No Weimar Reason

Posted on December 30, 2024 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

As the year changes and we face new challenges that try our beliefs and norms I can’t help but look back in history. I do this a lot. Maybe it’s because I am a relic or maybe it is because I read a lot of nonfiction. it could even be all the history classes I had.

Anyway, as I pondered this more, I realized how much time I’ve been spending reading about and soaking up the popular culture of the early 20th century Germany. I am referring to the crushing economic hardship of the time but more of the ambitious artistic and cultural stuff coming out then.

I had no real idea how much I had deep dived into Weimar Republic films and art until my friend mentioned this to me at the Hi-Pointe Theatre. For those who don’t know the era refers to the period from 1919 to 1933 when German was bustling with artistic expression. The Bauhaus, Expressionism, and booming film and theater scenes marked the era. Much like 1920s America, Germany at that time was roaring. However, it all came crashing down with the Great Depression and the rise of the Nazis.

This adventure started for me with The Man Who Laughs. I was browsing the library catalog of movies and remembered that The Joker from Batman was loosely based on Conrad Veidt’s appearance in the film.

Released in 1928, the film is filled with alienation and urban uneasiness. Just like 1920’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the film featured surreal sets and relied jeavily on atmosphere to set the tone. Veidt is the doomed Gwynplaine who has a permanent grin carved into his face at a young age by a Comprachico surgeon. Needless to say his life sucks. I had not seen it before so I checked it out.

The Man Who Laughs is a lot of things. It is a film about overcoming isolation, class and overcoming societal ridicule. Veidt is stunning the film. Released in 1928, It was based on the 1869 novel of the same by Victor Hugo.

Like other films of this time coming out of Weimar Germany, The Man Who Laughs has left a mark over century later. The movie’s legacy is its striking visual style, impact on horror films and comic book genres.

About a week later the Hi-Pointe featured a new print of Metropolis with a live score from the Silent Night. It was fantastic. The band’s score was not only atmospheric and sweepingly orchestral but alos klangly and metallic.

While this 1927 film remains incomplete, scholars have been able to piece a large chunk together with narrative cards. The missing footage was barely noticeable and was not a detractor in enjoying it.

Fritz Lang’s film remains a feast. His work at UFA helped usher in a golden age of cinemas for the German studio. Metropolis takes place in a futuristic dystopian city where the working class lives in grim conditions beneath the city, while the elite enjoy a lavish life above. It explores themes of class division, industrialization, and the relationship between workers and machines. Fritz Lang’s masterpiece also focuses on the rise of technology and its potential use for good and evil.

The St. Louis International Film Festival screened Nosferatu With Radiohead: A Silents Synced Film which matched up the German Expressionist film with Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac as the movie’s score.

It was pretty jarring to see these two things put together. it didn’t make much sense, but hey, why the Hell not? There were times when the songs worked and a few times when the linking up didn’t work. But there were also times when it did, and those times were magnificent. Overall, it was an enjoyable experience. Although, I prefer the version I saw ages ago it with the Alloy Orchestra.

The idea came from a theater owner in Austin, Texas who has since mashed up other silent films with modern alternative albums.

Moving on into the real world…

I saw The Brutalist. It’s a very good film that could have been about 20 minutes shorter. The first half definitely dominates as the latter part of the movie drags a bit. The cinematography is outstanding. This film was basically architecture porn.

A Complete Unknown was pretty fantastic. I know everyone is a buzz about Chalamet as Dylan, but for me, Edward Norton turn as Pete Seeger made the film.

The entire ensemble was great. There’s not a loose bolt in the batch. Every performance is really good. This is also one of those rare times when the people playing musicians in the film actually perform the songs in a realistic manner.

What I mean is this – the actors play musicians as well as they act – this means you aren’t left feeling that the acting was good but the music sucked.

I thought the movie was also nicely paced as well. It begins in 1961 with Dylan coming to New York. This is a nice jumping off point since it helps frame the film in the audience’s mind without getting bogged down with useless montages or biographical prefaces.

I saw the 4k restoration of The Seven Samurai. It was fantastic. In case you missed it – it is coming to the Alamo Brewhouse on January 10th, 12th and 15th.

The movie still holds up. The sound is also fantastic. They really did a great job on this.

Next up on my 4K restoration lineup is Le Samourai. I got the Criterion blu-ray of this (yes I sill like physical media-so shoot me). This is a fantastic film and the restored print is gorgeous.

This 1967 French crime thriller, directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, stars Alain Delon (who passed away this year) as a solitary hitman in Paris who is hired to kill a man. But, but things go sideways after the crime is committed.

I love how sleek and minimalist the movie is. I also love its themes of isolation play into a modern riff on the Samurai code. This is must see French noir.

The latest season of The Great British Bake Off (aka The Great British Baking Show) has ended. Although there is no way I could actually make any of this stuff I do enjoy the show. It’s kind of relaxing. This season had a really solid core of bakers that were likable. There was a doofus American guy who quit but that’s another story.

I started watching Fallout with no knowledge of the video game. But it was fine becuase the show has it’s own legs.

It’s not for the squeamish, but the style of it and retro ’50s kitsch it incorporates into the narrative is pretty impressive. It is every bit worth the hype.

Since people have been bugging me. Here’s my top 20 records of this year! I put them in alphabetical order.

1. Arab Strap– I’m Totally Fine With It Don’t Give a Fuck Anymore (Rock Action)

2. The Cure-Songs Of A Lost World (Fiction/Capitol)

3. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds-Wild God (PIAS)

4. Erotic Secrets of Pompeii-Mondo Meleficum (Deaf Ending Collective)

5. Fontaines D.C.-Romance (XL Recordings)

6. Beth Gibbons-Lives Outgrown (Domino)

7. Kim Gordon-The Collective (Matador)

8. Hamish Hawk-A Firmer Hand (So Recordings)

9. Humdrum-Every Weather (Slumberland)

10. IDLES-Tangk (Partisan)

11. The Jesus And Mary Chain-Glasgow Eyes (Fuzzclub)

12. Khruangbin-A La Sala (Dead Oceans)

13. Pet Shop Boys-Nonetheless (Parlophone)

14. Jessica Pratt-Here In The Pitch (Mexican Summer)

15. The Reds, Pinks And Purples-Unwishing Well (Slumberland)

16. Ride-Interplay (Wichitaa)

17. SPRINTS-Letter To Self (City Slang)

18. The The-Ensoulment (EARmusic)

19. Yard Act-Where’s My Utopia? (Island)

20. Yea-Ming And The Rumours-I Can’t Have it All (Dandy Boy)

That new Cure album is fantastic!

Just a reminder that you can hear all these records and more on Juxtaposition on KDHX, The Free Design on The Face Radio and Antics on Louder Than War Radio.

Some Great Concerts I Saw This Year

Khruangbin (The Factory)

Black Pumas (Music at the Intersection)

Chaka Khan (Music at the Intersection)

Esperanza Spaulding (Music at the Intersection)

ABC (The Factory)

Iris Dement (City Winery)

Alvvays (The Pageant)

Squirrel Nut Zippers (City Winery)

Washed Out (Delmar Hall)

Franz Ferdinand (The Pageant)

Slowdive (The Pageant)

Buena Vista Social Orchestra (The Pageant)

Ladytron (Variety Playhouse Atlanta)

Jesus And Mary Chain (The Stifel)

The Cure (London – streaming)

Thievery Corporation (The Pageant)

The Talking Heads 77 reissue is pretty fantastic. The extra tracks are wonderful and the sound is amazing. There is also a full concert of included that sounds excellent.

I also really like the liner notes they included. The demos are also a nice inclusion as well.

The Federal Art Project exhibition at the St. Louis Art Museum is pretty great. It is there there through April.

I wish they would put the Modigliani back on display. It’s been touring for other exhibitions but it should be home by now.

One of my goals for this year was to read more each day. it has been terrific, especially late at night when I want to unwind. I am moving away from nonfiction since the world has gone bonkers and I cannot really handle more books on war, politics and totalitariani

Appliance News

There is not much going on in this department. However, there have been intermittent
issues with the pilot light on the stove. I’ve had to relight it several times over the last week or so.

I also have an air fryer. I look forward to doing some fun things with it in the coming weeks.

Home Improvement News

I got a nifty bankers lamp so now I can read in bed! There is also a new lamp in the living room since the old one was literally falling apart. I also threw out some crappy chairs that were literally on their last legs.

Every Damn Place I Like is Closing

The Fortune Teller, Frank And Helen’s, The London Tea Room, Pi Pizza and a lot of other great places closed this year. This is a reminder to support local businesses.

Is It Really Almost 2025?

As 2024 comes to a close I am still keeping my resolution to not deal with assclowns and stupid people. I am carrying a whole lot of angst about a lot of things into the new year but I have built a community of friends who I will focus on and I’ll do my best to make the world a better place.

I want to read more and get caught up on the hundreds of streaming tv shows that are out there. I also want to be optimistic but it’s hard when terrible people do terrible things each day.

I also need to get back out into the world and travel more. I have not t been to Chicago In ages.

There are loads of movies I need to see as well.

I am hoping that 2025 isn’t as dreadful as my foreboding intuition tells me it will be. I hope I am wrong.

Mope Springs Eternal

Posted on October 9, 2024 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

The dog days of summer have ended and autumn has hastily joined us. Sadly, the lazy, hazy days of summer included some pretty nasty storms. While the flooding in my neck of the woods was not awful, the high winds did knock some trees down. But what got to me was the humidity. I hate how cruddy you feel when it gets humid here in the big city.

