Prisoner Of...Hell?

I finally decided on a Halloween costume for a party this weekend. I'm going as an escaped convict. I decided on the traditional striped pyjamas and hat look, y'know, the old rock-pounders, as opposed to the more contemporary orange coveralls of the modern penitentiary dweller. Hey, I'm just a traditional guy!

Not the most innovative costume I've ever done, but I just didn't have the time or gumption to create something of my own. This year I'm just keeping it simple and easy.

But I'm adding a few twists of my own. I have a pair of handcuffs, so I went out last night to Malabar, a great costume store, because I needed a hand with my costume.

A severed hand!

They had a very nice collection of severed limbs of various types and sizesósevered above the wrist, severed above the elbowóand I found exactly what I wanted. I'm going to place the handcuffs on my right wrist, and then put the severed hand in the other clasp of the handcuffs, so it just dangles there. (I chose my right wrist because it's my drinking hand, for greater effect.) The idea, of course, being that I had been handcuffed to someone else, a guard perhaps, and had to chop off his hand to escape. Just a little added touch. I like the idea of cordially socializing at a party with a severed hand dangling from handcuffs on my wrist.

This is actually the first time I've bought a costume at a store. In years past I've always created something from whatever I had on hand, or dug up at thrift stores. I had checked out a few costume rental places last night, and they were charging about $55 to rent a convict costume. Then tonight I dropped by a store on the Danforth on my way home, and they had pre-packaged convict costumes for sale for the same price. The striped pyjamas, the little hat, all cotton, not bad quality. So I bought one of those. Why rent when you can buy? Plus I can use it again, modified slightly, for future Halloween costumes. Prisoner of Love. Prisoner of Rock N Roll, etc. You get the idea.

Funny moment at the store when I was asking questions of the very helpful sales lady who was showing me the costume. Some of the ones I'd seen for rent came with a plastic ankle ball and chain...

Me: So does it come with the ball and chain?

She: No but you can get that separately. We keep them over in our wedding section.

And she didn't even crack a smile! Then she shuffles off to some other aisle, and returns with the ball and chain! Not a word of a lie!

Hilarious!

(I didn't get the ball and chain, though. I figure someone will step on it and twist their ankle, and then sue me, or something.)

And the fun didn't stop there. After I bought the costume, I stopped into the Shopper's Drug Mart down the street to get some of those Listerine Breath Strips that I just can't seem to live without all of a sudden. I picked up a pack of three for $5.79, and took them to the cash, where the cashier girls were all dressed as little devils. Red jump suits, little red horns and cute little pointy tails at the smalls of their backs.

She rings my purchase in, and with tax the sum comes toóthis is not a word of a lieó$6.66! And the devil-girl just tells me flatly what the total is, in that droney, cashier-y way, not getting the connection at all.

Me (pointing to the display on the cash register): Is that a joke?
She-devil Cashier: No, the price is more for the 3-pack.
Me: No, but, ... uh, 666 is the sign of the devil...
[pause]
She-devil Cashier: Oh, I didn't even get that!

The devil you say.

This is doubly odd, because, as you faithful readers may recall, this marks the second time in less than two weeks that something I've purchased has come to that sign-of-the-beastly total.

Waddya make of that?

If it happens a third time, do I lose my soul to Old Nick, or something?

Bloody Hell!

Happy Halloween

...and happy birthday...

Mom!

(Even though she doesn't know about my blog.)

Yes, that's my mom as a baby, the baby of the Grant family. Today she is... 77? 78? The larger picture you see after clicking on the baby pic, is her family, the Grants, at the old homestead in Millview, P.E.I., out in the country a few miles east of Charlottetown. My mom is being held by my Aunt Ruth. Check out the flapper hairstyles on my aunts Mary and Ethel (2nd and 3rd from the left).

Of all this large family, only Mom and my Aunt Mary are left. That's kind of sad, but such is life. I'm the youngest of eight in my family, and I guess someday there will just be me and a few of my next oldest siblings. Not something I like to think about, but just one of those inevitabilities you have to deal with eventually.

The seated gent in the hat and vest is my grandfather, Vince, and the woman standing next to him is my grandmother, Winnifred (Winnie). I never met either of them, unfortunately. They died before I was born. But apparently, along with the strong physical resemblence, I'm a lot like my grandfather in other ways. Same quiet demeanor. Same dry sense of humour. He wasn't a big talker, but he'd choose his spots, usually when there was a lull in the conversational back-and-forth at social gatherings, and then he'd pull the pin on a witty comment, lob it into the void, and the room would fall apart laughing.

