skullguise

Couple new albums. Like Agnes Obel The Meaning Of Flowers better than Echo & The Bunnymen Apples For Isaac; though the latter did pleasantly surprise me, was not expecting it to be as good as it was! Shell of their early/former selves IMO, but this one was still enjoyable....

Thanks....I know Barely Breathing and several others; none were the one I was thinking. I have an extremely small snippet of melody in my head, cannot match that though!

Used to own some Philharmonic Audio BMR Monitor speakers. Sold them to someone who has remained a friend. They just came out with a "Super" BMR Monitor, using (my favorite) Purifi woofer; bass down to 32Hz +/- 2db! Their finishes are quite lovely, including the one below. My Evoke Audio Eddie's are in the shop for blown tweeters. Apparently, the CSS Tweeters used aren't made anymore, so they're looking for good replacements. But I could even see these replacing them eventually!

^^^ It was The Last Snowfall that had me in tears at her show.....

Wow, what a story! I'm sorry to hear about his death, and glad you found your "balance" in the relationship. RIP David (and Shirley as well).

Sorry for the TL;DR, but this one is big for me. Short version: seek out Vienna Teng, she is a beautiful human being that plays wonderful music. A soul-filling day & evening this past Friday. My friend Melissa and I saw Vienna Teng in my hometown of Marblehead MA. In the afternoon, she hosted a Climate Change "Workshop" (she has an advanced degree in the subject). It wasn't a doom and gloom that I almost expected, but actually a bit inspirational and hopeful. We all came out with ideas and one or more things to put into practice. The evening show was just stunning! A solo show but she used things like tape loops, vocoder-style & voice duplication choral effects, etc., to make it seem a bit larger. She has one song that I actually emailed and talked with her about to request she play, called The Last Snowfall. A short but lovely song that made me think of Karen. In the weeks before she passed, we were talking about her two sisters coming up from different parts of NY state. A snowstorm was forecasted, and I was telling them they didn't need to drive in it. Karen - who did not love Winter - smirked a bit and said she wouldn't have to worry about snow or Winter anymore. A bit of humor in some pretty fucking dark times. Vienna played the song, dedicated it to me and in memory of Karen. Tears were falling, and my friend Melissa was kind enough to provide some tissues. We both loved the show and everything about the day, and remarked that just her presence and words & music raises good feelings and hope. Got a pic and a hug after the show. Quite the gift she has! Link to the video of The Last Snowfall: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FotpPHUgl_pvTJi_cdYRL3fMWtfpAbk1/view?usp=sharing Other pics, of the workshop and show.

RIP Duncan Sheik I have a song in my head that I thought was written/performed by him, but cannot find it in my searching. But another loss of a talented singer/songwriter....

Belated Happy Birthday!

RIP Ian King - one of the guitarists for the FU's, local Boston band from the 80's, and later Straw Dogs. Got to see the FU's in the early 80's (stayed FAR away from the mosh pit!), and oddly again this year when they were part of a punk show along with a band my friend manages. They had an intelligent cynicism, even some about the punk rock scene..... Old: New (I saw them around this time, at another location):

RIP to Cheetah Chrome, Guitarist and co-founder of the band Dead Boys.....

Thanks! LOVE Kate, Jane, and Happy, so that's a nice compliment!!

Some uncivilized music.... 😄 The Reverend Horton heat and Messer Chups. Messer Chups was my favorite of the 2, even though they were the opener; ghoulish surf-rock. Much fun! The drummer even liked my Mayberry On Acid III shirt!

"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit the army" 🤣

Vienna Teng - We've Got You ep Going with a friend to see her in my hometown (original, not current) this coming Friday. Beautiful, creative music, some humor, etc. Looking VERY forward to it! This ep has two "versions" of a song, then a combined version. Combined song:

Those look great, Al! I had some sweet chili salmon last night, with a broccoli salad, fermented ginger carrots (!), and a Paneer Paratha with some tzatziki on it. Nice mix of tastes.....!

Long but wonderful day yesterday. Left the house at ~7:30, got back almost midnight. Visited a dear friend in CT for a day-late birthday celebration. She was so supportive to me as I went through so much with Karen, and she has had her tough issues and hardships as well. But we had a wonderful day just checking out some small towns near her, and having a nice lunch and dinner. Happy Birthday Nancy!

One of the hardest things to face IMO. And all those coincidences!! The only saving grace (for me) was that Andrew was becoming the person he was meant to be. He had some amazing growth in college, found some great people, and set the stage for what he is now, and that is amazing to me. His senior year, when I helped him move in the last semester, I was on my way home and Cat Stevens' "Father and Son" came on my playlist. I almost had to pull over I was tearing up so much. Good luck to Lily, you, Maura, and your Andrew!

After a nice crabmeat sandwich lunch, got my Flu and (first) Shingles shots. Vaccines for the MFW!

Sorry to see this! RIP José Luis......96, amazing! I hope it was a life so well-lived.

What a fucking horrible few days....! Dolly, Tim..... Add to that one of my childhood crushes, Jaye P. Morgan. Saw her on the Gong Show, once wearing a blue jumpsuit and blue make-up (eye-liner and lipstick) and that was it for me. And the time she stripped off her shirt (no bra) for Gene Gene the Dancing Machine segment.....oy! I guess that got her kicked off though.... Loved her on that show. Also, RIP Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese artist known for her wild polka-dot images. Several years ago, Karen and I saw an example of her Infinity Room demo at the Tate Gallery..... In pictures: The dotty world of Japanese artist Yayoi KusamaKusama was known for creating extraordinary immersive worlds that delighted millions of visitors.

A beautiful person inside and out, a talented musician, and an outright ICON. RIP Dolly! The world needs a LOT more people like her! EDIT: my favorite....Whitney was great but has nothing on Dolly for this....

Having a little trashy fun.....one of my favorite bands to see live back in the day, along with a band I WILL see live for the first time in September. The Cramps - Gravest Gravy - bit bootleg sounding, but a compilation of early recordings. And Messer Chups - The Incredible Crocotiger; a fun Russian Surf-Rock-Horror-Exotica band.....they'll open for Reverend Horton Heat, another I haven't seen.

Saw Kaki King last night, small venue in Southern Maine about 1.5 miles from my condo. She is so good! I described it on FB as feeling like being by a lake with gentle waves lapping onto the shore - at least her mellower songs. Then she would break out into her frenetic playing with body hits for rhythm, and fast finger moving and fret-playing. She even got pretty talkative with the audience. I guess it was her 3rd time playing the place; maybe 50 people there, but they were true fans.

Reminds me a bit of Caspar Brotzmann Massacre, without.....a lot......

I watched the whole ad, good chuckles..... Made me remember a stand-up comedy skit by Bob Goldthwait from the 90's. "If you see Huey Lewis coming down the other side of the street, do you think, 'Is that one of America's hottest rock stars....?' No. You think, 'Is that a friend of my dad's?' "