Two old drunks with micophones

I was looking to see if I could find some video of David Yow's much discussed rib-plant from this past weekend, and came upon this classic clip from 4 months ago. Enjoy!

Good question!

John Cole asks: "What exactly are our news reporters doing that the heavy lifting these days has been left to a Rolling Stones reporter and a comedy network?"
Now, I assume he's talking about Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone magazine, not, like someone from the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band®, but he's got a really good point.

On the other hand, DEATH PANELS!

Coming soon to the right-wing lecture circuit! Co-headlining with Carrie Prejean!

This guy, Jasen Bruce:

(background info here and here)

This Week In Illegal Downloading

I've been using Soulseek off and on the past week for the first time in a few years. As is the custom, I've allowed other users to browse and download the music I have stored on my computer. By far, the #1 most in demand album in my collection has been the Fang twofer of Landshark and Where the Wild Things Are. It occurred to me right away that unsuspecting indie rockers were helping themselves to these West Coast HC classics, mistaking them for the major motion picture soundtrack of the same name. I hope they weren't too disappointed.

A-Hole Season starts early this year.

I realize the weather in Chicago has been 'unseasonably cool' these past few days, but I just saw the first instance of 'using lawn furniture to reserve a parking space' of the year.

Posted without comment

Big weekend for Rowdy Roddy Piper

He appeared at both The Gathering and Wizard World. I predict a mid-week spike in They Live rentals.
It might take a week or two before things get back to normal.

And then in the summertime such extreme summertime about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now,

with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins.

UPDATE:
Well, it looks like the NBC people put the kibosh on that - don't worry, it wasn't THAT funny - so check this out, from whay youtube says is a 'related video':

Beef

(promoted from the comments)
[T]here's a rapumetary called Beef that's running on cable tv's Fuse channel. It presents the 411 on various disagreements between hip-hop artists. In the 'N.W.A vs. Ice Cube' segment, Ice Cube prevails, delivering the death blow w/ "No Vaseline", which is arguably the greatest musical composition of all time. As a communicative piece, the song's message ("Y'all niggas can't fuck wit Ice Cube") affected to a real-world reality, unlike, say "We Are the World" or "Give Peace a Chance".
The show also features a nifty editing trick to take care of interviewee's profanity without resorting to bleeping out every motherkcufing 4-letter word.

N.W.A - with no period after the A - is the correct way to write it, according to the group's very own logo, also.

We endorse the Free Rom the Spaceknight! Petition to Hasbro, Inc..

To: Hasbro, Inc.

This is a petition to encourage Hasbro to release their copyright of "Rom the Spaceknight" to Marvel Comics. Given that after the initial failed run of the Rom toyline, Hasbro has shown no interest in reviving the character and therefore has no monetary incentive of keeping the copyright, and that Rom has become a fan favorite of Marvel Comics readers, Hasbro should sell (or give) the copyright to Marvel, so that the character may return to comics and reprints of material featuring Rom may be sold.

Sincerely,
Your name here!


Click here to sign the petition.

Hold on to your asses! The Neo-Mofo Revial of 2009 is here

I suppose it was inevitable that Primus-style funk rock would come back into fashion, but no one could have predicted that Jandek would be the first one on the bus.

These are truly weird times we're living in.

Happy Birthday U.S.A.!

What's 2009 minus 1776? Or was it 1783?
It doesn't matter, as long as you celebrate by poring over our All-American Reglar Wiglar Blog Archive Tribute to Mike Wing!

"Bird Collision" by Chicago's Soft Targets

This song just came up on my random mp3 player thing, and I thought it was a Cheap Trick deep cut at first! Good song!

Sheesh!

A few more weeks like this, and John Battles is going to be writing the next Roctober all by himself!

Gary Panter interview at Comics Comics

Megastar RW #21 interviewee Gary Panter just keeps on truckin'. Listen to an in depth interview with him right over here.

It's inpir/persper-ational!

Jay Reatard Tweets on Twitter

For the most part, he tells you what he's eating.

CGI COMEDY

The latest and greatest Dinosaur Jr. video:

The Reglar Wiglar Record Review of Let the Dominoes Fall by Rancid!

