ART IS AS ART DOES....and sometimes that guy Art does some pretty fucked up shit.

That's a picture of my wife Trixie's deltoid and bicep and all manner of other anatomical terminology that means nothing to anyone other than folks that named them landmarks in order to make money off of them. But WOWEE BUBBAH! How bout that bird?...It's plumage just blows me away...

Psst...you wanna know something?....the actual FACTUAL bird that tattoo is based on the Starling....specifically, the Australian variety of the species...and ain they pretty...

Today was a good day.

Stak

REGARDING THE STATE OF MUSIC TODAY...the chart toppers suck

My dad Bpops and I were having a discussion today about music...he mentioned Glee,American Idol, etc and how those entities were misguiding people...my response was "yeah, huge corporate entities are devouring music from one end as legitimate ARTISTS are building a levee on the other"(I'm paraphrasing here but you get the point). He responded by saying that he couldn't think of a time in his life that some people didn't bitch about popular music and how some small corner of the music world was better and underrated. He went on to admit that he is a fan of LADY GAGA, acknowledging that alot of her music is genius sometimes obscured by all the artifice and stage-witchery....

I do know that many people in the Augusta area dismissed THE BEATLES out of hand at first blush....technology considered, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" is not that far removed from "Papparrazzi"...a catchy verse followed by a rock solid hook...it's POP music after all....and truth be told, LADY GAGA is a very skilled musician....

I have two responses to that idea....well, really three because LADY GAGA irritates me with all her bullshit costumes....so number 2-one difference between THE BEATLES in their moptop days and GAGA at any point in her career is THE BEATLES could put their hands to instruments as a UNIT and reproduce their recorded music in a live setting without much of a discernable loss in quality...by and large, LG's music is manufactured by computers(and her stupid outfits are fashioned by demons posing as people who enjoy having a laugh at their client's expense...but i'm quite sure they sell it with flurry of pixie dust,a limp wrist and a "you GO girl, that outfit is utterly FAB-O")...number 3 in my response to Bpops requires a new paragraph because I intend to ramble...

ahem....number 3-with regard to musical talent among the current crop of popular artists charting on Billboard today(less of a REAL measuring stick of musical success than it has EVER been), NONE of them has half the talent(with regard to singing,songwriting, or performance) that is contained within the membership of any number of unsigned bands in THIS town or any other in the U.S. LMFAO has become famous with the most cloying,inane and half-assed attempt at even ATTEMPTING to make something that resembles music...I'm amazed that those idiots can tie their own shoes. JUSTIN BEIBER sings Christmas songs to his "shawty"...and he's WHITE....if only I had a large explosive device I could plant in the midst of the MTV Europe Music Awards show, I'd die a happy drummer.

Now I do realize that the very same year that NIRVANA broke, NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK was a hot act....and I realize that one of the best selling artists this year ADELE is the real deal....what alarms me these days is the absence of rock and roll....the absence of GUITARS....what encourages me is the fact that the guitars have not gone silent, they are still blazing....along with real drums and drummers and vocalists that don't NEED autotune....they have found safe harbor in genres that don't bust the charts under current musical trending(the vast majority of people who proclaim themselves "music lovers" just want to fist pump and dry hump in the club....Gym,Tan,Laundry=giant orange douchebag...)...genres like Americana,Metal,Indie Rock,Punk, etc. have not forgotten the power of that gigantic open E chord....and rarely is the term "shawty" uttered there....

Stak

P.S. who else finds GAGA repulsive?...

WHAT IF THE WORLD WERE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN...chapter one

I have awakened yet again staring at the stars moving between the branches of leafless trees. Tracking them across the skies for hours before I dare move. I grow weary. For decades my banner men have stomped a steaming shit-filled mud hole out the sorry excuse for an army left of the Roman Empire...what is left of it. Of late, they relentlessly attack the Southern boundaries of Erin with half a horse between them. They are nothing if not redundant and stupid. Our Welsh brothers at bow have to this point put down every charge by half before they reach my infantry. I am forever in Sir Bowen's debt for that. My heavy Calvary has on five occasions finished the job with scarcely a scratch, mowing down the ragged leftovers as though they had offered themselves up to a man a blood sacrifice to my throne. Rumor has it that some of the more base of my legion have had their way with those toothless faces before dining on the flesh of their cheeks.

