'The Gashlycrumb Tinies' by Edward Gorey

A is for Amy who fell down the stairs.

B is for Basil assaulted by bears.

C is for Clara who wasted away.

D is for Desmond thrown out of a sleigh.

You can read the whole book by Edward Gorey here.
Thanx to Trevor Brown's 'baby art blog' for bringing back some childhood memories.

Didn't work for you Casper did it?

From 'thisisn'thappiness'

(Backstory: Jade (the most beautiful cat in the world) a couple of years ago presented me with one surviving kitten on my birthday. Casper (the friendly white kitten) is now the BIGGEST
cat known to mankind and will not move for anything, least of all something as pathetic as a laser-pointer!)

Dimming the lights

In support of fellow bloggers in New Zealand.

Go here for details.


Thanx to 'Ultra' for bringing this to my attention.

New U2 album leaks

'No Line On The Horizon' the new album from U2 leaked out into the blogsphere today.
Most links were very quickly removed but it is still available in a torrent of places, if you know where to look!

3

Ed Kuepper joins The Bad Seeds

Ed Kuepper-ATP Mt Buller
(Photo by TimN)

Press Release:
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS announce the first of a string of summer festival appearances.
The band, featuring Ed Kuepper on guitar, will headline at German festivals Southside (Neuhausen Ob Eck) and Hurricane (Scheesel) in June, and at Oxegen Festival in Ireland on 11th July 2009.
Kuepper, formerly of Australian bands The Saints and Laughing Clowns, completes the current Bad Seeds live line up of Warren Ellis, Martyn Casey, Thomas Wydler, Jim Sclavunos and Conway Savage.
Kuepper has been, and continues to be, a significant influence on contemporary Australian music. He formed the original version of the proto punk band The Saints in 1973 whilst in high school and when the original Saints split he formed what, in the eyes of many, was an even bolder enterprise - Laughing Clowns.
The Clowns broke up in 1984 and Kuepper launched a prolific solo career which has seen the release of more than 20 albums and several film and soundtrack projects. His latest studio recording was 'Jean Lee and the Yellow Dog' in 2007
This full schedule of festival dates promises to include some of the best and most exciting festivals that Europe and the British Isles have to offer. More very soon.

More from 'That Striped Sunlight Sound' here.

Leonard Cohen 'Live In London' O2 Arena: July 17, 2008 CD/DVD

Photograph: Domenech Castello/EPA

Live in London:

Disc one:

01 Dance Me to the End of Love
02 The Future
03 Ain't No Cure for Love
04 Bird on the Wire
05 Everybody Knows
06 In My Secret Life
07 Who By Fire
08 Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye
09 Anthem
10 Introduction
11 Tower Of Song
12 Suzanne
13 The Gypsy's Wife

Disc two:

01 Boogie Street
02 Hallelujah
03 Democracy
04 I'm Your Man
05 Recitation w/ N.L.
06 Take This Waltz
07 So Long, Marianne
08 First We Take Manhattan
09 Sisters of Mercy
10 If It Be Your Will
11 Closing Time
12 I Tried to Leave You
13 Wither Thou Goest

Details from 'Pitchfork' here.
'Uncut' review of the gig here.
'Suzanne' - 'Amazon' exclusive video here.

Колыбельная медведицы

For Fucoid.
'Lullaby Bear'

Feedback

I know that people are finding this blog.
What do you think?
Any feedback is welcome.
Comments.
Suggestions.

Let me know: monastreet(at)gmail(dot)com

If you like what you find spread the word!

...and a subliminal skull smoke afterwards!

Not so subliminal sex

Subliminal 'Silence of the Lambs'

Dali skulls

My/our Wilco 'T' shirt(s) - a skull segue

Available here.
(So good that all members of my clan have one.
Though son # 1 bought his over in Scotland when Wilco and him found themselves in Glasgow at the same time. The rest of us had to wait until Wilco played in Melbourne last year)

Bye bye apocalypse!

