2
He’s Not — Well, He Is Your Great-Great-Grandfather’s Music Critic
Maybe Jay Nerdlinger* used to be with it, and then he lost track of what ‘it’ was. Now what he’s with isn’t ‘it,’ and what is ‘it’ seems weird and scary to him. But I doubt it. He’s always been clueless, and his brand of criticism is too fossilized for even the best carbon-dating laboratory’s efforts.
Usually, Tory art critics amount to so many tweedy and pompous Grampa Simpsons, irate old farts whose pole-up-their-ass style and ideological hackery preclude the random profanity and negativity-for-its-own sake that so often redeems the tirades of the reactionary elderly.
But Nerdlinger thinks even those guys should get off his lawn. Outdoing even Hilton Kramer and Roger Kimball in bow-tied, culture-’tarded spades, Nerdlinger complains that a Lyle Lovett concert blew his eardrums out:
[A] few nights ago, I attended a Lyle Lovett concert… As someone who has attended very, very few non-classical concerts, I have a couple of observations:
Amplification has gone crazy in America, and throughout the world. Everything is overamplified — amplified to ridiculous degrees. There is no reason for it. And it detracts seriously from musical enjoyment. At the Beacon Theater here in New York, it was like there was some mistake: The amplification was turned up as though Lyle had to reach listeners in Ohio. And the acoustics of the Beacon are perfectly fine as they are.
I just don’t understand.
No shit. But he’s not done yet relating teh KULTUR SHOKK!!!
Do you know that no programs are given out at pop concerts (by which I mean, non-classical ones)? Do you know there is no intermission? (At least there wasn’t in this case.)
Not to mention no place to rest one’s opera glasses. Amazing, isn’t it, the degradations that one must endure in order to be entertained at these so-called “pop” concerts!
I am a Lyle fan, and long have been. He’s a little country, a little indie, a little “roots,” a little gospel — a little of a lot of things. Call him a fusion musician.
No, Jay, he’s eclectic. Calling his music fusion is kind of confusing, because to most people the term is short for jazz fusion — a genre you’ve also probably never heard of since it was invented just recently in the 1960’s by that young whippersnapper Miles Davis.
[Lovett] seems an interesting fellow — respectful of religion, which is very interesting. Fans would holler out to him, and he’d just say, “Thank you, thank you,” in an understated way.
No wingnut’s kulturkrit is complete without the Zhdanovian hackery. Lovett respects religion and assumes a modest demeanor, so Commissar Nordlinger approves! Nichevo, tovarish!
That’s it for music. Then, something else: Jay shares his up-to-the-second awareness of Internet traditions:
You know what “WTF” means, right? It’s e-mail and text-message shorthand for “What the Fig” (only not “Fig”). Mighty, mighty handy initials.
YA RLY, Jay! Or, in Nordlinger’s target audience’s terms: Indeed, what a labor-saver of an apposite riposte! I say, good sir, I should like to learn more of these rather crude yet convenient phrases you acquire in your effortless interactions with the young and trendy! Then they begin to envy Nerdlinger’s easy rapport with young hipsters (e.g., Jonah Goldberg!) and wish that they were half as cool as that cat Jay.
* Otherwise imperfectly named as ‘Nordlinger.’
M said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:29
Next thing you know he’ll be saying ‘FIRST!’ like a dumbass
owlbear1 said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:29
A 300 baud dude
bellatrys said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:34
Over-amping *is* a problem, because it destroys a lot of the work that musicians and sound artists are putting into their performances, turning it to mush. (I have a few relatives and friends in bands, so I hear about this from the backstage side as well as my own audience perspective.)
However, one reason why so many places over-amp is that they have really, really poor acoustics and think that by dialing it up to 11, you won’t notice this.
Newsflash to architects trying to get away with designing music venus/hockey arenas on the cheap: it doesn’t work. We can still tell.
OTOH, clearly this guy has NEVER been to a pop concert in his life. Which is funny, and sad, given that he’s a music critic. I mean, have *any* pop concerts in the past 60 years had programs? I’ve never seen one, but my pop-concert going experience only dates back to the mid-80s.
Lessee, Boston Pops, nope, Joan Baez, nope, Earth Wind & Fire/Chicago, nope, random little local swing bands putting on big band concerts in the local bandstand, nope…
Jay C. said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:43
This bra bomb better work, Nerdlinger.
Scott said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:47
“All these people kept clapping and singing along during the concert! And they did not wear their evening finery! Some of them even appeared to have just arrived from some low-class common labors, judging by their rough clothing and demeanor. What is this nation coming to when people show up for country music concerts wearing cowboy hats?!
“Where is my monocle. Harumph harumph.”
Brent Bozell said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:49
Shalom, gentlemen.
Sea Dub said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:50
I was awakened by a Lyle Lovett concert at a stadium several miles from my home. I think Lovett is great, but I can believe it when J-Nerd says the concert was overamplified.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:53
Over-amping *is* a problem?
mextremist said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:53
I still have the program guide to the Napalm Death/Cannibal Corpse double feature I caught down in Austin. I had to complain with the usher, it seems some riff-raff had gotten hold of tickets and were visibly consuming illegal substances and making a fuss, distracting me and my date over the barrage of sonic abuse being hurled from the stage. After a brief discussion with the offending parties, and a savage beat down in the mosh pit, I left a trail of blood and vomit from the venue, vowing never to return until they fixed their amplifying. I dare say, back in the good days, you’d be lucky if you could hear anything for a few days after the concert.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 15:59
He’s a little country, a little indie, a little “roots,” a little gospel
And that pretty much covers the four songs that Lovett has been rewriting since Joshua Judges Ruth.
Fans would holler out to him, and he’d just say, “Thank you, thank you,” in an understated way.
He must have already had is glass of iced tea on the stage.
I’ll admit that I’m a little behind the times on concerts too. The last concerts I went to we were more likely to need a barf bag than a concert program. I’m glad those days are over.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:01
ah, mextremist beat me to the barf comment. curses.
pat said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:01
loud music causes deafness. ask any audiologist. even a brief exposure will have a lasting effect.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:02
argh. is glass = his glass
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:03
Oh my. I just reached the end of the article and let me say, the ravages of dementia are frightening. Let me condense his wandering ramblings into the one true line from the article:
Thanks Jay!
HTML Mencken said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:05
Ugh. Rusty. Had to fix some shit.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:05
loud music causes deafness. ask any audiologist. even a brief exposure will have a lasting effect.
I did, but I couldn’t hear his response.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:05
I will echo what pat said. I was a drummer in loud bands in the 70’s and 80’s. I now have a pretty bad and permanent case of tinnitus. It sucks and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone except maybe Dick Cheney.
Fats Durston said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:12
WTF? That “article” reads exactly like Jackie Harvey from the Onion. It’s gotta be an in-house parody of an NRO culture critic… right?
Right?
Ripley said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:17
“If it’s too loud, you’re too old” – Random rock ‘n’ roll enthusiasts
I saw Marshall Crenshaw and The Fabulous T-birds (on separate occasions) in a small theater, and both acts had intermissions. I don’t remember having programs but, really, isn’t that kind of redundant? It’s not like you don’t who wrote the songs
If I were Lyle Lovett, I’d crank it up to 11 and open every show with, “I’m Lyle Lovett, and I used to bang Julia Roberts. Oh, yes I did!”
Jackie Harvey said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:18
Item! If you want to get someone to stop making a point, say ‘What-Ever!’ It works every time!!
kiki said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:22
Jay Nerdlinger: one of the finest minds of the 19th century.
(Actually, probably a fifth-rate mind even by Victorian standards, but the gag is still good.)
Legalize said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:27
I attended a “pop” concert last week. Lemmetellya, the “Black Angels” are not respectful of religion. Which I found interesting. I asked a young negro man with a litany of metal instruments, called “piercings” imbeded in his face (did you know that they do that?), to kindly get me a ginger ale from the bar man, while holding out a shiny nickle as a means of respectful thanks and understanding. He invited me to “fig” myself (only he didn’t say “fig”). The indignity! I informed him that he was being as disrespectful to me, as the “pop” band on stage was being to religion.
nyarlathotep the crawling chaos said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:32
Can we say that fusion was developed, in part by Miles, in the late SIXTIES, not 40s? In the 40s, Miles was bippity-boppin’ away with all the rest of them cats.
roy edroso said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:35
I have to level with you: though it is my sworn duty to patrol those noxious districts, a while back I stopped reading altogether Nordlinger’s “Impromptus” or “Impastoes” or whatever the hell he calls them. Week after week of the same dull, doctrinaire ideas, expressed with the same reflexive smugness, wore me down at last. (Even rendered in bite-size chunks the Impromptus are indigestible. Who will edit the Senior Editors?)
Now, goddamnit, you’ve drawn me back in. In his previous column, to which he or his HTML butler links from the current one, Nordlinger actually shakes a fist at those effete snobs Jon Stewart and Lenny Bruce. I expect this is what hell will be like. Well, we’ll find out soon enough!
Frowny McBeard said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:36
Calling his music fusion is kind of confusing, because to most people the term is short for jazz fusion — a genre you’ve also probably never heard of since it was invented just recently in the late 40’s by that young whippersnapper Miles Davis.
I think you mean late 60s. As I recall (reading, anyway) he was pretty doped up in the late 40s, and he didn’t even develop his modal style until the late 50s.
“If you gonna hate, at least get your facts straight”-MF DOOM
Me said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:38
Oh, what sad days are these when young hooligans can hold their sock hops and shindigs and what have you late into the evening hours!
Amlohdi said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:43
Here’s a new fangled idea some of the kids are into: Links that open in a new tab.
(Lex) GOD BLESS TWILLY SPREE (Azagthoth) said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:50
Wow, how very turdly of him. Over-amplified. Huh. I do listen to a rather large # of genres personally, but I think I shall sic my dearest The Azagthoth on this man. If he can stand either an onslaught of DJ Astro or Morbid Angel; well he won’t stand it. He’d crack. Personally I prefer The Boredoms, which would crack, shock and stun this one out of any sense but perhaps at least convert him. Maybe he should also be “Bungled” (Mr. Bungle)?
Amlod–ROFL
bliekker said,
July 2, 2008 at 16:56
Links that open in a new tab.
Good point. For some reason whenever I hit a link at S’N!, and then go back one page to return, I always end up at the top of the S’N! page…
Nerdlinger said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:02
This bra bomb better work, Nerdlinger.
