Month: July 2006

Tintin: Key To Modern Literature

Tom McCarthy is to Hergé (creator of Tintin) what Ben Watson is to Frank Zappa:

Hergé’s writing, he would have us believe, presents a human tableau worthy of Balzac involving situations ‘managed with all the subtlety normally attributed to Jane Austen or Henry James’; his world is a place where ‘Molière-style social comedy runs effortlessly into Dumas-style adventure with Conradian boxed narratives throughout which…volleys of Rabelaisian obscenities echo and boom.’

Some people…

Tossers Unite!

Rrrrright:

In what must surely be one of the summer’s more bizarre events, hundreds of people are expected to gather in a hall in central London on August 5 to pleasure themselves in aid of charity.

… and what’s more:

Prizes will be on offer for those who clock up the most orgasms and those who can masturbate the longest – the current record, according to the organisers, is a chafing eight-and-a-half hours.

I believe a Woody Allen quote is in order: “Don’t knock masturbation — it’s sex with someone I love.”

Perfect Echo

Perfect Echo:

It’s monday morning and at work i’m playing “Freak Out”. FZ collection 001. and I intend to make this trend last long enough to get to the end. I’m gonna listen to it all, and time permitting, review them all, create a catalog of the masterworks that I, or you, can refer to.

Succinct, nicely written reviews.

I Say Chaps, Fancy A Dash O’ Pims?

Darnit! Wish I’d read this before hitting the wee hours at Magic’s wedding: getting your point across a sea of drinks.

If you happen to find yourself in the company of foreigners, you should feel free to adopt their accent. If you’re drunk enough, it’ll probably happen without even trying. Much as mimes really dig it when you start mimicking them, your new mates will appreciate your ability to acclimate.

(I blame the Pims. I do. Really.)

Graham’s Vault

Remember Wolfgang’s Vault? Owner Bill Sagan, a ‘health company executive turned rock entrepreneur’, had bought the rights to Bill Graham‘s “vault” — everything from ticket stubs and backstage passes to psychedelic Jefferson Airplane posters and surplus Duran Duran T-shirts. Now, up to 100,000 songs recorded and filmed between 1966 and 1991 (including some Zappa) are a step away from being released.

Seattle ’81

Your humble reporter is back! He can be seen here wearing a tie in the company of one Magic Fingers who got married to The Love Of His Life that same day.

barry and magic fingers

Won’t bore you with holiday stories such as how we managed to almost miss every single plane we had to catch. A grand time was had throughout though — Dublin was a blast, the Aran Islands magnificent and Galway a feast to the eye (more on Flickr). Not to mention the fact that with my bright orange beard, I fitted in perfectly — to the point where people were asking me for directions!

On to the show you say? Oh, of course. This week’s boot: Seattle Center Arena, October 2 ’81.

To Pistoia, London, Dublin, Galway And Back

Expect posting to be light (if non-existent) during the coming week as Dr Sharl and I travel from Brussels to London, then through to Dublin, the Aran Islands, Galway, Dublin and back again. (We’ll be crossing borders! New releases on the horizon? :) ) Couple of things:

  • New member sign-ups at the forums will be disabled during my absence.
  • Any blog comments that have links in them will be added to the moderation queue and will not appear here until I have, erh, moderated them (that old devil called spam).
  • Not to worry, Pistoia ’82 Part Two is available as of now.

In the mean time: be well and be sure to take your clothes off when you dance — see you when we get back!

Stuff, And Then Some

I’m probably a bit late with this, but there’s some Dweezil Zappa video over at guitarplayertv.com where he talks about Frank’s SG, Zappa picking, and more.

Oh and then there’s this article which claims to have spotted the following on YouTube: “a professionally filmed jam session between Frank Zappa and Pink Floyd. Filmed Oct. 25, 1969, on a tour of Belgium, the two rock legends team up for a version of the Floyd classic, ‘Interstellar Overdrive.'” Can you find it? I couldn’t…

Oooh, shiny! Peaches En Regalia, live on SNL (read the guy’s commentary in the about box — heh).

Lastly, while Stephen Hawking asks An Important Question on Yahoo Answers, this entry just wouldn’t be complete without a link to Cats That Look Like Hitler.