The Annekenstein Monster

This morning, two very well-dressed-in-uniform young men from what I suspect is our local cadet regiment, came to our front door.
I opened the door, and immediately notice that the guy closest to me looked like a deer in the headlights. Perhaps I was his first stop? At any rate, he appeared to be pretty nervous. Nervous enought to make me suspect, despite the well-claddedness of the two.

“Hi?” I ask.
“Hi, um, we’re collecting. For (I now forget the charity he said, let’s say:) Children’s Wish Foundation.”
Why do I not see a receipt book?
“Collecting what?” I say. I’m surprised by how terse I sound.
This totally catches him off guard for a moment. His being caught off-guard increases my suspicions. Yet, I also begin to feel sorry for him, for how nervous he is.
“Um, money. Cheques. Um, whatever, like that.”
“Yeah” says the second guy. His only contribution to the scene. Even with that one ‘yeah’, I can tell that he’d be the leader of the two. The Alpha. I wonder why he’s not the guy to speak when the door opens.

“Sorry. No.” I say. The first guy nods, as if he knew the outcome all along. He was defeated even before his knuckles rapped on the door. I close my door.
I look out another window, and see a whole platoon of kids, all dressed in their cadet uniforms, swarming the neighbourhood.
I feel bad for not giving. But I couldn’t, in good conscience, give money to such an unproffesional ragtag duo.

I came across this comic at the Accordian Guy’s site.

I’ve only seen Peter a couple of times, from a distance, and through dirty glasses, but does the computer guy in the comic look like Peter Rukavina?

How uninterested have I become in watching American Idol? Last night, it was a tough decision between watching the final four sing on AI, or paper cutting my body and bathing in rubbing alcohol. Barely, just barely, I chose AI. I’ll save the paper cuts for the weekend.

How many times did guest judge Donna Summer, in her critiques, mention the fact that she, too, sings on stage. That’s how irrelevant Donna Summer has become. She needs to validate over and over again that she too was a star. I’m guessing, too, that Miss Summer missed the afternoon rehearsal, because she looked like she didn’t have a clue as to what was gonna happen next, or when she should talk, or for how long. At least, she warmed up enough to offer some honest-to-goodness criticisms.

Onto the competition:
Jasmine Treehouse: Well, surely, this is the final week for Hawaii’s Spring Tourism campaign. Really, for me, the only thing that disco ever had going for it, was that it can be fun and energetic music. I don’t know how she did it, but, boy, did Jasmine ever suck the fun and energy out of those songs. I pray to the Gods of Maudlin that her crying at the end of her final performance doesn’t sway The Idiotic Masses Of America™ to cast votes for her. Aloha, Jennifer

LaToya NewYorkLondonParisMunich: Thank goodness for Simon Cowell. His criticisms of LaToya were spot on last night. Great voice, consistently excellent singing, but no personality is coming through. Her second performance was better than her first, and both were very well sung, technically, but Dude, there’s nothing more there.
Speaking of “Dude!”, why did they reverse the order of the judges speaking? My theory is that they got tired of hearing Randy say, EVERY time: “It was aiight. A little pitchy, but it was aiight.”, followed by Paula’s “You know I love you. You’re a star already”. Now, though, Simon going first nails the criticism down right away, and leaves nothing left for the others. Also, now Randy doesn’t bother coming up with his own opinions. He just says he agrees with what Simon says. We all do, Randy. We all do.
LaToya will make it through to the final three. And, as good as she is, I think she might get upset next week by the upandcoming Diana. I believe The Idiotic Masses of America™ are tiring of LaToya’s lack of personality. Also, not smart of her to say ‘getting to final four is good enough. We’re all going to be successful’. If I was teetering between voting for her, or voting for someone else, that would have been the deciding factor for me. You’re happy enough to be final four? Okay, someone else gets my vote. Of course, that assumes the voters actually put thought into who they vote for. Never underestimate the lack of potential of TIMoA™

Fantasia Burrito: You may not like her voice. You may not like her personality, or the way she carries herself. But I don’t think you can deny that Fantasia is the only competitor left who has even a shred of “celebrity” in her genetic makeup. Whether you like her or not, she is the only one who would bring anything interesting to the title of American Idol. For the record, I like Fantasia and, with the few remaining beads of care I have left for this show, I am cheering for her.

