Faev snogs: The Kinks, “Where Have All the Good Times Gone?”

Album version after the j.

Faev snogs: Cheap Trick, “Surrender”

This one’s all right:

That’s live at Budokan. Album version’s below the jump.

The Next Big Thing

[I was tagged for this little masquerade twice, by Jeff Bursey and Jeremy M. Davies. So here is my contribution.]

What is the working title of the book?

“The Gloop, or The Least I Can Do.”

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Nightmares.

What genre does your book fall under?

Post-apocalyptic science-fiction horror.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

I like how this question comes before the synopsis. Well, I’ve always thought Morrissey would make a brilliant actor, so Morrissey.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

“A misanthropic old man lectures a young student on the nature of the world before it its destruction by the Gloop.” By “world” I mean “Chicago c. 2013.”

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

One week.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Barry N. Malzberg, J. R. R. Tolkien, zombie flicks, nightmares.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

In includes pornographic parodies of Tolkien and zombie flicks.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

Dunno.

My tagged writers are:

Barry N. Malzberg, J. R. R. Tolkien, Morrissey.

Faev snogs: The Carpenters, “Superstar”

When it comes to Sonic Youth, I vastly prefer the Kim Gordon songs to any others. But with this one, it really was the right decision for Thurston Moore to sing it.

Original version after the jump.

Faev snogs: Nick Lowe, “Cruel to Be Kind”

Official video after the jump.

I think the video for “Regulate” uses the same brick archways set as “Never Gonna Let You Down”

See for yourself:

I hasten to add that every incident in both of these videos has also happened to me as well. I miss the 90s.

And I’m chastened to add that I didn’t know until recently that “Regulate” sampled Michael McDonald:

Live and learn. Mainly via YouTube.

Update: For instance, today I learned that the song title is “Never Gonna Give You Up,” not “Never Gonna Let You Down.” I guess I once knew that and forgot it. Is it ever gonna stick?

Five things I like about George W. Bush

In all seriousness, though only inasmuch as I know anything about these things (i.e., not much):

1. He likes athletics and kept in shape while president and thus served as a good role model in that regard.
2. He tried cracking down on sex tourism in SE Asia. I lived in Thailand between 2003–5 and this probably got more attention there than here?
3. He tried doing something about AIDS in Africa.
4. In 2005, he helped establish the King Abdullah scholarship program. Since then, I’ve taught several Saudi students who came to the US to study through that program.
5. He comes across as a nice enough guy who would be, as the saying goes, someone you could have a beer with.

Other than that, he was a godawful, terrible, horrible, monstrous, disastrous president and I hated every second of his two terms.