Sunday, March 29, 2009

the return of the crimson king

62. King Crimson -- Park West, Chicago, August 7, 2008

Last August, Devastator and I drove eight hours to Nashville to see King Crimson as they returned to active duty for a four-city anniversary tour. The above double-disc release is from a concert one week after the Nashville gig, sonic confirmation of why Henry Rollins said that there is Sabbath-heavy and Crimson-heavy. This music pummels you with precision, like a professional boxer.

The highlight of the concert for me is the double drumming, especially on Neurotica and Thela Hun Ginjeet. These two songs sounded cluttered when performed by the double trio formation of Crimson in 1995-96. Not anymore: Pat and Gavin have created rhythm parts that only add power and clarity. I'm a frustrated drummer (thinking of unretiring and buying a drum kit again), so I tend to key in on the drum performances. These guys are kicking my ass in a good way. Intense.

This concert is available as a download-only from the Crimson/DGM site. You can listen to some snippets there too.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

embrace the random xxxiii

Random Recipe Generator

lowercase lifestyle does not recommend actually preparing any of these gastronomic atrocities.

A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. -- Willow Rosenberg

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Sunday, March 22, 2009

embrace the random xxxii

Heretical Rhyme Generator

Come up with the first line, and the generator will do the rest. Here's a sample:

I am sitting quietly
carving out a pernicious void.
My produce watches defiantly
Then they found the dog turd--were they paranoid?


Please share your creations in the comments section--thanks!

stop me before i buy again

Purchases from the past two weeks:

53. Boards of Canada -- in a beautiful place out in the country
54. Talking Heads -- Remain in Light (5.1 remaster)
55. Tori Amos -- A Piano (box set)
56. Aethenor -- Deep in Ocean Sunk the Lamp of Light
57. Grails -- Take Refuge in Clean Living
58. Abdullah -- Abdullah
59. God Is an Astronaut -- The End of the Beginning
60. God Is an Astronaut -- Far From Refuge
61. God Is an Astronaut -- A Moment of Stillness

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

the completion principle

Filling in the gaps of a couple catalogs:

51. David Bowie -- Diamond Dogs
52. The Who -- Who Are You

Monday, March 16, 2009

misheard lyrics

There's a baboon on the right?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

the best birthday week ever

My birthday week kicked off on 3/3/09 by having lunch with a dear friend that I hadn't seen for nearly a decade. My favorite part was seeing photos of her beautiful daughters, nieces, and nephew--almost brought tears to these cynical eyes. Thank you, Beth, and I promise to stay in touch.

On 3/5/09 my buddy Harry and I saw Monte Montgomery play a rare solo gig at the Winchester in Lakewood. Do yourself a favor: go to YouTube, and check out some videos of this guy, especially his version of Sara Smile. What an incredible guitarist.

On 3/6/09 I had a small gathering of friends at my house for a pre-birthday celebration. Thank you to all who attended, and thank you for all the great gifts, including the following two additions to the 2009 Countdown/Obsession:

48. Rush -- Retrospective 3
49. Johnny Cash -- Unearthed

3/7/09 was my actual birthday: Lordy, Lordy, Matt is forty (going on thirteen, as a wise-cracking co-worker once observed). Harry and I drove down to Akron to see ukelele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro at E.J. Thomas Hall. Again, please check him out on YouTube, especially his mind-blowing rendition of While My Guitar Gently Weeps. I picked up a copy of his latest release:

50. Jake Shimabukuro -- Live

I'm still riding high from such a great week. Awesome music, awesome friends. I am a lucky man.

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

with apologies...

Music so wishes to be heard that sometimes it leans over and opens one's pocketbook. To wit:

43. God Is An Astronaut -- All Is Violent, All Is Bright
44. Aethenor -- Faking Gold & Murder
45. jakob -- cale:drew
46. svarte greiner -- kappe
47. King Crimson -- Volume Three - Live in London 1996

thought of the day

The only burning questions I have are the ones that only I can answer.

Monday, March 02, 2009

fair warning

To whomever it may apply:
If you continue to poke the caged tiger with a pointy stick, then don't have the audacity to act surprised when it reaches a paw out and mauls your miserable ass.