Just finished Sandman vol 2: the Doll's House. Wow. I think in the accompanying essay to vol. 1, Gaiman talked about how the series really took off with the virtually plotless Dream and Death story that ended the first volume, and now having read vol. 2 I can only agree. Even the serial killer stuff, which I wasn't much expecting to like, ended up paying off. I'm impressed that he was able to get all those Disney references in Funland's backstory published. I was gonna say that I was surprised that Gaiman had been able to just stop his story arc and do entire issues like the Death encounter or the "time-travel" book in vol. 2. But thinking way back to when I read superhero-type books as a kid, I seem to remember that story arcs were sometimes interrupted by stand-alone issues. It's just that those were usually filler and Gaiman's are killer. Another thing I really liked was the way he managed to work the earlier DC Universe Sandmen into his story continuity as delusional victims of plotting dreamworld creatures. And, altho I still can't escape the small twinge of disappointment when the McKean covers are replaced by the more conventionally comix art of the stories, it does seem like Dringenberg and Jones have started to take more risks with their style, esp. in the later books. Part 6, in particular, is quite the tour de force.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 27 mar 05) ::

Synchro Series :: King Sunny Adé
Studio One Funk :: various
Pop A Paris 2 :: various
Contramano :: Contramano
Mauvaises Nouvelles des Etoiles :: Serge Gainsbourg
No Earthly Man :: Alasdair Roberts
Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mão :: Ana Moura
Motifs :: Paris Combo
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia :: various
the Early Years, vol. 1: Rare Recordings 1978-1982 :: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Da-a-a-amn... Selections from Trader Vic's!! (found via scrubbles) Both swanky and disturbing. Especially the aspic dish, which I think trumps even the whole suckling pig. Fire up the Martin Denny and toss another mai-tai down the bar...

Witnessed a fine example of mad motoring skillz by an asswich in an SUV on the Airport Blvd exit of I40 this morning. Somehow (perhaps it comes with being an asswich in an SUV) they were able to discern that, even though NCDOT had somehow forgotten to paint one, there was actually a white line down the middle of the offramp. And thus a second lane. Sure they might have had to drive on the shoulder for a few yards, but then there it was, a whole extra lane just for them to haul their big SUV drivin' ass down. It can only be a cruel twist of fate that they turned the corner only to end up stuck at the back of a long line of traffic waiting for the next traffic light. Surely that one small setback can do nothing to diminish their borderline mystical powers of observation.
hats back on, gentlemen...

Results of my personal and idiosyncratic comparison-shop of local bars & burgers are in. And it's a draw. Joe and Jo's gets points for fries and overall bar ambience. But Federal wins for burger quality and beer selection. I was tempted to knock Joe & Jo's for having the wretched Lost in Space movie showing on one of their TVs. But on further reflection, I decided that actually deserves a few points for sheer irrelevancy and cognitive dissonance.
Meanwhile (thanks Bill!) here's further insight into the way things really work. It's like Yoyodyne blasted thru a particle accelerator. Or not...
I was gonna rant about the "pet pillows" site I saw on boing boing today (short version: just, no!) but the link's not working so I'm hoping the whole thing was a hoax. Instead, something else from boing boing. And something much cooler. I'm sure Xta already knows about this but thru whatever quirk of timing, I get to blog it first. Radio David Byrne. And very cool it is too. I'm listening right now thru iTunes. (I also note that much of what's currently on RDB has been on the XDU playlist at one time or another)

Today's double feature: Zatoichi's Cane Sword and Samaritan Zatoichi. I must say, the second is a particularly clunky translation -- the Japanese title is Zatoichi kenka daiko and kenka daiko roughly translates as fighting drums and drums do show up as an element in the final showdown. Sure, Zatoichi, as usual, is trying to help someone down on their luck but since the Good Samaritan is not a Japanese story, it's a rather bad fit for the title. ...Cane Sword definitely takes the prize this time. It may be one of my fave Zatoichi movies so far. The plot's twisty but followable. Some in the series are so impenetrable we'll sit there watching going "now wait; who is that? why are they trying to kill Zatoichi?" Very low cute kid density. Few visits from Mr. Exposition. Lots of fun gambling action. Samaritan Zatoichi focused more on the gangster and less on the gambler side of Zatoichi, which I think makes it fairly unique in the series. They seem to have been trying to make things a bit grittier and darker. But it does include one outstanding sword move (not the usual trick but a nice maneuver nonetheless) and what may be my single favorite Zatoichi scene evah. I won't describe it here. for those still planning to watch the movie, but mostly because I just couldn't do it justice. One thing I've noticed watching several movies back to back is the way some things will repeat from movie to movie. Two movies will each open with scenes involving birds. One movie will end with a fight scene in the snow. The next movie will have a fight scene in the snow early on. I wonder if that was planned out or just coincidental

