The Passion!

We played a passionate acoustic duo set at the Flat Iron Arts building in Chicago last night.  We were in a really cool artist's studio, great acoustics, very comfortable, and a small but friendly and enthusiastic audience.

It's great when people actually sit and listen.  And it's great when you bring it.  We brought it last night. Yes, of course you need songs, and you need to be tight, and you need to sound good.

But what you really need is the invisible, intangible things: passion and energy.  And those things can't be bottled or manufactured.  Or faked.  Not really.  I mean, I guess you can try to fake it.  But I think it shows.

So yes, we brought the passion and energy. We committed ourselves to the moment.  And that's the world baby! 

Trying on Songs For Size!

Still trying to decide on songs for our Summer of Love show Oct 13.  Actually, I'm deciding which songs to bring to our band.  So I'm wading through the vast pool of music released in 1967, watching the YouTube videos, printing out the chords and playing along to see what feels good.

The exercise is sort of like trying on other people's clothes.  Seeing how they fit.  Seeing if you can make them your own.

Sometimes you like the "idea" of playing a song, but then there's the reality of stepping through the chords, and singing the words, and you realize it's just not going to fly.  Example: The Velvet Underground "I'm Waiting for the Man."  Love the song, pretty easy to play, but for some reason it seems false.  I mean, it's so true to Lou Reed, but false on my lips, in my brain.  

Now Van Morrison's "Brown-Eyed Girl," hell, that one seems like a winner.  Beautiful chord progression, great lyrics.  Yes, it will be hard to top Van's version, but something tells me our band will find the groove.  I'm thinking we try it for sure.

Nico's take on Jackson Browne's "These Days."  Somber.  Our drummer described it as "dour." And the guitar part is almost too bright and jaunty.  I've slowed it down a bit. Love the little finger-picking part, could be a very beautiful, hushed moment.  Depends.  The Lovely Carla needs to own it.  And what key would work best?  Have decided to keep it in for now. Even with the outstanding questions.

Sure things: Cream's "Strange Brew" - tight little jam, "The Letter" by the Box Tops - what a perfect pop/rock song and Alex Chilton singing at 16!, "White Rabbit" - so iconic.  Great bass part, great drum part, cool, trippy guitar part, but can anyone sing it like Grace Slick does?  "Stepping Stone" - yes, it's a classic from that TV band.  We're thinking a stripped down version.  The lyrics are great.  The Who's "Happy Jack" - I love this song!  Love the lyrics, love what The Who do. Can our band do it?  We will give our best for sure!  The Doors "Soul Kitchen" - this one is already in our set.  We love it, we groove it, we have definitely made it our own.  More like the Patti Smith version, but it's ours now!

Not sures: "Little Wing" - a beautiful Hendrix song, silly lyrics, stunningly beautiful guitar part, "Hey Joe" - misogynist as hell, but what a great chord progression, the band would love to play it for sure. And maybe with the Lovely Carla singing we turn the meaning upside down? "San Francisco" - A friend wants to sing it.  I'm sure he will do a great job, he has a wonderful voice.  But man, do I hate that song.  It's really the hippie nightmare.  And you wonder if San Francisco ever recovered from all those poor hippies flocking to the city looking for those "gentle people!" It definitely captures a certain 1967 vibe.  But it seems like a ridiculous song to me.

Anyway, still wading through songs.  Probably more surprises on the way... "Walk Away Renee" - maybe!

A Complicated Flower!

We're doing a "Summer of Love" tribute show. In October. The thought was, well there's always room for love, and always room for summer. And 1967 was some kind of watershed year in music. "Sgt. Peppers" from the Beatles, "Pipers at the Gates of Dawn" from Pink Floyd, "Are You Experienced" from the Jimi Hendrix Experience. And many more great songs and albums. 

Our band is doing songs from the Monkees (that cheesy TV band), Jefferson Airplane (trippy SF rock), The Doors (dark, moody, transcendental) and the Velvet Underground (strange, hard-boiled, decadent). Definitely attracted to the darker side of the summer of love. Revolution was in the air. Doors and walls were melting. And even though some look back at that year as some kind of beautiful flowering, it was a complicated flower with thorns that cut and could make you bleed...