MmmgleHOYven!
Professor Frink said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:04
Hey! That’s my gag, what with the hoyven and the mmmgle.
tigrismus said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:09
Peoples, try teh Interclue. Or ctrl-click linkage.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:10
RE: over-amplification – ever notice how it’s the shittiest bands who crank it up the loudest? As if you won’t notice how badly they suck if blood is trickling from your ears?
Worse yet, imagine TED NUGENT being the last thing you can ever remember hearing clearly.
bliekker said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:10
Or ctrl-click linkage
Yeah, thanks.
jackson said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:12
Just to add to the annoying jazz fan clarification: in the ’40s, Miles was helping to invent something called cool jazz with Birth of the Cool (he hated the term cool jazz, and the album was named by a publicist). Cool jazz was later co-opted by less talented artists (many on the west coast) like Dave Brubeck. Fusion was indeed late ’60s-early’70s, thanks in part to Miles…
And may I just add that, as someone who, like asshat Nerdlinger, prefers to go to a classical performance, that he is a total douchebag? I mean, I like rock music too, but the most recent rock concert I went to was the White Stripes about five or six years ago. It was awesome. I probably seemed to those around me like Nerdlinger, except I just enjoyed the music, and accepted my cultural (as opposed to musical) out-of-touchedness.
One of my favorite quotes (possibly from Toscanini) is, “There is no such thing as old music or new music, only good music and bad music.”
Dan Someone said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:13
Reminds me of a story my mom tells of going with her mother to a Fugs concert, after which my grandmother said something like: “I’m not shocked. I’m just saddened.”
Links that open in a new tab.
I always right-click and force links to open in a new tab. But that’s because I’m a liberal fascist.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:16
Nordlinger actually shakes a fist at those effete snobs Jon Stewart and Lenny Bruce.
If you can bring yourself to read something headed:
Then you come across this gem:
Thanks Jay!
Simba B said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:16
I always right-click and force links to open in a new tab. But that’s because I’m a liberal fascist.
Middle click ftw
Blue Buddha said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:20
A lot of bands that over-amp in concerts also over-amp in the studio as well. Funny how that works.
SowellFan said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:21
These days I can’t distinguish music from noise, especially when taken into account liberal bands who keep chirping about “change.” Hate to break it to the noise-mongers, but the best country on earth requiers no “change” from sheep.
tigrismus said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:26
but the best country on earth requiers no “change” from sheep.
You can’t get change from sheep: no pockets.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:26
His interjection between admitting that he has no point and his waxing poetic on figs is to recommend and hail a column titled “Global Warming as Mass Neurosis”. Nice one Jay. Very nice.
Fortunately, there is this:
Thanks Jay, and this time I actually mean it.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:30
RE: over-amplification – ever notice how it’s the shittiest bands who crank it up the loudest?
Jennifer, when did you see my band?
Amlohdi said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:31
Ctrl + clicky…didn’t know. Interclue appears to be pretty nifty but only time will tell.
I’m gonna stick to my original point though.
kthnxbi
Jay N. said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:36
FIRST!
Bigby said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:38
Shouldn’t it be “Grampas Simpson”, like Attorneys General?
Malfunctioning Glenn Reynolds Robot said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:46
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g said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:47
Do you know that no programs are given out at pop concerts
My stars! shocking! And they didn’t sell sno-cap nonpareils at the concession stand, either!
And did you know the microphones don’t even have cords on them? And they even show the band on a big TV screen next to the stage!
Seriously. when was the last time this guy saw a live show, 1972?
Ken Lowery said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:47
Do you know that no programs are given out at pop concerts (by which I mean, non-classical ones)? Do you know there is no intermission? (At least there wasn’t in this case.)
Is this seriously a real thing. Because that really only makes sense as a parody.
Links that open in a new tab.
LOW-TECH WORKAROUND: Right click on the hypertext, click “open in new tab.” Tada.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:48
and yes, of course it’s too loud. Everyone in the building who’s being paid to be there (i.e., working there) is wearing earplugs.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:50
These days I can’t distinguish music from noise, especially when taken into account liberal bands who keep chirping about “change.”
God, you have a way with words, Sowelpuss.
SowellFan said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:53
I’m one of the few left, as government-socialized education has turned our children into liberal loonies who make mockery of terms like guest worker.
Mark B said,
July 2, 2008 at 17:59
The intermission is between the show and the encore. Duh!
kiki said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:02
These days I can’t distinguish music from noise
Retarded, morally repugnant and tone-deaf! You hit the trifecta.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:02
These days I can’t distinguish music from noise, especially when taken into account liberal bands who keep chirping about “change.”
I bet you had David Bowie in mind when you wrote that. These days indeed.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:04
Keep riffing on that, my man. You’re brilliant!
government-socialized education
What other kind of education would the government have? “Government privatized education”?
who make mockery of terms like guest worker.
Whoa, what’s the deal? So the liberals mock terms like “guest worker”? So “guest worker” is the term you prefer?
I love this guy! There’s an oxymoron in every phrase!
Blue Buddha said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:05
Yep… and the signal for the intermission is not the theater lights turning on, but when everyone holds up a lighter (or these days, their cell phone since no one smokes and everyone has a cell phone).
Blue Buddha said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:07
Dammit! I had Aces High for place and Crooked Motherfucker for show!
SowellFan said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:09
Laugh it up, looney left. The breakdown of culture has long been your goals, and you do this through terrible “rock music” and “postmodernism.” There will come a time when people eject your ideals, which could happen in this election even.
anthony said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:10
Well no, because there are a million shitty buskers out there with acoustic guitars and I know technically they’re not bands but the fact they don’t have friends isn’t my problem. I saw the Blues Explosion nearly crap the PA system at a gig and, frankly, I felt much the better for it.
tb said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:10
OK, everybody loves to dump on Brubeck, but who are these other “less talented” artists you’re referring to? Lee Konitz, Chet Baker, Lennie Tristano maybe? They may not have had Miles’ massive influence, but they (and many other “west coast/cool” guys, famous or not) were masters in their own right, and that’s not at all a fair way to characterize their work.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:11
liberal bands who keep chirping about “change.”
Rufus said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:12
You can’t light a joint with a cell phone, dude.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:12
I saw the Blues Explosion nearly crap the PA system
Their drummer deserves to be beaten to death.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:12
Wow. I just visited his column. What a load of self-absorbed pointless ramblings!
He met a real estate agent who was someone famous’s son!
Classical musicians also die at various ages!
Someone remembers eating really good ice cream a long time ago!
People like the Dalai Lama!
Buttworth-Lydon said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:12
“I have for some time kept a list – a macabre one; such that I am able to recount, by rote, some of the more horrific ends of the sinfonia: Drumange Sainclair (fell down some stairs), Bronwyn St. Smythe (also fell down some stairs), Pudgy Bobetz (stairs), Roberto Clemenstinomonolopoulous (chest hair mistaken for fly larvae by Asian king’s pet tamarind), Constance Wallflower (stairs again), Bitzi Nobbleglue – flautist born without arms, learned to play with her feet (feet torn off in horrible thresher accident), Robert Pesto-Nova (boxer creep), Trini Crapulous (those damn stairs!)….”
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:12
SowellFan = Rugged in MT?
atheist said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:13
Actually, I must admit that sorta agree with Mr. Nerdlinger on this point. Rock concerts often sound way, way too loud to me.
This is beacause I am unhip.
What can I say? 23 Skiddoo, daddy-o.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:18
Marty DiBergi: Now, during the Flower People period, who was your drummer?
David St. Hubbins: Stumpy’s replacement, Peter James Bond. He also died in mysterious circumstances. We were playing a, uh…
Nigel Tufnel: …Festival.
David St. Hubbins: Jazz blues festival. Where was that?
Nigel Tufnel: Blues jazz, really.
Derek Smalls: Blues jazz festival. Misnamed.
Nigel Tufnel: It was in the Isle of, uh…
David St. Hubbins: Isle of Lucy. The Isle of Lucy jazz and blues festival.
Nigel Tufnel: And, uh, it was tragic, really. He exploded on stage.
Derek Smalls: Just like that.
David St. Hubbins: He just went up.
Nigel Tufnel: He just was like a flash of green light… And that was it. Nothing was left.
David St. Hubbins: Look at his face.
Nigel Tufnel: Well, there was…
David St. Hubbins: It’s true, this really did happen.
Nigel Tufnel: It’s true. There was a little green globule on his drum seat.
David St. Hubbins: Like a stain, really.
Nigel Tufnel: It was more of a stain than a globule, actually.
David St. Hubbins: You know, several, you know, dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It’s just not really widely reported.
Jason said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:18
Dude actually writes this at the beginning:
“Frankly, it was one of the most mind-boggling news articles you will ever see. It should be studied years from now, as evidence of the moral strangeness of these times. The article reads almost like a parody — because of its earnestness, its very normality.”
Somebody needs to lock the em-dash box in NRO’s supply closet.
Susan of Texas said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:18
I hear those music hall performances can be quite bawdy.
The breakdown of culture has long been your goals
This would be more effective if old farts haven’t been saying this since the cave man times. “You young whipper-snappers think drums are all that. They’re nothing but noise! In my day we banged rocks together. Now, that was music!”
Mark B said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:20
The loudest band I ever heard was the Misfits in the Mid 80s. My ears were ringing for days afterwards. They had a stack of Marshall amps about 20 feet high at the back of the stage, and by the end of the show it felt like your guts had been put through a blender. It was awesome!!
Ken said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:20
I’m surprised they didn’t make him take the onion off his belt
Jake H. said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:23
Laugh it up, looney left. The breakdown of culture has long been your goals,
The breakdown of grammar, too, and if I may borrow a phrase: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! BWAHAHAA!!!!
roseyv said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:25
Okay, I’m sorry but:
“Amplification has gone crazy in America, and throughout the world. Everything is overamplified — amplified to ridiculous degrees. There is no reason for it.”
He’s right about this.
g said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:25
Goes without saying:
Marty DiBergi: Why don’t you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?
Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.
fish said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:29
ever notice how it’s the shittiest bands who crank it up the loudest?
Man I love the shittiest bands!
jackson said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:37
tb,
I’ll grant that my comparison was overdrawn (at least with Konitz and Tristano). I just have a knee-jerk dislike of Brubeck and Chet Baker.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:37
OT but try transitioning to a full democracy when all your elected leaders are farming deviate fish. May as well go back to absolute dragon-monarchy when Diablo 3 goes gold.