Two things for a grey misty day:
1) for breakfast this AM (after trying 2 other local estabs where no seating at all was to be had -- damn holiday weekends when the weather gets all Seattle on our asses), I went to Mad Hatter. Had the french toast. Yum. Not just challah french toast with mixed berries on top, but challah french toast stuffed with cream cheese with mixed berries on top.
2) my favorite recent email sp@m names -- Override L. Pantomime and Herbicide A. Gecko

Just that quick, the ACC has gone from "top o' the world, Ma" to 66% suxor. And my last surviving bracket is pretty much blown. At least now I can root for Arizona over Illinois without conflict (UA basketball fandom is one of the few things that stuck with me from living in Tucson for a year).
Meanwhile, in the realm of Japanese swordplay mayhem, I watched Zatoichi and the Chess Expert and Zatoichi's Vengeance. Both quite good. I think I preferred ...Chess Expert slightly. The plot's hard to follow and requires working knowledge of the earlier movies in the series. Thus appealing to the geeky completist in me. It makes good sparing use of the obligatory cute kid. Excellent set piece fights. Interesting setting. And the ending is just the standard "I'm a loner, Dotty... a rebel" formula with Zatoichi walking into the sunset, alone. ...Vengeance ends so downbeat it's almost French. It does have a more straightforward story (Zatoichi cleans out town full of bad guys) and much higher body count. Plus a nice take on the candle on the sword trick. These two are 15th and 16th in the series, I think. Probably not the best place to start but worth seeing. Even if you're not a geeky completist

Apparently there's some holiday this weekend. Not one of mine, however. Plus Sarah's outta town. And the forecast is now cloudy and/or damp tomorrow and frikkin' pouring on Sunday. I predict an extreme lack of useful productivity on my part. Many Zatoichi movies will be watched with some basketball thrown in for variety. Couches will be lain upon. Tasty beverages will be consumed. I suppose some sort of food, as well. If you know of anything social happening (even if it's not demented and sad), feel free to suggest.

wow
Just got back from the King Sunny Adé show. Amazing! And I only stayed for the first set, as I was tired and having to get up early tomorrow. I think all you need to know is that there were 14 people on stage along with Adé and 7.5 of them were drummers (one guy was doubling on pedal steel and percussion). It just a rare thing to be in the presence of greatness. I was going to compare it to seeing Youssou N'Dour last year. But tonight's show had the advantage of being at the Cradle, a much more intimate venue than NCMA. So really what I'm reminded of most are a series of shows I saw back in the 80s -- within a span of a few months I saw the Damned, X, and Husker Du.
good times indeed...

Completely forgot to play some Bobby Short this morning. Mostly cos I just forgot. Altho I was distracted for about half the show trying to track down Synchro Series, the King Sunny Adé CD that's on playlist. Was nowhere to be found until I finally spotted it shelved with the African compilation CDs. doh! But at least I found it and got to end my show with a nice 18 minute slice of juju.
(Bill, saw yr request but didn't bring the Washboard Jungle CD with me and god knows XDU doesn't have a copy. next time for sure...)
Having my show on in primetime is nice and all but I do occasionally miss the 7-9am shifts. It's a fun way to start the day. Plus it's an excuse to play songs like "Woke Up This Morning" and "Sharkey's Day" and "V-13" (good morning, Sodom and Gomorrah... good morning sinners)
And in case y'all missed this on boing boing, MIA vs. Super Mario Bros!!

Following up on my recent mention of Howl's Moving Castle, here's an interesting post from boing boing, with news on opening dates and photos from a wacky dept store installation in Japan.

