Thematic Spin for Today

"Get me outta here!"

FIRE! the pinball machine from Williams is one of my favorite pinball tables. It was my introduction to learning the rules of pinball, rather than just trying to stay alive and keep the ball from the drain. There are "missions" to accomplish to further the story of the game. This was new to me when I encountered this table at the Lion's Lair in the early 1990s. Also attrative to me was the idea that I could compete against my pals and if they weren't there I could practice and possibly learn something before them. I played FIRE! last week, there isn't one near me so I only get to play it once a year at the Pinball Showdown here in Denver. It's different than most tables from a layout perspective as it's symmetrical (not typical in pinball) and has no pop bumpers (the round bits that jump the ball around when they are touched). For these reasons it gets a lot of criticism from the pinball community, the artwork and theme seem to keep it popular but as far as the layout and play it gets roasted. The table is unforgiving, there is not an easy shot on the table and the pop up fire hydrant is intermitent and based on hitting shots around the center post. There is an audio warning when it drops, but if you're playing out the noise of the bar can obscure this. The big shot in the game is after locking two balls the firemen raise the ladder to the window in the center to "save" the balls trapped in the burning buildings and achieve multiball. It's not a terribly deep game as far as rules go and multible is really as far as you can go but it very fun when you can hit it.

In a whole lot of nothing you got up and went

Friday spinning and working from home. I know every lyric on this record.

Oh, has the world changed, or have I changed?

Spinning Friday morning.

I Ain't Your Average Punk Rock Loser

The new Viagra Boys has some gems on it, "Punk Rock Loser" is just fantastic. Druggie, Stooges-esque, blurry and poetic.

"I'm drenched in sweat when I wake up, need to hang up my sheets Pour up a beer and walk out with my shoes on my feet And I don't need nobody tell me how to dress I look in the mirror saying, "Man, you're the best" And I'm sorry, honey, but I gotta confess Don't give a fuck about you, I could really care less"

Life in Streetwear

Pixel lent me the Bobby Hundreds book - "This is Not a TShirt" and I just finished it. As casual fan of the Hundreds, I have a couple tshirts and some sneakers from them. I thought it was a pretty good read. I'm too old really to rock streetwear these days but I was there in the beginning and follow it a bit from time to time. If the book followed a more linear path on Bobby's journey I think it would have read better, but it's cool to hear how he built it up and some of his thoughts. He doesn't take himself too serious and I especially liked that. I liked the 1/2 book cover but the typography of This is Not a TShirt is kinda odd?

Love Letters

Now that we're middle aged and hurting. I watched all the Jeff Grosso Love Letters to skateboarding when they were new and now I'm watching them again. Some I've seen several times. Like the Style episode with Duane Peters. Grosso - "what makes a good skateboarder to you?" Peters - "Style and Agression". Yep. Perfect answer, there isn't a better answer. These shows are such fun to watch, it reminds me of the old days. Grosso talks like me. I wish I could have met the guy, would have been great to skate with him or just hang out on a couch for an afternoon. He perfectly sums up how I feel about skateboarding. There are rules, there are important things, there are things that should not be done in the name of skateboarding.

The Bear

I love shows about restaurants. I like some cooking shows too but restaurant shows are better. The Bear on HULU right now is fantastic. High stress, well written, well acted. My family is from Joliet and are White Sox fans not Cub fans, I like how is this lightly shown in the show. Of course I hate Cubs fans. ;) They did a nice job on the soundtrack too, there's some boners of course but I'd say 70% to the good. Trainspotting in the finale episode, the donut chef is rocking an Off-White tshirt.

Jerusalem

I got the new SLEEP Dopesmoker box set last week and it really is over the top. I have a previous version on Southern Lord and it's fantastic too but this ThirdMan version is on another level. My ears are pretty shot, I'm old, and have stood next to too many bands over the years. In spite of that I can hear differences in this pressing. The box set is 4 12" records with printed sleeves on both sides, a 7" radio edit, 2 posters, patch, a description card of what's included and of course the box to house them in, all pressed on marbled green vinyl. Everything Third Man Records that I have picked up has been the finest made, the attention to detail, the quality of the vinyl, the printing, all the extras. Jack White and his team are second to none and are the standard in which to follow.

It's called work

Some days are rougher than others eh? yeah. One of my favorite lyrics of all time and I've got a lot of favorites....... is from Gang Starr's track Full Clip - "How many times I told ya, play your position small soldier" For many years I have had this written on a slip of paper and I taped it to my laptop. It's important for me to remember. I can't control everything and it's wise to keep that top of mind.

Versus the Automaton

High on Fire post yesterday and then this waiting for me when I got home. Thanks to my letter carrier. It's cool muddy brown and blue vinyl. On my first listen right now. It's sounding good and if you're familiar you know the sound. Tone monster. Came with a cool poster insert and some stickers, gatefold, 180g.

Maybe just that kind of day

I just want to go home and listen to High on Fire. When's the last time you listened to Death is This Communion?

Realities of War

One of the most iconic record covers. Discharge - Realities of War. February 1980. Photographer took a pic of the band but the singer didn't want his face on the record so he turned around. They cropped the photo and here's the cover. How many kids did up jackets after seeing this. And the music was ferocious.

Damnation of the deer

Saw Fontaines D.C. on Monday night at the Ogden Theater. Good show, they were tight. The guitar player switched guitars every single song, his tech was running the whole night. No hello's or anything, straight gig in a small town feel, but they played well. Rythym guitar looked a lot like Strummer and the singer had an Ian Curtis thing going on. The crowd was surprisingly mostly close to my age.... heh. Older for sure. I'm only once through the new record but it's

like the more serious tone of Hero's Death rather than Dogrel. Sounding closer to the Murder Capital and Iceage I think. Moody and dark, so right up my alley.

Holey Moley

Well, I for one love the stupid TV Show Holey Moley. Mini golf, silly double entendres, and generaly goofiness. I am also a Muppets fan, mostly for the nostalgia aspect of being a kid and seeing them live on TV when I was young. However the new season of Holey Moley deviates from this pattern, no dumb jokes and all my Muppets voices are dead (I am assuming). The "new" Muppets seem to be souless shadows of days past, and that's OK. But the two should not be married, what a poor decision from the network.

Fear of the Dawn

I can't say enough about the new Jack White record it's fantastic. I've only been a casual fan since the White Stripes broke up. The record is next level. Killer power pop, but I hear elements of dub, the Beatles, hip hop, sampling(William S. Burroughs), scratching, a theremin is used. The percussion work from Daru Jones is astounding. Check some of his live playing on youtube, so fun to watch.

The Gangs Solves Global Warming

Last night I caught the Always Sunny episode where the gang solves Global Warming. So damn good. Season 14 Episode 7. The Gang plans to profit from global warming by pumping up the A/C so people will congregate at Paddy's and save energy at home.

Whoa, is this thing on?

It's only been 8+ years since I posted. Since Facebook and Twitter are not really the best places to share what I'm interested in I'm considering going back to this joint for some self expression.