Something Out Of Reach

Yeah, I was reading about Lou Reed, and found out that he was influenced/inspired by Raymond Chandler.  Chandler created Philip Marlowe, the hard-boiled Private Eye, who always found himself in the middle stories that would always get curiouser, and curiouser. And that template is sort of a description of our situation in life.  There's a mystery.  Something happened.  And we try to figure out what it is... but there's always something just out of reach...

And the language of those great Raymond Chandler novels, well... the language is addictive, illuminating... etc.

"What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell." - R.C.

Football is Big Business

OK. Yes. The Replacement Refs made a pretty bad call on Monday Night Football.  But the outrage seemed a little over the top.  I mean, hell it's only a game.  And the Refs made a friendly call in favor of the Home Team.  It happens, right? What's the big deal?

I then I saw this story... reminded me that Football is big business.  And betting on Football is big business.  That little blown call may have cost bettors $300 million dollars.  Oh, yeah, I get it!  The outrage!

And then, there's also a political angle to the whole thing.  The "replacement refs," also known as "scabs" are filling in for the real refs who are on strike (Actually it's not a strike, the Owners are locking the refs out! This really looks like a case of Greedy Owners trying to bust/beat up, a union!).  Man.  Maybe this case illustrates the power and value of unions in this climate of union busting.

Just another example of how the GOP and much of Management in the land is on the wrong side of an important issue.  Unions helped make the USA the USA.  We should not forget!  

The SUN!

And just why isn't our land filled with these (see below) solar arrays? When people talk about "alternative" energy, they are derided as dreamers, as wimps, as tree huggers. Don't you know that the SUN is the biggest freaking generator in our orbit? 

 The SUN is the energy source for all life on our planet. We really should have a Solar Cult devoted to worshiping and channeling the power of the SUN! It's been around for millions of years, and will be around, unless something unforeseen happens, for many millions more. We should be devoting major investments in dollars and manpower to fill our land with solar arrays. 

Those making money drilling into the earth should be ostracized. Get your heads out of the dirt. Raise your heads, raise your eyes. Look up at the SUN. It's power can save us, it can free us from the slavery of dirty fossil fuel. Wake Up! The SUN!

Let's Go Solar Baby!

Don't know why this little video of ours didn't go viral. The clouds of radioactivity are still wafting thru the air (maybe people just don't want to think about it?).  And Japan has decided that maybe nuclear energy is not the solution... especially when we don't really know what to do with the waste, and if there's an accident, well, let's just say it's not good. Haven't you seen those Godzilla movies?!  There's that big old sun up there.  It seems like this amazing energy that should be fully tapped! Let's go Solar baby!

  

"All that matters is work." - Andy Warhol

I just don't have the rock and roll lifestyle thing worked out.  We played a show last night at a classic Chicago neighborhood bar.  It was another thrilling performance for our band whitewolfsonicprincess.  It's funny we thought we were a tight, committed band, but the last shows have shown that there are levels to tightness and commitment.  We have entered a new phase, where the tightness, the connectedness have opened to a new looseness and confidence.  Exhilarating and satisfying.  And the hardcore drinkers at the bar stopped, listened, applauded, bended our ears to tell us how much the enjoyed the show and bought CDs too... definitely some kind of endorsement.

But anyway, up late and up early too.  If I was totally rock and roll I'd sleep to noon for sure.  But it seems no matter how late I stay up, I'm up early, brewing my coffee, checking out the internet, and listening to music too.

This morning I'm listening to Lou Reed and John Cale's tribute to Andy Warhol, "Songs For Drella."  It was released in 1987.  I have no clue why it took me so long to finally buy it and listen to it. Maybe I read a bad review or something.  New resolution - never fucking listen to a reviewer!  The disc is just so beautiful, touching, amazing.  I picked it up yesterday at the used CD store, and I'm so glad I grabbed it.  I'm listening to it now, second time through this morning... it's just such great, thrilling work.  Love it. Sad too. Funny too. A great, great set of music... and oh yeah, I'm such an admirer of Andy Warhol... one of the greatest artists ever... so inspiring... I miss him too Lou!

"All that matters is work." - Andy Warhol

The Rot is Quite Stinky!

