A Rebranding, If You Will

Why the new title for this blog? A couple of reasons:

1. The "Habitual Line Stepper" thing seems to have run its course
2. Googling the above returns far too many hits
3. Why not?

It kinda fits what this is all about, right? It's not about striving for excellence, just me posting random stuff which hopefully entertains you or makes you think for a minute. Enjoy the new name and new look.

Song Of The Day - 6/5/09

"Weird Al' Yankovic


"Trapped In The Drive-Thru"





Being Weird Al cannot possibly be as easy as it he makes it seem. I mean, everyone sits around and substitutes nonsense lyrics for songs currentl playing, right? If I had a buck for every time I'd mocked a Top 40 song for the kids while fighting the urge to pull my leg hairs out one at a time since I'm forced to endure Lady Gaga for the six hundreth time in the past five weeks, why, I'd be quite well off indeed.



But Weird Al has endured. The guy has been at this since the early eighties, and continues to pump out amusing, listenable stuff, as well as display a great comedic sensibility in his videos, the medium which it could be argued, was more instrumental to his vaulting to stardom in the early MTV days.



This gem, from his Straight Outta Lynwood album, eluded me upon release. My son turned me on to it, and suffice to say it is a keeper. The idea of parodying R. Kelly's overwrought bloated "Trapped In The Closet" would, one first glance, be thought impossible. After all, how can you parody something that is already unintentionally funny? Yankovic delivers, in spades. Making the mundane experiences of a couple faced with the monumental task of deciding what to eat, or if they're even hungry, and spinning a painfully detailed tale of the acquisition of dinner, along with every tiny detail encountered along the way, in right in his wheelhouse. I won't spoil anything for you if you haven't heard it, but know that it is pitch perfect in both tone and musicality, and well worth the ten minutes or so invested in listening.

You're awesome, Al. Long may you endure.

I Caved

Yep, I tried to resist for the longest time, but I finally caved and signed up for Twitter. This would normally signal the death knell for anything remotely trendy, as I am not known as an early adopter (example: I only recently signed on for Facebook), so it remains ot be seen how much longer Twitter remains in the public zietgeist. You've been warned.

For the riveting details, simply look to your right.

Whoo-ah!

Is There Anything This Can't Do?

No opening line, just this, form a recently concluded study:

The main chemical in marijuana appears to aid in the destruction of brain cancer
cells, offering hope for future anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain
wrote in a study released Thursday.

We're getting closer and closer to the tipping point here, folks. It's getting harder and harder for anyone to legitimately prove the harmful effects of marijuana, isn't it? Honestly, now that THC gives cancer cells such a hard case of the munchies that they begin eating themselves, what else is left to say?

I touched upon the legalization issue a few years back, and it seems like it's gained a lot of steam since. With the economy in the crapper, a varied group of individuals has called for everything from decriminalizing small amounts of weed to outright legalization (and more importantly, taxation) to an end to the uncreasingly fruitless War On Drugs.

Now before you think me just another stoner looking to promote the only cause that matters, know that I do not use pot in any way shape or form. I'm simply no longer able to stand the hypocrisy involved in laws which promote and allow tobacco and alcohol, while not allowing a naturally occurring plant to flourish. A plant which has myriad benefits above and beyond getting one high.

Decriminalizing weed, which is now being considered in my home state, is a logical first step. As the barriers have come down, and more and more of those in power are old enough to have used pot in their youth, and realized that it is no worse than alcohol, ascend to power, the attitude has begun to shift. Despite President Obama's rejection of outright legalization last week during his internet Town Hall, this issue will not go away. It's pretty telling that from the Town Hall, which bypassed the traditional media and since it took place online, thus naturally attracted a younger audience, one that in all likelihood got the man elected, chose this issue as it's most popular.

For those think admitting pot is not so bad "Sends the wrong message", think of all the tax revenue you'd gain from not only the legal sale, but from people who will be actually paying taxes (by not being in jail) as opposed to draining tax dollars (by being incarcerated).

