5/31/2005

Happy Birthday Steve White.


Style Council drummer and Paul Weller "stick man for over 18 years, Steve is without doubt the most popular drummer in Britain today and holds a special place in the hearts of the British drumming community."

As well as Paul Weller, "Steve has worked and toured with Oasis, Ocean Colour Scene, and his own project The Players, featuring keyboard genius Mick Talbot, former Stone Roses guitarist Aziz Ibrahim, and Damon Minchella of OCS." (premier-percussion.com)

5/30/2005

Happy Birthday Stephen Duffy.


Founding member of Duran Duran, solo artist, and lead singer of The Lilac Time.

His 1985 hit "Kiss Me" stayed in the U.K. top 10 for three months, and was the last song played on the medium wave service of the BBC's Radio 1 before it became an FM only station.

5/29/2005

Happy Birthday Danny Elfman.


One of Hollywood's most in demand film composers. Scores include Red Dragon, Beetlejuice, Batman, Batman Returns, Good Will Hunting, Men in Black, Spiderman, Edward Scissorhands, Proof Of Life, and To Die For.

Naturally, we here at Waist High love him best for something else...

Oingo Boingo "were originally put together in the 70's by movie director Richard Elfman, who needed music for a whacked out John Waters-esque flick he was working on called Forbidden Zone. Enlisting his younger brother Danny Elfman (vocals, guitar), Steve Bartek (guitar), and Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez (drums), the group originally went by the name Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo." (vh1.com)

Today we celebrate "Weird Science," "Dead Man's Party," "Just Another Day," "Private Life," "Only A Lad," "Wild Sex (In The Working Class)," "Grey Matter," and "Goodbye Goodbye."

This Post Is For Chuck, My Pal In Bakersfield.


Oh, and you too Bake Town. Suckers.

5/28/2005

Happy Birthday Prince Buster.


Sound system owner, producer, singer, political activist and all round superstar of the Jamaican 1960's. Innovator in all things ska and rocksteady. One of the first Jamaican musicians to have hits in the U.K.

Born Cecil Campbell in 1938 in Kingston Jamaica, his talents were first put to use as a bouncer/strong arm man for Jamaican record producer Coxsone Dodd's Down Beat Sound System. (Sound systems were essentially mobile DJ units with massive amplification power. They gave poor people access to records they couldn't afford to own).

Prince Buster churned out over 600 songs on Blue Beat records between 1962 and 1967.


During the early 60's Prince Buster was one of the top singers in Jamaica, becoming increasingly popular in the U.K. Hits like "Madness," "Al Capone," and "One Step Beyond," inspired wild devotion in the mod movement in Britain. Ska revivalists Madness named themselves after a Prince Buster track.

"True ska is music with a soul." -- Liner notes of The Prophet

Material courtesy: bbc.co.uk, icebergradio.com, mp3.com, and snwmf.com

Wouldn't You Like To Have A Lovely Teenaged Daughter?

5/27/2005

Happy Birthday Neil Finn.


Split Enz, Crowded House, The Finn Brothers, and solo.

Happy Birthday Siouxsie.


Born Susan Dallion in 1958, Siouxsie and her Banshees "were among the longest-lived and most successful acts to emerge from the London punk community."

The Banshees initial lineup emerged from the Bromley Contingent, a notorious group of rabid Sex Pistols fans. Inspired by the growing punk movement, Dallion formed the Banshees in September 1976. In addition to bassist Steve Severin and guitarist Marco Perroni, the band included drummer John Simon Ritchie, also known as Sid Vicious.

Soon after, Vicious joined the Sex Pistols, while Perroni went on to join Adam & The Ants. The core duo of Siouxsie and Severin, along with new guitarist John McKay and drummer Kenny Morris, reached the U.K. Top Ten with their 1978 debut single, "Hong Kong Garden." Their grim, dissonant first LP, The Scream, followed later in the year.


Two days into a tour for their 1979 follow up, Join Hands, both McKay and Morris abruptly departed, and guitarist Robert Smith of The Cure (the tour's opening act) and ex-Slits and Big In Japan drummer Budgie were enlisted to fill the void. Although Smith returned to The Cure soon after, Budgie became a permanent member of the group, and remained with The Banshees throughout the duration of their career.

