Dear Friends,
The first day back at work after nine days off (I love to include weekends) was a little rough. I was not in the mood for any of their bullshit today after reading the scathing note from the substitute. Fuck that guy, too, for his poor choice of words.
The frustration was oozing from his note. I’m surprised there wasn’t a puddle of it on my desk. Basically, some of my kids were fucking cunts. I’m not really surprised considering how cunt-ish they were before I left, but still. I have trained them better than that.
It was obvious, too, that they knew they had gone past the limits. No one even tried to argue on their behalf. It’s going to be a long three weeks until winter break. Apparently, we are over the honeymoon phase and well into the “fuck you, bitch” part of the year.
One of the highlights of his note was the “racial slurs” that were flying around the classroom while I was gone. I’d love to have heard some specifics, but I can guess. One of my Native American kids asked my student from Africa today, “Why are you so black?”
I’ve got some repair work to do on the camaraderie in the room.
Luckily, it’s a Tuesday…a see you next Tuesday.
*****
I ordered Rhondi a Christmas present today that I’m pretty stoked on. I hope that she sees it the same way. I think she will love it. There is nothing else like it in the world, that’s for sure. It’s a one of a kind. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll gladly keep it.
*****
One of the best impulse purchases I ever made when it comes to vinyl is Party Mix! by The B-52’s. I was never a huge fan of the band by any stretch of the imagination. I mean I always dug their early stuff and wouldn’t turn it off, but I never wanted to own any of their albums. One day I was thumbing through the bins somewhere and came across this EP for a measly few bucks and decided, “why not?”
I even forgot I had made the purchase until a DJ gig came up and when I was thumbing (again) through the shelves at home, I spied it and knew it would be a great addition to the set. There is something about Cindy Wilson’s lead vocals that just kill me and I figured it would just kill the crowd (in a good way) at the DJ gig. It did, of course, so I started mixing in the songs from Party Mix! a lot more when I DJ’d.
The first side of Party Mix! is more the ‘hits’ side. It makes me sad that Keith Strickland no longer performs with the band and Ricky Wilson died a young man in 1985 of AIDS. Strickland’s beats on this EP are fucking awesome and Wilson’s guitar (yes, he was the brother of Cindy Wilson) work is incredible. I have such a deep appreciation now of Ricky Wilson’s style.
If you listen to what he’s playing on “Party Out of Bounds” it sounds a bit like what Marc Moreland was playing on those early Wall of Voodoo records. It’s noisy and a bit dissonant, but meshes so well with the keyboards, vocals, bass, and drums. This is the dark side of New Wave and I love it. The way the song is remixed on Party Mix! is killer. It totally accentuates Wilson’s guitar.
The album is mixed so that each song just flows into the other which makes it great for DJ’ing if you want to be a little cheater here and there or get a bathroom break. “Private Idaho” comes right out of “Party out of Bounds” and it just works. The whole band really shines here, especially Strickland’s beat.
The mix of Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, and Kate Pierson on vocals is also just about as perfect as it can get. Schneider can take things over the top a lot, but on the six songs on this EP, he’s right in the pocket. The harmonies the three of them came up with in the early 80s are top fucking notch.
I mentioned how much I love “Give Me Back My Man.” Wilson’s guitar on this remix is stellar again. I love the interaction of the guitar, keys, and Cindy’s voice. She’s got that haunted quality going on and it is easy for me to get lost in the way she sings the song. I never get sick of it.
Over the last several years, side two has really grown on me, as well. “Lava” is a very quirky, very interesting song. For some reason, it makes me think of the band sitting around listening to the Doors and the Cramps and saying, “Hey, let’s make a song that sounds kind of like each band if they had rough kitchen sex.”
Okay, maybe I embellished that a bit, but you might get my meaning. “Lava” is a rad song. Whoever played bass on it did a great job. This remix is fucking tasty, too. I often forget that there are other versions of these songs out there.
“Dance This Mess Around” is one of those quintessential B-52’s riffs, too. Ricky Wilson is all over this one, too. Listening to it right now makes me wish there would have been a lot more records with him on them. I think he could have done some rad stuff outside of B-52’s. Maybe he wouldn’t have, but I think he would’ve. I think he had some rad post-punk stuff in him. It’s a shame…but….
“Why don’t you dance with me?”
“52 Girls” is kind of tame compared to the other five songs, but it’s still one that has a good beat and is way more interesting than “Love Shack.” They name check a few cool gals, too. “Tina Louise!”
Party Mix! is brief, but it never disappoints. I should probably live with a few of the other early records at some point. What could it hurt?
*****
See you tomorrow.
Biza(i)rre!
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