Afterglow

Yesterday was a good good day on all fronts. Warm and sunny and springy.

Got my Amazon order-- Jan Beatty's new book Red Sugar is marvelous. Just knock you back on your heels good. Also got the new REM album, Accelerate. Much better to me than their last couple of albums. I love "I'm Gonna DJ." Also the new Gnarls Barkley. I'm saving that one to listen to when I roadtrip to Baltimore at the end of the week.

In honor of NaPoWrithe Month, I revised an essay and some poems. I'm not really generating new material. I did enough of that at the end of last year into the beginning of this year. I'm just trying to work every day on old stuff and see how it fits.

~*~

It was especially good yesterday because I got to spend time with Aaron and Irene. Seeing Aaron twice in the same year is like some extra bonus karma. Seeing Irene is always delightful. The luxury of talking about poems and life and all that stuff for several hours in her sunny front room is just simply perfect.

Driving home in the afternoon I was thinking about the fact that I'm genuinely lucky. The most important people in my life have been part of my life for about 15 years. There's a sort of luxury in that--the long abiding affection, the sense of knowing someone, the surprise and pleasure at seeing them grow into themselves.

New Tunes

I got the latest Modest Mouse album just before I went to Baltimore and it's become my pre-rehearsal, pre-show listen. It's like Tom Waits fronting Talking Heads. Here's the video for "Dashboard."

Obsessively Playing

Got the Amy Winehouse Back to Black cd this weekend while on a monumental shopping death march. It's addictive. I've not listened to anything else. This track, "Tears Dry on Their Own" is in near-constant rotation on my iTunes. Loff, loff, loff it. Here she is doing it on the BBC's Later with Jools Holland program.

Paris in Prison

One of the earliest ways I really learned to write and manipulate language was by doing song parodies to amuse myself. It cued me in to the possibilities of sound over sense. Anyway--this parody of Paris' "Stars are Blind" is really one of the best I've encountered in a long time.

Obsessive Compulsive? Moi?

I'm spiralling into the dark space with this...as soon as I had my list of 5 obsessive listens, I started doing 5 other 5s.

5 Favorite Dance Tracks

1. "Get Ur Freak On", Missy Elliot
2. "Ray of Light", Madonna
3. "Blue Monday", Orgy
4. "Milkshake", Kelis
5. "What You Waiting For", Gwen Stefani

5 Albums You've Probably Never Heard (but Should Hear)

1. The Kills, No Wow
2. Dogs Die in Hot Cars, Please Describe Yourself
3. The Futureheads, The Futureheads
4. The Arcade Fire, Funeral
5. Angela McCluskey, The Things We Do

5 Albums I Keep Repurchasing

1. Damien Rice, O
2. Radiohead, OK Computer
3. REM, New Adventures in Hi-Fi
4. David Bowie, Outside
5. Elton John, Goodbye Yellowbrick Road

5 Songs that Make Me Write

1. "Myxomatosis", Radiohead
2. "Eskimo", Damien Rice
3. "Big in Japan", Tom Waits
4. "Waiting for the Man," Velvet Underground
5. "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes," Modest Mouse

5 Favorite James Bond Themes

1. "Diamonds Are Forever", Shirley Bassey
2. "The Man with the Golden Gun", Lulu
3. "Live and Let Die", Paul McCartney and Wings
4. "A View to a Kill", Duran Duran
5. "Die Another Day", Madonna

Five

Keith tagged me to do my five favorite songs. I'm doing my five obsessive listens for the first part of '07, in no particular order.


1. Wild is the Wind--David Bowie, Station to Station
2. Bouncing off Clouds--Tori Amos, American Doll Posse
3. Leaving it up to You-- John Cale, Fragments of a Rainy Season
4. Walk Away--Tom Waits, Real Gone
5. Shores of California--Dresden Dolls, Yes, Virginia

I'm tagging Aaron and Montgomery.

Back

Back to normal life now--the strawberry festivities are over; back to sleeping alone and not having breakfast with Brian; back to planting and feeding and mulching and weeding; back to working on the poems and seeing how to make them live.

~*~

It was a very full four days for Brian's visit. He pointed out that in Baltimore I'm usually really content to stay around the apartment and just do not much of anything. This is true--I do prefer staying in and keeping to myself. But this weekend I wanted to be social. I wanted to be out and see people and eat too much, drink too much, laugh and walk around. And we managed that.

~*~

I picked up the new Bjork album on Thursday--it's sort of a "meh" experience. I want to like it...I just don't, really. Not sure if this is something that'll grow on me or if I'll not even try future listens. I knew I should've bought the latest Modest Mouse.

What I'm Listening To

There's a bit of doggerel in Stephen King's Misery that has stuck in my head since I read the book eons ago: Annie the mom, Annie the goddess, when Annie's around you better stay honest; that's always somewhere in the back of my mind when Annie Lennox is involved.

Palate Cleansers

Now that all that other stuff is outta my system here's some pop culture fluff for y'all.

In the grand (?) tradition of miniKiss, the Misfats and AC/DShe there's now Mini-Britney!

