Good Luck City!

First Nutter comes from the back of the pack and wins the mayor’s race. Then we defeat frontrunner and goon John Dougherty. Finally, one of the two eyesores they call a casino bends under public pressure and agrees to moves away from the waterfront. Now this.

So I guess the title of this here site is no longer fitting. (If you are reading this in a RSS reader or something of the same, open it in a browser and check out the new BadGOODLuckCityBlog banner in honor of the Phils.)

If you didn’t venture out for the Phillies victory celebration you can relive the festivities care of CNN videos here. There are a whopping FIVE parts to the video with lots of jackasses in action. The beginning of part 2 is the most interesting; it shows footage of a group standing on top of a subway tunnel roof just as it collapses, with later footage showing the wounded being carted off strapped to gurneys.

Definitely check out the Albert’s great shots of the celebration here.

If you recognize any of the knuckleheads in action, Philly’s finest are urging you to rat them out according to Fox 29 News.

It seems EVERYONE I know will be at the parade Friday. Everyone except moi.

I guess I’m the only one who has to report to work. Hopefully I’ll get out in time for tricks and treats.

Some Fall Tunes

So I missed the Delta Spirit show at JBs last night cuz all my lame friends had to watch the Phillies game. Oh well. It’s all for the better since I’d probably still be in bed right now.

MP3: Delta Spirit- Children

I’m “djing” a party this weekend. I’m not actually digging out my tables and amps from the crawlspace, rather, I’m bringing a laptop, iPod and powered speakers. These jams will easily get people moving after we win game 3:

MP3: Wale- Ice Cream Girl (Konrad Remix)

MP3: Pnau- We Have Tomorrow

Both tracks pilferred from The Culture of Me

MP3: Love Grenades- Tigers In The Fire

Here’s the title track from Richie Spice’s newest LP on VP Records.

MP3: Richie Spice- Gideon Boot

Harlem: Yet another great Austin band. Are these bands actually born & raised in the capitol city, or are they migrating there in droves in order to be ground zero for SXSW? Sheesh. These guys rock a la Sebadoh in their sloppier years.
Looks like their EP free drugs;-is only available directly through them.

Thanks to Gorilla vs. Bear once again for turning me on to a great band.

MP3: Harlem- South of France

MP3: Harlem- Beautiful and Very Smart

Awesomeness

Awesome photo from the awesomer MurderBurger

Happy Barfday U Slut from BalladofBob

I haven’t written in a while so I think I’m gonna put everything into this one random post.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN- THE MCCARTHY ERA IS BACK! THANK YOU MICHELE BACHMANN.

From Hardball with Chris Matthews:

“I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America or anti-America?”

You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.

The Republican congresswoman from Minn. now claims she was “trapped” by Matthews:

“I probably should have taken a look at what the show was like … A trap was laid, but I stepped into it.”

From Colin Powell:

“We’ve got to stop this kind of nonsense and pull ourselves together and remember that our great strength is in our unity and our diversity,”

Video here

I can’t wait till election day and she goes down in flames.

I never listen to right-wing radio station WPHT The Big Talker but I thought I’d give Michael Smerconish a listen after his surprising endorsement of Obama.
This morning I heard Geno’s owner, Mr. “speak English” Joey Vento complaining about savage anarchist bicyclists on Philly’s streets. Apparently he’s now paying good money for radio spots and he’s starting a petition to rid Philly’s streets of scofflaw cyclists. Mm hmm. Biiig problem that must be dealt with ASAP. Forget about the city’s problem schools, trash, violence, traffic, homelessness, and oh yeah, non-native speakers.
Next on his list? He’s going to tackle the baggy pants epidemic.

What. A. Dick.

I’m not supposed to tell you where this was taken but I was able to check out and snap a pic of a pre-production carbon Cannondale road bike. Wanna take a guess at how much this ~56 cm bike weighs?

14 lbs.

Think of the major mayhem on Philly sidewalks you could create on this puppy!

On my iPod, Plus/Minus from Brooklyn.

MP3: Plus/Minus- Trapped Under Ice Floes (redux)

RIP Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops

I hope this is the last time in a while I have to write about the loss of another great one.

Levi Stubbs, the great voice of Motown’s Four Tops, died Friday at the age of 72 in Detroit.

The Four Tops were unique in that the original lineup remained intact for five decades. When you went to see the Four Tops perform you were assured of seeing the real deal.

They had over 20 top-40 hits, including these:
(You might not recognize each song by the title I’m sure you know each one)

Reach Out, I’ll Be There
It’s the Same Old Song
Baby I Need Your Loving
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)
Standing in the Shadows of Love
Bernadette
When She Was My Girl
Without the One You Love (Life’s Not Worthwhile)
I Got a Feeling
Shake Me, Wake Me (When It’s Over)

And my favorite Four Tops tune, Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve got).
Full MP3 here.

