A mothra in wolf's clothing

Aa-wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Bodie, Bubbles, and Snoop

Built to Spill - You Are
Islands - Renaud
Neutral Milk Hotel - Where You'll Find Me Now

Crooked Fingers - Your Control
Monarch (Wye Oak) - Warning
Jay Reatard - I'm Watching You

Gang Of Four - I Find That Essence Rare
Les Savy Fav - Raging In the Plague Age
Superchunk - Seed Toss
Pinback - Prog

Queen - '39
Billy Bragg - Between the Wars
The Mountain Goats - Masher

Explosions In The Sky - Have You Passed Through The Night
Ratatat - Tropicana

Polvo - Ox Scapula
Stars - Ageless Beauty
Band of Horses - Our Swords
Crystal Castles - Tell Me Who To Swallow

Apples In Stereo - Sun Is Out
Marijuana Wolf - Hell Yeah
Flaming Lips - The Abandoned Hospital Ship

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Concentration Moon
Magnetic Fields - With Whom to Dance
Tullycraft - Glitter & Twang
Mates of State - The Re-arranger
Ramones - Daytime Dilemma (Dangers of Love)

Whatever Happened to Brice Beckham?

At Mothra's birthday party last weekend, the conversation veered to tv shows and the lack of Very Special Episodes (VSE) these days. Now, many shows probably still tackle touchy issues, for example last week's "Beverly Hills 90210" tactfully and maturely handled he hot button issue of the elderly and karaoke usage, but they don't seem to bill them the same way. I remember that in the 80s, VSEs always seemed like an event. They only happened once or twice a season unless they were a show like "Family" where sensitive topics were the norm.

Whenever VSEs come up in conversation, some of the same ones pop up again and again: When Kimberly was abducted on "Diff'rent Strokes"; Alex P. Keaton's mental breakdown after the death of a friend or Tom Hanks' guest appearance as the vanilla-swilling alcoholic uncle on "Family Ties"; Cherry gets stuck in the refrigerator on "Punky Brewster." The one I always bring up seems to have been erased from most people's memories and not without good reason. The VSE that did the most mental damage to me as a kid was the "Mr. Belvedere" episode when Wesley gets molested at camp. This probably corrupted me more than any episode of "Night Court" ever did. For those who don't remember this episode, here's the tv trailer that they used to draw in viewers. After seeing this, you'll wonder how they ended up with any viewers at all.



And here's a creepy clip from the Sam Gets Abducted episode of "Diff'rent Strokes." Are sitcoms this terrifying nowadays or was this due to Reaganomics?


And just because it's so awesome, here's the "Mr. Belvedere" opening credits sequence featuring the inimitable Leon Redbone:

Don't Play in Abandoned Refrigerators, Kids

I love love love tv theme songs. I love that they are so short and that they encapsulate the entire plot of the show in less than a minute. I love the variety in tv theme songs from the junkyard funk of "Sanford and Son" to the taut, psychological mayhem of the theme to "Unsolved Mysteries." One thing I can't stand is the fake rootsy bullshit theme songs like the mess that is "The Sopranos" theme. The overprocessed production, the lame, gravelly vocals and the horrifying shouted "Woke up this morning!" backing vocals all chill me to the bone. Thank god we watched almost every season on dvd and were able to skip this nonsense. I also hate the theme to "The Wire." Now don't get me wrong. I love Tom Waits with all my heart and "Way Down in the Hole" is stellar, but other than season 2, the other renditions of it range from passably tame to terribly embarrassing. I'd much rather have some cheeseball "Mr. Belvedere" type theme than a lame attempt at gravitas or serious rock and/or roll. Actually, I am almost never disappointed by the upbeat, silly "Charles in Charge"-type openings to shows because they immediately lift your spirits and get you ready for the comedy genius to follow. One forgotten gem of the silly tv theme songs is the Punky Brewster theme. It's so 80s and so safe and so perfect. Take a listen and make sure you stay until the end when you get to hear Brandon, Punky's cute little dog, bark. It's a masterpiece.

Let Me See You Bounce To This

Democracy Now! is a well loved syndicated news program that focuses on non-mainstream news and stories often overlooked by the larger media conglomerates. It is hosted by Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales, two incredibly serious and righteous individuals. WVEW, home base of Battle for the Earth, plays it daily at 5 pm, right when I leave work. I rarely listened to it in the past partially because I am in the mood for music when it's quittin' time but mostly because it's so damn depressing. I hated watching the news every day growing up because I felt it focused almost solely on the negative aspects of humanity and I couldn't stand all the hyperventilating and overblown noise that the news creates. Democracy Now!'s heart is in the right place and mostly in line with my politics but during the dark, dark Bush years, I would feel so helpless hearing Amy drone on endlessly about injustice after injustice but during the past few months, the glimmering hope that was Obama made my change my tune. Now if only they would change theirs.

I've been listening daily for the past two months and grew more and more excited as the election drew near and I felt the tide turning. I was happy about the prospect of some good news for once and even more ecstatic when I missed the atrocious theme song for the show. I only hear it once in a while but each time it's like a semi-funky ice pick to the brain. I have searched and searched the internet for the musicians who committed this crime against those with functioning eardrums but can't find the culprits. Why must this show, which features actually interesting and competent musicians during the short breaks on the program, have what is possibly the worst theme song ever? For such a left wing, progressive, intelligent news source, there must be someone there with the sense to end this bizarre cruelty to the audience. I deliberately walk slowly to my car to avoid this madness. I've posted a full show below but you really only need to listen to the first few seconds to hear what I'm incensed about. Please join my petition to get Amy and Juan to come to their senses. It truly is change we need.

And Now Exhale

I saw this on Jjosh's blog a while back and instantly fell in love with it. It's so perfectly put together and basically sums up the way the excitement about Obama and the hope for positive change steamrolled over the negativity and ugly rhetoric of the conservative camp. I also love the whole idea if Rickrolling so it's doubly awesome. I wanted to post this yesterday but got superstitious and thought it better to wait. Now that it's Wednesday, I can stop holding my breath and share this amazing video. Huzzah!

battle for the middle earth

Blue Cheer - Out Of Focus
Witcherfinder General- Free Country
Black Sabbath - Fairies Wear Boots

Fastway - Trick or Treat
Angel Witch - Angel Witch
Y & T - Hang 'Em High

Manowar - Blow Your Speakers
Motorhead - Killed By Death
Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder

Metallica - Blackened
Slayer - Silent Scream
Ministry - TV II

Accept - Balls To The Wall
Iron Maiden - The Trooper
Blind Guardian - This Will Never End

HammerFall - The Fire Burns Forever
3 Inches of Blood - Goat Riders Horde
Exodus - Shovel Headed Kill Machine

Mastodon - Blood and Thunder
Rhapsody - Holy Thunderforce
Motley Crue - Live Wire

Anthrax - What Doesn't Die
UFO - Lights Out