Savion Glover Hums 'The Star-Spangled Banner' While Pretty Much Going Completely Batshit With The Tapping

Yohei, did you go see Clinton speak at that Harlem thing? I heard about it from this guy. Sounds like it was pretty awesome.

Sweet-- I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my little bro's situation before. He ended up renting out his place for May (he found a renter like last week) so you couldn't have stayed there anyway. MTL rules tho. I'm pretty much in accordance with Yohei on his basic guide to the hot spots, but I'll try to come up with a list of restos, bars, etc. soon. I haven't been since Sept. 2002 and that's just too long.

No gmail for me yet. I want it.

Slapping the Salami

Dave's White Album list -- Dave, Glass Onion but not Happiness is a Warm Gun??!? I can't believe it, but I'm not surprised either (I've heard your case for Glass Onion, and I think it's just the choppy rhythm guitar that stabs down on the chord, a la The Dears, that does it for you). The Helter Skelter ending, jarring them awake after lulling them to sleep is genius though. I wish I had thought of that.

Gay marriage -- I'm pretty sure administrations separate ideological programs like gay marriage, abortion, privacy, from the small gov't-big gov't issue. The ideological programs get certain voters (religious, want law and order) while the size of gov't issue gets others (smaller-gov't = less gov't payroll = less taxes = good for business/corp.). Not to say there isn't a pretty big overlap. But, I don't think they lose too much sleep over perceived hypocricies, like the one you mention. It's pretty normal. This is a total non sequitor, but Bill Clinton is the most mesmerizing, charismatic speaker. Have you ever listened/watched/sat through a WJC speech? He's a rockstar. It's a unique experience.

list o' girls -- I too cannot believe Dianna Krall is in that company. Or Hillary Duff. She must be roughly the same age as Jordon Capri ...too young. Bella Donna (aka BellaDonna) is where it's at. There's definitely grass on that field.

Montreal: St. Hubert Street is actually a pretty good distance from McGill. But no matter, it's warm there now I hear, and you can walk a bit. But I'd walk west. The next big avenue parallel to and west of St. Hubert is St. Denis, which is pretty French (as in the people, bars, etc.). The next big avenue parallel to St. Denis is St. Laurent, more English than St. Denis. Both St. Denis and St. Laurent are good for strolling, plenty of food, stores, distractions.

All three of those streets run north-south. If you want some Times-Square type action, I'd walk below Sherbrooke or on St. Catherine (both of these big streets run east-west, 'cept Sherbrooke has nothing to offer, while St. Catherine does). If you want more local, authentic stuff, I'd stay above Sherbrooke on any of those three avenues.

Two things to try -- Schwart'z, a delicatessen that specializes in 'smoked meat', which is, I guess, probably similar to pastrami if anything. Schwartz's is the Katz's, Carnegie Deli, or 2nd Ave. Deli of Montreal. Don't shy away from the line; it's well worth the wait. I'm sure you can find the coordinates on google.

Another is poutine, a unique French-Canadian food. You can get it at the burger king and mcdonald's because it's just fries, gravy, and cheese. For addresses where you can try poutine, try google for "Mondo Frites" (next to Schwartz's) and Mama's, on Avenue de Pins (sp.)

Now that there's some distance between Montreal and me, I think it's more of a sin city than a very culturally endowded city. Major art exhibitions (e.g., something like a Picasso or Goya retrospective) will never make a stop in Montreal at their main museum, Musee des Beaux Arts. And their orchestra/symphony is shit. So you might as well just have fun with your lady friend. I'd be happy to be more specific, with addresses and all, should you need it. It doesn't matter anyway though, since most people end up going to Super-Sex (a nasty strip club with surly service, the Scores of Mtl.) and Burger King.

It's definitely a nice gift for your graduating girlfriend. Where's she going to college in the fall? (Oh snap! I'm just kidding.)

So that would make Bethany...part black?

Well Willy I hate to burst your bubble but Jenna Jameson didn't make the list. (or as they say in internet speak: reading comprehension > pwns juo) I thought she would be one of the easiest, but I couldn't find a good picture of her where she wasn't naked. If you want to track one down and send it to me, knock yourself out.

Also, I don't know why you think Blecker likes blondes with big boobs? Janet is blonde and has a decent size rack (easily C's) and he specifically said she wasn't his type.

