Ride the Lightning

I have been meaning to post this for the longest time, but just haven't gotten around to it. It was a busy and fantastic weekend as already mentioned on 2 other blogs (Chief/O'Malley) but it is definitely worth mentioning here. The "somewhat
holy trinity" of Rabbi Pfefferberg, Father O'Malley, and Hari Elgarf left their mark on the local Halloween block party and I can't wait to see these two guys again.

Anyway, on to the post. Have you heard this ongoing debate about the lethal injection? Certain parties have filed a lawsuit to delay the execution of death-row inmates claiming that the administration of the three drugs does not always follow protocol, and this may OR MAY NOT result in cruel and unusual punishment. As I understand it one drug puts the killer to sleep, another numbs the senses and the third shuts down the organs, or something like that. If, however, these are given in a different order the organs are shut down while the killer is aware and able to feel pain. Some states have called a moratorium on executions until this is settled. Others have not.

I agree that this must be stopped. We cannot have killers feeling pain during their transition into non-being. I think someone should come up with some sort of device that introduces a lethal dose of electricity into the body. A sudden jolt, in a comfortable chair might make the transition into nothingness more palatable. Or, what if they were to tie a rope around the killer's neck and, with the aid of some sort of trap door and the laws of gravity, a quick snap could bring the end relatively quickly. I know these ideas are new and radical but I feel they would make public execution much more agreeable to everybody.

The Second Coming

Yes, another post on Season Six Part II of the Sopranos. Having said those harsh words about Mr. Chase I think it is only proper to give credit where credit is due. This is one of the single most powerful episodes of the entire series (imho, as they say). Now I know the chief can't tolerate Anthony Jr., but I have always felt that he got a raw deal. There has always been so much drama in the lives of Tony, Carmella, and (God knows) Meadow. AJ was spoiled, yes, but it was always a matter of throwing money at him so they didn't have to deal with him, never taking into consideration that he was just a confused kid not knowing which way to go. Sure, he was "Tony Soprano's son" and kids at school took advantage of that fact in hanging out with OR ostracizing him. Did he ever flaunt it? No. Never in the series did he say "do as I say or my dad will come after you." The parents did, and so did some glory hounds, but he didn't. Yes, he was whiny and yes he was a Mama's boy, but what else did he know?

At any rate, the performance of the entire cast in this episode was amazing. If this was the episode that got the emmy recognition and I am repeating what has already been said, I apologize. Go ahead and stop reading, I am an idiot and didn't know. Otherwise, I will continue.

The raw emotion and pain expressed by everyone was so REAL. Here was a family facing a real tragedy. All the bullshit was cast aside and you had a mom and a dad and a sister heartbroken for the baby of the family. The whole relationship thing became somewhat farcical at the end and the overindulgent depression that he went through makes it easy enough for one to say, "get over it, already." I guess I felt that way too. She (Blanca) really only seemed to tolerate (and even pity) him. But I would like to point out that this was AJ's first chance to step outside himself as the boss's son and become his own person. He didn't care that she had a son by another man, and in fact, fell for that kid almost as much as he did for the mom. He also began to realize that not everyone had it as good as he did. He did become somewhat idealistic about what could be done, but this was his first glimpse of the larger world. Some might even say that this awakening could be similar to that of the Prince Gautama who was sheltered from the outside world by his father. When he ventured out into the world and saw the sick, the aged, the dying, he began the journey toward enlightenment. Does that mean that AJ will do the same? No. I don't even mean to change the chief's (or anyone else's) mind with this post. I would only like to refute the claim that Anthony Jr. was nothing more than a whiny bitch. It goes far deeper than that.

Now, to throw some ice-cold water on the situation, the real reason I started this ramble was to point out the sheer artistry that David Chase has in spite of my calling him an "asshole" for what he did to Sil and Bobby. In this series there are a lot of shades of grey. If we accept and love Tony, we must also accept that he does some awful things in his line of work. The people that get hurt by him do awful things to so it works out OK. But, the bad guys have never stood out more clearly than in this series, and they usually get what is coming to them. There is the artistry. The New York boss, Phil Leotardo, has completely lost touch with reality. He is no longer a business man in charge of business-minded soldiers, he is completely insane. To illustrate, he has thrown a birthday party with a cake and candles for his dead brother. He has it in his mind that Tony has done him wrong and that the Jersey crew could be shit upon. One of his henchman, Coco, sees Meadow at a restaurant and sexually harasses her. Meadow is nowhere near the business. This clearly steps over the line. At 39:20 I think I can safely say that I witnessed the most satisfying sequence in television history. Tony walks into the restaurant, pistol whips Coco, waves his gun at that bastard Butchie, picks Coco's head up, puts it on the foot rest by the bar, and stomps his fucking head, sending teeth everywhere. It was beautiful. How often does the bad-guy get whats coming to him? In this episode he did.

