THE COUNTRY FUCKER

Chambray Bow Tie

2010-10-13T16:54:00.001-04:00

Are there two kinds of people in this world? Those who live in the realm of bow ties and those who don't. Dapper? Certainly, but could I be one of the flock?
Finding The Cordial Churchman in South Carolina may have helped to find my calling. This gray chambray piece in particular seemed to convince me.

For twenty-six bones I am willing experiment and pick up a matching pocket square with it.

78rpm pressing: Rockin' Chair - Louis Armstrong and his All Stars, 1947

2010-10-07T16:43:00.000-04:00

Singing Hoagy Carmichael's "Rocking Chair" with Jack Teagarden

Local Boys Make Good

2010-09-13T18:21:00.001-04:00

Pleasant surprise to flip through the NY Times Sunday edition and see two SF fellas in there. Jay Carrol who apparently I know from the fantasticly American display for the Levi's flagship store here in town (which I think I have checked out about a dozen times now) and from his blog OneTripPass along with Mr. Mort from MisterMort.

It's funny, seeing the cool shit they dig in their posts and it just never clicked, to me at least, that this is what they do. Finding cool shit is what they do... for a fucking living. Gotta dig that.

"We cruise north on Highway 1, past artichoke fields and cliffs that dead-end into the vast Pacific. A little leather pouch hangs from the rearview mirror, stuffed with dried sprigs of lavender. Rubinstein plops a Gram Parsons CD case on his lap and begins rolling a joint. The fuel gauge says empty as we start heading up into the wooded mountains to an estate sale in Bonny Doon. “It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve run out of gas,” Carroll says, as if nothing could worry him less. The Beach Boys are harmonizing on the song “You’re Welcome,” the B-side of “Heroes and Villains,” as Rubinstein sticks his head out the window and lets out an ecstatic howl to the redwood trees crowding the road. So maybe this is where men’s fashion really starts, I think. They regale me with past adventures: the treehouses they’ve slept in, the junk shops, the chainsaw artists, the lady up in Cave Junction, Ore., who makes beautiful moccasins by hand in her double-wide."

Seriously? Driving around with your buddy, listening to Gram, getting stoned, and going to flea markets, if I had known I could have made a career out of that... well, god bless 'em. I am sure they have busted ass to get to be able to do this kind of thing but still... If they threw in a climbing session on the way out I guess I'd be a just a little bit jealous.

Knives or Guns? Knives!

2010-09-01T15:55:00.000-04:00

now thats a country fucker

2010-08-27T10:01:00.001-04:00

2010-08-26T19:28:00.001-04:00

Drink

2010-08-20T13:14:00.000-04:00

"Founded in 2010, the WhistlePig Farm Distillery operates under the watchful eyes of Master Distiller Dave Pickerell, who formerly spent 14 years as the Master Distiller at Maker's Mark, and its proprietor Raj Peter Bhakta. This bold, complex rye displays aromas of allspice, ginger, nutmeg, clove, orange peel, and anise which are complemented by notes of charred oak, caramel, and a hint of honey. Full-bodied and rich on the palate, sweet, warming notes of caramel and vanilla are followed by rye-spice and mint flavors, which blend seamlessly into butterscotch and dark chocolate on the crisp, creamy finish."

RADICAL!

2010-08-16T18:04:00.003-04:00

I should have known the limits of my desire for radical disruption when my mom attended and marched in the first big rally I organized. Students at the University at Buffalo marching against unfair tuition hikes. The best sign from that day "George Pataki Is Screwing Freshman Girls".

"There's a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious—makes you so sick at heart—that you can't take part. You can't even passively take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all."

If the River wont flow, Then your Love won't grow

2010-08-02T18:53:00.002-04:00

Graham Robinson

Big Sur, California

2010-07-30T14:52:00.000-04:00

I was 15 working for a nice family restaining their round house and some old pieces of furniture. I wasn't the best employee. Having discovered pot and secular music I was inclined to sit reading Jack Kerouac listening to tapes. Wearing my grandpa's red wings with a pair of green No Fear shorts, homemade tie dye, and an ever present flannel shirt I guess was the epitome of hippy grunge. Got the house stained, made some furniture look better, and saved up for my first car, a 1968 VW Beetle. I had an epic soundtrack.

Simon and Garfunkle - "Sounds of Silence", Violent Femmes- "Add It Up", Bob Marley- "Burnin'", Grateful Dead "77 Cornell Show", and Zep "IV".

Steven's Memorial Library wasn't stocked with a wide variety of outsider literature. After a couple of trips to Buffalo I was able to read On the Road, Dharma Bums, and Big Sur. Seeds were planted, damage was done.

I knew then I could not stay in my small upstate town. The music and books created a magical California myth in my chubby acne covered stoned head. I would listen to Goin to California over and over again. From that summer I started this weird odyssey that finally brought me to San Francisco then Big Sur. Big Sur was exactly what it was supposed to be. No regrets coyote.

Vintage Big Star

2010-07-27T12:53:00.000-04:00

From HAD

dylan on dating

2010-07-22T20:12:00.002-04:00

Bob Dylan 1975 RTR - It Aint Me Babe - Renaldo n Clara Movie

Kern ( I Want to Be Dylan ) Little | MySpace Video

VOD

2010-07-21T18:57:00.000-04:00

Great Fan Video of Silver Jews' Punks in the Beerlight

midsummer sundays

2010-07-20T19:25:00.000-04:00

It was one of those midsummer Sundays when everyone sits around saying, "I drank too much last night." You might have heard it whispered by the parishioners leaving church, heard it from the lips of the priest himself, struggling with his cassock in the vestiarium, heard it from the golf links and the tennis courts, heard it from the wildlife preserve where the leader of the Audubon group was suffering from a terrible hangover. "I drank too much," said Donald Westerhazy. "We all drank too much," said Lucinda Merrill. "It must have been the wine," said Helen Westerhazy. "I drank too much of that claret."

from the Swimmer by John Cheever

Vive Le Tour!

2010-07-20T13:13:00.002-04:00

2010-07-16T11:52:00.000-04:00

Beets should come with a morning after note. Beets are the most terrifying vegetable known to man's psyche. Who needs that kind of scare? Something to be taped to your bathroom window "Don't Worry. You Ate Beets Yesterday."
I wonder if there is a special code in the emergency rooms. "Nothing doing champ, you just have Root 666"
People who may want to think twice about eating beets:
Woody Allen
Pregnant Women
geriatrics- they misread the waters and end things early
children of new parents
coprophiliacs

Bukowski

2010-07-15T18:56:00.002-04:00

Chuck and I have a funny relationship. I have to limit how much of him I read (same with Henry Miller). Somewhere in between the words is express written permission to be a lunatic drunk, an asshole par none raging at the world with no particular grievance in mind. In small sane doses I can keep the beasts at bay. I often feel alone in my affliction. Are others cursed with this? The superficial personality of some douche bag author eclipsing your own. Or is that just a cop out for being a bad drunk with out the redeeming quality of a genius talent?

Now, understand I do not require hours of Bukowski to be turned. Many times a anise liquor of a certain variety was enough. And to be fair, reading Bronte seems to have little or no effect on me one way or another. In the end I truly believe that all men have good and bad living in them. We all are capable of such great acts of kindness and love and utter acts of senseless evil. And if you have never brought that mad beast out you are only living half your life.

Now, in our older age on a softer coast it seems that the irrational idiot has but on teva sport sandals while wearing socks insisting on listening to Jack Johnson. It runs away from any kind of spirit that comes in a 1.5 oz glass. But I try not to tempt fate too often with Chuck's poems of derelict behavior of a rioting soul. Who needs that shit anyway? 

barfly

Jane, who has been dead for 31 years,

never could have

imagined that I would write a screenplay of our drinking

days together

and

that it would be made into a movie

and

that a beautiful movie star would play her

part.

