Good Reads

I just finished Vinyl Junkies by Brett Milano. A quick read that highlights several vinyl collectors. The famous ones include, Thurston Moore, R. Crumb, and Peter Buck. I consider myself a collector personality, but I'm not as obsessive as the people in this book. Amy would disagree. I'm hoping to get her to read the Peter Buck chapter at least to show her I'm ok!

Last night I started Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail. Apparently the drummer from the Damned is a Holy Grail enthusiast! I'll let you know how it turns out, its pretty good so far.

TGIF

It's been one of those weeks. A good friend of ours had surgery on Tuesday to have what was originally diagnosed as a malignant sarcoma removed. (bad news that) The surgeons removed the tumor and a kidney. Jackie called today and said that the pathology was wrong before and the tumor was benign. Great News!!!!! However they really didn't need to take out her kidney. I believe no cancer trumps one kidney!

My good friend John Moeller and his wife MJ had their baby on Wednesday, Peter Gregory! All are doing well. I visited them today and held the feller. I am so glad that they are embarking on this journey and not me! I love my kids, but I'm not sure I could do babies again!

I met Perry, someone who I need to spend more time with, after work today for a couple of Blue Moon's and to catch up. He told me of this show called Survivor Man. The premise is that Survivor Man, a survivalist, is dropped off in some extreme environment, with zero food or water, and he has to survive for 7 days. The other catch is that he is his own camera man! The episodes Perry related to me sounded fascinating. Tonight I will search the dishnetwork for this show and set to record.

I'm listening to Revolver on vinyl as I type. It just seems impossible that this came out the year I was born and sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday. I read a post today on the Strong Lions list (Robert Pollard nerds) that said the Beatles are a gateway drug to so many other artists. Totally agree.

I recieved an ebay gem this week. An original 1972 vinyl copy of Waylon Jenning's Honky Tonk Heroes LP. This is the LP that started the Outlaw movement. I'm so pleased that the vinyl and cover are in fabulous condition. I think 8 of the 10 songs are Billy Joe Shaver classics. Everyone should own a copy of this. Oh, and I only paid $4 for it!

Nick Hornby

Made an impromptu trip to the Butler University campus with Tim Bruner and Bro' Brett last night to listen to Nick Hornby read selections from his books and essays. I've read High Fidelity, About a Boy, and Songbook. All three of these are recommended reading. I enjoy his honest depiction of what makes a man a man. Hornby also has a deep love of music and weaves this through his writing. The movie adaptation of High Fidelity is very well done. It's on the shelf at home, along with the book. I pull the dvd out occasionally and give it another look. I was not as thrilled with About a Boy, the movie, for a couple of reasons. One - Hugh Grant. Two - this a tougher themed book and the movie was a little twee in my opinion. Songbook is great. Anyone who is obsessed with music should keep this on the shelf.

Check out this essay by Hornby at McSweeney's:

http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/song/hornby.html

What's Moving Me

I've been looking forward to the release of these two documentaries; Be Here to Love Me - A documentary on the life of Townes Van Zandt and Searching For the Wrong-Eyed Jesus - A tour through the American South with Jim White and performances by The Handsome Family, Johnny Dowd, Melissa Swingle, Doc Watson, David Johansen and others.

I picked them up on Friday and can't wait to watch. Townes' songs forged my appreciation of songwriting. His story is a sad one, but I'm sure I will be inspired by this movie. As for Searching, I bought Jim White's cd of the same title many years ago. His music is kind of a cross between Johnny Dowd and David Byrne. Here's a nice summary:

Jim White’s traveling companions are the well-worn sounds of Appalachia — guitar, banjo, harp and accordion — made vital and alien through his peculiar sonic ingenuity... his sound is equal parts traditional song and cinematic atmospheric. Some folks call it trip-folk. Describing his debut album, Jim reflects, “There’s a sweetness and a rage to it that’s universal. But the way they sleep together is peculiar.”


Check'em out online here:

www.townesthemovie.com
www.searchingforthewrongeyedjesus.com

I missed St Paddy's.....

But I plan on making it up today. In about an hour I'll start working on some Irish Stew. We are having dinner with a group of friends tonight and its an Irish Theme. Currently I'm making a Irish cd mix for the gang. Chieftans, Sharron Shannon, Tim O'Brien, some Steve Earle, some old timey appalachian stuff that's drawn from Irish jigs. I'll throw in some Pogues and Flogging Molly for good measure!