Ok, I have a political question for those of you more in the know than I am (read: everyone). How can the republicans justify the stance of POTUS coming out in favor of anti-gay marriage Constitutional ammendment when they are supposed to be in favor of small government and states rights? How come no one is calling them on the fact that they seem to be in favor of state government except when the states make decisions the party doesn't like? Is there an aspect to this argument I'm not grasping?

I should have mailed it to the Marx brothers

Well, you guys are in luck. No sooner did I sit down to bitch my head off about The West Wing, then Nish calls me and I get to tell him in person, sparing you all the torture.

First off, I'm still listening to The White Album and compiling ideas, so you'll have to wait till tomorrow for my list. Though I think it'll prove interesting, what with me being the odd man out when it comes to musical knowledge around here.

You really want to know who's going to be in the Blecker's Choice Challenge? *sigh* Fine, I'll start making the list, but I'm stopping as soon as I get sick of this. Here they are, in alphabetical order by first name (just cause that's the way the computer sorts the pictures):

1. Ali Larter
2. Alyssa Milano
3. Amanda Peet
4. Amanda Tapping (from Stargate-SG1 by special request)
5. Amy Smart
6. Angelina Jolie
7. Anna Kournikova
8. Ashley Judd
9. Britney Spears
10. Brittany Murphy
11. Brooke Burke
12. Cameron Diaz
13. Carmen Electra
14. Catherine Bell (from the TV show Jag)
15. Catherine Zeta Jones
16. Charisma Carpenter
17. Charlize Theron
18. Christinia Aguilera
19. Cindy Crawford
20. Claire Danes
21. Claire Forlani
22. Courtney Cox
23. Cute Sophie (internet porn star, worth checking out)
24. Debra Messing
25. Denise Richards
26. Diana Krall (shut it Willy, she's hot)
27. Diane Lane
28. Elisha Cuthbert
29. Eliza Dushku
30. Emily Proctor (think blonde leggy Republican)
31. Estella Warren
32. Faith Hill
33. Famke Janssen
34. Franke Potente (from Run Lola, Run and the Bourne Identity)
35. Gina Gershon
36. Gretchen Mol
37. Gwyneth Paltrow
38. Halle Berry
39. Heather Graham
40. Heidi Klum
41. Hilary Duff
42. Holly Marie Combs (see? There's a reason I watch Charmed)
43. Jaime Pressly
44. Jaime Lynne Discalla
45. Janel Moloney (from The West Wing)
46. Janet Jackson
47. Jennifer Aniston
48. Jennifer Connolly
49. Jennifer Garner
50. Jenny Garth
51. Jenny McCarthy
52. Jeri Ryan
53. Jessica Alba
54. Jessica Simpson
55. Jodie Foster
56. Joey Lauren Adams
57. Jordan Capri (if you don't know who she is...well...my condolences)
58. Jordana Brewster (Vin Diesel's sister from The Fast and The Furious)
59. Jorja Fox (from CSI, special request)
60. Julia Roberts
61. Julia Styles
62. Kari Wuhrer
63. Kate Beckinsale
64. Kate Hudson
65. Kate Winslet
66. Katie Holmes
67. Keria Knightley
68. Kelly Ripa
69. Kirsten Dunst
70. Kristen Kruek

Ok, that's all I'm gonna do unless you really want to know the rest (so do I win for longest post or what?). For the record, there are a total of 111 women in the contest. I may have to figure out some sort of by-round or something to make the chart work out. I know I probably missed some big names, but some people just couldn't fit the criteria for the contest. First off, I had to be able to find a good picture relatively quickly. In addition, there will be no nudity in this contest, it wouldn't be fair to the rest of the girls. I tried to find a wide variety of pictures to compliment the wide variety of girls. I have candid shots, posed shots, black and whites, head shots, full body, and just about everything in between.

