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text:
package reader.network

import java.net.URL

import scala.xml.NodeSeq

import org.scalatest.BeforeAndAfter
import org.scalatest.FlatSpec
import org.scalatest.Matchers

import reader.EventShouldFireWrapper.convertToEventShouldFireWrapper
import reader.XMLFixtures.simpleRSS

class FetcherSpec extends FlatSpec with Matchers with BeforeAndAfter {
  val validFeed = new URL("http://feeds.rssboard.org/rssboard")
  val invalidFeed = new URL("http://www.test.de")

  "The Fetcher" should "fetch and fire after adding an url" in {
    val fetcher = new Fetcher { override def loadMethod(url: URL) = simpleRSS }
    fetcher.rssFetched shouldFireIn {
      fetcher.addURL(validFeed)
    }
  }

  it should "not add unreachable urls" in {
    val fetcher = new Fetcher { override def loadMethod(url: URL) = NodeSeq.Empty }
    val numUrls = fetcher.currentURLs.size.toLong
    fetcher.addURL(new URL("http://is.not.reachable"))
    fetcher.currentURLs should have size numUrls
  }

  it should "add urls only once" in {
    val fetcher = new Fetcher { override def loadMethod(url: URL) = NodeSeq.Empty }
    val numURLs = fetcher.currentURLs.length.toLong
    fetcher.addURL(validFeed)
    fetcher.addURL(validFeed)
    fetcher.currentURLs should have length (numURLs+1)
  }

  it should "fire an event once after adding a new url" in {
    val fetcher = new Fetcher { override def loadMethod(url: URL) = NodeSeq.Empty }
    fetcher.urlAdded shouldFireIn { fetcher.addURL(validFeed) }
    fetcher.urlAdded shouldNotFireIn { fetcher.addURL(validFeed) }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
namespace llvm {
class MCOperand;

class SystemZInstPrinter : public MCInstPrinter {
public:
  SystemZInstPrinter(const MCAsmInfo &MAI, const MCInstrInfo &MII,
                     const MCRegisterInfo &MRI)
    : MCInstPrinter(MAI, MII, MRI) {}

  // Automatically generated by tblgen.
  void printInstruction(const MCInst *MI, raw_ostream &O);
  static const char *getRegisterName(unsigned RegNo);

  // Print an address with the given base, displacement and index.
  static void printAddress(unsigned Base, int64_t Disp, unsigned Index,
                           raw_ostream &O);

  // Print the given operand.
  static void printOperand(const MCOperand &MO, raw_ostream &O);

  // Override MCInstPrinter.
  virtual void printRegName(raw_ostream &O, unsigned RegNo) const
    LLVM_OVERRIDE;
  virtual void printInst(const MCInst *MI, raw_ostream &O, StringRef Annot)
    LLVM_OVERRIDE;

private:
  // Print various types of operand.
  void printOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printBDAddrOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printBDXAddrOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printBDLAddrOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printU4ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printU6ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printS8ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printU8ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printS16ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printU16ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printS32ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printU32ImmOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printPCRelOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printCallOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
  void printAccessRegOperand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);

  // Print the mnemonic for a condition-code mask ("ne", "lh", etc.)
  // This forms part of the instruction name rather than the operand list.
  void printCond4Operand(const MCInst *MI, int OpNum, raw_ostream &O);
};
} // end namespace llvm

#endif


text:
Verdi: master tunesmith
If you've never been to an opera, here's a plea: don't say "it's not my thing" until you've tried. The reputation that this art form has for being the preserve of toffs and the rich is nonsense and no longer supported by the facts.
Huge strides have been made by all the leading opera houses, and more recently formed festivals up and down the country, to make it accessible to increasingly diverse audiences. Language is no longer a barrier, thanks to almost universal use of surtitles. And cost? Yes, you could spend a small fortune if you wanted to, but you could also attend one for less than the average price of a Premier League football match.
In other words, it just comes down to perception and pre-conceived, baseless opinion. The trick, as a first-timer, is to find the right one. Then acknowledge that you are unlikely to love it all; but like your experience on a golf course, or any other sporting endeavour, you will be teased just enough by a moment of such utter perfection and beauty, that you are left with no choice but to return.
Opera combines theatre, design, orchestra, singing – all major art forms rolled into one. It might seem strange to sing stories, but to burst into song is something we've all done at some time; so it is, in fact, entirely natural. To assert that you won't like opera before going, is to say you enjoy reading and refuse to go to a Shakespeare play: you are depriving yourself of an emotional response which you cannot imagine.
Obvious candidates for a first try are most of the Mozart operas (Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro) and Puccini (La Boheme). But perhaps a less obvious contender is Rigoletto, by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901). Verdi wrote 29 operas, and can reasonably be heralded as one of the top three opera composers ever. Rigoletto has a lot going for it: the moving story of a father's love for his daughter, Gilda, who is raped by his much-reviled employer, the Duke of Mantua, and with whom she then falls in love. Rigoletto seeks his revenge with disastrous consequences. First performed in 1851, it was an enormous success.
Above all, though, this is an opera where the tunes just keep coming at you from beginning to end. It is almost impossible to single out one passage, but the quartet in the final act is a glorious melody with beautiful intermingling of voices. The hunchback Rigoletto is showing his daughter, here sung by the late great Joan Sutherland (nicknamed La Stupenda) what a bounder the Duke is. He is seducing Maddalena, the sister of Sparafucile, the assassin whom Rigoletto has hired to bump off his employer. Pavarotti, who described Sutherland as having the voice of the century, made this part of the Duke his own.
Four voices. Duke proclaiming 'love' for Maddalena; Maddalena replying along the lines of "I bet you say that to all the girls"; Gilda observing "that's what he said to me" (so Maddalena had a point); and Rigoletto doing his best to convince Gilda that the Duke is a wrongun.
If you can overcome a minor visual distraction, you cannot help but delight in these few minutes. There are nearly 2 minutes of applause at the end. It's really not hard to see why they wanted it to go on. And what a last note from Sutherland!
Go to an opera. Go to Rigoletto. And see how hard it is not to go back.
Author Manuscript NotesPosted on May 11, 2017
4 thoughts on "Verdi: master tunesmith"
James Cutts says:
Pavarotti magnificent, but what visual distraction?
Oh, to have such control!
Sutherland wonderful too.
Pingback: Verdi: master tunesmith — Manuscript Notes — С любовью к людям!
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Systemd replaces the SysV init system. It is used with RHEL 7, CentOS 7, and others.

The instructions on this page were tested on an AWS host running CentOS 7.

## Enabling Looker to start on boot
To enable Looker to start on boot for a host which uses systemd, perform the following steps as root:

First, save the [looker.service](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/looker/customer-scripts/master/startup_scripts/systemd/looker.service) file from this repository as /etc/systemd/system/looker.service

You may need to customize the looker.service file if you are using a user other than "looker", or if
Looker is not installed in /home/looker/looker.

Second, adjust the file permissions:

```
chmod 664 /etc/systemd/system/looker.service
```

Force Looker to run in the foreground:

In either the /home/looker/looker/looker startup script or in /home/looker/looker/lookerstart.cfg, a file you would need to create, set the --no-daemonize flag in the LOOKERARGS environment variable

```
LOOKERARGS="--no-daemonize --force-gcm-encryption"
```
or, if you are running a cluster, or have other custom args, something like
```
LOOKERARGS="--no-daemonize -d looker-db.yml --clustered -H 10.10.10.10 --shared-storage-dir	/path/to/mounted/shared/storage --force-gcm-encryption"
```

Lastly, run the following commmands:

```
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable looker.service
```

## Managing Looker

To start the service:
```
systemctl start looker
```
Please note that it takes a couple of minutes for Looker to start. If you have a large HyperSQL database
(see the files in the looker/.db directory) startup can take considerably longer. If so you may need to
adjust the TimeoutStartSec setting in the looker.service file.

To stop the service:
```
systemctl stop looker
```

To see the current status
```
systemctl status looker
```


Child or youth sized slipper boots, made to order. These will be made from various designs I have in my pattern library. The images show photos of previous makes.
They are available in sizes from infant UK 8 to adult size 5. If an alternative size is required please state in the comment box at the checkout. A listing for adult sizes can be seen below.
These will be made from an acrylic/wool blend yarn in a colour of your choice, please state this in the comments at checkout.
These slippers are made to order and will be completed in 3-5 weeks. If you need them sooner please convo me and I will see what I can do to fit them in.
Wool blend and cotton items are machine washable at 30 degrees.
All Indigosky2Knit items are made in a smoke free, pet friendly environment.


