slip sliding in the arizona heat.

I'm currently spending the week in Phoenix and found a used copy of Meat Puppets II on CD at Zia record exchange (in fact there were several used copies of several of the Meat Puppets albums for sale.) It seemed to be the perfect soundtrack for lazy days driving around in the +100 degree heat going from strip mall to strip mall, air-conditioned refuge to air-conditioned refuge. Perhaps great things are a foot in Phoenix, but I can't see how it'd be. Besides the heat there is so many things that are oppressive about the city. The car dominated landscape wide and straight roads gridding out the whole metropolitan area cut through by constantly busy massive freeways. The half empty city blocks, even in the "reviving" downtown area, where half of the blocks are either empty lots or empty buildings. The constant xenophobic paranoia against almost half the population that literally build the mortgage backed sprawl, ever growing and desert consuming.

Two of the big topics of debate in the mayorial debate held last night were how to prevent blight from un-maintained forclosed-upon homes and (non-existent) gang violence (read hispanic youth).

Oh well. What better to do than chill out, take it all in an listen to some psychadelic zztop-influenced post-hardcore american punk rock?

dada in the year now

In becoming a committed rock and roll fan, and realizing it ain't going anywhere, you gain the benefit of taking the long view of rock'n'roll history. You can continue mining the same 50 years or so of music you keep discovering random gems. Within the mass of music already made, new things slowly come out that were not appreciated before. Things previously seen only in passing or in the background come to the forefront. Old bands you thought you knew reveal sides that you never appreciated or thought you'd hate.

Another thing I've learned, is always bet on an artist you trust, even, or especially as they move into later albums and intentionally change their music. Think the Rolling Stones "Some Girls," late Byrds' records, Lou Reed's "Blue Mask", Captain Beefheart's last record. Often not crackling with the energy of having to show off one's new idea of rock-n-roll, but always interesting and often a slow burn take on one's place in the world.

That's all a pitch for me discovering Pere Ubu's "Cloudland." Good record.



That is also to say, you should embrace the freedom of not having to track down the latest or coolest teenagers