Yes, as Charles Pierce points out, the Romney campaign tossed out a dead fish for inspection late Friday afternoon.  The rot is getting quite stinky at this point.  You wonder if the Big Plastic Guy is just  a little bored of running for Prez.  The guy doesn't even have a job and he made $14 million last year.  Sheesh!  But at this point, it's got to be clear to him that lots of people actually loath him and his voice makes people's flesh crawl.  And all his glad-handing and all those empty, glazed smiles aren't going to change that fact.  Maybe he should just decamp to one his many homes and polish his golf clubs, or re-count his stash of gold bricks or something?

And what about all those greedy, rich folk who have been shoveling cash into the man's campaign?  You wonder if it's beginning to dawn on them that they are shoveling their dollars into a black hole of loser-land?  Kind of funny.  I mean, I don't want to be over-confident or anything. But it doesn't take a clairvoyant to see that Romney is big stuffed mannequin of a candidate heading to a big loss. The Romney express is a train  heading straight into a brick wall of political nothingness.

:-)

Things You Are Into

Yes, you are into the things that you are into.  And it's best if you can really sink in and fully devote yourself (heart, head, spirit) to the things you are into. And you're not into the things you're not into.  But it's good to explore.  You might find that your orbit of things you are into is larger than you think. The world is bigger than you. And you can be into things you didn't think you'd be into, or things that you decidedly weren't into at one time other.  but then, now you are into them.  so there are surprises, as long as you are open to surprises...

I Thank the Man for Being So Inept!

Not through with Romney yet... the guy is seriously pissing me off.  He's wasting our time.  He is running such a lousy campaign for President.  He is not very good at communicating with people. His election strategy is a complete botch.  During the primaries he adopted all the most hard-right positions, and then, once the primaries were over, he tried to tack to the middle.  But too many on the right are holding his feet to the fire, so he really can't go to the middle.  He's stuck with lots of really absurd positions just because the fire-breathing right demands it!

And he's not such a smart guy after all.  I mean, maybe he can work his way around a spreadsheet and a financial statement, but as a "leader" or "communicator" as for someone who inspires or illuminates, well, Romney really is an empty suit.  And he really is an out of touch rich guy.  He can't help it.  He's lived in a bubble of richness his whole life. He is a man totally unsuited to be President.  You wonder why he wants the job.  Probably just to burnish his ego.  Or maybe it's the rich guy entitlement thing.

He is one of those people that sort of makes your skin crawl; that plastic, pasted on smile, the deadness in the eyes, the halting, stilted way of speaking. He is a guy who has no core, and it seems he will say anything to anybody, anytime. The man has lots of money.  He inherited wealth, and then he made more.  Not all that impressive folks!

Anyway, I guess we can all thank Mitt for being such a train-wreck... the hard-core Republican base will vote for this guy no matter what... so the election may be closer than it should be.  But Mitt is doing all he can to lose.  And the country should thank him for it.  I thank the man for being so inept.  Even as he pisses me off!

Finally We Agree!

This is funny... the Obama campaign is painting a pretty convincing picture that Mitt Romney is just an out of touch rich guy who only cares about the rich.

And Mitt Romney's campaign is painting the exact same picture. In fact, Romney's campaign is painting an even more convincing picture that Romney is an incompetent and bumbling out of touch rich guy who is totally clueless and disdainful about much of America.

So finally we find something Democrats and Republicans can agree on.  Romney is out of touch, rich and clueless! 

Can't we find a more suitable job for the guy? I'm sure there's a  need somewhere for a well-heeled, snooty, self-satisfied, schmuck like Romney!  Like the head of some ritzy and exclusive golf club or rotary club. Get that man an ascot!

Mitt Romney Speaks His Truth!

You gotta love it!  Made me laugh out loud this morning to hear Mitt Romney speak his truth! He doesn't care about nearly half the country.  And if he's President he will not be worried about them either.  This guy wants to be the Rich Guy President.  And if you're not rich?  Well, you are on your own.

This is so good.  Usually the truth and Mitt Romney cannot be found in the same room.  But a hidden camera caught the man and his truth red-handed.  What a complete botch of a person and a candidate!

Reasoning the Unreasonable

There's that famous quote from Jean Renoir, "Everyone has their reasons."  The reasons don't need to be good.  Or rational.  Or make sense.  Humans can cling to just about any flimsy reason.  Humans aren't always "reasonable."  Often times we are totally unreasonable.  Makes for a pretty complicated world.  Everyone running around with their "reasons" and hammering each other with them.