Another Great One Gone

I mentioned a while ago that Can I Change My Mind was the first song played at our wedding. I didn’t mention that I wanted to name our first son Alton, after Alton Ellis, the great jamaican singer and king of the Rocksteady sound.

I learned about his death on NPR of all places.

Alton lived the second half of his life in England and died in a London hospital on Friday October 10 at the age of 70.

Caught by the Reaper has an excellent write up of his career.

Most of Alton Ellis’ hits were covers of popular American tunes, but he made them his own.

Root Blog has Alton’s version of I’m Still in Love with You. (Marcia Aitken’s version is arguably more popular).

Ultra Stimulation has his version of The Spinner’s It’s a Shame and Blood Sweat & Tear’s You Make Me so Very Happy.

Dilate.Choonz has I’m Just a Guy

Mad Decent has Remember That Sunday

And the great You & Me on a Jamboree has a ton of his stuff available, um, just for you and me.

Out of the Office

I’ve been away for a while attending my last remaining grandparent’s funeral.
He was a really funny man and everyone loved when he was around. Over 200 family and friends gathered for his funeral.

He will be missed.

Midtown Fallfest

Good food, good beer, good friends, good weather…

Bad hangover.

I swear there was a tap every 20 yards and beer tents on every block. Mostly lagers.
I was really happy to stumble upon now local transplant Flying Dog’s Snake Dog IPA on Apothecary’s roofdeck overlooking 13th Street.
Niiice.

I thought I’d miss the Ludwig’s Garten Oktoberfest. Not anymore.

A lot of people headed over to see Springsteen at the Obama rally on the Parkway. From the little I heard it was pretty low key. Only the streetsweepers ware left when I went by again at 9 PM.

Once in a while I find a mashup that really work. This is nowhere near as good as the original but it adds new life to a classic.

MP3: Police Klaxons mashup
From Dunproofin via Mashuptown.
Thanks all you knob-twiddling teenagers!

Opinions are like Assholes

I haven’t been writing much since I figured my readers don’t really want to hear my opinion since their 401K’s or 403B’s in the crapper. Besides, there’s just way too many others’ out there giving you advice on what to do.
Damn I can’t do it! I have to add my two cents. My thought is that this isn’t the end, that we SHOULD have all our money in our mattress, and that besides a depression, an all-out race war will form if the election is stolen from Obama by the Electoral College. But that’s just me: I always think on the extremely negative side.

On a lighter note, it was just announced that The Boss is playing a free show on the Parkway this wknd. in support of Obama. I might walk by but I probably won’t stay. Why? Not a big fan of the Bruce. Not the person, just his music. And for the life of me I can’t figure out WHY someone would WILLINGLY sit stand through an entire THREE HOUR show. WTF? Play an hour set, do two encores and get the hell off the stage so I can go home and go to bed! I know, I’m a crotchety old fart.

Here’s an email intercepted by Mark Focht, Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Commission:

As you may have already heard, earlier this evening the Obama campaign announced that Bruce Springsteen will present a free concert on the Parkway this Saturday afternoon. The plans are evolving. We believe it will be just Springsteen without his band. The stage will most likely be set up in the middle of the Parkway just west of 20th Street (about the same location from which we staged the Parkway press conference on July 17th). The stage will face the PMA. Construction of the stage will occur after Friday’s rush hour. We have heard different times for the performance – 3:30 or 4:30. We do not believe that Senators Obama or Biden will be present, however there will be some speakers. It is very difficult to anticipate how many people will attend. Springsteen is obviously a big draw and the weather is supposed to be very nice. The Obama campaign told us they expect 20,000. We anticipate it could be many more. This all is evolving very quickly. I will keep you informed and would appreciate if you would share information with members of the Foundation.

Instead I’ll be making my way to the 3rd Annual Midtown Village Fall Festival, which is another great excuse to drink in the streets.

At this point I should post a song by Bruce Springsteen, but I’m proud to say that I have not one Bruce tune in my 8,700+ song iTunes library- only this cover by the Chromatics:

MP3: Chromatics- I’m On Fire (Springsteen cover)

Here’s some other stuff I’ve been digging lately:

MP3: Chad Vangaalen- Phantom Anthills

MP3: Chad Vangaalen- Rabid Bits of Time

This Canadian homebody rarely dips his toe into the States but he made a rare appearance in NYC two weeks ago. These tracks are from his long-awaited 3rd LP on Sub Pop.

MP3: Chad Vangaalen- Willow Tree

And here is an older favorite of mine:

MP3: Chad Vadgaalen- Graveyard

Lashes for Luddites Weds 6-8p

Tired of news-news-jeopardy-wheel?  Listen to dance music instead.  Tear back the foil of you TV Dinner and join ddogg while he shares his musical finds.  Savor the shared border between apple sauce crumble and pork chop gravy.  Jam out and chew to the beat.  Live or podcast.

NES Sprites & Illustrator