Sat about a dozen feet from this collegiate mascot last night and, let me tell you, it’s possibly the weirdest, most annoying thing I’ve ever come across. What “it” does in this video is what it does for the entire… freaking… game. Oh. Man.
Valentine’s Day, to my mind, brings three distinct reactions among Americans. To my reckoning, a small minority really do accept it as a legitimate day of loving expression towards their special someone. A much larger group simply maintains, allowing for the existence of the day, reacting to it with a half-hearted rose purchase from an online flower site, perhaps paired with a greeting card found at Walgreen’s that morning; even the most-cynical can appreciate that type of self-preservation/antipathy. And then there’s that vocal minority, shrieking about capitalism and insincerity and the like; boy, what an annoying group!
As (ahem) a committed member of the latter, I mused about doing a special “Love Songs” edition of the program Silver Tray this week. Admittedly, the show’s coming a day before Valentine’s Day, but it’s definitely within “holiday”-themed striking distance. And, sure, it’s a cliche, so shoot me.
Glancing quickly at the CD stacks in the house, I began grabbing discs at random. The first selection was “Braille” by the Detroit bliss-pop band Calliope. What a boon! Track two: “Love=Energy.” Score. And track nine?: “Love is Gonna Get You.” Bonus. After two CDs coming up love-free, New Order’s “Substance” (disc one) yielded the alt-rock classic “Bizarre Love Triangle.” Four discs, three songs.
Even before walking to the stacks, I could summon obvious contenders, such as The Cure’s “Lovesong.” Or, their “Friday, I’m In Love.” There’s Peter Murphy, with a “Strange Kind of Love.” Is the Silver Tray audience secretly wanting to hear a vinyl-version of “Love is a Battlefield”?
In a world full of Facebook games dedicated to matching songs to your life, there might even be an already-dated thread going around about this very topic. Even if not, programming this show is going to take about 10-minutes, tops.
Gag yourself on perfect pop confections this Friday at noon. They won’t break the show’s usual format, but they may give you cavities.
Late programming announcement: I’ll be filling in for Annie Z. on tonight’s edition of “International Pop Overthrow,” from 8-10 p.m. on KDHX 88.1 fm (kdhx.org). So, playing all the stuff I’m playing on Fridays, minus a bit of the classic rock. Done.
There was this period of time when I had a job, one of those jobs that required me to get up at a certain time and be somewhere. Early, no less. It’s weird to think back on those days, when the clock was such a part of my morning life. Alas. With freedom comes a cost. Let’s say the cost is tension. Instead of a check every-other-week, they come into my checking account in less-certain intervals. Makes me tense.
For conversation, let’s say I happen to catch a little bit of something jarring, like Suze Orman ranting on our local PBS station. It’s pledge drive and she’s raving – in that particular Suze Orman way of hers – that if I’m not banking some serious money TODAY, that my aged years are going to be sent in gutter, where I’ll be picking up pennies and cigarettes. A human buzzkill, that Suze Orman.
Well, I was watching Suze Orman at some point in December and decided that all my DJ monies for 2009 would be put in a savings account. So every every time I drop a needle on The Police, or slip in a Silversun Pickups disc, I’m not just playing music for an inattentive audience of half-drunk monkeys. Instead, I’m studiously constructing a personal, financial savings net. That is thinking, people.
Please support my efforts to be a less-broke elderly person TODAY, by visiting The Wedge, anytime after 9:30 p.m.. I’ll be in the DJ booth this evening, mixing up an appropriately-aggro set for the club’s interesting mix of punks, bikers, bicyclists, gadabouts and louts. It’ll be fun, I imagine. Including at pay time, when I pocket my lucre, with an eye towards the future and a lung-fulla nic. Join me.
As someone who’s just recently completed the dreaded “25 Things” list on Facebook, I’m feeling particulary meta this weekend. So, let’s roll out the shortest month’s dose of self-involvement…
Social networking site, the aforementioned Facebook: So, yeah, more about Facebook. During the first meeting of my Mass Comm class, students were asked to discuss major changes in their media intake, over their youthful 18-22 years. When Facebook inevitably came up, a student a couple years the senior of the rest (let’s guess that she’s 24), recommended that old people not be allowed to sign in. Others agreed, suggesting that it’s “their” site, somehow. When asked what the age cut-off should be, I expected 50, maybe 40, but got 30. Hee-haw.
Foodstuff, bagel and lox: After 20 years of not dining on the food of the seas, I’ve become quite the fan of the ol’ bagel and lox. Sampling it at Meshuggah gave me a good feeling, but it’s rapturous when plated up at Hartford Coffee Company. Must say: delicious. And: sorry, fishes.
TV, “Lost”: Readying myself for episode four of season three. That might mean something to some of you. Would not have meant anything to me, prior to January 1. And, after cranking through hundreds of minutes of shows in the past month, I’ve finally hit a momentary hangover, watching only a single show over the last few days, a needed respite from The Others, smoke monsters and polar bears. As much as I’m enjoying the viewing, I’m ready to be done. Seriously. After all, I’ve got “Weeds” on deck at Netflix free play, plus a season one box of “Arrested Development” getting dusty. Oy.
Magazines, “Yes” and “Ode”: Assuming I can push away from the screen long enough to read a sentence, there’re two magazines recently recommended to me that I need to begin reading. Plenty of choose from online, for both. Here’s “Yes.” Here’s “Ode.” If you get to them before I do, enjoy and let me know if they’re total quality.
MP3 players, iPod: Lost the iPod, found the iPod, am enjoying the iPod. Walked down the block just the other day, snow everywhere, a crisp cold wind blowing and J. Spaceman coming through the earphones, via the shuffle feature. To think some of us listened to tapes. Amazing. Things are better now.
Media trends, newspapers and the web: Not sure if you’d heard about this, but newspapers are struggling to adapt to the digital age. Jack Shafer writes about it at Slate. Worthy read.
Sweet treat, Ice Breakers: Hated the first 20 of them, but Ice Breakers’ new Iced Tea flavored mint is quite the taste treat. Don’t hate, consumerate.
UE I, death in Detroit: A pal sends along word that a man was found in one of Detroit’s most-popular UE haunts. The poor fella was actually submerged in ice, his legs sticking out at an angle that would be considered darkly comical in some quarters. Yeesh.
UE II, Hart Island: Another pal sends along pics from a sweet UE site from outside of the main environs of NYC. Love the notion of finding what’s essentially an entire li’l village, out in the sticks. Must be a similar spot in the greater Mizzourah environs. Tip me.
Walls, Mangia Evolutiano: If you’ve not seen it, there’s a mural by Wayne St. Wayne on the south interior wall of Mangia Italiano. It’s rather dense, touched up over years of work by St. Wayne. In recent years, the piece hasn’t been as actively engaged as in the past, but Wayne’s been back on the case in recent weeks, a very good thing, indeed. Still not betting on that final panel being completed any time soon.
