The Rapture Is / Is Not Funny

I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, by now you’ve no doubt heard that  “Judgment Day” is coming this Saturday, May 21.  According to the biblical calculations of Harold Camping and the folks at Family Radio, in a mere five days, Jesus will return (!) and set into motion a six-month count down to the end of the world.

Normally  a story like this one, particularly on the topic of religion,  would lead me to write punch lines in hopes of scoring cheap laughs at the expense of these poor, lost folks. But not this time.

While I do believe that those who predict Judgment Day is five days away are laughably incorrect, I don’t believe they are crazy, at least not all of them.  I’ll call them misguided, misinformed, naive, and perhaps even too sheltered, but I can’t call them all crazy.  The ones that drive the doomsday trucks like this one:

Those people are fuckin’ bat-shit nuts.  Since we’re looking at this, please note the circle-slash 2012.  Our misguided friends that believe May21st 2011 is the correct date are in a strong conflict with the Christian / John Cusack film followers that believe December 2012 is the magic date for these events.

Now, I don’t know any Judgment Day supporters personally, but my guess is that they believe that their reasons for believing the end is coming are biblical and sound and good and 100% true.  Again, this is why I cant call them all crazy.

May 21 will come and go like any other day, I’m sure. And when we wake up on May 22, the various leaders of these various Judgment Day movements will have a perfectly ‘biblical’ explanations why all of us aren’t standing before God being judged.  I have some thoughts on this …which are similar to my thoughts on why I own no dog.

Here’s the part where I get sappy about the children….

There’s nothing funny about being misled, misguided, naive, and sheltered.   There’s nothing funny about these “true believers” quitting their jobs, draining their bank accounts or giving away their stuff. There’s nothing funny about kids believing and anticipating the end of the world.  I know that the little kids who believe in May 21st have what they consider to be “ faith in Jesus,”–but trust me, they are scared shitless. They’re nervous. Some of them aren’t sleeping. They’re asking lots of questions. They’re secretly hoping that it isn’t true. But they believe it is and their parents believe this.

And on May 22, while those of us who think that the May 21 Christians are crazy will probably be laughing or poking fun or explaining what we believe to be biblical reasons why they shouldn’t have put a date on God’s Judgment (I know I will!) the May 21st kids will be facing a “day of reckoning,” waking up to realize that their parents, priests, and theologies were somehow wrong. Many of those kids will lose something on Sunday. The questions that many of them will ask will get answered with lies, excuses or worse crappy biblical reasoning. Some of them will be angry with God for not bringing about the Judgment Day. Some of them will lose their faith and yet be unable to escape it due to their surroundings. There are also the ones that will go on like nothing happened and probably end up setting and believing in another date.

And there’s nothing funny about that.

Know your “friends”

Centcom Enters the World of Social Media

In a Guardian UK article found here, there’s some interesting info on the US military contracting to have “online persona management service” software developed to allow up to 500 (which means 500) fake online personas to be operated by military servicepeople. The concept here is that fake personas are created to troll social media sites  like Facebook, Twitter and blogs like this one in order to ‘counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the US”.  Mind you, Centcom claims the focus will be on foreign language posts, specifically Arabic, Farsi, Urdu and Pashto, and that this technology will not be applied to English language conversations. I’m guessing this is because the REAL terrorists don’t tweet in English, right?

What I wonder is, how useful will these Centcom “sock puppet” personas be out there on the web? The article states:

” The contract stipulates each persona must have a convincing background,     history and supporting details, and that up to 50 controllers must be able to operate false identities from their workstations “without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries”.”

This is all fine and dandy, provided the sophisticated adversaries really aren’t all that sophisticated. Most REAL people that have a strong internet presence including social media, blogs, etc. are very entrenched in the internet.  Heavy internet users spread their information across the web leaving trails all over the place. Unless you make a concerted effort to clean up your internet leavin’s you leave a lot of information floating out there (How’s that old Friendster profile of yours doin?) This can be a double-edged sword… A person with no internet presence cannot be “detected” but also cannot be vetted by other members of the online community. A person with a lot of information on the web, if this info is sifted through at length, is very exposed but can also be vetted. Does this all make sense…I’m a little out of practice with my blog postings!