Terra Jole is a 26-year-old 4'2" little person who tours the country doing a 45-60 minute show as Britney. (I am refraining from taking any of Mrs. Federline's song titles and using size-ist puns for a punch line, but trust me, I have a few.) The Mini Britney link above is to DListed.com which has video of Terra in action.
(hat-tip to Brian)

~*~

Earlier I posted a L'il Kim video. As much as I love Kim, I'm crazy about Missy Elliot. I love "I'm Really Hot" from This Is Not a Test. Enjoy.

Kill Bill + subtitles + full-face makeup + krumping= Genius

My favorite lyric from the song?

Look,let me move to the left
Go head, let me feel myself
Touch my chest my sweat
Show that d.j. how I shake my breasts
Jiggle,jiggle,jangle
Watch how my gluteus dangle
I do a 1-2 step,STOP
No, I ain't done yet.

Shuffle

I don't want a larger penis.
I don't want to watch MILFS and barely legal girls get wild.
I don't want to refinance my mortage.
I don't want viagra or cialis.
I don't want the three grey hairs I found growing in my bangs this morning.

~*~

We had a weird cold snap/frost the other night which has imperiled all the transplants. I found this stuff that's supposed to mimize transplant shock and encourage new root growth. Not sure if it's worth trying at this point or not, but I'm going to give it a shot. If that doesn't work there's more transplantable lilacs and columbines where those came from.

I also found these fertilizer spikes for shrubs and flowering bushes--they were cheap. They look like a cross between dog biscuits and suppositories. I need to do something, my azaleas look like ass. I hate broadcasting fertilizer by hand. I always end up scorching the leaves.

Forgot to get canned cat food and the new Bjork album while shopping. The cats are pissy. I'm pissy. But a woman at Wal-Mart was very sweet, I only had 3 items and she let me cut in front, that improved my mood until I got into traffic.

~*~

These are my bowling shoes. They're fagulous. I love the black patent vinyl stripe. They slide like a dream and were dirt cheap. Sadly, they've been discontinued. I'd considered buying a second pair to have in reserve for when these wear out.

I hadn't been bowling for months and went last night with my friend Michael. I bowled a lot better than I expected--it's probably been about 5 months since we last went. I need to learn to throw a hook, I've just never really bothered trying. We gorged on bowling alley food. It was the best cheeseburger I've had in my life.

~*~

The cats come in smelling of warm grass. I can't understand why they want to sleep at my feet when it's absolutely beautiful outside.

Random Geekiness

or, Things I Forgot to Post Before

I bought a paper shredder today--I could not find my actual cheap-o model online, so just imagine that the one in this picture is black. I don't get a lot of junk mail worth shredding so I never really saw the need for one before. I'm actually going to use it to shred up a year's worth of magazines and newspapers to recycle as mulch. (I'll admit, I can't see paying 7 or 8 bucks a bag for bark.) For costing less than 12 bucks american, it's pretty good--zippy and quiet. Though I did overheat it by using it longer than the pamphlet recommends. I know now. I'm about a quarter of the way through my shredding. Very handy. And seeing Condy Rice and George Bush's faces coming out in strips made me smile...I started with my Time backlog.

~*~

Brian picked up American Doll Posse yesterday and for the most part, seems to like it. I've heard a couple of full tracks now, aside from "Big Wheel." The oh-so-amusing-to me "Fat Slut" is only :40. Pity. I think it could be expanded. "Velvet Revolution" is a faux French cafe/cabaret song. It's fun. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of it.

~*~

Harper's magazine has now archived all of its content since 1850 online for subscribers. That's a quarter million pages! I've not really played too much with it but I plan on taking a lot of time this weekend and just seeing what's there.

~*~

And remember: Never let your kids shred!

And on the Seventh Day...

I'm bushed.

Most of the sodbusting is done. I've been attacking it in short shifts then resting. Another hour's work and it'll be ready for amending then planting. Huzzah. I think once this is all done I'll have rescaped about 1500 square feet. Half was done last year and seems to be thriving, though I need to get in and weed and remulch some areas.

Is there some Twilight Zone that books go into, akin to the limbo of lost socks? I've had a couple of books in hand within the last 72 hours and I cannot find them. At all. I've checked everywhere and they're gone. Maybe the cats have decided to cart them off by the spine to nurture and brood in some little den.

I've got a new book order in the works: J Allyn Rosser's Misery Prefigured, Peter Pereira's What's Written on the Body, Geri Doran's Resin, and Janet Sylvester's The Mark of Flesh.

Went last night to hear my friends Boyd and Eric perform. Highlights included: "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man," "Let's Get It On" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog." Good times, though I begged off about 12:30. Sigh. 3 drinks and tired by 12:30. Positively embarrassing. The company was grand. It was nice to just unleash the snark. I really need to go out more.

Happy Birthday Iggy

Iggy Pop is 60 today.

Just let that sink in a second. Iggy Pop. 60.

