Ariel Pink tonight at the Drunken Unicorn

Here's the blurb from Tight Bros. Network:

TUESDAY 2.28 AT DRUNKEN UNICORN
Ariel Pink - all ages - 9PM - $8

After years of recording in relative seclusion in the hills of Los Angeles , Ariel Pink (the first non-Animal Collective member on the Paw Tracks roster) makes his official Paw Tracks debut with “The Doldrums”.

Recording at home with only a guitar, keyboard, and 8-track (the drum sounds are all unbelievably created with his vocals), Ariel Pink blends Lite FM and warped lo-fi pop into something beautiful and confusing, yet highly addictive.

Vowell in Leathers

As possibly the only person who attended both the Sarah Vowell book reading at the Carter Center and the AMA Supercross at the GA Dome last weekend, I've been asked to compare the two events.

The parking lot: Sarah Vowell - plenty of Kerry/Edwards stickers. Supercross - "Osama, these (sticker) colors don't run".

The pre-event setting: I noticed a few thousand more "Fox Racing" jerseys at the Supercross than at the Sarah Vowell reading. Also, the Supercross sold huge beers. Advantage, Supercross.

The show intro: Sarah Vowell - a brief, understated introduction by the Carter Center's Public Affairs director. Supercross - the lights dip to black, the music (U2's "A Beautiful Day") builds, a series of firepot explosions ignite, lazers dance around the dome, some loud Emo song kicks in, racers (lit by multiple spotlights) ride out of a smoke filled stage, announced one at a time by that gravely voiced "Sunday, Sunday, Sunday" announcer as they rev their motorcycles and do long wheelies into the infield. If Sarah Vowell could do a wheelie she would have had a chance. Strong advantage, Supercross.

The event: Topics discussed by Sarah Vowell - presidential assasinations, the State of the Union Address, the actual threat of and reaction to terrorism versus its depiction in mass entertainment media, the writing process. Topics discussed at the Supercross event - sponsors. Heavy advantage - Sarah Vowell.

General comparison: The racing was much better at the Supercross. Sarah Vowell couldn't compete with Chad Reed's ability to land a set of jumps with one foot out and immediately throw his bike into a tight turn while boxing another rider out of the inside position, or his comeback from a bad qualifier race and his battle with Ricky Carmichael in the main event. Ricky Charmichael took the checkered flag.
In summary - More brains and wit at the Carter Center. More adrenaline and tinnitus at the Supercross. It was a draw.

Huddled masses? Anyone?

I was driving to Joe's coffee shop in East Atlanta when I passed this guy. He was standing next to Moreland Ave with flyers in his hand for a company that does tax preparation.

I pulled my car up next to him, rolled down my window and asked him, "Why are you wearing a Statue of Liberty costume?"

He answered, "I'm supposed to wear a sailor's uniform, but someone took it."

Of course.

Larry Turner, a.k.a. Reverend Larry, has died

Larry Turner has died.



Known around town as Rev. Larry, a local blog reports that Turner died of a heart attack two weeks ago. I was not able to find an obituary to confirm what day he died or the cause of his death.

Turner used to sing in group called Moonshine Killers. I did not know him personally, but did once see him perform at a fundraiser to raise money for efforts to lobby the state legislature into legalizing/decriminalization marijuana. Here's what I wrote about him in July 2003.

Performing at the event was a ragged-looking gentleman named Reverend Larry. His first song was about all drugs, his second about cocaine. I thought his third song -- with an early line about loving "big ol' titties and cheese grits" -- might be about love, but it turned out to be about an ice cream man selling dope from his truck. It was called "Dope Truck."

I've read two notices indicating that Lenny's will host a memorial service for Rev. Larry this Saturday, February 18, but bar also has a fundraiser for Youngblood Gallery that night, so I suggest calling the bar before going.

Lust Least

Creative Loafing's "Lust List," their annual guide to the "sexiest Atlantans," came out this week, and if their selection of "hotties" represents "Atlanta's finest" (as writer Alyssa Abkowitz put it), then, boy, is this city in trouble. You don't really have to read through the profiles to learn about the callowness, banality, and vapidity that pass 'round these parts for sexiness, though (although music fans may want to clog their iPods with the Hot Listers' recommendations of Cher, Madonna, Dave Matthews, and the like): one glance at a portrait will invalidate all of the Loaf's selections (and question the credibility of the rag in general).

Check out Anton Matthews, bartender (50% of the Loaf's picks are bartenders/servers/waitresses, one is a sun tan salon owner, another a hairdresser, one a receptionist, one a headshop manager, 1 a cop and 1 a preacher. Care to guess what most Loafers do in their spare time?). Note the cellphone attached to the belt, ready for an urgent message from the President (or some dude calling him to tell him that some chick's pulled "a boob out" -- Anton's favorite attention-getter). Surely no one reading this will need to be told what poor Alyssa obviously doesn't know: cellphone as belt-attached fashion is the least sexy statement a person can make.



How depressing is it that the cop is the only person profiled who you might actually be able to talk to?

Melt Your Cold, Cold ...

