Flaming Pablum

TIME and Change

(Alex & Charlotte, Christmas Day 2005, click on to enlarge)

As I type this, I am officially at the half-way point through my final Friday night overnight shift as a News Desk Editor at TIME Magazine (see this post of earlier in the month for details). Since we were granted a week off -- or "dark week," as we call it -- following the Person of the Year issue, I figured I wouldn't bother taking any time off between finishing up at my old job and starting my new job next week. Besides, knowing me, I'd only have spent that free time stewing and worrying about what lies ahead. Better that I should make the transition a quick one and jump right in. So, as of this coming Tuesday, January 3, 2006, I will officially be working for this outlet, located right in the veritable crotch of Times Square.

Beyond the new job, 2006 promises further huge changes for me. As I may have alluded in previous posts, my wife is pregnant with our second child. Charlotte, our first (see above), will be just a little over two years old by the estimated arrival of her sibling, an event that will invariably rock her little world (and mine too, doubtlessly). I can't help worrying about how Charlotte is going to react/adjust to no longer being the epicenter of the household, but I'm sure we'll work through it (virtually every family does). In due course, there's the very real probability that the new addition to our family will usher in the pressing need to move to a bigger space. Given the abject ludicrousness of the Manhattan real estate market, there's a very distinct possibility that we may have to bid farewell to my beloved native Manhattan in favor of the (very) slightly more affordable Brooklyn or --- God help me -- Westchester.

For someone who enjoys huge life changes as much as he enjoys swift kicks to the groin, 2006 is shaping up to be a kind've scary prospect. That said, all the changes before me are positive ones, and I'm ultimately nothing if not entirely blessed, considering the circumstances. With all the impending developments, I may not have quite as much time to devote to serving up my usual brand of fare here, but I promise to do my very best to keep Flaming Pablum teetering precariously on the edge.

In the interim, however, it's still only 2:35 am here at the TIME News Desk (and I'm here until 8am). To the best of my knowledge, I'm the last person left here and the halls are still and silent. I'm currently cranking "Wild America" by Iggy Pop out of my computer in an effort to curtail my penchant for sentimental scab-picking, but it's no use. I'm sad to be leaving this place and these people. But this is the end. I can't believe this is the last time I'll be doing this.

But enough of my weepin'. In the event that I don't post again before tomorrow night (which I probably won't), let me just say HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ONE AND ALL!

Cheers!

- Alex in NYC

Looking Back & Looking Forward

It seems like every music-related weblog worth its salt is busy itemizing its year-end round ups these days, encapsulating the last twelve months of music into tidy little lists. Personally speaking, I'm not that huge of fan of making these lists, as I invariably overlook something. I mean, while I too am prone to associating a song with its respective era and/or its placement in my personal experience, that doesn't mean I'm able to immediately assign a specific date to it. So much of the newer stuff I listened to in 2005 dated back to 2004 (or earlier) anyway.

But, not to be outdone by the madding crowd, I figured I might as well add my two cents and cite....

MY TOP TEN SONGS OF 2005.

1. "Helena" by My Chemical Romance - Technically, the album to which this song belongs was released in `04, but "Helena" was released on its own as a single in `05, so as far as I'm concerned, that makes it eligible. Sue me. As I lamented in this post back in August, this little New Jersey band of poppy-punky-screamo-whathaveyou's should verily personify everything an aging, embittered Killing Joke zealot like m'self loathes, but hey....there's no arguing with that chorus.
2. "Skin is, My" by Andrew Bird's Bowl of Fire
3. "Bad Weekend" by Art Brut
4. "Blue Orchid" by the White Stripes
5. "Marian" by Nouvelle Vague
6. "Gold Digger" by Kanye West
7. "Dare" by Gorillaz
8. "Banquet" by the Bloc Party
9. "I Want to Hear What You Have to Say" by the Subways
10. "I Predict a Riot" by the Kaiser Chiefs - This one almost didn't make the cut, but I do love that chorus.

I know that the second I post this, I'll remember four or five more selections that I'd have wanted to include. Honestly, though, instead of dwelling on what's already passed, I'm more excited by what's new and what's ahead. Currently available only over the `net are both the new opus by Julian Cope, Dark Orgasm and The Ape of Naples, the final album by COIL, recorded just prior to the untimely death of the great Jhonn Balance last year. I'm also quite fired up about the impending new album by -- WAIT FOR IT -- Killing Joke, due in March, titled -- somewhat unfortunately -- Hosannas from the Basements of Hell.

(Julian & Jhonn & Jaz)

Scariest Thing Seen on a Texas Highway

Texas, as even its inhabitants are doubtlessly aware, is one damn strange place. You're likely to see all sorts of bizarre sights while travelling across its vast expanse. Over the past week, while sojourning with my wife's family (who moved to Houston in 1987), I saw a number of disquieting things. But the most offputting of all of them was the inordinate preponderence of these decorative attachments hanging beneath the license plates of a worryingly sizable number of intrepid motorists.

And if you're the sort that is reduced to teary eyed guffaws by same, might I suggest both moving to Texas and clicking here.

"I'm Back...Back in the New York Groove..."