The Mormon

In a somewhat recent discussion on another blog that is no longer with us, I commented that the Mormon is not in the running. A question was asked about Mitt Romney being in a political poll, and I said...

good god, I almost pulled a "Perkins". You know what I said, its at the end of the first line.

Anyway, this afternoon I heard a clip on the radio from the most recent republican debate. Mr. Romney was disgusted with the emergence of new tapes in which Barack Obama was calling the insurgents to rise up against the Americans and to carry out the jihad.

I did not make a typo. That's what he said.

Can we now eliminate this idiot from the race? I am no fan of Obama, but to "CONFUSE" a fellow American who is running for the same office as yourself with the terrorist that YOUR president demonized and then dropped the ball on is unforgivable.

Kennedy and Heidi

Who the hell are these two? I had seen the episode (The Sopranos Season Six Part II Episode 6) but I figured I would watch it again to have the cryptic title revealed to me. Then BANG! Christopher and Tony go careening over the embankment and one teeny bopper turned to the other teeny bopper in the on-coming car that he swerved to miss, and what does she say?

"Kennedy, maybe we should go back and see if they are OK"

Kennedy then tells Heidi "get real, I'm driving on my learner's permit at night." I turned the episode off at that point. Sure, I had seen it before and knew what happened, but that was terribly disturbing. I have already come to terms with the fact that David Chase is an asshole (and forgiven him) for what he did to Sil and Bobby, and now this. Anyway, I was going to comment on the unfortunate fact that the last song Christopher heard was that Piss-Poor rendition of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb by Roger Waters and Van Morrison and the Band from the Wall 1990 Concert. He and Tony just discussed how great the Departed soundtrack was, then...

But we are on to other things now. I have not seen the Departed. I may or may not, I do not care either way. My question is, "in what context was that song played?" Can someone tell me? Sure I could do an internet search but I am not that interested in the information, not enough to go out on assignment. My theory is that the story takes place in 1990 and that someone was watching the event to commemorate the tearing down of the Berlin Wall on TV. I can really think of no other reason to revive that piece of shit.

Don't get me wrong. I AM A ROGER WATERS FAN. A Momentary Lapse of Reason was just that on David Gilmour's part and it sucked. Nothing they have done without Roger compares to what they did as a group (The Division Bell was decent, but not on par with DSotM, Animals, Meddle, and so on.) For Roger's part, he sounded great in Berlin. Bryan Adams, Cyndi Lauper, The (fucking) Scorpions, Van Morrison and the Band DID NOT! Just like A Momentary Lapse said a big "Fuck You" to Roger, the Wall Live in Berlin did the same thing in the direction of the Floyd. "It's mine and I will do IT without you!" I used to like Van Morrison up until that point. He sounds like a drunk redneck on his last leg. Could this be the same guy who recorded Moondance? He sure sounds like a hack and will burn in hell for what he did to that song. So, WHY WERE TONY AND CHRISTOPHER SINGING ALONG WITH THAT PIECE OF SHIT! Please tell me. I would like to know.

"That cat's something I can't explain"

I type this listening to the Mono Mix of Lucifer Sam on the 40th Anniversary Special Edition of (Syd's) Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn. I first saw this set a couple weeks ago and my first impulse was to pick it up right then and there, but the $36 dollar price tag held me back. Then, just this past Saturday I took a box full of lps to the local record trader. I was given $70 store credit for stuff that had just taken up space for the last 8 or ten years! With that I ordered the set and just received it today. As for the sound, it's great, but I have not had the time to compare it to the stereo mix. I will say that with a quick run through I have noticed that the voices shouted through the megaphone at the beginning of Astonomy sound more distinct. More to come on that later. The third disc has a few treats on it. The first 5 tracks are a mimic of the singles disc included in Shine On from 10 years ago, but for up and coming fans Candy and a Currant Bun and Apples and Oranges might be a pleasant surprise. I was very much impressed with the alternate lyrics on Matilda (track 8), not so much by their composition but by their inclusion here and Interstellar Overdrive (take 6), which definitely has some experimentation on it not heard in the various other versions of this track.

