Reunion Mix

Got an email from a friend who I had lost touch with...Need to bring him up to speed on where the ears have led me. Yeah, there are a lot of tracks from the 4:50am Mix, and similar segues...dj riffs I suppose. This is Part 1 of X, where X=unknown.
Cat Stevens Peace Train
Alabama 3 Woke Up This Morning
The Cars Good Times Roll
Yeah Yeah Yeahs Miles Away
Prince Musicology
Public Image Ltd. Bad Life
Liam Lynch United States of Whatever
Gary Numan Jo the Waiter
The Breeders Happiness is a Warm Gun
Patti Smith Wing
Nguyen Le Are You Experience
PJ Harvey C'Mon Billy
Robert Palmer TV Dinners
White Stripes Sister Do You Know My Name
Castanets As You Do
Sleater Kinney Sympathy
El Negro and Robbie Sympathy for the Devil
Choad Poe
The Ventures Peter Gunn
Robbie Williams Come Undone
Part 2

Kip Hanrahan Gillian's Folk Song
Kinky Salta-Lenin-El-Atlas
Macy Gray Walk This Way
Viktor Krause Big Log
Los Lobos Wicked Rain
Dusty Springfield Son of a Preacherman
The Raincoats Lola
Ry Cooder & Manuel Galban Mambo Sinuendo
Gaby Kerpel Xplicamelo
David Bowie I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spaceship
Annie Lennox Bitter Pill
Courtney Love All the Drugs
Chris Watley Ode to Joy (Revolution of the Innocents)
Brooklyn Funk Allstars I Got Cash
War Slippin' Into Darkness
Tom Waits Baby Gonna Leave Me
Harry Belafonte Suzanne
Gang of 4 Of the Instant

Ghost In the Shell 2: Innocence

Nate and I drove to Lawrence to catch this outstanding anime. Yes, it was shown to rave reviews at Cannes, but I can't blame the Theatres here in Kansas for not showing it--Nate and I were 2 of the 4 people in attendance. Didn't lessen the movie, shown in a stadium seating, modern theatre, in focus and loud enough, just kept the show interruption free.
The animation, like in the original GITS, was a melange of styles. This upped the wow factor, but did take me out of the narrative at times. In the end leaving the story to smile at visual mastery is a better reason than hectic camerawork.
The theme is right up my alley, machine/human interface and the blurring of same. Memory, loss, regret, perception, the mix of technology in a free world without clear divisions. I can't wait for the Dvd!

disintegration loop 1.1

I received a package of goodness from the desert of AZ today. One very special item was this Dvd, from the japanese label, Headz. This is a conceptual Dvd pairing Basinski's meditations on aging with the very real event of 9/11 that unfolded less than a mile from his apartment. The music is evocative by itself, but nearly sublime when heard coupled to this imagery. Click some links and read what others have said about the work.
Tape loops, digital delay and decay are the stuff of the music both of my bands trade in, but we have achieved nothing with the power of this Dvd. I am struck really, and embarassed somewhat, that the japanese are releasing this. Apparently the RIAA didn't see any profit potential. This Dvd won't get much play at my house. Once a year I think.

Night Photography -- The Spirit of Kevin

Outdoor Stadium lights, indoor macro work. There is no satisfactory explanation!

Eucacademix on Tzadik

I have had the pleasure of seeing John Zorn several times in the late '80s, early '90s, while living "backeast". Zorn is an accomplished musician, agitator, and apparently record label owner!
His music and bands are eclectic, bespeaking a tremendous intelligence and sense of organization. I will leave a few crumbs for the interested to follow, but rest assured, from the Big Gundown through News for Lulu, Zorn is a monstrous creative force. Oh yeah, he just turned 50.
This post is about Yuka Honda's new disc, Eucademix, on Zorn's label. Yuka was in the band Cibo Matto way back, but post Nirvana...This is her "solo" work, a la Bjork, without an Olympic appearance and the movies. The CD is well recorded, thoughtful, and quietly avant garde. Please don't interpret the preceding sentence as Bjork bashing--she continues to push the edges with her latest, Medulla.
Eucademix has beat, samples, and Marc Ribot. Yeah, I've seen Ribot a few times on tiny stages:p This record is instantly accessible, but will of course not see any airplay until DTM rises from the ashes, and that is a shame..
Favorite Track: Spooning With JackKnife

Life as Lorq

Earth & Beyond 
Lorq was my char, or toon in the MMORPG Earth & Beyond. She captained the good ship Valis as a fierce Progen explorer, who was also quite insane. She was picked up by the Omni Consumer Products (OCP) guild and spent 1.5 years exploring the Pegasus shard.