I always wished I'd known him, seeing as we seem to have been cut from the same cloth.
But maybe I know him better than I think.

Are you out there Vince?

Are you in here Vince?

So not only do I send Halloween birthday wishes to my Mom, the one who brought me into this world, but on this night when we pay tribute to the spirits of those who have crossed over, I reach across the divide to shake hands with the spirits that live strongly within me, whether I know it or not, colouring my life here and now.

Sing-chronicity

Since it's Halloween, people at work have brought in candy, cupcakes and other goodies to share. I stopped in at a candy store last night and picked up a can of Werthers Originals to add to the sugarfest. While I was there I couldn't resist also buying a Pokey bendable figure, to occupy desk space alongside the Gumby I've had for a few years now.

So I'm sitting here, looking at my Pokey, all orange and rubbery and new, as he stands on my desk in the space beyond my phoneóthe strange netherworld where Workland stops and Toyland begins. Behind him, his pal Gumby is climbing my souvenir mini-replica of the Sears Tower, all King-Kong-like (except he's smiling and waving), while a Batman Pez dispenser looks on. And I'm eating a succession of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and listening to Devo: The Essentials ó and I'm experiencing a very odd but strong feeling of sensorial congruence, like each of these cultural artifacts fits into the other as if they were pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

I'll say it now for the whole world to know: Gumby & Pokey and Devo and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups were made to be experienced together!

"Working In The Coalmine" just came on! Perfect! You'll have to pardon me, I feel a desktop dance sequence coming on, and I have some choreography to work out with my little bendable friends.

Warren Piece

Something I should have mentioned in my last entry: Mega-kudos to Dave Letterman for dedicating an entire show to Warren Zevon. Good on ya, Dave!

Life'll Kill Ya

Staying up late to watch Warren Zevon on David Letterman. He's the only guest on the show tonight. Last month, Zevon was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. As those of you who have watched Letterman over the years know, Zevon has been a frequent fill-in for Paul Schaeffer, and is apparently a friend of the people on the show. Dave is noticeably emotional tonight, reminding me of his first post-9/11 show. After Zevon performed a new piano ballad, "Mutineers", Dave looked like he was just barely keeping his composure as he went over to greet him.

But Zevon is incredible. Still as dry and witty as ever. Here's a man whose number is up, yet he's being amazingly funny, irreverent and candid about it all. Perhaps not surprising, considering that in the press release announcing his illness, he was quoted as saying, "I'm okay with it, but it'll be a drag if I don't make it till the next James Bond movie comes out."

No "poor poor pitiful me" from this guy.

His singing seems weakened by his shortness of breath, and he's a bit stiff in his movements, like there's possibly some pain, but he performed three songs, including "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner", a request from Letterman.

In the interview, Dave started by asking him about the disease and how it all came about. Zevon says something like, "I think I made a strategic error in not consulting a physician in over 20 years."

And, oh yeah, his new album is called My Ride's Here.

I sure hope that if I'm ever facing a similar fate, I'll be able to handle it with as much grace, wit and humour as Mr. Zevon.

Here's to you, Warren. Enjoy every sandwich.

Reach Out...

Gee, can't think of any interesting applications for this technological development.

Adams' Ribbing?

Not really sure what's happening over at the Ryan Adams web page. Did someone hack it, or does he have a sense of humour after all?

Crybaby Cry

With apologies to George Harrison, I do need a wah-wah. So I went out yesterday and got myself a little late birthday treat.

I bought mine used at Songbird, though, so I saved some coin off the full retail price.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what a wah-wah do (heh heh, I like saying that ó what a wah-wah do, what a wah-wah do, what a wah-wah do... heh heh), and if the name of the thing isn't onomatopoetically obvious, it does this.

Lots of fun, very funky and especially handy for playing í70s porn movie music.

"Plumber? I didn't call a plumber."

"We Can Be Heroes..."

Chris Murphy Rescues Nardwuar From Hat Thieves

Horoscorp

Scorpio October 23 - November 21

It's your birthright to become a master of desire, Scorpio. Two related skills are involved. First, you have to regularly pare away all inessential desires and enthrone the precious few that are really important. Second, you have to steadily shed outmoded goals to make room for fresh goals that will consistently lead you away from the past and into the future. It's a tough assignment. Most people never come close to accomplishing such refined potency, and they don't have half the number of desires you do. Can you pull it off? The coming weeks will be a turning point in your quest to claim this birthright.