I can hear Jane now: "A beautiful movie star? oh,

for Christ's sake!"

Jane, that's show biz, so go back to sleep, dear, because

no matter how hard they tried they

just couldn't find anybody exactly like

you.

and neither can

I.

"Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you're allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It's like killing yourself, and then you're reborn. I guess I've lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now."

Appalachia

2010-07-02T17:00:00.002-04:00

The Digital Library of Appalachia has 10,000 song titles in their digital library as well as a treasure trove of essays, photos and artifacts, and oral history tracks.

Rye Whiskey

49 Women

Meet the Mets - 1962 Opening Day

2010-06-26T13:17:00.003-04:00

What you should be listening to: Frank Fairfield

2010-06-26T13:11:00.000-04:00

Frank Fairfield is playing Amensia on Sunday around 9ish. According to Frank's website aka Myspace (really, that is olde-timey as fuck) Pokey LaFarge is playing there too but are not listed on the Amnesia's calendar. Goddam good show. I get the feeling that these fellas are going to be playing bigger and bigger venues so come see them before you are sitting a hundred miles away at Hardly Strictly.
I saw Frank play only one song at the Hemlock and he sold me. Fact is I sat the bar trying to convince a woman I loved that I was in love with her. Note: If you have to convince someone that you are in love with them you should probably skip the conversation and just catch Frank's set. There will be less regrets that way.
Well, the girl is gone and unlikely to come back but lets not be sad about fare thee wells now Frank is here again.

Pokey LaFarge

I been searchin...

2010-06-25T23:38:00.003-04:00

Neil Young 1971 BBC

Uncle Tupelo

2010-06-14T12:08:00.002-04:00

If you do not know this band you should. If you do know this band then you probably spend some drunken nights alone listening to Anondyne wishing that some how, some way, these fuckers would reunite- just one more time. Well, that ain't gonna happen. So until we all die and are reunited in the by and by with the great band in the sky...

found photos

2010-06-01T17:28:00.009-04:00

My phone is not smart and I rather like it that way. It is a stupid phone that will do only the simple tasks I give it. Sometimes when the power of whiskey and beer has made me angry or lonely or just weird I wish my phone was smarter than I am. But it isn't.

One thing my phone does is take photos that I forget about.

Tennessee Stud

2010-05-25T18:27:00.001-04:00

2010-05-21T18:14:00.004-04:00

I grew up in town but spent most of my time on Merle's Farm out on Route 98 in upstate NY. Merle was my grandmother's maiden name and there is a road out there named after them that runs into Glor Road which was my grandfather's family. Arthur and Florence (everyone I knew under the age of 55 called them Grandpa and Grandma) were the patriarch and matriarch of the Merle family which included 4 sons and 1 daughter. Their son Bruce and his wife Julie (Uncle Bruce and Aunt Julie to me) were my second family while my mom worked swing shifts as a nurse. Growing up it was a thriving dairy farm with a huge chicken coop, maple business, and a roadside stand for sweet corn and other vegetables and fruit.

Each son had an area of the operation that was his own; my Uncle Bruce dealt with the fields and feed, Douglas with the Holsteins, Milton the chicken coop, and Lyle the maple business. Now, all that is really left of the farm that makes any money is the maple business. My Uncle still runs the barn that houses other farms' heifers and grows grows feed. Lyle and his family keep Merle Maple going but, at the age of 90 something, my Grandma Merle runs the show.

As the sons grew older and the reality of upstate NY economics took their tolls on small family dairy farms all across the county none of the kids wanted to take over the farm. They gave me my first doses of real hard work at a very young age. Getting up at 3:30 am to do the first milking, cutting wood in the winter for fuel all year long, tapping maple lines, and my first real paid job milking cows after school.

So here is to all those small dirt farmers still trying to make it. Buy local fuckers.

2010-05-18T16:16:00.001-04:00

H D S

2010-05-17T15:31:00.004-04:00

Harry Dean Stanton doesn't sleep.

The Kid

2010-04-29T23:55:00.005-04:00

It is still early in the 2010 season but my boys in blue and orange just went on a 9-1 streak that put them atop of the NL East... My hopes are up and are sure to be crushed a la 1988, 1999, 2000, 2006 and of course ever year in between.
Lately I've been following the Amazins more closely than in seasons past. Amazin Avenue, a Mets blog, recently posted his take on the top ten trades since 1983. I was happy to see my all-time baseball hero make #4:

4. Hubie Brooks, Mike Fitzgerald, Herb Winningham and Floyd Youmans to Montreal for Gary Carter. The Mets surprised just about everyone by staying in the 1984 pennant race for as long as they did. They clearly were a team on the rise with a ton of great young talent, but they needed just one superstar bat to put them over the top. Enter the Kid. In his first game with the Mets on opening day 1985, Carter ended the game with a 10th inning homerun off of some guy named Neil Allen. A love affair was born. Unlike some other guys who impressed in their debuts coughBobbyBonillacoughMikeBordick Carter was the real deal. He helped lead the Mets to within inches of a title in 1985, and then of course the big trophy in 1986. But even in 1986 there were signs that Gary was on the decline. His power numbers began to nosedive in 1987, and he was never the same player. Still, as was the case with Bobby O, Cashen accomplished what he wanted to. The only reason that this trade doesn't rank a little higher is that the guys the Mets dealt, aside from Winningham, had decent careers. Youmans was the key piece of the trade, and some thought he would be the next Doc Gooden. He showed flashes of brilliance in Montreal, but he never came close to meeting expectations and his career fizzled. Fitzgerald was a very good backup catcher, and Brooks remained a solid if unspectacular shortstop.

I remember seeing a bench clearing brawl and Carter came off the dugout to join in the fracas. The game was on channel 10 WWOR out of NYC, which you may remember from The Richard Bey Show or Howard Stern's first stint on TV. Tim McCarver was calling the game made a huge deal about the Kid jumping in the fight. Carter had an injured back and it was a pretty stupid idea for him to be risking more injury. McCarver remarked that was just the kind of player he was, a "Gamer". Those 85-89 teams were fucked up and tough as nails.

Sure the Kid went on to become a huge Republican and even had Bush Sr. at his Hall of Fame induction but even that can't tarnish my image of him. Ladies and gentleman put those hands together for Gary Carter, listed #8 in your programs but will always be #1 in our hearts.

*Note: I may own every Gary Carter baseball card produced by the major card companies... ahh to think of those lovely names again Donruss, Score, Topps, Upper Deck ...

music.

2010-04-23T19:20:00.006-04:00

I remember the day I discovered music. I mean I grew up surrounded by music- not in the way some talented people are. My parents didn't play instruments or have a really diverse music library. We had a bunch of records, tapes, and 8 tracks. My grandparents tried to kill me with the likes of Guy Lombardo and his Brass Canadian band and Lawrence Welk (which aired prior to one of the best musical educations of all time- The Muppets).
My Dad was and is obsessed with Elvis. I never really got that into him but did love his movies as a kid- Fuck Yah "Roustabout"!. Then it was mostly classic and 80's country music for him. I felt that influence later and stole his entire LP collection. That LP boxed set of Hank Williams- goddam!
Mom had the biggest musical influence on me though- Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkle I wore that tape out. Donovan, Carol King, Joni Mitchell.
Together, they listened to and went to see good music- Charlie Daniels Band, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. At age 8 they took me to my first big concert- The Oak Ridge Boys at the Erie County Fair- 3 rows back stage left- I shook hands with Rich, the dude that sings the super low bass, and stood on my chair for "Elvira".

