said. With one of last week's victims, ``we found some raccoon fur around the cat's fur.''

Sure, what do they need the head and shoulders for?

***

(VIDEO!!) New York Post Online Edition - BACK TO THE 'FUTURAMA'

2006-06-27T12:18:00.000-04:00

New York Post Online Edition - BACK TO THE 'FUTURAMA'

Happy days are here again!! It was recently announced that Futurama, Matt Groening's other cartoon show, has been resurrected from the graveyard of cancelled television programs. I find it really amusing that the only two programs to be revived after cancellation were Fox cartoons.

The same day as this great news was made a public, a trailer for the new Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" featuring Bender the Robot from Futurama, as well as Al Gore (complete with body, unlike in the series) started making the online rounds. And here it is:

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-06-27T11:42:00.000-04:00

One happy, and one sad. Courtesy of the fine folks at PostSecret.

Tuesday (I mean Weekly) News Briefs - June 22, 2006

2006-06-22T13:26:00.000-04:00

The Tuesday News Briefs are now gone. I can't be tied down to one day where it is permissible to share absurd news stories with my readers. So except to see this vein of post about once a week.

I got a bunch of good ones this week! Let's get started...

***

metroNY - Crackhead cinema: The latest wave in 'hood entertainment gets controversial

File under: Tasteless exploitation!

Take "Girls Gone Wild" and cross it with "Bum Fights", and you have "Crackheads Gone Wild". Basically, the producer/director (if you can even call him that)--a former crack dealer--had the brilliant idea to tape crackheads living their lives. Sure, he may throw them a buck or two (or a big fat rock) every once in a while to keep the ridiculousness at a peak. The American entrepreneurial spirit at its best!

The best part of the story:

"It's basically a drug-awareness video," Singletary explains. "There was the commercial with the eggs in the frying pan, 'This is your brain on drugs.'...That's not telling me what drugs do. You've gotta show me the reactions."

Whatever helps you sleep at night, dude!

***

The Boston Globe - The war on Fluffernutter escalates in Legislature

File under: Tasteless legislation!

I guess in Massachusetts they have nothing better to do than debit the merits of Marshmallow Fluff, and the Fluffernutter, a sandwich made using the gooey mess as a main ingredient.

The best part of the story:

Barrios was blasted on talk radio Monday, with defenders of Fluffernutters suggesting that the sandwiches are an easy and economical meal that parents can fix and that children will actually eat.

Of course, they will regret the astronomical dental bills over their lifetime, but hey, as long as parents can fix it and kids will eat it...Under this logic, would a s'mores be considered a "sandwich"? One that is cheap, easy and edible taboot.

Oh Massachusetts, thanks for helping make Florida look a little more intelligent.

***

Austin, Texas - kvue.com Top Stories - Mother arrested after child reportedly ingests LSD

File under: Premature hallucination!

I got a good idea. I'm gonna become a mother at age 19. Then, once the baby is old enough to walk away from me, I'm going to take him to a party, where I will take my eyes of of him just long enough for him to wander away and find something that a little kid will love...something like candy. Normally I don't mind if he shoves some SweeTarts down his throat, after all he's just a kid. What harm can some candy do to him?

But what if those SweeTarts happen to be laced with LSD?

The best part of the story:

"As the mother was carrying the child down the stairs, he was grasping in the air. He was reaching out for things that weren't there, calling out crying, screaming then calming down and then going right back into that and she said this was not normal behavior for him," said Jeff Hayes, Cedar Park police.

Really? Tripping face wasn't a normal behavior for a toddler? Boy, am I surprised.

I really think that this woman should be locked up for her stupidity and carelessness. And I really hope that kid is okay. I know some big beefy dudes who could never handle that much LSD...

***

Austin American Statesman - Teen, mom sue MySpace.com for $30 million

File under: What parental responsibility?

First thing to notice: both this story and the one preceding it come from Austin, TX. What do they have in the water there that causes people to be crappy parents? (And don't say LSD...)

To summarize: mom is suing MySpace because she met someone on the site who mislead her and then sexually assaulted her. They claim that the company should have done more to protect the girl from sexual predators.

This story really makes me mad, for a number of reasons. The first is that is another piece of proof that we live in an overly litigation-happy society. The second is that this women is unable to take responsibility for her under inadequateness as a parent (at least when it comes to keeping tabs on her teenage daughter), and feels that it should be someone else's responsibility to make sure she is staying out of trouble. I feel the same way about parent's complaining about the programs their children watch on television. For the sake of all that is holy, it is a parent's responsibility to parent their children!!

The best part of the story:

Loewy said he was confident about the lawsuit, which he said seeks damages worth 1 percent of the company's estimated worth.

"We feel that 1 percent of that is the bare minimum that they should compensate the girl for their failure to protect her online when they knew sexual predators were on that site," he said.

Greedy bastard. I guess the going rate for a sexual assault of a minor is one percent of one's net worth.

This world is sick...

***

Yahoo! News - Fla. restaurant sells $100 hamburger

File under: "That is one tasty burger!"

Boca Raton (from the Spanish "rat's mouth") is one of the more despicable places I've been. It is like a Jewish version of W.A.S.P.y Greenwich, CT, one of the more pretentious towns I have ever visited.

Basically, the restaurant at the ultra-exclusive Boca Raton Resort and Club (where a membership costs $40,000 plus an additional $3,600 a year) decided to put a burger on the menu for the first time. Why not make it the most over-priced hamburger in history?

The best part of the story:

The bill for one burger, with garnishing that includes organic greens, exotic mushrooms and tomatoes, comes out to $124.50 with tax and an 18 percent tip included. The restaurant will donate $10 from each sale to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

How generous, they'll donate less than ten percent of the ridiculous cost of the burger to charity...Why is it that rich people make me sick? I hope someone chokes on that burger...

BibliOdyssey: Butterflies and Beetles

2006-06-20T10:45:00.000-04:00

BibliOdyssey: Butterflies and Beetles

For Stephanie, who possess an intense love of butterflies and an irrational fear of all other insects...

BibliOdyssey is a nifty little blog that posts "eclectic bookart". These scanned pictures, maps, woodcuts, examples of font and other assorted illustrations flash back to a time when publishing and printing were an art form, and not just an assembly-line of poorly written paperbacks, produced without illustrations or any other visual aids.

Today, the site featured some illustrations from a book on insects from the late 1700s. Upon seeing the post I immediately thought of my lady friend, who loves butterflies but is deathly afraid of other insects.

I was going to post pictures of both the pretty and the grotesque, but decided to stick with the butterflies.

Now just consider the fact that these illustrations are more than two hundred years old!

Pretty cool!

I only hope that one day a looooong time from now people will look back at the artistic work done today with the same sense of awe and respect.

(VIDEO!!) the Brain Damaged Eggmen

2006-06-19T17:45:00.000-04:00

This past January, on the fourth voyage of Jam Cruise, a couple members of Umphrey's McGee and a couple members of the Disco Biscuits came together to form a supergroup of sorts. They dubbed themselves the Brain Damaged Eggmen, and played a show that many on the boat considered to be one of the highlights of the trip.

The jamband scene is ripe with gimmicks, and this show was no exception. Except this gimmick, or theme, or whatever you want to call it, worked! And the gimmick was a doozy: put together a group comprised of members of two of the more popular (read: possessing rabid fan bases) bands on the scene to play a two set show. One set of covers by the Beatles, and another of Pink Floyd covers: hence the group's name. ("Brain Damage" being a track on the Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, and Eggmen being a reference to a line in "I Am the Walrus".)

As I already mentioned, this show was very highly acclaimed, and by people whose opinions I value highly. So I regretted that this show was supposed to be a one-off performance, a treat for the few who were on the Jam Cruise. Thus, I was pretty happy when the rumors began to circulate in the Disco Biscuits' scene that the group would be playing again at Bonnaroo.

That performance occurred this weekend, and served as a mechanism for Umphrey's to seamlessly segue their set into the Disco Biscuits' set that was to follow. What either band played is inconsequential to this post, what concerns me is what the Eggmen played:

Baby You're a Rich Man> Another Brick In the Wall, Brain Damage> Eclipse

Looks pretty good, right? Well, add some special guests to the mix (Joe Russo of the Benevento/Russo Duo, Brothers Past's Tom Hamilton) and you have a pretty killer mini-set.

I didn't take these pics, but they made me laugh and I wanted to share... Thanks to the photog, whomever you may be...

The Brain Damaged Eggmen (with guest vocalists Tom Hamilton and Joe Russo)

Russo and Hamilton having way too much fun...

I haven't received too many reports from the 'Roo yet, but I can be pretty sure that this short set was well-received and a ton of fun.

***

A week or so before the Bonnaroo set, it was announced that the Brain Damaged Eggmen would perform a post-Lollapalooza show in Chicago that is to be a benefit for the Ustorm Foundation, a non-profit organization created to help provide access to music and art educational programs to needy children and young adults.

Here is the news post on Phantasy Tour:

Brain Damaged Eggmen Post-Lollapalooza Show

If I was going to be in Chicago that weekend, I would definitely be hitting this one up.

In honor of the second, and the scheduled third performance by the Brain Damaged Eggmen, I'm gonna make good on my promise from a loooooooooong time ago and upload some video clips from their first performance.

I've done so by constructing a YouTube playlist. I've never done this before, so bare with me. If everything works right you should be able to skip from video to video. The Beatles clips come first, followed by the Pink Floyd ones. Unfortunately, none of the songs are complete (and I'm missing the "Hey Jude" where apparently everyone in the audience was invited onstage to sing to coda), but it gives a good impression of what these guys can do.

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-06-19T09:50:00.000-04:00

PostSecret (predictably) took on Father's Day this week. Here are the ones that hit me hardest.

Please note, these are other people's secrets, and not my own.

For more on the PostSecret project, please click here.

(VIDEO!!) Henry Rollins' Love Letter to Ann Coulter

2006-06-16T10:00:00.000-04:00

That evil shrew Ann Coulter has been in the news a lot lately, due to the recent publication of another one of her propaganda-esque books. I'm not going to even talk about the outlandish things she wrote, because that would be validating her ridiculous views.

However, I will post this hilarious video, which is a clip from punk rock/spoken word legend Henry Rollins' television show on the Independent Film Channel, the Henry Rollins Show. I didn't even know that this program existed, but after seeing this clip, I'm gonna DVR it this weekend to check out what Rollins has to say.

Watch as the former Black Flag frontman writes a tender love note to the right wing's blond mouthpiece.

WARNING: Not Safe For Work due to Rollins' potty mouth!

(VIDEO!!) Get In Your Car and Cruise the Land of the Brave and Free...

2006-06-16T09:20:00.000-04:00

Back when I was in high school and college and had few to zero (real) responsibilities and an insatiable desire to see shows, summertime was the time for going on tour. The crew (whichever one it was at the time) would pack the car and start driving.

Most of my meandering travel through the U.S. has been while chasing concerts. Unfortunately, that means I didn't really take the time to explore the places I went, which is one of my great regrets and may well be the only detrimental part of going on tour. You have a defined mission (to get to the show) that is so important that everything else (including exploring the natural beauty of America) falls by the wayside.

I want to revisit many of those places so I can fully experience them. Hopefully one day I'll have the chance; I blew the one that accompanied my youth...

The guy in this video seems to be on a mission, and barely takes the time to get out of the car. But it is a pretty cool little clip. Check it out...

Home De-POT?

2006-06-14T22:04:00.000-04:00

CNN.com - Drug caches found in Home Depot vanities - June 14, 2006

This story is just plain crazy.

This is my favorite part. I mean it is my favorite part except for the people finding all the drugs.

Southwick Police Lt. David A. Ricardi said the item was purchased at "a local hardware store" but would not confirm it came from The Home Depot.

Home Depot a local hardware store? And Wal-Mart is just your neighborhood green grocer!

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 3 - Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 2

2006-06-14T21:24:00.000-04:00

So my original compilation needed some work. Some additions needed to be made, and then I had to make the discs a little shorter so I could still use Rapidshare.

It made me realize that this is a work in progress, and as long as Perpetual Groove is playing it will probably never be finished. Hell, when I post all of them I figure I'll get a bunch of folks telling me which tunes I missed.

Which is exactly what I want. Feedback, people!

(For those of you who missed the first disc, it is available here.)

Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 2
(all of the tracks on this discs come from archive.org. THANKS!)

Tracklist:
1. You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - 6-13-03 - Bachman-Turner Overdrive - 6:13

2. Escape (the Piña Colada Song) - Rupert Holmes - 4:53

3. I Know What I Know - Paul Simon - 6:12

4. Girl on LSD > - Tom Petty - 3:35

5. Macumba - 15:47 (Yeah, I know that Macumba is a pGroove song. But that sweet hip hop party in the tune's gooey center needs to be included in this comp.)

6. Dear Prudence - the Beatles - 5:15

7. 99 Red Balloons - Nena - 4:41

8. Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 3:41

9. I'll Take You There - the Staple Singers - 12:27

Amberland 2006. Thanks to my buddy Mitch for the photo!

Tuesday News Briefs - June 13, 2006

2006-06-13T11:52:00.000-04:00

Here we go with a couple good ones!

***

ABC News - Police Run Over, Kill Sunbather in Calif.

File under: Ooops!

This story is pretty sad; for some reason I believe that a similar incident took place here in Florida a few years ago. Do you want to know how to prevent this ever happening again?

Ban motorized vehicles on the beach. Sure, the police would actually have to walk, but Cindy Conolly, 49, of Sioux City, Iowa would have lived to see her son get married.

The best/worst part of the story:

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday. The officers have been placed on paid leave pending an investigation.

Witnesses saw the cops run over the woman's head! Why do they need an autopsy? "Well, maybe it was food poisoning that killed this headless woman?"

And I just don't understand the paid leave thing...isn't that called a vacation?

***

Sploid - 'Happy graduation day, scumbags!'

File under: Nothing like having the last word.

This next clip is near and dear to my heart, because the story (almost) could have been written about me. I was a somewhat troubled teenager. Not troubled in the contemplating suicide and cutting myself kind of way. More like troubled in the willing to experiment and hanging out with the bad crowd kinda way.

Okay, so maybe I was the leader of the bad crowd. But that is irrelevant.

To make a long story short, I was kicked out of my boarding school towards the end of my sophomore year. A new headmaster came to lead the school that summer, and he offered me a chance to return.