A highly commercial version of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence" provided them with their biggest U.K. hit, peaking at number 3.

With 1986's Tinderbox, Siouxsie & The Banshees finally reached the U.S. Top 100 album charts, largely on the strength of the single "Cities in Dust."

Superstition was their most commercially successful, spawning their lone U.S. Top 40 hit, "Kiss Them for Me."

In April 1996, The Banshees announced that they were "going out with dignity" and disbanded. Siouxsie and Budgie continue as The Creatures.

All material directly quoted from: icebergradio.com and music.yahoo.com
Photo courtesy: bbc.co.uk

For The Non Bakersfield Initiated, B.V. Is A Nasty Smelly Lake That Dirtballs Hung Out At In 1981.


You wouldn't believe me if I told you how much grief Waist High receives for "living in the past." It is epic. Some dumbasses even end up at this site and leave rude comments about living in the past on a SITE ABOUT LIVING IN THE PAST. Some folks have even suggested that Waist High should get help.

There exists a gentleman on this planet as we speak, who ACTUALLY SAID THE FOLLOWING to an associate of Waist High earlier this week: Gentleman who actually needs help: "Dude, we're going to B.V. this weekend..."

Photo courtesy of: co.kern.ca

5/26/2005

Happy Birthday To The 10 Freeway.


If you are a relative of Waist High's and you spent some of your childhood in beautiful El Monte California, you will be pleased to know that the San Bernardino Freeway, the freeway that was being built in your backyard, is turning 50.

"Today, the I-10 slices through some of the most heavily populated cities and suburbs in Los Angeles. It stretches 243 miles and is a critical east-west connector to Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties. It is a critical link on the U.S. Interregional Highway System, which reaches the Arizona border near Blythe."

During the early 1950s, as the highway inched it's way toward Monterey Park, El Monte and then Pomona, talks turned rocky with city officials who disagreed with the proposed routes through their cities. The State Division of Highways wanted to cut the I-10 through a housing section in Pomona and the downtown area in El Monte.


El Monte put up the biggest fight. For 12 years, the city involved itself in a series of studies and negotiations with the highways division involving a four-mile stretch between Rosemead Boulevard and the San Gabriel Freeway.

Photo courtesy: The Waist High Collection

Really Scary Puente Hills Fault News.


If you are Waist High and you were in a tall building in Pasadena during the 6.0 magnitude Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, during which you thought there was a possibility you might die, you will be interested in the following story:

"The worst earthquake damage the nation has ever seen with up to 18,000 fatalities and $252 billion in damage could come from a magnitude 7.5 temblor,
on a fault under downtown Los Angeles, researchers said Wednesday."

Photo courtesy of: pasadenastarnews.com

5/25/2005

Happy Birthday Paul Weller.


Born in the working class British town of Woking in 1958, Paul Weller was the "reluctant spokesman for a generation as the lead singer in The Jam, turned us on to bluenote jazz and cappuccinos via the Style Council, and as a solo artist since 1991 has dabbled in everything from experimental funk and psychedelic jazz to acoustic folk and pastoral soul rock. His recording legacy is peerless - six albums with The Jam and four number 1 singles, four LP's with The Style Council," (paulweller.com) and more than nine solo albums including "Wild Wood, arguably the finest collection of songs Weller had written since The Jam's All Mod Cons." (icebergradio.com)

This guy might be a bigger Paul Weller fan than Waist High, we are not sure.

5/23/2005

Time Magazine Time Schmagazine...


and their ALL TIME 100 Best Films. Waist High is where it's at. By popular demand, we would like to present to you the THE TOP 50 ALBUMS THAT WE CURRENTLY OWN OR HAVE OWNED (to date).

