Departing the Sensory

More album reviews: Spoon Hot Thoughts (2017) I heard somewhere that Spoon is incapable of making a bad album. I think that's essentially true, aside from their first album Telephono, which sucked. Their ninth effort  Hot Thoughts dropped last month, and it's outstanding. I won't say much because so many others have. Needless to say, check it out if you haven't already . Sidenote: see these guys in concert, their show is much more rock and roll than I would have though. Four stars. Thievery Corporation The Temple of I & I  (2017) Thievery Corporation's The Temple of I & I is more transparently cohesive than their other work. The reggae theme that pervades the album works pretty well with the classic Thievery sound, but it somehow also grates on me in more than a few spots. Maybe it's over-produced, and perhaps a little dated. Regardless, the guests on the album can flat out rap and are definitely worth a listen, even if it may be evidence o...

There’s a whole lot of music, and even though most of it’s somewhere between uninspiring and “turn it off now please”, there’s a ton of amazing art given the volume. Filtering through the mass of autotuned garbage is tough though, and over the last few years I’ve come to rely almost exclusively on word of mouth recommendations for a variety of reasons: I’m not too down with mainstream reviewers like Pitchfork or Rolling Stone, the radio is worse than useless, and Google Play’s premium “radio”-like playlists are mostly crap because good algorithms do not good taste make. Here's what I've been listening to this fall. The Record Company Give it Back to You  (2016) This debut from a new LA-based power trio is pure rock and roll. In a modernized original sense of the term. I guess they are making a few waves here and there, one of their singles going to the top of one of the alternative charts and all. And I can see why it did. I hear simple arrangements layered in compelli...

Dear Governor LePage, Maine Law Board of Directors, and others: I recently had an interesting experience when dealing with the state University.  Before I relate said experience, however, I would like to take just a moment to mention a couple of small things. Throughout the recent gubernatorial race, and regularly in the political discourse, a main issue of focus has been on the educational system in the (sometimes) Great State of Maine.  Tied in with the educational system, inexorably linked you might say, are the cousin issues of employment prospect and desirability.  The recent census reveals Maine to be the oldest state in the nation .  Older even than Florida, which is where all the old people go to die.  Quite frankly, it is embarrassing. Politicians argue that young people are leaving the state because they can't find work here -- and therefore our business climate must change.  I have made the argument that it is not so much the lack of work ...

I was checking my email the other day.  Lo! And behold; Drexel has a law school, and they want me to apply! Below is what they sent me (italics mine), and then my response thereto. Dear John, The Earle Mack School Law at Drexel University is forging a new model for 21st-century legal education. In addition to a rigorous curriculum, our unique co-op program gives you the experience of actually working in law before completing your JD. And Drexel  waives the application fee for online applications, so we hope you take a moment to visit our web site to learn more about our  programs, including our: integrated co-operative education program providing students with in-depth real world experience outstanding, engaged faculty dedicated to preparing our students for the rigors of law school and the practice of law location in exciting downtown Philadelphia , one of the nation's largest and most sophistica...

Charles E. Gayarre Elementary The architecture in New Orleans is much like I expected. Gorgeous, depraved, gaudy, shabby, atrocious. The French Quarter, most of the city is not. An industrial wasteland? A little closer.  The shotgun-style homes are a trip, some are 12 feet wide and 80 feet long. City Hall looks like a cruel joke, as if some giant child played around with enormous cement legos and the government said what the hell? and put some offices in there. On the other hand, some of the coolest architecture around is found at the schools. Note the elementary school above. It stands out.  It's an impressive structure, southwestern influence, terracotta roof, and lots of other flair that this picture doesn't do justice. It's boarded up, crumbling apart. I've noted two other schools around town, equally impressive, both fading as well. Observe the reason: The last thing that happened at this place was student registration, three weeks before Katrin...

Pauline St., Upper Ninth Ward. (2 in 5 houses look similar)

Stencil art at The Country Club (Nola)