16 Horsepower

Server issue should be sorted out within an hour

2006-01-16T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just got off the phone with my host. There are some problems with the server my site is being hosted on. It's got some bug in it off of an upgrade they're doing though they say the rest of their servers are running fine.

Hopefully the Southern Gent will be up and running shortly.

Argghh

2006-01-15T01:08:00.000-05:00

Frustration. I spring for my own domain and now my site has crashed out.

Hmmm, hopefully Eccentric Southern Gentleman will be back online soon.

Just wanted to let y'all know it still exists, we're just having problems at the moment.

Nico

A new home....

2005-11-28T23:22:00.000-05:00

I finally decided to spring for my own domain, so 16 Horsepower the blogspot blog is giving way to Eccentric Southern Gentleman. I just wanted some more features and little more flexibility.

For those of you that link to me, PLEASE update the links on your site so the occasional reader via your site will know where to find me! Thanks a million!

Ushpizin

2005-11-28T16:12:00.000-05:00

Went to my favorite movie theater on earth yesterday, The Enzian, to watch Ushpizin, an Israeli film about a poor Orthodox Jewish couple (Moshe and Mali) preparing for Succoth and all of the difficulties they face once the holiday begins. "Ushpizin" means "holy guests" and the couple's holiday is turned upside down by two unexpected visitors from Moshe's wild, secular past. It won the "Best Picture" and "Best Actor" awards from the 2004 Israeli Film Academy awards. Truly a fantastic movie. One of the best I've seen in quite a while.

A Tribute to George Best

2005-11-27T00:52:00.000-05:00

Soccer legend George Best died on Friday. He was 59 years old. Best, who gained fame playing for Manchester United was one of the sport's most entertaining stars both on and off the field.

Here's a clip of George in action from late in his career playing for the San Jose Earthquakes in the NASL. Truly one of the most amazing individual efforts I've ever seen.

Thanks to Michael K. for the video.

Book roundup

2005-11-26T01:10:00.000-05:00

I finished several books in the last few weeks and most of them are worth mentioning.

Lovesick Blues: The Life of Hank Williams by Paul Hemphill
Excellent biography of one of Alabama's most famous sons. Hemphill is a native Alabamian and he skillfully weaves personal recollections of growing up during Williams' meteoric rise into the biography. An interesting and riveting way to chronicle someone's life. Highly recommended

Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Nonfiction account of life in Savannah that centers around a famous murder trial for a 1981 shooting that gripped the small Georgia city. Berendt, a writer working in New York had made Savannah his second home and came to know many of its eccentric citizens personally, including those involved in the shooting. The book has been described as "lyrical nonfiction" and that's about the best way to describe it because it reads like a novel eventhough it's nonfiction. Highly recommended.

Spiritual Florida by Mauricio Herreros
Guide book to spiritual places in Florida and a few more scattered in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. About 80% of the entries are in Florida. Includes everything from Greek Orthodox monasteries to Thai Buddhist monastaries to a 12th century Spanish monastery that was disassembled in Spain and shipped to Miami to be reassembled. Some of it isn't particularly interesting because it just tells about retreat centers that are available. The monastery listings and historic cathedrals are quite interesting and I've found about 10-15 places in the book I'd like to visit. One of them, the St. Photios Shrine in St. Augustine, I've already been to.

Time and Man by Georgios I. Mantzaridis
Complex philosophical/theological book dealing with time and man's relationship to it. Only about 100 pages, but it's a real mind-melter. Good stuff though.

A Quiet Room by Jakushitsu
The poetry of a 14th Century Japanese Zen Buddhist monk. Some of it was totally lost on me due to my not having a great knowledge of Zen theology/cosmology, but a decent portion of it was stuff that anyone could latch onto and understand. It was okay, I wouldn't recommend it though.

Made/Remade vol. 9 - "Toxic"

2005-11-25T07:01:00.000-05:00

Volume 9 of Made/Remade features Britney Spears vs. Bluegrass.

Mrs. Spears released a truly good song (I cringe to type that) last year with "Toxic." There, I said it. Yes, I really like the song. It's catchy as can be and is a nice little guilty pleasure song.

Imagine my delight last week when Nickel Creek broke the song out at the concert in Charleston, but arranged for mandolin, acoustic guitar, fiddle and upright bass. Interestingly, Chris Thile takes vocal duties instead of Sara Watkins. This particular version is from the Cleveland House of Blues. Just Google "Nickel Creek Toxic MP3" and you'll find a few sites that have it for download.)