++ indicates EXTRA GOOD, but in no particular order:

Van Morrison: The Healing Game
David Gray: White Ladder
Paul Weller: Days Of Speed
Miles Davis: Kind Of Blue ++
Tears For Fears: Raoul And The Kings Of Spain
Talking Heads: Remain In Light ++
Starsailor: Love Is Here
The Jam: The Gift
New Radicals: Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too
Angela McCluskey: The Things We Do
Days Of The New: Days Of The New ++
Seal: Seal IV
Public Image Limited: Greatest Hits, So Far...
Jeff Buckley: Grace
Big Country: The Crossing
Maroon 5: 1.22.03 Acoustic ++
Madonna: Ray Of Light
The Killers: Hot Fuss ++
Culture Club: VH1 Storytellers/Greatest Moments (LIVE) ++
K.D. Lang: Ingenue ++
K.D. Lang: All You Can Eat ++
Depeche Mode: Black Celebration
Steel Pulse: True Democracy ++
Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Welcome To The Pleasuredome
Mazzy Star: So Tonight That I Might See
The Doors: The Doors
Moby: Play
Dead Can Dance: Into The Labyrinth
Metallica: Master Of Puppets
Neil Diamond: Serenade ++
Neil Diamond: Johnathan Livingston Seagull
Smashing Pumpkins: Pisces Iscariot ++
The Waterboys: This Is The Sea
The Style Council: Introducing The Style Council
U2: Auchtung Baby
U2: The Joshua Tree
Bob Marley: Legend
Thompson Twins: Into The Gap
John Coltrane: My Favorite Things
Boyzone: Where We Belong
Spandau Ballet: True
Body Count: Body Count ++
Curtis Mayfield: The Very Best Of Curtis Mayfield
Stereo MC's: Connected
Vanessa Williams: The Sweetest Thing
Depeche Mode: A Broken Frame
Coldplay: Live 2003 DVD ++
UB40: Labour Of Love ++
The English Beat: Special Beat Service
Louis Armstrong & Duke Ellington: The Complete Sessions ++
NWA: Straight Outta Compton

5/22/2005

Happy Birthday Jerry Dammers.


Founder and keyboard player of the Coventry based band the Coventry Automatics. They later changed their name to The Specials (later changed to the Special A.K.A.).

Jerry is also the founder of Two Tone Records. He became a noted anti-apartheid campaigner, and wrote the song "Free Nelson Mandela" about the jailed South African ANC leader.

Happy Birthday Iva Davies.


Iva Davies is a formally trained classical musician. His parallel interest in popular music and ability as a guitarist singer/composer led, in 1977, to the formation of the Australian musical group Flowers, later known as Icehouse.

As leader and founder of Icehouse he achieved substantial success both locally and internationally over a period of twenty years. Icehouse produced, over that period, roughly thirty local hit songs including "Hey Little Girl," "Crazy," "Electric Blue," "Touch the Fire," "No Promises," and "Great Southern Land."

As a composer/songwriter, Iva Davies has written over one hundred published songs.

Material courtesy of: icehouse-iva.com

Happy Birthday Steven Patrick Morrissey.

5/21/2005

Scuse Me: That Would Be The Frito "Goddess" To You, Egg Head!


If you are like Waist High, you must have a blog. If you are like Waist High, you must have alot of time to burn. If you feel like burning some of that time just like Waist High does, go make yourself a pot of tea and read all of your comments. You might find that there are some new comments to old posts.

Greatest Waist High new comment to an old post in which the commenter answered a long standing Waist High question: "The name of the disco by Mervyn's was Disco Inferno. I went once...Raymond"

Greatest Waist High new comment to an old post in which Waist High finds out that not only is she not the "Frito God," but that she just might be ignorant:

"Are you blind or just ignorant? Who died and made you the 'Frito God'? Did you happen to notice the other 4-5 items on the menu or are you just upset that your pickled egg story didn't go over very well? hmmm What? I can't hear you. Oh. Right that would be IGNORANCE.
Loyal Customer"

What?

Greatest Ron Wood Quote Ever.

"We were doing drugs in the dressing room (at a concert in the 80's). Suddenly the tour manager stuck his head (in) the door and said, 'The police are here!' We all panicked and threw our drugs in the toilet. Then Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland walked in." (oregonlive.com via Guitar World Magazine)

5/20/2005

Waist High Would Like To Thank The State Of Oregon...


For being so beautiful! And for making the 90 mile drive to Seaside so very pleasant.

Waist High Would Like To Thank The Town Of Seaside Oregon...


For being a wonderful host, and for making the past two days so enjoyable for Waist High and her posse. We had a very relaxing time, enjoyed learning about your history, and are still licking our chops from what was probably the best salmon dinner we have ever had. (Thank you to Norma's!)

In 1804 U.S. President Thomas Jefferson dispatched 28 year old Meriwether Lewis and 32 year old William Clark and their Corps of Discovery to find a water route connecting the interior of the country to the trade routes of the Pacific.

