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10/18/2002
BLASPHEMY
It's weird being a federal employee and getting off for things like
Columbus Day. Hooray, a guy discovered there were people in the West
Indies, then opened the way for them to be slaughtered wholesale!
Eh, at least I didn't have to work. Unfortunately, I pretty much sat
at home doing nothing instead of at work doing nothing due to a sinus
infection, but still - at least I'm not at work.
This weekend marked the fifth wedding I've attended this year - FIVE.
And there were two I missed 'cause I'm such a curmudgeon I didn't get
invited. At this rate I'll be the last unwed man standing by the end
of the year. Fortunately my parents aren't the type to nag, "When are
you going to get married/settle down/have kids/pay back the money you
owe us/have a reliable vehicle/call us back." No, they gave up on
that back in high school, so by now they've become numb to my
insanities. Ah, the life of a shiftless, yet moderately successful
slacker!
Back at work, it's content about obesity rates and health issues in
America for the CDC. It's bad enough that it's dull as hell, but
worse it's utterly pointless in the face of American culinary culture:
http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/15/fried.twinkies.ap/index.html
EAR PLUGS
A CD has been lurking near the bottom of our To Do pile for a while,
Death & Taxes by The Ordinary Way. Somehow they just kept getting
overlooked. This happens a lot when a band sends a folder with a full
press kit and photos and clippings and sundry other detritus, so let
that be a warning to you bands out there - I don't care what you look
like or who wrote about you. Just send the disc and let it speak for
you. (Donations of money, booze, or parts for a '69 thunderbird on
the other hand...) Anyhow, The Ordinary Way are not ordinary. It's a
rich mix of instruments, voices and sounds. The extensive list of
percussion instruments in the CD insert had me worried I was up
against another groove/jam disc, but fortunately most of their songs
are under the 6 minute mark. (Unfortunately, not all of them - ten
minutes eighteen seconds? Some of Castro's speeches are shorter. At
least it's an instrumental and easy enough to skip.)
But jamming aside, there's some good sound here. Nice melodies and
hooks with an understated groove, probably the most tolerable
neo-hippy-esque music I've heard since pH Balance. The lyrical
content attempts to be uplifting with a vaguely god-friendly
undercurrent, but with the lighthearted groovy sound it's tough to
slight the occasional attempt at a morality play. Mostly it's about
the sound, which is tough to pigeonhole. There's some Latin beats
here and there, some acoustic Americana here and there, some hippy
bongo/mandolin fluff, some wa-wa pedal electric guitar on a groove
baseline, after some Spanish acoustic, lots of jazzy Bruce Hornsby
piano here and there, a splash of reggae, and more. It holds together
on each song fairly well, and across the disc as a whole fairly well,
though both the songs and the disc as a whole seem to drag on a bit
too long.
Check 'em out online at http://www.theordinaryway.com
The Ordinary Way appear at Jake's Roadhouse in Atlanta, Saturday the
19th, and at Loco's in Athens on Sunday the 20th.
Take me to Degenerate Press' home page!
There's no place like home... no place like home...
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