My whole point here is that there is only so much “convincing background, history and supporting details” that can be created before Centcom’s contractors will be creating actual fake people. I’m not suggesting they will be doing this,  I’m simply suggesting that this sounds like they will be going to great lengths and spending shit-tons of money on what will ultimately be a failed project. Wait a second, I’m talking about the US Government here, OF COURSE this will happen!

Sock Puppet personas that can troll the internet looking to “respond to emerging online conversations with a host of co-ordinated blogposts, tweets, retweets, chatroom posts and other interventions.” will run up against the online community not taking them seriously. Its the internet, people. When a random Centcom faker starts intervening on your blog argument how seriously will you take him and of what use will this be to Centcom?  My guess is their first reported finding from this project will read something like this:

” Internet users were unable, or possibly uninterested or unwilling, to detect our false personas. Access was granted into many online conversations about a variety of topics including US and International affairs, financial markets, US foreign relations, the war in Afghanistan and Justin Beiber.

Military agents found some difficulty in obtaining Facebook friends as most members of the online community “didn’t remeber them from high school” Similar problems we discovered with obtaining Twitter followers as most false personas tweets were considered “mundane”, “stupid” or “really gay”.

After several months, many of the personas were found to be spending more time in chat rooms and discussions about Katy Perry’s boobs rather than investigating possible terror threats. While creating a convincing internet presence and usage mapping is important to this project, we did not expect having to invest so much time cleaning spyware and pornography off of the project’s servers.

The project has suffered significantly since most of the “alleged terrorists” in Afghanistan (our primary focus as suggested by the languages we outlined) lack both internet access as well as the ability to write their own language let alone type.”

Drop the Needle: I Like it…You’ll Like It..The Like.

Artist: The Like

Album: Release Me (Downtown Records)

Release Date: June 15th 2010

This album has been out for a month and I’m shocked to find that I am already feeling the need to defend it. I know, those aren’t the first words anyone wants to read on a record review, but it’s become obvious that The Like, their new album Release Me, and their new look and musical direction are confusing some folks. Mind you, I don’t find this much of a surprise since the vast majority of the listening audience these days expects to have their music explained to them well in advance and make no determinations on style, content or “what’s cool” for themselves. When a group such as The Like comes along, the non-thinkers only react with criticism.

That being said, Release Me is a refreshing new album put out by a band headed in a refreshing new direction. For those of you who may have never heard of The Like, the band emerged back around 2001 releasing a few EPs and then in 2005 their first release Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking, which was a very straight-forward indie rock offering from an all female rock act. That first album was great and well worth a listen or two, but with a few changes to the line-up and a new look The Like is really blowing the doors off. In September 2009, The Like announced their new line-up and repackaged look, that of a 1960′s girl group ala The Shangri-Las. This is one of the points of confusion for some people. They have taken their LOOK from the girl groups of the 1960′s, no one said anything about sounding like them. Most of the spoon-fed public expects that since most of the surrounding articles, interviews and photos make reference to The Like’s new look that this means they should be “shooby-doing” and “sha-la-laing” their way through every song. No. No they don’t and no they shouldn’t. This band is well beyond, in both musicianship and content, the girls they pay homage to. There is a ton of 1960′s style pop, psychadelia and Beatles-esqe rock infused in The Like’s music and, lets be honest, and the new look is a great match.

Release Me kicks off with “Wishing He Was Dead” a song which makes it clear that these ladies are not (quite) coming from the “He’s So Fine” camp of bubblegum lovey pop tunes. They’ve got the four piece-rock-act-with-organ down with bassist Laena Geronimo and drummer Tennessee Thomas laying a back beat that rivals any early sixties lineup. Vocalist Elizabeth “Z” Berg has a sexy, sultry voice that is very well suited for lead vocals on these songs and brings an air of early Breeders era Kim Deal. In fact, I think this is one of the best qualities of this album, these are sixties inspired songs delivered with the aggression, sensibility and sexual awareness of a solid alternative band. “He’s Not A Boy”, the title track and ” I Can See It In Your Eyes” are all rolling romps showcasing that The Like know their shit and arent afraid to prove it. Songs like “Fair Game” and “Narcissus In A Red Dress” evoke images the ladies cavorting in Picadilly Circus or riding The Tube while “Square One” is the closest to a Shangri-Las song as we get here. I would be remiss if I didnt point out the strength of the sleeper hit, in my opinion, “In The End”. Thomas pumps out a pure “Pretty Woman” beat which is overlayed with fuzzy guitars and Berg’s strongest lyrics and vocal delivery of the entire album.