Interesting. Y'know, the rational part of me doesn't want to put too much stock in astrology. But I have to admit, as cynical as I can be in some ways, this horoscope does seem to reflect some of the ways I've been thinking about my life recently. I have definitely been looking to "pare away" inessentials, and I have indeed been taking steps recently to make some fairly big changes in my life, which would certainly lead me "away from the past and into the future". On the other hand, how unusual is that, really? Aren't most people in one way or another facing very similar things?

On the other other hand, the horoscope that I sometimes read in the subway commuter paper can be oddly specific. Twice in the past two or three months, it's advised be to buy footwear! I kid you not. It said something like:

"A coworker causes stress today. Patience will be its own reward. Don't leap to judgement in matters of the heart. Buy new footwear."

After the second time it happened, you can damn well bet I went out and got myself a new pair of shoes!

Tip for some nice íberg

Get some more live Paul Westerberg MP3s here, including these fine tracks:

Solo Songs
* Seein' Her - Asbury Park, NJ 8/7/93
* Things - Whiskey, LA 7/21/93
* Stain Yer Blood - Troubador, LA 9/17/96
* Love Untold - KFOG, Berkeley, CA 9/12/96

Mats Songs
* Smokey/I'll Be You - Asbury Park, NJ 8/7/93
* Talent Show/Send in the Clowns - Troubador, LA 9/17/96

Cover Songs
* Another Girl, Another Planet (The Only Ones) - Landover, MD 12/9/93

B-sides, etc
* 33rd of July - Bonus track on Japanese release of "Suicaine Gratifaction"

Beck Again

Okay, let's try this again. I was half-hoping my previous Beck post would miraculously reappear in Blogger, but no dice.

So...

Went to see the Beck/Flaming Lips show Sunday night at Massey Hall. Stopped on the way for a quick slice of pizza at Magic Oven (great gourmet pizza). When the price of my slice and a "smart drink" came to $6.66, should that have tipped me off that the final encore number would be "Devil's Haircut"?

The start time on the ticket said 8 p.m., so we were surprised when we got there at 8:15 and the Lips were already playing! Punctual bastards!

I had never seem the Lips before, but I love their new album Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, and I had heard their live shows were a little bizarre. As we took our seats in the first balcony, I couldn't take my eyes off the stage. With the exception of head Lip Wayne Coyne, who was sporting a white suit, the other members of the band were dressed in furry animal costumes, sans head pieces. Not only that, there were about two-dozen people at each side of the stage also dressed in costume as various furry woodland animalsóbunnies, squirrels, chipmunks, etc., all waving flashlights about. There were huge, brightly coloured, confetti-filled balloons bouncing around in the crowd, five large disco balls sat behind the band, and a gigantic screen hovered above and behind them. On this screen was the fish-eye-lensed image of Wayne Coyne, shot from a mini-cam just behind his microphone. He was dueting the album's title track with a nun puppet, whose visage, thanks to the fish-eye lens effect, appeared on the screen to be about as large as his own, lending a visual parity to the singing partners. Coyne's falsetto, seen and heard as emanating from the nun puppet, made it all the more hilarious.

It was a circus. No other word will do it justice. The spectacle made all the more amazing by the relatively reserved atmosphere of old Massey Hall (although, I wonder if similar sights may have been beheld in its Vaudeville days).

Unfortunately, a few songs later, one of the costumed creatures prancing about at stage-side apparently stepped on a vital extension cord, thus scuttling the band's special effects capability. The Goldfish was pronounced the goat, but I suspect it may have been a red herring for Massey's aging circuitry.

In any event, Coyne announced that they couldn't continue, which spawned a chant of "Massey fix your shit!" from the crowd, until the band decided to soldier on without the bells and whistles for a few more songs. They still had power to their instruments, so I found this heartening, yet a bit perplexing. Any band that needs to rely on theatrical effects for their live show, and is unsure of their ability to justógaspóplay their songs with instruments and nothing else... well, I have to wonder about their worthiness. But they were fine, and finished their stripped down set to a warm appreciation from the crowd.

