The Great Leap Forward

Stew's Passing Strange opened yesterday on Broadway, where they say the neon lights are bright and there's always magic in the air. The show has rave reviews at NPR, the NY Times and other outlets, so it could be playing there for awhile. Stew is on the cusp of making the great leap forward from "starving indie-musician" to "star of stage and screen."

I saw PS in the Fall of 2006 at the Berkeley Rep, and didn't think it had much of a chance of making it to the Great White Way. The songs were great, but the show seemed like it ran out of steam during the second half. At nearly three friggin' hours, it seemed about a half-hour too long. They've now cropped the running time down to 2:10 which is a good length for a musical. There's no reason for any play or movie to be more than two hours long.

In this NPR interview back in 2003, Stew talked about wanting to take his songs to the stage, since his roots were more in theater and film music than the indie rock of the Negro Problem and his solo albums. So Broadway isn't something Stew is "dabbling in", it's something closer to what he's all about. Still, the moral of Passing Strange is to not forget where you came from, and I'll always think of Stew first and foremost as the leader of the Negro Problem.

For today's leap day, here are a couple of songs from TNP's 1997 debut Post Minstrel Syndrome, and a couple of outtakes from the same Post-Minstrel period (Post-minstrel period. get it?). When I first heard this album ten years ago, "The Great Leap Forward" and "Club Girls Terrain" (the last untitled bonus track on PMS -- track 18 if you're playing at home) were the two songs that told me that this album was something special. This is another out of print record that should go back "in print" ASAP.

The other two tracks ("Amsterdam" and "Flying Naked Through The Air") are from a compilation called Closet Pop Folk. They're early acoustic demos that didn't make the debut album, but "Amsterdam" has been revived as part of Passing Strange.

The Negro Problem
The Great Leap Forward
Club Girls Terrain
Amsterdam
She's Flying Naked Through The Air

Hillary with 2l's Hillary

Are commenters who refer to Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (senator from New York State, former first lady, and candidate for the 2008 U.S. Democratic nomination) by her first name engaging in "sexism". I keep hearing it, but still don't buy it.

For one thing, if people just say "Clinton", the first name that comes to most minds would be her husband, William Jefferson Clinton, 44th president of the USA. Here in California, most of the media refer to our female high profile politicians by their surnames. You never hear Madame Speaker called "Nancy", it's always "Pelosi". And our senators are always "Feinstein" and "Boxer".

Hillary is different. Nobody ever calls her "Clinton". There are no other famous women named Hillary (especially with 2 l's), so when people hear "Hillary" they usually think of Hillary Clinton. Notice that her web site says "Hillary For President" not "Clinton For President". So the cries of "sexism" are completely unfounded. I've probably already used up my quota of "quoted words" for this post!

On the other hand, referring to Hillary's Democratic rival by his full name (Barack Hussein Obama) seems a little heavy-handed. Mostly because it's mostly done by fringe right-wingers who emphasize the middle name ("Ba-rock HOO-SAIN O-Bama") to show how "Muslim" it sounds. Nobody ever refers to other candidates with their middle names. Look at this press release by the Tennesee Republican Party concerned about the future of Israel if "Barack Hussein Obama" is elected president. They also showed a photo of him dressed in "Muslim attire" in a trip to Africa. The only trouble was that the press release was a complete load of BS, forcing them to enter the following "clarification".

This release originally referenced a photo of Sen. Obama and incorrectly termed it to be "Muslim" garb. It is, in fact, Somali tribal garb, hence, we have deleted the photo. Also, in order to diffuse attempts by Democrats and the Left to divert attention from the main point of this release, we have deleted the use of Barack Obama’s middle name.

Translation: We got called on our crap and had to retract it. So in brief: "Hillary" is okay, "Hussein" is not okay. Unless you're talking about the candidates themselves, then it's the other way around.

Dancing With Mr. D

In the comments to yesterday's Dusty-bashing post, the mysterious Mr. B asks if I might be better off talking about something I like that something I don't like.

Fair enough. Right now, I'm liking the Mr. D album Wings & Wheels. The album was recommended a couple of days a go by the fine folks at 125 Records, "especially if you're into Teenage Fanclub". My last.fm stats confirm that I am into TFC (my weekend run through all 4,760 Seconds of Four Thousand Seven Hundred And Sixty Seconds pushed the Fannies to 100 plays, more than any other artist) , and I'm also squarely in the 125 Records demographic, so I decided to give the album a download (it's on emusic) and a spin.