The clock is ticking, people, and for the first time, well, ever, there might actually be light at the end of the tunnel.

The Jetsons Lied To Me

Though I was born in the sixities, I'm a child of the seventies. Growing up during that wacky decade, we were led to believe many things about The Future. Certainly by now, we thought during those hazy days, we'd be witness to technological marvels that we Garanimals clad little scamps could scarcely imagine, right?

Okay, I'll give you the internet. Culture altering? Sure. Revolutionary? You betcha, but excuse me if I still feel a bit cheated.

Where, for instance, are the moveable sidewalks? Oh sure, one sees them in airports, but didn't you think by know they'd be in mid-town Manhattan? Me too.

Where is my meal in pill form?

Where is my non-gas using, 100 mpg car which runs on water, or sand, or cow dung, or whatever else?

Most importantly, where the hell is my JET PACK?!? We should have jet packs by now! We were promised jet packs, weren’t we?

All that aside, the most puzzling thing we expected the future to bring, learned about in the seventies, something on which you would have bet the house, never occurred. I'm talking about, of course, The Metric System. Dear God, this was drilled into our heads year after year, so certain were our schools that the US would finally catch up to the rest of the world and use this simpler system of weights and measures based on tens. It was inevitable, and by all accounts we'd be fully Metric by the time we graduated high school, perhaps sooner. Book it. Done.

Wrong. I suppose there was no way the stubbornness of the American public could've been properly estimated, but we as a society said a pretty emphatic "no", didn't we? Our football fields are still measured in yards, our roads in miles, and our weight gains/losses in pounds. Take that, Europe!

Except for this puzzler: can anyone explain to me why the only things we have accpeted as Metric are soft drinks and cocaine? Beer? Gimme a pint. Weed? How much per ounce? Yet Diet Coke comes in 2 liter (that’s 67.6 ounces to us ‘mericans) bottles and cocaine still is measured by the gram, or kilos when a big bust is announced.

It's just weird.

Song Of The Day - 3/9/09

Vampire Weekend

"A-Punk"

Vampire Weekend

Released 2008

From a band nearly swallowed up by their own hype came this infectious slice of poppy perfection. One critic mentioned that it sounded like an English Beat B-Side, and while there are some similarities, these guys bring a unique quality to the song.

Clearly inspiried by the World music styling of Graceland-era Paul Simon (the band themselves describe their sound as "Upper West Side Soweto") on the rest of the debut album, "A-Punk" stands out as it veers into more ska flavored territory. Clocking in at just 2:17, it leaves the listener wanting more, and I defy anyone to not have this song in their head for the rest of the day after one listen. This is one song that pretty much denmands you hit the repeat button on whatever device it's being played.

Don't take my word for it, listen and see for yourself.

Song Of The Day - 2/27/09

The Jam

"Circus"

The Gift

1982

Never a big hit in the States, UK legends The Jam released their final studio album, The Gift, in the summer of 1982. Frontman and leader Paul Weller made some headlines at the time, mentioning he was pulling the plug on the group so they didn't end up as tired, obsolete parodies of themselves like "the rest of them". The implication that he was speaking primarily of The Who, who were about to embark on the first of several Farewell Tours, was hard to miss.

The Gift's best known track was clearly "Town Called Malice", but for some reason the instrumental "Circus", written by bassist Bruce Foxton, immediately captured me. Clocking in at a quick 2:11, the features blaring horns, whistles, aggressive drums and an unforgettable guitar riff.

Some years later I heard this song, believe it or not, as background music during an intro for a New York Mets telecast, which was bizarre. This is a song, to me, which is begging to be used in a movie during a chase scene or a montage, and it would not at all surprise if that in fact had already happened.

The Jam left us too soon, but also left behind a great catalog. This forgotten gem is one you won't find on any of the Greatest Hits collections, but is worth looking for and checking out.

The Jam (Allmusic)