March 22, 2004
So that explains it...
I don't know why I read this stuff. Here's the quote of the day, from Wilson Bryan Key, Media Sexploitation:
The question of who is saying what to whom in rock music is one of the most intriguing aspects of lyric symbology. Ostensibly, boy vocalists dominate the industry and often appear to be singing to girls - possibly the ones who might reasonably be the marketing targets. But this would seem to leave the boy audience out in the cold. In fact, both girls and boys identify with the vocalist, however, suggesting something far more complex and devious is involved.The boy singer does not aim his lyrics directly at the gum-chewing, vacant-eyed teeny-boppers. This would invite disaster at the record shops. The singers and their lyric writers often project their sentimentality at the singer's mother - a symbolic subliminal identification. The girl record buyers can then unconsciously identify with their hero's mother, whom their hero worships and loves. The boy record buyers support the records as they unconsciously perceive the singer suffering the same maternal rejections they believe themselves to have suffered. They have no reason, therefore, for jealousy or envy when girlfriends boost the record...
The designation "baby," as used in popular music, is often a direct maternal reference. The euphemism for mother, sung by a quivering, immature male voice... is frequently at the bottom of a song's financial success... The formula is proven and successful. Dad, of course, is totally ignored in this matriarchal game...
Folk Music: the anti-drug
Here are those east coast solo dates. (People who have attended this thing in the past will notice it's a much shorter list than usual-- the reasons for this are too boring to go into. It's sad that we won't be doing two NY shows this time, but we'll just have to make the one at the Living Room count, won't we?)
All shows are with Lesbian folk heroine Phranc, Ian Brennan, and others. Note that the Cambridge, Mass. experience includes John Waters. I opened for his one-man lecture-show last year at the Trocadero in Philadelphia, to the bewilderment, I guess, of his fans. OK, I was pretty nervous and probably didn't do all that well. Still it was great fun. He's a really nice guy, just as funny as you might imagine.
(Also, don't forget the MTX (w/Groovie Ghoulies, Helper Monkeys and Riff Randalls) at the Boardwalk in Orangevale, Friday March 26.)
See ya there.
Wednesday, April 28..............PHILADELPHIA North Star 8-11 PM $8Thursday, April 29.......WASHINGTON, DC Velvet Lounge
9PM-Midnight
915 U Street NW (202) 462-3213
www.velvetloungedc.com
21 and over
$10
Friday, April 30....................... PROVIDENCE, RI AS220 (matinee)
9PM-MIDNIGHT
11 Empire (401) 831-9327 www.as220.org
all-ages
$8Saturday, May 1........................BOSTON All Asia Cafe
6-10 PM
344 Mass Ave., Cambridge (617) 661-0993
all-ages
$10
followed by John Waters at MIDNIGHT.
Sunday, May 2.......................NEW YORK Living Room
8PM-1AM
84 Stanton (212) 533-7237 www.livingroomny.com
all-ages
FREE
March 18, 2004
Performance Anxiety
We're playing on Friday March 26 at the Boardwalk in Orangevale (near Sacramento) with the Groovie Ghoulies, the Helper Monkeys and the Riff Randalls. All ages. 8pm. Should be a fun night.
There are also a couple of southern California shows in the works for the second weekend in April. Details soon.
Also, I'm going to be doing a few solo shows in the northeast in late April/early May, as part of that west coast singer-songwriter thing I've done for the last few years. I'll post the details as soon as I get them. If I can get my act together in time, I may try to throw together another CDR of demos (along the lines of "eight little songs") to commemorate the occasion. Email requests as usual.
TAQN
Glad to see the trolls have largely cleared out of the comments routine. I haven't posted for the last week because I'm still in the process of depressurizing, getting used to "normal" life. Plus I haven't been able to think of anything of interest to say. That situation will probably change. Right now, though, I still feel almost exactly like a mildly-sedated, autistic chimp, or rather, as I imagine a m.-s. a. c. might feel in my situation. And I *still* have that blasted east coast cold, too.
I finally saw The Passion of the Christ. Just now. It was an intense, deeply moving experience for me, as it turns out. More or less to my surprise. I may have more to say about it later, if I can get my mind around it any time soon. But for now I retreat again to be alone with my thoughts.