They reached the Columbia River on October 16, 1805 and viewed the Pacific Ocean on November 7. Their winter campsite named Fort Clatsop, was constructed on the bank of the Lewis & Clark River. Supplies were depleted by the time they reached the Columbia and several months would be needed to prepare for the return trip.

Desperately needing salt now to cure and preserve a meat supply and for their personal use, the expedition sent five of it's men to find a beach site for saltmaking. The camp was established some 15 miles south of Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Necanicum, the present site of Seaside. After presenting Fort Clatsop and it's contents to the chief of the Clatsops, the expedition began it's return trip March 23, 1806.

A statue of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark commemorating the explorers' historic expedition sits at the turnaround of the popular Promenade which is the epicenter of Seaside.

Material courtesy of: clatsop.com, astoria-usa.com, and dailyastorian.info

All photos courtesy of: The Waist High Collection

Happy Birthday Nick Heyward.


Born in Beckenham, Kent, England in 1961, Nick was the lead man for Haircut 100 for only one album, Pelican West. Pelican West delivered the beloved Waist High favorites, "Love Plus One," and "Favorite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)." Both songs reached the UK top 10 in 1982.

"The album gave you a lot of what it was to be a New Wave fan. It came during an innocent time, and musically, the best time ever." (Lou via amazon.com)

Nick left the band for a solo career at the end of 1982 and his debut solo album North of a Miracle was released in 1983. According to icebergradio.com, it was "a solid effort that won critical approval and sold well."

We won't tell you the story of how we unsuccessfully attempted to take the evening off from work for the Haircut 100 Bands Reunited episode.

Bands Reunited photo courtesy: Jason Dufner via vh1.com

5/18/2005

Happy 25th Anniversary Of Blowing Your Top.


Photo courtesy: solidearth.jpl.nasa

5/17/2005

The Only Member Of The Waist High Family Not Affected By This Whole Alarm Clock Thing...

Waist High Is Currently Enjoying...

1. Being recognized by Google for what I really am. May you burn in Hell "Rampart" for referring to me as "Advanced Maternity Age."

2. The all new, redesigned
Geek In The City, where Waist High made the cut for "Dork Tested, Geek Approved Blogs." Quite an honor! We continue to love the Geek and everything he has done for all the displaced and heartbroken Rick Emerson listeners far and wide.

3. Being included in
this prestigious bunch.

4. Living without her beloved
alarm clock. Two reasons. 1. A very kind person has taken pity on me and calls to wake me up for work. It's like a personal wake up service AND I LOVE IT! Annoying "BEEP BEEP BEEP" sound? Not anymore! 2. Although living without an alarm clock has been a strain on the entire family, I might now be able to say with absolute certainty that I am the WORST MOTHER EVER. Quite an honor too!
You decide...

Who: Waist High to Lovely Teenaged Daughter
When: This morning, as LTD needed to get up for school
Where: Yelled loudly from the bedroom of Waist High to the Bedroom of LTD
What: "Get up Dummy!"

5/16/2005

Happy Birthday Glenn Gregory.


From the Human League split of 1980, Ian Craig Marsh and Martyn Ware formed a company called the British Electric Foundation, and the commercial arm of this became Heaven 17, (the name taken from the film A Clockwork Orange) with Glenn Gregory on vocals.

"The band's politically charged first single, '(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang,' spurred interest for it's first album, 1981's Penthouse and Pavement. Despite being named Record of the Year by the British music magazine Melody Maker, the LP stiffed."

1983's The Luxury Gap gave us the great singles "Who'll Stop The Rain," "Let Me Go," and "Temptation."

April 2005 saw "the release of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart,' the stunning new single from Honeyroot. A re-working of Joy Division's seminal 1980 track, this is widely regarded as one of the most moving songs ever penned. It was in fact written just two months before the tragic suicide of Joy Division's vocalist Ian Curtis, the song exposing his own desperate torment."

Honeyroot, former Heaven 17 front man Glenn Gregory and Keith Lowndes, "made a brave decision to cover such a timeless classic but their stripped down version, featuring Glenn's haunting vocals, became one of the most anticipated releases of 2005. Receiving it's first radio airplay a week before Christmas (2004) 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' prompted remarks like 'Breathtaking' (Janice Long, BBC Radio 2) and 'Jawdropping' (Eddy Temple-Morris, XFM and currently at the top of Eddy's Top 5) and received strong support from die-hard Joy Division fans across the UK."