I never knew me too much about this band Rancid, other than a string of major red flags: media-industrial complex backed, relatively mega-selling ska/street/pop punk rawk, presumably popular in malls, performed by living breathing cartoon punk rockers (complete with fake British accents) and shamelessly derivative of better bands that I probably don't care to listen to much anyway. No thanx, I always thought, I'll die listening to god-damn Green Day before I give a second of my time over to this shite. But I'll be dipped in mohawk wax if I'm not kinda going bonkers for this brand new Rancid album.
I wasn't wrong about where these guys are coming from aesthetically, but I was wrong about my capacity to enjoy it. This is a record chock full of toe-tapping, fist-pumping jams (and a handful of tender ones) certain to keep the pits full all summer long.
Rating: two boots straight up in the air!

ATTENTION DONOVAN FANS!!!

In this week's installment of Rock and Roll Geek Show, Michael Butler presents an in-depth interview with the immortal voice of Fruity Cheerios, the one and only Donovan Leitch Sr.

This episode is a must-listen, and you can do just that by navigating your internet browser here.

The Reglar Wiglar Record Review of "Chinese Democracy" by Guns N. Roses

...will be ready by the end of the summer.

It pays the bills

The funniest thing on this allegedly comical blog might be the Google ads, currently featuring cut-rate dental surgery - in lovely Bridgeview - and Saul Goodman-esque personal injury lawyers.

I'm sort of shocked

I must admit, I'm a bit surprised that we haven't heard how pleased Bin Laden, Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chávez, and all the rest of the bad guys will be if Sonia Sotomayor makes it onto the Supreme Court.

Reglar Wiglar's Top 100 Greatest Moments in Rock and Roll Music History: #100

Sometime in 1969: The Alice Cooper Group Auditions For Frank Zappa

A series of comical hijinks led to the fledgling and floundering rock band Alice Cooper arranging to meet with the infamous Frank Zappa, who was looking to sign bizarre music acts to his new record label, Straight Records. The audition, per Zappa's instructions, was to take place at his house "at 7 o'clock". However, the band mistakenly assumed he meant 7 o'clock in the morning. Being woken up at seven in the morning by a psychotic rock and roll band ready to play in his front yard impressed Zappa enough to sign them to a three-album deal.

Complete.

I hope they play "Purple Hays"!

BREAKING SCANDAL: President puts spicy mustard on burger

Full details here.
Kudos to our betters in the infotainment industry for sounding the alarm on this sickening, shameful travesty.
Because it's so true! Grey Poupon is an elite brand of mustard that is only available to the blue bloods who shop at 'grocery stores' and other exclusive fancy shops like Target and 7-Eleven. Occasionally, high-end dining establishments like Wendy's and Burger King will unveil a dijon variety of their chicken sandwich, but it is always only available for a limited time, and often - ironically - offered in conjunction with a so-called 'value meal', which obviously conflicts with the morally grounded epicurean values of most hard-working, American news anchors. Very few Americans ever get the chance to see a jar of this exotic condiment, much less taste it.
Shameful that we elected such a terrible person President. He's obviously out of touch with the salt-of-the-earth who provide this country with it's strong, never-wavering and unquestionably wise backbone. Next we'll find out Obama drinks orange juice with his breakfast.

D.O.A., cont'd

I witnessed DOA tearing it the m*therfuckin' up down in Lawrence KS in 1990(?)at a place called the Outhouse. Fairly legendary venue, with a shocking array of big names appearing on show fliers throughout the years. Located about 4 miles off the main strip in town, and the size of an... 8 car garage, with lots of country punkers hanging out in the parking lot, not necessarily checking out the bands. It's weird, because that date seems a little late in the game, but it's almost 20 years ago, and D.O.A. is still touring! My experience with and what I hear of most of these older bands who've gotten back together/never completely hung it up has been pretty good, so I'd go see D.O.A. in 2009, sure!
This band called Negazione opened up. They were Italian and reminded me quite a bit of the Scorpions. I never got around to getting a Negazione record, but both bands are on the P.E.A.C.E. comp, which of course, I've got. Meanwhile, back in town, my dad and I went to see the Smithereens at a bar that same summer. They tore it up too.