How do you stand outside and above that kind of madness?  It's a hard stance to take.  Pretend to be an alien and sit back and watch human beings do their thing.  But of course, you aren't an alien.  You are a human being too.  Trying hard to be human.  Trying hard to be a being.  Hoping you are reasonable, even as you put all your "reasons" under a microscope too...

UnOccupied Space!

We played a r&r show last night.  There were a couple of loyalists in the audience, but we primarily played to an empty bar.  Played our music to lots of unoccupied space.  There were two pretty high profile music festivals in town, and the el stop at that location is partially closed for work, which meant getting to the place was totally inconvenient. So maybe that explains the low turn-out.  But what's funny, our band was undaunted.  We really showed our character last night.  Determined.  Committed.  Joyful.  Tight.  We played an expansive set, and it all went off quite well.  You can't put a price on the kind of group energy. I don't know how you conjure it up.  It's a very special thing. We really did fill up that empty space with our sound, and in some ways that's more impressive than if we had played to a packed house.  My only regret, more people didn't get to see and hear our joyful noise.  But it was not in the cards last night. Still very pleased the morning after the show.  We have created a really cool band, and a cool sound.  

Human Beings First... and Crazy Too!

More unrest in the world.  There is always unrest.  Lots of unhappy people in the world, and sometimes they express their unhappiness and hatred in terribly gruesome and inhuman ways.  It is true.  But when I hear sentences that begin like this, I bristle like a goddamn porcupine...

"The Muslims..."  "The Jews..." "The Blacks..." 

To me these types of sentences are part of the problem.  They imply that the sentence-maker doesn't see the complex world we live in, and doesn't see that we are all human beings first.  It is the language of defining and distancing ourselves from "the other."  This is the language of racism, prejudice and stereotype...

Of course the world is made up of human beings and some of them are Muslims, Jews, Blacks, etc. So sometimes those words are just descriptors, identifiers.  The problem is when lots of people are lumped together and judged as one thing.  This is not helpful.  It helps perpetuate unhappiness and hatred.  And of course, it's just not true of the world we live in!  There is vast variation in all these human "categories."  

I can't help it.  I am with the Dali Lama: "Human Beings First."  Now, of course, in my book Human Beings are fundamentally CRAZY.  It's kind of built into our psychic make-up.  We put on the mask of rationality, but we are born into a mysterious and strange world, and our lives can be snatched away at a moment's notice.  We are capable of amazingly beautiful things and horrifyingly terrible things too.  All of us.  Any time.  And if we do something beautiful, we should be celebrated, and if we do something horrible, we should be held accountable.  Just review the history of the world.  Any category of human you can name. There's lots of beauty, and an unbelievable list of crimes and horrors.  Human Beings did that! 

Just A Poem

You know somebody, who knows somebody, who passed... you are reminded that we all have an expiration date tattooed somewhere on our beings.  I mean, you know this, you are reminded of it every day, but sometimes the "insight" hits a little closer to home.  It's the "other shoe" that everyone carries with them, but one no-one really talks about all that much.  It can fall at anytime.  And it's big, and serious and mysterious.

You hunt for some thru-line, some narrative arc.  But sometimes, maybe always, it's just the brute fact.  Life ends.  Or morphs into something else.  So one is left with the knowledge that we have moments.  Lots of moments.  Some enjoyable, some not.  But they are our moments. And life is a collection of moments, and sometimes it hard to see if they really "add up" to anything.

You hope to come to some kind of grand culmination, or uncover some grand insight, but you wonder if that is just an unfulfilled hope...

You are born, you live, you die... it's all the in-between stuff that makes our lives our lives... it's sort of  a strange, little poem.  We are that poem.  Even if it's hard to understand what the poem really is, or means, or adds up to... it's just a poem. And it's ours...

"People are Stupid!"

The Lovely Carla and I were reviewing Esquire's polling data... Even though the overall news is good for Obama, we are both pretty much confounded by some of the results.  White people who make more than 100K lean fairly strongly to Romney?  What?  Is it just blind prejudice??? 

Romney is just such a train-wreck of a candidate.  You have to scratch your head and ask why people would be voting against their own economic and social interests...  makes no sense...

I guess you could think racism, prejudice, folks just buying into cheap stereotypes... 

