I think not, therefore, I am not

[Just Some Girl]

Also, without Pitchfork (sowwy!), I wouldn't have the backstory on Okkervil River's "Savannah Smiles."

Pitchfork: With these ideas of personal identity and transformation in mind, I'd like to ask you about "Savannah Smiles," a song that deals with the life and death of Shannon Wilsey, a young woman who took the name Savannah when she entered the adult film industry in the early 1990s. This is a person who became so subsumed by her new identity that she committed suicide after becoming disfigured in a horrendous automobile accident-- with such injuries, she no longer felt that she could be the beautiful adult film star Savannah. What drew you to Shannon's story?

Will Sheff: I guess I could relate, or something like that. I'm really interested in pornography, because there's all this meaning that gets attached to pornography that has nothing to do with what pornography is. Because pornography is pretty much the simplest art form there is-- there's not a whole lot to it. There's not a lot of meaning there. But there is so much meaning that floats around it. I'm really interested in the way that people talk about actresses and actors-- but more with actresses-- in adult film, they are extremely condescending. Often times you either get that this person is some sort of worthless whore, or you get this "poor girl, she must have been abused" kind of thing.

The case of Savannah is interesting because-- while not particularly special-- her parents blamed the adult film industry while the adult film industry blamed her parents and nobody really knows what the hell happened. And that's sort of the point of "Savannah Smiles"-- you don't know. There's sadness about her story that you cannot boil down to a TV movie-style explanation ….Ultimately, I also feel that indie rock and hipster culture seem to me to be very phobic of sexuality. There's a fetishizing of childhood-- like you can see it in Wes Anderson movies and in twee music, and the ways in which these grown men dress like children. I feel that there's a fear of sexuality, and one minor goal that I have with Okkervil River is that the songs are sexual. Not to say that they are about sex, but that they have an adult sexuality to them. That's what rock and roll is supposed to be about, right? It's supposed to be about sex….

Pitchfork: Yet Savannah was impregnated by Gregg Allman before the age of 17, and she went through a series of short-lived relationships with rock stars like Slash and Billy Idol….

Will Sheff: Yeah, she was a groupie.

[Just Some Girl]

I guess that makes up for the gayness of that track.

[Just Some Girl]

I've had quite the unproductive day.

[bebopbalogna]

A few years ago, developers took over some primo downtown real estate and created this really hideous "public square" which is all concrete and giant billboards...an effort to create a Times Square vibe. Didn't work, and it mostly gets used for really crappy events. But every Tuesday throughout the summer, they've been showing outdoor movies: "futuristic" stuff is this year's theme. (I think.) Might go to this next Tuesday: Metropolis, set to a trip-hop soundtrack. Could be a cool way of seeing the movie again. Maybe not.

I'm going to a friend's pre-wedding drinks fest in another part of town prior to that, so I prolly won't make the movie, but still...

i think there are like 126 different soundtracks for that movie.  i guarantee you there is a better one than the "trip-hop" version.   you should try playing it along with the mother's "freakout".    or nillsson's "the point".     that would be awesome.

[bebopbalogna]

oh yeah... here's me whitewater raftin....

[attachment deleted by admin... had to make some room, kids]

[bebopbalogna]

and here's k__

[attachment deleted by admin... had to make some room, kids]

[brainfiber]

Bebop that looks totally bitchin!

Scary as shit bitchin!  Had you done that before?  Those look like some class D (have no clue what that means...in my mind it means Scary as shit bitchin) rapids...damn I'm impressed.

[bebopbalogna]