I have been decisively isolationist in my foreign policy. I could send over air messages to the gargoyles of every single keep in the strongholds of Erin and raise an army of a size to easily swarm all of Briton. The legions could span the channel by locking arms and climbing back over back. I could stroll into Spania and Italia as easily as I stroll through my garden on my best mornings. I have to this point chosen not to do so. Not hard to figure. All of Euros is beset by plague, and has been for twenty years. Their food rots in the ground before they can eat it. Erin has been blessed by good fortune. The strong winds off our shores have staved off plague thanks be to Gods. There has been no reason whatsoever up until now to use my legions for anything other than defense of the realm...

I should be relaxed. I should be raising Hades at the tourneys and bending my Queen over the colors(allowing my Man At Arms to step in in the middle...I am half the man I used to be). Yet my nights are restless...

I could crush all of Euros on a moment's notice...the whole of that sad continent is brought worm level...so sad as to be a joke. Yet with the coming of the Iroquois,Cherokee,Creek and Chickasaw upon the shores of Spania, I feel my hackles rising on behalf of an already besieged countryside. Not that the beloved green flags of my home would EVER be threatened by such orange savages. In fact, I appreciate their seamanship...I just think it'd fun to kill a score of orange dogs. I need a fresh trophy for my mantle. If only I could drag myself out of bed for the event.

The first chapter of a novel yet to be named...

I WISH I COULD SLEEP...

Were I to be in a band not named JESUP DOLLY....Band Of Horses would be the dream gig...

Stak

LET'S GIVE THIS A GO AGAIN....I return to the personal blog

I got this new band I'm very fond of...tunes steeped in the Southern story-telling tradition...chock full of outlaws,bad decisions and desperation....it's called JESUP DOLLY and I play drums....

Check the band out at Reverb Nation.....Click Here

I triple dawg dare ya....

Rock it like you actually ROCK IT!

Stak

OFF TOPIC THURSDAY.........dear Gawd! it's a revolution........

Welcome to Off Topic Thursday..........each week in this space, i choose not to limit myself to the subject of AUG music......so you'll take whatever gruel i hand ya.....and you will LIKE IT...............

At home we have a wonderful relationship with NETFLIX.........between that wonderful service and the library, we never ever have to be bothered with the vast majority of the tripe that is network television.......or any other television for that matter.......the world gets dumber by the minute watching MTV..........

NETFLIX has a wonderful feature called "Watch It Now"........and through that feature a large selection of movies and media are available to watch instantly on your computer..........and since my monitor is bigger than some tv's and gets a better picture than our tv, i use it alot..........

I just watched a documentary via NETFLIX called JESUS CAMP........it is without narration of any kind........it just films these folks as they talk and allows you to form your own conclusions about the subject matter..........i sat mouth agape through most of these proceedings.........it takes the viewer into the world of evangelical christians........more specifically, it shows how their children are trained(read indoctrinated)to become "warriors" in Christ's army....you see they go to summer camp....the brainwashing that proceeds is disturbing enough.........how warped is a kid going to come out if you don't let him make up his own mind?.........but there are several things even more disturbing about this doc...........

These misguided misguiders proceed to involve American politics into the brainwashing process.........it's interesting to see a 10 year old kid spout off about what's wrong with our country...........WTF?..........how on earth does HE know?.......there is even one segment at the KIDS ON FIRE summer camp in Devil's Lake,ND(how's that shit for irony) in which a preacher brings up a life size cardboard cutout of George W. Bush(ptooey) and has the kids pray over it...........IN TONGUES!.........i have never witnessed such horse shit in my life.........and there was that other moment in which a preacher screamed at the kids for an hour about abortion..........and how GW needed to get his Supreme Court justice approved so they could end abortion in America..........these are complex issues and far beyond the understanding of children.........shit, i'm still struggling to understand alot of things.........