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 20 mar 05) ::

Pop A Paris 2 :: various
Studio One Funk :: various
Synchro Series :: King Sunny Adé
Mauvaises Nouvelles des Etoiles :: Serge Gainsbourg
Remezclas de la Casa :: Ojos de Brujo
Motifs :: Paris Combo
Batards Sensibles :: TTC
Tribute to Amalia Rodrigues :: various
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia :: various
the Early Years, vol. 1: Rare Recordings 1978-1982 :: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Special guest appearance tonight by Pink Bunny (taking time out from his busy tech support schedule) to join me in sending best birthday wishes out to Pru as she wraps up the 10 days o' birthday. w00t!

For all the commuters and/or insomniacs, I'll be on the air Wed morning this week (3/23) from 7-9am. As ever, make sure to stay away from 88.7fm or your computer else you run the risk of hearing my show. Perhaps I'll play some Bobby Short. I never had the chance to see him perform live (never had the money for those uptown cover charges when I lived in NYC) but he was just one of those fixtures of the city. So very much of a particular place. Or at least one aspect of that place. And speaking of fixtures of the city, I read that CBGB is in danger of closing down. Rent issues, as it almost always is with anything involving NYC real estate. That would truly be sad. Even though I don't live there anymore. Even if CBs is only a shadow of what it once was. It'd still make my world a little less wonderful knowing that it wasn't there anymore.

(warning: the following post discusses both weather and sports; proceed at yr own risk)
Vernal equinox today. And the weather actually fell into line with that. Bright, sunny and warm. So of course I had to spend 4+ hours at work staring at my computer. Which did at least slip me updates on the NCSU game. Aside: was talking to my brother tonight and he asked if folks in the Triangle were all excited and shit, what with all three teams winning. What in the what now? Sure, prolly a few folks in Raleigh were dancing after State knocked off UConn. But no one in Durham or Chapel Hill is gonna set anything ablaze for the Sweet 16. I mean, really...
Anyway, today was one of those days that come along every March (well, March down here -- up in NYC it was April) and help get me re-adjusted from "winter's ending" to "spring's starting." This no doubt sounds insane to the winter hating masses but I'm always sad to see the season end, especially those years when we never got any snow.

For the last few days, the aptly described worst-thread-ever has been bouncing along on the XDU listserv. It started out, badly enough, as a conversation about bands "selling out" when their songs are used in commercials. It appears lately (and I can't say for certain, as I've been mostly exercising my right to delete) to have morphed to sniping back and forth about which bands sux0r the most. Hey, how's about we just agree that everything sucks and move on with our lives. And anyway, the idea that any band/artist that already signed a record contract is then "selling out" by licensing their songs for advertising... so 20th century, ne c'est pas? I wouldn't so much mind the wounded bleating o' the hipsters ("but you can't like that band; you're not cool enough to like the bands I like") if I felt there was any recognition of the fact that musicians are, y'know, commercial artists and not frikkin' wandering monks or some sort of pseudo hippydippy bullshit like that.

or maybe I'm just bitter cos Vermont and Bucknell totally blew up my bracket last night...

Tonight, Sarah was off in Raleigh, having a literary girls' night out. So I spun over to the Federal for dinner with Lisa, Xta and Ray. That alone would have been enough of a good time for one evening. But wait, there's more... Yup, AV Geeks were in town. Mildly twisted to truly bent, as usual. Tonight's program was 70s era educational TV shows for teens. Each one was like a very special episode from a series you've never heard of. Except they had almost no plot and definitely no resolutions. Things I learned: the St. Louis airport is frikkin' gignormous; the Quebecois are like scary chain-smoking zombies; hippies (unlike tubby British comics) do not zip around in stop motion animation as soon as "Yakety Sax" starts playing; in the 70s, sullen pre-teen girls could stop VW microbuses with the power of their skinniness.
...good times...

(in the immortal words of Moe Syzlak)

Tomorrow and Friday are the first 2 days of the NCAA Men's Basketball tourney. Yep, marching to madness and all the attendant hoopledy-hah. Normally I'm pretty sports agnostic (I don't deny that it exists, but it has little meaning in my life) but there are a few things that tend to get me sucked in -- Olympics, World Cup, and the NCAA tournament. I think it might have something to do with the combination of saturation levels of events combined with limited time-span.

