Random Songs For A Day

Songs For A Day compilation post the last Velocity move. Words weren't worth re-posting, but the songs are a delight or a swoon.

Thoughts On Thoughts

It's been brought to my attention by my kind editor that I've not written in a while.  I knew this.  It sort of niggles in my head  that I have this bloggy job that I need to tend to but then life gets in the way or I think I'm really boring or I haven't seen anything interesting on the internets or the telly so I think oh why bother.

But, it's my job to find interesting things even if I myself am not particularly fascinating so I am going to make some efforts here... try to get on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday sort of schedule.  We'll see how it goes.

So here's today's Thoughts On Thoughts...

1.  I watched the Cleveland Cavaliers/Miami Heat game last night as the jilted lovers of Cleveland professed their hatred for LeBron James via signs, boos and probably louder than usual screaming for the team he left behind.  At first I was feeling not sorry at all for the people of Cleveland but the game turned into such a blowout that I felt a bit sad as their booing subsided into a sort of sulking silence.  I maintain, though, that this is what you get when you date an egomaniac... not that this has happened to me in real life but I have seen it on the television.

2.  I realized, after watching this game, that I don't like team sports unless it's pairs figure skating.  Hume me.

3.  I am currently in love with Steve Martin not only for his genius Twitter <a href="http://twitter.com/SteveMartinToGo">feed</a> but for his banjo prowess.  I listen to <em>The Crow</em> with regularity and it never annoys me.

4.  Speaking of Twitter, the My Morning Jacket <a href="http://twitter.com/mymorningjacket/">Twittering</a> is getting good with lots of nice pictures taken by those funny boys.

I hope everyone has a pleasant weekend where at least one good thing happens.

Historical Documents: My Morning Jacket in October

I know I write a disproportionate amount about My Morning Jacket - especially considering how little I've been blogging lately.  However, I'm ankle deep in NaNoWriMo, which you probably don't want to hear about especially considering I am nowhere near 50,000 words and it's already November 18.  I'm definitely sure you don't want to hear about my time at the dentist this week which is probably the most interesting thing that happened to me besides watching the Gwyneth Paltrow episode of Glee.

I've been posting Tom Picture Time on the MMJ Twitter feed every day which is a collection of shots Tom's been taking at the studio.  You should totally follow them and can do so here.  They'll have a new record coming out sometime next year.  Late spring?  Early summer?  Something like that. Oh oh, and they're on the cover of the new Austin City Limits: 35 Years in Photographs book so that's pretty groovy.

So, without further ado, here's some video (poor) and photos (less poor) I shot while out with Tom (husband) and company (the rest of the band) last month.  You can see all the videos of questionable quality here.

Still Life of Kentucky Living with Water Bottles

Channeling his inner Itzhak Perlman... because a Jimmy Page joke would just be obvious.

The Patrick

Handle with Care

Danny Clinch makes the photo time happen. I make the photo of photo time happen.

Pooch Approved

The closest we will ever be.

Johnny Quaid gets overexposed

Into the woods... with a band of vikings.

I don't know which is more terrifying: Pooch the Chicken (seen here with R.j. Biscotti), Pooch the Mexican Wrestling Optimus Prime or Pooch the Donkey.

Wearing white past Labor Day

Balloons they fall and make things happy.

One Big Kittycat

Sheer Affection

Tom as seen by Danny Cash from a photo by Steve Mitchell

I hope you have enjoyed these small offerings.

Song For A Day - Election Day

Okay, Arcadia really was the lesser of the Duran Duran offshoots but this video just gives me an excuse to re-post this week's column before it goes off to the C-J archives forever more...

I hope everyone voted in last week's mid-term election. It's mostly true that if you don't participate, you can't complain, but in all honesty I understand the desire to abstain altogether with the caliber of candidates we're faced with these days. To that end I feel that I can't really condemn those who choose not to participate.

I did my civic duty at the Brownsboro Community Center in Crestwood, and boy, was it ever depressing. Voting in the 40014 is a somewhat soul-crushing journey to the heart of red Kentucky.

Eight Kentucky counties went blue in 2008, and Oldham wasn't one of them. Not surprising, as I knew what I was in for when I moved out here and mostly I can handle living in the remnants of white flight, in a town where I'm 99 percent sure I'm the only Korean. I think I could probably apply for endangered species status.

