'Best of TBH Politoons'
Baron Dave Romm
Dementia Music '06 part I
By Baron Dave Romm
Marscon 2006 in Bloomington, MN had featured a major Dementia Music track. Shoebox, the sole member of Worm Quartet, is a friend of mine. I like weird people, and apparently he does too. Tom Smith and I have crossed paths at a distance for many years and I finally got a chance to see him perform.
Worm Quartet's first AND latest CD is Sumophobia Alpha 2 Ex Super Championship Turbo Edition. Shoebox calls it Sumophobia A2EXSCTE but I prefer the more descriptive Sumophobia Alpha. By any name is a rerelease of older but remastered material material plus new stuff. Worth every acronym. Heck, it was worth the extra penny to buy it directly from him at Marscon. 72:44 of impure bliss, plus space between tracks.
The only real problem I have with Sumophobia Alpha is that I can't play a lot of my favorite cuts on the radio without bleeping. I'll get around to eviscerating the material for the sphincter conservatives, but out of the box I was reduced to playing Russian McDonald's Commercial in which, if there are Naughty Words, they are in Russian. Worm Quartet is in the proud, if grungy, tradition of anti-establishment young rebels: Scatological, insulting of celebrities, self-deprecating, off the wall and usually makes you laugh even when you don't think you should. The music sounds almost childish but isn't; his use of looping and rhythm machines masks some nice tunes. He sings songs of procreation, coffee, not giving a sh*t about your website, hair on the soap, William Shatner, carbonated hampsters, being a hopeless romantic and hamsters again.
What separates Shoebox from all the other smartass college kids who never grew up is his use of language. He has the astonishing ability to juxtapose ideas and concepts that have never even contemplated being on the same planet together, much less in the same line of lyric. Sure, anyone can write a song about vampire penguins but it takes special talent to make a spatula into a phallic symbol. Only Shoebox can sing his songs; when other people want to sound like WQ, they bring in Shoebox to provide their Inner Voice (the most requested song on the Dr. Demento show in 2005). Imagine if a kid in Tom Lehrer's college math class crammed for finals by immersing himself in Italo Calvino, Weird Al Yankovic and the Sex Pistols. Okay don't, see if I care.
Sumophobia Alpha is highly recommended if you liked any other Worm Quartet CD. If you've never heard WQ, this is a pretty good overview, with early songs and recent songs and a wide range of material to choose from.
Flex Your Nipples - Live, is a DVD that is so hot it's not listed on the website. I picked it up at Marscon, and have been dipping in it ever since. It's got a full Worm Quartet concert, with commentary but not a subtitle track in Portuguese, and a bunch of other stuff I'm not going to get to in this lifetime. It looks like a basement tape but the sound is surprisingly good and it's very well edited so you don't have to wait around for the sound checks. An excellent addition to any Worm Quartet collection. Heck, if you're the type who prefers concert films to the audio alone you might want to start with this DVD. Write Shoebox and beg.
Tom Smith comes from the science fiction fandom filk tradition: Parodies of well-known songs with new lyrics. He's been around for a long time -- I have a couple of his tapes from the early 90s -- going to cons and writing parodies and original songs. The ease and facility of his songswriting is almost a game: He bills himself as "the world's fastest filker" and challenges people to come up song titles he'll write the songs to... but that album isn't out yet.
Plugged is a Tom Smith CD from 1997 but still feels current. The computer references in On-Line Religion and Spam Spam Spam still work ten years later; a tremendous feat. He effortlessly goes from Superman pining for sex to a beautiful song for his grandmother. His stfnal influences show with Cthulhu Lite FM (re Lovecraft) and Falling Free (from the Lois McMaster Bujold novel).
And They Say I've Got Talent, from 2004, is Tom Smith's most recent CD, though at least one more is in pre-order. Tom's songs range from Howie's Norwegian Blues, and old-timey blues song about a bachelor farmer; to The Illuminati Polka a danceable tune about the Bavarian organization that controls the world. The Skull and Crossbones also make an appearance in Talk Like A Pirate Day. He cuts close to the bone with Happy Conception Day that will be snapped up by the anti-abortion movement... unless they're paying close attention. He gets to sing a hopeful song by the defeated villain. Aah.