Material courtesy: lexiconmagazine.com, heaven17.de, and vh1.com
Photo courtesy: lexiconmagazine.com

5/14/2005

Happy Birthday David Byrne.


Born May 14, 1952, in Dumbarton, Scotland, Byrne was raised in Baltimore, MD. The son of an electronics engineer, he played guitar in a series of teenage bands before attending the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, where, feeling alienated from the largely upper-class student population, he dropped out after one year.

However, he remained in the Providence area, performing solo on a ukelele before forming the Artistics (also known as the Autistics) with fellow students Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. After changing the name of the band to Talking Heads and enlisting onetime Modern Lover Jerry Harrison, the group signed to Sire Records.

During a band sabbatical in 1981, Byrne teamed with Brian Eno, the producer of much of the Heads' work, for the collaborative effort My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, a complex, evocative album which fused electronic music with Third World percussion and hypnotic vocal effects.

In 1988, Byrne's fascination with world music, a longtime influence on his herky-jerky performance style as well as Talking Heads' complex polyrhythms, inspired him to form his own record label, Luaka Bop, to give widespread American release to global music. That same year, the Heads released Naked, their final proper LP, leaving Byrne to give future solo work his full attention.

If the staff at Waist High were to compile a "Best Albums Ever" list, the Talking Heads' Remain In Light would be on that list. It is perfect.

Material courtesy of: mp3.com
Photo courtesy: official-john-nikolai.com

Representing. Vol. 3.


Although far away from Bakersfield and despite the fact that Bake Town lives there, Waist High continues to spread the good word about Bakersfield whenever possible.

Happy Birthday Ian Astbury.


Astbury's career began with the Southern Death Cult, a 1980's Gothic rock band. Personnel and stylistic changes transmutated the band into The Death Cult, and then The Cult, one of the finest hard rock bands of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

More recently, Ian Astbury and Cult co-frontman Billy Duffy regrouped to release the Beyond Good And Evil album, which featured a harder, darker sound. Always influenced by Jim Morrison, Astbury in 2001 filled his hero's footsteps by becoming lead singer in a new version of The Doors with Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek.

Photo of a poster from the bedroom of the teenaged Waist High courtesy of: The Waist High Collection
Material: keywordmage.net

RIP Lloyd.


Today was a very sad day in the offices of Waist High. It has been very quiet around here as we mourn the loss of a good friend.

Waist High regrets to announce that her beloved clock radio, a sweet 16 birthday gift in 1984, has passed away. Trusted, reliable, and well traveled, we will miss the only clock radio we here at Waist High have used in the last 21 years.

It was a slow death that began about 30 days ago for the good looking clock radio manufactured by the Lloyd's Company. Lloyd no longer alerted Waist High that it was time to get up, with that old familiar BEEP BEEP BEEP, he just kind of began to make a hissing sound, HISS HISS HISS, until today when he no longer made any sound at all.

Lloyd, we will miss you so.

5/13/2005

Living In The (Cough. Cough.) Eighties News.


"Or more big hair bands like the Crue or Poison; those boys were purdy." J. 05.12.05 - 1:13 pm # Because Waist High aims to please:

DIRE STRAITS' epic album Brothers In Arms will be reissued as a 20th Anniverary 5.1 surround sound edition on May 23rd with initial copies available as a limited edition digipack.

PAT BENATAR will release a greatest hits album on June 6th. Greatest Hits features twenty tracks taken from all stages of her quadruple Grammy-winning career.

STRYPER will release an album of new material, their first for more than ten years, in August. Reborn will feature ten new tracks alongside a new version of "In God We Trust."

TWISTED SISTER's DEE SNIDER, MOTLEY CRUE's VINCE NEIL and MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE are among artists contributing tracks to a forthcoming ALICE COOPER tribute album Welcome To My Nightmare.

All material courtesy of: remembertheeighties.com

5/12/2005

Boy, Did I Feel Like An Ass!


So the thinking went something like this...