From the 'creativeboysclub' @ Flckr here.
(Via 'thisisn'thappiness'.)

Emmylou Harris & Elvis Costello - Love Hurts (Live Letterman Show)

Go here to watch video of 'Sin City' performed by Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris live in 1973.

Previously:
Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris - 'Streets of Baltimore' live 1973 here. (Video)
Keith Richards & Norah Jones - 'Love Hurts' here. (Video)
The Flying Burrito Brothers - 'Christine's Tune' here. (Video)

The Flying Burrito Brothers - 'Live at The Palomino 1969' here. (Audio)

For Grazyna & Tricia.
Check comments for extra special, special bonus.

Some very thirsty koalas out there

Bear in mind (sorry) that koalas normally get all the liquid they need from the eating of eucalyptus leaves.

Bill Laswell/Axiom Sound System - Musical Freezone

(Thanx to Sinziana)

émission soundstage, 13/07/2006

Bill Laswell, bass
Zakir Hussain, tablas
Ustad Sultan Khan, vocals, sarangui
DJ disk
Karsh Kale, drums
Nils Petter Molvaer, trumpet
???, keyboards

"I hate your music."

The way it was

The Wanderers by Sean O'Hagen

Sean O'Hagen on U2's new album 'No Line On The Horizon' from 'The Observer' here.

The first times that I saw U2 was when they were the support act in various small pubs in London 1980. Nothing special I thought. When 'Boy' came out I didn't mind it and even bought it.
Then they started losing me and I had the misfortune to see them headline a festival in Belgium in 85 and it was horrible. Bono in full preacher mode.
However when 'Achtung Baby' came out I really thought that it was an interesting development and tried to persuade a lot of my friends who also didn't like U2 that it was worth listening to.
Over the years since then U2 have lost me again and Bono still irritates me beyond belief.
Reading the article by Paddy Dread* above has at least made me curious as to what the new album sounds like.

*Paddy Dread was the name Sean gave to the cops when we all had our names taken when the police raided a gig by Test Dept that was to have taken place at the 'Titan' railway arch in Waterloo, London in November 1983.

Eh?

More here.

Heroes

Woody Guthrie.

Victorian bushfires update

My fellow blogger Bob from 'That Striped Sunlight Sound' (a wonderful Australian music blog) has posted an update about the bushfires as well as news about the floods that have devasted northern Queensland.

There is a bonus to all this in that you can also grab hold of an interview with Robert Forster (The Go-Betweens) broadcast on the 'ABC' yesterday where he talks of his experience with natural disasters as well as performing his song 'If It Rains'.
Go here.

NB: On the right sidebar is a Red Cross symbol, that if clicked will take you to the homepage of the 'Australian Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal' (or click here).

If you can spare a couple of dollars to donate it is certainly going to a very worthy cause.

Shack - The Streets of Kenny

نصرت فتح على خاں

“To be a qawwal is more than being a performer, more than being an artist,” he notes with a stern, but wise smile. “One must be willing to release one’s mind and soul from one’s body to achieve ecstasy through music. Qawwali is enlightenment itself.”

'The Spirit of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan'

by Andy Carvin

Here.

I was lucky enough to see Nusrat perform at Womadelaide in 1992.
When he sang it was as though angels were coming out of his mouth!

BONUS:
'Allah Hoo Allah Hoo'

Studio version and live version from Nusrat's last concert on May 4 1987.

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Aafree Aafree

Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Zulfon Ko Sawan

My Funny Valentine (Take 2)

'My Funny Valentine'
Chet Baker / Frank Sinatra

Some molecules getting it together!

True love!

Anarchists in love

Emma Goldman in 1911.

Co-organiser Pinki.

I did not believe that a Cause which stood for a beautiful ideal, for anarchism, for release and freedom from conventions and prejudice, should demand the denial of life and joy

Emma Goldman (1869-1940), after being told agitators shouldn't dance.

