Month: November 2018

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Things I Will Keep #9: BOBBIE GENTRY, Local Gentry

Bobbie Gentry
Local Gentry
1968, Capitol Records

As a man whose life is a perpetual mess, I’m drawn to things that are neat and tidy. There’s a memorable anecdote in Anthony Bourdain’s book Kitchen Confidential in which the young Bourdain, still learning the ropes of the restaurant life, witnesses a head chef jump on a line cook’s ass for keeping a dirty work area. The chef points out the refuse and splattered sauce everywhere and tells the guy “That’s what the inside of your head looks like now. Work clean”.

“A messy station equals a messy mind,” Bourdain goes on to clarify.

I couldn’t agree more. In some of the most misguided times in my life, I was also a giant slob. Messy car, messy home. A sloth with no discipline. My surroundings reflected that. Your home and the space where you work are mirrors of your own mind. If it’s fucked up, you’re fucked up. Take the time to clean and organize and, in my experience, your mental clarity benefits as a result.

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Don’t Go Shopping on Thanksgiving Day

I’m ashamed to say that I did that very thing two years ago. Best Buy had some Blu-rays and some computer bullshit that I wanted and that were all drastically marked down for their big Satanic sale that started at 5 PM on Thanksgiving. What would have normally cost me $800 instead amounted to about $6.95 at the big sale, I calculated.

So, I did bad. I made the villainous decision. I sold out one of my country’s most important holidays. I danced with the devil by the pale moonlight. I went to Best Buy on Thanksgiving evening.

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Robert Pollard-Mania! #17: CRYING YOUR KNIFE AWAY

Guided by Voices
Crying Your Knife Away
1994, Lo-Fi Recordings

I’ve been writing about Guided by Voices in 1994 for four months. What the fuck is wrong with me?

Anyway, that year they put out five, six, or maybe even seven records depending how you’re counting the 7″s. In fact, there’s one record from this year that I, Mr. Fanboy Weirdo himself, don’t have: a split single on Anyway Records with Belreve. The GBV side is “Always Crush Me”, a song that turned up the next year on Alien Lanes, so I don’t feel much urgency to get it though I’d certainly buy it if I ran across it at a good price.

In any case, I think we here at The Constant Bleeder have this crazy year’s output covered well enough.

And now, a party…

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Robert Pollard-Mania! #16: I AM A SCIENTIST

Guided by Voices
I Am a Scientist EP
1994, Scat Records

“I Am a Scientist” is Robert Pollard’s mission statement. If you’re confused by his voluminous output, his five albums a year, and his thousands of songs, just put on “I Am a Scientist” because it explains it all in plain language and with a perfect pop melody that soothes savage beasts. Gun to my head, it’s the definitive Guided by Voices song.

This EP offers a different, hi-fi take on in it. It’s a different version than one on Bee Thousand, but it’s still on the rough side. The band recorded it live in the studio with old school punk rocker Andy Shernoff working the knobs, and it naturally reflects the way the band played the song on stage. It’s louder and more driving, shined-up just enough for mainstream radio, but not obnoxious in the slightest. It still serves the melody. It does what it should do.

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A Ramble About the Unfortunate End of FILMSTRUCK

Internet streaming of movies is one of the best bad ideas of the current age.

On the surface, it’s amazing. It’s convenient as all fuck. It doesn’t get more convenient. You can sit in your living room, drunk, stark naked, at 3 AM on Thanksgiving Day, and punch up a movie on your TV. You don’t have to look for a credit card. You don’t have to pay for everything that you watch. If you don’t like something, you can ditch it and look for something else at no extra charge. Doesn’t matter. It’s a buffet. It’s the perfect thing for our 21st century fucking lazy asses.

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