·:[ notetoself.us Blog ]:·
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Today being Veteran’s Day it seems appropriate to start back with the post I tried to put up before discovering the blog was hacked (back around Memorial Day), and then fixed by Alex, and then hacked again before Yahoo ultimately fixed what made it hackable, I thought it appropriate to start back with the post that the hacker blocked.

The first time I saw Billy Joel was in July of 1990 at the now demolished The Arena.  The song I remember best about this show is that whatever song was before Goodnight Saigon faded down along with the house lights.

From darkness you hear helicopters coming through the PA and see 2 spotlights sweeping the crowd in a search pattern.  Another spotlight came up on Billy Joel.  The song starts off very quiet so most of the sound in the mix was Billy & his piano with the rest of the band barely audible.  Much presence.

The chorus to the song is ‘And we would all go down together/We said we’d all go down together/Yes we would all go down together‘.  Four or five rows above us an entire of row vets, decked in camou jackets with various medals reflecting the lights on the stage, sang that chorus with passion.  You could see on their faces, in that same trickle of stage light, that every one of them was singing because it’s what the believed.  My eyes got wet then and still do when I listen to the song because it’s the first image that pops into my mind.

I looked and looked at the playlist below and marveled at the song list.  It was kind of a greatest hits of It’s Late.  I compared a couple of dates and what do you know, this was my G-Loaf Tribute show!  He and Mary celebrate 7 years today and I remember doing this show as a tribute to the years we’ve been pals and the couple few years as radio show hosts.

Dig.

1. Queen – It’s Late (News Of The World)
2. Van Halen – Best Of Both Worlds (5150)
3. Extreme – Pornograffiti (Pornograffiti)
4. Smashing Pumpkins – Today (Siamese Dream)
5. Vallejo – I Go On (Into The New)
6. Patty Griffin – Flaming Red (Flaming Red)
7. Nina Storey – Disease Of Suggestion (Shades)
8. Sister 7 – Kiss Me Baby (bootleg, better than studio version)
9. Johnny Socko – Madame Blavatsky (Oh, I Do Hope It’s Roast Beef)
10. The Specials – Pressure Drop (Today’s Specials)
11. Ani Difranco – Fire Door (live) (very cool bootleg version)
12. Barenaked Ladies – If I Had $1,000,000 (WXRV Presents:  Live From The River Music Hall Vol 1)
13. Talking Heads – Once In A Lifetime (Sand In The Vaseline)
14. Lyle Lovett – I’ve Been to Memphis (Live in Texas)
15. Stevie Ray Vaughn – Life By The Drop (The Sky Is Crying)
16. Tori Amos – Landslide (Sonic Sessions Vol. 1)
17. Guru – No Time To Play (Jazzmatazz Vol 1)
18. Jhelisa – Friendly Pressure (The Rebirth Of Cool Vol. 3)
19. Liquid Soul – Threadin’ The Needle (Make Some Noise)
20. Yo, Flaco! – Rise N’ Shine (Skeptamistic)
21. Beck – Debra (Midnite Vultures)
22. Morphine – Honey White (Yes)
23. Beastie Boys – Sabotage (Ill Communication)

 

Later edit:  Here’s one from April 27, 2005 with comments.

I will be the first person to tell you that I don’t know everything about music.  But coworkers have called me Music Man (or some variation) for years and a guy who calls my radio show weekly addresses me as the Professor.  Here’s something to illustrate the gaps in my knowledge.  It’s mildly embarrassing by my standards, which will hopefully make it funny by yours.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to The Replacements album ‘Let It Be’.  There’s a song on it called Black Diamond that has a nice heavy metal kind of feel to it, just a bit dark and ominous – call it ‘mostly cloudy’ – and thought it would tie to a song by another band, etc, etc, a playlist forms in my head.  I kick off my show (the 27th) with the song, talked about it a little, and when it was over Leeman, who was hanging out after his show (Headshop), says, “That’s one of my favourite Kiss songs.”

