i saw the zodiac movie. true crime isn’t my thing, but i was interested not only because he taunted police with letters and puzzles, but also because of the Bay Area setting. david fincher directed it and his flicks are usually heavy on style (sometimes to the point that it’s distracting), but this was an appropriately muted & understated film. it’s refreshing to see him showing restraint in that department and makes me have a little more respect for him. but that isn’t to say there is zero style. the whole thing is shot in murky light and fog for bogeyman vibes and there are a couple of unusual but fitting angle choices. it just isn’t the heavy-handed david fincher film everyone expects. i guess it is a little long, but still absorbing, very detailed and very intense. really depressing too. lake berryessa is probably going to haunt me for a while. if i had one complaint, it would be that bits of comic relief seemed tacked on to lighten an inherently bleak subject matter, but luckily those moments were very few.

i finally got around to watching the Minutemen doc We Jam Econo on dvd after missing two chances to see it in theaters here. aside from interviews with the usual rockumentary suspects such as ian mackaye and henry rollins, there was a lot of great live footage. i never knew there was a music video for ‘this aint no picnic.’ that was fun.

george hurley is like this strange anomaly to me. dude has ridiculous surfer hair and looks like he was born on muscle beach. on a completely superficial level, he seems so radically different from d. boon and watt and looks like the type of guy that would make fun of these nerds for being into beefheart and free-jazz records. Also because of his jockish stature, you’d think he would be this slow & powerful gorilla over the drums but he is amazingly nimble and has tons of finesse. i couldn’t stop staring at him during the concert segments because it was like it defied the laws of nature.

Cosmo Baker did a very awesome JB tribute mix for Mad Decent Radio

i don’t know how you can save it from that page as an mp3, but you can always subscribe to the podcast on the main page and save it that way. Here’s the tracklisting

Apollo Intro
People Get Up And Drive Your Funky Soul
The Boss
Hot Hot Hot (I Need To Be Loved)
Just Enough Room For Storage
Message To The Soul Sisters (Marva Whitney)
Take Some Leave Some
Soul man (Sweet Charles)
Pass The Peas (The JBs)
Mr. Hot Pants AKA Cross The Tracks Pt. 2 (The Believers)
Talking Loud & Sayin’ Nothing
Blues & Pants
You Can Have Your Watergate Just Gimme Some Bucks & I’ll Be Straight
Don’t Tell It
Blind Man Can’t See It (Unreleased alternate version)
If You Don’t Love Me You Don’t Respect Me (Lyn Collins)
Funky President
Coldblooded
Honkey Tonk Popcorn (Bill Doggett)
More Peas (The JBs)
Can I Get Some Help
Hot Pants Road (The JBs)
I Got Ants In My Pants And I Need To Dance
Ain’t It Funky Pt. 1
Don’t Do Drugs Public Service Announcement (Bobby Byrd)
I Don’t Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin’
I Want To Be In The Land Of Milk & Honey (Marva Whitney)

why is nick cage so [unintentionally] funny? i watched this many many times with tears in my eyes. I hope they invent an Oscar award for Best Running Bear Punch so he can win another.

i really don’t feel i should ever have to defend my love for Cheap Trick. anyone who teases me about that i am just going to assume hate america. maybe i’ll even fight them, i haven’t decided if i want to take it to that level yet. two years ago i saw them play at the music hall and they were so much fun. i don’t care if they’re old, their songs make them eternal teenagers to me and if there’s a band in rock history that i could be a part of, they would definitely make the short list. but only if i could be rick nielsen…i need to make this costume happen this year.

anyhow, the motivation for this blathering is due to me having trouble getting out of bed the past couple of mornings because it’s been really cold in my poorly insulated flat. yesterday was especially brutal because the pilot light went out on our water heater and i had to take a cold shower like murderers and sex offenders possibly do. i’ve been dreading the work day more and more until “He’s a Whore” came on iTunes this morning and like a flip of the switch, i was ready to make the day my seal pup. It seems weird to me now that I once couldn’t get into the first album as much the 2 albums that followed, but it grew on me the last year or so. Aside from the Illinois connection, I can understand why Big Black would cover it. It really is an abrasive pop song. Also, that 7-inch with Steve Albini as Robin Zander kills me every time – so funny!

i swear if i ever find a karaoke joint with this one in the songbook, it will be game over for you all. it never ceases to amaze me how music can motivate my apathetic ass.

i randomly stumbled upon this funny site The Brick Testament when i did a Google image search for ‘apocalypse’ and pics of people with end of the world signs

from the FAQ:

What is the purpose of The Brick Testament?

Rev. Smith has stated that the goal of The Brick Testament is to give people an increased knowledge of the contents of The Bible in a way that is fun and compelling while staying very true to the original versions. To this end, all stories are retold using direct quotes from The Bible.

I haven’t had the time to really explore, but so far my favorite sections are “Disease of the Head” and “Male Genital Injury”

by horse:

by castration: