Song For A Day - Thank You Too

Okay, I'm going to come right out and say that this is not one of my favorite My Morning Jacket songs (not by a lot, actually), but I'm in a time crunch and figured you might like this better than being subjected to Abba's "Thank You For The Music" or Dido's "Thank You" or even John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy."

Anyway, tomorrow is Thanksgiving so I thought I'd write about Thanksgiving 1987, the Thanksgiving where I was homeless but not helpless as my good friend at the time Laura (whose last name I can't remember, my memory is beyond pathetic at this point) picked me up and took me to her house where we had Stouffer's French Bread Pizza and Vodka for dinner. It was one of the best Turkey Day's ever.

Later, she was also part of another significant event in my life when she got spit on for hanging out with me, a Korean, by two skinheads outside Theatre Gallery in Dallas. Poor girl... being friends with me was perilous in the 80s. It was the only time I've ever been called a "fish faced gook," but not the only time I've had "fish" or "gook" slurs sent my way. But I digress...

I've been pretty drunk on nostalgia lately, having gone through another round of finding all kinds of high school friends on Facebook so I finally decided to go public on le FB. You can find me here. I'm also on Twitter @mspark.

I'm thankful this year that I've finally started honoring my past... something long forgotten, now sort of cherished. What are you grateful about as we head into the holiday season? I'm sure there must be something, yeah?

Song For A Day - Rapture Riders

I was in search of some Doors video to share because...

1. Today I got back in touch with my best friend from high school... a girl who sat in front of me in freshman English reading No One Here Gets Out Alive. My curiosity about said book sparked a friendship that would endure loads of sixties music, going goth and a reasonable amount of alcohol (vodka and Diet Slice, anyone?). So, I'm excited about that... it's been 16 years since we last talked.

And 2. Something needs to erase the bad taste that New Moon left behind in the wake of molasses pacing and distant acting. Please God, get Kristen Stewart off the marijuana so some life can return to those eyes of hers. As an internet friend who shall remain nameless for his sake said, "They are black holes from which none can escape!"

Anyway, Jim Morrison will always be sexier than Edward Cullen. To be fair to R-Patz, it's gotta be tough on a guy when he as to utter a line like, "You give me everything by breathing!"

Enjoy this Blondie/Doors mashup. I did.

(Also, in case you missed it... yesterday I wrote about MMJ on American Dad and our good timez experience. Show co-creator Mike Barker even did my LP Questionnaire.)

The American Dad Experience... and Special Edition LP Questionnaire with Mike Barker

It was September 2008 when we trekked down to Wilshire Blvd after a grand ol' time at Leno so the guys could do their voice overs for Seth MacFarlane and Mike Barker's animated series American Dad.

I couldn't write about it until now because it was a :shhh:.

However, the My Morning Jacket episode finally airs this Sunday on Fox! Set your DVRS, kids!

Titled "My Morning Straitjacket," the show features Stan becoming a full on MMJ groupie. I can understand how that happens and not just because I'm biased and stuff. As Barker said, "The best band in the world appearing on the 59th top-rated show on television? It's a no-brainer."

Lookit! There's the excellent Mike Barker. And that Jim guy.

It was the second time we'd been to the American Dad/Family Guy offices and let me say, it's one of the happiest places on earth. They ply you with candy and good times and everyone is almost eerily nice.

See! Candy! And Tom! And Bo!

Speaking of Tom (Blankenship, MMJ bassist, all around decent human being), he had this to say about the experience, "What struck me most was Mike Barker and [American Dad writer] Matt Fusfeld's enthusiasm for having us be a part of the show and their love for what they do. That made the whole experience so comfortable. These were dudes just like us and I think we shared the thought, 'Holy sh*t! This is what we do for a living!'"

We all had about a million laughs as the band took turns in the sound booth making the TV magics happen.

See! Magics!

I can't wait to see the final result. You guys have only had two weeks of anticipation. I've had over a year!

In honor of this most sure to be excellent episode, Mr. Mike Barker agreed to do my rather silly (read: totally awesome) LP Questionnaire.


Mike Barker is a half-Baptist/half-Jew who grew up in Wichita, Kansas.

He shared this rather sad childhood story with me... My parents divorced when I was 12. My father picked me up from Kos Harris Elementary school one day with the backseat of the 1976 White Mercury Cougar stuffed to the hilt with clothes. Me: "Dad, what... what's going on? Why are all those clothes in the backseat?" Dad: "Son... There's no easy way to... Mike... Look, son, your mother and I haven't been getting along for quite some time now."

The happy ending: Mike never blamed himself for his parents' divorce and is married with two wonderful daughters. His eldest (pictured here with the juggling Mike), five-year old Chloe, constantly shouts at him while he's in the shower to "turn off the water" because he's "hurting the planet." Mike pays good money to Chloe's preschool so they can teach her to yell at her father while he's in the shower, trying to get his head straight for the long day ahead of him.