Britney Spears - "Toxic" (purchase here)

Nickel Creek - "Toxic" (not commercially available)

The Flaming Lips - The Fearless Freaks

2005-11-24T10:59:00.000-05:00

The Flaming Lips' popularity is one of those things about music that just totally baffles me. There's truly no accounting for taste.

Now that we've firmly established the fact that I don't like their music, I do have to say they seem like really interesting people and it seems like they'd be a lot of fun to see in concert...and probably pretty fun to hang out with (most of the time.)

The Fearless Freaks isn't a concert movie, it is a documentary and follows them around from their humble Oklahoma beginnings to their international tours with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tool. All the while, they've truly "kept it real" and continue to live in the same rundown Oklahoma City neighborhood they were born into.

As is the problem with most movies these days, it's too long. Not that I have a short attention span (the three and a half hour Andrei Rublev is one of my favorite movies), it's just that too much is thrown in. There seems to be little ability to self-edit. They should've totally done away with the half hour or so following the movie making ambitions of the Flaming Lips. That was terribly boring.

The whole reason I'm even making an entire lengthy post about having watched this is that one of the band members got hooked on heroin for about five or six years. They actually film the guy cooking up a hit of smack and explaining how he's shot all of his money and possessions into his veins and that he literally owns nothing. He even sold his musical equipment to the band and didn't own his own gear. We're (thankfully) spared the visual of him actually sticking himself, but they do show his long search for a vein to stick. Immediately after he'd shot up, they start filming again. The guy is so twitchy, freaky and creepy. This is what they need to show in drug prevention advertisements, not the corny things they show now. Everybody in the room was completely revulsed and I think it would produce that reaction in 99.9% of the populace. I can't believe they let that in there, but I guess they were going for the brutal truth.

AOTW: Nickel Creek: Why Should the Fire Die?

2005-11-22T23:51:00.000-05:00

Nickel Creek have finally found their own voice on record with Why Should the Fire Die? Their two previous records were produced by Alison Krauss and the sound of her band more than rubbed off.

Why Should the Fire Die? is lyrically and musically more mature than their previous efforts and focuses primarily on themes of love and relationships gone sour. Mandolin player and bandleader Chris Thile handles the majority of the songwriting duties and that's a good thing because his abilities as a writer far surpass that of his bandmates, Sean Watkins and Sara Watkins (brother & sister.) I also like how the songs sometimes sound more innocent than their lyrical content. The contrast is interesting.

I've included four tracks off of the fourteen track disc. If you don't listen to them all, at least check out "Helena" and "Why Should the Fire Die?" Two very different tracks that'll give you a feel for the variety they bring to the table.

"Helena": A song about being in multiple relationships when not everyone involved is aware of all of the circumstances. It's a pretty bitter, angst ridden song that grows from placid to furious both lyrically and musically as the song progresses (well as furious as a mandolin, fiddle, upright bass and an acoustic guitar can be.)

"When in Rome": A song about the status quo, fear thinking, keeping up with the Joneses and living under the expectations of others.

"Can't Complain": A song that's brutal in its assesment of some relationships gone wrong. I love the line "I guess we just kidnapped each others minds."

"Why Should the Fire Die?": The title track and the song that closes the disc asks the question why should (or does) the spark in a relationship die? It's a sparse, longing number that really sews the album up nicely. It's one of my favorite tracks off of the disc.

"Helena"

"When in Rome"

"Can't Complain"

"Why Should The Fire Die?"

Disclaimer to the big, bad label types that may stumble across this: These tracks aren't downloadable and they will be removed seven days after they're posted.

Made/Remade vol. 8 - "The Mercy Seat"

2005-11-21T17:42:00.000-05:00

Volume 8 of Made/Unmade switches things around a bit and finds an older, more established artist covering the music of someone a generation younger than him.

In Johnny Cash's later career, he gained a whole new audience by covering a lot of songs by younger artists, one of these was Australia's Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.

The versions are vastly different, but both excellent.

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - "The Mercy Seat" (1988) (purchase here)

Johnny Cash - "The Mercy Seat" (2000) (purchase here)

Disclaimer to the big, bad label types that may stumble across this: These tracks aren't downloadable and they will be removed seven days after they're posted. Additionally, I've posted links where you can purchase the work.

