Preach on, my brother! Fellow NYLPM contributor David Raposa has just made an excellent post that highlights why MuchMusic is so awesome. I will not sleep until the world realizes the might of this network. MTV can bite me; Canada's where it's at!

Many apologies: I am a lazy, lazy man. It's kind of funny how quickly the blogging rush wears off; four months ago, I was convinced that every little thought that crossed my mind was devastatingly funny and deserved to be shared with my legion of readers (aka Mom and Dad). Now, I actually do have a significant number of people coming to this site and I can't even write up a promised report about a couple of concerts I actually performed in. Part of it is Real Life suddenly deciding to flip into turbo mode; my wife and I have just moved into a new condo and things at work are significantly heavier now that August and its associated deadlines are almost here. Also, I don't have as much money to buy CDs as I used to AND my bandwith for downloading stuff has become laughable. I'm out of the loop on a lot of things.

Fret not; this is not a long-winded goodbye message. This is merely an explanation for the lack of updates. I will not promise daily updates, as things are too hectic now for me to seriously make that kind of comitment, but i will write up that "Carmina Burana" concert before the end of this week if it kills me.

(BTW, if anyone has a good idea for a fantastic-yet-inexpensive wedding gift, please mail me. I 've got two weddings this month and haven't even begun shopping yet. Eek.)

Metallica star enters rehab: When Metallica's press people start riding the coattails of the Backstreet Boys' press people, you know there's a problem. I guess alienating 85% of their fanbase wasn't enough; Metallica wasn't going to rest easy until they hammered that last nail into their careers' coffin.

Stars hit back at Brass Eye hoax: Alternate headline: Phil Collins takes self far too seriously AGAIN. Kiddie porn isn't funny, but neither are witchhunts. Making people think before slinging around damaging accusations and hamstringing legitimate uses of the Internet can only be a good thing. At any rate, Phil should slap himself for thinking that anything that marketed itself with a T-shirt that says, "Nonce Sense" was a serious endeavor.

Singles, singles, singles: I scanned the Billboard chart today for the first time in about a month. While I'm happy for the success Blu Cantrell has had, I must say that I'm heartily sick of a particular radio station in Boston playing her song into oblivion. Ditto with Eve's "Let Me Blow Ya Mind". Meanwhile, when will the evil juggernaut that is "Lady Marmalade" go away? Isn't everyone sick of this version of this song now? The only enjoyment I can get from it is remembering how horrible Christina Aguilera looks in the video.

Hot singles to watch:

13: Where The Party At - Jagged Edge featuring Nelly
17: Someone To Call My Lover - Janet
23: Purple Hills - D12 (Why did WJMN play the "Purple Pills" version the other day? Wasn't that banned from the airwaves?)
30: Fallin' - Alicia Keys

buddyHead - g o s s i p (shhh): Featuring for a limited time only Fred Durst's phone number. I haven't called it to verify its authenticity; I leave that as an exercise for the reader. (If it is his real phone number, feel free to tell me. I will giggle.)

'I'll Have Seven Dwarves,' Says Iggy Pop: Don't let anyone tell you that the stories about ludicrous rock star demands aren't true. Clearly, the more ludicrous they are, the more likely it is that they're real demands. (Link comes from Ally via ILE.)

For those curious, I will post my impressions of the Tanglewood gigs I did on Friday and Saturday before the end of the week.

Gravediggaz' Poetic dies after long batle with cancer: RIP. I recommend everyone go out and get the two Gravediggaz albums because they're slammin' and listening to them this week would be a fitting tribute.

Britney Spears TV Special "Shocking And Edgier": There's only one direction this can go, folks:

FULL! FRONTAL! NUDITY!

I mean, honestly. The girl wears macrame coasters tied together with dental floss and full-on booty pants on a regular basis. How much more adult and grown up can she get? (Of course, what will really happen is that she's going to come out in the world's fiercest Donna Karan suit and be demure and smouldering rather than all out on display like the tired spread at Old Country Buffet...)