It was a way better option that having to be in to open a bagel shop at 5:00 a.m. daily, so I went back. That new headmaster tightened has reins on me, placing me on a program of random drug testing, making me live in a freshman dorm (for the remainder of my stay there) and generally making my life as miserable as he could.

Back in those days I was an unspoken nuevo/pseudo hippie, with long hair and a bit of a chip on my shoulder. The headmaster tried and tried to catch me at something, but I had learnt my lesson and was going to get my diploma no matter what.

The headmaster's view was slightly different. He told my parents, and I quote: "there is no way that your son will graduate from this institution while I am here".

When my mother told me that, I was determined to beat this jerk at his own game. Not only did I graduate, with honors. I received three awards at Prize Night. One of them was the Public Speaking Award, an honor that was accompanied by the privilege of speaking at graduation.

Well, Mr. Headmaster didn't like that all that much, but he couldn't just bounce me. I had submitted a speech and won the contest. So he appointed another speaker, and we both stood on the stage on that hot May day.

I thought about changing my speech, which was on the topic of redemption from one's self; unfortunately I was at a private school and would have faced retribution had a publicly aired my grievances with the school.

But I give kudos to Kyle Stublen, who had the stones to say what needed to be said.

The best part of the story:

Sansone later told the local Herald Tribune that he couldn't even remember all the crazed threats he hurled at the boy.

"To be honest, I can't remember all the things I told him," Sansone told the paper. "I was really upset."

So a teacher can threaten a student with no repercussions, but a student exercises his Constitutionally-given right to free speech and all hell breaks loose.

Only in America!

(VIDEO!!) Borat Movie Trailer

2006-06-13T11:11:00.000-04:00

Sacha Baron Cohen has been on my mind lately. His Ali G Show is pure brilliance, but it has been a while since the last season ended, leaving me wondering if he could even do another season without getting lynched or arrested. His schtick, for those of you who have never seen the show, is to portray characters that are so outlandish that they can't be real. The twist: he interacts with real people while in character. He is playing a role while they react to his ridiculousness.

At this point, I don't think there are too many people who haven't heard of Cohen's characters, including the over-the-top Eastern European Borat. That is why I can't imagine another season of the program.

When the going gets tough, the tough head to the big screen, I guess. Last night I was reading a magazine that talked about how funny the Borat movie was when it screened at Cannes. Hell, I didn't even know that there was a Borat movie!

But sure enough, this morning I found the trailer. I can't wait to see this one...

EDIT: YouTube has apparently pulled all of the different clips of the trailer, so I hope you saw it while you had the chance.

EDIT #2: Apparently, you can still view the trailer here.

Secret(s) of the Week

2006-06-12T10:05:00.000-04:00

For those of you who have never visited PostSecret, you really are missing out on a truly participatory art project, as well as an extremely therapeutic web site.

For those of you who have been to the site, you are well aware of the gist of it. People send in home-made post cards with secrets written on them. Once a week the blog publishes them. Sometimes they'll make you laugh, sometimes they will break your heart. But they will always make you think about what frame of mind the author was in when they decided to send something in to a website that originated from the darkest depths of their soul, and what caused them to be in that place, and perhaps what happened to them after the dropped the card into the mail.

The editors of the website compiled a fabulous coffee table/bathroom book (which never fails to be the first book picked up when I have people over to me apartment) that is for sale at, amongst other places, Amazon.com. PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives can be purchased here.

The new secrets get posted over the weekend, so I think I might link one or two up here whenever I feel so moved.

Here are the Secret(s) of the Week:

(Please note that the secrets posted here do not belong to me, and are only being posted due to their poignancy. There are dozens of other secrets I could have posted, so don't try to read too much into this. I only think that this is a powerful website that everyone should see.)

(VIDEO!!) I/O Brush

2006-06-11T15:21:00.000-04:00

(Thanks, Ross for the heads up!)

I spent the majority of this weekend sitting on my couch and catching up on the few primetime TV programs I still watch (thank you DVR!!). Honestly, this video had me more enthralled than the past two weeks of Last Comic Standing, the pilot episode of the Luke Perry (?!?) lotto-winning drama Windfall or post-season repeats of My Name is Earl or Everybody Hates Chris (both quality pieces of family programming, by the way).

Just tell me that this description doesn't make you want to buy one of these things, or at least watch the video...

I'm gonna tell you that the video is even cooler than the description. I/O Brush is a new drawing tool to explore colors, textures, and movements found in everyday materials by "picking up" and drawing with them. I/O Brush looks like a regular physical paintbrush but has a small video camera with lights and touch sensors embedded inside. Outside of the drawing canvas, the brush can pick up color, texture, and movement of a brushed surface. On the canvas, artists can draw with the special "ink" they just picked up from their immediate environment.

I''m gonna tell you that the video is even cooler than words can describe...

For more information on the I/O Brush (except for the most important info that I can think of : how much it is and where can i find it), check out their Massachusetts Institute of Technology (what do you think, they people who came up with this brilliant idea attended the DeVry Institute?) -hosted website here.

And for the love of all that is sacred, will someone please create a marketable version of this toy. There are so many crappy toys out there, and this technological wonder will appear to young and old, tripping out and completely sober.

I'd buy one!

(VIDEO!!) Once in Kermit's Lifetime

2006-06-09T09:12:00.000-04:00

(Thanks, Goolia on Phantasy Tour for the heads up! LINK)

The following video may take the cake for the coolest thing I've seen on YouTube. I don't know if it originally came from the Muppet Show or from some program on the Disney Channel (check the logo in the corner).

Where ever it was first broadcast, it don't matter to me. Kermit mimicks the singer he portrays so well, right down to the spactic movement and over-shoulder-padded white suit coat.

And his vocal delivery (semi-talking, semi-warbling, all frog!) makes the clip.

(REVIEW!!) Perpetual Groove - Amberland Day 1 - Deerfields, NC - 5/27/06

2006-06-07T19:05:00.000-04:00

So where do I begin my tale?

I guess it started on Friday, as I sat and waited for the Schwartz's of the Month, Ethan and Kelli, to come and pick me up at my place in Fort Lauderdale. Destination: the West Palm Beach apartment of yet another wandering Jew.

We got to Mitch's place and packed the cars right quick, all seven in the crew eager to get on the road towards the weekend's Unbound Destiny. Mitch, in his infinite wisdom, made a bet on a twelve hour trip. I hadn't made the trip from Florida to North Carolina since my sleep-away camp days, so my bets were worthless.

On the road by 11:00 p.m. I probably stayed awake until 1:00 a.m. or so. (I'm gonna take this completely opportune moment to thank my good friends Ethan and Kelli for driving the entire way to North Carolina and back. Without them, Steph and I would be stranded or passed out or dead somewhere along the way.)

We hit the closet Wal-Mart (I try to avoid the place like the clap, but sometime you just have take the dose and hit the penicillin in the morning) to to Deerfields at daybreak and stocked upon the essentials. (I already picked up beer in Florida, since I had heard we would be driving through dry counties on the way there. We didn't, but the beer I bought in Florida was better than the selection at Wal-Mart, that's for sure!)

After searching for a real bathroom so our ladies could enjoy the comfort of a toilet seat one more time, we headed along the twisting, turning road to Deerfields. At one point I actually felt like we were on a Subaru Outback-themed roller coaster because we went over a hill without seeing where the track--err, I mean road--was heading. I had that stomach in the throat sensation that I love so much...

Once we got in line at 11:00 a.m., we were third car there. I immediately hopped out, cracked a beer (what, is 11 in the morning too early for a Dogfish Head 60 minute I.P.A.?) and set about meeting the folks in line with us. Right behind was a dude from Coral Springs, about 25 minutes from where I live. I can't remember his name, so he shall be dubbed Homeboy forever more. But Homeboy had some tasty peanut butter baked goods that started my day off right.

By the time they decided to let us into the venue, it was slightly past the advertised noon time opening. But Mitch's 12-hour bet had actually been under, and we were all happy to give him props on his being a Estimate-ing Prophet.

Welcome to Amberland! (Thanks, Chris High for this truly excellent photo!)

We pulled our cars into Deerfields, a beautiful piece of property with rolling hills, a babbling brook, multiple lakes, acres of hiking trails, hills, mountains and all the glorious flourishes of nature that one usually doesn't see when living in a concrete jungle of suburban sprawl as I do. Honestly, I felt like I was back at summer camp. The fact that the summer camp I attended for years as a kid was literally the next town over from Deerfields.

I wonder what the property is used for when not being used for festivals. There were two cabins on site, and the owners (I believe) live there year round.

Back to the weekend. We drove in a parked our cars, picking a nice shady spot (shady is in under the cover of shade-producing trees, not shady as in tour trash sketchballs, thank you very much....) to pitch our tents. We needed a lot of space, because the tent that we used was, quite literally, the biggest tent I have ever slept in. It was actually bigger than my bedroom in my apartment. We slept five in it (with air mattresses for all) quite comfortably.

Mitch whipped up some Bloody Marys (with horseradish, of course!) and pre-gaming continued. We headed over to the stage around 3 to relax in the sunshine and get ready for some music.

Ahh, the music. It was wonderful!

Perpetual Groove – 5/27/06 - Amberland day 1 – Deerfields, NC
(Thanks to Matt Dolian, who posted this bittorrent, from which I borrowed the setlist)

Set I: For Now Forget, Perihelion, Tupelo Honey, Luthien & Beren, Long Past Settled In, 53 More Things to do in Zero Gravity > Naive Melody, TSMM

Albert bangin' out the beat! (Thanks, Brad K for this truly excellent photo!)

This set was a nice little way to get the weekend started (musically, at least. I had started partying with the first beer waiting in line a few hours earlier. Van Morrison’s “Tupelo Honey” was a cover I had never heard before, so that was a bonus, while “Long Past Settled In" featured guitarist Brock Butler shredding the lapsteel, creating the instrument’s trademark warbling tone. And then the gorgeous instrumental (as well as the first of many references this weekend to author Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”) “53 More Things to Do in Zero Gravity” led perfectly into my personal favorite Perpetual Groove Cover, the Talking Heads’ “Naïve Melody”. “TSMM” closed things out, and our crew headed back to the campsite, ready to post-party the first while prepping for the rest of what turned out to be an extremely long evening.

During the break we managed to find some ice, the most important (debatable, I know) substance one can have at a music festival. We also hit the bottle pretty hard, and stumbled down to the small concert field around seven o’clock; it was time to rock.

Set II: Sundog > Breeze > Pepper > Breeze, Old Friend, March of Gibbles Army, TTFPJ* > Bittersweet Symphony*

* with Will Bradford from SeepeopleS

And they came out rockin’! “Sundog” climaxed in its’ usual high speed honky tonk glory, which led the way into one of my favorite pGroove sequences (my actual favorite was played later this weekend).

To me, the song “Breeze” sounds almost exactly like Phish’s “Camel Walk”. Maybe not the whole thing, but parts of it are like an echo. I got no problem with that, mind you, especially when the nasty electronic jam drops into the Butthole Surfers’ “Pepper”. It made me all warm and fuzzy to hear the entire crowd singing along at the top of their lungs:

“I don't mind the sun sometimes, the images it shows…I can taste you on my lips, and smell you in my clothes…Cinnamon and sugary and softly spoken lies…you never know just how you look through other people's eyes…”

New tune “Old Friend” and old school classic “March of Gibbles Army” followed before we got to the nasty stuff. “TTFPJ” featured the return of the evening’s first special guest, Will Bradford from SeepeopleS, and was nice and funky before dropping into one of the two (make that three, on second thought) covers I wanted to hear over the course of the weekend: the Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony”. Now I never really liked Richard Ashcroft’s band when they were actually popular, but I gained an appreciation for the song watching him front Coldplay and play it at Live8 last summer. Let me tell you that Perpetual Groove crushes this song, creshendo-ing its’ classical climax as hard as a four-piece rock outfit can. This version was no exception, and proved to be a sweet closer for set number 2.

Now is the point were setbreak activities get a bit fuzzy. All I can tell you is that we were still sitting in our camp chairs when we heard the opening notes of the next set a while later.

Set III: Helter Skelter# > Speed Queen#, Gone Round the Twist > Stealy Man, Legends of Preston > All This Everything, Part II > Three Weeks > Legends of Preston, Lunatix the Guide > Diggin' in the Dirt
# with Damien Perry

That Sexy Matt McDonald! (Thanks, Chris High for this truly excellent photo!)

Hot damn, that’s a lot of arrows! (Indicating a segue, the seamless transition between two songs for the uninitiated.) The band was tight, I heard some favorites )”Three Weeks”, “Stealy Man”), some tunes I’ve never heard live before (“Helter Skelter”, “legends of Preston”, “Gone Round the Twist", a rarely played tune, a seizure-inducing (helped in no small part by Huffer the Light Guy’s rental rig and aluminum-foil looking Mylar backdrop) version of “Speed Queen” and what can possibly be the best version of Peter Gabriel’s “Diggin’ in the Dirt” that I have ever heard.

What is scary is that this set paled in comparison to what came next.

I honestly enjoyed the fourth set more than any other music I heard the entire weekend. I’ve been telling people that the set reminded me of some of the better (and more outrageous and experimental) Phish shows I’ve seen. I was told that it was a bold statement I was making, but I stand by it. The set was awesome.

Set IV: MOTA # > Stranglehold # > Jam > I'm Afraid of Americans * > Stranglehold * > Mota > Rhymin' and Stealin' #
* with Will Bradford from SeepeopleS
# with Damien Perry
Travis Cline from Captain Soularcat rotated in during the set

Bassist Adam Perry earing his keep bangin; the keys!

(Thanks, Brad K for this truly excellent photo!)

The psychedelic spaciness of “MOTA” served as a launching pad for a monster set. Once the opening guitar rift of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” kicked in (you may not know the song, but if you like rock and/or roll, you definitely know the rift), it was on. Heavy metal mode set on overdrive, a jam that sounded (and still does as the track plays on my computer) like it could become Bob Marley’s “Exodus” without too much effort and then suddenly some calm arrives. The fourteen-plus minute jam that followed zoomed out there (out where?) before being reined in with some DJ-esque samples, and becoming David Bowie’s “I’m Afraid of Americans”. Another one of my favorite covers, and it became the pivot-point in a musical trick I love.