The day after...and a look ahead to '06

2005-11-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

A new bumper sticker being sold in Auburn

There aren't even words to convey the disappointment I feel over this football season. Alabama is 9-2 for the regular season, but it's a bitter pill to swallow.

Yes, it's hard to describe 9-2 as "bitter" when coming off of 6-6 and 4-7 seasons, but it's true. With my hindsight finely tuned to 20/20, the accomplishments this season were actually quite few. Beating the snot out of South Carolina and Florida was nice, but the million close calls really tell the tale, especially since the two big wins came early.

After the Prothro injury, I figured the Ole Miss and Tennessee games to be abberrations in terms of offensive production. In fact, they were the first signs of the rule that we would experience for the rest of the season. After putting up only 3 offensive points on Mississippi State (combined with the injury to center J.B. Closner), the results of the LSU and Auburn games were foregone conclusions. Amazingly we forced LSU to overtime, and incredibly pulled to within 10 of Auburn so those perusing the history books one day will think it was much closer than the reality that those of us watching it live saw.

Let's look back to some of the other wins and and you'll see there's not much to smile about. 6-3 over Tennessee? Sure, we finally broke their painfully long streak, but it was a pathetic performance. The Mississippi State game was a clinic in inept offense (even Murray State scored an offensive touchdown against them.) Utah State was the ugliest, most frustrating 32 point victory in the history of the sport. Even pre-hurt Prothro, we had a way too close game with Arkansas. Heck, the three western division teams we beat only had nine wins combined, which is as many as Auburn and LSU individually.

The game against Auburn yesterday was one of only two times that I can think of in 29 years of fandom that I was ashamed to call myself a fan of the team (the other being the gutless and pathetic 2004 performance against South Carolina.) If you can't get up for Auburn and a probable trip to the BCS, how dare you put on that crimson jersey. Why did Shula and Rader keep throwing on third and long after it was painfully obvious to everyone on earth that we couldn't combat their pash rush? It would've been better to just down it that to lose 8-10 yards. Actually, after the fourth sack in three sets of downs, I wanted Shula to punt on the next first down to embarrass the offense and to flip the field.

The positive note about those close games is that we won most of them, unlike the last few years where you could guarantee blowing a close lead. That's something I guess, but we still can't seal the deal in overtime. However, there is still a long way to go until "Bama Is Back" as Sports Illustrated so boldly proclaimed on the cover after the trouncing of Florida.

Hopefully John Parker Wilson can step up and give us what we haven't had in a long time, true offensive firepower. However, if the last few games are any indication, JPW's going to be getting his school paid for by getting knocked on his his ass all day for 12 Saturdays in the fall. Will a new great defense emerge with all of these guys graduating? What solutions will there be to the seemingly insurmountable offensive problems?

In the end, our 9-2 is likely one of the weakest 9-2 records to ever go down in the SEC. We only beat two teams with winning records (Florida & South Carolina), it'll be three if Southern Miss beats Tulane next week. So, we won 7 games we were supposed to win, and the two more "contestable" games we won were against coaches in their first year at the program. What about next year with trips to Knoxville, Gainesville and Baton Rouge? Do we have a response to Bradon Cox and Jamarcus Russell next year (speaking of which, how did we let that Alabamian go to the bayou?)

Perhaps I'm just frustrated by the fact that one can go 9-2 in the SEC and still finish third in the division, but that's the reality. Perhaps I'm just frustrated because Bama fans are raised to expect 10 win season every year with victories over Auburn, Tennessee and LSU.

Coach Shula, can you find the answers in the off season? Was the 2005 season a fluke? I support you and don't want to be a fan that's trigger happy to fire coaches, but we need proof that this wasn't a one time thing. We need to beat Auburn, we need to beat LSU, we need to beat Tennessee. We need an SEC Championship...and that can't happen unless we beat LSU and Auburn. There's 7 or 8 games on next year's schedule that we should win. Show us that you can win the ones you should and some of the ones you shouldn't. We thank you for turning our ship around out of nearly impossible circumstances. I don't even count your first season. I don't even factor that season into your win-loss total as a head coach. The 6-6 season was a good start. 9-2 is a vast improvement, but it looks kind of rickety in the end. Take us where we want to be.

