Category Archives: Random

humor, Random

I’m Back!

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Yes, I am making my triumphant return to KLYAM after a week’s vacation (no access to internet) and I am back again to fill your empty lives with knowledge you couldn’t possibly obtain yourselves. In the following days, weeks be sure to look out for some classic reviews including the amazingly atrocious cult film The Room (2003), Atlanta, GA music scene documentary, We Fun (2009), and a whole bunch of album reviews from artists as diverse as Adam Green to The Nation of Ulysses. As the old saying goes, everybody loves a cocksucker.

At ease.

humor, pictures, Politics, Random, rant

A Person’s History of Political Affiliations in the United States: 1990-Present

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DISCLAIMER: This is the beginning of a piece I started (and stopped) writing two years ago because I got sick of explaining my political views. I never finished this amateur manifesto and in fact barely put a dent into. As of now, I really don’t have a desire to complete it, but someday I probably will. So, why am I posting it if it is not finished? you may ask. Well, in the traditions of Jay Reatard and Bradford Cox, both of whom we greatly admire at KLYAM, I’m presenting unfinished, skeletal material instead of searching for a perfect final product… sorta. Kind of like the way they have released demos, so you can see the process of their art. In any case, enjoy.

I was born on July 15, 1990 during the Bush I Administration.  Naturally, I paid no attention to this goon and steered clear from the political scene for my first few years.  As the 90s rolled along we moved to a new groove with the Clinton Administration.  During Billy’s first term in office I remained silent, but of course silence makes me sick, so I roared when round two began.  With no particular ideology in mind, at the age of five I voiced support for the “populist” goofy bastard over another goofy bastard, whom appeared to state his name after every sentence.  To me (based on coloring books and TV appearances) the Clinton team seemed secure for a sophomore session, whereas the menacing, fumbling Dole fucks could not cut the deal.  To me, Clinton was “presidential,” an extremely peculiar word that only means something to you if you favor the showbiz over the real action.  The only quality I looked for in a future prez was being “presidential.” It’s sad that at five I mastered the average adult voter’s methods of choosing their leader.

With Meet the Presidents Coloring Book being my top read, this great, big concept of  being “presidential” completely consumed my political intake for my childhood years.  As the title misinforms the young readers, we meet 40 phonies (it was a little bit old) and of these phonies, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy became my favorite phony.  JFK made me want to become President of the United States of America! I fervently advised my family and friends that I would become President one day. I responded to “What I wanted to be when I grew up?” with “President.” My parents endorsed me, my brothers…. did not, but what else can you expect from siblings?

But, back to my boy JFK.  He became my hero and instead of ameliorating any possible athletic skills, I instead read several of his biographies and anything else I could find on the man.  Strangely, I never delved into any assassination theories, since I’m usually fascinated by that stuff, but that’s a whole other story.  In 3rd grade, I dressed up as Mr. Kennedy, my idol, and briefly told the class and parents about my life, accomplishments, and untimely death… without any notes, a feat no other student matched!

During these wild and crazy years in my youth (1996-2000)…

Politics, Random, rant, Video

Is It Sexist to Hold Doors Open For Women?

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It seems like we rarely enter the world of politics anymore on KLYAM and to be honest this really isn’t Politics, but I was running through some youtube videos and I came across this and found it interesting enough to post it. By the way, I’m perfectly fine with not venturing too far into the social, political landscape because this is chiefly a music site and I want to keep it that way. At the same time, the other KLYAMers and I love to mix it up when we feel its right. So, is it sexist to open doors for women? I think it depends on the circumstances and either way it’s not that big of a deal, but an interesting thing to ponder, I suppose. Maybe not, I don’t know I’m just that kinda guy I guess. I agree with both these ladies, but I don’t consider myself a feminist, rather a person with some feminist sensibilities to a certain extent compared to most men and women around me, whome I find overwhelmingly sexist and the American society as a whole, but simultaneously I don’t get offended easily and I recognize the complaints people make about feminists; there is truth to their grievances, which I find to be accurate in most instances when it comes to sane, reasonable people. And just for the lols here’s a hilarious sexist clip from the old days of Hollywood.

