Check out my NEW websites!!!

Hey

No more updates for Harvey Dog's Carnival....which hasn't been that active for the past few months. But check out my new sites!!!

Harvey Dog Writing (a website repository for my writings old and new)

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Harvey Dog Music (starting off as a music blog, but will develop into an informative music website)

and check out the first website I did to re-enter the computer field:

Traditional Haida Carving and Beadweaving

Goodbye Blogger, it's been fun! Remember - I'm a freelance Web Designer now, so if you have any work you need done...

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New Web Site Up!

I just finished registering 

harveydogwritings.com

and

harveydogmusic.com

I still have a couple of things to do to get harveydogwritings.com to where I want it, but it's up. Nothing yet for harveydogmusic.com, but I've started it using wordpress and the start of it should be up in a day or two.

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Further updates will be forthcoming!

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Update: Jobs, Computers, Click Clack this and that!

It's been quite awhile since I've updated this blog, but there's been too much to do and not enough time or energy to do everything I want...what da fuck?!?!

Career Update

I am now out of life skills for good...no more social services for me...I'll look at it as a great learning experience, but time to move on...

I am back doing what i should have been doing all along - web development / programming / databases - trying to kick-start my computer career again, but this is it...I've had it with shitty jobs for shitty pay that just stress me out...

Here's a link to the first official website designed by John Harvey (hey that's me! I'm leaning towards calling my freelance business Click Clack Web Design - I think)...anyway here's the link...give it some hits motherfuckers!!

Haida Carving and Beadweaving

As I look at it there are still ways to make it better, but I'm happy with this as the first...that's what I love about web design...it can always be better, and it's never wrong - just could be better.

Personal Websites

I am working on a website as a repository for my writings, which should be up online by the weekend...

and then I want a music website

...then a wrestling blog

...and most importantly a website for my freelancing business...anyone need a website done? I am working hard strengthening my javascript and php skills, learning all about CMS, and ten million other things to do with computers...seo, semantics, jquery...

Where does this leave the blog? Well, eventually I'll probably have blogs within my writing, music and wrestling sites / blogs - most likely leaving blogger behind...but not yet, and who knows???

Music Notes

Sun Ra is still fucking awesome!

Tangerine Dream are awesome!

Bang Bang Billy Bang rocks...

so does Sam Rivers...

now back to working on some javascript!

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Poetry: Memories Awakened

a friend died

this morning,

i feel sad

and warm at the same time

as memories

become the present

and memories

i had not thought about

for years...decades...

re-appear

as if yesterday

last night

right now...

the times we

found ourselves at the

foot of some stage

soaking in the music,

every decibel

a part of us

and we bonded and drank...

gwar

gaye bikers on acid...

lou reed...

suicidal tendencies...

laughing hyenas...

he's seen me drunk and crazy

yet never judgemental,

a positive energy

emanated from him,

and he's heard every note

of every song

ever recorded...

and some not recorded,

and if you sold 12 albums

and were a garage band in Sweden

chances are

he had one (or two) of those 12

albums --

the wrestling shows

abdullah the butcher

terry funk

a bloodbath by 2 old warriors

of the ring

as we watched 

enthralled

completely entertained...

and it's been 7 years

since I moved away,

modern technology

kept us in touch

but it's not the same

and i wish i was there

at the roller derby

at the local wrestling shows,

talking about music

as I scribble down

obscure band names to look up

and us at the foot

of the stage

soaking in every decibel

every note

...

a friend of mine

died this morning

i feel sad

&

i feel warm

...

june 9, 2011

Still Alive and Well....

Yes...I am still alive...and I am well....been working on my computer mojo and doing web site designs, and no more fooling around...still alive and well...more to come...dum dum dum...yowza!!!

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Music: Roy Harper (3 youtubes), Tim Buckley and Tangerine Dream are awesome!!

Time to knock out a quickie music post
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Roy Harper is really good...he has a really great voice...he writes strong lyrics...I really enjoy listening to him when he pops up on my mp3...but there's something there that's keeping him out of my top tier of favs...why is that? what is it? not sure, but he's certainly worth checking out, which you can do at earls psychedelic garden (prob. my fav - Stormcock 1971) and see what you think.

