I’d Walk to Hell and Back to See You Smile
In Memory of Mark Linkous
Some People Just Don’t Deserve To Go To Jail
From News of the Weird:
A News of the Weird Classic (May 1998)
Ronnie Darnell Bell, 30, was arrested in Dallas in February 1998 and charged with attempting to rob the Federal Reserve Bank. (In the 1995 movie “Die Hard With a Vengeance,” knocking off the New York Fed required a small army of men and truckloads of weapons.) According to police, Bell was initially confused because there are no tellers, and so handed a security guard his note, reading, “This is a bank robbery of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, of Dallas, Texas, give me all the money. Thank you, Ronnie Darnell Bell.” The guard pushed a silent alarm while an oblivious Bell chatted amiably, revealing that only minutes earlier he had tried to rob a Postal Service office, but that, “They threw me out.” [Dallas Morning News, 2-27-98]
The Killer
I think we’re lost, don’t worry
I’ve been here before
I’m sure I thought I knew the way
Out of here yesterday
Dove cuesto, mi dolce?
Your driver called, it’s time to go
Your driver’s waiting for you
And I caught a fever, a holy fire
‘Til I was crawling on the ceiling
Come out of your hole
I know you know
You know I know
I wanna go
Such a pretty thing, I’ve never seen
Someone so perfectly deceive
I loved her smile
And her beguiling way with me
She smelled exciting, I wanted some
Your drivers’ gone like everybody
And that’s why I need ya
To catch on fire
I want you to burn me til I feel it
I know you know which way to go
I want you to show me
So I can steal it
Where should we go?
Where should we go?
I know you know that I’m
Gonna need it
I know you know which way to go
I know you know
I wanna go
- The Twilight Singers
A Totally New Year
You tattoo the failures on,
On to your length of arm
They may run wrist to shoulder blade
Whether my badges of
Honor you lost in love
Savin’ the tale of the child that failed for another day
This will be a totally new year
Don’t let the pouring rain
Temper your day-by-day
Don’t let the bones the closet may hold
Get in the way
After a long dark night
Bathe in the morning light
Then take your return
The lesson you learned
You’ll get it right
This is where we begin
Feels like an ending
Say it with no pretense
I’m tired of pretending
You know that life won’t wait
You’ll have to make your move
The choices you make, every awful mistake
Will try to define you
This will be a totally new year
- Matt Pryor
We’ll Miss You, Jennifer Gale
Jennifer Gale, 1960-2008
Austin City Council meetings and mayoral races will never be the same. She was a true character, one that you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else but Austin. The first time Megan and I came across Jennifer was while we were watching the Austin Music Network back in 2004. They were playing Christmas music videos and they showed a clip of Jennifer singing at a City Council meeting, much like the clip below. We were immediately confounded, amazed, and smitten. Bye, Jennifer, and thanks for making the world a more interesting place.
Bloggin’ Time
So I’ve got this fancy Facebook app that lets me post my blog on my profile page. I’ll bet you are impressed.
2008: A Great Year for Music — or The Greatest?
Every December I try and sum up all of the great albums that have been released during the previous year, but I usually lose motivation and the deed goes undone. Not this year. Here is my Best of 2008 list, filled mostly by my tried-and-true favorite bands and musicians, so it isn’t really that much of a Best of but rather a My Favorites of kind of list. There are a few up-and-comers in there, though. Also, you can count this post as a tribute to Amazon Downloads, which is superior to iTunes in pretty much every way, including better prices, no DRM anywhere, and easier preview sampling (although Amazon doesn’t have Stephen Colbert’s Holiday Special Soundtrack). Enjoy.
American Music Club: The Golden Age
The Bittersweets: Goodnight, San Francisco
The Cribs: Men’s Needs, Women’s Needs, Whatever
Crooked Fingers: Forfeit / Fortune
Caithlin De Marrais: My Magic City
Kathleen Edwards: Asking for Flowers
Greg Dulli: Live at Triple Door
Headlights: Some Racing, Some Stopping
Jolie Holland: The Living and the Dead
Damien Jurado: Caught in the Trees
Longwave: Secrets are Sinister
The Raveonettes: Lust Lust Lust
Reggie & The Full Effect: Last Stop: Crappy Town
The Terrible Twos: Jerzy the Giant
Holy Diver!
I’m pretty sure that “…he should find a better vending machine for his jewelry” is one of the best put-downs I’ve ever heard.
From The Smoking Gun:
Beaten Over Karaoke Performance
Cops: Wisconsin man battered singer over lousy heavy metal cover
NOVEMBER 12–Meet Kyle Drinkwine. The Wisconsin man, 24, allegedly became so incensed by a lackluster karaoke performance of a heavy metal song that he assaulted the singer and a second man, police charge. According to a River Falls Police Department report, Drinkwine throttled singer James Mischler, 28, and his friend Cyrus Kozub, 29, “over one’s ability to sing karaoke.” Though cops did not specify which song set Drinkwine off last week, Kozub told TSG that Mischler was performing “Holy Diver,” the title cut on Dio’s 1983 debut album (the band is fronted by Ronnie James Dio, the former Black Sabbath lead singer). [In a subsequent interview, Mischler told TSG that when Drinkwine and some cronies started heckling him, he responded with a putdown about the "big gaudy crucifix" worn by Drinkwine. "I told him he should find a better vending machine for his jewelry," Mischler recalled, adding that the comment angered the heckler, who himself had earlier performed an Eminem song. Mischler said he was concerned about reports claiming that he did a mocking version of "Holy Diver." "I genuinely love Ronnie James Dio," he said.] Following the assaults, police apprehended Drinkwine after a short foot chase. A subsequent Breathalyzer test recorded his blood alcohol content at .169, more than twice the state limit. Drinkwine was booked into the Pierce County Jail on battery and disorderly conduct counts. He is pictured below in a November 7 mug shot snapped in neighboring St. Croix County, where he was charged with violating probation on a prior case. Though Drinkwine declined to speak with cops following his arrest, an officer overheard him, during a jail phone call, tell a friend he “fucked up” and was arrested for fighting. This is the second time in 15 months that a karaoke singer has been attacked over their song styling. Last August, a Washington man was punched by a female bar patron who thought his cover of “Yellow,” a Coldplay song, “really sucked.”