It was Trinity United Methodist Church where music latched itself onto me. Before I listened to anything else I listened to the people who would raise me sing "That Old Rugged Cross" "Amazing Grace" "We're Marching To Zion" and of course all the works of Charles Wesley:

The day I discovered music was after church on Mitzi and Chet Hitchcox's farm. It was warm and you could faintly smell the pungency of the manure over the sweetness of the hay and alfalfa. Generations of my family and the people whose roots went back a hundred years and more with ours. Sitting in a circle of lawn chairs with styrofoam plates full of Mrs. Boldts potato salad, Grandma Merle's maple baked beans, and hot dogs in their laps. Sarah Merle strummed simple chords on her guitar and played songs that I seemed to already know the words to. Chet took a harmonica out of the pocket of his short sleeved shirt and played along. They played hymns and Christian camp songs. I sat on the grass and was smitten. My Grandma Glor reached out and held my grandpa's hand when we sang "Rock of Ages". We buried her singing that song.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.
Not the labors of my hands
can fulfill thy law's commands;
could my zeal no respite know,
could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone;
thou must save, and thou alone.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
when mine eyes shall close in death,
when I soar to worlds unknown,
see thee on thy judgment throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee.

Pokey LaFarge

2010-04-23T19:09:00.002-04:00

Via The People's Music - who you should really bookmark cuz dude has some great quips-

"Everyone who never told me about Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three is a dick. Why would you not tell me about Pokey? Jesus Christ, come on people."

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three "La La Blues" from Filipe Bessa on Vimeo.

RIP GURU

2010-04-20T13:12:00.004-04:00

Gang Starr got me through some rough streets in Homer, NY.

Peace brother elijah
Hey peace guru, how you doin?
I'm maintainin
Just been thinkin though man
About the situation for today's youth man, the seeds man
What's your opinion on that?
Mmm that's strange I was thinkin the same thing
Somethin I read in the holy qu'ran how it says
"has thou seen him who belies religion?
That is one who is rough, to the orphan."
And no matter what we say our religion is
Whether it's islam, christianity
Juddaism, buddha-ism, old school-ism or new school-ism
If we're not schooling the youth with wisdom
Then the sins of the father will visit the children
And that's not keepin it real...
That's keepin it -- wrong

Now that we're gettin somewhere, you know we got to give back
For the youth is the future no doubt that's right and exact
Squeeze the juice out, of all the suckers power
And pour some back out, so as to water the flowers
This world is ours, that's why the demons are leary
It's our inheritance; this is my robbin hood theory... robbin hood theory

I seek sun, deceive none, for each one must teach one
At least one must flow and show the structure, of freedom
It's me dunn, cause petty things we don't need 'em
Let's focus to create somethin great, for all that sees them
They innocent, they know not what they face
While politicians save face genius minds lay to waste
If I wasn't kickin rhymes I'd be kickin down doors
Creatin social change and defendin the poor
The god's always been militant, and ready for war
We're gonna snatch up the ringleaders send em home in they drawers
But first where's the safe at? let's make em show us
And tell em hurry up, give up the loot that they owe us
We bringin it back, around the way to our peeps
Cause times are way too deep, we know the code of the streets
Meet your defeat; this is my robbin hood theory... my robbin hood theory

I floss my rhymes like dentals, my mental's presidential
From the wild ghetto districts to the plush resedential
Essential, would be the message that I send you
I meant to, elevate at every venue
Pops told me to pursue what is true, and nothing other
And nowadays I pave the way for troops of my young brothers
Necessary by all means, sort of like malcolm
Before it's too late; I create, the best outcome
So I take this opportunity, yes to ruin the
Devilish forces fuckin up my black community
And we ain't doin no more interviews
Til we get paid out the frame, like motherfuckin donahue
We're taking over radio, and wack media
Cause systematically they gettin greedier and greedier
Conquering turfs with my I'll organization
Takin out the man while we scan the information
You wanna rhyme you best to wait son
You can't even come near, if you ain't got our share
You front on us this year, consider yourself blown out of here
Yeah... by my robbin hood theory

God is universal, he is the ruler universal
For those who can't follow that spells guru when in my circle
I see all sides of my culture...
Design my thoughts like a sculpture
And chumps they wanna get with me cause I'm another entity
I'm sent to be, leadin the army of the century
Mention me, and snakes will retreat, eventually...
... due to my robbin hood theory

eyepatch

2010-04-19T19:31:00.005-04:00

As a lil country fucker I had certain disadvantages that I was born into. Sure, my mom was on her own and young, had no money, and all the rest but those weren't the real disadvantages in the end. I was born a huge nerd- didn't even have to try- came natural like. These problems weren't evident until I had fully developed around the age of 3. My family never really noticed because they are loving kind folk and in all reality were never worried about such things.

For example, a woman from a neighboring church came to call on my Grandma while she was watching me one day after school. The visitor noticed what she thought was an "afflicted boy" watching TV. I was sitting about a foot in front of the screen. My head tilted back so I could see through my bi-focals, my mouth agape so I could breathe as I had some nasal issues, and the volume extremely loud because of the tubes in my ears. My Grandma yelled a number of times for me to say hello. Being a polite boy I did as was told and as I turned she was probably taken aback by the fact that I had a rather large patch covering my right eye.

I had what some refer to as the "jealous eye", as one eye was always watching what the other eye was doing. Thanks to the great insurance my mom had through her work we were able to afford some corrective surgery that required me to wear an eye-patch for quite a while. Like any little kid I was blissfully unaware to my own self. Oblivious to my distinct un-normalness. I thought my eye patch was the best thing that had ever happened to me. This eye patch would set me apart from the rest of the kids at New Covenant Christian School. I would be different and thus automatically cool. It would be years before I would make radical attempts to "normalize" myself through rock n' roll, books, and a various regimen of self-prescribed substances.

Now, I notice people in eye-patches every where I go. They seem to haunt my reality. Like a weird wonderful reminder of that little boy. I look back at that little guy and can't help but love him. Although, I wish I could warn him just how awful public middle school was going to be. So in honor of that little man here is our ode to badass motherfuckers who wore eye patches.

thanks liam.

2010-04-15T21:31:00.004-04:00

Listen

Cosmic Dust

Want

New Merle Haggard Album Free

2010-04-13T13:04:00.002-04:00

NPR keeps it coming lately with great new music on its First Listen posts. Today they have Merle Haggard's "I Am What I Am" (please refrain from Popeye references).

But the album isn't just about love — at least not just romantic love. Haggard loves country music, and he's not afraid to use it as a means of protest; in the process, he lets listeners know exactly how he feels about America today, both politically and culturally. It's not just cynicism or disgust that he expresses in the album opener, "I've Seen It Go Away," but also sorrow and sadness. As he sings, "When you've seen the very best, the rest can hardly play," and "I've seen our greatest leaders break their people's heart," it's hard not to feel your heart breaking along with his.

Also, take a minute to check out When I Awake's post today. Those ladies continue to read my mind and have posted up "Bound To Fail" from Stephen's Stills masterpiece Manassas. This is the best thing he ever did, in my opinion. The LP is beautiful too- its usually pretty cheap and easy to find so go out buy it, put on a big pair of headphones and listen to the whole thing.

things are going to get easier

2010-04-12T17:58:00.000-04:00

My High School Mix Tape

2010-04-09T18:44:00.003-04:00

The mixtape that I made for the girlfriend I didn't have....

late night posts

2010-04-08T02:37:00.001-04:00

fuck you

Swerve Me

2010-04-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

Originally uploaded by The Library of Congress

Swerve me?
The path to my fixed purpose is laid with iron rails, whereon my soul is grooved to run.
Over unsounded gorges,
through the rifled hearts of mountains,
under torrents’ beds, unerringly I rush!

Naught’s an obstacle, naught’s an angle to the iron way!"

"Backstage" at the "girlie" show at the Vermont state fair, Rutland (LOC)

the way it ought to be

2010-04-07T00:55:00.000-04:00

LA Country Rock Alive and Well... Hiding in LA of all places

2010-04-06T16:57:00.003-04:00

Check out this video of LA's (sorry bad quality) Whispering Pines covering JJ Cale's Crazy Mama. I hope the crazy mama who yells at the end of the song comes up for the SF show at The Hemlock on April 25. They got the hair, the denim and boots, the good Sound.