The film also included a segment in which a kid named LEVI(imagine that) who harbors notions of becoming a preacher one day spent time talking to Ted Haggard after a service at Haggard's mega-church in Colorado Springs......Haggard tells the kid to "use" the cute kid preacher thing until he's thirty and that by then he will have something worth listening to on its own merit.........the kid looked pissed.......funny..........after the documentary was filmed, Ted Haggard was busted for paying to fuck young men in the ass and doing cocaine.............

You think that's disturbing?..........what about the children's minister who spoke with clear envy about how some muslim kids are raised from an early age to shoot guns, hurl grenades, and strap on dynamite vests in the name of Allah.........this bitch is looking for the same sort of dedication from our kids........kids who will be willing to "lay down their lives for Christ"..........it was kinda funny when this stupid cunt started talking about how Muslim kids are so devout that from the age of 5 they willingly fast through the month of Ramadon(sp?)....and that American Christians should be that devoted..........strange message coming from a cow that only fasts from one McDonald's to the next........

If you believe what these Bible thumping idiots say, then evangelicals are raising up an army to take over the government in this country......and their message of intolerance and cruelty is heading towards you like a Mack truck.......if you're part of the movement, you're okay.......if you're a young man or woman, you're okay........be sure and join the military so you can be a part of the Republican death machine........and if you're a fetus, you okay.....they will protect you..........if you don't fit into those categories.......you're on your own.......

God bless us every one...........Jesus wept..........

See y'all at the rock show.......

Stak

BACK TO BATTLE!...........i need my personal space too!

Look how big that Aidan has gotten........and if that photograph doesn't give you a clue as to the vibrancy of his personality, then you are blind......as a bat.....fruit bat, whatever.........I've decided to return to this page.......i've spent the last forever working rather hard at a music-centered blog(if you read a few posts down, it'll all become clear).........my music blog does not give me much lee-way to do some of the sillier stuff i was fooling with here.........plus i just like the name of this monkey cage........plus it was way fun to get into my cups and post goofy shit with Trixie late at night(remember the dysfunctional super hero draft?)...........

I don't suppose anyone.......or many.......will read this blog going forward.........guess what..........don't.give.a.fuck.


Rock it like you're in love with your life........

Stak

IT AINT A HOCKEY GAME UNLESS THERE'S BLOOD ON THE ICE!..........

This is how Russian hockey players get down........i mean this is just plain ridiculous........talk about gang warfare..........sheesh...........



This thing is all over the internet........and for good reason.........just wow...........

Stak

HOLY SHIT...............i love HEART so bad........

Can't help it.........i just do........

HAPPY HAPPY...........and what not..........

NEW ADVENTURES IN BLOGDOM.......i'm spreading myself way thin.......

I've heard it said that in blogging, you need to have a theme and stay dedicated to it......now in my estimation, this is only partly true......sure, lots of folks probably aren't interested in hearing my opinion on sports in my personal blog.......and then there are folks who could care less about the poetry train stuff........but i've gotten great pleasure from having a live diary online where i get to make all the rules.........it's been satisfying to this point........and i will be continuing to do so......thus, you'll forgive me Rhi if a scathing rant against the deceitful behavior of coach Bobby Petrino is forthcoming........you'll get over it...........

HOWEVER.........there is one thing i am most passionate about is music......and having been a member of the small community that is the Augusta,Georgia music scene, i feel strongly about it...........therefore, i've decided to begin documenting the goings on within that scene.........other folks do so on a sort of irregular basis and that's great........but i wanna add my voice.........and on a very regular basis.....and the flexibility of the blogger platform is a dream for folks who used to read fanzines that were written on typewriters and cut and paste together and published with Xerox machines.........

So allow me to welcome anyone who reads this monkeyshines to my new blog.........


CONFEDERATION OF NOISEMAKERS


I hope to offer more than my running commentary in the future.......the staple of this blog will be show reviews,news,album reviews,interviews and any other sorta silly views you might want about music in my hometown..........

