May 2007 Archives
I had the good fortune to spend this afternoon at the Lucky Bar watching the finals of the UEFA Champions League. Sadly, the first Inzaghi goal for AC Milan was complete garbage (the arm/hand ball was beyond obvious on the replay) but his second on the counter was sadly legit. Liverpool really should have owned the game based on its dominance of the first half. Coaching dilemma of the game -- why didn't Rafa Benitez bring on a sub at the half for Bolo Zenden, instead of waiting until 70 minutes to bring in Peter Crouch?
Despite the final score, this was a worthy experience for me in another respect. I've been trying to pick a Premiership team to follow for the past year -- and today's experience convinced me that I'm a Liverpool fan at heart. (Bill Simmons, read it and weep after picking Tottenham Hotspur. It's OK to be from Boston and root for Liverpool.)
By request from a few editions back, here are two selections from Juliana Luecking.
- Juliana Luecking - Sistahood & Guppy (from "WordCore Vol. 5," Kill Rock Stars, 1993)
- Juliana Luecking - Follow Misty Follow (from "The Pre-Moon Syndrome Post Summer (of Noise) Celebration," Sun Dog Propaganda, 1990)
Juliana is a poet and preacher, a visionary and dreamer, a humorist and commentator. I first heard her collaborations with the Holy Rollers on the Simple Machines' "Wheel" single, but these are superior efforts. I am particularly fond of "Misty," a live performance recorded at the old DC Space during a week-long festival in 1989. The circular storytelling and echoed themes are worthy of the wandering bards reciting chapters of the Iliad from memory.
And for a horse of a very different color...
- Chrisbald 96 -- Double 9s (from "The Pre-Moon Syndrome Post Summer (of Noise) Celebration," Sun Dog Propaganda, 1990)
No, this is not a love song to Wayne Gretzky. It was the last Ignition song ever written (and then recorded by one of the successor bands, a tradition of sorts in the Dischord camp). "Double 9s" has a great syncopated beat and a driving guitar that should have been totally huge. Too arty for the grunge kids, too heavy for the pop kids, this is a song that just found itself in the wrong time and perhaps the wrong place. I can't keep myself from doing a little whirling-dervish-pogo thing whenever I play this. Take it for a ride and see what you think.
Welcome to one and all, especially for those making their way here from the Mountains (Barstool and Big Rock Candy, not Busch) to see what might give one the courage to volunteer in judging the 100 greatest drinking songs.
The Malt and Barley Chronicles represent my occasional attempts to sample and review beers that cross my path, with occasional tangents into (more or less) beer-related ephemera. This site, however, focuses on music, law, and technology -- assuming I get around to writing down my thoughts or analysis before everything changes again. It's been nearly two years since this site started, and since I have more things to write than time to record them, I'm not going away any time soon.
For tonight, I have two musical gems to share.
- The Ass Ponys -- Thank You For The Roses (from "Mr. Superlove," OKra, 1990)
"Thank You For The Roses" is a good barroom song, though not exactly a drinking song ... much like many other tunes from the band's debut album . The Ass Ponys, much like fellow Ohio natives Scrawl, had atrocious luck getting their albums released (thanks, Rough Trade US, for liquidating your distribution catalog in bankruptcy court). At the same time, you've got to wonder if Chuck Cleaver's country-fried rock excursions would have had more musical success if his bands didn't have such poor names -- his current outfit is called "Wussy."
- Ted Leo and Laura Cantrell -- Love Vigilantes (Live on WFMU, 2007)
Yes, it's New Order, stripped down to acoustic guitar and then built back up with lilting harmonic vocals. (Hint: stay tuned to the "100 Greatest" countdown for an appearance by one of these two performers.) This performance was my favorite of many Ted Leo numbers offered on The Best Show On WFMU during the recent fundraising marathon. And while the marathon may be over, the window for pledges and donations is always open for one of the premier independent music outlets on the planet.