But no matter the weather, I have spent time over the last few months mostly sequestered inside. This is mostly because I have had deadlines for outlets and radio shows to record for The Face Radio and Louder Than War Radio.

However, being mostly inside has made me mopey. It’s weird. I am a social person, but the stupidity of folks over the last few years has made me more secluded. There are a lot of dumb folks out there. So, rather than be around throngs of crowds, I am happy to stay in, have a sulk, some tea, and a book.

I have tried to remain upbeat. I have had an uptick in writing projects on my plate from Broadway World St. Louis, St. Louis Magazine, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I also had music and book stuff to write to. It’s been great getting some work from these outlets.

Theater season is in full swing. So, I am reviewing a lot of stuff as year winds down. St. Louis has so many independent theater companies doing amazing work. Please, go see a play!

I also wrote a bunch of opera reviews. I love writing those, but it sucks when the performances run exceedingly long. Mercifully, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis programmed a slate of productions this year that did not run over two and a half hours.

There is a lot of great music out right now, The The, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The The, Bug Club, Pixies and Cold Cave have all dropped new music. Here are some samplings.

I am beyond excited to hear the new album from The Cure.

On March 16th I saw The Dandy Warhols at Delmar Hall. They loved strobe lights. They were everywhere in their set. Dropping textured layers of feedback and psychedelia their set was tight. The band’s first stop here in seven years featured Not If You Were the Last Junkie on Earth, Godless, along with new jams like Summer of Hate and I’d Like To Help You With Your Problem. It was a good show.

The Slowdive concert at The Pageant on May 4th was a highlight of the spring. The band didn’t say much to the audience but didn’t need to.

They opened with Shanty and moved deeper into their catalog. Catch The Breeze was incredible as was Kisses, my favorite cut from their latest album. They closed with a textured and spacious cover of Syd Barrett’s Golden Hair that blew everyone away.

The band had never played here before and were clearly moved by the response they received. I last saw them in 1991 when they played a CMJ showcase with Blur.

Khruangbin played here on October 2nd and 3rd. I didn’t see them on the second night, but they were fantastic on the first one. From start to finish their set mesmerized.

Staged on a minimalist stage with video projections, they ripped through a tight set that featured a wide range of songs from their catalog, including Pon Pon, Les Petis Gris, A Love International, Shida, and May Ninth.

I expected them to be great, but they were astounding. It is a bummer that they played way the heck out in Chesterfield though. It would have been nice if they played closer to the city.

The return of Thievery Corporation on October 3rd was also a mesmeric night of music. The last time they played The Pageant was a fantastic night of music and this one also did not disappoint. They did a cool acoustic set featuring songs from Saudade. Lebanese Blonde was a personal highlight.

They adeptly mixed reggae, Brazilian, soul, and electronic vibes throughout the evening, creating a musical tapestry that had everyone energized.

Air streamed their Royal Albert Hall show. They played all of Moon Safari and a few other tracks. It was incredible.

Visually it was stunning. The modular set design really fit their musical aesthetic. They also did a great job of incorporating lights and projections. La Femme d’ argent, Remember and Ce matin-la were my favorites.

I hate Iron & Wine. They are boring.

More people need to use the word “gizmo.” It covers so many things.

I have started watching Zang Yimou’s films again. Most of them are not easily available on streaming services. Thankfully, the libraries here have a few of them. I saw 1991’s Raise the Red Lantern recently.

It had been over a decade since I saw it last. I knew Gong Li was terrific in it, but I forgot how great the entire ensemble was. Like his Fifth Generation compatriots, his films are gorgeous. The cinematography is fantastic. Zimou was a pretty big deal in the 1990s and early 2000s. There should be a proper remaster of his films, but the rights are in limbo.

I also saw The Outrun which stars Saoirse Ronan as Rona, a young woman who lived a rowdy life life on the edge in London. She’s a mess.

An alcoholic with a messed up family life, she returns to the wild beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands, where she grew up, hoping to heal. There she takes up a job working in isolated places. This allows her to reflect and heal.

It is a very intense film with beautiful shots of bleak and cold places, in the Orkneys. It’s a good vehicle for Ronan, whom I had not seen recently on film.

The 4K restoration of Seven Samurai screened at the Hi-Pointe. The new restoration is fantastic. They also cleaned up the score, so the music sounds incredible now.

The new print makes the battle sequences even more impressive. It feels more immersive than it has before. After 70 years this film is still great!

Farewell Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. I had so many late nights there. Each and everyone was a freak show. They served everyone. It was cool because when you went you had an amazing cross section of St. Louis. Punks, club kids, truckers, drag queens, drunks, burnouts, sports fans, any combination of which could show up for a meal. It was communal and awesome.

The food was not always the best, but the atmosphere was out of this world. Their pancakes were always fluffy and the bacon was never too crispy or bendy. They also had the best straight-up black coffee in town.

The attitude of folks there was also hilarious. The front-of-house staff just didn’t care. They were grumpy and took no flack from everyone. They hated split checks.

Until m y last visit I was not aware that it used to be a steak house and lounge run by the Cheshire in folks. Also, four of its owners were named Bill.

If you want some outside-of-the-box Halloween reading, try Ghosts, Monsters, and Demons of India by Rakesh Khanna and professional exorcist J. Furcifer Bhairav.

The illustrated book is packed with stories, folktales, and real-life tales of the underworld from all over India, including Ladakh, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Naraka , Tuchenkwaka, and more!

New Yorker cartoonist Ken Krimstein has authored a nifty new graphic novel about Albert Einstein’s time in Prague. Einstein in Kafkaland is set in 1911 as Einstein travels to the city to take up his new job as a professor of theoretical physics.

Teaching in the German section of what is now Charles University, Einstein has a lot going on. He has money issues, his family hates it there, and he must prove his theory of relativity. While in Prague, he crosses paths with a broad range of characters, including a young Franz Kafka.

Combining Krimstein’s unique illustrations with a clever narrative style, the book is a quick and informative read. You also don’t need to know much about physics to enjoy it.

The last season of The Bear was a nail biter. I did not like it as much as previous seasons, but I think it is still an amazing show.

I also watched Manhunt which is about John Wilkes Booth and his flight after he shoots Lincoln. The book was really good, the series is kind of meh. Tobias Menzies is good as Edwin Stanton, but he looks nothing like him in real life. The Secretary of War who hunted Booth had a serious beard and glasses. None of which we see onscreen. They also changed some things about Booth’s demise which bugged me.

Appliance News

A washer and dryer have mysteriously arrived in the basement. There is no clue as to whom they belong to, but so far, we have been able to do laundry without having to use any coins, which saves some money. Everyone has been chill about sharing it, and the landlord has not wigged out about using it. This is fantastic news, of course, because the coin-operated ones break all the bloody time.

An air fryer has arrived. It is an older model but it still works perfectly.

The biggest excitement however is the arrival of the ceiling fan. There has been a need for one forever, but it wasn’t until the centuries-old chandelier in the living room broke off from the ceiling that one game. Again, the property manager just said it was time to get one. Really, after a decade you decide this now? Anyway, the fan is pretty rad and it made a difference when it was super hot in the summer.

Fixture and Furniture News

The bathroom window was in sad shape. It had a hole in the frame and the wood was rotting. To repair it they built up around it. So now we can’t open the window. Plus, there have been issues with the new paint they put on it. The new pane is peeling off because they were stupid and didn’t use sealant. It has been two weeks since they came back again to work on it and so far everything is dry and not peeling.

A hinge on the vanity cabinet broke off and for a few days, the door was loose and wonky. The property overlord decided it was just better to get a new sink and vanity. This is a welcome relief. The only hassle is that they got a smaller one (24 inches instead of 30) so now there is some rearranging that is happening. While this experience has been a pain, the new facet is amazing.

The last bit of repairs (for now) was a step on the back stairwell. The stairs have been in sad shape for a while now. The black iron steps have had some rust eating away at them and subsequently, have been bolstered and reinforced over the last few years. But about two weeks ago the inevitable happened. One of the steps broke free from the foundation. Thus, the last rung of stairs is unusable. Luckily, the property manager had a contractor around who could fix it rather quickly.

I apologize for the long wait between posts. There is just so much out to see, hear and listen to. It is maddening. I cannot keep up.

When I set this up I was hoping to do it more frequently, but things keep popping up that keep me busy. I will endeavor to do better next time.

The World We Live In And Life In General

Posted on March 18, 2024 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

Spring is almost here! I know we did not have a massively harsh winter, but I look forward to warmer weather. While climate change is no joke, the warmer February and March have led to some great sunsets this month.

With the spring comes a lot of change! So much has happened since my last post. People have come and gone, some have disappointed, some have surprised, movies have come out, books have been read, a ton of music has been heard, and new places have been eaten at.

Life changes are weird and messy. I took a contract job near The Grove and I loved it. I worked with interesting professionals, did some meaningful marketing, got some serious writing done, and collaborated on interesting projects. I also loved being near The Grove during lunchtime. So many choices, especially the Gramophone sandwiches. My favorites are the Buffalo Soldier and the Crustacean Nation.

With this job, I got to explore all the stuff going on in Forest Park Southeast. Businesses are moving in and development is happening without kicking out residents. There is also some wonderful architecture in the neighborhood.