All in all, there isn’t a bad song on this album. I promised myself I wouldn’t mention the relatives these ladies have in the music industry and I only bring it up to point out it doesn’t matter. The Like stand on their own merit and it annoys me that every article feels the need to point out who’s the child of who. This is steller execution of 60′s derivative alternative rock, it’s fun, it’s exciting and it’s well produced. Speaking of, I was really happy to heard that this album was made by The Like and it was “all us” as they say. No tricks, no computers and no cheating…four girls in the studio cranking it out. I look forward to more form The Like and you should too!!

Last words on this one: Thanks to USAMike (Letters to Cleo) for the hot tip on The Like. Had he not picked up the vinyl in Chicago, I wouldn’t have known about this one! Also, if my review isnt enough to convince you go to YouTube and see The Like performing an acoustic version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” by The Shirelles and their song “He’s Not A Boy”. Go out and grab Release Me…fun and top notch musicianship.

Rating: 5 out of 5 (As for it on vinyl!!!)

A’we gonna do what they say can’t be done…

…a little “East Bound and Down” Jerry Reed for you folks!

Enchilada!

A quick word of unsolicited advice to start off. Once someone has come to your house for a dinner part and brought to best, most delicious, mouth watering enchiladas you’ve ever had….you can’t EVER go back to the microwave enchilada. Not even the good ones from Trader Joe’s, which are surprisingly good.  It can’t be done.

and Stax o Wax

The CDs and LPs are just piling up on my desk. I have three half-finished reviews and DOZENS to complete including The Charlie Watts Riots (almost there), The Figgs, Dum Dum Girls, District of Columbias, The Like (which I’m constantly playing), the new Alejandro Escavedo album which is fantastic (another spoiler!), some other one…a Brit band, the list goes on and on. If you arent paying attention to music right now, you’re really missing out. That bullshit on the radio doesnt do it for anyone, you need to find the closest indie record store and ask the employees what they’re listening to…that should set you in the right direction. Of course, you should first come here and see if I have posted anything new. There’s alot going on in music and I think you’ll like it….which means ALOT because I’m a bitter, jaded old bastard when it comes to good music.

Thats all for right now, be back later!

….sigh…

OK, now I’m REALLY behind….I assure you its for a good reason. Well, a bad reason that will make good content.

Gotta run.

Follow me on Twitter to keep up….that DOES get updates. “druek” is the name to look for!

Fresh news….and last weeks clean up.

Some outstanding items for this week and some fresh news on new releases and bands about town.

Last week was I very involved with other things and only partially completed the content I intended to post. Therefore, we have some bonus stuff coming up this week!!!

New Reviews in the Hopper:

The Charlie Watts Riots “Long Story Short” :  My latensss should work out for everyone on this, because the album is now conveniently available on iTunes! No worrying about where you can find that pesky, outdated CD format when you can simply download it! Review is first in line to be finished up! These guys bring some Beatles/Superdrag inspired power pop thats sure to blow your doors off! 

The Like “Release Me” :  This all girl trio/quartet – depending on the day – has just release their second studio album and it features somewhat of a shift in style. Make no mistake, this shift is great. 60′s style chick rock with Farfisa and hand claps…and they couldn’t be cuter!

*The Like kick off their UK tour in August hitting both the Leeds and Reading Festivals followed by about a dozen dates across jolly ol’ England (not to mention Ireland and Scotland)

The Figgs “The Man Who Fights Himself” : I am ashamed of how late I am with this review since the band made a point of advancing me a copy all the way back about 3 months ago. As a bonus I will go ahead a include the new Mike Gent CD “Mike Gent” as well as Graham Parker’s “Imaginary Television” since these albums all came it me in one stack.

*The Figgs Next Schdules Show(s): Two “Homecoming” Events, but you have to wait til August:

08/06 Albany, NY – Linda Norris Auditorium (Record Release Show!)
08/07 Saratoga Springs, NY – Putnam Den (Record Release Show!)

