The best living guitar player

Adrian Belew may be the best living guitar player. OK--I've checked and it's official. The guitar seems to move him--it comes to life and plays the player. One of the best shows I have ever seen was his Inner Revolution tour at the Barrymore in Madison. We had front row seats and watched as the music smiled on us. The highlight for me that evening was The Rail Song. Of course you can catch Adrian with King Crimson as well these days. There you can see the perfect compliment to Adrian in Robert Fripp who seems to will the guitar, while the guitar wills Adrian. Here is a clip that just belew me away.

Flaming Lips

The show was great. As I left the show I wasn't overly excited. I was expecting the energy level to be high, but I found the mood to be slightly somber. As I reflect on the show I realize that the songs and performances were powerful in a different way. The emotional songs are sticking with me. They did a great job capturing the uncertainty and troubles we are collectively in at the moment. Acknowledging the confusion and pain while asking everyone to help support each other. It was refreshing to see a band perform with honest emotions rather than the usual overly enthusiastic act that has become the standard at a rock show. The more I think about it, the more I appreciate the experience. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a downer--we had a lot of fun. A few highlights: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2 (a crazy instrumental with 20,000 glow sticks flying like a food fight), and My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion (a beautiful sing-a-long). They closed the show with a cover of "War Pigs" with images of Bush, Rumsfeld, etc, and bombs. I think they meant to send a message that wasn't altogether pretty. They were shooting a DVD so you might get to see the show as well. Until then, here is a clip from the show. (Please excuse the quality--I'll do better next time--this was just made with my portable camera).

Flaming Lips Tonight

Tonight we are going to see the Flaming Lips at the Hollywood bowl. The Bowl is a great outdoor amphitheater where you bring a picnic to eat either at you bench or at picnic spots around. It has been a magical experience everytime. You might be able to see the white Hollywood sign just to the right of my head.




I have been quite a fan since Transmissions From the Satellite Heart which is quite a masterpiece. The new album At War with the Mystics was a life changing experience for me. I stongly suggest seeing the documentary Fearless Freaks to shed light on the album. I am ready to be moved.

As a follow up to an earlier post, here are the top songs on my Mac mini iTunes:

The Will Always Negates Defeat (The Flaming Lips)
Given to Fly--live (Pearl Jam) --I know I'm as surprised as you.
Haven't Got a Clue (The Flaming Lips)
My Cosmic Autumn Rebellion--The Inner Life As Blazing Shield Of Defiance And Optimism As Celestial Spear Of Action--(The Flaming Lips)
The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song--With All Your Power (The Flaming Lips)
Everybody I love You (Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young)
Vein of Stars (The Flaming Lips)
The W.A.N.D (The Flaming Lips) Yes it's on here twice because I bought the single before the album. And yes, both make it into the top--one has one profane word erased. Total listens:67
Mr. Ambulance Driver (The Flaming Lips)
It Overtakes Me/The Stars Are So Big...I Am So Small...Do I Stand A Chance? (The Flaming Lips)
We Have Heaven (Yes)
Five Per Cent For Nothing (Yes)
Pompeii Am Götterdämmerung (The Flaming Lips)
Elephant Talk (King Crimson)
Goin’ On (The Flaming Lips)
Discipline (King Crimson)

This is what I have been listening to lately. Much more positive, but it wouldn't make a great set unless you were on the way to a Flaming Lips show!

iTunes

My brother and sister-in-law gave me a gift card for iTunes for my birthday. I love getting music--it is a thrill that shouldn't feel quite as good as it does. I sometimes feel like the record industry has created an addictive drug that I must continue to consume. I used to swallow up radio, but there is almost nothing interesting left on air. Now I am struggling with choices. 99 cents is a great deal for a song, but I am hesitant to buy an album for $9.99. So I am stuck trying to find songs that I would not ever want to buy the whole album. This is very difficult. I find that I end up buying songs for nostalgia that used to play on the radio. I won't admit just yet what I bought. I've got $15 left to spend--suggestions are welcome. I also find the tracking of my listening habits on iTunes a little disturbing and a bit fascinating. My iPod used to be connected to a laptop, but is now connected to my Mac mini.

Here are my most played songs from the laptop:

Chest Fever (The Band)
Extraordinary Machine (Fiona Apple)
Wings of Thorn (Guided by Voices)
Universal Truths and Cycles (Guided by Voices)
Jesus Hairdo (Charlatans UK)
Stagnation (Genesis)
Huffer (The Breeders)
Storm Vibrations (Guided by Voices)
Carbon Monoxide (Regina Spektor)
Father and Son (Johnny Cash and Fiona Apple)
Forever for Her is Over for Me (The White Stripes)
Looking for Someone (Genesis)
Don't Change (INXS)
The One Thing (INXS)
Hold my Life (The Replacements)
We're Going to be Friends (The White Stripes)
Frosty the Snowman (Fiona Apple)
Dog and Butterfly (Heart)
All Used Up (Sloan)
Have a Heart (Bettie Sereveert)

I know you are saying "camera, where is all the Zeppelin, Yes, and Floyd you speak so fondly of?" I don't have an answer. But this would make a great radio set.

Something about Dirk's class going swimmingly made think of my days at Roosevelt Junior High. You can see a clip of what is now the middle school. There was a pool at the school which meant that swimming was included in gym class. I'm not sure if everyone today goes through this rite of passage, but I remember fondly the tight fitting (almost spedo-style) matching suits everyone wore. When I did a google search for an image of Junior High school swimming suits, two of the first three sites were from Minnesota, so perhaps this is a regional thing. I couldn't find an appropriate image and I don't think I will post the pictures from my junior high yearbook. Wearing those suits was such an uncomfortable experience, but I still savor the slinky skintight memories.

Not much has changed except there are more computers--well I should mention that we had the original apple computers when I was there and I learned to program in the powerful language BASIC in my math class. Now that I mention it I see how this whole train of thought connects. My math teacher in eighth grade--who taught us programming--was also my swim coach. I also distinctly remember a film about the metric system that made me very ashamed to be using those dirty English units. I'm glad we got away from all of that.

You can't stop rock and roll.

Fishbone is Red Hot

In the past few weeks we went for a great hike in the Malibu canyons with Robert and Stephanie. We hiked through some thick brush up a river bed to a waterfall. There are some photos on The Barrington Blog.

I had a streak of luck this weekend. Robert, Phil, and I entered a limit hold 'em tournament and I managed to make 5th place of 77 which paid quite well. A few things I learned about poker tournaments: 1) people get mad when you beat them 2) most 70 year old women are extraordinary poker players 3) some people are mean 4) some people are nice 5) you really do have to know when to hold them and when to fold them 4) it helps to be able to count and 6) I think a straight beats two pair.

The tournament was at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. I decided to go the night before to check out the horse racing in part because I wanted to see the place, but also because the price of admission included a Fishbone concert after the racing.

I don't know if I can explain just how exciting Fishbone was. They brought such an amazing and positive energy--and when I say energy I mean intense energy, the kind usually reserved for rants and aggression. I think positive aggression best describes Fishbone. I was filled with genuine excitement and a renewed energy to fight for peace. Fishbone is red hot. I am glad I didn't find a ticket for the sold out radiohead show that night. I would have been amazed and depressed; instead I was awakened and inspired.

I got to chat with Dirk today--it has been far too long. I am happy for him. We talked about a musical project involving large prime numbers--who doesn't love the sound of large prime numbers?