yeah, it was pretty bitchin.  i've done it before in a bigger raft with a guide telling the other (6) people in the boat what to do.  "left side forward.   right side twice.  drift.  right side back.  harder!   drift."   that sort of thing.  this was a little more exciting, plus the "duckies" (inflatable kayaks)  are closer to the water so the rapids seem a little more intense.  It was a 5 mile trip, but only about a third of it was rapids, and only about a third of those were like what you see in the picture (class III on a I-V scale).  the French Broad River is considered a II-III  but there was one class IV rapid near the end of our leg, and quite a bit of class I (basically just a little drop) stuff.  It was a lot of fun.  something i'd like to do again.   They place we rented rafts from (Huck Finn Adventures, Hot Springs, N.C.)  has a photographer that just sits on a rock all day at that particular rapid and takes a quick series of shots as you go through. you get to choose which ones you want to buy when you get back. Pretty clever photography, i think, as it seems a lot more badass in the picture than it does from the boat.  which is why we bought the pictures. we were like "shit yeah!! we look like total badasses!!"   we have some pictures that we took too, but mostly from the flat areas as it is pretty much impossible to take pictures while going through the more aggressive stuff.  it is challenging, but not that bad.  there was an 11 year old kid that was in our group doing the same thing.  granted, about halfway through, they yanked him out and put him in a bigger raft, cause he kept getting hung up on rocks.  i don't think they thought he was in any danger, it was just annoying having to constantly wait up for him and free him up and stuff like that.   everyone should do it at least once before they die. much like psychedelics.   it's hard work, but we're making progress.

[matthew]

PMAs for everyone!!!

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!


couldn't resist the opportunity for a shameless plug.





shameless plug.    knnnnnch.

I must admit to enjoying  every "museum'o'FART" url.

[matthew]

V. cool! Also: as I am immature, I still enjoy that there is "fart" in the museum's name.

fuck!

Speaking of "fuck", do I get any getting laid mind atoms?

How about a kiss mind atom?

A smile, perhaps?

[matthew]

A few years ago, developers took over some primo downtown real estate and created this really hideous "public square" which is all concrete and giant billboards...an effort to create a Times Square vibe. Didn't work, and it mostly gets used for really crappy events. But every Tuesday throughout the summer, they've been showing outdoor movies: "futuristic" stuff is this year's theme. (I think.) Might go to this next Tuesday: Metropolis, set to a trip-hop soundtrack. Could be a cool way of seeing the movie again. Maybe not.

I'm going to a friend's pre-wedding drinks fest in another part of town prior to that, so I prolly won't make the movie, but still...

i think there are like 126 different soundtracks for that movie.  i guarantee you there is a better one than the "trip-hop" version.   you should try playing it along with the mother's "freakout".    or nillsson's "the point".     that would be awesome.

I would really like to see it with The Alloy Orchestra accompanying it.

Well, I would like to see any film with that backing.

[bebopbalogna]

i just enjoy farts in general.  (straining face smiley)  ummmph.  oooh.  there goes one now.  nice.  


and i'm sending the atoms you requested.  everyone needs a shameless plug every once in a while.  beware of girls with berets, though.  i'm not sure how selective these mind atoms are.  i'm kinda new at this..

[bebopbalogna]

A few years ago, developers took over some primo downtown real estate and created this really hideous "public square" which is all concrete and giant billboards...an effort to create a Times Square vibe. Didn't work, and it mostly gets used for really crappy events. But every Tuesday throughout the summer, they've been showing outdoor movies: "futuristic" stuff is this year's theme. (I think.) Might go to this next Tuesday: Metropolis, set to a trip-hop soundtrack. Could be a cool way of seeing the movie again. Maybe not.

I'm going to a friend's pre-wedding drinks fest in another part of town prior to that, so I prolly won't make the movie, but still...

i think there are like 126 different soundtracks for that movie.  i guarantee you there is a better one than the "trip-hop" version.   you should try playing it along with the mother's "freakout".    or nillsson's "the point".     that would be awesome.

I would really like to see it with The Alloy Orchestra
accompanying it.

Well, I would like to see any film with that backing.

for the record, i was kidding about "freakout!" and "the point".  i was actually trying to think of records that would be TERRIBLE with that. (not that those records are terrible, i have a pretty big soft spot for both zappa and nillsson)   the last time i saw it, it had some modern Tool-esque metal thing going on, with occasional strings, i think.   and i don't think i even noticed if it was appropriate or not.  i guess that's a good thing,  since it didn't stand out as inappropriate,  but at the same time, i imagine you could pretty much be back there hitting drumsticks together, and if you sped up and slowed down in the right places, it would work.  it's actually probably best completely silent.

[Just Some Girl]

I can't recall the soundtrack from the one (and only) time I saw it, which is probably a testament to the move (cuz I remember that and not the music...