I think the packaging on this is the hook, however. It looks like a hard-bound book and includes photographs of this original line-up in the recording studio around the equipment. I hadn't seen these shots before so was impressed. They also included a booklet that is a facsimile of one of Syd Barrett's art portfolios. It is quite fascinating to see the way he mingled words and images in these collages.

Just like anything else, I believe that this will appeal to the fans. It certainly won't convert people to the flock, but it is a refreshing change from the same old cd with a new insert in the same old jewel case. I just hope that Animals eventually receives a similar presentation.

There never was a cake

OK. I know I am beating a dead horse here, but it is true that when something gets into my head I have a hard time letting it go until it is resolved, at least to my liking. Not that I have to agree with the results, don't get me wrong, it just has to resolve. On a recent four hour road-trip, the one that led up to the previous post, I spent a lot of quality time with my iPod. I had since transferred "a Tramp Shining" Side Two, and was listening to MacArthur Park on repeat (as Jim Morrison once said,"oh, don't ask why"). Again, I know this piece is long-winded to some and farsical to others and I do not mean to convert the inconvertible, but I do not believe there was any cake (in the literal sense) to begin with. We would have to ask Jimmy Webb and I do not know if he is alive or dead or if this topic has already been covered a million times or not. Anyway, Richard Harris is walking through this park (think of him in the trench coat in that old picture of James Dean for Boulevard of Broken Dreams). He is reflecting on a lost love whom he spent so much time with here. He thinks of spring, her yellow dress, and so on. His thoughts lead to tears which make his eyes glassy, creating the "fish-eyed lens of tear stained eyes" (Roger Waters, the Final Cut). The street lights "run", the scene blurs. "MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark" is literal, at least to his eyes. "all the sweet green icing" and "the cake out in the rain" are figurative statements as mentioned in the earlier post. Now, as a kid, when I heard him say, "I don't think I can take it," I didn't even know there was a cake involved, I never heard that. I thought he meant "I can't take it any more". This seems to align more closely than a hobo looking for free food and finding it in the form of a cake being battered by the elements.

In short, "I don't think I can take it (the pain anymore), Cuz' it took so long to bake it (the relationship), and I'll never have that recipe (for love) again".

Amen

"I painted Gregg Allman's house..."

That was what I heard Friday night at a little hole in the wall bar in Western Pennsylvania. I was catching up with my father and his cousin over a drink or two, when I couldn't help but notice the attractive, if tipsy, young white lady hanging on the arm of an acquaintance of my dad's. I then noticed her flitting from person to person, bumping and grinding against nearly every guy in the bar. At this point I feel it important to note that the crowd was overwhelmingly African-American. Why is this pertinent to the story? Because, as we were sitting in the back room away from the crowd, she found her way back to us and exclaimed, "they're out to get me!", to which my father said, "who is?" to which she replied...

Well, I won't say. It wasn't the mother of all offenses but it was uncalled for. She then found her way onto my cousin's lap and shouted out that she had painted Gregg Allman's house. I asked her if she used watercolors, acrylics, or oils. She gave me a look that clearly said, "there's no one home". I told her that I liked to paint in watercolors, myself. To which she shouted, " I am a professional contractor! I actually painted his house in Florida". I told her that I am a big fan of the Allman Brothers Band, have seen them five times, and have read the biography, "Midnight Riders". "I thought he lived in Macon Georgia," I said.

"Are you calling me a liar?!" she shouted. No, I wasn't. I just thought he lived in Georgia. What she should have said was, "No, silly. The band may have come together there but he doesn't live there now." To which I would have replied, "Well said". Instead she became indignant. "I have a picture of myself with Gregg!" to which I asked, "Is it in there?" pointing to her purse.
"No," was the reply. "That's convenient," I said.

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY!!!???" she shouted. I made it clear that I wasn't trying to say anything, but that wasn't good enough. "You know that song, 'Sweet Melissa'? He sang it to me. My name is Melissa." I said that it must have been right before the picture was taken. By now she was becoming livid, so I asked her, " how many toes does he have?" Her jaw dropped. "Dude, I don't even know where you are coming from now?" My cousin asked if I had ever seen his feet. While I hadn't, I do know that there was a certain issue about going to Vietnam, and a bottle of whiskey and a shotgun somehow got mixed up one night and Mr. Allman sustained a serious injury to his foot, or so I read. I don't even know if he really lost the toe. I guess I wanted "Missy" to clear this up for me, she knew him so well.

