the sticking point

Four 'Casts

I've updated the posts for all the Pointcasts. The download links are available indefinitely now, via MediaFire. The entries are:

July 4, 2008: "Dry Mouth, Lip Smack and More!"
August 15, 2008: "The Second Time Usually Lasts a Little Longer, Too"
January 9, 2009: "Do Not Trust The Horse, Trojans"
March 13, 2009: "Collaborate and Listen!"

I hope you think these are getting better. The music is bulletproof for sure, so as I go on I'll work harder to be sure my voice (and what it's saying) is not the lamest part of the recordings. It's been decades since I've been on the radio and I need to shake loose the dust and rust. Hang in with me, because the music is going to get better and better and more worthy of your download-and-listening time.

I'm planning to record another this week and look to get it here on Friday. No theme, just a scalding set of songs. Hope you're back here for it at the end of the week.

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A few weeks ago, SNL aired a best-of compilation episode instead of a live show. The cowbell sketch was on it. I hadn't seen that one since the first time it aired, live, years ago. I didn't "get" the funny then, and I didn't get it recently either. Am I missing something? Or maybe: Is that cowbell sketch my generation's "No soap, radio"?

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: Sleeping In Blood City from the album Miami by Gun Club

Pot Kettle Black

In the gym yesterday, one locker's door was dangling off the top row like a broken shutter. I think it was attached by just a couple screws in the bottom hinge. I was gathering up my gear and putting my jacket on to leave when one of the employees walked over to the broken locker. He lifted the door up and pressed it shut against the back housing of the locker units. Fixed.

Except not fixed.

I wanted to say something. I wanted to say, "Hey, man, where's your common sense? Why not use the five or six active cells in your walnut-sized dollop of ectoplasmic paté that impersonates a human brain, and think about the next poor fucker who opens that locker. With no top hinge on there, what do you reckon is going to happen? Won't that three-foot high door swing down and split open the guy's skull like a lobster tail? What the hell?! That's not fixed, you douchepacker. It's half-cocked and loaded!"

I wanted to. I didn't.

Because something happened recently. Nothing tragic, just this: My son H, who will be 5 in a few months, has picked up an unkind word from a schoolmate. "Stupid." For about a week or so, he's been trying it out at home, and getting an earful of fatherly advice every time. He understands. He gets it. It's turned into an experiment for him at this point. He and I will be having a conversation about something and he'll interrupt himself to say, "I'm going to say... 'stupid.'" He'll raise an eyebrow and look at me to note the reaction this catalyst sparks from me.

"Be careful with that word, H. Don't get into trouble...."

He'll say the word and I'll tell him again that he shouldn't call people stupid. As I said, he knows it now. I think the novelty of seeing me react so seriously to the first few times he said it ("My teacher is stupid," and a phone message to his cousin that ended, "Happy birthday, stupid") caught him off guard.

"Listen to me, H. Saying things like that is like hitting someone... with words." It's a clear lesson for what is, perhaps, the worst thing he's done. But every time I discuss it with him, I feel like a fraud. I mean, his dad is a cynical and sarcastic misanthrope with a multi-functional, 24/7 insult factory operating within his cerebrum. The black and white lessons of childhood frustrate me. I can't wait until he can comprehend nuance. Once he's old enough to understand shades of grey and the subtle variations in human comportment, I can tell him what I really want to tell him. I can look him in the eyes and say it's OK to call 'em as he sees 'em. But leave words like "stupid" to the... stupid, and tongue-strafe them with style.

Years later, he and his brother will be taking me out to walk the grounds of my "living facility," when a careless attendant hurriedly slams a door in my face. My waning lucidity will allow me to witness my life's reward: hearing H snap, "Hey knuckle-fucker, you just let the door hit my father! Did you not see us here, you swag-bellied assclown?"

* * *

And as long as I'm here, there's something else. New rule: If you want to call another human being "a cancer," you yourself must have cancer. Outside of oncologists, there is apparently no group with more practical experience spotting a cancer than the professional baseball player. Once or twice per season, some overpaid hayseed identifies a former teammate as having been "a cancer in the clubhouse." Baseball's opening day for diagnoses came earlier this week when Jonathan Papelbon biopsied former Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez, and told Esquire, "We weren't afraid to get rid of [Ramirez]. It's like cancer. That's what he was. Cancer. He had to go."

Cancer is the Adolf Hitler of cellular diseases; and it's wise not to compare anybody to either.

I can't believe the New York tabloids didn't jump at the chance for a "PAP SMEARS MANNY" headline.