So it was with a sense of the futile that I made my way to our polling place last Tuesday. The room was empty when I arrived, but as I sat down with my ballot behind what appeared to be a cutout cardboard box, there was a bit of a rush of people ready to get their Republican on.

As I contemplated the various races, I overheard one woman ask if it had been a busy day and they told her yes, voter turnout was good. She then went on to make tea party comments about how people are just plain fed up and they're right fed up and I think she used the term “fed up” four times while one of the poll workers chimed in about how no one got their change, and this ain't change and keep the change, and it was like every bumper sticker I see on every car out here come home to roost in a depressing auditory explosion. Furthermore, isn't it wrong for the people who work the polls to be giving their political opinions while others are trying to vote?

Dejectedly, I filled in the boxes for the Democratic candidates, none of whom I felt overly enthused about, as the woman's daughter loudly asked, “Mommy, where's Rand Paul's name?” Ah yes, Rand Paul, the libertarian savior. The bright smiling face of the Tea Party, lauded by Sarah Palin, who sees him as a fellow victim of the liberal media's “gotcha” game, and Kentucky's newest emissary to the United States Senate.

It will be interesting to see how Paul, part of the new brand of maverickism, fueled by faux righteousness, gets along as the freshman senator alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell and the Republican party have already made strides in moderating Paul, but recently he's said in interviews that he will challenge McConnell. Jim Bunning, who was, let's face it, pretty cuckoo and an embarrassment to the party, might start looking pretty good as the tea partyers and their misplaced brio take their seats in Congress.

This election proved that people are angry, but where will this anger get the new Republican base? Where will moderate Republicans go? Will the tea party force a third party into our system? That's actually something I'm invested in. That being said, I don't think Obama's getting a fair shake (he's partly to blame for that), and I'm sad that hope doesn't seem to get things done in the same way anger does.

However, one beacon of light on the horizon is that Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear reportedly drew more than double the crowd of Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor spectacle. I'd like to make a joke about how you need to have honor in order to restore it, but I'll spare us all.

In the end, I'm not too morose about the Republicans taking back the House. Maybe now they'll have some accountability. That's my bright side here.

Song For A Day - Lonely In Your Nightmare

I just finished reading Andy Taylor of Duran Duran's autobiography, Wild Boy, and it was more interesting than I expected.  Strange to hear about how things were falling apart while I was sitting in the nosebleed section of Reunion Arena with a screaming friend and a stoic father on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger tour.  I was mortified by all the shrieking going on around me and I think it was a while before I went to another concert.

We won't discuss how many posters of this band adorned my walls as a 13-year old because that would be total humes.  Let's just say I managed to cover up all the hideous tan plaid wallpaper and dreamt the sweetest of dreams with John Taylor's pretty face smiling down upon me.

Speaking of dreams... we also won't discuss how many times I watched this video as a young teen just wishing Simon LeBon would come whisper something or other in my ear.  And let's not mention how skeevy that is since I was, as mentioned, 13 and he was 25.

Also, this:

Song For A Day - Kiddie Hypnogogia

It's rare that I post new music in Song For A Day, but a) I really like this song by Mini Mansions even though I'm not a huge Queens of the Stone Age fan, and b) it stars my gay crush, the awesome Erik Patterson, vomiting red goo. The vid is directed by his brother Joshua.

So, peep this shizzle. Imma go buy this record now.

Today's Mesmerosity - You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb

Hypnokitty is tha bomb.

Watch him...



While listening to them...



Bit insanity making, actually.

Thanks to Jason and Jeff.

My Morning Jacket - Summer Tour III

Okay, this is the final photopost from Summer Tour 2010 because a) the tour is over, b) I'm running out of photos and c) you're probably getting tired of them by now.

If you're looking for posts I and II, you can find them here and here. (For larger views, click on the shot.)

Now, I have space to fill and here's some nice boys and bears to fill it.

"Tower, we are cleared for takeoff." - Pooch Is My Copilot

When going to San Francisco it really is best to wear some flowers in your hair.

I wouldn't leave you without a standard Jim shot.

Getting Mile High

That Tom is rather elegant, I must say.

This is where I pretended I was at a Cure concert.