Class War is marking 14 February with a speed-dating event.
Story from the 'BBC' here.

(Hopefully this will put a smile on the face of somebody over in NZ!)

Be my valentine?

More YoniLab artwork here.

Bonus:
'My Funny Valentine' & 'I Want You'
Elvis Costello & the Attractions

The moon over Melbourne

(Photo by TimN)

There was a real smokey haze yesterday here in Melbourne and with it not only the smell of the bushfires but also a weird orange diffused light.
Just taking the dog for a walk I noticed that the moon also has this orange glow to it.
The photo above was taken about 5 minutes ago.

Throbbing Gristle USA tour in April

THROBBING GRISTLE 2009 USA TOUR

THURSDAY 16th APRIL
NEW YORK
Masonic Hall
Fort Greene Brooklyn
317 Clermont Ave at Lafayette Ave.
TG’s first ever New York and East Coast performances and their first in the USA since May 1981.
Brooklyn NY Event is now SOLD OUT!
TG thank you for supporting this event
Because of the demand for tickets and the unlikelyhood of there being another TG USA tour we
are looking into the possibility of playing a second New York area show on Sunday 26th April.

SUNDAY 19th APRIL
COACHELLA FESTIVAL
PALM SPRINGS
Empire Polo Field
81-800 Avenue 51
Indio, CA 92201
Admission:
$99 one day pass
$269 three day pass
www.coachella.com
Coachella Festival is a large scale music festival with live music all day.
TG will perform a 60 minute set from across TG’s history
in a 6000 capcity tented stage sometime in the early evening (on stage 7pm'ish/tbc)

TUESDAY 21st APRIL
LOS ANGELES
U.C.L.A
Le Conte Ave & Westwood Blvd
Westwood, CA 90024
TG will perform a live soundtrack to Derek Jarman’s 60min alchemical film
'In The Shadow of The Sun' ( filmwork 1974, TG soundtrack 1980 & 2006)
This event is TBC.

THURSDAY 23rd APRIL
SAN FRANCISCO
Grand Regency Ballroom
1290 Sutter St
San Francisco, CA 94109
TG will play one 75 minute set of material from throughout their history.
Admission: $30
Doors: TBC
Promoters: Goldenvoice
www.regencycentersf.com
Support : Erika M Anderson

SATURDAY 25th APRIL
CHICAGO
Epiphany Episcopal
201 S. Ashland Ave.
Chicago, IL 60607-5301
TG’s first ever Chicago and Mid West American performances on their first tour in the USA since May 1981.
SPECIAL TG EVENT
TG will play TWO sets,
A new live soundtrack to Derek Jarman’s 60min alchemical film
'In The Shadow of The Sun' ( filmwork 1974, TG soundtrack 1980 & 2006)
PLUS a second set of material from across TG’s history.
Admission: $50, or $20 later set only
Doors: TBC
Epiphany-chicago.org
Promoters: Empty Bottle www.emptybottle.com
Support : Emeralds www.emeraldsohio.com

There willl also be included in the event a TG signing:
to which you are welcome to bring along ONE ITEM from your collection for them to sign.
There will also be for sale special 'TG USA 2009' merchandising
(all new TG CD album, TG T-shirt specific to this event, TG Tour Enamel Badge, TG Tour Embroidered Patch)

39 year old man charged over Australian bushfire that caused 21 deaths

Story from the 'BBC' here.

Miss Atom 2009

Yes its that time of the year to choose the most glamorous female working in the Russian nuclear industry.

Алёна Кирсанова has my vote (just for being near that water!).
All the participants here.
(Via 'Arms Control Wonk')

(There could well be a market for Russian brides that glow in the dark!)
For the winner of Miss Chernobyl 2004 go here.

UPDATE:
We have a winner!
Go here.

New Sonic Youth album drops June 9

Story from 'Pitchfork' here.