Binge Thinking

From Sticking Point pal Tim:

Subject: "When you talk about Ron Asheton show some respect!!"
Date: January 21, 2009 09:08:59 EST

Hey T-
Loved the new Pointcast. Finally got a chance to hear it this AM. One thing-- you left me hanging with your Scruffy The Cat story. Did you buy your stolen tapes back or did you punch the dude in the neck?

Aw, damn, Tim. You won't like hearing that I did very little retribution-wise. (OK... nothing.) I had a hunch the guy selling all this stuff from his blanket wasn't the thief who smashed my car window and took my things.

I was never a cassette buyer, so except for five or six store-bought tapes, all the rest were homemade (dupes, mixes, bootlegs, etc.) I bought back as much of the guy's "inventory" as I could. The comedy routine occurred when I argued to convince him it was MY HANDWRITING on all these tracklists.

* * * * *

I've been putting together playlists for some thematic Pointcasts I want to record this year. Keeping the sonic jihad portion of those things to just five songs is restrictive, so I may stop doing the random Friday 5ive. I don't know if hearing my random tracks is worth anything, and there's so much more I can get to you without them. In the coming weeks and months I'll post an "alternate versions" Pointcast, and another comprised of very hard-to-find and rarely heard tracks. I could do a covers 'cast, pairing each cover with its original version. (Tim -- a self-confessed covers fiend -- should dig it.) That one is already looking good; sometimes the original is the more well-known, sometimes the remake.

Last night, I was paring down the playlist for something pretty cool: a Pointcast of songs sampled by the Beastie Boys. When I got my hands on "Loose Booty" by Willie Henderson, I knew I had to do this one.

I really enjoy recording these things and getting the music onto your hard drives. I'll do them every time I have the hunk of hours they require, whether or not I get many comments or email responses from you. But lurkers and silent ungratefuls, I'm warning you: If your taciturnity and lack of participation continue, one of these Pointcasts will be the Trojan Horse that furtively unleashes 558 megabytes of unmitigated Gipsy Kings (or a Nickelback tribute band) onto your iPod.

* * * * *

I had to replace the earphones I wear at the gym again. The set I wear when I'm training always takes a beating. I'm the guy who gets ear-snagged three times an hour when my wire gets caught on a barbell or the water fountain. Because of this, I look for passable sound quality and a fairly rugged in-ear design. And I won't pay more than $25.

I tried a different model (again) this time, and ended up with the third-best earphones I've ever had. Numbers 1 and 2 are the sets I wear when I'm really listening, not "gym listening." These new ones were a couple hundred dollars less and are a close third place. So I'm telling you about them.

Sennheiser CX300 Earbuds. Bass response, sound separation -- great. Very comfortable, and they stay put even under sweaty gym conditions. Definitely worth having, they're far superior to anything in their price range.

I can't explain why the price has gone up on Amazon... I paid $19.99 about three weeks ago. (I just double-checked my online invoice to be sure.) They're still better than any headphones I've heard under $75, believe me.

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On iTunes right now: Rainbows In The Dark from the album Bottoms Of Barrels by Tilly and The Wall

[posted with ecto]

Wednesday Dispatch

Hi. It feels like January in New York. I don't know what else to tell you.

Actually I do.

• I'm going to try to post something special this Friday. Not quite a Pointcast, but more than just a playlist, it's a bundle of songs inspired by 01.20.09. Let's call it the Obama Sutra.

• Find, Friend me: Search for Tommy Himself on Facebook.

• If you've been reading The Sticking Point long enough, you know I've got issues with the useless, inadequate Forest Hills P.D. Briefly, I live in a neighborhood where drivers race through red lights and stop signs, speed the wrong way down one-way streets, and create a warzone for any pedestrian who ventures past the curb. The local police enforce only those infractions that result in Zero Confrontation: past-due inspection stickers and expired meter parking. When you are lazy, useless, and out-of-shape it is far easier to slip a summons under a windshield wiper than to pull over Live Human Strangers and confront them on their infractions.

Here's a short story. The beginning is true. The ending, however, is creative license -- a writer's embellishment.

Walking back home this morning after some errands, I stopped at a curb and waited for the WALK light. A few feet to my right, a driver approached the intersection and stopped. She had the RED, I got my WALK, and I went. I was a few steps shy of the other curb when I could see in my peripheral vision that the driver began creeping forward and then just pulled right out into the intersection. I turned around and watched her make a left turn against the light... crossing directly in front of a squad car! It took me just five seconds to realized the cops weren't going to do, well, their jobs, so I raised my palms in the air and opened my mouth a bit -- the internationally recognized "What The Fuck?!" gesture. Passenger Cop saw it and we made eye contact. He formed his own "Wuddamye Gonna Do?" expression with fat cheeks and lazy eyes as Driver Cop stepped on the gas and continued their "patrol."