Tim Buckley is another guy with an amazing voice who has reached the top tier of my favs at various points through the past 10 years, but when I listen to his live albums he sure sniffles a lot...hmmmmm....

Tangerine Dream -- they've won me over and i am now a huge fan! What took me so fucking long?!?!?! Check out lots of live Tangerine Dream at Sugarmegs Streaming Server.

still d/l tons of live shows at sugarmegs and it's driving me crazy! TOO MUCH MUSIC!!! bs..never too much music...

i'm in the process of d/l a 10cd box of High Rise: Psychedelic Atmosphere Beatnik Tour 2000 at bleak bliss...i can NOT resist...thank you Mr. Bliss!!
####################

I'm a little under the weather today, but I'm transitioning back into the computer world - and that makes me HAPPY! So much to learn!!! I'm lovin' it!!!!!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Since this was a shitty little post, I better leave off with some youtubes...I chose 3 Roy Harper live vids and like I said - he's really good...

Here's Roy on The "Old Grey Whistle Test" from 1977 playing One of Those Days in England from HQ (which was the album I listened to which made me think "hmmmm...Roy Harper? He's good. Shouldn't I like him more?") thanks RoyHarperFan.


From 1986 Roy does One Man Rock'n'Roll Band. hmmmm...watching this man play live is making me think I better revisit him soon...great guitar playing! thanks Zelig666.


Roy playing "Hangman" with Jimmy Page in the mountains around 1984. thanks imagineerstube.

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What? I said!!!! What???????? I SAID!!!!

I have a million things to say

...but no one's listening

Now where's my pipe???

Ah...that's better!

Now what was I saying???

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

Poetry(?): Shit

Shit

I may talk too much
about my shit
but that's just me dealing
with my shit,
I'm not saying my shit
is the worse shit of all,
or that it's worse than
your shit,
no no no shit no...

not at all

I know that I'm a lucky shit
since my shit
always hits the toilet bowl,
while I see lots of
people who have no
toilet bowl
to put their shit...

and you know what?

that's shit...

march 12, 2011
*********************

STEVEN TYLER!!!

STEVEN TYLER!!!

ALL THE LADIES LOVE

STEVEN TYLER!!!

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Music: Sun Ra: Paris Tapes 1971 and 4 ra youtubes!!

i am absolutely freaking out on Sun Ra's: Paris Tapes 1971 disc 1...this is some primo wild ra...saucers swat notes out of the air like flies fleeing an incoming newspaper, and the arkestra follows the flies into every nook and cranny of the collective cranium of the...universe? cosmos?
wherever sun ra leads them...
follow them....
listen to ra...any era...the soul of the cosmos will open to you...
ra is speaking to me through his magical fingers dancing on his synthesizer and the chanting is hypnotic : "Somebody else's idea of somebody else's world, is not my idea of things as they are"...
and the final 22:42 of the final song on disc 1 watusi is a ride of crazy percussion and random screaming that makes all sort of sense and sounds...ethereal...
read about and d/l the paris tapes...
sun ra discography...
live in paris on art yard records (only the sampler..not the 2cd version)....
####################

ah fuck it...it's hard to talk about anyone else after sun ra...even though as klaus schulze's jubilee, vol. 17 comes on...nah, klaus deserves a full post soon...
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YOUTUBES of Sun Ra

Here's some black and white ra from West Berlin that is mind blowing...marshall allen is the one going nuts on the sax i believe...and some of the comments are hilarious...guess not everyone thinks this is music... i think it's beyond music!!...thanks erikmyxter

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

when i heard that the sun ra arkestra was laying in hamilton and i was in northern bc and even though sun ra is dead marshall allen is still there and i bet the spirit would still be there and i wish i was...thanks 74elcaminohef

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

wow...just, i mean...wow!!! thanks chieflittlenuts (lol)

#########################

a short slice of way the fuck out there this is amazing shit...thanks tspgatmog

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Poetry: Anger

Anger

I shiver with rage at the lack of sensitivity
when I walk around your smelly downtown,
There was this asshole
who pushed me aside, he thought he was tough,
I'm not taking it - I've had enough!