Low Cpu usage but slow performance.
I have a 8 year old Dell XPS 720. I know at that age it will have issues. Right now it is running slow but the CPU usage only shows around 5-10% and RAM shows around 40%. those are both low percentages for this computer, but it still runs slow, espeacialy when opening programs and files. Now I know that the hard drive (1T western digital) is slow as hell. Could the hard drive be the issue?
Hello... Yes... the platter type hardrive will be you slowest component in a system, for opening files and programs... Can you post a pic of your WEI? Control Panel-Performance Information and Tools APP.
My guess is that you have accumulated malware or possibly a virus.
I would not recommend any changes that can't be carried forward to a new build.
One possibility is to replace the hard drive with a SSD.
You should be able to clone your current system to a ssd and the performance improvement is magical.
Intel and Samsung have free clone utilities.
The hard drive is slower than other hard drives I have used in the past, It has a WEI rating of 5.9 while every thing els has a 7.2-7.8 ratting. I have IObit malware protector and it showed no malware.
A SSD will be 7.9.
It is 50x faster than the fastest 10k hard drive in small random I/O. That is what the os does 90% of the time.
It will be 2x to 3x faster in sequential.
Why is your PC slower now??.
Possibly, your hard drive has accumulated a lot of relocated sectors because of errors.
Still, I would run a malwarebytes scan. No one app catches everything.
Hello... Your WEI scores are typical... The only time I realize my computer is slow, is when I have been on a faster one B ).
But this could mean going through a OS/Program reload procedure, to get the Most from it.
Ya. I agree that I should get better storage. I will most likely get a faster HDD tho because I need at least a 1TB. And 1TB in a SSD is going to cost you a bundle.
Hi Alpha Nerd, Hope you are well.
I would love to go with a SSD but my only issue is that I normaly run around 600 gigs. Most SSDs right now are around 500 gigs. I would love to upgrade but I would like to wait a bit longer for them do advance until I upgrade.
Hello... I still have HD's in my computer for most Programs and Data storage... and just a few selected and the OS on my 240 gb SSD.
You will see a huge difference in speed and response with just the OS and your favorite program on the SSD... You don't need to load all your Data or Programs on it.


text:
Home General News Uncoupled Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything You Need to...
Uncoupled Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Plot, and Everything You Need to Know
With only one season, the show "Uncoupled" has gained a lot of fans. Now that everyone wants to see the series anyway for season 2 and is eagerly anxious to hear all the updates about the regeneration of Uncoupled season 2 to all the fans, we have collected all the specifics from with us source materials to know about renewal prestige, release date, or spoiler notifications of Uncoupled season 2. to get to the endnote, keep reading this article.
The first episode of the series came out on Friday, July 29. It's about a man in his 40s named Michael, whose fiance of 17 years, Colin, breaks up with him without telling him why. Now that Michael is unmarried in New York, he is thrown into the strange and sometimes cruel world of dating for the first time. This leads to several new meetings. Or Neil Patrick Harris plays the main role, making everything 10 times more exciting.
Netflix hasn't yet said for sure that there will be a second season of Uncoupled, but that does not mean that there won't be one. Netflix usually calls shows with only one season a "limited series." Uncoupled isn't listed as "limited," which is good news. Instead, it says "eight episodes," which leaves room for more seasons, we hope.
There is also the story to think about. The end of season one is a huge cliffhanger. Colin goes to Michael's apartment to inform him he thinks he made a mistake. Are they making plans to get back together? We won't know until season two, but the reality that the end of season one left a lot of questions unanswered gives us some hope.
Fans are excited about the prospect of a second season of Uncoupled, even though Netflix hasn't said anything about it yet. One audience tweeted, "I love Uncoupled a lot, and please, please, please give us Season 2! In a sea of stories about LGBTQ+ teens, the series about middle-aged gay men is a nice change."
See also FIFA 20: Why The Game Killed The Competition Before Its Release!
After a first season that did well, Uncoupled is ready for a second. Even though we don't have official word from Netflix, the distinctive romantic sitcom isn't label labeled "limited series," meaning that the OTT framework had also left the door open for more seasons.
Uncoupled Season 2 Release Date
As of right now, there has been no official word about Season 2 of Uncoupled or whether it will be renewed. So it's best to refrain from making any guesses right now. Uncoupled fans are going to wait a while to find out whether there will be a second season.
In Jan 2023, all three of the biggest Hollywood trades said that the show was no longer going to be made. This means that Uncoupled is the fifth big Netflix Original that will end in 2023.
Uncoupled Season 2 Cast
Since there has been no news about a second season, it's indeed hard to guess who will be in the cast. We can still guess that Neil Patrick Harris (who plays Michael Lawson), Tisha Campbell (who plays Suzanne Prentiss), Tuc Watkins (who plays Colin McKenna), Emerson Brooks (who plays Billy Burns), Marcia Gay Harden (who plays Claire Lewis), Brooks Ashmanskas (who plays Stanley James), Colin Hanlon (who plays Jonathan #1), Jai Rodriguez (who plays Jonathan #2), André De Shields (who plays Jack), Jasai Chase Owens ( (Lisa Lawson).
Uncoupled Season 2 Trailer
The show hasn't been picked up for another season yet. So, there is no trailer yet. For now, you can watch the trailer for the last season down below.
Uncoupled Season 2 Plot
The second season of Uncoupled will probably start where the first one ended, with Colin telling Michael that he was thinking twice about splitting up with him. Colin appears to want to try again, but Michael is finally starting to see how fun being single can be. Would he truly go to the individual who shattered his heart?
See also College Romance Season 2 Leaked by the Piracy Website Filmyzilla
Then there's the fallout between Billy and Wyatt. Billy seemed to be settling down, but Wyatt's heart broke when he decided to get the waiter's number at the wedding broker. Can they figure it out? Lastly, Stanley's cancer diagnosis at the end of 1 shocked everyone. In other words, there are several loose ends to tie up!
Colin proceeded to Michael's apartment after a cute reunion so at Jonathan's wedding to ask him to start giving their 17-year relationship some other chance. The thing is, now that Michael is finally getting used to being on his own and learning how to live, will he desire to go away to the person who has broken his heart? Or is it already a bit late?
At the same time, Billy had a nasty shock when a guy he was starting to like told him about his promiscuous life. Once his old habits caught up with him and he obtained the number of such a waiter just at the wedding, Wyatt was upset and told him to stop. Now, he's not sure if sex is sufficient for him.
But they will all have to put one's fears aside when Stanley is told she has stage each breast cancer and has to start treatment. This will be the greatest challenge of all. He was shocked by the diagnosis, and even jokes couldn't hide how upset everyone was that the soul of the group had been given such a scary diagnosis.
Since the show hasn't been officially picked up for a second period yet, we can't guess what will happen in it. But, according to reports, Stanley will be in the second season. She has been given a diagnosis with stage one cancer, and Kai's father is a mystery since Kai decided at the last minute not to go to the meeting.
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The advantages of choosing a Bitcoin Casino