Here's a booze quiz, horked from Jason. Lots of good fun that is funny. (you can compare my results after the jump, as they say)

While we're all waiting for Howl's Moving Castle, there's this just in: Katsuhiro Ôtono (director of Akira and writer of Metropolis and Roujin-Z) has his latest, Steamboy, finally opening in the US. w00t! Steampunk!! I'm pretty much resigned to seeing this on DVD since I doubt it'll play any theaters in Durham. Which, while I'll miss the scale and spectacle, will also allow me to miss the no-doubt unimpressive English language dubbing.

And for today's petty annoyance: I recorded Fellini's I Vitelloni and have been watching it on the installment plan for a few weeks now. Finally got the chance to finish up tonight only to find that TCM ran long so the DVR ended before the movie did. Argh, I tell ya, just argh... Still, well worth watching. It's an obvious template for many later movies, esp. Mean Streets. I was a bit surprised that even in his first movie Fellini was already capable of turning out such masterful visuals. I was somewhat disconcerted throughout by the resemblance of the actor playing Moraldo to Gary Sinise.

And for tonight's blogerati update: Sarah and I ran into the MacVentrils at Q Shack. Always a pleasure! Got to hear more about their impending move to the Land o' Spats & Bushmills. (side note to this side note: while at Q Shack we found out the story behind the recent closing of Q Shack @ Southpointy -- apparently the mall bought them out. There was someone that wanted the space next door, formerly occupied by the not-lamented Big Bowl, and that prospective tenant also wanted some or all of the Q Shack's space and Southpointy apparently came up with an offer large enough to convince Q Shack to move on. No word on whether they're planning to open another branch out that way. But it at least answers my question as to why the restaurant closed when it was frikkin' packed every time I went there)

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 13 mar 05) ::

Pop A Paris 2 :: various
Studio One Funk :: various
Mauvaises Nouvelles des les Etoiles :: Serge Gainsbourg
Motifs :: Paris Combo
Batards Sensibles :: TTC
the Early Years, vol. 1: Rare Recordings 1978-1982 :: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia :: various
Remezclas de la Casa :: Ojos de Brujo
Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mão :: Ana Moura
Amassakoul :: Tinariwen

Back from the not much of a surprise but still a good party. Forgot to mention this last night, but the odd thing of the trip was, when I got to Columbia and went to check into the hotel (hotel to increase chances of secrecy altho as it turns out I coulda just gone and hung out at Pru Corner all afternoon) it turned out to be the same exact hotel I stayed in the only other time I've ever stayed at at hotel in Columbia. Which was for Pru's wedding. Which was in that very hotel. It had changed names in the intervening years which was why I hadn't noticed from the website.
Cleaning up a few loose odds 'n ends from the week:
1. Huge benefit concert in Dakar to raise money and awareness to fight malaria. Youssou N'Dour, Khaled, Orchestra Baobab, Baaba Maal, and more. Hopefully they'll release a CD version soon.
2. I guess if they can't pry it from yr cold dead hands they can always Photoshop it out later.
3. Excellent article in today's NY Times about Rachid Taha. If I can find a non-reg-required link I'll post it later. Annoyingly, altho we received the EP with "Rock el Casbah" at XDU, we still haven't gotten the full CD of Tekitoi
4. Pleased to discover that NY Press is now online, so I can get my Jim Knipfel fix without having to wander the streets of Manhattan in search of an NYP box that's neither empty nor filled with Chinese restaurant takeout menus and/or empty Starbucks cups.

So the driving I mentioned in the previous post was up to Maryland this afternoon, where I'm now still at, for a surprise birthday party for my very bestest friend, Pru. I didn't want to blow the surprise but apparently she's known for weeks. But, to her credit, she did a fine job of looking surprised when she got to the restaurant. It was a fun night. Most of the people there I didn't know but a few I did and I met a few more and we talked about iPods and travelling to Italy and shared amusing/embarrassing stories of our days with Pru. Good times. (oh yes, and there were crab cakes too!)
Most of the pics I took didn't turn out. Maybe I'll find one or two that seem worth sharing.
Tomorrow I'm brunching with Pru and then heading back. With a stop off at Ikea.
mmm... shopping...

