Cream colored ponies & schnitzel with noodles

a journey from the past to the present:
Slothy recommends . . .

. 1 .

Pals have loaned us the DVD box set of the first (& only) season of Freaks & Geeks, a TV series that aired on NBC in 1999, before being yanked due to low viewership. It is so uncannily accurate in its portrayal of adolescence in the Midwest during the early 80's that it's difficult to watch sometimes, yet fascinating & funny as hell.

The teens in "Freaks and Geeks" are not looking back, all wistful and wise, at their youth, or reading their most secret diary passages to us. The kids on "Freaks and Geeks" are living in the moment, numb from the trauma of being picked on by bullies, made fun of by the popular crowd and misunderstood by parents and teachers. They don't have the self-awareness to reflect deeply on their lives; they're putting one foot in front of the other, like prison inmates, crossing the days off until their sentence is up. -Salon.com

Which pretty much sums up the adolescent experience of ol' slothy! The show was written by Paul Feig (who grew up 3 miles away from me in suburban Detroit) and Judd Apatow. The teenagers on the show are played by actual teens for the most part, and the geeks are painfully geeky. Despite the fact that it only survived for one season, F&G won some big awards and has been the launch-pad for lots of careers. Watch the intro* for names you might recognize. If you still have any doubts about it, check out the user rating on IMDB. It is a mystery how a show this good ended up on network television.

*(That Joan Jett intro song always reminds me of the great Peaches version, I Don't Give A Fuck,** and I sometimes can't restrain myself from shouting the lyrics at the TV whenever we watch Freaks & Geeks, much to the irritation of those around me...)
**(sorry for the bad video...)

<---This huge sculpture of Joe Louis's Fist is aimed squarely at the Detroit River. There really ought to be a corresponding Giant Sphincter on the opposite shore in Winsor, Canada.

. 2 .

LCD Soundsystem opened for Arcade Fire last month at Randall's Island, and they put on an amazing show, completely upstaging AF, who are just kind of annoying live. LCD's front man, James Murphy, is also the co-founder of DFA Records. Onstage he comes across all debauched and cuddly -- he's in his 30s and kind of on the roundish side -- and is really good with the funny between-song banter. They are local and even though they're on tour right now, I've been ritually sacrificing bugs & small rodents to the gods of rock in hopes of more NYC shows in the near future.

Admittedly I'm a little late coming to this band... sorry if this is old news. But if you haven't heard it yet, I command you to check out LCD's ruefully comedic song Losing My Edge. <---(Warning: there are a few seconds of chaotic noise at the beginning that you have to get through, but it's worth it. Also, this is an 8-minute song, so if you're ADD-afflicted, be sure to take your Ritalin™ first... again, worth it.) Then, for a sweet antidote to all that irony, I recommend bathing your cochleae in Someone Great.

And for all you proud NORTH AMERICANS out there, please rise and sing the national anthem...

. 3 .

Here is some More Musix with exciting and foreshadowy punctuation!!!

The !!! show at Webster Hall a few weeks ago was superfunz! It was part of a tour for their excellent "Myth Takes" album; the evening ended with certain bloggers dirty dancing on a runway stage with male strippers (I sort of wish I was kidding). This was not part of the show, but a strange and Velveeta-cheesy moment of psychotic post-concert abandon.

. 4 .

Okay, now cue the trumpets...


*House of YAY*

Don't miss the review in Art in America this month of JD's solo show last spring in Miyammy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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