Ken Lowery said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:45
especially when taken into account liberal bands who keep chirping about “change.”
Unlike previous rock bands, who… oh, right.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 18:58
Everything is overamplified — amplified to ridiculous degrees. There is no reason for it.
There are obvious reasons for it.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:00
Loudest I ever heard was Edgar Winter and Leon Russell back in the day. For the record, they were not shitty. I was a mere slip of a girl, but it was too much — actually physically painful. I had to go into the lobby and plug my ears and it STILL hurt.
Ah, those were the days.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:05
Loudest for me was Pussy Galore. They seemed to drill down into my inner ear and make me dizzy.
Blue Buddha said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:10
Hmmm… Bhutan Parliament bans laptops. Remember, this is the same country that completely banned tobacco and smoking a few years ago.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:13
I remember going to one show that was so loud that the bass issuing from the speakers was actually blowing my clothing against my body. Having anticipated this, since the band was shitty (I was dragged along by a now mercifully-ex boyfriend – it was the Damn Yankees), I had brought foam earplugs of the type used by deer hunters…and even then, it was painful. I spent most of the show in the lobby, still wearing the earplugs. As I said, I lost the boyfriend, but I kept my hearing, and it means a lot more to me than he ever did….
bartkid said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:18
>Do you know that no programs are given out at pop concerts (by which I mean, non-classical ones)?
Which is why I always buy the tourbox at King Crimson concerts.
kth said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:21
I probably gave the Replacements about a quarter of my hearing ability, about 20 years ago.
But a full 80-odd piece symphony is pretty loud, too. I remember attending a summer concert (indoors), where the price was low enough that people brought their kids. When they played Beethoven’s 5th, the kid in front of me would (involuntarily) put his hands over his ears every time the brass kicked in.
Fozzetti said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:31
Hmm. I always brought earplugs to ‘pop’ concerts. Even with them in place I could hear fine. BUT my last concert was Queen. Or maybe Thompson Twins. Well, since then I’ve attended some classical concerts at the SF Opera House and I’ll tell ya: the seats there, even the expensive ones, are real BUTT BUSTERS. And those people coughing and clearing their throats! Plus there is too much treble!
Me said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:35
Amplification has its place, but I’m afraid I’ve gotta be one of those assholes who agrees with Nerdlinger on this point. Memo to movie theaters–I’m half-deaf, and I still think you’ve got it cranked way too fuckin’ loud.
islmfaoscist said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:37
That’s right, he’s not from Texas.
Snort said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:44
I just got back form a pop concert. Would you guys type louder, I can’t hear you.
Fozzetti said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:45
…. and the programs are boring and printed too small. And they always list s a half dozen people filling in for other people you never heard of. And the clapping and clapping and clapping for the conductor! Honestly! Still, it would be amusing if everyone held up lit Bics!
Ripley said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:46
You know what I blame this on the break down of? Society!
Snort said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:48
Is it true Neil Diamond just has one song that he changes the volume and tempo in different spots and calls them new songs?
pedestrian said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:49
pop concerts (by which I mean, non-classical ones)?
What would a classical pop concert be? Music that was popular in the 18th century? Or does he mean pop music being performed by a symphony orchestra? Classical music isn’t just anything that is played on old-timey instruments. I don’t mean to be pedantic, but in all that time that he wasn’t going to concerts you would think that he could have developed a more precise vocabulary.
poopy Mcpants said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:49
Why?! why hast thou droppethed me into the abyss of lulz that is encyclopedia dramatica? Nothing will get done!
foo said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:56
The loudest band I ever heard was the Misfits in the Mid 80s. My ears were ringing for days afterwards. They had a stack of Marshall amps about 20 feet high at the back of the stage, and by the end of the show it felt like your guts had been put through a blender. It was awesome!!
Permanent hearing loss is awesome ? Awesome !
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 2, 2008 at 19:59
And the moral of the story is that bands with no talent can easily amuse idiots with a stupid puppet show. -Green Jello
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:03
but in all that time that he wasn’t going to concerts you would think that he could have developed a more precise vocabulary
Actually he has. Pops is as opposed to philharmonic. Like the one from Bah-stun.
Lawnguylander said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:04
Two Van Halen concerts 25 years apart are the only shows I ever found to be too loud. It’s because they suck of course. Nothing like having your ears ring for a week from bad music.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:07
OT Christopher Hitchens drinks like a fish.
I mean holy crap
via the Wanker formerly known as Wankette.
Still a neo-con hack, but a better class of neo-con hack.
dbati said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:09
Dinosaur Jr, back in the early 90’s used to crank it up a bit.
I saw them at an outdoor theater opening for Neil Young (I was there for Dino Jr.) and it was just like the scene in Spinal Tap when they are playing Jazz Oddessy for the “festival” crowd. You could see the midwestern, leather-fringed vest wearing “Harvest” crowd absolutely horrified by the wall of noise generated by Dino Jr.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:12
I for one welcome our GWAR!!!!!
Gavin M. said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:12
[added pix and tweaked a couple of things]
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:14
and by pix, he means GWAR!!!11one!
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:14
I really want Nerdlinger to go to GWAR concert and stand in the front row. I’d even even pay for his ticket.
2010 said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:15
Two Van Halen concerts 25 years apart are the only shows I ever found to be too loud. It’s because they suck of course.
Van Halen as I see them.
Ripley said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:16
Is it true Neil Diamond just has one song that he changes the volume and tempo in different spots and calls them new songs?
It’s true of Meatloaf, that’s for damned sure. Though I think they may actually be new albums.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:17
Thank the Lord for the Nighttime and Cherry Cherry are suspiciously alike…
Beavis said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:21
GWAR ROCKS!!! Eh-heh-heh-huh
stryx said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:23
Is there any indication that Nerdlinger was doing lines of heroin off the soundboard while getting blown by a National Review ‘intern’ at this concert? ‘Cause a lyle lovett concert is just like a Motorhead concert, like maybe the tour for No Sleep ’til Belfast or something.
I would bet that J-Nerd has a nice pair of leather chaps.
fadegeophile said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:24
I, for one, would like to welcome our Crack -Fueled overlords.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:30
Eh, I just clicked on the KFC ad in the sidebar…it links to a page where Nobel Laureate Pamela Anderson exhorts us all to eat a vegetarian diet, just like she does!!!
(Note: I am not opposed to vegetariansm per se; it’s just not for me. And I do agree with Pammykins about the evils of factory-farming animals. It’s just wrong. I feel no particular guilt about eating animals as long as they’re allowed to BE animals while they are alive…after all, most of them would never have life in the first place if we didn’t raise them to eat them. But to turn them into heavily medicated eating machines living in close confinement, up to their ankles in their own feces during their brief lives…there’s just something very evil about trying to make a creature into a machine for your own purposes of profit.)
stryx said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:34
But Jennifer, the chickens are classified as independent contractors, so any feces related program activities are their own fault.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:44
I am a GWAR fan, and long have been. They’re a little country, a little indie, a little “roots,” a little gospel — a little of a lot of things. Call them fusion powered destruction machines.
Plus, they seem like interesting fellows — respectful of religion, which is very interesting. Fans would holler out to them, and they’d just say, “Fuck you, fuck you,” in an understated way. They may look odd, but they move cool — and the entire grotesque covered codpieced packages are very, very cool.
mikey said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:47
Back when my sister used to be the CFO for MesaBoogie, I used to get these awesome All Access and Local Crew passes. I actually sat on the edge of the stage for the Chili Peppers, Goo Goo Dolls, Bush, No Doubt, lots of cool acts.
But you’d get the output from the stacks And the stage monitors and your ears would be wrecked for a week.
But dammit, I was heartbroken when she left that gig…
mikey
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:48
I am a GWAR fan, and long have been.
I saw ‘em long long ago and got completely covered in filth, then saw them the next day at a Boogie Down Productions show. I like them.
Jake H. said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:48
GWAR makes this post approximately 178% more awesome.
Lawnguylander said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:50
Van Halen as I see them.
What was that, a Metalocalypse clip? YouTube now sez:
This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by The Cartoon Network, Inc.
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:54
GWAR makes this post approximately 178% more awesome.
Everyone, regardless of their personal music tastes, should attend one GWAR concert. Just so they can bask in awesome goodness that it presents.
Bitter Scribe said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:57
OK, I can maybe see the amplification issue, but complaining about no programs or intermission? That’s just weird.
Stick with classical, fella. (And I say that as someone who attends classical concerts exclusively.)
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:58
What was that, a Metalocalypse clip?
Yeah. The Dr. Rockso coke video done in perfect Van Halen style.
Jake H. said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:59
I’m in love with a dead dog.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:10
But to turn [animals] into heavily medicated eating machines living in close confinement, up to their ankles in their own feces during their brief lives…there’s just something very evil about trying to make a creature into a machine for your own purposes of profit
Thus, vegetarianism.
Professor Fate said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:11
Back in my day Intermissions were called Drum Solos.
J Neo Marvin said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:13
The Swans at the Mabuhay in 1987. Now THAT was loud.
Not shitty per se, but more conceptually interesting than actually good.
Dr.BDH said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:15
So, Hitchens finally admits (after being waterboarded) that waterboarding is torture. Now, what can we do to get him to admit that having your car shot up by a Blackwater mercenary, killing your wife and child, is a war crime? Anyone?
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:16
In all fairness, I did attend a concert that featured an intermission. Saw Primus a couple years back. Instead of an opening act they did two sets. First, they did a regular show with lots of well known and good songs. Then they took a 15 minute break (intermission) and followed that by playing Sailing The Seas Of Cheese from start to finish. And for an encore they did Southbound Pachyderm.
It was a great show.
Chasm said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:23
I’ll tell ya what else is wrong with concerts these days – the lighting fucking sucks. You youngsters probably don’t remember a time when they actually pointed the lights at the performers. Back then, and only at the absolute peak of the bands’ signature hit, (say the BOOM BOOM followed by everyone shouting “out go the lights!”) they would flash you with those banks of car-headlights on the drum risers (PAR lamps, for you lighting geeks), and that would be it. Highlight of the show.
Because now every band and their stage designers decided they needed the supermostesthidefinitionvideo screens behind them, there was suddenly no where else to shine the colored lights except the fans eyes. Nearly every concert I go to nowadays, no matter who the main act is, the support band has been a better, more enjoyable show. The sound isn’t killing you, and the stage is mostly dark and you can see the performer. If you forget your earplugs and sunglasses, forget about enjoying any part of a modernrockextravaganza.