But change happens. After years of hustling and doing loads of contract work and various projects, I have accepted a marketing and communications writer position at Washington University. I am excited and terrified, but in the end, the stability will be great and the job perks are awesome. I also am enthused about collaborating with the same team for a long period. Plus, I will get to work remotely most of the time which I love.

I am thrilled to be shrinking my work load. I still will write for Broadway World St. Louis and FEAST Magazine, but beyond that, I will be cutting back.

I have accepted an offer to host a program on The Face Radio, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, but broadcasts globally. My show, The Free Design, airs on Mondays from 6-8 PM ET (5-7 PM CT) with a repeat on Tuesday mornings from 8-10 AM ET (7-9 PM CT). For this show I am still playing new music, older indie, electronica, and forgotten cuts. However, I am experimenting more with track selection and flow.

I also am still hosting Antics on Louder Than War Radio and (for now) my weekly in-town radio show here in St. Louis. While the situation there is insane, I have been moved by everyone who has asked me to say and commented on much having my show to listen to weekly means to them. Basically, it is a week by week situation.

While am not seeing as much theater as I would like, I loved the St. Louis Actors Studio production of Copenhagen. It was filled with angst and ethics and the ensemble was terrific. I saw Company and Funny Girl at The Fox. The former was just okay. It had a decent cast and everything but it just seemed a bit flat. Funny Girl was entertaining, its star Katerina McCrimmon, was astounding.

I also have spent the last few months catching up on television. In addition to my Star Trek The Next Generation rewatch, I have enjoyed the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The casting for that show how been well done and the stories are well written.

Masters of The Air has been terrific. I like WW2 history but find that a lot of tv shows based around it never really capture the scope of the conflict. This one does. It based on Donald L. Miller’s book about the the 100th Bomb Group, who conducted hazardous raids over Nazi Germany.

The drama is palpable thanks to a cast that includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Doctor Who himself, Ncuti Gatwa. I also like hw the show captures the tragedy of war through stunning cinematography.

Season two of Silo is coming. It is pretty darn dystopian, but the performances are worth checking out. The plot surrounds a community of 10,000 people who live in a heavily regulated society. The chief rule being, do not question authority or you will be made to leave the silo.

With 144 levels, there is a lot of room for creating stories and developing characters. love have the characters all have shades of grey to them. They live in a gritty world where asking questions can cause major problems. Unlike other dystopian shows, this one has more of a heartbeat in how it executes the realities of living in a suppressed society. I need to read the book series the program is based on (Wool, Shift, and Dust).

The Dune sequel was just as staggering as the first film. The second film finishes off the first book in the series and sets the table for Dune Messiah and Children Of Dune to make it to the screen.

Just like the first one, this Dune looks incredible. It’s basically a lot of sand with big open skies. but then, suddenly the action switches to darker, more claustrophobic places. I love the look and feel of the film. it feels like a natural continuation from the first film.

I have been reading a lot of Japanese fiction. Generally, a lot of the titles I have read are ideal for brisk reading. They also have stories with charm and humor and a hint or three of melancholy.

Convenience Store Woman is the current read. As someone who has worked in retail, I can relate to the perils Keiko goes through in the book. She is a free spirit who has problems handling the forced conformity and strictures that society places on both her professional and personal life.

Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days At The Morisaki Bookshop is set in Tokyo’s massive bookseller district (heaven). The book centers on Takako, a young woman whose happiness is upended after she learns that her boyfriend Hideaki, whom she expected to wed, announces he cheated on her and is marrying another woman.

From here she is in an emotional freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru asking her to help him run his bookshop.

Charming, and filled with rich characters, the novel (which now has a sequel), plays on common themes of change, self-discovery, work and family. But it reads lightly and is excellently paced. This is pretty fantastic.

A nonfiction title I have enjoyed is Hunting The Falcon by John Guy and Julia Fox, it is about the marriage of Anne Bolyn and King Henry VIII and how it shook the geopolitics of Europe at the time.

Also serving as a biography of both figures, the narrative plays out with intrigue. The event of Hank’s wedding to Anne happened during a perfect storm of politics, lust, and greed as all around jerk Henry VIII becomes hopelessly obsessed with Anne. As a result, he loses his damn mind in a quest to woo her. However, he underestimates how independent and intelligent she is. The book also spells out how their marriage is a tragedy that shaped how the Tudors ruled and were perceived afterwards.

The last few months have had a lot of great music dropping. I love the new IDLES album and the new Yard Act is swell too. However, I discovered SPRINTS by accident.

They are from Dublin and their recent shows have created a big buzz around them. The four piece have released their debut album, Letter To Self.

This may be my favorite song on the record. there’s a pretty grimy dirge going on here. it is pretty clear that singer Karla Chubb was working through some things when the album was being recorded. There is a ferociousness at work in her vocals.

There is also angst, rage and a desire to move on, even though it is hard. The guitars seer and the percussion is tight too, making the album pop from start to finish.

I am a little tired of television insurance ads. They are all equally dreadful. Nothing makes me want to activate my life insurance policy than watching the Liberturl Mutual commercials. Those ads kill braincells.

I don’t really care where Kate Middleton is. There are bigger issues in the world than the convalescence of some entitled person. But I love all the gonzo conspiracy theories. Those are bonkers.

In appliance and home repair news, the bathroom window has been repaired. There was a hole in the window frame. Now it needs a new coat of paint because our property manager didn’t use a waterproof variety and it all just wiped off.

In other happenings, the LED lighting in the kitchen went out. Fortunately, after a laborious search, replacement bulbs were found. There is also new motion-activated lighting in the carport.

Finally, the newish dishwasher our property manager got is smaller than the space allotted for it in the counter space. So, now, there is a goofy-looking gap between the top of the dishwasher and the bottom of the countertop. Some imbecile didn’t do any measuring for space.

I cannot believe how many people went to see The Eagles concert here. Nothing cries of a boring night out like going to see The Eagles. Except maybe seeing Kansas, Foreigner, or Journey. Clearly, I have stopped believing.

I guess Dave Wakeling has nothing to do in his life because The English Beat has come through town for like the 9th time in two years. Okay, we get it, you own the name now, that doesn’t mean you have to jump on every new wave ’80s tour that comes around. Get a hobby! I can make this complaint too, because I love The Beat.

The boojie section has arrived. I am sorry to say that I have rediscoved the joy of having a really good fountain pen with ink. My reasoning is that the writing just looks cooler, even with my terrible cursive handwriting, which is almost unreadable, I wish more people wrote in cursive.

Moving ahead I will try to be less of a simpleton and do more posts. The length of time between them is all on me. I’ve been busy with life stuff and dealing with people disappointing me. Not very fun shenanigans I am afraid. Before recent events ( like the new job), my life was like going to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house only have the joy shattered by the discovery that the roof leaks.

The Summer’s Is Gone The Winter’s Tuning Up

Posted on October 16, 2023 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

I totally borrowed the title from a Leonard Cohen song. Everyone should read and hear Leonard Cohen.

As the miserable heat of summer gives way to a brief autumn, people are beginning to go outside again. I am a little bit, but cautiously, because of… people.

I have been pretty busy. The blog has taken a back seat as I look for a steady gig and take on things to write about for more income. Plus, there is so much stuff to stream. The long and short of it is I am sorry to be so tardy with this.

This summer had a hot few months. Originally I was fine with that. After all, it is not snow or ice. The weird, colder spell in the middle is kind of weird, but also super nice. But now, there has been a break and it is not as muggy and nasty and crappy out. Hallelujah. That stretch of a week to ten days with the super high heat index was really a beast.

I am worried that our rather brief spring and summer means we may have a long winter. I do not want to see snow or sleet in the coming months. So, the seasons are a trade-off of sorts. All I know is I hate winter. And this year’s is supposed to be miserable. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, we are supposed to have a rough winter. Great.

Spring turned into summer and with those seasons came a sudden uptick in stuff I needed to do. I have had more articles to turn in and a few other projects have come down the pipeline. I am glad to be busy, but I am not thrilled with the arrival of the fall allergy season.

In addition to some articles for Broadway World, FEAST, and ReviewSTL I have been hosting a second radio show. It is called Antics and it airs on Louder Than War Radio on Mondays from 6-8 pm GMT or 12-2 pm Central time. Click here to listen to archived shows.

It differs from my other radio gig in that I do not need to run promo spots or reviews. It is more or less, a full two-hour slot of music. Plus, I can play longer music and make deeper dives into the songs I like. And there are less shenanigans to deal with. If you need a break from the station I also broadcast from, this is a nice reprive.

I also continue to co-host the Modern Musicology podcast. You should check it out, we’ve had some great guests on it.

Speaking of radio…Thirty years ago I was told by The Point that I didn’t know enough about music to be a DJ on their station. Well, looking back, most commercial alternative stations now are completely craptacular.

There has been so much music. I saw Sparks in Kansas City. They were terrific. This concert was fun and euphoric. However, I still think I liked their concert in Chicago last year more. it was more energetic.

In a weird chance of fate, I got an opportunity to review the Taylor Swift concert the night before. I was joined by over 80,000 other people. it was kind of surreal. I was only marginally familiar with her music, but I was really interested in the production itself. There were three connected stages, a massive video screen, lots of cool projections, elaborate sets, costume changes, and rising and lowering stages. It was a massive technical undertaking.

