From Tom Block, Master of the Flying Guillotine:

Deadwood is just plain exhilarating. Here's my paltry attempt to write Milch-speak in a post about the first episode of this season:

On this brilliant fucking show in which sudden violence and carefully crafted intrigue (interwoven with language that would give Shakespeare a cockstand) flow like mother's milk to a suckling babe, last night's episode gave us the viewers the most insane, ballsy, provocative, breathtaking act ever seen in Deadwood (which is, as I say, truly a microcosm of humanity) in the form of one man drinking another man's whiskey. My jaw hit the floor and I said "HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!" out loud before I caught myself. Any show that can demonstrate the inner workings of power struggles with such clarity and vision deserves a goddamn Nobel Prize, not the crude assfucking its corporate overlords dealt it this month.

I've been meaning to post this for a couple of days. To hell with poverty! Let's get drunk on cheap wine!




Giving credit where it's due: this link was sent to me by Andy Axel, who is not just a vigilant YouTube monitor, but an all-around mensch.

The House Next Door (Matt Zoller Seitz's blog) is doing Deadwood all this week. Check it out, (gratuitous profanity deleted).

A meme I took from the brilliant Leonard Pierce regarding my iTunes:

HOW MANY SONGS?: 26,446

FIRST GROUP, ALPHABETICALLY: "Uncle Bunt" Stephens
LAST GROUP, ALPHABETICALLY: ZZ Top
FIRST SONG, ALPHABETICALLY: "'64 Ford Fairlane", Calexico
LAST SONG, ALPHABETICALLY: "ZZQ", Blue Mountain
FIRST ALBUM, ALPHABETICALLY: 'Fess: The Professor Longhair Anthology
LAST ALBUM, ALPHABETICALLY: Neil Young - Zuma

SHORTEST SONG: "All" - the Descendents (00:03)
LONGEST SONG: "Gondwana" - Miles Davis (46:49) [There are a few longer spoken word things, including a few This American Life episodes and a couple of books]

FIRST DOZEN SONGS THAT COME UP ON SHUFFLE:
1. "Nothing New" - KaitO, band red
2. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" - Elvis Presley, The Complete Sun Sessions
3. "Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) [Vocal Only Track]" - Beach Boys, The Pet Sounds Sessions
4. "Loving Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again)" - Richard Buckner, Nothing Left To Lose: A Tribute To Kris Kristofferson
5. "The Happening" - the Pixies, Bossanova
6. "Dread Dub" - Lloyds All Stars, Trojan Dub Box Set
7. "Ton of Joy" - Otis Redding, The Otis Redding Story
8. "Visiting The Ruins" - Macha, Macha
9. "Streets of Baltimore" - Gram Parsons, The Lost Recordings
10. "Toxika" - Plastic People of the Universe, mix by Gary Mairs
11. "Into The Night" - Golden Famile, Eastern, Cloudy
12. "I Got Kinda Lost" - Chris Bell, I Am The Cosmos

(Shield your eyes, O weak of heart:)

NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "FUCK": 21
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "SHIT": 12
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "PISS": 9
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "CUNT": 0
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "COCKSUCKER": 0 (but 1 with "cocksucking" and 4 with "cock")
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "MOTHERFUCKER": 3
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "TITS": 0

(Bonus Round)
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "FART": 3
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "TURD": 1
NUMBER OF SONGS CONTAINING THE WORD "TWAT": 1

We are requesting pitches for articles to appear in The High Hat #7 (www.thehighhat.com). We hope to have articles on all the usual subjects (music, comix, literature, politics...) but this issue will feature a special section celebrating the career of director Robert Altman. We welcome pitches on all aspects of his career, from individual movies to career retrospectives. Pieces questioning his reputation as one of the great American filmmakers are also very much welcome.

As always, we will consider all manuscripts, but we would like to encourage greater concision with this issue. Extremely lengthy pieces will be accepted only if they are of astonishing quality.

We'd like to thank Dana Knowles and Tom Block, who originated the idea of a section devoted to Altman, and we'd also like to welcome Paul Hernandez to the editorial board this issue.

Please send pitches to highhatsubmissions at gmail dot com by June 14.