I’ve only ever seen the Disco Biscuits pull a musical palindrome, and I’ve only seen them do it once. But if, like me, you do not count “Jam” as a song, and you have the creativity to consider “Rhymin’ and Stealin’”—the last song played at four set show—the encore, then pGroove played a palindrome.

The electro/jam goodness of Bowie’s ode to American culture slid into the tail end of “Stranglehold”, with Brock screaming the lyrics out in a broken tone, before finishing up the almost hour-and-twenty-five minute, uninterrupted chunk of music with a reprise of MOTA.

The Beastie Boys’ “Rhymin’ and Stealin’” was a bonus for me; hell, I could have got in the car and left right then and there and been, musically at least, completely satisfied.

In a little more than twelve hours, Perpetual Groove played four ridiculous sets of music. I was a happy camper, our crew was glowing and there was beer to drink.

Tomorrow was to be another day…

Go, Huffer, Go! Thanks, Brad K for this truly excellent photo!

(VIDEO!!) Watch your hands, kids...

2006-06-06T16:34:00.000-04:00

Watch it shred: PRI-MAX vs. BMW

(Thanks, Boing Boing for the heads up. LINK)

Last year after Hurricane Wilma blew down nearly every tree here in Broward County, there was an obvious problem that needed an immediate solution: what to do with all of the vegetative debris that were literally the streets, clogging the canals and generally causing chaos?

(And I'm not even going to take into account the construction and miscellaneous debris, even though I personally hauled a hundred pounds of roof tiles out of my tiny patio.)

The solution they used last year was to burn the debris. Not the most environmentally-friendly means of disposal, but it had a pretty high reduction rate.

Check out the link and see how I think it should be done in the case (almighty being forbid!) that we get hit with another hurricane.

And if the machine eating the Beamer doesn't impress you, there are a number of other videos showing the beast at work here.

(VIDEO!!) Obscure Trey Anastasio Band Footage

2006-06-05T19:53:00.000-04:00

God, I really love YouTube. What a wonderful idea, to freely host videos that people can post from any type of visual recording device., from shaky handheld camera to cell phone to bootlegged straight from TV with a VCR.

Here is some footage from when the Trey Anastasio Band played at someone's private birthday party. Not too shaky, and it looks like the red-headed freak is having a good time.

MiamiHerald.com - 05/28/2006 - A tip for the hurricane season: Try to have some kind of a clue

2006-06-05T18:48:00.000-04:00

Miami Herald - 5-28-06 - A tip for the hurricane season: Try to have some kind of a clue

(Thanks, Mom, for the heads up!)

Thank you Dave Barry, for being the smartest man in South Florida and for saying things the way I would say them if I was a considerably more funny person than I actually am.

(AUDIO!!) Amberland bittorrent (and archive.org links)

2006-06-02T10:42:00.000-04:00

So my review is coming a little slower than expected. Probably because it is a little longer than expected. And now that the weekend is almost upon us, I probably won't have time to finish and post until Sunday. Sorry.

But here are links to download the music from this past weekend. Thanks to the tapers, the uploaders and the sites that host these tunes. Without you people like me would have probably never heard of a band like Perpetual Groove.

Perpetual Groove - Amberland - Saturday, May 27, 2006 (Thanks, archive.org!)

Perpetual Groove - Amberland - Sunday, May 28, 2006 (Thanks, archive.org!)

Full Amberland bittorrent (Thanks, bt.etree.org!)

Amberland Review Preview!

2006-05-31T20:25:00.000-04:00

I spent my Memorial Day Weekend (the part of it where I wasn't passed out in the back of my buddy Ethan's Subaru Outback, at least) in a beautiful little corner of the world, Deerfields, NC. This fine piece of property, for the first time (and hopefully not the last), hosted Perpetual Groove's annual Memorial Day event, Amberland.

It was pretty much the perfect location for the perfect weekend with pretty much the perfect band (at least this weekend, pGroove came pretty close.

I'm still slightly burnt out from the lack of sleep and the extreme levels of alcoholic consumption. Plus, even though I don't really like professional basketball, I feel like watching the Heat put the whoop on the Pistons.

So I'm gonna cop out and wait until tomorrow to post my review. It'll give me some time to collect online photos, taboot. That's a necessity considering that my lovely lady's little camera had some technical difficulties. Which, of course, were resolved upon return to reality from the wilderness.

I'll leave you with a photo, one that is probably the best shot I've seen of pGroove guitarist Brock Butler in a long time, if ever. I didn't shoot it; probably never could. But I love the look on his face, and the lights behind him.

Wow, what a weekend!

Perpetual Groove guitarist Brock Butler. Amberland, 2006.

Tomorrow, be prepared for a full Amberland review, containing pictures and details of a great weekend. Also, if I got the time, and I got the inclination, maybe disc 2 of Under the Covers? What can I say, it's gonna be a pGroove kind of day.

I had that good a time this weekend.

See you next week!

2006-05-26T19:59:00.000-04:00

I got a valid excuse, I'm going to Amberland to see Perpetual Groove. Full report to come.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, FOLKS!!

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 2 - Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 1

2006-05-25T18:38:00.000-04:00

I've mentioned before that Perpetual Groove is a band that sure knows how to pick a cover song. To me, one of the essential components of a good live band is the ability to pick a good cover song. A really good live band is able to take someone else's song and make it their own.

Perpetual Groove has the ability to do this. They destroy the Peter Gabriel songs they do, and I've probably listened to their highly dancable take on Fatboy Slim's "Praise You" at least five times this week.

In celebration of the fact that my weekend is going to be spend at Amberland, Perpetual Groove's annual Memorial Day festival/cookout/family reunion/party, I've spent the last couple of days augmenting my pre-established playlist of pGroove covers.

Now I have over five-and-a-half hours of Perpetual Groove covers. Some, like "All Night Long" or "Funky Town" are jam vehicles, stretching for ten or twelve or twenty minutes! Others are true to form: short, sweet and to the point. Some are from last week; others are from last year. Many are regulars in the band's rotation, and some are one-time-played asterisks on a setlist from long ago ("99 Red Balloons"?) I even included one Perpetual Groove song because in the middle of it Brock Butler, their guitarist, flips his hoodie over his head and raps Jay Z, the BeastieBoy and whatever other hip hop comes to his slightly balding head.

This week I present to you the first of five discs that compile what I have wittilly dubbed "Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers". Depending on what happens this weekend at Amberland, I may be adding some more tunes to the compilation.

Any and all, I'd love your comments! Suggestions, additions, detractions and whatever kind of RUCKUS you want to bring are welcome.

The tunes have been compressed as a .rar file, and can be downloaded from rapidshare.de from the following link!

Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 1

(all of the tracks on this discs come from archive.org. THANKS!)

Tracklist:

1. Pusherman - Curtis Mayfield - 10:51

2. Orange Wedge > - the Chemical Brothers - 2:33

3. Marijuana in My Brain - Lords of Acid - 10:38

4. All Night Long - Lionel Richie - 8:39

5. Do Your Thing - Isaac Hayes - 12:49

6. I Want You Back - the Jackson 5 - 4:01

7. Diggin' in the Dirt - Peter Gabriel - 12:43

8. ABC - the Jackson 5 - 4:02

(VIDEO!!) Marijuana muffins = Weapon of Mass Destruction

2006-05-25T15:27:00.000-04:00

I really don't know what to say about this.

You know that our country is screwed up when marijuana muffins warrant the involvement of the F.B.I. and the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

God Bless America (and the great state of Texas, from which this video came).

Gas station's shocking sign of times - Reuters.com

2006-05-25T09:31:00.000-04:00

Gas station's shocking sign of times - Reuters.com

(Thanks, Sploid for the heads up! LINK)

Gotta love a guy with a sense of humor, even as he is losing his livelihood...

(VIDEO!!) The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne gives a speech for high school graduation

2006-05-24T23:52:00.000-04:00

(Thanks Stereogum, for the heads up! LINK)

Even though it was his high school, the one the man actually graduated from (yeah, right!), don't you think his former teachers and administrators would have known better to invite this psychedelic cowboy back for an encore?

Part 1

Part 2

(VIDEO!!) Random...

2006-05-24T23:21:00.000-04:00

...It has been a long night.

Time for a drink.

Maybe I should pour it from the Disco Bar!

(Cover songs to come. And they are definitely worth the wait!)

Tuesday News Briefs - May 23, 2006

2006-05-24T10:33:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I know that it is actually Wednesday, May 24. So shoot me for being a day late and a dollar short. I figure that I can break my own self-imposed rules on blogging every day, if--and only if--I make up for it the very next day.

Which I am doing right now.

I'd explain why I didn't have the time or energy to make a post last night, but suffice it to say that at least part of the blame is to be placed on the lack of stores selling denim overalls in the greater Fort Lauderdale area.

Now onto the news!

* * *

New York Post - Tommy Guns: Hilfiger Dresses Down Axl in Brawl

File under: I wish I could have seen this!

Say what you will about gossip columns, but Page 6 in the New York Post is a great source of oftentimes ridiculous celebrity gossip. Kind of like this piece, which describes a little tiff between the recently-back-into-the-spotlight Axl Rose and Greenwich, CT's own uber-feminine fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. Incidentally, how did it happen that the person who made be the whitest fellow on the face of the earth designs clothes that are almost exclusively worn by people that, well, tend to be not white?

The best line in the story:

As the punch-up escalated, Hilfiger introduced Rose to some "November Pain" with a blow to the cheek. Club guards quickly tried to separate the men.

Who do you think would win in a no-holds barred battle between the two men:

This guy?

Or this guy?

You be the judge...

* * *

Miami Herald - Women Learn Art of Striptease at Oakland Park club

file under: It is about time!

Stripping is not new. Neither is the realization that it must be a pretty good work out, shaking those tassel things and gyrating on a fireman's pole. But, at least here is South Florida, making money off of teaching non-strippers to strip--or to get a good workout while simulating stripping--is a hot fad.

They are so many good little tidbits in this story that I couldn't choose just one.

The best line(s) in the story:

''Not everybody is cut out to go to the gym,'' said Andrea Amenta, director of public relations for Scores. ``With this, it's a little bit more fun.''

As someone in the PR biz, I love this. Even strip clubs have PR directors. (I wonder if she had anything to do with the oodles and oodles of plugs Howard Stern dropped on this establishment prior to his flight from terrestrial radio.

'I always tell people `You'll have a newfound respect for strippers after you take this class,' '' said Mind Body Connection owner Eileen Owoc.

It seems as if Ms. Owoc if differentiating between a newfound respect for strippers and the respect of someone who has respected them for a longer period of time.

And for the crown jewel:

For those who prefer to practice in the privacy of their own home, A Pole Lot of Fun delivers. The Davie-based business advertises women-only parties that come complete with a pole, music and champagne.

A Pole Lot of Fun? A Whole Lot of Pun? I'm still laughing, and I've read this story at least a dozen times.

* * *

That's all for now, folks. I'll be back later tonight (if I don't get sucked into the LOST season finale, never to return) with some more Cover Song Madness.

(VIDEO!!) the Chemical Brothers featuring the Flaming Lips - the Golden Path

2006-05-22T18:42:00.000-04:00

So I'm in the process of working on a massive post, one that details the adventures in cover songs undertaken by a particular group who I am going to gorge my aural senses with this weekend, and I realized that slow download speeds and quickening scotch intake is going to prevent me from finishing tonight, thus causing me to reneg on my every week day blogging pledge.

And I can't let that happen.

So here is the video for one of the songs that will be featured on this massive, mega, it'll be totally worth the wait post. The song is awesome by itself, but the video is super cool for, especially for the cubicle-dwelling set (::raises hand::). There was a live version from an MTV Europe broadcast up on YouTube until recently, but it seemed to disappear overnight recently, and I can't provide it. If anyone does have the video, drop a line 'cause I'd love to have it.

Chemical Brothers featuring the Flaming Lips

"the Golden Path"

(VIDEO!!) Movie Trailer Mash-Ups

2006-05-19T15:32:00.000-04:00

The audio mash up was one of the most genre-bending musical phenomenoms in recent memory. Take two or more songs that have absolutely nothing in common, mix 'em together and viola, you have something new and different. One of my personal favorites was entitled "Bootysticious", and it was a tasty little mix of Destiny Child's "Bootylicious" and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition".

Fast forward to today, and audio mash ups are so last year. Video is in now, boys and girls. And what is a better video to manipulate and recalibrate than the real reason to go to the movie theater: the trailers. They're formulaic and sappy and scary or melodramatic, depending on what kind of film.

But what if someone took a movie completely out of context when editing a trailer. What if, let's say, someone thought that Jaws was a family film?

Well, now you can see for yourself.

You can admit that was funny. I won't tell anyone.

But this one is so much more amusing, the epic Charlton Heston film the Ten Commandments retold as...a teen movie?

It is as hilarious as it sounds.

Outdone by the Big Boys!

2006-05-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

My Old Kentucky Blog: Love Will Tear Us Apart

Remember a couple weeks ago when I compiled a couple of different versions of the Joy Division song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" for your listening pleasure? (LINK)

Well, I never said that I was a completely original idea, just one I thought was cool.

Today I noticed that one of the "real deal" music blogs (read: the owner gets paid for advertising on his/her site) posted an exhausting list of versions of the songs. There are many more than I had, that's for sure.

But they didn't have the Brothers Past version. So I dropped him a comment, and ta-da, now a BP version is linked up. Hopefully they'll get a little exposure out of it. They deserve it.

R.I.P. - Lawrence "Ramrod" Shurtliff (1945-2006)

2006-05-18T11:32:00.000-04:00

LAWRENCE "RAMROD" SHURTLIFF: 1945-2006 / Mainstay of Grateful Dead crew dies -- 'he was our rock'

(courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle)

Yesterday, May 18, a man died in a California hospital. His name, or at least as far as I knew, was Ramrod. Normally a guy like me would have never heard of a man like him, except of who he worked for. You see. Ramrod was Jerry Garcia's main roadie, guitar tech and long time friend.

From the San Francisco Chronicles's obituary:

He was a psychedelic cowboy who rode the bus with Ken Kesey and took virtually every step of the long, strange trip with the Grateful Dead. Known to one and all solely as Ramrod, he died yesterday of lung cancer at Petaluma Valley Hospital. He was 61.

My Uncle Vinnie (may he also rest in peace) used to be a sound guy with the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna and a number of other San Francisco bands belonging to time. He used to tell me stories about the backstage scene at Grateful Dead shows, stories that can't be repeated here. Ramrod was definitely mentioned more than once.