The Lovely Carla sums it up thusly... "People are stupid!"

That's pretty good...

Enlightened Being Would Be Better...

OK, yes, it's a delicate balance... just about like everything else... you become too strident, too hectoring, too forceful... too damn opinionated... and well, you come off as a loud-mouth asshole...  and not good company at social gatherings...

Of course, you may actually be an asshole, the world is full of them, but maybe it's something you should decide to "work on," to try to modulate, and tone down... what you really want to be is a Bodhisattva, and being an asshole, and being an Enlightened Being, do not really go together well...

Heart & Politics On Our Sleeves!

I have been re-energized after the Democratic convention.  It was so refreshing and inspiring to see folks get up and say things that should be said...  I decided to write a rock & roll diary post about John Lennon and the power of wearing your heart and politics on your sleeve...

I do think we all need to choose.  Which can be dangerous and scary... to actually take a stand and proudly declare which side you are on.  You will piss off people.  And they will want to take you down, or "un-friend" you.  But so be it. On most of the key issues we face, there is no middle ground.

I love this post from Kevin Drum... supposedly Barack Obama is an introvert, not big on schmoozing and bullshitting, no, instead, he likes to do his job... gotta love the guy.  And yes, I do!

Floundering Phase of the Election!

I think we've entered the Mitt Romney floundering phase of the 2012 election.  Mitt is a doomed candidate.  No one likes him, and the GOP platform is a desiccated piece of warmed over shit that just doesn't pass the smell test.

Yes, of course, it will be a "close" election.  The country is deeply divided.  I guess it's North vs. South, City vs. Country, Progressives vs. Political Neanderthals...

And the GOP is a deeply dysfunctional political party, that has not recovered from the Bush Debacle.  It's an angry party, a retro-party, it's anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-minority, anti-immigrant, anti-future.  And there are a bunch of angry people willing to back their Floundering Candidate...

But this time around I just don't think Flounder can pull it off.  Even if the GOP tries to steal the vote, or prevent folks from voting... sometimes you just can't sell a shit sandwich... it's just too damn shitty! 

Yes, I suppose it does make sense...

Yes, I suppose it really does make sense... 

If the way we primarily experience the world, and acquire our knowledge, (think TV, think computers) is primarily episodic, fragmentary, and non-linear; where past, present and future are all mixed up, and available to us at all times, anytime, then we may rightly come to believe that, that is the actual nature of our world.

And the old way of thinking of the world... as a coherent narrative, with a distinct past, present and future, comes to seem so quaint, boring and untrue, or non-representative of what we are experiencing when we experience it, and that it comes to seem false to our experience; we no longer process or think about the world in such a cut and dried, linear way...  and even reading novels that use that template seem so old world and uninteresting...

Yes, I suppose it really does make sense...

Visual Storm!

We went to Wicker Park last night to see the Storm Thorgerson show "Computers have a lot to answer for."  Quite the amazing collection of art.  A dying art I suppose.  Most of Thorgerson's work has been album covers for bands.  No CGI.  All just striking images perfectly captured by old style photographic equipment...

Surreal imagery, so real, it's unreal.  Really.  I had a chance to say "hi" to Storm and tell him how much I loved his work.  I wanted to ask about those wacky days with Syd Barrett, but it just wasn't the place or time.  Anyway, what a great show.  Over the years I have sat and contemplated and meditated over some of these images.  Looking for the secret.  Marveling at the beauty and mystery...

The Only Choice!

Yes. I loved Barack Obama's speech last night. Totally aligned with everything he said... love the way Michelle introduced the man, the the way they hugged while U2's "City of Blinding Lights" played... great song choice... 

"The more you see, the less you know, the less you find out as you go, I knew much more then, than I do now..."

The Big Dog Delivers Big Time!

Yes, it's great to be "open-minded," to listen to lots of ideas and opinions when formulating your own. But then you need to make choices, choose sides, take a stand.  Yes, you can change your mind, and if "facts" change, you should adjust your thinking based on the new data.  That's kind of like the scientific method.

But there are some basic values that don't change.  Love for others.  Kindness and grace.  Humility. An understanding that everything is connected.  That we are all in this together. That we all need each other. That the universe is big and mysterious.  And we don't have all the answers.  But we can try to work together to make a better reality for all.  In fact, we are obliged to try.