And without further ado, MB tackles The LP Questionnaire:

Name: Mike Barker
Pro Wrestling name: Bunkhouse Cobra

1. Pretend you're 15 (and tell us what year it is, if you don't mind). Name three songs you'd put on a mix tape for your girlfriend.

The Year, 1983. My face, acne ridden. My heart, bursting. My groin, ignored. My mix-tape remedy:

1. Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue" - Check...
2. Spandau Ballet's "True" - And...
3. Prince's "Little Red Corvette" - Mate!

2. Which evil villain would make the best president? Um, the Mountain Man that sexually assaulted Ned Beatty in Deliverance? At least with that guy in office we couldn't act surprised when he inevitably violated us. By the way, is this a family paper?

3. What was your favorite cartoon as a child? Hong Kong Phooey - the cat is smarter than the dog! Women are smarter than men! Come on, fellas, treat your ladies better!

4. What superpower do you wish you had? Is the ability to remember in good times that bad times will eventually be back but that they too won't last a superpower? It should be.

5. What would the title of your autobiography be? How To Succeed Artistically Without Selling Out: An Autobiography in Five Volumes

Way back when, My Morning Jacket subjected themselves to the LPQ. You can peep their answers here.

Song For A Day - Lovecats

I've probably written a hundred times about my love for The Cure. Have I also written about how I used to have Robert Smith hair and totally dress like him? Seriously, I would copy his outfits from the videos.

Sigh. I know I've also talked about how I've never been cool and alas, here is more proof.

Anyway, I'm having a hilarious kitty day over here in Crestwood. My pal Yael sent me this most awesome, best feline share ever:


You must visit Cats For Gold. It will make your day.

Well, That Happened - Lady Gaga vs Christopher Walken vs Cartman

Oh my goodness.

I guess now is the time to out myself and tell you all how much I heart Lady Gaga. Yes, it's true. I don't know if it's her scrumptious 80s beats or the fact that she really really means it, but somehow I've gone from having a total allergic reaction to her the first time I saw her (on So You Think You Can Dance) to being in full on luv.

This mashup includes Christopher Walken's hilarious reading of the "Poker Face" lyrics on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.



Thanks to one of my favorite conservatives (yes, I have a few), Andrew Sullivan, for posting this so I could share the joy. Or share it until Gaga's record company takes it away due to copyright infringement, that is. ;)

Song For A Day - I See You

Okay, I admit I'm sort of cheaping out with all the Song For A Day posts as yes, they're sort of easy peasy in the grand scheme of things. I did set out to live blog Sarah Palin's Oprah appearance yesterday, but it was so boring I couldn't be bothered.

I've been listening to music a lot lately and I swear it's made my life better. For years, it feels, I've gone mostly without, lost to the world of NPR and all news all the time.

It's more than excellent, getting back to my first love. I still remember the first stirrings of romance in my life listening to "Sailing" by Christopher Cross, disco dancing with my brother to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, loads and loads of teen angst with The Cure and Bauhaus. Where did it all go wrong?! Or right!

Anyway, I recently heard this Mika song and instantly fell in love with the longing and the drama. I've always liked what I've heard from him but never paid any strict attention. I'll have to rethink that now.

I've dreamt alone now the dreams won't do...

PS. Sorry for the video but it's the only one I could find. That being said, listening to the off-key singalong of the chorus by the teens in the front rows is sort of oh so fitting.

Song For A Day - Catch The Breeze

Picture it: London, 1991. A young woman squatting in a flat in Walthamstow.

Tube rides to anywhere... biding time until the bus carries her on to Amsterdam.

Slowdive playing in the background... a soundtrack for the loneliness and the joy and everything in between.

Picture it: Los Angeles, 1999. A slightly older woman living in an apartment in Atwater village.

Car rides to everywhere... biding time until the truck carries her on to Kentucky.

Slowdive playing in the background... a soundtrack for the sadness and the freedom and everything in between.

The breeze, it blows everything...

Today's been a particularly bad one for some people I like quite a lot. I'm sending good thoughts for their speedy recoveries.

Song For A Day - Shapes of Things

So, I just got home from seeing Pirate Radio. For some reason Tom and I only go see middle aged man movies nowadays. We're on quite a roll going from The Informant! (horrible) to Men Who Stare at Goats (only slightly less horrible) to this. Quite often we're the youngest ones in the theatre, and I'm not that young.

I am young enough, though, to have gone through a big ol' 60s phase (at age 15) culminating in the worship of Jim Morrison and tears shed at the end of The Song Remains the Same.

I had some hope for Pirate Radio as Richard Curtis is one of my writing heroes and I was only slightly disappointed. For some reason, it felt a bit surface and there were way too many "people sitting on the toilet while listening to The Who" scenes for me, but there's a sweet innocence to everything Curtis does.

Anyhoo, thought I'd dedicate this Song For A Day to one of the hits of 1966, the year the film took place, the Yardbirds' "Shapes of Things." That Jimmy Page sure was dreamy.

I have a real affinity for any movie that portrays people's love of music. I can't tell you how many times I've seen Almost Famous. Through these stories I get to re-capture the joy I feel when some song takes over my consciousness.

There's no greater way to lose yourself... there's no greater way to find yourself.

Song For A Day - Come Sail Away

Remember that scene in Freaks and Geeks where Lindsay and Eli dance at the school social (socials... that's what we called them back in the day)? That's one of my favorite TV scenes of all time. Anyway, my iTunes thinks it's the late 70s/early 80s today so all the jams consist of Abba, Styx and Christopher Cross.

Speaking of jams, one of the YouTube comments in re this Styx video is: "These ni**as was blowin it up wit this jam, dis is off tha chain yo." People who comment on YT videos are some of the most... interesting people on earth.

In other news, what's going on in the world besides this mind numbingly beautiful weather? It's so mind numbing I'm blogging about the weather... Seriously, all I want to do is sit outside and read which does not exactly make for scintillating posts.

I did see Men Who Stare at Goats but it was dreadfully dull. Poor Ewan McGregor couldn't save it, and I was so excited to see him in something again. Did he go away or do I just not get out much?

And finally, Happy Veterans Day to all our fine vets. Perhaps you'd think a raging liberal like me wouldn't give a hoot about this holiday but man, it's not something I could ever do so kudos to them for fighting for what they believe in. I watched the memorial service for the soldiers killed at Fort Hood yesterday... and I read the In Memoriam every Sunday on This Week and it's all pretty heartbreaking. Most of these soldiers are still kids and while it's honorable what they're doing, I wish they didn't have to do it at all. I wish the reasons made a bit more sense (to me).

On that note, the sun is calling me back outside...

Song For A Day - Temazcal

I talked about this song the other day (or I wrote about it, I guess) and now it turns out there's a video and everything!

I want this song to be a teddy bear that I can hold as I sit out by the trees and watch the sunset. It's just so everything.

This is stupid but I thought Conor wrote this song, but M. sings most of the verses so now I'm not sure. Jim gave me a copy of the record but I don't know what I did with it so I can't look it up.

It doesn't matter really, it's the swoon.

Playlist - Wednesday Root Canal Edition

So I'm getting a root canal in a couple hours... by some dentist I've never met... because my regular gal can't do it... and this is fine and everything... I'm not scared... it's not like the last time I got a root canal (my dentist then: Dr. Dick Butcher... seriously) a transformer blew at the power plant causing the electricity to go out mid-procedure and they had to send me home... as bloody stump tooth lady... oh yeah.

In honor of my Marathon Man afternoon... here's today's playlist:



This one's obvious. Classic Ramones.



I heart Steve Martin. This may be the only time I've seen him without grey hair.



I recently remarked that nothing soothes the soul like Christopher Cross. I don't know that I've ever made a truer statement.

One thing I've learned from this experience - two weeks in pain so bad it wakes you up - is to have more empathy for people who live with chronic pain. I don't know how you guys do it, but my heart goes out to you fo sho.

Alright, I'm outta here. Wish me luck! Though it irks me that Tom has crying Dawson as his Twitter avatar, he feels oh so fitting about now.

Monsters of Folk, The Jayhawks and Other Randomness

Okay... I've returned from yet another longish absence. Inspiration has eluded me this year in many ways. Living in Kentucky is like all comfort food all the time or something. Days pass and I'm not even sure what I've done with them besides go to Target and find inappropriate children's items.

I did see Monsters of Folk on Halloween and it was a bit surreal sitting there with Tom and Patrick watching the band do MMJ songs but when they came out dressed as KISS for the encore... well, seeing M Ward dressed as Ace Frehley made it all worthwhile. Jim made for an excellent Gene Simmons and words fail me when it comes to Conor as Paul Stanley. All in all it was a good show with "Temazcal" being my favorite song of the evening. I confess I still haven't listened to the entire record. I am a bad friend! Oh, and to Barney Rubble and Gumby in row K, thanks for doing your drunken best to ruin my evening. Well done!!

In other news, things continue to annoy me, I'm still impressed by Glee nearly every week and work on SXSW 2010 has begun in semi-earnest. I wonder when I will become interesting and funny again (or if I ever was). The eternal internal debates rage on. I think I've perfected being happy and melancholy all at once, all the time.

I'm sitting here listening to this song while I write...



and I'm reminded of the time I rescued Lukas Haas who'd come all the way from Austin to see the Jayhawks play... in Austin. I gave him a sober ride home.

And that is all... for now.