The Spice of Life
July is the Thunder Moon.
Here’s some moony goodness for you.
“The moon’s my constant mistress,
And the lowly owl my marrow;
The flaming drake and the night crow make
Me music to my sorrow.” – Tom O’Bedlam
I really love the moody moon in Albert Bierstadt’s Moon Study
So, I was thinking back to the first tunes I heard when I was little, ones I remember that have stuck with me through the years. Thankfully, my parents had some pretty good albums that my little tiny ears first heard.
One of them was News of the World. And while I loved those songs and sang along – even with the vacuum blaring in the background – I was completely frightened of the album cover.
WHY WAS THE NEWS OF THE WORLD THAT THIS ROBOT KILLED QUEEN?! I think I was maybe 5 or 6, and since then, those similar-looking robots instill an uneasy fear in me. How dare they live while Freddie Mercury is gone.
Sidenote: I have no idea why I never looked it up before, but the story behind the cover confirms my fears: science fiction robots!
Anyway, Queen good, lifeless automatons bad. 
The second one is Tina the Ballerina. I have no idea where the album came from, but it was in the collection. All little people have the “dancer” stage, right? Luckily, your mind and body (for the most part) are fluid when you are young, so you can imagine being a dancer just as much as you can imagine having ice cream for dinner that night.
I was convinces if I spun around on my tippy toes enough, I too could become a prima ballerina. Alas, after taking ballet for a few years, I realized my natural clumsiness got in the way of these particular dreams. Don’t be sad for me, there are far better – and worse – things that happened to me than being crushed by a ballet dream.
I got an email from Karen O.
I mean, it wasn’t personally addressed or anything. But still. She wanted to tell me to pre-order her new album and I blinked (blunk?) hard. New Karen O? Yes please with a side of right now!
Not 20 minutes later, I found out Dan the Automator had a new album with M.E. Winstead (together called Got a Girl) just released and my music gaskets just about blew right there.
So, needless to say, I am as happy as 2006 Jess with my YYYs frontwoman and 1/3 of Lovage putting creative and simply brilliant new music into the world to listen to this autumn. So stoked to ride around the neighborhood, blasting I Love You But I Must Drive Off This Cliff Now and Crush Songs in my ears.
Record Store Day is officially in mid-April every year.
On a Saturday, when I usually have to work and never remember to request off. So I always miss it. And it started to get me down.
Until I realized. Record Store Day can be whenever the fuck I want it to be. I live less than a half mile from a great book/record shop, their albums are pretty inexpensive. And yeah, they don’t have all the RSD special pressings, but they have that Tom Waits and Otis Redding records I have been looking for, and that’s even better.
I can’t even remember how I discovered BBC6 Sunday Service with Jarvis Cocker. But what really hooked me was the fact that filling in for Jarvis was…you guessed it, Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age. And the songs he chose made me so happy I thought my heart would burst.
He explained that so many people have not heard these songs, and “we’re gonna change that right now.”
Since the audio is no longer available, I happened to make a playlist of the program, just for you. A lot of the songs are punk and bluesy, so I thought October would be a great month to set it up here.
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins – Alligator Wine
WhoMadeWho – Space For Rent
“Speaking of wonderful mental illness” The Cramps – Garbageman
The Damned – Neat Neat Neat
Björk – Enjoy
Primal Scream – Miss Lucifer
The Saints – I’m Stranded
The Doors – Not To Touch The Earth
Iceage – Ecstasy
Bill Withers – Use Me
Bauhaus – Ziggy Stardust
Roky Erickson – Anthem
Sly & The Family Stone – I Wanna Take You Higher
Savages – No Face
Komeda – Disko
Misfits – She
Dadje Von O Von Non – Gnonnas Pedro & His Dadjes Band
Eagles of Death Metal – Speaking In Tongues
Grimes – Oblivion
Beck – Girl
Blonde Redhead – In Particular
Cat Power – Werewolf
Ramones – Sheena Is A Punk Rocker
Ac/Dc – Dirty Deeds Done Cheap
Iggy Pop – Sweet Sixteen
Iggy Pop – Nightclubbing
Arctic Monkeys – Do Me A Favour
Bobby “Boris” Pickett – The Monster Mash
I mainly wanted to write a Homme post because I wanted to use this screencap from a magazine.
As an added bonus, let me tell you that if you ever want to find some new music to delve into, check out the BBC6 Radio’s Playlist section. Totally awesome.
Dearest Joan Marie,
Happy Birthday! You don’t look a day over 40, and yet you are turning 55. I have loved you since I was little (Crimson and Clover was my jam, next to anything by Queen), and a few years ago I got to see you in person.
Remember when you were in Arizona and sick and hawked loogies and flung sweat from your chest into the audience? I was there, too! And while I didn’t get sick from your rock-germs, I did one of your guitar picks and hung out with your band, the Eagles of Death Metal and your tour bus after the show. Probably a highlight to my life I will talk about to the end of my days. I love you forever, I like you for always. As long as I’m living, the 2nd head of Rocker Lady Mount Rushmore you’ll be.