The most valuable treasures are the ones kept hidden. Or so I hear.
I don't really hear that. I just made that up.

Hey lookit! Patrick didn't really spontaneously combust.

And the sun was bright that night we rode into town.

You are being watched... at all times. For some reason I am reminded of Nancy Drew.

Airport time to say farewell.

And that's all she wrote. For now. I'll be back with more MMJ goodtimes in October when the band does their five night run at New York City's Terminal 5. I'll also be at the Yum! Center show.

In the meantime we'll be tweeting some historical photos @mymorningjacket. Other MMJ related twitterers: Tom Blankenship, Carl Broemel, Removador, Eric Mayers, Riny van Eijk and yours truly.

If you like this bloggy, you can subscribe to it via an RSS reader here.

Thanks and thanks again for dropping by.

Pooch Is My Copilot photo by Gene Barnett

My Morning Jacket - Summer Tour II

Here's another spate of photox from the good ol' My Morning Jacket Summer Tour. If you're looking for part I, it's here. Part III is here.

We laughed, we cried, we finally got Denise into a permanent dress. Thank God because that nudist thing was not working for me.

Once again, click the pics to see them in a larger state. Steal the pics and they will haunt your dreams.

The lads are in Pittsburgh tonight with my favorite tall person Daniel Martin Moore opening. I am so full of sadness not to be there.

"I heard there was a party here? I am ready to party!" - Denise.

This is one of those Spinal Tap moments. Spontaneous drummer combustion.

You've heard of it, right?

Does the cape make the man?

Is that an Omnichord I see? No. Really. Is it?
Maybe I ought to pop over to the MMJ forum and ask...

You know those slidey puzzles where you make a picture? That's what this looks like.
It also looks like some hands.

"My Carl."

I love when the boyos seem happy onstage.
Not that they aren't generally but, well, you know what I mean.

Tom the devil. I know I'd sell my soul... oh wait.

Chi-town was the best show of (my part of) the tour. Those peeps always bring it.

No man and no bear, apparently, can escape the wand of the TSA. Denise is rather huzzah! about the whole thing. I must say, if I wore a donkey mask through airport security I bet they'd make me take it off. Such is the power of Pooch.

I'll be back on Monday with Volume III. Actually, I'll be back before that, on Sunday, with Emmy live blogging. The snark part of my brain better get in gear sometime in the next 48 hours. See you groovy gals and guy soon.

Pooch-Denise-TSA photo by Gene Barnett

My Morning Jacket - Summer Tour I

I have way too may photos for one blog post so I'm going to spread it out over three... or four. I cut and re-cut and I'm not saying my little picts are the greatest or anything but it was just too hard to keep taking stuff out.

So here you go... ten days on tour in ten shots vol i. If you click on them they get bigger! If you steal them, they get mad.

"Why heggo!" says Pooch.

I swear more people came to that Los Angeles Greek show.

Carl has, like, the best hair. He also has a record that comes out next week.

I'm kind of fond of this photo. I'm not sure why. Probably because I have 90000000 pictures of Jim doing the same thing (singing, I guess, go figure) and in this one he is... not.

The boys that come from Kentuckyland.

Patrick... doing Patricky things.

Tom... who should not be looking at his nice wife like that.

I often think Bo is the most photogenic member of the band.

Another new fave of that Jim guy.

Okay, I don't want to make any cheesy "Stairway" jokes but I swear Jim is ascending here.

I hope you have enjoyed this offering. More to come tomorrow time.

If you're looking for part II, you can find it here. Part III is here.

My Morning Jacket Goes To The Pancake Mountain

I'm like spitting out my Peanut Butter Puffins from laughing...

BUT WHY IS DENISE NAKED?!!

My Morning Jacket on HuffPo

Nice interview with Jim on Huffington Post.

Laughing at the pleasant silence coming from Tom, Bo and Carl.

Had a splendid splendid time on tour. Photos and recap coming soon. And by soon I mean sometime before October when I go back out again. Just kitten. It will be up next week. I think.

Song For A Day - Star Fruits Surf Rider

Let's go ahead and not talk about how I haven't blogged in ten days because a) I am lame and b) I have been on tour and it's busier than expected. I'll have a whole post with photos when I get home. Tonight is my last show for this run and I'm a bit sad but happy happy to get back to Kentucky and the creature comforts of the OC.

