hevy devy

The Devin Townsend Project, Ki

Yeah, yeah, yeah another "genius," he says.

But this guy rocks.

& he used to rock a fantastic skullet:

. . . & for contrast, a more up-to-date pic:



Check out his youtube videos (NOTE: some language is quite certainly inappropriate) for some absolutely killer guitar playing.

This album is the 1st in an expected 4-disc arc. Addicted came out last year, then comes Deconstruction & finally Ghost, both of which are tentatively scheduled for next April.

Townsend calls Ki "tense, quiet."

Yeah, kinda.

Completely unlike his other stuff, in other words.

For some variety, see the Vai album Sex & Religion--on which he handled the vocals--or Strapping Young Lad, his extreme metal project.

Oh, & the solo album Ziltoid the Omniscient, a--yes, I am serious--rock opera about an alien who comes to Earth looking for a good cup of coffee.

Link for "1st Transmission" from Ziltoid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viaRKlgQo3E

Enjoy.


Juniors:
Soundtracks & poems & essays, oh my . . .

You brought in your "1/2-drafts," & I stamped them.

You began your notebooks of poetry w/ 10 questions to answer for any poem, brought to you by the good folks at Barron's [AP Lit & Comp Prep Guide].

We read "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer."

We'll talk more about that one tomorrow.

Sophomores:
You submitted your "Antigone Quotations," the collection we began when we began the poem, the ones we gave you in class (for the Prologue & Scene 1), the ones you completed over the weekend.

You got a head start on tomorrow's "big quiz" w/ some bonus points in an open-note preparation "quest."

It was good.

be cool

[disembodied]

Death Cube K, Disembodied

My friend swears that listening to Death Cube K before bed guarantees nightmares; I'm too afraid to try.

So I play it really loud Hallowe'en night, to give the trick-or-treaters a trick w/ their treat.

This is Buckethead's alter ego.

[Note the anagram?]

(So yeah, a guy who wears a bucket on his head needs another personality somewhere.)

Anyway, it makes for great Hallowe'en music.

[See? Even used the apostrophe there for accuracy.]

Basically, we're talking horror-movie soundtrack, ambient background noise w/ occasional brilliant guitar.

Buckethead is one of my favorite artists, a guy whose whole creative energy just blows me away.

You may know him from the Chinese Democracy album, which is much more a "Buckethead/Axl Rose" collaboration than a "Guns N Roses" album.

[But as a dude who bought Appetite back in '87, saw them live a few times, & has been a relative freak ever since, I will say the album is quite good, musically impressive, & not worth 14 years of waiting.]

You will see & hear much more Buckethead throughout the school year.

Juniors:
To begin November, you need 1/2.

Whichever choice you made--soundtrack, poem, or "article'--you bring in 1/2 of the minimum Monday.

We wrap tThe Waste Land & begin to look at more "understandable" poems.

Well, some of them, maybe.

Wait 'til you see E. E. Cummings . . .

Sophomores:
FORWARD!!!

We did some subject-verb agreement exercises,  a few together in class & 2 on your own for assessment.

It was fun.

Antigone quotations due Monday 1 November.

Antigone big quiz (see: "Drama Notes") Tuesday 2 November.

be cool . . .

everything is fine, fine, fine

Soul Coughing, Irresistible Bliss

1st heard of these guys when I saw them open for the Dave Matthews Band about 100 years ago. I thought it was a great band name, & they tore it up live.

Bought this record the next day, & I highly recommend it. Super-fantastic grooves mixed w/ some seemingly Dada-style lyrics.

For the "song-not-album" people, check out "Super Bon Bon" & "The Idiot Kings," 2 of my top-500 songs like ever.

(& today's title comes from the lyrics of the latter.)

Also, for the eclectic tastes: "Soft Serve," "4 out of 5," "Disseminated," & "Soundtrack to Mary."

Oh, & how about paint, w/ the following lyric: "I know you're dumb as paint."

Got to love it.

& for the genre folks . . .uhh . . . . rock/funk, bass-driven-groove w/ a touch of soul, maybe?

Juniors:
Have you ever read The Waste Land?

Well, I have, & it rocks.

(But there is no water.)

Sophomores:
Highlights from  the intro to the film:

Antigone: somber, mayhaps tragic

Creon: collector of rare manuscripts, fooler of self

Eurydice: she sits there sewing until she leaves to die.

Chorus: good-looking fellow, greta mustache.

Ismene: "Chorus" says she's far more beautiful than Antigone

Haimon: he liked sports, competition

Oh, & this was filmed in the '70s when a lot of folks smoked, but please don't.

'Til then . . .

FORWARD!!!

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D Bowie plays him in "The Prestige," too

Tesla, Psychotic Supper

If you have not come across the story of Nikola Tesla, stop whatever you are doing, google it, & read it.

Fascinating.

Many years ago when I 1st heard of these guys I had to do "research" to figure out what was up w/ the name.

I actually spent a few minutes debating the relative merits of several of their CDs:

Five-Man Acoustical Jam started that whole rock-bands-w/-acoustic-guitars craze before you were born.