Charleston, SC: Part 3 of 3

2005-11-19T07:33:00.000-05:00

The trip to Charleston was a short one. Tuesday would be our last full day there. We heard on Monday about them blowing up the Pearman Bridge over the Cooper River and we rearranged our day so we could see that. I've always wanted to see some large scale destruction, but haven't been lucky enough to do so. I remember they were going to blow up a building in Birmingham once but couldn't because of the asbestos in it.

We heard the best vantage point would be on the flight deck of the USS Yorktown at Patriot's Point so that's where we went. They reduced admission to the warship to $5 for the demolition, so it seemed like a pretty good deal.

Closeup of the USS Yorktown

Once on the flight deck, we met a nice fellow from Pine Apple, Alabama that now lives in Charleston. He approached me because of the BAMA t-shirt I was wearing. It was nice to be able to chat about Alabama football with fellow Alabamian. Anyway, he showed us the best place to watch from, and sure enough, a few TV crews set up their cameras right by us. There's a great website about the demolition of the old bridges and the construction of the new bridge here.

Here are some amazing shots of the blast we witnessed. My dinky digital camera has this shot to offer:

We ended up being interviewed by one of the local channels and wound up on the five o'clock news Live 5 News (which we saw in our hotel as we were getting ready to go out later that evening.) Here's a streaming video of the bridge blowing up.

After the bridge demolition, we headed over to Boone Hall Plantation to view a slice of Civil War era living. There was a certain jarring dissonance about the place. While the grounds were magnificent, I just couldn't seperate them from their slaveholding past. They were magnificent and splendid precisely because of involuntary servitude. Touring the grounds was no big deal, but touring the slave cabins filled me with a whirlwind of emotions: sadness, anger, shock, ancestral guilt (though there's no evidence my ancestors ever had enough money to own slaves.)

Amazingly, 95% of the people there that day walked through the cabins in stark silence and when they did speak it was in the quietest of whispers. It was encouraging that there was no flippancy towards our nation's darkest days. Charging $14.50 admission and then another $5 to tour the entire grounds (it's several hundred acres) was a bit steep in my opinion. Eventhough the family that owns the plantation today (it is still a working farm) were never slave owners, the only reason people pay $15-$20 to tour their plantation is because of the Civil War and slavery. I seriously think they ought to be kicking in at least 10% of the admission fee to something like the United Negro College Fund.

Exterior of one of the nine original brick slave cabins remaining on the grounds. The roof, doors and shutters are not original though. The originals were destroyed in Hurricane Hugo in 1989. According to the guide, these cabins are vastly superior to the dorm quarters or the wooden cabins most slaves on Boone Hall Plantation had to live in.

Slave cabin interior. Two families (typically 8-16 people) usually lived in one of these tiny cabins.

We had lunch at the restaurant on the plantatioin, Serena's Kitchen (which is housed in the old cotton gin building) and I must say, it is some of the best food I've had in ages. Maybe it was because Central Florida is devoid of good Southern food, but everything we had was awesome: barbecued pork, fried chicken, slaw, squash, hush puppies, watermelon, pecan pie, cornbread.

Later that night, we went to go see Nickel Creek at the Charleston Music Hall. Great show. Much better than I expected. I was only familiar with one Nickel Creek album and liked it, but it was overproduced. I didn't figure their live show would have so much fire. Mandolin player Chris Thile is an absolute ninja and undoubtedly the driving force behind the band both musically and lyrically. They played the majority of their new album Why Should the Fire Die? and it is vastly superior to their previous records. They touched on their earlier material as well, but also played two of the most memorable covers I've heard in a while: "Nice Dream" by Radiohead and "Toxic" by Britney Spears. Amazingly, the mandolin and fiddle (and Thile's genius) elevate Mrs. Spears' tune into the realm of something I'd recommend to people. Her original is a case of good tune, poor arrangement. Fantastic show, they're still out on tour. Catch them if you can. Unfortunately, we were a mile up in the balcony, so the shots aren't too good. That, and flash photography was banned for the concert and my shutter speed is too slow in the dark to get a decent photo because it's hard to hold still for that long without a tripod.

Sara Watkins singing "Anthony."

Chris Thile rocking the mandolin full force.

After the show, we headed back to hotel to get some sleep for the drive the next day. We also wanted to hit the road early because we planned on spending a few hours in Savannah, GA on the way back.

Charleston, SC: Part 2 of 3

2005-11-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

Got up Monday morning and went for a walk around The Battery to look at houses we'll almost certainly never be able to afford. Some of them were built as early as 1670 and we came across a few that were owned at one point by people that signed the Declaration of Independence. The houses of many former governors were there as well.

I'm sure the waterfront view only makes it even more ridiculously expensive.

They love their porches in Charleston.

Had lunch at The Southend Brewery & Smokehouse. The food was okay, the microbrew I had was quite good.

After lunch, we headed out to Fort Sumter to see the starting point of the Civil War. Unfortunately, we went on the last tour of the day and had to hurry through the museum and didn't quite get to see it all. A tip for those who are planning to visit it: wear insect repellant. I got eaten alive out there as did everyone else. It was a good learning experience and I plan on another full post to recount some of the things I was thinking about out there. We also got to see a lot of dolphins swimming around the fort.

Inside Fort Sumter.

The gunners point of view.

For dinner that evening, we were in the mood for pizza and went to Andolini's, which was voted "Best New York Style Pizzeria" in several local publications. It was good and it was cheap. Oddly enough, it is owned by the same people as Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale. We unknowingly chose restaurants owned by the same people two nights in a row.

After dinner, we hit a bar on Bay Street and then called it a night.

Charleston, SC: Part 1 of 3

2005-11-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

The wife & I drove to Charleston, SC on Sunday. My mom flew down from Birmingham to stay with the little one so we could go. It took us forever to get there. It's supposed to be about a five and a half hour drive from Orlando, but took us over seven hours due to a multi-car wreck we encountered in Georgia. We almost got tagged ourselves. When we came upon the accident, it was around a curve with the view blocked by trees. We were sitting there, last in the line of backed up cars when we saw a tourbus speeding around the corner at us and we knew it wasn't going to be able to stop. I was sitting there bracing myself for a severe crash and what was likely going to result in a trip to the hospital for us when the bus swerved onto the shoulder to avoid hitting us. I'm very thankful to be able to typing this post today.

We pulled into Charleston about 7:30 p.m. and after checking into the hotel set out into downtown to hopefully find a bite to eat and a drink. We wound up on King Street, a street that made me feel undoubtedly back in the South. I liked Charleston immediately.

After walking a few blocks, we were immediately drawn into a certain establishment by its name. There was absolutely, positively, no way I could stumble upon a placed called Juanita Greenberg's Nacho Royale and not eat there. Destiny decided for us.

(photo courtesy of juanitagreenbergs.com)

The food was gringo-ized Mexican food, but pretty good. My wife had a burrito (which weighed 1 pound) and I had some quesadillas. Both accompanied our beers quite nicely. The decor of the place was really cool. They had some really neat furniture and light fixtures in the indoor part, and they also had a back patio that was kind of funky and rundown (but in a good way.) Orlando doesn't have places like this, and we were glad to find it.

By the time we cleared out of Juanita Greenberg's it was after 10:00 p.m. and things were definately winding down in Charleston on a Sunday night. That's just as well, we were tired from the drive, so we went back to the hotel and ordered up March of the Penguins on the in-room pay-per-view and then went to sleep.

Made/Remade vol. 7 - "Brokedown Palace"

2005-11-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

In 1970, the Grateful Dead shocked critics and fans alike by releasing an album of (mostly) acoustic, folksy music that was a far cry from the psychedelia they'd become known for. 35 years later, American Beauty is likely the only Grateful Dead album most people have heard.

"Brokedown Palace" is one of the underrated gems from that record, and in 2005, bluegrass-y/country-ish/folk artist Adrienne Young has breathed new life into this old classic on her new album The Art of Virtue. Her version melds with her style and the flow of the album and is strong enough that one could believe she wrote it. I think she's put a smile on Jerry Garcia's face with this one.

Grateful Dead - "Brokedown Palace" (1970) (purchase here)

Adrienne Young (2005) (purchase here)

I'm back

2005-11-16T22:29:00.000-05:00

I'm back from my three nights in Charleston, SC. I LOVE that town. LOVE it. Had a fantastic time. Stopped in Savannah, GA for about two hours on the way back. I also LOVE that town.

There is a lot to report from the trip and will post a full update tomorrow.

VACATION

2005-11-13T07:14:00.000-05:00

Just to let y'all know, I will be on vacation in Charleston, South Carolina from Sunday through Thursday.

See y'all in a few days...

