Early spring thaw Friday Random Ten

For now at least. Cold weather and probable snow seem to be coming over the course of the weekend. Good. Winters that are too short make me uneasy. I'm always rooting for the groundhog's shadow. At least one person at work knows where I'm coming from.

1. Elvis Costello & the Attractions--Opportunity
2. Tom Waits--All the Time
3. Beck--Girl
4. Don Byron--Charley's Prelude
5. Fiona Apple--Not About Love
6. Nick Drake--Cello Song
7. David Bowie--Boys Keep Swinging
8. Jimi Hendrix Experience--Burning of the Midnight Lamp
9. Heidi Brühl--Mister Love
10. Sarah Vaughan--I Wish I Were In Love Again

The alarmingly green Lene

I have some things on my mind. Yes, Mr. Rogers was right, I will have things I want to talk about. For now I need to get to sleep. So I hand over the floor to Lene Lovich and her Cesare-influenced stage biz.

Tomorrow or Saturday, probably.

That is such an outstanding song.

Betting on ignorance

I don't have much to add to this takedown of Alabama Senator Richard Shelby. Yes, he has less than no credibility on the alleged porkiness of the stimulus bill, his own record considered. Yes, he is and was a huge backstabber, throwing the Democrats over when the class of '94 already had a GOP majority.

As to his stance on Pres. Obama's eligibility for office:

During a community meeting at the All Steak Restaurant on Saturday, a local resident asked Shelby if there was any truth to the rumor, which appeared during the presidential campaign.

“Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven’t seen any birth certificate,” Shelby said. “You have to be born in America to be president.”

Well, if he hasn't seen the birth certificate, it's his own lack of initiative. Websites both hostile and friendly have posted pictures of it, in an inane fight over whether it's genuine. Which the state of Hawaii backs to the hilt. Quick, Dick, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were born in Birmingham.

But it's really not about that, is it? The distinguished gentleman knows that to many of his constituents, it wouldn't matter if there were videotape of Barack Obama being birthed at a Tuscaloosa Denny's. A black man with that name just isn't who they want in the White House thankyouverymuch. And this is not just an Alabama thing certainly. But is it more prominent in Alabama than a lot of other places? Probably.

All of which makes Shelby's statements not so much outrageous as dull and craven.

Rock n' guignol

So, Friday night, saw Repo! The Genetic Opera. I'm not all that familiar with the work of Darren Lynn Bousman. I did see a fairly-done zombie story he directed for the short lived Fear Itself anthology series, but I've yet to see any of the "Saw" movies. But I do know that he's had a fair measure of success in R-rated horror. So directing a splatter musical is a notable risk. One that has not initially paid off, since Repo didn't get national distribution.

It has, however, started to become a midnight-show sleeper in the vein of Rocky Horror, complete with costumes.

The movie's a lot to take. Explicit organ stealing, non-stop goth-metal songs, and the whole thing seems to be filmed on a wired soundstage. Any scene claiming to be an exterior is a lie. But it's too distinctive, too crazy, not to respect. There actually is an operatic sense to it, with Tony Head's Nathan Wallace emerging as a frightening tragic hero.

And really, if I can sit through a move where PARIS HILTON SINGS! someone must be doing something right.

Another Friday delayed til Saturday Random Ten

Yesterday my ability to compile a list was compromised by other plans I had, which I might talk about here. Today I learned that as long as the volume is crazy I can get away with listening through headphones at the library. Which is handy since one of my fellow patrons was talking to herself about things I didn't want to hear about.

1. Harry McClintock--Big Rock Candy Mountain
2. Tom Waits--LowDown
3. Electric Six--I Invented the Night
4. Barenaked Ladies--For You
5. Dinah Washington--My Ideal
6. Heidi Brühl--Ich Liebe Den Mondschein
7. Velvet Underground--What Goes On
8. Charles Mingus--Minor Intrusion
9. Talking Heads--The Great Curve
10. The Jimi Hendrix Experience--Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)

Hey, this is a family paper!

He does look like he's screwing that board, right? It's not just me?

Osh Kosh B'Gosh?

Late announcement: The "Friday" Random Ten will be tomorrow. Other stuff came up today.

For now, enjoy this short video about a beautiful woman with what just might be a dealbreaker in her past.