Girldom

You Must Be Losing Your Mind

In the spirit of my digi-techno rant below, we will go ultra mono:



The cover of Otis Redding's "Shake" is pretty good, and I always enjoy a good Tina medley.

A Blogging World

At what point in time did blogging become the new thing? When did everyone decide they need a blog to show off their impeccable music taste, fashionably forward ideas, or quasi-political rants? I have fallen in its trap evidently, and keep a blog I barely update where I posted three youtube videos a year ago. I guess this is just another rant about nothing, some meaningless words on the Internet that capture a moment in time. And, I guess that is something that blogs do for us -- capture a moment in time, but framed in a digitally-mediated-inter-connected world. After the angsty fourteen year old livejournal crowd turned eighteen and decided to stop posting pictures of their electroclash haircuts and striped shirts, they were left with one of those existential moments (and most likely picked up their tattered copy of The Stranger to read on the metro during this particular crisis): Where do I post all the awesome shit I find on the Internet?

A question for the ages indeed, almost up there with the "what does it all mean?" dilemma. But seriously, the Internet has become an art or a hipness contest. The cooler you are, the better and more stuff you know about on the Internet. It is like a secret club, and once you find out about gmail or soulseek, you got clearance. Think about the seemingly dark ages of aol accounts, and how lame you think those fools are who still have an @aol.com email address. Is the interweb merely a cool contest? And what does that coolness mean? Being Internet savvy? Having the biggest inbox quota allotted to a human being so you can save up to 1,487,987,765,875,237,836,278 emails? What is really being said when Tommy's blog is so popular because he has these really awesome never-before seen pictures of Bob Dylan? Or Amanda has this insane video archive on her youtube account (I always wonder how a lot of that stuff gets uploaded to begin with- who has that footage!??!??) At once the Internet has made knowledge, art, and culture so much more inclusive, yet also created a whole new kind of exclusively -- the distinction between the Internet savvy and the Internet incapable. And who are the Internet incapable? Usually, those who cannot afford fast interweb access or old folks who simply don't depend on the Internet for every bit of information they could possibly need and desire or little children. So are we creating an Internet community (no pun intended) of the bourgeoisie, who have to create culture via blogs instead of going out and and witnessing it for ourselves? Or, am I simply a Luddite and actually blogging is creating a new kind of archive? Personal cultural archives? I hope this is the case, and will sleep much better at night, thinking we are still creating something even if it is merely an archive paying homage to an older generation -- elder worship is a very common practice. And, I cannot very well call myself a Luddite while posting on a blog, therefore I propose we all be a little bit more inclusive and not so hard on the Internet un-savvy, because after all one day we will be ignorant on the newest form of technology, stuck using those prehistoric machines called computers. Viva la blog.

If you wanna really roll

In Memphis Soulsville and the Stax Records Museum is perhaps the best attraction. The Stax museum is interesting and insightful and gives you a sense of Memphis before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and what happened as a result of that. Above is a picture of Booker T. Jones's organ that was used when recording the legendary Green Onions. I took the picture in secret, watching guard, with no flash. Below is the 1966 performance of Green Onions by Stax's own Booker T. and the MG's. I have never seen a bunch of dudes as cool as "Book a Table and the Maitre D's" as John Lennon referred to them.

Jamais Revenir

Chante, Danse Baby Pop!

This video is great, particularly the backup dancers. France Gall is the number one female singer in France in 1966, and these guys are her dancers? Her popular single, Baby Pop hit the radio in 1966, written by Serge Gainsbourg of course, played on her innocent good looks and young voice. I found three videos to this song, and they are all great, but I think I enjoy this one, if only for the four crazy-looking men dancing, oh and the parrot. The other video shows a beautiful France walking with a huge umbrella in the rain and singing, very sixties and very French indeed, while another is France and her two friends dancing on the stairs of a building. Unfortunately this is cut a bit short, hopefully you get the picture. Enjoy the video!

Get Hip to the Consultation

Thanks to a youtube post, I have further secured my love of Bobbie Gentry. Her video below for Niki Hoeky, is a rendition of the song performed on the Smothers Brothers show in the sixties. Not only are the dance moves great and remind me a little of Ann Margaret style moves (I have committed myself to learning them for future parties) but she makes the song so catchy (the beginning is somewhat reminiscent of her Ode to Billie Joe)! Niki Hoeky was written in 1967 by Pat and Lolly Vegas of the band Redbone. As two brothers from California with indigenous background, they played up their "Indian-ness" as a selling point (ie. Redbone meaning half bred, their first album entitled Potlach). The song was noted as a "cajun swamp rock hit" and for its use of New Orleans vernacular of the time. P.J. Proby, the first person to perform the song was a boisterous bad boy, you can read about him here be sure to read about how Niki Hoeky got him kicked off the Dick Clark Showcase Tour. The song was made famous by Aretha Franklin as a soul hit, and her version is, of course, great, but I have to say that I think I prefer Bobbie Gentry's version. Enjoy!

Bienvenue!

This is my first blog. It has nothing to do with primatology...well then again it might. I will just post whatever I find that I like or am amused by. Hope you enjoy, if anyone is even reading!