Give me Jer inside, or pre-digital Dead anyday of the week for just being able to sit back and enjoy the music and the band.
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:27
“Cool jazz was later co-opted by less talented artists (many on the west coast) like Dave Brubeck.”
Them’s fightin’ words ! Go dig some Art Pepper and get back to me chief !
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:28
Because now every band and their stage designers decided they needed the supermostesthidefinitionvideo screens behind them
This can often be a manifestation of a record company soaking a band for its own money: the bands are required to have stage shows with this or that crew and the charge of course comes out of the band’s royalties.
stryx said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:28
No intermissions? I guess Jay Nerd never went to a Grateful Dead concert.
David in NYC said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:31
I mean, have *any* pop concerts in the past 60 years had programs? I’ve never seen one, but my pop-concert going experience only dates back to the mid-80s.
Actually, they used to be fairly common in the 60s. I still have a fair number of programs from various concerts, including a lovely 12×12 color glossy 24-page program from the Beatles show at Shea Stadium in 1966, and a similar one from a Jefferson Airplane show around 1969.
Some venues, such as the Fillmore East, used to hand out a rock&roll version of Playbill, providing the inspiration for the scene in Annie Hall when Alvy stops by Annie’s apartment after their first breakup and discovers an issue of National Review lying around, and then a program from a Fillmore East concert, prompting him to ask, “Are you dating a right-wing rock star?”
And I have to agree: many, if not most, shows these days are grossly over-amplified, though I would certainly not include Lyle Lovett in that category, based on personal experience.
However, he is totally wrong about the acoustics at the Beacon. They pretty much suck big time, no matter where you sit.
David in NYC said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:34
Oh, and the intermission thingie? I believe that’s what they call the half-hour or so between bands while the crew sets up for the next act, no?
GoatBoy said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:36
GWAR must serve the master or GWAR must die! Or at least that’s what I read in the program at intermission.
Lawnguylander said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:36
Wait, what? GWAR opened for BDP? How was each act received by the other’s fans? Or am I wrong to assume they were exclusive groups?
In 1982 I saw Kurtis Blow and Gregory Isaacs open for The Clash at NYC’s Pier 84. Isaacs played without incident as I remember but a good portion of crowd was not feeling Kurtis and he was ducking bottles and other projectiles. Fairly or not that crowd’s reaction always comes to mind when someone starts going on about how much they don’t like hip hop. Anyway, Kurtis had some balls on him and he didn’t miss a beat. He went on with the show and Joe Strummer had some words for the assholes in the crowd when he came out. That was nice but they should have opened with The Magnificent Seven.
Damn does this comment make me feel old.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:40
a lovely 12×12 color glossy 24-page program from the Beatles show at Shea Stadium in 196
Dave in NY: Sweet. Would you consider selling it? (I collect vintage Beatles stuff.)
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:40
GWAR opened for BDP?
Nope, in the audience in their humanlike-forms.
Doctorb said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:41
Van Halen wish they were one-sixth as brutal as Dethklok.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:45
I hear some pretty good reports about Dethklok shows.
Doctorb said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:45
Oh right, I am also reminded of a time a few years ago when I convinced some old people (WHO TYPED IN ALL CAPS AND SAID GOD BLESS ALL THE TIME) that “WTF” stood for “Waving To Friends”.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:47
Everyone should attend a GWAR concert so they can learn that once you get past the costumes, the shitck and the fake bodily fluids, GWAR really isn’t that good a band. Also, back when Van Halen III came out – in ‘98, I think – I got a phone interview with for-the-moment lead singer Gary Cherone. This was before they got back together with Diamond Dave (who sucked and couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket) and just after they got tired of Sammy Hagar (who can sing, yet somehow manages to still suck). Cherone came from, I think, Extreme and was real excited about “making Van Halen mean something again and making his mark with the fans”. Feel bad for that guy sometimes.
Also, Lyle Lovett used to be roommates with Robert Earle Keen (the fratboy’s Townes Van Zandt). They used to spend Sunday mornings on their front deck in their tighty-whities serenading church folk heading to the Baptist joint across the street. I’ve interviewed both men and asked ‘em about it, and they said “Yeah, we used to do that”.
fardels bear said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:51
I got to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band at Red Rocks in California and the sound was perfect. Of course, as Lyle said, that is because of the beauty God made at Red Rocks. So there is your pro-religion right there.
I saw Cheap Trick and The Who on consecutive weeks in the 1970s and it each one was the loudest concert I’d ever heard. It hurt so good.
David in NYC said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:51
MzNicky: Probably not, as it has great sentimental value, but maybe you can make me an offer I can’t refuse. ;-)
I also have picture sleeves from most of their 45s, if you’re interested.
Scott Stapp said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:53
I think Jay is very insightful.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:54
Everyone should attend a GWAR concert so they can learn that once you get past the costumes, the shitck and the fake bodily fluids, GWAR really isn’t that good a band.
Why would you want to get past them? [Also "shitck" is a good coinage.]
Diamond Dave (who sucked and couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket)
Isolated Runnin’ With the Devil vocals.
Doctor Missus Marita said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:57
I saw GWAR when I was in high school.
And then I had to explain to my parents why my contact lenses (this was when lenses that you kept for a year were common) were permanently stained red and needed to be replaced.
Jason said,
July 2, 2008 at 21:57
And they say it’s the liberals who are the elitists.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:00
I still have a fair number of programs from various concerts, including a lovely 12×12 color glossy 24-page program from the Beatles show at Shea Stadium in 1966, and a similar one from a Jefferson Airplane show around 1969.
I am filled with envy. I’ve got a backstage access pass to a Prince ‘Purpl Rain’ era show at the St Paul Auditorium (too loud) and an entire comp ticket for The Cure playing at First Avenue on November 7, 1984 (the last night that I ever drank alchohol), but those programs sound way cool.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:00
Why would you want to get past them?
To go see a better band, maybe?
And my guitar player’s got those Diamond Dave yowls as his ringtone, and everytime his phone goes off, my drummer tells whatever story’s behind that. And then he tells about hearing the audio of Linda McCartney singing with Wings turned way up in the mix by some vengeful soundguy. I may kill my drummer soon.
Quaker in a (Colorado) Basement said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:00
at Red Rocks in California
They have one there too?
Clint said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:01
The fact is, GWAR FTW!!!
(fig the world)
fardels bear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:02
Oh, shit. No Red Rocks in Colorado. I have no idea why I slipped up. I’ve never even been to a concert in California. But that is OK, I hear California isn’t a big college town.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:04
David in NYC: I’ve got all the 45s in sleeves and all of the LPs that I know of, most left over from my adolescence. Alwlays been a Beatlemaniac, and a couple of years ago I set up a Beatles room in my house (like Ned Flanders) for all my stuff.
I love to own a Shea Stadium 1966 program. But sentimental value I understand.
Okay, how about I start at $100?
tigrismus said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:05
Isolated Runnin’ With the Devil vocals.
Why must I always click such links? It’s as if I see a hammer with a “hit your forehead with me!” label AND I CAN’T STOP MYSELF.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:06
And then he tells about hearing the audio of Linda McCartney
I swear I mentioned something about this here. I MAY BE YOUR DRUMMER.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:08
Wow. me rite dum.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:08
How about bids for a couple of Los Beatles albums pressed it Paraguay? One is called Yeah Yeah Yeah and I can’t remember the other one’s name. The worst bootlegs of records ever. If I remember right, you can actually hear them dropping the needle on the records ON the record. Pretty funny.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:12
gbear: I see lots of Beatle records offered on eBay from Paraguay, Japan, Spain, etc. They’re usually labeled “RARE!” even though there are dozens listed at any given time.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:14
I swear I mentioned something about this here. I MAY BE YOUR DRUMMER.
I hope not. My drummer forgets that I was in the room with him when he first heard the audio clip in question. The music editor of the rag where I worked and he freelanced occasionally (’cause it’s Athens, and if you don’t play in a band, you’ll write for Flagpole and you’ll probably wind up doing both eventually) had two discs of “accidentally” released audio of famous people being assholes. Goose Gosage bitching some woman out on a radio show or John Wayne drunk off his ass giving a speech to ROTC members, stuff like that.
Well, for about two months, this editor would play this goddamn thing for every soul that came into the office. I swear, I must’ve heard Linda’s off-key yodelling five times a day. So, now my drummer has to tell that story with me in the room, knowing I was fucking there when he heard it. He also goes through entire Bill Hicks routines whenever the whim strikes him, and because I don’t laugh, he thinks I’ve never heard of the guy.
Now that I think of it, that editor is a drummer. Goddamn drummers.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:15
Thus, vegetarianism.
Well, no, not really.
It is possible to get pasture-raised beef, chickens, and turkeys. Animals that have been allowed to live as nature designed them to live. I don’t feel bad in the least about eating them, because they would never have lived in the first place if they had not been raised to be food. My issue is with feedlot cattle, medicated so they can digest the steady diet of grain that otherwise they wouldn’t be able to digest, because they are ruminants meant to eat mainly grasses. The same goes for chickens and turkeys who are de-beaked and crammed together by the thousands in confinement and heavily medicated to prevent the diseases that such overcrowding produces.
Eating animals isn’t cruel. Not allowing them to be animals while they are living – that’s what’s cruel.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:16
I got them in the late 70’s when I was working in a cut-out warehouse. Picked them both up for $1. The warehouse was record collector nirvana.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:19
I don’t have any old Beatles stuff or the like.
But I do have one of the only 7,000 or so copies of Chumbawamba’s Jesus H. Christ that was ever produced. Plus some fairly rare old blues recordings, picked up from when I worked at the used record store while going to grad school.
fadegeophile said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:20
What’s your band called, Matt?
Don’t you live in the NW?
fadegeophile said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:20
Screw you, RB. That sucked.
Gundamhead said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:21
This douche is giving us classical fans a bad name. Nerdlinger, there’s nothing wrong with being ignorant of pop culture, but I think it should generally preclude you from authoritatively commenting on pop culture. Just a thought.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:22
Jennifer: What I meant was that the horrors you describe lead many to become vegetarians.
lunchmeat said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:25
Uh, oh, looks like someone just finished reading “the Omnivore’s Dilemma”
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:25
Screw you, RB. That sucked.
