Silent Saturday

Q&A: Bill Flanagan & Bob Dylan

Personal Music Note: Have 5 Compact Discs currently checked out from Free Library of Philadelphia. They are: 1) Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline & 2) Another Self Portrait (1969-1971), 3) The Jesus & Mary Chain - Automatic, 4) Beck- Guero, & 5) Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive. Both Dylan (aka Robert Zimmerman) releases are very good & Another Self Portrait is surprisingly so. The other three cds are also AA(P) approved by "Allan Smithee" for repeated listens.

Bob Dylan's Secret Archive 
Notebooks containing lyrics from Mr. Dylan's 1975 album “Blood on the Tracks.” Credit Shane Brown for The New York Times

Random Robert Pollard Thoughts

Am currently listening to "Waved Out" a very good & under-rated lp w/'lots of texture & breadth'. Same goes for the Pollard solo album/guided by voices release "Not In My Airforce", especially the last 6 short acoustic tunes which have been re-released as a 7" bonus as originally intended (when purchasing the 12" vinyl long-player) 

The problem with a few of Robert Pollard's releases over the past decade or 2 have been in the recording, ie, all the songs sound flat & monotonous as if the engineer or Pollard are suffering some kind of (tin ear) mental disorder. 

The 'sounds flat recordings period' first began (though some cool, acoustic high notes are strummed/reached) with gbv's song "my thoughts are a gas" on 1997s 'What's Up Matador? - Greatest Hits Vol.1, disc 2." Note: The Fall/MES (Smith, Scanlon, Hanley) tune included is 'Hey Student'. nice surprise there.

So, imo, Pollard's songwriting capabilities *havent* decreased contrary to popular belief. All you have to do is listen to 'live recordings' of most any recent song to realize his songs need some 'texture & air to breathe' for that old magic to be sparked. Btw, think the past 4 or 5 GBV releases are back on track, recording wise.

Also, wish Robert Pollard would release a "2-disc live album" of recent vintage tunes with both 1) full band treatment & 2) solo/acoustic stuff instead of another 'flat release'. Bet you some pocket change that "Crickets: Best of the Fading Captain Series 1999–2007" is really good!

Think most of the recent fans would be shocked re: high quality of songwriting & how much recording techniques have an affect. ok. that's my $0.02. 

addendum to 'Black Lung Disease' post

some of the various reasons MES may be considered a 'visionary':
1. visual aesthetics - MES/Fall lps, eps, 7" covers & sleeves inspired many later generations of punk, indie bands, & zines who all continued the random collage & 'dada experience'

2. aural aesthetics - because of MES/Fall releases, 'low-fi' recordings are now a choice not necessarily a 'financial necessity'

3. MES/Fall fans single-handedly created the interwebs contrary to common wisdom, ie, not Al Gore ;-)

4. Westcoast rap, Southern hip-hop, & the then little known, unheralded cassette releases only subgenre now famous for the slowed down 'cough syrup'/marijuana influenced vocals aka 'leaning' would probably not be possible without MES/Fall

5. Drunk MES semi-inspired the commercial release of Drunk Robert Pollard live monologue recordings collectively known as the 'asshole records' & also somewhat inspired Pollard's infamous quote: "I want to be drunker than Meatloaf & fatter than Elvis."

king of the yanks
strange 'visual' I've noticed in the last few days re: Trump's signature on Presidential Executive Orders. He uses a fat 'felt marker' & not a fountain pen so that his 'john hancock' is actually bolder & thicker than the stiff wisps of hair that rest perched atop his head. why? don't know. ok. that's the latest news this side of the pond. over & out.

Al Franken & Neil Gorsuch

“And what would you have done?” Franken asked. “I’m asking you a question. Please answer the question,” Franken pressed.

“Senator, I don’t know,” the finest legal mind in all of conservative America answered. “I wasn’t in the man’s shoes, but I understand why . . . ”

“You don’t know what you would’ve done,” Franken summed up for him. “OK, I’ll tell you what I would’ve done. I would’ve done exactly what he did. And I think everybody here would’ve done exactly what he did. And I think that’s an easy answer. Frankly, I don’t know why you had difficulty answering that.”

From there, Franken turned to the dissent Gorsuch wrote. As Franken described it, the issue came down to a “plain meaning” rule: “When the plain meaning of a statute is clear on its face, when its meaning is obvious, courts have no business looking beyond the meaning to the statute’s purpose.” That’s what Gorsuch relied on in his ruling.

“But the plain meaning rule has an exception,” Franken continued. “When using the plain meaning rule would create an absurd result, courts should depart from the plain meaning,” he said. “It is absurd to say this company is within its rights to fire him because he made the choice of possibly dying from freezing to death or causing other people to die possibly by driving an unsafe vehicle. That’s absurd.”

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How Republicans quietly sabotaged Obamacare long before Trump came into office

Billions that should go to Obamacare are missing, thanks to senators like Marco Rubio

http://www.salon.com/2017/03/22/how-republicans-quietly-sabotaged-obamacare-long-before-trump-came-into-office_partner/