text:
Toxic History
A Little Less Profound
Clamoring of the Crowd
Los Toxicos
This Is Nowhere
Fans of The Airborne Toxic Event, Just Trying to Write it All Down
TATEoo Gallery
Toxic Radio
TATEstagram
Just gonna leave this right here, with big thanks to Richard Doidge for sharing this with us.
TATE Tweets
TATEbook
Los Toxicos: Amanda Brown
Los Toxicos: Sarah McCullough
Los Toxicos: Randy Ramsey
This Is Nowhere's Airborne Toxic Auction
Waves of Radiation a… on Interview: Mikel Jollett Talks…
Tim de Monkey on This Is Nowhere's Airbor…
Toxicity 95 | This I… on Review: NME Presents Does This…
Toxicity 95 | This I… on The Airborne Toxic Event, Eh?…
Toxic History, Chapt… on Highlights from The Airborne T…
STEPHEN BROLAN
District Consonance
Breaking Books
These Stunning Ruins
Posts Tagged 'Mikel'
5 Ways to Be a Man
Posted: March 22, 2016 in 5's
Tags: Airborne Toxic Event, Changing, Fifth Day, Mikel, storm, The Way Home, Time to Be a Man
Mikel Jollett: Manning Up. Photo by Ryan Tuttle.
By Glen
Through five records from The Airborne Toxic Event, there are themes that have clearly captivated Mikel Jollett: threads of thought that stalk his work like spirits, weaving their way through the shadows of multiple albums.
Death is the most obvious one of course, its influence limited not just to the songs but extending to the band's very name and identity. But there are others.
Love. Loss. Home. Angels. Ghosts. Rain.
Amongst these weighty subjects, there is one that sticks out like something of a sore thumb.
Mikel Jollett is kind of obsessed with being a man.
The admonition to "be a man" conjures primitive images of testosterone-dripping, chest-thumping, macho Neanderthals who know what they want and aren't afraid to take it, even if it means stepping on others along the way.
But unlike certain Presidential candidates, Jollett doesn't seem overly concerned with flashing his masculine credentials and measuring his… fingers. Rather, his work betrays that he's still grasping for direction, wrestling with what exactly constitutes manhood in the context of fear, change, uncertainty and relationships.
"What does it mean to be a man?" asks Jollett from the stage one night in Boston. "That's a really stupid idea, right? I don't know, like, eating beef jerky? You know, you can think of all these cheesy, simplified things that you can attach to that idea, which is ridiculous. So, for me, I landed on honesty. There was a time when I felt really trapped by so much that I was trying to hide from the rest of the world, and ultimately I realized that I just had to burn the whole fucking thing down."
The embracing of authenticity and vulnerability is a very 21st century approach to masculinity; one that deals more in questions than answers, as we'll see as we trace Jollett's lyrical journey through manhood.
In "Changing," Jollett treads a fine line between deference on the one side and cocksurety on the other. "I am a gentleman," he insists repeatedly, offering a litany of proof. He requests what he needs, rather than demanding it: "Didn't I ask for a place I could stay?" He pays his own way: "Didn't I pay for every laugh, every dime, every bit every time?" He prioritizes relationship and steps up when he is needed: "Didn't I answer every time that you call? Pick you up when you fall?"
That said, there's a firm limit to his flexibility, and he butts up against it when he finds that being a gentleman is getting him nowhere. A deep mistrust is eating at the relationship – at least on her side – and he's not going to take it lying down. "You say that I lie," he says with disbelief. "You say I never tried." Are you serious?
As her deep-seated suspicion seeds mind games and naked attempts at control, the gentleman takes a backseat to a more primal form of masculinity: one that's had enough of listening, resists compromise and takes a stand. "I won't hear one more word about changing. Guess what, I am the same man."
The stubborn man, unwilling to bend and refusing to be owned, is a stark contrast to the gentleman who minded his manners and followed the rules. So what type of man does he want to be?
In "The Storm," an almost 40-year-old Jollett is starting to figure it out. He's come to a sobering awareness: only just now, after "25 years of running in sand," has he finally "learned how to stand like a man."
As it turns out, standing like a man isn't at all what he expected; perhaps that's why the lesson was so long in the learning.
"I was going through a lot of heavy stuff at this point in my life when I wrote this song," Jollett explains. "The idea of the song is somebody witnessing your struggles. You go through these private struggles in your life, and in some cases you feel like you've been just barely getting through for a very long time. And the idea is that somebody comes in and just sees it, and is like, 'Oh my God!' And that moment of sympathy and empathy, and that sense that somebody can witness who you are and want to help you in your life when you're just kind of laid bare was really powerful for me at the time. There's a sense of home that's kind of the heart of love; that sense of homeness that you can just be yourself with someone, they can see your struggles, and they can see what's good and bad about you and love you for it. And the minute you recognize that is actually when you know that you have love in your life."
It's an extraordinarily counter-cultural take on manliness. We think it's all about standing on our own two feet and handling shit on our own. But Jollett found manhood in a moment of extreme weakness, even dependence, when he realized there was someone else in the room and it was okay to lean on them. Being a man is not a solo sport.
The Fifth Day
By "The Fifth Day," the man is broken. The room is empty again.
If Jollett found relationship to be the key to manhood, what does it mean to be a man now that the girl who continually reminded him, "Boy, you're not so tough," is gone?
Well, perhaps she's not completely gone after all. Memories linger: their song in the air, her scent on the sheets. And he knows, even in her absence, "It's these things that make you a man."
He may be facing the future alone, but he's not the same man he was – and he's not going back. Even if he wanted to, he can't remember where he started.
But I won't go back to what I was
I know now that you are lost
It's your choices that make you a man
Your frozen mind begins to thaw
You think my God my God my God
Where was it I began?
There's only one way out, and that's forward, with the lessons of the past in his pocket. That is his choice.
The Such Hot Blood bonus track "The Way Home" introduces us to a man at the end of his rope. Perhaps it's the same man from "The Fifth Day," some indeterminate time later; it's tough to say. The events that have crushed him are not spelled out, but whatever they were, they have left him alone and uncertain.
But also full of resolve.
Rather than yielding to despair and wallowing "beneath this darkened shroud," the narrator gets his head about him. Change is no longer the enemy. He tears down his prison of shame, brick by ignominious brick. He catches a glimpse of hope – "I can hear the birds, see the light outside" – and it emboldens him to "stand up like a man and swallow my pride." The hands of time may have beaten him down, but they haven't defeated him.
The doubts have not been vanquished; not all the question marks have been replaced by periods. He is neither brave nor sure – but Fear will not be permitted the final word.
He doesn't have the slightest clue where he's going, just that it's far away from here – and that's enough for now. The man closes the door behind him and sets off for the horizon, walking this road on the bricks he's laid.
Time to be a Man
If the story ended there, you might think he'd finally figured it out. But there's another chapter, and it brings Jollett full circle.
"Time to be a Man" is a funny song. It seems on the surface to be a bit of an odd duck in the Jollett catalog, with a triumphalist tone that contrasts sharply with his customary cynicism. "Be a man! The whole world is at your door!" What was that we said about chest thumping?
Except it's not that at all. The man who had boldly set out for a new life somehow finds himself right back where he began: tossing his way through sleepless nights. And still alone. The lessons of "The Storm" have long since been forgotten: he thought he could do it on his own, "like you don't need no one else," but he was wrong. "The way home is so steep" – much steeper than he expected.
Yet again, he tries to muster up the strength to be a man. However, his admonition to himself is shot through with self-doubt. "Tell me how does that go? What the hell are you waiting for?"
"The whole world is at your door," he reminds himself. But walking through that door is not as easy as it seems.
"Time to be a Man" isn't the optimistic paean to grabbing life by the balls that it might at first glance appear to be. It's the same secrets and lies and doubts and failures that Jollett has always battled, just wrapped up in a glossier package.
In other words, he hasn't figured it out after all. Not by a long shot.
But he's not pretending he has… and that's a start.
Glen is the founder and editor of This Is Nowhere. He's grateful for an understanding wife and kids who indulge his silly compulsion to chase a band all over the Pacific Northwest (and occasionally beyond) every time the opportunity arises.
The Thing About Dreams
Posted: February 23, 2016 in A Little Less Profound
Tags: Airborne Toxic Event, Mikel, The Thing About Dreams
Mikel Jollett of The Airborne Toxic Event performs in Boston in the fall of 2014. Photo by Ayaz Asif Photography: https://www.facebook.com/AyazAsifPhotography.
I am a dreamer.
Not so much in the daytime, where infinite possibility is so often drowned out by cold, hard reality, and fantastical notions of what-could-be are subsumed by the mundanities of what-actually-is.
However, in the dead of night, as my natural pessimism drifts away and the synapses of my brain are finally free to fire unencumbered by the constraints of responsibility, wild things happen.
My dreams are vivid. On any given night I'll be cast as the lead in a multi-act film, with cameos from any number of unlikely characters from across my lifespan. Though some themes replay themselves repeatedly (at least once a week I find myself back in school, having completely forgotten about a critical assignment), from one sleep to the next there is no telling what twist the plot will take.
Sometimes the next morning I'll try to describe it to my wife. Unfortunately, what seemed so clear and profound when my eyes were closed is now just barely, frustratingly out of reach. In that netherworld, the pieces – disparate as they may be – somehow fit together. But with the rising of the sun, they become a senseless jumble. As a non-dreamer, she has little patience for my confused attempts at retelling.
"The Thing About Dreams" is a unique entry in The Airborne Toxic Event canon, in more ways than one. It experiments with sounds that were previously foreign to the band, creating an evocative aural landscape that sounds very, well, dreamlike. Mikel Jollett, a natural baritone if there ever was one, pushes well past the presumed upper limits of his register to deliver a falsetto chorus that transports the listener beyond the atmosphere of TATE World, into another dimension entirely.
Perhaps most strikingly, the consummate storyteller abandons his usual straightforward narrative approach to songwriting in favor of dropping a series of disconnected thoughts; snatches of visions that lack a connecting thread, just as dreams are prone to jumping from one scene to the next with neither warning nor apparent purpose. The result is not just a song about dreams – it is a dream.
It leaves even the writer himself scratching his head wondering, "What is this thing I've created?"
I have no idea what the deal is with this song. I wrote it a year ago and never planned to put it on a record. I liked the Wurlitzer and the beat and that moment when the beat stopped and the piano came in.
Dreams don't follow any sort of logical pattern (it's more of an attempt by your brain to create something logical out of your spinning stream of unconscious emotions and images, short and long term memories — or so I'm told by the New York Times).
I had a recurring dream when I was kid about flying. I would be standing on the sidewalk with huge ears, like an elephant— and simply flap them and I'd be airborne. I remember thinking "Why do I keep forgetting that I can fly? This is so easy. I have to remember this when I wake up." As if the only thing stopping me from flying in reality was a mental block I'd acquired from living too long on a planet that told me I couldn't.
So many dreams are like that: memories of a time when you didn't so thoroughly know the limitations that life imposes on you. That's probably why they're important. Because unlike flying, many of those limitations don't actually exist.
This song was just a way to wave across the abyss to a memory of something that once made me feel limitless.
Jollett has said that the most important meaning to be found in any song is the one that is produced between the ears of any given listener. If that's true of his more typical songs, which are thoroughly grounded in specific times and spaces and deal with real events that happened to real people, how much more so for this piece that by design defies definitive interpretation?
"The Thing About Dreams" entices the listener to swim about in their own consciousness, to grab bits and pieces of Jollett's stream of thought and connect the invisible dots to their own lives.
With Jollett positing that many of life's limitations may in fact be a mirage, it's ironic that, for me, the points of strongest connection are those lines that jolt me back to reality.
The thing about love: it's never enough. Circumstance changes and life's always calling your bluff. Enough is enough.
And now I've said too much and I'm not giving up. I can't carry the weight of this over-filled cup. I just close my eyes like you're close to the touch and I dream: You're not what you seem.
I have clung to these words like a lifeline this past year: a year of changing circumstances and over-filled cups, in which life has gotten scarier than any nightmare and I might well have gotten "Enough is enough" tattooed on my forehead.
When it all gets to be too much and that heavy cup seems on the verge of slipping from my hands, sometimes the only way out is to close my eyes and slide back into that world where things are not what they seem: where the present and the future can be rewritten however I see fit, and it all seems close enough to touch.
It's a happy place.
Video by Monica Lara
Interview: Mikel Jollett Talks Such Hot Blood
Posted: January 27, 2016 in A Little Less Profound
Tags: Airborne Toxic Event, Bride and Groom, Fifth Day, interview, Mikel, such hot blood, Timeless
Mikel Jollett of The Airborne Toxic Event. Photo by Ryan Macchione.
As we were in the throes of writing our upcoming Toxic History chapter on The Airborne Toxic Event's third album Such Hot Blood (watch for that next week), we were contacted by our friend Steven Fein. In 2013, just prior to the release of the album, Steve had a chance to sit down with Mikel Jollett to discuss the making of the record. Last year we published a portion of that conversation, in which the pair discussed Bruce Springsteen and his influence on Jollett's writing. Now, in a This Is Nowhere exclusive, Steve has graciously given us the opportunity to publish more of the interview.
Steve Fein: First of all, "Timeless" is just a fantastic song. But I read I think in an interview with Billboard where you said something like, "Don't write like you're an indie rock artist or an art rock band, don't write like you're trying to write an Airborne song that's gonna be huge, just write what's in your heart." And when I read that I was like what the hell is he talking about, cause to me the song sounds quintessential you.
Mikel: I feel like it's a little more hopeful than I would normally try to write. I think some of the earlier stuff like "Wishing Well" or something there's a lot of like desperation. I mean I guess that's how I was feeling. But there's a lot of desperation, there's a lot of actual darkness. A lot of references to like claustrophobia and drug use and things like that which is very different than "I hope I don't die, and I hope that in the meantime I can spend my time with a true love," or something.
