10-Minute Presentations

This may be crap.

I've been working on a long-form book / presentation / manifesto for a while now. I make progress from time to time, but realized that it, most likely, will never be finished.

So, I'm chiselling off small pieces.

My goal : A concise discussion of a single topic in 10 minutes.

This means no fat, no fluff, none of the usual shit.

The audience will either get it completely or not at all.

That's fine, it's only 10 minutes of their lives.

I'm posting the first shortly.

Darwin in the backyard

I'm watching survival of the fittest unravel in my backyard.

I put out food for the squirrels as I think the cold took them by surprise.

There are two that I see often : 1 scrawny and patchy one and a healthy, robust one.

Photo of Scrawny one (from summer '06)
Photo of Healthy one

Each are after the food, and each have their tactics to drive the other off.

The scrawny one has no fear of me walking by the windows, where the healthy one bolts anytime he sees something move.

My cat, Spoon is an added wrinkle, wanting to kill and eat both of them.

Known killer evidence : Exhibit One | Exhibit Two | Exhibit Three

Results of the Darwinian smackdown are pending.

Still looking for a great writing program

I got spoiled by VoodooPad.

I'm looking for a writing program with a few basic (I consider them basic) features:

Multiple documents in a browsable list

basic editing features

single portable file

ability to synchronize with other computers (e.g. desktop and laptop)

Export to Word (for the suits)

Ability to post to blogger

Pagination for printing

Nice to look at

I've been sampling pretty much everything out there.

My current faves are :
VoodooPad - Link
Notae - Link
Journaler - Link
Scrivner - Link

But somehow, none of them accomplish all of what I need.... anyone have any other thought?

my new treo is a small info pimp.

Dreaming like Andrew Bird's Violin

My dreams have been becoming increasingly bizarre.

I've been trying to take notes in the morning, to remember what occurred as it's far more fascinating than my current waking life.

I had one last night where I was discussing the current state of online design in the Detroit area. I have a lurking fear that this city is dead to me, and that the "business of design" is beating any real innovative thought.

Out of the dream, all I can recall is one line that sums up all my feelings :

Retards working hard to make it to baseball cards.

I'll be putting that one in a song shortly.

Joe Strummer

Of course everyone knows the Clash. They were and still are the greatest band in the world. 6 albums and countless EPs and singles of the best music of the punk era (yes I count Cut the Crap, since the first Big Audio Dynamite album was equally as crappy).

After the demise of the Clash, Joe went on to some strange times. His first solo album was poorly produced and seemed half-hearted. The soundtrack to Walker (available now as a re-issue from Astralwerks) was a much better album, despite being almost completely instrumental.

And then the long spell of no music from Joe. Oh, he was around, doing guest vocals, touring with the Pogues, soundtrack work, even jumping in on BAD for a couple of songs, but no albums of his own.

Then in 1999 came a disc with a horrible cover and brilliant music inside, Rock Art and the X-ray Style. Joe was back and sounded like he had something left to say. The flawless Global-a-Go Go followed in 2001 and it was like Joe had never left. The music was amazing, the lyrics funny and sometimes biting, and the touring was relentless.

Then Joe died. December 22nd, 2002. Three years to the day.

Joe Strummer was one of the last honest men in rock and roll. I miss Joe being in this world. I miss knowing he's out there with an endless enthusiasm and optimism. I miss waiting for his next song.

In an era of crap bands, well-rehearsed and produced revolution, image over substance, and lack of real soul; you all owe it to yourselves to pick up one of Joe's solo albums. It's good for you.

Joe's final release was called Streetcore, it followed his other albums by having a horrible cover over top of brilliant songs. It's unintentionally sad, most of the songs being real corkers. I named this song as my favorite song of the year 2003.

This is Burning Streets by Joe Strummer, from the album Streetcore



The Song
Burnin Streets (6.9MB MP3)

The Site
Official Site

The Album
Streetcore

Angry Red Planet

So I was like 16 or something and Angry Red Planet was playing at this place called the Hole in the Wall, which was really just a big open space above Isis, you know that bar in Pontiac. So anyway, me and this guy Chuck went to see them but this really crappy band opened (Scott Campbell's Band) and we threw the empy brown bottles of Rush that we were huffing at this guy as he played Syd Barrett-era Floyd songs. We came to see Angry Red Planet man, not some washed up hippy shit! So then another opening band comes on, and they suck, they called themselves Black Rose and the only reason they got to play was because the bass player Gino was a bartender downstairs and scored the room for the show. Then there was some fight over whether or not some guy was a poser, probably initiated by the Apple Sids, the toughest punk gang to ever come out of the rich areas of Farmington and Bloomfield Hills. No posers there! "Daddy! Can you buy me Walk Among Us? It's only $50" And then some girl got sick in the only bathroom in the place, which didn't matter since the toilet was broke anyway. Then I drew a skull on the wall with my sharpie and finished the bottle of Mad Dog that I brought in.

So then Angry Red Planet comes on and they're great. And we all slam. It was good.

Angry Red Planet was this really good Detroit hardcore band back in the mid-80s. They release a couple of records through Touch and Go, and played quite a bit around town. They were a favorite of mine and have long since broken up. Their first full length (Little Pigs, Little Pigs) had a hand screenprinted cover and was numbered. I have number 165.

If anyone knows Cory Rusk, have him get off his ass and re-release all the old Touch & Go stuff digitally. Emusic would be a great place.

