Daddy Like (the completely exhausted edition)!!

[Gary Rabuzzi]

Obama as President - I normally don't throw my political views around, but it's nice to finally back a winner! I must admit that when Barack Obama won, I actually felt a little proud of the country, and a little hopeful for our future. Politics aside, if our country can elect, not only the first African American President ever, but a guy whose name sounds like all the guys who perpetrated our generation's Pearl Harbor on us a short seven years ago, I feel like we have attained a level of voter maturity and participation that I thought I would never see. I can now guess what it must have felt like for (relatively) young people in the '60's, when Kennedy was elected. Hopefully, he delivers as much change for the better, as he has been promising. I only knew that he'd have to seriously stick it in the dog to do any worse than we've been doing with George Bush. So, if you're a McCain backer, I apologize- until he started his presidential campaign, I had tremendous respect for him. But he sunk so low, and rolled around in such filth, and was so obvious about his seediness, that I couldn't believe he was the same man. For better or worse, I backed the guy who had the most to say to me, and who took the higher road.

Downloadable Dulli - Don't you hate it when you really like a musician, or band, or whatever, and no matter how many people you try to hip to them, no one seems to get it (except Noel- Hi Noel!)? Greg Dulli is like that to me. He sang with the Afghan Whigs in the '90's ("Gentelmen" is one of my top five desert island albums!), then went on to form the Twilight Singers, and a side band, The Gutter Twins, as well as pop out a few solo albums, and guest star on a whole lot of other peoples' stuff. Well, he's recently released two itunes only albums, "Adorata" with the Gutter Twins, and a solo live album at the Triple Door in Seattle. They both kick MAJOR ass. "Adorata" is more of the same ethereal, dramatic, layered noir-pop that made their first album, "Saturnalia" so good. Dulli shares vocal duties with his Gutter from anudder mudder, Mark Lanegan (the gravel voiced baritone who used to front the Screaming Trees), and the two's distinct styles play so well off each other. Check out the organ driven "St. James Infirmary" and "Flow Like A River", and the excellent cover of Primal Scream's "Deep Hit Of Morning Sun". The second album, "Live at Triple Door", is surprisingly, the first official live release by Dulli, whose reputation for stellar performances is well-known. It was recorded for some kind of charity benefit, thrown together at the last minute, and the result is an intimate, enthralling performance. Some Whigs songs, some Twilight songs, some Gutter Twins song, a few covers, all done in dramatic, urgent arrangements (mostly piano, acoustic guitar and cello). The Twilight Singers stuff, especially lends itself to fantastic re-interpretation. The perfect album for listening to alone in a dark bar some night, staring into a harder drink than you need, and existing on either end of a fresh emotional trauma. It really fits my mood these days. Check out "Down The Line", "Isn't It a Pity/Atlantis", and "Bonnie Brae". Find all of Dulli's bands on my friends page!

Sgt Rock: The Lost Batallion - When I was a kid, some of my favorite comics were the DC War Comics- GI Combat, The Unknown Soldier, and the baddest of all possible a****- Sgt. Rock. Now, every few years, a top name comic creator brings back the Sarge, and his Easy Co. buddies, as love letter to Joe Kubert's archetypical WWII square jaw. This time, it's Billy Tucci (Shi), doing the honors. The first issue of this six issue limited shows how much research and attention to detail Tucci used to craft this story. I've never been a Tucci fan, actually, thumbing through his stuff never did anything for me. But he really outdid himself on this project, both drawing and writing the whole thing. The artwork is simply gorgeous, and the story is a nice mix of realistic, well researched facts, and over-the-top old school, "Dirty Dozen" style cigar chomping. This book is beautiful, and a great read.

