Harvey Dog's fav bands and musicians: The B's (con't) - The Bintangs!!!

[note: this post was written jan. 26th, but I got onto something else and never came back to it...so wtf here it is.]

I'm sorta using these "fav band and musician" posts to talk about bands / musicians that have been favs at any time in my life. They may not necessarily be my favs now - but I doubt I hate them....[self-editor: and this has nothing to do with the current post!] Now that I got the legalities out of the way let's continue......

loosen loosen loosen
up
with

The Bintangs! I recall walking Spirit Lake on Haida Gwaii playing my harmonica to scare away the bears - and the humans...
hahahaha lolololol
thanks for dropping by Dad!!!
anyway Blues on the Ceiling (1969) came on and there was something about it...I mean...there was something about it...I was playing the best fucking harmonica in my life!!! I was rockin' with The Bintangs. I loved it! I hooked into some more of their albums, and I was NOT disappointed. There's something about them...It's like how The Trouble Boys at times were my fav band to see on the local bar scene. They rocked! And not cheesy cliched rock pap...they rocked like a motherfucker!! And so do The Bintangs....add exclamation marks where necessary....
Their latest Fire and Iron (2009) still shows that they have the fire deep within and not horny like latter-day mick jagger...but real angry horny emotions like MC5 or The Stooges! Maybe not quite meeting that standard...but who does??? and they come pretty fucking close! If you like hard rocking bluesy songs sung with horny anger then look no further...here's some links:

The Bintangs Official Web Site

Bintangs on Wikipedia

Try Blues on the Ceiling (1969) & Mickey Finn (1975) at Cheeta Kitten - both classics!
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Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson & John Zorn: The Stone, Issue Three (2008) rambling, links and youtubes!

Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson & John Zorn: The Stone, Issue Three (2008)

I need to tell ya that I admire the fuck out of Lou (not that he would give a fuck) for doing shit like this. [aside: is this going to become a swearing post mofo?] I also listened to Lou's Hudson River Meditations (2007) and thought..."cool...lou's doing meditation music...and as meditation music goes this sounds nice" and listened to it once and haven't listened to it a second time...maybe in 5 years...this baby with the missus and zorn I find more exciting
and lively...
the thought of a bunch of Lou Reed snobs in Montreal booing the shit out of this trio laying the smacketh down on some avante-garde electric classical jazz experimental shit makes me laugh...it's like all the people now loving Metal Machine Music (1975) when it's the same piece of music as it always was but in revisionist history it gets a second chance to be re-evaluated and maybe we missed something the first time?? Yeh, right - what they're really saying is that it's now SAFE to like Metal Machine Music. This brings me to the next section:

I have seen Lou Reed 4 times

1) I was very drunk and JK and I got kicked off the bus once we hit T.O and then after more drinks we decide to sneak to the front since we had blah seats, so we get to the 6th row drunk as fuck not sneaking past anyone as the bouncer comes to see our tickets and we politely and drunkenly give him the tickets and say we'll move if anyone comes for these seats and he - amazingly - lets us 2 drunken & pilled up idiots from Hamilton sit 6 rows from Lou...my friend passed out and missed most of the show...I stayed awake and had a good time as Lou was hot playing with Robert Quine on guitar. We then drank more and made our way home barely catching the last bus back to Steeltown.
(Massey Hall - Toronto, ON "Legendary Hearts" tour 1983?)

2) I got pretty high and drunk watching Lou play at Kingswood where we drank beforehand and some went on rides and some of us stayed at the bar...drinking...we went in and saw Lou playing lead guitar & belting out Mistrial shit and it was the least memorable of Lou's shows...it was ok and I was ok and that doesn't make for an exciting kind of story
(Kingswood - Toronto, ON "Mistrial" tour)

3) I was very depressed sitting with a girl I had a crush on (well, I wanted to fuck her) and we were good friends when friendship wasn't enough for me - [aside: it's just as well, though!] - and went to an empty hallway while Lou was belting out primo New York-era shit & I wrote poetry alone...this act of stupid depression did not help me get laid...or write very good poetry!
(Roy Thomson Hall - Toronto, ON "New York" tour 1990?)

