Thursday, June 30, 2005
MAJOR FONT PROBLEMS
in case you have not noticed i'm having major issues with the font for my blog entries....hopefully i will resolve this before too long
my reply to richard cohen's column in today's washington post
link to richard cohen column titled "echoes of vietnam" here
my reply:
i enjoyed reading your column in today's washington post (onlineedition) except for the vox populi conventional "wisdom" conclusion you present as fact that leaving iraq would be a disaster..those words: "leaving iraq would be a disaster", "chaos would ensue" etc.. i think they should not be simply stated as mantra.. they should be substantiated..
no one is saying we should drop everything and run but we should eventually leave and we should announce we are going to start leaving because WE have become the problem! the insurgents and differentgroups are going to fight it out in iraq because there is no central core power with enough authority to call the shots....in addition, and very unfortunately, there are some serious differences -historical, cultural and religious, between different groups (sunnis and shiites) and nothing we can do is going to prevent a battle between these groups.. they have some old scores to settle.. you no doubt are familiar with the history of centuries of minority sunni control at the expense of the majority shiites etc.......
our remaining there just weakens the more moderate forces that become allied with us... and other groups can just utilize us as a whipping boy.. what exactly, mr cohen, are we accomplishing in iraq other than attracting problems and serving to weaken our friends there....
ultimately, the iraqui people are going to have to resolve these problems on their own.. we can help them with training and money (and we should .. we should fix everything we've helped break and we should offer some compensation to the innocent civilians killed, etc.) but who exactly are we going to beat in this so called war..? this is not a war! let us not allow the situation to be framed in those misleading terms.. once we accept we are in a war then we have to win.. but whoare we fighting? and why? are we really fighting to prevent terrorists from attacking us? or are we perhaps fighting simply for the the right to say we won a war??
again, loved your piece... usually enjoy your columns.. but a bit rattled by your conclusion which i do not believe flows from the rest of your column.. in fact, when we left vietnam, far too late by all interpretations, things did not fall apart... the communists who counted with far more popular support ended up winning...this was a foregone conclusion as by turning the vietnam war into an US against them we helped strengthen them.. lets not commit the same mistakes here....
i have to tell you i am extremely frustrated by the lack of any forefront politicians emerging to represent the view that it is time to look for an exit strategy.. let us begin to say that we won the war, that this is no war, and let us leave while remaining heavily involved in facilitating in as much as possible the construction of a modern and peaceful iraq
best regards,
sergio magnacca
washington dc
my reply:
i enjoyed reading your column in today's washington post (onlineedition) except for the vox populi conventional "wisdom" conclusion you present as fact that leaving iraq would be a disaster..those words: "leaving iraq would be a disaster", "chaos would ensue" etc.. i think they should not be simply stated as mantra.. they should be substantiated..
no one is saying we should drop everything and run but we should eventually leave and we should announce we are going to start leaving because WE have become the problem! the insurgents and differentgroups are going to fight it out in iraq because there is no central core power with enough authority to call the shots....in addition, and very unfortunately, there are some serious differences -historical, cultural and religious, between different groups (sunnis and shiites) and nothing we can do is going to prevent a battle between these groups.. they have some old scores to settle.. you no doubt are familiar with the history of centuries of minority sunni control at the expense of the majority shiites etc.......
our remaining there just weakens the more moderate forces that become allied with us... and other groups can just utilize us as a whipping boy.. what exactly, mr cohen, are we accomplishing in iraq other than attracting problems and serving to weaken our friends there....
ultimately, the iraqui people are going to have to resolve these problems on their own.. we can help them with training and money (and we should .. we should fix everything we've helped break and we should offer some compensation to the innocent civilians killed, etc.) but who exactly are we going to beat in this so called war..? this is not a war! let us not allow the situation to be framed in those misleading terms.. once we accept we are in a war then we have to win.. but whoare we fighting? and why? are we really fighting to prevent terrorists from attacking us? or are we perhaps fighting simply for the the right to say we won a war??
again, loved your piece... usually enjoy your columns.. but a bit rattled by your conclusion which i do not believe flows from the rest of your column.. in fact, when we left vietnam, far too late by all interpretations, things did not fall apart... the communists who counted with far more popular support ended up winning...this was a foregone conclusion as by turning the vietnam war into an US against them we helped strengthen them.. lets not commit the same mistakes here....
i have to tell you i am extremely frustrated by the lack of any forefront politicians emerging to represent the view that it is time to look for an exit strategy.. let us begin to say that we won the war, that this is no war, and let us leave while remaining heavily involved in facilitating in as much as possible the construction of a modern and peaceful iraq
best regards,
sergio magnacca
washington dc
twas ten years ago!
