dimland radio 9-28-19 show notes

Some Things About Autumn

It's autumn now and there have been a number of things I've experienced lately that were bringing my back to when I was twelve or so. The smell of cut field grass, the feel of the air, the pinging of grasshoppers as the flee my approach.

 

Those things brought me back to something I did with my siblings and our friends in those days of it being the end of summer, but we still wanted something to do. There were cardboard boxes involved. I blogged about it a while back, click here. 

Cool Thing #1: Congratulations To The MN Twins

This time of year is also great because it is leading up to the postseason of baseball, the greatest game ever invented. And my Twins have won the American League Central Division Title. As of this writing, their record stands at 101-60. There's just one game left of the regular season to go.

 

We know who their opponent in the American League Division Series will be. It's the Hated Yankees. Again. Since 2003, the Twins have made the playoffs five times. The Evil Empire has been their first opponent four of those five times. Each time the Bronx Bastards have beaten the good guys.

 

Will it be different this time? My pessimistic has me saying no. But I do hope I'm wrong.

 

If the Twins manage to beat those guys, but lose in the ALCS or the World Series, either of which would be heartbreaking, they still would be heroes of the baseball world for ousting the jerk faces from New York.

 

Also, with one game left to be played by each team, there is the single season team home run record at sake. The good guys, who did break the previous record, set in 2017 by the Hated Ones, by the end of August, find themselves one home run behind the greatest evil i all of sports. Yep, the Hated Yankees sit at 305, while the Twins hold 304. Is it too much to ask for the Twins to hit at least two more dingers today than the Hated Yankees?

 

Whatever happens, I am very pleased with how well the boys have done this season.

 

Cool Thing #2: Andy Gill Responds

Gang Of Four's appearance on the very first Late Night with David Letterman.

I posted the image above on my Facebook page back in July and pointed out that post punk legends Gang Of Four had been on Late Night with David Letterman, in a manner of speaking. I got a little thrill when Andy Gill, an original member of the band responded to my post.

 

 

I did tag him in the post, so it wasn't that out of the blue. But it was still cool.

The 500 Podcast

 

 

As I said on the show, I don't mean to discourage people from checking this podcast out. I just think people should know the podcast is a bit of the bait and switch. It's called The 500 and its host is comedian Josh Adam Meyers. The 500 is an album review podcast focusing on the 500 greatest albums of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine. Starting at 500 and working his way to number 1, each week Josh has a guest, usually another comedian, on to discuss one of the great albums.

 

Well, that's how it is sold to us. In practice the podcast is far more of an interview show of that week's guest and much less about discussing the album. That can work if you are a fan of the guest, but if you are more interested in the album you might find the podcast disappointing.

 

Still, that's just my take. Check it out. You might like it.

The Placebo Effect And Science Vs

 

There is a podcast I listen to that I highly recommend. It is called Science Vs. It's a science podcast that examines claims and holds them up to what science can tell us about them. It is hosted be Wendy Zuckerman, who is great to listen to. I love her Australian accent.

 

Wendy Zuckerman - Photo from The Weekend Edition

It's not a stuffy podcast. It is very much for the layperson in its approach to explaining science.

 

A recent episode was on the Placebo Effect and what new and interesting things are being learned about it. It's very interesting However, they profile a woman who has irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) who knowingly takes a placebo in a study and gets better. Part of what was thought about the placebo effect was that the person taking the placebo is to believe the placebo is actual medicine. This one woman's response has baffled the scientist doing that study.

 

How is it she gets better knowing she essentially taking no medicine?

 

I ask a different question... Did she really have IBS?

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'She's On It' by Beastie Boys & 'Outside The Trains Don't Run On Time' by Gang Of Four

Second ad break bumpers: 'Nocturnal Me' by Echo & The Bunnymen & 'Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)' by The dB's

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 7-13-19 show notes

Peptiva Ad And Poor Advice

There is an ad for the dietary supplement running on the TV, in which a woman is texting her friend about always suffering bad stomach problems when she eats. Her friend gives advice, but make good advice.