This is something that seemingly defies the natural order: like bumblebees flying despite the laws of physics; lightning occurring in a snowstorm; the duck-billed platypus. Given the sheer amount of abuse he heaped upon himself, he should've expired years ago. But he's still kicking, still performing and still singing about his dick.

God Bless You, Mr. Osterberg.

Here he is in 1987, performing "I Wanna Be Your Dog" with Sonic Youth.

Jots and Tittles

Apparently I do need to discuss ethics with Fletcher, per today's poem. Tho' he doesn't kill birds, I found some hairy something he left for me.

***

I've always found this phrasing from the Gluck poem evocative:

in this house
we do not experience
will in this manner.

"Experience will." Not exercise. Not exert. But experience.

***

Tomorrow I get to bust sod and see just how well my arm's recovered. Yay. I have a load of bulbs to plant. Aliums, siberian iris, crocosmia.

***

Been thinking of quatrains and terza rima. I'm itching to write an abecedarian. I bought one of those cheapie marbled black and white composition notebooks that make me think of dalmatians. Maybe this weekend I'll crack it and deface it.

***

Here's the first single from the new Tori Amos album, "Big Wheel." It's awfully different for her. She seems to be >big gay inhale< having fun. I still think "Fat Slut" should've been the first single, but whaddo I know.

Come on up to the House

Been listening to Tom Waits' Mule Variations a lot this weekend, the track "Come on up to the House" in particular.

Madness/Genius

Here's some YouTubeage of the new Bjork/Timbaland collabo "We Are the Earth Intruders." It has a very Post feel, industrial-lite and dancey. It's also available now at iTunes.

Covers

The Alanis "My Humps" cover is startling. I'm sure by now you've seen it or heard it--according to YouTube, more than 1.5 million people have viewed it. It also made me think of my favorite cover songs. So here, in no particular order, are some of my favorites.

Tori Amos, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"
David Bowie, "Wild is the Wind"
Talking Heads, "Take Me to the River"
Eurythmics, "Come Together"
Johnny Cash, "Hurt"
PJ Harvey and Bjork, "Satisfaction"
Nydia Rojas, "The Tide is High"
Sinead O'Connor, "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home"
Bono, "Hallelujah"
The Vines, "Miss Jackson"
Cyndi Lauper, "Carey"
Madonna & Massive Attack, "I Want You"
Scissor Sisters, "Comfortably Numb"
Syd Straw, "These Boots are Made For Walkin"

And just to be fair, execrable versions that should never be played again.

Britney Spears, "My Prerogative"
Rod Stewart, "Downtown Train"
Jessica Simpson, "Angel"/"These Boots are Made for Walkin"/"You Spin Me Round"
Madonna, "American Pie"
Annie Lennox, "Train in Vain"
10,000 Maniacs, "Because the Night"
Marilyn Manson, "Sweet Dreams"/"Tainted Love"
Counting Crows, "Big Yellow Taxi"
Gloria Estefan, "Everlasting Love"/"Turn the Beat Around"
Johnny Cash, "Bridge Over Troubled Water"/ "Danny Boy"
Celine Dion, "You Shook Me All Night Long"
Hillary Duff, "My Generation"
Sheryl Crow, "The First Cut is the Deepest"/"Sweet Child O' Mine"

Is She Activating Her Core?

I saw this and thought of Aaron's workout post.

Eye Patches

I caught part of Kill Bill Vol. II on TNT last night--the throwdown between Uma and Darryl specifically--and it got me to thinking: Why aren't more women in pop culture wearing eye patches? They're definitely attention-grabbing. Which then got me to thinking about my favorite women with eye patches in pop culture.

Honorable (Androgynous) Mentions:

PeteBurns, Dead or Alive

Ziggy Stardust era David Bowie

The Women in Question

Callisto from Marvel Comics' X-Men

Angelina Jolie, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Wendy Robie as Nadine Hurly from Twin Peaks

Stockard Channing as Ruby McNutt in Smoke

Darryl Hannah as Elle Driver in Kill Bill Vol 1

Tori, Tori, Tori

May is going to be an amazing month for albums released by lunatic chicks. In addition to Bjork's Volta, there's also going to be Tori Amos' American Doll Posse. WOOHOO. I know she's one of those love her or hate her figures. I fall into the former category, but am by no means obsessive about her. Frankly, I didn't enjoy the last two at all. Brian sent me a copy of the first single from the album "Big Wheel." It's crazy. I love it. I hope that the rest of the album is as good and quirky (she repeatedly sings "I'm an M-I-L-F" in "Big Wheel" over a sort of blues/honky tonk shuffle piano line.) The conceit of the album is tied into multiple personae (see pic) each of whom has a name and a section of the album tied to it. I don't remember their names. But I do refer to "chicken holding Tori" as Pink Flamingos Tori or "Cookie Mueller" Tori. If you want to ask...feel free.

She's one of those performers that I like having on when I'm writing. I don't really pay attention to the lyrics, just the music and the vowel sounds (I do the same thing with Bjork and Radiohead.) Separating meaning from the sounds they're making inspires me. I'm not sure this is a compliment...but I mean it as one.