Good Morning. Hello. How are you? #1576
A lot about of words about assorted music, an update on two book projects.
Good morning! Hello! Hi! How are you? Oh man. I shouldn’t ask that. You are a good and right thinking person and are probably in a state of perpetual horror. I am sorry. Sorry I’m late. Jane has school off today for yom kippur a teacher workday. We put her in a Tae Kwon Do day camp with a friend of hers. I wonder how much Tae Kwon Do they will do. Real big activity around here, Tae Kwon Do. Because they have after school camps and they will pick up your kid from school and take em straight to the class. Maybe if she loves it we will put her in it.
Oh shit oh shit writer’s block this is not good. Here’s a picture of me at the homestead when I was two. CUTE DISTRACTION.
One little deviation from my schedule and I am fucked. Plus I don’t have much in my notes for possible GMHHAY topics. Well, I do, tons, but they all seem to have missed their moment. Crap. Crap.
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What are we listening to today we can always fall back on music, right? I was thinking about Stephen Miller this week and how I bet no one knows what music he likes. But if he does like any music whatsoever, I bet there are a few immigrants in there. Immigrants make our music so much more rich and rewarding. There are people out there that don’t listen to music, don’t care much for music. I had a friend like that in high school. Kinda suspect Stephen Miller is one of those people. Though I also suspect he secretly loves Abba.
Anyway we’re listening to a band called Knife in the Water. Just started my re-listen of this album as part of my clearing out the “To Investigate” playlist, which is down to 35 hours after a real good run of re-listens yesterday. The album here is called Plays One Sound and Others, and so far it’s fine. Track one is sort of a meandering thing with a nice organ sound and the guy is actually singing and not sing-talking so that is nice but nothing real special so far. On my first listen I starred two tracks. Might be all it merits. TBD.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the 90’s goth label C’Est La Morte, which put out these amazing Doctor Death goth compilations but also records by some of the best goth bands of the day, like Area (oh my god so good, just a fantastic band even now) and Johanna’s House of Glamour (ditto). I was kinda wondering what happened to them because I always loved their bands but also I loved their logo and thought it would be awesome to have a C’Est La Morte t-shirt. So I did some Googling and learned that the founder died a few years back. Thirteen years ago, actually. And his obituary doesn’t even mention the label, and that he influenced and moved thousands of people across the country.
I’ve also been thinking about this Swans show on Monday in Boston — I am going, by the way. Bought a ticket and everything. And how it is the last Swans tour “in this incarnation.” Which is a sorta vague thing. But no one seems to actually believe it will be the last Swans tour. People are going to the shows, but there does not appear to be any sort of, well, celebration? Memorial? Whatever the word is, hoopla around it being the last tour, second-to-last show.
It’s like everyone these days believes no bands actually break up and every band will be back. And there is some truth to this. But also, bands are dying! People are getting old! Michael Gira from Swans is 71 years old. There might be more Swans shows after this, but there are not gonna be that many. Look what happened with Low.
This is very depressing to say but there will come a day before too long where all of our Gen X faves are just… not touring anymore.
Sing while you may, Edward Ka Spel said. Also 71 years old. I have skipped his last three tours. He is coming to town in seventeen days. I am not going to miss this one.
In younger music news Bad Bunny is playing the Super Bowl and I was a bit confused cuz I thought he was banning America cuz ICE but people assure me this is a good thing and I assume ICE will be cool at the Super Bowl but actually maybe not, who knows, I do hope he does the entire set in Spanish, though. That would be great. Maybe wears a dress like he did that one time. Wait did I imagine that?
This Knife in the Water album has turned out to be a kinda lovely slow-country album with lap steel and it is pretty pretty.
Here’s a picture of my dad in the Newspaper cheering at a Nanooks game:
I guess I should confess to you I am giving up on my AI book. Everyone’s writing an AI book and you know what I just hate it all so much I find it deeply unpleasant to even write about it. I wrote about 13,000 words. I estimate that to be about one fifth of the book. I do not feel like writing the rest. I am mildly debating just dumping on you all that I’ve written so far but that would be cruel. TBD. Advice welcome.
Emma has gotten some work so the cover of GMHHAY volume 2 is a bit delayed but I am hopeful she will get it done in the next week or so. That’s all we’re waiting on to send out for test prints so then I think I could open up pre-sales. I am sure you guys are very excited.
Don’t have a good Jane anecdote to close out today. She was fine from her car tumble. We went to McDonald’s this morning. She chose number 30 for our table tent number. She loves choosing table tent numbers. She did not eat much. We talked about the difference between Wi-Fi, Cellular and Bluetooth in the car this morning. She actually listened. Sometimes you can actually teach her things.
But only when she doesn’t need to know it.
Here we come to volume five of our 1991 retrospective, the UK/Manchester pop edition. This is a good ‘em. That Wendy’s song, man. Better than you remember it.
Until tomorrow, fair friends. BABY CORN DICK.
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Good Morning, Hello, How Are You vol 1.