Thanks to global warming -- uh, I mean "climate change" -- the winter has taken a little while longer to come this year, but it's definitely here now. The Georgia Department of Health has issued its usual set of guidelines to help us through the season. If you're driving, for instance, be sure to stock your trunk with several warm blankets, a flask full of Knob Creek, and a copy of Jack Pendarvis' "The Mysterious Secret of the Valuable Treasure" (you'll still probably freeze to death, but at least you'll be laughing along the way to rigor mortis). If you're planning on shovelling snow, be sure to start at your front door and work your way towards the street; that way, the Department of Sanitation can more easily cart off your cardiac-arrested ass. Senator Saxby Chambliss suggests wrapping yourself in the warmth of the US flag; Governor Sonny Purdue recommends the same, unless it's an election year, in which case a Confederate flag will work even better.

But what if you're really, really cold, though? You know: the kind of cold that chills you down to the cockles of your, well, cockles? Singer, songwriter, and amateur urologist Harry Barris wondered to himself about the discomfort brought about by gonadal frostiness. His solution to keeping one's nether region toasty was to dance, as the chafing of adjacent orifices produces enough heat to warm the surrounding region. Red Nichols (trumpet), Miff Mole (trombone), Alfie Evans (clarinet), Frank Signorelli (piano), and Ray Bauduc (drums) wholeheartedly concurred, and produced the following balm to act as encouragement. I'd suggest that you liberally apply to the affected area; repeat, often, as necessary.

The Original Memphis Five: Taint Cold (1926) [buy]

This Weekend in Atlanta:
It's frosty cold, so I'll be watching my new DVD of Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show and eating some pizza from Savage. Pick up your black slacks, black turtleneck, and black sports jacket from the cleaners so that you can mingle amongst the twitterati at the annual Art Papers auction (7p - 11p at Mason Murer Fine Art). It'll set you back $25 to get in, so plan to suck down lots of Grad Student Zinfandel to get your money's worth. Sunday afternoon is the monthly New York Corned Beef Society meeting at Twain's in Decatur. We're fixing dinner for friends (bean quesadillas and tortilla soup), so feel free to grab our table out front. If all else fails, you can puke out corndogs and popcorn and see how long it takes a clown to cover it up with sawdust -- the circus is in town!

WTF?

Atlanta's CBS affiliate just teased tonight's 11 o'clock news broadcast with the Britney Spears no-car-seat-baby-story, comparing it to Michael Jackson dangling his kid off a balcony.

WTF? Isn't there any, oh, ACTUAL NEWS tonight?

Attendees

Check out the AJC's list of famous people who attended Coretta Scott King's funeral. It gives new meaning to the phrase "no particular order."

(note: boldface type added by me)

Notable figures attending
By Tuesday, February 7, 2006, 01:30 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Those now at the church include:

Maya Angelou
Dr. Joseph Lowery
Stevie Wonder
Dr. Dorothy Height, National Council of Negro Women
Atlanta mayor Shirley Franklin
Kweisi Mfume, former NAACP president
Sen. Barack Obama
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
Actress Nicollette Sheridan
Singer Michael Bolton
Atlanta City Council president Lisa Borders
V-103 radio personality Frank Ski
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Sen. John Kerry
Sen. Bill Frist
Howard Dean, Democratic Party chairman
Former mayor Bill Campbell and wife Sharon
Valerie Jackson, widow of late Atlanta mayor Maynard Jackson
Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor
Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox
President George W. Bush and Laura Bush
Former president Jimmy Carter
Former president Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton
Former president George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush
Andrew Young and his brother Dr Walter Young
Hank and Billye Aaron
Comic and actor Chris Tucker
Former surgeon general Dr. David Satcher
Former Gov. Roy Barnes, Marie Barnes
Rev. Jesse Jackson
Al Sharpton
Dick Gregory
State Sen. Vincent Fort
DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones

I suspect it's just in the order in which the reporter saw them.

Brand Atlanta Commercial During The Super Bowl

Brand Atlanta HQ just sent out this press release:

Feb 03 2006
Brand Atlanta Super Bowl Commercial

The Brand Atlanta Campaign has purchased one 30-second spot during SuperBowl XL airing Sunday, February 5 at 6 p.m. on WSB-TV Channel 2. The spot will air locally in the Metro Atlanta market in a prime position during the game. The campaign ad “Open Hearts,” created by Grey Worldwide and Lattimer Moffitt Communications, features the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Clark Atlanta University Marching Band marching and playing together. “Open Hearts,” directed by Kenny Leon, also features a voiceover by actor Samuel L. Jackson and “The ATL” by Dallas Austin as background music. The spot highlights the diversity and openness of the region.

“This is a very strategic investment for the Campaign. The commercials are such an important part of the fun of watching the SuperBowl that viewership is almost guaranteed,” said Mark Goldman, President, Grey Worldwide. “This is a tremendous opportunity to efficiently reach a large captive audience in the Metro Atlanta area with Campaign messages. We want to encourage as many residents as possible to visit ATLopen.com to learn about the exciting things happening in Atlanta and then to get out and experience all the region has to offer.”

The spot is part of the Campaign's overall advertising plan that launched in November 2005. The SuperBowl broadcast will net an estimated audience of more than one million viewers in a 75-mile radius surrounding the Metro Atlanta area.