Weekend Radio Report

This week, I have a double-dose of radio for you, one for each day of the weekend:

Episode 013: "International Women" w/ Georgette

Playlist And Footnotes

AND

"Hits And Misses" on PDX Soundtracks w/ Austin Rich

Playlist And Footnotes

First, my friend Georgette joins me for an hour of music by International female artists, representing six of the seven continents, and featuring only one American (singing in French, mind you). It's a pretty interesting set, all courtesy of Georgette.

Then: Johnathan Boober, host of PDX Soundtracks, invited me to talk shop as we talked about some of our favorite Hits and Misses amongst bands that we are fans of. On tap: Deerhunter, Grails, The Jezebel Spirit, & Nick Cave. John and I thought it would be a great idea to give music-talk a chance at KPSU, and now you can tune in and tell us how we did.

See ya in seven.

Off The Subject

Are there any Skoidats fans out there?

If so, let me know. I've got a totally random, off-the-wall question for you.

Thank you for your time.

That Was Then, This Is Now

For most of my adult life, I have been in love with the girl in the right of this picture. (I would appreciate better screen captures of her from this movie if possible... this is the only thing I could find anywhere online.) Lala Sloatman is her name, but I only knew her as Nora's sidekick in Pump Up The Volume. (To my knowledge, you don't learn her name - Janie - until the end credits, and even then the words were so small it took until I looked at a DVD copy last night to really be able to read it.) As I've discovered via some Inter-Web-A-Tron research I did this morning, her cousin is Ahmet Zappa, who also appeared as an extra in Pump Up The Volume, along with Seth Green and some other strange Hollywood fringe types, which puts this girl in good company. Sadly, her filmography is, to say the least, disappointing. (The Adventures of Ford Fairlane and Joe Verses The Volcano.)

I'm sure the particular circumstances that make me obsess over Janie are as specific and singular as any other obsession any of us develops. I can only say that, 17 years later, this obsession still has a pretty strong hold on me. Yowza.

Nora: It's after 8 o'clock, so I guess it's okay to kill myself.
Janie: Oh no, it's after 3, I guess I'm totally fucked!

Back In The Day

Going to see Watchmen last night (more on that later), I couldn't help but remember one of my all-time favorite Onion headlines:

Area Girlfriend Still Hasn't Seen Apocalypse Now

Other infamous episodes that have occurred during the couple's 18-month relationship include Tillich's August 1999 insistence that Jensen listen to all of side two of the Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat, his January 1999 failure to talk Jensen into visiting the grave of Philip K. Dick during a Colorado road trip, and his ongoing unsuccessful efforts to get her to read Alan Moore's Watchmen, a 1986 postmodern-superhero graphic novel she described as "a comic book about a big blue space guy" and that he calls "nothing less than a total, devastating deconstruction of virtually every archetype in the genre's history."

I don't know what appeals to me more: the fact that they managed to cover just about every base regarding this kind of relationship dynamic (omitting, obviously, the Area Boyfriend's insistence on going as The Prisoner for Halloween, and the Area Girlfriend stating that she didn't know who that was), or the fact that this is pretty much the way I interacted with my girlfriends for most of my life.

And now, I will do the dance of shame. Again.

Just The Hits, Ma'am

While you were probably a bit disappointed to find that Mortal Engines did not perform live on the air today (as I suggested they might), hopefully you weren't too disappointed with the awesome selection of tunes the higher ups tossed down my way that needed to be played NOW! So, here it is:

Episode 012: "Extreme Backlog Of Material"

Playlist & Footnotes.

This one rocks in a sort of mellow, late-at-night / existential kind of way, which actually doesn't explain anything about what you can expect to hear, except that you won't be surprised when you get to Nick Cave or Joy Division.

See ya in seven. Enjoy!

Now What?

Like the majority of Americans (who do not suffer from extreme poverty or extreme luxury), I have no idea what to do with free time. It should be noted that this is not the same as having, "no idea what to do with my free time," an entirely different concept which has its own problems and difficulties. Rather, actually having free time is the issue, and how to best spend that free time (without driving myself crazy) is the problem.

Last night I took my last final for Winter Term. (My grades prediction for the term: two As and an A-. One of my papers last term didn't quite get a perfect score.) Now, with a full week and a day at my disposal for Spring Break, I am faced with the unsettling task of trying to walk the fine line between "enjoying myself" and "being productive" until 10 AM on March 30th, when I can relax and start studying and doing homework again.

