A Curious Little Blog

If someone asked what kind of person you are, what would say?  "I like horses, ice hockey, and red wine, and I hate skin care products"?  You might think that reveals a lot about you, but your likes and dislikes are not necessarily that helpful for someone who wants to know what you are like as a person. Let me tell you what kind of person I am -- and I'll warn you, it's not pretty.  You know the song "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent?  Great guitar song, really rocks.  The lyrics are kind of weird, arguably misogynistic, but I can ignore that.  I ignore all kinds of annoying lyrics in songs I like; they won't be my favourite songs, but if they have a nice sound, I will still like them.  What I can't ignore is the line where he sings, I've got you in a stranglehold baby You best get out of the way. WTF??  If you have someone in a stranglehold, it is way too late for him to get out of the way.  Suggesting that he (or she) do so is a sign th...

Those of a certain age may remember a 1980's band called "Johnny Hates Jazz." Maybe they should have called themselves "Johnny Hates Music," or simply "Johnny Has No Taste." How can you hate jazz? I am a little more understanding of people who hate, for example, country music. I love it, but I grew up with it and it appeals to me in many ways beyond its musicality. Bluegrass is an even better example. I like classical music, but if some people find Tchaikovsky boring, I can totally understand that. But jazz? Jazz is like a cool drink when you're thirsty. Jazz is the feel of water covering your body as you relax in the pool on a hot day. Jazz is a full—body massage with scented oils. I guess improvisation might not be for everyone; it might not be your favourite kind of music. But hate it? I don't understand that. I should qualify that by noting the different types of jazz, some of which are definitely less likable than others. Do you list...

I like to report on people doing the right thing, so I was happy to discover Megan Carpentier at Air America calling out Keith Olbermann for his pointless ad hominem attack on Michelle Malkin. One can say a lot of things about Michelle Malkin's politics, her tactics, her strained relationship with reality and her commenters' propensity to embody the worst of the Internet. Or you could do what Keith Olbermann did...A liberal, progressive critique of Malkin need not and should not resort to an attack on her looks or her gender or rely on silly stereotypes or imagery that brings to mind victims of domestic violence. If people on both sides would be more honest about criticizing each other for doing the wrong thing, the debate would be entirely more civil. Unfortunately, they are usually too busy circling the wagons to be willing to point out faults among others inside the defenses, and the ever-escalating rhetoric contributes to this sense of beleaguerment and us-against-them m...

I watched "Animal Crackers" this weekend, and I found it a mixed bag. It seemed to have more good lines than "A Night At The Opera," but I still didn't find myself doubled up with laughter. At one point, Harpo dealt cards for pinochle, in what may be the only funny thing I've seen him do. Best line: "One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know." Did you know that Groucho's moustache was painted on? I never realized that. Now that I know, I can see it, but I'm surprised it's not more obvious. Probably the poor video quality makes it easier to hide; Groucho's blond wig is supposed to be red. Groucho did grow a moustache for his television show, "You Bet Your Life." And now for that other kind of Marxism, historical materialism. I was attending a history conference once when a professor (Henry Heller) began his paper by pompously declaring that Marxism provides a more ...

Kids still played "Cowboys and Indians" when I was growing up. Westerns were not as popular then as they were in my parents' generation, but they were still common, especially on tv. (At one point in the early 1970's, almost all of the top prime-time shows were westerns.) I had a complete outfit, with boots, vest, chaps, and hat, and of course six-shooters without orange tips. On the other hand, I've never seen my kids or any of their friends play cowboys and Indians -- I think they would look at me funny if I suggested it to them. I suppose it's not pc to portray this sort of struggle, even in play. Heck, you can't even sit "Indian-style" anymore -- now it's "criss-cross applesauce." If I were an Indian, I would be happy if people acknowledged borrowing cultural things from me. I guess it would have to be "Native-American-style," however, which no one will bother to say (although it's only two syllables longer...

A couple of additions to earlier posts: I commented in an earlier post that most songs need to have a rhyming refrain. The Led Zeppelin song " Rock and Roll ," which I happened to hear on the radio the other day, is a perfect example of a song whose refrain does not need to rhyme. The virtuosity and excitement of the line "been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time" carries it; to rhyme it would almost be painting the lily. (Since it's only one line, it's not clear how it could rhyme anyway, but that's another matter.) Few refrains can match it, however. I have written previously (not on this blog) about churches with strange, non-identifying names, such as "The Rain Church" and "The Harvest Church" (both in Warner Robins, Georgia). I have since seen two more in Virginia, "The Rock Church" and "The Lighthouse Worship Center." The Rock Church has a cross on it, so I presume it is Christian of som...

When I was growing up, country music was known as "Country and Western." I don't know why it dropped the "Western" part. Perhaps it was deemed cumbersome to have two words, although it hasn't hurt R & B (then again, R&B flows more than C&W). One thing it has never been called is "Southern." That makes sense, because you can pick up country stations just about anywhere; I distinctly recall at least two in the Detroit area, home of Madonna, Eminem, and Motown, about as un-Southern a place as you could imagine. (Although people around there did joke that the suburb of Taylor was really "Taylortucky.") Heck, even Detroit native and eponymous rocker Kid Rock has moved into country music. On the other hand, it is kind of hard to escape the fact that most country musicians come from the South. I just checked some of the biggest names on this page , and over half were from the South. Some were from the Midwest (Illinois, Ohio, ...

I noticed a long time ago that there isn't much difference between the sound of country music and rock music nowadays. If I'm surfing my radio and I come to a station playing jazz, classical, or rap, I recognize it right away; but if I come to a country or rock station, I often can't tell which it is until the song is half over. Country songs often have screaming guitars that would fit equally well in a hard rock song, and only a minority have a recognizably country instrument such as a fiddle or a banjo. All the same, no one could listen to a country music station for more than a few minutes without realizing that it is definitely not a rock station. What are the differences? There are some stylistic differences. Country songs are more likely to have a boogey beat or certain western-sounding bass lines. They also tend to be more formulaic: if you can't predict how a country song ends, you probably don't listen to much country music. But those things aren...