After filing a memorandum with the Antitrust Division of the US Department of Justice a month prior, Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament testify before the House of Representatives, supporting their claim that Ticketmaster is a monopoly.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Brazil 4- Argentina 1
so i just got done watching the game.. what a fiasco for argentina.. might as well have been 8-0... argentina just did not have any midfield... no ability to win the ball in midfield.. the midfield, which traditionally has been its strength, was inexistent
i don't think this loss is a catastrophe.. but its very dissapointing coming against our main rival/foe....
i just think we had no midfield... the team seemed to come out flat against brazil.... no energy....
i can't remember ever seeing argentina get its butt handed to it as happened today...
i could question a few decisions argentina coach pekerman made such as not starting aimar to complement riquelme..but i think brazil was just better today.. at every key instance of the match where they needed to stamp their authority on the game they did so categorically.. the first goal at 10 minutes.. then argentina reacts and brazil almost immediately get its second.. then the second half starts and brazil puts it away 3-0.....
i'm a little shellshocked...
i don't think this loss is a catastrophe.. but its very dissapointing coming against our main rival/foe....
i just think we had no midfield... the team seemed to come out flat against brazil.... no energy....
i can't remember ever seeing argentina get its butt handed to it as happened today...
i could question a few decisions argentina coach pekerman made such as not starting aimar to complement riquelme..but i think brazil was just better today.. at every key instance of the match where they needed to stamp their authority on the game they did so categorically.. the first goal at 10 minutes.. then argentina reacts and brazil almost immediately get its second.. then the second half starts and brazil puts it away 3-0.....
i'm a little shellshocked...
meat and potatoes rock
man i love that album title...its tough to start a rock album better than ac dc does with "for those about to rock we salute you".. or a live show for that matter!...i've never seen ac dc but i can just imagine the anticipation giving way to unbridled rock'n'roll joy as the crowd hears the opening guitar tapping angus strains of this song which served as concert opener for years....midway through the songs cannons would start shooting in the air.. can it get any better than that?!! oh, and its a cool thank you to the fans too!
ac dc in 1979 came out with highway to hell.. in 1980 after their awesome "died in my own booze" lead growler night prowler bon scott perished and was replaced by brian johnson they released back in black.. still perhaps the best juvenile hard rock album of all time..i would not call it heavy metal as its usually miscategorized.. anyhow with that album ac dc became one of the few bands in the world to replace a lead singer and retain nay increase their success (joy division/new order the only other i can think of)..
well after selling like 10 million copies and providing the soundtrack for most teenagers first shackups ac dc returned the next year with "for those about to rock" and of course, as could have been expected the album proved dissapointing..... still its got a lot going for it....its no masterpiece but its solid.... some say the last solid ac dc album... its got the title cut with cannons and a few other kick booty tracks.. its got the great album cover..i love ac dc's meat an potatoes rock and this could be their most potatoey album of all.. few cuts standout but its a real solid hard rock work....
for some reason i associate this album with my friend dan wray.. and the jack black "school of rock" movie.... this may be one of those albums that people put on expecting another back in black/hells bells/you shook me and became disgruntled and put away when they did not hear it at first listen.. its a bit more subtle than back in black.. although subtlety not lyrically..."lets get it up".."inject the venom"..."snowballed"..."night of the long knives"..the embossed cannon on the cover.. you get the picture.. this is not subtle stuff. still the songs themselves aren't quite as catchy as the previous two albums.. and this precipitated ac dc's long fall.... apparently, they are still a great band live and there is talk they will tour next year.... de mas esta decir/no need to add that ac dc's brand or rock is chuck berry rock...my favorite...