4) I met the woman I love and all was going well as I kept my drinking "somewhat" under control...hmmm, that is until Lou showed up in Detroit!...we thought the show wasn't licensed, so I downed a few beers fast at the bar beforehand and made it to the show and it was a licensed event!! oh oh...I drank and drank and Lou seemed miserable and the cloud above my drunken rock star aspiring head got darker and darker and the beers kept putting out any last vestiges of sanity...the show ended with some surly Lou covers and I staggered out of the show and proceeded to shout obnoxious things at passersby - in front of the woman I love - and then for some reason I decided to let the golden river flow into the streets of Detroit and then we got to the car and self pity took over and I was almost weeping with apologies at my stupidity being as pathetic as possible, so I soon learned my lesson and stopped drinking [aside: and smoke an awful lot of pot instead!] - and we ate subs and safely left the United States to our home turf of Chatham, ON.
(State Theatre - Detroit, MI "Ecstasy" tour 2000?)

So you see besides being drunk & pilled, drunk, depressed & very drunk at Lou's concerts I still think the man is a genius and I love his music and he's maybe top 10 (definitely the velvets) and this album just adds more admiration to the Lou Reed stew. I would have loved to have seen the lou-laurie and john concert sober and a little high and sit there digging the notes and - * sigh * I do miss seeing live shows...

I should also mention that I've recently started listening to Zorn and I need to explore more and more and apparently there is a LOT more! I really liked a couple of his Bar Khokba albums. I think he sounds great playing with Lou & Laurie & in some ways he may even be the leader of this, though I can't imagine anyone (even Zorn) telling Lou to do something he doesn't want to do.

LINKS

Hey, What's the sound, look at the downloads crashing round - Elegia Eterna!

A negative perspective on The Stone.

Brooklyn Vegan on Lou, Laurie & John getting booed in Montreal.

Lou Reed's home page

John Zorn web site

Laurie Anderson's home page (hum...I didn't really say anything about L.A. I've been cool to her in the past, but she sounds great here - I love her violin playing and maybe it's time to re-evaluate her work.)

Lou, Laurie & John in Montreal 2010...judge for yourself.



Some classic John Zorn with Naked City - Live!



I love this song and it's a great (though) short version!


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The Brothers Johnson: Light up the Night (1980) hmmm is that a strobe light in your hands?

I don't remember playing this game with my brother! Then again - we didn't do coke together either!
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Reflections on a walk January 1st, 2011 listening to Ray Davies: See My Friends (2010)

The Guru and the Charster were down for the count New Year's afternoon, so it was time to head out with the dog and get a walk in...oh yeh...I had Ray Davies: See My Friends (2010) next in line on my mp3 player. Let's start our walk...

it's mild the snow is melting
an eerie silence floats in the air
then this bear-like growl of a Springsteen parody smashes the silence to bits
...[aside: I had to clean the dog today and came up with the term: shit bits...the Guru was jealous]...
I look down on my tortured Sansa player and verify that it is indeed Springsteen...
I muffle down the fear that this duet album will turn out to be Santana like in it's atrocity and degrading a reputation until diamonds are covered up by so much shit that it's hard to remember there once was a diamond shining
brightly
underneath...I recall that I liked Working Man's Cafe (2007) and Other People's Lives (2006) and the choral album was...interesting...but a duets album??
Is the duets album the last gasp of a talent looking to tour 1 more time...
have 1 last tan from the sun?
The song finally fades and ray sounds great and springsteen parodies himself...once again...

a beautiful day
somewhat grey
is about to talk a turn for the worse...

OM FUCKING G!!!!!
who the fuck is butchering "Celluloid Heroes", which features some of rays primo songwriting???? Is this a joke??? I take my player out of my pocket to see who is

the destroyer
the butcher
The Missing Link!!!

The Missing Link?? Yeh, I just got a copy of "Bang Your Head" by The Missing Link skimmed to the back and recognized exactly what he was talking about and will be starting it tonight from the beginning...anyway...back to our regularly scheduled rant...