The following passage is from Living With the Dead (pg 241) by Rock Scully, a former manager of the group. Many Grateful Dead scholars (if a greater oxymoron every existed, please let me know, but alas, they do exist) deride the book as exaggerations and fictionalizations, but the story is pretty funny, regardless of whether or not it was true.

Ramrod takes out his stash and empties it on the stage, and after that I guess everyone is too embarrassed to on to theirs (besides, they probably have some back at the hotel). It starts out as a trickle, but ends up the Mississippi River of cocaine. The stuff pours out, baggies full...When it is all piled up, it has to be at least a few ounces. Rex [Jackson; head Grateful Dead roadie at the time, as well as the namesake for the band's charitable arm, the Rex Foundation] sweeps it all together and then Ramrod puts lighter fluid on it and sets it on fire...No sooner have we finished burning the coke onstage [emphasis his] than the GLS (Greater London Council) shows up with the fire department...The fire department isn't going to allow us to play.

The Grateful Dead was always more than just the guys who got on stage and played music. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why they ended up the way they did, touring endlessly to pay the salaries of dozens of vital employees and a seeming even number of wannabees, hangers-on and coke and heroin dealers (depending on the musician and day of the week),

Ramrod was a vital member of the Grateful Dead, a long time member of the Grateful Dead. Without him, the thing that I know and love as the Grateful Dead could have very well been something completely different. And even though that thing--at least musically, if not financially or based on copyright and trademark--ceased to be the day that Jerry died. But as long as the people involved and the people that care still care, there will be a Grateful Dead.

Ramrod was a huge part of that.

After Jerry died, one of the most touching things I read afterwards was the elegy written for him by Robert Hunter, his longtime friend and lyricist, as well as a phenomenal poet and scholar in his own right. The opening and closing lines are still burned in my mind; I can recite them today as if I wrote myself just minutes ago and was reading them off the page.

Hunter wrote an elegy for Ramrod, and though not as eloquent or poingant as his memoriam for the late guitarist, there a few lines that ring true.

He came down from Oregon,
Prankster sidekick of Cassady,
Kesey and the merry crew,
a silent stoic in a vocable milieu
his heart was stolen by the Grateful Dead.

A country boy, not given to complexity,
his crowning gift was loyalty
for which he was loved more than
the common run of men by friends.

Ramrod was, more than anything, a good friend, someone who could be counted on when he was need ed in any way. He will be missed.

(VIDEO!!) Umphrey's McGee to sing National Anthem at Cubs game

2006-05-17T09:27:00.000-04:00

Umphrey's McGee - News (thanks livemusicblog for the heads up! LINK)

Umphrey's McGee will be performing the National Anthem at the Cross-Town Classic White Sox vs. Cubs game this Sunday, May 21st, at 12:56 CST. Be sure to tune in early to WGN to catch this extremely exciting moment in the history of Umphrey's McGee!

Good for them, I'd rather see them sing "the Star Spangled Banner" than the Backstreet Boys or Avril Lavigne. But I do have a bit of a problem with the whole honor. Are they truly deserving of it after being in existence for however long they've been a band? Have they been around for 5 years, maybe 10? Aren't there a few more famous musicians from Chicago to put on a pedestal?

The Grateful Dead first were given the honor in the Vince Welnick period!! They had been playing together for 28 years before they stepped onto the grass at Candlestick Park to sing the anthem at a San Fran Giants game.

Watch it here:

(VIDEO!!) Theremin Video #2

2006-05-16T19:47:00.000-04:00

What the hell, I'm gonna post the theremin video that started my newfound mission to spread the music of the theremin far and wide...

Here is some dude named Dr. Samuel Hoffman (who it turns out is probably one of the most famous theremin players ever) playing the instrument on a TV show from 1953.

Does anyone know where I can buy one?

(VIDEO!!) Theremin Video #1

2006-05-16T19:24:00.000-04:00

Theremin Killed the Radio Star

It took me a little while to figure out what my first post back would be. I knew I wanted to write about something that I hadn't recently seen on one of the countless blogs that I regularly frequest (see blog role to the right for some examples).

Perusing YouTube one fine afternoon, I came across a video (that has to be at least 50 years old) of a dude playing a theremin. You can read the whole history of the instrument at wikipedia, but here is the most important part, just so you get the gist:

The theremin or thereminvox is one of the earliest fully electronic musical instruments. Invented in 1919 by Russian Léon Theremin, the theremin is unusual in that it requires no physical contact in order to produce music and was, in fact, the first musical instrument designed to be played without being touched. The instrument consists of an array of circuitry including two antennas around which the user moves his or her hands to play.

I remember back in the day (beginning in '96) Page McConnell, the keyboardist from Phish, would play solo versions of songs like "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"and the theme from star trek on the instrument, as well as jamming on it on select tunes. I always kind of thought that it was a bit of a gimick.

But recently (due to the proliferation of sites like YouTube and the like) I've seen some crazy theremin playing, and I want to share some.

So in another (hopefully not lame) attempt to start a regular feature here on Scooter''s Spot, I'm gonna link up a theremin video. I got a bunch more, and will post them as time goes on.

Here is Jon Bernhardt, theremin player with the Pee Wee Fist and the Lothars (two bands I must admit I've never heard of) playing the Buggles tune "Video Killed the Radio Star" at the Ethermusic 2005 festival in Asheville, NC last August.

the Hiatus is Over!

2006-05-16T19:03:00.000-04:00

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Due to an increasingly demanding work schedule and spending some quality time with my new lovely lady, I haven't had the time to devote to this here internet project.

But I told myself that I would update this blog once a day, and gosh darn it, I'm gonna do it.

No excuses.

To make up for my loss of dedication and focus, I'll give you a nice embarrassing photo of me passed out in My buddy Mitch's car on the way back from a Perpetual Groove show in Tampa a few months back.

"I think his shoes are on...Quick, someone write on his face!"

Don't even bother with blackmail folks, as I'm sure there are much more incriminating photos of my around. And I'm broke anyway, so your demands would be met with my stony silence.

You've been warned.

What Dean Wean had to say about the recent Fort Lauderdale show

2006-04-26T09:11:00.000-04:00

And I thought it was a good show...I guess I don't really know what I'm talking about when I praise a show and a member of the band says "you have to have gigs like this from time to time though...it was just one of those shows i'd rather not remember". Deaner's tour diary is available on the Ween website; click on tourdates for the full diary (no direct link is available, as it is a flash page. Sorry.)

Italics added by me for emphasis.

ft. lauderdale-we have 3 new crew guys on this tour that we've never met before and all 10 band members and roadies went out to eat the night before the show. typical south florida tourist restaurant. i had a lousy crispy grouper sandwich. the gig was pretty much a nightmare for me, the climate change from pennsylvania to south florida made the neck on my guitar warp like a banana. the thing was almost unplayable for the gig. the action is so high i can almost slide my fingers under the strings and the frets look like they're literally popping out of the fingerboard. the gig was plagued by feedback most of the time and aaron's amp blew up during the show. our old friend, bandmate, and label boss kramer came out to the show with his family and sat in on bass for captain fantasy so that was cool at least. you have to have gigs like this from time to time though, maybe we're lucky it's on the first night. everyone at the club was really cool to us and all but it was just one of those shows i'd rather not remember. the club served us chicken francaise for dinner and after the show the empty tray was sittin there with only the sauce left in it, which had coagulated from sitting out all night. it was about 2 inches of oil and solidified butter, chicken skin, and fat. me and one of the bouncers were trying to convince a girl to get down on all fours and lick the butter and fat while we pissed in her shoes but we struck out. kids just don't know how to have a good time anymore.

It is too bad they weren't able to pull that off; it would have been totally brown!

BOOGNISH!

(AUDIO!!) BP played David Bowie?

2006-04-25T12:28:00.000-04:00

Not a song a glam-rocker extraordinaire David Bowie, but the climactic four-word Phish song. And saying that Brothers Past actually played the song is a bit inaccurate. However, they did play the triumphantly raging end to the song coming out of "Inhale", this past Sunday night, April 23, 2006, at the River Street Jazz Cafe in Wilkes-Barre, PA. (Incidentally, I also hear a melody somewhat reminiscent of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" near the middle of the tune.)

Longtime fans of the bad are talking this show up pretty heavily, claiming it one of the best ever. Time will tell on that account, but this version of Inhale has to heard to be believed.

Brothers Past - "Inhale" (thanks, archive.org!)

I recommend listening to the whole thing to see how it builds, but for the impatient, a quick fast forward to the six minute mark will get you where you want to be.

I'm just putting up this one track, but the whole show is available here for your listening pleasure.

If you haven't heard Brothers Past yet, you should. They're currently tearing across the country on a national tour, and will be hitting many major festivals this summer: all while writing and recording the follow-up to their uber-excellent album This Feeling's Called Goodbye (which was nominated for a Jammy in the best Studio Album category but was robbed by Mike and Leo's latest effort.)

Rolling Stone : Jackson to Sell Beatles Catalog

2006-04-19T09:25:00.000-04:00

Rolling Stone : Jackson to Sell Beatles Catalog

We all knew that it was bound to happen eventually. It couldn't have been cheap to defend the child molestation charges, buy new noses once every few years, keep up up Neverland Ranch. and move to Bahrain or whatever faraway fantasy land he is currently inhabiting.

The best part of the story:

He is currently at work on a new single with R. Kelly, Wyclef Jean and other artists.

I wonder what R. Kelly and Michael Jackson have to talk about...

So, I guess I'm back to reality...

2006-04-17T12:50:00.000-04:00

...after a rough and tough work week and a a little weekend run to the northeast to get down with the Disco Biscuits.

But now the status quo has been reestablished (or will be as soon as I get some coffee in me), so once I get my life reestablished, I'll be back to update the masses.

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 1 - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

2006-04-05T10:31:00.000-04:00

Welcome to another new little (hopefully) weekly feature of Scooter's Spot, one that I am really excited for: Cover Song Madness!

Every week (or so, depending on variables both beyond and completely within my control) I'm going to compile a couple of versions of the same song by a number of different artists. If possible, I'm going to start with the original, and then provide two, or three or however many I can find cover versions.

I love cover songs. Phish used to be my favorite band, and I always considered them to be one of the best cover bands around. At times, their shows we be comprised of twenty percent cover songs. The thing that made them a great cover band was that they managed to make the song their own. "Roses are Free"? "Loving Cup"? Many people think these are Phish songs and not covers.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Perpetual Groove, and they're another band who can pick a quality cover. "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a sweet little David Bowie track, and they can bring the house down with their "Sledgehammer" or "Diggin' in the Dirt".

Today I'm going to go with Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart". This song is pretty much the inspiration for Cover Song Madness, as I have heard so many damn versions recently that I had to compare them all.

I have two live versions (U2 featuring the Arcade Fire, as well as Brothers Past), an acoustic version (my new man crush, the Argentinean-Swede Jose Gonzalez) and a new wave/bossa nova version courtesy of Nouvelle Vague, as well as they Joy Division original.

I like 'em all, especially the four-on-the-floor techno dance party feel of the Brothers Past version and the mellow groove of Nouvelle Vague's take on the track.

I've uploaded it as a .zip file, available at RadidShare.de.

Cover Song Madness # 1 - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

Enjoy.

Tuesday News Briefs - April 4, 2006

2006-04-04T14:08:00.000-04:00

Welcome to what I hope will be a new regular feature on Scooter's Spot, Tuesday News Briefs!

I've found that I was going about this blog thing a little haphazardly, so I decidely to organize and regulate a little bit. As of now I'm going to try to put up links to a couple interesting news stories every Tuesday.

Here goes:

AOL News - Thief Gets Away With Grateful Dead Leader's Toilet

File under: One man gathers what another man spills...

This is just the height or just-to-muchery...and when will people learn that Jerry was never the leader of the Grateful Dead--the Grateful Dead had no leader, that is what made them who they are.

The best line in the story:

It's unclear if the toilet was swiped by a wayward Deadhead or a thief remodeling a bathroom. Police have no suspects or leads.

* * *

Beacon Journal 04/01/2006 Girls attempt real-life version of video game

File under: Parents just don't understand.

The best line in the story:

The Portage County Hazardous Materials Unit and Bomb Detection Unit were called in to downtown Ravenna on Friday morning after seventeen suspicious packages -- boxes wrapped in gold wrapping paper with question marks spray painted on them -- had alarmed residents.

Here is a picture of the offending boxes.

Super Mario Bros.-style question blocks placed around the town of Ravenna, OH as an April Fools' Day Prank. The persons responsible have since been arrested for their actions.

Interesting enough, there is something of a movement to place these boxes in public places around the world. A How-To Guide for the curious.

* * *

Guardian Unlimited Special reports The strange case of the man who took 40,000 ecstasy pills in nine years

File under: Doesn't know when to say when!

The best part of the story:

Though the man, who is now 37, stopped taking the drug seven years ago, he still suffers from severe physical and mental health side-effects, including extreme memory problems, paranoia, hallucinations and depression. He also suffers from painful muscle rigidity around his neck and jaw which often prevents him from opening his mouth.

If you've ever watched the face of someone under the influence of Ecstacy--or more specifically, the jaw--you'll have realized that the incessant grinding is a result of the drug. No wonder this dude is having problems...

(AUDIO!!) the best thing the Disco Biscuits (n)ever played...

2006-03-29T14:01:00.000-05:00

4-9-99's Bionic Basis (courtesy of Chris Killian; thanks!)

Basis for a Day is the quintessential Disco Biscuits song. Back when I was getting into the Disco Biscuits and I would discuss their trancefusion music and the dirty dance party it would produce with my jaded Phish phan phriends (sorry, it had to be done there), they would always counter any good thing I had to say about my new favorite band with:

"They may be good, but they don't have a Y.E.M."

(Quick note of explanation: Y.E.M. is probably the quintessential Phish song, a carefully orchestrated opus with defined sections and some perfect examples of a band building up tension and releasing it with a bombastic aural orgasm.)

Inevitably, I would counter with:

"You may be right, the Disco Biscuits don't have a Y.E.M., but Phish doesn't have a Basis."

And it was true. No matter how good Phish was (and let me tell you, at times they could be incredible), they never had a Basis.