OCP had members from the USA, UK, the Netherlands and Australia. A great bunch of people, from all walks of life working together in a terrific system of battling, trade and discovery.
OCP and E&B lost players to Eve, to Star Wars Galaxy, to budget cuts...and was shut down by EA games September 22, 2004. Vendetta will be next...and I hope the OCP will continue in that universe, I truly miss the guild, and my friends out there...

Anime n' Me

Motoko Stylized 
The Motoko that starred in the movie not the Manga was more of a hardbody and less a cyberdoll than this pic...
True to my Gemini nature, I don't care for much Anime, but loved Ghost In the Shell when I saw it in the theater years ago. I build Gundam models, but can't watch more than a few minutes of the anime. I didn't care for Skycaptain(in spite of my glowing review), but applaud it's audacity. Liked Final Fantasy the movie, don't care for the video game..I know, some may see the pattern. I feature this pic on the site for the release of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, which just opened stateside, but not here in Manhattan(of course)! To celebrate, I watched the original Ghost on dvd, and loved it all over again. Any Matrix fans out there that have not seen this film, must. The Wachowski Brothers watched it a few times, and pay serious homage --or rip off, if you are negatively wired--several scenes. Bladerunner kids will enjoy it, as well as the Gibson Cyberpunk crowd. I feel a list brewing...

Choad Returns!

Chris, Guitarist for Choad 
Choad headlined on a Wednesday night at PJ's here in Manhattan Kansas. Musical mischief and mayhem ensued...
Choad has been on hiatus for a bit, while drummer Ed--or Ned--both could be correct for an as yet unreported reason--went off to Italy to find his muse or petition the pope or open a furniture store in Milan--neither Ed nor the band will confirm or deny how long the the pope spent with Ed. Or Ned.

The Mighty Choad opened with a slow numba', stage shrouded in darkness (which was apparently the theme for the evening)... It was not long b4 we could actually hear the vocals..mostly.
Fear not, the Choad rocked the house. Apparently it was the lounge crowd last night, as instead of moving tables out of the front of the stage several industrious and misguided student and lay-about types moved chairs and tables right up to the monitors!
This did not prevent Chris from spilling a few drinks of the front row types as he left the stage during a sweet solo during the encore..
This Choad fan hopes the band will update the event schedule on their website...and get back in the studio to finish the new CD!

4:50AM Playlist

Miss Frenchie - Do Ur Race
Anna Domino - Rhythm
Orgasmical - Hazmelo Suave
http://solesides.com/winblad/triphopmm0694.html - Talking In Beats
Macy Gray - Walk this Way
The Ventures - Peter Gunn
Waldeck - Aquarius
Joyo Velarde - People Like Me
James White - Almost Black, Part 2
The Viscounts - Harlem Nocturne
Eno/Byrne - Lot
Robbie Williams - Come Undone
The Specials - A Message to You Rudy
The Temptations - Shaky Ground
Sleater-Kinney - Sympathy
De Phazz - Atomic Cocktail
El Negro and Robby - Sympathy 4 the Devil
John Lurie - Nose Punch
Patti Smith - Gloria

Skynet

What Will We Catch? 

Skycaptain

Franky Cook smokes... 
Went to the matinee(appropriately) of Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow. Angelina Jolie chews the screen. She is absolutely riveting amidst the fantastic(literally) backgrounds of this movie. Jolie played paramour, pilot, and the hand of god...I'm not sure I blinked once while she was onscreen.
Skycaptain "has it all", miniature beasts, mysterious asians, german scientists, dinosaurs and amphibious planes. You decide for yourself if this audacious film has enough for you. Like Final Fantasy the movie, it is the first of it's kind, and deserves your attention during the fall movie doldrums...particularly if Hero isn't playing near you!

A Magic Moment

I Guess That This Must Be the Place... 
September Hog Roast Buffet featuring cool jazz by the Wayne Goins Jazz Quartet & Friends • Music begins at 8 p.m. • $3 cover

$3 cover! 4 piece jazz band, drums, organ, sax and guitar. Smoking guitar, covering some John Scofield, some MMW, and a barrage of standards. But the magic moment was the JAG...
During the second set the guitarist got a mic and called for the JAG in the house...see the ARMY band was in town..The army guy walks to the mic..and owns the club with an old Bill Withers classic "Ain't No Sunshine" tears crept into my eyes as the confusion of Iraq, my own military service, the in your face life of this guy all collided..and could he sing..
Truly a magic moment.

