Archive for February, 2007
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
Don’t Try
“I propose that we look at the past again, because it matters, and because it has so often been dealt with badly. I mean the past as a phenomenon has been dealt with badly. We have taken too high a hand with it. By definition it all the evidence we have about ourselves, to the [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Live, Non-Musical Devastionalisms, The Lockhorns by Philip
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
More Deadly Than the Atom Bomb
An early glimmering of Devastationalism, this is an example of a song that isn’t quite earned, one that I didn’t have the actual experience to write. I knew the feeling well enough, and the drinking, god knows. But I didn’t know any dead people yet. The details in the second verse are completely made up [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Live, The Booze Brothers by Philip
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007
Revel In Your Abandon
A month ago I wrote about “It Comes and Goes” by Sandy Rogers, saying that no other song I know of better captures a certain kind of apocalyptic ennui. But there is a flipside to the rotgut and fleabags of “It Comes and Goes,” an equal-but-opposite, high-thread-count view of personal endtimes replete with caviar, champagne [...]
6 Comments » - Posted in Devastationalist Masterpieces by Philip
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
How Lonely Does It Get?
I got to know Jeffrey Cobb from when I was working at a dysfunctional cappuccino hangout called Sufficient Grounds which was near the UC Berkeley campus, just off Telegraph Ave. We were both from “back east,” both Mets fans and both involved with music, Jeff being a DJ at KALX, the college radio station. But [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Live, The Lockhorns by Philip
Monday, February 19th, 2007
What Went Wrong
The opening line of this song is “Well, it’s been quite a month here,” which brings flooding back into my mind an actual and very tumultuous month in which our very sweet Irish friend, Derek, saw fit to hurl himself in front of an oncoming subway train; the “Six Degrees of Separation” con man David [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Live, The Nightmares by Philip
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
Rusted, Rotted, Falling Apart
This weekend we were talking about how, whatever it is you do, where and when you came into a thing will always disproportionately color your thoughts about it, no matter how many years you subsequently put in and how much more perspective you gain over time.
My idea of what constitutes a torch song was [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Devastationalist Masterpieces by Philip
Tuesday, February 13th, 2007
My Best Angie Dickinson
There’s a scene in the movie “Tootsie” where Dorothy Michaels (Dustin Hoffman playing an unemployed actor who resorts to drag in order to get work, as we all know) has just been curtly dismissed from her audition by Dabney Coleman’s chauvinistic soap opera director. He won’t even let her read for the part, saying she’s [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Amazing All-Girl Band, Live by Philip
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
Good Day To Die
To a Devastationalist, any moment that isn’t abject misery is a potential departure point, a place from which to quit while ahead. Civilians may confuse this with “savoring life’s simple pleasures,” or “stopping to smell the roses,” but the truth is that Devastationalists often allow a successful first step stand in for an entire completed [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Amazing All-Girl Band, Studio by Philip
Tuesday, February 6th, 2007
Señorita See Ya Later Buenos Noches Bye Bye
“Suicide is a legacy. As a problem-solving device, it’s in the forefront of my mind all the time. It’s like walking along the edge of a cliff. I’m in the country and the pump stops. What’ll I do? I know: I’ll kill myself. The roof is leaking. What’ll I do? I know: I’ll blow my [...]