Had to do a bit of driving today and I saw a new debasement of the "pissing Calvin" sticker. As if the mass proliferation of stickers showing Calvin pissing on car logos or Nascar driver number wasn't debased enough... I swear there's a generation out there that probably only knows Calvin as a signifier of redneck-ery. The previous variant strain was the "praying Calvin" showing Calvin kneeling in the shadow of a cross. Today's entry: Calvin wearing an orange hunter's cap (well, actually it looked a lot like the kind of hat Elmer Fudd wears -- I dunno that any actual hunters wear hats like that but I guess Warner Bros cartoons are mass cultural signifiers) and taking a whizz on a PETA logo (well, actually it's not the real PETA logo but merely the letter PETA). Dee- frikkin-lightful...
I was going to say that Watterson's refusal to allow any marketing of "Calvin and Hobbes" created the vacuum that all the fake Calvins sprang up to fill. But there's an embarrassment of, say, Garfield or Simpsons merch and still no shortage of bootleg images. So probably not much of a connection. Still I have to admire Watterson's insistence that the comic strip was what it was and that's all that it was - not a gateway drug to a universe of merchandising. And, hey, C&H are getting the big multi-volume deluxe-y treatment (see "Far Side") sometime later this year. w00t!

You can add "Rock Box" and "Blue Monday" to the list of things I'd rather hear than anything by los Beatles...
Was on radio tonight but I forgot to mention it here. So it's okay that you didn't listen. Ended up playing the opening of "Loaded" by Primal Scream three times. Once when I used the sample ("just what is it that you want to do?") to start the show. When I went to play the whole song as it was getting on towards 10, the CD player decide to switch into skip mode, causing me to pull the song down about 2 min. in and start it over again from the beginning 5 minutes later. And thus did the show end.
(fascinating, no?)
Well, no, actually. But it was an pretty good show anyway. Even if I did only spun 3 playlist tracks from CDs I reviewed. Usually it's double that. Am I becoming more diverse? Is the playlist getting better? Or was it just a fluke?

First off, I gotta say that if yr job wants to make you feel appreciated, nothing says it quite like pulled pork. Well, free money might be better. Or spats and Bushmills. But of the realistically available options, pig is way at the top o' the list.
...ahem...
And now for the ranting portion of our program. The frequently forgettable Thomas Bartlett over at Salon posted a question the other day about "important" bands. Today he was discussing the responses. Okay, so far. But then there was this (note: there's no point in linking to Salon as their content's hidden either behind subscription or annoying click-thru ads, so I'm just horking/fair-using the relevant passage):
The whole idea of any contemporary band being important rubbed some people the wrong way, prompting a lot of "things aren't what they used to be" kind of comments, worded with varying degrees of vitriol and patience. "The 'C' in rap is silent," Ignatius Reilly wrote to me. "Don't ever delude yourself into thinking that today's music will ever compare in any way to the music my generation grew up with through the '60s. I know music and I know crap when I hear it. This is all crap."
It's true, my generation lives in perpetual envy, under the shadow of the '60s' intimidating pop-cultural legacy.

Oh sweet jesus christ razorblade! Perpetual envy? FTWS! I (who am old) grew up with that "oh nothing is as good as it was in the 60s" bullshit. I thought Johnny Rotten, Johnny Ramone, and/or John Doe drove a stake thru that decades ago. Or Richard 23. Or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan... (1) there's so much amazing music being made Right Now; if you can't hear it, Ignatius, yr already dead, so you might as well get outta the way and stop using up the oxygen. (2) the 60s?!!? Fuckity-fuck, man. It's the 21st century. The 80s are ancient history. Again, please die and/or shut yr cake-hole. I'll trade you every goddamn note the Beatles ever wrote for "Love Will Tear Us Apart." Or "Yo Bum Rush the Show." (3) if i have to endure 1 more patchouli-scented dried-up hippie fucktard exercising his rights to be racist about hiphop, I swear I'll be fighting Flava Flav for first chance to stomp a mudhole in their ass.
...ahem...
Anyway, Manu Chao is easily as "important" as U2, Radiohead, and Wilco combined. (just waiting now for the Andre 3000/Manu Chao collaboration to drop...)