One takeaway from the show was how polite and nice her fanbase was. Another was the fact that she played for nearly four hours and showed no signs of fatigue.

A band that is buddies with T. Swift is The National. They dropped an album called, First Two Pages of Frankenstein. Now, they just dropped another album called Laugh Track.

First Two Pages of Frankenstein is solid, but Tropic Morning News is my favorite.

The album is pretty minimalist and it sounds just as intense as their previous records. Phoebe Bridgers and someone named Taylor Swift are on the album.

Laugh Track is more or less the same in texture and sound. The first batch of songs from it dropped a few weeks ago.

I like Space Invader a lot. I think it sounds like their older stuff. The guitars on it are also pretty good.

Louise Post used to be in Veruca Salt. Now, she has released an album called Sleepwalker.

I saw Veruca Salt open for that terrible band called Live once. I saw their set and then PJ Harvey’s and then left before Live went on stage. Recently, Louise toured for the record but it was a super short run.

Yard Act dropped The Trench Coat Museum a few months ago. It is simply epic.

Sounding like LCD Soundsystem and Gang of Four had a baby, this cut is deep. It’s got some really searing guitars, some bells, snazzy percussion, and a really sharp vocal delivery. I look forward to hearing what these guys do next.

In June I Saw Love and Rockets in Chicago. They were fantastic. They crushed it. I was really surprised by how tight their set was. They did play the hits but they also did some cool deep tracks and b-sides. At a time when everyone was doing a reunion tour, this one was really good.

The Theater Section

Opera Theatre St. Louis has come and gone for this year. I enjoyed the season immensely. I am looking forward to the upcoming season.

If you ever go to an Opera Theatre show make sure to people watch. The amount of 1970s polyester suits still in the wild is frightening.

I am seeing plays again. I am lucky that I get to review them, so if they are ghastly, I am not out any money. Nothing is worse than spending lots of money on rubbish theater. One of the best things about St. Louis that goes undervalued is our terrific theater scene. We have a lot of great companies doing terrific productions.

The best thing I saw in the Spring was the touring production of To Kill A Mockingbird with Richard Thomas. He was outstanding and the entire ensemble was terrific. I was pleased that it kept the spirit of the book. it is coming back to town next year.

I really enjoyed seeing Beetlejuice at the Fox. The show had a kinetic energy to it and the musical numbers were very good. It was a great opener for the Fox’s new season.

I am thrilled that The Phantom of the Opera has ended its run on Broadway. I know people love it, but I think it’s overhyped and tedious. It needed to be about a half-hour shorter. It just never did much for me.

I am thrilled that people are going to movies and live theater again. However, I wish they would remember that the time that is printed on that ticket they have is when things start. It is not an estimate or a five-minute alert. It’s the go time. But, somehow, there are always assclowns who come later. It is especially annoying when you have gotten all settled in your seat and then have to get up to accommodate some moron who has no time management skills. Oh, by the way, it’s really rude to come late.

Also when you come late and have to make everyone in the aisle move to accommodate you, don’t bring like 6000 things to carry with you. Especially snacks. And another thing…don’t talk during the show.

Let’s All Go To The Lobby

Party Girl is out on Blu-ray. This 1995 comedy starring Parker Posey and Liev Schreiber takes the spirit of comedies of the 1930s and puts it in 1990s New York club culture.

All these years later this is still a fine indie film. Ironically, it was filmed in Austin.

Trainspotting is getting a 4K restoration for a 2024 Criterion release!

This edition has a few new extras as well as stuff that was on the original Blu-ray release. There is also some sort of spinoff series with Robert Carlyle coming soon as well.

The new restoration of Stop Making Sense is fantastic. I had not seen the movie for maybe twenty years or so and was thrilled to see it has held up well as a concert film.

The restoration is fantastic. it looks and sounds amazing. Hearing it now in a theater with great audio really makes it a richer experience.

Seeing it now, I am reminded of just how great this band was. I saw them near the end when the were close to breaking up. They were good then, but nothing like this.

There is appliance news!

The black lining inside of the dishwasher was starting to come apart. I was going to buy some waterproof sealant and just that hold somebitch back into place. But, when I mentioned the issue to the property manager. She decided to get a new dishwasher instead. I was surprised because she is generally useless.

It should have been an easier process. But it wasn’t. The new one, probably bought from a second-hand place, was dropped off. The guy bringing it didn’t want to bring it inside. He wanted to leave it on the stoop and let me and my arthritic knee move it. But, eventually, he brought it in and I pushed the box into a corner. I had to do this because the person installing the dishwasher was coming the next day.

So, to make all of this work I had to move a bunch of appointments around. I wanted to be here when it got installed and not have the person alone in my apartment with it. Plus, I wanted to make sure the old one got removed and not left in my kitchen or outside somewhere where it would sit and rust.

The stupid thing is that the dishwasher we got doesn’t fill the entire space. So now there is a small cap between where the counter ends and the dishwasher starts. I am not quite sure how to fill it but it is a giant hassle.

Books!

First off, support your local library! help them fight the banning of books and be nice to their staff.

Probably the best music book I have read all year is Listening To The Music The Machines Make by Richard Evans.

It is a thorough examination of electronic music of the late 1970s and early 1980s. I am so glad someone else likes Telex as much as I do!

Nick Hornby is a fantastic writer. His latest book is a quick read.

In Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius, he finds parallels between the two artists and how they executed their craft. He doesn’t directly connect them to each other, which is fine, but he does fanboy about each and why their work continues to resonate and why it is vital.

His books are always well paced and this one is no exception. Told as a collection of essays, he touches on how common themes of social status, race, and education affected each artist.

Finally, people found a lot of things to blame the Cardinals’ crappy season on. I think it is the flurry of “He Gets Us” Jesus commercials. I will say this, these things are slick. They really try to draw folks in some seriously unsuspecting ways.

I think the commercials are really annoying and I think that they should not be on TV or radio. I mean, people of other faiths listen and watch baseball games.

But overall, this campaign is insipid, stupid and diabolical.

We’re Gonna Make It After All

Posted on December 27, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

Citizens, I have a bunch of other stuff to put out into the world, but since that would maske this entry way too long I have decided to make it a separate post.

We took a trip to Minneapolis in October. I had never been there and was pretty excited. The first observation I noticed was how painfully efficient their airport was. It was easy to ge around and was laid out in a pretty practical manner. There was some great public art and lots of natural light. Another thing I noticed is that the city is really clean. I mean no one litters and you just don’t see stuff lying around.

On the downside, it is not a city known for good restaurants. There are some yes, but it’s not like Atlanta or Chicago or Nashville. And people go downtown to eat. They have an entire block of restaurants, but sadly, a lot of them are kind of touristy.

Somehow, we got there during the brief window when it’s not painfully cold. The weather was in the 60s and 70s and sunny. Because it gets so cold a lot of building downtown are connected by Skyway, the world’s largest interlinked collection of enclosed pedestrian footbridges (The Replacements wrote a song about it). They are pretty incredible.

It is interesting to see a city where the urban planning has been thought out and appear to run efficiently. Another weird thing is that the buses are clean and appear to be full often. From what I hear mass transit is not viewed with the stigma there that it has here or in other Midwest cities.

There are no slyscrpaers. It is nice. But, there is a lot of Brutalist architecture downtown. They love them some concrete there.There is also the art deco fabulousness of the Foshay Tower sprinkled in amongst some modern buildings.

One nice surprise was the American Swedish Institute which had some interesting art and a great cafe serving Swedish treats. On the day we went they hand a band from Sweden playing traditional Swedish music. it was pretty interesting.

I went to Electric Foetus, a vaunted record store there. They sell a selection of everything; movies, shirts, books, incense, stickers, and… music. While they had a good selection, it was curated mostly with recent releases. They didn’t have a deep catalog for a lot of artists. But, the staff was super friendly and the store is organized

The Minneapolis Institute of art (the MIA) has an incredible collection of Asian art. It has some wonderful Impressionist stuff to and a decent collection of modern work too

St. Paul is kind of weird. It’s filled with a lot of banking and corporate stuff. It’s very esoteric. However, it does have a few blocks of interesting older houses and small businesses. We wandered there to see the Charles Schulz sculptures. These are left over from the city-wide public art thing they did a while back where Peanuts characters were placed all over the city.

Ironically, Schulz didn’t love his time in Minneapolis St. Paul.

Another cool thing was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s house at Summit Terrace. It is nestled on a residential street and is pretty easy to miss if you are not looking for it. Part of a section of rowhouses, the home was owned by Fitzgerald’s parents. It is the residence where the author worked on This Side of Paradise in 1918 and 1919.

There also is an Upton Sinclair house a few blocks away,

Luckily, there were not many people at the Mary Tyler Moore statue, located on the corner of Nicollet and 7th Street. As far as likenesses go, it is not too shabby. The detail is pretty good. It is taller than I imagined.

If you want a decent view of the entire city. head over to the Guthrie Theater. Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, it has three separate theater spaces and a great observation deck that overlooks the riverfront. The view is terrific.

And because it is Minneapolis, a chunk of that area is indoors so folks can still see the city in the dead of winter.

We saw Vietgone, an amazing play there. If it tours be sure to see it.

Paisley Park is pretty far out in the suburbs but worth the trip. The tours vary in format but generally last about an hour. The biggest takeaway from the visit is that Prince was a hoarder. He saved everything. He has enough music in the vaults to release an album a year for a century. Plus, he saved thousands of performances, both visual and audio.