If any of you have some ideas about organizing the chart, by all means chime in. I don't want to have sections of the brackets organized (you know, porn stars vs. singers and all that), I'd rather have a mix of some nearly identical matchups and some that are totally different. I think that way no 1 trait will be automatically eliminated. In other words, say Blecker really likes blondes. Well if we put all the blondes up against each other they will artificially be cut down by design. I also need to find the worlds largest posterboard...Ok, fuck it, here are the rest of the names:

71. Kristy Swanson
72. Kylie Minogue
73. Lauren Michelle Hill (IMO, Best. Playmate. Ever.)
74. Leelee Sobieski
75. Lucy Liu
76. Madonna
77. Mandy Moore (if I were picking the girls, this would be a short contest)
78. Marge Helgenberger (also from CSI, also by request of Blecker)
79. Marilyn Monroe
80. Mila Kunis
81. Milla Jovovich
82. Monica Bellucci
83. Natalie Imbruglia
84. Natalie Portman
85. Natasha Henstridge
86. Neve Campbell
87. Nicole Eggert (Charles in charge, of our days and our nights...)
88. Nicole Kidman
89. Pamela Anderson
90. Penelope Cruz
91. Rachel Bilson (California. Here we coooooooooooooooooooooooome)
92. Rebecca Gayheart
93. Rebecca Romiin
94. Reese Witherspoon
95. Rita Hayworth
96. Rose McGowen
97. Sabrina Lloyd (from Sports Night)
98. Sandra Bullock (from that movie...I think it was called The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down)
99. Sarah Michelle Gellar
100. Shakira
101. Shana Hiatt (host of the World Poker Tour)
102. Shania Twain
103. Shannon Doherty (hmm, all the Charmed girls made the list, how did that happen...)
104. Shannon Elizabeth
105. Tara Reid
106. Teen Kelly (see 57 Across)
107. Tia Carrera
108. Tiffany Amber Theissen
109. Victoria Silvstedt
110. Winona Rider
111. Zhang Ziyi (younger girl from Crouching Tiger)

Am I the only one that thinks we should start a pool and bet on who Blecker is gonna pick? Ok, that's all I got...Seacrest Out!!

PS - I just wanna mention that I was eating watermelon cubes while typing this, yeah for summer!

Speakerjohnnn/The Paul Below

It was tough, but here goes:

1. Cry Baby Cry
2. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
3. Back In The USSR
4. Dear Prudence
5. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
6. Don't Pass Me By
7. Sexy Sadie
8. Martha My Dear
9. Yer Blues
10. I'm So Tired
11. Glass Onion
12. Blackbird
13. Mother Nature's Son
14. Julia
15. Helter Skelter

Seven Johns, six Pauls, one George (sorry, buddy), and one Ringo. Just under 48 minutes.

Thoughts:
Wow, this was tough to sequence. So many slow songs. It's by no means perfect, and, yeah, I think doing this makes you appreciate the double album more. I really think 'Cry Baby Cry' is a great opener, just starts, no pretense. And then I like Paul hitting you over the head (with excessive pretense) with 'Ob-La-Di'. You'll note that I remedied the overlong wankery of George and Clapton with a swift dose of Ringo, that simple simpleton. And I like the idea of lulling the listener to a false sense of easy conclusion with the three snoozers at the end, before coming back with the death rattle of 'Helter Skelter'...sort of like tacking on 'Her Majesty' at the end of Abbey Road. I will stand by my championing (championship?) of 'Glass Onion' until the day I die.

Cuts:
'Happiness is a Warm Gun' - really unthinkable to cut this one, I know. But I had to cut a bunch of John songs, and this one didn't really fit. Plus, wouldn't it be amazing if you only discovered this on the Anthology discs? What a lost classic!
'Rocky Raccoon' and 'I Will' - Two songs that I would have pegged for inclusion. But, upon listening to the album today, specifically thinking of this project, I was really surprised at how poor they seemed. 'I Will' in particular seems really anachronistic, just out of place.
'Everybody's got something to hide..' - Tough. Too many John songs. Great guitar though. Hate to see it go.
'Long, Long, Long' is a beautiful song, Yohei. For me to poop on. No, seriously, I like it a lot, but it should go on a George solo album.
'Birthday' - I was really surprised at how close this came to inclusion. Always hated it. But it sorta rocks. If the drums were mixed higher, it would actually kick a lot of ass.

Next week - we put together Revolver the way John really wanted it--without Paul!

Hooked on a feeling.

Alright then. I do apologize for being so behind the times. I guess I've been busy; god knows what I've been busy with. Anyway, first hook vs. riff, then white album, then maybe I'll tell y'all about my foray into a private poker club last weekend.