“It’s by Kiss?”  I say with complete innocence until I realize the level of dufus-osity I’d stumbled upon.  The look on his face was a shocked, “You don’t know that was a Kiss song?! Dude, aren’t you a DJ?” The look on my face was not unlike Charleton Heston finding out what soylent green is.  And just to confirm what Leeman said – scratch that – to confirm my own idiocy I popped open the CD liner notes, something I normally study with biblical attention, and see the familiar names from Kiss gracing the songwriting credits.  Damn Shaniqua.

Everyday I learn something new, even now, sometimes at my own expense.

My only defense was that I’m truthfully more familiar with Kiss as an icon rather than a band, with the exception of some 80′s stuff.  Those were crazy, crazy nights after all.  Henry Rollins has a spoken word bit where he talks about everyone knowing the chorus to Detroit Rock City, but few know the verses.  Me in a nutshell.  I could lie to myself, but it’s true.

It brought back a memory of a letter I wrote to Dave G in Spring 1994 that included a bit about a cool debut album I’d just discovered by a new Irish singer named Sarah McLachlan.  I found out in very short order that I was a dumbass because the album in question was her 3rd and she’s from Nova Scotia.

Below is the second of 2 e-mails I wrote to Alex while I was work after our 3rd show.  My mind was melting down and this is the most tame of the 2.  The first one probably shouldn’t be read by anyone but me ever again.  What’s interesting to me that I can read this one and see that right everything after the ‘staple the pothole danky’ part is nothing more than song lyrics strung together.  Maybe I’ll annotate it at somepoint but a lot of it you’ll be able to figure out.

In finding this I was reminded that on the day of the very first It’s Late I woke up at Trish’s after maybe an hour of sleep, Alex and I rocked out the show, scored some breakfast together, I went to work, caffeinated all day, dinner somewhere, back to the radio station in South City by 7 to tape Psychtalk (a show I engineered 1996 until it’s demise), then to the Circuit City way out at Clarkson & Manchester to pick up the newfangled DVD player I ordered, and finished the day by driving back home to Mom & Dad’s in Florissant.  If I’d gone to St. Charles for anything I’d have been in all 4 corners of STL in a single day, fueled by multiple liters of Mountain Dew.

Anyway, this cracks me up.

________________________________ 
From: Nick Cowan
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 1999 3:40 PM
To: ‘The Dude’
Subject: I’m leaving

Gravel lamppost landmine landfall fluroescent candy farm boy lid sewer bench storm of photon thumbtack popcorn Jim Crow underwear wheat wacker Jedi thousand butter if staple the pothole danky square dance hall days love me tender chicken breast and wings over america the beautiful beast of burden my back is broke and lonely so lonely so say say say whatcha watcha watcha watcha want to hurt me do you really wanna jump might as well jump jump daddy mac’ll make ya jump jump around jump around the way girl like you might think it’s foolish games are tearing us apart at the seams falling a party all the time party all the time party all the time in a bottle the first thing I’d like to do the humpty hump do the humpty come on do the wild thing you make my heart sing and rejoice sing and rejoice

You can really see Alex and I’s branching out after our first show.  Right away we went to the stuff we were loving at the time, influences, and stuff that we probably thought would make us look cool.  The first appearance of some show favourites too like Ani Difranco and Johnny Socko. 

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Ten year short years ago today Alex and I did the very first It’s Late at KDHX. Not at lot of time to chatter about it at the moment, but didn’t want the day to pass without at least posting the playlist from our first show. I haven’t been able to get the tapes converted to digital yet but will probably post it whenever that happens. Alex listened to them somewhat recently and confirmed what we probably both expected…it was bad…but that first show in particular was a lot of fun.

I’ll post some more of this stuff in the next couple of weeks.

