Atomictumor

As I type this post, I am totally rocking out to INXS’s Kick album.  Here in a minute I’ll be checking out REM’s first two records, Murmur and Reckoning.  After that, it may be Madness, the soundtrack for Easy Rider, Dexys Midnight Runners or Fats Waller.
Basement Records (way the hell out on Chapman Hwy) is, unfortunately, the only place to buy records, unless you count the potluck flea markets offer.  Of course, when you’re on a tight budget, Basement’s $2 record bins are fairly potluck, too.  Although we have picked up some Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan there before.
Record store owners can be an odd bunch.  Mr. Basement, for instance, was listening to a radio talkshow VERY LOUDLY when we came in.  He only turned it down to rant at us for a while about how evil cds are, and that when people come to their senses, there will be a restoration of power to the throne of vinyl.  He has given us this rant both times we’ve been in the store.  Last time, we were there longer and were privy to his NRA speech as well.
While I disagree (to myself, since I don’t want to be yelled at by Mr. Basement) about an underdog win for vinyl, I do agree that albums are a wonderful medium.  They have a unique sound, big, beautiful cover art and a nostalgic quality that makes buying and listening a pleasure.  Any time I go to a flea market, bazaar or yardsale, and they have albums, I am compelled to look through them.
You just can’t stomp to make a cd stop skipping.

Getting frontage on CNN (who seems to be having a slow news day) is sad news for the Atomictumor bunch and music in general… kinda.

LONDON, England (CNN) — Syd Barrett, the eccentric guitarist who founded Pink Floyd but later left the music business to live quietly and somewhat reclusively, has died at the age of 60, according to a spokeswoman for the band.

Syd was the classic rock excess story, but turned out some endearingly deranged songs after getting booted from the Floyd. Unlike many of the Barrett fans, I believe the band put out its best work after his departure, simply because I don’t think Roger Waters would have been able to keep up with Barrett.  Wikipedia has a few free songs to listen to, the first two with Pink Floyd, and the final off of Madcap Laughs (I think, tho it could be Barrett).
His death comes as no shock, but what is a bit of a large shock is the press that it has received. This guy dropped out of the public eye 30 years ago to live with his mother, and is still billed as a rock star when he goes. Is that fitting? I’m of the thinking that, in some cases, dying might not be too bad a thing for all concerned, and I hope he had a chance to live a life that made him as contented as possible since dropping out of the public eye. If Jim Morrison or Kurt Cobain had managed that, maybe there would have been happier endings for their families.
Its also interesting that this bookends what I was saying earlier about the psilocybe study, in that there really are people who were burned out and messed up by psychosomatic drugs. While undoubtedly possessing some serious problems, the drugs had to have made it worse.

Furthermore, what else is interesting is that GACs announcement of our upcoming re-nuptials (all secretly designed to take the wind out of KnoxJon’s sails) is bookended by these two postings. What is being implied here?

Were drugs involved in our getting married? Does that explain these strange burns and markings on my body, or the months of time lost in 1996?

I’m going to spend the rest of today listening to some of his music, particularly one of my favorite songs, Bob Dylan’s Blues, which was his last hurrah when it was ‘unearthed’ a few years ago for a compliation (although he had nothing to do with it, and was probably unaware of the hubbub), and ponder the strange twists that life puts on people.
A world that can turn a psychedelic rock god into a reclusive, troubled gardener with stomach ulcers and a world that can make a weirdo like me marry a goddess in some kind of weird (imaginary) haze is a world that needs pondering.

As we’ve mentioned several times before, AT and I are celebrating our 10th year of marriage, with our official anniversary coming up on October 14th. Family and friends have been asking what we’re going to do for the momentous occasion and, frankly, we’ve had no idea.
That is, until we headed down to the blueberry farm on Saturday morning. It was a sunny, wonderful, traffic-free moment when AT suggested we renew our vows. Why the hell not, I thought. We didn’t have a proper wedding the first time around.
A simple idea has gotten a bit more out of control than we thought it would, having to think about dresses, invitations, food, vows, music, location, etc etc etc. Ugh.
To make things at least a little bit easier, we’ve decided to have the shindig at the blueberry farm. There’s a nice, big tree out front that would be a great back-drop, not to mention plenty of space for everyone to sprawl out on in lathargic food- and beer-induced comas.
Pay attention now, folks cuz this is your blanket invitation to come. Just let us know beforehand so we have enough burgers, steak and dogs for y’all.

The Line-Up

Bos - Officiant/peace-keeper
Eaves - Matron of Honor
jdub - Maid of Honor
superT - Bridesmaid (unconfirmed)
Pigpen - Best Boy?
MastaG - Best Boy
nodbob - Best Man
dustbunny - Groomsman
mojofilter - Groomsman (unconfirmed)
After searching on the intarweb, I’ve found that’s it’s apparently bad form to have a wedding party at a renewal ceremony, but tradition be damned!  We’re not traditional types anyway.  Putting a registry on an invitation = bad, too.  I’m still turning that one over.
If anyone has any good sites with wedding info or cheap stuff to buy, lemme know.  Also information gathered from experience is welcome.  I’ve only been to a handful of weddings, so I’ve got little to build on.

One of the top news stories on CNN at this dark hour this morning:

People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences

Really?

What I found even funnier, is that some of the volunteers reported having bad trips (although the story didn’t call it by this name), reporting that it was comparable to “the birth of a child, or the death of a parent”.

Small wonder, given that the test consisted of getting 36 volunteers, with a median age of 46, and either giving them a shroom or a placebo consisting of Ritalin (?), and then sitting them down on a couch for eight hours to listen to classical music while wearing an eyemask.

Thats right, kids. What Charles Schuster, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse have learned is that sitting for 8 hours blindfolded and listening to Chopin even sucks when you’re tripping.

In other drug related news, the scourge of Salvia Divinorum has been halted in Tennessee just in time for the news of the scourge being halting to alert all the teenagers to the fact that, yes, Salvia D can get you high.  Good job, Tennessee lawmakers.  You’ve successfully outlawed consumption of an otherwise available landscaping plant that nobody was aware of anyway.

Actually, I did try this stuff once in my experimental days (it was legal, c’mon!), and it consisted of me burning my eye while trying to light my friends honey bear bong with a bic.

Way to harsh the buzz, dude.