I’ll cast my vote and go further: it’s arguably the best rock song of the 21st century — so far. Penned, sung, riffed and hit out of the park by the British duo, Ida Mae (Christopher Turpin and Stephanie Jean Turpin), this checks all my boxes for entrance into the Hall of Cool, and its niche, Foot Stomping Slanky. “Click Click Domino” is what rock used to mean, and apparently still does to some. Lester Bangs would be proud. Divine…
Labels can get us into trouble. They can needlessly restrict the mind and the heart. They can truncate views, and hopes and dreams. But they also save time, or terabytes, or bandwidth, as the case may be. No one likes them. But they can be kinda sorta useful for a moment or two. Okay. So with this singer/songwriter, a past band-mate with a previous subject on Spinozablue, Phoebe Freakin’ Bridgers, I’ll throw out a few to see if any of…
Yin and Yang. Yesterday and today. We follow soft and low with loud and high. This could be filtered, of course, biased and different due to age and so on, but I don’t care. As in, yeah, I’m a Classic Rock, Classic Blues kind of guy, but I want to see it burst into the present and beyond. So what might represent the relatively new? At least 21st century Rock, Blues, Punk, Garage? This might be a pretty good start:…
Precocious is a beautiful word. Its shush sound is both warning and invitation – to be quiet, listen, and just pay attention for a moment or two. Perhaps not with a full Simone Weil unit (henceforth known as SW7). But at least turn off the damn phone! Getting closer to the point, but some house-cleaning first: Yeah, I’m pretty late to the dance on this one, at least writing about her. Am embarrassed to admit I first bumped into her…
I don’t know why. Heard it on the radio and I thought a moment, a place, a thing or two. It’s likely not what she intended. But, artists know all about that. They know once they give birth, the child goes where it will. So, that’s why, I suppose Loneliness is not the same as being a alone. You can be profoundly, dangerously lonely in a group, a marriage, a family. You can be deliriously not lonely all by yourself….
We were watching ET for the third or fourth time, laughing merrily through most of it, until the moment when that other, much larger alien says, “ET phone home.” That brought on a flood of tears, which surprised me. As I mentioned before, our Alien just doesn’t do that. He’s radically unemotional, as one would expect from the former teacher of Marcus Aurelius, whom he said he knew well. It was the first time I had seen moisture fall from…
I’ve been out of a math or science classroom for more years than I can count. Can’t count them due to the distance, I suppose. So it brings me much joy to learn more from the Alien about Time, its non-existence, its contingency and relativity. The Alien tells me that Einstein was on the right track, well ahead of his day for an earthling, but never quite got there, and that contemporary meta-physicians like Carlo Rovelli are closer. But he’s…
We live in a towering multiplex, on a shining hill, the Alien and I. And for the last several years, we’ve enjoyed the sights and sounds here, for the most part, living so close to the heavens, able to touch the clouds on certain days. But along with those breathtaking moments, and those white, fluffy clouds, we’ve had to, on occasion, deal with some rather obnoxious neighbors now and then. Loud, boastful, given to incessant claims without the slightest merit,…
Catharsis. We always need at least a bit. In recent times, in the light and darkness of current events, the degree of need has elevated, worldwide, to levels (perhaps) previously unknown. Because along with the endless crises of war, and war, and more war, hunger, homelessness, poverty, and environmental destruction, we also have a pandemic in the mix, and a politics of fear and division that seems to have taken over most of the world. As is usually the case…
Fiona Apple really doesn’t care what you think of her. Well, that’s the impression I get when I consider the way she handled her early stardom, back in 1996, and the fact she’s only put out four albums since then. Her most recent, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, released this past spring, seems as fresh as her first, penned when she was 17, 18 and 19. Back then, she seemed like a unicorn of sorts, bold, but vulnerable, classically trained, but…