Buy Yogi albums!
half-pint demigod (2005)
at CDBaby.com
Salve EP (2003)
at Amazon.com
at CDBaby.com
Any Raw Flesh? (2001)
at Amazon.com
at CDBaby.com
Sister Sites:
HalfZaftig.com
Wonky-Records.com
MySpace
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| 1/24/2004 |
| Errata |
Oh, yeah I've made some factual errors in recent .Blog entries, so I thought I should let you know.
- iTunes does charge sales tax.
- The instructions for the iPod do tell you how to turn the thing off. I was just too blind to notice.
- I really did get married to Britney Spears last week. Honest.
There. I feel better. |
| 8:56:10 AM |
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| We Have A Winnah! |
Kevin Kennedy wrote in first with the answer to the question asked in the last .Blog entry. Yay to Kevin! Although I think he already has all the Wonky shirts. Huh. Ummm... let me think of a good prize.
Oh, you wanna know the answer? On Nirvana's Nevermind (wonderfully titled album, BTW), there's a hidden track after about ten minutes of silence following "Something In The Way." The name of that hidden track is "Endless, Nameless." There you go! |
| 8:52:35 AM |
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| 1/23/2004 |
| Endless, Nameless |
I think it's really lazy when bands decide to not name their albums. Or, when they do, when they name them with numbers. I also hate albums named after the band that releases them. Seal's first two albums are both named Seal. Peter Gabriel released like 45 solo albums, all called Peter Gabriel. Even the Gods Of All Musical Greatness, The Beatles, slipped and named an album The Beatles. Led Zeppelin couldn't be bothered to name a record until their fifth one. Yes, I know how good those first four albums are, but I think they'd be even better if they weren't called Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, etc. The fourth one isn't called anything! Fans started calling it "Zoso" so they could talk about it with each other. Or called it "the one with 'Stairway' on it." I'm sorry, not giving your album a proper name is nothing but you being lazy, I don't care how good you are.
Free Wonky t-shirt of your choice to the first person who emails me and tells me what I'm referencing with the title of this entry. No Googling, now!! |
| 9:43:42 PM |
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| 1/20/2004 |
| I Need An Intervention |
I think it's official: the iTunes store is addictive. I can't stop myself. Every song is a dollar, no sales tax or nuthin'! How fabulous is that?
I didn't realize there were so many songs in the world that I love that live on albums that I'm not interested in buying; now, presented with the opportunity to buy only the tracks I'm interested in - I... I... can't... stop! SPOCK!
I haven't pulled the trigger yet and clicked a "buy album" button. You can buy entire albums from the iTunes store, too, and often it's a better deal than it would be if you bought by the song. iTunes has lots of records with 13-14 songs on them that sell for $10. Yet still I haven't paid for an album, even though they have albums I want. Something in me still wants that CD and album artwork.
But single songs? Fuggedaboudit.
Don't hate me because I just bought "Emotional Rescue" by the Rolling Stones. God, I love that stupid song.
But the fact that I so enthusiastically bought it indicates I have a problem, right?
Somebody stop me before I can buy "Rock Me Amadeus!" |
| 10:29:10 PM |
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| 1/15/2004 |
| All That Chazz |
Due to an alphabetic Twist Of Fate, most of my jazz CD's have been encoded for the iPod already - so in my last few days of iPod listening, quite a few jazz numbers have been popping up for my listening pleasure. I was IM'ing with B-Naz today and we had this amusing little exchange on the subject (oh, and yes, today my IM handle was "The Occasional Python Boot"):
The Occasional Python Boot: So I have the entire "Complete Live At The Plugged Nickel" box on the iPod. And I'm listening to it.
The Occasional Python Boot: And see, this is where jazz baffles me sometimes.
The Occasional Python Boot: I love the SOUND of the music. The instrumental ensemble SOUNDS so cool.
The Occasional Python Boot: But very often, I just DON'T GET WHAT IN THE WORLD THEY ARE DOING.
The Occasional Python Boot: And when I feel that way, I feel all STOOPID.
Measurable Quality: :)
Measurable Quality: They're playing 'the jazz'... that's what's they're doing!
The Occasional Python Boot: It really does sound at times that they are just playing whatever random notes they want.