I press the button on the player to see who this criminal of duets albums is & find that it is
:::::
??????????????
Mr. Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame himself
JON BON JOVI
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I beam with smug satisfaction...I was right!!!...
All those years I thought bon jovi was crap I was right!!!!!
I am justified!!!!
Not based on name or reputation...I had no idea who was this perpetrator of evil was...no no no...

I hated bon jovi from a place of pure innocence!!!

Jon Bon Jovi, sir...
YOU SUCK!!!

amazingly celluloid heroes is such a great song and ray sings 1/2 of it...you find yourself singing the song loudly...regardless [aside: also a good precaution to scare the bears!] and you know deep down in your heart that, yes, you are a better singer than Bon Jovi!!!

the walk continues
the album continues

I breathe in deeply as 2 kids come running towards me being pulled by 2 dogs that put together wouldn't come close to weighing as much as poobah does -- a yorkie pom ---

I recall that these 2 characters - the dogs - had an acute desire to sniff the insides of poobah's ass and poobah bravely marched on occasionally looking at me for support and encouragement...
this time 1 of the dogs - the male - was peaceful and would gladly ignore us, but the female...that was a different story...she would go nuts as the 10 year old struggled to keep the 3 pound terror under control...we walked on & I realized that poobah had decided to go on strike until something was done about these dogs...soon enough the kids and the dogs veered off in a different direction to free up poobah from ass sniffers, but unfortunately left me to go back to focus on the album...

The next song with "Mumfo" - so i saw on the player...actually it's mumford and sons and it sounds good the song is good the voice is good and after spending 8 minutes and 32 seconds in hell with bruce springsteen and jon bon jovi it sounds fine...back to normalcy...

"Long Way from Home" with lucinda williams continues the streak of 2..."ok"...renditions from ray's catalog...nothing special...but...ok...
[aside: i saw lucinda williams open up for neil young on neil's "only harvey dog likes this stinker" greendale tour...and she was...ok veering towards good...]

* sigh * i hate to say it, but i enjoyed metallica doing you really got me with a fair bit of energy..* sigh *...

palomo faith and ray do a lola duet and its good and i need to scare away the bears so i start screaming:
I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne
and it tastes just like Cherry Cola...
...
and the bears stay away and we are safe
we are safe...

jackson browne sniffed rays duet album like a 3 lb. dog wants to sniff the inside of poobah's ass, and he plucked the classic "waterloo sunset" from ray's garden of eden..and it sounds like...jackson browne singing waterloo sunset...ya know, i'm so beautiful playing my guitar and i'm deep and girls like me but im still sensitive and aren't i still deep??? nope, and you dragged down a classic into - the ether of nothingness that your music resides in...

AHHHH!!!!!!!

finally, we have a WINNER!!

Alex Chilton kicking ass on "Til the End of the Day"!!! He actually sounds like he's having - you know - FUN!! rocking out on a true 60s classic. yeeha!!!!

Amy Macdonald (not very familiar with her) joins Ray for a music hall version of "Dead End Street" and we're back into "ok" territory...nothing more nothing less...actually pretty much of nothing...

Spoon joins Ray for a great version of "See My Friends". Spoon adds an eastern esoterica to the song and gives it a drone-like atmosphere, which suits the song very nicely indeed. This is when a duets album can work - when the artists work together towards creating a "different" end product that can reveal different elements that the song possesses instead of comparing the size of their basketballs and who's really doing who a favour???? hmmmmmmm......

OK...Here's where I reveal a confession. Keep it quiet, though...shhhhhh....."im not a fan of the pixies"...so frank black doing "This Is Where I Belong" does for me what The Pixies do for me, which is...nothing much at all...

David Watts is there...
then gone...
was he ever really here???
am I really here????
is that bear really here?!?!?! [aside: jk]

Gary Lightbody? No idea...oh...snow patrol guy...now i recognize the name, but can't say i'm familiar with his / their work. "Tired of Waiting For You" is another brilliant 2 1/2 minute Ray song, that would be difficult to screw up. Mr. Lightbody does not screw it up, so he proves that he is better than bon jovi or bruce springsteen.