S: I mean it sounded like part of almost a triple set with "All at Once" and "Graveyard," because they also have that defiance in the face of death and connection with people being what—
M: Yeah, "All I Ever Wanted." That's true it's definitely a motif I guess, isn't it. I hadn't thought about that. Well I had written the lyrics to that song about ten different times and I couldn't find it. The song just, you know, a song presents itself to you. And sometimes it does it on the first try and you're psyched. It's like, "Yeah." But that's rare. Only a couple songs have ever done that. And then sometimes you just chase it. And "Wishing Well" I chased. "Midnight" I actually wrote all at once, in like a day or two. "All I Ever Wanted" I chased. "All at Once" I chased. Most songs I chase.
S: You had that great line about 25 years chasing a song.
M: Oh yeah, in "The Storm?" Yeah. It's definitely been a motif. I think that the difference with this song is that it's not just an acknowledgement of it, there's a desire to just want to do something about it. And I don't know why that's true now, but that wasn't what was in my… when I sat down to write, I was in Cincinnati and I was running across some bridge, cause I like to go running on tour just to get the fuck away from everything. And I was just like singing the song, cause I'll just sing all day long in my head trying to get it down. And I was singing all these different lines, and I was like "She disappeared alone in the dark…" and I was like "Ah!" and I stopped, and I borrowed like a pen from someone and a piece of paper and I wrote down the opening line. And I knew once I wrote that line that the rest of the song would present itself. It was like, you gotta start with one true thing. Phillip Roth talks about this, he'll write when he starts a novel he'll write a hundred pages in like three months until something feels alive. And he's just searching for something that's alive. And then he'll write one paragraph and that one paragraph is alive. And he goes "There's my book." In this one paragraph. And then you take that, and it may not be the first paragraph of the book, but that's when the book presents itself, that's when the story presents itself. And with that line, that's when the whole song, I got it. And then it was just a matter of the craft of creating a song about that idea, which is a whole other thing. Like, songwriting craft is whole other discussion. But just having craft isn't enough, cause you have to have your imagination captured by an idea large enough to write about.
S: In his VH1 Storytellers session, Bruce Springsteen told telling the story about "Does This Bus Stop on 82nd Street?" from his first album, and he said basically the exact same thing about it's one line, and you know you have the song. And in that song it was, "Man the dopes that there's still hope." And the whole song was crafted around that line. So it's interesting that you say that.
M: It would be interesting to kinda think about each song and think what was the one line when you knew. Like, "Bride and Groom" it was actually the opening line: "The city is haunted by the ghosts of failure." That one made sense to me.
S: What I love about that song is the last part….. the writing of that song is just fantastic.
M: Thank you very much. That's probably my favorite song I've ever written.
S: It's amazing and you know when I first heard it, actually the back half of the album, the songs didn't sound quite as loud and boisterous. It's a different type.
M: Right, it's a different type. I did that on purpose. It's almost like there's a hot side and a cool side like they used to have. The second half is like the hand clap and finger snap, orchestral, it's a little quirkier. The song writing structure, the first half except for "Safe," is pretty strict in its structure and the second half is just wide open.
S: Yeah, it's just fantastic. And you know, playing around with the vocals with Anna. And to me, like "Elizabeth" when I first heard it, it's like "Oh that's sweet and clever," but then I listened to it a couple times and I'm like "Oh my god!" like that last verse—
M: It's a killer right?
S: That last verse is, oh my god.
M: And then it's just over! And…
S: And that last line…
M: And that last line, is the gnarliest line on the entire record.
S: But it just sums up everything doesn't it!
M: And then it just ends! It doesn't even resolve, you know, cause it ends on the 5. It just hangs there. And I was like oh my god, that's gotta be the last line.
S: Yeah, that last line just does it. And it seems like in a way it's a response to the previous song "The Fifth Day." You know, here's what you learned that you have to say…maybe that the person couldn't say.
M: I was also trying to break the tension. "The Fifth Day" is such a big, imagined song and I was hoping people would go on that journey with me. I mean we'll see if they do or not, I'm not sure. Because it requires a certain commitment to the journey and what that song's about which is sort of like the re-imagining of kind of sadness. Like the majesty of sadness, this whole second half. And there are the two voices at the start, and they're both almost like two bubbles saying kind of the same thing but from different perspectives, and then the end is the kind of imagined dream-life that they share. And that song makes a lot of sense at like three in the morning. When I wrote that song actually there was a lot of time spent just blaring it at three in the morning. Like the whole neighborhood's asleep and I'm pacing around my house with that song, I'm writing parts. I wrote that song over the course of a week. And that whole latter half just arranging it and just blaring it in the middle of the night. It makes sense, but I wasn't sure if it would make sense in the day like if people hear it if they'd be like "What the fuck is this?"
S: At least for me it took two or three listens but it was so much more rewarding going through that journey. Is the wordless outro because it just sounded good to you or was it because it's sort of a comment on the fact that you were saying earlier in the song "words don't matter" or "you can't find the words" or something along those lines?
M: Oh that's interesting. I hadn't thought of that. But that—"Yes", let's just go with "Yes." I love that. No, but, maybe that's how you know it's honest. I didn't have to mean it. I didn't have to intend it. It just happened that way. The wordless outro was…something about this music spoke to me and it felt like you get these two characters and they're so sad. And this song, it's not bleak, like "Innocence" or something is, it's just sad. They're just sad. And then by the end there's almost this childlike fascination of, you know, the majesty of their own sadness. You know what I mean? And I was really trying to go for that, bring that idea to life. Because it was definitely like a dreamscape.
S: It sounds to me also, though, that the person in the song is starting to gain some self-awareness by the end that he was lacking before, before that loss.
M: Yeah that's interesting. This whole record is that I think.
S: Yeah! And that brings that last line from "Elizabeth" back. You know, you're sort of guessing what love is, whether love is real.
M: Yeah, because you don't know. You don't really know what anything is. And you know the irony of writing all these songs about love and you're not really sure you really know at all. I guess I was trying to break the tension a little bit too. That song's a hair tongue-in-cheek. You know that line about being uptight for a Mexican girl. I love that line. And so I didn't want it to be too serious. "The Fifth Day" it's like this big song and by the end you're just like weeping. I wanted there to be a little bit of light, light-heartedness. Even if that lightheartedness is still kind of gnarly.
S: Well yeah when it switches, these are all love songs and sometimes love makes you feel shitty. I just love that you know it turns like that in that last verse.
M: Thanks.
S: Anyway going back to the mortality kind of thing from "All at Once" and "Graveyard" and "Timeless," I know that part of the origin story of the band and your week from hell where you sort of pumped some gas and were exposed to the toxic cloud. So that obviously was a seminal turning point, but did you think about that kind of stuff much before that at all?
M: Yeah for sure. I wrote a novel about it. I wrote two novels about it.
S: So do you feel when you do that that you're gaining insight or that it's cathartic or just you have to do it so you do it even if it doesn't necessarily help you work things through…
M: Yeah I think writing, actually writing is more like that where it's like you want to know what you think about something so you write about it, cause you have to organize your own thoughts. This is a little bit more like, yeah you're estranged to yourself, and I guess there's a reckoning there. Like are you asking what's the impetus to write? And whether or not that's like catharsis?
S: Well, yeah. That's more the consequence of writing rather than just the impetus. I understand the impetus as in you just feel like you need to get this out and explore it. But does it help other than to get it out, in terms of gaining awareness or feeling like somehow you're cheating death or anything along those lines?
M: Well a little bit of cheating death 'cause you're creating something you hope someone will hear in 100 years and they'll be like "Oh, I thought that. Alright." And it's like you're winking at him, or waving to him from the grave like, "Hey guy, I thought this." And the guy's like "Hey, that guy's dead but he thought this. Cool." It's sort of like, there's a desire to communicate, because you're really, really, really alone. And you don't want to be so alone with your weird thoughts and your fucking weird, strange feelings that you have that you find weird. It's not like I don't find them weird too. I do.
And so then you write a song, and something about the idea of communicating, it's a way of, without having to write a whole book, or without, or maybe even more intensely so, really getting your point across. And the desire to communicate that, is a desire to be less alone with it. And for someone else to hear it and hopefully relate to it and if they do, then it's just—you're just part of this big tragic comedy of life. You're part of it and they're part of it, and then it's like okay, because you relate it, and then you're like "Yeah!" and then something that felt so strange, and so isolating, and so weird suddenly becomes like "eh." And that's one of the great things about life is no matter what your trials are, no matter what you're going through that seems so horrific in your own mind at 2 AM, you talk to someone about it, you communicate it out in the world. The idea of "The Secret," like once the secret's out, once it's done, there's a real freedom because then everyone kind of just goes "fuck it."
And that's one of the great things about mankind. It's like propensity for violence, for hatred of others, hatred of ourselves, whatever. But then there's such incredible desire for grace and for kindness and for acceptance or just to kind of commune. And I guess something about music is that, and that's why I love playing shows, cause that sense of communing with others is kind of what you're at at the moment of writing. And everything else in the middle is kind of horse shit, right? The production and the record and the marketing, all that bullshit. Like there's a moment where you have the impetus to write, and then you write, cause you don't want to be alone. And then there's a moment where somebody hears it, and whatever goes on in their own heads, which is different from what's in your head, and you have to respect that, happens. And there's this yawning, fucking gulf between those two things, right? Of arrangements and production and producers and fucking Twitter and all this press and all the record labels and marketing and bookface and all this shit. And then on the other side of it somebody hearing it and something becomes sort of a light in their own mind, and those two moments are the important ones.
And the goal is to make all this stuff go away as much as possible so that there's just this moment. And the place where that happens most purely and spontaneously is at a show, and that's why I love playing shows. You look out in the crowd and everyone's singing your song that you wrote because you didn't want to be alone and you are literally not alone because they're singing it too, and you know they had a moment with it, it may be different from your moment but that's fine, you know you had a moment and you're all there together. Sometimes I feel like you can see it from space, like we emanated some kind of light that in this room would be the brightest room in the whole world. Cause everybody's emanating this light of sort of wanting to commune with one another and they're caught up in the music, and I'm caught up in it too. And you can't fake something like that. You can't. Honesty just sounds different. I don't know why that's true, but it's true. Honesty just sounds different so you can't fake it. People know if you're full of shit, people are way smarter than you think. Cause people want that moment of communion.
S: Yeah, maybe that's part of why they call it concert, you know. There's this union there.
M: I like that.
Steven Fein is a Williams College Professor of Psychology by day, published Springsteen writer by night.
'Twas Sometime Around Midnight on Christmas 2015
Posted: December 24, 2015 in A Little Less Profound
Tags: Airborne Toxic Event, Christmas, Midnight, Mikel, poem
'Twas Sometime Around Midnight on Christmas, in the Graveyard Near the House,
TATE's Facebook page was quiet – not a single synth-related grouse.
In hopes that some show dates soon would be there.
Clad in a tour shirt, I dozed in my bed,
While The Thing About Dreams played in my head.
I imagined myself wielding Anna's viola,
Plucking the strings out 'neath the pergola.
All At Once in the street there arose such a clatter,
The roar of a Dope Machine the silence did shatter.
In a stupor I stumbled down from the second floor,
Swaying, braying, I burst through the door.
It was a bleary-eyed night, beneath the streetlight,
I needed a moment to take in the sight.
And what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a poet, a singer, weighed down with gear.
The mermaid tattoo was an obvious tell,
I knew in a moment it must be Mikel.
Greedy for more, I was blinded by fame,
And I whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
"Now Daren! Now, Steven! Now, Adrian and Anna!
On, roadies! On, Pete Galli! And you too, Bill Handlin!
To the top of the stage! To the top of the wall!
Not so high please Mikel – I'm afraid you will fall!"
And then, in a twinkling, I came up with a plan,
Nervousness be damned – it was Time to be a Man.
"It is most unexpected to find you out here,
Like the surprise God and Whiskey you dropped on us this year."
"We take care of our fans," he said with a wink,
"You should know that by now, wouldn't you think?
On The Fifth Day of Christmas, your True Love asked me,
To give you a gift you never thought you'd see."
He was dressed all in black, from his head to his foot,
And into his guitar case, his hand he did put.
"What can I give you? Another masterpiece?
What more could you want after a double release?"
"All I Ever Wanted," I slowly began,
"Was just one more gig for a crazed super fan.
Can you please play Poor Isaac? That song is so boss,
And if I may be so bold, how 'bout Something You Lost?"
He was cooler than cool; I was feeling unworthy,
My insides were Numb and I was getting too wordy.
But he put me at ease with a nod of his head,
He's good with his fans; I had nothing to dread.
So I took a deep breath, "A request if I may,
A happy TATE song for the holidays?
A little less death, a little more joy,
Something appropriate for my little boy?"
He said, "Not my style; that music sounds dated,
And holiday cheer is so overrated.
I've tried to be sappy; I've tried to write kitsch,
But sometimes Christmas can make you feel like shit."
He sprang to his bike, flashed his 7th Heaven smile,
And then he assured me, "We'll be back in awhile."
And I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,
"Please don't forget to Shazam TATE tonight!"
TATE Denver: A One Time Thing
Posted: December 6, 2015 in A Little Less Profound
Tags: Mikel, Not So Silent Night, The Airborne Toxic Event
The Airborne Toxic Event at Denver's Not So Silent Night. Photo by Kristina.