i've said it before and i'll say it again.. rock'n'roll desperately needs an infusion of some ac dc like band.... something more primal and fun .. more back to the roots rock less deliberate mope...rock and roll is about a good time... half the time when you hear modern bands you fall asleep trying to make sense of the dirge like rhythms and metaphors..modern bands even go to great lengths to avoid giving you the joy that comes with a great guitar solo!..i say gimme some band that makes me wanna jam with my air guitah!....i have no idea what the radioheads and coldplays of the world are talking about and i just dont' care.. i got my own problems and i just want to have a good ole fun time! and what we don't need is a band like the darkness appropriating an old sound but delivers it laced with irony..a "we're doing this music but its tongue in cheek..we're just making fun of it and thats what makes us cool".. as the brits say BOLLOCKS.... give me the real deal... ah bon scott, in time i look foward to pounding a couple of fosters with you!...
ac dc in 1979 came out with highway to hell.. in 1980 after their awesome "died in my own booze" lead growler night prowler bon scott perished and was replaced by brian johnson they released back in black.. still perhaps the best juvenile hard rock album of all time..i would not call it heavy metal as its usually miscategorized.. anyhow with that album ac dc became one of the few bands in the world to replace a lead singer and retain nay increase their success (joy division/new order the only other i can think of)..
well after selling like 10 million copies and providing the soundtrack for most teenagers first shackups ac dc returned the next year with "for those about to rock" and of course, as could have been expected the album proved dissapointing..... still its got a lot going for it....its no masterpiece but its solid.... some say the last solid ac dc album... its got the title cut with cannons and a few other kick booty tracks.. its got the great album cover..i love ac dc's meat an potatoes rock and this could be their most potatoey album of all.. few cuts standout but its a real solid hard rock work....
for some reason i associate this album with my friend dan wray.. and the jack black "school of rock" movie.... this may be one of those albums that people put on expecting another back in black/hells bells/you shook me and became disgruntled and put away when they did not hear it at first listen.. its a bit more subtle than back in black.. although subtlety not lyrically..."lets get it up".."inject the venom"..."snowballed"..."night of the long knives"..the embossed cannon on the cover.. you get the picture.. this is not subtle stuff. still the songs themselves aren't quite as catchy as the previous two albums.. and this precipitated ac dc's long fall.... apparently, they are still a great band live and there is talk they will tour next year.... de mas esta decir/no need to add that ac dc's brand or rock is chuck berry rock...my favorite...
i've said it before and i'll say it again.. rock'n'roll desperately needs an infusion of some ac dc like band.... something more primal and fun .. more back to the roots rock less deliberate mope...rock and roll is about a good time... half the time when you hear modern bands you fall asleep trying to make sense of the dirge like rhythms and metaphors..modern bands even go to great lengths to avoid giving you the joy that comes with a great guitar solo!..i say gimme some band that makes me wanna jam with my air guitah!....i have no idea what the radioheads and coldplays of the world are talking about and i just dont' care.. i got my own problems and i just want to have a good ole fun time! and what we don't need is a band like the darkness appropriating an old sound but delivers it laced with irony..a "we're doing this music but its tongue in cheek..we're just making fun of it and thats what makes us cool".. as the brits say BOLLOCKS.... give me the real deal... ah bon scott, in time i look foward to pounding a couple of fosters with you!...
Monday, June 27, 2005
Now Playing: Cal Tjader's 1965 release "Soul Sauce" on Verve V6-8614...this is a classic latin jazz/boogaloo/ salsa/lounge release which of course includes the classic "Soul Sauce (Guacha Guaro)"..trust me you have heard this!.. but what i found astounding and what knocked me off my purple couch is when the first track on side 2 came on: "Tanya" which was completely ripped off by St Germain (remember them? everyone was listening to their album "tourist" in 2000.. the one with french house/jazz /electronica) for their track "latin note".. if you don't believe me dig this cd/lp out and check it out!.. the album cover art ain't so bad either..
Saturday, June 25, 2005
quote of the week
Earlier this morning former National Security Advisor Zbiegnew Brzezinski delivered the democrats response to President Bush's weekly radio address, which focused on how well things are going in Irak where as we remember he proclaimed the mission had been accomplished years ago, staying the course, an insurgency in its "last throes" per Vice President Cheney's words, and flying pigs (do these guys actually believe the stuff they are shoveling?), and astutely pointed out:
"Patriotism and love of country does not demand endless sacrifice on the part of our troops in a war justified by slogans"
"Patriotism and love of country does not demand endless sacrifice on the part of our troops in a war justified by slogans"
Friday, June 24, 2005
Mario Smugevicius
I miss my Uncle Mario.
I miss having him around to talk to about Argentina.
