new pair of goggles: May 2006

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

F Posterity, issue 2: "Summer Crazy"

For the second edition of the ongoing web-published album "F Posterity", I'm dropping one for my Missouri peoples. I came up with the guitar riff for this song in 1996, when I was just learning guitar, found it on a tape in 2003 and wrote some lyrics for it.

As Missouri and its good neighbors in the Midwest have no ocean shores to speak of, our aquatic recreation typically happens in ponds, lakes, and rivers. And when there's a bridge over any of these, the recreation inevitably involves hurling one's self from it into the water below. Down Highway 55 and off Gravois outside St. Louis, there's a great bridge we used to jump off of, pending cops and a rainy season prior. This song covers the experience.

Hollas to all my people who hurl themselves from bridges into the waters below. We don't need no oceans. Here are the lyrics:

Beige vinyl seats in a brown LeMans
Crispy fried heat on the burned out lawns
Asphalt and the open windows sing
'Cause we don't believe in air conditioning

Shorts and shoes without socks or shirts
Old tape cassettes and megahertz
Southbound US 55
'Cause there's always miles to drive
And we're
Pretty colors in the flaming sun
Like a polaroid flashback said and done
Washed out and overexposed
Bad graffiti tags underneath the bridge
Bikini bottoms at the river's edge
Picnic beercan locals
Over muddy water vocals

Thirty-nine feet come free-falling
The water table's low and kick off the bottom
Surface downstream and check your head
And walk back up the muddy bank again
And we're
Pretty colors in the flaming sun
Like a polaroid flashback said and done
Washed out and overexposed
Pretty colors in the flaming sun
Summer crazy, summer dumb
Washed out and overexposed

Download mp3s below by right-clicking on the links.

F Posterity, 2006
52. F Posterity (Getzschman) - May 16, 2007
51. Crazy (Burton/Callaway/Reverberi/Reverberi) - May 9, 2007
50. Persistence of Regret (Getzschman/Ryan/Sahm) - May 2, 2007
49. Breakin' Plates (Getzschman/Ruthsatz) - April 26, 2007
48. Trio for Vocal, Metronome, Wurlitzer (Getzschman) - April 18, 2007
47. She Hates It When I'm Right (Getzschman) - April 11, 2007
46. Beat It (Jackson) - April 4, 2007
45. Mass Ave Strut (Getzschman) - March 28, 2007
44. Let's Fall Asleep Like This (Getzschman) - March 21, 2007
43. 2010 Ain't What They Said It Would Be (Getzschman) - March 14, 2007
42. Three Red Stars (Getzschman) - March 7, 2007
41. Birdhouse In Your Soul (Flansburgh/Linnell) - February 28, 2007
40. Everybody Thinks They're Self-Aware (Getzschman) - February 21, 2007
39. Hysterical Woman (Getzschman) - February 14, 2007
38. Hollaback Savior (Getzschman) - February 7, 2007
37. White Collar (old Philly dollar) (Getzschman) - January 31, 2007
36. Bottle of Blues (B. Hansen) - January 24, 2007
35. Ask Somebody (Getzschman) - January 17, 2007
34. All Time High Score (Getzschman) - January 10, 2007
33. Bury Me In My Jetpack (Getzschman) - January 3, 2007
32. Eggnogg Is The Liquor Of This Household (Getzschman) - December 27, 2006
31. Like Spinning Plates (T.Yorke/J.Greenwood) - December 20, 2006
30. Jack or Jesus (Getzschman/Peterson) - December 13, 2006
29. Runes (Getzschman) - December 6, 2006
28. We Leave Just Like We Come (Getzschman) - November 29, 2006
27. Shampoo! (Getzschman) - November 22, 2006
26. Tomorrow Is A Long Time (Dylan) - November 15, 2006
25. Was That Seriously Your Plan? (Getzschman) - November 8, 2006
24. Understated Explosions (Getzschman) - November 1, 2006
23. Everything Sounds Better On Vinyl (Getzschman) - October 25, 2006
22. Take Heart (Getzschman) - October 18, 2006
21. Pigs (L. Freese, S. Reyes, L. Muggerud) - October 11, 2006
20. Upstart Casualties (Getzschman) - October 4, 2006
19. Troubling (Getzschman) - Sept 27, 2006
18. Tales of Woe (Getzschman/Getzschman/Booth) - Sept 20, 2006
17. Manual Labor Pains (Getzschman) - Sept 13, 2006
16. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Gibbard/Tamborello) - September 6, 2006
15. Postmodern Burlesque Review (Getzschman) - August 30, 2006
14. Neverending Love Affair (Getzschman) - August 23, 2006
13. Living On Credit (Getzschman) - August 16, 2006
12. Broke As A Muhfuh (Getzschman) - August 9, 20006
11. Josie (Becker/Fagan) - August 2, 2006
10. Cold Day at the Races (Getzschman) - July 26, 2006
9. Calaveras (Getzschman) - July 19, 2006
8. Narcissist Blues (Getzschman) - July 12, 2006
7. Advice to a Young Jedi (Getzschman) - July 5, 2006
6. God Only Knows (Wilson/Asher) - June 28, 2006
5. Miracle Hubcap (Getzschman) - June 21, 2006
4. A Paycheck Is All I Ask (Getzschman) - June 14, 2006
3. Halfway (Getzschman) - June 7, 2006
2. Summer Crazy (Getzschman) - May 31, 2006
1. Sunday Street (Van Ronk) - May 26, 2006

