“They’ve fallen for the Bukowski myth, I’m actually a coward” – “Night Streets of Madness,” Tales of Ordinary Madness, Charles Bukowski . Ok, I’m reading this publication called No Longer Human written by Osamu Dazai in post-WWII Japan, and it’s totally superb. I have a feeling this will be the first in a series of … Read more“No Longer Human as Surrogate for the Bukowski Myth”
Purebred rock and roll differs from alternative rock, and I am trying to redefine one thing and coin another here, by its “pure” reliance on major chords. Led Zeppelin would be one example of alternative rock, since they use minor chords, specifically, the blues scale. Nirvana, as well, is alternative, although, as it’s minor chords … Read more“Tracking Purebred Rock and Roll by Decade”
Detroit is a functional city As long as the Red Wings win. So why is it that I walk Around downtown, at noon, on a Saturday And see not a single person? This is the functional city? . There stands the Free Press building, Now derelict, purposeless Down, we are, countless tales of Raccoon eating, … Read more“The Illusion of Victory”
I was thinkin’ on a tune, but now I can’t remember it. Anyway, it’s verified by the Jesus and Mary Chain song where it’s like, “People die in empty rooms / But we do not need this god almighty gloom.” Maybe it was “Time,” where he’s like “Desperation is the English way.” Anyway, “Spanish Bombs” … Read more“Praying for a Movement in the Light: On the Cultural Hutch on American Grassroots Music”
There is a certain extent to which charms of yore win you favor in the present This is the exact extent to which life sucks Because if the good you did in the past occludes you, the bad you did in the past occludes you too Hence the present be irrelevant, And suck The captain … Read more“Swivel Chair with No Desk”
Audrey was yellow, which in women, shuns with vitality. When someone would cuss in the bar, she’d say “Hey!” And they’d seal it. She could carry on a conversation with anyone though, even the lowliest of the low. I would know, I was ignored by a lot of people, but she’d glue her glistening eyes … Read more“Yellow Fade to Grey, Downtown”
I think I finally figured out why I hate the word “soul,” and why it bothers me when people use it. When a man claims another man to have none, it shows that this man is looking in the other man for something he can take. When really, interaction is at least as much reflection … Read more“‘Soul,’ Revisited”
Camera Obscura is one of those bands that, even if you’re just listening to them impartially, gets you thinking about ALL these different things. First of all, in “I Missed Your Party,” lead singer and master indie pop extraordinaire Tracyanne Campbell keeps repeating “I’ll break it to you gently / Break it to you gently.” … Read more“Up from the Practice and off of the Tongue: Camera Obscura in 2013”
It’s fun to think of Bob Pollard sitting there in a shirt and tie, knees gyrating feverishly up and down, knuckles tapping out a drumroll on the desk, and voice leading the class in a chant, “Come on, 2:55! Come on, 2:55!” Then him being the first one to the door. As many know, the … Read more“The Guided by Voices Man and His Aversion to Homework”
It’s funny, I was talkin’ to this broad I kinda liked a few years ago. She hated hip-hop (or “rap” as she called it), and I said I liked the point where hip-hop met electronica. She seemed to give me some credit for this, and at the time it was almost just kind of an … Read more“Hip-Hop and Electronica… Sniff, Where’s Al Bundy?”