Unhinged late summer miscellany
I had a hard time titling this one because I’m more all-over-the-map than usual. I blame this brutal non-stop heat wave of a summer. But if you take a chance you will hear about soaking […]
A hot night with Bunny Wailer
Bunny Wailer: Blackheart man, soul rebel, ruler of dancehall, legend. Plus Garbage – the band, not the stuff out behind your house – pink hair, people looking old before their time, Madonna, orthopedic shoes and […]
It’s a black and white thing
I know it’s not time for the monthly episode yet, but I just wanted to pop in, say hi, and talk about white people and black people in America. Just a little light hearted chit […]
Good evening St. Louis!
It’s hot outside – here in the northern hemisphere, anyway – so let’s talk about the San Gabriel mountains, the Sahara desert, soldering, female foxes, marketing things to women, painting guitars pink, Elektra Records, Jac […]
Happiness is a warm gun
You have to wonder about things like guns, and June Gloom, the LGBLT community, preaching love, calling things “the worst in U.S. history,” Wounded Knee, your high school history book, wars, genocide, subjugation, cupcakes, immigrants […]
I wish I knew how to be happy about a three day weekend
Here we go with the three day weekend, vacation, the near-impossibility of relaxation, Richard Nixon, gadgets, machines and thing-a-ma-bobs, fainting couches, VARIDESK, regular desks, making things disappear, harboring a grudge, robots, brain surgeons and grocery […]
Trying to describe my job, also, TMZ and celebrity tabloid trash culture
I’m going to talk about my job for a minute, just because, but we’ll also talk about landlords, moving, the Mars rover, rejuvenating a 13 year old website, repetition and tedium, baby seals, crafting a […]
Prince was not a genius. Or was he?
Was Prince a genius? Hmm, good question. Let’s talk about having 50 albums worth of unreleased music in “the vault,” and some of the crazy, before-its-time shit he did when he was alive. Giants walk […]
I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray
Let me tell you about bumping in to Prince on a Minneapolis street corner, but first we’ll probably talk about, oh, I don’t know, hair removal, P.J. Harvey, record reviews, taking a writer’s word for […]
Why kids hate poetry and why you probably hate it too – THIS IS NOT A TEST #60
Maybe “hate” is too strong a word, but we’ll also go to Space Mountain, talk about wasting time, the smart way to do things, Richie Havens, literary magazines, how long “forever” is on the Internet, […]
KISS, cassette tapes and the last time I mention Bernie Sanders – THIS IS NOT A TEST #59
When you listen to THIS IS NOT A TEST you are not “consuming content,” 40 year old pictures, satin bell bottoms, Bob Ezrin, record stores, the roar of the greasepaint, the smell of the crowd, […]
A cashless society: believe it or not! THIS IS NOT A TEST #58
Are we sure we want a cashless society? Are we sure we want to hear about Victorian-era language, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!, delivering mail, buildings made from a single tree, Fiji Mermaids, Odditoriums, teenage […]
Unsolicited child rearing advice, and Bernie Sanders as savior – THIS IS NOT A TEST #57
In this episode I call your parenting into question, try to be dignified, compare myself to famous explorers, scratch my head over kids who wear costumes for no reason, call you into question for letting […]
Perfect is the enemy of good – THIS IS NOT A TEST #56
Good is great, perfect is not, also, having the Zika virus, taking a vacation, having a stroke at work, Mat Gleason’s “Modern Art Blitz” and Internet TV shows in general, Jay Leno, join the professionals, […]
Charles Bukowski: the ultimate outsider? Maybe not. THIS IS NOT A TEST #55
Bukowski, Bukowski, Bukowski! And let us not forget civil servant weirdos, resisting the draft, spending all day in a bar, paying child support, living on a park bench, having a different kind of brain, fear […]
David Bowie, Telly Savalas and “Married at First Sight” – THIS IS NOT A TEST #54
Wondering about David Bowie, hair, catastrophes, cheese blintzes, Powerball, being struck by lightning, little house on the prairie dresses, sand in your shorts, Bob Dylan in a cowboy hat, Iggy Stooge, using to mirrors to […]
CBGB: They paved paradise and pulled up a taco truck – THIS IS NOT A TEST #53
Blabbing about CBGB, Lemmy from Motorhead, making up new words, 20/20 hindsight, attitude and inspiration, being in the right place at the right time, chess, flophouses, saloons, sewage, little black boxes full of people, bass […]
The first annual THIS IS NOT A TEST Christmas show and pageant of simpletons, a.k.a. episode #52
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, right? So let’s talk about Christmas, the fine family of Unilever companies, year end lists, crying kids and sweaty dads, nostalgia, shoveling brains, the disco 70s, the […]
Maybe you should give up – THIS IS NOT A TEST #51
Let’s talk about when it’s time to give up. And while we’re at it we may as well talk about professional hand models, deep tissue massage, the counterculture, Oprah, the rising tide that raises all […]
Billionaires, mass shootings and other tidbits for your leisure time perusal – THIS IS NOT A TEST #50
Including thrilling tales of riding bikes up the side of mountains, financing the Napoleonic Wars, “monetizing” every human, sending the nanny to CVS in a chauffeur-driven Bentley, Mork from Ork, the last can of beans […]
How’s your health (insurance)? THIS IS NOT A TEST #49
An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Okay, but what do I need to eat to keep the insurance company away? Also, maps, taking a shower, Richie Havens, rabbit holes, incompetent doctors, the condition […]
Art vs. commerce, or: sell yourself for fun and profit! THIS IS NOT A TEST #48
Art vs. commerce – as Bukowski wrote in Barfly, “Ah, the eternal question! The eternal answer? I don’t know.” But not knowing the answer to a question has never prevented me from doing this before. […]
Music marketing, or: how to buy the same song 15 times – THIS IS NOT A TEST #47
We’ve all done it, bought a song – or an entire album – that we already have. Do you blame technology or marketing? While we ponder that we’ll also ponder getting your arm chopped off […]
Self-publishing: is it just the vanity press wearing a DIY mask? THIS IS NOT A TEST #46
Self-publishing – what is it? Why should you care? Well I don’t know, why should you care about anything? But if it doesn’t interest you, we also have renovations, elevators and what people write in […]
When are you too old to “rock”? THIS IS NOT A TEST #45
Rock and roll, who’s game is it? I can tell you. And what about Halloween? What’s up with that? Plus a love letter to Sonny Vincent, hate mail to prog rock, the joys of mindlessness, […]
Kill my boss? Do I dare live out the American dream? THIS IS NOT A TEST #44
The title is a quote from Homer Simpson, but don’t we find our truth in our comedy? While we talk about work we’ll also gossip about commuting, the skyway system in St. Paul, Bob Marley, […]
Would you like to come up and see my etchings? THIS IS NOT A TEST #43
On tap today: collecting things, completism, Catcher in the Rye, TV Guide magazine, bottle caps, cat-eye sunglasses, Circus, CREEM and Rock Scene magazines, box rattlers, sealing things in hard plastic, View-Master, King Tut, silver dollars, […]
Rumors (not the Fleetwood Mac kind) – THIS IS NOT A TEST #42
Do you believe rumors? Of course you do. Where do they come from? Word has it we’ll also talk about kinescopes, spinning plates, being an eternal optimist, seeing ghosts, your Facebook feed, P.T. Barnum, Internet […]