Writer's embellishment:
When the cops drove past me I flipped two middle fingers at them. Sure enough, they pull over to address this personal issue. As I'm refusing to show them my identification, I ask them why they thought my fingers were more of a public threat than the car running the red light. While they struggle for a wiseass response I say, "I have no more time to waste with you fucktards, I have to go." Then I give them the fingers again and moonwalk three entire blocks home.

On iTunes right now: Colors from the album Colors by Ice-T

[posted with ecto]

"Do not trust the horse, Trojans"

Sorry these have been too few and far between, but here's the first Friday 5ive / Sonic Jihad for 2009. Below, the link to download the Pointcast. Below that, the notes.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD TODAY'S POINTCAST

The Friday 5ive

01 Gravity - Rilo Kiley: An unknown/forgotten gem from the second pressing of the self-titled CD (Rilo Records 2000), which was a reissue of the first pressing of the self-titled CD released a year earlier. Both are long out-of-print but occasionally detonate on eBay at about $150. The first three RK releases have nearly identical cover art. Known as Self-Titled (first pressing), Self-Titled (second pressing), and The Initial Friend EP are a fanboy's trifecta: hard to find and puzzling to unravel all the song-swapping, track sequencing, and alt versions. The first

pressing has eight songs (The Frug / 85 / Glendora / Papillon / Teenage Love Song / Asshole / Sword / Steve) plus a hidden track RK fanatics call "They Say It Rained The Day Your Mother Gave You Away." This is the only disk on which exists.

Pressing number two adds songs "Always" and "Gravity," subtracts "Steve," has an alternate version of "Teenage Love Song" (with keyboard solo), different track order, and the hidden track here is a 22-minute monster of narcissistic fluff called "Troubadours + The Annoying Noise of Death"

The Initial Friend EP (Rilo Records, 2001) omits "Glendora" and "Teenage Love Song," includes "Troubadours" but deep-sixes the noise of death part. Initial Friend was re-released in 2007 as The Rilo Kiley EP.

All this info is out there on fan sites, with jpegs and whatnot, but oddly Rilo Kiley's official website disregards the 1999-2001 releases (and about a dozen of the band's singles) entirely.

Blake Sennett and Jenny Lewis, 03/16/01: Photo by John Perry

02 I Can't Wait - Luna [Lunapark]: To some it's a supergroup: When they recorded this album, they were hardly a cohesive band. They were just the singer/guitarist from Galaxie 500, the drummer from the Feelies, and the Chills' ex-bassist. Their studio sessions guitarist was from Mercury Rev. If all you know about the Galaxie 500 split is Damon and Naomi's account in the liner notes of the box set, check out Dean's memoir. His side of the breakup seems more valid, in my opinion.

03 Bum Bum - Trio: I ripped this from the German import 45. The English-language version, "Boom Boom" is slightly more well-known, I guess. Or better yet, you probably know "Da Da Da, Ich Lieb Dich Nicht du Liebst Mich Nicht (Aha Aha Aha)," which was a 1982 cult hit in English as "Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha." In 1997, it turned up in TV commercials for -- of course -- German cars.

"Bum Bum" reminds me of driving to Carvel with my high school pal John every Wednesday to get buy-one-get-one-free ice cream sundaes. We'd listen to WLIR on our powerful after-market car stereos and if we were lucky we'd hear something fucking great like this or, say, "Get Out of London" by Intaferon. (Jesus!)

(For a reason that I'll never remember, we referred to the ice cream as "F.B.S." for "fat bastard sundaes." Of course, it was Yonkers, NY, so we pronounced it "fat bas-tidd sundaes.")

04 Love Is Like A Bottle of Gin - The Magnetic Fields [69 Love Songs]: Some of you have written and asked why MagFields/Stephin Merritt popped up on Friday 10s with such regularity, maybe more than any other artist. My answer is always: I don't know. Looking at my iTunes as of this morning, MagFields accounts for 82 out of the 9500+ songs in the library. Not complaining. 69 Love Songs is like a book on how to write songs. Merritt released Distortion last year, it landed at #6 on The Sticking Point's albums of the year.

This song? It's in 21/8 time. Wild.

05 Laughing - R.E.M. [Murmur]: That's the 25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Murmur that Brian Last Stop sent me the other day. I A-and-B'd the original CD vs. the new mastering, and the new one wins. That's not always the case with remasters, as you know, but luckily it is here; Murmur is an exceptional album, it deserves a perfect mix. You could tell R.E.M. and producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon had a Stax-like sound in mind: organic-toned instruments, clean guitars, a heavy drum groove carrying the vocals. Listening back to the original CD release (I.R.S. 70014), the mix sounds watery to me now. The new one polishes all the reverb and atmospherics without sounding digital. Does that make sense? Probably not. Anyway -- thanks, Brian.

