a Blue Pair

I found this adorable couple last weekend, a thrift store find. I picked them up and put them down more than once, but in the end, had to take them home. I can't imagine what their use was/is. I feel if they were simply figurines then they wouldn't be hollow, perhaps that's a bad assumption? Upon seeing them, I immediately thought Dickens, and Victorian England, but again, that might be a bad assumption. I also think they are someone's creation as opposed to some commercial item based on markings in the base.

From the Least Cool Sister's Album

Though I do admit, it has some great tracks. And "Sister's Least Cool" is still rather fucking cool. I've had an utterly defeated kind of day, so there's this.

Thrifted

Yesterday, I had a few moments free, so I swung by my favorite cd thrifting spot and picked up three completely unknown-to-me discs, much as I have done my entire post-adolescent life. This is obviously a hit-or-miss process. So, here's the three:

Dewey Defeats Truman: "b-sides, rarities, and out-takes"
This early 2000's, San Diego-based band is not terribly unique, but offers enough nuances that makes it worthy of listen. Clearly talented, and diversely influenced, it's surprising that it doesn't seem to fight beyond such familiar trappings. It is at times familiar to Harvey Danger, and probably a lot of pop-punk bands I am barely familiar with, but as I mentioned, there are some sparks that grab hold. Tempo changes, and Fugazi chord progressions wrapped in a bittersweet punch of Weezer is my best effort to offer some define. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a single thing on YouTube, or the interwebs to provide a sample. So, unless you are a huge fan of indie/pop/punk - then I think you might not want to seek this one out. But if you should locate one of their two releases, I wouldn't say, skip it. It's worth a listen and it's worthy of being in your collection.

The Teacups: "This Will Come Back To Haunt You"
Okay, this is immediately adorable. It's "Lump"-era Drop Nineteens, Deerhoof and They Might Be Giants. Not at all surprised that their label is based in Athens, GA., or at all surprised this they are Wisconsin-based, but quite surprised to discover this is a '98 release. This may very well be pre-hipster?! It is painfully familiar, and simple on most levels, but it's permeable innocence is intoxicating and I love it. This disc is a gem and I am ecstatic to have discovered it. Again, couldn't find anything to share. Eff! The album is on iTunes.

Homescience: "Jungling"
This was another score. I love that it was recorded into multiple channels, so that sitting in the car listening to this disc is like being surrounded by the band. Homescience is from Edinburgh, and that comes as a bit of a surprise because the britpop elements are subtle at best. They may very well be Scotland's answer to Low. It's equal elements harmony, and muttered vocals subdued beneath a wave of keyboards and 60's fringe pop. It's a brilliant melange of textures, unique instrumentation and manic-depressive lyrics.

Haloeween V.3

Okay, the final installment. I do like this one best, because it is so mixed and offers some indie selections. I am addicted to the Big Bad Voodoo Daddy track, but my favorite is the Sneaker Pimps choice. Something about it... mellow and infectious. Also included my favorite Oingo Boingo track. I still laugh when I think about that night Maisy and I discovered The Shaggs! The link will remain active until Halloween. Enjoy!

01. Surfin' Spooks - Ghastly Ones
02. I Go To Bed With The Undead - The Meteors
03. No One Lives Forever - Oingo Boingo
04. Funeral Song - Sleater Kinney
05. Small Town Witch - Sneaker Pimps
06. Attack Of The Ghost Riders - The Raveonettes
07. Swamp Witch - Jim Stafford
08. Zombie Riot - Batmobile
09. Dracula's Wedding - Outkast
10. Spooky madness - Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
11. Monster Mash - The Misfits
12. Evil - Nerve Agents
13. Zombie Stomp - Ozzy Osbourne
14. See You In Hell - Grim Reaper
15. She's A Zombie Now - The Meteors
16. The Halloween Dance - Reverend Horton Heat
17. Devil's Dance Floor - Flogging Molly
18. Vampire Ska - Horny Toad
19. Halloween - AFI
20. Rotting Vampire Eyeballs - Tsunami Bomb
21. Night Of The Vampire - Roky Erickson
22. Zombie Crush - Groovie Ghoulies
23. Halloween Night - Gypsy & Queen
24. It's Halloween - The Shaggs

Haloeween V.2

Here's, "Haloeween V. 2". Again, a mixture of some obvious choices and some rather obscure pieces. I was never able to identify the artist on Ghostbusters, but it is in the vein of Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. Addictive comes in the form of My Girlfriend Is A Vampire and the Penis Flytrap selections. Again, I will keep the link active until Halloween. Enjoy!