Diana DelaGuardia: Okay, Diana’s been improving over the last couple of week’s, and she ended the show last night on a high note. Against all odd, I expect her to make a serious grab at getting to the final two. The best thing I can say about her is she is a second-rate Hillary Duff. Here is my problem with Diana: She is fake. In her I see the shallowness of the music industry. In her I see the handlers who are all about greedy potential for merchandise and marketing. And she appears to be more than willing to go along. Barely tolerable when she is singing, her willingness to be a slut to celebrity goes off the radar when she is not singing. Then she is all about smiling and playing along and being phony. Through her mannerisms and the way she behaves, I fully expect her to become whatever type of entertainer ‘those who know’ would want her to be to maximise her appeal to the greatest amount of people.

I see this, but I don’t expect The Idiotic Masses of America™ see this. Or rather, I expect they don’t care. Because of her willingness to be whatever, and America’s apathy, I predict she will win.

Holy Camoley, but this is a fantastic effin song.

I haven’t heard the original, which came out in 2003 on Iggy Pop’s “Skull Ring” album, but this version, dance-mixed courtesy of Felix da Housekat, is fantastic.
I mean, holy shit. Peaches and Iggy need to give us a whole album of duets because together they are almighty.
This song is raw, funny, rude, rockin’. When Iggy, at about the 2:50 mark, goes into the sex-punk mantra ‘titties titties titties…’ I always wanna break sumfin in honour of him. Right there, that glorious ecstacy, is the perfect punk moment for me. That it’s surrounded by 6 minutes of driving, pulsing dance beat only makes it better.

Check out Felix da Housekat’s mix of Iggy Pop’s Motor Inn by clicking here (7mb), or follow the arrow.

Holy Camoley, but this is a fantastic effin song.

I haven’t heard the original, which came out in 2003 on Iggy Pop’s “Skull Ring” album, but this version, dance-mixed courtesy of Felix da Housekat, is fantastic.

I mean, holy shit. Peaches and Iggy need to give us a whole album of duets because together they are almighty.

This song is raw, funny, rude, rockin’. When Iggy, at about the 2:50 mark, goes into the sex-punk mantra ‘titties titties titties…’ I always wanna break sumfin in honour of him. Right there, that glorious ecstacy, is the perfect punk moment for me. That it’s surrounded by 6 minutes of driving, pulsing dance beat only makes it better.

Check out Felix da Housekat’s mix of Iggy Pop’s Motor Inn by clicking here (7mb), or follow the arrow.

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For the ever of its existence, our home has used its own well from which we sucked water from an underground stream. This worked very well for us, and the water tastes pretty good.

Today, we get hooked up to the Charlottetown water supply, aka “city water”, and our well gets decommissioned.

It’s only costing $1400.00 to hook up, and we now get to pay an annual fee to have water supplied to us. Yesterday, water was free for us. We also will now benefit from the bonus of occasional chlorine-y tasting water and the odd boil order.

Good deal!

Of course, we are given the option to not hook up to ‘city water’. For that option, the option of not getting water supplied to us, we are only required to pay the water-supply fee every year. We would have to pay the water-supply fee in order to *not* get water supplied to us.

Good deal!

Inspired by The Accordian Guy from Accordian City, I present to you a sentence that I believe has never been written or thought by any human:

“An eardrum, like a cumquat, cannot possibly be held accountable for the sluice in my shoe.”

That is all.

On the sidebar here to your left, is a new feature, where I link to a download of a song that I think – no, I know – that you will like. I will change it on a whim, so if you want it, grab it. Of course, if you like it, buy the album.
I’d also appreciate hearing your thoughts on the selections that you decide to download. Did you like it? Did you not like it?

This first song is “25 Minutes To Go”, by Johnny Cash, which is on his Essential Johnny Cash 1955-1983 compilation, but is also on a number of other Cash albums. It was written by Shel Silverstein, one of my favourite poets.

It’s a song sung by a guy who, minute by minute, recounts his final 25 minutes of life, before he gets hanged. I’ve never heard any other versions of this song, but I love the way Cash sings it. At the beginning of the song, he’s rather cocky, a tough guy who kinda scoffs at the whole concept. That he is going to die hasn’t quite set in yet. But when the preacher shows up, with only 13 minutes to go, the finality of the situation really takes hold, and we begin to hear some cracks in the voice of that tough guy. Listen to the panic, regret and fear in his voice when there’s “just 4 more minutes to go”. Fantastic stuff, and perfectly illustrates to me what makes Johnny Cash so great.

