Growin' Up

I took month-long vacations in the stratosphere

   and you know it's really hard to hold your breath

I swear I lost everything I ever loved or feared

   I was the cosmic kid in full costume dress

Well, my feet they finally took root in the earth

   but I got me a nice little place in the stars

And I swear I found the key to the universe

   in the engine of an old parked car

I hid in the mother breast of the crowd

   but when they said "Pull Down" I pulled up

   - Bruce

Didn't Mean to Bug You

I know what you're thinking.  At least it sure seems that way.

     Down down, you bring me down

     I hear you knocking at my door and I can't sleep at night

     Your face, it has no place

     No room for you inside my house I need to be alone

     Don't waste your words, I don't need anything from you

     I don't care where you've been or what you plan to do

     - "I Am the Resurrection", The Stone Roses (1989)

Where have you gone?

Time Gone By: Chinese Democracy

     I've been sittin' here

        just wastin' time.

     Drinking, smoking, thinking

        trying to free my mind.

     - "Wasting Time", Kid Rock (1998)

Well Axl Rose needed way more than a couple months in that smoky room.  17 years to be exact.  That's how long it took to develop and produce Guns N' Roses' new album, "Chinese Democracy".

Overall it's a catchy record.  A hard rocking title track kicks things off.  And rock it does!  One of the best lead-off songs I've heard.  An okay industrial banger called "Shackler's Revenge" fills the #2 slot. "Better", a solid pop metal tune, follows... and is better than "Revenge".  Batting cleanup is a kick-ass power ballad named "Street of Dreams", showcasing everything you'd ever want from Axl Rose. The rest of the disc streams in similar fashion.

Production quality is excellent.  The sounds are layered, yet clean. Rhythms vary from simple to complex, but remain groovy and natural. Great diversity of tones, instruments and volumes too. There's cohesiveness throughout.

On another level though, I'm struck by a sense of deja vu.  It's like Axl - holed up in his studio for the better part of two decades - picked up every cool lick and technique of the era and incorporated them into this record.  The piano in "Street of Dreams" sounds exactly like a Queen tune from 1984.

"Better" has a distinct Linkin Park feel, alternating between a syrupy chorus and a growling metal verse.  "If The World" at #5 contains a cool bluesy groove, but a Spanish guitar intro seemingly pulled from the opening to "Hotel California" unplugged.  Track #6, an instrumental titled "There Was A Time", has an old school Metallica vibe with a touch of Neil Young and Erasure for balance.  And I definitely flashed back to Rob Zombie's "Dragula" during "Shackler's Revenge" - truly not sure if that's good or bad.

Sonically, I'm more partial to this album than large swaths of the Use Your Illusions.  That's thanks to masterful engineering and a much tighter set list.  Of course, after 17 freakin' years you should have time to figure those things out.  But I'm not inclined to rank ChiDem up with such masterpieces as the "White Album", "A Night at the Opera" or "The Joshua Tree" let alone "Appetite for Destruction".

Then again, maybe I should just shut up and rock.  It's solid enough to enjoy.

Bottom line:  B+ for hard rock, outstanding production, and a decided stick-to-it-tiveness.  Demerits for derivative elements and too frequent pits of easy listening.

     Time fills the pages

     Turn the page

     Time will not stop

     It will have its way on you

     - "Time Gone By", Izzy Stradlin (1992)

Of False Expectations & GI Joe

"Chew the backbone, a solar system, these clever convicts"

     - Kasabian

Nearly 8 weeks ago, I railed on the U.S. Congressional bailout plan designed to mitigate the burgeoning economic meltdown.  Then, it was the financial titans seeking salvation from their reckless lending and byzantine derivative portfolios.

Today, it's the auto industry with hands out crying poverty while eschewing even 1st class commercial.  Does anyone else see the irony of an auto exec flying anywhere, private or otherwise?  Those guys ought to have arrived on Capitol Hill in stretch Hummers  and bitchin' Cameros with at least a dozen speeding tickets on the 8 hour drive from Detroit.

That fact alone qualifies the Big 3 for Chapter 11, not a federal handout.

Another problem with government intervention is the false expectation that everything would be solved; "all trouble gone blub blub blub," quoth Leslie Neilson.

Seven weeks ago, our feckless leaders granted one man -- Treasury Secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson -- control of more than $700 Billion dollars; money to be spent in any way he saw fit in pursuit of economic stability and restored investor/consumer/commercial confidence.  No dice.

Consider:

• Since Oct 1st, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has shed 30%. Yesterday, it broke through the 8,000 floor of resistance and looks to test 7,000 in coming days.  Ditto the Nasdaq, S&P, Nikkei, Hang Seng, FTSE, CAC-40, DAX, Bovespa, Merval, and Jakarta Composite.
• All sectors of the global economy are plummeting:  Banking, Media, Automotive, Industrial, Technology, Retail... you name it.  Auto sales practically do not exist. Advertising is worthless. Orders have been canceled like falling dominoes throughout the global supply chain.
• Global markets are as bad -- or worse.  This is not an American phenomenon caused by our own reckless traders.  They are everywhere, possibly even in greater numbers "there" than "here".
• Oil broke through the $50 floor of resistance yesterday.  Five months ago -- a lifetime! -- it was nearly triple.  The pace and scope of its decline is as staggering as it is unprecedented. Commodities of all sorts are experiencing a similar fate.
• Home prices dropped 9% nationally in Q3.  Denver was down 11%, Cleveland metro down 12%, Chicago minus 13%, Miami off 17%, Las Vegas down 28%, and San Diego down 36%.  With "no bottom in sight" according to Standard & Poors.

So good job, Hank!  Your bailout didn't work.  Or if it did, things are not appreciably better than the freefall we otherwise would have experienced.  What's the difference between a 30% loss and 40% at this point?

Except $700 billion... or much more depending on your accounting method.

Instead, the bill was passed hurriedly under great duress.  Further, it created the false expectation that pain would be minimal and vanquished quickly.  In the public's mind, the problem got worse simply by virtue of the fact it didn't get better.  And it did get worse. So now that our government aided the financial sector, it means we need to extend a hand to other areas of the economy.

Well, the steel industry had been operating at 90% capacity as of mid-August.  Selling prices were at record highs.  Now that industry expects a 50% operating rate by December 1st, with a corresponding price drop.  No demand, no production, no orders to suppliers.  How about a little help for an otherwise healthy industry clearly impacted by meltdown instead of one (automotive) already distressed?

Or closer to home, me?  I didn't do anything wrong.  I bought a house within my means.  Got a 30-year mortgage with a boring 5-1/8% fixed rate.  Sure I'm still making payments on time. But how's about a little something to grease the wheels, help out with some credit card debt. And you know, Christmas is coming; my kid needs a GI Joe with the kung-fu grip.

Naturally, I'll pay that mortgage.  If I don't I lose the house -- no matter its depressed value.

But the credit cards?  I might let them slide.  And why not?  After all, how much is VISA/MasterCard/Discover/AmEx/Diners Club/et al going to get for that repossessed GI Joe?

I guess they'll be next off the jet.

A Wild & Crazy Guy

It's official:  Hitler had only one ball.  Somewhere Steve Martin is smiling...

Closed Minded Rednecks

Well isn't this one delicious?

Well, not for the human tragedy in the murder of a woman who apparently changed her mind about joining the KKK.  Nor for the fact the KKK exists and continues to attract new members. No, not that part.

It's this:

     "It's kind of impressive for a group with a pretty small

      IQ to be able to cleanse that site so well," (St. Tammany

      Sheriff Jack) Strain told reporters.

Hey, Sheriff!  Isn't that a little flippant considering, you know, a woman was killed and all?  Perhaps you could back that statement up. Be a little more specific or soften your comments a tad.

Whoops!  Just read on to the next paragraph:

      The group was discovered after (alleged killer Raymond

      "Chuck") Foster's son and another (Klan) member went

      to a local convenience store on Monday and asked the

      clerk how they could remove bloodstains from their

      clothes.

Sheriff, you have my sincerest apologies.  Don't forget to throw away the key.

PS  When are the sterilizations scheduled?

Open Minded Liberals

Once again, Buckley says:

     "Though liberals do a great deal of talking about hearing

      other points of view, it sometimes shocks them to learn

      there are other points of view."

Case in point the video linked here.  [Please endure the 15-second commercial at beginning.]

More irony in the article linked here.  Please note this particular church does not actively protest against or derogate gays.  Just holding firm to their beliefs.

So whose rights are being infringed here?

Anyone?  Anyone?  Buehler?