The New York Dolls in concert - Last week, I had an amazing thing happen! The New York Dolls, only one of the greatest, most influential rock and roll bands of all time, did a little show at the Las Vegas sports park, of all places. They played at a girl's roller derby game! Sami, the bass player, is my friend, from Mad Juana, so he invited us down to dig the scene. It was easily one of the ten best nights in MY LIFE, is all. Not only did we get in for free, but we got VIP wristbands, which gave us access to a roped off VIP area with free food and an open bar! Read that sentence again! Tasty little stromboli sandwiches, coconut shrimp, and taquitos, and free drinks! While that was going on, a local electronica duo, the Afghan Raiders, played a pretty fierce little set. Then, we watched the roller derby girls skate around in circles for a half hour or so, knocking the s*** out of each other. Then, we made our way to the stage, to get in the front row for the Dolls, who came out and kicked so much ass! They played for about an hour, hour and fifteen, and we were right up front, getting some amazing shots (see my Dolls and Derby Girls photo album...). I loved that they played a lot of stuff from their latest studio album, "One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This", because I think it's just about the best straight ahead rock and roll album to come out in the last ten years. Anyway, after the show, we spotted Sami and his lovely wife Karmen (also of Mad Juana), and they grabbed us backstage, to party with the New York Dolls! I got to meet with all the guys, share some of their Japanese Asahi beers... it was awesome! There's not a cooler guy in rock and roll, than Sylvain Sylvain. Everybody treated us so cool, I will never forget that night!

The Sleepers - Comeback Special - This rock band from Chicago describes itslef as "What would happen if Jerry Lee Lewis had married "Appetite For Destruction", instead of his cousin". I prefer to think of them as the "Superbad" of bands: something smart, cleverly disguised as something dumb. Dumb, as a relative term to describe the straight ahead, lowbrow, riffy, ballsy rock they play. The Sleepers follow the rich tradition of mixing the deep-fried grooves of southern rock and roll, with the ferocious abandon of punk. From bands like Junkyard, The Four Horsemen, and the Rock City Angels in the '80's, to more current bands like Syrup and the Izzys. These guys sound like the Stones on really bad speed, the kind that makes your teeth rot. Their lyrics are clever, and spewed with snotty aplomb by Tommy Richied (imagine a voice that sounds like Johnny Thunders one minute, Jack Russell the next, and Rivers Cuomo the next, all without sounding like any of them, somehow...), and songs like "Dirty Cop", "She Is My Drinking Problem", "Smooth Brain" and the title track all display a pretty tongue-in-cheek lyrical mindset. Check them out on my friends list, and my profile music player...

Gogol Bordello - Super Taranta! - after being amazed by their live show on Fremont last month, I had a guy at work (who I saw at the show) burn me a cd, to get a feel for their songs. Imagine if Joe Strummer had lived in the shadow of Castle Dracula, and you'll start to get it. I can see why Mad Juana idolize these guys, their music is some of the most unique, unusual stuff I've heard in awhile. It combines the traditional sounds of gypsy folk music, with the anarchic spirit of punk, in a very organic, earthy way. I really like "American Wedding", and "Supertheory of Supereverything". Dig these guys!

Charles Bronson DVD - when I was home in October, I stopped in Walgreen's with my uncle, and spotted this DVD in the bin. Four Bronson movies, for five bucks. Well, I HAD to pick it up, not despite the fact that I had never heard of any of them, but BECAUSE I had never heard of any of them. These are all really obscure (to me, anyway) films from the late sixties, early seventies, mostly foreign films that Bronson did with his wife, Jill Ireland. There's "Chino", a western; "Lola", a comedy, of all things, in which Chuck (with the "Death Wish" hair, but no "Death Wish" moustache!) plays a swinging writer in the sexually liberated seventies who marries a sixteen year old London girl, and brings her home to New York; "Cold Sweat", with James Mason, where he plays a retired criminal living in France, who is forced back into the life by his murderous former gang; and "Someone Behind The Door", with Anthony Perkins, where he plays an amnesiac being manipulated by his doctor into killing his cheating wife. There are no extra features at all, not even trailers for the films, and the transfers are horrible, and you'll probably never find this DVD anywhere else in the world, but these are some cool little flicks!