Blog From Esoterica

Companion Blog to the web music magazine, Echo From Esoterica, created by its editor Jason Thompson.

Friday, March 15, 2002

Oh yeah...Elimidate...possibly the dumbest fucking show ever. Some of you may or may not know that I'm from TN...and tonight on the show, my home state is represented by some dumbass from Murfreesboro (the "big city" right before you hit Nash Vegas) who can't say anything but "All Rot!" Which is his way of saying "all right". Oh wait, he did say that he'd "like to bang" one of the ladies. Mmm...redneck class. Of course, the ladies aren't really that much better. One of 'ems a tattooed skank exotic dancer with teased hair and horribly plucked eyebrows, and another is an exotic dancer with huge tits and flat hair. Then there's one who doesn't like to get too wild, to which hickboy says "Aw, that's all rot, we can git you a little wahld tonaht." Sure...if she's not promising head and pussy in the first five minutes, it's over baby. And what kinda name is JUSTICE? Did I tell mention how much I hate this show?

Talked to Ms. Rothberg on the phone today. We had fun shooting the shit about her past life on a major label, shooting videos, and all that sort of stuff. We talked about GREAT ALBUMS YOU CAN FUCK TO...and thought about possibly turning that into the next subject for her gallery pics at EFE. Sounds like a plan to me, at least!

Freaky Friday. Just got done shooting off my questions to Talley and the guys in Be, so it's been a very productive week. Kathy Compton said she'd also like to do a Q&A for EFE, so things are rolling along quite well. I think I'm happier with the site than I have ever been since it went up last June. It's nice to be able to deliver something different (or what I think is different, anyway) to the online music fans.

Thursday, March 14, 2002

I love Fiona Apple. I could listen to When The Pawn all day. Jeez, from Dixie Chicks to Fiona...there's a thread in there somewhere...I'm sure I'll find it eventually.

Ahhh..drinking a COLT 45 and listening to the DIXIE CHICKS' Wide Open Spaces. What?! I dunno, but it seems to work. So I'm not going to argue with any of that, no sir.

Check this shit out. The British video game fans are going to take off work because Bill Gates is finally launching his ShitBox video game console over there? Wow...quite a reason to lay out. A lame one at that, too. I could see 'em doing it for a high quality piece of hardware like the PS2, but that? Feh! It also looks like the games are going to cost 'em more over there. Can you imagine that though? All these dorks calling into work saying they're not coming in today because the Xbox launched? I'd say, "Sure, great. Just don't bother coming back tomorrow, ya jagoff!" Really, now. Halo isn't all that great, and it's still pretty much the game that's numero uno for that console. But hey, feel free to dock some dollars for some much-needed gaming time. Christ.

Oh great, Belle and Sebastian are going to torture us again with their soundtrack to Todd Solondz' latest flick. It's coming in June. All of ye who have trouble with yr emotions might want to drown yourselves in it and live vicariously throu the twee diddlings of one of music's most surprisingly popular groups. It's sheer pain for those of us who don't get into such swill. Ah and AJ of BSB is getting married. Does anyone care? Did they mention it for publicity? Of course they did. Good luck to him, I bet his marriage lasts as long as his career, which should be over in about two more minutes.

Another day, another freakin' dot com dollar. Hey!! Well anyway, Patti Rothberg wrote me last night and was asking where her art was. What art? The art in her gallery on E.F.E. in The Stash. She apparently had not got both my email and phone messages saying that I had indeed received said art and that it was online. She wrote back and said her synapses were in check after realizing this.

Wednesday, March 13, 2002

Yes, well as I await the arrival of my Pizza Hut P'ZONE and breadsticks, I'd just like to say I'm starving, who gives a shit about Harry Potter, and can we lobby to have Milton the Toaster come back as the Pop-Tarts mascot?

All right...well it seems most of my work is done for the day. I received some nice emails from Melanie Holdway, thanking me for the write up of the Southeast Exports discs, and Kathy Compton whom I also reviewed this month at EFE. Apparently, I was the first one to get Kathy some press for her great new album Recovering Humans, so I was happy about that.

I admit it. I don't understand renting DVDs online. To me, it seems more of a hassle than going downtown to Blockbuster and renting them. I suppose there's the allure of getting movies the chains don't have, but still. I don't know that waiting for the flicks to arrive and then having to send them back through the mail really justifies the whole deal. Apparently, people dig it enough that it's a successful dot com ordeal for the time being. I just wonder if our lazy asses are getting too lazy.

