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11/22/2005
OBIT
Guitar master Link Wray dies at 76:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Music/11/21/obit.wray.ap/index.html
EAR PLUGS
Last Thursday a good sized crowd dressed mostly in black showed up for the
Johnny Cash karaoke night at The Earl, celebrating the release of Walk the Line.
Johnny Knox and Hi-Test did a fine job providing live backing music but the
vocal performances varied from surprisingly good to shockingly horrible. You may
have noticed a consistent lack of coverage of karaoke events in Degenerate Press
broadcasts. Yes, there is a certain vibe at karaoke gatherings, sort of a “we’re
all in this together” camaraderie. But for me that doesn’t make up for the
occasional painful performances. I’ve never been a fan of folk art, and karaoke
is nothing but audible folk art - untrained, often untalented people covering
familiar ground. I’d rather fork over $5-10 to see someone with ability and
drive producing something new. There’s a reason art can be expensive. Aside from
the years of training, talented people are rare and should be appreciated -
financially, even.
Grumbling aside, it was nice to see so many folks willing to put it all out
there, and on a school night no less, to celebrate the Man in Black.
Saturday found us at the house of degenerates DC & BC, sitting on their back
deck staring into a fire pit. This has become a frequent weekend event for us
for several reasons. Some of our usual gang are poor, others are pregnant and
don’t visit smoky bars these days, and it’s tough for everyone to agree on
dinner and a show together.
So there we sat with a profound sense of déjà vu. Some 20 years ago we shivered
in the cold, staring into a fire and drinking rapidly enough to stave off the
chill, swearing to ourselves that one day we’d have jobs and lives so we could
get the hell out of that small town and…
sit around a different fire, drinking rapidly enough to stave off the chill.
But at least the booze is better and some of us have found warm bodies to share
our beds after an evening of drinking, smoking, and staring into the flames. As
the weather turned from chilly to chilling rain there’s not much more you could
ask for.
Back at DP HQ we’ve been winterizing the joint, just in time for the
aforementioned cold front to blow in. You might think covering the windows in
plastic would make a sun-loving winterphobe like myself feel a bit down but it’s
actually fall that depresses me, not winter. The blurry, gray light that
struggles to get through the plastic over the windows fades by the time I get
home from work, making our home seem like a cozy cave in which I could hibernate
the winter away. Leaving for an evening of entertainment feels like slipping out
after dark, after curfew, after the parents have gone to bed and we delinquents
own the cold nights.
So it’s time to plan for the holidays. No, not Thanksgiving or Consumass - New
Year’s Eve. Due to the aforementioned states of poverty and pregnancy, many of
my tribe will be staying home, or close to home, this year. No week-long jaunt
to Amsterdam this year. So anyone got any brilliant, affordable ideas? Some of
us may have time, money and motivation to travel a bit, even if it means leaving
the rest of the tribe here in town, and other subscribers may be interested in
your thoughts, so send ‘em in!
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