Deep thought

I think the Lemonheads version of "Skulls" was quite a bit more influential than many people would like to admit.

Not sure.

I'm not sure if it's because I spend too much time with the internet or not enough, but even though I keep reading their names, I don't know who Susan Boyle or the Sham-Wow Guy are, or what they've done lately.

Great Painting of Barack Obama

Many more here.

Mike Wing says, "This is a great band on a great show!"

D. Rider - Mother of Curses: The Reglar Wiglar Record Review

Urbandictionary.com defines 'D-Rider' as "someone who rides dick or is all up on your meat" or alternately, "a dusty kid in your crew". The liner notes to Mother of Curses, the debut record album by Chicago's newest elite music ensemble D. Rider, credits one "Deathrider" as the drummer, vocalist and strings-ist on it's accompanying musical collection. Quite the conundrum. And while we'll have to wait and see if we ever get to the bottom of this, in the meantime we can contemplate the music.

First a touch of background: Tha D, as we shall not call them, are the latest musical manifestation of Todd Allbbertt Rittmann. TAR is known to many as the tall "low" guitar player in U.S. Maple, and he may also be seen fucking around as a member of Chicago supergroup Singer and Northwest Suburban supergroup Cheer Accident. Rittmann (a.k.a. th'forementioned "Deathrider"), once again the tallest member of the band, sings lead and plays all the standard, manly "rock" instruments himself. He is invaluably augmented by Andrea Faught, who also works for Cheer-Accident, on keyboards, coronet and vox, as well as saxophonist/singer Noah Tabakin, of gonzo marching band Mucca Pazza.

Fans of U.S. Maple's singular knotty stumble will find much to like on Mother of Curses. The record represents a clear departure as it eschews USM's small-group naturalism in favor of some tastefully restrained but playful studiobound pot-stirring. As the record opens, the tone and rhythm are set by the sound of a magic marker writing. A minor key electric guitar, stately, not unBonham-ish drums, fuzz bass and a coed duet vocal fall in line one by one - like a tired Skrull regiment marching out to conquer, again. The tension builds but never quite subsides or climaxes. As the record progresses song to song, the sense of resigned dread intensifies. But this is not some sadsack downer bullshit. No it isn't. The assertive nature of the musical and vocal arrangements - there's funky bass, badass horn lines, whawazzat harmonizing, calming spurts of lovelyness, and jaw-dropping axe shredding scattered all over this thing - and the lyrics - vaguely gallows-humorous, mostly impressionistic meditations on war, sickness and isolation - are cut with a celebratory anxiousness.

There's been some talk wherever it is that people 'talk' these days, speculating that the current world reality may well inspire and inform some great musical statements like we saw in previous eras of turmoil. Of course, I'm not sure what's going to happen (major caveat: I haven't heard the new Morrissey album, the one with the cover where he's holding the baby yet), but I am prepared to go out on a limb and throw Mother of Curses on the pile with Blood Visions and Life...the Best Game In Town as an avatar of 21st century visionary rock and roll music.

******

Check for Mother of Curses at your local retailer, your preferred online source, or check with Chicago Independent Distribution.
Consumer note: the 12" vinyl l.p. contains a coupon for a free digital download of the album in mp3 or flac format. The download includes one song that is not on the cd or vinyl edition of the album.

Happy St. Pat's Day, morans.

Some thing(s) I (found) today

I was doing a little pre-spring cleaning today, and to dignify the occasion, I spun one of my all-time favorite albums: The Blasting Concept Vol. 2, featuring the silver-age roster of the mighty SST Records record label. Over the course of the 30-something minutes I found a few interesting items in my cabinets. There were those missing bird-shaped chip clips, as well as some regular-shape ones, a squeezy lime juice thing with some unidentifiable brown schmutz stuck to the side, and a mini bag of Cheetos Puffs. Most importantly, though, it occurred to me "Hey, wasn't there at some point supposed to be a Blasting Concept #3?" I pulled out a few vintage copies of SST classics and found the relevant catalog (tucked safely and responsibly within the sleeve to the tragicomic Minutemen epitaph Ballot Result) and realized, yes indeed, at one time, SST Records had officially indicated the existence of a "The Blasting Concept Vol. III", and offered same as available for purchase on double lp, cassette and, for twice the price, the now obsolete 'compact digital disc' format.
"Interesting", thought I, who, despite being a record-knower and -getter of legendary status, has not only not seen or heard this record, and though it had been offered for sale by SST Records, Inc. of Lawndale, CA, I do not recall a single mention of it anywhere other than in this catalog, dated Fall, 1987. Initial google search yields unsurprisingly dubious results, hurm. Led to believe that record was never made. Perhaps someone with connections would be able to at least scare up an intended track list?