Wow Bake Town has been posting her funniest most bizarre search strings maybe I'll do that too I'll go look at my site meter and find something really funny to make my readers laugh oh here's one oh that's good I'll show Bake Town who's boss ok book mark it ok click on it to link to it it is so fun when I am the number one hit for funny and bizarre search strings she is always trying to one up me I hate her ok here I'll click on it so I can link to it now here I go I am clicking on it...

I hate her.

It Was In This Week...


In 1945 that the first albums chart appeared in the U.S.

At that time, an album was the term used for a set of 78 rpm singles, which were developed in 1915. The LP (long play album) wouldn't appear until 1948, when it was introduced by Columbia Records, now Sony Music. The same year, rival RCA Records added the 45 rpm single to the market.

"In 1948 the Columbia company had perfected the 12" Long Playing Vinyl disc. Spinning at 33 rpm the new format could play up to 25 minutes per side. This new record medium also had a much lower level of surface noise than did it's older shellac cousin. However, Columbia's big rival, RCA Victor then produced the seven inch 45 rpm vinyl disc. These could hold as much sound as the 12" 78 rpm discs they were to replace, but were much smaller and attractive." (45-rpm.org.uk)

In 1985 that Tears for Fears finished up a U.K. tour at the Royal Albert Hall.

Just before heading out on an eighteen month world tour "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" cracked the U.S. top 10 and would soon give them their first #1 hit. It was followed to the top by "Shout" a couple months later, both from the album Songs From The Big Chair.

"You'll love the title," says Roland Orzabal. "Songs From The Big Chair is, indeed, quite a name. It's taken from the TV film Sybil, about a girl with 16 different personalities and the 'big chair' was the only place she felt safe and comfortable." (tearsforfearsfans.com)

All additional material courtesy: sympatico.ca/gary.lessard

5/10/2005

Happy Birthday Bono.


The staff here at Waist High would like to say a special Happy 45th Birthday to the Bono they love the most, the Bono of: "Two Hearts Beat as One," "So Cruel," "Party Girl," "When Love Comes to Town," (with BB King) "I Will Follow," "The Wanderer," (with Johnny Cash) "In God's Country," "October," "Ultra Violet," "Trip Through Your Wires," "Promenade," "Sweet Fire of Love," (with Robbie Robertson) "Love Comes Tumbling," "Miss Sarajevo," "The First Time," and "All I Want is You."

5/09/2005

Happy Birthday David Gahan.


"Composition of Sound was formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex, by guitarist/vocalists Andy Fletcher and Martin Gore and keyboardist Vince Clarke. After recruiting David Gahan, the group abandoned their guitars for synthesizers, changed the band's name, and became an all-electronic band entitled Depeche Mode." (sing365.com)

5/08/2005

Living In The Eighties News.


Love and Rockets and Bauhaus mainman Daniel Ash will release a live album Come Alive on June 13th (May 31st in the USA).

Bananarama's much anticipated new single will be called "Move in My Direction" and is scheduled for a July 18th release.

Dead or Alive are to be given the remix-album treatment this year with a July release from Sony Japan featuring selections from the band's extensive 12" single catalogue.

Paul Weller has been nominated in the Songwriter Category for an Icon Award presented by MOJO magazine. The ceremony is to be held in London on June 16th.

All material courtesy of: remembertheeighties.com
Photo courtesy: releasemagazine.com

Why You Done Do Me That Way?

If you removed Waist High as a link because Waist High is stupid, that is one thing. If you removed Waist High as a link because Waist High is ugly, boring, irritating, or lives in the Pacific Northwest, that is another thing. But if you removed Waist High as a link just to "prove a point" then SHAME ON YOU!

Happy Anniversary "Rampart."

Oh. Sorry. We aren't married anymore.

5/07/2005

Can Entercom Kill The Radio Star?

NO! Nor can they kill the Waist High star! Bastards.

For those of you that have been concerned about Waist High lately, please know that your cards, prayers, and letters have meant so much. She is doing much better now. Just yesterday she was able to keep food down for the first time, she is no longer mumbling incoherently, and her doctor has said that the tremors will subside in a couple of weeks:

(vanguardweekly.com) Particularly painful, and THE GREATEST LOSS TO THE PORTLAND AIRWAVES, was the cancellation of The Rick Emerson Show (the only live local talk host in his 9 to noon slot), whose singular voice and irreverent brand of social commentary virtually the sole lifeline tethering Portland radio over an automated abyss raised Emerson and his band of merry media outlaws to cult status.