Following When You Awake and diggin on that LA scene almost makes me wish I lived in there- then I remember I hate traffic and haven't owned a car since the last century. Maybe sittin in 1954 Chevy pickup for hours is easier than trying to ride a cannondale in cowboy boots.... anyway let's go drink and dance with these boys on the 25th

Bike

2010-04-02T13:35:00.008-04:00

When I lived on the East Coast spring time was a time to start contemplating living again. If you can survive winter in NY you can survive anything motherfucker. More importantly it meant you could go for real rides outside again. Not some miserable cranking away in the slosh just to prove you could.

The glory of the northern California is that, aside from some rain, the weather is always perfect for riding. Never too hot, never too cold. Last night, I rode to Paul's Hat Works to hang with those lovely ladies and the fellas from Taylor Stitch for an open studio. An open studio is apparently when a store is open after hours, has music, and feeds me Jameson Whiskey. Pauls is in the Richmond and a helluva cool store. Can't afford their hats but they are carrying other haberdashery items that are well with in pocketbook range. I took a nightime 5.5 mile ride to the Richmond which was glorious. I discovered the bike path that follows Fell Street. It was flat, smoothly paved and well marked that I should not go fast. After passing one well reflected commuter I saw someone up ahead that seemed to be covering some ground so I clicked into the big ring just to see if I could catch up. Well that was that, I won 8 sprint finishes and took home the climbers jersey on Cabrillo St. And of course, left Lance on the alpe d'huez after a look.

It all made me excited for the Spring Classics and riding in general.

So go get out there.

Blazin

2010-03-30T19:59:00.003-04:00

Jeff Bridges' Bad Blake was a conglomerate of a bunch of off the beaten path country singers. Most have said that Blaze Foley was the biggest influence thanks to his friendship with T-Bone Burnett. I had heard of Blaze on the periphery of stories about Guy Clark, Townes and the rest of that Texas crew. Never released an album. Glad that movie came out.

Blaze was also the inspiration for Lucinda's best fucking song

Blaze Foley- Clay Pigeons

Debbie Harry & Kermit the Frog - The Rainbow Connection

2010-03-30T17:28:00.002-04:00

I am a sucker. But this is the perfect song.

How many drugs do you think those two did in the green room?

Willie Nelson - Rainbow Connection
Uploaded by UniversalMusicGroup. - Music videos, artist interviews, concerts and more.

Stream the New Dr. Dog- NPR

2010-03-29T15:17:00.003-04:00

NPR is streaming the new Dr. Dog. I held out on these guys for a while because I am an idiot.
Check it here

Dr Dog Upcoming Tour Dates:

April 14 Lee’s Place Toronto, ON
April 15 Blind Pig Ann Arbor, MI
April 16 Metro Chicago, IL
April 17 Fine Line Minneapolis, MN
April 19 Belly Up Aspen, CO
April 20 Gothic Theatre Denver, CO
April 22 Neurolux Boise, ID
April 23 Wonder Ballroom Portland, OR
April 24 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA
April 25 Great American Music Hall San Francisco, CA **
April 27 Henry Fonda Los Angeles, CA **
April 29 Santa Fe Brewing Company Santa Fe, NM **
April 30 The Loft Dallas, TX **
May 1 Emo’s Outside Austin, TX **
May 2 Warehouse Live Studio Houston, TX **
May 3 Majestic Fayetteville, AR **
May 5 Workplay Birmingham, AL **
May 6 Cannery Ballroom Nashville, TN **
May 7 Headliners Louisville, KY **
May 10 Port City Music Hall Portland, ME
May 11 Paradise Boston, MA **
May 12 Paradise Boston, MA **
May 13 Electric Factory Philadelphia, PA **
May 14 9:30 Club Washington, DC **
May 15 Terminal 5 New York, NY **
May 23 Magnet Berlin, Germany
May 24 Blue Shell Koln, Germany
May 25 Paradiso Amsterdam, Netherlands
May 26 Cargo London, UK
May 27 Nouveau Casino Paris, FR
May 29 Primavera Sound Barcelona, Spain
May 31 Sasquatch Festival George, WA
June 4 Mountain Jam Woodstock, NY
June 11 Bonnaroo Manchester, TN
July 2 High Sierra Music Festival Quincy, CA
July 3 High Sierra Music Festival Quincy, CA
July 10 All Good Festival Masontown, WV

** With Deer Tick

The Duke

2010-03-26T18:19:00.006-04:00

I get that John Wayne is not politically correct. He was pro-war, pro-establishment, and anti-hippie. Definitely a chauvinist and maybe a racist and probably a drunk. Yet late in life Harvard's National Lampoon sent him a fake award, not knowing it was a set up, he agreed to show up and accept it. They made fun of him and he handled it with graciousness and humor. (Is it really a surprise that the working-class hates the liberal intelligentsia?)

The cowboy vs indian, WW II, anti commie image Wayne worked so hard through out his career to create came to represent everything that the 60's was against. In fact, John Wayne was the fucking icon of everything they were against. But during WW II he was the fucking icon of everything people were for. And in a way, that still holds true. He represents the best and worst of America all at the same confusing time. Those contradictions is what makes us who we are. And like John Wayne, it really isn't ever who we are (He really was Marion Morrison the son of a pharmacist named Clyde, of course) but who we become. He is the American Dream.

As for me, I fucking love John Wayne. Growing up not knowing my biological father probably had something to do with it. I needed that male ego to come from somewhere. I wanted to be John Wayne- how pissed am I am that I ended up short, cannot ride a horse, and look stupid in big cowboy hats.

John Wayne taught me how to fight other boys, that you should be proud to serve in the military, and that Maureen O'Hara is fucking hot. By the time I was 16 I rejected two of those ideas thanks to reading Jack Kerouac and Jim Morrison's biography. But something of John Wayne stuck. Like a thin residue over my character. I love America because we produced John Wayne and other famous frauds, liars and bullshitters- Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, The Country Fucker...

Goin'

2010-03-26T13:26:00.003-04:00

Headed out of the city- Goin to Yosemite for some climbing and camping. My soul is happy about it. This is where my head is most of the time...

How is it when a man of my age starts contemplating the settled life he immediately starts worrying about his freedom? Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose, I suppose. I've been working on being an old man for most of my youth and now the time has come. Ah, the settled life... can it really exist in the city? Maybe it is the thought of kids and that raising them in the urban environment would be so foreign to me.

How does one go from a urban life of more than ten years now get back to the country? Every time I take a look at the lay of the land and get the itch for goin there seem to be these obstacles. A job, for instance. I am not going back to work on a farm. I don't want to work that hard. All my Professional skills are of a specific nature and I've yet to find a way to translate them to a small town job. Years of the city life also makes certain lifestyles unrealistic. This is my stand.