Billy Corgan emerges from the dark to appear on a mishmash of "All Day & All of the Night" & "Destroyer". They run through it and it brings the album to a final close. It's...."ok", and I see the great big green house we live in quickly approaching...
the dog is hustling
her ass is wiggling
my mind is reeling

I think back on the last year, the upcoming year...dreams, goals and desires remain...tainted by reality, but still there
still there
and to wrap this baby up I decide to list my fav songs from this pretty mediocre verging on unnecessary piece of music history...

1. Till the End of the Day (alex chilton)
2. See My Friends (spoon)
T3. You Really Got Me (metallica)
T3. Lola (paloma faith)
.
12. Waterloo Sunset (jackson browne)
13. Better Days (springsteen)
14. Celluloid Heroes (bon jovi)

ray brother you still sound great,
but duet albums are the kiss of death...
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J.A. Caesar: Kokkyō Junreika (1973)

J.A. Caesar: Kokkyō Junreika (1973) is hitting the spot perfectly...right now...this music has hooked it's notes into my skin and i fly into another world asian in quality and i am enchanted and entranced...the hooks...the melodies...the exper-i-men-tation...this album gets better as it goes along...its hooks getting deeper into your bo-day and soul and now someone's breathing on track 8 and it is the most brilliant breathing with a songstress behind in harmony with the breathing...track 8 continues to build the intensity the movement my soul is quaking i can hardly breathe the song has captured my breath and has it held captive i roam space i search deserts in the fucking hot sun and this song has taken me out of skidegate out of british columbia out of canada out of the world out of the universe...track 9 has started off brilliantly birds whistling the songstress continues to enchant with her voice yet there is ominosity lurking behind a carnival organ underneath the singing the chanting the marching the tension is unbearable...

*** whew ))))relief

5 star album...#5 on Julian Cope's Japrocksampler...this is a MUST listen!!!

I AM SAVED!!!!!!!
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$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
J.A. Caesar on Julian Cope's Head Heritage.
J.A. Caesar on Wikipedia.
Kokkyou.
*******************
...now i am listening to acid mothers temple: last concert in tokyo (2003) and have obviously lost my mind...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Drawing: RIP Depression

Poetry: Enough! said the Clown with a Frown

the clown with a frown

is tired...
laughter
...a foreign sound

light a match
set me on fire
i want to burn
amongst the
smoke and flames

tired of rampant sexual abuse
(shhh...
we don't talk about that)
stealing a child's innocence
tired of racism
tired of denials
tired of governments
tossing band aids
at amputees
saying:
"hey, we did our best!"
so fucking proud
please stop
the cries are too loud

tired of a fake family
that doesn't exist
tired of the games we play
tired of fucking life skills
tired
of the sadness i see

protect the abuser

silence the abused

it's the way it is
i'm just a whitey
an outsider
never an insider

the cops don't give a shit

the ministry don't give a shit

big fat pay cheques

keeps the silence

screaming:

"stop fucking the children,

please, stop fucking the children..."

********************

Music: Keiji Haino & Coil, Greatest Hits Theory - Neil Young, Jane and Life stuff

MUSIC

listening to Keiji Haino & Coil: Playing the Blues (2003) is blowing an already blown mind...playing classic (blues? sometimes) songs in a totally new and unique style...keiji haino = no comparisons...Coil? gotta check em out...check em out...blow your mind...WOW! check them out on Wikipedia! interesting...now gotta hear em...

there is no reason to have original studio recordings on Neil Young's Archives I 1963-1972 - i mean
i have RULES!!!!
rule #1 - a multi-cd collection should be either all released (including b-sides, international releases etc.) OR all unreleased...for the collectors vs. uninitiated...
rule #2 - if you have bonus tracks on a reissue - do NOT insert the bonus tracks into the running order of the original album...a la Jimi Hendrix: Are You Experienced? (1967) [aside: an absolute travesty btw!]
i mean - the music is genius...brilliant...but there's no need for burned or broken arrow...if you want a greatest hits...fine, but combinations don't work. most people who would spend the $74,108 that the Archives blu-ray edition costs, most likely already have ohio or old man in their collection...
needless to say, this is still 5 star material, in spite of my rules.
FUCK RULES!

