I was quite blessed growing up to have to loving parents that provided for me and my sister in many tangible and intangible ways. I never had to worry about my food or shelter or anything, and Santa Claus was always overly generous. One thing that we received from him one year was the MAC (Mobile Action Command) series of action figures by the Matchbox Car company. These were intrepid adventurers and rescuers that followed me through a wide variety of adventures in at least two states. Their secret mountain headquarters had everything that intrepid rescuers and adventurers might require to aid them (except women and beer, but that is a different action adventurer). I miss playing with them and thank my parents for their largess. I have GOT to find those guys...
This week, my world civilization class will be studying the Harappan culture, located along the Indus River Valley in modern day Pakistan. I am thinking about just having them watch Ravi Shankar videos, despite the fact that Shankar is from Bangladesh. Do you think that would bother the students? Decisions.
For those that didn't know, I purchased a ukulele over the summer, which is a so-so teaching aid, I am finding. But it is hard to deny how cool ukuleles can be:
"You Down With OPB (Ocean Pacific Brand)?" "Yeah, you know me!" There I was, pacing the aisles of Wal-Mart, looking for something to fill the void in my life, when I chanced upon the discovery of the re-release of a clothing line near and dear to the hearts of those of us who came of age in the early eighties. Yes, I'm talking about the venerable OP clothing line, sold exclusively now at the Mart.
Gone are the days when we would have given our front teeth just for the opportunity to own an OP shirt. True, perhaps we placed too much value on material things when we were in middle school. And, probably, our sexuality as well, as I remember worrying profusely that a friend of mine and I wore similar blue OP shirts to middle school one day, only to be called "fags" by a bunch of cooler people who now probably work at Wal-mart. So, confident now in both myself, my sexual orientation, and the world in which I live, I hurl down the gauntlet of fashion and proclaim this summer not only the Summer of Mike but the Summer of Eighties Inspired Beach Wear! Who's with me?
I took piano lessons. I was never really into them, mainly because we played Sound of Music songs for our recitals. However, there has been something in me lately that can't get enough of synthesizer sounds in music. I would love to have a Moog or Prophet-5 in my apartment, to make rumbling analog synth-pop type music. As a result, I offer some of my favorite keyboard songs here, for you, the viewers of the Veeb!
This first is from Genesis, off of their self-titled album, with a scary song called "Mama."
While that is indeed ominous, here is a really bizaare and scary video from a Swedish keyboard band called The Knife, with their hit "We Share Our Mother's Health." I am not sure what I have witnessed here, but fear that it has sent me over the edge into psychic distress...
Now, all I gotta do is find the old Casio keyboard from the eighties we used to have and, viola, instant hitmaking! Enjoy!
This band was in line with the REM / Byrds sound that seemed to dominate the early eighties while I was in high school. The kinda music that made you want to wear a white dress shirt with a black vest you got at Goodwill. Kinda wish they'd bring that kinda music back...anyone with me? I have a vest...
I'm back on the Stiffs - Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello, Rockpile. I want to start a new wave band - Ruthless Jonah and the Marble City Rockets. Whose with me?
Girls would talk about us, because we would be so sexy and exciting! Enjoy!
Lou Reed, singer and songwriter of reknown and infamy, is coming to Knoxville at the end of April. Who knew that our back water burg would rate a guy like that? I got great seats to see him and will be able to say that I saw him when I talk to my grandkids (Did you really, Grandpa?). Of course, I didn't get to see him all drugged out and homosexual-acting as in this video:
Besides Lou, though, there are a few other bands that are coming this way that I am excited about as well. Pere Ubu will be playing here Easter evening, and X from Los Angeles will be in Asheville in May. Who knew that the big guns would end up in Knoxville and the surrounding environs, besides Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney? Looks like I will need to be giving more blood plasma to see 'em all!
Much like we did with Spam, my office decided to have another processed food day, this time with Cheese Whiz. I made Turkey Tetrazini with Turkey Spam, Ramon Noodles, and Cheese Whiz. Everyone liked it but Chuck, and he had to make a huge big damn deal about it that he couldn't eat it. Stay tuned for further details...
In honor of the cheesiness of the day, here is a really cheesy eighties video:
Seriously, will someone tell me why they don't make movies like this anymore? I realize that the 1970s amped up the excess in rock music to the point that punk HAD to happen, but this movie celebrates the theme of excess to such an excessive level that it seems almost comfortingly, orgiastically cathartic. Maybe the GSHA band could perform inside a building that's being imploded!
By the way, I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE! THE TRAILER ALONE MADE ME CRAZY! WHAT A NAME FOR A MOVIE! Enjoy!