01. Werewolf - Southern Culture On The Skids
02. The Creature From The Black Lagoon - Dave Edmunds
03. Ghostbusters - ?
04. Emotional Vampire - Butt Trumpet
05. Village Of The Damned - Penis Flytrap
06. Tonight - SSQ
07. Dead Man's Party (Techno Mix) - Oingo Boingo
08. Haunted House Of Rock - Whodini
09. Ghost Town - The Specials
10. Is It Scary? - Michael Jackson
11. I Walked With A Zombie - R.E.M.
12. My Girlfriend Is A Vampire - Planet Smashers
13. Surfin' Dead - The Cramps
14. Cemetery Girl - Penis Flytrap
15. Monsters - The Cruxshadows
16. Vampire - Bif Naked
17. Monsters - Pushmonkey
18. Horror Movie - Lords Of Acid
19. Haunted House - Jumpin' Gene Simmons
20. Furry Happy Monsters - R.E.M. with Sesame Street Monsters

Haloeween V.1

One of the things on my mind a lot this past week has been Halloween. It's been kind of killing me that I won't be sharing it with somebody that I know absolutely loves the holiday and "goes a bit overboard with the decorating". I was secretly so excited about it that I was fantasizing. Anyway, I don't know what will happen, where I'll be or what I'll be doing, but for a number of years I was making Halloween compilations dubbed, "Haloeween". I am ready to retire these and share them one final time in this format. They are not perfect, and some of the selections are predictable. I warn you ahead of time, Go Go To The Graveyard and Vampire Girl are utterly addictive. I will leave this link active until Halloween...

01. Bloodletting (The Vampire Song) - Concrete Blonde
02. This Is Halloween - Danny Elfman
03. Halloween - Siouxsie And The Banshees
04. Burn The Flames - Roky Erickson
05. Riboflavin-Flavored, Non-Carbonated, Polyunsaturated Blood - 45 Grave
06. Go Go To The Graveyard - Deadlines
07. Pet Semetary - Ramones
08. Black Magic - T.S.O.L.
09. Over At The Frankenstein Place - Rocky Horror Picture Show
10. (Everyday Is) Halloween - Ministry
11. Monster (In My Pants) - B-52s
12. Halloween - Aqua
13. The Witch - Rosetta Stone
14. The Mummy - The Slackers
15. Little Red Riding Hood - Sam The Sham and the Pharoahs
16. Cemetery - Headstones
17. Vampire Girl - Groovie Ghoulies
18. Vampire Love - The Misfits
19. Zombie - Cranberries
20. The Phantom of the Opera - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Diane Arbus

I have been on a bit of a Diane Arbus kick lately, and thankfully the Orlando Public Library system has my medicine; hell, they even leave it on my doorstep. My exposure to Arbus came in the form of "Fur" with Robert Downey Jr. and Nicole Kidman, and I have been curious about her work since. My exploration into her body of work revealed an artist that found beauty in the taboo; on the fringe; and where most refused to look. More importantly, she found beauty in the every day; the dirty, the untouched, unglamoured reality of living and being true to one's passions, interests and desires. I know there's been claims that Arbus was exploitative, and an early embodiment of current individuals such as Harmony Korine. If that is the comparison, then the problem isn't the artist, it's the one offering the critique, because just like Korine, Arbus wished to strip away those taboos by forcing you to look; and using her notoriety to encourage the glance. The reality is, years spent photographing for fashion magazines was not her idea of beauty; it was not real and had no soul; but a drug-addled, broken-spirited model on the verge of collapse or a war hero nearly crippled by the weight of his choices were characters full of life, and begged for Arbus' lens. Not to mock, but to offer truth. Her name alone gave her access to the most powerful people in the Western World, and she embraced their cracks in the same light as she would the pride of a 75 year-old nudist.

Mia Farrow

Arts Critic John Gruen

Female Impersonators, Club 82, New York City, 1962

Which one is the real one?

Max Maxwell Landar, Uncle Sam

Tiny Tim has never been so handsome...

Little Richard

Winston Churchill

Mrs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at his wake