I Want To live in the Center of a Circle

Making the swtich.

2009-09-13T15:38:21Z

Its about time. Won't you join me?

http://cocusmajorus.tumblr.com/

I like the sounds of this.

2009-08-31T20:11:54Z

Columbia Pictures is developing a third installment of the high-octane "Bad Boys" franchise, tapping Peter Craig to pen the screenplay.

The hope is to have a script that would reunite director Michael Bay, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. At this point, with the project in the early stages, none has a deal to return.

AND

Nu Image/Millennium Films has greenlit the franchise's fifth installment, with Sylvester Stallone starring and directing, repeating his duties from 2008's "Rambo."

The upcoming project's storyline revolves around Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the U.S.-Mexico border. Production will start in the spring.

So excited.

2009-07-25T21:44:17Z

Given 12 dollars, Corey Abramson scored nearly 20 records today.

In no particular order*, here they are:

B.B. King - Indianola Mississippi Seeds
Bonnie Raitt - Streetlights
Bonnie Raitt - Bonnie Raitt
Eric Clapton - Behind the Sun
Billy Joel - The Stranger
Don McLean - American Pie
Frank Sinatra - It Might as Well Be Swing
-
Fiddler on the Roof
Annie
The Fantastiks
The Sound of Music
The Music Man
A Chorus Line
Oliver!
Mame
--
Randy Newman - Little Criminals
Sammy Davis Jr. - The Nat King Cole Song Book By,
Living Guitars - The Big Guitar Sound
Dean Martin - Everybody Loves Somebody
Kenny Loggins - Nightwatch

*Blues in general > All

Om.

2009-07-18T14:14:22Z

Its a sunny, Saturday morning in the summer of 2009.
Though an early ten in the morning, my room is cleaned, my coffee cup is nearly empty and Aretha is singing through my record player.
The febreeze lingers even though my window is open and the ceiling fan is spinning in sync with the 33 on my countertop.
My calendar is nice and full, dry erase marks of all sorts of colors fill up the spaces.
My shirts are organized (though somewhat wrinkled) and hung up, and my shoes are all in a nice little line.

Om.

Jews with the Blues: A Cultural Look at our Place in the World of the Blues

2009-07-07T14:46:05Z

“It's a natural. Black people suffer externally in this country. Jewish people suffer internally. The suffering's the mutual fulcrum for the blues” – Michael Bloomfield, Jewish Blues Guitarist

When we think of famous Jewish musicians the usual big names come to mind. Amongst our tribe reside The Beastie Boys, Lenny Kravitz, Matisyahu, Joey Ramone, Sammy Davis Junior, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan and Art Garfunkel. These, among many, many others make up a hearty, generation spanning collective of Jewish singers, instrumentalists, band members and managers. While it is certainly no secret that Jewish culture and African American culture often go hand in hand, most will find it a bit of a surprise that Jewish musicians are a major force in the world of the blues.
Blues music stems from late 19th century spirituals, gospels, and work songs that were sung by the African American field workers and slaves in the United States. The music is based around a repetitive twelve bar progression that allows (much like the work songs) for a call and response and serves the purpose of motivation and storytelling. Since the structure often includes repetition, the songs were easily memorized and spread rapidly throughout the south.
In that respect, the blues itself tells the story of a people – the good times, the bad times and the steps in between. In the same way that music, literature and artwork came out of the years of the Holocaust, the blues were a way to keep people motivated, informed and served as way to get the stress of persecution and injustice off the peoples’ chests and into the public dialogue.
Around the turn of the 19th century, Jewish people we’re migrating from Eastern Europe to the United States just as slaves were making their way up North to escape slavery and start independent lives. Due to the poverty of the poorer classes of immigrants, Jews and African Americans (among other new comers to the country) were living in close quarters and had no choice but to interact culturally, musically and creatively. When the blues moved north from the Delta and into big cities like the famous blues capital of Chicago, Jewish people first started to join in on the blues.
The Jews from the Pale of Settlement (the one section of Imperial Russia that allowed for a Jewish lifestyle) brought Klezmer music to the table and the former slaves brought their blues and distinct rhythms. Jazz was all the rage at the time, so talented musicians looking to earn a living from both groups started studying and learning the genre; this meshing of musical culture brought them even closer together. If you leave two musicians in a room together from totally opposite ends of the spectrum for any period of time, they’re going to jam… and jam they did.
Going ahead a few decades we start to encounter a few more familiar names in the Jewish-Blues world. 1965 saw the Paul Butterfield Blues band release a self-titled album after the addition of blues hotshot Mike Bloomfield. Bloomfield grew up on Chicago’s North Side and chose his bar mitzvah present (a guitar) over his family’s catering business. "They knew this was not just another white boy; this was someone who truly understood what the blues were all about." said Al Kooper, a famous mover and shifter in the world of music. Bloomfield would gain support early on from established blues greats such as B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy. For those of you unfamiliar, that trio happens to consist of modern blues’ founding fathers. Years later fellow Jewish guitarist Robert Allen Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan would take Michael on as a sessions guitarist. Michael’s sound had a huge impact on Dylan’s change into the world of electric music.
John Mayall and the Blues Breakers were a blues-rock group that great Eric Clapton (of Crossroads and Cream fame) played for. While Slowhand (Clapton’s bluesy nickname) was certainly not Jewish, his replacement Peter Greenbaum certainly was. His stint with the Blues Breakers, though short, was quite successful until he broke off and formed Fleetwood Mac - but not before working with then little known Rod Stewart. Fleetwood Mac, with Greenbaum would go on to write the song “Black Magic Woman” – later made famous by guitar virtuoso Santana.
Greenbaum and Bloomfield are only two examples of the huge world of Jewish blues musicians. The best part about blues music is its long, rich history, crossover to and from other genres (from country, jazz, punk and everything in between) and constant revival by new, younger musicians. Each song has as much of a story as it tells and if you do your homework, you might find that the writers and performers of such songs share a lot more in common with you than you’d previously thought.

