All posts by G. Gordon Gritty

CD Review, Entertainment, Music

CD Review: Invisible Girl

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Band: King Khan & BBQ Show
Label: In The Red Records
Release: November 3, 2009

1. “Anala” – 9.6
2. “Invisible Girl” – 9.8
3. “I’ll Be Loving You” – 9.7
4. “Animal Party” – 9.4
5. “Spin the Bottle” – 9.8
6. “Third Ave” – 9.8
7. “Tastebuds” – 9.7
8. “Truth or Dare” – 9.6
9. “Crystal Ball” – 9.8
10. “Lonely Boy” – 9.7
11. “Tryin’” – 9.8
12. “Do the Chop” – 9.7

Comments: This album rules! It doesn’t quite have the innate catchiness of most of the songs on What’s For Dinner? or The King Khan & BBQ Show LP, but it’s a lot more of the same great old-skool garage and doo-wop. “Anala” gets us right into things with King hollering his typical  “uhm-bau-wau-uhm-bau-wau” in the background of BBQ’s graceful ballad about making Anala (yes, Anal-a) cry. “Invisible Girl” is a bit of a change-up from “Anala” in that it is more modern garage-rock sounding, playful and as inviting as ever. “Purple, pink, and orange make me high as when the sky…” is the perfect line for a sing-a-long. A dirty sing-a-long at that; seemingly about fantasies of the cover-girl. “I’ll Be Loving You” is another powerful BBQ straight from the heart tune…different from the previous three because it is to a great degree innocent. “Animal Party” carries on the innocent vibe and could easily be played alongside children, provided it’s cleaned up slightly. Next is “Spin the Bottle” which really isn’t like anything KK+BBQ have done before. King’s “dirty” vocals fit perfectly in this raunchy-but-not-really-raunchy-at-all number. “Third Avenue” is probably the oldest sounding song on this album. Everything about it: the lyrics, the slow-strummed guitars and the light tambourine have a definite old skool vibe. “Tastebuds,” I imagine, will most definitely become a live staple for these guys. It’s so obnoxious and memorable that live crowds are bound to immediate recite the words like any old KK+BBQ classic. “Truth or Dare” is another party-game play-on that rocks. Just like “Spin the Bottle,” this song probably wouldn’t be the same without King on lead vocals. “Crystal Ball” wouldn’t be out of place on a Shrines record because it is so fast paced and feels like a complete experience…almost like there is a seven member back-up band. “Lonely Boy” is fast-paced too with a punk structure. I can definitely see this song as long-lasting addition to their set-list. “Tryin'” further exemplifies BBQ’s amazing vocal range as if you had any doubts before. The line: “The way you chew tobacco, baby, reading magazines/Makes me want to sit around and sow into your jeans” has awesome written all over it. “Do The Chop” isn’t really dancing music, but it’s definitely something to consider. I’d try to do the chop, if I could decipher what BBQ is instructing me to do. Stop, drop, and then do the chop? Damn, that sounds fucked up, but I might as well do it anyway.

Grade: 9.7

Entertainment, Music

Am I “Outta My Mind”?

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For going to Northampton tonight to see the King Khan & BBQ Show despite the fact that I am going to see them tommorow at the Middle East as well? Well…I really hope that I get there on time to see the Show. There is some risk involved and a question of: is it really worth it? Well, in addition to seeing two geniuses, I want to pick up a copy of their Invisible Girl LP that I will (hopefully) spend all tommorow listening to.

“Outta My Mind” or not…I don’t give a fuck!

economics, News

BHCC Makes NY Times Frontpage!

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New York Times
BOSTON — Winston Chin hustles on Tuesdays from his eight-hour shift as a lab technician to his writing class at Bunker Hill Community College, a requirement for the associate’s degree he is seeking in hopes of a better job.

He is a typical part-time student, with one exception. His class runs from 11:45 p.m. to 2:30 a.m., the consequence of an unprecedented enrollment spike that has Bunker Hill scrambling to accommodate hundreds of newcomers. In the dead of night, he and his classmates dissect Walt Whitman poems and learn the finer points of essay writing, fueled by unlimited coffee, cookies and an instructor who does push-ups beforehand to stay lively.