I don't really have a lot to say about Tom Smith. If you like this kind of fan-driven music, Tom is one of the best pure filkers and you will like these CDs and probably the rest of his oeuvre. If you don't, but are curious, you should get one of the CDs just to do a reality check on your taste. Follow the concert schedule on his homepage; he's good live too.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. To receive the show as podcasts go to Shockwave Radio Theater Podcast or paste the following string in your podcast software: http://www.romm.org/podcast . All podcasts also on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air. --////
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Karel: Homophobia? Hogwash! (advocate.com)
Who isn't bummed that Brokeback didn't mosey away with the Best Picture Oscar? But if fingers must be pointed, blame the loss on gays for not standing up to endless parodies and jokes about the film
Kim Ficera: Don't Quote Me: A Day in the Life of a Lesbian (afterellen.com)
Sean Hannity: Good morning. Today we at Fox News begin a series where we take you into the trenches of the battle between good and evil. We're live in California, embedded at the home of Kim Ficera, a lesbian writer fighting for equal rights in a country she says she loves. But is it possible for an evil lesbian to love America? Is it even possible for a lesbian to love?
HARRY EUGENE BALDWIN: Pay It Forward (frontierspublishing.com)
How much do parents and children owe each other? Award-winning gay writer Bernard Cooper first wrestled with this question at age 28, when he received a two-million-dollar bill from his irascible father Edward for the cost of raising him.
Gena Hymowech: Where the Gay Boys Are: Our Report Card on Network Television (afterelton.com)
It's March and the current TV season is more than halfway over. So far, there's been: a network sitcom about a gay man (Crumbs); a sex scene between a bi guy and a soon-to-be FTM transsexual (on The L Word); and a romantic gay kiss (on Will & Grace).
Roger Ebert: Cat People (1942; A Great Movie)
"Cat People" is constructed almost entirely out of fear. There wasn't a budget for much of anything else.
Diane Apostolos-Cappadona: Leonardo: His Faith, His Art (beliefnet.com)
His name graces the title of 'The Da Vinci Code,' but what did he believe? And what's with the paintings mentioned in the story?
Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper"
Lesbian Columns ARCHIVE: Don't Quote Me (afterellen.com)
Another Rant
Avery Ant
Purple Gene's Note
'All We Are Saying'
Just how good is the
Rosanna Arquette
documentary "All We Are Saying"?????
According to the combined critics in the "Internet Movie Database":
"The Third Man"................8.5 out of 10
"Citizen Kane"...................8.6 out of 10
"Casablanca".....................8.8 out of 10
"The Godfather"................9.1 out of 10
"All We Are Saying"..........9.4 out of 10
But maybe the comparison isn't fair???? Who cares... it's a great flick!
Purp
Thanks, Gene!
While
"All We Are Saying" may be extraordinary (and I'm willing to trust your judgment),
it's rating is based on only 11 votes.
"The Third Man"................8.5 out of 10 (#49 out of top 250 movies)
"Citizen Kane "...................8.6 out of 10 (#21 out of top 250 movies)
"Casablanca ".....................8.8 out of 10 (#7 out of top 250 movies)
"The Godfather "................9.1 out of 10 (#1 out of top 250 movies)
"All We Are Saying"..........9.4 out of 10 (out of 11 votes)
Hubert's Poetry Corner
Devilish Attraction Rarely Known
ULTIMATE DECADENCE?
Reader Question
Re: Oscars
Dear M,
I recently saw
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle [view trailer]
(starring Jason Alexander
) and I am shocked that a picture of this political significance did not get any Oscar nominations. What is this country coming to????
Willow
Thanks, Willow!
I guess the easy answer is
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle was released in 2000, and it's 6 years too late.
There used to be a store, 'Dudley Do-Right's Emporium' on Sunset Blvd., that had a statue of
Rocky and Bullwinkle out in front.
This link says
Robert DeNiro
('Fearless Leader') remembers seeing the giant statue of Bullwinkle across the
street when he used to stay at the Chateau Marmont.
I think the statue still stands, but it's been a while since my last field trip into Hollywood.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Cold & rainy.
No new flags.
Honored at Comedy Festiva
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn says she's never doubted herself, even when she made an audience laugh during a production of Romeo and Juliet.
"I liked myself ... and trusted in the universe," she said Saturday after receiving the American Film Institute's Star Award during the 12th U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.
The 60-year-old cover girl for this month's American Association of Retired People's magazine wore furry boots, an off-the-shoulder sweater and snug jeans.
Goldie Hawn
Coca Leaf-Inlay
Condi's Charango
Condoleezza Rice knew coca would top the agenda in her meeting with Bolivia's new president, but she likely wasn't expecting to get the real thing.
At the end of their 25-minute meeting, President Evo Morales presented the U.S. secretary of state with an Andean guitar that bore a coca-leaf inlay.
