Decisions, Decisions

Maybe the defining moment for when I chose to become a heterosexual was seeing Pat Benatar's "You Better Run" video.

Root Cellar Records ...

is going out of business.

All the vinyl is 50% off. All the $2.00 vinyl LPs are now fifty cents. Apparently they have a bunch more records in storage and will keep stocking the store until it's all gone.

I was over there yesterday and bought seven albums and spent a whopping $5.35. As far as I can tell so far, the vinyl is in pretty good condition - some of the $2.00 LPs have beat-up covers.

Don't forget to go into the basement dungeon for your metal needs!

Root Cellar Records
636 Snelling Ave N
St. Paul

(And since you're curious: I bought albums by: Kix, Bad Company, The Everly Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Beach Boys, Georgia Satellites, and Uriah Heep.)

Naked Jesus Update

Naked Jesus has their website up and running. I believe they are the only local band I've written a poem about. I gave the poem away, but I remember rhyming "frontman" with "kinda tan." For some reason, that did not impress the ladies.

Albert Bouchard's Last Decade Of Music!

Sunday afternoon, about ten minutes into the Cosmic Slop show, I received the following email:

Subject: New Music from Guy Who Really Put the Cowbell in Reaper

Dear Rock Connoisseur:
It has been brought to the attention of Cellsum Records that you have an
interest in the music that Albert Bouchard has written and recorded in the
past. We thought you might like to know that Black Hearts of Soul, a
retrospective of his work in the last decade has recently been released by
the Bad Reputation label in France featuring three new tracks with Ross the
Boss, the guitarist he's wanted in his band ever since the Dictators first
opened for Blue Oyster Cult. More info is available at www.cellsum.com and the best is yet to come. We look forward to hearing from you.
Until then-
Cellsum NYC

I of course immediately forwarded this to Slop's Chuck and Joel down at the Radio K studios, and they later read and discussed it - as only they can. I laughed out loud when Chuck said the name of the record company (Cellsum = Sell Some, get it?) They then proceed to play Blue Oyster Cult's "Before The Kiss, A Redcap" followed by the Angels' "Marseilles." Way cool.

While Surfing Tonight ...

... I came across Robert Christgau's rankings of beers from Oui magazine in 1975.

Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself

Thanks to my friends Randy and Ken, I emerged from a week-long stupor and became a card-carrying member of the ACLU. All it takes is twenty bucks.

Then I cracked open the paper and see that the ACLU is battling creation "science" whackjobs in Georgia. And the president has said that "the jury is still out on evolution." Shoulda thrown the ACLU forty bucks.

A Lame Joke I Came Up With Today

Q: What do you call a bad Rush tribute band?

A: A "Fly By Night" operation.

Stunning

Greil Marcus on GWB.

Steve Erickson In American Nomad (1997)

They told you it was a war for the soul of America, but you didn't believe them. They kept saying you were the Enemy, but you wouldn't accept that, because you didn't feel like an enemy. Now you know they meant every word, and more. Now, as the Twentieth Century slips America's hold on it, you have become the Enemy they always said you were.

Better Listen To Him, He's In Pre-med

"My advice to you is to start drinking heavily."
- Bluto Blutarsky

Saturday: Tice Introduces Bush, Sunday: Giants 34, Vikings 13

Heard two tidbits of note recently on KFAN:

1) Someone suggested that if Tice wants to meet the president, he should win a Super Bowl and get to go to the White House.

2) It was alleged that Dan Murphy from Soul Asylum was kicked out of the Metrodome yesterday. Supposedly he was a few rows behind the Vikings bench and as they were getting beat badly, he yelled "It's the Curse of the Bush-ino!!"

Green Bay 28, Washington 14

Pack wins, so will Kerry.

Bush Talks About Going To War, States Why He Doesn't Deserve Re-Election

"A political candidate who jumps to conclusions without knowing the facts is not a person you want as your commander in chief."

(I'm sure someone else has had this observation and it's on a blog or in my email inbox. Apologies to whoever I stole it from.)

Tough Guy Town

The Gophers disassembled my beloved Sioux last night 6-0. Ouch. But I did get one tasty highlight. My favorite Sioux, Rory McMahon, dropped the gloves against Mike Vannelli and the two engaged in the type of bare-knuckled fisticuffs you rarely see in college hockey. McMahon won the fight convincingly. I will now refer to Mikey V. as "Milli Vannelli."

This brawl allowed me to incessantly paraphrase Vikings coach Mike Tice, saying that: "Grand Forks is a tough guy town. When the Sioux and the Gophers play, it's a street fight. If you're gonna be in a street fight, you better start getting ready now."

Oh, but I'm opposed to fighting in hockey. Really. I think ... then again, prior to the fight I stated that the Sioux should start a fight to "send a message."

Should Have Looked For A Rod Hockey Game

Went out on a bender with some associates yesterday afternoon to commiserate on a friend's last day of work.

I had a scotch egg at Brit's. A scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in banger sausage and then covered in bread crumbs and deep fried. It comes along with some wonderful dipping sauce. This is probably the greatest Homer Simpson food I've ever had.

(While walking to Brit's, my pal Def Jeff pointed at the Scientology headquarters and said: "They've been there fifteen years and they still haven't sprung for a permanent sign yet!" It's true - they still just have a large Church of Scientology banner.)

We headed over to Gameworks at Block E. I had never been there before - it's one huge room filled with all kinds of video games. It was a surreal experience to be sitting in the middle of the place at the bar drinking pitchers of Bass Ale - with a shot of Patron thrown in there at some point - while children run around playing video games. And because when one is drinking his voice becomes louder than he realizes, do you think the phrase "there's a hot mom!" was overheard by the general crowd once or twice?

Anyway, I did okay at air hockey and pretty crappy at some water-skiing video game. That last one threw me off though - it was two-ski sissy skiing and not slaloming. Reid Graf would not approve.

Then it was home to drink coffee (java tastes awesome after an afternoon of Harp and Bass) and watch the Sioux play tough-guy hockey, score four unanswered goals, and knock off the hated Gophers 4-2. Can't wait for the rematch tonight.