Corey Abramson is a Junior Communications Major at Temple University in Philadelphia. Currently, Corey hosts a bi-weekly student radio show with a heavy focus on blues music, serves as the Vice President for Temple’s Singer-Songwriter and Musicians group and plays harmonica and guitar in his free time. This coming school year, Corey will be teaching a Hebrew High class on Jews in the Media.

Running, Running, Running.

2009-07-05T12:44:04Z

"...Along with Jazz, white people have also taken quite a shine to The Blues, an art form that captured the pain of the black experience in America. Then, in the 1960s, a bunch of British bands started to play their own version of the music and white people have been loving it ever since. It makes sense considering that the British were the ones who created The Blues in the 17th Century.

Today, white people keep The Blues going strong by taking vacations to Memphis, forming awkward bands, making documentaries, and organizing folk festivals. Blue and Jazz music appeal mostly to older hite people and select few young ones who probably wear fedoras..."

- Stuff White People Like
(among Moleskines, Vespas and other things I admittedly like)

7dayrental @ 2009-07-02T08:29:00

2009-07-02T12:30:03Z

When the sky looks dark and lonesome
and your tears fall down like rain
When your skies look dark and lonesome
and the tears fall down just like rain
Just keep holding out for now,
cause the sun's got to shine again

If your road looks hard to travel,
and your path looks dangerous
If that road you want to travel,
leaves you clenching up your fists
Just keep holding out for now,
don't you ever think of calling it quits.

If you feel like you can't take it
and you think you're losing your mind
If you feel like you can't take it
and you think you're losing your mind
No matter how bad it gets,
just remember we all get the blues sometimes.

"The lights will guide you home"

2009-06-25T03:09:15Z

There we were, the four of us, speeding down Martin Luther King Jr. boulevard at ten o'clock the night before real life set in. The lights off of boat house row were shining bright blending in with the reflections of the stars in the royal blue of the river. Windows down, the air was pushing curls back past my ears and the booming bass out into the late June sky. Lining the city were all the key buildings - kings and queens, bishops, knights and rooks glowing, sparkling tall.

We've taken this trip hundreds of times and seen these sights all of our lives. We've seen the river caked in sun on our way out to the reserve and frozen solid, lined with snow. We've laughed up and down this road just as many times as we've cried along its curves. From broken hearts to warm romance, pride and shame, remorse and optimism - the cargo in tow has varied but one thing remains the same even tonight before our pack is separated for two long months.

One of the mishpucha, the family, is leaving for the remainder of the summer tomorrow. He's shipping off for an amazing adventure that will be very good for him. I've only known Matan for under a year but in that time I've gained one of the most caring and giving people on the planet as a best friend. I can safely say that I've got the two best people possibol-bol as my housemates. I love these guys.

more to come.

Round 2

2009-05-20T12:40:31Z

So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?

A four day weekend of eternal bliss

but then you'll pack your clothes and souvenirs

and head home...

You'll take a train out of the big city,

wearing my sweater and some mystery

I'm stuck at home, reruns on t.v.

I'm alone...

You and I were never meant to be true lovers

and it will never feel like it did last summer

Let’s cut our losses and our heart strings

Take a chance on real romance, you feel me?

I'm staring down an empty coffeecup,

this heart is heavy, and its bound to erupt

I'd kill to call you, but I should just give up

and you're gone...

You left a toothbrush and a few hair pins,

the fortune cookies from the night we stayed in

and all the while I'm still wondering

why you're gone...

You and I were never meant to be true lovers

and it will never feel like it did last summer

Let’s cut our losses and our heart strings

Take a chance on real romance, you feel me?

So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?

ooooo sneak peak.

2009-05-20T01:50:53Z

So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?
A four day weekend of eternal bliss
but then you'll pack your clothes and souvenirs
and head home...

You'll take a train out of the big city,
wearing a sweater and some mystery
I'm stuck at home, reruns on t.v.
I'm alone...

I'm staring down an empty coffeecup,
this heart is heavy, and its bound to erupt
I'd kill to call you, but I should just give up
and you're gone...

You left a toothbrush and a few hair pins,
the fortune cookies from the night we stayed in
and all the while I'm still wondering
why you're gone...

You and I were never meant to be true lovers
and it will never feel like it did last summer

So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?
So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?
So tell me darlin' what'll come of this?

