Personal Anniversaries

"last night i had that same old dream it rocked me in my sleep..."

Lyric pinched from Larry Norman's Nightmare #71.

Podcast: Mike Mentzer, R.I.P.

Alright, I'm back on my podcast schedule (such as it is). Mike Mentzer, R.I.P. is available for download here, or streaming here. It's 35 minutes long.

Tangentially related: in November I did a reading and fielded questions for a women's book club. The two stories that generated the most questions were Youthful Desires, and this one -- so I think it behooves me to link to Mentzer's wikipedia entry.

Larry Norman, R.I.P.

I just found out that Larry Norman -- the "Father of Christian rock" -- passed away this week, of heart failure. He was 60.

I saw him perform two or three times in the 80s, and I have a couple of his records on CD that I pull out from time to time to try to figure out just what hold his music still retains on me. And that hold is still very much there.

I think Chris Willman's "In Memoriam" for Entertainment Weekly (here) is trenchant and, thanks to his own acknowledged solipsism near the end, chiefly correct. Every time I saw him perform, I was left with the impression that Norman was one exceedingly strange cat. And it didn't matter which record of his I would play, my lasting and final impression was that he was a disturbed and deeply melancholy soul.

People who reach out to Jesus from the strange and terrible pit of their own personal hell sometimes produce a primal sort of work that is very difficult to dismiss. A person so twisted with the anguish of experience and perception has no choice but to speak the truth; the rest of us have no choice but to listen. I'm sorry Norman's voice is silenced.

The Pissy Mystic

It seems to me someone out there has a song about a "pissy mystic," which pretty much sums up my attitude regarding the pop culture confections I've slowly stopped enjoying over the years. The various reincarnations of Star Trek are just one example. Lately the web has generously hosted the trailer for J.J. Abrams crack at franchise renewal. Gee willikers, Corky: loving slo-mo pan-shots of the U.S.S. Enterprise!! That oughtta inject a little life into the corpse .... no?

Judge for yourself here, but I say, no. Those loving, slo-mo pans have worn out their welcome with me, seeing as how they've become the substitute for the sort of genuine emotional interest that good writers, directors and actors invest in characters.

MAKE visits MAD

Somehow I had the impression that MAD Magazine had tanked in the 90s. Hey, it had been a good half-century, or close to it. My favorite issues were published in the 60s and early 70s, the two decades when the magazine was at its pop-cultural zenith. And certainly the brand has been around, usually attached to some sort of tribute or (bleeeech!) money-grubbing nostalgia trip.

But lo and behold, the usual gang of idiots remains gainfully (if Gaines-lessly) employed. Not only that, but if their covers are any indication, they're doing some of their most groan-worthy work to date. My father (a connoisseur of MAD since day 1) sent me this poster, shortly before it became a fait (non) accomplis. But how did I miss Starr Wars?


All this was brought to mind as I perused the MAKE visits MAD Flickr page. It all looks rather like Bart Simpson's visit of those same hallowed halls (link via Boing Boing).

After "The Show"

"Nevertheless, out of awe, amusement or pity, you should come and see this unique show" -- thus runs William Shatner's imprimatur of The Shatner Show. Awe, amusement, pity ... that pretty much sums up my own emotional response to the pieces displayed in the virtual gallery (now available as a handsomely bound book).

Now, when does this guy receive the same treatment?

Is This Really The World's Most Complete Collection Of Recorded Music?

Perhaps. But does he have a copy of Shamblejam? (Link via Boing-Boing)