The first annual Spam Cookoff for the Arts and Sciences College has come and gone. While I was unsuccessful in attaining an award for my Spam Vindaloo (which is actually better with age, we discovered today), all of the recipes were quite good, despite all the preconceived notions of how Spam tastes. Chuck, incidentally, refused to participate and didn't even come in to sample the dishes, earning himself the coveted "Spam Punk" award in the Spammies. Travis Hardy, using the American Southwest as his inspiration, created a spicy Spam Hash that was quite yummy. The winner of the best in show Spammy was Megan Harris with her interesting Spam Cornbread casserole that was the hit of the event. Now that the buzz has died down and the Spam put away, we have decided to try something different for next month - maybe Ramon noodles or Cheese Whiz!
What a day it is today! The birds are singing, the squirrels are considering the current economic situation. Mothers pause to look lovingly into the faces of their babies, and former enemies throw down their machetes and axes to finally embrace in peace. We here at the Veeb are buoyed by the spirit of this day, and anxious about the dual goals of this Friday: celebrating our blog's anniversary and taking our Spam Vindaloo to the Arts and Sciences' Spam Cookoff. Although our initial excitement about our recipe was shared by all, last night's blind taste test revealed that among the things that the good Lord never intended was for Spam to be marinaded - Spam's density as a meat prevents its ready access to marinading forces. As a result, we are not so sure about our dish's success. Even served in one of television art teacher Dan Mihuta's clay bowl creations will probably not help...
But, in addition to the cookin', there is the rockin'!
Today is the first day of the rest of the fiscal blogging year that is the Variegated Brainstem!
Today is the day that one year ago the future of the world was set into motion!
Today is the day that one year ago a iron gauntlet was hurled into the face of humanity!
Today is the day that one year ago people began to realize again that MUSIC IS REVOLUTION!
Today is the day that one year ago a humble graduate student with nothing better to do took considerable time from his studies to bore the world with his acid casualty observations!
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is our extreme pleasure to welcome you to:
VARIEGATED BRAINSTEM, YEAR TWO: THE RECKONING Enjoy!
For some reason, I was thinking about traveling recently, especially those travels back in my youth. My sister, who shares my whacked sense of humor for things a bit askew, used to listen with me to tapes on our Realistic tape recorder on many family trips throughout this great land of ours. We would be in the back of the station wagon with the seat down, un-seatbelted of course, drawing on old computer print-out paper from my dad's office and reading comic books and playing Simon and Merlin and card games, all the while listening to Bible stories narrated by Burl Ives and various other tapes my parents had to make us tolerable during the trip. I don't know if she remembers, but we used to giggle and giggle in evil glee at some of the songs on a compilation tape of oldies that my parents had. There was "Que Sera Sera" sung by Doris Day. Mitch Miller did "The Yellow Rose of Texas." But, the one that really got us cackling was "Hey, There (You with the stars in your eyes)," sung by Rosemary Clooney, George's aunt. The way it was recorded, she would sing the chorus (Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes...) in one channel and then speak a reply in the other channel (Are you talking to me?). This was too funny for the both of us, and we would laugh and laugh and laugh and hyperventilate and laugh and laugh and eat some Trix cereal and laugh and laugh and rewind the tape and listen to this again and again and laugh and laugh and laugh until we were at the beach or West Virginia or wherever we were going. This video I have posted is probably from a Karaoke machine, so it has no pictures. However, I think that you will agree, as my sister and I believed and still believe, that this remains either very funny or very disturbing. Maybe even both! My sister has since gone on to be an amazing mother of four (I am her oldest) and I hope that she will one day pass this song on to her other kids as some sort of legacy that will either slightly scar their psyches or make them continue to enjoy drawing pictures of purple dogs and orange trees.
Every once in a while, a video game comes along that makes me quiver with excitement. I realize that I am older and wiser but, dammit, I enjoy playing these games. I don't shoot heroin or kidnap little girls at the playground or bilk old people out of their savings. I just happen to enjoy the occasional video game. To be sure, I am not a huge fan of the zombie genre, but after recently watching videos about the upcoming video game Left 4 Dead, I am excited beyond words...at least concerning an upcoming video game. To be sure, being ABD means that I must now work on my dissertation for my PhD. But I am worried that too much work on the PhD will cause me to not be able to adequately stem the tide of zombie aggression that will be unleashed in the summer of 2008. What is a man to do? Stay tuned for details, and KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES!
Here is a way to blow some time that I discovered recently on a variety of blogs, such as this one and this one. It is a way to create a fake album cover for a fake band that you make! Follow these instructions and you will waste a ton of time, giggling, sighing, or wishing that these bands existed. If you dream it, they will come to your house and rock!
Slap it all together and you get something like this:
Martorell - they're a zeitgeisty tour-de-force that combines the post-punk intensity of Joy Division, the dual lyricism of Bernie Taupin and Lou Reed, and the full-on feedback assault of the Jesus and Mary Chain, all nicely piled up together in a sunshine pop and vocal-harmonizing wrapping of the Osmonds. Check them out this spring on tour, if you can. Enjoy!
