A Thanks to Doug TenNapel, the Bigot
Earlier this week I noticed a big uptick on visitors to my site. I immediately knew this could only mean one thing: Doug TenNapel must’ve done something stupid. Continue reading
VHS Zombie Anxiety – How George A. Romero Nearly Ruined My Life (But It’s Not His Fault)
Obits and tributes around the web have said more about him than I ever could. He’s being lauded as a true innovator, a man who changed cinema and pop culture forever, a renegade film icon that played by his own rules to make the movies he wanted to make, making some of the most beloved and acclaimed horror movies by doing so.
But to me he’ll always be remembered as the man who gave me a near-debilitating anxiety disorder that lasted a better part of my life. This is through no direct fault of his own – I don’t hold him personally responsible.
It was really my dad’s fault, if I’m honest. Continue reading
Tales Of Woe And Analog-To-Digital Conversion: Turntable Edition
Since appearing on Retronauts for the second time, I’ve discovered that a few people hold me in high regard as an audio expert/audiophile. I don’t know if that’s a fair portrayal of me and my expertise regarding audio equipment, but that sure is nice of people to think so. But on nights like tonight I feel like they sure as hell shouldn’t.
I tend to get a little obsessive about my turntable when things aren’t going right. Well, to quote an ex, I get “kind of scary and weird.” And I suppose that this instance is no exception. Continue reading
Steve Winwood and self-realizations
Oh shit I accidentally bought a Steve Winwood album. I hate it when that happens. Continue reading
Tales Of Woe And Analog-To-Digital Conversion
It’s eight o’clock on a beautiful Sunday evening. I worked a long day, time to relax.
And by “relax” I mean “work on dubbing a VHS tape to a DVD via a VCR/HDD/DVD combo unit I bought last week, while copying a new record to my hard drive via a USB phono-preamp, followed by copying an obscure ambient audio tape to my computer via the same device. I’m also ripping a concert DVD to my hard drive so I can convert it to audio and then into individual MP3s.
Sometimes I wonder why I can’t just stream shit like everyone else. Continue reading
The Glory of Hard-Off
I’ll get the obvious joke out of the way now.
In Japan, software is just called “soft” and hardware” is just called “hard.” The suffix “off” is often used to signify sales. There’s an entire chain of stores that make use of that grammatical choice. They have bookstores called “Book Off” that are quite common in and around Tokyo. Their stores that sell figures and models is called “Hobby Off.” They even have a used housewares store that is named “Off House,” I’m not sure for the reasoning behind the flipped words there.
But yes, they do have a hardware store, and it is called “Hard Off.” I understand that’s funny and I will not besmirch you for laughing. Shit, I’ve lived here three and a half years and I still giggle sometimes when I say to myself, “wow, that Hard-Off is huge.”
By the way, they have a liquor outlet store called “Liquor Off” and I think that shit is even funnier, but I digress. Continue reading
Listen to Whipping Post
I can’t meet anyone and I’m lonely all the time. I’m going to listen to “Whipping Post.”
I can’t find a job. The market’s dried up. I’m going to listen to “Whipping Post.”
I’m working in a warehouse with no air conditioning. I’m going to listen to “Whipping Post.”
The place I just moved into has cockroaches, my roommates are assholes and I’m fairly certain my next door neighbor is a drug dealer. I’m going to listen to “Whipping Post.” Continue reading
About Guns.
Last month, an up-and-coming Japanese pop idol, Mayu Tomita, was attacked by a stalker, who managed to stab her more than 20 times. She was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries, but apparently she will live.
Two weeks ago, singer Christina Grimmie was attacked by a stalker. He shot her in the head. She died.
Even before the horrifying mass shooting in Orlando just a few days after this terrible attack, I felt as if these two events perfectly illustrated the effectiveness of strict gun control laws. Continue reading
Boom Boom Satellites Push Eject
It’s August 31st, 1999, just hours before my 20th birthday and I’m in St. Andrews Hall in Detroit, waiting for Moby to take the stage. Play, his soon-to-be-defining album, had just been released earlier that year, and buzz was starting to build around him.
But before Moby would perform a set that would end up blowing my mind, another group would appear on stage, some weird Japanese act called Boom Boom Satellites, delivering a blistering set of uninterrupted insanity composed of electronic beats, frenetic drumming and a pair of hyper-intense frontmen who obviously knew how to shred on guitar. Continue reading