Smack My Bass Up- Larry Graham, his Bass Badassery, and You

I got a new setup for taking records and putting them onto my computer. I won't bore you with technical details, but it will sound even better now.
One of the first albums I ripped using this newfangled high-tech methodology was Larry Graham's band 'Graham Central Station'.

The album I got is called "Now Do U Wanta Dance?" and it's first track is called "happ-e-2-c-u-a-ginn", NJK, which should have clued me in: he used to be in Sly and the Family Stone. Remember, they have that song "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)".



Evidently, this guy Larry Graham invented the slap bass, which is a pretty big deal. If you ain't hearda it, you are decidedly UNFONKY. You can hear some fonk here, where he and his band cover Al Green's "Love and Happiness". The bass, which Larry plays*, is big and right up front. You've already heard it, right?, funkily plunking away.

* Larry plays a bunch of instruments, and other than this (and another) cover, he wrote, produced, and arranged all the songs. He is evidently very proud of this (he should be), because on the back of this album, there is a 'TYPOGRAPHICAL NOTE' that clarifies: "There was a misprint on the last album: all songs WERE NOT WRITTEN by Steve Henderson. ALL songs were WRITTEN BY LARRY GRAHAM".
I'm approximating the note: I didn't bring the record to the cafe with me (regret).


Here are some more things that happened in Portland.


(This didn't happen- read below for details- it's an engraving by Albrecht Dürer- he's famous-like.)

At Stumptown, I drank coffee from $300 beans. I'm approximating again: they were $15 an ounce (you do the math, SQUARE!)! I don't know why they cost so much. I paid regular coffee price for a mug. It tasted good, but then, so do their $12/lb coffees. For $300+/lb, that coffee had better won some tasting awards. No: It better have won the damn Olympics.

I got these reading materials in Portland. (I now feel like I am filling out '15 books 15 minutes' on Facebook again.)

Par Lagerkvist- the sibyl
Never heard of, Nobel Prize winner

Graham Greene- quiet american
Kurt Vonnegut Jr- cat's cradle
Gregory Dicum- Window Seat
Pictures of the landscape, as you see it flying over in a plane. Shows you how to identify things, like former glacier movements, military installations, barrier reefs, etc. The writer and designer of the book had connections at Wired magazine, so the book has all these interesting cool looking diagrams.

BUSTED magazine
Wherein random mugshots of people arrested in your county are posted. You can read it at my house, next time you are there. (Lot of meth-related arrests and DUIs: Go Oregon!)

Candy Bombers - Andrei Cherny
About the Berlin airlift. Haven't heard? When the Russians blockaded Berlin, almost setting off Russia/USA violence in the middle of the Cold War, America airlifted necessary supplies into Berlin. Including (not limited to) candy/raisins for children, and a power plant. Really, all the tools and materials for a WHOLE POWER PLANT. If you ever get bored in life, remember that shit like this goes down all the time. Don't be lazy; read something; bye-bye boredom. Then you'll know that the kids affectionately called the pilots 'RaisinBombers', and extended this later to all Americans.

Technologies of the Self
Papers by Foucault and others who took this course from him.

Wax Poetics
Philly Issue! Philly International records, and such!

I'll share fun details out of this, as I read it! That's Teddy Pendergrass above, looking luxe.

Akira: two random collections of Akira comics.
A small small fraction of the over 1800 pages it eventually came out to.

Albrecht Dürer. Lots of pictures. He is famous for his engravings (but you knew that). A funny medium to be immortal in - good for you, Albrecht: good for you.
Click on them for larger versions, if you're into that sort of thing.