She made it clear that she did not know anything about his feet and that doesn't change the fact that she painted the house and that she had seen the band SIX times. I knew that was a lie. If I had said 7 she would have said 8, it was the old one-up game that children use to out-do each other in school. I told her that I didn't believe that.

She started to cry. No shit. She really started to cry. She buried her head on my cousin's shoulder. So I asked her about the 20 minute drum solo that Jaimoe and Butch Trucks still do at every performance (The Chief knows this is true. He lived through it). "Dude, I don't even know who you are talking about!!!" she shouted. To which I replied, "right, and you want me to believe that you have seen them six times." She began to sob again. At this point my father and his cousin stood up and said in unison, "well, we better get going".

I laughed my ass off all the way through the bar to the front door. As we emerged into the street my father shouted, "that's why you don't have a girlfriend!" and we all continued to laugh all the way to our next stop. I woke up the next morning laughing my ass off.

What is the moral of this story, boys and girls?

If you don't know what you're talking about, shut your goddamn mouth.

Blow Me Down

With 30 minutes to kill while waiting for a prescription I went into the local "super store" to wander around. Looking for nothing in particular I made my way to electronics. There in the $5 bin I found a copy of Popeye, the 1980 Robert Altman film starring Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall. It is so rewarding to revisit a cherished memory from childhood and find it in mint condition. Too often, things pale in comparison (take for example VOLTRON Defender of the Universe. While I will collect everything they put out to honor the memory, many episodes make Speed Racer seem smooth and fluent {it wasn't}). I watched the movie as soon as I got home and am happy to say that, while just silly in parts, it is just as good as I remember it. The actors' cartoonish portrayals of these immortal characters is truly remarkable from Robin Williams' hilarious mutterings, to Shelley Duvall's gangly movements and screechy, "POPEYEEEEEE!!" and Ray Walston's hopping up and down on the poop deck shouting orders.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a Robert Altman film. I didn't know him in 1980 when I was in grade school watching the movie every time it aired on HBO. Since then I have come to love M*A*S*H* and even his final movie, " A Prairie Home Companion". I am going to have to delve into the archives and watch some of his other movies.

A Tramp Shining

"It started as a joke..."
-Tori Amos: Digital Ghost - American Doll Posse 2007

While often a topic of discussion, I never scratched too far beneath the surface of MacArthur Park. It was that song about never having that recipe again. I knew the refrain, didn't even know the name until recent years. It was that song that Apu's daughter did in the talent show on the Simpsons that put the audience to sleep. It was that song that I heard countless times growing up, on the radio and in elevators and in stores and even in the barber shop that played mellow sounds of the day while we waited for a haircut.

I recently bought Season 1 of SCTV on DVD and laughed hysterically at Dave Thomas' impression of Richard Harris performing MacArthur Park live, but for all of the artists who covered the song, why did he pick Richard Harris? I was at the time visiting the Chief, who was also laughing. He did a quick internet search on the topic and found that the original recording was done by none other than Richard Harris, the guy who recently played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series until his death just a few years ago. I have not looked this up to confirm it but memory tells me that he was also "a Man Called Horse" and that IRA guy in Patriot Games.

At any rate, the Chief and I were recently in a Record Store and HE came across Richard Harris - A Tramp Shining. Released in 1968 this album features Mr. Harris' voice along with the lyrics of Jimmy Webb, and, yes, MacArthur Park is the first song on side 2. The Chief said I had to buy it (it was an exorbitant $2.99). As the first line suggests, I think it was a joke. Then the song appeared in the virtual iPod just to the right of these words. Then the scrolling lyrics showed up. This was starting to get serious. What was Lord Elgarf trying to accomplish? Fun is fun, but this is getting a little excessive. Now the S.O.B. does a posting on it! I can even do you one better...



Yes, in spite of the 7 minutes that may have made radio stations cringe, and in spite of such lyrics as "like a stri-ped pair of pants", "MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark, all the sweet green icing flowing down", and the immortal "someone left a cake out in the rain" there is a haunting quality to the song that takes me back to the seventies (when I heard it, anyway). Instead of asking, "What idiot would leave a cake out in the rain?" I choose to ask, "What tragic circumstances led this person to abandon such a pastry (a cake is not an everyday confection such as a pie or a plate of cookies, but a representation of a celebration: a birth, a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary). It clearly symbolizes the end of something that was held dear.

I won't say how many times I have listened to this album, but I will say that as one side ends I flip it and play the other side, repeatedly.