Heading into last night's appearance by The Airborne Toxic Event at Denver's Not So Silent Night, it seemed likely the gig would be a welcome but ultimately unremarkable blip in the midst of an extended break for the band. Dinner with some lucky fans before the show (a reward for winners of the band's latest Shazam contest, which by all accounts was lovely), a brief middle-of-the-bill set (7 songs, as it turned out), and then they'd head back underground for awhile.
Instead, the group found itself at the center of a social media shit-storm after what many are calling the worst performance of their career.
I won't go too far into the details – you can find them easily enough if you're interested. It was clear to anyone watching (whether in house or online) that Mikel Jollett was way off his game. There were many factors in play, including a lack of time for a proper soundcheck, terrible technical difficulties, a sick lead singer (which he confirmed at the fan dinner) and, yes, alcohol. It was the perfect storm for a poor performance, and storm it did.
I recently wrote that, through my research for the Toxic History project, I have read hundreds of TATE performance reviews, and I can count the number of bad ones on one hand. Unfortunately, after last night, that is no longer the case. The vitriol reached epic proportions, whether it was from people for whom this was their first experience of the band or, more dishearteningly, from longtime fans who were stunned by what they witnessed.
I know I can easily be dismissed as an Airborne apologist. Though I strive for objectivity, I make no bones about the fact that This Is Nowhere is a fan site. My default position is one of support, and my first instinct is to give them the benefit of the doubt. Five perfect albums and over a thousand thrilling performances have earned them that much, in my opinion.
That being said, it's difficult to mount a credible defense for what occurred on this one particular night. Yes, there were a number of factors beyond the band's control that contributed greatly, but there's no sugarcoating the fact that the response to those circumstances was not good. Mikel and his bandmates would be the first to admit it, I am sure. If this is indeed to be the last we see of them for awhile, it's a sour taste to be left with, and that is very unfortunate all around. The band, and the fans, deserve better.
This is, in the end, one particular night: a "One Time Thing," if you like. It is one bad gig among a thousand great ones. It is one time that fans left disappointed, among a thousand times that expectations have been surpassed. It is one night when Mikel let sickness and circumstances get the best of him, among a thousand nights when he has spilled his guts on the stage regardless of how he was feeling or what was going on in his life.
Music fans are consumers, and those who were there last night are justified if they don't feel like they got their money's worth. And if they thought it was so bad that they choose never to return, as some have sworn, that too is their right.
As for me, I choose to focus on the thousand, and not on the one. I'll be first in line the next time they come to my town, whenever that happens to be. I hope you'll be there with me… and I hope, above all, that Mikel will be well.
Posted: October 2, 2015 in Toxicity
Tags: Mikel, Poor Isaac, such hot blood, The Airborne Toxic Event, The Thing About Dreams, Toxicity
Mikel Jollett of The Airborne Toxic Event exhales after a job well done in Philadelphia. Photo by Ryan Macchione.
As I gear up for my next Airborne Toxic Adventure, which will take me to Nevada and California a mere two weeks from today, I muse on the latest TATE news…
One of America's Greatest Rock Bands
The Boston Herald's over the moon review of The Airborne Toxic Event's show last weekend in Boston has been making the rounds in the TATE fan community all week. The writer, Bill Brotherton, heaps praise upon praise on the band.
The competition for your entertainment dollars this weekend was fierce. The three-day Boston Calling festival began last night with the Avett Brothers and Of Monsters and Men. Down south, Ed Sheeran was at Gillette Stadium and Brad Paisley was at the Xfinity Center. Josh Groban and Frank Turner sold out the Wang and House of Blues. And tonight, Madonna brings her spectacle to the Garden.
Spectacular acts, all.
But those in the know made the pilgrimage to the Orpheum last night to dance, sing and wallow in the exuberant sadness of The Airborne Toxic Event. Never have songs about failed romances, self-doubt and our inevitable death sounded so buoyant and upbeat. Its frontman Mikel Jollett is one of our best songwriters and TATE is one of America's greatest rock bands.
And last night they were spectacular.
The Airborne Toxic Event played Boston Calling two years ago. Their set was a standout. But last night fans ventured to the Orpheum specifically to see them, and they were rewarded with one of the year's best shows on one of Boston's busiest music nights in years.
Over the last year and a half as I've worked on our ongoing Toxic History series, I have read literally hundreds of Airborne show reviews, and you know what? This is far from unusual. Coverage of TATE gigs is almost universally glowing (like this latest, from Stereo Embers, who caught the band in Buffalo). Seriously – I'd bet I could count the negative pieces on one hand.
The superlatives spewed by The Herald have been echoed by so many others for so many years now. It makes you wonder: just how many times does a band have to be labeled criminally underrated, the best band you've never heard of, and a group that should be playing much larger venues before the world wakes up and realizes what it's missing? As special as it is to be one of "those in the know"… Mikel, Anna, Steven, Daren and Adrian – they deserve more than to be music's Best Kept Secret. I hope someday they get it.
Dope Machines… or Such Hot Blood?
"I was really determined on this record to tell the story the way I wanted to tell it," says Mikel Jollett. "And I didn't care if it was weird. I didn't care if the song structures were weird, or if the ideas were straightforward or obvious. I didn't know if anyone would get it."
Pop Quiz: What album is Mikel talking about?
If you said Dope Machines, you can be forgiven, because he said very much the same sorts of things in the run up to its release. But in this case, he's talking about Such Hot Blood.
The quotes come from a podcast that was shared this week by Boston Rock Talk. With the way they tweeted it, I was under the impression that it was a new interview, and I listened to it for a good ten minutes before I clued into the fact that it's actually from two years ago. Still well worth the listen. But I was pretty surprised to hear Mikel talk about SHB in these terms. It's never struck me as a weird album, at all. Am I alone here? To this day, I feel like this wonderful record has not gotten its due. Just another example of TATE being under appreciated, I guess.
The Bird is the Word
And now for something that I think we can all agree is very weird…
I'll start by confessing: I have a powerful aversion to all things Pee-wee Herman. It dates back to when I was a kid, and my Grandma decided to take my brother and I to a movie. I wanted Back to the Future; he wanted Pee-wee's Big Adventure. He won. (I mean really… can you believe it?) And even though the film featured a cameo from one of my favorite bands at the time, the legendary Twisted Sister, I knew enough to know: this is not high quality entertainment.
If you're wondering why I'm rambling about Peewee Herman in an article about The Airborne Toxic Event, well… just watch.
I'm so sorry. (But, well played, Murray Jay Siskind!)
Snapshots from the Road
Despite the extraordinarily busy week for The Airborne Toxic Event as they traipsed their way around the east coast, there haven't been many professional quality photos making their way to the Interwebz (save for The Heavy Press and their Riot Fest Toronto collection). But fans have been stepping up to fill the void, as evidenced by the Crowd Albums for Buffalo, New York, Boston and Philly.
Toxic Gold
One of the highlights of last weekend's shows was the return of "The Thing About Dreams" to the set. *Spoiler Alert: it is one of the top two fan favorites from Dope Machines, according to our recent TATE fan survey. Here's the video from Boston, courtesy of Julie. I put it here in hopes that the band will play it when they hit Reno and Sacramento a couple weeks from now.
Posted: September 25, 2015 in Toxicity
Tags: interview, Midnight, Mikel, pursuit of happiness, Riot Fest, The Airborne Toxic Event, Toxicity
Anna Bulbrook gets high as Mikel Jollett looks on during The Airborne Toxic Event's set at Riot Fest Toronto. Photo by Trish Cassling.
We're smack dab in the middle of the most action-packed week The Airborne Toxic Event has had in months. After playing four sets in three cities in just over 48 hours last weekend and hitting Buffalo Tuesday night, the band finishes off the first portion of the Whiskey Machine Tour with another four set, three city, 48 hour whirlwind: New York City (last night), Anna Bulbrook's hometown Boston tonight, and Philadelphia tomorrow. That final stop will include a private set for the winners of the band's Shazam contest, to be held a couple hours before the main event.
A Close Call
The band's frenzied performance schedule this week is made all the more remarkable by the fact that Mikel Jollett has been doing it hopped up on painkillers after a recent car crash that could've been much worse. He shared the scary details in an interview with CBS Philly:
I hydroplaned on the 10 freeway and spun off and totaled the car. I almost died; like, it was crazy. Went down an embankment, got pinned by a boulder. I just spun off the freeway at a high speed. It was insane. My back's all messed up… nothing major, just some muscle stuff.
As to playing the shows on meds, he says, "It's been interesting. We played a show the other night and I forgot the lyrics to a song, then we play another show in Toronto at Riot Fest and I forgot the lyrics to another song, and I put it in the wrong key, because I'm on all these muscle relaxers and pain killers. The show's been loopy, but fun. I've never been that into drugs, more than you're average wayward rock and roll person in the big city I guess, but man, it's been a whole nother experience."
I'm sure I speak for the entire Airborne fan community when I say, thank God it wasn't worse. Take care of yourself, Mikel, and thanks for keeping the show on the road.
Speaking of God, elsewhere in the interview, Mikel waxes theological as he considers the Pope's visit to Philly coinciding with the band's show on Saturday. He also looks back at the reaction to Dope Machines, concluding that he had fretted unnecessarily.
I think I was hand-ringing over nothing. When you make something, you spend so much time on it, you feel like a lot of nervous energy about how it's going to be received. Early on there were people, like on Facebook that were so mad that we made an electronic record and I wasn't sure if they were expressing some larger will, and it turns out they weren't.
A Not So Silent Night
The Airborne Toxic Event has been a regular at holiday shows over the years, and the first announcement in that regard came down recently. The band will return to Denver with Bastille, Cold War Kids and others on Dec. 5, for Channel 93.3's Not So Silent Night.
From the department of "I May Be Reading Too Much into This" comes this tweet:
"@CmuDaveBrooks: @Airborne_Toxic please record that cover of "Pursuit of Happiness"! That was absolutely Best moment of @RiotFest" hmmm
— Airborne Toxic Event (@Airborne_Toxic) September 14, 2015
It's just four little letters that could ultimately mean nothing, but that "hmmm" has me quite optimistic that we will get some kind of official recording of Airborne's very popular cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" before too long. May it be so!
Road Recaps
Assorted coverage of The Airborne Toxic Event's most recent road escapades:
Anti Music tagged the band as one of the MVP's of Riot Fest Chicago.
Music Felon published a photo gallery from TATE's electrifying gig in Austin.
AXS Entertainment captured the fun at Riot Fest Toronto. So did Riff You. And so did The Reviews Are In.
Buffalo News published a huge collection from Airborne's visit earlier this week; if you were there, you'll probably find yourself in their extensive fan shots.
Mulling Over Midnight
As part of their ongoing "What's THAT Supposed to Mean?" series, Popdose recently covered The Airborne Toxic Event's best loved song, "Sometime Around Midnight." The writer, Beau Dure, muses about why he feels so connected to a song that describes experiences he's never personally had – a sensation that I am very familiar with myself.
The question I've wrestled with is this, and the reason I'm writing about this song in this series: What do I get from this song? Why does it resonate with me?
I've never been in this situation. I was never a serious drinker — never "lost in the haze of the wine" or stumbling down a street oblivious to everyone's stares. I haven't had a breakup I regretted since I started college.
The closest I can come to that feeling would be in college, watching situations in which I didn't even have a chance to be the ex. I haven't checked with Duke, but I may still hold the university record for unrequited crushes. I can't think of a specific situation in which I saw someone I admired from afar walking off with another guy, but if you add up all the times I realized someone was out of my league or just walking in different circles (like frat parties, which I never had the slightest interest in attending), I could probably come up with a pretty good amalgam.
Indie History
Noisy published a compelling retrospective off failed Los Angeles radio station Indie 103.1. With the station's heyday having coincided with the rise of The Airborne Toxic Event, the band gets an extended spotlight in the story. Mikel recalls what the station's support meant to his upstart operation:
We had been a band for about a year and I think Mark Sovel had us in to the studio to do a live performance of a song. It was really cool because we were just a local band playing Spaceland and El Cid and places like that.
I had this little clock radio and it was on Indie 103.1 and I heard our song, "Does This Mean You're Moving On?" and was like, "Woah, this is so cool!" It was like that moment in La Bamba.
It's one thing when you hear something through your speakers or monitor speaks in the studio or something, but hearing something that you're a part of on your tiny, little fuckin' digital talk radio—that's a trip. I think it also followed the song "Push" by the Cure, which is one of my all-time favorite songs. I kind of welled up a bit.
In January of 2008, we played this [Indie-hosted] residency at Spaceland and in the fourth week of the residency—again, we're still a local band, no manager, no record deal, nothing—and Indie 103.1 added us to their rotation, started playing our song all the time, which was a huge deal for us…We never figured that the radio would play us and then they did. It was this really weird moment because it was embarrassing how exciting it was.
KROQ [added The Airborne Toxic Event] that same week and it was crazy. The audience totally changed. It was bigger. I think 1200 people showed up to that show for our residency and Spaceland has a capacity of 300. There's a little documentary online about that night. That was kind of weird. The week before, there was 200.
The other thing that changed was the audience. Before that, it was our friends and people in the scene and music fans from the Eastside or wherever. Then suddenly people drove from the Valley or people drove from the South Bay or the Westside to come see a show at Spaceland. It was just a much bigger crowd and it was a different kind of crowd.
Radio is very competitive and there are all kinds of charts that show you the research of how this song is performing…There is detailed research and it's all tied to ad revenue, right? But, Indie 103.1 didn't seem to care. They just liked playing what they liked and they had some cool people working there—Sovel being one of them—that just had good taste and liked good music and just sort of believed that if they did that then the rest of it would fall into place.
Yep… I'm a little obsessed with "Pursuit of Happiness" at the moment. Here's the performance from Riot Fest Toronto, courtesy of danielscissorhands.
musings about music | dc to nyc
Obsessing over writing, baking, and Mikel Jollett
there is beauty in broken things


