failed captains of late night

Pat Sajak versus William Shatner, and Chevy Chase vs Goldie Hawn. Two short lived, disastrous forays into the world of late night hosting and boasting. It makes you appreciate the longevity of a man like Jay Leno, which is really saying something dire. As a few Nashville natives may recall, Pat Sajak got his start as a weatherman on local station WSMV, and his "Ed MacMahon" on the failed talk show to bear his moniker was longtime Nashville news anchor Dan Miller. I couldn't find a clip worthy of posting from Magic Johnson's similarly short lived flagship program but if anyone has some uncomfortable yet deeply seared memories of the aforementioned travesty I would be keen to be indulged on details.

vintage kuwaiti disco

ANARCHY IN THE.....nah i was wrong

here is the public retraction/condemnation of the underground favorite "The Anarchist Cookbook" by its original author, William Powell. Go to Amazon to see its original posting...

"I have recently been made aware of several websites that focus on The Anarchist Cookbook. As the author of the original publication some 30 plus years ago, it is appropriate for me to comment.
The Anarchist Cookbook was written during 1968 and part of 1969 soon after I graduated from high school. At the time, I was 19 years old and the Vietnam War and the so-called "counter culture movement" were at their height. I was involved in the anti-war movement and attended numerous peace rallies and demonstrations. The book, in many respects, was a misguided product of my adolescent anger at the prospect of being drafted and sent to Vietnam to fight in a war that I did not believe in.

I conducted the research for the manuscript on my own, primarily at the New York City Public Library. Most of the contents were gleaned from Military and Special Forces Manuals. I was not member of any radical group of either a left or right wing persuasion.

I submitted the manuscript directly to a number of publishers without the help or advice of an agent. Ultimately, it was accepted by Lyle Stuart Inc. and was published verbatim - without editing - in early 1970. Contrary to what is the normal custom, the copyright for the book was taken out in the name of the publisher rather than the author. I did not appreciate the significance of this at the time and would only come to understand it some years later when I requested that the book be taken out of print.

The central idea to the book was that violence is an acceptable means to bring about political change. I no longer agree with this.

Apparently in recent years, The Anarchist Cookbook has seen a number of 'copy cat' type publications, some with remarkably similar titles (Anarchist Cookbook II, III etc). I am not familiar with these publications and cannot comment upon them. I can say that the original Anarchist Cookbook has not been revised or updated in any way by me since it was first published.

During the years that followed its publication, I went to university, married, became a father and a teacher of adolescents. These developments had a profound moral and spiritual effect on me. I found that I no longer agreed with what I had written earlier and I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the ideas that I had put my name to. In 1976 I became a confirmed Anglican Christian and shortly thereafter I wrote to Lyle Stuart Inc. explaining that I no longer held the views that were expressed in the book and requested that The Anarchist Cookbook be taken out of print. The response from the publisher was that the copyright was in his name and therefore such a decision was his to make - not the author's. In the early 1980's, the rights for the book were sold to another publisher. I have had no contact with that publisher (other than to request that the book be taken out of print) and I receive no royalties.

Unfortunately, the book continues to be in print and with the advent of the Internet several websites dealing with it have emerged. I want to state categorically that I am not in agreement with the contents of The Anarchist Cookbook and I would be very pleased (and relieved) to see its publication discontinued. I consider it to be a misguided and potentially dangerous publication which should be taken out of print."

William Powell

Remembering "Smash"

Asher Benrubi, aka "Smash" was a largely forgotten MTV VJ from the late eighties, and the second host (after Dee Snider) of "Headbanger's Ball." Smash was a popular radio personality from St. Louis (where he now heads a hard rock band available for weddings, the Smash Band. Look em up on the web, maybe you can book them.) Here he is helming the first MTV appearance of Guns N Roses, and as is obvious, the dude is out of his depth to say the least. Bill Grundy and the Sex Pistols, Whispering Bob Harris and the New York Dolls, Tom Snyder vs Public Image all come to mind. Enjoy.

Loner Folk

A few of my all time favorite loner records. The sound of broken men, broken guitars, music not long for the world and words most often trapped inside the singer. When making this list I was trying to exclude when possible more well known artists (such as Nick Drake and Neil Young), while of course some like Skip Spence almost define the genre.
1. Skip Spence "Oar"
Recorded with Spence playing all the instruments himself in a Nashville studio, this record is without a doubt the sacred centerpiece of the loner folk galaxy. Songs like "Diana" and "Broken Heart" are the sounds of a man on the canyon's edge of total despair, the guitars so fragile they sound like the creak of floorboards in an ancient country house. This album offers more and more each time I attempt to get inside it; it's also made me marvel at what a otherworldy character Spence brought to Moby Grape. One of the saddest, most singular expressions of human frailty ever captured on analog tape.
2. Bob Desper "New Sounds"
Just Bob and his guitar in a Pacific Northwest studio. A spectral, spare ambience that almost serves as a male counterpart to someone like Collie Ryan or Buffie Sainte Marie. Desper sings with a lilting country tone and his songs are meandering, hazy brushes of sound, waltzing in and out of tempo while he speaks of darkness, of blind men winding down roads to nowhere. Atmosphere is key here, it's not as if the subject matter is the bleakest ever addressed; his lyrics are more like vague haikus than narrative tales of woe. It's all about Bob's solemn, earnest voice working its way in and out of intricate guitar patterns and primitive decays of studio echo. Absolutely stunning.
3. Perry Leopold "Experiments in Metaphysics"
Another self pressed artifact from the seventies. Much like Desper, Perry Leopold uses just his guitar and voice to paint stark portraits of total loneliness and urban isolation. "Cold in Philadelphia" and the long "Everything Goes When You're Gone" in which the broken hearted narrator has a verbal spar with "Mr Satan" are some of the highlights.
4. Chris Bell "I Am the Cosmos"
A bit of a diversion here in the eyes of some. Still, I see Bell as the tragically underrated half of Big Star. Chilton may have been the savvy head but Bell was no doubt the heart, and his personal defeat and sadness pervade every second of the music on his (unreleased in his lifetime) solo record. Not all the songs here fit the style I am addressing, but "Speed of Sound" is just as heartbreaking as anything I've ever heard, ditto for the stunning "I Am the Cosmos", in which Bell attempts accept a Zen like renunciation of desire/oneness with the universe, while still being unable to put his failed love out of the picture: "Every night I tell myself I am the cosmos, I am the wind/But that don't get you back again."
5. Ted Lucas "Om"
While I think most people have failed to hear it yet, I would rate the finest moments of this album with "Oar". Lucas is an extraordinary guitar player in the style of Jansch or Kottke, as showcased in a long raga workout on side two, but the songs on side one are beautiful and sparsely arranged gems. As I said, if you love "Oar" you will dig the frequency this guy is coming in on.
More soon...

dallol

Dallol is a ghost town in northern Ethiopia and one of the most remote locations on earth. With an average annual temperature of 94 degress, it's also possibly the hottest. A lunaresque landscape of volcanic rock and salt lakes surround abandoned potash mines. 28 kilometers off any main roads, the town is only accessible by camel.

bizarre books, part one

going to put up some of these over the next few days. in the meantime, here's a golden one.

Creation Land, KY

my god why have i not been here yet?