I miss having him around to talk to about how Manu Ginobili wiped the floor with those nasty Detroit Pistons last night... I know he would have taken great pride... And he really liked the NBA...He was one of those Argentines that really became enraptured with the game because of Michael Jordan...A man in his 70s who I doubt ever set foot in a bastketball court and yet he loved the game... I can't imagine entirely how he would have felt to have seen Ginobili taking control of the deciding game in the NBA finals this year but I feel cheated knowing he got cheated of seeing that...
I miss having him around to talk to about the latest boneheaded actions by the Argentine government..
I think one of the things in my life that makes me the happiest is that during the time I spent in Argentina between May 2001 and his stroke in July 2002 we got to spend some real good time together..i remember all the great tango orchestra shows we went to with Director Carlitos Garcia...or even that one time we saw Amelita Baltar...i especially remember our regular Sunday lunches - sometimes I admit I wanted to stay at home and nurse a hangover but i the end I was always glad to meet him at Soraya or some all you can eat place on the Avenida Cabildo (with those great pancakes we used to crow about)...We would spend our lunches discussing the impending or realized collapse of the Argentine economy or talking about the Argentine national soccer team.....
I suppose if we were having lunch this Sunday we would be talking about Manu Ginobili...
Te extrano Mario.
I miss having him around to talk to about Argentina.
I miss having him around to talk to about how Manu Ginobili wiped the floor with those nasty Detroit Pistons last night... I know he would have taken great pride... And he really liked the NBA...He was one of those Argentines that really became enraptured with the game because of Michael Jordan...A man in his 70s who I doubt ever set foot in a bastketball court and yet he loved the game... I can't imagine entirely how he would have felt to have seen Ginobili taking control of the deciding game in the NBA finals this year but I feel cheated knowing he got cheated of seeing that...
I miss having him around to talk to about the latest boneheaded actions by the Argentine government..
I think one of the things in my life that makes me the happiest is that during the time I spent in Argentina between May 2001 and his stroke in July 2002 we got to spend some real good time together..i remember all the great tango orchestra shows we went to with Director Carlitos Garcia...or even that one time we saw Amelita Baltar...i especially remember our regular Sunday lunches - sometimes I admit I wanted to stay at home and nurse a hangover but i the end I was always glad to meet him at Soraya or some all you can eat place on the Avenida Cabildo (with those great pancakes we used to crow about)...We would spend our lunches discussing the impending or realized collapse of the Argentine economy or talking about the Argentine national soccer team.....
I suppose if we were having lunch this Sunday we would be talking about Manu Ginobili...
Te extrano Mario.
What can i say? I couldn't be prouder!!!!!!!!!!!
of my main man Manu Ginobili who just helped the San Antonio Spurs win the NBA championship!!!!!!!!.....proud as a peacock!!!!!!
see the article here
see the article here
Thursday, June 23, 2005
So what ever happened to Domingo Cavallo?
Published Saturday June 11, 2005 by Domingo F. Cavallo, former Argentine Minister of Economy on his blog at www.cavallo.com.ar
(I found this post so fascinating, and not just because of the analysis of the past but more so because of the comments about what is happening currently in Argentina, that I simply had to take the liberty of translating into English and posting..)
All Copyright Domingo F. Cavallo
The Devaluation of Aspirations
The e-mail that a young argentine businessman, who is a very good friend and supported my role in government, obligated me to write about the devaluation of the aspirations of argentines, a subject that pains me since mid 2002. It is possible that other readers have the same concerns as my friend. This is why, without naming him, I transcribe his e-mail and my response (Translators note: I will translate Cavallo's response tomorrow..for today the questions!).
The e-mail I received says:
“Today I read your article on the performance of the IMF during those difficult years. Without a doubt shedding light and we are in agreement that the final result of this entire horrendous history has been disastrous for Argentina and that the so called reduction of the debt a joke….now we owe more than before although over a longer term and at a lower rate, but those “results” would not justify in any way the costs incurred. But there is also something that is a reality and I tell it to you from the daily life of an argentine businessman (now luckily expanded to the rest of Latin America).”
“During the last years of the convertibility regime pegged in the 1 to 1 (for me the only error, since after the successful and historic first years the parity of that conversion ought have been modified, so as to not allow the dissapearance of the local industry, without abandoning the system or breaking the rules), the costs in Argentina had gone through the clouds. I needed to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars per month and with high profit margins merely to cover salaries and expenses. We were completely removed from logic with costs higher than any other developed country while unable to compare ourselves even from afar with them.”