"The gift was well received. We will just have to check with our customs to see what rules apply. We certainly hope we can bring it back (to Washington)," said a senior State Department official who attended the meeting.
Condi's Charango
Toy Marks 50 Years
Ant Farms
A billion ants carried Milton Levine's three kids through school. In fact, the pesky insects have been making him money for five decades.
This year marks a half-century since Levine began selling his Uncle Milton Ant Farm - the sand-filled, clear plastic boxes through which ant voyeurs can watch the insects tunnel and eat, and later die.
Levine said more than 20 million of his Ant Farms have been sold, with more than a billion ants shipped to customers eager to bring their toys to life.
Ant Farms
NBC Expands Order
'Deal or No Deal'
NBC has ordered eight more episodes of the game show "Deal or No Deal," the network said Thursday.
As of this week, "Deal" is switching from its five-night format to two, remaining only on Monday and Friday at 8 p.m. The series, a game of chance hosted by Howie Mandel, has been a solid performer for NBC since December, though has cooled off a bit since returning last month.
The additional order brings the "Deal" episode total for the season to 30.
'Deal or No Deal'
Hospital News
Sean Connery
Sean Connery has undergone surgery for a kidney tumor and is recovering at his home in the Bahamas, his spokesman said Sunday.
Connery told The Sunday Times that he "was opened in five places."
His brother, Neil, told the newspaper that "as far as I'm led to believe, the tumor was benign. He seems to be quite upbeat about it."
Sean Connery
Cheney Roasted at Dinner
Gridiron Club
Resident Bush headlined the annual Gridiron Club political press roast Saturday night, but Vice President Dick 'Go Fuck Yourself' Cheney was the main target of the humor.
Bush said that while pundits speculate about whether Cheney or White House political adviser Karl Rove run the government, it's another person who actually pulls the strings. Cheney, Bush said, tells him what to do but Cheney's wife, Lynne, tells the vice president what to do.
"Lynne, I think you're doing a heck of a job. Although I have to say you dropped the ball big time on that Dubai deal," he said, in a joke about the controversial ports deal.
Gridiron Club
'Crash' Producer Is Flat Broke
Cathy Schulman
It's been a bumpy ride. Accepting the fifth best picture Oscar ever awarded to a woman, independent producer Cathy Schulman landed on the stage of Hollywood's Kodak Theater on Sunday along with writer-director Paul Haggis as one of the credited producers of "Crash."
But while Schulman, 40, has a lot for which to be grateful, including a supportive husband of 12 years and a 5-year-old daughter, she can't entirely savor her win. She still faces a court fight against producer Bob Yari, who is furious that he was deprived of the chance for his own moment onstage because of rulings by the Producers Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And at what should be a career pinnacle, Schulman finds herself flat broke. "I have the interesting distinction of having made five movies in a row without ever being paid," she says. "I can't pay my bills."
For the rest, Cathy Schulman
Sweetwater, TX
Rattlesnake Roundup
The event, officially known as the World's Largest Rattlesnake Roundup, started as a way to control the poisonous reptiles in the area but has grown into a four-day attraction that brings about 30,000 visitors and an economic impact of more than $5 million.
Besides the roundup, there's a parade, a snake charmer pageant, a snake meat eating contest and snake-handling demonstrations, which are aimed at educating adults and children about the ways of rattlers. There's also a demo on how to skin a rattler in preparation for cooking or to use the skins.
The roundup is organized by the Sweetwater Jaycees, and the money funds events the group sponsors throughout the year.
Rattlesnake Roundup
Aussie Ads Censored
Bloody Hell
The country that gave the world such risque comic acts as Benny Hill, the Two Ronnies and Little Britain has banned Australia's new "bloody hell" tourism ads from television because they are too rude.
Australian Tourism Minister Fran Bailey said Britain had banned the television ads, which end with a bikini-clad woman on a beach asking "so where the bloody hell are you?," although the ads would still be seen in British cinemas and appear in print.
"The regulators have clearly misplaced their sense of humor..." Bailey said in a statement Thursday.
Bloody Hell
Not Blinded By Science
Nigeria
The Nigerian government, anxious to avoid a repeat of riots that marked a solar eclipse in 2001, warned citizens they may suffer "psychological discomfort" during a new eclipse this month but urged them not to panic.
Information Minister Frank Nweke said an eclipse five years ago caused riots in northern Borno state because people did not know why it happened.
"Some people even felt some evil people in their communities were responsible for the eclipse," he said in a statement on Thursday aimed at reassuring Nigerians that the eclipse is expected to darken parts of the country on March 29.
Nigeria
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