I do not "vacation" well. I realized this when I was in Kona, Hawaii, with Megan, and there was one evening where all I wanted to do was read The Odyssey, because it was the only piece of homework I knew I'd have to finish at some point after I'd gotten back. (Mind you, it wasn't due for a few more weeks after that, even.) In fact, I spent some of my free time this week trying to track down cheap copies of my books for next term, to be really honest. (I even started reading one when I was eating lunch yesterday... I couldn't help myself.) There's something about actual leisure time - doing nothing and enjoying it - that drives me absolutely batshit. I personally think the reason I have so many hobbys and interests is to avoid actually having to do nothing; there will always be stories to write, comics to read, records to sort and listen to, etc.

On Tuesday I did a brief mental tally of the things I hope to accomplish during my life in my Free Time, and just about had a breakdown. Not counting the books & records I hope to (someday) enjoy, I have constructed enough hobbies and projects I hope to complete to keep me busy well into senile old age. (Maybe by then I'll be able to forget about it.)

It occurs to me that this, more than anything, summarizes the modern human condition: trying to find enough things to fill our time with until we die. A somewhat depressing notion regarding life, but is probably a more accurate description of how we live in America than any other I can think of. In The Architecture of Vision (a collection of interviews and writings by Michelangelo Antonioni), he makes a point of stressing (in the late '60's, mind you), that, "clearly free time is a problem," for people, and he suggests that the Government will have to develop more powerful drugs to keep people entertained. While his suggested solution, to me, reads more like a joke (Antonioni had just spent a long time in California making a movie with a lot of youth activists who all turned him on to recreational drug use), his point is entirely taken: what do we do when there's nothing left to do?

I guess the problem (for me) stems from feeling as if, when I am not actively engaged in something that I can rationalize as being Productive, I immediately feel guilty, even if I'm just hanging out with friends or, even worse, just enjoying myself, alone. The day I realized that I have trouble just sitting alone with my thoughts was somewhat worrying. Try sitting somewhere peaceful and relaxing for an entire hour, not reading or looking at the Inter-Web-A-Tron or watching a movie or listening to the radio or anything. Just sit down outside, alone, for an hour and see what happens.

Spooky, huh?

Any advice for how to combat this until I can begin stressing and freaking out again next Monday?

Three Things

1.) I am still fairly impressed by the fact that, for the first year since I started living on my own, I didn't celebrate St. Patrick's Day by meeting up with friends and getting hammered. I used to really look forward to Drinking Holidays, and it was a really nice change of pace to sit at home, cook dinner with my roommates, and listen to records. I did have some Reed's Ginger Beer, but at that point I had given my bike lock keys to Joel, and only had two over the course of the entire evening. Woo, boy. Calm down, buddy!

2.) One of my other roommates - Marcus - has been teaching me how to make bread from scratch, which resulted in Joel and I making bread bowls for our homemade chili last night. So far I've made about four differnt loaves (one with Joel), and all of them have come out alright, and more to the point, entirely edible! I'm still sort of blown away by how simple it is to make, and how it requires a rather disproportionate amount of your time to make something so simple. But I've been pleased with the results, and have expanded my baking skills to include 1 pie crust, 1 batch of peanut butter cookies, and a batch of flat bread, too. I think the next step is going to be to start fooling around with garlic bread, or mayhaps something with fancy olives in it. If you have any bready suggestions, please, let me know. I'm still a beginner at this point, and need all the guidance and suggestions I can get.

3.) Is there anyone who came of age in the late 70's & early 80's that didn't absolutely love Star Wars? Is it even possible not to?

Never Fails To Impress

It might be open for some more debate, but I think Miller's Crossing might be my favorite Coen Brothers movie. I could listen to the dialog in that film all day long, and there is something about the way it was filmed that just looks beautiful everything single time I see it.

Either this, or Barton Fink. It's a toss up.