1. Queen – It’s Late (News Of The World)
2. Vallejo – House (Vallejo)
3. Ani Difranco – Gravel (Little Plastic Castles)
4. Sister 7 (as Little Sister) – Drift Away (Live:  Free Love & Nickel Beer)
5. Moxy Fruvous – The Drinking Song (Live Noise)
6. Barenaked Ladies – Intermittently (Maybe You Should Drive)
7. God Street Wine – Mile By Mile ($1.99 Romances)
8. Adam Sandler – You will listen to every… (The Wedding Singer)
9. G. Love & Special Sauce – Cold Beverages (G. Love & Special Sauce)
10. Spin Doctors – Yo Mama’s A Pajama (Homebelly Groove…Live)
11. Urban Dance Squad – Deeper Shade Of Soul (promo single)
12. Dag – Our Love Would be Much Better (If I Gave a Damn About You) (Apartment  #635)
13. Liquid Soul – Worlds On A Leash (Liquid Soul)
14. Morphine – Honey White (W/ Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas intro) (Yes)
15. Rippopotamus – Fanfare of Funk (Swim)
16. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Subterranean Homesick Blues (Essential Collection)
17. Naked City – James Bond Theme (Naked City)
18. Kermit & Fozzie – Moving Right Along (soundtrack to ‘The Muppet Movie’)
19. Ben Folds Five – Philosophy (Ben Folds Five)
20. Sting – Bring On The Night/When The World Is Running Down You Make The Best Of What’s Still Around (Live) (single for ‘Fields Of Gold’)
21. Shawn Colvin – Wichita Skyline (live) (EP of ‘Get Out Of This House’)
22. One Fell Swoop – $500 Funeral (One Fell Swoop EP)
23. Lyle Lovett – Church (Joshua Judges Ruth)
24. My Brother’s Keeper – Vehicle (My Brother’s Keeper)
25. Charles de Mar – That is all speech (Better Off Dead)
26. Bellawolf – Helpless (promo cassette)
27. Huey Lewis & The News – Staggerly (Four Chords & Several Years Ago)
28. New World Spirits – Bed (Creeperweed) 

So on the way to the station a few hours ago I heard that the deal for the auto industry was shot down in part due to Republican demands that the UAW cut wages.

I realize I’m writing this pretty half cocked* but, what that seems pretty jacked up to me.

The banks (including BOA, who announced that they’re laying off the equivalent population of Ballwin next year) didn’t get any restrictions about executive pay and they got a ton more money, most of which is gone now.

The way I look at the lunacy is this.  It’s easier for me to grasp by taking away all those zeros:

Let’s say I call my Mom & Dad and ask for $750.  I allude to some sort of crisis that sure does seem imminent, they think about for a day or two, call me back, send a check, don’t tell me how to spend it, only knowing that I need it.  Then, let’s say Trish calls them a month later asking for $15.  Now they expect a full powerpoint presentation about why she needs the $15, how she is going to spend that $15, and how she is going to change her habits so that she never needs to ask for $15 again only to say, “Nope.” That’s stupid stupid stupid.

I’m not saying the industry didn’t screw itself.  It serves ‘em right in a way for shipping all those jobs away from America but come on!

Even though Republicans traditionally don’t support labor unions (labor cost $$, lowering corporate profits (earn a decent living? not on my watch)) but it took both Democrats and Republicans working in dedicated collusion to whore out that much money.

I was against the bank bailout.  Partly I have a “f*ck you” about spending tax dollars to bail out a business.  A complete overhaul is needed.  What makes no sense is the banks have no mandate to be responsible for the money.  No safeguards for you and I footing the bill and no oversight to make sure the money is used for ‘Main Street’ instead of padding company bottom lines. England’s bailout involved seats on company boards and all kinds of stuff to make sure the problem didn’t occur.  I’ll try to find a link later.

The other part, the bigger part, is that if the system crashes, things get rough, but the market will correct itself.

Money will always find a place to go.

*The guy who taught an Irish history class I took said:  You’re Irish.  If you can’t go off half cocked why go.

Here’s a poorly developed scary movie idea.  I don’t like stuff like what is being put out today because it’s just a grossfest with no fear value to me.  They don’t make me turn on all the lights before I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.  So, I banged this out while on hold today at various times.  The basics of this short horror film would at least keep my attention for as long as took everyone but the killer to die horribly.  It would be 15 minutes of screen time tops.  Get in, disturb/scare, get out.