“I figured that being my wife would take up all of your time.”

Black Lips, Music, Random

A Guide To Black Lips Singles/Non-Album Tunes

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In an interview with Rhapsody at South By Southwest 2011, Black Lips Joe and Jared said they have no intention of releasing an album full of their singles. Collecting them all PHYSICALLY could turn out to be quite the task. Digitally speaking, though, they are riding the cyber-wave (thanks to NuRaveBrainWave for the Singles Club!) so go out and get it.
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“Best Napkin I Ever Had” – 2010 – Very nonsensensical, it reminded me at first of “Fad” and “MIA,” which is a very good thing. This, along with “Before,” doesn’t sound like much of a precursor to Arabia Mountain, but for the one-off kind of thing this was, it was nice.

“Before You Judge Me” – 2010 – Sonically, this is truly a post-200 Million Thousand kind of song. Joe is the lead vocalist, there’s some noisy guitar licks and other lead guitar fun, but the rhythm section is strong and steady — amongst the “tightest” we’ve heard the guys to date.

“Disconnection” – 2009 – Musically somewhere between Good Bad Not Evil and 200 Million Thousand, this is what I would put in the categories of straight, fuzzy, and simple. It is principally sung by Joe Bradley, but features backing vocals by the others.

“99 Victs” – 2009 – Cole does his raspy yowls on this fast, lo-fi noisy punk tune. Sounds like it would’ve fit nicely on We Did Not Know.

“You Know” – 2009 – Vocal samples and twangy instrumentals. A fun random tune.

“Born To Be A Man” – 2009 – An ole rockabilly/country thing that’s both fun to listen to/attempt to sing along to.

“Leroy Faster” – 2008 – “I look like a raptor and I know crack kills Leroy Faster!” sing the boys on the chorus of this one, which was a most worthy b-side off their Bad Kids 7″. The verses are humorous (“Rollin’ up another fag, you take a hefty drag, it looks cool when you gag”) with drug references (of course) and the chorus is great.

“Hasabe” – 2008 – Spoken-word and yowling by Cole backed by a basic drum beat and a repetitive guitar riff.

“Italian Sexual Frustration” – 2007 – One of the fastest tunes these guys have in their repertoire, it sounds light years ahead of their first two albums (quality-wise) despite employing the same sounds and effects that they’ve done from the start.

“Wild Man” – 2007 – A passionate and fun as can possibly be cover of The Tamrons 1967 classic.

“Make It” – 2006 – “This is a country song” are the words often uttered by Ian St. Pe before the Lips break this out in show. As a non-album tune, this has had the staying power in their set because it’s such a loving number and best of all — Cole gets to solo.

“Stuck In My Mind” – 2005 – Recorded in 2000, this was the first song that Black Lips ever wrote. The bass line and the lead guitar twangs pack punches.

“Stoned” – 2005 – A hard-hitting punk tune that’s got many an explosion and outburst.

“In & Out” – 2005 – This is pure ROCK and ROLL from start to finish. Done right. Joe knows best.

“Robitussin” – 2004 – Never officially released, Bradford Cox discovered a cassette containing this under his bed in 2007. This was supposed to be on We Did Not. Sure sounds like it. “Please please one more sip! I just want to robo-trip! Mommy, mommy, I’m so sick…Robo-robo-robo-tussin!”

“The Ballad of Ray Marsh” – 2004 – Penned by Jack Hines, this was a part of the above cassette. This is Bradford’s favorite Black Lips tune. Pretty noisy and a lot like the Robitussin narrative.

“B52 Bomberboy” – 2002 – Lo-fi for sure, but recorded really well. It’s pretty amazing to me that a lot of the band’s earlier cuts like this one and their debut album, in particular, were recorded so well in comparison to We Did Not and Let It Bloom.

“Ain’t Comin’ Back” – 2002 – The best or at least one of the best out of the bunch that they first recorded in their way early years. Displays the incredible vocal harmonies and fantastic chord progressions that have defined Black Lips all these years.