As far as songs go, Basis for a Day really doesn't have much to it. The only semblance of lyrics is the repeated synchronized shouts of "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" at the raging freight train of a tune's most climactic moments. The song is actually a journey from Point A (a composed introduction) to Point B (a composed climax) to Point C (a composed ending). Each of the these orchestrated sections come complete with their own peaks and valleys, making Basis for a Day a combination of freeform journey amidst tightly knit destinations.

The Disco Biscuits have a strange tendency to play the beginnings and endings of songs in, well, let's say, a non-linear manner. Sometimes the beginning comes after the end, and sometimes the beginning and end of a song will be played days apart. It tends to make them a complicated band to follow, as oftentimes their sets zig and zack back and forth between tunes with a reckless disregard for listeners' state of comprehension.

On April 9, 1999 at the Trocadero Theater in Philadelphia, the Disco Biscuits played this ridiculous show:

Set I: Run Like Hell> Little Shimmy In A Conga Line, Bazaar Escape, Voices Insane, Basis For A Day> The Thieving Magpie

Set II: The Very Moon> Hot Air Balloon, Above The Waves> Basis For A Day, M.E.M.P.H.I.S.> Above The Waves

Encore: I-Man

(thanks, PhantasyTour for the setlist! LINK)

Rich Steele's excellent remastered recording on archive.org

Notice where Basis for a Day is in the setlist. It is there twice, which means that, in this particular case, the beginning was played separated from the middle and end. And that is where Chris Killian came in. He edited the two separate segments of the song into one super-duper continuous version of the song, creating what will forever be known as...

THE BIONIC BASIS!!

Here is what Chris had to say about his project:

The marriage of the 4/9/99 basis, an unholy alliance that will rule the world for all eternity. This is tDB at their peak (imaginary, as it didn't quite happen this way).

The name, and what Chris has to say about the track, is fitting. It is just that good.

Listen to it. Dance to it. Bang your fists off your steering wheel while playing it at 120 decibels. (Regret the hearing loss later.)

Church Sign Generator

2006-03-29T12:08:00.000-05:00

Church Sign Generator

Have you ever been on a peaceful drive through through the heartland of America when all of a sudden: BLAM!! a great, big offensive sign with movable type jumps into your line of sight, spreading its Christian dogma with corny witticisms and cliches?

Well, now you can have your own fun using the Church Sign Generator. Type in what you want to see, and BLAM!! it appears on the sign, just like magic.

For instance:

So have fun with the site, and if you like, send me the best signs. I'd love to see 'em.

(VIDEO!!) Phish Big Cypress Videos

2006-03-27T22:53:00.000-05:00

I've always been rather astonished that since the turn of the century (or the millennium or whatever the technical term may be), I've been able to look back on December 31, 1999 as the best night of my life. Maybe it was the most fun night of my life and I am unable (or unwillingly) to distinguish between the two.

No matter.

I've also found it pretty amazing that I was able to listen to the great night by throwing on a CD from the Phish show I attended that weekend at the Big Cypress Indian Reservation in the Everglades (just 36 miles from my parents' house!).

I dug these two videos off the nether reaches of my hard drive. I have a newfound obsession with YouTube, and have been uploading things that I have acquired over the years. My reasoning is twofold. I can clear my hard drive a little bit by uploaded to the net, and; I can share some of the stuff with the rest of the world. So that means I'm only trying to upload videos that are not available on YouTube.

Anyway, here is Farmhouse from 12-31-99:

And here is "Bug" from the next night:

I don't know where these came from, and I don't know who created them. In fact, until I found them today on my hard drive I had no idea that they existed or that I possessed them. So if you do know the answers to any of these burning questions, please let me know through the comments feature. I want to give credit where credit is due.

(VIDEO!!) Once the Fiddler Paid: a trailer for the Hot Air Balloon rock opera by the Disco Biscuits

2006-03-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

A few years ago this sweet video was being hosted by the fine folks over at BiscoRadio. This past weekend I tried to show it to a friend and I discovered that there were technical difficulties that prevent it from being viewed on their site. I remembered that I had saved it to my work computer, so today I brought it home to share with all y'all.

A brief explanation:

The Hot Air Balloon is a rock opera, written by Disco Biscuits' guitarist Jon Gutwillig, that was debuted on 12/31/98 at the Silk City Diner in Philadelphia, PA.

For the songs, a synopsis of the story, character sketches and a bunch of other cool stuff from the Hot Air Balloon, take a click on the Very Moon.

Some more info on the video you just watched, from the Rumor Page on Phantasy Bisco:

[01.17.05] "Once the Fiddler Paid", a segment of the "Hot Air Balloon", has been produced by Troy Carlton and Michael Kuhn for release on discobiscuits.com or on DVD soon. Scripts for the rest of the songs are in the process of being written in hopes of becoming a feature movie. [CONFIRMED]

(REVIEW!!) Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - March 23, 2006 - Pompano Beach Amphitheater - Pompano Beach, FL

2006-03-26T08:13:00.000-05:00

I woke up pretty excited on Thursday morning. Time was inching towards the end of a very long week, and I had an exciting weekend planned. But I also had a more immediate reason to be excited: I was going to see Bela Fleck & the Flecktones that evening. For those of you who have never heard of the Flecktones, I strongly recommend that you take a listen to their bluegrass-influenced, funky instrumental music. And if you ever get the chance to see them live, take the opportunity--run, don't walk to your local venue and get as close as you can to the stage, because you don't want to miss anything that the group's four virtuosos are doing on stage.

And when I say they are virtuosos, I really mean it. Bela Fleck is arguably the best banjo player ever to pick a string. Victor Lamar Wooten's name is often mentioned in the same breath as Jaco Pastorious when discussing best bassists ever. Saxophonist Jeff Coffin is the only horn-blower I've ever seen blow two horns at the same time.

And then there is Futureman.

Futureman is actually bassist Victor's brother. But he might have been abducted by aliens and turned into a super freak (in the most Rick James sense of the term). He plays an instrument of his own design and construction known as the 'drumitar', which can only be described as a mix between a guitar (it looks like one) a MIDI controller (it acts like one) and a drum kit (it sounds like one). Futureman is the only person in the world who plays this instrument, and it is actually the only one in existence.

(I wish I was able to find a good picture of the Drumitar--and of freaky looking Futureman---to post, but alas, Google Images and Flickr have both failed me.)

(EDIT: Thanks, Ross for pointing me towards these awesome pictures of the Drumitar!)

Space age percussionist Futureman (of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones fame) and the Drumitar, an instrument of his own design.

The Drumitar, a percussion instrument designed and played by Futureman of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

Now, back to Thursday. Another day like any other day, until the rain started. Now, we're in the midst of the dry season here in South Florida, but that doesn't mean that it is always dry. A brief shower here, a torrential downpour there: we have to do something to keep the damn tourists and spring breakers on their toes!

And boy, did it rain! But then it stopped, and the sky was gray, and the clock struck five o'clock, and I was off the show.

I knew to come prepared with a rain jacket; after all, I was a professional. So I brought the jacket, and I even had the sense of mind to bring an extra for my lovely lady friend.

Too bad they didn't even help once the rains came.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, just slightly. We had actually made plans for dinner, but upon arriving at the restaurant, discovered it closed. We headed to a second choice, only to find a ridiculous wait before us. So we picked the first place we could find that had no line and sat down to some pizza and beer.

After shoveling dinner down our gullets, we headed around the corner to the amphitheater and handed out tickets over. First stop (as always), the bar for some quick and easy (though certainly not painless: $7 for a single, $13 for a double) lubrication. There were two bar tenders working the bar: the first was a dude, and he seemed pretty busy pushing Hypnotiq, the blue cognac-based liquor that I am afraid to drink.

The second was a talkative lady who knew how to hook it up. I ordered a double Jack-and-Coke (hey, if I was gonna spend thirteen bucks on a drink, I'm starting with the hard stuff!), and made a joke to her about wanting a standing twelve count on the pour.

She actually gave it to me before splashing a drop of Coke (in this case, Pepsi) on top. Needless-to-say, the drink was quite stiff, and was putting me well on my way to loud and obnoxious.

We walked up the stairs into the concert area, and there were, quite literally, no more than 100 people there. Perhaps the days rain was scaring potential patrons away. Or perhaps South Florida' recent saturation of good music was hitting some people hard in the wallet. I knew that was the case with me (though I still managed to be there).

We made our way to our sweet seventh row seats and starting conversing with the people sitting behind us: a fifteen-year old high school kid and his dad. I thought that it was pretty cool for the dad to be taking his kid to the show; my pops never took me to a concert, though we have been to a zillion sporting events around the country.

Anyway, the show was delayed due to technical difficulties associated with the puddles of water dotting the stage. Eventually the show started, and the seats started filling up, though venue capacity was never reached. Having already finished Jack-and-Pepsi number 2, I was feeling loose and getting my groove on. Unfortunately, security man didn't like me dancing in the aisles all that much, and came over to tell me so. I looked behind me and realized that I was--quite literally--the only person standing up in the entire venue. So I apologized to the nice folks behind me for dancing in front of them and continued to bust my white boy dance moves.

About three songs in it happened. We knew it was coming, we just didn't know when.

The skies opened up and let loose their liquid fury. By the time I was able to get into my bag to grab my jacket, I was soaked. The entire crowd rushed the stage to take advantage of the two feet of head cover that was there. I just danced in the rain, jumping up and down and the concrete steps like an adolescent, splashing my neighbors with the puddles.

Once you're wet, you're wet, right?

It was a crazy storm for about 10 minutes. And then it completely stopped.

Remember the security guard who reprimanded me for dancing in the aisles? Once the rain started the show became a free-for-all, a situation that remained throughout the remainder of the performance. Mr. Security Guard had disappeared, and all the rules were thrown out the window.

Unfortunately, the mass exodus of people out of our row caused the unfortunate spillage of two $7 cocktails on the ground. Luckily, the bartender (heavy pour female, not wussy pour dude) made up for it when she gave my lady friend a free Jack-and-Pepsi.

The show was fun. Wet, drunken and fun. The music was good. Not earth-moving, but good none-the-less. I had a great time

(VIDEO!!) Sony BRAVIA - The Advert

2006-03-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

Still shot from the filming of the Sony BRAVIA commercial.

Sony BRAVIA - The Advert

(Thanks Boing Boing for the heads up! LINK)

Here is a pretty cool commercial, I think it is for a Sony television. But the interesting part about it is that it uses the same music (José González's "Heartbeat") as the video discussed in this earlier post.

(EDIT: Apparently, this is a cover of a song originally by the the Knife.)

And I take back what I said about the cool part about the commercial being the music. I don't really take it back--the music is pretty sweet--but the fact that you can watch tens of thousands of brilliantly colored bouncing balls running wild through the streets of San Francisco is also pretty cool, I must say.

(VIDEO!!) Videogame Theater - Pac Man: the Insatiable Hunger

2006-03-20T19:15:00.000-05:00

Videogame Theater - Pac Man: the Insatiable Hunger

(thanks Boing Boing for the heads up! LINK)

still shot from Pac Man: the Insatiable Hunger

What if Pac Man, the star of the old school Namco co-op arcade game of the same name, turned into a washed-up has been, much like one of the many former child stars turned losers of the last twenty-five years?

What if he was strung out on drugs and took his excess aggressions out on Ms. Pac Man?

What if he hallucinated red ghosts chasing after him right after he chased the dragon?

For the answers to all these burning questions, check out this hilarious short from the fine folks at Videogame Theater.

(VIDEO!!) Fake Phish tickets on MTV's Boiling Points

2006-03-20T18:27:00.000-05:00

Do you remember that short-lived candid camera show on MTV called Boiling Points? In it, operatives of the show and their accomplices did their damnedest to piss off random people; the one who didn't get too upset would win one hundred bucks.

In this clip, watch a condescending employee of MTV sell fake tickets outside one of Phish sold out shows at Coney Island's Keyspan Park during June of 2004.

See the Phish kidzzz get really happy because they have found a seemingly impossible ticket, and then get really angry when they find out that it is fake.

See one lucky schmuck win $100.

Its a good thing this didn't happen to me, because I more than likely would have gotten violent had this dude did what he did and said what he said to me.

State of the Blog

2006-03-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

Blogger has been very temperamental the past few days, making it extremely difficult (read: impossible) to make updates. My Langerado review is languishing in incompleteness over a week after the festival's conclusion...

Hopefully the site is up-and-running at full blast so I can catch up some more after work.

Lollapalooza dates and initial lineup anounced!!

2006-03-16T13:33:00.000-05:00

Lollapalooza 2006 - August 4-6, 2006 - Grant Park - Chicago, IL

I wish that there was no such thing as hurricane season and I could plan to go to this (or one of the other festivals this summer that I'll end up missing).

130 bands for 130 bucks.

Check the lineup: (acts I'm psyched for in bold)

Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kanye West
Manu Chao
Wilco
Death Cab For Cutie
The Raconteurs
The Flaming Lips
Ween
Queens of the Stone Age
The Shins
Common
Matisyahu
Ryan Adams
Umphrey's McGee
Sonic Youth
Thievery Corporation
Sleater-Kinney
Nickel Creek
Blues Traveler
Broken Social Scene
The New Pornographers
Iron & Wine
Poi Dog Pondering
Coheed And Cambria
The Secret Machines
Eels
Panic! At the Disco
The Disco Biscuits
She Wants Revenge
The Dresden Dolls
Reverend
Horton Heat
The Smoking Popes
Andrew Bird
Gnarls Barkley
Stars
Cursive
Blackalicious
Editors
Lyrics Born
Lady Sovereign
Hard-Fi
Calexico
Nada Surf
Feist
Aqualung
The Frames
The Hold Steady
The Go! Team
Mates of State
Pepper
Particle
The Redwalls
Mute Math
Wolfmother
Sparta
The Subways
Of Montreal
Blue October
Jeremy Enigk
Living Things
Sound Team
The M's
Hot Chip
The Benevento-Russo Duo
Matt Costa
The New Amsterdams
deadboy & the Elephantmen
Sybris
Anathallo
The Burden Brothers
What Made Milwaukee Famous
Manishevitz
Husky Rescue
The Towers of London
Ohmega Watts
Boy Kill Boy
Jim Noir
The Standard
Be Your Own Pet
Elvis Perkins
Trevor
Hall
Midlake

and more to come...

Now THAT's an impressive lineup. I think this fest is going to be better than Coachella this year.

