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 April 1, 1998 In this issue: |
 Psychobilly Freakout New Vintage George Liquor, American Vonnegutia Surfin' USM |
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There's a new Reverend Horton Heat record out, which means that Department Lemur has to shut down for
martinis. It's a regulation that's been in effect since the band did that
cover of "Hello Walls" for that Willie Nelson "non-tribute" LP
. We couldn't protest
this rule even if we cared. So, while the pool tournament rages on and the
Bombay Sapphire flows free, I'll just sit in this quiet corner and give you
the pop culture report. Pardon any interruptions, but there's people
dancing atop the bar.
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WHEN SWANK RULED THE EARTH
The Passenger would be lost without Retro Magazine. A self-proclaimed guide to "everything that
was ever cool," Retro is a user's guide to the first three-quarters of this
fabulous century -- the garments, the furniture, the music and the attitude
all made new again, in a truly glorious fashion. Listen to classic records
on their Javascript radio. Get the skinny on setting up a vintage bar. Lean
over the Teletype for vintage news and anecdotes. Put your noodle to work
on a "cooked-to-order" crossword puzzle. Send beautiful vintage postcards.
There's a fabulous Old World out there, cats and kittens, and unless you
make Retro into a religion, it just might pass you by - again. |
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BLESS O YE THIS BACON
The Passenger can't tell you anything about Spumco
that their spokesman George Liquor can't say louder and better. Suffice to
say if you liked the early episodes of "Ren & Stimpy," you have a taste for
distinctive, vaguely terrifying animation and you have the latest version
of Shockwave, you're wasting your time sitting here listening to me.
There's balls of bacon to be consumed, chickens to be ripped in half,
rubber nipples to be worn. All hail the mighty Kricfalusi! |
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DOODLEY-DO, DOODLEY-DO
Oddly enough, Kurt Vonnegut has no use for the web. (With sites devoted to
tap-dancing transsexuals, alien-autopsy crackpots and the wacky spy-cam
exploits of performance artist Anna Voos, sometimes the web feels like one
of Vonnegut's more demented constructs.) The Kurt Vonnegut Web is a straight-up tribute to the
author of "Slaughterhouse Five," "The Sirens Of Titan" and "Mother Night,"
with passages from the famed Unitarian's work, commentary by Vonnegut
friend and screenwriter Robert Weide (he penned an adaptation of "Mother Night,"
released by Fine Line in 1996) and the real dope on the phony
"Sunscreen" commencement address falsely attributed to Vonnegut via some
reactionary news groups. Maybe Vonnegut's onto something with this anti-web
jazz. |
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NO RELATION All but unknown on this side of the big pond, the UK's late, great Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine was one of the great protest artists of the 1990's, on a par with Michael Franti, Zack De La Rocha and Billy Bragg. Carter's gleefully caustic and literate core of Jim-Bob and Fruitbat said more about life in general over the course of one album than Oasis will ever say. Whether ripping the Gulf War ("Bloodsport For All"), taking on the bloated ego of Bono ("Commercial F***ing Suicide, Part 1") or considering the pros and cons of drying out ("Anytime Anyplace Anywhere"), Carter never pulled a punch or struck a false note. And, they rocked like a crack-crazed truckload of surf punks. Well, that's it for me -- my old friends Rudy "Bangback" Rudolph and "Gristle" Westfall need my expertise in lining up a three-pocket whammy with a Glenfiddich chaser. This is what an education will get you, kids! Stay in school and I'll see you next week!
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