The term hook comes from songwriting speak. It is certainly a nebulous term, but in essence it is a memorable part of a song (nearly always repeated) that's intended to 'hook' the listener. The hook is what gets stuck in your head.

A riff is an instrumental sequence, usually of a couple bars long at maximum, though you can certainly string many riffs together--then you're 'riffing'. I don't think a straight sequence of chords can ever be a riff, though more on that later. Whereas a riff is almost always instrumental1, a hook can be instrumental, melodic, or lyrical.

All of the riffs that we brought up last week were also (instrumental) hooks. This makes sense--the riffs we remember best, the ones that are most indelible, that we see as most important to the song, were designed to be remembered. Also, I do think this clears up the 'Smells like Teen Spirit' debate. Nish, your revelation that the opening of the song is certainly a riff, sounds to me like you're really saying that it's certainly a hook. I think we can rule out that opening because it's more of a chord progression than a riff, without overlooking its centrality to the song's catchiness. Those opening chords are indelible, truly a killer hook, but not, to my mind, a riff.

A melodic hook is most often found in the chorus, of course. Hooks should be easy to find, obvious. The melodic hook for 'She Loves You'? The song opens with it. You can't escape it. It sticks in your head. Great hook.

Lyrical hooks are a bit trickier to define. The same rules apply, though. It's a memorable line or two that 'hooks' you into the song by its lyrical content. Hmm...examples. What about "Nicotine, valium, vicodon, marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol" from Queens of the Stone Age's 'Feel Good Hit of the Summer'? I remember that because the lyrics are 'catchy', not the melody or rhythm.

Many good riffs are also hooks, but not all. One example. During the last minute and a half of 'The End' at, you know, the end of Abbey Road, the 'Love you, love you' bit is the hook. It's repetitive and catchy. But John, Paul, and George's guitars are all in full riffing mode. I'd hesitate to call all guitar solos riffs (or series of riffs), but this one definitely works. The trading off of parts, every two bars, makes this sound less like a unified solo, and more like just a bunch of RIFFS.

___________________________________
1Two exceptions come to mind. a) In jazz, I'm pretty sure you can talk about a vocal 'riff', but that makes sense, as certain jazz singing attempts to imitate the instruments (i'm thinking of scatting here). b) In it's secondary (for our purposes) meaning, to riff means to make a variation of. So, therefore, you could conceivably say that the lyrics to 'Good Night' riffs on the traditional lullabye. But clearly that's not what we're talking about in this discussion.

1. Cry Baby Cry
2. Sexy Sadie
3. Martha My Dear
4. I’m So Tired
5. Happiness is a Warm Gun
6. Yer Blues
7. Helter Skelter
8. Rocky Racoon
9. Long Long Long
10. I will
11. Julia
12. Revolution 1
13. Blackbird
14. Don’t Pass Me By

So I listened to the album a couple of times and here is my line up. Seven Johns, five Pauls, one George, and one (grudgingly...) Ringo. I haven't figured out the total time.

I went with a pretty conventional arc, starting slow, building up to Helter Skelter, and then resolving quietly, with Ringo tacked on at the end only to satisy the Ringo quota. It's a quiet one, but this could be due to the fact that I really don't like Birthday, Monkey, USSR, Ob-la-di, While My Guitar all that much compared to these (doesn't mean they're bad songs: I'll take them any day over most things). Needless to say, I like the ballads, with the exception of nasal Ringo (Don't Pass Me By over the creepy lullaby any day.) And Long Long Long, if recorded properly and loud enough...it's a really good song. Also, this version of Revolution is kind of quaint, but it's Revolution!

Theory of (Album) Relativity revisited

Nish (may I?), I only meant that weak songs are inevitable when you have a closed unit, for example, an album, a mix, a compilation etc. No song is absolutely or inherently weak/strong; hence the Honey Pie (and I actually meant Wild Honey Pie! Honey Pie isn't so bad, though I can't say it'll make it on my single album) amidst Creed songs example, which is analogous to your "I want to tell you" example.

I like your White Album, and I think mine will be similar to yours. But I'm puzzled...how in the world did you calculate total running time?