The tour takes you through his kitchen and common areas as well as several studios where you can see where he made music. The studios are retrofitted for needs. He had a small enclosed studio with a cement wall. Some are large, and some are small. One studio has a ping pong table. Prince loved him some ping-pong.

There is no photography allowed, and deviating from the tour gets you a stern lecture. In the end, you wind up in a massive performance space filled with his belongings and memorabilia. There are cars, guitars, the motorcycle from Purple Rain, costumes, pianos and so much more. It’s massive. The guy had over 3000 pairs of custom-made shoes alone and over 300 cars.

It is interesting just how much unreleased music Prince left behind. He clearly was a workaholic and a perfectionist. Despite his personality quirks he was clearly a genius.

If you want to get away from running around and enjoy the creative spirit of art visit the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. I would not go in the winter.

Located next to the Walker, the park has a wide range of sculptures to look at. Yes it is contemporary art, but none of it is too weird to alienate folks who just want to walk around casually or get fresh air.

Spread out over 11 acres, the park has plenty of walking space to explore. The colelction is impressive and also serves as a great conversation starter.

Cock (2013-2016) by Katharina Fritsch is pretty easy to see from anywhere nearby. It is bright. At 20 feet tall in height he placement on a big pedestal makes it stand tall.

Fritsch is a sculptor who uses everyday things as the subjects of her sculptures. She also incorporates mythology into her work.

Hephaestus (2013) by Matthew Monahan looks like something from a futuristic movie. His themes usually touch upon archaeology, philosophy, history, and literature. As a result the statuary and sculpture of ancient civilizations serve as a model for his work.

Here, the mask-like face and outstretched arm reach out to you. The personage is clearly proud and defiant.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Spoonbridge and Cherry 1985-1988. This is the centerpiece of the park. it’s pretty cool. The stem part of the piece is a mini fountain. If you visit the park this serves as a good place to get your bearings. I was surprised how big this piece is.

There are other cool works on display too. They have a Calder that is cool too.

Minneapolis also has a nifty Dylan Mural, some cool bookstores and a prolific scene. This is good because all of those make up for the sheer Hell that it is the Mall of America. That place is so massive it’s impossible to navigate. When we were there, it was amazing people watching with lots of freaks.

Then there is the overhead music. We heard “Just the Two of Us” and “We’ve Only Just Begun” and Bette Midler’s “The Rose.” It was like visiting a care home.

If you want to understand why Americans are so divided and so focused on materialism, visit here. It was a shopping hub forthe weird, vain, lonely and aimless. They also have an aquarium there. One has to wonder how good the animal care is there.

Going to the Mall of America is like stepping back in time. It reminded me of mid-80s and 1990s trips to Jamestown Mall or Crestwood Plaza. But on steroids. It’s a place you don’t need to go to, but you should just to have the experience.

While I was bummed out that I didn’t hear anyone with the accent until day 3, I was impressed by how nice folks were. But, do not be mistaken, the racial tension that came to light with the death of George Floyd is also noticeable. This is, ion many ways, a city grappling with the issues brought to light by his death.

I love going to new places and getting the pulse of the place. Travel is a great way to have new experiences, relax and learn a lot. I’m not sure why I never visited Minneapolis before. Listening to Prince, Husker Du and The Replacements, I felt like I knew the place. Yet, I was pleasantly surprised by it. I just wont visit in the winter.

And now…the Weather

Posted on October 8, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

Maybe it is just me but things seem pretty messed up. We are in the final quarter of the year already and it feels like things are just piling on. COVID, Monkeypox, the war in the Ukraine, women’s rights, drought, fires, civil rights, the Queen dying, and those endless Camp LeJune commercials. The strains of the world seem neverending. The entire year has just felt overwhelming. It’s not much of a surprise. After all, the last two have been rubbish as well.

With autumn here, I think about I Can’t Forget by Leonard Cohen

The summer’s almost gone
The winter’s tuning up
Yeah, the summer’s gone
But a lot goes on forever

I am not sure why, but I listen to more Leonard Cohen in the fall than any other time of year.

Despite the wonderful cool weather of late, the weather this year has also been really frustrating. Everything is goofy right now. Earlier this spring the weather was atrocious. It was insanely hot earlier in the year than normal. Then we got rain, rain and more rain before a nice stretch of weather. Then it got hot again before being nice out.

I hope winter is mild. I hate winter.

Things have not been heating up at the box office. Outside of the newest Marvel film or something interesting, there’s not a lot of great movies coming out. The Top Gun film has been around awhile and still looks stupid to me. I don’t get it.

I was pleasantly surprised with Elvis. I have never liked Baz Luhrmann films all that much but this one was pretty decent. The acting was terrific and the casting was pretty spot on. although his propensity for using contemporary music in historical films drives me nuts.

Growing up I knew a lot of people who loved Elvis. I never had to buy any of his albums because I knew so many other people who had them. Now that I am older I appreciate him more. I’m not sure he was an innovative music as Little Richard or his other contemporaries, but knowing how to put on a show really helped set him apart. I also think that if he didn’t scare the bejeepers out of ’50s America there would not have been such a fuss.

In August the Classic French Film Festival screened Amelie at Webster University. It made me miss Paris. I had not seen since maybe 2002 or 2003. I think it is still an odd and quirky film. The visuals are amazing and the movie has some very strange characters in it. Audrey Tautou is still perfect and I love everything that Dominique Pinon is in. He does these odd facial movements that really bring a little extra to his goofy characters.

Ray Liotta had the best voice ever. After he passed I watched Goodfellas again. It remains one of my favorite films.

He had a bunch of other cool roles, but beyond Goodfellas. I also liked him in Something Wild. He was pretty creepy in that. Early on, we got to see him work that intense stare he had. He was outstanding in that movie.

I did see Bullet Train. it was mindless fun styled in the vein of the Asian action films of the 1990s that I love. It also has a Knives Out vibe going on. Brad Pitt is nuanced in it which is great since the rest of the ensemble kills it. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is also great in it.

I know streaming services have some terrific stuff out, and there are a lot of choices, but I am old and still like the idea of going to movies. It still sucks that the Tivoli is out of commission. It is a crime to have a theater that is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places dark with no films being screened.

I also wish we had more choices for independent films. The Webster Film Series has been great and Silents, Please STL has done some cool things, but it’s a bummer when the Plaza Frontenac theater is the main player in town. It’s a fine facility, it just feels esoteric and it’s in a mall filled with snooty people. The Hi-Pointe is also great, but it only has two screens. However, the best deal in town may well be The Arkadin, which is doing a lot of really cool programming.

I am still catching up on my Marvel TV shows, but I did see Thor: Love and Thunder. It was a fun, escapist romp with some nods to 80s films. However, it had too many Guns N’ Roses songs in it.

I also saw Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris. The acting was terrific and it was a nice charming film. It is based on the 1958 novel by Paul Gallico and stars Lesley Manville.

It is a lot of fun. Mrs. Harris is a widowed cleaning lady whose attempts to get her own Christian Dior dress changes the lives of those she encounters.

The film has some nice comedic flourishes and features some wonderful acting from the ensemble. Isabelle Huppert is also terrific in it.

Over the last few months one of the bummers about watching Jeopardy! has been the sea of terrible political ads being run during commercial breaks. Never mind the tone, the production value of these is pretty bad. I also really am annoyed by the new Meineke ad where the guy speaks in a terrible German accent. it’s pretty lame and very insulting. Even if you are not German or German-American, you can’t help but be peeved by how terrible it is.

Luckily there is a new season of Jeopardy! and, for now, there are fewer political ads. But I am sure that will change in a few weeks.

Commercials Suck

And while I am at it, please fire the Liberty Mutual marketing department. They have created two campaigns that are annoying, There is the stupid one with people standing on camera with the Statue of Liberty behind them. None of them have been interesting and the people they have had in them are pretty underwhelming. The other campaign with the stupid emu guy is also hideous.

I also think that every local lawyer or car salesman should be barred from TV. They all talk like it is 1978 and they simply don’t understand the fact that people have no money right now.

It is this kind of nonsense that has made streaming services so popular. People do not like commercial breaks and they especially do not like them if they feel like they are being treated like a small child.

Some Music Stuff

Guy Chadwick’s The House of Love has released new music for the first time in nine years. The new album is called A State of Grace and feature the single, Clouds.

There is a short tour coming to the USA later in the year. I am impressed by how well his voice has held up.

I’ve been listening to the Panda Bear & Sonic Boom collaboration, Reset. The project came about when both artists shared their passion for ’60s pop.

The result is am elegant album that avoids revivalism in favor of excellent songwriting. Reset also benefits from some placed hooks that make the melodies catchier, especially Gettin’ to the Point.

Having seen the ticket prices for the next Depeche Mode tour I remain irritated by the amount of money being charged for live shows. it is scandalous. In addition to being uncomfortable, most of these large venues have terrible acoustics.

Appliance Related News

After months of delays, the lighting fixture in the computer room has been replaced. One of the downsides of living in an old building is that fixtures can be a nightmare to replace.

We also found a replacement bulb for one of the lights along the bathroom mirror. it too was a bit tricky to find.

Wear Black

On the positive side, it is cool black overcoat and boots weather. I am not opposed to cold weather, just the stuff that gets below freezing and brings snow and ice with it. There is a certain pleasant melancholy to autumn that is enjoyable. The leaves changing colors are also nice as well. The fall also means it is time to do more baking. There is also something therapeutic about baking.

