A Good Pair of Headphones

Anyone (such as myself) who gets turned away by the soul sucking behemoth of a “rock” band that U2 has become over the last ten years should relisten to their old stuff on a good pair of headphones.
For a minute discount the self-righteous politics and lyrics that prefigure their current abominations, and you can really get back to why U2 became so damn famous in the first place – THAT FUCKING SOUND.

Jesus, you can’t beat it – and you can’t describe it in words.

I’d grown so tired of hearing such a safe “progressive” band all over the radio for a decade that they were inseparable from the MOR pablum that bookends their every radio spin and the ramshackle FM sound from my car speakers…

Then, on a whim I relistened to a friend’s U2 Best of 1980-1990 collection on headphones at work.

Fuck.

You can hear all the instruments, you can hear every bit of breathy gasp between each of the guitar overdubs (it’s really overwhelming), you can hear that the drums were recorded live, every human inconsistency; you can hear Adam’s beautifully economic bass playing… And Bono hadn’t become such a fat old fuck, you can hear how earnest his delivery is… Well, maybe even then he was melodramatic.

Those sctraches, screeches, hits, gilssandos, builds, all that masterful delivery. It’s fucked up to think they had only been playing for a few years by this point. Everything just works so well, and was so earthshatteringly arranged.

So I’m going to go back to enjoying this, but I thought I’d share. Fuckin’ Aye.

(I have spoke with the tongue of an angel, I have held the hand of the devil. It was warm in the night, I was cold as a stone. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.)

For Once, a Good WTF

I shouldn’t be surprised that this happened. I’ll reserve commentary until after I’ve seen it. But Gehry is a compelling character no matter what, and I really look forward to seeing this. My feeling, and the impression I get talking to lots of people – architects and not – is that Frank Gehry is the guy everyone hates to love.

Hope it’s even handed, a fluff piece would be stupid, and since Sidney Pollack is a friend of his, I wouldn’t expect to see anything that tore him apart.
But the most interesting thing here is that the trailer makes it seem more about his process than the man, and considering how his process is so forward thinking, it will be valuable to see.

Mental Health Headlines

Keef Richards Gets Trepanned –

Seriously, that is literally what they did.
The Mayans had it right the whole time…
“The operation involved drilling a hole in the skull to drain blood from the brain.”
(ps – page 3 not worksafe.)

Bush Wants America to Have Frontal Lobotomy –

That’s the only thing that will keep everyone else from getting as FUCKING LIVID as I am right now at this.
I can’t see straight right now, I’m so angry… I can’t even start…

Democrats Making Breakthroughs with Therapist –

The Little Party That Could is finally getting it’s head together and overcoming it’s personality crisis and inferiority complex…

Rainy Days and Deck Additions Always Get Me Down

I’m getting tired of getting all the really difficult projects – the additions to the fucked up houses, the as-builts of the mangled victorian apartments, the unbuildable hillside houses.

I watch my officemate blast through the new construction stuff – able to just design away, then plug ‘n’ chug through the Construction Documents because it’s all his work.
Then I can’t think of a single project I’ve been able to do that with.

Do you know how good I’m sure that makes him look in the eyes of the bosses, and how bad I feel like I must look in comparison?

It starts to make me frustrated and nihilistic about the state of things. By this point, even if I’m “short time” in getting out of here, this situation needs to be discussed and rectified with my boss.

I’ve Never Heard of Arthur Magazine, and There’s Probably a Reason

This interviewer is a dick. Sully Erna writes shitty music, and the military loves licensing it because it plays well with their target market. They pay him money and use his songs. End of Fucking Story.
Don’t badger and cajole him. Last I checked, there are still people making millions off of tobacco, guns, oil, pesticides, and animal testing. There are much bigger problems.

The only reason you target him is because he was nice nice enough to talk to your moronically self-important drug rag.
Is that part of the Hippie Code on how to treat people who are nice to you? “Thou shalt be unkind to those kind to you, man.”
I’m sure he didn’t ask to talk to you, why’d you ask for his time and use it as a stupid excuse for personal insult?

This really bugs me. I don’t know why, but it does. Read the interview and tell me what you think.

Notes on Random Friday Afternoon Boredom

Listening to American Steel this afternoon, thought I’d see what those fools at Pitchfork Media had to say about them. And there was an uncanny coincidence…

At least they’re wholly wrong
About everything.

Wow, panning two indisputable classics…

But ho ho! Notice after the criminally misunderstood Lifter Puller transmogrified into indie darlings the Hold Steady, it was a different story…
(also notice that after they became the toast of the Williamsburg scene, all of a sudden Lifter Puller was transformed into the “Beloved” Lifter Puller.)

Dada – Hello Kitty Style

I think these (courtesy of boingboing.net) will have a place in every “Party in a Box.”

Can you imagine the possibilities?