This song is called Mediocrity and is from the 7" Gawker's Paradise, which sadly is unavailable.



The Song
Mediocrity (2.3MB MP3)

The Site
Touch and Go Profile

Chris Whitley 1960 - 2005

Wow, what a horrible fucking birthday present. To wake up and find that Chris Whitley had died.

For those of you who have heard his music, or seen him perform, you already know that there was no one else like him.

For those of you who don't know, he was one of the last great keepers of American music. He made many of his own guitars. He didn't really try to sell a ton of records. He could alternate from a solo acoustic dirge to a raucous punk noise in a matter of seconds. Danial Lanois counts him as a favorite artist. He played a mean guitar and sang like a tortured angel. His latest effort Soft Dangerous Shores is on my top 10 list for 2005. He never made a bad record, and few of them sounded alike. You should get to know him.

Rest in peace.

This is Poison Girl by Chris Whitley from the album Living With the Law



The Song
Poison Girl (3.2MB AAC)

The Site
Official Site

The Album
Living With the Law

Poi Dog Pondering

In 1988, I was stationed at Ft. Bliss, El Paso. What a shithole. But it wasn't so bad, I drank a lot at the El Paso Surf Club. Met many of El Paso's lovely ladies to the dismay of my current Michigan-based girlfirend, did the whole Juarez thing, and visited a record store / head shop where I picked up the 4 song, self-titled EP from Poi Dog Pondering.

Hi Frank! I loved you immediately. The band was led by Frank Orrall, lead singer and songwriter and consisted of anywhere from 3 - 14 other people. Someday I'd like to meet Frank Orall. He seems like a really groovy cat, and in a way I've known him for almost 20 years.

Poi Dog Pondering was a band from Hawaii, that moved to Austin, and then later to Chicago. In each town, they seemed to pick up the vibe of the city and incorporate it into their music. Or maybe it's the other way around.

Initially a folky, gypsy style band with guitars, violins, and various other exotic instruments (my pal Jake played a bizzare Brazillian percussion thingie on one of their tracks), Poi Dog have made their way to being a funky rockin band complete with a hip-hop dance troupe.

This song catches them at one of my favorite spots, a transitional point where the songs became very focused, and the subject matter grew to new areas. This song also illustrates that they might be the best live band on the planet. And I, one of their largest fans, have to humbly admit to never seeing them live.

This is Big Constellation by Poi Dog Pondering from the live album Liquid White Light



The Song
Big Constellation (8.0MB MP3)

The Site
Official Site

The Album
Liquid White Light

Maria McKee

There was (as there almost always is) an alternative country scene in the mid to late eighties. A couple of these groups flourished (Los Lobos is a great example) and some should have hit it bigger than they did. Lone Justice was one of them. They did alright, releasing 3 albums and touring with U2. Then they broke up.

That's when things got really good. Lead singer Marie McKee began releasing albums, her first (self titled) dipping into polished country, Her second (You Gotta Sin To Get Saved) explored ragged and glorious Byrds-styled music, then for her third (Life is Sweet) she started channelling Mick Ronson and put some glam touches in. I know, sounds like it shouldn't work, but it did.

Maria continues to put out great albums, her latest, Peddlin' Dreams is well worth picking up. If you're lucky enough to see her live, go for it, she's a great performer.

This is Absolutely Barking Stars by Maria McKee from the (apparently out of print) album Life is Sweet



The Song
Absolutely Barking Stars (5.5MB MP3)

The Site
Official Site

The Album
Life is Sweet

This is not an ad

For those of you who buy music from any site besides emusic, I say you are just fools!

This past week, emusic added both Dischord Records and V2 records to its stacks.

Note that these are straightforward MP3s with no DRM or other crappy restrictions. You pay a monthly fee and get a number of tracks to download.

You own the files, they are yours, you may do with them what you will.

Don't be dumb, go get emusic.

Billy Falcon

What to say about Billy Falcon. Well, for one, I shouldn't like him. He's a barstool rock guy from Jersey who writes songs for crap bands like Bon Jovi. He had a brief, and some would say unfortunate, foray into a new wave dance thing in the 80s with someone named Myla. He has an album with a bad pun on his name (a pet peeve) called Falcon Around. Billy Falcon has really bad hair and a rose painted on his guitar.

But here's the thing. He writes amazing songs. No, for real: amazing. songs. He has one of the most plain, but expressive voices I've ever heard, which means I can sing along with my plain and less expressive voice. His new wavey album is one I'm still searching for because when I was 15, it was really good (if anyone has a copy they'd like to part with, email me). The rose on his guitar is for his daughter Rose. That last one counts for a lot in my book.

This album was one of the first records I bought when I came home from the war, not feeling quite fit back into reality, and having no real direction. I heard this song on the radio in Grand Rapids, back when GR had a halfway decent station. The album is called Pretty Blue World, which was really sort of an idea I needed to begin believing in again.

My love of this record probly has a lot to do with timing and circumstance, as many do, but that doesn't change that fact that this simple song is still one of my favorites. A terrific ode to love and what really matters in the world. This song was the runner up in my official wedding song contest. (Sorry Billy, Blue Rodeo's Lost Together beat you on that one).

This is Power Windows by Billy Falcon from the album Pretty Blue World.



The Song
Power Windows (5.5MB MP3)

The Site
Official Site

The Album
Pretty Blue World