"Night Rider's Lament (feat. Cory Hanson)" by Bill Callahan & Bonnie "Prince" Billy. Play Count: 2
I've updated my site to be able to shared more easily. A preview of the entry, show, or more will show up. It works in Messages, Facebook, BlueSky, and probably more places. #
I listened to all of a terrific podcast about the history and state of Capitalism. You should check it out; I learned so much. #
I loved the game Pitfall! when we had our Atari 2600. Theoretically if you got a high score, you could send Activision a photo of your T.V. showing the high score. I have an instant photo of a T.V. showing my high score somewhere. A smart person "ported" Pitfall! to the web. Amazing. #
Terrific interview with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. #
This morning I realized I've lived more than half my life away from Illinois. #
Jesse suggested we go to this show. Another Sabin dad, Chris joined us too. I rode to the show in the back seat of the car, making me reminisce of shows gone by. It was a cold night, and the place was full. Apparently Bunk Bar used to have more shows than they do now. I can relate to that. I was excited to see there are two interesting shows coming up here (Tommy Stinson as well as The Folk Implosion). I really liked the first band Sunbathe. When they started I thought it was going to be more on the pop end of things, but as the set progressed, it was clearly crunchier. The stage wasn't very tall, the room isn't very big, and we were standing right in the center. We heard them full-force. They apparently have a new album out; I'll have to catch them again. Animal Eyes had one person from the opener in the band. They had two sets of keyboards as well. I remember thinking that this drummer had many more skills than the previous drummer. I started to get a feel of Animal Collective during the show. I considered dismissing that thought, wondering if it was just the band name that made the association. And then Jesse mentioned it on the way out. So maybe? It was a fun night out.
Another fun show where a friend invited me out. Dan let me know he was going to the show. I have a Brainiac LP, which I don't listen to very often. It was a gift from my brother. The singer for this band had died in a car crash, so on this tour they have a new singer. The music at times reminds me of Polvo. They use a heavy synth sound at times, that has a video game feel. They also use some amazing vocal filters on the songs making it sound great. A fun time, with a bigger crowd than I expected!
David Lynch has died. I remember watching "Blue Velvet" on VHS at someone's house in high school; probably in 1987. Many of Dennis Hopper's lines became catch phrases for my friends then. "Twin Peaks" was on TV once I was away at college. I remember gathering with friends to watch it and then talking about it all the time. I saw his other films over the years, but "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks" have stuck with me the longest.
During my first stint at Apple, the java team would gather during lunchtimes to re-watch "Twin Peaks" on VHS in our break area. We'd sit on these very "Apple in the late 1990s" soft seats, watching a big CRT TV with VHS on a rolling cart. Somehow the Apple folks I worked with (who had been at Apple since the System 7 days) had this A/V cart on permanent loan.
Infinite Loop also had cable wired throughout. I recall watching some of the 9/11 coverage from work that day, since I still had decided to go to work via CalTrain. Sometime later in the morning, Steve Jobs sent out a company wide email saying no one had to work anymore that day. After that, the office was different. There weren't security guards everywhere when I'd started. From that day on, it (and everything) was different. #
Here's what I'd read in 2024. I did a stint of reading books Oscar owns. He recommended them to us. He also has OBOB coming up soon, so I have read some of those to have things to talk to him about. I really got stuck on reading for myself at the end of the year. I have picked up "Gravity's Rainbow" by Thomas Pynchon. I have had a hard time getting through it. It's my second attempt. Wish me luck!
My friend Ricky invited me to this one. I'd seen The Ladybug Transitor long ago, so I was happy to join. The opener had many great songs that were all so short. Not even two minutes. The band was 6 people up on stage. It was really fun. Ricky said the record he had sounded different than this. The singer, Tony Molina, had a 12 string hollow body guitar, so very often the songs made one think of The Byrds. We moved a little closer for the headlining band. There were 6 in this band too. I'm not sure if I recognized them by sight, but I recognized the music. When I got to the venue, I actually mistook the singer for Ricky, and made eyecontact. He said, "Hi I'm Gary". I both embarassed and jokingly said, I thought you were someone else. I'd no idea until he went on stage that he was the singer for the band. It sounded fun and I enjoyed it. I don't really know many of their songs, but they are just good. People switched up what instruments they'd play during the set. They even brought out a transitor radio that looked like a ladybug. At the end of the set, a person who'd been standing near us, who I'd quickly describe as "cool looking", got up on stage with the band for a song. He was Scott McCaughey, who's apparently played with R.E.M. and others. Fun night out; I'm glad I was invited!
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