I’ve read this song described as “jokey satire”, but I don’t agree (perhaps it is with other people’s renditions?) There may be humourous elements in the lyrics, and the upbeat tempo may bely the emotions that Cash expresses. But I don’t think Cash is joking.

Since my prognosticating prowess is powerfully proper and postive, I’ll let you all know how it’ll go down tonight on Survivor.
Tomorrow, won’t I look like real smart?
Rupert, realizing that this is the last chance to out-number the Rob-Amber alliance, tries to sway Tom and Jenna into an alliance of three. Jenna agrees. Tom says “Ahm gamma petwain chirsa chirsa goat titties.”
This, of course gets back to Rob, who soothes Tom into believing he’ll be safe if he promises to go to the final three with him and Amber.
Tom goes along with Rob, and they agree that Rupert must go next. Amber, ever the quiet manipulator in the background, all the while rubs Rob’s back, and nods.
Reward Challenge involves a running phase, followed by a brain-power phase. Rob takes the early lead, but stumbles with his brain. Jenna wins reward, which involves choosing to take someone to a traditional feast that involves a dance by the natives of the land. She takes Amber.
Immunity Challenge involves a brute-strength power and determination type challenge, which Rupert wins.
With Rupert safe, Tom and Rob (Amber nodding), decide it’s Jenna who goes, then.
Off to the vote.
Probst asks if it’s gotten ‘real’ now that there’s only five left. They all agree that it has. Jeff implies that, with 5 left, this would be a good time, perhaps the last time, for people to break any strong two-person alliances. Rob says “Thanks fo-ah tha heads up, Probst.”
Time to vote:
Probst: “The first vote: Jenna. Second vote for Boston Rob. Third vote Jenna. That’s 2 for Jenna, one for Rob. Fourth vote: Rob. That’s two for Rob, two for Jenna… The 13th person voted out is…Rob. Boston Rob, bring me your torch…”
“Well, guys, guess it just goes to show, no matter how sure you are that you’ve got all your bases covered, you just never know. Take your torches and head back to camp.”

We had our second meeting of the CD club. Another very interesting, eclectic bunch of songs for me to enjoy.
Here’s the list of songs I brought to the table.