I am inclined to agree with you although I don’t know what you’re talking about.
Crissa said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:29
If it was over amplified, you wouldn’t be able to hear the harmonies. It is annoying.
But uhh, that’s not really anything new, is it? Lyle Lovett? Geez. That’s the definition of bad country-pop that’s always over amplified.
Bring some earplugs next time, idiot.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:30
Lyle Lovett? Geez. That’s the definition of bad country-pop
No.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:33
What’s your band called, Matt?
Right now, we’re “The Coveralls”, God help us. We play solely covers of country songs (which, so far, adds up to a inordinate amount of Hank Williams and Roger Miller tunes, go figure). See, it’s clever. And it’s what I deserve for playing country music with guys who think Gram Parsons invented the genre.
Don’t you live in the NW?
Nope. The exact opposite of the country, matter of fact, in Georgia. I have often thought of moving to the Pacific Northwest ’cause I’m tired of living in dear ol’ Dixie, but one, I can’t figure out anything useful to do with myself so I might as well stay where the living’s easy, and two, David Niewart’s got me terrified of the particular strain of crazy-ass white people in that area. I mean, I’m used to my neighbors at the very least having warm feelings for the Klan, sure, but there are some scary motherfuckers up in Idaho.
On the plus side, lots and lots of really fucking good weed and it’s easy to get.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:35
Lyle Lovett? Geez. That’s the definition of bad country-pop
By “Lyle Lovett”, of course, you meant “The Eagles”. Seriously. Someone asks you, “Hey, what’s bad country pop?” You say “The Eagles”, and they’ll go “Ahhhh, I see.” and all is well.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:39
lunchmeat – uh, actually I read that one almost a year ago.
But since my dad was a veterinarian who worked for big pharma and, for a brief time, as a USDA inspector, I’ve long been aware of the horrors of factory farming animals. It’s just that until the past few years, it’s been virtually impossible to find producers close to home who are humanely raising animals. Fortunately, the internet has made them much easier to find.
As for the organic veggies, I’ve been buying those or growing my own for over 10 years now. And yes, they DO taste much better than the crap at the grocery store.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:41
And don’t be dissing Lyle Lovett. The man is, if nothing else, a very good songwriter. I’m going to see him on Sunday in Atlanta.
Doctor Missus Marita said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:48
Fortunately, the internet has made them much easier to find.
I think Local Harvest is a pretty good site to help with that. My parents get a lot of customers for their beef that way. I worry about meat from stores too, but the way my parents’ animals are treated (spoiled rotten, as cows go), I don’t have any qualms with the homegrown stuff.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:51
Someone asks you, “Hey, what’s bad country pop?” You say “The Eagles”
You could also point them to ALL of the music played on commercial country radio stations (& wouldn’t play Lovett on a double dog dare).
fadegeophile said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:53
Nothing personal, RB, but that mp3 was Teh Suxxors.
It smelled like coke and desperation.
gbear said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:55
D.M. Marita, are your parents’ cows spoiled rotten due to improper refrigeration?
fadegeophile said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:55
Matt-
The crazy racists in Idaho are far from Seattle.
The crazy-ass white people here are more of the PC Police variety.
MzNicky said,
July 2, 2008 at 22:55
spoiled, rotten cows? ewwww. :-)
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:04
I don’t know about “spoiled rotten cows”, but the place where I’m buying my meat dry-ages their beef. Thus, the ground round at $4.25 per pound is not all that much more than the price at Kroger, where the high moisture content in the package makes up a non-insignificant portion of the weight you’re paying for. It all gets cooked out, anyway. Per weight, the price is probably about comparable ($12.85/lb for NY Strip steaks, vs. about $10/lb at Kroger)…and the meat does taste a lot better.
Doctor Missus Marita said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:04
You people are all horrible people.
My parents’ cows are happy and petted and given treats.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:06
whoops, I meant to say $14/lb at Kroger for the strip steaks. For the better cuts, my humane farmers are actually charging a bit less.
Snort said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:10
My parents’ cows are happy and petted and given treats
I know how to moo.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:10
My parents’ cows are happy and petted and given treats.
My bet is that they want the treats before the petting begins.
Jennifer said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:14
You know, on the whole “Nerdlinger” thing…why not just call him “Turdflinger”?
Snort said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:15
Loudest concert (and one of the best)? Led Zeppelin early ’70s. We had to talk REALLY loud after the show.
OneMan said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:17
“These days I can’t distinguish music from noise…”
Me either, especially when I listen to Noisex or Snog or Kompressor.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:25
gbear,
The funny thing is I remember when country radio played the hell out of some Lyle Lovett. in 1986, Lovett came out with a whole new crop of folks that, frankly, mainstream country radio wasn’t quite sure what to do with them apart from play it. Lyle, Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle and k.d. lang all entered the Top 40 consciousness around about the same time. Plus, country radio was the dumping ground for anything with the merest hint of twang, be it cowpunk outfits like the Beat Farmers, redneck singer/songwriters like Earl Thomas Conley, or blue-eyed soul bar band survivors like T. Graham Brown. The friggin’ Kentucky Headhunters. Bocephus Uber Alles. It was a pretty neat time to be a fan of country music – despite the crappy sounding production (drums compressed to all hell and back, every guitar solo sounded the same, because Chips Moman played ‘em all) that was infesting Nashville at the time.
Of course, it was the last time country radio took a chance, and pretty much the last time country record labels even tried to mess with formula, once they saw how every song that sounded like a John Michael Montgomery song would sell just as well if you played it at Wal-Mart enough. Man, I love my iPod. I’ve got one playlist that where I to play it straight though, it would play me kick-ass country music for almost two whole days. The best part? No Big & Rich.
Matt T. said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:36
My parents’ cows are happy and petted and given treats.
Behind my uncle’s house, there’s this huge cow pasture. One of those big, picturesque, Benji Compson lookin’ deals. I don’t know what it’s used for now* , but when I was a boy, the guy who owned it had cows in said cow pasture. One year, my baby cousin** decided that was her world, and the whole spring and early summer, she’d rush home so she could run around in the “Pretty Field” and play with her friends the cows. They all had names, too. She named ‘em after all of us, and when she went through that, she named it after whatever word came to her. She was like six and it was adorable as shit.
Anyhow, come August (I think), she comes home one Tuesday and finds all her friends gone, so she goes looking for an explination. Unfortunately, the first person she runs into is her older brother, who was a mean little shit growing up. He told her in very graphic turns the unfortunate fate of her friends, the cows. Her daddy had the unpleasent task of telling Baby Cousin that, yes, that’s what cows are for. Then he beat Big Brother’s ass, which pretty much happened every other day.
To this day, she gets mad as hell at her brother about that. Never stopped her from eating beef, though.
*At one point, it housed two ostriches. Guy thought that was a good idea, so he bought a male and a female. The female died the first winter, and the male lived another 15 years. Of course, the ostrich thing never happened and this guy was stuck with this huge, ugly, perpetually pissed off bird that he had to feed ’cause there was no way he was just gonna kill a $1,200 investment. Mean critters but good eatin’.
** She’s now 26 and about to have her first kid. and I’m keeping company with a 22-year-old. There’s just something off about that.
Snort said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:39
why not just call him “Turdflinger”?
I first read that as “Turdfinger”.
“Why no Mr. Bond, I expect you to poop”!
ice weasel said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:46
Sadly, he has one, very small, narrow point that is valid. A lot of stuff is louder than it should be. And as several people have pointed out, being loud is usually an excuse trying to cover up something. Sad that. It’s one thing jazz, classical and folk have always had over rock, a willingness to be heard.
And look, I’m not gramps simpson. I’ve toured with a major rock shed act and worked in the music business for most of my life. But I do think nerdsmeller or whatever his name was, had a decent point. Too bad he surrounded it with a lot of other silly shit that made no sense or only showed how out of step with the last century he is.
Not that I would expect anything different considering the source.
OneMan said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:48
…and hey, what’s wrong with Brubeck? (who says I’m dumb?)
Time Out is one of my favorite jazz albums.
Go ahead, tell me why he’s not considered “less talented”. Than Miles? Sure. But why do people “dump on him”? Seriously. I can take it.
I’m still learning about jazz (hey, I’m slow…) so if there’s someone who does what he does but better? I want to hear about it.
OneMan said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:52
…tell me why he is considered less talented.
Me, I’m “less talented.”
Righteous Bubba said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:54
Sadly, he has one, very small, narrow point that is valid. A lot of stuff is louder than it should be.
Yes, but this is equivalent to saying “a lot of stuff is shittier than it should be.” And the answer is yes gramps, and mosquitos are no fun and sometimes the ice-cream comes out of the fridge and it’s really hard to scoop.
Gerald Curl said,
July 2, 2008 at 23:58
His Presto gives him the latest from NRO.
Legalize said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:01
“There will come a time when people eject your ideals, which could happen in this election even.”
Awesome. Teh right is STILL running against rock and roll.
Gary Ruppert said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:05
The fact is,
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:09
The whole southwest outlaw thing is kind of a different direction for country music that is fresh, interesting and firmly anchored to a geography (Tempe, in this case), which seems to be necessary for a genre of music to take a separate path. Much like seattle, san diego and bakersfield all contributed their own personalities to the music as it developed.
Dead Hot Workshop begat Gin Blossoms begat Refreshments begat Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, and now, the path is open for the new bands to adopt the influence and expand the genre…
mikey
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:11
“a lot of stuff is shittier than it should be.”
This is now my new official motto.
It is the banner under which I shall enforce my sovereignty…
mikey
Olexicon said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:17
“Turdmotorfinger”
Jennifer said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:17
My official motto is: “I’d rather be sleeping.”
Litch said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:18
Lyle Lovette is part of the genre “americana” a lot of austin bands/musicians tends to fit in the group.
WereBear said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:22
Is it true Neil Diamond just has one song that he changes the volume and tempo in different spots and calls them new songs?
That would be Barry Manilow.
You can sing any Barry Manilow song lyrics to any other song’s melody, and it comes out on meter and everything.
Our local music store proprietor was driven mad for three days when I pointed that out.
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:41
True, but in the early days of heavy rock (call it 1967-1971 or so), being loud was also a limitation of the available equipment. In order to get a distorted guitar tone with the class-A tube amps of the time, you had to crank the volume and overdrive the power tubes.