ARGH. Why is it that whenever I promise to do something, Blogger decides to die on me? Am I cursed or something? Okay, let me stop whining and get to the meat:

An interesting case of spin: Apparently, the Backstreet Boys are canceling a month's worth of concerts to allow Nick's hand to heal and allow A.J. to pull himself together. Contrast the MTV.com story (Pathos! Angst! A.J.'s an alcoholic! Will he survive? Nick blubbers while Howie plots Machiavellian takeover!) with the NME.com story (A.J.'s depressed. Tour resumes in September.). Now check out the Rolling Stone story (A.J.'s in rehab: ROCK AND ROLL!). Three different spins on the same event; something to keep in mind when perusing your news sources, folks; everyone's got an angle. (I must say that I'm amused at how the Rolling Stone story intimates that the band's candor is due less to "respect for the fans" and more because the non-depressed members don't want the fans to blame them for canceling eight weeks worth of concerts.)

With A.J. out of commission, now would be the PERFECT time for the Backstreets to give me a call. (Yes, I would sell out in a heartbeat and join the Backstreet Boys. I'd be singing professionally with a highly visible and popular group and get paid MAD LOOT. I'd have to be an idiot not to want that.)

Ruminations on a post-Wimbledon world: First, let me get this out of the way; would you like some pork faggots?

I've been very happy for the past couple of days. Venus WIlliams and Mad Goran Ivanisevic won WImbledon. Tomorrow, I go out to western Massachucetts for my first concert series out at Tanglewood (to my total surprise, I've managed to memorize 80% of Carmina Burana in a week, so I'm no longer in terror of this concert). My wife Joei has left her job and is studying music theory, which is making her almost as happy as she was on our wedding day. I picked up the Squarepusher album and it's BUMPIN'. All of these things have been distracting me from writing to the blog and for those of you still following, I apologize. The thing is, what with this trip out to Tanglewood, there's going to be another several day hiatus, as I don't see myself being able to find a terminal where I can log in and update remotely. *sigh* To make up for this, I'll drop a couple of pieces up here today.

Bush does not rock: I stumbled across this awe-inspiring link while perusing Fighting Against Making the Pie Higher! I think it's a convincing argument for electing an eloquent man as President (or, at bare minimum, lucid). Where's John McCain when you need him?

Venus rocks: I've been glued to Wimbledon updates for the past week and a half. I'm extremely excited about the women's final; Justine Henin vs. Venus Williams is gonna be FUN to watch. On the men's side, I have no idea who's gonna end up in the final. The match I'd like to see would be Goran Ivanisevic vs. Andre Agassi, but really any of the four could win and I'd be happy. (I'd be happiest if Ivanisevic won, though, because he's crazy.)

By the way, I bought Rooty the other day. It's even better than Tim said it was. That second track ("Breakaway") is GODLIKE.

Aphex Twin announces details of first album in five years: He's given it the deeply silly title Drukqs, possibly because he has spy cameras set up at record stores around the globe and wants to compile amusing footage of confused fans attempting pronounce the title of his new album. The double CD format is really a mixed blessing; you do get a lot more music, but you pay accordingly for it. Also, ninety-five percent of the time you wind up with a mediocre double album that judicious editing could have made into a fantastic single album (see Kid A and Amnesiac as recent examples of why artists should consider spreading out the wealth rather than lumping it all into one big package).

Still, it is Aphex Twin. The man has the disconcerting habit of making songs that sound like a flushing toilet into monstrously catchy jams. Yet another release to put on the calendar...

The grind continues... You'd think that memorizing an hour's worth of music wouldn't be that hard, particularly if it was music you'd sung before. Oh no. Memorizing "Carmina Burana" may put me into the insane asylum.

How many words are actually in this thing? As an example, here are the lyrics to the drinking song that the men sing in the middle "In Taberna Quando Sumus", complete with English translation (taken from this helpful site):