(AUDIO!!) Langerado bittorrent (and archive.org) links

2006-03-15T16:33:00.000-05:00

Only a few days after Langerado's final notes of music (the Disco Biscuits ripping through a stripped down, unannounced mild trainwreck of AC2B), and the tapers (if there is a higher power looking down on us from above, may he bless these kind, hard-working souls) have already started to upload their recordings to the net.

I'm gonna post links to the torrent files (EDIT: and to shows posted on archive.org) that exist on public trackers. As more pop up, I'll add the links.

If you're a bittorrent virgin, I suggest you head HERE to bone up.

SOUNDCHECK - March 10, 2006

Buckethead - Swamp Tent (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Hot Buttered Rum String Band - Sunrise Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Perpetual Groove - Swamp Tent (thanks bt.etree.org!)

March 11, 2006

Lake Trout - Swamp Tent (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Lotus - Everglades Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

RJD2 - Swamp Tent (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Umphrey's Mcgee - Everglades Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

the Meters - Sunrise Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Flaming Lips - Sunset Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

March 12, 2006

Brothers Past - Swamp Tent (thanks archive.org!)

Pnuma Trio - Sunrise Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

The New Mastersounds - Everglades Stage 24-bit recording (thanks bt.etree.org!)

The New Mastersounds - Everglades Stage 16-bit recording (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Robert Randolph & the Family Band - Everglades Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

MOFRO - Everglades Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - Sunrise Stage (bt.etree.org!)

the Secret Machines - Swamp Tent (thanks bt.etree.org)

Keller Williams - Sunrise Stage (thanks archive.org!)

Wilco - Sunset Stage (thanks bt.etree.org!)

Black Crowes - Everglades Stage (thanks bt.etree.org)

Late Night Shows

March 10, 2006

Disco Biscuits - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL (thanks archive.org!)

March 11, 2006

Umphrey's McGee - Revolution - Fort Lauderdale, FL (thanks bt.etree.org!)

March 12, 2006

Brothers Past - the Culture Room - Fort Lauderdale, FL (thanks archive.org!)

(AUDIO!!) Langerado Countdown - 4 Days!

2006-03-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

I was bad this weekend, and didn't make the updates I had planned on. But I'm going to make up for it with a plethora of previews of bands that are playing this weekend at the Langerado Music Festival in sunny Sunrise, FL (no joke, that's the name of the town. It is located right next to Plantation--P.C. police take note!).

Today I decided to drop a little Afro-Beat on y'all. (And the show is from last year's Langerado, ta-boot!) For the uninitiated, Afro-Beat may be the most danceable genre of music on the planet. Take the tribal rhythms of African music and add the funky rhythms of late 1960s era James Brown and early 70s Parliament, and you have the music of Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

I'm not going to go into the importance of this man on the music, politics and culture of not only Africa, but the world, as there are true scholars who have been working on this (and will continue to do so) for years. You've heard people talk about the socio-political contributions of Bob Marley?

Multiply his impact by, oh, let's say one hundred times and there you have Fela. I strongly recommend any of his dozens of albums.

Fela Anikulapo Kuti, a.k.a. the Black President.

But enough digression, I'm here to write about a band that is playing at Langerado this weekend. Unfortunately, Fela passed away in 1997 after a long battle with HIV/AIDS.

But his legacy is strong, and the torch has been passed to the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra, a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic musical collective from the long lost land of Brooklyn, NY. These guys bring it, and they bring it hard.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra singer/conga player Duke Amayo with a very intense look on his face at the Langerado Music Festival in Sunrise, FL. March 12, 2005.

I actually was very fortunate when it comes to this band. I was still in university when they were signed to Montreal's own Ninja Tune Records, and to celebrate the momentous occasion, the label booked the group (I believe they were at 13 or 14 pieces for this show) into the tiny Pub Quartier Latin. Luckily, I was on the guest, but buzz was high and there was a line around the corner. So many people were there that management attempted to clear out the room between each set to pack more people in.

The narrow room was jammed, and the band had to ask the normally nic-fitting Montrealers to refrain from smoking due to the fact it would irritate the horn blowers. So we didn't smoke, and were richly rewarded with a most explosive spectacle of tightly played tunes.

Since then, I've seen the band in packed venues and open festival fields (as well as in an academic setting when they dropped serious knowledge on Fela and the use of music as a form of social protest at a symposium I attended a few years back).

The show I'm linking here (thanks, Internet Archive!) is from last year's Langerado. Unfortunately, some sort of technical difficulties cut short the group's set, but they still sounded awesome, and I shook it like the white boy I am.

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra - March 12, 2005

Now the only problem is going to be deciding between Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! and Antibalas, as they're playing at the same time...

(AUDIO!!) Langerado Countdown - 7 Days!

2006-03-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

One week from today I will be preparing to revel in South Florida's most eclectic musical event, the Langerado Music Festival. I've mentioned it here before, but there is always more to said about this festival: It opens the summer festival season with a little bit of Spring Training (in the middle of Spring Break for y'all still lucky enough to be students) down here in Sunny Florida.

In honor of the festival, and as a way to try to introduce my readers (if there are any) to some of the bands playing at the festival, I'm going to try to post tunes from some of the acts that I am excited to see.

Today I'm going to go with Brothers Past (watch the punctuation!) for the sole reason that an excellent sounding multi-track recording from a recent show was just uploaded to the Internet Archive.

BP is one of my favorite bands these days, and I'm more than excited that I'll get to see a bunch of them next week. Even better is the fact that they are opening for the Disco Biscuits on Thursday night, giving me a rare opportunity to see two of my favorite bands in the same room on the same night for the same price.

There are similarities between Brothers Past and the Disco Biscuits, but don't discuss them with fans of either band, since they both want to disassociate from the other. The Biscuits are a bit more balls-to-the-wall, while BP has some seriously talented songwriters in Tom McKee and Tom Hamilton (my man crush!).

Brothers Past guitarist/computer wizard Tom Hamilton performing at the Langerado Music Festival in Hollywood, FL. March 6, 2004.

These tracks are taken from Brothers Past's February 18, 2006 performance at the Recher Theatre in Towson, MD. Thanks to Rich Steele for taping, remastering and uploading this recording. The whole show is available for download here, but I've selected a juicy little segment for y'all.

Year of the Horse >

Getaway Somehow >

Year of the Horse

The sound on these recordings is amazing, and the jams are pretty sweet, too. Expect pulsating dance beats, nasty song sandwiches and emo-ish lyrics from this band. If you get a chance (and you like what you hear) pick up their latest album, This Feeling's Called Goodbye. I honestly think it is one of the best albums of last year, and hope that it wins the Jammy Award it was nominated for.

Brothers Past bassist Clay Parnell performing at the Culture Room in Fort Lauderdale, FL. March 5, 2004.

The Advertising Slogan Generator

2006-03-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

The Advertising Slogan Generator

I work in public relations, so the whole field of advertising and communication sciences (I definitely just made that up) is interesting to me. I find it fascinating that there is a whole field devoted to convincing people to agree with you or purchase your product or turn on your enemy.

So does advertising and its offshoots really equal propaganda?

I don't know the answer to that question, though I've pondered it long and hard.

What I do know is that somehow I came across this spiffy web site. It is one of those _____ generators. You know, the kind of site where you put in your name and press enter, and within a few seconds your pirate name or rap star name or porn star name is spit out.

With this one, a random advertising slogan is provided. Its pretty funny to see classic slogans bastardized and brutalized.

My boss and I have been putting the name of our employer in and getting some good ones.

But here is my favorite:

Lipsmackin' Thirstquenchin' Acetastin' Motivatin' Goodbuzzin' Cooltalkin' Highwalkin' Fastlivin' Evergivin' Coolfizzin' Scooters Spot.

Not a bad way to blow off a few minutes at work...

Podbop

2006-02-27T18:33:00.000-05:00

Podbop - We podcast bands coming to your town

(thanks, livemusicblog for the heads up! LINK)

This nifty little website is a really simple idea that has such great possibility. I know that I use the services of Jambase; I have since its inception. If I'm going anywhere in the country (hell, anywhere in North America) I make sure to check the site to see if there are any good shows going on.

Now what if there was a web site that was similar to Jambase. Except that instead of just providing a calendar with the bands coming to town, the site actually provided a podcast full of songs by the bands that were playing!

How sweet is that?

Now I said that the site had possibility, and it definitely has a ways to go. First of all, there are a limited number of bands in the database, so only those bands show up if you search for a city. For instance, I searched for Fort Lauderdale, FL and Sunrise, FL just to see if any of the bands playing at Langerado next week (hell yeah, next week!) would pop up.

Unfortunately, none did. It seems that the way the site works is that record labels and promoters need to give the site administrators their info before they will link to the songs.

So if you are a promoter (hint, hint) or a band or a record label head honcho, head on over to the site, feed in your info, and get your groups some free promotion. That'll make Podbop that much better.

Everyone else just check it out because it is a good idea.

(VIDEO!!) L.E.D. Throwies from the Graffiti Research Lab

2006-02-21T09:55:00.000-05:00

L.E.D. Throwies from the Graffiti Research Lab

(thanks to adamgreeves on the TIP for the heads up!)

As means of introduction, this photo is of a bunch of L.E.D. Throwies.

This video is rather perplexing to me. It seems like a new type of glowing/flashing/light-up toy for intoxicated people to play with at concerts or dance parties, or while wandering the streets of their favorite metropolis aimlessly.

Nothing too interesting about that, right?

But check the video, which I believe is a promotional spot for a "Coming Soon" website. It is a beautiful and haunting little piece of performance art where people fling these L.E.D. Throwies at the outside wall of a building, slowly covering the entire surface. The soundtrack is a little acoustic ditty--I have no idea who sings it, but if any readers do, please let me know--that I just really like.

(EDIT 2/27/06) - Thanks to madpercolator, who informed me that the song is by a Sweedish singer named Jose Gonzalez. For more information, take click here.

I guess this video could be a commercial for the actual L.E.D. Throwies, but I remember seeing a web page with instructions on how to make them yourself. The directions are a little too technical for me, but if anyone out there makes some of these little do-hickeys, please let me know, I'd love to play with one.

New Orleans Public Library Seeking Book Donations

2006-02-20T16:45:00.000-05:00

New Orleans Public Library Seeking Book Donations

(thanks Boing Boing for the heads up! LINK)

I have a lot of book. Until I recently had to move out of the townhouse I shared with my now ex-girlfriend, the walls in my office were completed covered in bookshelves that we had specially put in to store my collection. Before we moved into the townhouse, I gave a ton of books away. It was actually harder than you would think to give the books away. I tried to sell them, and no one wanted them. I tried to give them to the library, and they refused.

Do you know who eventually took them?

The Broward County Jail.

However, I could not give them any cookbooks (inmates don't have access to stoves or gourmet ingredients) or anything about crime (they teach correspondence classes, but not any that are based on Stephen King or Dean R. Koontz or John D. MacDonald novels).

So I drove up to the jail and parked at the front gate and waited for a women from the Community Outreach program, who thanked me profusely for my donation of unwanted paperbacks. A few weeks later I received a thank you letter for the local sheriff. It made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside, and since they were going to be thrown away anyway, it really didn't matter to me if an inmate actually read the books at all.

I recently moved into a new apartment, a smaller apartment with way fewer bookshelves. To tell you the truth, all of my more favorite books are sitting in the trunk of my car because I have no place to put them in the apartment.

(Don't even ask me about the multiple Hefty bags overstuffed with books sitting in the trunk of car, or what I would do if I had to get something out of the bottom of my trunk. Something like, oh, I don't know, my spare tire and jack because I have a gigantic tear in my rear passenger-side tire that looks like someone gouged it with a screwdriver.)

Picture of my tire taken with my cameraphone this morning.

I have to make some serious decisions as to what books I am going to keep. I've already packed and taken the obvious choices: my collection of music books, some of my classical literary works and a few of my guilty pleasure popular fiction. But I left a ton of stuff on the shelves, and however much I want to keep every book, I know it is not going to be possible.

But, once I make the decision as to what I keep and what I don't, I know where the castoffs will be sent: the New Orleans Public Library. From a post on the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) website:

Seeking Book Donations
The New Orleans Public Library
(New Orleans LA)

The New Orleans Public Library is asking for any and all hardcover and paperback books for people of all ages in an effort to restock the shelves after Katrina. The staff will assess which titles will be designated for its collections. The rest will be distributed to destitute families or sold for library fundraising. Please send your books to:

Rica A. Trigs, Public Relations
New Orleans Public Library
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112

If you tell the post office that they are for the library in New Orleans, they will give you the library rate which is slightly less than the book rate.

I can't think of a better way to get rid of unwanted (though not unloved) reading material than to send it to a place that recently lost close to everything. If you have some books that are collecting dust in your attic or garage, you should consider throwing them in a box and heading to the post office to send them to the above address.

You'll be happy you did.

And so will the little boy or girl who is able to check out one of the books you sent.

Rare Hunter S. Thompson Photo to Be Released

2006-02-15T09:58:00.000-05:00

Thompson's widow offers photo to fans

from the Associated Press (thanks to justin on the TIP for the heads up!)

February 20, 2006 will mark one year since the late great Hunter S. Thompson decided that it was time to leave this planet, placing a shotgun in his mouth and pulling the trigger while sitting in the kitchen of his Woody Creek, CO home.

When I saw that one of my literary heroes had committed suicide, ending his "weird" existence, it hit me hard. Reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" for the first caused the same rebellious instinct to rise within me that reading Kerouac's "On the Road" did. (Thanks to my Uncle Vinnie for turning me on to both of these deliciously anti-establishment works of art; without your guidance I would never have become the man I am today!)

Both books made me want to get up and go, to explore the unknown (both in my mind and on the terrestrial plane) and to basically freak out those who don't get it.

Above, Thompson's famous Gonzo logo: a clenched fist with two thumbs serving as the hilt to a dagger. This one is signed by him and contains a line contributed to Thompson (It never got weird enough for me) that seems to be a take on his famous "When the going gets weird, the weird goes pro" line.

When I read about Thompson's final act, I was affected in a way I hadn't been since the death of another one of my mythical hero's: Jerry Garcia. I will always remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I learned of both of their deaths, the same way the generation before me will never forget the day JFK was murdered.

Hunter's widow has decided to make available to his fans a photo of him that has never been seen before (except by Ralph Steadman, Thompson's illustrator and longtime friend who actually owns it). Anyone and everyone will be able to download the photo from the relatively new Gonzo Store.

