On this day, thirty years ago, I got my first guitar. It was an extremely cheap and cheesy Les Paul copy made somewhere in Asia, without a brand name even, and purchased from Sears. It was a cheap try-out guitar, that first step on the road to perdition. A couple of months later, I upgraded to a used Gibson SG. Was guitar playing my biggest mistake ever? Possibly, but its been good to have guitars as my steadfast buddies all these years.

I’ve just added a destination to the Weblogbog in the left sidebar: Guitarbench.com. It’s a new acoustic guitar oriented blog — lots of exotic tropical wood fetishing, zero metallic shred heading.

Presenting a freshly baked web album for you. A Fretful Menagerie is my latest batch of solo acoustic guitar pieces. Better recorded, better guitar, better technique (with more truly independent bass and melody), same old stumblebum execution. Well, three out of four ain’t bad. Handmade mood music for worrisome souls. Available free (as always) on its own page, or via the Web Album Dumpster.

In November, Turner Classic Movies came up with the ballyhoo of running four movie picks by a different celebrity guest programmer every evening. Some were boring, some were cool — the coolest picks were by James Ellroy and Alton Brown (go figure). Once again falling into the trap of pointless, time-wasting cogitation, I found myself wondering, “Just what the heck would my four picks be?” ‘Cause that would be a good thing to know, no?

I tried to pick movies that were not simply great and special movies (though that was a requirement), but also movies that feel as if they have connected with me on a deep and personal level — or had a notable impact on my mind. The first three picks came quickly, but ’spending’ my last choice took a long time. Thinking about them afterwards, I realize that they all have some things in common. They all have a certain dreamlike quality, and watching them feels like seeing my dreams spirited onto the screen. Never mind that it’s probably the other way around. They all deal with men, women and love; in varying ways. And finally, they all feature great music.

Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro) [1959]
The ancient myth of Orpheus transferred to mid-20th century Rio de Janeiro, during the Carnaval festivities. Samba rhythms percolate through the film from beginning to end, sometimes loud, sometimes subliminal. Beautiful music by Bonfa and Jobim. A beautiful cast. Beautiful color photography. A film of cruelly overwhelming beauty, with tragedy in the wings. An intoxicating dream. And when it’s all over, a new generation plays the sun into the sky.

La Dolce Vita [1960]
Another continent, another dream. An endless procession of cool visions, both beautiful and grotesque. But always with an underlying sad yearning for something more. I should have more to say, but this movie pretty much shuts down my verbal centers.

A Hard Day’s Night [1964]
A great blast of energy — a busy dream of liberating fun. And such an impact on me, with its initiating portrayal of band life and droll British humor. I think I first saw it in the very early 1970s on WCAU Philly’s late afternoon weekday movie slot (that and Help! and a lot of 1950s sci-fi movies — but I digress). Where is the man/woman angle in this one? The male/female relationship becomes an abstract ritual, with the men singing from the altar as the women scream from below. Well, that and Paulie’s granddad shows you how to be a smooth operator with the ladies. He’s very clean.

Wings Of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) [1987]
“Boy meets girl and alters his very existence to be with her.” Sounds like a bad Hollywood plotline (and Hollywood did do a bad remake), but this movie moves and progresses like no other. Probably the most blatantly dreamlike of all these picks. A portrait of a city, its people, its divided nature, history, moods, textures, hats, heartbreak and humane empathy. Plus Peter Falk, Nick Cave, circus acts and an accordion to boot.

This is all the fault of the rock geeks over at Rock Town Hall, for making me think about things I really don’t need to be thinking about anymore. Yes, I was a big fan of Jethro Tull in my early seventies youth, and it’s the fault of the Townies for making me think about them again. And thinking further, that with some careful picking through their initial string of albums, one might put together a compilation revealing the humble British folk-rock band trying to get out — right in there with the Fairports and Steeleyes, sort of. So I did the aural legwork, and here is the resulting track listing:

1. A Song For Jeffrey (This Was/1968)
2. Beggar’s Farm (This Was/1968)
3. Fat Man (Stand Up/1969)
4. Sossity; You’re A Woman (Benefit/1969)
5. Witch’s Promise (Living In The Past/1969)
6. Just Trying To Be (Living In The Past/1970)
7. Wond’ring Again (Living In The Past/1970)
8. Cheap Day Return (Aqualung/1970)
9. Mother Goose (Aqualung/1970)
10. Wond’ring Aloud (Aqualung/1970)
11. Up To Me (Aqualung/1970)
12. Up The ‘Pool (Living In The Past/1971)
13. Dr. Bogenbroom (Living In The Past/1971)

Parenthetically, those are the US albums on which the songs can be found (and the apparent year of recording). So there you go, the ambitious among you can put it all together for themselves and see how it flies. As for me, I’ve blown enough time on this already. No more lurking at Town Hall for me! They’re a baaad influence.

Songwriter, schemer, singer, producer, performer, provocateur, Lee Hazlewood has been beaten by his cancer. The man is gone, and that’s all she wrote. Well, that seems like the sort of blunt, folksy thing he would say. I don’t know what to say, but… Thanks for everything you did, man.

New in the sidebar, Miss Fidget has converted her domain to a bloggy format, tracking tidbits “about F words, like Fashion, Feloniousness, Found Photos and my fave, Forteana.” It’s Fun.

I can’t believe how long it’s taken to finish this project, but it’s finally done. Frowning In Happyland is a new album under my credit, three seemingly endless years in the making — though most of that was in a dormant state. Acoustic guitar-based, it is a dozen dark songs — it seems I had a few (many) anxieties to vent. It features sterling support from some superb musicians: Dean Sabatino on drums throughout, accordion by Karen Schmidt on five songs, electric guitar by Chris Unrath on one song, and a cameo on kitchen crockery by Hugh Hamilton. I cannot thank these people enough. It’s another free album for your ears to hear. If it makes you cry, my job is done.

Vanity press or public humiliation? Almost all of the music I’ve ever created is available for free download in the Web Album Dumpster. More Narthex, more pre-Narthex, more post-Narthex. In the immortal words of Neil Innes: “I’ve suffered for my music and now it’s your turn.”

This month marks the ten year anniversary of the OOK website, beginning as an ISP customer ‘homepage,’ then graduating to its own domain. That’s a whole lot of wasted time and webspace. Thanks for reading along and wasting your time too.