I apologize for the simplistic rambling of this entry. I’ve been crazy busy over the last few months and I’ve been neglecting keeping this thing updated. I will try and fix all of that.

Note: During the time you read this over 700 commercials about Camp LeJune have aired on television.

June Swoon

Posted on June 28, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

Well, we’ve reached the halfway point of the year. June has been pretty awful so far. I really want the latter half of the year to be better. But, I’m not holding out a lot of hope.

Man, it’s been hot. I haven’t been going outside very much with all the ghastly weather. I basically am talking my walks super early, before the humidity and extreme heat kick in. What is weirder is that the few weeks before had lovely weather.

To make things even more fun, the allergies kicked in late last month. Joy. All I want is for there to be one season, either nasty hot or annoying allergy-ific spring. The back and forth is pretty annoying.

Top Gun is Stupid

People are all sugared up for the new Top Gun film. I could care less about Top Gun Maverick. I hated the first one. It was stupid, pointless, badly acted, and generally uninteresting. The new one appears to feed on all the flag-waving dumbed-down war porn nostalgia that got us here we are today. I am in the minority here, but it seems stupid and pointless to have a sequel in the first place. Also, it is pretty sad when Tom Cruise has to muscle his way into the Queen’s Jubilee to hawk his movie.

The interesting thing about movies like this is that it appears that nostalgia for films of the 1980s is underway. There is a Dirty Dancing sequel coming amongst other things. I think they are making another Gremlins movie too, and a sequel to Beetlejuice.

Speaking of the unrealistic, the new Downton Abbey film is out. This one had some charm and humor to it and felt like the tv series. It’s sad to watch rich people have their problems. Wait till the Great Depression hits them. It is interesting how the show takes on issues of classicism. Obviously, this is a well-off family, but they aren’t madly insane like others with their money.

Some Books

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how 2022 and 1922 are similar. Both were years with an economy that was slumping after a global pandemic. Both had nationalistic tumult. And each year was rich with innovation, creativity, and artistic achievement.

1922 was the year of the 19th Amendment, Nosferatu, Ulysses, and the dawn of the Roaring 20s. There was a lot going on. There was the finding of King Tut’s tomb, Einstein won the Nobel Prize and the Bauhaus was in full swing.

To wrap my head around what the world was like a century ago, I grabbed Constellation of Genius: 1922: Modernism Year One by Kevin Jackson. Following the year in chronological form, Jackson connects the events of that mad year into a concise volume.

In preparation for the dystopian chasm we are plunging into I picked up Sasha Fletcher’s novel, Be Here to Love Me at the End of the World.

Set in Brooklyn in a world that is frighteningly similar to the present, it’s a sublime story about falling in love as the world is tearing itself apart. Despite the sense of doom and gloom it is a surprisingly powerful read.

Some Music

Everything Was Beautiful by Spiritualized is definitely in my best-of-the-year albums. It’s pretty, tragic, sad, and shimmering all at once.

It’s the sound of hope after pain. Always Together With You starts sad and builds into this Phil Spector wall of sound that craters back into melancholy.

Every Spiritualized record is exquisite and this one is no exception. I love how elegiac it is. I love how it is almost a musical hallucination. There’s even a jet sound on it.

Skinty Fia from Fontaines D.C. is also pretty incredible. Every album they make takes them closer to being massive.

Grian Chatte’s lyrics and vocals are also getting better with each record.

This track is my favorite. I love the percussion on it and how it leads into a nice buzz of guitar sounds. I saw a virtual concert of theirs during the lockdown and it was pretty incredible. There was no audience but they still played their guts out.

From start to finish this entire album is great.

The Umbrellas are from Oakland. they have a real pop sensibility to them that makes their tunes perfectly catchy. They have a twee/C86 influence, however their songs do not sound like they are trapped in the mid 1980s.

In fact, their jangle pop gloriousness has a freshness all of its own. For me, Write It In the Sky is the song of the summer so far. It’s so catchy and perfect.

I saw Kraftwerk last month. It was absolutely incredible. The sound was perfect. The onscreen backing visuals were in 3D and did not disappoint.

They also did a fantastic job of balancing their setlist with a blend of their popular tracks and fan favorites. They played for almost two hours and did not miss a beat And they brought robots!

I am so happy for Kate Bush. She has earned every bit of the success she is getting right now.

Get Off My Damn Lawn

Everyone always gets excited about Fair St. Louis. And every year they forget that it usually rains at some point over Independence Day weekend. The last few years have been warm and dry, but previously, it somehow rained that weekend.

Maybe the showers are a metaphor for the crappy musical entertainment they book each year. In the past, I remember going to the Riverfront and seeing Ray Charles, Elton John, Isaac Hayes, and Al Green. They really knew how to book acts. Now, we have Third Eye Blind to look forward to. Yuck.

When the best thing about your career is you are known for being the guy who dumped Charlize Theron, that’s a pretty telling sign. When your make really bland records and your livelihood is made playing cruise ship retro shows, small-town festivals, and one-off gigs, it is time to quit. I can’t understand how mediocrity like this continues to get booked each year at Fair St. Louis.

This year we also have Coolio, Tone-Loc, and Young MC. At least Coolio made a cookbook.

But seriously, Tone-Loc and Young MC were a big deal when their label, Delicious Vinyl, broke. They both made serious party anthems that made people laugh and feel good. those records are classics. Color Me Badd is on the bill too. Their music is as terrible as their spelling.

My point is this. Wouldn’t it be better to feature a bunch of local artists rather than this stuff? We have tons of local singers, rappers, and indie bands who would be much more entertaining. If we truly want to instill any sense of civic pride about where we live, shouldn’t we support local music at big events like this? “America’s largest birthday party” deserves better.

That is why events like Music at the Intersection are way more interesting. Besides supporting local music, they book national acts-ones that people want to see.

They are hiring people to help clean Busch Stadium. They have overnight shifts available and they pay $19 an hour. That’s terrible. Especially when you have to clean up after drunk Hoosiers, little kids, and Cubs fans. How do people expect to attract workers when they underpay people for really nasty, crappy jobs?

I would love to be able to watch Jeopardy! without having t endure political ads during the breaks

The idiot who blocked the driveway with his car for four days has finally moved it. He got a bunch of tickets but no tow. He needed the car to be there unattended for 120 hours. I do not understand why people are so dumb.

Appliance News

The hot and humid days of the last few weeks have made busting out the rotating fan a necessity. It helps keep the place cool and helps save on running the AC.

Having the newish shower head is great. Although it got installed last fall, it has made taking a shower after coming in from a walk or being outside for a while on a hot day way more bearable.

Epilogue

I understand why people are out and about again. They hated being cooped up inside and couldn’t find enough things to do inside. But, they seem to forget that the pandemic is not quite done yet. Plus it’s brought monkey pox along. that just sounds like a horrible, terrible thing.

As the really sweltering days of summer come rolling at us I am looking forward to hanging out inside, reading, and watching old movies. There’s also way too much streaming content to catch up on, so that will keep me pretty busy too.

I am just super thankful for whoever invented lemonade. I know it was not Orville Redenbacher, but it sure would be cool if it was. That guy rocked a bowtie like nobody else.

Finally, as we get into the dog days of summer, remember to hydrate and be kind!

May is for Misanthropes

Posted on May 6, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

So, although it is still early in the month, all signs are pointing to another month of misery and terribleness in the world. The Ukraine situation is not getting any better and it’s just heartbreaking. Plus, the pandemic is not over. Yes, we are holding our own, but we need to still be practical and not stupid.

It has felt weird to be in crowds again and even eat in a restaurant. For me, there is, to an extent, still an odd sense of impending doom with all of this. Some of it is my anxiety, some of it is being inside for two years, and a lot of it is based on dealing with the public at my old job. People are still shitty.

I am settling into the new gig. I like being at home and I only have one thing to focus on which is a nice change. Plus, if I deal with anyone it is at a distance and they are not able to physically annoy me, which is nice.

As someone who is fairly extroverted, the pandemic and the weird period following the lockdowns didn;t really get to me. In fact, I liked being left alone by the masses. Except for movies, concerts, and bookstores, I did not miss a lot.

This brings me back to my main point of thinking… Please do not be an assclown and please be careful out there.

Thinking about the news…

That corrections officer who ran off with a prisoner looks exactly like what you think a corrections officer looks like.

I have made my own judgement on the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard trial. They are both terrible people. Really, no one should really care about this. It’s mindless National Enquirer fodder.

It also is sad how much of a mess our infrastructure is. The roads and bridges here need work, and I suspect it is a lot like this everywhere. There are a lot of really messed up streets and bridges right now. I hope they all get fixed.

Over the last month, I went out into the world. I went to Atlanta for a few days to see Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD). They were really good. I have seen them before and was glad to see them again. Especially since they did Stanlow, a song about an oil refinery.

It was a nice weekend getaway. The weather there was abysmally hot, I got to see some friends, and I got to see the Puppetry Center which was pretty terrific. They had a pretty good collection of puppets, past and present. A large portion of it is based on the work of Jim Henson and his crew.

Outside of Sesame Street, there as also some pieces from The Muppet Show, The Dark Crystal, and a nice section on the history of puppetry.

I spent a nice afternoon there.

I was a bit chuffed that the Marriott I stayed in had no closets or drawers. They just expect you to plop your suitcase in a corner and live out of it. It’s fine if you are a hostel kind of person, but if you are not, it’s a bit maddening.

