November 28, 2006

Commercials

Man, there are a lot of commercials on TV. Almost 1/3 of all air time is devoted to selling you a product, and the rest is devoted to keeping you interested enough to sit through the ads. Is that the whole point? Ultimately, if nobody can sell anything during a show, that show will not exist. Everything on TV is there to make money, PBS, Sports and The Daily Show included. That's depressing. Obviously that's how this system works, but I know there are better reasons for existence. Sometimes I question if my only purpose on Earth is as a consumer. Even if I never watched TV, I would still be subjected to advertisements everywhere I go in the city. When I get on the subway (often to go earn my living), Dr. Z is telling me I need a chemical skin peel and Fitzpatrick, Esq. is implying that I would be rewarded handsomely for feeding my kid lead paint. When I buy The Times, or pick up a free copy of Metro NY, I am doing it to learn something, but they are doing it because my eyes will be paid for by their advertisers. It is completely ubiquitous. I suppose this is just the price we pay for capitalistic competition, which can be a very positive creative force. While I do believe that money is the greatest human invention, I think it has evolved beyond us: we are now its loyal subjects, committed to its constant growth. Although we may be unable to avoid the commercial brainwashing, I would recommend another equally and perhaps more compelling motivation: Love. It may not pay your bills, but it don't cost nothin' neither.

I swear to you, my beloved reader, that you will never be sold to any advertisers on this page. I am willing to pay my $100 per annum to keep this site commercial-free and I am even willing to put in hundreds of hours of my free time to maintain this page as proof that Love is Real.

What is your purpose for existence?

November 23, 2006

Giving Thanks

Happy Turkey day. I love this holiday and all its accouterments. Any excuse to feast is great, and making it a holiday to see family is brilliant. Stuff your face and kiss your relatives.

Gutenberg! The Musical!

This is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Seriously. I have never in my life laughed so hard at a show. I was crying and at times unable to breathe at the ridiculous absurdity on stage. Two actors play writers of a musical about Johannes Gutenberg, the 15th century inventor of the printing press, that they are showcasing for Broadway producers. They have a dream. And they really really love Johannes Gutenberg and the musical they've written about him. The songs are perfect Broadway material... except they are completely insane. There is a song about biscuits, and actors explain that although the song serves no purpose in developing the plot, it serves an important role as a "charm" song. These two have read, or written, the book on how-to-make-a-Broadway-Musical, and present it as a brilliant spoof on the Great White Way. If this blog serves any purpose whatsoever, you will go and see this unbelievably hilarious piece of meta-theatre directed by Hell House stud Alex Timbers. Get more info here.

Also worth your buck is the new Bond movie, Casino Royale. Wow. This film has revived the listless series with a fantastic throwback to the days of Connery. Simply a great action flick that grabs you immediately and takes you for a ride. Awesome.

And if you prefer something instant and free, here's the latest Supergood music:

Forever.mp3

November 19, 2006

Hell House video

If you didn't have the opportunity to visit the Hell House in October, you can see it now as a music video. This experience was amazing. Theatre was such a big part of my life between the ages of 6-18 and then I went to Middlebury and played rugby instead. But having taken 3 years off of the stage, my Senior year I was pulled back in by a friend who had written a play and wanted me to play God. Alaina was also in that show (as a freshman) and has been a major part of my life ever since. In the Spring, I assembled a cast of my friends and staged "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" in an abandoned dining hall. I still believe this is the best creation of my life. There is something about a performance, a completely ephemeral experience, that remains with you forever. Having been on hiatus for six years since then, Hell House was a reminder of everything I love in theatre. We made a statement and our audience heard it. The cast and crew were so fun to work with and I am proud to have been a part of this Happenning. Thank you to everyone involved.

Hell House! Video

Julian

This is a recording I made of Julian, a six-year-old who has been studying guitar with me for about a year. It is imperfect and beautiful. I absolutely love the nose sniffles.

Danny Boy.mp3

I know I am the first blogger to write about him, so when he blows up, I can finally claim some influence on pop culture...

The Head Set

November 14, 2006

Pandora

Yet another reason the internet is the best thing to ever happen to music... www.pandora.com. The Music Genome Project has catalogued every type of music imaginable using thousands of descriptive categories and matches up similar artists, which then are used to form a playlist for your listening pleasure. Type in your favorite artist and hear music from other groups in the same sphere. Quite simply, it is a user-designed radio playlist that will play what you want to hear, and will introduce you to artists you've probably never heard before. It is all the best parts of traditional radio (i.e. new, free music) without the annoying DJs, commercial interruptions or corporate agendas. It seems like the record labels are beginning to embrace this technology and finally see it as the wave of the future, recognizing that resistance is futile. They are coming to understand that they can no longer force feed their product to the public and must rely on QUALITY, rather than MONEY to be heard. The internet is a nearly perfect democracy, and the dictators have lost control. Power to the PEOPLE.

November 8, 2006

The Met

I had a few hours to kill (timeicide) on the Upper East Side today so I went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. What an incredible collection! Unfortunately two hours is not nearly enough time to see it all, so I had to limit myself somewhat to my favorite turn-of-the-century European and 20th century American art. I have always loved van Gogh as my favorite impressionist, but I saw a painting today that really put him over the top. Starry Night Over The Rhone (Arles) is true singular beauty, even surrounded by Cezanne, Picasso and Gauguin. The man was crazy and received no recognition for his work in his lifetime, but great art will find a way into the public consciousness. The 20th century art is great because it is such a dramatic departure from the preceeding thousands of years of art history. Almost all early art presents God or man and his surroundings in order to communicate the human condition. But suddenly, beginning with the impressionists and cubists, art begins to communicate abstract concepts and within half a century, Ellsworth Kelly is making the color blue straight up art. What a revolution! The art produced by Kelly, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman et al. is so essentially different from any art that came before it and it makes me think that humans evolved more drastically in the last century than any other period in history. Given the technological advances of the past hundred years, our brains must have become capable of infinitely more understanding and abstraction. Art is Humanity and Museums are our mirrors.

