Lost song of the day

Bruce Springsteen -- "When You're Alone" off Tunnel of Love

Bruce Springsteen is another musician about which I have a bone to pick with my mother.   I have previously discussed on this space my father's vast musical knowledge of every song recorded from 1960-1966 (and his total disinterest of all music that came after that) and my mother's broad musical interests that made me curious and the music fan that I am.  

So it is her that I relied upon for exposure to rock and folk from 1967 going forward.  And she typically delivered, but failed miserably by never listening to Bruce Springsteen, who I really discovered about 10 years ago, but didn't fully appreciate until the last few years.  So, thanks mom.  I missed out on 15 years of Backstreets and Jungleland.

It's cliche to talk about the deep emotional place Bruce was in when he wrote Tunnel of Love -- it's all over the internet, the songs are soaked with loneliness and despair (amazingly even moreso than albums like Born to Run of Darkness on the Edge of Town).    "One Step Up" might be the gem of the album, but "When You're Alone" is my favorite.

Sometimes it's Bruce's storytelling that I really love, the narrative.  Sometimes it's the overly cheesy lyrics (like in Born to Run), usually it's the music and the energy.  On this song, though, it's his ability to succinctly hammer home a theme, both by repeating "When you're alone, you're alone" over and over again, and by delivering one of my favorite of his lyrics, "And man, I was gone, gone, gone"

I can't get enough of this song.  

Note: the above photo shows Bruce at his absolute preeningest.  It is both awesome and hilarious.

Incorrect priorities?

Perhaps a better ban might be on the rampant, dirty, sweaty, energetic, drunk, unprotected sex that surrounds Northeastern campus as a whole (or as a hole) during Senior Week?  My guess is shaking hands is literally the most insignificant amount of physical contact any of these students are having (with the exception of computer science majors and anyone on the fencing team)

Douche or Douchebag

Following yesterday's post on Spencer, Heidi, and Rod Blagojevich and their epic match of "Douche or Douchebag", I decided to make it a regular segment.  The first contestants?

Peace at last

A travesty

Special thanks to longtime reader and friend of the blog KO for pointing out this story, and for also being the inspiration for my most longwinded post ever on this space, and for helping me create the title of this blog...

It's official folks, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-oes anyone want to buy a fucking Senate seat) will not be allowed to travel to Costa Rica to play a role in the reality series, "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!".

Fortunately, he did appear in a photo shoot, which caught Blago and walking genitalia Spencer and Heidi right before a rousing game of "Douche or Douchebag"

   

The photo has the strange quality of making it appear that everyone has been photoshopped in.  I'm surprised at a lot of things.  First, that Blago hasn't been forced to pawn off all of his suits, second that I even have a passing knowledge of who the other two human sewers are, and third that Spencer and I both own pink shirts.

Once again, the producers of this show are using the term celebrity a little loosely.  Stephen Baldwin (shockingly available) is the leader of this Algonquin round table, and has offered to fly to Chicago to plead with a judge to allow the Gov to leave the states and film the series.   Baldwin has taken to wearing a pin that says, and I'm not kidding, "Leggo my Blago"

I'll let Blago leave us with an (unbelievably) undoctored quote...

"I sold myself on the idea that this would be the way to be a modern day Teddy Roosevelt.

He went to South America and charted a river that hadn't been charted.  In my little way I could be like somebody and be like Teddy Roosevelt and be in the jungle only I'd have the advantage of being with interesting celebrities."

In your face.... whoever is running the Republican Party... I don't know, Charlie Crist?

Yes!  This means it will be much easier to authorize whatever kind of witchcraft economics Tim Geithner is cooking up in his forehead factory.

Personally I love it because it will be fun to see all the Republican Senators who have pulling punches for years on him suddenly start going knives out.  You know, because a two time cancer survivor is such a good target.  Can we make him a war-hero too?  That would make great Hannity fodder.

Lost song of the Day

Fleet Foxes -- "Mykonos" off Mykonos EP

I suppose that it's pretty silly for me call any song by the Fleet Foxes a lost song because they have recorded about 13 songs, and because ever Tom, Dick, and hipster ranked eponymously named  album Fleet Foxes as the album of the year for 2008, but I'm fine with it.

The Fleet Foxes album is very good -- I'm not sure I would put it at album of the year level but then again I listen to albums 3 or 4 tracks at a time so I'm a bad judge of that kind of thing.  I enjoyed most of the songs, particularly White Winter Hymnal which made me think very happily of the Beach Boys.