Don't push me round
Don't put me down
Anger

Sex in the city, isolation's free
if you want to live miserably,
why don't you talk to me,
I'll remind you of your history,
we can't keep making the same mistakes
if we wanna die, naturally!

We gotta fight
We gotta right
Anger...

This anger cannot be constrained
This anger cannot be restrained,
it's time to spit it out
and let everybody know,
that it's too late to be sedate
we've got to let the anger flow!

We gotta fight
Don't push me round
Anger...

I hate working the night shift
under the stars so bright,
I'd rather be free of employment
making the manager's rich
while I struggle to pay my rent
all they do is bitch!!

Don't push me round
Don't push us round
Anger....Anger...Anger!!!!

written early 80s when I was around 20ish (and apparently working the night shift!). Recorded by The Hated Uncles 1985-1986 era.
*******************

Rant: Jobs, Insurance Geeks, Computer Relief and still seeking the Light!

RANT

I have too much anger in me today...

This is not healthy.

I have incredible anger towards the insurance company that declined me for short-term disability benefits after a 3 year struggle doing Life Skills - something I never wanted to do in the first place, and ended up doing a fucking great job at, and it was good for maybe 6 months - until an accumulation of events lead me to numbing out...a sign that a "breakdown" is coming. I did the right thing - left work and made an appointment with the doc.

The doc listened to me for 45 minutes describe the events at work that led to me being there, and he got up and said: "you need 2 months off".
I felt relief...started going to the gym for the first time in over 10 years - so naturally I started to feel better after a couple of weeks...but, not even close to being ready to go back to work. 

Then this insurance clown calls (Tysen H.), and in a 30 minute conversation steered totally by him (as he read off the computer - I know, I worked at a call centre at a bank and you are not allowed to think - they tell you what to say right down to the exact phrasing!), he declined me for short-term disability benefits! Every fucking peon here gets short-term disability...except me! I obviously didn't play things up like I should have - I indicated that after 2-3 weeks I was improving - that was a mistake. I should have said I was still a mess...well, he made sure that I was going to be even a worse mess than before.

I have Major Depression and the last 7-8 years has been incredible hell with time periods of relief here and there. Then some joker behind a desk in Vancouver sends me a letter explaining what disease and disability are. I live with the fucking depression - so does the Guru - so does Poobah - and I don't like it and I want it to end (the depression, not life), but since that call declining my benefits I have started having panic attacks...something I didn't have regularly before..thank you Mr. Insurance Dickhead. [aside: btw - I have 2 docs who completely support me and can't believe I was declined - I'll appeal, and thanks to the 2 doctors for listening, and hearing, me.] 

I want to do computer work - I can for about 5 minutes...until my brain gets foggy...
I want to write - I put it off...

I know where I want to end up career wise, but I'm having a bastard of a time getting there.
I need to think like a web programmer once again...
I need to leave the bullshit jobs behind me or I'll never deal with this depression...
I'm stuck, but trying to claw back out...I can still see a light where anger can melt into something constructive, where creativity can reign supreme...or at least where I can have a job that is at least...ok...that would be...ok...

I needed this rant cause this is what's on my mind lately, and I gotta get it out...so I can leave it behind...and as I write this I can feel the anger dissipate just a bit...thank you for your time motherfuckers...
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
note: cool pic from This Southern Blog (about someone dealing with autism).

Oil Oil Oil Oil.........and more OIL!!!!

O I L

This was my response to a facebook share of the Dead Baby Dolphins (what a great punk rock name for a group!) being washed ashore at 10X the rate of normal on the Gulf Coast. Do you think the Gulf Oil Spill has anything to do with this???