listening to Jane: Beautiful Lady (1986), and all I gots to say, is that...when it comes to music...the 80s sucked!!!
too much cocaine
not enough acid
they should all stick to pot anyway!
i enjoy jane's 70s albums. they're definitely a step below the Can, Amon Duul, Ash Ra Tempel, Popol Vuh, Faust brand of krautrock...but, i find their albums enjoyable. i even enjoyed the previous album - 1982's Germania...i didn't mind that one...this one??
it sucks...it sucks a LOT...
i hardly give out 1 star album, but...
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

LIFE

finally quit the job that drove me to write my halloween breakdown story...see ya later NHA!!!!

that fucking job affected my other, similar, job....when i didn't have that job for a couple of months, i finally started working on my computer skills again...job picked me up again (i'm casual) for once a week, and it's so stressful (yeh - you deal with drunken, fucked-up, cracked out people who just want a fucking meal - but it's not their fault! it's up to the fucking organization to provide support), and you get no support so you feel unsafe, alone....fucking stressed!!! when a client has to tell me that they have my back --- well, somethings really fucking wrong...i kept the momentum up on my computer skills...took a holiday...crashed....rested....travelled...took a break from everything...came back to that shitty job, and it was even more stressful...and since then i'm having a hell of a time trying to get cracking on my computer skills --- but i feel --- why??? it never gets me anywhere, and i can't put in the proper amount of time, to really get back in the field...so slow...every fucking career decision i've made has been the shits...in hindsight - always the wrong decision...don't get me wrong - i know i'm lucky...i still have potential...but, time is running out!...rant over and out....

ah...i feel much better...ok everybody! sit down and write out your own rant (for the web or not), and you'll feel a LOT bettter. I do!!!

time to start getting back into my computers!!!
*******************

man - except for keiji - this was a cranky post!
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Halloween Horror: "The Horror of Every Day Modern Life!!!"

i hate my job i hate my job i hate my job
i hate my job i hate my job i hate my job

the words repeat over and over
inside his head
as he feels more sucked in by the day
with seemingly less chance of escape
how did he end up here?

i hate my job i hate my job i hate my job

the clock patiently ticks away
closer and closer to the morning

i hate my job i hate my job i hate my job

it was only for the money
make some cash...then get the hell out
but it didn't end up like that

I hate my job I hate my job I hate my job

The debts stays the same, not going down,
no other jobs, can't afford to move,
ain't getting laid ain't getting paid...enough

I hate my job I hate my job I hate my job 

3 years now, how many more?
1 more, 2 more, 20 MORE!!!

i despise my job i despise my job i despise my job

waking up in the morning
(did he wake up? was he already awake?
if you don't sleep you never wake up...)

i kill my job i kill my job i kill my job

he'll be there next week, definitely til xmas, then?

I am my job I am my job I am my job
I hate myself I hate myself I hate myself

he drinks his coffee...like he does every day
he has his shower, brushes his teeth,
mindlessly walks to the car
puts the key in the ignition
and drives to that place

I hate my job I hate my job I hate my job
I hate my job I hate my job I hate my job

he parks his car outside the trailer
where he works
and he sits
and he sits
and he laughs
the laughter increasing hysterically

I HATE MY JOB! I HATE MY JOB!
I HATE MY JOB! I HATE MY JOB!

he laughs and laughs and laughs and laughs
then he hears banging on the windows
he turns the radio up louder

I HATE MY FUCKING JOB!!
I HATE MY FUCKING JOB!!

more banging on the windows
...the sound of sirens
voices whispering...
and he laughs and laughs and laughs
as he's taken away in the ambulance
he thinks to himself:

I didn't know it was this easy
to take time off from work!
&&&&&&&&&&

Boo!!!!
top 2 (fantastic) paintings done by Yue Minjun
bottom photo from the classic "Evil Dead II" - one of the greatest movies of all-time!
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Stray Thoughts from a 1 week vacation to Prince Rupert and Terrace, BC...Neil Young, poetry, drawings & Paul Jones