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BBC America Royal Wedding Live Coverage Rates #1 Among Cable's Non-News Networks
TV By The Numbers May 2, 2011
BBC AMERICA CELEBRATES ROYAL WEDDING RATINGS
Live coverage rates #1 among cable's non-news networks
New York – BBC AMERICA scored a hit with its live coverage of the Royal Wedding on Friday, April 29. More than 7.2 million viewers tuned in throughout the day* as BBC AMERICA celebrated the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.
During the Westminster Abbey ceremony (6:00-7:15am ET) BBC AMERICA pulled over 1 million viewers and was #1 in cable among non-news networks covering the wedding. It beat out other live feeds from MSNBC, TLC and E!, coming #3 overall, behind news channels CNN and Fox News Network.
Additionally, the BBC's Royal Wedding has been the #1 TV Season on the iTunes Store for the past two days.
*Nielsen – Friday, April 29, 3:00am to Saturday, April 30, 5:00am ET. All data based on Live + Same Day total audience delivery.
Category: Network TV Press ReleasesTagged: Royal Wedding Ratings
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Best of the Blotter 2017:
in EYE ON DP, News Bites
EDITOR'S NOTE: On June 12, 2017, the Orange County Sheriff's Department stopped including detailed summaries for each of its sheriff's blotter entries. Residents can still access the sheriff's blotter at OCSD's website, but can only view the type of calls the department is responding to, as well as the date, time and location of each call.
In lieu of the detailed blotter entries, OCSD officials announced in June that a transition to an interactive crime map was in the works. OCSD said the new software, called Crime Mapping, would provide residents with the same information the current blotter does—type of call date, time and approximate location—but would not include details like before. That software has yet to be implemented.
Members of the public who are seeking detailed information about specific blotter entries are now required to submit email requests to OCSD's records department at prarequests@ocsd.org. –Allison Jarrell
INDECENT EXPOSURE Sherwood Way, 24800 Block (1:01 a.m.) Two men were reportedly walking back and forth across the street naked and laughing.
RECKLESS DRIVING Shoreline Drive/Coast Highway (11:04 a.m.) A dump truck driver was reportedly making illegal U-turns all day.
DISTURBANCE Dana Drive/Island Way (4:20 p.m.) A woman told police a man walked by and kicked her dog.
DISTURBANCE Sand Piper Lane, 100 Block (9:31 p.m.) Police were called for juvenile skateboarders who reportedly were being loud and yelling at vehicles passing by. The caller said then one of the girl's moms asked them to quiet down, the girl yelled back and cursed at her.
TRAFFIC HAZARD El Encanto Avenue, 34000 Block (9:10 a.m.) Police were called for a skateboard ramp in front of the location. The caller was concerned the street will not be cleaned because of the ramp.
PETTY THEFT Pacific Coast Highway, 34300 Block (4:08 a.m.) A man told police someone stole his Pringles.
CITIZEN ASSIST Victoria Boulevard/Sepulveda Avenue (8:32 p.m.) A man told police his ex took his car without permission and crashed it into his other vehicle.
DISTURBANCE Camino Capistrano, 35100 Block (11:53 p.m.) A man told police someone threw an egg at him from a passing vehicle and that he was injured from the "egg shrapnel."
SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Granada Drive, 34000 Block (8:35 p.m.) A man told police he had just woken up and felt delusional. He said he thought his landlord drugged him and stole his money.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON IN VEHICLE Dana Drive, 24700 Block (4 p.m.) Police were called for a couple having sex in the passenger seat of a vehicle.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON/CIRCUMSTANCE Camino Capistrano, 34200 Block (8:38 a.m.) A woman told police a man was standing in the area and starring at a tree. She said it made her feel too uncomfortable to get out of the vehicle and go to work.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON IN VEHICLE Ocean Hill Drive/Sea Bright Drive (9:53 p.m.) Police were called for a vehicle full of people that the caller believed to be "up to no good." The caller couldn't provide a description of vehicles other than it was a sedan.
Tags: best ofBlotterCrimeFeaturedNew Year
Youth Program Shares Ocean Experiences from Dana Point Harbor
Public-Comment Period Opens for Victoria Blvd. Apartments
Crosstown Community Stalwart Dedicated to Service Dies at 85
Letters to the Editor: Are Dana Point Vehicle Costs Excessive?