Measurable Quality: all those wacky modes and scales... yeah... I totally can't do that stuff. I just play all the low-sounding notes and follow those silly chord things
The Occasional Python Boot: I keep listening, though. 'Cuz I figure one day I might figure out what makes those old guys snap their fingers and say "HOT-CHA!"
Measurable Quality: sweet
Measurable Quality: when you figure it out, hip me to it as well. :)
The Occasional Python Boot: It's like a big secret. Nobody wants to tell anyone. "Yeah, well actually, it's just all random bullshit." ;)
Measurable Quality: shhh!!! not so loud! We don't want *everyone* to know!
The Occasional Python Boot: MARSALIS BROTHERS OWN UP: "It's true. We don't know what the fuck we're doing. And neither did any of those guys we copy."
The Occasional Python Boot: "But we sure snowed YOU GUYS, huh?" :D
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| 5:09:54 PM |
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| 1/14/2004 |
| Following The Beam |
Feeling a bit scattered of late, so this will be a scattered .Blog entry. I apologize ahead of time for this fact.
I am an occasional sports fan. Whenever the playoffs for baseball, basketball, and football come around I tend to watch a lot of the games, and so that's meant I've wasted a ton of time lately watching NFL playoff games. Actually I could care less what happens in the NFL for the rest of this year, other than I hope there are some decent commercials during the Superbowl broadcast. I am, however, wildly excited about next year. There's a two-word reason for that: Joe Gibbs. Ever since the stunning announcement that he's returning to the Redskins to coach last week, I can't stop clicking this link. I grew up during Coach Gibbs' first tenure in the NFL, and I wore my #7 Redskins jersey faithfully every Sunday. My Dad wore #44. I remember the shock I felt when Coach Gibbs retired, and my passion for the 'Skins has waned since that day. Well, Coach Gibbs is back. And so am I. When's training camp?
I am with iPod! Two days ago, an iPod showed up in the mail, thanks to the blinding Christmas generosity of my Dad and step-Mom (seriously, you two - no more presents, until, like, ever), and as I type this, I'm listening to it most happily. Let's see what this song is - ah, "If I Were A Bell", by Miles Davis. The giant chore now is to encode every little bloomin' CD I have so's I can put all the tracks on this thing. I'm trying to get 10 CDs or so a night done, but even at that rate it's going to take me a couple of months. So far I've got 1,800+ songs on it. So many more albums to get on there.
I'm having a hard time getting over just how tiny these iPods are. I have pretty large hands, but when I lay the iPod on my flattened palm, it takes up only about half of the area available. Teeny. Some peculiarities I've run into thus far: it's interesting that nowhere in the User's Guide does it tell you how to turn the iPod off. Luckily, there's the Internet for finding out things like that. There's sites and forums and blogs aplenty about all things iPod. For future reference, if you're going to get an iPod: you turn it off by holding down the "play/pause" button. Another little quirk that thanks to the Internet I now know is not unique to my experience: the battery life indicator behaves strangely. I listened to my iPod all day at work yesterday, and by the end of the day the battery indicator was at it's lowest ebb. I put the iPod on its charger last night and when I woke up this morning, the large "charged" indicator was showing on the screen. I removed the iPod from the charging dock, and made a double-take when I saw the battery indicator - it showed the battery was nearly run down! The same as it had been the previous evening! Oh no!
I brought the thing in to work this morning anyway, figuring I'd listen to it as long as the charge lasted. After a couple of songs went by, I checked the indicator again - and it showed fully charged!
Huh?
Again, this is why the Internet is a great thing. Lots of other iPod owners have seen this behavior, and it seems to be a software issue, not a hardware thing. And I've been listening to the iPod all day here, so, obviously the battery got charged up. It is a seriously groovy little device. I need to look into what options there are for using it in the car.