My talk included me touching on probiotics, complimentary and alternative medicine, integrative medicine, Dr. David Katz (who developed Peptiva), and actual medicine. I maintain there is no such thing as alternative medicine. If it works, it's medicine.

Cool Thing #1: Late Night With David Letterman

I wrote about Late Night with David Letterman on Warehouse Find, the official blog of Nostalgia Zone, this week (Click here.) Well, there are lots of videos for he watching on the YouTube. And this link will take to the very first episode of Late Night. And that's a cool thing.

Cool Thing #2: Gang Of Four's "Appearance "On Late Night

As I watched that first episode of Late Night, I spotted something pretty cool. You can see it it the image above. It's a screen capture from that first show. It shows a wall in New York city with several bills posted on it. There are a few for Late Night, one for Miles Davis, and a few for post punk legends Gang Of Four (there are two full posters in the lower right).

 

So, it can be said Gang Of Four appeared on Letterman's ground-breaking show. True, they have appeared of Dave's CBS talk show the Late Show, but that show wasn't the same thing. Late Night was cool and so was this "appearance".

 

A Lame Attempt To Blackmail Me

 

I received a scam email from someone attempting to get me to send them $500 in bitcoin to them or else they would release video of me "enjoying" some online porn. I was given 50 hours to comply, otherwise everyone on my email list would be sent that video.

 

I didn't comply. It's far more than 50 hours. Have you seen such a video yet?

 

Pedantic Moment: Geico Ads

 

Geico Insurance has lots of ads. Their advertising budget must be huge to support so many different ad campaigns. One campaign caters to baseball rivalries and two of the ads bring out the pendant in me...

 

The ad featuring rival fans of the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets has a landscaper (the Mets fans) sculpting "Go Mets" into the lawn of a Nats fan. I think the landscaper will soon be looking for a new job.

 

Another ad has an Atlanta Braves fan choosing to sit between to crying babies rather than sit next to a Philadelphia Phillies fan. The things is the babies are obviously twins and the man and woman holding the fussy ones are obviously together, so why the empty seat between them?

Cool Thing #3: STEVE

 

"Steve is looking good tonight."

There is an unusual atmospheric condition related to the auroras. Amateur scientists/astronomers have helped the pros figure out what this phenomenon might be. Occasionally, a single thin purple ribbon of light can be seen in the night sky. The amateurs took to called it Steve. Professional astronomers used the inform the amateurs gathered to help figure out what was going on.

 

It's not completely settled but they are close. The pros decided to call the phenomenon Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement or STEVE. Cool!

 

Learn more here and here.

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ram' by The Yoleus 
First ad break bumpers: 'One Step Ahead' by Split Enz & 'Baby Have Some Faith' by 54-40

Second ad break bumpers: 'Eye In The Sky' by The Alan Parsons Project & 'Face The Face' by Pete Townshend

Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

Please subscribe on iTunes! Just search for Dimland Radio in the podcast section. And if you could leave a good rating and a positive review it would be awesome.

You can also go to my CafePress store and buy stuff with my artwork on it and have me do a portrait for you if you like. Find out more here and here.

Images used under Fair Use.

dimland radio 2-12-11 show notes

Dimland Radio Music Show Hour Radio Show Music Thing

Another two hour music show, but first I talked a little bit about the concert I went to earlier that night. A friend of mine and I went to First Avenue, the famous Minneapolis nightclub, to see Gang Of Four. Very good show. I did a fair amount of jumping around, I hadn't expected to but the music got to me. My knees and back are reminding me that I'm not in my 20s anymore.

Be that as it may, I played a set of love songs in honor of Darwin Day, Lincoln's birthday and my mom's birthday (which happens to be on Valentine's Day).

