THIS IS NOT A TEST

mjp

Founding member
are the ecco books safe?
Ecco reprints what Black Sparrow published. So the same titles that were altered originally are altered at Ecco. Martin did not go back and "edit" the collections that came out when Bukowski was alive. As far as I know.
 

Bukfan

"The law is wrong; I am right"
Great episode on Bukowski as an outsider! He probably felt like an outsider from his schooldays onward even if he was´nt living outside of society.
The part about rock ´n´ roll hall of fame was pretty funny. People do fawn over whatever the rock stars left behind and much of it is´nt even interesting such as their gold records and clothes f.ex.
 
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Sorry I'm late, maybe nobody is in the mood to go back to the David Bowie passing and questions of whether he was a genius. I will say right off the bat that I generally don't trust that major musicians are as creative as history writes them to be. I've read too much stuff basically saying the managers and labels trot these guys (mostly, they're guys) out there and tells them what to wear and what to play.

But we live in a culture where the 'cult of personality' is engrained, kids have posters of these performers on the wall, not posters of some manager or record executive celebrating them for quite literally making their favorite star what they are. These ideas were always in my head somewhere but they crystalized I think when I watched a Bill Withers interview or two last night. Frankly it seems to me that we give performers much more credit than they deserve, unless they are performers who, like Bill Withers or John Hartford, have the integrity to go their own way when the label starts trying to box them in.

I also just don't think Bowie had much to say and frankly it seems like a shame that so many people were influenced by him or 'got inspiration' from him. This isn't anything against him in particular. Our culture seems to be a lot of the blind leading the blind - people gobbling up the words of other people, when the fact is, those other people just aren't saying much of any value - whether advertisers, screen-writers, journalists or music performers.
 

hoochmonkey9

Art should be its own hammer.
Moderator
Founding member
Bowie may have been artifce, but it was created by Bowie, not managers or producers or labels.

No one told Bowie what to wear. If it was forced or faked or didn't work, that was on Bowie, no one else was to blame.

Bowie had a lot of faults, but lacking control of his image or music wasn't one of them.

And Bill Withers is awesome.
 
Did I just wake up in 1948?
Oh God, now I'm going to go to bed stewing over the Marshall Plan. Again haha

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mjp

Founding member
Perfect is the enemy of good - THIS IS NOT A TEST #56

http://thisisnotatest.com/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, McDonald’s mozzarella sticks, striving, astral planes, Internet millionaires and other numbskulls, rules, prog rock creeps, hurdy gurdys, confetti, swing, NASCAR, injection molding, sound engineers, ricocheting around the beat, smelling the sweat, zines, mimes, hiding in plain sight and test patterns.


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I for one am nourishing my yang in the back issues.

"Collect CDS? No, sister, but we listen to music. Listening to music on your phone is for chumps. And amateurs." (from episode 22)

These are all so good.

Although .. As long as I'm here, I propose a talking subject: mixes and 'radio mixes' like pandora. Are you a purist in the sense of listening to albums and only albums? I personally enjoy mixes (although I don't pandora). Often, many of the songs just aren't worth stuffing into my earholes time and again, while a select few are.

Perfect is the enemy of good - THIS IS NOT A TEST #56
p.s. those women in your cover photo for number 56 are some serious babes.
 

mjp

Founding member
Are you a purist in the sense of listening to albums and only albums?
No. But I don't listen to "mixes," or to anything randomly, or on "shuffle," since the things I play music on don't shuffle. And I don't listen to music other people have chosen for me. We used to call that "the radio," and it sucked, which is why we created mix tapes in the first place. We didn't call them mix tapes, that came after my time. We just called them "tapes."

That bit you're referring to, uploading the things to Google Music, I did that for my girlfriend's convenience. I don't listen there. All of my music is sitting there in a room, in physical form, 10 feet from the machines that play it. None of those machines is a computer.
These are all so good.
You clearly have impeccable taste. Thank you.
 

mjp

Founding member
Unsolicited child rearing advice, and Bernie Sanders as savior - THIS IS NOT A TEST #57

http://thisisnotatest.com/unsolicit...rnie-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 the kids wear costumes for no reason, change diapers, witness a spoiled prick playing Minecraft, call home schooling into question, wonder out loud whether leaving home and striking out on your own is even normal, insult Americans and Canadians and Europeans, call India and China "scrappy," blame your children's lameness on you, talk about being a good pilgrim, racism, Hindu gods, laugh at those of you spending your lives trying to "protect" children, I "feel the Bern" and try to explain why that whole thing is a pointless joke, and I may also mention Thunderdome, reality TV, Patti and Fred "Sonic" Smith, quote Joe Strummer, insinuate that the Oscar ceremony is repetitive and idiotic, and give you a long overdue chirpwatch update. You might wonder how I can fit all of that into a 30 minute show. The answer is: I'm an expert. Don't you try it. You'll hurt yourself, and we wouldn't want you to get hurt. You're too special.


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As a parent, you tread that line between trying to protect/nurture and also create independence and
an ability to deal with reality. No one wants their kids(s) to grow up to be an asshole, but there are lots of
asshole adults walking around, so we're not always successful. Thoughtful episode.
 

mjp

Founding member
Well, if you're even thinking about the difference between independence and asshole you're already 99% of the way there, and 100% more progressive than someone who doesn't think about it.

It's a crap shoot, and we can't help but pass along our flaws. If the kid is on the ball they can turn those flaws into something positive. Or at least not be buried by them.
 

Hosh

hoshomccreesh.com
Ah, chirpwatch...terrific. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to know it's become a kind of thing to rely on...like a good pair of shoes, or an old tune.
 

mjp

Founding member
A cashless society: believe it or not! THIS IS NOT A TEST #58

http://thisisnotatest.com/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 vampire novels, working dogs from the UK, casinos, Taco Bell, the genius of credit card companies, above ground pools, iris scans, noisy metal boxes, poodle skirts, poop, Tony Soprano, corsets, coconuts, Wall Street douchebags, jasmine blossoms, conspiracy theories, one percenters and "bros?" Are we sure about anything?


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nervas

more crickets than friends
Another great episode. I used to go to the Ripley's in Buena Park about twice a year because I was working about 100 feet away from it. Always loved it! Only other one I've been to is the Hollywood location.

Just for the sheer amount of time those chip cards take to read at retail stores they annoy the hell out me!
 
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mjp

Founding member
KISS, cassette tapes and the last time I mention Bernie Sanders - THIS IS NOT A TEST #59

http://thisisnotatest.com/kiss-cass...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, Pet Sounds, insufferable twats, music floating on the breeze, ticket scalpers, being easily entertained, cardboard boxes full of cassette tapes, Wham!, technology, a girl named Pearl, being an idiot, plastic spoons, what to bring when you visit my house, political discourse, fragging, the occupy movement, chalking one up to millennial genius, pre-moistened anti-irritant towelettes, flesh hooks, the cat in the shark costume riding the robot vacuum, Fort Knox, puppets and lemonade.


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mjp

Founding member
Just trying to stay warm, brah. We don't have to talk about it the next day. But it wouldn't kill you to talk about your feelings once in a while you know. I'm still waiting.
 
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