The following is taken from my notebook...and memory...October 11th - 18th...flying solo in PR & Terrace!
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I heard an angel
calling me
down on the
devil's sidewalk,
I put my
bottle down
picked up a
joint instead
anti-depressants
and walked down
this empty street
feeling the wind
slap my face
and shake me
down to the core...
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driving past the finished line and i ain't finished yet...
Paul Jones: Crucifix in a Horseshoe (1971) The ex-Manfred Mann group lead singer uncorks a classic and no one seems to notice or remember...i love the lyrics...making fun of stardom and everything that goes with it...literate...catchy as all hell...i think this is a lost classic!!! Here's a review.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

listened to a couple
getting it on
in the next room,
wishing it was you and me
fucking like dogs
in the noonday sun.
##############

saw a small bear at the side of the road...finally...it's been over a year since I saw my last bear.
&&&&&&&&&

sometimes a critically acclaimed album from an artist you really like, can not quite hit the spot with you, for one reason or another...or just aesthetically? This is true of Neil Young - one of my all-time favs...Top 5 material fer sure...Harvest Moon? seems to be considered fairly classic....yet...it just doesn't hit the spot for me..it's sorta...ya know?...boring...except for the song about his dog that died. Harvest? well, it's pretty close to classic and it does have some of his best songs...ever. Needle and the Damage Done & Old Man are classic, baby, fucking classic...alabama's a close 3rd for me, but heart of gold? blech...

now with neil there are albums of his i love that critics seem to dis. Reactor? i just love the sound of this...mashed potatoes indeed...Life? not classic, but Too Lonely, Prisoners of Rock'n'Roll & Cryin' Eyes are a fucking great trio of hard rocking tunes...and inca queen is beautiful.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Were Sonic's Rendezvous Band one of the greatest rock bands of all-time? Listening to the box set, I would find it difficult to argue against it.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Music & Me

i have more fun
stoned
alone
at home
just my music and me
my escape from reality 
and you can say 
what you're going to say
but i can't hear
what you're sayin'
cause it's just
my music and me.
***************
the truth behind room 411 at the highliner...

********************

Harvey Dog's fav bands and musicians: The B's - Beatles & Beefheart then interupitis...

It's time for the B's! Grab that cd list and let's see who I feel like talking about...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The Beatles: well well well...the beatles were the 1st that i couldn't ignore...the beatles....the FUCKING beatles!!! there are some haters out there --- [i'm looking at you teezy luciow and randy!!]...what can i say...the 1st album i completely went insane over was The Beatles 1967-1970 - the classic Blue Album! got it as a xmas present and it still sounds great!! i am the walrus was, like, my fav song at the time...and i still love it...I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together...brilliant! as a kid i would read whatever i could of the beatles. i was fascinated by their story - i remember reading Hunter Davies bio of the beatles and it felt decadent to a catholic virgin of 11-12...they talked about drugs - and it sounded so cool...these days i can see that the beatles were not infallible - and i'm not as crazy about sgt pepper as i used to be, but it still has absolute classics on it (title track, lovely rita, day in the life - but not she's leaving home or when i'm 64 - schmaltzy or what?? ...fucking mccartney...). the white album would be my fav, followed by abbey road or the blue album...rubber soul was pretty great too...i even like let it be! man, i can't deny it...i'm still a big fan!!

Captain Beefheart: TOP 10...nope...TOP 5! definitely!!! i become more of a fan of the captain each and every year...like most people (unless you have a mental illness) trout mask sounded somewhat...different? than anything else, so it took a few listens and then you start differentiating the songs and you get your favs...moonlight on vermont, china pig, dust blows forward, veteran days poppy...then you start picking out even more...ella guru, well, orange claw hammer -- then it all makes sense, and you feel content...my first captain was an 8-track of unconditionally guaranteed...bought on holiday in some mall in the states for like 50 cents...i always loved the name - beefheart -- fart...hahahaha...beeffart...yep, a life-long fan of fart humour is born...and i loved that 8 track! i was maybe 12-13 - i didn't know about selling out yet. i change up my fav captain depending what i last listened to...trout mask (of course)...loved spotlight kid and clear spot...shiny beast and doc at the radar are incredible...also read his bio by mike barnes (2004) found at toronto's world's largest book store....in fact, read it twice...i suspect the captain took more drugs than i realized...then it all makes sense...and makes you feel content...
(interruptus...now 2 days later...)
this will be continued in another post - next up
The Bintangs!!
David Bowie drops in for a visit...Charles Bukowski gets drunk,
buttholes and an animal...
and a buckley named tim...
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Computers - Javascript is case sensitive stupid!!! Working away on my web site.