I will not:
have a commute over an hour- to work, the grocery store, culture of some sort
live in a development, suburb, or an apartment building built after 1949, any thing that includes the word track
live so remotely that I can't walk to drink with friends
be too far away from live music
be surrounded by nothing but anti-feminists, racists and homophobes- I can bear them if they are the minority
anyplace that only deals in absolutes

The obvious answer is a modern commune. An old farm where a bunch of cool people and friends live that aren't total self-righteous hippies. We share trucks, whiskey, and babysitting duties but not wives. Where people hang out a lot of the time but not all the time. Maybe someone there teaches me to pick a banjo so we can have weekend jams.

what to do, when you are 32

2010-03-24T00:02:00.002-04:00

I Hate Moby

2010-03-19T18:02:00.000-04:00

2010-03-18T17:13:00.001-04:00

"You can find in music just about any ideal emotional landscape you crave, whether it's angst or rebellion or celebration or union or dissolution. It's all there, and none of it's going to call you back or text you at four o'clock in the morning or blame you for anything you did or didn't do or slap you with a paternity suit."
-Will Oldham

2010-03-18T16:27:00.001-04:00

2010-03-18T16:20:00.003-04:00

Poncho, don't you like me no more
Poncho, to me our friendship means more
Poncho, please forget what I said
Cause Poncho we're headin' towards our end
I remember the first time when you came to town
Speaking in Spanish making the rounds
When you first saw me your face was a grin
Then you called me The Frisco Kid

I say someday you'll be happy with me, Poncho
I remember the good times when you loved me so
I gave you my hat and wore your sombrero
All of the times that you saved me from death
Oh Poncho you were the best
I had a black horse and you had a gray
My horse was faster but yours did okay
When it came to chasin' rustlers we'd always win
Cause we're Poncho and The Frisco Kid
We're Poncho and The Frisco Kid
Oh poncho we're headin' towards our end

Tis a Bonnie Day

2010-03-17T18:38:00.005-04:00

Sun is out and the Irish are drunk. All is right in the world once again. In honor of the potato eating, ditch digging, blue-eyed mick catholic bastards a new old BPB song.

Death To Everyone

And of course Danny Boy. Go cry about your mother.

The Muppets do the most spot on depiction of the Irish I've ever seen.

Bonnie

2010-03-17T12:56:00.000-04:00

Love This Man.

Alex Carleton Makes L.L. Bean Better

2010-03-16T19:37:00.005-04:00

Alex Carleton's new line for L.L. Bean Signature is about the best idea I've seen in a long time.

Instead of "fashion companies" making expensive reproductions of classic labels. L.L. Bean hired a designer with a great eye for classic Americana to reinvent their line within L.L. Bean's ethos of functional and affordable clothing.

Woolrich has recently reinvented different aspects of their traditional clothing but Damn! No, honest working man can afford some of that shit.

Mans Need For Epic

2010-03-12T19:04:00.009-05:00

A friend of mine just completed an epic trek in the Adirondack mountains.

Check this, I started at Elk Lake at 12 pm Friday night and didn’t crawl into my sleeping bag until 7 am Sunday morning. What!?! Yeah, that’s right. It wasn’t planned this way, but breaking trail really chewed up the time. Basically, I hiked all night Friday, rolled into camp Saturday morning, repacked my bag and started hiking again, making it half way up the 2,100 ft South Fork of the West Slide by sunset, bivied for 2 hours, hiked the rest of the exposed 1,000 ft of open slide in the dark, tagged the summit in a howling wind, got off the upper mountain by midnight, bivied again on the trail for 2 hours, then rolled into camp at daybreak Sunday morning. Sorry, but I was too tired to take any pictures worth a dam. Yahoo!

This is a reasonably sane family man pushing himself to the limit on a weekend. Why? It seems that the more time society gives us to relax there is a certain percentage who will use that time systematically trying to kill themselves. Is it that as the world becomes safer and more within our reach we feel the need to find things that are out of reach or, at least, barely within our reach?

I climbed Rainer with this fellow. He isn't a risk taker looking to stare death in the face. He lives up to his responsibilities and has a pretty normal job. There is just something inside of him that makes him do things that are hard sometimes. Maybe that is it. The fact that we know many people wouldn't do these things that are hard. A way to separate yourself, if only in your head, from the mass of humanity.

Books have always been a reasonable substitute for actually jumping into the jaws of death yet still creating that feeling of being alive. I just finished Annapurna by Maurice Herzog. A classic of mountaineering literature that chronicles the summit of the first 8000 meter peak. That book showed what hard is. Hard is a two week descent in which Herzog got severe frostbite and lost a bunch of fingers and toes. Gangrene set in requiring emergency amputations at camp without anesthetic.

Sure he was treated as national hero upon his survival and return home but never lived out his true dream of being a speed-typist.

Maurice Herzog

Lionel Terray

There is something in that drive to the edge that we love. So many great American novels capture it in some way: Moby Dick, Call of the Wild, The Sun Also Rises, All The Pretty Horses, Lonesome Dove...

Maybe London hit upon it in the that perfect title "Call of the Wild". Some feeling to see what we have inside. Then again Jack London ended up being an alcoholic womanizer who died of uremia aggravated by an accidental morphine overdose. Guess that can be the other side of the coin.

Cash and Dylan

2010-03-12T18:53:00.002-05:00

Feeling one too many mornings and a thousand miles behind... sing it boys.

2010-03-09T18:22:00.003-05:00

Luckily the internet survived my absence and is in fact alive and well.

Here are some of the better things it has to offer the world at the moment:

Back in the USA

2010-03-07T19:08:00.003-05:00

So happy to travel abroad and hang with people from all different kinds of places. One thing is clear to me. Everyone loves America and hates America for about the same reasons as most sane Americans.

I came back with three complaints:
1. Drunk ex-British Marines who want to kick my ass for the Iraq War prove that the world is full of assholes.
2. The Beijing airport is literally hell on earth.
3. European house music may be the worse thing they have done since the holocaust.

... Ok, that might be a bit much but first thing I did when I got online was this

2010-02-11T19:00:00.005-05:00

In college I gave a good friend, he grew up in the suburbs of Syracuse, NY, a hard time for wearing Carharts and sporting an amish-style beard. His Dad was upper-management of a big company and he had a stay-at-home mom. Called him a poseur to his face- he is a lot bigger than me and I'm lucky he didn't want to kick my ass.

I grew up working on a farm. My grandpa was a farmer, carpenter, working class guy. We wore work clothes because we worked. I felt that this guy didn't have the right to be wearing carharts to Psych 101.

I was the first person in my family to go to college. Now I have a nice job, make more money than both of my parents ever did, and live in San Francisco for godsakes. I am far from working class.

Yet the older I get the harder those blue-collar roots pull at me. After 22 years of escaping rural small town life I find myself yearning for it. Desperate for manual labor, a place in the woods, a simpler quieter life. It's nothing new. The turn of the century saw the Great Camps of the Adirondacks and Teddy Roosevelt's conservation movement and the 60's had the back to landers.

I'm a total poseur now. I have a beard, wear "work clothes", hell even wear my Grandpa's old stuff a lot. It's a style now not a way of life. Like a lot of urban men I think I am trying to reconnect with an authenticity that my Grandparent's generation represents.

New York Magazine did an article about "The Retailers of Rusticity"

The article was more of a guide of where to buy an overpriced pair of USA made goods but made me think about men's quest for what it means to be male in the modern urban environment. The comments section made me think about whether I was a poseur or worse, a hipsterwannabe ... I hate fashion but like good style. My Grandpa had a fantastic sense of style. That was the difference between low-rent and working class. We cared about how we presented ourselves. I thought about what Donald Glor, depression era farmer, carpenter, methodist, farm machine salesman, would think about me stealing his pair of Red Wings... I think this commenter got it right

Seriously, how insecure are you ? You make comments on an article in NEW YORK MAGAZINE ? It’s New York ! You could go out and find every trend possible and make an article about it. They’ll do another article about men in suits & do you think all those guys on Wall St. will get so upset that someone who doesn’t need to wear a suit for work will actually wear one for fun …….

You know nothing about any of these guys lives. Someone has picked them off the street & asked them if they would pose for a photo. Why not ? They are not wearing Gucci woodsman jeans or Prada plaid shirts. They are buying American brands & growing beards. People have been dressing like this for years. The flannel shirt was hip when punk hit New York in the 70’s, West Coast Grunge, LA Rappers & it will continue to be fashionable and practical for many years to come. It drives me crazy that people just feel the need to criticize. It is a very easy thing to do & incredibly patronizing…....Using words like “little hipsters” & “posers” is just ignorant.

