Radical Transparency

(in case the other blogs need a friend) 
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Lots Of Who But No Why

Chris Weingarten is a freelance music journalist.

He doesn't like Phish, Fleet Foxes, or the way people talk about music on Twitter.

He misses the because of professional music criticism.

He worries about crowdsourcing...

If you let the people decide, then nothing truly adventurous ever gets out.

And I think the talk he gave at the 140 Characters Conference a couple of weeks ago is worth watching.

Because I want truly adventurous things to get out.

Thank you, Stacey Monk, for writing one blog post that inspired me to write two.

Filed under  //   adventure   crowdsourcing   fleet foxes   journalism   music   music critics   phish   twitter  

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When We Used To Sit

This doesn't work. FYI.

But maybe a blog post will...

I'm looking for a song. With lots of do do do dos.

A woman sings it, a singer to whom I remember my mother listening sometimes. Not as much as she listened to Tracy Chapman or Cat Stevens or Sam Cooke. But sometimes, which is kind of a lot.

The song doesn't have many rhymes. Maybe no rhymes at all, actually. That might be its thing: no rhymes. Which, if you happen to be writing a song for me, is probably a thing to avoid. I like rhymes.

Another one of the song's things is that the singer kinda talks it as much as she sings it. Which is an ok thing by me. Much better, in general, than the no rhymes thing.

The song also connects in my mind to In Liverpool. Maybe because Suzanne Vega sings them both. But maybe not.

Also, through In Liverpool, the song lives in a box in my memory with Fee and No Woman, No Cry. All three were on the first mixtape anyone ever gave me.  The do do do do song was not on that mixtape. Nor is this information relevant. I'm taking notes at this point. Notes about that first mixtape...

Fee, I liked immediately and still adore.

No Woman, No Cry
I did not like, and that fact STILL blows my mind. It's still embarrassing. And it makes me sad. For myself at age 10 or however old I was. And for everyone else in the world that doesn't love No Woman, No Cry. I was missing out; so are those people.

The mixtape had two sides, each with different labels. One was called Like It's My Job. The other was called Like There's No Tomorrow. Both of those titles referred to peeing. I have to pee like it's my job. I have to pee like there's no tomorrow. Sanna, the babysitter that made me the mix, said those things, and I thought they were hilarious.

I think 10 is embarrassingly old to be answering to a babysitter. I'm pretty sure I thought that at the time too. But I also don't think I was the reason Sanna was around. My sister and cousins are all younger, and she was certainly in more charge of them than me. I think.

Anyway, it's time to wrap this up and post No Woman, No Cry. It's track 5 on Live! And it led off one of the two sides of that mixtape.

  
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Filed under  //   babysitting   bob marley   cat stevens   memory   mixtapes   music   mystery   peeing   phish   rhyme   sam cooke   similes   suzanne vega   tracy chapman  

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Deer, Dinosaurs, and Decaf

Joe de Grazia, my dad, makes his internet debut...



And, Paul Hughes, since I know you're reading this, I mean it 100% lovingly when I call you a mad raver.

Note the Grateful Dead logo on the cabinet between our heads.  Parker drew that baby when he was like 11.  I love it.  We feature Led Zeppelin and Phish art in this kitchen too.

And note Pops's last comment about thinning our own herds.  Yikes.  He's not really that crazy.  Just a rookie video blogger looking to make a name for himself.

Filed under  //   animals   blaze orange   caffeine   cagey   decaf   deer   dinosaurs   dudes and websites   evolution   geeks   grateful dead   jocks   led zeppelin   nerds   parker   paul hughes   phish   placebo effect   pops   population dynamics   predators   pumas  

Comments [4]

No Big Shots In Reality Y'all

The Carrot Project has me too excited to sleep much at night, and I'm starting to feel that ominous scratchy in the back of my throat, so I decided I needed a nap.

As I was settling into the couch, I remembered a Facebook status message from a couple of weeks ago:

Martha Blake is taking a loud music nap.

I took those at boarding school all the time. In CT's reclining dentist chair.

Bob Dylan Desire.
Beck Odelay.
The Temptations.
Let It Be.
Rusted Root.
Phish Billy Breathes.
Tupac.

Damn. Those were some great naps.

But I decided for low volume today, and, in honor of Martha, I fell asleep to Langhorne Slim.

Then I dreamt like crazy, stirred after every little episode, told myself to remember, forgot everything, and woke up 30 minutes later to Lauryn Hill philosophy.

Interlude 3 and I Find It Hard to Say (Rebel) are tracks 8 and 9 on disc 1 Lauryn's MTV Unplugged Set.

  
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Filed under  //   beck   big shots   boarding school   bob dylan   carrot project   ct   dreams   facebook   langhorne slim   lauryn hill   martha   memory   music   naps   phish   rusted root   sleep   the beatles   the temptations   tupac   unplugged  

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A Dream, It's True

We were talking last night about how we introduce people to the musicians we love.

Which songs do we put on mixes?  Which songs compel us to sit our friends and family down and say you have to listen to these guys?  Which songs do we post on our blogs?  Why do we choose the songs we choose?

What about a song makes it a good entry point for an introduction to a musician?  Or is that totally different for every band?

Do we have tried and true intro songs for certain bands?  Or do we choose the intro songs based on the person or crowd to whom we're making the introduction?

How do we make introductions?  One person at a time?  In cars?  Over email?  On mixes?  In groups?  In the background at parties?  Obviously and purposefully?  At full volume in the dark?

And, most importantly, what compels us to make the introductions?  Love, right?

...

This is one of the songs that I've used to introduce people to Phish. 

I'm not fanatical about Phish.  I've never been to a concert.  I've never participated in the world of bootleg recordings.  I've never told anyone they're my favorite band. 

But I do think they're brilliant.  I adore their music.  I think way too many people get turned off by the intensity of their following and don't give them a chance.  And I think Waste knocks people's guard down.

Waste is track 3 on Billy Breathes.

Waste by Phish  
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Filed under  //   bridge songs   mixtapes   music   music introductions   phish  

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Two Dimensions Are Better Than One

Safely distant in Beijing, I heard whispers from the States in the summer of 2006 that the cool kids had come to a consensus.  They'd decided that all rock and roll lies somewhere along the U2-Radiohead continuum

U2 is a pole.  Radiohead is a pole.  Every other band or musician, emotionally, walks somewhere on the tightrope in between. 

Summer 2006 happens to have been the time the Crash Test Dummies finally clicked for me.  And, cool kids or no cool kids, Crash Test Dummies do not live on that line.

And nor do Ween.  Or Tenacious D.  Or Phish.  Or the Talking Heads.

I'm pretty sure the cool kids now consider summer 2006 the distant and unenlightened past, but, just in case, Just Shoot Me, Baby.

  
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Filed under  //   china   crash test dummies   music   phish   radiohead   talking heads   tenacious d   u2   ween   what the cool kids are doing  

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