Zombie Dinosaurs

We bought this flashlight recently. It was only after we got it home that I discovered the fine print on the packaging. I have so many questions. You know, questions like: Why is this flashlight so dangerous that it can only be operated by adults? And why are “students” not also “persons?”

When most families bring a few cupcakes home from the store, they just kinda divide them up and call it good enough. Not this family. No, this is just one of several matrices Kris worked out to divide our cupcake spoils among the four of us, taking into consideration such factors as which cupcakes were more or less desired by each person and, presumably, the volume of air in the room.

We go through a new squeak toy approximately once per week. He squeaks it more or less nonstop for an hour or two, then he tears it to ribbons and leaves the empty skin lying around.

Does anyone know if they make a squeak toy out of Kevlar?

Kristin Hersh has been having a personal Renaissance of sorts in the last few years. As a result, I’ve had more of Kristin’s music in heavy rotation recently than at any time since the mid-90s.

First up: Power+Light. This 50 Foot Wave release — is it a song? An EP? I don’t know what to call it. It’s a single 25-minute long track that’s divided into a half-dozen distinct but integrally blended movements. Some of these movements rock as hard as anything 50 Foot Wave has ever done; others, like Skeleton Key, are beautiful, sublime, loaded with powerful and emotive cello… actually redefining what a 50 Foot Wave track can sound like.

Power+Light has been around for a couple of years — it was first released in 2009, I believe — but since it was initially only available on vinyl, I was out of the loop until I could download it digitally. And what I found was that it represents the leading edge of a newfound spurt of energy and creativity. It’s so addictive that it’s spinning around my head even as I write this, and I’ve now been listening to it for months.

I’m also playing Crooked to death. Kristin’s latest solo album, this is without a doubt the best album she has released in a decade. I simply cannot stop playing the record. Every track is a masterpiece.

The only thing is, this time, Kristin has pulled back the curtain to let us see (ever so slightly) what’s behind her inscrutable lyrics. Crooked, you see, is also available in book form, packed with lyrics and essays. The best way to experience the book is as an iPad (or iPhone) app. On the iPad, Crooked [iTunes link] is stunningly beautiful. Interspersed with gorgeous macro photography of flowers and an essay penned by Kristin for each song, the Crooked app also features commentary for each song, in which Kristin and husband Billy chat about the music. You might think, "Finally, I’ll learn what each song is about," but you won’t, really — and to hope that you will is almost beside the point. It’s like the time Kristin said to me (after playing her lovely house concert in my living room a few years ago) "Did I ever tell you what Pearl was about?" I said no, and she told me an interesting story — but in the end, it didn’t really shed any actual light on Pearl for me in the conventional way. But you can’t help but be mesmerized by Kristin and Billy’s banter as they reach around and through Kristin’s creative process to try to make the intangible… at least a little more accessible.

Let me put it another way: If you’re a Kristin Hersh fan, you absolutely should own the Crooked book. If you don’t have an iPad or iPhone, you can get the physical book and download the commentary tracks to your PC.

And that’s not all. I’ve also been listening to Kristin’s various projects in which she’s revisited older material. Throwing Muses has recorded the songs mentioned in Kristin’s autobiography, Rat Girl, as four season-themed collections: Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. The first two (Fall and Winter) are already available for download (if you purchased a copy of Rat Girl), and they are wonderful. I listen to the Muses’ reinterpretation of Flying over and over and over. My family must hate me. This collection perfectly complements Kristin’s recent 5-volume 10-4 sessions, acoustic covers of dozens of songs from across the depth of her career.

That’s a lot of music. From some artists, it might all add up to oversaturation. In Kristin’s case, though, it just makes you say, "perhaps I should download the Speedbath demos while I wait for the new Throwing Muses album."

What are you doing on Feb 8? Nothing interesting you say? Well, if you live in Seattle, then I’ve got a deal for you. I just discovered that one of my favorite musicians, Peter Himmelman, is playing at the Tractor. You should be there.

Peter is one of the greats. Whether playing solo or with his band, he is, I suppose, becoming one of the elder statesmen of the folk-rock tradition. You might not know Peter; he had a brush with mainstream airplay in the mid-90s, but to be honest, I got the impression that was never especially comfortable there. Nonetheless, some of his CDs from that time period (From Strength to Strength, Synesthesia, Skin) remain my favorite albums and ones I go back to time and again.

I’m jazzed that Peter is coming to town. If you want to experience some transcendent music, check out his show. See you there?

There are definitely times when I feel luckier than I have any right to be. Like last weekend, when Terri Moeller, Paul Austin, and Jon Hyde played a house show in our living room as Terri’s new project, Terri Tarrantula.