Dr. Essie K. Yates is a plastic surgeon who focuses mostly on adult cosmetic and reconstructive procedures of the face, breast and body. Dr. Yates trained in the U.K. and United States. While undergoing her surgical training, she learned techniques for perforator microsurgical breast reconstruction, also specializing in other functional and aesthetic breast procedures such as breast mastopexy (breast lift), breast augmentation, breast reduction and complex revision procedures.
Dr. Yates participates in mentorship and education of students and residents from the Cleveland Clinic Florida Department of Plastic Surgery, Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine (Craniofacial Medicine) and Barry University. She was selected as the only 2016 Resident Ambassador for the Aesthetic Surgery Journal Winter Retreat (U.S.), and was recently selected as a committee member for the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS).


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Solskjaer's tactical fouls claim baffles Guardiola
83dJonathan Smith
Manchester bosses Solskjaer, Guardiola at odds over use of tactical fouls
Jonathan SmithManchester City correspondent
MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Pep Guardiola were at the centre of a disagreement over tactical fouls on the eve of Wednesday's crucial Manchester derby.
The Manchester United manager held a news conference early on Tuesday and claimed that City deliberately foul high up the pitch to stop opponents from counter-attacking.
But Guardiola rubbished the claims at his own news conference in the afternoon, insisting he has never set up a team he has managed to foul tactically.
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"We have got to be ready for the press, for their pressing, they have got quality on the ball, so we have got to defend well," Solskjaer told a news conference.
"When we win it we have got to be ready for their aggression, because they will snap at your ankles and heels and kick you, they are not going to allow us easy counter-attacking because there will be fouls.
"I have absolutely no doubt about it because when you watch those games they commit so many players forward and they will be stopping us as high as they can I think."
Asked about making tackles high up the pitch, Solskjaer added: "You don't get the yellow cards, do you? But that's just because they commit so many players forward and you can clearly see that they've got them in that mould of trying to win the ball back, and they do make fouls.
"It's up to us to play through that press, be ready enough, play one and two-touch, don't give them time. If you spend two or three touches... it's not my decision."
Solskjaer's comments left some at City some baffled with one source sharing statistics with ESPN FC that don't reflect well on United.
City have committed 288 fouls to United's 381 this season, with 170 in the opposition half compared to 195 for their neighbours. Guardiola's side are also top of the Fair Play table with United in 19th.
Asked if the comments could influence the performance of the referee, the Catalan coach said: "That is the reason why, of course. I don't think [it could be successful] because we don't do that."
Guardiola said he wants his team to win the ball quickly, but insisted that he had never instructed his players to deliberately foul.
"I know exactly what I said to my players from day one to the last day," he said. "So when a player wants to attack, we have to be honest and of course there is contact, there are fouls, but when it happens and you arrive late and that is why there are referees, to make yellow cards or red cards or whatever they decide
"We want to do our game, sometimes it's not possible. Sometimes it's difficult to understand that, but the other teams play too. But I never said I'm going to do that to punish them or cancel them making having fouls. Never."


