Ga Ga Ga Ga (and Ga some more)

Austin, Texas folkie indie rockers Spoon recently (7-11) released their seventh album, "Ga Ga Ga Ga," which debuted at #10 on the Billboard charts, the highest ever debut for this distinctively cultish band. The cult is about to get larger, largely on the strengths of such space-rock anthems like "The Ghost of You Lingers."

This video is a beautiful art film, complete unto itself, about the echoes of a bad breakup.

However, the best song on the album is the catchy, not-yet-but-soon-to-be-released-as-a-single "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." It is so incredibly infectious, it's hard to believe that a bunch of arty posers from the capital of arty posers, Austin, could have come up with something that Timbaland or Cee-Lo would have been hard-pressed to duplicate in the danceable pop genre. Wish it was available on youtube, I would have posted it. It is my favorite song so far this summer.

But "Ghost of You" is a beautiful song, nonetheless. The album is named after the onomatopoeic piano chord G being struck repeatedly to open this song.

Live, Local Entertainment!

Theater 150 Comedy Workshop Graduates Perform:
Last night my husband Bill and I saw the graduates of the Theater 150 Comedy Workshop perform at Giorgios. I had written an article about them recently for the VC Reporter (still on newsstands) and became so interested in their story I just had to see the finished product. There were about a half dozen brief bits and no shortage of laughter in the sold-out crowd. There’s one more chance to catch them and I highly recommend you do tonight at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are only ten bucks and if you get there early and order a sandwich, your beer is only a quarter. Order tickets now at www.Theater150.org.

Bodies Unbound, a one-woman play:
Cynthia Waring, Ojai local, author and playwright, will perform her solo theatrical adaptation of her moving memoir, Bodies Unbound, on August 11 at the Ojai Massage School. Cynthia’s book details how, through her work as a healer, she brings out her clients’ powerful stories and identifies them with her own tales of abuse, addiction and ultimately overcoming her demons through touch and writing.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY “BODIES UNBOUND” PLAYS AUGUST DATES IN OJAI AND SANTA BARBARA
WHAT: “Bodies Unbound,” a solo theatre piece.
WHO: Written, produced and performed by Cynthia Waring and directed by Jill Andre.
AT OJAI: Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 8 p.m. at Ojai School of Massage, 619 W. El Roblar Drive, Ojai, CA 93023. Admission: $15. Phone: (805) 640-9798.
AT SANTA BARBARA: Friday, August 17 and Saturday, August 18 at 8 p.m. at Center Stage Theater, 751 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Admission: $20. (805) 963-0408. Online ticketing: www.CenterStageTheater.org
WEBSITE: www.BodiesUnbound.com

I had the pleasure of interviewing Cynthia recently on Radio Ojai. An excerpt of the first act of her play is also posted.

What If Thom Yorke married Bjork

Few bands have sustained a fever pitch of artistic genius like Radiohead. The Cambridge, England band, formed in 1986, first hit the pop charts with 1993's Pablo Honey and its slacker anthemic single, "I'm a Creep." Classically trained musicians all, their success meant that music mastered meant music mastered.

OK Computer and The Bends are considered by many, including your humble scribe, to be among the best albums of the 1990s.

Then came 2000's Kid A, which took ambient sounds, weird loops and samples, Thom Yorke's singular vocals and the Greenwood brothers' soaring guitar solos into literally uncharted territory. While it, and the followup album "Amnesiac" were critically acclaimed, they did alienate many fans of their prior more traditional, guitar-based sound. Their sixth album, Hail to the Thief, which came out in 2003, was a turn back to their earlier style of music.

Here's a live taping of "National Anthem," from a concert in Paris.

The Bob and Johnny Show

By way of blogger Will Divide (motto: I slapped a nun in Reno just to watch her cry), here's two legends in a rare duet of "Girl from the North Country."

Though I have long been a fan of Bobby D., I have even longer been a fan of J.C. My father, a rural mailman, among many other things, would play the local country station incessantly, on which Johnny Cash tunes were a staple. Whenever we had one of our not-infrequent snow days, which I dreaded because it meant that I would have to accompany my dad on his mail route, I would have this great country music etched in my brain. Marty Robbins, Hank Sr., Porter Waggoner, Earl Stanley, Lester Scruggs, even Conway Twitty, I would listen to them all. Not that I had any choice. You could only pry the tuning knob of the radio in that ancient Ford Fairlane from his cold, dead fingers.