At one point, Terri described the show as “Transmantula,” since the set list was a blending of new Terri Tarrantula and older Transmissionary Six material. Indeed, the show was an awesome combination of old and new, and a great primer on Terri’s work for those folks who had never heard her before. Here’s the set list, with the studio albums they came from for your potential purchasing pleasure:

1. Broker (Radar)

2. Top of Your Lungs (Radar)

3. Bum Leg (Joe Pernice cover)

4. Mulligan (Terri Tarantula)

5. Paper Party Hat (Transmissionary Six)

6. Upside Down (Terri Tarantula)

7. Your Small Hands (Terri Tarantula)

8. Transmission Line (Radar)

9. Clay Man Down (Transmissionary Six)

10. Circus School Class of ‘73 (New, unreleased)

11. Happy Place (Sparklehorse cover)

12. Holiday Park (Get Down)

13. The Daredevil Way (Terri Tarantula)

14. Always Crashing in the Same Car (David Bowie cover)

15. Infrared (Radar)

16. Happy Landings (Get Down)

While we’re on the subject: If you’re looking for a good album to start with, I’d suggest Get Down – Paul Austin recently mentioned to me that it’s his personal favorite, and I’m hard pressed to disagree. After all, it has Happy Landings.

Here’s the version of Happy Landings which Terri performed to close the show:

Also somewhat unexpected: Our new family member Topher was a hit with both guests and band. And how could he not be? Topher remains the cutest little puppy, like, ever.

Thanks to everyone who came to the show, and thanks to Terri, Paul, and Jon for playing (and for introducing me to Joe Pernice, who is awesome).

Recently, I was headed to the grocery store and asked Marin if she needed anything. Here’s the shopping list she supplied:

A few night ago, Kris and I were privileged to see Kristin Hersh perform a private concert – it was, in fact, the day after her book signing event at Elliot Bay Books in Capitol Hill. (You already bought a copy of Rat Girl, right?)

About 25 folks packed into an awesome little recording studio nestled in someone’s backyard in the Green Lake area. Kristin was charming and funny and amazing as usual, playing a set list that included all sorts of unexpected gems across the length of her career (City of the Dead, Devil’s Roof, Pearl, Hysterical Bendings, 37 Hours… and many more that I don’t remember because I have an atrocious memory).

You can see Kris in the audience shot on the left, above.

So it’s clear how little original work I put into this post, let me point out that the Polaroids in that little collage were taken by Josh Umami (Great job, Josh – and thanks). And I didn’t even make up the title of this post; I got it from the subject line of an email from Paul Austin, who forwarded the photo to me the day after the show.

A heartfelt thanks to Paul, by the way, who invited Kris and me to the show.

Finally, I took this photo of Kristin on the right with my iPhone. Kris and I sat in the front row, so we were about 4 feet, at most, from Kristin. If you’re curious, that is unnervingly close.

This post is long overdue. Earlier this summer, I took my family to Mount St Helens for the weekend, and along the way, we discovered what is almost certainly the most awesome thing in the universe. A restaurant  called The Chicken House and Ice Cream Store.

Why so awesome, you ask? I barely know where to begin. Let me try to cover the most salient points in a numbered list.

1. The place is called The Chicken House and Ice Cream Store. Just let that name roll around in your head for a while. Honestly, can you think of a better name for anything?
2. Look at the logo. It’s a chicken. Holding an ice cream cone. I love everything about this logo. The bright, brain-melting colors. The conceit of a chicken grasping an ice cream cone. The expression on the chicken’s face.  It’s graphic design perfection. (Perhaps The Gap could take a lesson from these folks.)
3. The restaurant itself is apparently a converted Dairy Queen, and they sell all the usual trappings of a fast food joint, only they’ve renamed everything. They make DQ Blizzards, for example, but they’re called Hurricanes.

How does the food taste? I have no idea. We didn’t eat a meal there*. To wonder what the food tastes like is to miss the point. Please refer back to #1: It’s a chicken. Holding an ice cream cone.

*Actually, I am not being completely honest. We did get ice cream. And it was pretty darned good – they stuffed it with a lot more mix-in than I am used to getting at DQ, so I loved my snack.

I love telling people about this place – the logo is my iPhone’s lock screen, and I have whipped it out to emphasize that it’s a chicken holding an  ice cream cone to virtually everyone I’ve met in the last 3 months, from my boss to my various editors to friends, family, and even Kristin Hersh when she was in town for a book signing the other night. The world must know.

Meet Topher, our newest family member.

The other day at work, I mentioned I had a new dog. At least three different people independently asked me, “What Firefly character did you name him after?” The conversation went almost identically in each case:

“He’s not named after anyone from Firefly.”

“What Buffy character?”

“Not Buffy either. I mean, sheesh!”

“Okay, what’s his name?”

“Topher.”

“That’s an unusual name. Where did you get it from?”

”We named him after a character from Dollhouse.”