She Mob - Prozac

Today's band is She Mob, which happens to be my band, actually. We played together throughout the 90s and beyond. Even though some of us left and new people joined, the core of She Mob remains core-like and occasional shows still happen. Prozac is off our first album, "Cancel the Wedding" (1999).



When I started playing this today, Jackson ran into the room, chanting, "She Mob! She Mob! She Mob!" He then sat in my lap and watched the whole thing. This is a sample of our main fan base, which tended to skew toward age 12 and under, or age 37 and over. Not much in between. It's a weird demographic but a fun one.

The official She Mob World Wide Web headquarters.

What's On Your Wall? - Michelle Robinson

It's time once again for What's On Your Wall? Today's walls are brought to you by Michelle Robinson, whose daughter attended my son's co-op preschool in Oakland. A couple years ago, Michelle's husband was offered a job in Oregon and they moved up there pretty much sight unseen.

Luckily, we had just visited their new home-town and I was able to assure her that it's a bucolic and splendid place. And so it is. After we moved up north (job-related), the Robinsons traveled to our place for a visit. We had a great day, hiking around waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge. Soon thereafter we returned to California (job-related--see a pattern here?) and never got to see their new home. So I really appreciate finding out what's on Michelle's walls. And I'm planning a visit in the Spring.

No captions. I think the artwork speaks for itself.





More walls:
Linda
Audrey
Captive WW

Beware the minefield of caddishness

Harry Enfield - Women Keep Your Virtue

In the Alley with Lady Gaga

I just watched a new Lady Gaga video and now feel the urge to return to the church and confess my sins for hopefully some kind of salvation. The ultimate question surrounding what we know of Gaga is, "Is she a genius or is she full of it?" I think the fact that this question comes up over and over throughout the World Wide Web gives credence to the fact that no one really knows the answer, probably including Gaga herself, and I guess that's...interesting. Is it necessary? The folks in the music industry think so and they've been seriously hurting for someone to come along and distract us enough to send our money flowing in their direction.

And HERE SHE IS! I give her credit. She's a money maker. She's a costume wearer and she's a catchy songstress of edgy dance material. She's also needlessly creepy and cadges too much from olden-days Madonna and 80s-era club kids. They formed a gang of crazy costumed party-goers cobbled together out of creativity, drug abuse and poverty, which became so excessive it morphed into homicidal maniacism.

She's more like a club kid who hires her gang to be backup dancers and film crew. And that's OK because in today's crazy-wazy world of stratospheric unemployment, it's nice that a group of people can rightfully say, "My boss is Gaga!"

Sebadoh - "Sorry"

I haven't been in much of a writing mood lately. I've been in a reading/watching/listening mood. And so: Sorry. One of my favorite Sebadoh songs. Lou Barlow is such a sensitive and musical person. He could probably use some therapy at times but then his songwriting might suffer. So keep on suffering, Lou. Within reason, of course.



From 1999. Were the 90s that far away? It seems so these days. It was a grittier time somehow, yet we're currently knee-deep in unemployment, war and national angst. Shouldn't our art be reflecting this very gritty reality? Instead it's all glossy and derivative, a la Lady Ga Ga, Beyonce, and god knows what else--I can't be bothered to keep track lately. It's pretty dull, except for Pink--she's gritty and then some, with the singing talent to back it up. Are we trying to overtly cheer ourselves up? Maybe so...

The Way We Get By - Trailer

The Way We Get By is the story of troop greeters in Bangor, Maine, who meet the troops on their way to and from Iraq.

But dad, it's SMOKEEEYYY!

Classic commercial that we middle-agers quote from time to time. And it was effective too, because when I started buying up records, I made sure to get a "Best of" Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (and Marvin Gaye while I was at it), which I still have. Because, after all, it is SMOKEEEEYYY.



As seen on The Poop (via Keith--thank you Keith, you humorous fellow).

The John Shiurba Experience - Hey Joe

I missed this annual show due to Halloween exhaustion, but here's a little piece of it. It's not every day that someone can do justice to Jimi Hendrix while Santa Claus plays drums. This shreds.

Live at the 8th Annual Murder Ballads Bash, Starry Plough, Berkeley CA, October 31, 2009. Thanks for this very special heavy-metal moment.
John Shiurba - guitar, vocals
Eli Crews - bass
Suki O'Kane - drums
Val Esway - backing vocals
Sue Hutchinson - backing vocals and MC
Karen Goodman - backing vocals