Emerson's jaundiced eye and sharp tongue took aim at, and skewered the broadest-possible cross section of cultural icons from Britney Spears and Michael Jackson to George Bush, the Pope, war, cars, television, cannibalism, guns, boobs, Catholic schoolgirls, aliens, life in the Northwest, convenience stores, and all things Rock 'n' Roll.

In his caffeine-fueled dismantling of popular American culture, Emerson was joined by a cast of regulars including news legend Tim Riley, aforementioned producer Sarah Dylan, weekend Fuel host and former producer Matt Peterson, weekend Ground Zero host and long time friend Clyde Lewis, Kyle the intern, and frequent guests Jen Lane of Barfly Magazine, Scott Daley of filmfever.org, Jolie from Corporate Accounts Payable, Kristen from Accounting, Aaron Geek In The City, and many, many others.

The phrenetic and funny Emerson separated himself from the smarmy jokesterism of the typical radio morning show host with his style, intellect, an acerbic wit, and an encyclopedic knowledge of modern times.

Was Emerson too hip for the room? Too hip for Entercom perhaps, but Rick's fans are smart, and deserve smart radio. Entercom's decision to pull the plug leaves Portland-market radio like a party balloon: beneath the shiny, fragile veneer all that remains is stale air; a poor prize for a fanbase who's loyalty is legend and who's number is legion.

But Rick Emerson will not go gently into that good night it seems: His website continues to be updated, and he offered fans this message the day after his firing: "...I'm sure we'll meet again, but never doubt, even for a moment, that YOU made The Rick Emerson Show what it was. Without you, I'm just some angry guy rattling pencils on a street corner downtown. (Speaking of which, where's my tin cup?) You are the reason, the inspiration, the motivation, and the reward for everything we did, and everything we will do in the future. Never give up, never give in, and never, ever let the bastards grind you down. I love you all."

When contacted for comment, Emerson added "Let everyone involved know that they are not taken for granted. Given all the listening choices they have, that they would choose our show is a compliment of the highest order."

Fans aren't giving up either. They have already begun their campaign to return his program to the airwaves of Portland.

Coffee Cup Crusade

The Coffee Cup Crusade, started by a coterie of bloggers who lamented the show's demise, asks listeners to drop off a coffee mug (or three) at the Portland headquarters of Entercom Communications, until recently, the home of Max 910 and the notoriously-caffeinated Emerson. Adding inside each mug a note reading, "I need my morning fix. Bring back Rick Emerson."

As of Tuesday afternoon, message boards, like the one at www.geekinthecity.com, hosted by show regular and "go-to geek" Aaron Duran were overflowing, and many posters were requesting driving directions, which they received, along with an admonition to keep things civil:

"We don't want to cause any trouble," said one fan, "we just want our show back. This is about family."

Rick Emerson and company are obviously searching for a new home, and are encouraged by their track record: "The amount of money, the number of people, the sheer number of unhinged lunatic fans that we brought to advertisers, that we brought to venues for our live events, it's only a matter of time 'til that finds the right home," said Emerson. "Anyone who wants a huge band of alcohol-laden crazies with money to spend should contact Rick Emerson."

5/05/2005

Weather Warning From The Desk Of Waist High Where It Rains 297 Days Per Year.


Attention Bakersfield residents (and this means you Bake Town): (whispered tone)>>>It might rain tomorrow in Bakersfield.

OK.
Relax.
Breathe. OK.
Relax.

Do you need to sit down? Are you OK? Breathe.

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE.

But could you do us up here in the Pacific Northwest a favor? Please, keep the panicking, the crying, the staying home from work because you "don't want to drive in it," the whining, and the hideous accidents to a minimum. Thanks.

Happy Birthday Ian McCulloch.


Born in 1959 in Liverpool, McCulloch was "inspired by the punk rock movement," and in 1977 started up his own band Crucial Three, alongside Julian Cope and Pete Wylie. "While the latter two later emerged in the Teardrop Explodes and Wah!," McCulloch "joined forces with guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson to form Echo And The Bunnymen" at the end of 1978. ("A drum machine, dubbed 'Echo,' originally provided the group's beat, until an actual living being, Pete De Freitas, was welcomed onboard.")