I have long loved this video because, well, stuffed animals! Thanks to fab artist Benjamin Birdie for reminding me of Cornelius today even if it was in a bummer way for us both.

Song For A Day - The Closest We Will Ever Be

This song reminds me of autumn... of early darkness and rustling leaves. Chills that warm you. Driving through neighborhoods, wondering what the flickering lights in the houses are about.

These days I wish for fall an awful lot.

Song For A Day - Rise

This might be the greatest video I have ever seen.

If missing the 70s is wrong then I don't want to be right.

Songs For A Day - Marvelous Mashups

I'm laughing like stuffed animals over here at these lovely offerings...

Knock Out Eileen - LL Cool J vs Dexy's Midnight Runners (Lobsterdust mix)



Invisible Gurls - Genesis vs Katy Perry (Chambaland mix)



In other news, I'm back out on the tourio next week with the My Morning Jacket people for ten days. A reunion with my lovely California all the way through to the Chicago place. Say hi or something if you see me getting bonked on the head in the pit. Please God don't let it be 90 bazillion degrees out there, that's all I ask. Looking forward to more internet friend meetups with people cooler than me.

Someone I follow on Twitter posted this CS Lewis quote today... "All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be." So let's all pretend to be something kick-ass, yeah?

Song For A Day - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

This is my favorite scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

This Dream Academy rendition is my favorite version of this song. Yes, I like it more than The Smiths' version.

In fact, I lurv it so much it's the song Tom and I walked down the aisle to when did that nuptial thing.

The end.

Song For A Day - Be Near Me

Using this song to go to my happy place to stave off stabby feelings over this news about BP. What a bunch of tossers. I really hope Martin Fry wouldn't approve of this.

Song For A Day - With Or Without You

I wonder if Belgian choir Scala and Kolacny Brothers imagined how often they would be Googled after being featured in the trailer for the upcoming film The Social Network (see below). Their haunting rendition of Radiohead's "Creep" is still stuck in my head.

Here's the ladies doing U2's "With or Without You."



The Social Network trailer

The My Morning Jacket Press Conference - Can You See The Hard Helmet On My Head

Well, that happened.

That's Tom Blankenship (aka husband type person or, to you, MMJ bassist type person) showing off his supercute hardhat that they gave the boyos so they could tour the future KFC Yum! Center.

Tom says, "The new arena is gigantic and fancy, like pro-team fancy."

I did not go on this tour because I do not don bright red plastic headwear.

So, this whole brouhaha was for the upcoming My Morning Jacket show at Louisville's very own aforementioned brand new arena. The venue is hosting a series of opening concerts featuring The Eagles, MMJ and (haha) Justin Bieber.

Tickets for the October 29 MMJ show are $45 and go on sale August 14 at Ticketmaster. Local awesome saucies Wax Fang open. A special general admission cash-only sale will take place on August 12 at Ear X-tacy's new location at 2226 Bardstown Road. Ear X-tacy moves on July 30.

I don't actually remember much of the presser as I was too busy trying to live tweet it. Which I did... poorly. Oops.

Jim talked about the vitalosity of local business, artists and such and representatives of the Louisville Youth Orchestra, who will be performing with the band, were on hand to talk about how psyched they are that MMJ is donating $1 from each ticket to their scholarship fund. The fund raises money for at risk youth to be able to attend school. The head orchestra honcho said that they should double their fund with this influx of bucks. So that is most excellent.

Umm, here's the rest in pictures...


Jim talks about things and answers the question, "New record?" with "We're working on it."


Happy Patrick! Happy Tom! Happy John from Ear X-tacy! Dude with camera! I'm pretty sure that's Jeffrey Lee Puckett's arm.


I'm having this banner turned into bedsheets. Not really.


I finally met this guy. This photo is old - from the Evil Urges release in-store thingy back in 2008. His name is Benny and he is very nice. He used to play in a band called Elliott. I never saw them but heard they were quite good. Kevin from Wax Fang was in that group, as well.


And finally, here's a closeup of the hardhat because I just know you really wanted to see it from another angle. An angle that is not atop Tom's head.

Alrighty then... now back to regularly scheduled programming. Regularly scheduled programming looking something like this: