Ahhh, Christian ska bands, how I miss thee. This album was released in 1998, amidst the popularity of bands like Squirrel Nut Zippers, Five Iron Frenzy, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It's a shame that The W's kind of got lost in that third-wave ska/swing era, because damn they're good. Kind of like The Cheese, awesome band far before their time, and another reason I can cite for hating the Nirvana/grunge movement.
The amount of information on these vast intertubes about The W's is meager and sad. Really. Google them and you'll get one page of results. At least their Wikipedia entry is half decent. Thank you to whoever made that page. If you search Wikipedia for The Cheese, you get nothing...except some results from Wisconsin.
Onto the band...formed in 1996 in Corvallis, Oregon, they became an immediate hit in the Christian market, touring with Five Iron Frenzy and DC Talk, eventually doing the "Holy Rollers Tour" with The Insyders, playing skating rinks across the country. They even had a song on Veggie Tales. Ooooh creepy, talking Christian vegetables! If you're really bored one day, go watch Larry-Boy and the Rumour Weed, and listen for "The Rumour Weed Song".
The band broke up in 2000 after releasing only two albums, this (in case you're dense, W is the fourth from the last letter in the alphabet) and The Trouble With X.
This debut album from The W's is fun, slightly religious and downright silly sometimes, as all ska should be. Really, the only "religious" songs on this album are "Moses", "The Devil Is Bad", and "Open Minded", the latter two being two of the best songs on the album. Then you have "The King of Polyester". You're just not a ska band until you've sung about polyester.
This album has those swanky vocals and blaring horns that remind me of being 14 years old, skanking my ass off in friends' basements sipping warm PBR and smoking Lucky Strikes. Jesus (no pun intended), just look at the cover. I can SMELL the hair wax. Plus, I've always had a soft spot for those young Christian boys. I should have been a priest.
Also, I love horns! Honestly, you can get a copy of this album for $3.32 on Amazon right now, INCLUDING shipping. Just do it. B
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLO2-_emvDY&hl=en&fs=1&]
They don't even have a website, so here's their Wikipedia entry.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Christopher Moore - Fool
The best selling author of Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, has done it again with Fool. The tawdry tale of King Lear and his empire...a comedy? At the very beginning of the book, Moore warns us:
"This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!"
I don't even think I can paint a better picture of this book than Harper Collins already has:
"A man of infinite jest, Pocket has been Lear's cherished fool for years, from the time the king's grown daughters—selfish, scheming Goneril, sadistic (but erotic-fantasy-grade-hot) Regan, and sweet, loyal Cordelia—were mere girls. So naturally Pocket is at his brainless, elderly liege's side when Lear—at the insidious urging of Edmund, the bastard (in every way imaginable) son of the Earl of Gloucester—demands that his kids swear their undying love and devotion before a collection of assembled guests. Of course Goneril and Regan are only too happy to brownnose Dad. But Cordelia believes that her father's request is kind of . . . well . . . stupid, and her blunt honesty ends up costing her her rightful share of the kingdom and earns her a banishment to boot.
Well, now the bangers and mash have really hit the fan. The whole damn country's about to go to hell in a handbasket because of a stubborn old fart's wounded pride. And the only person who can possibly make things right . . . is Pocket, a small and slight clown with a biting sense of humor. He's already managed to sidestep catastrophe (and the vengeful blades of many an offended nobleman) on numerous occasions, using his razor-sharp mind, rapier wit . . . and the equally well-honed daggers he keeps conveniently hidden behind his back. Now he's going to have to do some very fancy maneuvering—cast some spells, incite a few assassinations, start a war or two (the usual stuff)—to get Cordelia back into Daddy Lear's good graces, to derail the fiendish power plays of Cordelia's twisted sisters, to rescue his gigantic, gigantically dim, and always randy friend and apprentice fool, Drool, from repeated beatings . . . and to shag every lusciously shaggable wench who's amenable to shagging along the way.
Pocket may be a fool . . . but he's definitely not an idiot. "
This book isn't all King Lear, however. Moore himself explains that this book is a bubbling brew of Shakespearean tales including a rhyme spinning ghost a la Hamlet (because there's always a bloody ghost!), and the three haggard witches, Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary from Macbeth.