“Today, after this bitter and unjust process, the reality is that with this ultra-high parity, which without doubt savagely reduces the earlier purchasing power, industry functions, grows and exports like never before…trade prospers, thanks to the low dollar costs which are covered with far lower sales, and therefore with far less capital and general risk, and therefore without requiring going into bank debt.. and it is because of that that no one asks for credit. In addition, today everyone pays in full and therefore we are no longer forced to act as bankers.. a complete change.”
”Today we businessmen earn money selling much less than before and the people have not seen their purchasing power lowered so much in reality since the prices of what is consumed daily and the services have not increased as much. The surplus is unimaginable, both fiscal and trade. Of course, traveling is for few…”
“Therefore, I ask myself:
Isn’t it perhaps that the strong purchasing power that the convertibility plan gave our population was too high?
Isn’t it perhaps that the dream of converting Argentina rapidly into a power was a little exaggerated?
Isn’t it perhaps that no poor country or in development grew, if not at the cost of a devaluated currency and only after having truly strengthened itself, by exporting like crazy see growth in real wages and the value of its currency? If not see Korea, Taiwan, and even China..and also India..all countries with which I have been conducting business for 25 years and in which I have seen this process.”
“Today one no longer feels the terrible anguish of having to move large volumes or perish before the costs. Today one no longer feels doubts about “will I sell the same next month?... and if not?” Today we could create reserves to confront peaks and valleys, today we can work more comfortably and peacefully and see the market recover itself very rapidly. And we do it with our own capital reserves…without dreaming of indebting ourselves or having to take capitalist partners so as to not succumb to the pressures of a demand we could not satisfy that rapidly.”
“It is true that today’s poor are super-poor and that there is a large obligation with (debt to) them. My parents are retirees and without the help of me and my brothers they could not live, all that is true, but was it possible to maintain the earlier bubble while remaining the “developing” country we never ceased to be?”
“These are reflections I put to you with the best wishes, in a constructive critical spirit in order to take something positive from the negative of this whole process.”
(I found this post so fascinating, and not just because of the analysis of the past but more so because of the comments about what is happening currently in Argentina, that I simply had to take the liberty of translating into English and posting..)
All Copyright Domingo F. Cavallo
The Devaluation of Aspirations
The e-mail that a young argentine businessman, who is a very good friend and supported my role in government, obligated me to write about the devaluation of the aspirations of argentines, a subject that pains me since mid 2002. It is possible that other readers have the same concerns as my friend. This is why, without naming him, I transcribe his e-mail and my response (Translators note: I will translate Cavallo's response tomorrow..for today the questions!).
The e-mail I received says:
“Today I read your article on the performance of the IMF during those difficult years. Without a doubt shedding light and we are in agreement that the final result of this entire horrendous history has been disastrous for Argentina and that the so called reduction of the debt a joke….now we owe more than before although over a longer term and at a lower rate, but those “results” would not justify in any way the costs incurred. But there is also something that is a reality and I tell it to you from the daily life of an argentine businessman (now luckily expanded to the rest of Latin America).”
“During the last years of the convertibility regime pegged in the 1 to 1 (for me the only error, since after the successful and historic first years the parity of that conversion ought have been modified, so as to not allow the dissapearance of the local industry, without abandoning the system or breaking the rules), the costs in Argentina had gone through the clouds. I needed to sell hundreds of thousands of dollars per month and with high profit margins merely to cover salaries and expenses. We were completely removed from logic with costs higher than any other developed country while unable to compare ourselves even from afar with them.”
“Today, after this bitter and unjust process, the reality is that with this ultra-high parity, which without doubt savagely reduces the earlier purchasing power, industry functions, grows and exports like never before…trade prospers, thanks to the low dollar costs which are covered with far lower sales, and therefore with far less capital and general risk, and therefore without requiring going into bank debt.. and it is because of that that no one asks for credit. In addition, today everyone pays in full and therefore we are no longer forced to act as bankers.. a complete change.”