Her description of the photo:

“He has a special look in his eye that he had once in while when he was up to something but was totally at peace,” [Anita Thompson] said. “I’ve taken thousands of pictures of him, but this one is my favorite. And nobody has seen it.”

I for one will definitely be downloading this photo. Hell, I'd even buy it if it was for sale (though I am pretty broke, so I'm glad Anita is being so kind in this regard).

Whether you love him or hate him, few people will argue that Hunter S. Thompson is one of the few people who can be considered a "Great American" as well a genuine counter-culture icon.

Hunter Stockton Thompson

July 18, 1937 - February 20, 2005

(VIDEO!!) Scratch n Spin

2006-02-14T20:13:00.000-05:00

Scratch n Spin

(thanks Boing Boing for the heads up. LINK)

This video is a promotional piece for a piece of hardware called the "EB Pro X Fade", a high quality piece of DJ equipment.

I don't know if the company had any other reason to produce the video except for the fact that it was really cool.

And I don't care.

I'm glad it exists, because frankly it is cool. I find it a little bit strange that some of the most groundbreaking effects and cinematography/videography to be released the last few years has come from commercials, advertisements and other media that are not paid for by the consumer, but by the producer.

Oh well.

(VIDEO!!) The Disco Biscuits 12/29/02 - > techno I-Man

2006-02-14T19:54:00.000-05:00

(thanks, tuchus(?) for posting this! LINK)

Y'all already know that I'm a huge fan of the Disco Biscuits.

They Nasty, But They Good.

Click the thumbnail below for a taste. In video!! It is short but sweet, but extremely well-edited, and hopefully the foreshadowing of a DVD to come.

Video: The Disco Biscuits12/29/02- >I-Man
by tucchus

Chances are that hey're going to be coming to a city near you, as they're playing more shows in the next three months than they've played in the last three years.

Go see them. If you like rock 'n' roll and you like dance music, chances are that you'll dig their trancefusion sound.

the Super Mario Brothers Super-Synthesizer

2006-02-14T19:36:00.000-05:00

the Super Mario Brothers Super-Synthesizer

(thanks, Boing Boing for the heads up. LINK)

Do you like video games?

Not the super-high tech bullshit of today that is so complicated only pre-pubescent boys and complete and total social rejects are able to master the $70 games on $300 systems (after waiting in line for hours for the chance to plunk down their money, of course).

I'm talking old school. So old school, it is pre-school.

I though so.

Now, do you like synthesizers, and making music with only the touch of a button?

My little brother and I used to play with a drum synth for hours, just making loops of beats that drove my mother crazy.

Anyway, I found this link on one of my favorite blogs (see above), and I had to put it up. I've only wasted a couple of hours playing with it.

Today, that is.

Langerado Schedule Released

2006-02-14T17:08:00.001-05:00

Langerado Schedule Released - Many Personal Conflicts Arise

Last night I received the long-awaited e-mail announcing the schedule for the Langerado Music Festival, held in (pretty much) my hometown. I've been talking this festival up since before it existed, as it is has been promoted by my good buddy Ethan (a.k.a. South Florida Jams), the man (almost) single-handedly responsible for the explosion of national touring acts visiting us here in South Florida.

Seeing as how we're pretty good friends, I knew for a few weeks that there would be at least one major conflict for me at the festival. Sets from the Disco Biscuits and the Flaming Lips were going to overlap, and there was nothing I, or anyone else, could do about it. I had resigned myself to acceptance. I was going to see the Biscuits twice in two days before the festival, so if I missed part of their set, I wouldn't cry about it. I've never seen the Lips, and have heard nothing but praise for their live show, so I made the decision to spend the early evening on Saturday, March 11 with Wayne and the furry-freaky stage show that accompanies the Oklahoma-based group.

And then I see the lineup. And the freakin' Meters are playing at the same exact time as the Flaming Lips. Complete and total overlap!

Grrrrrrrrrrrr...

Two bands that I've never seen before playing at the same time...what is a music loving freak to do? Needless to say, I'm completely undecided, and will probably make a last-minute, game time decision.

And that is only the conflict with major acts...I have a ton more with the smaller groups:

The Brazilian Girls vs. Umphrey's McGee

The New Mastersounds vs. Brothers Past

Mofro vs. Steel Pulse vs. Kid Koala

Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra vs. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah!

Wilco vs. Keller Williams

Secret Machines vs. the Black Crowes

It looks like the entire day Sunday is gonna be full of tough decisions for me. I guess I'm gonna make those decisions based upon which bands I've never seen before, as I tend to find hidden gems at festivals.

Not since the first Bonnaroo have I had this problem. I guess it is a testament to the strength of the lineup to have such overlap between good acts. If most of the bands at the festival sucked, I wouldn't have this problem.

So I guess it isn't really much of a problem at all.

Thanks, Madpercolator!!

2006-02-06T09:59:00.000-05:00

Madpercolator - Blog Archive - Behold!

My friend Danielle gives a shout out!

"I'm sorry momma...

2006-01-31T20:51:00.000-05:00

...I never meant to hurt you..."

So I've been bad. But I've been oh so busy the last couple days. Getting a new apartment and dealing with a house that needs to be sold and a breakup that needs to be finalized sure is time-consuming.

So I've neglected my blogging duties. And for that, I apologize.

But I promise to make it up to y'all. I got some really good stuff up my sleeves.

Brain Damaged Eggmen videos a-plenty.
Exploding fireworks factories.
More exploding fireworks factories.
Tunes
Videos
Endless torrents of obscenity

So maybe not the last one. (But maybe so!)

But there's good stuff coming once I have more than five minutes to sit down at my keyboard.

But for now, a few quick links:

Hope you like, and I promise that the wait will be worth it.

The truth behind beer goggles...

2006-01-27T15:03:00.000-05:00

'Beer goggles' Effect Explained - Scientists believe they have worked out a formula to calculate how "beer goggles" affect a drinker's vision.

from BBC News (thanks to Phantasy Tour for the heads up!)

Leave it to the Brits--or mathematicians, or a combination of the two--to actually write a mathematic equation that explains how the more you drink, the more attractive people of the opposite sex appear to be.

Here's the best part:

The research was commissioned by eyecare firm Bausch & Lomb PureVision.

Huh? What? A company that makes contact lens actually paid money for this research? What's in it for them?

(I guess its better than Trojan or Durex paying for it...)

(AUDIO!!) !!! - Take Ecstacy With Me

2006-01-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

This EP came out last year, and is a worthy follow up to the triple exclamation point-named group (pronounced chik chik chik)'s ass-whooper of 2004, album, Louden up Now. I find the title track, though unfortunately named and possessing a hedonistic and self serving (but oh so attractive) chorus, to be such an infectious blend of sounds--ranging from thumping bass to clanging cowbell--that when I first heard it I honestly listened to it twenty-five times in a row on an airplane.

After dropping a quasi-political album, !!! followed up with an EP of obscure covers: the title track, originally by Magnetic Fields; and "Get Up", an interesting take on a Nate Dogg (that deserves three exclamation points!!!) track.

If I've listened to "Take Ecstacy With Me" one hundred times, I've only listened to "Get Up" five times. So that should tell you something.

But here I present them both to you.

!!! - Take Ecstacy With Me

I dare your toes to not tap when the bass kicks in on the first track. Try me.

Aerosmith & Cheap Trick

2006-01-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

Aerosmith Reteams With Cheap Trick For Tour

from billboard.com (thanks to Live Music Blog for the heads up!)

Aerosmith and Cheap Trick are playing Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Paradise in Hollywood on March 2? Didn't Aerosmith and Lenny Kravitz just play the American Airlines Arena in Miami last week? Regardless, I've never seen the boys from Boston, and this is an opportunity to see them in a tiny venue (comparatively) to what they usually play. Sounds pretty interesting to me...

An then I looked at ticket prices: $100 for the cheap seats, up to $300 for the rest of the room. Jeez, that's expensive. Maybe Steven Tyler was thinking "Hey, if the Stones can charge an arm and a leg, maybe we can get away with charging an arm and a foot".

More information at TicketMaster; tickets go onsale to the public on Saturday.

Om Records Parties at Winter Music Conference

2006-01-25T20:54:00.000-05:00

from an Om Records e-mail update...

Om Miami Party Dates Announced!

OM Records BBQ Poolside @ M3
Thursday, March 23rd
Featuring:
Mark Farina - Mushroom Jazz Set!
Colossus (LIVE) – Exclusive Miami Performance!
Strange Fruit Project (LIVE)
J Boogie
@ Surfcomber Hotel (1717 Collins Ave)
Noon - 5:00 PM
FREE to M3 Badge Holders, Tickets for non M3 Badges: $TBA

&

SHURE PRESENTS OM: MIAMI 2006
In Partnership with BPM Magazine & Om Records
Monday, March 27th
Featuring:
Room 1: Hosted by Alex Peace
Mark Farina
DJ Sneak
Colette & Heather - Celebrating the release of their new “House of Om” double mix cd!
Greenskeepers (LIVE) - Performing songs from their highly anticipated new album!
Marques Wyatt - Debuting material from his new “House of Om” mix cd!
Andy Caldwell - Spinning new tracks from his debut artist album “Universal Truth” featuring the hit single “Warrior” (Guaranteed to be a track of the conference!)
Groove Junkies
Samantha James (LIVE) - Singing her new hit single “Rise”!
Rithma (LIVE) - DJ / Vocal set from house music’s favorite wonderkid!

Room 2:
Johnny Fiasco
John Howard
Colossus (DJ Set)
JT Donaldson
Chuck Love
Fred Everything
Bugz in the Attic
J Boogie
DJ Fluid
@ MANSION (1235 Washington Ave.)
Capacity 2500+, 2 levels w/ 6 bars and state of the art club lighting and sound!!!!
Discounted Tickets Available at wanttickets.com
Admission: $TBA 21+
shure.com, om-records.com, djmixed.com, mansionmiami.com

Some of my favorite DJs and electronic acts (Mark Farina, DJ Sneak, Colette & Heather) playing 45 minutes from my house during one of the year's best dance music events. The fact that the first party is on a Thursday from noon until five and the second is on a Monday night is a bit problematic, but nothing I can't deal with.

(VIDEO!!) South Park does the Aristocrats

2006-01-25T18:53:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I stopped by Best Buy to purchase a DVD the day it was released, which I haven't done in a long time. What is the cinematic masterpiece that dragged me to a temple of commerce on a Tuesday night?

It was the Aristocrats, comedian Penn Jillette and director Paul Provenza's ode to the world's dirtiest, most improvisational joke. I saw it in the sweltering hot Gateway Cinema when it came out, and I don't think I ever laughed so hard. Seeing Bob Sagat using the language he used in this film is priceless.

My dad is a dirty old man, and I figured he'd love this flick, so I asked him:

"Dad, how would you like to watch a documentary about the most vile joke ever imagined?"

"Sure, sounds great," he said with a smile.

So I bought the movie. We're gonna watch it this weekend.

I remember that right before the film came out, I saw a video on the internet of South Park's Eric Cartman telling the joke. As usual, the fat little kid in the red jacket manages to push boundaries to their limits, and in this case, that is pretty hard to do. This version is probably the most offensive in the entire movie.

So, I make it available to you.

Warning: this video is not safe for work, and crosses every possible line from bestiality, incest, fecalphelia and the desecration of the memories of the victims of 9/11. That being said, it is fu**ing hilarious!!

How can something so tasteless be so funny?

Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival documentary

2006-01-25T17:48:00.000-05:00

Last night I went with a couple friends to check out the world premiere of a documentary about the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, an event that is considered my many who have been to be the best music festival in North America. I've heard it compared to events like England's famed Glastonbury Festival, and since 2001, there have been inevitable comparisons to the Bonnaroo Music Festival (though I know a bunch of hipsters and hippies that would grimace hearing the two events mentioned in the same breath, and wouldn't be caught dead at the event geared for the other musical subculture).

We got to the movie theatre prepped to party with a flask of Bacardi in the hip pocket. Drinks mixed, seats picked, we sat down in the relatively empty theatre (20 people tops, but it was showing in a ton of theatres in the area) and got ready for what I hoped was a good time. This was the first "concert" I had seen in a movie theatre, as I was at the Brooklyn and Coventry Phish shows that were simulcast in 2004.

The movie started with a brief interview with the promoter and a overview of the festival grounds, which are set up on a polo field in Indio, California. Some time lapse shots of crews setting up the festival were pretty cool to start things off, but I was there for music, damnit!

There was plenty of that to come. Surprisingly, the first performance came from hippie activist/hip hopper/reggae act Michael Franti & Spearhead. We played the obligatory drinking game that goes with his live shows everytime Franti asks 'how you feeling?!?', you drink. There went my cocktail, because he must have said it ten times in his five on screen minutes. Franti set somewhat of a political tone for the film, which was surprising to me, but is used to hilarious effect later when the director juxtaposes urban poet/spoken word artist Saul Williams' take on the political power of music with that moronic piece of tabloid fodder Noel Gallagher of Oasis claiming music should be mindless entertainment and that only people with suits have power.

Needless to say, Oasis' performance was crap; Williams was pretty good, but nothing special.

The musical highlights for me included the Arcade Fire (yeah Montreal!), Radiohead and their seizure inducing light show, a screen-sized version of the faerie-like Bjork singing the hell out of her "All is Full of Love", Belle & Sebastian's lyrically improvisation about the festival at sunset, Fischerspooner's crazy electro stage show, numerous interludes with the Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne (and a killer Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt.1), Squarepusher's squelching d'n'b, last year's "never-gonna-happen" Pixies reunion and some mellow Zero 7 to end the flick.

Performances I could have done without?

Iggy Pop & the Stooges. The Red Hot Chili Peppers: good band, why pick a crap song like "Californication"? The Mars Volta: I was excited to give this band a shot considering everyone and their mother loves them, but they sucked bad. The White Stripes: if you already have Iggy & the Stooges, why have a band that just rips them off? Prodigy: I think I'm not going to Ultra this year strictly because they are headlining. Morrisey: just meh.

Picking the highlight of the night was easy.

It was a five minute interlude featuring the DJ tag team of Cut Chemist and DJ Nu Mark from Jurassic 5. It started with Cut Chemist cutting records on a full screen. Nifty editing split the screen in two, and Chemist was suddenly battling Nu Mark. Then Nu Mark is battling himself. Then Chemist is on the left, Nu Mark on the right. Then they switch. Every possible combination of the two DJs followed in an impressive display of technical skills on the wheels of steel, as well as the best use of a split screen in a concert film since it was way overdone in Woodstock.