The SEC Scenario Machine + some random soccer stuff

2005-11-12T09:27:00.000-05:00

Today is THE day as far as SEC football is concerned. There are still five teams that can win the SEC. In the west: Alabama, Auburn, LSU. In the East: Florida, Georgia.

I've cooked up all of the scenarios on what it would take for each of those teams to play in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta:

ALABAMA: Alabama needs to beat LSU. If they beat LSU and Georgia beats Auburn today, Alabama will clinch the west. If Alabama beats LSU and Auburn beats Georgia, next week's Alabama vs. Auburn game will determine the Western Division champion. If Alabama were to lose to LSU, they could still win the west if they beat Auburn and LSU lost to either Ole Miss or Arkansas.
AUBURN: Auburn must beat Georgia this week and needs Alabama to beat LSU. Then they need to beat Alabama next week.
FLORIDA: Has to beat South Carolina today and needs Auburn to beat Georgia today.
GEORGIA: Has to beat Auburn today.
LSU: Has to beat Alabama and then win out against Arkansas and Ole Miss.

...and people say the SEC is down this year? A 9-0 team ranked #3 in the BCS could conceivably finish third in its division with two games left. With three weekends left (though LSU is the only team with three games left), five teams could still win the conference, and that's making for a gut-wrenching finish. You know scenarios are weird when Auburn is having to pull for Alabama and Georgia fans are pulling for Spurrier.

The Crimson Tide offense needs to pull itself up by the bootstraps today and sort LSU out. LSU has won 3 of the last five meetings at Bryant-Denny and we need to reclaim our house.

Roll Tide.

Two interesting soccer items on the menu today:

United States at Scotland. Live on the Fox Soccer Channel (11 a.m. Eastern) - I Always enjoy watching the Red, White & Blue play. This game is a friendly (exhibition), but it will test our ability to win in Europe, something we've had a hard time doing.
Bahrain at Trinidad & Tobago. Fox Soccer Channel (5:30 p.m. Eastern) - This is an odd game to draw attention to, but it's a playoff for a World Cup spot between an Asian team and CONCACAF team. Since Trinidad is a fellow CONCACAF member, I really want them to succeed. Their success could help CONCACAF's 3.5 World Cup berths transform into four berths. Anything that's good for the USA. Not only that, I've met a decent bit of folks from Trinidad while living in Orlando and they've been cool across the board. Go Soca Warriors!

Cheering the Soca Warriors on to victory!

Made/Remade vol. 6 - "Tainted Love"

2005-11-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

I decided to pick another song that there are multiple covers of for this Made/Remade.

This one probably wouldn't have come about as it wasn't one I was planning on doing. However, a few weeks ago, a friend and I were in a late night dive eating about 2 a.m. and heard the original Gloria Jones version. I had no idea that Soft Cell's version wasn't the original.

Oddly enough, that was appropriate as last week's Out of 5 was titled They Got It Right The First Time, and was basically about songs that are known through later (and in their opinion, inferior) cover versions. They seem to have exceeded their bandwidth for the month, but False 45th has a commentary on it worth reading and that's where I actually rememberd to check the Out of 5 site.

I definately agree with this one, as Soft Cell's version is pretty lame. I thought that was the original though and was glad to know that there's an earlier, better version available.

The third version is quite different from the other two and its Marilyn Manson's version which was recorded for the Not Another Teen Movie soundtrack. It's not as good as the original, but is much better than Soft Cell's.

Lastly, we have The Pussycat Dolls, a current dance music act. There were several more versions that I read about, but these four were the only ones distinct enough to merit inclusion (of the ones I could actually find.)

17 years seperate the first two versions, 20 years seperate the second and third versions and four years between the third and fourth versions. I was surprised so many different people had tackled this song. So, without any further buildup....

Gloria Jones - "Tainted Love" (1964) (purchase here)

Soft Cell - "Tainted Love" (1981) (purchase here)

Marilyn Manson - "Tainted Love" (2001) (purchase here)

The Pussycat Dolls - "Tainted Love" (2005) (purchase here)

Disclaimer to the big, bad label types that may stumble across this: These tracks aren't downloadable and they will be removed seven days after they're posted. Additionally, I've posted links where you can purchase the work.

...and it came from Botswana

2005-11-11T00:31:00.000-05:00

Ever since I signed up for a variety of web traffic stat counters, I've taken great interest in where the hits were coming from more than any other provided statistic. I've gotten hits from a ton of different countries and from five of the six inhabited continents. I've been monitoring now for several months, but had still not received a hit from Africa.