Computers

Sometimes it's a stupid thing that can hang you up. So, I'm blowing off the cobwebs on my javascript skills by going through Murach's "Javascript and DOM Scripting" (2010) book, and I can feel the skills sharpening. Then I go to the first simple exercise - and it's simple enough (very simple actually!). BTW - I'm using Notepad++ with the autocompletion. I type in an alert method to display upon loading. I'm digging the notepad autocompletion feature, and I type in window.onl (and click enter when the onLoad event displays for autocompletion). Simple enough, eh? So's I drag my mouse to open up the file in Mozilla - what? no alert!? I go to IE 8 - and nothing. WTF?! I go digging online - can't find nothing...wait a minute! JS is case sensitive...I change onLoad to onload & voila! It works. When events are members of an object, they should be lowercase. D'uh!!! This is one case autocompletion in notepad++ hung me up for a bit...now I know.

Oh yeh, I should  also mention I really like the setup of the Murach book. Excellent!
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Web Site

I am wanting to get back into web development, programming, database game asap. This is what I went back to school for - this is the field I made the most money at - this is the field I can plug away at past 65 (easy on the body) - this is the field I enjoy most. To do this, I need to build up a portfolio, and I finally decided I need to start by getting my own web site up and running. I've started working on it, but won't put it up until I'm satisfied with it. First one, will be a combo of personal (music & poetry), business (a web design page) & hopefully I'll also get this blog inserted into it. Eventually, I'll want to separate the 2 web sites (personal & business), but man, I realize I got get the motherfucker up!!!

Back to the JS book.
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I haven't forgotten about my fav artists, and will soon work on The B's! That was fun.
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Harvey Dog's fav bands and musicians: The A's - Acid Mothers Temple, Ash Ra Tempel, Amon Duul

There's a "pick your fav 15 albums in 15 minutes" kind of thing going round on facebook - and it's fun and all that...but, I just never seem to get around doing these things. I think it has to do with albums you'll never forget...or something.

I'd rather blog it or nothing, dammit!!

Now, if I did do it, what would I pick? What albums (man, that term sounds quaint now, doesn't it?) would Harvey Dog choose? What albums had that kind of profound effect on me? Like the rebellious creature I am, let's do this by listing some bands / artists that I was lady gaga all over at one time or another, include some links and maybe you'll find something that will pique your interest. That's the whole point of these things, isn't it?
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Acid Mothers Temple: around 2000 while still living in Hamilton, I heard of these Japanese legends and became very curious...i remember walking into the record store on King St. that I used to go to all the time (man - the name's not coming to me - dr. disc? hmv?), to pick up Beefheart's "Grow Fins" (the store had this in stock, so it was a fairly cool store) and I went up to the record store guru and asked if they had any Acid Mothers Temple, and was met with a blank, but polite, stare...eventually, I went online and ordered "New Geocentric World of Acid Mothers Temple" [aside: this must be 2001 when this slab of molten metal was released]... and was NOT disappointed. In fact, I became obsessed! Psychedelic Space Age Futuristic Guitar Noise Synth Squiggles (courtesy of the amazing Cotton Casino) powered by the rhythm section...I am still hooked and still travel the psychedelic escalator to the temple regularly. They have released seemingly hundreds of albums and have another 54 shows (right now!) on Live Music Archive for free and legal download. A wonderful way to try em out! Now, I'm exploring offshoots including Floating Flower & Kawabata Makoto's solo excursions. God help me...

Now, you see why I have trouble doing these lists? I get sidetracked! I've consumed a LOT of alcohol & drugs in my life...

Ash Ra Tempel: while living in Prince George, my friend Randy introduced me to tons of krautrock & japrock that included these geniuses. The first album of theirs that I got into was the collaboration with Timothy Leary (yep - Timothy fucking smiling Leary), "Seven Up" (1972) and it intoxicated me. I soon listened to all their albums, and looked around for the more obscure stuff - in fact, "The Private Tapes" (1970-1979) & "The Making Of" (1978) very well could be my favs. Check out Manuel Gottsching's "Inventions for Electric Guitar" (1974 - sometimes listed under AshRa, but it's only Manuel) & "E-2 E-4" (1984).