Overall, I really enjoyed myself, and if the lineup is good this year, I may make the exodus. I've heard complaints about song selection, and I agree to a point, but I left satisfied. My only complaint: the really obnoxious cuts in between--and in the case of the Polyphonic Spree, during--performances. It really started to piss me off.

So there's my review. Ethan, are you happy?

This year's Coachella lineup!

Or is this it?

Fun with Photoshop!

(AUDIO!!) Shpongle

2006-01-24T08:48:00.000-05:00

I've received a couple requests from friends and neighbors who wanted to hear the sweet psy-trance/goa sounds of Shpongle. This project is made up of Simon Posford, perhaps the headiest electronic music producer of all time, and Raja Ram, flautist and effects mastermind.

Shpongle is another pretty obscure group that has found a surge in popularity in the last few years due to a mention in the ever-so-broad “jamband” scene. I find it amusing how a band, DJ, collective or group that toils on the edge of obscurity (or is renowned in a very small slice of an eclectic genre) for a potentially infinite amount of time can step on stage with Trey Anastasio (see Matisyahu) or open for Sound Tribe Sector 9 (see Prefuse-73), and instantly become the talk on of the town.

That's what happened to Shpongle, and to a greater effect, Hallucinogen, another one of Posford's projects. Hallucinogen got booked to play last year's Camp Bisco IV, and instantly 2500 people were turned on to his late night psychedelic grooves. Last week Conspirator (a Disco Biscuits side project featuring bassist Marc Brownstein, keyboardist Aaron Magner and drum programmer DJ Omen) played one of the famed Tsunami Trance parties alongside Posford, Hallucinogen, Younger Brother and Benji Vaughn (of Prometheus), mixing the hard partying (and apparently mostly Asian) fans of the psy-trance/goa circuit with the sideways hat sporting, baggy pant wearing fans of the Disco Biscuits trancefusion assault.

I like seeing the scenes merge. I’m so beyond the “jamband” label that I try to never use it and I always find myself sub-classifying to get away from it.

So back on point...here is a couple sections from Shpongle. This music is definitely trippy, and like hallucinogenics, is an acquired taste.

Shpongle - Divine Moments of Truth

Divine Moments of Truth, or D.M.T. as it is known, is probably the quintessential Shpongle track. This CD 5" features three different mixes of the song, raging from instrumental to the ultra-trancey.

You honestly can't go wrong with anything Posford has released. His projects run the gamut from Celtic-influence projects to darker sounding trance and the high-intensity onslaught of Hallucinogen.

The Artist formerly known as the Artist formerly known as Prince to play SNL (he's Prince again for the confused)

2006-01-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

SPIN.com: Prince Makes First SNL Appearance in 25 Years

I love Prince, I like Steve Martin and until a few years ago I used to think Saturday Night Live was funny. That being said, I'm excited for to watch this, and I could not tell you the last time I felt that way about SNL. Maybe when Phish was on it a few years back. The TV Funhouse skit where a cartoon version of the band is raging Y.E.M. and Peppermint Patty turns into a bikini-clad lipstick lesbian was an instant classic.

BISCUITS ADD SHOW IN ST. PETERSBURG!!!

2006-01-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

The rumored Disco Biscuits show in St. Petersburg on March 9 (pre-pre Langerado show) is no longer rumored, and the news is as good as it gets:

From discobiscuits.com

BISCUITS ADD SHOW IN ST. PETERSBURG!!! The Biscuits are excited to announce that they will be playing at the Bank in St. Petersburg on Thursday, March 9th. The boys look to build on the incredible amount of momentum that they have gained in the months since picking up their incredible new drummer, A-Money. Having spent the last week in the studio learning old classics and writing a few bumping new psychedelic tracks, the boys are raring to hit the road, get some shows under their belts, and get the engines firing on all cylinders.
But wait, that's not all!!! If you order right now, this special Florida show will feature an opening slot by the biscuits' very close friends and associates, Brothers Past. That's right, this is the first time in three years that the bands will be featured together as a two band pairing on the same stage, and The Brothers have made significant strides in that time, carving out a sound and niche of their own and building considerable momentum in the process. Make sure to get there early and see what all of the hype is about. See you there. TDB

So I get two of my three favorite bands in one night before gorging myself on music festivally goodness. Sometimes I love living in Florida!

(AUDIO!!) Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

2006-01-23T09:10:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, February 8th, 2006 8:00 PM

FT. LAUDERDALE, FL

Culture Room

3045 North Federal Highway

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33325

954-564-1074

Buy Tickets

When I saw that Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings would be playing the Culture Room on February 8, I was extremely excited and more than a little bit shocked. I mean, this is an obscure group. I would have never heard of them if it weren't for a good word put in by members of the Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra. I guess this afrobeat collective and Jones' old school funkateers run in the same crowd in Brooklyn. (After doing a little additional research, I've discovered that the bands actually share some members.

Check out Sharon's funk pedigree:

born and raised in Augusta, GA, hometown of none other than Mr. Dynamite himself, James Brown.
moved to Brooklyn in the 70s as a teacher and became infatuated with the addictive rhythms of funk and disco
worked as session singer and studio stable star until the good music of the 70s faded into the overproduced crap of the 80s
feeling down and out, she got a job as a prison guard at Riker's Island. You heard me right. She was a prison guard in NYC. Now that is hardcore.
one day in the mid-90s when she was singing at her church a record producer heard her, put her voice to wax, and the rest, as that real old cliche goes, is history!

I promised some people that I would give them a little sample as a way to entice them into coming to the show (funknjam!), so here goes. The first link will get you the debut LP, the second is a 45 that came out a little later.

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings -
Dap Dippin' with Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings - Genuine

If this doesn't get you excited for some REAL DEAL funk, well then, you don't have a pulse.

So I'll give resuscitating your sorry ass one more try:

Watch this video of the band doing their thing live on Conan. Do you see how many people are on stage there? DO you see the funk dripping off of Sharon like sweat from Michael Jordan? Do you see the suits?

To me, this show is definitely a no-brainer, and could very well be the sleeper show of the week at the Culture Room.

http://rapidshare.de/

2006-01-22T20:26:00.000-05:00

Downloading and listening to the New Deal tracks was easy, right? Just point, click (or right click, save as), listen.

I can't promise that all of my posts will be user friendly. Some of the stuff I want to share comes from my personal collection, and I've had to find a way to easy make it available to y'all.

That's why I'm going to give you an introduction to another favorite website utility, RapidShare. This nifty German website allows me (or anyone else) to upload an archive folder (in my case I use .rar files) to their server. RapidShare will then provide me with a link to download the archive. I post that link for y'all; bada bing, bada boom, you download the archive.

After you download the archive you'll have to uncompress it; right click the file and a 'uncompress' option should pop up. If it doesn't you may need a bit more assistance. Let me know and I'll try to help out.

My next post will utilize this nifty technology.

(AUDIO!!) The New Deal - March 13th, 2005

2006-01-22T16:02:00.000-05:00

Backstage at Langerado, Jamie Shields relaxes as Darren Shearer cops a quick feel of Dan Kurtz's boobs. March 13, 2005.

Last year's Langerado Music Festival concluded with a sweaty, smoky, dirty dance party in Fort Lauderdale's Culture Room when Perpetual Groove and the New Deal played a late night show on Sunday, March 13. For reasons I can't seem to remember at this time, I missed most of pGroove's set (which incidentally, I've never been able to find a complete copy of). But as soon as the New Deal came on and kicked off with a little bit of Rick James, I almost forgot that there even was an opening band.

The venue was packed that night, and we set up camp at the high bar so we looked over the stage throughout the night. It was a typical "live.progressive.breakbeat.house" party from the Canadian trio: sharply building peaks that would hit hard and often, oftentimes with a relentless fury that left the dance floor gasping for breath. I knew I was beat by the end of the night, and from what I gathered looking around me, the rest of the room felt the same. I mean, it was the end of a loooooong weekend.

The New Deal's entire set from that night is available here from one of the my favorite web sites in the whole wide world, the Internet Archive.

If you only want a taste, check out this massive encore, featuring a sweet little German cover song about the end of the world!

Birds in the Ocean 2 >
J >
99 Luft Balloons >
J

Rumor has it that Dan Kurtz, the band's bassist, is moving to England with his lovely wife, so there may not be too many tND shows in the future. Their keyboardist Jamie Shields recently had a baby, so I guess they are moving a little bit more towards the tranquility of domestic bliss after a couple years on the rock star track.

I've always wanted nothing but the best for this band, because when I first saw them in Montreal, it may have been their first tour of shows outside of their home base of Toronto. They played Le Swimming (R.I.P.), a pool hall slash concert venue with a four foot square stage that was the inevitable stop when any "jammy" band would come through town.

I would stand on a slightly elevated stair over Jamie's keyboards every time they would play that room, watching him get crazy with his array of synths. I watched that band grow into larger and larger rooms, first in Canada, then in New York and around the country. They had some serious momentum for a while, and then kinda petered out and played gigs few and far between.

The three guys in the band are super-talented musicians, so I hope they get it together and write some new tunes.

Welcome to Scooter's Spot v. 2.0!

2006-01-22T15:18:00.000-05:00

I started v. 1.0 of this blog a little less than a year ago.

I made five posts and lost interest. Needless to say, I've scrapped it completely, from template to text, it is all gone.

But lately I've been reading a lot of different blogs, especially music and mp3 blogs (thanks to Silver's Boogaloo for impregnating my mind with the idea to do something like this).

Lately, I've also been posting links to various stories, tunes, videos, sites and other assorted miscelanea on a number of message boards I frequent. I decided to use this this place as a clearing house for all this stuff. Who knows, maybe people will even read what I write! Stranger things have been known to happen.

(Plus, maintaining this blog is going to help me work on my discipline. I want to be able to spend time writing every day. Here's my impetus.)

Feel free to leave comments or feedback. I'll read it all.

scooter's spot v. 2.0

vacation...

Overheard...

(VIDEO!!) the President and U2

Win A Camp Bisco VIP Package From Glide! Giveaway

Secret(s) of the Week

(VIDEO!!) Warren Haynes and Trey Anastasio shootin' the sh*t with a Funky B*tch

Secret(s) of the Week

R.I.P. Syd Barrett (1956-2006)

Headlines!

Secret(s) of the Week

ISP problems cause my vacation...

Weekly News Briefs - June 28, 2006

(VIDEO!!) New York Post Online Edition - BACK TO THE 'FUTURAMA'

Secret(s) of the Week

Tuesday (I mean Weekly) News Briefs - June 22, 2006

BibliOdyssey: Butterflies and Beetles

(VIDEO!!) the Brain Damaged Eggmen

Secret(s) of the Week

(VIDEO!!) Henry Rollins' Love Letter to Ann Coulter

(VIDEO!!) Get In Your Car and Cruise the Land of the Brave and Free...

Home De-POT?

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 3 - Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 2

Tuesday News Briefs - June 13, 2006

(VIDEO!!) Borat Movie Trailer

Secret(s) of the Week

(VIDEO!!) I/O Brush

(VIDEO!!) Once in Kermit's Lifetime

(REVIEW!!) Perpetual Groove - Amberland Day 1 - Deerfields, NC - 5/27/06

(VIDEO!!) Watch your hands, kids...

(VIDEO!!) Obscure Trey Anastasio Band Footage

MiamiHerald.com - 05/28/2006 - A tip for the hurricane season: Try to have some kind of a clue

(AUDIO!!) Amberland bittorrent (and archive.org links)

Amberland Review Preview!

See you next week!

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 2 - Perpetual Groove - Under the Covers disc 1

(VIDEO!!) Marijuana muffins = Weapon of Mass Destruction

Gas station's shocking sign of times - Reuters.com

(VIDEO!!) The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne gives a speech for high school graduation

(VIDEO!!) Random...

Tuesday News Briefs - May 23, 2006

(VIDEO!!) the Chemical Brothers featuring the Flaming Lips - the Golden Path

(VIDEO!!) Movie Trailer Mash-Ups

Outdone by the Big Boys!

R.I.P. - Lawrence "Ramrod" Shurtliff (1945-2006)

(VIDEO!!) Umphrey's McGee to sing National Anthem at Cubs game

(VIDEO!!) Theremin Video #2

(VIDEO!!) Theremin Video #1

the Hiatus is Over!

What Dean Wean had to say about the recent Fort Lauderdale show

(AUDIO!!) BP played David Bowie?

Rolling Stone : Jackson to Sell Beatles Catalog

So, I guess I'm back to reality...

(AUDIO!!) Cover Song Madness # 1 - "Love Will Tear Us Apart"

Tuesday News Briefs - April 4, 2006

(AUDIO!!) the best thing the Disco Biscuits (n)ever played...

Church Sign Generator

(VIDEO!!) Phish Big Cypress Videos

(VIDEO!!) Once the Fiddler Paid: a trailer for the Hot Air Balloon rock opera by the Disco Biscuits

(REVIEW!!) Bela Fleck & the Flecktones - March 23, 2006 - Pompano Beach Amphitheater - Pompano Beach, FL

(VIDEO!!) Sony BRAVIA - The Advert

(VIDEO!!) Videogame Theater - Pac Man: the Insatiable Hunger

(VIDEO!!) Fake Phish tickets on MTV's Boiling Points

State of the Blog

Lollapalooza dates and initial lineup anounced!!

(AUDIO!!) Langerado bittorrent (and archive.org) links

(AUDIO!!) Langerado Countdown - 4 Days!

(AUDIO!!) Langerado Countdown - 7 Days!

The Advertising Slogan Generator

Podbop

(VIDEO!!) L.E.D. Throwies from the Graffiti Research Lab

New Orleans Public Library Seeking Book Donations

Rare Hunter S. Thompson Photo to Be Released

(VIDEO!!) Scratch n Spin

(VIDEO!!) The Disco Biscuits 12/29/02 - > techno I-Man

the Super Mario Brothers Super-Synthesizer

Langerado Schedule Released

Thanks, Madpercolator!!

"I'm sorry momma...

The truth behind beer goggles...

(VIDEO!!) Warren Haynes and Trey Anastasio shootin' the sht with a Funky Btch