Feeling grumpy about the state of things in the world lately. I don't know if it's the grey weather we have bringing me down, or maybe the state of things is just crappy. I like rain and grey days, generally. I was thinking a lot the last couple of days about how to write about Two Things About Which Polite People Do Not Speak: politics and religion. It frustrates me that intelligent people get so uppity about discussing such things. I realize that this is because most people have very well-entrenched beliefs about these subjects, and tend to get very defensive when these beliefs are challenged. I guess I don't understand why this is such a bad thing. Why are we so adverse to discussions about topics that may incite our passions? Is it really better to engage in banal discussions about the weather? From my perspective, discussing these subjects with knowledgable people helps me make new distinctions and learn new things. Sure, I've got political and religious beliefs. I've arrived at them over many years of careful thought and experience. As much as possible I try to make them based on things that are true, at least as much as I've been able to glean through experience. But I am only one person, and my frame of reference is small. Surely, talking to others about their experience can only broaden my own perspective. Right?
I think people who love and respect each other can have heated discussions about topics on which their beliefs diverge. Unfortunately, I seem to hold the minority view in this regard. Bummer.
Are you guys going to get mad at me if I pose questions on these taboo topics here? Are you going to characterize opinions that I share that don't agree with yours as "hate speech?" I'm hoping not. I'll tread carefully, though, as much as I don't want to.
Hey, I hear there's gonna be a cold snap for you folks back east! Man! That's crazy, huh? |
| 5:01:39 PM |
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| 1/9/2004 |
| Mix-A-Licious |
In late 2001, I started a new annual tradition: at the end of the year, I started making a mix CD of my favorite tunes of the year. My criterion were as follows:- One song per artist per year
- Each song had to come from a new album released during the year, or:
- A song could be from an album or group that I had only just heard for the first time during the year.
So this year marks my third year of this little annual project, and I thought I'd share with you what made it on to this year's "Yogi Mix." I edit all these songs together to fit on one audio disc, with transitions and whatnot. If you want a copy of this year's mix, email me.
Yogi Mix 2003
1. "Myxomatosis" - Radiohead (Hail To The Thief): I don't love Radiohead the way many people love Radiohead. I think they're pretty cool overall, and I think Kid A is a fabulous and essential album. I like the fact that a band as weird as they are is doing so well in the USA. I think they tend to meander a lot on their recent records, Hail To The Thief included, and so they tend to lose me before I make it through the entire things. I find myself taking little Radiohead naps. But every now and then they just floor me, like they did with this song. And I guess I give them the award for best album title of the year, too.
2. "Better Living Through Chemistry" - Queens of the Stone Age (R): This song is not on an album that came out in 2003. QOTSA didn't release anything this year. But it was this year that I discovered them for the first time, and now I'm hooked. They have a new record coming out in 2004, and the only releases I anticipate more are the new Self and Keneally's DOG. This tune has probably the coolest fermata ever in a rock song.
3. "True Nature" - Jane's Addiction (Strays): This from JA's "comeback" album, which was pretty darned good for a new album by a band that had been broken up for over ten years. The original bassist, Eric Avery, isn't back in the lineup, and the album overall is a tad too "produced" for my tastes, but there are some great songs here. And this one is my favorite, because of the way it completely, and unapologetically, rocks.
4. "Flying" - Living Colour (Collideoscope): Another comeback album from a late-80's/early 90's band, and another record I'd say is "pretty good." They sound almost exactly the same as the last time they recorded, so if you liked 'em then, you'd probably like 'em now. There's not one song as strong as "Cult Of Personality", and in fact, a lot of the songs kind of go off into atonal, almost hardcore directions. This ballad, about the World Trade Towers coming down, is not very representative of the rest of the record, but I think it's the strongest song.
5. "Roulette Dares (the haunt of)" - The Mars Volta (De-Loused In The Comatorium): The weirdest album that got big mainstream press in 2003. The MV sounds like Jeff Buckley's punk band getting into a fight with Santana at a party thrown by Rush. I don't know what "Exoskeletal, charging at the railroad-uh LINE" means, but the melody that goes with those words might be my favorite of 2003.
6. "Hunted By A Freak" - Mogwai (Happy Songs For Happy People): An impulse buy, this was on a listening rack at a Border's Books I found myself killing time in one day. I think I was unemployed. The album is very sort of Sigur Ros-ish, if you like that kind of thing. Nothing on the record beats this song, though - a glorious explosion of transcendant noise. Amazing.
