Holla if you need me love, I'm in the House

President Obama (hooray!) will be addressing the House and Senate tonight, where he will speak about the stimulus package, his overall economic recovery plan, and OH MY GOD HE'S ACTUALLY PRESIDENT OH MY GOD

Lost song of the day

- Junip -- "Black Refuge" off Black Refuge EP

I've seen Jose Gonzalez in concert many times.  He is one of my favorite artists despite his sometimes coma-inducing music, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.   I've seen shows by him in a music club, in an auditorium, at an outdoor concert, and in a bar, and my problem has always been that he sounds exactly the same each time I see him.  There is rarely any change of emotion, rarely any deviation from the studio versions of his songs.  I've downloaded some of his concerts and I can never tell the difference -- he doesn't "riff", he doesn't "jam".

When I first discovered this song a few years ago, I was excited because it added to the very limited Jose Gonzalez catalogue.  Junip is more a project than a band; there are only a handful of songs that have been released and despite promises of a full length Junip album somewhere down the line, he has been devoted to solo touring.

His first record, Veneer, was almost exclusively just him and a guitar.  In Our Nature, which came out in 2007, was a lot more produced, a lot heavier, and a lot darker.   I liked both albums, but felt like Veneer was where he was most comfortable.  This track, Black Refuge, is much more In Our Nature than Veneer; its more electric, and harder, and more frightening.  

I'm a monkey, I'm a monkey man

The crazy Connecticut Chimp story has made its way across the internet, and despite the hilarious and already infamous details about this Chimp's life (he dressed himself, drank wine, watched television, brushed his teeth, was the managing director of a now defunct hedge fund in Greenwich, and was the 43rd President of the United States) it is yet another reminder of why fucking with nature sometimes results in a completely innocent person getting their hands and face ripped off by an out of control animal that should not be walking around in a house.

I've written on this before, notably here and here.  I have a problem with zoos in general, from the odors to the overwhelming number of fanny packs to the fact the Bronx Zoo once displayed an African.  Tigers, lions, elephants, bears, chimps...  they're not meant to be in captivity.  And don't me started on birds.  I'm in no way an animal rights activist (yesterday I ate chicken, bacon, and sausage) but caging them just seems unsettling to me -- didn't we learn anything from that Twilight Zone episode with Roddy McDowall?

What this woman did, though... She normalized him into a human social setting.   This is why I object when people put sweaters on dogs; first your dressing them and next thing you know they're starring in movies and then ripping the appendages off of your acquaintances.   There has to be a happy medium between caging animals in faux habitats to be gawked at by Kansans and treating them like humans.  

Not If I have anything to say about it...

Via CNN's Unintentionally Hilarious Headline Generator (CNNUHHG):

I'm not certain if this is a threat or a prediction, but the more times Bristol Palin gets pregnant, the more children Sarah Palin claims she has, which just makes her more likeable as a candidate, which cannot be allowed to happen, so this, and only this, is the only reason for abstinence.

Lost song of the day

- Calexico -- "Cruel" off Garden Ruin

A few months ago, friend of the blog McGriff implored me to drop whatever I was doing and buy the new Calexico album.  Fortunately for me, I had already illegally downloaded it so I was all set, but it took me about 3 months to actually listen to it, which I did yesterday while resting after a long and painful run.

The album, Carried to Dust, is very good, and continues along Calexico's previous trail of "Indie-Mariachi", which is essentially lyric driven soft music with lots of instruments, lots of brass, and the occasional appearance of a maraca.  As I listened to the album, I dozed off and woke up listening to Cruel, which had been released on Garden Ruin in 2006, an album I also own, but quite predictably, had not taken the time to listen to in its entirety.

This song fits in perfectly with the rest of Garden Ruin, including my favorite songs of theirs All Systems Red, and Panic Open String.  It doesn't really break any new ground, but I really got stuck on the opening instrumental section and the buildup starting in the final 1:20.

As if we got a new position

... by fellating him?

Personally I would have taken the picture from a few feet further out.

Lost song of the day

- Modest Mouse -- "Missed the Boat" off We Were Dead Before the Boat Even Sank

Like most people, I first heard of Modest Mouse when "Float On" came out in 2004, which was the same year I found out I knew nothing about music.  I was proud of my music tastes, and still am, despite how much I love the song "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack.

I liked "Float On" and listened the other albums that they had put out, none of which I liked.  I tried again a few years ago and could only find one track ("Bukowski") that I enjoyed.  The actual music was my problem; I enjoyed the lyrics and Isaac Brock's strange voice, particularly his energy, but as always is my problem with bands that I'm not in love with, I didn't have a whole lot of patience.