Has anyone actually caught Carson Daly's new talk show? Man, what a snooze. I saw it the other night when that actress from That '70s Show was on and Daly was playing her stupid answering machine greeting and discussing that with her. Why is this guy famous? Furthermore, why does MTV feel the need to push its least-interesting home grown celebrities onto us like that? I hope Carson's show goes the way of Chevy Chase's and Michael Jordan's (He did have one, right? I know I'm not hallucinating that one) talk show extravaganzas. All I need is The Daily Show. Jon Stewart is, as the kids say, the shit.

I started to upload a few songs from my last album Black Cow on mp3.com, then decided it wasn't worth it. Sure, it's good to have lots of people maybe listen to your songs, but I got tired of that place a long time ago, years ago even. I think it's much easier to just do your own discs and send em out (as I do) if you have the facilities. I think going through internet sites like that can just be a big hassle in the end. So why not promote my disc on my own site? Good question. Ask me again later.

Just penned a review for Eagle-Eye Cherry's last album Present/Future. A big boring record if there ever was one. The fans undoubtedly liked it. But man, that guy needs to learn how to not repeat lines in his songs so many times that you fall asleep while listening to them.

Ahh it seems that the Blogs on Blogspot are lagging, so you lovely readers will undoubtedly be getting the news later. I just got finished doing my interview with Linus of Hollywood. If any of you haven't heard his music, then do so ASAP. I also have to interview the great band BE this week, and you should check out their album Thistupidream as well.

Mike Tyson could kill somebody in the ring and still wind up getting a license to box in some city. What's the fascination with this dude? To hopefully see him destroy someone else? Maybe bite someone's nose off? Personally, I thought it was great when his career hit the low point that it did when he was appearing as a ref in the WWF. I was sure that was the end of it right then. But for some reason the dude is still popular and still manages to get OKd. When he does finally kill someone, everyone's going to act all shocked like they didn't see it coming. And then there will be countless news items, movies of the week, and all that other bullshit that we love to heap upon our favorite villains. It's a strange world.

Eet's too early to be up.

Tuesday, March 12, 2002

I'm going to bed now. I am. Stuff a Big Mac.

The Real World. What a crap show. The Osbourne Family. What a genius show. It's infinitely more fascinating to watch a rock and roller in "real life" goofing off in his mansion than it ever is to see seven morons argue and act it up for the camera. Ozzy is used to the limelight; the Real Worlders want nothing more than to be noticed. C'mon...do we really care about the expected situations MTV tosses together when they throw a homophobe in together with a gay male and a lesbian and decrees it's a big turn on to have the lesbian as a roommate, but it's nothing but hell in a handbasket to have the gay guy living in the apartment as well? Gimme a fucking break.

Watching Ozzy and his wife Sharon spew forth with the bleeped-out "fuck" in front of nearly everyone is satisfying. Seeing their kids do the same ...yes, that's real. Dig Ozzy being Ozzy and thrill to his family going through mundane shit like arguing and eating. Dealing with his dogs, appearing on Jay Leno, telling his kids not to "fucking get drunk or stoned tonight, and if you're gonna have sex use a condom" much to their chagrin. How is it that the fantasyland of a rock and roller's day to day humdrum seems more "real" than watching a bunch of goofy kids sleep around, toss around racial and sexual slurs, and not getting along? Because it is real, in the end. Ozzy's been used to the limelight for decades...he doesn't give a fuck about the cameras and what he says or does. The Real World cast would like nothing more than to have their own show after their boring trevails and sell a shitload of workout tapes, star in commercials (I believe Puck and Tom Green are probably living with each other and annoying the piss out of themselves now), and whatever else comes with being on that shitty show. Long live Ozzy. I sure as hell wouldn't mind living with him.

Nigella Lawson. Why the hell is she popular? I think it's becuase of her tight shirts. As a cooking show, Nigella Bites does indeed bite. The artsy, letterbox format and quick, jump cut style has nothing to do with the food, but how good Nigella and/or her kitchen looks. It is satisfying to see her shovel the dishes she makes down her throat, though. Especially after the credits have rolled and the bit arrives where it's late at night and she sneaks into her fridge to pig out some more. Two huge scoops of ice cream wedged between some wafers...oh yeah...big bite...stuff it down. Blech.