I live in the country, I am a carpenter & have a small farm. I have a beard, I wear flannel shirts & dress in a very practical style. I’m quite happy that I may well be seen as fashionable for even a fleeting moment, but to be honest it doesn’t bother me one way or the other, why does it bother you ? I am sure Filson, LL Bean, Carhartt and many others don’t care who is wearing their clothing, as long as they do.

I was going to suggest heading out of the city to buy a lot of these items, it will be a lot less expensive if you do…….. but if I did then it wouldn’t be an article about where to buy these items in NEW YORK CITY, would it ?

So, I was an asshole back in college for giving my buddy a hard time. I still am an asshole but now I can afford to buy him better whiskey to make amends.

Headin to the Country

2010-02-05T16:36:00.003-05:00

Gotta get out of this City

I'm going up the country, baby, don't you wanna go
I'm going to some place where I've never been before

I'm going, I'm going where the water tastes like wine
I'm going where the water tastes like wine
We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time

I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away
All this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure can't stay

Now, Baby, pack your leaving trunk, you know we got to leave today
Just exactly where we going I can not say
But we might even leave the U.S.A.
'Cause it's a brand new game, and I want to play

No use of you running or screaming and crying
'Cause you got a home as long as I've got mine

Reference Library turned me onto a need I didn't even know I had.
High quality denim aprons. Perfect for when I start my woodworking again.

Check out Stanley & Sons. Their bags are great too.

2010-02-01T13:45:00.007-05:00

Man Up

Taylor Stitch here doing god's work organized the Man Up.

Fellas from the best men's vintage store Sui Generis

Abbie of Paul's Hat Works understood the importance of young men wearing good hats with a sense of pride in craftsmanship. Tax return is coming up. A new hat of quality that you will give to your grandkids is a worthwhile investment.

This is not my dutch bike but it is My Dutch Bike.

SF Man Up organized by the men of Durable Goods Concern did a fantastic job. Lots of quality all in one place both people and goods. I think these guys have really tapped into something and look forward to the next idea. While the people were all of soulful quality the space and atmosphere lacked that same soul. Next time more beer and better music.

Country Fuckings Happenin' in the Bay

2010-01-28T17:04:00.003-05:00

Friday 1/28 at Slims
The Fruit Bats.
Saw these guys play in one of my all time favorite venues back in the early aughts. Go see them now.

Saturday 1/29 at The Historic Brookdale Lodge (fanfuckingtastic venue)
The Bowerbirds

And now for the world's most handsome man

(I am obsessed with Backyard Bill)

Heartworn Highways

2010-01-25T17:16:00.003-05:00

I have talked up this movie and soundtrack since the day I bought it in '05. I was on a pretty hard Townes kick living out of a truck for the summer. A man at a New Paltz, NY record store convinced me that this dvd and cd would be lifetime favorites. He was right. Five years , three girlfriends, and 3,000 miles away this is still at the top of the rotation.

Now, the movie Crazy Heart is one of the best movie's of the year and I think Heartworn's impact on the making of that movie cannot be denied.

2010-01-21T22:15:00.008-05:00

The SF'er

aka Dark n' Stormy

60 ml of dark rum
ginger beer
1 slice of lime
Pour the rum into a glass over ice.
Pour the Ginger Beer over it.
Squeeze in the lime wedge and drop it in.
San Francisco is pretty shitty nowadays. We are all in need of some inspiration.

Flaggin'

2010-01-20T19:34:00.005-05:00

I am feeling the need to take up some space on the large wall over my bed. Something that will move the eye away from the horrid wine and bike grease stained carpet.

The Levi Flagship store here in SF has a great display of cool American memorabilia from all over the country including some vintage worn looking good ol glories. I thought a worn American flag would give the room a vintage Neil Young ragged glory kind of feel. The idea of good people reclaiming patriotism and what the flag can stand for appeals to me.
Something like this from Jeff Bridgman's site.

Bridgman does great write-ups that as a former history major I love.

35 Star American national flag with a brilliant, cornflower blue canton. Note how the stars, placed in haphazard rows, point in various directions on their vertical axis, which adds strong folk quality to the visual design. This is a beautiful, homemade example, either made for use during the recruitment of soldiers or for some other patriotic purpose.

Along the binding, at the fly end, on the first white stripe, is a period ink stamp that appears to reads: “J.H. Crane”. Such markings are often found on 19th century flags, written, stamped, or embroidered, to represent ownership. Six Union Army soldiers would fit those initials. It is likely that one of the men owned this flag, but a specific attribution is not known.

Read the rest after the jump.

But Levi's is owning this cool American thing with their Go Forth campaign that I admit to totally digging.

PTLDME did a post today with signal flags that would be actually affordable and cool. Some cool ones out there here.

Man Up in SF

2010-01-19T14:06:00.001-05:00

MAN UP from B-Rilla on Vimeo.

Listen

2010-01-15T00:46:00.002-05:00

Listen.

Marin

2010-01-13T00:53:00.007-05:00

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.

-John Muir

pilgramage o'er there

2010-01-07T20:02:00.006-05:00

Wintertime in New York City is great for one day. After which it becomes a like an ex. A cold dirty piece of shit that you swear you will never enter again. Yet still gets you drunk violates you and makes you spend all your money.

Give me the Northwoods! Give me the hunting land of the Algonquian and Mohawk. Where the Last of the Mohicans rests. Ah to be renewed by balsam fir.

The Adirondaks.

The Solitary Woodsman

When the gray lake-water rushes
Past the dripping alder bushes,

And the bodeful autumn wind
In the fir-tree weeps and hushes,

When the air is sharply damp
Round the solitary camp,

And the moose-bush in the thicket
Glimmers like a scarlet lamp,

When the birches twinkle yellow,
And the cornel bunches mellow,

And the owl across the twilight
Trumpets to his downy fellow,

When the nut-fed chipmunks romp
Through the maples' crimson pomp,

And the slim viburnum flushes
In the darkness of the swamp,

When the blueberries are dead,
When the rowan clusters red,

And the shy bear, summer-sleekened,
In the bracken makes his bed,

On a day there comes once more
To the latched and lonely door,

Down the wood-road striding silent,
One who has been here before.

Green spruce branches for his head,
Here he makes his simple bed,

Couching with the sun, and rising
When the dawn is frosty red.

All day long he wanders wide
With the gray moss for his guide,

And his lonely axe-stroke startles
The expectant forest-side.

Toward the quiet close of day
Back to camp he takes his way,
And about his sober footsteps
Unafraid the squirrels play.

On his roof the red leaf falls,
At his door the blue- jay calls,

And he hears the wood-mice hurry
Up and down his rough log walls;

Hears the laughter of the loon
Thrill the dying afternoon,

Hears the calling of the moose
Echo to the early moon.

Charles G. D. Roberts

Young Cons Make a Rap Video- hilarity ensues!!

2009-05-29T19:58:00.004-04:00

This video totally made my friday!

Check out their site and leave em a message too!
http://www.theyoungcons.com/

Got to love young white dudes from Dartmouth spending their trust fund on this stuff. If it wasn't so sad it would be funny. Ok it is still funny... really funny.

Can you Dig what I am Plantin?

2009-04-21T19:09:00.006-04:00

http://rosecallahan.blogspot.com/

Sockittomesocks.com has launched her new blog. Read it. Love it. Buy it.

An Effort to Save a City by Shrinking It
By DAVID STREITFELD

FLINT, Mich. — Dozens of proposals have been floated over the years to slow this city’s endless decline. Now another idea is gaining support: speed it up.

Instead of waiting for houses to become abandoned and then pulling them down, local leaders are talking about demolishing entire blocks and even whole neighborhoods.

The population would be condensed into a few viable areas. So would stores and services. A city built to manufacture cars would be returned in large measure to the forest primeval.