"Laughing" was always one of my favorites on Murmur. Love that Stewart Copeland-style rhythm on the rototoms. And back in those days, back in my day, when Stipe unfurled this lyric referencing Laocoön, you can bet the fact-finding fieldwork took me 5000 times longer than it'll take you, today.

The Sonic Jihad

01 Phobias - Love As Laughter [#1 U.S.A.]: From my "If Only They Knew..." iTunes playlist. I found "Phobias" first on a great (GREAT) Rough Trade comp, loved it immediately. Not much on the #1 USA album can hold a candle to this, but still: wow... this. The band is still out and about. Info at loveaslaughter.net.

02 The Perfect Me - Deerhoof [Friend Opportunity]: If I could have, I would have. I would have gotten this song in your ears long ago. I wish I'd started doing these Pointcasts sooner and more often.

Dialogue excerpt from "The Facts of Life."

03 Fresh Cut Dynamite - Squatweiler [New Motherstamper]: Another group (along with Love As Laughter) that some of you probably haven't heard. Worth your hard-earned to get your hands on this one or Horsepower.

04 Moons of Jupiter - Scruffy The Cat [Moons of Jupiter]: One of the all-time great bar bands. Just flat-out and real. I think a dream gig for me would be a night with Scruffy, Del Fuegos, and Too Much Joy on the same bill.

05 Harder Than You Think - Public Enemy [How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?]: They lost the plot between 1993 and 2006, so I didn't expect much from How You Sell Soul... in 2007. Good to have 'em back. P.E.'s tenth studio album, and they land on it like a ton of bricks. Call it "Son of It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back."

* No Fun - The Stooges [The Stooges]: "Come on, Ronnie..."

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Get off your ass and do it for yourself. Put your digital jukebox or mp3 player on "shuffle all songs," and use the comments section to tell us the first 10 tracks out the chute.

Tommy Himself page at LastFM

[posted with ecto]

Wait. It's MAY?!

I'm sorry I blew right past the April 18th relaunch date without at least poking my head in and letting you all know what was happening. I appreciate the emails and questions about what's going on. Thanks a lot for remembering me, old man that I am. Here's the deal:

I had my shit together and was ready to hit the studio for the first of the new-style posts -- the first 'Pointcast -- but suddenly found myself much busier than I'd anticipated. Calendar pages, sleep, and leisure hours have flown the coop. While nothing has eased schedule-wise just yet, there's a window of time coming up when I should be able to go in and hammer out a few of these 'casts for you. I never intended to record days or weeks in advance of posting them, but it looks like I'll have to in the beginning. (I never intended to break my promise re: the launch date either.)

I am really eager to get these things up on the site and read your comments on the podcasts and all the music I'll have inside them. It's something I am looking forward to whole-heartedly.

So, it's coming. Not too soon, not too late, but "medium." For now, The Sticking Point squats in the bush getting stronger, while I work hard and listen to lots from Dax Riggs.

One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)

Barring a breakdown of equipment or a call-up from the Phillies to replace their number 3 starter, I'll soft-relaunch the site with the first Sticking Point'cast on Friday, April 18.

Maybe sooner.

But probably not sooner.

Thanks for hanging in there.

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: 50 Year Old Man from the album Imperial Wax Solvent by The Fall

Reconstruction Site

The Sticking Point is slowly creeping back to life. In the next several weeks (I'll try to post a relaunch date as soon as I can), the site will return with a new design and a new function. Those of you who liked the Friday 10 concept will, I hope, like what will be happening here.

In short, each Friday post will feature the ten-song writeups you're already familiar with, plus a podcast/internet radio broadcast I'll host featuring the week's 10 songs. (I'll supply a link to USendIt, where you can download these Sticking Pointcasts for free.) Sure it will be a lot of music-nerd/fanboy stuff and the occasional rant against human weakness, but for tolerating that (and the grating sound of mi voz) you'll be rewarded with some of the best songs in the history of recorded sound. No lie.

The format won't be entirely random tracks, like the F10s were; instead, I'll choose four or five songs that I just have to share -- the stuff you've got to hear, and another four or five will be tracks my iTunes spun randomly. If that sounds good, then cool. I hope this works. There's a terabyte-worth of amazing music I've heard since the last time I wrote TSP, and I can't wait to get it in your ears.

And another thing: Thanks to all the diehards who continued to visit this URL and emailed to ask if and when it might pick up again.

[posted with ecto]

Cease To Resist, Giving My Goodbye

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: The Have Nots from the album Unclogged by X

Friday Test

[posted with ecto]

On iTunes right now: I'm Not Satisfied from the album Cerebral Caustic by Fall, The