It's sort of an idealism.  But it's a humble idealism.  I've always voted for the Democrats.  Maybe they have not always lived up to my ideals.  But they have always been closer to the target than the Republicans.  I guess in that respect I do see things in stark, black and white terms.

It was weird watching Bill Clinton, the Big Dog speaking last night. That Fleetwood Mac Song introduced him.  It was all so time-warp 90's.  He's older.  We are older.   He gave a great speech.   All those words painted a great picture of where we are, where we came from.  And what are the choices we need to make for a better future... the Big Dog did an admirable job... he showed that even if there are people who hate you, you can rise above...

And he reminded us that we do have to believe in a better future... it's a basic human need... we must believe and then roll up our sleeves...

Words!

Words.  Maybe they are just words.  But words do matter.  Even if they don't always match up with what happens, or what is...

We have intention. We have ideas. We have dreams. And we verbalize them with words. And we can create pictures in the air. We can create pictures in our heads.  And sometimes our words give us direction... to where we want to go, who we want to be, what we want to do.

Last night I heard lots of words.  And I was completely aligned with those words.  And it made me feel good.  But  these words need to be actualized... and that takes work, struggle, and dedication... Obama 2012!

UPDATE:  Michelle Obama's speech was beautiful, amazing, inspiring... if you didn't see it or listen to it... you should...

Interesting Life...

I wonder... yes, that's the ticket... to keep that wondering spirit... even if you've been around the block a few times.  Nothing is the same, everything is changing all the time... even if it seems like nothing is changing... the world is a moving target, and you are a moving target too.  And there's wonder built into that state too... I wonder... And wonder is probably one of our best tools... for survival, for an interesting life...

Tony Scott -- The Real Touch

I loved reading this tribute to Tony Scott, the film director who recently took his own life, by jumping off a bridge... turns out he was seriously ill, and you can't really fault the guy for taking matters into his own hands...

Anyway, very cool interview conducted by Kim Morgan, who is always entertaining and enlightening when it comes to movies.  I was inspired to rent "True Romance," which Tony Scott mentioned as his one of his own personal favorites.  It does hold up. Some kind of pulp classic.  It's very, very Tarantino.  Great script, superb acting all around.  I was never a Christian Slater fan, but in retrospect his performance is just fine.

The movie is a homage to action movies.  Very film-smart, and self-reverential.  And that musical score and narration reminded me so much of Terence Malick's "Badlands" - one of the great, great films!  

The violence in "True Romance" is bold and brutal.  There is a key scene with Patricia Arquette that is over the top violent.  I seem to recall that the first time I saw the film it was "too much" - couldn't handle seeing the pretty girl brutalized.  This time around, it seemed "less real" more stylized... and I suppose more integral to the scene and the movie...

And I do love this quote... I suppose this kind of defines Scott's movie-making aesthetic...

"Once you’ve touched the real world, there’s nothing more fascinating and nothing stranger than the real world and the people." -- Tony Scott

Double-Edge

A double-edged sword.  

The downside to the phlegm and congestion... breathing is shallow and difficult... wake up early, before the crack of dawn...

The upside... get to brew the coffee early... everything is quiet... seems the rest of the world is still asleep... lots of time to think... and sip... and read... and breathing comes easier...

Still Buzzing!

Yes, well, I'm still buzzing about the Flaming Lips' "Dark Side of the Moon."  I saw the live concert video first, and was totally, totally blown away.  Renewed my faith in the r&r experience.  Renewed my faith in the power of music to heal. Renewed my faith in the Flaming Lips as one of the great American weirdo r&r bands.  Renewed my faith in Wayne Coyne as some kind of zany, cosmic evangelist.

I had to hunt down the CD... I plunked down $13.95 at my local CD store... and I'm not disappointed.  In fact, the recorded version is just superb, and offers it's own unique pleasures.  Features Henry Rollins and Peaches.  And the band is in great, great form.  It's a pretty faithful recreation of the Pink Floyd original.  But everything comes thru the Flaming Lips filter; it's all a little funkier, more rocking, funnier, and more profound.  It's zany, and rambling, and cool.  Really.

I've been riding the vibe for days now.  And it's just the greatest feeling.  Amazing that a CD can do that for you... but this one is just such a funky, wacky, cosmic, joy... a real gem... wow!