7. "Two" - King's X (Black Like Sunday): Who knows what to make of new KX albums anymore? This year's was made up almost completely of songs they wrote 20 years ago, and never recorded. So they mostly sound like really heavy Police or U2 songs, since those were the bands they were really into back then. I guess I knew what I was getting when I bought it, and actually, they sound like they're having fun at least. This song is a more recent demo of Doug Pinnick's, and there was a rough version of it on the Japanese import of their Tape Head album. This version blows that one out of the water, though.
8. "Hey Ya!" - OutKast (Speakerboxxx/The Love Below): "Lend me some sugar! I am yo neighbor!!" I'm not a hip-hop guy at all. But resistance to this song is futile. My first iTunes purchase.
9. "There's No Home For You Here" - The White Stripes (Elephant): A song from America's most overrated band. I bought Elephant, and I like a few of the songs OK, like this one (love the line about the mirror). But I don't think this band is very great, really. Mostly, they bore me. Of course, in 2003, mine was the minority view when it comes to this band. Que sera, sera.
10. "Suicide" - Devin Townsend Band (Accelerated Evolution): I bought this album after friend and YHZ bassist B-Naz raved about it. I had tried to get into some of DT's other solo work in the past, but was always blocked from full enjoyment by the gawd-awful production values of his albums. This one is only marginally better than the other ones I'd heard, and at first, I didn't really like the record much. But I kept coming back to it, and it really grew on me. It has sort of a "'Metallica circa 1986' meets 'The Cure circa 1989'" vibe. Devin's a monster singer, no questioning that. Someday he'll make a record that really sounds good.
11. "Wildflower" - Bryan Beller (View): My favorite track from possibly my favorite album of the year. I'm very biased in that Bryan is a friend, and I got to observe three long days of sessions for this, his first solo album, at Kevin Gilbert's old studio in Pasadena. To me, this is a perfect song, and it hits me really deeply. The chords and melodies are devastating, and then there's the little verse that Bryan sings at the end. On his demo, he ran his voice through lots of processing and effects which made him sound sort of like C-3P0 at the bottom of a well - I guess for the studio version, engineer Nick D'Virgilio talked Bryan out of doing that at mix time. Thank goodness.
12. "O My My" - Ani DiFranco (Evolve): Ani continues her incredibly prolific output, and this album is really strong. It's half band tracks and half solo tracks. I think she played the piano on this one herself, a first-time occurrence. I love the abrupt left turn at the end of this. She and Keneally are my shining indie lights.
13. "Birdsong" - Tomahawk (Mit Gas): What would a yearly Yogi mix be without a track with Mike Patton on it? This is the opening track from the very unsatisfying (to me) second release by MP's band Tomahawk. I can't put my finger on what I don't exactly love about this record - feels like they're treading water a little. I do really think this is a cool song, though, the tempo shift at the end is fabulous, and a trick I desperately want to steal for something.
14. "Minerva" - Deftones (Deftones): Man, when the Deftones are really on, they sure are really good. I love the gigantic majesty of this track, and it's got a great chorus, too. Most of the rest of the stuff on this album tends toward the "screamy" end of their spectrum, and that's too bad, 'cause I really love this band when they're being dreamy and melodic. Less screaming, guys.
15. "Across The Universe" - The Beatles (Let It Be... Naked): Well, of course, if Apple gives me a chance, then yeah, I'm gonna sneak a Beatles song into the mix. Give me a break, they're my favorite band, OK? I'm grateful that LIB...N exists, even though it's got a horrid title. The album sounds better on CD than any of the other Beatle releases, and the new version has a better running order than the original did. The ironic thing is, the three newly "naked" tracks aren't better than the Phil Spector masters we already knew and loved, at least, not in my opinion. But this tune is so beautiful, I'm including it anyway.
16. "Fly On The Wall" - Powder (Sonic Machine): OK, it's a 2002 album, but I picked this sucker up in October, and it quickly became my "Soundtrack Album Of Choice For The Big Road Trip." Loud, pop, fun, loud. And catchy little wonderful song after catchy little wonderful song. It's like the 21st Century version of Missing Persons. Only more catchy and fun. It's Garbage with detuned guitar riffery like you'd hear on a new White Zombie record, if there was one. It's a whole lot of sweetness with no nutritional value. One of my favorite records of the year, bar none.