About 20 minutes later, Beck took the stage, first playing a few songs solo with acoustic guitar, seated on a stool ringed by peach-coloured globes on the stage floor. Great performances. Then he "Beck-oned" the Lips to join him as his "Beck-up" band (heh, sorry) (well, not really)(double-heh). And I have so say, with the Lips, some of the Sea Change songs had more umph than on the album. Unlike the experience my friend Dean had at a warm-up show in Cali, it seemed to me that Beck and the Lips played fairly well together. I guess they must have gotten the kinks worked out since then. However, I did find Wayne Coyne's antics annoying. More than a few times during Beck's set, and a couple of times at very inappropriate points in a song, he would shake his fists in the air, triumphantly, sometimes while standing on a chair, arousing cheers from the crowd, who were at times disturbingly sheep-like in their responses. At other times he would wave his lights around (you can see him at the bottom of this picture, although that incident wasn't necessarily annoying), and sometimes act the cheerleader, egging on the crowd, even though I didn't think we needed egging. There were times when I wanted to egg him. Wayne, when you're in the back-up band, try acting like it.

Otherwise, it was a fine show. Beck almost took himself out of it when he spun his acoustic guitar around his neck, and it bonked him on the head mid-orbit. He left the stage for some medical attention and returned for the next song. Great performances of "Lost Cause", "Guess I'm Doing Fine", "Round The Bend", "Loser", "Where It's At" and, possibly my favourite Beck song, "Nobody's Fault But My Own" (performed while kneeling at a harmonium, not an accordion, as the Sun's Jane Stevenson reported in her review. People generally wear accordions Jane).

Assuming the Lips get their technical act together, this is a tour worth catching.

Beck Bork

I just spent about 15 minutes writing a blog entry about tonight's Beck/Flaming Lips show, pressed the "post" button, and the damn thing disappeared into nowhere!

Arrrgggggghh!!!

I'm too tired to attempt a retype. I'll have to try again later.

Title íBout

Allan Wigney in The Ottawa Sun explores the world of wacky album titles.

Hard to argue with his favourite, from Montreal-based band My Dog Popper ó 668: Neighbour of the Beast. LOL!

School for fish

Speaking of fish, if you know me, you know why I get a kick out of this story.

No charity for Faith

A nice rip on Faith Hill's lasted album from The Washington Post, under the title Faith Hillís Crocodile Tears.

This excerpt cuts to the core of it, and also serves as a blanket condemnation of all the soul-less crap being churned out of the Nashville/L.A. star-making machinery:

"The real problem here isn't the credibility of the lyrics, but a lack of emotional conviction that undermines this song and many others on "Cry". The album's 14 songs are the product of more than two dozen different writers and there's seldom a sense of genuine connection between singer and song."

I know, this is like shooting fish in a barrel, but as long as there are amazing and talented musicians and songwriters toiling in obscurity, those fish need to be kept in the crosshairs. Kudos to Richard Harrington for working that 12-guage.

Morning Smile

Had an interesting subway moment this morning on the way to work. I had just hopped on the train and grabbed a seat, when I noticed the rather tall, skinny kid standing in the aisle in front of me where the pole is, and realized he was addressing me. He looked like he was maybe 16, pock-marked face, bed-hair, buck teeth, drowsy parka. And he was talking to me in a very loud voice.

It took me a few seconds to assess what was happening, but then I realized that he was developmentally challenged (if that's the proper term). (There must be a school or something around Danforth and Warden or Victoria Park, because I've often seen other developmentally challenged kids on the train at that time of the morning.) I looked up at him as he loomed over me, trying to understand his somewhat garbled speech. Not helped by the fact that I wasn't completely awake yet; was up late the night before. After he repeated it a few times, it turned out he was telling me that Halloween was coming up, and that I should dress up as Dr. Evil from Austin Powers! I guess my shaved head inspired his costume advice.

I smiled and promised him that I would. Apparently that was all he needed to hear. His work done, he wandered down the car, stopping in front of a woman to offer some more free Halloween costume consultancy.

Arrivals

News from my good friend Myfanwy. She and her husband Andy welcomed Sydney Elizabeth Canfield Campbell into the world on September 25th at 10:44 pm, in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Welcome to the world, Sydney!

I'm promised photos soon.

heh-heh-heh

Ain't the world just full of strange ol' coinkidinks?

As I was writing the previous blog entry on that Ketchup dance thing, I was thinking to myselfósomewhat tongue-in-cerebrumóthat the only dance novelty I really liked was the "Tequila" dance that Pee Wee Herman did in "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".

A few minutes later, I'm flipping through the TV channels and what pops up on Showcase but that very scene from the aforementioned Tim Burton-directed 1985 classic.

Strange.

And a big coincidence, too!