Read the rest

I know I am prejudice against the suburbs already but I really think this is a great idea. I know there will be arguments about historical preservation and rich white people wanting to burn the poor neighborhoods down. I hate sprawl and empty buildings, the idea that downtowns are dying while box stores that people have to drive to are thriving.
Imagine if we force just half of Amherst, NY back into downtown Buffalo!!

Beware
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
On pretty constant rotation. Might be the hot track for the summer on Hot 97

The Greatest List of Rock and Roll's Greatest Lists

2009-03-25T21:58:00.004-04:00

I recently read a great article on Slate.com: The Trouble With Indie Rock: It's not just race. It's class. by Carl Wilson. It's hits a couple of great points and I recommend it as a worthy read. Just wish people would stop beating up on the Decemberists! Sorry, deep down in places I don't talk about while drinking PBR I am still a big history nerd and they sometimes hit that prog rock historical nerd note just right.
The article is a critique of another indie rock critique... Summing it up: One writer thinks indie rock sucks because there are no black people and thus not enough sex in rock. The other writer correctly points out that class, political and economic cycles, and a host of other things contribute to what we listen to.
In the end it is all bullshit really.
I like what I like so Fuck You. The people who are really sexy are the ones who revel in their own thing no matter what the fuck you say about their music.
Ie Ever seen someone really rocking the fuck out to Rush? It is far sexier than these drones at the sxsw fest

My point is that this is the Greatest Fucking Rock Song Ever.

fridays songs

2009-03-13T16:48:00.006-04:00

Top albums 2008- The Praire Edition or the new Soundtrack to Days in Heaven

2009-02-28T22:50:00.016-05:00

This is not all inclusive for me but I needed a theme to whittle shit down. These are the albums that I discovered or re-discovered in the year 2008. For a lot of 08 I didn't buy much new music (read broke) and didn't download new albums (read broke and transient).
2008 was the year of the bucolic revolution for me. Already enamored by things all things old: your mom; olde-timey music; hats. Equally enamoring are new things that have an old soulful feeling to them. This is true of: women; photography; mustaches; bicycles; music. I found myself being influenced by the movie Days of Heaven. Where there is this feeling of calm beauty on the surface with chaos and fire right below the surface ready to erupt at any moment. This came out a lot in the music I found myself drawn to.
Some call my taste boring. They are right. I feel old sometimes. I want my fucking peace, quiet and the fucking hipsters off my lawn. Most of the time, I fantasize about a pastoral life by wearing vests and trying to be cool in a fedora (read FAIL). They say as you get older you return to your roots and become more conservative. Maybe that is what is happening. But fuck them and fuck you, I like what I like. I hope you might find something new and interesting here or at least, old and clingy.

Paralyzed- Witch

Stoner heavy metal from Vermont with the dude from Dinosaur Jr. on drums. Yes. I’ll take 8.

I’m Not There Soundtrack- Various Artists

My Morning Jacket covering Goin to Acapulco. Best song of the year. The rest of the album is great when people weren’t doing bad Bob Dylan impressions. Cat Power and Charlotte Gainsbourg’s tracks literally turn me on.

Devotion -Beachhouse

I read the pitchfork review. Listened to it on myspace. Bought it. Listened to it constantly it for a month. Liked its beach boys esque vibe.

Bob Dylan Live '75- The Rolling Fucking Thunder Review

This is what rock and roll means to me. Big gypsy chaotic sound. This is where I think Dylan realized that he would spend the rest of his life touring and on the road. There are lots of opinions about Dylan this is mine. Dylan in the mid 70s was at the top of his game vibing off the best decade of music ever. That's right I said the 70's were the best decade of music ever.

Only as the day is Long- Sera Cahoune

I got this album in the best way possible. Someone sent me a package and included it. Thanks Kate. It feels so good when someone knows you and with whom your tastes mesh with, so well. To the point that they know just what you will like. That is why mixtapes are so unbelievably erotic and romantic.
This wasn’t quite like that. But I played the first track and knew that she knew that I knew I would love the whole thing and would profess a strong desire to sleep with Sera Cahoone.

Vol. 1 -She and Him

Fuck. I kind of hated my self for loving this album as much as I did. I am pretty sure I heard it on the radio (imagine that!!) then went and bought the thing. But it was everything I like: a vintage yet indie vibe with a great female singer. I listened to this album all summer long. I mean I fucking love Elf. A lot. So maybe this was just destiny.

Lie Down in the Light -Bonnie Prince Billy

My man crush on Will Oldham is real and daunting at times. If I was a less lazy and distracted being I could probably be considered obsessed. This album top to bottom is true. Supplemented by the fact that I finally saw him live at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival with an acoustic bluegrass outfit and gave a lovely shout out to Hazel Dickens- he just is just the tops. The clapping, the group singing, the hippy-esque Appalachia -southern roots of the whole surreal deal. I want to drunkly hug my friends during half this album and lie naked in a field on a warm day for the other half. He is so joyful and morose. Sometimes in the same song. A return to I see a Darkness idea- I want to kill myself but I have my buddy- so I don’t. This album is I am older and the world is a fucked up horrid place but I have my family and friends and you- so it’s ok. Let’s find the light and lay in it. Anyway I’ve seen the movie and it all works out in the end. Although, someone dies.

Paper the Walls -Loch Lomond

Magic. People are sick of this story and many don’t really care for this band. I don’t know if I would love them as much as I do if it wasn’t for Magic. Music can still equal Magic for me. It is a left over of my heady hippy days. As a recovering hippy, I can lapse into stupid comparisons of music to higher levels of consciousness and all that as a trick at cocktail parties.
However, part of it is still true. I get moved emotionally by people, music, anything has potential. I don’t always show it in personal relationships. But like a father who can’t hug his kids but keeps his 56 Chevy in pristine condition and spends hours upon hours with it I can dote on music I like.
I was waiting for my girlfriend to fly into Portland from NYC. Loch Lomond was waiting for said plane to take them to NYC for a gig. The flight was delayed for hours because someone got ill on the plane and they had to make an emergency landing in Nebraska. The band found a piano, busted out their instruments, and played song after song. There was a strange lady who would ask lovely amusing odd questions in between songs. A young married couple sitting on the floor with their first child surrounded by too much luggage. The custodial staff lingered to listen and turned down the hip hop in their ipod. I sat on the stairs and felt Magic. They were good. They played lush music that was queerly quiet for the number of instruments there were. Then Richie’s voice cut through and filled the room. The lyrics were odd and old feeling “sounds of children laughing make my eyes bleed”.
It was late, I was tired and hungry and probably feeling overly romantic as I was about to see someone I loved after a long time and many miles apart.
I bought their album and they were still good. Although Magic with music is like a drug or romantic things the first time is often special and hard to recreate. Even trying can be problematic or addictive (read coke heads and Phish). I listen to the album a lot now and see them play when I can. I am still not sure if I like them for who they are (I think I really do) or if I am just playing alchemist and trying to create Magic.

McCain Twitters reason for divorce

2009-02-27T14:47:00.004-05:00

mmmmmmm pie

2008-12-04T11:56:00.001-05:00

I have to say I am surprised that the bailout beat the New Deal after being adjusted for inflation. The difference is when you are paying day laborers to build a damn vs white color criminals to jack the dow there is going to be a cost difference...It is all about worth vs. value I guess.

Hipsters

2008-11-24T12:29:00.004-05:00

How many hipsters does it take to screw in a light bulb?

It is a really obscure number and you have probably never heard of it.

And now.... Bonnie Prince Billy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suffragette City

2008-11-03T19:37:00.004-05:00

If you haven't seen Iron Jawed Angels yet, you should. However, this is the photo of Alice Paul and the suffragettes that engaged in Civil Disobedience during WWI outside the White House for a woman's right to vote. You will notice that the banners have been "brought up to speed"

Obama's balls

2008-09-10T17:28:00.005-04:00

Why is that all the left leaning pundits get it? They got it four years ago when they told John Kerry to stop being a pussy and bring the fight and now???
We hear from Jon Stewart, who gets it.