But wait...

Maybe just maybe the Democrats have actually taken control of the House AND Senate. If this holds to be true, and not some innaccurate "stattracker" fantasy sports bullshit that ultimately ends in crushing defeat for me, it would feel better than any Patriots victory, except maybe the 2001 Superbowl vicotry in the New Orleans Superdome at which I was present. One indisputable fact, however, is that

Donald Rumsfeld has resigned!

High fives all around. This feels Good. Something is happening and it is positive. The people have spoken and sent an overwhelming message to George Bush's gang that their ruthless manhandling of American politics has come to an end. The Republican majority will stand down and will be replaced by rationality and progressive forward thinking. It will not happen overnight, but it seems that this great nation has turned a corner from the darkess into the light. Thank you citizens.

November 7, 2006

Midterms

I hope you voted. Did you vote for the good guy? Obviously you did. Or maybe you just think you did. How can you know? It seems pretty simple: Democrat = Good, Republican = Evil. OK, I may be oversimplifying it a bit, but that is the black and white (or red and blue) election we are looking at. Quite honestly, I know very little about any candidates in my district, much less the entire country, but I know I am rooting for blue like I root for the Patriots. I know that is a step towards sanity. At the moment (00:53 AM EST) it looks as though the Democrats will win the House, but not the Senate, which will be split 50-50 but controlled, as is everything, by Dick Cheney. I'll certainly take that as a victory, although I admit that we will not see the immediate sweeping changes to our government that we need. Tomorrow more soldiers and civilians will be killed in Iraq.

I didn't even vote Blue. I voted Green. They may have lost, but they definitely stand closer to me on all the issues than any of the other candidates on offer. It is a vote that I would have cast differently had Spitzer and Clinton (who I also support) really seen any challenges, but I am proud to have my teeny-tiny voice heard in favor of progressive change. Maybe someday a Green Government will be the Good alternative to the Purple mess we have today.

We celebrated Guy Fawkes day at The Land this weekend, burning an effigy of the Guy who tried to blow up English Parliament. Hmmm... celebrating the traitor? Watch yourself Mr. Government. There's plenty more where that came from.

November 2, 2006

Busted.

I went to see Hot Chip tonight at Webster Hall. Wow. I had been anticipating this for months, so excited to finally see this band and the club is bumping so hard that the floor is bouncing and it sounds amazing and I light a joint and pass it around and a hand grabs my arm and pulls me out of the crowd and escorts me out the door. Disposal. Three and a half songs and done. That is painful. "Please, somebody, take this pain away from me... " was my line from Hell House and I am feeling it right now. At times my pot smoking can be a bit gratuitous and I suppose this is a gentle, consequence-free (although missing the rest of that show is sick punishment for me, I did not get arrested) reminder to monitor my drug use and retain some awareness of the fact that it is, in fact, against the law. I think it may also be some sort of karma for playing a stoner in Hell for a month...

November 1, 2006

Some Awesome Stuff

I went to The Whitney Museum today and saw two great exhibits. The first was a big Edward Hopper show with paintings and sketches from his entire career. I was unfamiliar with any of his work besides Nighthawks (the painting that inspired the play I did at Middlebury in which I met my future wife...) but I was very impressed with his style. He has a way of presenting the infinite empty space around each individual. "Cape Cod Evening" made me shiver with its receding blue forest background - the darkness surrounds us all... There is also a well-curated exhibit on Picasso and the American artists he influenced. Picasso was so unique and always pushing the artistic boundaries that other artists could only hope to emulate and learn from the master. Placed next to the original Picasso, one might even accuse these artists of blatant theft, if art actually belonged to only one person. Although it is true that the original painting can only be seen in one place, the art itself belongs to humanity and therefore should therefore be replicated and used as education and inspiration.

I also watched two great rock 'n roll DVDs over the past few days. "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco by Sam Jones" is an amazing documentary of the band recording one of the best albums EVER, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot". I have a very distinct memory of my friend Paul Grellong introducing me to it in his car one evening after hanging out at the All State Cafe and listening to it start to finish. I've been a Wilco fan ever since. This film captures an inspired time in this band's career and also the incredible story of the record label that paid for the album, and then decided not to release it because it was unmarketable. (It was later purcheased by Nonesuch, a subsidiary of the same conglomerate that owns their original label Warner Bros.) Just goes to show why the recording industry is totally fucked. I also saw Stewart Copeland's movie about the Police. He purchased a Super 8 camera as the band was starting to be heard and then wham-o, they're the biggest band alive. Very fun to see it all happen from inside the band, hence the title, "The Police Inside Out". They were real deal rock stars with all the trimmings. But Stewart makes some very interesting comments in his narration about losing touch with reality, of not having "bought groceries or driven my own car in years" and of just going through the motions with marriages and houses while their real life was touring the world. A neat perspective on one of my favorite bands.

I went to see Medeski, Martin and Wood last night for their annual Halloween bash. I've seen them on this holiday a few times in the past, and like always they were funkin' funky. Two and a half hours of butt-shaking grooves in the company of some wacky costumes is a recipe for an awesome party.

October Blog