Get Out The Tomatoes

Just saw the group Las Ketchup on the Caroline Rhea show (is she the one who's taking over from Rosie or something?). I'd never heard of this "group" before, but apparently their "Macarena-style" hit "Asereje" has swept the Spanish-speaking world this past summer, and is poised to infiltrate North America.

Or has it already? Was the show a re-run? If so, it's passed me by, thankfully. That's just what we needóanother lame-ass dance trend to make wedding receptions and dance clubs even more hellish.

For what's it's worth, this song/dance looks even lamer than the Macarena. Even compared to other dance trends, it reeks of pre-fab. On the Rhea show, the three comely, young ladies in the groupósisters from Cordoba, Spainówere shadowed by three more female back-up singers standing just a few feet behind them. Hmmm, wonder who's carrying the ball there? It was pretty obvious the trio of figure/heads needed the vocal bolstering. I mean, really, if three vocalists can't project enough singing power on their own, then maybe they'd better find another line of work.

At least Chubby Checkerónotwithstanding his screwball demands for inclusion in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for milking one song for 40 yearsócould actually sing.

BTW, here's the deal on the name: The sisters are the daughters of a famous flamenco guitarist named Tomate. Get it? I'm hoping this is one dance trend that gets squished before it lands here.

And besides, isn't Latin music's 15 minutes up by now? I mean, I don't mind Latin music, per se, (heh), but I find after three or four songs the rhythm gets boring.

NEXT!

Eye-dentical twins?

Imagine That

Happy Birthday John Lennon!

He would have been 62 today. We still miss you John.

If you're interested, there's an online petition here to proclaim Oct. 9 an international John Lennon Day For Peace And Love On Earth.
(Thanks Deano)

Of Bad Shepherds And The Tyranny Of Men

Lifted this quote from Mark & Marjorie's blog. Verrrrry eenterestink...

"Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger."
óHerman Goering at the Nuremberg trials.

Also an interesting comment on their blog by Marjorie's dad, a former U.S. airborne ranger and Special Forces veteran.

Salutin' Saletan

Slate's William Saletan does a fine job of disentangling Georgie Wargie's pretzel logic on the need to attack Iraq, then reports on the state of the "debate" on the issue in the U.S. Senate.

Heh, Georgie Wargie... I just came up with that on the fly! Not bad, eh?

Still Life

Keef: in the sway

A pretty interesting Q&A with Keith Richards over at rollingstone.com, including stuff that didn't appear in the print article.

Some excerpts:
You went right from being a teenager to being a Stone -- no regular job, a little bit of art school. What would you be doing if the Stones had not lasted this long?

I went to art school and learned how to advertise, because you don't learn much art there. I schlepped my portfolio to one agency, and they said -- they love to put you down -- "Can you make a good cup of tea?" I said, "Yeah, I can, but not for you." I left my crap there and walked out. After I left school, I never said, "Yes, sir" to anybody.

What did heroin do for you in the Seventies? What did you get out of it -- calm, poise, a sense of power?

You could talk to every junkie in the world and get a different answer. Because they don't know -- nor do I. [Long pause] It was a damn good feeling, for starters. And we were going through a lot of stuff. I could operate behind that. It gave me a distance from everything that was going on around me. I could see things happening -- fast time, slow time. It was Stones business, Allen Klein stuff, and then Brian dying. There was a lot of stuff happening, and it gave me a sense of space. Eventually, I was so far in space, I was almost in the atmosphere...

You're talking to a madman, really. Who else in this forty or fifty years of rock has been able to sneak through the cracks like this? Which is probably why a lot of us become musicians, I think. As long as you've got a gig, it's a brilliant slide through the social structure. You don't have to play the game that everybody else has to. It's a license to do what you want.

Are there Stones hits that you're sick of playing?

..."Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up" are always fun to play. You gotta be a real sourpuss, mate, not to get up there and play "Jumpin' Jack Flash" without feeling like, "C'mon, everybody, let's go!" It's like riding a wild horse.


Speakin of "Jumpin' Jack Flash", go here to download a live version of the song from Paul Westerberg's recent solo tour. Other live Westerberg/Mats MP3s there as well.

Leadership With A Big L

Manley rude to Queen, says Clark [from CBC.ca news]

OTTAWA - Conservative Leader Joe Clark says the deputy prime minister should have nothing to do with the Queen's visit to the country's capital next week.