Thomas "Fightin'" Friedman gets it

Why can't Obama get it? Seriously, he had balls two months ago. Obama Please take your balls out of DNC's purse.

Shameless plug

2008-09-09T13:22:00.001-04:00

Managing credit freeze to avoid identity theft gets easier

BREAKDOWN OF IDENTITY THEFT

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 8.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2005. A breakdown:

Type of identity theft	Victims	% of population

New-account fraud	1.8 million	0.8%

Misuse of credit card accounts or account numbers	3.2 million	1.4%

Misuse of other types of accounts	3.3 million	1.5%

Total	8.3 million	3.7%

Source: Federal Trade Commission

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/block/2008-09-08-credit-freeze_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Buy these socks!!!

2008-09-06T16:50:00.003-04:00

http://www.shopflick.com/stores/Obamas-Stuff/Obama-Socks
My friend Carrie is the purveyor of these socks... and they are super hot and you should buy them for you and all your hot friends and grandparents.
Quickly before its too late... And no she does not have Palin socks, yet.

Self Portrait at 30 Silver Jews rip off

2008-09-05T18:27:00.001-04:00

Self Portrait at 30

morning is earlier
sores are sorer
grays are more
hangovers are less freuquent but last days longer
And im pretty sure my back is getting hairier... gross

Kosher Consumer's Union

2008-09-05T17:32:00.001-04:00

I do not work here, yet.
The Kosher Consumers Union, Inc is interested in Kashrus standards. All of inspection visits I have made to Alles facilities including Maspeth & others I did not see any labor issues that would adversly affect the kashrus standards.

Comments & issues that I had after inspections were dealt with, either it was corrected or I was explained why they disagreed with me. Did they ever attempt to restrict or limit my visits after I discovered issues of concern? not at all.

As recent as last week I had the opportunity to visit the Kiryas Joel poultry plant. Did I find some issues of concern? Yes I did. They are dealing with those issues at this time. Am I welcome to inspect at any time without any appointments? Yes most definitely. The same goes with some other slaughtering facilities.

http://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2008/09/forward-paper-union-are-after-alle-to.html

BOSS

2006-06-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

THE BOSS, IN JERSEY... I JUST QUEEFED

People worth reading about

2005-02-24T17:40:00.000-05:00

Recently, some folks who are much better writers started their own blogs. Check them out.
http://www.davidweinberg.blogspot.com/
and a nice right up on the Gonzo himself
http://bentevelin.blogspot.com/

I have recently found out that my creative talent is best used in 2 places.
1.In forms which no one will ever read
2. on friendster testimonies.

DY NO MITE!

2005-02-24T17:20:00.000-05:00

So the Napoleon craze has swept me up in it's cheesy lines and uber cool t-shirts. Dang! All of this is not completely worthless. Here is the proof: http://www.furry.org.au/chakat/Visions-new3.html
All I wanted was a picture of a Liger and I got so much more than I bargained for.

I am still alive, aren't we

2004-11-22T16:33:00.000-05:00

Like the funeral of a loved one it takes awhile to articulate the pain, to comprehend what the loss means, to bring it into scope through multiple trips to the bar and liquor store. The beautiful flowers wilt to death or get replanted. The notes full of graceful pity and sad humor are starting to fade and just become annoying. Leftovers that the neighbors brought are beginning to mold and smell bad because who can eat at a time like this.
It feels that way sometimes when the Dems talk about not relating to the values of the majority. At the end of the day we do not have the same values. That is hard to imagine for some reason. That so many people voted on anti-gay, pro-life issues, and they all can't be ignorant. Can they? There are a lot of smart people out there who voted to mandate these issues. I know, because some were my friends.
I hope this is the start of a large cultural war. Where like the Civil Right's Movement we are able to shame the bigots, the racists, and the like into a place of uncomfortable silence. Let us eradicate ourselves of this Evangelican nuisance once and for all. It holds us back as a society and a country. Let's attack their false beliefs and small superstitions with the same political incorectness as they attack. Let's have us a war.
I do not want to live with people who make it this hard for others to live. These values that they fight so hard to protect are not my values and I do not care to tolerate them anymore.
The fact is, I truly believe that most people of my generation are not afraid of gay people, don't really care if minorities are taking over the country, and haven't gone to church since their Aunt Agnes died four years ago.
Most people of our generation realize that poor people and people of color often don't get a fair shake at things.
Our generation grew up with political correctness and that is proving to be a good thing. People should be ashamed when they are not sensitive to woman, gays, minorities, whoever. They should be verbally reprimanded like an insolant child who is too ignorant to know better. When that fails; busted in the mouth. Wash out their collective mouths with the soap made by smarter, better people who are proving to be their moral superiors.
Let our self-righteousness rise up with a piety not seen since the Weslyans started this trap of a religion.
Let our generation start our own crusade against the catholics who protest abortion clinics and against a Pope who is responsible for ignoring an AIDS crisis in Africa.
They are wrong and have too long been tolerated.
I do not hate all conservatives. But the blasphemy of the social conservative who hides behind the skirts of the bible should be dealt with by a plague young locusts who destroy their way of life.
They are wrong. We are right. If they are the fundamentalists of christainity they are proving to have more sway than they should be given and more respect than any vodoo do-gooder deserves. What will be become of these lunatic fundamentalists? Will they attack with acts of war on nations of different faiths and political structures? Will their profit be both monetary and spiritual?
Now is our time not theirs. This is a start to a cultural war, I hope.

RUN RALPH RUN

2004-10-07T08:35:00.000-04:00

I HEART RALPH NADER. I can't deny it any longer and it feels so good to say. I LOOOVVE NADER. Everything he stands for, the fact he is running, and even those stupid grey suits. I don't believe that Nader cost Gore the election just like I don't think that he will cost Kerry the election this year.
I get it that Bush is the anti-christ sent to bring the end times for those christain fuckers. I just wish that the Democrats weren't such a bunch of giant pussies about it. Run a fucking campaign and go get Ralph's voters. Do what you have to do bring them in.
I am suggesting some Kerry on Nader porno. C'mon John give Ralph the hummer of a lifetime. Your not gay if you only do it once and who knows you may even like it, nothing wrong with that. Sometimes you have to ask yourself "is the juice worth the squeeze". You and I both know it is. It feels so good to love Nader, to vote for him is so pure... ooohhhh damn. So put some chapstick on, make yourself look pretty, and get to work John less than a month away and every vote counts.

Rod is in the sod

2004-10-05T23:34:00.000-04:00

Sadly the world has lost another fat comic. John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley, and Louie Anderson all gone (if Anderson isn't dead he should be shot and fed to orphans). The irony of Rodney Dangerfield going to that big roast in the sky is that he was older than all these fuckers before they died.
Really he was the Stevie Wonder of the fat comedy stripper dating drug taking world. Does Stevie suck overall because of his latter work. No. Boogie on Reggae Woman eclipses every bullshit rainforest album he ever made in the late 80's. So Caddyshack eclipses that soccer movie with the dumbass kid in drag.
So tonight in honor of the Rod I implore the world to drink some hard liquor, smoke a joint, snort a line, whatever, but please for the love of god fuck a stripper.

VP FACE OFF

2004-10-05T22:28:00.000-04:00

The face of death complete with make up vs JFK long lost litlle brother.
Watching Cheney v. Edwards is so much more difficult than the first debate. The first debate was like watching Bobby Bonds hitting softballs pitched by the 12 year old retarted girl who plays for the local Delmerico's Pizza team. Sure it doesn't seem fair but it is still so great to watch. This week we found out why Dick Cheney is running the country... because he is so much fucking smarter than the most powerfull person in the world. That's some scary shit.