”Today we businessmen earn money selling much less than before and the people have not seen their purchasing power lowered so much in reality since the prices of what is consumed daily and the services have not increased as much. The surplus is unimaginable, both fiscal and trade. Of course, traveling is for few…”
“Therefore, I ask myself:
Isn’t it perhaps that the strong purchasing power that the convertibility plan gave our population was too high?
Isn’t it perhaps that the dream of converting Argentina rapidly into a power was a little exaggerated?
Isn’t it perhaps that no poor country or in development grew, if not at the cost of a devaluated currency and only after having truly strengthened itself, by exporting like crazy see growth in real wages and the value of its currency? If not see Korea, Taiwan, and even China..and also India..all countries with which I have been conducting business for 25 years and in which I have seen this process.”
“Today one no longer feels the terrible anguish of having to move large volumes or perish before the costs. Today one no longer feels doubts about “will I sell the same next month?... and if not?” Today we could create reserves to confront peaks and valleys, today we can work more comfortably and peacefully and see the market recover itself very rapidly. And we do it with our own capital reserves…without dreaming of indebting ourselves or having to take capitalist partners so as to not succumb to the pressures of a demand we could not satisfy that rapidly.”
“It is true that today’s poor are super-poor and that there is a large obligation with (debt to) them. My parents are retirees and without the help of me and my brothers they could not live, all that is true, but was it possible to maintain the earlier bubble while remaining the “developing” country we never ceased to be?”
“These are reflections I put to you with the best wishes, in a constructive critical spirit in order to take something positive from the negative of this whole process.”
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
i got the blues
found this on the net.. a 2002 new york times piece with the blues recordings inducted in the blues hall of fame...fabulous stuff...been digging the blues more rencetly.. time for some ben andrews maybe even tomorrow at madams organs...
check article here
check article here
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Dylan's last US record released in mono: John Wesley Harding. For a long time it was thought that this was not an original mono mix but simply a mixdown from the stereo mix. However, it is now believed an original mono mix was indeed used. This information came from Sundazed records when they reissued it in mono.. more info can be found at Sundazed and at the Searching for a Gem web site..
Friday, June 17, 2005
10 years on still listening to alien lanes
... its been 10 years since "alien lanes" by guided by voices was released...hard to believe....
just purchased the LP (i have copies of the cd of course).. a few interesting things of note.. apparently the way to tell if its the original 1995 pressing is if it does not have the bar code.. in addition, my copy has a label on the second side which erroneously lists "auditorium" and "motor away" as tracks 14 and 15...this is an error as they are tracks 14 and 15 on the a side.. in this case they are listed as tracks 14 and 15 on both the a and b side!.. weird.. someone was drinking too much while typing up the labels or something...i would assume this has been corrected on the repressings...the LP really lets you dig the cover art..its such a different feeling to look and hold the lp.... you can actually understand a bit more what the cover was aiming for.. and the picture on the back is HUGE compared to the cd.. the lyrics are easily readable in the gatefold.....the record as is typical of many matador lps has a minor warp..
so thats the technical info...
"alien lanes" is just a slam dunk record.... released in april of 1995 it was released a mere 10 months after "bee thousand" made them the critics darlings they remained for their entire career..this album cemented their legend... "alien lanes" is quite different from "bee thousand"..it packs a wallop of 28 tracks in about 40 minutes.. i can't think of any other album that does that with good songs..all original.....the album is GBV's pop-rock masterpiece... i think "bee thousand" is a little more acoustic/folky.... "alien lanes" rocks harder... gbv ringleader robert pollard, at the time this was recorded, had a ton of material he had been accumulating- much of which did not make it on to "bee thousand"... this all ended up on "alien lanes".. the push to break gbv with this album into the popular mainstream did not work but they gave it the college try.. videos got limited airplay on mtv... tobin sprout was in the band at this time and contributed some great songs...classics such as "little whirl"... the album has a ton of pop masterpieces..and to my mind shows a strong kinks/badfinger influence.... greg demos' bass work is tremendous on this and you can tell how much he meant to the recording of this album because although he does not get much songwriting credit the bass really leads a number of this songs.. the music for them is often times built around the bass... of course, its lo-fi but as someone pointed out once the lo-fi nature of the album works well because the lo-fi recalls the 60s sound being channeled..
the album is a real grower... you have to listen to it a few times to get into it...but once you do boy.. i love every song.. but particularly "a salty salute" their tribute to drinking.. "game of pricks".. "my valuable hunting knife".."striped white jets" and the kicking closer "alright" which is guided by voices at their heaviest...
i think some day this album will overtake "bee thousand" as GBV's definitive work..its a pity they could not sustain the quality on this, the follow up "under the bushes under the stars", and a few other projects from this time (pollard's first solo lp the wonderful "not in my airfoce", GBV's outtakes compilation "tonics and twisted chasers") longer...to me the GBV period 1993-1996 is really special...