From the sand filled pages of a big black book:

2009-05-16T19:56:05Z

Take it in, Berlin. For this is it.
This warmth, this cheap exchange
will now become our last embrace.

I'm packing up, and taking off.
My head way pointing south.
"She's dead to you" the palm trees said,
as smiles crossed their mouths.

Leave if you want to leave,
and go if you want to go.
Don't go looking around these parts
when I've finally come home.

This silent summer is yours alone,
for I am out and on my own-
Learning, living, loving.
no longer be sitting by the phone.

7dayrental @ 2009-05-15T11:34:00

2009-05-15T15:35:22Z

One Last Hoorah

2009-05-13T13:23:08Z

Thousands of inevitable, debtable dollars,
texts and notebooks full of loans
Eighty-forty classes and countless shot glasses
then all of a sudden we're right back at home.

Trips up and down, glossy caps and long gowns
folky jam circles and slam poet minds
seem to have left us all a step behind
I am lost; just outside of our small college town.

I've kept up with the battle - form versus content
punch for punch, point to point, every blow
as for life direction, well I want it.
but despite all my studies - I know not which way to go.

7dayrental @ 2009-05-09T12:57:00

2009-05-09T16:58:12Z

7dayrental @ 2009-04-27T15:27:00

2009-04-27T19:28:29Z

Time and Time Again

It is universal truth: time passes
And his sands wipe our histories clean.

We have no past; we are a snapshot of existence.

His arms move on and by doing so
Brush away what we foolishly believe is ours.
We are fresh, anew, and mean nothing.
Our names, our lives, possessions and creations: nothing.
Our gods are dead, our demons are null.

So absorbed in ourselves, we continue living,
Living as if time had not rolled up his sleeves
We only came to notice our worthless nature
When we could for once not recall who we were.

From then on we set to define our existence,
But only until time again wipes our meaning away.

Hm?

2009-04-15T13:46:40Z

What was that mild bout with depression? I thought I heard you say something from under the rug over there? Did you? Oh no? Oh ok, I guess it must've just been the sound of your tail brushing between your legs...

podcast: http://www.gcast.com/u/whipblues/main

7dayrental @ 2009-04-13T18:52:00

2009-04-13T22:53:18Z

suck it. :D

Life is good.

2009-04-06T04:15:07Z

7dayrental @ 2009-03-31T21:06:00

2009-04-01T01:06:17Z

You don't give two fucks about me, stop pretending to.

7dayrental @ 2009-03-30T22:24:00

2009-03-31T02:24:18Z

Sometime’s love don’t work out how we’d like it.
We put in too much feeling too soon.
We’ll dive in head first,
And bend over backwards.
You gotta find out what’s wrong, before you find out what’s right.

I’ve learned a few things about living and loving,
This heart’s got its fair share of scars.
I’ve seen too many bright eyes,
Just fall to the way side.
You gotta find out what’s wrong, before you find out what’s right.

We learn things the hard way, so we realize what makes others so great.
It might seem ass backwards, but son, learn this one ‘fore its too late.

Often times I can say the things that I’d like to,
But hell what have I got to lose?
You’ll ask me “What’s love?”
I’ll show you the textbook
I can tell you one thing,
It’s worth the heartache and blues.
I can tell you one thing,
It’s worth the heartache and blues.

I'm a melodramatic idiot, and I'll regret doing this in an hour.

2009-03-26T02:35:46Z

Why do I base my self worth and value against relationships and love?

7dayrental @ 2009-03-22T11:51:00

2009-03-22T15:52:11Z

I just can't seem to get it right today. -

The KGB will bend for no one!

2009-03-17T12:56:52Z

Bright Lights and Late Nights

2009-03-10T15:07:35Z

A                    E                    A
Someday when I've had enough of this skyline
A                            E
Take to the highways and drive
A                            D
Blue skies and green fields can get in my way
A                 E                     A
Bright lights and late nights are gonna kill me some day

A                             E             A
Gutters and junkies, to crackwhores and crime
A                                 E
Can't lead me to my home in the sky
A
lord knows i cant take it
D
I ain't made this way
A                     E         A
Bright lights, and late nights are gonna kill me someday

Chorus
          D
Bright lights and late nights
                                    A
will leave a man hammered and blind
          D
Late night women, they ain't too forgiving
                                   A
theyre likely to leave you behind
[No Vocl.]
D       A           E               A
I spent all my money on cocain pills and weed
D               E            A
Blame it on the life that we lead

A                                         E                    A
The booze and the bar stools and the honky tonk juke joints
A                                                  E
passing out beneath a bright neon sign
A
my mommy she warned me
        D
son that ain't not lie
A                     E         A
Bright lights, and late nights are gonna kill me sometime

Chorus
          D
Bright :ights and late nights
                                    A
will leave a man hammered and blind
          D
Late night women, they ain't too forgiving
                                   A
theyre likely to leave you behind
[
D       A           E               A
I spent all my money on cocain pills and weed
D               E            A
Blame it on the life that we lead

7dayrental @ 2009-02-25T10:10:00

2009-02-25T15:11:24Z