La Buona Tavola/The Art Of Cooking

Merluzzo al forno /Baked cod with garlic and mayonnaise

Ingredients:
4 anchovy filets
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
6 tbsp olive oil
4 cod filets, skinned
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs

Make your own mayonnaise and have some fun.
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 egg yolk
1tsp mustard
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Salt & fresh black pepper

For 4 people:
Make the mayonnaise. First put the garlic in a small bowl. Mash it to a paste. Beat in the egg yolk and mustard. Add the oil in a thin stream while beating vigorously with a small whisk. When the mixture is thick and smooth, season with salt and pepper. Cover the bowl and keep cool.
Preheat the oven to 400f, chop the anchovy fillets with the parsley very finely. Place in a small bowl, and add pepper and 3 tbsp of the oil. Stir to a paste.
Place the cod fillets in one layer in an oiled baking dish. Spread the anchovy paste on the top of the cod fillets. Sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and the remaining oil. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden. Serve hot with the garlic mayonnaise.

Buon appetito

For more recipes, visit my wesite at rosariosellshomes.com

Wordiness

Well, I don't know if that one qualifies (maybe in Stephen Colbert's world), but ginormous now officially does!

The new 2007 update of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition is coming this fall, and in addition to ginormous (coined perhaps by Will Ferrell's character in Elf), you'll find crunk, nocebo and chaebol. Interestingly, though their site lists the words, the links appear to go nowhere! Feel free to put your definitions in comments.

In other news, the Battle of the Bands deadline has been extended to 7/20! As you already know from the press releases I have placed on these pages, Food For Thought is sponsoring a local Battle of the Bands for youth ages 13-20 (sorry, Bret, young hipsters only) in Ojai and Ventura. The three winning bands will open the Locally Grown fundraising concert on August 25 at Libbey Bowl featuring headliners Brett Dennen - currently touring with John Mayer - and Perla Batalla – Grammy nominated vocalist and Ojai resident. The event will be the second Locally Grown fundraiser for Food For Thought Ojai; the first concert in 2005 featured singer/songwriter Jack Johnson.

The Battle of the Bands will take place August 4th and 5th at the Matilija Junior High School Auditorium from 10am – 5pm. Bands performing all varieties of music, from straight edge and punk to jazz and acoustic, are encouraged to enter. In addition to opening the Locally Grown 2 concert, the three winning bands will also be able to record their chosen song in a professional sound studio and receive free CD copies of the recording.

Entry forms and a sample recording must be submitted by July 20. Rules and other information can be found on the Food For Thought Ojai Web site.

Speaking of Food for Thought, at the recent screening of The Real Dirt on Farmer John, Lesley Littlefield performed her song, “Oranginess,” which you can now listen to on Radio Ojai.

Ain't No Cure - Or is There?

Withering under the oppressive heat? Me too.

Here's the time-tested cure, "Summertime Blues," by one Mr. Eddie Cochran, of Albert Lea, Minnesota, who died tragically in a car accident in Wiltshire, England at age 21.



An interesting link with English culture is that the Mods (Rockers) and Teds (Quiffs) immortalized in the Who's "Quadrophrenia," took most of their proto-punk influences from Cochran and Gene "Be Bop A Lula" Vincent. In fact, Cochran's hit from 1956, "20 Flight Rock," which was featured in the cult classic, "The Girl Can't Help It," was used by the Rockers during their drag races. The goal was to complete a circuit of the block by the time that 2 minute song was over. As soon as the needle dropped, they were off. They called it record racing.

A Saturday Night in Ojai

Feast Bistro’s new summer menu is out and it is tasty. We tried the Asian Appetizer with summer rolls, spicy sesame noodles and grilled shrimp – really fresh and flavorful. Chef Susan also created a cioppino, but with an Ojai twist; the orange-saffron broth turns this traditional seafood stew into a local favorite.

After dinner we moseyed on over to Movino, where a local band was playing all original material for the Ojai wine-sipping crowd. Champagne Sunday’s lead singer, Jessi Reems-Terrell, reeled us in with her unbelievable vocals while the other two members of the band kept us there for an entire set with solid harmonies and brilliant hooks. I was so taken I begged them to let me put “Ventura Sky” on Radio Ojai, where it is now playing.

Also on Radio Ojai, Matt gives me his grilling secrets and we talk about Ojai’s quirky 4th of July parade. I don’t know about you, but I’ll be celebrating Independence Day atop one of Joe’s new cushy barstools in front of Pangea!

Lastly, check out the current Ojai Valley Visitors Guide, now on newsstands, for a progressive dining adventure down Ojai Avenue which includes Azu, Movino, Pangea and Feast Bistro.