Apparently, this is a nationwide kind of thing. I want to know what genius got the idea of taking closets and dressers out of hotels at a time when people are beginning to travel again. it sounds like a giant miscue to me. I know they want to attract younger travelers, but at this point, those folks are going elsewhere.

It is this kind of nonsense that symbolizes the decline of Western civilization as we know it.

I still love Air BNB, but there are times when it isn’t practical in terms of money and location.

The Upthrown Stone

I recently watched The Upthrown Stone, a 1969 film from Sándor Sára.

I was pretty unfamiliar with the films of the Hungarian New Wave, but this story was well-acted and gorgeously shot. It is set in the postwar Hungary of the 1950s, a time when there was a lot of division and angst in rural areas of the nation as gypsy farms and lands of the lower classes were gradually taken from farmers.

In the film, Balázs Pásztor’s father is jailed, forcing him to grow up fast. His father’s incarceration also means he won’t be allowed to attend film school.

Without much of a future, Balázs becomes a surveyor and starts to build a farmhouse with a Greek partisan, Ilias, and his wife. When a government land grab happens, the local peasants blame them for the false promises of the state.

Later on, Balázs works on a film crew to get the experience he is denied by not being admitted to college. As the film progresses, an older, Balázs has become a director. Knowing the power of film, he makes a film about his experiences and the plight of Hungary’s gypsies.

The movie was well-acted and holds up well over five decades after its release. I also liked its pacing.

Everything Everywhere All At Once

I know it is pretty early in the movie calendar year, but so far, Everything Everywhere All At Once is the best thing I have seen this year.

It is not a movie for everyone. You have to pay attention and just go with it, but, in the end, the performances are amazing and the story is gloriously bonkers.

Basically, an interdimensional rupture unravels all known reality, and Evelyn, an unlikely hero with no sense of direction, must fight a range of odd and strange dangers from the multiverse.

While Michelle Yeoh is great as always, Jamie Lee Curtis is terrifically entertaining. The film lets her use her depth and range, something we never see in the Halloween films.

The Cheap Seats

I have been seeing more theater over the last month. The latest touring production of Hairspray was more enjoyable than some of the other recent touring shows at the Fox Theatre. The revived production of My Fair Lady was also really good.

I have seen the touring production of Hamilton twice. What was cool was that the first time I saw it was a show where several of the understudies performed. Most of the leads were the same some of the support characters were replaced.

The second time I went, I had seats that were closer than previously. This meant I could see a lot of the staging better. What is intriguing about Hamilton, besides the songs, is how they transition scenes and move the sets. It is all very clever and sly.

I also saw Stray Dog Theatre’s hilariously goofy Triassic Parq. A spoof of the Jurassic Park franchise, this musical follows the daily drama of the dinosaurs who live on the island where the films take place.

In appliance/household news. The faucets in the bathroom have very small drips going on. They probably need to be replaced. Also, as the hot weather approaches, I am thinking about getting a ceiling fan.

Here I go again, ranting like an old man

I am amazed at how people have reverted back to pre-pandemic behavior with a careless nonchalance. You would think that with no live theater happening for over two years people would show up in time for the curtain. Nope.

The long and short of it is, show up to the damn play on time. it’s a pain in the ass for everyone to stand up and move so people can get by. It makes following the play harder and it is disrespectful to the people making the show happen. If you can make your dinner reservation or be on time for aunt Hilda’s big dinner, you can make a curtain time without bothering others.

I am not sure why I am starting off the month being so grumpy. I am sorry.

But I will say that this is the best time of the year to read new books and hear great new music. and there are some excellent films out.

Binges and Hinges

Posted on March 6, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

It’s been a very crazy few weeks. To quote The Smiths, “I was looking for a job, and then I found a job…”

Yes, there is some stability in the cards. I am giving up on depending on just freelance and contract work for a full-time agency gig. I wasn’t doing the hustling and scraping on purpose; it was just the hand I was dealt. You can’t get an agency gig without experience, and you cannot get experience without a job, so it was a crappy circle.

Despite the new content creation gig, I will still do freelance writing and take on clients. But, it won’t be my only way of doing things. But, it does not mean I won’t have to have a part-time hustle anymore.

It is a small firm with maybe six employees, none of which are hipsters. Plus, it is remote, so I can work without a chance of seeing hipsters and too cool for school agency types. There are two types of people who do content creation agency work; those who are chill or those who are annoying. There is no middle ground.

It is a small firm with maybe six employees, none of which are hipsters. Plus, it is remote, so I can work without a chance of seeing hipsters and agency types. There are two types of people who do content creation agency work; those who are chill or those who are annoying. There is no middle ground.

But, for the first time in over three decades, I am not doing any type of customer service or retail!

I quote the great Lloyd Dobler.

I don’t want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don’t want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don’t want to do that.

It’s sad when a store closes that has been around for over five decades. It’s like it is being placed in a home. The worst part is the vultures who come in waiting for the discount prices to drop to 50% or better. They hover over the things they want. Most of which haven’t sold for a reason. Or worse, they ask a million dumb questions, like “when are you closing?” or “when is the next sale reduction?” Store closings attract weird people. Most of them bring calculators to ensure the markdown is correct. They are truly hideous people.

After years of working in record stores, book stores, libraries, museums, and offices I can certify any statements that people are simply insane. Somewhere along the line people gave up using their brains, thinking for themselves, or learning.

The result is that there are now lots of selfish people out there. Sadly, for the last eight years, at my last gig, I waited on a lot of them. They got enough cigarettes, porn, racing forms, beef jerky and change for parking meters to last a lifetime. Generally, they were rude, and pretty stupid. I will not miss any of that.

It is not quite appliance news, but the toilet got a new flush valve. The old one lasted about 15 years and had seen better days. Now, with the new one added, that ting roars like a jet engine.

The biggest at-home hassle of the month was replacing a hinge on one of the kitchen cabinets. One of them completely snapped off. There was no pulling or extra pressure, it just snapped. It was pretty weird. Once that happened I had to find a replacement.

This was not as easy as I anticipated. As it turns out I needed an 830-40 Soft Close hinge. Every place I tried was out of them. It was crazy.

The only problem is that they do not make them anymore. Luckily, the internet was good to me and I found several replacement options.

The biggest takeaway from all of this is that shopping for cabinet hinges is pretty boring!

I finished binge-watching the latest season of Cobra Kai. It is mindless fun. The show’s soul rests completely on its nostalgia. Between ’80s metal and old clips from the film, it clearly plays with its connections to the past.

There is a lot of melodrama and predictable plot twists, but somehow, it remains an interesting melodrama. Everyone makes poor decisions. Seriously, they all do. All I want is for one of the characters to pause for a minute and reflect on the potential results of their hasty actions.

I guess you could say I just watch it for kicks.

Top Chef is back. It is early, but so far it’s been kind of dull. I hate the fact they are doing it in Texas, where over half the 15 contestants would most likely have problems voting. However, Houston’s diversity and restaurant culture could make the series more interesting as the season progresses.

I am now starting on Station Eleven. It has gotten a lot of really great reviews, and it looks interesting.

I am not sure a series set during a pandemic is the most stable thing to watch, but it looks really good.

I did watch some of the Winter Olympics. While it was not as compelling as previous ones, I enjoyed seeing curling again. I also checked out the biathlon, hockey, and any fast-moving sled thing. Luge, bobsledding, two-person bobsledding, relay bobsledding, bobsledding in kitchens. All of it.

I think the Olympics were missing a soul. They seemed flat. Maybe it was the location or lack of crowds. Instead of having it on to watch, I just tuned in sparsely when the sports I wanted to see were on.

The problem with watching things like the Olympics is that I know that if I ever met any of these people in real life, they probably would be self-centered jerks with massive egos. The curlers seem to have an “everyday person” ethos to them. Maybe that is why I watch it. Or it could be because it is stupid.

Speaking of stupid, this business with the MLB owners and players is annoying. The real people getting hurt are those who work at the games, parking lots, ticket booths, and concession stands. The local businesses that serve that industry are also screwed.

No one should be surprised, rich people have been fighting over crumbs for centuries, and this is no different.

Morris Day can no longer use “Morris Day and the Time” because the Prince estate is claiming ownership. This is a pretty crappy thing to do.

Leave him alone! The man has brought a lot of joy and happiness to people through his music for decades.

I have been listening to Fall In Love Not In Line, the new record from Kids On A Crime Spree. They are an Oakland based three piece trio, comprised of Bill Evans, Rebecca Barron, and Mario Hernandez, who make music meshes power pop, reverb fuzziness, jangly vocals, and blissed out melodies.

It is their first album in 11 years and it is well worth the wait.

I have been enjoying Reversing into The Future: New Wave Graphics 1977 – 1990. It is a wonderful book about album art and graphic design spaning punk, new wave and post-punk eras.

Written by Andrew Krivine (who owns a massive collection of stuff from this era), the book represents a visual history of the period with essays on the art, design, album sleeves, posters, and adverts

The book also signifies how the indie music scene of the time used visual design elements that coincided with the anti-consumerist and anti-materialistic aspects of the music. Eschewing away from the black and white print style of punk, designers within the new wave movement instead favored a more artistic approach. One that incorporated visual style with the music.

I also am revisiting each of Neil Gaiman’s short story collections. I had not read Fragile Things in a few years but recently explored it again, and it did not disappoint.