Man On Fire

Man On Fire 
Denzel and Dakota, two of the most charismatic actors today. Ridley Scott's brother directing. NIN on the soundtrack, alongside Kinky and Linda Rondstadt. How come no one went to this film, which, btw, was just released on Dvd? Perhaps it is too long..actually making us care about the characters b4 the killing starts? Maybe it was the film's overt redemption message? Maybe people were mad that Christopher Walken didn't have a bigger role? It doesn't really matter.
I found the camera offputting in the theatre, but watching it again on Darren's big wide screen allowed me to catch more of Tony Scott's intent with the moving camera and saturated color palette.

Blue Screen of Death in the Headlights

BSOD 
Don't shut your computer off for 3 months.
Booted her back up, attached her to the network. Updated Norton, Windows.
Windows update failed during .Net install..reboot and trying again was suggested.
This Bluescreen was the result. I dug through the "discdrawer" and found my WIN2K install disc, sans the code...I hope when I boot off of the disc I can just repair the OS...

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Jill Valentine
She is a good shot with that pistol. Decent hand to hand, and another piece of gorgeous eye candy from the silly movie in the title. One more cool character to post, once the photos are released, Nemesis. Yep, even more leather, latex and guns.

Milla Time (sorry)

Alice
Resident Evil: Apocalypse, boom boom, girls with guns...and Milla
Absurd, nonstop, and yes, more herky jerky fight camera...

the Golden Shoulder

the Golden Shoulders
Top Billing at the Dusty Bookshelf.
Guitar, shakers, harmony and personal politics. Nice bit of Post Modern folk..

Manipulator Alligator

Manipulator Alligator
Action shot of Matthew Hoppock live at the Dusty Bookshelf

K7

Latest CD...
So I get a few records from PBE, a distributor of musical weirdness that fits my groove pattern. On his newsletters that are chock full of stuff I have never heard of, he links to sites to give you a taste. Email PBE, and ask to be added to his list, but be aware it is a retail distribution, not a "free music" list! One such site was K7, where I signed up for their newsletter.
They announced this CD, and provided some mp3 links. Bought the record direct from the label, 10bucks.
Nonesuch has a similar marketing approach, so sign up, keep informed.
This record? Crazy synthesis of musical styles with humor that goes beyond the title. Grooves aplenty, though more hectic than than the G Stone Records sound that I currently find irresistable...

Eloquent Hands

Jody Mikhail -- mixed media

No Compromise. No Sellout.

Not Exactly Unbiased
Doom 3 brings magic back to the PC game.
Just finished reading Masters of Doom, just finished playing through Doom 3. Took a little longer because I couldn't play at lunch--too much light in the room! I am now in the design phase of my own Doom level, and am learning the built in Doom Editor.
id epitomizes small, mobile, independent.
id and Carmack have given another gift to the gaming community. Nothing looks as good as Doom 3 in the "fps" category.
A tip: don't got to the theatre expecting a book. You pick up the pieces, there is no spoon to feed you with.

Attention 2 Detail

Modified Bandai Kampfer MG
Stay tuned for under construction photos of my next model: Mortar Headd V-Siren 103N

Casual Observations of No Consequence

1. Miami spelled Maimi on national TV. Specifically on CNN HDLN News prior to to the latest severe weather in Florida. The misspelling was on a weather map..
2. Called my lunch order in to Panera, to avoid the line(still waited 12minutes at the counter). Watched a woman pay for her bagel with a credit card.
3. Driving on a two lane 45mph highway I watched the guy in front of me, going 15mph under the speed limit swerve into the other lane forcing the truck in that lane to slam on brakes. The swerver was on the phone, and reading some paperwork. I did not see any sign that he was aware of what he had done. Oh yeah, this was directly across from the "Riley County Law Enforcement Center".