I heard Mykonos for the first time on Saturday Night Live, which is itself interesting as a lot of bands won't do new material on SNL and I usually have to DVR an episode of Conan to see a performance of a good indie band.   Their performance was good and this song is my favorite by them now.  The acapella piece of the song, starting at 2:13, is the most memorable, and rocking, part.

Nabroleon and Brosephine

I kept quiet on the teabagging and Bobama, but the Chavez-Obama "Hug it out, bitch" moment could not escape my radar.

Obviously, I have no problem with President Obama meeting Hugo Chavez, shaking his hand, maybe grabbing a quick drink, maybe helping him move, maybe driving him to the airport, maybe catching a soccer match, , maybe asking him to join the President's weekly hoops game, maybe asking him about what grill he should buy, or maybe discussing cell phone providers or routes to work.

My problem is: goddamnit Barack why are you so much cooler than me?  Here you are, making acquaintance with a guy who would probably like the United States destroyed, and you greet him like your college roommate?  Does anything phase you?  Is there ever a time when you think, hey, maybe I should turn off the cool switch and be a little stiffer?  

Don't touch him on the arm, don't grip his hand like you're pulling Courtney Cox up on to stage during Dancing in the Dark.  The guy is a dictator.  Shake his hand, say a vague pleasantry, that's it.

Well, I think I'll just head over to CNN for a minute and HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT

Who knew Larry King liked to smoke?? Zing!

But he ain't no criminal, and his crime, it is none

So while I was browsing Boston.com yesterday (I just love that Dan Shaughnessy!) I came across an article detailing the brutal and bizarre murder of a prostitute at the Marriott Hotel in Copley Square.  Last night, friends sent me a few pictures of the accused killer, who looks a little too much like me.

For the record, on Tuesday night I was watching 90210 in the comfort of my own home in Somerville, celebrating Donna Martin's triumphant return to Beverly Hills.  Apparently she's a high powered clothing designer now.  How could I know that if I was shooting a hooker in downtown Boston?

Bad choice

While every Senate race pits one douchebag against one slightly less douchebag, this never-ending Minnesota Senate campaign has featured two of the most unlikeable people on the planet, Al Franken and Norm Coleman.

Personally, I would like both of them to lose and for either Walter Mondale, Kevin McHale or Bob Dylan to take office, but occasionally I live in reality so I've come to accept the fact that Al Franken is going to be a United States Senator.  Oh my god.

Aside from Jimmy Fallon, Dane Cook, Glenn Beck, and JD Hayworth, I can't think of too many people in the public eye that I like less than Norm Coleman.    It's visceral for me, starting with the end of the 2002 Senate race and bleeding throughout Iraq and the second Bush administration.  He is a political opportunist, an unprincipled goon.  And he looks like some sort of stretched out Jimmy Carter cross breeded with a pencil eraser.

Franken, on the other hand.... Where do I start?  His performance as a baggage handler in my second favorite movie of all time, Trading Places, should earn him a pass in my book and lifelong support for all of his endeavors.   And usually, anyone who engages in a fued with Bill O'Reilly is my kind of guy (except when Steve Doocy and O'Reilly have their weekly Numbskull-off competition). 

But, Franken's a dick, so there that goes.   He's meanspirited, and conniving, and a lot of time cruel.  Despite his intelligence, he goes for the easy political joke and is rarely particularly insightful.  Plus, I'm still not behind this whole "I have zero business, government, military, or political training but I want to be a Senator/Governor/President" idea.

Of course, I would vote for Dane Cook if he was running against Norm Coleman, so regardless of my personal antipathy for Franken, I suppose I'm at leastly slightly satisfied to know that Coleman will be relegated to making $50,000 on the lecture circuit.

Wait.

Lost song of the day

- Eminem -- "Murder, Murder" off Next Friday Soundtrack

Anyone who knows me, even casually, knows that for some reason, I have a weird obsession with the the Notorious BIG.   I was a relatively big hip hop fan through college, and, inexplicably, had a hip hop radio show that ran from midnight-2:00 on Thursday nights, which, in retrospect, is hilarious.  

Anyway, my devotion to BIG led me to other hip hop, particularly Tupac, Dr. Dre, and Eminem. Dre came out with Chronic 2001 just as I was really getting into hip hop, right around the same time Eminem was releasing the Slim Shady LP.  

This song is fantastic, it's slow for Eminem, but he keeps his playful lyrics and dark themes, and has a great backbeat and synthesized music.  Plus it has Tupac sampled in the chorus, and a great final line, "I surrendered my weapon to cops, it wasn't me, it was the gangsta rap and the peppermint schnapps"