The Great Radio Controversy has "Love Song," 1 of the 1st songs I learned all the way through--solo & all, as I had been primarily a rhythm player--back in that proverbial day.

Mechanical Resonance, the debut album that has the absolutely rockin' "Modern Day Cowboy" & the semi-hit "Little Suzi."

& I chose Psychotic Supper because it's a great title, it may make you look up some Tesla (the man) details--also, listen to "Edison's Medicine" for a brief summation--& it has "What You Give," the best of their power ballads.

Wow . . ."power ballads" . . . will do a few posts on them later.

Props to Ashlyn for the band idea: she saw them live the other night & has photos & a guitar pick to prove it.

Juniors:
Peace.

Self-surrender.

Restraint.

Durn fine poem.

Durn fine.

Details about the "culmination" of The Waste Land--your choice of essay, poem, or soundtrack--to come.

More, 'easier" poems to come, also.

Then, in about 3 weeks . . . Macbeth.

Sophomores:
We finished the 1st reading of Antigone.

(Wait . . ."1st" . . huh??)

You will submit the quotations that we have been going over in class since we began the play NEXT MONDAY 1 NOVEMBER.

You wrote down the directions, & we showed you the Prologue in terms of quotes & also the response.

We also finished the "Drama Notes,: & you will take the quiz on those next TUESDAY 2 NOVEMBER.

Oh, & the last bonus-point opportunity passed w/ no answers, so here's another: 5 points to the 1st to identify the "guy" up top of the page--the one w/ the purple shirt & green tie, flies buzzing around his head.

ID the name of the character & his source material in the comments below.

be cool

Romeo Blue

Lenny Kravitz, Mama Said

I 1st heard of him when he married Lisa Bonet.

His mother played the neighbor on The Jeffersons.

He was a hipster before hipsters were hip, & this is his best album.

Standout track: "Always on the Run," featuring Slash.

Juniors:
You finished up the group work.

We talked about "honesty" in poetry, inspired by Cleanth Brooks's take on The Waste Land.

You got the list of recurring words, & you will have 1/2 hour (30 minutes) to work on that tomorrow.

Sophomores:
We went over the open-book quizzes based on the material we had read aloud in class the previous day.

You submitted unit 4 synonyms.

We read scene 4.

We may just finish this thing tomorrow.

In coming days, you will have the chance to improve your grade w/ 2 big assignments:

(1) the quiz on those "Drama Notes" we have been covering daily &
(2) the "Antigone Quotations" pages: you copied down all the instructions & were given quotations from the Prologue & scene 1, as well as the explanations for each scene.

I am off to watch The Girl Who Played With Fire (part 2 of The Millennium Trilogy, aka "the series that started w/ The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo")

be cool
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that voice . . . just, wow

Corinne Bailey Rae, Corinne Bailey Rae

Yes! Another positive response to the music.

Many of you know "Put Your Records On," & I also dig "Like a Star," "Call Me When You Get This," & the album-closing "Seasons Change."

As you can tell by the post title, I absolutely love her voice, which fits the jazz-soul vibe of the music perfectly.

Juniors:
The Waste Land.

Finishing up group work.

Images of water & fire.

Remember: if it's in water, there's probably some kind of baptism or rebirth, a change, at least.

& if it's one fire, that's probably not a good thing.

& if there's water but no rock, could that be a metaphor for a spirit & no body?

hmm . . . .


Sophomores:
Antigone, scene 4.

She talks to the chorus here, & she asks for pity.

Cracks in the proverbial armor?

Antigone talks a little less "game" here, noting the injustice she sees in the punishment for the crime she willfully committed, knowing full well said punishment was to come.

Only a few scenes left, & I am getting excited about the thrilling conclusion.

Unit 4 synonyms due tomorrow!!!

oh, & R.I.P the Dallas Cowboys 2010 season

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a small green area in a desert or wasteland

Yep, very positive response for this one.

Oasis, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

My favorite Oasis story is the one in which singer Liam is a no-show (sore throat, he says) for the band's performance on MTV's Unplugged, leaving big bro Noel to sing the songs.

Noel does a pretty good job, but  shortly into the performance the band is heckled by an obnoxious gent in the balcony.

That gent?

Yeah, Liam.

The brothers Gallagher had some great times.

My favorite bandmate brothers:

1. Vinnie & Darrell from Pantera
2. Eddie & Alex from Van Halen
3. Chris & Rich from The Black Crowes.
4. Liam & Noel from Oasis
5. like the whole band Kings of Leon, except the cousin
HONORABLE MENTION: Hanson . . . I especially like the one who looked like a girl back in the "Mmm-Bop" days & now sings for Tinted Windows

(NO MENTION of the Jonas Brothers, though I hear one of them actually has talent. Nick, maybe?)

Juniors:
The Waste Land, we explore.

Looking at recurring images, Mary Karr's "Central poetic experience," & other such things.

Greta, great poem

A heap of broken images.


Sophomores:
FORWARD!!!

We did some Mark Twain reading--the story of the watch was pretty durn funny, to be quite honest.

Literary response & analysis for the proverbial win.

be cool