Agreeable Sounds

If you're lookin' for some new music to get you through the tail-end of winter, might I recommend the bands I saw last night during one of the rare times I actually left my house:

Hearts And Minutes: My friend Tristan told me he was morally apposed to bands who don't all live in the same town, which only turned him off of this band more given that one member each lives one Portland, LA & Oakland. I have to say I was a little lukewarm on the beginning of the set, but as they kept playing they got better and better. That's an interesting tactic when you play live: save all your good songs for the end, and give them the slow lame ones to start with. Still, they piqued my interest enough to pick up an '09 Tour CD, and I'll report back if my opinion improves.

Moment In Static: Comprised of several of my friends (and one roommate), it's hard for me to think of another band that loves Don Caballero as much as these guys. Certainly the draw when you see 'em live is their drummer and their singer / percussionist / Korq player, who dance and move and kid and look like their having more fun than just about anyone you know. They seem to be obsessed with '80's cover songs (Devo, Gary Numan, Wire), but the covers are generally strange and deconstructed, and more to the point, their original material is much, much better. The name is probably the only thing (anymore) that I'm not sold on... yet.

The Jezebel Spirit: I used to work with one of the guitar players for this band, and their first CD, Turtles All The Way Down, was pretty awesome (and epic) instro-rock with the emo turned all the way up. They're still just kids, but they totally get it, and seem pretty stoked on the music they play. I didn't get a chance to stay for the whole set, but I did pick up their new CD (Remember... Always obey, you'll live longer than way), which (like thier first CD) is one continuous performance, broken into "suites" (or tracks). They're playing at the Know pretty soon, so check 'em out if you can.

Considering The Appeal Of Staying Home

Part of me feels guilty that I don't go out as much as I used to. I don't go to very many shows anymore, I don't go to very many parties, and most nights you can count on me being home.

I'm sure there are friends that wish I was more social. I'm sure there's others that haven't even noticed.

Sometimes I want to be more social. But, having focused so much of my life for the last 18 years on trying to have as much fun as humanly possible every spare moment of my life, I think I'm allowed some quiet evenings at home with a book and some Ginger Ale.

Hope everyone else is having a good time! Gimme a call and we'll get coffee.

But not too late. I start to loose steam as soon as the sun goes down.

Strap On Your Spurs...

...'Cause it's time to go dancin'! Tune in for an hour of downhome, in-yer-face, just like grandma used to make Cow Punk this week on Blasphuphmus Radio, with special guest DJ Jazzy Joel of Alpha Protist! Yee-ha!

Episode 011: "Cow Punk" w/ DJ Jazzy Joel

Playlist & Footnotes.

I had a really great time, as I also got to help run sound for Eet on What's This Called? Linky links, anyone?

Eet on What's This Called?

Playlist & Footnotes

Whew. I'm all radio-ed out. I gotta say, it was a good day.

See ya in seven.

For Reals?

I guess that means I got the job.

From here on out, everything changes.

Generic Question

With regards to music, what do you think of when someone mentions "genre"? What "genres" first come to mind when you think of music in this way? Can music be "genre-less"?

Favorite genres? Least favorite? Given the crumbling state of the music industry, does the word even have meaning anymore, or is it merely a marketing tool?

Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody really care?

A Clarification

Before anyone else tries to tell me what they think of the recently released Watchmen movie (or any other film that was made from the story of a comic), I would like to say something first:

You do realize that Comic Books are not Films, and Films are not Comic Books, right?

Once that's been cleared up, we can move forward. But I don't want to hear anymore judgments on one using the criteria of the other, and vice versa.

Capiche?

The Fellowship of the Dice

Yesterday I finally watched The Fellowship of the Dice, a sort of mockumentary about a group of people who play RPGs, and their experiences with a new player who knows nothing about RPGs, a 20-something girl who has nothing in common with the group. Intermixed they showed interviews with gamers at a Con, who all share their insights on the various aspects of gaming, from gaming food, to in-depth explorations of why people get kicked out or banished from a campaign.

First, a couple of disclaimers: growing up I played a lot of roleplaying games. Mostly superhero-based games, with a healthy amount of D&D too. There was a Vampire phase for a while, I went to a couple of LARPS (didn't like them much), and did several SCA events. As I got older, I met some people that liked to roleplay AND listen to cool music, drink beer, and (here's the kicker), knew some girls that liked to play, too. However, I eventually stopped making time for it several years ago, despite the fact that I had a good time playing and liked the people I played with. I guess it was a sort of midlife crisis or something, but I started to substitute RPGs with going to shows and trying to meet girls.