New Releases on the way…:

The Doors guitarist Robby Kreiger’s instrumental album “Singularity” comes out June 29th (tomorrow) which will also give me the opportunity to tell the story of the time in 1993 that I met John Densmore (Doors drummer) and he was a complete dickwad to me! Exciting!

REISSUE:    KISS ARMY!! Rejoice!! This week, in fact today June 28th, Mercury/UMe released reissued Vinyl Picture discs of all four SOLO albums by the members of Kiss.  Ace Frehly, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Paul Stanley, respectively released self titled solo albums in 1978. The new vinyl reissue features liner notes and a fantastic picture disc!

REISSUE:  Fans of 1980′s (and beyond) New Wave/alterna rockers XTC can pick up the reissued, 7″ vinly mini-box set of their 2005 release “Apple Venus Vol. 1″  I suppose mini-box isn’t really appropriate since it’s 13 discs!! Also featured are 3 new songs previously only available as digital downloads.

Other FUN STUFF:

Also, keep an eye on Palmdale as their exposure already grows. This past week we saw additional V-Blogs from Kay and Linus released on YouTube, more reviews and their video for “Here Comes the Summer” featured on MTVMUSIC.com.  The duo is currently in the studio recording new material, I know so far “Mean” and “Things I Think About on Planes” are just about in the can.  I should also mention last week there was a Leters To Cleo “reunion” show at club ROOF on the top of the Wit Hotel in Chicago! Those that attended tell me it was fantastic!

Finally, With all of the excitement and protesting going on in Toronto this weekend for thje G20 summit, who else would you expect to roll into town Saturday night but Ted Leo and the Pharmacists! These guys have had a rough two months lately including a somewhat rocky and tiring European tour, lost equipment due to our fantastic airline service (which resulted with Ted’s Gibson being retuned with a busted head) as well as recent van breakdowns, cancelled Canadian dates, rescheduled Canadian dates and even James Canty’s cell phone dropped in a full pint of beer.  It really has been running the range of  issues for Ted and the boys,  so why not round it out with their June 26th date at Lee’s Palace in Toronto being mere blocks from the rioting and chaos on Queen Street.  Fortunately, the band was safe and the gig went off without a hitch. Keep at it Ted, the fans understand it’s been tough to come out and see them lately!

*Ted Leo/RX  Next scheduled show: July 1st at Dicken’s Pub Calgary, AB

 

Drop the Needle: Palmdale’s “Get Wasted”

Artist:  Palmdale

Album: Get Wasted (EP)

Release Date: March 23rd 2010

  The weather is getting nicer and that means everyone is thinking of what’s going to make up their Summer of 2010 soundtrack. Having some fun music blasting out of your car windows or getting that party jumpin’ is essential. So in this sea of shoe-staring-hipster-ephemeral-schlock bands how are you going to keep it fresh??  Worry not friends, Palmdale is here with their 5 song debut EP “Get Wasted” It has all of the fun, catchy lyrics, rock melodies (read: HOOKS!) and pop charm you’ll need to keep the party going til August and beyond.

  Palmdale is a brand new band consisting of Kay Hanley (Letters to Cleo) and Linus Dotson (Linus of Hollywood). Its very likely that you know Kay Hanley from her Letters to Cleo days as a Boston alt-rocker, but it should be mentioned she’s had countless solo albums, done soundtrack work and even toured as a backup singer for Miley Cyrus. Linus Dotson may not be a household name, but he is a prolific songwriter and producer around LA, has multiple solo albums, he also did a brief stint touring with geek rockers Nerf Herder. The duo is somewhat of a match made in musical heaven with Hanley’s sexy chick rocker appeal and Dotson’s ability to both compliment and magnify.

  The “Get Wasted” EP, opens with the sun-soaked pop gem  “Here Comes the Summer” which is Hanley at her best.  The song comes in soft and then Hanley kicks the door open with enthusiasm and aggressive, witty lyrics. The music is sweet, edgy pop the likes of which you don’t hear much anymore, but Hanley and Dotson are seasoned professionals at turning out. That said, its amusing that these songs were born from the duo playing around writing “cheesy pop songs” that they later decided to get serious with and Palmdale was born. The EP includes 4 original songs and a cover of Local H’s 1996 hit “Bound for the Floor”, which is such an unlikely cover, but if you’re like me and keep an extra special place in your heart for 90’s pop rock it’s a treat.

