No. No, I did not.

Twitter’s search capabilities are seriously bizarre.

I Just Can’t Resist It

I don’t want to post silly animal videos on my blog. But this seriously made my day.

Music Explosion “Little Bit O’Soul”

They’re from Mansfield. Further proof that Ohio fucking rocks. I’m posting this particular track because it appears to be pretty much the only one on YouTube (I suppose it was their big hit). However, if you come across an LP, pick it up … “Little Bit O’Soul – The Best of The Music Explosion” has been one of the most heavily played LPs on my turntable over the last couple of years.

Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains

I’ve been doing my damnedest to hunt down anything I can find by Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains (or any of the many side projects, like Wingnut Dishwashers Union), and can’t find a thing. Help me out here … anyone know where I can find anything??

Quote of the Week

A conversation with D’s great niece (age 4) ::

B: God came and took my hamster yesterday.

Me: Oh no! Did you get a new one?

B: No, mom and dad bought me some fish.

Me: What kind? Are they goldfish?

B: No, they’re REAL fish.

Heavy Trash

On the recommendation of a former Columbus resident – who has since moved to (or back to?) England – we made our way out to The Summit last night to catch Heavy Trash. I had somehow altogether overlooked their existence … surprising, given the line-up includes Jon Spencer and Matt Verte-Ray (of Speedball Baby fame). I think I had expected them to have a slightly punkier edge given their histories, but they ended up being pretty straightforward rockabilly … just dirtier and with the unmistakable guitar work and voice of Verte-Ray. I woke with a slightly sore face from smiling so much. Here’s a vid:

For good measure, and because I’m a huge fan of Speedball Baby, here’s one of theirs from the Uptight! album:

If Heavy Trash comes near you, definitely make your out to the show.

What’s Been Up

Yay, a few days off work! Figured I’d take the opportunity to get caught up on this blog, which I’ve been pretty much neglecting except to post the occasional video. Here goes:

We haven’t been out much, mostly because both of our cars broke down (D’s is now fixed, mine’s not worth bothering with) but we have had the occasional outing.

We hit Studio 35 the Friday before last to see Where the Wild Things Are, which was absolutely amazing. It’s definitely not for the kids … M wasn’t sure what she thought, but I loved it. I think something about the fact that Max went home and left the Wild Things in the same ruin in which he found them resonated with me; you can leave town, but your problems will always follow.

That Saturday, we saw The Patsy’s, Columbus Power Squadron, and The Exceptionals at Carabar. CPS was at their very best. They have a slightly new lineup, and it suits them well. They even did a Slade cover that had me apparently wiggling around singing along – I wasn’t aware until I glanced around and saw a friend cracking up at me. So it goes.

We also made it out to last week’s movie night at Surly Girl. Three Bela Lugosi flicks to celebrate what would have been his 127th birthday. M gave me an awesome Avengers video as a belated birthday present. Sweet.

This past weekend, I went to Cleveland with my mom to see Leonard Cohen at the Allen Theater. Not nearly as ornate as the Fox in Detroit, but still very cool. We stayed downtown, less than a block from the theater. Spent the day running around the Coventry area, because I had to go to the toy store and get french onion soup from Tommy’s. I got an awesome set of Elvis magnets from Big Fun. They each have a saying on them, like “He dared to rock”. I can’t resist an Elvis purchase. I think maybe it’s because Elvis stuff reminds me of my gram who had an amazing velvet Elvis.

Sidenote: GPS does not work so well in roundabouts.

I don’t think there’s much I can say about the show that I didn’t have to say in my previous entry about a Leonard Cohen show, other than that I FINALLY got one of those Intertwined Hearts rings I’ve been coveting since May. After getting a total of 5 hours of sleep over two nights, and almost 10 hours on the road in a couple days (Columbus to Findlay to Cleveland to Findlay to Columbus) I passed out early last night, and am still pretty beat, making me extra specially happy that I don’t have to be back to work until Thursday.

Upcoming stuffs: Leonard Cohen again tonight, Columbus Power Squadron on Thursday, Night Family and Dead Sea on Friday, and a Day of the Dead party on Saturday. I was rather worried at the beginning of the month that ROcktober may pass me by, but it appears to have turned out just fine after all.

I think I’ll take some time to laze about today and let me shoulder recover from the nasty spill I took down the stairs this morning when I got up.

Beirut – The Gulag Orkestar

This song gives me the chills. So beautiful! Also, I’m a sucker for a horn section. So there’s that. In this video, Beirut is joined by members of Arcade Fire and others.

They call it night, they call it night, and I know it well.

Shake Some Action

Flamin’ Groovies, dig?

Whatever and Ever

First, the coolest news … Through a series of mistaken identities, I somehow came into contact with Sid Griffin (of The Long Ryders) who is now mailing me some CDs under the condition that I share the goodies with my friend S. How amazingly cool is that?! Here, listen:

Sometimes life just kinda rocks that way.

In other (decidedly less exciting) news, we had a party a couple of weekends ago. The first I’ve had since New Years Eve of 2001 or 2002 after which I’d sworn I’d never have another. This one, however, went really well and did not involve cleaning up vomit from the porch or from beside the toilet, nor having to ask couch crashers to leave several days later. Ah, see, there are some joys in getting a bit older! Also, we now have an insane amount of various liquors and wines … we could use some company to help us drink it before our livers shut down entirely. Call me if you’re up for the challenge.*

This most recent weekend, we attended the coolest wedding ever. The ceremony was short and incredibly sweet and wrapped up with the groom yelling “Okay, let’s party!”. A fantastic bluegrass-ey band (from Athens, I think) played while we all drank some home brewed IPA. I wish I could remember the name of the band, because you should hear them. But, I suck. I had spent the previous two weekends (between working on the house and having the party) trying to find a dress to wear to the wedding and failed miserably. Because, apparently, I am the smallest person on the planet and they don’t make grown up clothes for people my size. I’ve never had such trouble shopping before (in actuality, I’m just over 5′ tall about just shy of 100 pounds) but everything I found drug on the floor. I finally gave in, and went dressed in a less casual Annie Hall style. I don’t know why I’m telling you this, it’s rather boring now that I skim over it. Moving on …

I finally ordered that Lost Skeleton of Cadavara poster I’ve had my eye on for ages. The dining room has mostly come together, but needs some artwork. We’ve decided to go with vintage horror posters. We already have The Fearless Vampire Killers, and I bought 4 others as well, including the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. Sweet!

Now if only I could convince Larry Blamire to do one of those “…Returns Again” screenings at the Drexel. Ok, I suppose I should wrap this up, especially given the last few paragraphs of drivel … ’til the next!

*This offer is restricted to people that know me outside of cyberspace.