To Impregnate These Titles As Fast As Possible

1. Dreams – TV On The Radio, from Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babe (2004)
Broody, moody and threatening to begin, build into a bit of a frenzy. Mix, and repeat. Add more dread. Keep feet moving.
2. Mushaboom – Feist, from Let It Die. (2004)
aka Leslie Feist, a Canadian now living in Paris, worked with Gonzales and with Peaches. This is a great song, but I think the following clip (translated from the French site inrocks.com) explains it better than I ever could:
“Mushaboom is emblème of this album. Only its title, makes dream: it sounds nicely with the ear, way bubble gum. Isn’t Mushaboom an invention, but the name of a true Canadian city in which Feist failed to live? Attractive song, it will not fail to be encrusted at the fine bottom with your spirit, resonant like a counting rhyme of kid. To impregnate this title as fast as possible.”
3. The Band – Mando Diao, from Bring ‘Em In (2003)
Imagine The Jam as a Swedish band performing in a garage in 2003. Or just listen to this song from Mando Diao.
4. A Menhi Menina – Band of Bees, from Sunshine Hit Me (2002)
From a rocking garage in Sweden, we now head to the Isle of Wight for a swingin’ acoustic fuzzy guitar rock number that might have come out of Jack White if he were happier and poppier.
5. The Dark of the Matinee – Franz Ferdinand, from Franz Ferdinand (2004)
This band, and this album, has seen a lot of chatter on most of the ‘hip’ internet sites the last month or so. From the songs I’ve heard off their debut album, the talk is warranted. Smart sounds and very catchy tunes from this Glasgow group.
6. Lost Mi Love – Yellowman, from Mister Yellowman (1982)
I never heard of Yellowman until I downloaded this great song. My only familiarity with Jamaican music comes from Bob Marley and his contemporaries, and what survived of it in the sounds of The Beat, The Specials and the like. If you’re familiar with this dance-hall reggae tune, and with Yellowman in general, my apologies. If you’re not, I hope you groove on this as much as I do.
7. Ka Lifu Laka – Z.C.C Mukhukhu, from The Rough Guide to South African Gospel (2003)
Continuing this musical trek around the world, we now settle into a simple, yet absolutely beautiful choral chant from what I expect, based only on this song, would be a lovely CD.
8. Oxala – Madredeus, from Antologia (2000)
I tend to veer away from World Music. At least World Music that I imagine sucks the soul out of the music of the regions from which it borrows, and ends up as a bland All-World Music Stew. Understand? Me either. Anyway, this is a pretty, soft little song from a band from Portugal that makes pretty music.
9. Steve McQueen – Lambchop, from Aw C’mon (2004)
After that little journey around the world, we come back to North America and relax with this 70’s sounding country song featuring a pop-ensemble orchestra complete with swirling strings. Did I hear you gulp with fear? Don’t worry. Just listen.
10. Laura – Scissor Sisters, from Scissor Sisters (2004)
From New York. You’ll either see this as a bouncy oom-pah throw-back to early 70’s sounds of Ziggy Stardust as if presented through a disco/broadway stage production, or, you’ll like it.
11. Distance – Grand National, from an Output Recordings compilation (year unknown)
I know absolutely nothing about this group, and I can’t find anything online, but I sure like the sound. Yes, I sure like the sound. The background singer reminds me of Sting’s background singing on Dire Straits “I Want My MTV”.
12. The Rat – The Walkmen, from Bows + Arrows (2004)
Kinda used to be Johnathon Fire*Eater. Now they are The Walkmen. I give this information, not because it has any relevance to me, but it may to you. This song is all I know of The Walkmen. This singer kinda sounds like what Bono might sound like if he was younger and pumped up on coke.
13. Bukowski – Modest Mouse, from Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004)
Another I’m not too familiar with. Here are the ‘tones’ AllMusic.com uses to describe their sound: Volatile, Cathartic, Earnest, Brash, Rousing, Fiery, Confrontational, Reflective, Urgent. All of these descriptors may apply to this great song.
14. Waiting for the Heartaches – The Coral, from The Coral (1996)
Back to Britain, this time to Hoylake, on the west coast of England. This is from their debut album, which caused quite a stir in GB. The album chops its way through all kinds of genres, a couple of genres in this song alone.
15. If It’s Not With You – Phoenix, from Alphabetical (2004)
Britain again. Another one I know nothing about. Apparently he had a song in “Lost in Translation”, but I don’t have that soundtrack. This album doesn’t get the greatest props, but I quite like this quiet song with its 70’s songwriter vibe.
16. World Of – Jim Guthrie, album unknown (year unknown)
Who? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t mind finding out more. And I highly doubt that ‘World Of’ is the actual name of this track, but this is the way it came to me. After a quick search, I found this quote, source un-named: “If all is right in the universe, it should alert the world to the depths of his talents and dare to be said, his genius…an inspiration for a whole generation of post-rockers and lo-fi punks.” For god’s sake, don’t let that quote avert your ears from this lovely, delicate song. I’m guessing he’s from Toronto.
17. Solex in a Slipshod Style – Solex, from Solex vs. the Hitmeister (1998)
The story of Solex, as I understand it: Amsterdamian record shop owner, and songwriter, Elisabeth Esselink began to create lo-fi techno pop music, borrowing snippets of songs from records that weren’t selling at her store, and using the made-up character of Solex as the basis of many of her songs. Voice sounds a bit like Bjork’s to me, but don’t hold that against her.
18. Call My Name – Prince, from Musicology (2004)
I, like many, had given up on Prince. Sure, I could buy the claim that his record company was stifling his creative genius. Then came the post-record company albums, seemingly a new one each week, and none getting much positive press. Now I hear about Musicology, and how it’s supposed to be so wonderful, so I download the album. One word review: Yay!! This song, Call My Name, is to be filed under ‘Fantastic Prince Ballad’. I remember, years ago, Gene Siskel gave a thumbs down to Scorsese’s Casino, because Siskel felt it was redundant since Scorsese had so-often traveled the same themes and scenes in past movies. I expect some may feel the same about this song, because it sounds like classic Prince. Fair enough, I suppose, but I think Casino is a fantastic film, and Call My Name is a fantastic song. It gloriously sounds like classic Prince. Yay!!