Easy like a Sunday mornin’.

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The show went well and I survived the day with only slightly more caffeine intake than usual.  Here are a few things that have changed since July 2005.

1. I-Pod hookup.  You can now, theoretically, play an entire show from your I-Pod.  Some folks probably do but I would feel dishonest doing that, but it certainly came in handy in that I hadn’t burned a couple of the songs to CD and was able to spare a blank.  I did learn that you have to watch for the song to end because unlike the CD players, an I-Pod won’t automatically stop when the song is over.

2. New CD players.  There was one of these new ones last fill in D-Bad asked me to do but the disc I burned for that show didn’t work (shoulda had an I-Pod then huh?).  Now, all 3 of them are new and swank.  The new players load like a car cd player, not like the tray on a home player or the cd drive on a computer.  Old habits die hard in that instead of just slipping a disc into the cd player (like a car) I still hit ‘eject’ every single dang time I wanted to put a disc in.  Evan after figuring out that I didn’t need to eject squat.

3. The air signal is now digital.  That means that the LED lights can’t go into the red at all or it distorts (just like your old cassette deck mix tape factory).  Also, I quickly found, that there’s something like a 30 second delay.  Before I came into the air room I heard Ashley (or ‘Trashley’, her on-air name) signing off but when I got into the air room not only was she not near the microphone and but wasn’t talking at all.

The playlist is here though it’s not streaming what I did.

Well, after a 3 year abscence, I’m back at KDHX starting this week.  Sort of…

This endeavour may very well be short term depending on how my body responds to being on the air from 3:30am-5:00am one morning a week.

Yep, back on the graveyard, which is my turf.  The graveyard affords me (and when It’s Late was on Alex and I) the luxury of FCC safe zone (though I’m not dumb enough to play Mr Bungle’s ‘Girls Of Porn’, as much as I’d like to) but less pressure.  If I’m having an off day or don’t say anything interesting I don’t feel too bad about it like I would if I knew hundreds of people were listening.

I’m expecting it to be much fun, even if I don’t go for the whole thing.  When my show ended in 2005 I was able to walk away from it a little sad – not burned out and bitter – and was hoping to do some other volunteer work there but, turns out, 2am was the only time I had to be there.  Since then I filled in for my friend D-Bad a few times and did Christmas (with) and pledge drive (for) my homey Nick Acquisto.  But that trailed off too.

Assuming I don’t have a psychotic break, or am too tired to function around dinner time on Friday, I’m back.

Hey…I might be able to get on the list at the Pageant again…

So with Trish out of town in North Carolina I’ve undertaken the sort of ridiculous task that you only think about when you have multiple evenings free and a need to keep your mind occupied.  Every washable fabric in the house is clean and I’m still allergic to the grass that needs to be cut so…

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I bought a new one recently, first time since Trish and I got married, and thought an inventory might be interesting.  Turns out it is (too me anyway).

It’s in the rough order of how they were picked off the pile as I was writing them down:  

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I’m not going to join in the poetic waxing on the life George Carlin.  Not qualified.  Though I’m a fan, I’m not as knowledgeable as many other people in the blog world.  I appreciate the hell out of him though and I’ll regret not being able get his reaction on the upcoming electoral happenings and whatever else pisses him off (which is everything).

Here are a few links:

• First is a Hype Machine search where you can get your fill of classic philosophy from the man.  Make sure to click on ‘read full post’.
• Second, my homey Craig sent me this excerpt from his book ‘Brain Droppings’.  Good stuff Maynard (James Keenan)
• Music industry guru Bob Lefsetz wrote about him today on his excellent blog.

The only thing new I might have to add are 4 scans from a spiffy Carlin Quote Of The Day calender I got for Christmas one year.   Beating people, bipartisan politics, the difference between maniac and crazy, and last, school uniforms.

This probably means that even more people will tell my dad that he looks like Carlin (which has happened various times in my life).