random news quotes - 12/18/07

A U.S. judge, in a rebuff to the Bush administration, ordered a Dec. 21 hearing on whether the CIA violated a court ruling by destroying videotaped interrogations of terrorist suspects.

A jet of highly charged radiation from a supermassive black hole at the center of a distant galaxy is blasting another galaxy nearby -- an act of galactic violence that astronomers said yesterday they have never seen before.

A judge cleared a U.S. courtroom when a jury convicted a millionaire couple in a so-called "modern-day slavery" case after the woman fainted, along with one of her daughters. The verdict brought an end to a trial that portrayed the Sabhnanis' elegant mansion as a house of horrors for the two victims, who came to America for a better life but ended up making pennies an hour under horrendous conditions.
The victims said they were beaten with brooms and umbrellas, slashed with knives, forced to climb stairs and take freezing cold showers as punishment for various misdeeds. One victim was forced to eat dozens of chili peppers against her will, and then was forced to eat her own vomit when she could not keep the peppers down, prosecutors said. The defense contended the two women concocted the story as a way of escaping the house for more lucrative opportunities. They also argued the housekeepers practiced witchcraft and may have abused themselves as part of an Indonesian self-mutilation ritual.

A giant rodent five times the size of a common rat has been discovered in the mountainous jungles of New Guinea.

cd - Something Else

Something Else by The Kinks

I am a big fan of the Kinks, especially the period between Face to Face and the Lola album....and this record is probably my favorite. Their records in this period were perfect start to finish. The songs and performances are all excellent, the variety of material and its originality are amazing, especially considering the highly creative times (1966-67) I can't go comparing this record to Revolver or Sgt. Pepper because it's apples and oranges but I will say there was nothing else in its league and most of my favorite music was made during this period.

Waterloo Sunset is the big track here but there's so much more...the three Dave songs, Funny Face, Love Me Till The Sun Shines, and his big hit, Death of a Clown are all top notch and combined with the three Dave bonus tracks on this CD, Susannah's Still Alive, Lincoln County and There is No Life Without Love, would be the core of the solo album that never happened, The Great Lost Dave Album. After the chart success of Death of a Clown, there was a plan to release a Dave Davies solo record but he walked away from it when he determined the record company were just trying to cash in and were only going to provide the least amount of support possible. This record apparently came close to being released a few years ago but something got in the way...there are enough compilations, cd bonus tracks and bootlegs available to piece the record together yourself but I'm still waiting for an official release.

Back to Something Else, Two Sisters, Harry Rag, David Watts, are three more stand out tracks, very British songs, pointing the way to the next Kinks release, ...Village Green Preservation Society. The record has no bad tracks, this is a great listen, start to finish, it is a must have. Buy it here: Something Else by the Kinks

cd - Spirit of Eden

Spirit of Eden by Talk Talk

This is a really dark and sad record. I came to this one very late and had a four month period of listening to it non-stop. Band leader/singer/songwriter Mark Hollis created the record with Tim Friese-Greene, employing a slew of musicians and taking over a year to record it (mostly in the dark). It was the non-commercial follow-up to the commercially successful The Colour of Spring. It is a masterpiece, it's got an amazing amount of disparate sounds that were pieced together mostly from the first take improvisations of studio musicians and then edited into a beautiful, cohesive statement. The first three songs were meant to be one piece that would occupy the a-side of the album. There is a part in there that sounds a lot like Heroin by the Velvet Underground and there are rumors that heroin addiction is the underlying influence on the material. I read somewhere that Mark's older brother Ed died from either drug or alcohol abuse around this time. Ed Hollis was the manager of and songwriter for Eddie and the Hot Rods (he co-wrote Do Anything You Wanna Do) and he helped shape Mark's musical taste as well as helping him assemble his group and get a record deal. It would make sense if his decline and death was the inspiration, this is a very, very sad record. This is one of those records that is a complete thought rather than a collection of tracks and I can't say enough about it...I love every bit of it and will never get tired of it. Buy it here: Spirit of Eden

book - Diary of a Rock'nRoll Star

Diary of a Rock'nRoll Star by Ian Hunter

This is a great, first-hand account of life on the road by the lead singer/songwriter of Mott the Hoople. It covers an American tour in late 1972, just as the All The Young Dudes single has taken them to a new level. Ian's style of writing is very funny and dry and his observations are so cool...his take on other artists is especially revealing and it makes me wish more artists would honestly assess their peers without worrying about potential fallout. Reading about America in the early '70s, dodgy gigs and promoters, really dodgy hotels and stewardesses, and unbelievably cheap guitars and amplifiers are just a few reasons this is a must read for all...Buy it here: Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star: Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople

book - The Dark Stuff

The Dark Stuff by Nick Kent

This is a compilation of British Rock Journalist Nick Kent's writings from the early '70s on. The Brian Wilson stuff at the beginning is worth the price of the book alone. He captures the insanity, isolation and paranoia of the mid-'70s Brian better than anyone (and I have read almost every Brian Wilson/Beach Boys book there is). Other stand out subjects include Jerry Lee Lewis, Miles Davis, and the Rolling Stones (apparently he was a drug buddy of Keith's for a time) I have read and re-read this book regularly since I bought it a handful of years ago and it never disappoints. The version I have is apparently the original U.S. version (Da Capo, 1995) I don't know how different it is from the version now available but as long as 'The Last Beach Movie Revisited' is there you are good to go. Buy it here: The Dark Stuff: Selected Writings on Rock Music

cd - Vintage Violence

Vintage Violence by John Cale

The first solo album by Welshie John Cale, he of Velvet Underground fame. An amazing record, very beautiful and melodic...it should have been a massive hit. The music has all kinds of influences that you wouldn't expect from the man behind the electric viola feedback drone of the Velvets. A lot of tracks sound like Neil Young and Brian Wilson recording Leonard Cohen songs. Standout songs are Gideon's Bible, Big White Cloud, and Amsterdam. It's gone on to be name checked by bigger artists ever since it's release in 1970 but I don't know if that kind of stuff translates into sales. An amazing debut from a guy who produced some of the best ever debut albums (the Stooges and Patti Smith's Horses) I have a lot of John Cale solo stuff but this is by far my favorite. I think it's cartwheelin' Betsey Johnson pictured with John on the back (they were once married and have a daughter). A must have, buy it here: Vintage Violence

random news quotes - 12/14/07

Two graduate students were found shot to death Thursday night in an apartment on the edge of the Louisiana State University campus, a spokeswoman for the school said.

Talks between the studios and the writers collapsed in acrimony last week, dashing hopes for a speedy end to a strike by 10,500 screenwriters that began November 5. The walkout has crippled the TV industry, derailed several high-profiled movies and left thousands of production workers in Hollywood out of work. No further talks have yet been scheduled.

The New Jersey General Assembly approved a bill eliminating capital punishment on Thursday, clearing the way for Gov. Jon S. Corzine to sign the measure as early as Monday. Once he signs the bill, New Jersey will become the first state in the modern era of capital punishment to repeal the death penalty. “I am ashamed the Assembly would consider this bill today,” said Assemblyman Richard A. Merkt, a conservative Republican from Randolph.

Hamas is threatening to harm kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit if Israel Defense Forces carry out a planned large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Army Radio reported Friday.