3-Chord Monday #31-33

I didn;t do one of these last week, so here are three versions of the same song. The Larry Williams version is the original.
Slow Down - Larry Williams
Slow Down - The Replacements
Slow Down - The Jam

The endorsement
Go vote in Craig's tournament of sidekicks. Right now Grady needs your help against someone who's sure to be the hero of many a QB nerd.

3-Chord Monday #30
"Roxanne" be damned -- here's the best post-punk love song to a prostitute.
The Lyres - "Help You Ann"

Open question for any NASCAR fans out there:

I can see where auto racing would be interesting. But how do you figure out which driver to back? I posed this question to a friend who's into it, and his answer was along the lines of "I was a big xxxxxx fan, and then he died and his team owner signed so and so..." which didn't get to the root of the question.

For other sports there are aspects of territoriality; one tends to gravitate toward the teams/athletes from a hometown or alma mater. For a time I pulled for Alan Kulwicki, just because he was the only driver A) competing as driver/owner, B) hailing from the North, and C) possessing a college degree. But now he's dead and as far as I can tell there's no one setting himself apart in that way.

Anyway: how does one look at this homogenous group of crackers, who all drive one of three types of automobile (so far removed from an everyday model that rooting for Dodge Charger is just silly); and decide to exalt one over all others? Then, how do you decide "I will HATE this other driver. So much so that I will purchase a sticker with a bootleg Calvin peeing on his number."?

Does it have to do with the corporate sponsorship? Because "Tide makes my clothes clean and fresh-smelling...go, Travis Kvapil!" is just dumb.

3-Chord Monday Tuesday Wednesday #29

I am by no means a Pink Floyd fan. I was sad to hear Syd Barrett had finally shuffled off, though. It was especially resonant to hear the news after this weekend's viewing of A Scanner Darkly; itself another example of gobbling obscene amounts of drugs and creating artistic brilliance at the cost of sanity.

I like the Barrett-era PF, even the silly things about gnomes and mice. Piper at the Gates of Dawn, recorded at Abbey Road the same time as Sgt. Pepper, is, I think, a far better album than the Beatles work. At the very least, it makes the Fab Four's foray with "psychedelia" look like they were experimenting with Flintstones Chewables. I don't actually own any in an appropriate medium, so here instead is some Robyn Hitchcock; one of my favorite artists, and himself clearly influenced by Syd. Here's RH and The Soft Boys, first covering a Barrett song, then doing an original which IMO has an element of "Arnold Layne" in it.

The Soft Boys - Vegetable Man
The Soft Boys - Old Pervert

Oh, so the game show we auditioned and were nixed for premieres tonight. Any regrets I have went away after scoping out the contestants. My "too ugly for basic cable" theory is invalid, at least -- but clearly we're not contrivedly madcap enough. I should have expected as much from a network whose top-rated show features spitting catfights.

this exhibit is highly recommended if you're able to get to Milwaukee in the next six weeks. I think I was most moved by the McCay and Herriman. The Schulz wall was sad in that you could chart his deterioration. The Kurtzman section had as much to do with Wally Wood and Will Elder as Kurtzman, but that's fine by me; and my god are those MAD comics still funny. The Jack Kirby section needed more explanation. What's made him important is the Krackle, but you wouldn't know that from the exhibit.

The only major change I'd have made would be to scrap Gary Panter; I'm not a fan, but the exhibit originated in LA, so maybe there's some sort of connection there. I'd probably put the Hernandez Brothers in his place. And are there any women who could be called a 20th-century comic-strip master? I love Lynda Barry, but neither she nor Alison Bechdel are really artistically significant. Don't even mention Cathy Guisewite or Lynn Johnston.

The rest of the museum is very nice, though there was so much to read and look at in the comic exhibit we really only explored the rest for an hour or so. Still, great modern art section, including a very funny piece involving MMPI statements.

3-Chord Monday #28
If you're a Sopranos watcher, you'll recognize this song from this season's "Live Free or Die" episode (Vito running to New England). Never mind the stretch that somewhere in reactionary little New Hampshire there was a sleepy enclave of tolerance-- I found it hard to believe that anyone in New Hampshire would be cool enough to listen to X, even their lighter, Billy Zoom-less mid-80s material. Ah, New Hampshire. I kid because I love.

BTW, X is touring this this year, and Billy Zoom is back in the lineup. You should go. Unfortunately the opener is the Rollins Band, so you should show up late.
X- "4th of July"