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

Analog Jetpack eponymous debut poll!!

Yo party peops,

So following our last Wonderland Ballroom show, the band has been working on a couple new songs to round out our first album. We've just nailed down a June gig at the Velvet Lounge, and we're looking at a short New York - Philly - DC trip with our friends from Chicago, Hey Champ in July.

Most importantly, we're headed towards recording with Jerome Maffeo, the Baltimore-based producer/drummer for Jimmy's Chicken Shack. Needless to say, we're stoked. And in the interest of getting it out there, we've put together a poll for the title of the debut album. What do you think Analog Jetpack's debut album should be called? Here are a few options.

This Disk Flies is the current title of our EP. It most definitely works for vinyl, compact disks, and all frisbee-compatible media. Less so for tapes, 8-tracks and Edison wax cylinders, but still cool. And appropriate with the Jetpack motif.

Nous Sommes La Resistance is French for "We are the resistance". It's from a line in "Savoir Sonic" that goes, "We plan to usher in the new stance with the way we play these songs / Et si vous voulez, ecoutez, nous sommes la resistance." This title has merit because anything French is inherently condescending, much as the very indie-pop culture we help comprise.

Eponymous Debut is a great paradox title, which just between you and us, nobody will really get, but you'll get, because I'll explain it to you here. Or maybe you already got it and think it's genius. It is. e.g., Led Zeppelin's debut was titled Led Zeppelin. The album is named after the band: dumbest phenomenon ever. Such an album is thus called an "eponymous debut" because the album shares the band name. Good, I suppose, for breaking a band, but not for historical creativity. By naming our debut "Eponymous Debut", we mock the tradition and break it, because by naming it such, it's not an eponymous debut. It just says it is. Heh, heh. (We're patting ourselves on the back here.)

Rapture Misinterpretations could be the controversial favorite, because it denotes what the Bush Administration's foreign, domestic, and environmental policies are founded on. It's also from a line in our punk number "Punish the Rental".

Other... is for those choosy shoppers who see nothing they like here. Post your original contribution in a note below.

On a final note, this is not so much a democratic solicitation as a meaningful chance to interact with dynamic new poll technology lifted from Sarah's blog. Dynamic, I tell you! Doesn't it feel like the future of voting?

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

F Posterity, issue 1: Dave Van Ronk's "Sunday Street"

Since my main focus for producing music right now is the band (see link below), I'm offering to my friends on MySpace something totally unique: a weekly raw track, unproduced, unfettered by instrumentation / ornamentation, save me and my guitar.

The title of the collection will be, "F Posterity."

So each week, the bottom song on my profile playlist will rotate with something totally raw. Sometimes covers, sometimes demos, maybe sometimes a screamo angst piano ballad (on acoustic guitar).

They'll be free for download, so if you collect them all, you win!! But you don't win anything.

These are not polished. On the first track, available now, I play "Sunday Street", a song written by one of my heroes, Dave Van Ronk. You'll note I forgot the third verse (twice), which goes

My hands are shakin' and I ain't feeling well
From drinking king kong liquor and cheap muscatell
A little bit of bourbon and breakfast in bed
Six million dollars can raise the dead
Just me and the other elite
Raising high-class hell up on Sunday Street

I love Dave Van Ronk's music. He was a master of interpretation, to say nothing of being a prime mover in the folk scare of the sixties, as well as a self-proclaimed insufferable jazz snob. But he's known as a folk singer.