I think it's important........


Rock it like your in love with your hometown.......be demonstrative......

Stak

THIS KID OWNS MY HEART.........he is so incredible.....

THIS THURSDAY NIGHT IMMA MAKE EM BLEED........ears that is.......

IN PIECES.........my response to a local tragedy....

A gas station restroom
Is no place to die
One year old
Three years old
Is no time to die
At the hands of your own mother
Is no way to die
She left you in pieces

http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/120207/met_175193.shtml

My heart absolutely aches for the children of a young,struggling mother who was clearly mentally ill when she exacted a death sentence upon them....and i can't help thinking of my little one.......and that just makes my heart ache more......it's a sad time in my community...........




Rock it like you love your children.......PREVENT harm..........

Stak

SLEEPIN' IN YOUR DRESS BLUES........i'm mailing this one in with a tear or two........

Jason Isbell recently left THE DRIVE BY TRUCKERS............and he proceeded to write one of the most poignent songs about the war in Iraq i've seen..........i can't sing along with chorus without choking up...........because i can't help putting myself in the shoes of the first person no matter how i try...........and the continued loss of life over there makes me shiver.....do yourself a favor and seek out this music.......i won't include a link......you do the work....



What can you see from your window?
I can't see anything from mine.
Flags on the side of the highway
and scripture on grocery store signs.
Maybe eighteen was too early.
Maybe thirty or forty is too.
Did you get your chance to make peace with the man
before he sent down his angels for you?

Mamas and grandmamas love you
'cause that's all they know how to do.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

Your wife said this all would be funny
when you came back home in a week.
You'd turn twenty-two and we'd celebrate you
in a bar or a tent by the creek.
Your baby would just about be here.
Your very last tour would be up
but you won't be back. They're all dressing in black
drinking sweet tea in styrofoam cups.

Mamas and grandmamas love you.
American boys hate to lose.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

Now the high school gymnasium's ready,
full of flowers and old legionnaires.
Nobody showed up to protest,
just sniffle and stare.
But there's red, white, and blue in the rafters
and there's silent old men from the corps.
What did they say when they shipped you away
to fight somebody's Hollywood war?

Nobody here could forget you.
You showed us what we had to lose.
You never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

No, no you never planned on the bombs in the sand
or sleeping in your dress blues.

DIRTY LEFT HAND TO FILM VIDEO...........news at 11; Stak to miss movie premiere........

IN LOVE WITH THIS KID............and i love my other kid too, but he's not as cuddly........

That kid sliding into the door there is Aidan.........he's MY kid........and the depth of my adoration is immeasurable to be certain...........

Tonight when i came in late from band practice, Trixie asked me go in and make sure he was covered up with his blanket.......it's become very cold here over the past day or so............i went into his room and rested my hand upon his back just to feel the rise and fall..........and i spent 10 minutes just feeling this boy breathe.......

It touched me deep down..........again, i cannot express in words how much i love this boy..........my heart overflows.............it overflows............

Stak

ASHES TO ASHES...........somma dat poetry train carras..........

My girl is entirely unrepentant
"Gimme a light" she says
As she fires up her second filterless
Camel in the past 10 minutes....
Upon the little short table
People insist on associating
With coffee
Lies the overflowing ashtray
Atop a People magazine
With this years' next top model
Cover bare.......
The ashes spill over the edges of the butt-tray
A pile of vile,poisonous shit for a head
With a magnificent pair of tits
I sigh

I notice as she smokes
That the smoke is a beautiful blue
Coming off the end of the cigarette
AZURE
As she exhales
It's a musty brown
As if the lungs of the smoker
Have corrupted the smoke
Despite your pre-conceived notions............
I really don't give a good Gatdamned
What you think of me
And my chain-smoking Molly.......
Nyahhh!!!!!!

Stak

CAN CAN.........i can't bear to watch it...

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

EARLY MORNING WARNING..........i'll be playing out in the clubs again soon.........

Rock it like you're big pimpin'.........color coordinate,bitch...........

Stak