This bothered me for two reasons: 1) Because I'm nerdy and selfish and want to be able to claim a fully global audience and 2) It makes me realize even more how Africa is completely screwed when it comes to global technologies.

However, I got my first hit from Africa today, from the country of Botswana. The search string revealed they were searching for info about Dipsy Selowane, the Botswanan soccer player that plays for their national team, but plays his club ball in Major League Soccer (and has played for Real Salt Lake and the Chicago Fire.)

A picture I took of Dipsy at a spring training game against DC United in Bradenton, Florida

I figured the first African hit would've come from South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt or Kenya. Botswana would've been way down on the prediction list. I'm also glad it came via someone searching for something that was actually there instead of getting a bad hit. Glad I could provide something they were possibly looking for. Hopefully they enjoyed the anecdote I recounted about me telling Dipsy he was missed by Chicago fans.

The list has grown considerably from the first time I posted it about 3 weeks ago. 31 countries had logged a visit at that time. There've been 14 new countries added bringing the total to 45.

Here's a list by continent (new additions are bolded):

Africa (1): Botswana

Asia (9): China, India, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Oman, Philippines, South Korea, United Arab Emirates

Australia/Oceania (1): Australia

Europe (25): Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

North America/Central America/Caribbean (5): Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico (not a country, but not a state either), Trinidad & Tobago, United States

South America (4): Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia

AOTW: Trey Anstasio: Shine

2005-11-10T16:00:00.000-05:00

Shine is Trey Anastasio's first post-Phish solo album. He has released four solo discs prior to this one (One Man's Trash, Trey Anastasio, Seis De Mayo and the live album Plasma), but this one is in a direction away from Phish and his previous solo material.

Shine seems like a statement from an artist known for one thing saying, "No no no. There's more to me than that."

The last few Phish albums occasionally hinted at songwriting this simple, but never was there an entire album like this. These songs are intentionally not weird, not quirky, not complex and not long (only one song over five minutes, the majority are under four minutes.) The cover of Shine is deceptive with its guitar god pose. Anastasio never once goes off like he was known to do in Phish. Only the occasional bit of Phish pops up in a song like "Come As Melody," otherwise, we're into new turf.

As a long time Phish fan, this disc was a bit jarring for me at first, which is peculiar considering it's his least musically adventurous. However, simplifying things for him is adventurous. It's taken several listens to grow on me because it plays against all expectations. However, he does pop well and this just shows another side of his versatile musical personality. I might add that I'm not one of these people that likes something just because someone from Phish plays on it. Members of Phish have released some dreadful side projects.

Here's four tunes off of the new disc. I don't think they're necessarily the best four, but four that showcase how different his approach is on this disc. The last song, "Shine" is the first single off of the disc and they even made a video for it (which is an oddity for Phish related things.) I look forward to hearing more of what Trey has up his sleeve.

"Love That Breaks All Lines"

"Invisible"

"Black"

"Shine"

Disclaimer to the big, bad label types that may stumble across this: These tracks aren't downloadable and they will be removed seven days after they're posted. I'm just trying to pimp some records and artists that I dig and hopefully you'll realize that since I posted links where you can purchase the work.

Nobody Knows

2005-11-09T22:46:00.000-05:00

Nobody Knows - A mother abandons her four children (all by different fathers) in a Tokyo apartment. She'd left them alone for days at a time before so the oldest, 12 year-old Akira knew how to take care of them. The mom would periodically send money, but otherwise, they were left to fend for themselves.

Needless to say, it's a pretty somber affair and gets downright horrifically sad at times. Even worse, it's based on a true story, one that shocked Japan. It's particulary jarring for me, a new parent. I just can't imagine doing this to children. Unbelievable. The movie picked up a ton of accolades on the film festival circuit, including Cannes.

The United States and Cultural Imperialsim: External & Internal

2005-11-08T13:14:00.000-05:00

Over the past few years, I've noticed an ever increasing trend in other countries wanting to put a ban on American holidays.

Valentine's Day has drawn the ire of the Saudi government and of Hindu nationalists in India. The day also have very outspoken opponents in Pakistan as well.

Recently, there were anti-Halloween protests across Central Europe and some parts of Eastern Europe about the influx of this "American" holiday (which actually has Irish/British origins.) I'm sure the protests are levelled at the commercial aspect of it, which is undoubtedly American. These protests weren't religiously oriented like a lot of anti-Halloween stuff, they were anti-American.