Similar booms have forced many of the nation’s 1,200 community colleges to add makeshift parking lots, rent extra space and keep thousands of students on waiting lists this fall. While Bunker Hill offers two midnight classes — the other is Psychology 101 — and Clackamas Community College in Oregon holds welding classes until 2 a.m., others have added classes as early as 6 a.m. to make room for the jobless and others whom the recession has nudged back to school.

More students –> More demand –> No room left during “normal hours” = Midnight classes

Culture Jamming, Politics

Liberty Conference!

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Saturday November 7

Taking place on the historic campus of Harvard University, the 2009 Boston Students For Liberty Conference will be an opportunity for all liberty enthusiasts in the Northeast to spend a full day soaking in the ideal of liberty. From 8:30 am to 8:30 pm, you will get a chance to hear great speeches from leading scholars of liberty, engage with activists of the liberty movement, and meet student leaders of liberty.

Come to the conference to gain the concrete resources you need to be an integral part and leader of the burgeoning liberty movement on your own campus, be introduced to the variety of internship and employment opportunities in the community of liberty enthusiasts, or network with like-minded friends and activists.
Join us for this exciting day (don’t worry, three meals and an evening social on us!), and spread the news to your friends.

Entertainment, Politics

2009 GOP Census Document

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Get a look at this:

3. Will you join the Republican National Committee by making a contribution today?
() – Yes, I support the RNC and am enclosing my most generous contribution of: _______
() – Yes, I support the RNC, but I am unable to participate at this time…I have enclosed $12.
() – No, I favor electing liberal Democrats over the next ten years.

How about…all three options suck! RNC is dumb.

Culture Jamming, economics, Entertainment

8 Ways To Culture Jam The Economy!

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If you really want to culture jam the economy, here are some methods:

1. Buy stocks without a broker. (Only ownership changes.)
2. Give somebody a gift of cash or receive a gift of cash. (Only ownership changes.)
3. Sell used goods. (Prices can’t be counted twice.)
4. Marry a maid. (The maid doesn’t get paid for household tasks!)
5. Pay under-the-table. (No need to do any financial reporting.)
6. Buy a whore.
7. Gamble amongst yourselves.
8. Buy drugs!

You are on your own. KLYAM doesn’t necessarily endorse any of the above.

economics, Entertainment, Music

Academic Application!

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It’s been a while since I did an Academic Application. They are so 2007 aren’t?

Subject: Microeconomics
Example: Total and Marginal Utility of Downloading and Reviewing Digital Music Albums

# Reviewed Per Week….Total Utility…Marginal Utility
0 ……..0……….0
1 ………9.3…..9.3
2………18.2…8.9
3………25.1…6.9

What’s happening? Total utility is increasing and marginal utility is decreasing. If I listened to a great fourth album, this whole thing would be fucked up because at a certain point I’m supposed to derive zero marginal utility from listening to more than ______ albums. Albums with zero marginal utility or negative marginal utility are essentially nuisances. Even if I illegally download albums for zero cost, the entire process could become a nuisance to me. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to review all the albums that I downloaded. In that case, maybe I will give those albums lower scores because I didn’t bother to completely listen to them. These downloaded albums would become “bads” because they serve no utility to me at all. Also, why should I review a great number of albums if I am not getting paid? Wouldn’t it be most useful to review just one album a week and spend a lot of time examining it?

Culture Jamming, Food, News

Save The Planet…EAT YOUR DOG!

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The Dominion Post
The eco-pawprint of a pet dog is twice that of a 4.6-litre Land Cruiser driven 10,000 kilometres a year, researchers have found.

Victoria University professors Brenda and Robert Vale, architects who specialise in sustainable living, say pet owners should swap cats and dogs for creatures they can eat, such as chickens or rabbits, in their provocative new book Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living.

The couple have assessed the carbon emissions created bypopular pets, taking into account the ingredients of pet food and the land needed to create them.

“If you have a German shepherd or similar-sized dog, for example, its impact every year is exactly the same as driving a large car around,” Brenda Vale said.

Take that environmentalists!