Mash Up

Spent some time this morning looking for some "Mash Up" tracks. Mash-ups have been around for awhile, and are composites of songs, layered together. The best of them create something completely new from the mix/splice/mash. The first mash I remember hearing found Gary Numan under Adina Howard lyrics, sung by the girlgroup Sugarbabes. It all worked, much to the chagrin--except no one was smiling (except the listeners)--of the artists in the layers.
Our friend the copyright. Oh my. Well, I will not go into P2P, RIAA, and the whole ridiculous mess. I have been a Numan fan since the Tubeway Army days. I owned most of his records up to Warrior and have replaced them all with the CD versions, at retail.
I have read that Numan hates file sharing, bootlegs and all of that--which would also include this superb track. Well, I have read my share of Philip K Dick and William Burroughs, and seen Numan lyrics ripped and mashed from those pages. You connect the dots.
Originally I was going to put up some links, but due to the bootleg nature of these tracks--disposable art--they would be dead in a week. Look around, use the marvelous search engines before "e-commerce" destroys search engines by making the first 3 pages of hits links to retailers instead of information. There is a true perversion, the "meta-tag".
The Wild-West that is the internet is fast being fenced and taxed and squeezed until the life is wrung from it.
Oh wait...gotta download some songs from Wal-Mart <---just shoot me now

End of a Picnic

Heavy Sky

The Machine Whirs 2 Life...

Coming Soon to Radina's Cafe

Friday Morning

Friday Morning in Kansas

Don't Call it Dinner Music

4 (count 'em) brand new jazz CDs to add to the pile. Let's get the bad out of the way: bought 'em from BMG. Buy one, get 3 free actually got me 5 CDs--1 I didn't order, and the 4 jazz discs. Total for B1G3F = 50.00!
That is called "handling". This type of BS is what got BMG sued years ago. I did take advantage of the class action suit payout--1 cd 4.99 with no shipping charges. Well, the "extra cd" is going back unopened Monday, and I will shortpay the invoice.
On to the good news:
Dexter Gordon -- Go. This was recorded in 1962, just b4 I was born. Smokin'. Covers Cole Porter's Love for Sale--hey wait! Isn't that a Talking Heads song? :) My intro to Dexter Gordon was back in the 80's, with the movie 'Round Midnight. You can imagine the window this movie opened for me..This "new" CD revived the smile on my face..the entire band is in top form. Highly recommended!
Wayne Shorter -- Alegria. This CD will require additional listenings to add anything to the linked review. This cat is 70 years old and still challenging the ears and the mind while the boomers sweat their disappearing SS benefits. Odd how creativity seems to exist without physical barriers, but whining starts young and just gets LOUDER.
Ahmed Abdul-Malik - Jazz Sounds of Africa.
Art Blakey - Indestructible.

Exorcist: the Beginning

1:10 Matinee with *A on a Sunday, just to up the blasphemy factor. Alas, that was not enough to make this any more entertaining..
I'll try to focus on the good, but all I can remember is the bad CGI. CGI flies, hyenas, cities, breath, soldiers, and the devil!
Star A liked it, she really likes arcane religious artifacts. Well. So do I, but not at this price.
Remembering the Exorcist, the long periods of nothing, the horror in broad daylight...the intimations of evil. Ouija board versus CATscan duality, symbolism, diametrics. All subtlety lost in this "made you jump" prequel.

The Cooler

Why didn't I see this in the theatre?
Oh, wait..I live in Kansas!
A very nice character driven -please don't read that as slow- movie set in Vegas. The
subtext is the major overhaul Vegas is in the middle of, as it becomes a vacation spot for Joe Sixpack and his family.
The cancer of the suburbs is confronted only once, but can be glimpsed in the edges of the frame throughout the movie. New York went first I suppose, apparently Vegas resisted The Gap and Disney a heartbeat longer..
Baldwin, Macy, Bello all bring superb performances to the table in this underlit jazzsmoke filled film. Apparently the film received some award nominations, as well it should have.
Do yourself a favor, rent it, watch it and marvel at a well told story.

Open Water

Saw Open Water with Darren today, 1pm matinee. Yep, interrupted the Big Rip! Worth the trouble however, a solid film. It is very obviously an outside Hollywood pic, with no actors I have seen before.
Premise, in a line: A couple left out in the ocean by mistake, floating.
Pluses: good dialogue, decent camera, nice use of minimal music. A touch of "Thin Red Line" nature photography, some truly beautiful ocean/skyshots. The movie conveyed nicely just how big, and primitive the ocean is.

I would compare this film to 28 Days Later, another outsider film that had a short run on the big screen. Don't miss this one.