In taberna quando sumus	When we are in the tavern,
non curamus quid sit humus,	we do not think how we will go to dust,
sed ad ludum properamus,	but we hurry to gamble,
cui semper insudamus.	which always makes us sweat.
Quid agatur in taberna	What happens in the tavern,
ubi nummus est pincerna,	where money is host,
hoc est opus ut queratur,	you may well ask,
si quid loquar, audiatur.	and hear what I say.
Quidam ludunt, quidam bibunt,	Some gamble, some drink,
quidam indiscrete vivunt.	some behave loosely.
Sed in ludo qui morantur,	But of those who gamble,
ex his quidam denudantur	some are stripped bare,
quidam ibi vestiuntur,	some win their clothes here,
quidam saccis induuntur.	some are dressed in sacks.
Ibi nullus timet mortem	Here no-one fears death,
sed pro Baccho mittunt sortem:	but they throw the dice in the name of Bacchus.
Primo pro nummata vini,	First of all it is to the wine-merchant
ex hac bibunt libertini;	then the libertines drink,
semel bibunt pro captivis,	one for the prisoners,
post hec bibunt ter pro vivis,	three for the living,
quater pro Christianis cunctis	four for all Christians,
quinquies pro fidelibus defunctis,	five for the faithful dead,
sexies pro sororibus vanis,	six for the loose sisters,
septies pro militibus silvanis.	seven for the footpads in the wood,
Octies pro fratribus perversis,	Eight for the errant brethren,
nonies pro monachis dispersis,	nine for the dispersed monks,
decies pro navigantibus	ten for the seamen,
undecies pro discordantibus,	eleven for the squabblers,
duodecies pro penitentibus,	twelve for the penitent,
tredecies pro iter agentibus.	thirteen for the wayfarers.
Tam pro papa quam pro rege	To the Pope as to the king
bibunt omnes sine lege.	they all drink without restraint.
Bibit hera, bibit herus,	The mistress drinks, the master drinks,
bibit miles, bibit clerus,	the soldier drinks, the priest drinks,
bibit ille, bibit illa,	the man drinks, the woman drinks,
bibit servis cum ancilla,	the servant drinks with the maid,
bibit velox, bibit piger,	the swift man drinks, the lazy man drinks,
bibit albus, bibit niger,	the white man drinks, the black man drinks,
bibit constans, bibit vagus,	the settled man drinks, the wanderer drinks,
bibit rudis, bibit magnus.	the stupid man drinks, the wise man drinks,
Bibit pauper et egrotus,	The poor man drinks, the sick man drinks,
bibit exul et ignotus,	the exile drinks, and the stranger,
bibit puer, bibit canus,	the boy drinks, the old man drinks,
bibit presul et decanus,	the bishop drinks, and the deacon,
bibit soror, bibit frater,	the sister drinks, the brother drinks,
bibit anus, bibit mater,	the old lady drinks, the mother drinks,
bibit ista, bibit ille,	this man drinks, that man drinks,
bibunt centum, bibunt mille.	a hundred drink, a thousand drink.
Parum sexcente nummate	Six hundred pennies would hardly
durant, cum immoderate	suffice, if everyone
bibunt omnes sine meta.	drinks immoderately and immeasurably.
Quamvis bibant mente leta,	However much they cheerfully drink
sic nos rodunt omnes gentes	we are the ones whom everyone scolds,
et sic erimus egentes.	and thus we are destitute.
Qui nos rodunt confundantur	May those who slander us be cursed
et cum iustis non scribantur.	and may their names not be written in the book of the righteous.

This is 3 minutes of the piece. I am so DEAD.

FEAR: I'd never heard of Little Marcy before a friend sent me this link. I feel as if I was robbed of a deeply amusing portion of my childhood.

A moment of zen: I've found that I can induce an almost trance-like state by repeatedly playing a particular piece of music. The characteristics of the trance induced varies wildly depending on what I'm listening to. Lateralus on repeat put me into a dark, creepy place that mildly freaked me out. "Daphnis et Chloe" on repeat turned me into a teary-eyed romantic, gushing at everything I saw.

This week, I've been playing Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" because I have to memorize it in two weeks. (I await gasps of shock and horror from the people who know the piece.) So ,far, I've been very listless and sluggish; I've stopped eating regularly and can't be bothered to do anything around the house when get home. I think this is more due to stress over having to learn the piece than the music itself. It's pretty easy and extremely repetitive, but has approximately 1,395,660,326,425.59 words in it, all of which are either an early form of German or Latin. GRR. I haven't been this stressed about music since doing that 2-second Ravel solo for the last Concordia Society concert (which went well, but was HORRIBLY recorded).

A word to the wise: If, by chance, you are browsing through a record store and you come across a CD titled Jorio Presents Cyberdiva which bills itself as trance music based on operatic arias and you find yourself intriguied, DO NOT BUY IT. Instead of a bunch of thrilling reinterpretations of Purcell, Martini, Vivaldi, and Puccini, I got substandard no-imagination trance music with a decidedly average mezzo warbling in the background. 65 minutes of my life wasted, just like that.

DAN'S RATING: GRRUESOMELY BAD.

Rock and Roll: Friend Kate's band The Lollies has been mentioned as part of NME's coverage of the Ladyfest tour. Check out the article, then check out their site. Fun stuff, sez I.

Air Guitar World Championships: This is just the thing needed to kick off the work week. Feel the RAWK and remember not to lose you air guitar.