This book is a deliciously wicked take on the Shakespearean tragedy, filled with blasphemy, war, betrayal, revenge, bonking, drool, boobs, codpieces, puppets, and more hilarious vulgarity than I have ever seen out of Moore. I've been a long time fan of Moore's and this one is every bit as good as Lamb. While taking a multitude of liberties with the general story of Lear, Moore does keep parts intact, almost quoting from the original. Within all the mayhem, silliness, and wild bonking, there's a fondness for the original that Moore exudes. He laughs with Shakespeare, not at him.
In the afterward, Moore concedes that people who have now read Fool, will be tempted to read (or reread) the original. Herein lies the path to madness, states Moore. I can see why. They're two genuinely distinctive stories, they just happen to have the same characters. As in the Harper Collins description, the lead of Moore's story is not Lear, but his loyal jester and black fool, the randy little Pocket who'll stick it to anything lukewarm (princesses, kitchen staff, anchoresses...). But there wouldn't be a tale here if all of Pocket's deviously designed plans didn't go recklessly awry.
I don't want to give away too many of the good parts, but this book is truly laugh-out-loud funny and I highly recommend it!
Christopher Moore's Site
"This is a bawdy tale. Herein you will find gratuitous shagging, murder, spanking, maiming, treason, and heretofore unexplored heights of vulgarity and profanity, as well as nontraditional grammar, split infinitives, and the odd wank . . . If that's the sort of thing you think you might enjoy, then you have happened upon the perfect story!"
I don't even think I can paint a better picture of this book than Harper Collins already has:
"A man of infinite jest, Pocket has been Lear's cherished fool for years, from the time the king's grown daughters—selfish, scheming Goneril, sadistic (but erotic-fantasy-grade-hot) Regan, and sweet, loyal Cordelia—were mere girls. So naturally Pocket is at his brainless, elderly liege's side when Lear—at the insidious urging of Edmund, the bastard (in every way imaginable) son of the Earl of Gloucester—demands that his kids swear their undying love and devotion before a collection of assembled guests. Of course Goneril and Regan are only too happy to brownnose Dad. But Cordelia believes that her father's request is kind of . . . well . . . stupid, and her blunt honesty ends up costing her her rightful share of the kingdom and earns her a banishment to boot.
Well, now the bangers and mash have really hit the fan. The whole damn country's about to go to hell in a handbasket because of a stubborn old fart's wounded pride. And the only person who can possibly make things right . . . is Pocket, a small and slight clown with a biting sense of humor. He's already managed to sidestep catastrophe (and the vengeful blades of many an offended nobleman) on numerous occasions, using his razor-sharp mind, rapier wit . . . and the equally well-honed daggers he keeps conveniently hidden behind his back. Now he's going to have to do some very fancy maneuvering—cast some spells, incite a few assassinations, start a war or two (the usual stuff)—to get Cordelia back into Daddy Lear's good graces, to derail the fiendish power plays of Cordelia's twisted sisters, to rescue his gigantic, gigantically dim, and always randy friend and apprentice fool, Drool, from repeated beatings . . . and to shag every lusciously shaggable wench who's amenable to shagging along the way.
Pocket may be a fool . . . but he's definitely not an idiot. "
This book isn't all King Lear, however. Moore himself explains that this book is a bubbling brew of Shakespearean tales including a rhyme spinning ghost a la Hamlet (because there's always a bloody ghost!), and the three haggard witches, Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary from Macbeth.
This book is a deliciously wicked take on the Shakespearean tragedy, filled with blasphemy, war, betrayal, revenge, bonking, drool, boobs, codpieces, puppets, and more hilarious vulgarity than I have ever seen out of Moore. I've been a long time fan of Moore's and this one is every bit as good as Lamb. While taking a multitude of liberties with the general story of Lear, Moore does keep parts intact, almost quoting from the original. Within all the mayhem, silliness, and wild bonking, there's a fondness for the original that Moore exudes. He laughs with Shakespeare, not at him.
In the afterward, Moore concedes that people who have now read Fool, will be tempted to read (or reread) the original. Herein lies the path to madness, states Moore. I can see why. They're two genuinely distinctive stories, they just happen to have the same characters. As in the Harper Collins description, the lead of Moore's story is not Lear, but his loyal jester and black fool, the randy little Pocket who'll stick it to anything lukewarm (princesses, kitchen staff, anchoresses...). But there wouldn't be a tale here if all of Pocket's deviously designed plans didn't go recklessly awry.
I don't want to give away too many of the good parts, but this book is truly laugh-out-loud funny and I highly recommend it!
Christopher Moore's Site
Thursday, July 9, 2009
An Update on Lolita
Sometimes the links for Lolita are weird. If they are, try these:
Best Tourist Attraction: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-tourist-spot
Best Day Camp: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-day-camp
If that doesn't work, type "go city kids miami" into your search bar and find a site that looks like this:
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/region/miami-fl-usa
Go to the "Parent's Picks" tab, pick Miami, then vote on the Best Tourist Attraction and Best Day Camp categories.
If we all vote for one, we'll have the best chance of beating the Seaquarium! For Best Tourist Spot, vote Jungle Island and for Best Day Camp, vote for the JCC!
Also remember, that if you delete your history/cookies, you can vote however many times you want!
And in case you need it, please read the original blog! Visit www.savelolita.com for more information.
You still have ONE WEEK to do your part to save Lolita!
Best Tourist Attraction: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-tourist-spot
Best Day Camp: http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/miami-fl-usa/best-miami-ft.-lauderdale-day-camp
If that doesn't work, type "go city kids miami" into your search bar and find a site that looks like this:
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/region/miami-fl-usa
Go to the "Parent's Picks" tab, pick Miami, then vote on the Best Tourist Attraction and Best Day Camp categories.
If we all vote for one, we'll have the best chance of beating the Seaquarium! For Best Tourist Spot, vote Jungle Island and for Best Day Camp, vote for the JCC!
Also remember, that if you delete your history/cookies, you can vote however many times you want!
And in case you need it, please read the original blog! Visit www.savelolita.com for more information.
You still have ONE WEEK to do your part to save Lolita!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Some ACTUAL News, Please?
Between last night's news and this morning's, I have finally reached the limit on how often I can hear about Michael Jackson.
For fuck's sake people, there is actual news occurring everyday and we're missing it for what? A half-plastic, drug-addicted dead man.
Things that were pushed off of the NEWS, not the Today Show or Dateline, the regular fucking news:
1. The Iranian Election. Iranian opposition leaders have called for the release of people detained during the post-election protests. A "strongly-worded" statement on the Ghalamnews website has expressed their criticism of "attacks against innocent people, dormitories, and houses... and some shocking brutalities carried out by plainclothes forces supported by security forces" and also referred to the deaths of protesters "whose only crime was to object to the election fraud... at spontaneous several-million-strong demonstrations held in extraordinary peace and order. If their rights had been slightly respected or if the people had not been lied to or disrespected, the situation would have never turned to a national crisis." They have called for an end to the security-state of Iran, let's see who answers.
2. North Korea. Even after the UN Security Council condemned North Korea for the nuclear test explosion on May 25, 2009, and demanded that North Korea not "conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology," the Pyongyang government launched SEVEN missiles on July 4, 2009. On Monday, the UN Security Council has a closed-door meeting that quite frankly, no one seems to know anything about. MAYBE IF IT WAS COVERED ON THE NEWS!?
3. Chinese Riots. China's worst ethnic violence in years has been going on since Sunday and who would've known!? More than 140 people are already dead with over 800 injured as Chinese riot police and Uighurs (a Muslim minority) clash in the streets of Urumqi. The Urumqi women have been rioting in the streets to save their husbands who have been arrested, beaten, abused, and tortured.
Everyday, we have people fighting, literally fighting to the death for simple rights, and here we are glued to our television sets because a pop-star died. It's goddamn ridiculous.
On a completely unrelated note, please remember that you can still Vote NO on the Miami Seaquarium! You can vote once per day, so keep 'em comin'!
For fuck's sake people, there is actual news occurring everyday and we're missing it for what? A half-plastic, drug-addicted dead man.
Things that were pushed off of the NEWS, not the Today Show or Dateline, the regular fucking news:
1. The Iranian Election. Iranian opposition leaders have called for the release of people detained during the post-election protests. A "strongly-worded" statement on the Ghalamnews website has expressed their criticism of "attacks against innocent people, dormitories, and houses... and some shocking brutalities carried out by plainclothes forces supported by security forces" and also referred to the deaths of protesters "whose only crime was to object to the election fraud... at spontaneous several-million-strong demonstrations held in extraordinary peace and order. If their rights had been slightly respected or if the people had not been lied to or disrespected, the situation would have never turned to a national crisis." They have called for an end to the security-state of Iran, let's see who answers.