Material courtesy of: icebergradio.com

5/03/2005

Happy Birthday Engelbert Humperdinck.


Engelbert Humperdinck came into this world as Arnold George Dorsey. His name comes from the Austrian composer who wrote Hansel & Gretel. His voice comes from heaven, and he has been a legend in the international music industry for the last thirty years, with over 130 million records sold. (engelbert.com)

According to reliable sources, one of the first few words that this writer said were "Engelbert Humperdinck."

Ga ga goo goo.

Happy Birthday Dave Ball.


Of Grid and Soft Cell. Formed in 1980 with Marc Almond, Soft Cell is "famed for it's uniquely sleazy electronic sound." (emusic.com)

SEX DWARF
Ball/Almond

Isn't it nice
Sugar and spice
Luring disco dollies
To a life of vice
I could make a film
And make you my star
You'd be a natural
The way you are
I would like you on
A long black leash
I would parade you
Down the high street
You've got the attraction
You've got the pulling power
Walk my little doggy
Walk my little sex dwarf
We could make a scene
We'd be a team
Making the headlines
Sounds like a dream
When we hit the floor
You just watch them move aside
We will take them
For a ride of rides
They all love your
Miniature ways
You know what they say
About small boys

I'm in my Rolls Royce
Look it's so huge
It's big and it's gold
With my dumb chauffeur
Looking to procure
Run little doggy
Lure a disco dolly
Run my little sex dwarf
I feel so lonely
Get my little camera
Take a pretty picture
Sex dwarf
In a gold Rolls
Making it with the dumb chauffeur

Isn't it nice
Sugar and spice
Luring disco dollies
To a life of vice
Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice

We could make an outfit
For my little sex dwarf
To match the gold Rolls
And my dumb chauffeur
We'll all look so good
We'll knock 'em cold
Knocking 'em cold
In black and gold

We can have playtime
In my little playroom
Disco dollies
My sex dwarf
And my dumb chauffeur
I would like you on a long black lead
You can bring me all the things I need

Sex dwarf
Isn't it nice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice
Isn't it nice
Sugar and spice
Luring disco dollies to a life of vice

5/01/2005

Geek En La Ciudad.


We will be forever in the debt of Geek In the City for his unwavering devotion to the mental health of radical Rick Emerson fans everywhere! It is now very possible that we might not have to shuffle around in our slippers, unbathed and unkempt, doing shots of cheap Tequila to cope, forever:

(oregonlive.com)
HEY! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY RADIO TUNES, DUDE? Fans give corporate owners plenty of static over format changes and dial moves.

Fans of Don Imus, Rick Emerson and Clyde Lewis are ticked that the MAX 910 "talk radio for guys" format on 910 AM (KOTK) got canned. Golden-oldies lovers are miffed that KISN (KKSN) got bounced from it's 97.1 FM berth to the squawkier 910 AM band. Local-radio partisans are perturbed that the 97.1 FM spot was taken by "CharlieFM" (KYCH), a random-hits format they decry as corporate radio with no Portland flavor or personalities.

But a passel of peeved Portlanders aren't taking the recent format switches made by Entercom Portland lying down. That static you hear? The sound of angry listeners. Let us count the ways they're mad:

Leading the torches-and-pitchforks brigade is Aaron Duran, 29-year-old freelance writer, film-and-video production worker and energetic blogger of Geekinthecity.com. A longtime fan of Emerson's 9 a.m.-to-noon talk/politics/pop culture show on the MAX 910 format, Duran was horrified to learn Emerson got the boot April 21, the day the format changes suddenly happened. "Corporate America has again taken something that I took real joy in listening to," Duran posted on his blog.

But, like the proud geeks whose grass-roots campaign helped bring back the animated series "Family Guy" to Fox, Duran decided to mount a crusade.

The Coffee Cup Crusade, to be exact. His effort includes asking fans to place notes inside coffee mugs asking that Emerson and Co. be brought back (along the lines of "I need my fix") and then mail or bring the mugs to the Entercom studios in Southwest Portland, the local office for the Pennsylvania-based company. Duran also encouraged fans to contact Entercom advertisers "in a civil and polite manner" about the change.