Honurable mentions of other influential A's:
Amon Duul & Amon Duul II: Last night I was checking out Psychedelia: The Anthology dvd, and Amon Duul II did a mind melting version of "Eye Shaking King" which was probably the best thing on the dvd...the reviewer linked to was pretty spot on - except for Family, whom I think are fantastic! The original Amon Duul is sloppy psychedelic stoned guitar playing that I happen to love.

Albert Ayler: another golden find from my friend Randy! Randy had the box set - what an amazing package!! Unfortunately, we're like - in debt, you know, so I just can't afford it, but if I could afford it, this is one to get! Like a lot of free jazz, Ayler is someone you'll enjoy more each and every time you listen to him. Another fucking jazz genius!!

Louis Armstrong: my Dad is a big Louis fan, so I got into him as a kid, and respect the shit out of one of the 20th century icons. Check out his 20s-30s stuff instead of the later show tune stuff - but, that's not to dismiss his later stuff at all. It is Louis after all, so genius pours out of every single note. His 1954 "Louis Armstrong plays W.C. Handy is especially great.

Agitation Free: classic krautrock.
The Animals: always been an Eric Burdon fan!
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Well, that's it for the A's! No idea if I'll continue this, but at least it gives me a subject to go back to.
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Drawing: Christian Man

Pen on paper scanned on a cheap old epson printer sized in photoshop...what the hell?

Computer issue solved (until the next one!), Yardbirds do Velvets!! White Heaven to Status Quo and goodbye Trouble!

computer follow up

got the mofo working!!!! turns out i needed to copy the .htaccess & index.php files to the root folder...i had them in my wordpress folder (1 folder under the root) and thought i had the settings pointing to the right place...but...obviously not, cause copying these files to the root (../htdocs/) did the trick! Yeeha!!! now i can properly learn wordpress!!!
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music

this is cool -- listening to a really rough recording of The Yardbirds live from 1968: "Last Rave Up with The Yardbirds (link)" and it's...rough, but you can tell it was a pretty hot show..."Dazed and Confused" sounded a lot like Zep's future versions, and then the next song started and I thought:
"What the hell - that sounds like I'm Waiting for my Man!' - i'll be damned - it is! The Yardbirds covering The Velvet Underground back in 1968...never heard of this - interesting...& it sounded good too!!
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what else have i been listening too??
right now? right now! I am absolutely grooving on White Heaven's "Out" (1991). Definitely inspired by The Stooges...and I'm sure Les Rallizes...I love desperate rock'n'roll...ya know...ya have to rock or...you got nothing to live for! Another classic from Tokyo...if you haven't you should check out the "Tokyo Flashback (link)" series...that's where I first heard of these guys.

I am digging Devo's "Hardcore, vol. 1 & 2" - demos from the men in yellow. These songs are way more sinister lyrically (& experimental) than the albums.What is it about demos? Demos capture that original inspiration, before you start editing it for (mass) consumption...there's an innocence and purity about demos that can't be caught in a "real" studio.

...and now, the original Pebbles series (volume 1, no less) is next up on the mp3 player. Gotta love the energy!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
odds and ends odds and ends

Bah and I went to Spirit Lake today for the first time in ages and it was great - sun shining, beautiful scenery, my harmonica...and listening to Status Quo "Never Too Late" (1981) of all things. Thoroughly enjoyed the bastard too!!...these guys are so consistent (ie. not taking chances) that it's sorta admirable. This is from 81 but punk might as well have not happened...they still cover Chuck Berry - and so they should! I can imagine the studio dialogue:
"dude, we need a slow song here"
"slow the beat by 1/8th."
"dude, we need a fast song now."
"speed the beat by 1/8th."
"cool, dude!"
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the mind has been exploding ideas lately, but i've been having trouble collecting up the rubble and piecing it all together....
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RIP Trouble...I miss you.

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