Sam's Club Warehouse is the biggest pain in the ass, and it always has been. You go in, they wanna see your ID, you go out, they wanna see your receipt. My friend had to sign up so he could buy his weight thingy...he had to be issued three ID cards because the printer that the cards are made on was a piece of shit. They were selling a cool vending machine there that was about 2500 bucks. I thought that it could possibly make that money back if I installed it right outside my apartment door. I can imagine that...neighbors wondering if it would be ok to get a snack. Damn straight, I want your money!

Obviously, I'm having a hard time deciding just which template I like best for this damn thing. I think this one will be all right, as the text layout is bigger and all that great stuff. I expect I might change my mind again though, so who knows.

My agenda for the day now includes heading up to Sam's Wholesale Joint with my friend to pick up some kinda big-ass weight training mechanism. The joys of exercise. Pulling shit out of alignment that hasn't been used regularly. The idea of humans evolving into perhaps just a floating brain with skull doesn't seem so bad at times.

Well having all those beers last night certainly gave me the sleep I needed the night before. Speaking of drinking, I saw some cartoon yesterday about some 13 year old girl who wound up getting tanked before some ROCK SHOW. Her big brother dragged her away where she then proceeded to puke her guts out in their hotel room. All this one the CHARMING ABC Family network, which of course was once the FOX FAMILY network. Yeah, buddy. I can't seem to ever get enough of the Mary Kate and Ashley Show reruns on there.

Monday, March 11, 2002

Let's see...6 beers...more to go...more to go. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. I had ...3 Warsteiners..and 3 MacTarnahan's so far...cheap drunk? Sure, you bet...but I'd start to worry if it took more than this to strike even a mild buzz. Damn. Shit, hell. I am the Overlord of Esoterica!

I have great news...apparently some people on a Majandra Delfino message board got a hold of my review for the actress' crummy album and went to town on me, calling me a dick. Ahhh...I have arrived.

I dunno what's funnier, their reaction to my review, or the fact that I get so many hits for it thanks to people on Yahoo and Google searching for "Majandra Delfino nude". See, I knew no one was interested in listening to her music.

I'm wonky, I'm hungry, I need a shower...probably need to shave. Need to go to the store and buy some cat food. I have 4 cats, you know. Sellers, Bigs, Frisco, and Munson. Frisco is huge. If you were starving and needed to survive in the wilderness, he could probably keep you fed for 7 days. My friend is coming over a bit later, so I will attend to the cat food then. That leaves the rest of the mess.

It's nice to finally be able to breathe after the mad rush that was last week, what with the computer needing to be reformatted, getting back all my software (most of the good stuff I had downloaded from Morpheus, but they got fucked over and now hook up to Gnutella, so I made my way over to Kazaa), and cramming in the EFE update in a matter of a few days. Well, it was worth it as always. And who can complain when you get it all done in the end?

This is mainly for the folks who bother to read this at the blogger site itself...GO VISIT ECHO FROM ESOTERICA at www.esotericecho.com

Thank you.

I didn't get much sleep last night. Well obviously, just look at what time I posted that last entry. I had gone to be around 12 or so but woke up around 4....went back to bed around 5..guh. It was a busy day between updating EFE, and setting up various interviews for people at PopMatters and Sony artists such as Edgar Winter, Kansas, etc. Old school stylin'.

I noticed there's all this kind of hardcore programming shit you can do with these Blogs. Put em on yer server, recode the mechanics, etc. You'd think it was the '80s and everyone was doing coke again. Ah but look at me just having the nickel bag version myself. Oh no, J. it wasn't enough to just write for a few cool music mags, you had to create one yourself, and then do a BLOG on top of that. Call me the trendy fuck!

All right...so the March update is posted and I, like a zillion other people, have a fashionable BLOG. Hey, sometimes you gotta jump on some trends in this gig. Granted, I'm not gonna do this thing up all crazy with the HTML code and such to make it look far out. I have enough things to do regarding EFE and all the other sites that I write for, that there's no way in hell I'm going to worry about this thing looking hip enough. Anyway, feel free to drop by here and see what I'm currently doing, saying, or whatever you kids do with these things. Such fun.

J.