Advances in classroom technology, campus improvements and student achievement highlight Alma College news in 2018.
ALMA — New Google classroom technology, Millennium Fellowship global recognition, Fulbright Scholarship awards and residential hall improvements were among the top Alma College stories in 2018.
Students and faculty from Alma were among the first in the nation to pilot new course-sharing technology, including the digital Jamboard, in a collaboration with Google. Joining Alma in the pilot were Calvin and Albion colleges.
The technology allows students and instructors to collaborate and share ideas, even though two-thirds of the class are miles away in classrooms on other campuses. The collaboration was featured prominently in the national online publication Inside Higher Ed.
A cohort of Alma College students won international recognition as Millennium Fellows for the Big Box Farm initiative — an aquaponics urban farm project that addresses food security, rural poverty and community health. The students are assembling an aquaponics unit in the college greenhouse.
Several other students were recognized for outstanding achievement in 2018. Hannah Jeffery, Alma's Barlow Trophy winner, researched river contamination and led campus efforts against food waste during her four years at Alma College. Deve Wishart and Brooke Tubbs were awarded Fulbright Scholarships to teach and study abroad.
The Model United Nations team continued its annual success, capturing the highest awards at the national conference for the 22nd consecutive year.
Eight members of the Alma College chapter of the Business Professionals of America earned medals ranking them in the top 10 in the nation in various competition categories at the BPA National Conference.
Posey-Global Fellowship students led efforts to raise more than $130,000 for the construction of the Makankisa Child Care Centre, a residential housing unit in Sierra Leone for children orphaned by the Ebola outbreak.
Hard hats, construction fences and building trailers were prominent on the west side of campus last summer as the college launched a three-year $21 million campus modernization plan that will result in the remodeling of five residence halls by 2020.
The efforts began with major improvements to Mitchell and Newberry halls, which were completed in mid-August. The hall renovations included all new infrastructure— plumbing, electric and HVAC systems — along with upgraded student rooms, private bathrooms, refreshed finishes, additional student lounges and study spaces, and improved laundry facilities.
Efforts to establish student apartments downtown moved closer to fruition. The City of Alma and Alma College pledged to raise $5 million toward the redevelopment of the historic Alma Opera House in downtown Alma.
Also in 2018, the first phase of the Dow Science Center renovation was completed as Dow's open-air courtyard was converted to collaborative STEM education space for students, faculty and staff. Located within the Rollin M. Gerstacker Science and Technology Suite is the Dow Digital Science Center (DDSC), a place for the collection and storage of data acquired through remote sensing instrumentation.
Eleven community-minded Gratiot County students were the first recipients of the full-tuition Alma College Community Engagement (ACE) Scholarship, which rewards students for their active volunteer service and involvement in their schools and local communities.
"This year's recipients are leaders in their schools and communities and will become leaders on Alma's campus as they serve as an illustration of our commitment to strengthening our campus and community connections," said Amanda Slenski, vice president for admissions.
Leaders from Alma College and Mid Michigan College signed an innovative transitional admissions agreement that provides educational and campus life experiences for students who have applied to Alma but must first attend Mid to meet admissions requirements.
Alma College also joined the Detroit Promise program, offering full-tuition scholarships to qualified Detroit students who meet academic standards.
For the third year in a row, donors provided Alma College with more than $15 million in gifts and pledges during 2017-18. Advancement initiatives also captured multiple awards in the annual competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE District V).
Several new leaders arrived in 2018. Kathleen Dougherty assumed the role of provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. Amanda Slenski was selected to lead the college's student recruitment efforts. The Rev. Dr. Andrew Pomerville was named chaplain and director of spiritual life.
New academic tracks for game design and sports communication/sports media along with an enhanced pre-ministry professional program were announced in November. The tracks offer guided coursework and meaningful out-of-classroom experiences for students with career aspirations in these fields of growing interest.
Assistant Professor Danny Wasserman was among 20 faculty from across the nation selected by the Council of Independent Colleges and Harvard University's Center for Hellenic Studies to participate in a seminar on teaching ancient Greece in the modern classroom.
During Spring Term, one group of Alma College students analyzed the medicinal properties of honey from samples collected throughout Michigan.
Robert Vivian's second book of dervish essays was published in 2018. Immortal Soft-Spoken explores such themes as fly fishing, nature and the beauty of the world.
Faculty members Liping Bu, Karen Ball and Kate Blanchard were appointed to endowed professorships in recognition of their consistent record of teaching, research, service and commitment to the liberal arts. Henry Balfanz, Brian Doyle, Murray Gross and Ed Lorenz were recognized for superior teaching in the areas of business administration, biochemistry, music education and public policy.
Three rare volumes of the collective writings of Martin Luther — the oldest books in the Alma College Library — brought attention to the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The gems in the library's special collections bring history to life for Alma's students and scholars.
First-year seminar students explored the college archives to learn how mid-Michigan residents experienced the deadly 1918 flu epidemic. The seminar course included the live-tweeting of headlines from historic newspapers about the spread of the flu as it came to Detroit and eventually Alma.
In January, human rights activist Nontombi Naomi Tutu, the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, delivered the keynote address for Martin Luther King Jr. Week, headlining a week of campus activities that focused on social activism.
In March, social justice activist Kat Blaque, a writer who addresses race, gender, feminism and equity in her social media feeds, delivered the keynote address for Women's Month.
In April, Alma College Provost Michael Selmon delivered the 2018 commencement address. A member of the faculty since 1991 and provost since 2003, Selmon retired as provost at the end of the 2017-18 academic year to return to full-time teaching as a member of the English faculty.
In September, constitutional attorney Yurij Rudensky of the Brennon Center for Justice addressed gerrymandering as part of the annual Constitution Day observance.
In October, Dr. Leonard Calabrese, the Cleveland Clinic physician known for his pioneering work in rheumatology and immunodeficiency, discussed "The Art and Science of Empathy in Healthcare" during a Health Careers Day keynote presentation.
In November, Lt. Colonel Olga Custodio discussed her career as the first female Hispanic U.S. military fighter pilot and her efforts to motivate women and girls to pursue STEM and male-dominated professions.
The cheer and STUNT teams excelled at the national level in 2018. The cheer team won its second consecutive National Cheerleaders Association championship in Daytona Beach, while the STUNT team finished runner-up in its division at the nationals. Six Scots were named STUNT All-Americans.
On the mats, sophomore Brendan Ladd placed sixth at the NCAA Division III wrestling championships, earning him All-American status.
Several new coaches joined the Scots' Division III athletics program. Jason Couch took over the football program. Ryan Clark was promoted to head coach of women's basketball. Michael Mignano was selected to lead the men's and women's golf. Jason Crain was appointed head baseball coach.
Athletic Director Steven Rackley announced in December that Alma College was adding an esports program to its intercollegiate athletic offerings. Christopher Gaumond was hired to coach the team, with competition set to begin in Fall 2019.