...of the just.

Two weeks in a row... though not on the same night... have I decided around 8 or 9 pm to lie down for "a little nap" only to wake up around 3 or 4 am with that not-so-refreshed-but-more-confused feeling. Sleep should not turn to shit. Quote me.

The Never Ending Story...

...ends when the big shaggy flying mop crashes into the side of a Wal-Mart in Michigan.

Or elseways when, on Monday, I get a non-Sunday day off for the first time in three weeks. Not that I don't love my job... (or at least not that I don't Sometimes love my job)... but I'd get tired of doing anything 6 days a week... except maybe fly fishing with grizzled old timey outdoorsmen.

The humidity has brought out admirably loopy folks... like the guy who had inherited a box of "classic" vinyl and wanted to sell it to me so he could pay to have his teeth fixed. When asked a few pre-emptive questions about the "classic" nature of the vinyl he seemed above board until...

Me: And of course they have to be in good condition.

He: Well, no, they're actually not... scratches on most.

This is remarkable!! Usually it goes, "No they're in PERFECT condition, only played once, taped and stored in an airtight lead box," then they bring 'em in covered in mold, barnacles and with a small wild animal near starved at the bottom of the pile. So to admit up front that they're crap... what progress!!!

My favourite surrealist quote this week came from our "not-as-hip-as-he-would-hope" Nirvana fan... friend of the disgruntled Ponderosa worker... who, holding up a 7" of Fleetwood Mac Tusk asked this now timeless question:

"Does this single have any Stevie Nicks or is it just The Mac?"

I think we've all asked ourselves the same question at least once in our lives.

I'm not run down because...

...I had a Vitamin C tablet on Sunday... I'M SUPERFUCKIN'ENERGIZED!!!!

King of All Media

I usually do my best not to be noticed... but lately that's been kiboshed.

It started last Tuesday with my "appearence" on the Rogers TV program Crosby Live. Ben Conoley and I were brought in to discuss our thoughts on Rolling Stone magazine's 1000th issue. To save you ordering transcripts I'll boil it down for you:

Used to be good... now (i.e. for the last 30 years) not so much.

Then on Thursday I became the cover model for Here magazine's current issue.

First off... thanks. I mean to those of you who might not have an opportunity to come into the store, mention you saw the issue and congratulate me for being on the cover. There's a slight-to-not-so-slight embarassment that encroaches on ego when you are acknowledged a few times a day then start consciously wondering as you pass by people on the sidewalk, "Does she know I'm on the cover of a magazine? Does he? Does Gus Mazzuca? Does he respect me, now?"

But... just know that being on the cover was not my idea. I (unvainly) thought the article was going to be about the store, ergo a nice shot of the neon sign outside or a macro pic of a stack of vinyl.... Kyle Cunjak's picture of me makes me cringe... but only because it's me... otherwise it's quite a well-taken photo.

Finally, the article... overall it's good, but there are a couple of instances, unfortunately both within sentences attributed to me, where careful editing wasn't thoroughly applied:



I believe the quote was closer to "The other store will have them for sale much cheaper... and they are more mainstream successes, whereas Flaming Lips would still bring customers in" or "we would still bring in for our customers."



Here the point was, loosely, that stores shouldn't be overly afraid of the download-for-sale, as a combination of online and offline shopping is attractive to VORACIOUS music buyers.

This is the dictionary definition of voracious:

vo·ra·cious Pronunciation Key (vô-rshs, v-)
adj.

1. Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous.
2. Having or marked by an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; greedy: a voracious reader.

There is a dictionary entry for veracious but it isn't something anybody could, er..., be one of.

OK. Nitpickiness time over. If I don't use my English degrees from time to time they erase another vowel from my diploma.

So anyhow, if anyone still would like to stalk me... that's my street at the top of the post. It's nice and quiet... full of pleasant foliage, no?

I've come this far.

Flurrious activity... with my one day weekend I must squeeze together some sound squiggles for the upcoming show (see below), meet with Andrew Miller and strategize the long term viability of a Fredericton-based avant garde festival, and do a little research on the history of Rolling Stone magazine so I can give some "expert" opinions on a Rogers Cable show on Tuesday night. I get the feeling the host wants mostly positive feedback about the generational and political importance of the publication... I hope I don't blow this with my thoughts on how it's sucked since 1975. We'll see.