On the one hand, I say to myself, "let people do what they want to do, who are these governments to determine what people do or don't celebrate?" On the other hand though, I see where some of these protestors are coming from. The widespread consummerism of American holidays is something I'd like to see brought to a halt within our own borders, so I understand the motive behind others not wanting it unleashed on their countries.

Seeing these Halloween and Valentine's stories every year from other countries made me think about the cultural imperialism within our own border. Christmas is the primary holiday that this internal imperialism occurs with. Now that Christmas decorations go up the day after Halloween (I remember when they'd wait at least until after Thanksgiving or until Dec. 1) it has become even more apparent to me why these other countries don't want this type of thing invading their cultures.

First, the whole consummerism side of the coin just cheapens whatever's being celebrated. Secondly, and more important, a lot of times, it's just ridiculous that it's being imported at all, because there's little to no cultural context for them.

The second point is my main argument about "internal cultural imperialsim." I live in Florida and saw displays in the grocery store a few days ago for Christmas candies that had snowmen, snowflakes, sleds, etc. on them. That's downright riduculous. It's 84 degrees today. Much of the the United States will never have a "white Christmas" we'll never go "dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh" nor are we roasting any chestnuts on open fires given that it's pushing 90 degrees. It just seems absurd to me that portions of the country where snow and cold winter weather aren't a part of the lifestyle would embrace these notions of Christmas. These songs came from the northeast, where that is a part of their cultural reality and that's fine, it just doesn't make sense down here and I feel even more the target of holiday marketing seeing snowy advertisements in Florida.

Is it bad to sing these songs or to have snowflake displays in the grocery? No, it isn't, but it doesn't make any sense either. Around that time of year, I will likely attend the The Capital One Bowl and The Champs Sports Bowl and will be in shorts and a t-shirt like I was last year.

I don't think any of this cultural importation/exportation is malicious (except from those that are making money off of it), but most of it just doesn't make sense. It's awkward and ill-fitting.

If the profit aspect was removed I'm sure those in Saudi Arabia and India wouldn't have a problem (or would have less of a problem) with people expressing their love for one another, because Valentine's Day is also a day to express love between parent and child, love between siblings, etc. I'm sure their issue is more the cards, candy, balloons, Victoria's Secret aspect of things. The same holds true for me with the "winter wonderland" type of songs and stuff. If people from the north want to celebrate and rememeber their old homes that way, that's fine, just don't market snowmen to me when I could comfortably be in the pool or at the beach.

It's not so much the cultural imperialism that's the problem, it's the economic imperialism. The holidays aren't cheapened just for those they're being exported to, they're also cheapened for those whom they originated with. Shame on those companies for exploiting the holidays, and shame on us for buying into it.

Made/Remade vol. 5 - "Ain't No Sunshine"

2005-11-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

This edition of Made/Remade is the first to feature multiple covers. I'll be presenting Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" as well as cover versions by reggae singer Horace Andy and a dark version of the tune by Woven Hand (which is basically the solo project of David Eugene Edwards, formerly of Sixteen Horsepower.)

I'm not going to ramble on about them this time, I'll just let the music do the talking:

Bill Withers - "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971) (purchase here)

Horace Andy - "Ain't No Sunshine" (1973) (purchase here)

Woven Hand - "Ain't No Sunshine" (2003) (purchase here)

Disclaimer to the big, bad label types that may stumble across this: These tracks aren't downloadable and they will be removed seven days after they're posted. I'm just trying to pimp some records and artists that I dig and hopefully you'll realize that since I posted links where you can purchase the works.

Evil Evil Evil

2005-11-06T13:48:00.000-05:00

The new AP poll is out. Only the Top 4 interests me:

1 Southern California
2 Texas
3 Miami (Fla.)
4 Alabama

So, Miami jumps Alabama from #5 to #3 because Miami beat the #3 team?

Apparently being undefeated in the SEC is completely irrelevant these days in the hunt for the National Championship (just ask Auburn!) Miami, who has a loss to Florida State (who has losses to unranked Virginia and unranked North Carolina State) should go ahead? It certainly isn't because of their out of conference schedule (Temple, South Florida, Colorado) eventhough Alabama's is weaker. Miami goes ahead because of beating the always overrated Virginia Tech.

Thanks for nothing guys.