Second disclaimer: I met two of the cast members and another person involved with the movie a while back at KPSU, when they came through to do an interview on-air to promote a local gaming event that they were showing the movie at. They even took me and Ranger Mike out for Thai food, and they expensed the entire meal. (Thanks again!) They were all really nice, really friendly, and while Aimee Graham wasn't exactly able to role with my RPG jokes (Jon Collins knew everything I was talking about), they were really friendly for soulless Hollywood types.

Now, here's the bummer: while the interviews at the Con are note-perfect (and well worth seeing, as I think I might have met every one of them in my years throwing dice), the mockumentary portions of the movie are sort of painful. At first I wasn't exactly sure how to articulate it, but I think I've been able to percolate on it long enough to attempt to put my finger squarely on the issue: the reality of the life of a gamer is 100% more interesting than anything you could make up.

Not that they didn't come close. The dynamic of a gaming group is a really strange thing, and I am convinced that all of the actors (minus Aimee Graham) were probably pretty familiar with RPGs and the people that play them. However, they are all ultimately actors, and even the guy who is extremely dense and is supposed to have facial tics comes off as handsome & funny rather than nerdy and uncomfortable. The quiet, shy girl who chews on her pen for the entire movie (and who pulls a Silent Bob near the end of the film) was almost spot on, if it weren't for the Hollywood Hot makeup job she was given. (She was one scene away from taking off her glasses, shaking her hair out of the librarian bun, and posing like Farrah for her glossy 8 1/2" x 11".)

There are at least two points in the film were Aimee Graham's character stays to finish the gaming session beyond the point of reason, and if we ignore the fact that she just up and agrees to follow a nerdy disquieting stranger (who has been hitting on her) to meet his gaming group (without any protests or questions of any kind), the film borders on fantasy in more ways than one.

It begs the question: why not just film an actual group of gamers actually gaming? Obviously there is a certain Christopher Guest homage that you wouldn't be able to obtain without having a few people in on the joke, and certainly some gamers might not be able to "stay in character" with a slew of cameras filming every dice-role and rules-argument. Still, I feel that a larger injustice has been made against gamers: we aren't all like this. Some, mostly definitely, yes. Some, I'm sure, are even more extreme. But many are people who love gaming also love their friends, and love to get together and play.

I would be ignoring the ugly truth by saying that arguments don't break out during a game, and some of the observations were not that far off. (Before it happened in the film, I kept wondering when they were gonna order pizza, or show a passive / agressive DM "suggestion"; the player shouting out, "Shouldn't we roll inish?" during a conversation was a little too close to home for me, too.) But ultimately, I felt like most of what we saw on screen were the negative aspects of gaming. Much of the plot revolved around personality clashes, arguments, and misunderstandings, while the stuff that kept the group together - the friendship - is only hinted at near the end and mentioned in monologues.

Media doesn't seem to know, exactly, how to portray RPGs, and when it does it is always shown comically, in a negative light. (Freaks And Geeks has a wonderful roleplaying episode, but still couches the entire game in terms of it appealing to only "geeks" and, on rare occasions, a freak.) In many ways, its easy to see why TV and movies show it the same way every time: gamers are weird, gamers are quirky, and everything about gaming seems comical on the surface, from the vocabulary and diet of gamers, to the very premise of gaming itself. ("Okay, you use paper, pencils and dice to recreate a fantasy world where the group, together, makes up the story through taking on personas and characters... wait, where are you going?")

I would like to see some positive images of gamers in media. Obviously, there is room for ridicule in every subculture, and I can't suggest that we ignore the funny, embarassing, or even uncomfortable realities entirely. But occasionally, I'd like to see a realistic portrayal of a gamer as a functioning member of our culture, who has a lot of the same dreams, goals, and desires as everyone else, who has a job and a girlfriend and a life outside of gaming, AND... on top of all of that... also happens to wield a pretty wicked battle axe when you get down to it.

Until then, I'll keep dreaming.

Circus Minimus!

Check out today's spine-tingling radio show, ready in popular "monophonic .mp3 download" format:

Episode 010: "Live From The Circus Minimus" w/ Isosceles Diego
(One of the long-lost radio personalities, back from his airport planespotting adventure.)