Also, if anyone wants to be in a general SST tribute band called The Blasting Concept Vol. 3, leave a message in the comment section. I haven't touched a guitar for a few years, so I'm probably singing.

I've got a better idea

Let's take a camera and follow Joe Scarborough and Jim Cramer around "24-7" and analyze their masturbation habits.

More inoffensive political cartoons

RNC Chair Steele: GOP Needs "Hip Hop" Makeover "Fa-shizzle"

From today's New York Times:
Newly elected Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele plans an “off the hook” public relations offensive to attract younger voters, especially blacks and Hispanics, by applying the party's principles to “urban-suburban hip-hop settings.”
"We are going to cut the capital gains tax in the next session, and if you've got a beef I will show you my Smith & Wesson, do you know what I am saying, beeeee-yotch!" Steele added. "Peep this, we need entitlement reform in this country because that shizzle is wack, and all of you all in the blame America first crowd, you are nothing but a bunch of player haters. We plan to bring this party to every corner, to every boardroom, to every neighborhood, to every community. I am not clowning. Peace, I am out."

Happy Valentine's Day, Cocksuckers.

More here.

Happy Birthday Jerry Springer, Henry Rollins, Sigmar Polke, etc!

Simple as H**k!!

Excellent Manowar Article

While fruitlessly google searching for a photo of "How Manowar Drinks a Beer", I came across this thoughtful review of the The Day the Earth Shook: The Absolute Power DVD.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

A Message From the President of the United States of America

Pizza Ass (1994)

A classic short film by Jack Ahern, starring Reglar Wiglar contributor Mike Dixon.

pizza ass - watch more funny videos

Reglar Wiglar Comic Book Review: Invincible Iron Man #9

Hey, did you hear? Tony Stark is in trouble again, mainly due to the fact that now none other than NORMAN F**ING OSBORN has his old job of having Nick Fury's old job and, for instance, making sure alien shapeshifters don't conquer Earth-616 (or at least the USA part of it), among other things. Imagine if you were fired from your job as a warehouse manager or whatever and your boss says "Sorry my man, but I think it's time for you to move on, and we're going to hand the keys over to this guy who's simply LEGENDARY for terrorist acts against warehouses, because he just moved a big crate on tv." Anyway, I'm happy that Tony looks like Tony again. For a while, he had a goatee like in the movie, and for a while before that, he had a goatee AND he looked like Tom Cruise. Sorry, Stan. Tony Stark a) doesn't have a goatee, and b) he doesn't look like Tom Cruise, because c) he looks like this:





















They say comics aren't for kids anymore, and it's true. They're too expensive, and probably quite boring compared to video games and free online pornography or whatnot. Though they're certainly more engaging than Twitter, which is why kids these days are for shit, and you could do much worse than spending 3 bucks a month on Invincible Iron Man. It's not like Dan Clowes is coming out with a new issue of Eightball before the end of the decade or anything.

Reglar Wiglar Film Review: Tropic Thunder

Selected quote from Tropic Thunder
"I'm a lead farmer, motherfuckers!"

Aside from that, a bad, forgettable movie. Chock full of laffs but ultimately shallow and unsatisfying. It's no The Cable Guy by any stretch. It's also no Anchorman, but it's dangerously close. Terrible script and waste of talent.
Ben Stiller and Jack Black are both extremely overrated, as they are both not quite funny in this movie, just as they almost always are..
Robert Downey Jr., of course, delivers a tour de force performance.
Tom Cruise and Jay Baruchel, both excellent actors, also do quite well with extremely shitty material, but not enough to rescue this pitiful effort.

ANALYSIS: Basically sucks. For comedy completists and Downey-philes (and/or Cruise-o-maniacs) only.