Love song list:

Love Song - The Damned
Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town - Talking Heads
Message Of Love - The Pretenders
Wouldn't It Be Nice - The Beach Boys
I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash
Let's Stay Together - Al Green
In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
(Just Like) Starting Over - John Lennon
You Just May Be The One - The Monkees
Love Is The Law - The Suburbs
I Wanna Be Your Lover - Prince
La La Love You - Pixies
Ghost In You - The Psychedelic Furs
It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork
Something Stupid - Frank Sinatra & Nancy Sinatra
Teacher, Teacher - Rockpile
She Gives Me Love - The Godfathers
Waterloo - ABBA
Love Song - The Cure
Bit I'm Different Now - The Jam
It's Not Unusual - Tom Jones
I Can't Help Falling In Love With You - Elvis Presley
Linger - The Cranberries
Skyway - The Replacements
Something - The Beatles
I Feel Love - Donna Summer
Love Song - Au Pairs
Love You More - The Buzzcocks
Only You - Yaz
First Glimmer - Paul Westerberg
My Love - Paul McCartney & Wings
To Be In Your Eyes - The Church
You're My Best Friend - Don Williams
Falling Slowly - The Swell Season
Till The Rivers All Run Dry - Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane

Because of the limitations of Z Talk Radio's music license, I cannot archive this show. So, if you weren't there to listen, well, then you missed it. If you want to hear what songs I'll play next time, you'll just have to tune in, won't you?

Other music heard on the show...Dimland Radio opening & closing theme song: 'Twist' by Tones On Tale

That's it! See you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

dimland radio 10-30-10 show notes

Wrap up of Halloween Awareness Month

Weapon not included.

I told the story of getting Hayden's costume for this Halloween. He's going as an Ice Wolf Ninja. He spotted the costume in one of those catalogs we get in the mail at this time of year. I talked about having to go back to the store to get the mask.

Halloween storytime

I read three stories from my favorite book from my days as a child, 'Strangely Enough'. I started with 'The Man Who Fell Forever', then 'Haunted Schoolhouse', and, lastly, 'The Gauntlet in the Castle'. All very creepy tales, all undoubtedly nonsense.

Selling out with Gang of Four

The band in the days when they would never allow their songs to be used in ads.

I discussed the notion of musical artists "selling out". Neil Young was one artist who really hated to see other musical artists using their songs to sell products other than their own albums and singles. Another artist (or group of artists) I was sure I would never see used to sell some shameless product is Gang of Four. But the other night, there was an ad for some Xbox thing, I think, and my ears were greeted with the sounds of 'Natural's Not In It'.

I was stunned! Gang of Four was (is?) one of the most anti-consumerism bands I've ever known. And now they're selling some video game system? I've seen it all!

You can check out the song here.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I love this show! I talked about why it is so great and, as usual, I was spot on. If you haven't seen it... How can you not have seen it? Everybody has seen it! Are in al Qaeda or something?!


Movie Recommendation: Halloween (1978)

Very effective! This lower budget horror films delivers some good scares. I don't know about the other Halloween movies (I do remember seeing Halloween 2, but I don't remember much about it.) The original hits all the notes just right.

Put it in your Netflix queue now!

Music heard on the show...

Dimland Radio opening theme song: 'Ahead' by Wire
First ad break bumpers: 'Dreams Reoccurring' by Husker Du & 'Natural's Not In It' by Gang of Four
Second ad break bumpers: 'Dark Entries' by Bauhaus & 'She Never Said' by The Church
Closing song: 'Angler's Treble Hook' by $5 Fiddle


That's it! see you next Saturday night for Dimland Radio 11 Central, midnight Eastern on www.ztalkradio.com you can also download my show from the z talk show archives page. You can email your questions and comments to drdim@dimland.com

concert memoirs pt. 44 - gang of four & wire

Gang of Four with John and David at First Avenue.

