Evan Parker Electro-Acoustic Ensemble - Drawn Inward

perfect for this dreary, rainy morning.

an interesting article appeared in yesterday's boston globe. it's about the research done by thomas e. patterson's vanishing voter project.

the project (and associated book) try to answer the following question: why are so few people showing up in america's polling places?

and what are the reasons? media bias (not what you think!), the primary system, campaign length, negative campaigns. all this and more.

something to think about in these bizarre and uncertain times.

ok, it's not really a death spiral...but there's a report on the AP wire describing a settlement giving an undisclosed six-figure sum of money to the publishers of the music of John Cage. apparently, a composer was sued for (and i'm not kidding here) plagiarizing one minute of silence from John Cage's concept piece "4'33".

say what you will about "4'33" (plenty has been!) but this is either a clever stunt or a new low in completely frivolous court activity.

Dixie Chicks - Home

dammit, they can sing!

while driving to work last week i saw this bumper sticker:

America: Love It Or Get The Hell Out

now, what exactly does this love mean? do i have to:

• genuflect before dick cheny?
• respect our president? (who received less 'yea votes than his opponent)
• support an invasion of iraq?
• vote republican?
• attach the appropriate sneer to my voice whenever i use the word liberal?
• recite the pledge of allegiance?
• with my hand over my heart?
• attend church every sunday?
• never admit that this country does anything wrong?

i was just wondering.

at the end of a little story (60 minutes) about the concert at the vatican commemorating the holocaust, it was funny to see the pope give the conductor a "thumbs up".

a high five would have been funnier but given the pope's current state of health it was almost as good.

Joe Jackson - Will Power

incredibly stupid that this is still out of print.

for yesterday's anniversary of 9/11 i spent the first half of the day sitting around in the waiting room of a cardiac unit. my father was in for surgery. he was having his implanted defibrillator/pacemaker replaced. this is never a "fun" place to be, and for some reason it seemed twice as bizarre as "normal".

the odd momement of the day came during lunch. the surgery was over and was a success. my wife & i are having lunch in the cafeteria when the intercom, accompanied by a shrieking alarm, begins to blast some announcement about code red! now, i have no idea what this really means except that nearly every doctor-like person in the room made for the door. after about 20 seconds the code red was cancelled and all the hustle & bustle stopped.

that was more than enough excitement for the day.

a review at BlogCritics.org

from boycott-riaa.com:
David Letterman had an interesting take on American Idol this evening. He described American Idol as "two young performers competing to see who will be screwed by a major record company."

dang, nice to see somebody as big as letterman say that.

wishing i was in that room now
the floor painted white
brilliant
with the late afternoon sun
so sharp
making the letters of my book
throw shadows on the page

Branford Marsalis - Footsteps Of Our Fathers

dang, it's so cool to hear Branford & company have fun with Ornette and Coltrane.

ok, i couldn't watch the whole thing. actually, i really don't care about it. i mean, MTV hardly shows complete videos anymore, so what's the point of having the awards show?

but...i did turn it on at just the right time: to see The Hives perform "Main Offender". ya, i know that the lead singer is doing a great Jagger impression. at least visually. but who cares? most of the kids in the crowd (and at home) don't know (or care!) who Jagger is, so it really doesn't matter.

i just loved the interplay of two plain ol' guitars plugged straight into the amps. loved it. great song. very, uh, kinetic.