...to quote his celestial eminence, Ace Frehley. I survived a week deep in the crotch of Bush country and lived to tell the tale. Regular programming to resume shortly. Thank you for patience. Please stand by.

And a belated merry KISSmas to you all.

- Alex in NYC

Have a Rebel Yell Noël!

Just a quick post to say happy holidays to one and all. Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Non-Sombre Solstice, etc. etc. Whatever your holiday of choice may be -- knock your socks right off! I'm packing up the fam-damily and flyin' down to the in-laws' place in Texas tomorrow morning and won't be back in NYC until next week, so you'll have to look elsewhere for regularly updated idiocy. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Talk'atcha soon!

- Alex in NYC

Lost Film

This was passed onto me by my friend Marc from the Gathering. It's a website devoted to undeveloped film found in vintage cameras. As Marc aptly described, the end results are a curious mixture of interesting and spooky. Enjoy.

To see them simply click here.

Noo Yawker in The New Yorker - December 26, `05 - January 2, `06 issue

While the Christmas Season is great time of year for things like gift giving, gift re-giving, caroling, sleigh-riding, freezing your privates off, fruit cake disposal and throwing snowballs at the windshields of taxi cabs, it is sadly not the greatest time of year for unfettered, leather trouser-ruffling, rock'n'roll abandon by sneery, beer-swiggin' rock pigs. As that's my primary beat for the "Goings On About Town" section of The New Yorker, I'm afraid my contributions to this year-end issue make for some slim pickin's. Either that or they just didn't think much of the other stuff I'd submitted. Either way, I ended up penning the blurbs for upcomin' shows by Isle of Klezbos (an all-female Klezmer ouftit, wouldn't ya know), Reggie Watts, Eugene Mirman, Elysian Fields and the Black Crowes. The issue is readily available at your local news stand, but if you simply can't wait to press your eyeballs all over it, you can simply click here.

Stumped

I've started a number of new posts here in the last couple of days, only to abandon and then summarily delete them in short order. During my overnight shift at the TIME News Desk just two nights ago -- my penultimate Friday shift after eleven years (as recently discussed in this post) -- I'd composed a wordy piece about the perils of after hours air-guitaring in the office (appended with a lovely picture of Kerry King of Slayer circa Reign in Blood) but aborted it, finding it too pointlessly frivolous in the wake of certain developments and my own bittersweet exit from the magazine. These are difficult times, and not just at TIME, as it turns out.

::::shiver::::

In a vain attempt to lighten the mood, I'm going to post some more music. In keeping with the theme I'd established earlier (posting only music that is either long out of print, otherwise unavailable, incredibly hard to find and/or unjustly relegated to obscurity), I'm reaching back into a grab bag from the late 80's to unearth a criminally forgotten and inexplicably out of print chestnut from bizarre British indie quartet, STUMP. Specializing in skewed, wilfully surreal absurdist pop that owed more to Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart than to any of the fatuous sacred cows of their day, Stump only managed to unleash one album on an undeserving world, that being the 1988's A Fierce Pancake. I forget where I originally heard it, but it instantly became a must-have (prompting me to -- if I sheepishly recall correctly -- help myself to my college radio station's pointedly unplayed copy of the vinyl). Discovering that its two inexplicably strange singles, "Charlton Heston" and the gleefully discordant "Buffalo", only served to irritate my housemates, the album was quickly put into regular rotation to maximize this effect.

Despite their uniquely silly sensibility, Stump vanished soon after the fact (I doubt Chrysalis Records reaped much in the way of reward for their efforts on the band's behalf). As such, A Fierce Pancake went out of print in 1990. I managed to prize a rare copy on compact disc off of eBay (for a weighty price) a number of years back. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, may my present to you, dear reader, be these two choice cuts from dear old Stump.

Download "Buffalo" by Stump

Download "Charlton Heston" by Stump

If you enjoyed these two tracks -- and why wouldn't you? -- please avail yourself to The Stump Story!

And if you enjoyed this, don't forget these other fine selections.

QUICK ADDENDUM, 12/26/05: As one of my readers astutely pointed out, Stump were actually IRISH, not English, despite the fact that they formed in London. Apologies. Cheers.

iTunes Signature

Here's a fleetingly entertaining dalliance for those who care more than they probably should about their digital music library. It's the iTunes Signature Maker.

iTunes Signature Maker (iTSM) analyzes your music collection and creates a short audio signature to represent who you are and what you listen to. After it checks your system configuration and asks you a few simple questions, iTSM will spend a few minutes analyzing your collection and generating the audio signature.

Just for laughs, I gave it a shot using my soon-to-be-former computer here at work (which hosts a great number of tunes that I hereby bequeath to my estimable co-worker Hot Johnny).

Here's my iTunes signature.

Make your own by simply clicking here!

Beating around the Bush

Since launching this weblog several months ago, I've largely steered clear of any overt political statements. It's not that I don't harbor any personal convictions or opinions on the subject of politics, but rather that I simply didn't feel that Flaming Pablum was necessarily the approrpriate venue wherein to air my grievances about same. That all said, after listening to the president's speech today, I felt that I might as well point out which side of the fence I'm on. While a bit crudely stated, this pretty much sums up how I feel about the current administration.

This poster also sums it up rather nicely.