I heard "Missed the Boat" on a car radio last week, and the friends I was with didn't know it.  I wrote the lyric "We already missed the plane" on my hand and looked it up as soon as I got to a computer.  I downloaded it when I got home and we've been happily married ever since.

The lyrics are great, if not melancholy.  Brock's energy is also good, especially in the middle verse with a declaration of "Goddamn" that I enjoy every time I hear the song.  James Mercer from the Shins does backup vocals during the progressively changing chorus, and really makes the song.

The Harbinger

The economy is fine.  Sure, my mom can't afford to pay her heating bill, my credit cards have all been cancelled, and my and I'm eating carrots three meals a day, but we're still afloat, right?  My vision is fantastic, those Iphones are still selling like hot cakes, and we've got that new President guy?  I'll only admit collapse if those people who break into this country illegally are forced to leave because they can't even get low-wage menial jobs.

First of all, this guy looks like Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder.  That aside, this has to be our floor, right?  A day laborer from Guatemala is leaving the states because things are better for him in Guatemala.   

Lost song of the day

- Neil Young -- "Thrasher", off Rust Never Sleeps

I love Neil Young.  I've talked about it before, and I'll talk about it again.  What I particularly enjoy about him is that he has alternated so exceedingly between hard and soft for his entire career.  Harvest has "Heart of Gold" and "Out on the Weekend", but also has "Words" and "Alabama."  Everybody Knows this is Nowhere is a phenomenal album, including my favorite song by him "Cowgirl in the Sand", and is almost entirely electric, while After the Gold Rush, critically considered his best record, is almost entirely soft.

Anyway, because I tend to get obsessed with songs and albums for months, and sometimes years, at a time, I sometimes avoid the rest of the catalogue.  I had heard bits and pieces of Rust Never Sleeps before, but never the entire album, which I finally listened to in December. "Thrasher" stuck out for me. 

It's just Neil with his guitar and harmonica, and could have easily been recorded on a solo acoustic tour or in a studio.  His voice and the lyrics are strong, and defiant.  Nearly every lyric paints a picture, evokes imagery, and conjures up imagination.  The melody is repeated and doesn't deviate, but that doesn't take away from it.    I am genuinely sad it took me nearly 29 years to find this song.

Call the coroner

What sociopathic cave dweller have we not heard from in a few weeks?

Of course by "warns" he means promises, but that's just semantics.  Cheney has got his wheelchair all shined up.  He got new wheels on it, a rocket launcher on the left side, and the ability to release a smoke screen and an oil slick, like the car in Spy Hunter.  He's ready.  So stop subpoening Karl Rove.

How about Global Thermonuclear War?

Hey everybody!  IBM is building an insanely fast supercomputer that will be 20 times faster than the world's fastest computer.  What for?  To simulate nuclear war.  Wait this sounds familiar.

Huh.

Why is this... oh whatever

I blame myself

Whoops

So, yesterday's post on Tom Daschle seems to have warmed the hearts of conservatives everywhere, or, rather, conservatives who use search engines to determine the content of other people's blogs.  Apparently, my mention of Daschle and/or Tony Rezko set off the wingnut alarm, and www.rezkorama.com, which is either a blog which aggregates negative stories about President Obama, or the worst theme park in the entire world, linked to this space.

Here I was just trying to be even-handed, just trying to make fun on Tom Daschle's glasses, just trying to figure out what the hell is wrong with Presidential-level vetting, and what happens?  AHugh Hewitt run blog links to me!  I must somehow save my reputation, which I believe is very strong among the 10 people who read this blog, all of whom are my friends (at least on Facebook)

Ummmm.....

Haha!  That last President was terrible, right?  

And so begins the long, slow fall of Sally Jesse Raphael

Not sure what's in the drinking water over at the White House office of cabinet affairs but I think it might be tax evasion mixed with really, really, big balls.

Tom Daschle becomes the second Cabinet nominee of President Obama's to be snared up in a "tax issue", and by "tax issue" of course I mean he didn't pay like $150,000 in taxes.    Probably just a "clerical error", and by "clerical error" I mean he used a limo and chauffeur for three years and didn't reflect that in his taxes.  I'm sure that it was an "isolated incident" and by "isolated incident" I mean he also didn't pay taxes on $80,000 in consulting fees.  I'm sure he "promptly fixed the problem" and by "promptly fixed the problem" I mean he just paid the taxes in January.  

The most interesting part about the story is that Daschle realized the mistake in June and didn't fix the problem AND didn't tell Obama about it, which strikes me as strange because Obama seems like the kind of guy be ok with a mistake if you were honest about it but if you weren't he would bury you in a Tony Rezko owned landfill somewhere outside of Chicago.

Either way, a potential Daschle withdrawal opens the door for another Republican Senator, so I'm ok with it.