It was embarrassing and insulting to hear John Manley advocate abandoning the monarchy when the Queen's reign ends, Clark said Saturday. Manley, who has suggested breaking ties to the monarchy in the past, made his latest comments on Friday in Montreal ñ just as the Queen began her Golden Jubilee tour of Canada.

"I thought (Manley's remarks) represented, first of all, simple rudeness, and secondly, the worst possible political judgment. I was astounded," Clark said after a meeting of his party's national council. "It should be made abundantly clear to Her Majesty that he does not speak for the people of the country when he says that on the day she arrives in Canada."

Clark called on Jean ChrÈtien to assign someone other than Manley to host the Queen during her visit to Ottawa.

Manley, meanwhile, told reporters that he regrets the timing of his statement. "The Queen is in Canada to receive the thanks of Canadians after 50 years of service and it's richly deserved," the deputy prime minister said. "I wished I'd been a little more skillful at not answering a question."

Yes, I wish more of our leaders showed greater question-dodging skills and less candour. You'll make a fine prime minister Mr. Manley.

A Third Geek

No, not as in "a third geek behind the grassy knoll". According to this geek quiz (via circadian-shift), I'm rated as approximately one-third geek.

Like most of these quizzes, the reliability of the questions is quite shaky, but, of course, it's all in fun. Nonetheless, I do think my results are fairly accurate. I think I do "go both ways" in geek terms. Does that mean I'm bi-geeky?

You are 32% geek

You are a geek liaison, which means you go both ways. You can hang out with normal people or you can hang out with geeks which means you often have geeks as friends and/or have a job where you have to mediate between geeks and normal people. This is an important role and one of which you should be proud. In fact, you can make a good deal of money as a translator. Normal: Tell our geek we need him to work this weekend. You [to Geek]: We need more than that, Scotty. You'll have to stay until you can squeeze more outta them engines! Geek [to You]: I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain, but we need more dilithium crystals! You [to Normal]: He wants to know if he gets overtime.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Basically, I got on the plane with a bomb. Basically, I tried to ignite it. Basically, yeah, I intended to damage the plane."óRichard Reid (a.k.a. the Shoe Bomber) (from The New York Times).

Man, I hate it when people overuse the word 'basically'.

Rollin' Tunderin' Jayzus!

Bob Dylan Live 1975 To Be Released in November

Columbia Records is excited to announce the November release of The Bootleg Series, vol. 5--Bob Dylan Live 1975: The Rolling Thunder Revue. This two-CD set is comprised of selections from the best of the multitrack recordings of the Revue's celebrated performances in Worcester, Cambridge, Boston, and Montreal. The track list will be announced soon. A bonus DVD packaged with the set will include two songs from Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, remixed for 5.1 surround sound.

To that, I say woo! And woo once more again!

I have a few bootleg tapes of these shows, and they're great. Sometimes a little ragged with all the various players on stage, but there are some very intense performances. Dylan fans rejoice! I love it when this kind of stuff gets released. It's like extra bonus candy!

J1K

A landmark day here in Jimbuck2! I've just reached the millennium markóthe 1,000th site visit! (Well, that mark was actually reached some time ago, since I only installed the site meter in June.) But not too bad for being around less than 6 months. Much rejoicing!

Roger that

Over on the Wilco web site, they've posted some photos from their recent tour of the U.S. west coast. Funny how even their photos seem to capture the essence of my life!

Check out their Roadcase section for video footage of a performance at WDET in Detroit.

The Price You Pay

CD Price Fixing Scam Settled

NEW YORK (AP) -- The five top U.S. distributors of compact discs and three large music retailers have agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs to settle charges they cheated consumers by fixing prices, authorities announced Monday....

...Consumers who bought CDs between 1995 and 2000 can file claims for part of the money, prosecutors said. Announcements will be made later to tell consumers how to participate in the payout.
[read on...]

So what does this mean here in Canada? Does the retail scene here operate independently enough that this may not have happened here? Are the Canadian branches of the big labels beyond these kind of price-fixing tactics? I have my doubts on both counts, but I really don't know enough about how retail operates. Is the evidence... well, evident in the sticker prices of CDs?

More importantly, is anyone investigating whether Canadian labels and retailers may have been similarly in cahoots here? The same wire story was carried on the Canoe site, with no additional info about the possible impact on Canadian consumers. Hmmm.

How Much Are Those Doggies...

Was looking through some photos from my trip to LA two years ago, and came across this one I took at Venice Beach. I love the sign.

Dennis, Carl and Brian...The Beach Dogs!