Playlist & Footnotes

As many of you probably know, this man has the coolest taste in music, is the most attractive man in the Portland area, and my oldest and dearest friend in the whole wide world. I wouldn't be half the man I am without him. (The good half, that is.) We busted out an hour's worth of tunes that you won't soon forget, so download it now and be the first on your block to experience

CIRCUS MINIMUS!

Or something.

See ya in seven.

Against The Law, I'm Sure

I seem to recall a bill that was passed some years back that stated that there would be more hot people on TV, for the general well being of humankind. While it was delayed for some time due to W's stint in office, and then the writer's strike, and then the economic downturn, I distinctly remember that things had finally been settled once the election had been settled, and that we would be slated to see the results, "No later than the end of the 2008 - 2009 broadcast season."

So, where have all the hot people gone? I have been completely unable to find any hot people on TV, and not a single current celebrity has managed to do anything for me since the Secretly Hot Girl from Freaks & Geeks. (Busy Philipps, pictured above, though I was horrified to discover that she is decidedly not hot in just about every other role she's played.)

Take, for example, Lost. A huge ensemble cast, and every one of them is Hollywood Hot instead of using that large cast to explore the vast expanse of humanity that comes in various shapes and sizes. They were getting a little closer with the introduction of Charlotte (intelligent female Indiana Jones type with an accent and red hair), but in many other ways she was just more of the same old, same old when you get right down to it. (It didn't take long to bore me with the uncomfortable budding romance between her and Daniel, or her unnecessarily conspiratorial attitude.) While the smart thing goes a long way, I could see her dumping you the moment there's another Dharma Polar Bear skeleton to dig up.

I would like to re-initiate the campaign to improve the hotness of the performers on TV. I know that my roommate is on board, and there can't be that many people out there would would disagree. (In fact, I dare anyone to find a person who would admit, "I'd much prefer to have painfully ugly people on TV.") Sure, TV's free. And yes, one man's hottie can sink another man's boner. But there were, last I counted, about 200 channels, each with 24 hours of daily programming, and most of those shows have more than two actors each.

Do the math; there is room to improve the overall hotness ratio. Write to your congressman today! Do you want to go one more week hoping that the plot of some crappy show will passably keep you entertained for the next hour, when you know that's not gonna happen? Wouldn't it be easier if at least one of those people fumbling their way through their lines was at least pretty?

To See, Or Not To See?

That is the question?

Zabriskie Point

Uhm... wow.

Recipe Request

I am all left feet and thumbs when it comes to the kitchen, and anyone who has seen me try to prepare food can vouch for how scary it is to see me go. This doesn't seem to extend only to cooking; on at least two occasions I have managed to get unusual sounds and smells (and water) to come pouring out of my dishwasher by merely putting soap into it and turning it on. I noticed that food tends to go bad just by opening the fridge, and somehow I manage to get more grounds and water outside than into the coffeemaker.

While there's little I can do about the kitchen (as a whole) rejecting my efforts, I can at least start to atone for this by learning a few recipes well enough so people will stop laughing at me when I reach for pots and pans. I seem to have gotten the hang of cornbread in a box (my roommate helped me reduce the number of ingredients and cooking instructions), and I've found that I'm not entirely terrible at baking a potato. (Provided someone else is around in the house to make sure I don't burn anything down.)

These are both tremendously useful things to know how to cook, but also somewhat limiting when considering the possibilities that cooking has to offer.

My question becomes: what are some good beginner recipes that help ease a person into the kitchen? I finally live in a house, with an actual kitchen (instead of an apartment kitchenette with barely enough room for one person), and I would like to finally get around to using it. I know (in the past) people have suggested looking at the Inter-Web-A-Tron for that kind of stuff, but I find that a little daunting when it comes to this kind of research. When you can find anything and everything at the click of a mouse, I've found that you often don't. Plus: call me old-fashioned, but it means more when people you know make the recommendation.

So... food me. Please?

New Zealand?

I got this e-mail while I was doing my show yesterday. How cool is that?

* * * * * *

From: Dr Hitchcock
Date: Sat, Feb. 28th, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Subject: Lovin' your show man!

Greetings from Christchurch, New Zealand!

I'm diggin' your tunes!

Peace,

Dr H

--
Dr Hitchcock
Starlifter.TV

Internet: http://starlifter.tv