2. North Korea. Even after the UN Security Council condemned North Korea for the nuclear test explosion on May 25, 2009, and demanded that North Korea not "conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology," the Pyongyang government launched SEVEN missiles on July 4, 2009. On Monday, the UN Security Council has a closed-door meeting that quite frankly, no one seems to know anything about. MAYBE IF IT WAS COVERED ON THE NEWS!?
3. Chinese Riots. China's worst ethnic violence in years has been going on since Sunday and who would've known!? More than 140 people are already dead with over 800 injured as Chinese riot police and Uighurs (a Muslim minority) clash in the streets of Urumqi. The Urumqi women have been rioting in the streets to save their husbands who have been arrested, beaten, abused, and tortured.
Everyday, we have people fighting, literally fighting to the death for simple rights, and here we are glued to our television sets because a pop-star died. It's goddamn ridiculous.
On a completely unrelated note, please remember that you can still Vote NO on the Miami Seaquarium! You can vote once per day, so keep 'em comin'!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Underworld - Oblivion With Bells
Underworld is a hard band to pin down. They've worked with so many people under so many names, I couldn't even tell you how many albums they've made. From Fruer to Lemon Interrupt to every installment of Underworld (MK1, 2, and 3) they've remained a revolutionary driving force for that teeny-tiny space between rock and electronica. In the early years, it was mostly rock for the English duo of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, at least until the addition of DJ Darren Emerson in 1991.
Underworld is such a collected effort. They're not so much of a band as an entity. True, they make albums and do tours, but they've done soundtracks, movies, radio stations, and are planning on venturing into television programs and books. They've got a hand in everything.
Their most recent album, Oblivion With Bells, was released in 2007 with a remix album, The Bells, The Bells, shortly to follow. Being their first album of their own works in five years, no one really knew what to expect. It could have been fantastic, it could have been a bomb, but it turned out somewhere in between.
Oblivion With Bells starts out well enough...ambient noise with light piano and a steady beat. The first single of the album, "Crocodile" starts off with a toe-tapping beat and evolves into a trance hit. The ambient waves and smooth, sultry lyrics kind of have an early Depeche Mode vibe. You can almost see that mid 80's goth kid in the corner with the smeared lipstick gently bobbing his head.
"Beautiful Burnout" continues with a bubbling, happy beat while "To Heal" is pure trance with a slowly developing epic aspect to it. Where they were going with "Ring Road" and "Holding the Moth" is completely past my realm of knowledge. Dear Underworld, please no more free-style rapping. Please. It's just not right.
The last half of this album devolves into a mess of electronic monster noise and jumbled, mumbling vocals, lacking even a cohesive beat, save for "Best Mamgu Ever". It's simply terrible, and I hate to say that about such a great band.
It's not like losing Emerson in 2002 is the sole, issue here either. I loved 100 Days Off, even though it wasn't all that warmly received by the masses. It's no Dubnobasswithmyheadman, but still a good, solid album.
This song has four great tracks out of 12, not a good ratio. C
Underworld's Site
Underworld is such a collected effort. They're not so much of a band as an entity. True, they make albums and do tours, but they've done soundtracks, movies, radio stations, and are planning on venturing into television programs and books. They've got a hand in everything.
Their most recent album, Oblivion With Bells, was released in 2007 with a remix album, The Bells, The Bells, shortly to follow. Being their first album of their own works in five years, no one really knew what to expect. It could have been fantastic, it could have been a bomb, but it turned out somewhere in between.
Oblivion With Bells starts out well enough...ambient noise with light piano and a steady beat. The first single of the album, "Crocodile" starts off with a toe-tapping beat and evolves into a trance hit. The ambient waves and smooth, sultry lyrics kind of have an early Depeche Mode vibe. You can almost see that mid 80's goth kid in the corner with the smeared lipstick gently bobbing his head.
"Beautiful Burnout" continues with a bubbling, happy beat while "To Heal" is pure trance with a slowly developing epic aspect to it. Where they were going with "Ring Road" and "Holding the Moth" is completely past my realm of knowledge. Dear Underworld, please no more free-style rapping. Please. It's just not right.
The last half of this album devolves into a mess of electronic monster noise and jumbled, mumbling vocals, lacking even a cohesive beat, save for "Best Mamgu Ever". It's simply terrible, and I hate to say that about such a great band.
It's not like losing Emerson in 2002 is the sole, issue here either. I loved 100 Days Off, even though it wasn't all that warmly received by the masses. It's no Dubnobasswithmyheadman, but still a good, solid album.
This song has four great tracks out of 12, not a good ratio. C
Underworld's Site
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