Mr. D is actually a dude from Glasgow named Paul McLinden (formerly of the Gyres).  His sound is a little too close toward the "country" end of "country/rock" (more Sweetheart Of The Rodeo than Notorious Byrd Brothers) but it does remind me of Northern Britain-era TFC and some of their Scots contemporaries like Minibar and the Cosmic Rough Riders who mined the same Byrds/Burritos territory. Worth a download and a spin if you're into that sort of thing.

Why are there so many Glaswegian artists adapting the "California Sound"? Who knows?

First clogging of Spring

The baseball season isn't really here until Dusty Baker's first "clogging up the bases" quote.

I think walks are overrated unless you can run. If you get a walk and put the pitcher in a stretch, that helps, but the guy who walks and can't run, most of the time he's clogging up the bases for somebody who can run -- Dusty Baker, 2004

On-base percentage is great if you can score runs and do something with that on-base percentage... Clogging up the bases isn't that great to me. -- Dusty Baker, 2006

David Wright stole 20 bases last year so you don't have to worry about him clogging up the bases at the top of the order. -- Dusty Baker, 2007

Sometimes you get so caught up in on-base percentage that you're clogging up the bases. -- Dusty Baker, 2008

I don't know if Miles still reads my blog, but my sincere condolences to him and every other Cincinnati fan. They have a good team with lots of young talent, but with Dusty at the helm, they're going to lose 90 games again this year and get relegated to the American Association. Only the Pirates will prevent the Reds from last place.

Worthy of Oscar Knight

One of the commentators in yesterday's Carling Cup Final between Chelsea and Tottenham said that the way Tottenham players "sold" the 70th minute penalty that gave them a tying goal was "acting worthy of Oscar Knight".



I thought Oscar Knight must be some British character actor famous for his dramatic roles, or some international footballer famous for "selling" penalties, but couldn't find anything about the mysterious Mr. Knight via google. Turns out the commentator talking about "Oscar night". It wasn't until much later last night that I finally got it.

That's "Oscar night" as in the 80th Academy Awards (which were last night). I didn't watch the Oscars, and have not see any of the nominated films, so I didn't see any reason to watch. Apparently No Country For Old Men is pretty good, since it won all the awards. I'm glad that "Falling Slowly" won best original song (Once was my favorite film of 2007) and would have liked to see Glen and Marketa perform it, but that's what
youtube is for.

By the way, after Dimitar Berbatov converted that 70th minute penalty to equalize, Tottenham went on to beat Chelsea 2-1 in extra time and win the Carling Cup. It was a second half performance worthy of Oscar Knight. The Carling Cup should not be confused with the FA Cup (which is still in progress and down to the final eight the boys from Barnsley now have to face Chelsea) or the Champions League (which is down to the final sixteen). And all these cup competitions are independent from their various leagues.

In movie terms, it's like simultaneously competing for the Oscars and the Golden Globes, if these movie awards were all knockout competitions. So even though Atonement won the GGs, it would still have to face the mighty No Country in the Oscar semis.

Welcome To Sunday Morning

Of all the VU-related clips on the youtubes, this has to be the strangest. It should have been extended to seventeen and a half minutes!

Rainy Day Rendang

It's been raining on and off all day, so I've been staying in and cooking rendang daging (a Malaysian beef stew simmered in coconut milk). It's kind of involved to make it, but the rewards are well worth the work.  

The first rendang recipe I found online was courtesy of my Canadian alter-ego Spicy Steve. Spicy Steve is the host of a Canadian cooking show, highlighting Southeast Asian cuisine. It looks like he ripped off some of my recipes as well as my first name!

Anyway, Spicy Steve's recipe for danging rendang is here. I modified it slightly because I don't have fresh galangal, kaffa lime leaves, or screwpine leaves (screwpine leaves?). I added red thai curry paste, which is the lazy Asian cook's secret weapon. It's like culinary duct tape. The preparation is the same.

Rainy Day Rendang

1 lb stew beef (aka cheap chuck)
5 Tbsp grated coconut, roasted in oven and ground.
2 Tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
1 14 oz can coconut milk
3 tablespoons Thai Curry Paste.

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok. Gently fry curry paste.
2. Add beef and stir fry for a few minutes.
3. Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
4. Put in a crockpot and cook on low all day.

Serve with either plain rice or nasi lemak. Tradition dictates the latter. Beef cooked in coconut milk served over rice cooked in coconut milk. You can't get any more decadent than that. Actually you can. Spicy food matches well with a carbonated malt beverage that the Malays call "bir". Maybe you've heard of it? Beef cooked in coconut milk served over rice cooked in coconut milk washed down with a couple of cold ones. You cannot get any more decadent than that!

This dish has a wonderful aroma. It's only 4:30pm, and I'm all ready for dinner!