I'd also like to officially record what might have been the low point of my afternoon, and perhaps 2004: I microwaved two White Castle burgers in toilet paper, because I'm out of paper towels (what the box recommends) and napkins.

No, Jesus, No!

From the Boston Globe:

"Johnny Damon, who has been inundated with requests from charities, corporations, and television outlets to trim his locks, has agreed to shave his beard May 21 in exchange for the Gillette Co. donating $15,000 to the Boston Public Library. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is expected to attend the ceremony, though details had yet to be formalized. By going with Gillette, Damon preempted King of Shaves, a UK-based shaving and skin care line that was trying to cut a check for his charity of choice if he shaved. Damon may cut his hair for charity as early as next month."

I promise, a real post soon.

Next time, a transcript of yesterday's Fear Factor

I can't believe I'm typing this; if I remember correctly, in the last ten minutes:

Chandler and Monica get a call from the hospital, notifying them that one of their twins has been diagnosed with encephalitis, which, gaging their reactions, is not good news. After some deliberation. they decide to give away the healthy baby to her birth mother, since the one baby will already be a lot of work as they try to build a life and home in the suburbs.

Joey proposes to the birth mother, but obviously, having never met him before his proposal, she declines. But, she has no ties in NYC, and decided to move out to LA with him, though how largely she will figure in his spin-off is hard to tell.

Ross and Rachel reconcile, and are going to give their relationship another college try, this time for good.

Mike (?), the Paul Judd character gets an offer from Médecins Sans Frontières (not as a doctor, but as an engineer or something), and Phoebe decides to move to Africa with him; in their own small way, they want to pitch in against HIV, malaria, malnutrition, etc etc.

Then the random Jefferson Airplane song, fade out.

~~

Also, this isn't helpful at all for the White Album exercise, but I still kind of agree with Paul's comment from the Anthology (documentary): "I think it's a fine album...I mean, it's great, it sold, it's the bloody Beatles White Album! Shut up!"

I agree partly because I think weak songs are necessary and inevitable. The White Album has many b-sides, certainly, but that’s just what happens when you make an album. Allow me to explain. If (and only if) you consider an album to be a closed off, self-contained unit, there will always be weaker songs, relative to what one considers stronger songs. A natural hierarchy, almost like a bell-curve, just kind of puts itself into place. It just happens when you throw together a bunch of songs and close that little universe off: a strange order or homeostasis is achieved through comparison. Track 1 through 13, when thrust together, start to define themselves (in terms of their value, or 'good'ness) comparatively. Obviously, this has no bearing on the song when it stands alone or how you felt about it before or will ever feel about it in the future, out of the mix/compilation/album context. But I think this is why you can set out to make a flawless mix (every song is a '10' to your ears), but it's not really possible -- after a while, and probably immediately to others’ ears, your mix is littered with a 4, a 5 and a 7, their value organized around the best track, which need not be a 10. (I don’t actually give songs these numerical grades…for the record.)

According to this theory of relativity, Honey Pie is a ‘0’ for sure, but put it next to twelve Creed songs, and we have a ‘8’ next to thirteen ‘0’s. (Honey Pie, I hope we can agree, can never be a 10, even next to white noise).

Let this be a lesson...

...make sure the clock is right on your Tivo!

I just finished watching the last episode of Friends, but unfortunately the Tivo get off early so I don't know what happened. Not that I watch Friends (seriously, who was the Erica girl having Monica's babies?) but since I sat through the first 50 minutes I might as well find out how it ended.

Can someone who saw it please recap it from the part where Rachel is with Ross after getting off the plane and Ross says "Unless we're on a break..." Thanks.

Oh, and Dave, I'm still waiting for that riff-hook dissertation. Also, I think we should get Gilroy in on this (more people = more gmail, right?). I guess you're the only one that can invite people, I looked but I couldn't find it. His email is jgilroy69@hotmail.com.

Short version of my weekend: Went to DC on Friday, hung with Jeff and Staci. Willy and Sweet showed up Saturday. Got alarmingly drunk. Saw Nish on Sunday. Drove home this morning, very tired.

Shemail

Did anyone (else) get Gmail? (Before blogger revamped their site,) I just followed the directions and got it. So did my friend P-diddle. You just had to follow their directions. Is it just me?

Should have seen this one coming...

At least he's honest.