Cutest...Baby... Ever

Seriously. I dare you to tell me otherwise.

Perfect Albums

There are some albums that are perfect. The whole thing and each song is well written, dynamic, interesting, consistently holds my attention and frequently draws me back. A perfect album. I started thinking about some of the records I consider perfect and made a quick list, alphabetized by artist.

• The Beatles - Abbey Road
• Big Black - Songs About Fucking
• The Blow Up - True Noise
• Brian Eno - Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy)
• Brian Eno and David Byrne - My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts
• Cabaret Voltaire - Voice Of America
• The Damned - Damned Damned Damned
• David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
• The Dwarves - Horror Stories
• The English Beat - I Just Can't Stop It
• The Fall - This Nation's Saving Grace
• The Intelligence - Boredom and Terror
• The Jam - Sound Affects
• Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
• Mocket - Pro Forma
• The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers
• New Order - Movement
• Optiganally Yours - Exclusively Talentmaker
• P.i.L. - Metal Box
• Pussy Galore - Dial "M" For Motherfucker
• Quasi - Featuring "Birds"
• Robyn Hitchcock - I Often Dream Of Trains
• Scratch Acid - Scratch Acid
• Sonic Youth - EVOL
• Steve Fisk - 448 Deathless Days
• The Stranglers - La Folie
• Talking Heads - Fear Of Music
• The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico
• The Wedding Present - Hit Parade I
• The Wipers - Over The Edge
• Wire - Pink Flag
• XTC - Black Sea

Some of these artists have other albums are may be arguably better, and there are many other albums that could also be on the list. One may question why I didn’t choose Big Black’s Atomizer, or Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, and those would be legit questions. How about you? Are there any albums you consider perfect, and what are they?

And Over Again

Last night I finally posted my second podcast, I Want To Kiss You All Over. I had been trying to put up another mix, King For A Day, for the last week, but some of the files I had weren't cooperating. I'll do some more tweaking and try again. This week's mix is as follows:

1. Walter Carlos -"Theme From Clockwork Orange" Because all mixes need a bombastic intro.
2. The Strip Kings -"Lightning Breed" I think these guys only put out three singles, of which I have one, and its pretty kick-ass.
3. The Nazz - "Open My Eyes" Todd Rundgren's old psych band. It's the heavily flanged chorus is really what hooks me here.
4. The Last - "I Don't Wanna Be In Love" The Last was an incredible anomaly of early L.A. punk scene - 60's-style punk rock with harmonies.
5. Lou Reed - "I Wanna Be Black" from Street Hassle. I used to think it took a lot to shock me, but I didn't see this coming. Not that Lou hasn't always been edgy, but still...
6. Country Teasers - "Black Change" The only logical course following Reed's musings.
7. The Intelligence - "I Am That Grey" from a split single with Popular Shapes.
8. Popular Shapes - "Here Come The Pancakes" from the Dirtnap Across The Northwest comp.
9. Martin Rev - "Baby Oh Baby" From the musician half of Suicide's first solo album.
10. Steve Fisk - "Demo of an Assist" Off the long out-of-print cassette, …'Til The Night Closes In. Features members of Steve's band, Pell Mell, and purportedly the voice of L. Ron Hubbard. Have the Scientologists prevented this song from its well-deserved re-release?
11. Takeshi Terauchi & The Bunnys - "Chikiri Bushi" Finding this track made my least favorite song on Steve Fisk's masterpiece, 448 Deathless Days, palatable.
12. Brain Eno & David Byrne - "Qu' Ran" from the original My Life In A Bush Of Ghosts LP. You will not find this track on any of the CD re-releases.
13. The Eggs - "Little Red Book" A random song from a random 60's compilation of recordings from McKenzie Studio in Columbus, OH.
14. XTC - "My Weapon" From Go2, featuring future former XTC member and Shriekback founder Barry Andrews on a rare lead vocal.
15. The Warlocks "Hey, The Dope Feels Good" I like it when stoner bands are at least honest.
16. The Residents - "Constantinople" I'm by no means a Residents fan, but this has always been a favorite of mine.
17. Japan -"Ghosts" I mentioned before my preference for the New Romantic band Japan over Duran Duran's derivative and more pop-friendly restyle of them. That preference was largely driven by this song, which I still find hauntingly beautiful. And no, that pun just happened. Really. Totally unintentional.

Snow Job

It's commonly believed that stories of Seattle's perpetual rain were fabricated to keep Californians out of our city. This ruse has clearly failed, so now we have employed a more powerful weather-related tactic:


I've never seen it snow quite this much in Seattle. My bus last night ended up getting stuck and I walked at least a half-mile to get home. We took Cooper out to see it, and he seemed pretty enthused, but I think it will take beaning someone with a snowball or sliding down a hill before he truly enjoys the snow. As an adult though, it's all about trying to save the plants from being crushed and shoveling. I'd rather have Cooper's perspective.