So enjoy these downloads. Personally, I can't get enough of the raw edge of a performer accompanying themselves with their instrument de choix, and it's probably why I love Van Ronk so much, and early Dylan. I'm more apt to buy an album of demos than the label release, by anyone from John Lennon to Roky Ericson. Now I've got to get that "Personal File" collection by the man in black. Man, that stuff's good.

If you're not into the unpolished stuff, you can check out my band below. We should have an album out sometime late summer.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

I supported me some local art.

About a month ago, my friend Donia completed her move to Greece, trucking all her art overseas or putting it in storage. Before she did, I bought this:

I must say that seeing it on my wall daily brings me immense pleasure. With true fine art, the more you see, the more you get. This is definitely the case with this piece. Depending on the time of day, the angle of light or the state of mind, it always shows me something different.

This pastel, framed at 14x18", ran me $1200, and I believe Donia cut me a break as a close friend. It's a distinct pleasure to pay her for her work. It validates her as a working artist and me as a income-less master of the arts.

Now, budding collectors, do I have $1200? Certainly not. Do I have next month's rent in my bank account? Certainly not. Did I just make a mad batch of pasta to feed me for the week? I did. Nevertheless, I cut Donia a check for $200, and I'll be paying her in monthly installments until it's paid for. This is similar to arrangements I have with other friends like Chase Mastercard, the Student Loan Corporation, Citibank, and MBNA.

This blog is not about credit martyrdom, however, but supporting local culture. Since most of our daily expended monies go to multinational conglomerate corporations, I encourage you to find a way, any way, to support something you have direct contact with. Buy somebody's art. Buy somebody's music. Buy stuff out of the truck on the side of the highway - that stuff is the bomb.

If, for example, you wanted to buy my latest album, Hypocrisy in the Genius Room, you could go to iTunes or email me your address and I'll send you a "hard copy" for the low-low price of $10. I actually prefer hard copies because I like to pour over the linear notes as I listen to the album, and my album insert has all the lyrics, plus two drawings of monkeys by me and my brother (see below for one). Drawings of monkeys in the linear notes? I ought to being charging $1200.

But if I sell 120 copies, it'll pay for Donia's painting. With 79,670,960 in my extended network, I'm kind of banking on making this a reality.

Monday, May 15, 2006

O! Grad school: reflections on a $40,000 symbolic step

Sunday morning I was announced before about 6,000 people, and I crossed a stage in a funny gown and shook the hand of a man I'd never seen before. We shared a faux significant moment; the camera flashed. I stepped offstage and received a stainless steel business card tote, a token of affection from the only university established by an act of Congress: American University.

The back of the tote read "Made in China."

Grad school graduation carries none of the emotional significance of high school or college. The ceremony was good enough; the speaker, Washington Post Co. CEO Donald Graham, told a few rousing anecdotes, self-deprecated to a pleasant degree, and sent us off with a memorable message: at some point in your life, draft yourself into some scenario beyond your comfort zone. Peace Corps, Teach for America, cooking meth in a drug-free zone, etc.

The process of higher education has seemed a sort of filling in the gaps, which one could just as well achieve by going out and getting the right job, or a library card. Now these aren't easy to do, but neither is paying back $40,000 in federal student aid. Compared to sitting 20 months of 8-hour Saturdays in a classroom, I think I'd prefer the experiential/experimental route. The only benefit of the academic route is the fixed gestation period. And I'm done now.

I reckon I learned about $5-10,000 worth in grad school that I couldn't have taught myself. The balance of the tuition was paid to have an institution lord over me, sort of like joining the Reebok club to get in shape. But strangely enough, the degree does validate me in a way that only a certified piece of paper can. I'm a master of the arts. If I'd gotten my degree in the universe, I'd be He-Man.

An academic degree is a symbolic thing, carrying a different flavor of clout than, say, an Oscar, a Pulitzer, or being shot seven times. Having now achieved that degree, I feel a mix of genuine accomplishment and unapplied, book-larned wisdom. I feel different; I feel... sexier. Now I'm out validate myself based on the 40 grand I doled out to the university. Now I'm out to get shot seven times.

Below you'll find the symbolic achievement of my symbolic degree: the short film that validates my graduate education according to the standards of the institution. In a way, this film cost me 40 grand. If you really enjoy it, PayPal 40 grand to chillrob at hotmail.com, and I'll know it was worth it.

What should we call the Analog Jetpack debut?
	This Disk Flies
	Nous Sommes La Resistance
	Eponymous Debut
	Rapture Misinterpretations
	Other...