XDU wrrld music top 10 (week ending 06 mar 05) ::

Pop A Paris 2 :: various
Motifs :: Paris Combo
Mauvaises Nouvelles des les Etoiles :: Serge Gainsbourg
Studio One Funk :: various
Remezclas de la Casa :: Ojos de Brujo
Batards Sensibles :: TTC
Brazilian Girls :: Brazilian Girls
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia :: various
Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mão :: Ana Moura
the Early Years, vol. 1: Rare Recordings 1978-1982 :: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

The week o' too much radio wrapped up on Saturday with Mondo Mundo (radio version) and while I was driving over I came to the realization that I just did not have the mental energy to put together 2 hours of radio. At least, not as I usually do. The average 2 hour show usually has about 20-30 songs and the idea of having to think of 25 things to play seemed overwhelming. So I decided to see just how few songs I could use to fill 120 min. of airtime. Ended up playing 10 but I think I probably could've got it as low as 7 just by opting for slightly longer cuts from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Fela, and King Sunny Ade. I did drop a 20+ min. gamelan track. But I skipped the field recording of a day in an Indonesian rainforest village.
Mark your calendars -- King Sunny Ade will be playing at the Cradle on Thursday March 24. w00t! I'm sure he won't play for 8 hours or whatever like he does in Nigeria but it sounds like it's gonna be killah.
As much as it sucks that hardly any electronica/techno/RPM/whatever-the-hell-we're-calling-it acts come thru the Triangle, we do have much better luck pulling in wrrld artists (Ibrahim Ferrer, Cubanismo, Varttina, Thomas Mapfumo, Youssou N'Dour, Orchestra Baobab). Now if someone would just book some rai...

Martin Denny passed away this week. I think boing boing put it best -- dying peacefully in your sleep in Hawaii is not a bad way to go out. The first time I ever heard a Martin Denny record (which was way later in life than I'd care to admit), one of my first thoughts was that I suddenly realized from where Danny Elfman had copped the theme music for Pee Wee's Playhouse.

I wish Trader Vic's was still around so we could all go, have a round of Singapore Slings, and raise a glass in remembrance.

XDU wrrld music top 9 (week ending 27 feb 05) ::

Studio One Funk :: various
Brazilian Girls :: Brazilian Girls
Tribute to Amalia Rodriguez :: various
Rough Guide to the Music of Central Asia :: various
Amassakoul :: Tinariwen
Buena Vista Social Club Presents :: Manuel Guajiro Mirabal
the Early Years, vol. 1: Rare Recordings 1978-1982 :: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Guarda-Me a Vida Na Mão :: Ana Moura
Remezclas de la Casa :: Ojos de Brujo

Forgot to mention this, but I was on air tonight, subbing for Sta Salsera on Azucar y Candela. I'm sure it was a noisier, more shambolic, and less well-presented listening experience than when she's running the show. But I'm always glad to have a coupla hours to just spin Latin music. Started Cuban, segued to Nuyorican, ended up in Monterey, with Molotov's insane cover of Falco's "Amadeus" from their new all covers CD (which their label has pointedly declined to send to XDU).
And I'll be on again this Saturday, 1-3pm, for Mondo Mundo (radio version). So, like Lisa B sez, stay far away from 88.7fm and/or the XDU website or you might hear me engaged in random acts of radio.
Oh yeah, and thanks again to the asswichingly cool B. Rock for letting me borrow several of her Celso Piña and el Gran Silencio CDs.

So I don't remember ever having heard about this, but apparently, there's a Rutles sequel. Looks like a lot of it might be recycled footage from the original. On the other hand, the original was fucking brilliant enough for 2 movies anyway, so maybe no worries. (yay, looks like Netflix has it)
My new TV obsession = MythBusters. They blow shit up. They have Thomas Dolby music in their promos. How can you not love a show that includes the line "I reject your reality and substitute my own" in its opening credits? Did I mention that they blow shit up?
Finally, there's a cool interview with Afrika Bambaataa over at Onion AV Club this week.