Here's the link to the story: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/02/dead-baby-dolphins-gulf-coast-10-times-normal-rates.php

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The Oil companies control the government that control the media, and they say they need to do research (and the results won't come out until it's faded from people's collective memories) before they can determine if the oil spill had anythi...ng to do with this...we all know they want to sweep the full ramifications of the oil spill underneath the public radar...and instead of really finding alternative energy means North America is more concerned about "controlling" their own oil supply. Whether it's from here or the Mideast it's still fucking oil and it's still a threat to the environment...and we all have cars and we all need imports and exports which need to be shipped using amazing amounts of oil and the rich oil barons are more concerned with their own propaganda to make more and more money...Oil is the Devil's cup of tea and we all need to do what we can to reduce our oil consumption and break away from our reliance on it...and I'm looking right at myself!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The cool image is from alainsaffel.com which has a good article on the BP Oil Spill.

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Music: Recent Web Discovery!! Sugarmegs - live concerts and bootlegs!!

I was mindlessly searching the web for some musical goodies to enjoy, when I accidentally stumbled upon SugarMegs Audio.

This site has a HUGE searchable database of live shows and bootlegs from --- damn near everybody! I was almost expecting old Hated Uncles shows. The files are .wma (Windows Media Audio) are small, don't eat up all your bandwidth. You can listen or download by right-clicking & doing the old "Save Target as..." link. None of the files (as far as I can tell) are official recordings. There are live shows & bootlegs [aside: they call em Liberated Bootlegs - I guess since they are shared freely, and no one is making a profit off the artist].

A couple of other things...you download only one wma file per show or bootleg, no matter how long that show or bootleg is. So, you won't be able to burn any shows over 80 minutes. I don't burn cds anymore, so no prob for me. It may be nice to break up the file so you can listen to smaller segments of the show, BUT I ain't gonna complain!! Down the line, I may get some software that will allow me to split the file. When I get my new record player (to rip my old lps to digital - and save a shit load of money when we move!), maybe the Audacity software I'll be using will allow me to split files? Not a huge priority for me, so I'll wait.

some shows I've downloaded to give you a sample of the goods

Pharoah Sanders - 2 shows. One from 1968 and one from 1971.

Tangerine Dream - lots of the Tangerine Leaves & Tangerine Tree etree releases. I really like Tangerine Dream. Will they move into the top tier of my fav krautrock artists??? They have a chance now.

Pink Floyd - 3 shows & boots from the Syd era. I'm as big a Pink Floyd fan as I've ever been, so will be checking out lots more of their live stuff. I want to check the Syd era out in a bit more detail.

Mott the Hoople - 3 shows from their punky rocking your fucking house down era of 1970 & 1971. and there was a 1975 ian hunter show as well!

The Kinks - lots of shows I'll be checking out later...i started with a few shows from 1969 to 1977.

The Guess Who - there are around a dozen shows from the 70s, so i grabbed all the ones i hadn't exposed my ears too...i'm a proud guess who fan!!

Parliament-Funkadelic - i've had no luck locating old funkadelic shows, but there's one from the sugar shack in 1974, and a 3 cd boot of unreleased stuff...as creem magazine once said: "boy howdy!!"...or something like that...wasn't boy howdy a beer or was that a detroit joke that went over my then-adolescent head?

Flo & Eddie - i have a soft spot in my heart for the turtles and flo & eddie, so was thrilled to see a few shows from 70s flo & eddie on here...also lots of zappa as well...

There's not much here in the way of krautrock or japrock, but there are a couple of Ghost shows, tons AMT, 1 les rallizes; and for the krautrockers, there's an agitation free show, a can show...and the tangerine dream i mentioned...some damo suzuki shows...so not a lot...but there are a few gems...i'll continue hunting...

There's lots of jazz on here for you jazzbos...ive d/l some coltrane shows...not heard enough of his 65-66 live stuff...lots of miles...thelonius is on here...fuck, even oscar peterson has some shows on here!!!

the bottom line?
the shows vary in quality - all the way from unlistenable to soundboard quality - at a low bitrate, but low bandwidth, it's free and a great way to discover and re-discover tons of musicians and find some shows that you've heard about, but never heard...it's an amazing site, i love the internet, now get outta here i got some surfing to do motherfuckers!!!!!!
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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!
****************

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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