Tag Archives: Yard Act

The World We Live In And Life In General

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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 by 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.