Hello, loyal viewers! The Veeb has issued its first soundtrack CD, entitled Make the Madness Stop. It contains a variety of psyche-skewing songs for your musical aggrandizement. Tracks on this first of several collection include:
1. Stereo Phase Test - Man Or Astroman (01:04) 2. Magic People - The Paupers (02:45) 3. At The Mountains Of Madness - HP Lovecraft (04:58) 4. I Put Spell On You - Arthur Brown (03:45) 5. The year of the sun - The Gordian Knot (03:02) 6. my mind - The Misunderstood (02:35) 7. Spiral Galaxy 28948 - Hawkwind (03:47) 8. Through My Eyes - The Creation (03:07) 9. Lysergic Bliss - Of Montreal (04:04) 10. I'm A Nut - (01:02) 11. Bottle Of Wine - Fireballs (02:11) 12. Cup Of Jesus - Joel R. Cooper (02:26) 13. Sardinia - Alabama Sacred Harp Singers (02:14) 14. I live for the sun - The Sunrays (02:28) 15. Laughing Stock - Love (02:32) 16. A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off - The Magnetic Fields (02:42) 17. The Third Eye - The Dovers (02:17) 18. Happy - The Sunshine Company (01:58) 19. Trouble - Lindsey Buckingham (03:49) 20. Me - The Brain Train (02:25) 21. Groovy Summertime - The Love Generation (02:24) 22. White Cat Heat - The Godz (02:12) 23. Something In 4/4 Time - Daryl Hall (04:27) 24. You Keep Hanging up on My Mind - Wendy & Bonnie (02:59) 25. Watch out for Me Ronnie - Yo La Tengo (03:02) 26. Some People Never Know - We All Together (04:21) plus a secret or too!
Not to toot our horns here at the VCC (Veeb Central Control), but we are pleased at how this CD flows, making everything from dish-washing to the daily commute to encounters with the rhino-hive mind something to look forward to! Drop us a line if you would like a copy. Enjoy!
This is one of the greatest videos ever put on the internet. Can you feel it? The hypnotic beats of the band make you fall down in disco-inspired seizures.
In case the first video didn't get your toes a-tappin' and your legs a-twitching, here is a video of the great German Krautrock band Can, performing their hit "Paperhouse." If ever you wished that you could find a German band that had a Japanese singer who sang in English, all the while convulsing on stage with his jazz-rock posse high on mushrooms and schnapps, then this one is for you! Enjoy!
Lately, Chuck and I have been engaged in the pursuit of our comprehensive exams and have not been to the Bean for a while. We decided, after his completion of his Group Two exam, to go there and hang out for a while. Much has changed. Smoking is no longer allowed in the building. All the televisions are high-def flat screens - there's even one facing the outside through the window so the people on the porch can watch sports. The bathroom is devoid of much graffiti, beyond some of the cogent observations that I have placed on the wall. The food is EXACTLY the same. They no longer have Pabst's Blue Ribbon on tap. Most of the servers and bartenders are new and have no idea that we have a long history there.
Perhaps it is wistfulness that makes me write this. It is hard to go somewhere after spending so many evenings there with friends to not be somewhat nostalgic over the whole affair. At the same time, our recent visit merely confirmed what I had felt all along when we went there: I don't like Cool Beans! I never did! I just thought the atmosphere was too sports bar and too frat and too Bacardi Girls and body shots and "Dude!" Not that I am above that, but I had always envisioned the Long Branch as a more suitable historian hangout. To be sure, the Branch didn't have food, pitchers, semi-clean bathrooms, or Bacardi Girls.
I know, as the good book says in 1 Corinthians, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." I realize that all of this is about as important as whether Kroger's runs out of Chex mix when compared to issues such as world hunger, peace, and war. This blog entry has no real denouement other than to say that, now that I am in the twilight of my grad school career, I miss having a large group of historian friends there to share it with.
I've been listening to a lot of soul, blues, and rhythm and blues these last few days. Many soul and R&B artists covered this song by the Bee Gees, such as this one:
Say what you will about them, but they could write a good song! Enjoy!
I was quite blessed growing up to have to loving parents that provided for me and my sister in many tangible and intangible ways. I never had to worry about my food or shelter or anything, and Santa Claus was always overly generous. One thing that we received from him one year was the MAC (Mobile Action Command) series of action figures by the Matchbox Car company. These were intrepid adventurers and rescuers that followed me through a wide variety of adventures in at least two states. Their secret mountain headquarters had everything that intrepid rescuers and adventurers might require to aid them (except women and beer, but that is a different action adventurer). I miss playing with them and thank my parents for their largess. I have GOT to find those guys...