  All in all, “Get Wasted” is a solid collection of well-crafted pop songs. It is only the five songs which leaves you wanting more, but on their website the EP is referred as “EP #1” and according to Hanley the duo is already back in the studio recording more tracks. Hopefully this means we will hear more Palmdale in the very near future.  In the DC area, “Here Comes the Summer” has already shown up at the clubs and lounges on U Street that incorporate a rock mix. Check them out for yourself on iTunes or head over to their website for a free download!

Rating:  5 out of 5  (GO GET IT NOW!!!)

 

Music review format…finally!

  I’ve been promising to get more agressive with a “formal” review of new music on here, so now is as good a time as any.  As some of you know, Tuesday is the day new music comes out and thanks to a co-worker I didn’t have to move my butt to get my hands on one of yesterday’s new releases, although with the world wide interweb I wouldn’t have to move…but I’m a traditional kind of guy. Which is why we’re calling the music review…

Drop the Needle: New Devo!

Artist:  DEVO

Album: Something for Everybody

Release Date: June 15th 2010 (June 11th, digitally)

    The sticker on Devo’s first album in 20 years, their ninth studio release over all,  reads “Focus Group Approved”.  We’d expect nothing less from new wave, art rock conceptualists from Akron, Ohio.  Much more than a just a new album,  “Something for Everybody”  is a multimedia, performance-art project & marketing campaign designed to reintroduce the band as “DEVO Inc.” with commentary on American corporate culture and conformity.  The focus group sticker isn’t just a goof either, the band actually produced promotional videos satirizing the use of focus groups and corporate marketing methods to determine everything from which tracks would be on the album to what color the bands “Energy Dome” hats would be this time around.  (The color blue was chosen in the end.)

    The album’s 12 tracks were actually chosen through a real crowd-sourced “Song Study” and are true to the band’s somewhat formulaic style of jerky, 80′s era synth-and-guitar, catchy pop riffs and tongue-in-cheek commentary on the human condition.  This is a solid album in both tempo and vibe, with the first track  ”Fresh” coming right out of the gate swingin’ with a sound that reminds you of why you loved Devo the first time you heard Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!  Other tracks like  ”Please Baby Please” and “Human Rocket” have a dance floor feel to get you on your feet.  The overall production on this album gives Devo an updated, contemporary sound without sacrificing the band’s original feel.  Younger listeners might find this album interesting and open the door to exploring some of Devo’s earlier work – after all they’ve been praised heavily by everyone from Pearl Jam to Lady Gaga. Older listeners will be suprised to find an even more exciting and polished version of what they were expecting!

Rating:  4 out of 5   (whateverI’mratingthingsbasedon….eggs?)

 

For lack of a better post…

It’s Like, Dislike!

Today I…

Like:

Coke Zero

I’m still liking the idea of being a vegetrian. That 10lbs of meat is nearly gone, so it’s probably time to make this happen!

My kids playing guitar. See….

The fine products from Johnston & Murphy.  (Who would have guessed that Bristol Palin’s baby daddy and an aging, black comedian would make such a great team designing men’s shoes & fashion??!!)

The good feelings I get when I think about one day being able to travel internatioanlly again. This may conside with my recent visits to multiple Embassies (including Greece, Slovenia and Bahamas) I also recently came across the blog, life with aack.,   which focuses heavily on the artistic enclaves and culture of Shanghai, China. Here she profiles Taikang Lu (Road) and includes some beautiful photos.

Dislike:

People who say “Its OK, we need the rain”    To which I reply, F U.  Rain sucks and you know it.

Still hating the guy from The Juice Joint on Vermont Ave in DC.  Nuff said.

Taking an economics class in the summertime. Class content is fine, but summer school blows no matter how old you are or how you try to view it!!

That I’m crapping out with this post……

Mark my words….

Two predictions for the near future:

1) Gary Coleman’s wife killed him.

2) Al Gore is gay.

Just sayin’….I’ve been right before and will be again.

You’ll seeeee!!!!!