Currently, I have delved back into Trigger Warning, his most recent collection of short stories. I forgot how dense it was. Each of the stories is wonderfully imaginative. I am still a sucker for The Return of the Thin White Duke, his nod to David Bowie and Nothing O’Clock, his nifty Doctor Who story.

During the pandemic, I saw him do a virtual reading of Click-Clack the Rattlebag that was pretty spooky. Overall, Trigger Warning is a compendium of great stories culled from various sources.

He is doing a speaking tour right now, and I would love to see him, but I’m not sure how the money shakes out.

I was not expecting much from The Batman. I wasn’t really intrigued by the trailers and thought another version of the franchise was redundant.

However, I must admit that this new incarnation of the Caped Crusader plays out like a neo-noir. It is gritty, brutal,l and dark. It also captures the detective feel of the comics which has been missing from other films.

While it has a ridiculous end scene that causes the film to run 15 minutes too long, this mashup of mafia film, cop drama, film noir, and superhero flick captures the grimy aspects of the comics without compromise.

Colin Ferrell damn near steals the film as the Penguin, and Jeffrey Wright is terrific as Jim Gordon. Robert Pattinson’s sulky emo antics got a bit tired, but I am hoping he ups his game in the next films as Bruce Wayne develops further.

Paul Dano is pretty creepy in everything. Here he lets it all loose. Thankfully, they took the Riddler out of the stupid clothes of the comics and cartoons. Now he looks more menacing and contemporary.

Hey, if you are looking for something to listen to and love music, check out Modern Musicology, a podcast that I am on. It has been a lot of fun to do and I hope you check it out. Each week we discuss an interesting topic. Tune in and dig it!

With the cold weather seemingly behind us, I am so looking forward to reading outside in the sunshine again. I like Spring. It is not too hot and it usually features a bevy of interesting new records.

However, what I really want this spring is for an end to the madness and unhinged terror of the world to subside. maybe it will be replaced with kindness and lemonade. I doubt it. But it would be nice.

The Guy Who Came In From the Cold

Posted on February 12, 2022 by stlcurmudgeon Standard

The weather over the last few weeks has been obnoxiously brutal. I am not a cold-weather person. I do not mind the serenity of a snowstorm, but I certainly don’t want a foot of that stuff, much less sleet and ice.

Going out to shovel the snow this month was unpleasant. I went out after the first storm hit and cleared the front and back steps and made a path along the walkway. I cleared out the driveway as best as I could. But the heaviness of the snow and the nasty 30 mph wind just made me stop.

The problem with this methodology is that you feel frustrated during the entire process. You know that more snow is coming. You know it’s going to be garbage out. But, you also know you need access in and out in case of an emergency.

So with this thinking in my noggin, my dumb ass went out and did some shoveling. It wasn’t all bad. I did it in moderation, and the crisp air was nice when the wind wasn’t whirling. Eventually, I called it a day and went inside to a cup of tea.

I didn’t do my radio show that night, opting instead, to run a prerecorded program from the KDHX archives. I hate missing shows. When it happens,I get this empty feeling in the gut, an unsatisfied fix. Anyway, staying in was the prudent thing to do.

The next morning saw the full force, the big show. All of the weather folks said we were going to get snow, and they were right. It started light and lasted over 12 hours. It was wet, heavy, and compact snow, over a few inches of ice.

I got up that morning and did another go-round with the shovel. It was a pretty crappy endeavor. There was just too much. It was the biggest snowstorm here since 1982 and the second-biggest since 1912.

When it all stopped that early evening I went out, and with the help of a few neighbors, got the driveway, stairs, and entryways done. I also cleared off the sidewalk. While I was outside I could not help but think how nuts you would have to be to live in a climate like that for a long time.

I hate winter. I hope this is the bloody end of the snow for this year. I feel bad for parents that have little mongrels running around sugared up and excited to go out and play in the stuff. I also hate how the entire city freaks out and decides to bum rush the grocery stores and gas stations. It is frightening that people think they need to shop like they are going on a safari or something just because there is a snowstorm coming.

Having no desire to go outside, I spent four days inside doing projects, reading, and watching movies. For someone who has been indoors most of the last two years, being inside because of a winter storm is a piece of cake. It’s not a hard decision really, it’s cold, it’s icy, you cannot see well, and the wind is beastly.

On the positive side, I got a respite from dealing with the public. These days you aren’t sure what to expect when you go out into the world. While there are a lot of kind and empathetic people, there also are morons who deserve the opprobrium heaped on him. Especially selfish people who are oblivious to the world and think everything is about them. Selfish people who seem oblivious to the world, instead of thinking everything is all about them.

While winter storms are an inconvenient disruption, they are also a chance to slow things down, get some projects done and catch up on books, movies, TV, etc.

I have been hearing more and more about Iceland over the last few years. I worked with a guy who went there often for music festivals, and another friend of mine was there a few times and loved it. Iceland also has become a more frequent subject of travel shows in recent years.

I am also curious about it because I listen to loads of bands from there. There is a musical vibe happening there, and it is so much deeper than Sigur Ros or Bjork.

This, along with my interest in history, led me to How Iceland Changed the World: The Big History of a Small Island by Egill Bjarnson. A journalist based in Reykjavík, who has championed his country in several publications over the years, Bjarnson has written a crisp book about the country he loves.

While I have read books about the Vikings over the years, I had not thought about Erik the Red or Leif Erikson since grade school. When you are young, their exploits capture the imagination. When you read about them as an adult, you quickly discover that Erik the Red was an exiled murderer and Erikson was a religious zealot.

Expanding his narrative to include Greenland and Northern Canada, Bjarnson’s chronicle of the country’s founding is fascinating stuff. Later, he moves on to Iceland’s role in the contemporary world. From creating natural energy to serving as a neutral arbiter in world affairs. Overall, this is a pretty compelling read.

Izumi Suzuki was a Japanese writer, actress, model, and countercultural icon. Her life came to a tragic end in 1986 after she committed suicide. During the last decade of her life, she produced an influential body of radical, punky, and groundbreaking fiction that is only now being discovered by English readers.

Terminal Boredom features an intriguing collection of stories that use gender roles, despair, and isolation as common themes. Translated into English for the first time, there are some great sci-fi elements to her work that are a throwback to some of the best SF of the 70s.

Each of the seven stories featured combines her black humor, sense of irony, and dystopian unease with clever storytelling that never rests on solid ground.

I watched a film from 1961 called The Hoodlum Priest. Filmed on location in St. Louis, it was interesting to note the different settings in the film. The movie is based on the true-life story of Charles, “Dismas” Clark, a Jesuit priest who helped the recently incarcerated find a new life.

The biggest takeaway I got from the movie was that there was a seriously seedy underbelly going on in the city back then. There were a lot of slums, underdeveloped areas, and forlorn residents.

Don Murray and Keir Dullea star in it. Murray played it serious in an intense performance. Dullea was pretty good in his first feature film.

The St. Louis of 1961 does not seem very appealing. Now I know why my mom hated moving here so much.

At the moment there are a lot of great bands coing out of Oakland and the San Francisco Bay area. there’s a lot happening there, and Artsick is at the center of it.

Hailing from Oakland, the band featues Christina Riley of Burnt Palms, bassist Donna McMean from Lunchbox, and drummer Mario Hernandez from Kids on A Crime Spree. energetic and raw,

As a whole, Fingers Crossed is fine collection of eleven songs steeped in power pop melodies and post-punk snarling.

On Fingers Crossed, released via Slumberland Records, the trio makes music that is spirited, and lively, resulting in a slick debut filled with catchy songs and clever melodies.

The Olympics are on. I have not seen as much of it as I would have liked. But the curling and speed skating have been great. The luge, skeleton, and bobsledding have also been competitive.

I watched the biathlon the other day. I still don’t get it. It just seems like a lot of work. Those rifles have to be heavy, and I am sure the athletes are exhausted after finishing.

I also am pretty sure that those kids who do the half-pipe and snowboarding are probably as annoying as the local skateboard kids in my neighborhood.

A few weeks ago saw John Adams conduct the St. Louis Symphony. he debuted a new work and selected a program of exceptional contemporary works. The SLSO has done a great job with social distancing, masking, and keeping people safe. They also got a rad new filtration system.

I have also seen some plays. Most of the smaller companies here are doing a great job of keeping people safe. I saw The Prom at The Fox and was a bit nervous by the volume of people and the great swarm of people who didn’t cover their noses.

In appliance news, I cleared out some calcium from the kitchen sink faucet. The UV sanitizer I got during the pandemic finally crapped out. It served me well.

The biggest domestic hassle was having a hinge snap on one of the kitchen cabinet doors. I jumped online to get a replacement and quickly discovered it had been discontinued. After more digging, I found one from a specialty seller and am hopefully good to go.

I also got some new sneakers for the first time in over two years. Going to a shoe store right now is pretty weird.

That should do it for now. After a slight warmup, it is cold again. People are still weird though. Much more than usual.

STLCurmudgeon

Music, Movies, TV, Film, Books & Other Popular Culture Ramblings

No Weimar Reason

Mope Springs Eternal

The World We Live In And Life In General

The Summer’s Is Gone The Winter’s Tuning Up

We’re Gonna Make It After All

And now…the Weather

June Swoon

May is for Misanthropes

Binges and Hinges

The Guy Who Came In From the Cold

Connect