John and I had discovered Gang of Four when we watched the concert movie 'Urgh! A Music War'. It is a great film with a lot of great bands, including The Police, The Fleshtones, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Wall of Voodoo, XTC and many others. It was released in 1982 and I have it on video, but from what I can tell it isn't available anymore. That's a damn shame.

One of the really stand out acts was Gang of Four. They had such a strong stage presence. The way Andy Gill played guitar was mesmerizing. After watching the film, John and I agreed Gang of Four was worth checking out. John soon picked up their first two albums and we were astounded.

It took many years, but we finally got the chance to see the band live. It was late 1995 or early 1996 at First Avenue. And for cheap! I think I paid $4.00 at the door. If I would have remembered to bring along a Club 241 comp. ticket, I would have gotten in for free. Club 241 was what Club Degenerate had degenerated into. Most often just dance nights with the occasional concert.

At the time, I was working nights doing janitorial work (I went to art school for three years to become a janitor, oh well.). I was cleaning the service area of a St. Paul car dealership that night and I was hauling ass to get done.

I finished up and high tailed it the disco for the show. David and John were there when I arrived. They remembered their comp. tickets and got in for free. Jerks!

This was a really excellent show. The three of us were right down front to witness Jon King and Andy Gill up close. They put on quite a show. Andy Gill is one of my all-time favorite guitarist and it was a gas to watch him play.

They played a good mix of their stuff, old and new. I had purchased their latest album, 'Shrinkwrapped', so I was familiar with those songs, which were very good. 'Shrinkwrapped' is a much better album then their previous release, 'Mall'. 'Mall' had a couple of good tunes, but overall I thought it a weak effort from an otherwise great band.

The band sounded great and I was pogoing like a crazy person. And when they played 'Anthrax' off their first album, the brilliant 'Entertainment', I was overwhelmed by the wall of feedback that Andy produced. At one point of the song, Andy dropped his guitar to the stage and kicked it sliding across the stage to Jon King. Jon then kicked it back. The noise was beautiful, man, beautiful!

Wire w/Peaches & Gonzales at First Avenue with Amy, John, Dave & Rosemary.

This is probably the last concert I've seen at First Avenue (maybe anywhere). If it was then it is also the last time I've been to my old haunt. John has continued to visit the club, but I had gotten married in 2001 and a child would arrive in August 2003, so I dropped out of the concert thing. Now, I don't want to sound like I'm blaming my wife and kid for this, because I had long since begun losing my interest in going to concerts.

Amy and I met John there. We hung out at the bar straight back from the stage and chatted while the awful Peaches & Gonzales stunk up the stage. They were doing some arty sex songs that just didn't do anything for us. I got the impression that they thought what they were doing was art.

Well, their art sucked.

I realize Wire can be considered an arty farty band. Hell, I never knew what they're singing about, but that never bothered me. Their songs are so cool. Have you ever heard 'Ahead' off their great album 'The Ideal Copy'? It just may be the coolest song ever.

John realized that Amy and I weren't interested in getting down front to see the band. We had had our fill with dealing with the audiences at these shows. John excused himself and went off to find a spot close to the stage. Amy and I stayed right where we were.

We were soon joined by our friends, Dave and Rosemary. They are friends from our Cold Side days. I met Dave when I started working at Cold Side. He was in the office and I was in the art department. Dave soon found a better job and left Cold Side, but we kept in touch.

While Dave was still at Cold Side, I learned that he was quite a guitarist. He's damn good. He and Richard (another Cold Sider) convinced me to get together with them to play "music". I play a rather lousy rhythm guitar, but I consented and the three of us have been getting together somewhat regularly ever since. It's been ten years now and I still play lousy.

Anyway, he and his wife, Rosemary, joined us and we stayed at the back of the bar. We chatted a little and watched the band play.

Wire's new material at the time was angrier then we had heard from them in a long while. In fact, John remarked on that after the show. He said he preferred their less angry stuff from their 'Ideal Copy' and 'A Bell is a Cup...' days. I tend to agree, but it was cool to watch the old punkers tear it up.