Another hiatus

I'm going to have to take another hiatus for a while. I'll be back when I'm feeling better.

Prefab Sprout

For some Wednesday morning sweetness, try the whimisical, jazz-steeped pop of Prefab Sprout. This is some of the best songwriting in 80s/90s pop, with many embedded dynamic changes (although not in the posted song) and unconventional tempos and rhythms. The vocal of Paddy McAloon and high, airy harmonies of Wendy Smith are also fantastic. Looking for Atlantis from 1990 is on the pure pop end of their spectrum. Enjoy.

In My House - Mary Jane Girls

While we're in this genre (sort of; I guess the 80s derivation of 70s soul/R&B), here's a song that got a large amount of airplay on Top-40 stations but because of this I thought never really got taken seriously. The Mary Jane Girls were a Rick James joint through and through (right down to their name, apparently). In My House (1983) is just a really well-crafted pop song, from its strong synth-breaks to the tight vocal harmonies, demonstrating that at the time, the Rick James orbit was a pretty good place to be.

Turn of the decade

And by this I mean the transition from the 70s to the 80s. This was possibly the most varied and interesting time in the history of pop music. I began this period as a young lad who had been listening mostly to top-40 on AM radio, which means everything from motown to country to disco to rock. Here's a song that, like most on AM, got massively overplayed, but which in this case I never got sick of: Deja Vu by Dionne Warwick (co-written by Isaac Hayes). I really like the mellowness and laid back tempo and the atmosphere evoked by the instrumentation. And it looks like Paul Klee was resurrected to make the video.

Rainbow blogging

Photo taken by Mrs. Slig as we were driving north on I-87 south of Albany the day before Christmas last year.

Let's Dance - David Bowie

I fully stipulate that David Bowie is one of the most important and influential musicians of the rock era. However, a true Bowie aficionado would tell you that I am not worthy of being called a Bowie fan because my favorite Bowie album, in fact the only segment of his oeuvre that I listen to with any kind of regularity, is Let’s Dance (1983). My impression is that many Bowie fans view this as somewhat of an 80s pop sellout. (Admittedly, production by Nile Rodgers, who helped invent the Funk/R&B sound that would come to be called disco in the late 70s with his band, Chic, likely adds to this impression. But this is a feature, not a bug, in my view.) I view it as a genius pop album that never gets old even after massive radio overplay of its major hits (the title track, Modern Love, and China Girl – a remake of a Bowie/Iggy Pop tune). Bowie’s voice is all atmosphere, and that’s just the beginning here. The oblique lyrical references, excellent hooks, guitar work (including solos on several tracks by Stevie Ray Vaughan), mark this as possibly the best pop album of its era. Unfortunately, my favorite song from this album, Criminal World, is not on YouTube. So here’s an excellent live version of Cat People (used in the 1982 movie of the same title).

Twinkie Cortex

So many band names, so little time...

An Entrance To Hell

I found an entrance to Hell.



The Portal of Cehl Flegyyyyyyya is currently only large enough to admit small humanoids or demi-humans but has been much larger in the past. It was last used by the minor demon Sha La Na Boixx as she fled back to the Abyss after defeat at the Battle of 1000 Azure Oysters in 320 A.D. A small cult worshipful of Fincevung III, the victorious leader of the Funblech Colony hoplites (a civilization that was wiped out by a large hurricane several years after the battle), has persisted since that time and occasionally leaves colorful strings of beads as tribute, like those seen in the picture. On the night of every (approximately) 1000th full moon since the battle, a thin stream of yellow smoke can be seen emanating from the portal, along with a barely audible, high pitched scream, believed to be the battle cries of several Funblech hoplites who chased Sha La Na Boixx throught the portal and hence achieved immortality.

Other Entrances to Hell can be found here.

[h/t to memepool.com, one of the great early blogs of eclectic sites on the internet]

Leiothrix

Some more art for an unused band name.

Hurricanes

Every late summer/early fall I turn into a bit of a weather geek, ever since we moved to Long Island several years ago. There can and have been direct hits from hurricanes here. A great site to keep up on the latest hurricane events is at the National Weather Service/ National Hurricane Center. There are up to the hour/minute predictions and images there, which are fascinating to delve into. Perhaps the ultimate site for weather nerds is the Weather Underground, which hosts a hurricane blog run by meteorologist Jeff Masters. This is the best way to get the latest info on storms. The comments section of the blog is very entertaining, but sometimes the amateur comments (it does not appear to be thoroughly moderated) are a little tedious.

Dr. Masters noted in yesterday’s blog post that one of the Hurricane Hunter aircraft had quite a nasty surprise with turbulence flying into Hurricane Felix that day. These are flights run by NOAA that provide vital close-up data (impossible to get from satellites and ground radar) on storms that are necessary for accurate forecasts. He then linked to a narrative of the most harrowing (and last, apparently) flight he was on in a Hurricane Hunter, into Hugo in 1989. This is an absolutely gripping read and I highly recommend it. I freaking hate even minor turbulence on commercial flights. I cannot imagine what the Hurricane Hunters go through routinely.

In my opinion you have to be stone crazy to do that. But I’m really glad those guys do it, because the data they provide saves lives and enables vital ongoing research into the dynamics of hurricanes.

Strange, disturbing, haunting...

yet I can't help watching it when it comes on. This Heineken ad with the neo-cabaret robot women dancers. Their molt-like form of reproduction is particularly disturbing.

Dream-Pop Concepts

If I ever start a creative consulting/graphic design business, this will be its name and logo (I'll probably get someone to replace this line-drawing faerie with something more artistic). So far Dream-Pop Concepts has only produced one Christmas card.

Singapore Rice Noodles of the Month

Jen's Chinese Restaurant in Port Jefferson Station, NY. Lots of curry but still not spicy enough for me (wo xiang chu hen la shi wu). A very serviceable SCMF, very typical of takeout places in these parts.