Dep’t of fun facts: The standard heavy-metal issue Marshall (usually a 100-watt master volume head) is actually pretty toy compared to class-A monsters like the Vox AC-50, an uprated late-’50s design used by the Beatles and other such bands. They sound gorgeous when they distort (the main riff of ‘Paperback Writer’ is through an amp from that series), but once the power tubes are at that level, they’re so loud you could knock down a freakin’ moose. Like, imagine the loudest amp you’ve ever heard, and imagine it being drowned out by a cataclysmic ‘kerrang’, à la the opening chord of ‘Hard Days Night.’
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 0:58
Oh gosh, I’ve killed the thread…
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:03
You can sing any Barry Manilow song lyrics to any other song’s melody, and it comes out on meter and everything.
Hmm. Let’s see: “I Write The Songs” to the Tune of “Mandy”:
I write the
songs that make, the whole world, sing I write the
songs of love, and spec-ial, things I write the, songs that make
the young girls cry I write the songs
Uh, no. And I’m totally ashamed I knew those lyrics and melodies and in fact that you brought the whole thing up in the first place.
Tehanu said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:11
I sat in front of the speakers at a Mahavishnu Orchestra concert once. It was great. Wish I had a time machine and could grab Jay and put him in that seat. He’d be too busy stanching the blood from his ears to ever complain about loud music again.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:12
Re: Vox amps. The Super Beatle produced wind.
I nevertheless preferred my JC-120 head.
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:15
The Super Beatle was a solid state amp never used by the Beatles. Awful piece of crap.
g said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:15
Actually, one reason that bands are as loud as they are is that they have to crank the sound up to drown out the ambient noise of all the technical gear onstage. The lights are all now moving lights that are HMIs – the cooling fans and the motors that move the lights make noise,. Also all the projections equipment has cooling fans. A show with some 200 lamps and 2-3 projectors has a lot of fans.
And if you’re going to do any scenery movement, the chain motors and winches that move the trusses, lifts, and etc. make a lot of noise. So you have to crank the audio up to drown it out.
That is surely one reason Broadway shows are as loud as they are nowadays.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:18
You can sing any Barry Manilow song lyrics to any other song’s melody, and it comes out on meter and everything.
Rod Stewart. It usually takes me till the second time the chorus comes around to figure out which song it is. Well except Maggie May, that one’s actually pretty good.
Uh, no. And I’m totally ashamed I knew those lyrics and melodies and in fact that you brought the whole thing up in the first place.
I’m glad you took that one, because otherwis I’d be trying to fit Copacabana to Weekend in New England.
gbear said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:19
The other cool thing about a Vox amp was that it could be put onto it’s stand imperfectly, causing George Harrison to almost fall over and Paul McCartney to start laughing while miming ‘If I Fell’ in A Hard Day’s Night. The sound of those Vox amps really did kick butt. The guitar sound in those first Beatles hits is still remarkable today.
Matt, I agree that Country did have a golden hour a while back. I’ve got a lot of those early Yoakam lps and I’m still following Steve Earle. Mickey, however, left me in the dust with all those bands he mentioned.
Time to go take a scooter ride now that Gavin killed the thread….
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:22
The Super Beatle was a solid state amp never used by the Beatles. Awful piece of crap.
Nonsense. Wonderful piece of hardware. Solid state rules.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:22
Actually, one reason that bands are as loud as they are is that they have to crank the sound up to drown out the ambient noise of all the technical gear onstage.
I dunno. I think this is left over from their days of coming up through smaller venues like clubs and whatnot, where people are there to dance and to mingle and half of them couldn’t give two shits about who you are. People are trying to pick each other up not ten feet away from where you’re playing, you need to play loud – and then that stays with them.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:23
Also nyah nyah: The Beatles did utilize Super Beatles’ during the last few US concert dates in 1966, but there is no evidence that they ever recorded or were interested with Thomas Super Beatles.
Lawnguylander said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:23
Anti-American Graffiti.
Posted for no other reason than I felt like it.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:27
Actually, one reason that bands are as loud as they are is that they have to crank the sound up to drown out the ambient noise of all the technical gear onstage.
I was drinking with a hired gun who was complaining to me that he never got to crank it up: the big acts he was touring with have very low on-stage volume such that they can talk to each other fairly easily while playing. Those are not punk or metal acts but anyway stage volume can be very low if you want it that way.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:28
gbear: I thought John sang “If I Fell.” Paul sang harmony? I haven’t seen “A Hard Day’s Night” in about 20 years, so.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:30
If I Fell
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:36
RB: All I gotta do is thank you boy, thank you boy.
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:38
[grumble]
I’m not saying you’re wrong; I’m just saying I have a different impression of the solid state Voxes.
One positive difference is that they didn’t they explode or catch fire like the tube versions. I’ll give ‘em that.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:43
One positive difference is that they didn’t they explode or catch fire like the tube versions. I’ll give ‘em that.
One of my former bandmates toured with one and it produced a devastating clangy noise, which is certainly what we were interested in at the time. 12 string Mosrite helped too.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:47
Flappy McScrotum said,
July 2, 2008 at 20:54
GWAR makes this post approximately 178% more awesome.
Everyone, regardless of their personal music tastes, should attend one GWAR concert. Just so they can bask in awesome goodness that it presents.
GWAR shout out to Mickey Kaus.
Kaplan said,
July 3, 2008 at 1:55
Tool can do a light show right. Good stuff.
Saw the Bad Brains play in a cowpatch in southern Alberta in 1993 at Infest, with the Ramones headlining right after ‘em. My ears were ringing for days after.
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:02
A friend of mine fell asleep at a Ramones show at Toad’s Place in New Haven back in the late 70s.
He was very sleepy.
Oh, I forgot to mention, he fell asleep leaning against the speakers.
Jennifer said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:08
ifthethunderdontgetya – he wasn’t sleeping; he must have been dead.
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:09
Lou Reed used a Super Beatle during the VU days, admittedly.
True story: There used to be a big music store in Tucson called Chicago Store. According to rumor, it had an employees-only second floor that was piled with old gear that the owners had given up on selling, and once when I was in town, I managed to talk my way up there.
There were about a dozen solid-state Voxes in brand-new condition. Heads with matching cabinets and stands, add-on boxes (fuzz, treble boost, etc).
They might still be there for all I know, although it seems unlikely. I was looking for tube stuff, and among the stacks and piles of amps — Fender, Kustom, Silvertone, and so forth; literally hundreds of amps — there was a single Fender Princeton chassis. It was one of those fawn-colored Fenders. Probably worth something, but the vintage gear market hadn’t gone completely insane at that point, and it didn’t seem worth picking up.
There were hundreds of guitars as well, stacked like cordwood. Almost all of them were cheapo Japanese jobs of the Teisco/Guyatone/Kent/Kay variety, but God knows what insane maniacs are collecting those now, as ‘investments.’
Candy said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:15
Dead Hot Workshop begat Gin Blossoms begat Refreshments begat Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, and now, the path is open for the new bands to adopt the influence and expand the genre…
Roger Clyne can come “begat” something with me . . .
Okay, I admit it. I have a big ol’ crush.
Banditos
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:15
ifthethunderdontgetya – he wasn’t sleeping; he must have been dead.
It was an impressive performance, by all involved.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:16
My best find is probably a Roland Chorus Echo I found in a second-hand clothing store in a small town in BC. $50 for a lifetime of fun and loops. They didn’t actually know what it did. I can just sit and watch the tape spool around and be content.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:21
zomg, the isolated vocals from Runnin’ with the Devil, or Bobcat Goldthwait?
J— said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:31
“This is the rockometer. It is used to measure comparative rock and roll intensity levels.“
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:32
Roger Clyne can come “begat” something with me . . .
The funny thing, Candy, is I sent the Russian Girl a link to the youtube of “Green and Dumb” with the attached message “He makes me WISH I was gay”.
There’s no missing the fact that he is nine ways from hot, even if you’re an old straight dood.
mikey
Gavin M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:33
Is it the Roland RE-501?
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:33
See, you gotta run that into a Metasonix brand Fucking Fucker (or if you don’t want to cough up for that, connect your guitar to your friend’s dad’s old HiFi through a couple of garage-sale distortion pedals) to really get the right sound.
MadRaven said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:35
Loudest show i ever went to was Bauhaus when they did their first reunion back in 98. Small outdoor venue. neither i nor the girl i was dating at the time could hear a word we were saying to each other for about a good day and a half afterward. swear to jeebus they got louder just before the set ended, especially during Dark Entries
Erik Pontoppidan said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:35
I always knew that Conservatives are morally superior to liberals.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/06/those_meanspirited_liberals.html
Candy said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:42
There’s no missing the fact that he is nine ways from hot, even if you’re an old straight dood.
And he’s got that indefinable charm thing going on. He just looks like he’d be a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers is playing at a nearby casino July 12th, and the show’s free. I believe I’ll have to check it out. Sounds like a pleasant summer evening.
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:48
He just looks like he’d be a hell of a lot of fun to be around.
Oh, he is. The whole band LOVES their fans. I’ve been a fan since before Honkey Tonk Union, back in the Deck Chairs days, when the fight with the record label was still going on. Roger has been SO great to me, and made me feel so welcome and so part of the whole thing, he’s just a JOY to know on any level.
I’ve seen the Peacemakers in a lot of places, but Nina’s Hideaway is home base, and if you can get into one of those shows you’re going home with a major memory. But they are such amazing, welcoming showmen, and whether it’s Sin Nombre, Jack vs. Jose, My Heart is a UFO or Horses, the opportunities for crowd involvement are HUGE.
You gotta see this show…
mikey
Candy said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:50
OT, and offered without comment except to say, “what PZ said”:
Hitchens undergoes waterboarding
Candy said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:53
mikey, I will definitely go see it, especially after reading what you just said. I don’t think I’ve ever heard or read a negative comment about their shows.
J— said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:54
Potential fighting words from J Mascis, from Guitar World’s early 90s interview with him and Kevin Shields.
More fun (in three parts) here.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 2:54
I always knew that Conservatives are morally superior to liberals.
Well sure, if you’re using Peter Schweizer, self described conservative, to define morally superior. From Schweizer’s own home page, these are the words he uses to describe himself: Conservative, Author, Writer, Speaker, Articulate, Impeccable Researcher, Rational, Liberal Iconoclast.
Well, that’s good enough for me. If he says he’s an impeccable researcher, he must be. And he certainly has no reason to try and present thing in favor of conservatives either.
Robert M. said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:14
I’m no audiophile, but it seems like this would be a significant difference.
Also, y’all can say what you want about Nordlinger, but at least he’s never gotten Copacabana stuck in my head. That’s gonna be in there for days.
Matt T. said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:20
I’m gonna get shit thrown at me, but the only amps I’ve ever had any joy with are Peavys. I got a TNT 151 that’s been kicked down some of the finest beer joints and house parties in North Georgia, and it’s still plugging along with a warm, subdude sound, perfect for the country and/or roots rock thang. My brother plays his guitar through a Peavy, too, though the exact make escapes my remember (it does have tubes, though) and he hates playing through anything else. Says he hates having to use the “crutches” other guitar players have to use, inre: their non-Peavy amp.
Baby brother’s kind of a dick that way. Also, the more pedals a guitar player uses, the more serious he takes himself. If he has ‘em set up on a board, feel free to point and giggle.
MzNicky, amateur Beatles scholar said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:24
George Martin recorded the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” on a four-track system. I stumped my brother, the Nashville Cat music snob, on that one once. He swore it couldn’t have been. I proved him wrong. That’s what he gets for all those times he cut off my Barbie dolls’ hair.
P.S. — I love seeing video of Hitchens getting water-boarded. Is that so wrong?
Jennifer said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:29
Unfortunately the VF website does bad things to my computer (shuts down IE) so I didn’t get to see Hitchens waterboarded.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:33
I got the RE-301, which was IMO much dreamier.
http://www.mylesdesignstudios.com/trans/front_large.jpg
Twernt Nuthin said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:35
Meat Puppets.
Town Pump.
Vancouver, BC.
Edmund Schluessel said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:38
MzNicky: Technically it was bounced between two four-track systems.
SamFromUtah said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:39
Unfortunately the VF website does bad things to my computer (shuts down IE) so I didn’t get to see Hitchens waterboarded.
I’m just not inclined to watch it, because I already knew waterboarding is horrible. I did read that Hitchens withstood it for 17 seconds, though, which is about 17,000,000 times as long as a typical chickenhawk, “24″-wanking fRightard would last.
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:43
I’m gonna get shit thrown at me, but the only amps I’ve ever had any joy with are Peavys.
I won’t give you grief: I’ve had a couple of those that served me well, one tube and one not. One was a bass amp I sawed the top off and turned into a head via duct tape.
I have noticed a lot of country guys favouring Peavey. I like the more brain-melting noises so I eventually got into other stuff.
Candy said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:46
Jennifer, I understand the Hitchens vid is available on Teh YouTube. Someone in the comments at Pharyngula linked. I’d fish it up but I’ve got to go do some stuff, not least of all see if there’s anything to eat around here.
Lawnguylander said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:49
If you can’t or don’t want to visit the VF website to read that article maybe you’ll at least enjoy seeing this picture. It kind of looks like he’s being helped back onto his barstool.
Rightwingsnarkle said,
July 3, 2008 at 3:54
OT – the intellectual giants at Vaginaphobe’s Place are rubbing lotion on each other.
GoatBoy said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:02
Mark me down as another twangy reverb guy who swears by his old, beat-up Peavy 2X12. Once I switched out the pickups on my Gibson Les Studio so that I can tap single coils with my tone knobs all I need is one guitar and one amp.
Travelin light FTW.
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:03
Ok. In re: Hitchens. I dunno. As I’ve said, I like to read the guy’s shit.
But this little episode puts me in mind of some folks. And I feel like I should tell you about them. No real connection, and it don’t mean nothing, but here it is.
In Pleiku in 1970 there were quite a number of operators. Ours, theirs, and the rest of them. Some of them were English, French, German and Belgian, Especially Belgian specops motherfuckers with Swedish Ks and black tees and shoulder holsters and jeans and LLBean boots and BALLS. I mean, seriously, these idiots would do shit WE knew was more than stupid. And we’d tell ‘em. They’d buy us beers and ask us about Indian country, and we’d tell them, well, see, there’s a couple fucking REGIMENTS in the hill country out east. We go out in platoon strength and we get hit. We go out in company strength and we get hit. We insert in battalion strength and we get hit. And you happy assholes wanna go in in squad strength?
And they’d smile, and ask us to mark up a map, and yep. they’d go over the fence with some tiger suited maybe loyal ex Victor Charlie and two months later you’d run into them in a bar, thirty pounds lighter and kinda twitchy in their movements, and they wouldn’t tell you shit, but their voice was lower and they just weren’t quite as cocky.
But the point is, Hitch would have fit right in. The fuckers just KNEW that being a white european protected you, and sure, you were gonna have to kill some dark-skinned people, but it didn’t actually MEAN anything, and you were going to make a difference, because all these colonials needed you and wanted your help, and in the end empire will out.
The “good” news is we never had to bury any of them. Most of them just went into the brush and never came back. And know what?
I bet they died “a good death”….
mikey
gbear said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:13
I’m ‘just’ a drummer, but the favorite roaring band that I played in used Ampeg amps for all the guitars. Loved that dirty fat sound. Same amps that Faces used. I expect to be flamed for even bringing them up.
Watched the Beatles video and that crunching sound when George’s amp falls over wasn’t on the original soundtrack. It’s a pretty cheezy addition. It was a lot cooler as kind of a secret ‘blooper’ to find on your own.
gbear said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:25
Drummer can get in on this too: I play a Slingerland set purchased from 1974 thru 1976, with first generation Rims hardware (the guy who invented them lives in Mpls), Combination of A and K Zildjian cymbals. Mostly Pearl hardware. Chris Mars probably has my drum stool after I got drunk and left it unpacked at the St. Croix Boom Company on a split bill with The Replacements. I wish I could remember how they sounded that night but my cousins all showed up and I hung out with them instead of listening. The only thing I remember about the night was Bob Stinson running up on stage after our set to tell me I looked exactly like the drummer in Cheap Trick. I started growing a beard soon after.
Jason said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:25
My favorite bands can beat up your favorite bands. Also I went to a concert once and saw my favorite bands. And they talked about your favorite bands in a disparaging manner, for they had just beaten them up, and we laughed at you. Also my favorite bands only record under strict circumstances, and we likewise disparage the digital or analog recording methods of your favorite bands, who we will sometimes refer to, in passing, as “Steely Dan” or “Power Station.” Perhaps I am in this favorite bands of mine! I have anecdotes of bands, in vans, peeing in cans. Further: my bands is red hot. Your bands ain’t doodly-squat.
gbear said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:25
But now the tread is dead again so none of this matters…
J— said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:30
No doubt, Jason, but tell us about your gear.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:30
The fuckers just KNEW that being a white european protected you,
Yeah. I mean, I’m impressed that he did it, and then asked for some more. But he admits that the motivating force there was that he knew he was better than KSM so he had to try and break two minutes. And despite knowing that he broke in much less time, and despite knowing that it was just an academic exercise for him and that when it was all over I would be released into happy daylight rather than returned to a darkened cell. Despite all that, his view of KSM hasn’t changed. He’s not admitting the possibility of false confessions. So I stand by the statement about this I made way upthread:
Still a neo-con hack, but a better class of neo-con hack.
Just Alison, without Qetesh said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:32
There’s another very good reason for loudness, and Ursula Le Guin once wrote an article about it. Briefly, it’s because loud noise (really loud) stimulates the body’s fight-or-flight response: your heart rate speeds up, your blood pressure increases, and your glands start pumping adrenaline into your system. Makes you think you’re having an exciting time. Nice to be fooled by a bunch of glands, ain’t it?
I’ve been to a few loud concerts in my day: one that springs to mind was a Skyhooks concert in my yoof. I had a bad case of swimmer’s ear (basically a fungal growth on the inner surfaces) and it got vibrated about by the music and got really, extra, two-big-helpings-with-cream-on-top, painful. Great concert though: Skyhooks (look ‘em up, ya lazy buggers) put on a great show.
But I’m generally Miss Crankypants when it comes to loud cinemas and stuff: the manipulation there is so overt, and the Hollywood films are so irredeemably crapulous anyway, that I sit there the whole time ramrod straight and muttering “Is that any way to behave?!?” like Granny Weatherwax.
“There will come a time when people eject your ideals, which could happen in this election even.”
I love this: push a button on ‘em and people will eject your ideals. Makes me wonder what other buttons I could push, to make ‘em eject other stuff.
jim said,
July 3, 2008 at 4:59
No programs? What was this guy’s last show, a high-school music revue?!
Wow was that hurtful – even with my steely sonic nerves, I only made it about 1/2 the length of that … that THING.
Now I will have my vengeance, & it will be terrible to behold.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 5:47
DKW, he actually does admit the false-confession thing:
3. It may be a means of extracting information, but it is also a means of extracting junk information. (Mr. Nance told me that he had heard of someone’s being compelled to confess that he was a hermaphrodite. I later had an awful twinge while wondering if I myself could have been “dunked” this far.) To put it briefly, even the C.I.A. sources for the Washington Post story on waterboarding conceded that the information they got out of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was “not all of it reliable.” Just put a pencil line under that last phrase, or commit it to memory.
mikey said,
July 3, 2008 at 5:52
Look. G2 is simple.
And they teach it simple.
You ask a dude. He tells you some shit. You put him in a cell.
You ask another dude. He tells you some other shit. You put him in a cell.
You pick up some maps and documents. You analyze them.
You go back to the first dude. You tell him everybody he knows already rolled. So what’s the point.
You go back to the second dude. You tell ‘em the first dude said you sucked his cock. What’s the deal with that?
You never have to hurt anyone. And you’re gonna be able to release MOST of these fucks. They’ll tell you who’s a bad mother, ’cause know what? They’re scared of that fucker…
mikey
Henry Holland said,
July 3, 2008 at 5:56
Nerdlinger is right about things being loud overall: I go in to supermarkets and they have the music cranked up, at a lot of retail places too, car repair shops etc. It should be a background hum, not having the kick drum making the skin on your cheeks move. /Grandpa Simpson moment
Loudest gig? Easy! Metallica in 1991 at the Forum here in Los Angeles. So loud that when I went to the bathroom during a ballad (*not* Fade to Black), which was located down a hallway under the stands, I could hear them fine. But it’s also the *best* sound I’ve ever heard at an arena show, deafening but crystal clear. Best of all, they totally fucking rocked. Ah, the days before Load when Metallica didn’t actually suck.
Gearhead woes: I bought a Gibson Ripper new in the late 70’s and loved it. However, I was going through a Chris Squire phase and traded it in for a Rickenbacker 4001. I immediately had my dad strip off the black paint (too Geddy Lee) and varnish it. FF 15 years. I’m bored with the Ricky and one day in a guitar shop, see a used Ripper. I played it for ten minutes and fell in love again. I asked the dude about a straight-up trade and he said “Add $50 bucks and it’s yours”. Go home, get the Ricky and come back. He takes one look at it and says “No deal, you stripped off the original paint”.
That was my introduction to the vintage guitar market. Good Rippers can be hard to come by and are expensive, especially after Krist Novoselic used ‘em.
Have to stick up for Ampegs; don’t know about their guitar amps, but their bass amps kill.
jim said,
July 3, 2008 at 6:03
Silly me, I couldn’t resist leaving some trollish spoor in their happy playground of neocon hijinx, not after the very first comment was about how righties are both smarter & FUNNIER … that just begged for a “1/2 HOUR NEWS HOUR” reference … they ARE mighty darn funny – just not when they’re being “humorous” … damnit, that’s twice I’ve left my toxic spoor there in one year! It’s fun, but I just GOTTA cut down.
My gear? A Fender F-35 acoustic.
Amps are for pussies.
Dragon-King Wangchuck said,
July 3, 2008 at 6:08
DKW, he actually does admit the false-confession thing:
Oh, he does admit the possibility of false confession, esp. at the end of the video, but it’s hard to read through the article he wrote afterwards and believe that he has any doubt about KSM’s guilt. The part that you’ve quoted is his explaining what someone else’s argument is, but if he really did have sympathy for torture victims after his experience, then it’s hard to square with the contempt he seems to show KSM.
and his other mention
If you watch the video, he at one point muses about the consequences of getting the wrong guy. About how madness would quite easily follow. Do the excerpted sections sound like the thing a person would write about someone that the country broke for no reason at all?
ifthethunderdontgetya™²³®© said,
July 3, 2008 at 6:09
Now I will have my vengeance, & it will be terrible to behold.
AureoFascist!
Righteous Bubba said,
July 3, 2008 at 6:50
Have to stick up for Ampegs; don’t know about their guitar amps, but their bass amps kill.
A guitar player I know had one and it made him sound like a pitiless electric razor, which I liked but sound people didn’t. Bass amps are meaty.
Auguste said,
July 3, 2008 at 7:37
Only in the sense that everyone is less talented than Miles Davis. I saw Dave Brubeck live a few months ago and he is still made of win.
Douglas Watts said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:17
loud music causes deafness. ask any audiologist. even a brief exposure will have a lasting effect.
And kids walking on your lawn will cause invisible, but deep and unrepairable root damage.
lobbey said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:24
Oh, old Ace is cranking out today:
“……….Sadly, No, Alicublog, T-Bogg… a bunch of bottom-feeding leftwing blogs covers the rightwing blogs the way the rightwing blogs cover the media……….”
If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny…..
http://ace.new.mu.nu/left_dislocates_collective_shoulder_patting_itself_on_the_back_once_again
lobbey said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:26
My, he is really pissed off, run out of the anaimal porn DVD’s again:
“Given that basic structure, of course more lefties read righty blogs. But they don’t do so to enjoy opposing viewpoints or join interesting arguments; they do to mock and troll, because Sadly, No! told them to.
We on the right are too busy doing something similar with NBCNews. We really don’t have the time or inclination to carefully patrol whatever the fuck Sadly, No! might be writing about today. ”
Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
gainsayer said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:30
I saw Dave Brubeck live a few months ago and he is still made of win.
Time Out is the gateway drug for jazz newbies.
Doctorb said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:37
I enjoy opposing viewpoints, particularly when they’re batshit crazy.
lobbey said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:46
Ace may be a minor league wanker, but his commenters are just mental. I see that our old frend, rightwingsparkle is still kicking about, and is as sad as ever.
Auguste said,
July 3, 2008 at 8:53
He played Time Out, of course, but he made enough changes to it that the head was almost unrecognizable. It really perturbed the one dude that had yelled “Play Time Out!” like he was at a Skynyrd concert.
You’re probably the kind of guy that assumes that any Frank Zappa fan is just in it for the Yellow Snow.
Auguste said,
July 3, 2008 at 9:03
God, I’m a moron.
I always mixup Time Out and Take Five.
Which would probably prove your point, if I was indeed a jazz newbie. And makes me agree with you more, although Pick Up Sticks is very good.
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 3, 2008 at 9:33
“Time Out is the gateway drug for jazz newbies.”
Time Out is soda pop for jazz newbies wearing bow ties.
“Kind Of Blue” should be the mainline for anyone wishing to get involved.
Tim (The Other One) said,
July 3, 2008 at 9:36
Oh and before I forget:
Amps:
Solid State = Pearce
Tube = Matchless
AMHIK
Red said,
July 3, 2008 at 12:18
I like GWAR. It’s good solid metal, it tends to be funny, and their stage show is one part Grand Guignol, two parts Troma.
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2008 at 14:58
Ace: “98.9% of leftwingers are partisan hacks only interested in cocooning on friendly sites that will not discomfit them with contrary narratives…. Many leftwing bloggers and blog-readers do read rightwing blogs … leftwing blogs frequently cite and quote (and send their readers over to) rightwing blogs.”
So, unpacking this “logic” a bit, he seems to be saying that most left-wingers(though not over 1.1%, of course) do expose themselves to “contrary narratives”, i.e self-proclaimed right-wingers, but since we do so to laugh at and refute them it doesn’t count. Right-wingers also expose themselves to “contrary narratives”, i.e news sources like the AP that the right-wingers assume are left-wing because their narrative is contrary to their right-wing fantasy world, also to laugh at and refute those sources, but IT’S DIFFERENT AND BETTER WHEN THEY DO IT SO SHUT UP!
tigrismus said,
July 3, 2008 at 15:00
most => many. I changed it from “most who do etc” but didn’t get the edit right.
J— said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:12
Okay, how do you know, Tim?
Xopher.tm said,
July 3, 2008 at 18:39
Last “concert” I attended was Sunn O))). You might want to Google them. The subharmonic vibrations from their gigs often make people walking past the venue defecate in their trousers.
cur said,
July 3, 2008 at 19:59
Reminds me of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCumH8LRo1A
from Mr. Show.
Jason said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:19
No doubt, Jason, but tell us about your gear.
Marshall stacks. I removed the “Marshall” and reformed the letters to display something witty and personal, like “Sharma,” which is my favorite thing to get at the Falafel Hut, and “Wall Rash,” which was the only other thing that wasn’t already taken, so I had to make up a story about having to sleep standing up on a wall with stucco facing at this house party once because the show was so intense and totally full of people who knew, like, Tsunami and that one dude who was Urge Overkill’s cocaine source. Both my Marshall tweaks are trademarked and copyrighted. I haven’t actually turned the thing on.
I also have a Traynor head that requires Soviet tubes. I know this because I always say it “requires Soviet tubes” whenever people ask me about it. I haven’t turned that one on, either, Reagan put the kibosh on that. Glasnost my ass! I had an Orange that I left in the girl’s restroom in Under Acme after headlining a bill with your favorite bands, and it was 1974, and their parents were the only people who showed up because the bands were still embryos. I only liked their early stuff anyway so it was cool. I had to break up my band when the drummer could not fashion “Ya Mama” out of the Yamaha insignia, also I never turned on my amps, and so we only put out super-rare seven-inches on labels in places such as Chicago and Lexington. They are all owned by bespectacled, backpack-wearing middle-aged men in Lancaster County, PA, who are married to freelance graphic artists and ambivalent about having kids.
There, I am done making fun of myself. gbear what is the name of your band if you are not done checking this thread
David in NYC said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:47
MzNicky –
Work required my extended absence, but if you’re still reading this thread, $100 may not be an offer I can’t refuse, but it is certainly an offer I would have to consider. You might want to check the condition — I would say good to excellent (I’m not a hardcore collector, but at least respectful of my stuff); it is definitely not mint.
gbear said,
July 3, 2008 at 21:56
Jason, the name of the band I was in during the beginning of the 80’s Mpls boom was Fine Art. The name is tongue-in-cheek. A documentary of Mpls band playing live called Seven Nights At The Entry was released last August and we’re one of the many bands in that film (the lineup for that whole week of recording is shown in James Walsh’s great new oral history of the Replacements). I know our name comes up on AllMusic, but all the info is wrong. I wrote to correct them but they never updated. The band released one full lp before I joined and a 12″ EP while I was with the band. Lots more stuff got recorded but none of it released, sorry to say.
Our lead guitarist was a champion for Husker Du when they were just starting to play out, so they opened for us a number of times. Husker’s first 45 was produced by our guitarist. All this stuff happened SO long ago, sigh.
MzNicky said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:09
David in NYC: I am seriously interested. The offer stands, if as you say the program is in good condition. (If it were “mint” I probably couldn’t afford it.) Think about it and just let me know. You can contact me at
mistressnickstress@hotmail.com
bago said,
July 3, 2008 at 23:40
Chickenhed: I can’t believe it’s not better!
Henry Holland said,
July 4, 2008 at 4:06
Time Out is soda pop for jazz newbies wearing bow ties.
“Kind Of Blue” should be the mainline for anyone wishing to get involved.
‘Cause people let me tell you
It sent a chill
up and down my spine
When I picked up the telephone
And heard that he’d died
out on the mainline
Don’t do it, don’t start with Kind of Blue, that’s the heavy stuff, maaaaaan!
In his biography, between all the “motherfuckers”, Miles was quite scathing about the Cool wing of jazz. To him, it was white motherfuckers taking his stuff and making it palatable for other white motherfuckers. A little harsh, maybe, but hey, if Miles says it and uses the word “motherfucker” 20 times a page, it has to be true, right?
RobW said,
July 4, 2008 at 8:17
“Cool jazz was later co-opted by less talented artists (many on the west coast) like Dave Brubeck.”
To be fair, the list of artists “less talented” than Miles Freaking Davis is miles long and includes a lot of great talent. You’re comparing them to the master.
RobW said,
July 4, 2008 at 9:23
Dangit, Auguste beat me to it…
Jason said,
July 5, 2008 at 5:07
thanks gbear!
freepatriot said,
July 6, 2008 at 17:07
guess this guy never saw the Grateful Dead
just the parking lot would make his head spin
shut up an take a hit off the balloon, nerdlinger