The Big Rip

sdaughter leaving in 6 days.
Must Rip Her CDs!
Attempting to use Winamp Pro (yes, I paid for it, alright?) but it seems much slower than Cdex. I probably have some settings that should be tweaked. Any tips? I just dropped bitrate from 320 down to 192, a little improvement speedwise. Prior to ripping I am giving the discs a spin on my Bedini Ultra Clarifier. This voodoo technology vastly improves sound, and clarity on CDs and Dvds. Bedini makes 2 versions, a handheld and a close and play. The handheld is cheaper, but uses batteries, and has no spin cycle timer. Unless you are moving to solid state media, the only choice is the Ultra Clarifier desktop model. Read about it here Bedini and buy it here Elusive
Here is the list of rips, updated as they finish:
Radiohead - the bends
Big Audio Dynamite II - the Globe
switching to Cdex now:
Stretch Arm Strong - A Revolution Transmission
The Get Up Kids - S/t
Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks
Boxing Water - S/t
Slits - the Peel Sessions
Bratmobile - Ladies, Women and Girls
Kid Dynamite - S/t
Hole - Kiss Away the Darkest Day
Generation X - Perfect Hits
Strife - In This Defiance
Bruce Springsteen - Greatest Hits aborted..too many errors
Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals
Hole - Celebrity Skin
Saves the Day - Through Being Cool
Hole - Awful (Single)
the Anniversary - Designing A Nervous Breakdown
U2 - War
Stretch Arm Strong - Rituals Of Life
Patti Smith - Horses
Forgotten - Veni Vedi Vici
Violent Femmes - S/t
Reggie And the Full Effect - Greatest Hits 84-87
Bright Eyes - Every Day and Every Night
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 14 tracks of 20
Third Eye Blind - S/t
Smiths - Best ... I
Social Distortion - S/t
Bratmobile - The Real Janelle
Jets to Brazil - Orange Rhyming Dictionary
X-Ray Spex - Germfree Adolescents
Third Eye Blind - Blue
Smiths - Best II
Blondie - Maria
Lifetime - Seveninches
Fiona Apple - When the Pawn
Slits - the Cut
Music Does a Body Good - S/t
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
Reggie and the Full Effect - Promotional Copy
Coldplay - Parachute
At the Drive In - Relationship of Command
Stopping here for the day, a little over half done
NOTE TO ALL Y'ALL : take care of your damn CDs!!!
Operation Ivy - S/t
Taking Back Sundays - Tell All Your Friends
Raincoats - Moving
Imperial Teen - What is Not to Love
Ben Lee - Grandpaw Would
Poison the Well - Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder
Misfits - Legacy of Brutality
Hole - Be a Man
Team Dresch - Personal Best
Sleater Kinney - the Hot Rock
Go Sailor - S/t
Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
Sleater Kinney - All Hands on the Bad One
Eminem - the Eminem Show
Billy Idol - Whiplash Smile
Lazycain - 5 Days 80 Hours
Excuse 17 - S/t
Sonic Youth - 100%
Stephen Brodsky - expose your overdubs
Knapsack - Silver Sweepstakes
Sleater Kinney - Call the Doctor
Bratmobile - Pottymouth

Friday Night at Auntie Mays

Nate yanked me out of a scotch induced stupor to see this band: Mezcal Brothers
Rockabilly for 4 bucks in Manhattan..who woulda thunk it?
Nice stuff from the quartet, bands like the Blasters and the Stray Cats were the obvious influences. The Mezcal Bros struck me as a band ready to play that theme bar in Pulp Fiction: their surfaces were tweaked, everything from clothing to vintage microphones. The band had a self aware post modern edge that did not get in the way of a good time. A bar band playing jangily smooth edged rockabilly that just kept playing without tiring...us or them.
Alas, continued scotch lubrication prevented the snagging of the band poster on the way out...and my daughter beat me home!

From the Beginning

Is of course an Emerson, Lake, Palmer song. On a blog named after a Philip K Dick book. More to follow..
(more)
I used to keep a blog on Myspace.com, mainly to document/remember new movies/cds/experiences and occasionally rant. Alas, this Blog will be no different.
This should be easier to maintain for me than my old website www.valiscafe.com, that has not been updated for a number of years.
A good friend, TR, hosted that site, helped me on the technical side, and gave great moral support. The summer of the great movie drought and RL(tm) killed my enthusiasm for awhile.
All of that being said, perhaps I am more easily amused now, and have hopes to get some content here quickly.