17. "Pet" - A Perfect Circle (Thirteenth Step): Another album that had me initially scratching my head, but later grew into one of my favorites for the year. Can Maynard do any wrong? The best thing about this album, I finally realized, is that it doesn't really resemble the first one they made very much. Cool, vibey, melodic, sometimes crunchy. Mmmmmm-mmmmm goooood.
18. "Heaven (Is A Loaded Gun)" - Second Coming (13): After being signed to Capitol Records in 1997, these local heroes are now back on the indie tip with a new guitar guy and a buncha new tunes. Overall, they deliver a muscular effort, lots of big loud guitars to back up their secret weapon, vocalist Travis Bracht. I've written before on this site about the time I almost got the gig with these guys, and I'd still like to write some tunes that really take advantage of Travis' abilities someday. They are sentimental favorites of mine, and I was glad to see them bounce back with a new album on their own after the Capitol debacle. |
| 4:10:10 PM |
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| 1/5/2004 |
| Blinking In The Harsh Lights |
Hello, I'm out from my rock, I'm shaking off the dust, I'm wiping the little sleep-crusties from the edges of the eyes and looking about. I am still as sick as Something That Is Very Sick, but I think I've turned some kind of corner, somewhere. It is certain that I have not been as ill as I have been these last two weeks in many, many, many moons. And even as I sit here and listen to the clackety-clackety-clackety of little typing fingers, my head is still a snot-factory, and I have that little tickley place in the back of my throat that, if I breathe in wrong, still causes me to explode in a fit of coughing and hacking that's truly apocalyptic in it's breadth and vigor. The daily bouts with fever seem to have subsided, and the throat doesn't hurt me anymore. My head seems to stay clear for more than a few hours at a time. So: I cautiously say that I am getting better.
Oh, my main reaction to getting sick is usually rage. Oh, it just pisses me off, it sure does. Oh, I get so mad. I'm such a big baby when I come down with something - I really become useless. I had to take a couple of extra days off last week when the fever came back, even as much as that hits me so powerfully in the pocket book (DAMMIT, you SICKNESS, look what you're COSTING ME!!). I couldn't have made it into work even if I'd tried, as dizzy as I was, as much as my head was spinning. No, I just huddled under blankets in front of the TV, watching newly acquired Christmas DVD's, not really hearing them. Every now and then the red haze of a new fever would descend upon me and I'd pop some Tylenol, and sit roasting in the blankets, wishing for sweet death to come and release me from my torment.
Like I said, I'm a big baby when I catch something. But as I also said, a corner is turned. Today is the first afternoon in a long time where I don't have that huge End Of Day Sinus Pressure Build-Up bedevilling me. I've actually been breathing easily for long stretches.
So somewhere in my delirium, we started a new year. I suppose that's pretty cool. The last one was an awfully weird and memorable one. I realized the other day that the tribulations I went through in 2003 have had some powerful effects on me that I'm only just starting to notice. I did some enforced growing up in the last year. I had to face the idea, more than I ever have before, that I can't just go on living pretending that nothing bad, or unexpected, or even just incovenient will happen to me. Being unemployed for five out of the last 12 months, and still dealing with the financial catastrophe that resulted has finally taught me some financial prudence. My hankering for frivilous spending just isn't what it once was. Lying feverish in bed on Christmas Day, I couldn't help but start thinking about the fact that, like many Americans, I don't have health insurance, and wondering what I would do if I'd managed to catch something that's really nasty. Thinking about mortality hits me an awful lot more now than it ever used to, as well. Sobering thoughts. Thinking about raising my standards. Thinking about not accepting certain things that I've come to generally accept.
Yeah, I think I did some growing up this year. And I actually feel it. Overall though, I feel unrelentingly positive. Things are going well for me, by and large. I have a lot to be grateful for, another lesson that the tougher times of the year just past pounded into me time and time again. I have an awful lot of really fabulous people in my life that selflessly help me, that support me, that cajole me to remember what I'm supposed to be here for. I love and appreciate you all, and you know who you are. I have a lot to live up to, if I'm going to continue to be worthy of all of your love and support. This feels like a good year to make a splash. |
| 4:43:57 PM |
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