1994-1995 seems now like the last gasp of rock'n'roll.. a lot of great stuff, for some reason, came out around then, not the least of it "alien lanes"..much of it on matador records (jon spencer "orange", liz phair "exile", pavement "crooked rain", yo la tengo "electropura", chavez, etc.) i saw their tour in support of this record, at the black cat (even chatted it up with their then "manager for life" pete jamison), and at the time their live performances were still a bit too ragged for my taste.. eventually they ended up becoming one of the better rock'n'roll live bands.. but in 1995 they were still learning how to create a rock'n'roll show around oftentimes quite lo-fi songs (often sketches or demos of songs)...
just purchased the LP (i have copies of the cd of course).. a few interesting things of note.. apparently the way to tell if its the original 1995 pressing is if it does not have the bar code.. in addition, my copy has a label on the second side which erroneously lists "auditorium" and "motor away" as tracks 14 and 15...this is an error as they are tracks 14 and 15 on the a side.. in this case they are listed as tracks 14 and 15 on both the a and b side!.. weird.. someone was drinking too much while typing up the labels or something...i would assume this has been corrected on the repressings...the LP really lets you dig the cover art..its such a different feeling to look and hold the lp.... you can actually understand a bit more what the cover was aiming for.. and the picture on the back is HUGE compared to the cd.. the lyrics are easily readable in the gatefold.....the record as is typical of many matador lps has a minor warp..
so thats the technical info...
"alien lanes" is just a slam dunk record.... released in april of 1995 it was released a mere 10 months after "bee thousand" made them the critics darlings they remained for their entire career..this album cemented their legend... "alien lanes" is quite different from "bee thousand"..it packs a wallop of 28 tracks in about 40 minutes.. i can't think of any other album that does that with good songs..all original.....the album is GBV's pop-rock masterpiece... i think "bee thousand" is a little more acoustic/folky.... "alien lanes" rocks harder... gbv ringleader robert pollard, at the time this was recorded, had a ton of material he had been accumulating- much of which did not make it on to "bee thousand"... this all ended up on "alien lanes".. the push to break gbv with this album into the popular mainstream did not work but they gave it the college try.. videos got limited airplay on mtv... tobin sprout was in the band at this time and contributed some great songs...classics such as "little whirl"... the album has a ton of pop masterpieces..and to my mind shows a strong kinks/badfinger influence.... greg demos' bass work is tremendous on this and you can tell how much he meant to the recording of this album because although he does not get much songwriting credit the bass really leads a number of this songs.. the music for them is often times built around the bass... of course, its lo-fi but as someone pointed out once the lo-fi nature of the album works well because the lo-fi recalls the 60s sound being channeled..
the album is a real grower... you have to listen to it a few times to get into it...but once you do boy.. i love every song.. but particularly "a salty salute" their tribute to drinking.. "game of pricks".. "my valuable hunting knife".."striped white jets" and the kicking closer "alright" which is guided by voices at their heaviest...
i think some day this album will overtake "bee thousand" as GBV's definitive work..its a pity they could not sustain the quality on this, the follow up "under the bushes under the stars", and a few other projects from this time (pollard's first solo lp the wonderful "not in my airfoce", GBV's outtakes compilation "tonics and twisted chasers") longer...to me the GBV period 1993-1996 is really special...
1994-1995 seems now like the last gasp of rock'n'roll.. a lot of great stuff, for some reason, came out around then, not the least of it "alien lanes"..much of it on matador records (jon spencer "orange", liz phair "exile", pavement "crooked rain", yo la tengo "electropura", chavez, etc.) i saw their tour in support of this record, at the black cat (even chatted it up with their then "manager for life" pete jamison), and at the time their live performances were still a bit too ragged for my taste.. eventually they ended up becoming one of the better rock'n'roll live bands.. but in 1995 they were still learning how to create a rock'n'roll show around oftentimes quite lo-fi songs (often sketches or demos of songs)...
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