Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Cachin In


I was bummed to see American Brandon Holt lose today at the U.S. Open. (What a missed opportunity -- the next opponent is lucky loser Corentin Moutet.) But if Tracy's boy had to get knocked out, at least Argentine Pedro Cachin and his blue undies made it worth our while! 





Leave it to the New York Post to sum it up perfectly:

Born to (Take the Money and) Run


See? Twitter's not all bad!!! Follow me HERE.


From HERE.


From HERE.

Wrestling Wednesday


Anyone wanna rassel?

Song of the Day: 'Europa' by Blondie


Day 3 of instrumentals I actually don't skip: One of the funnest things included in the new Blondie box set is a radio spot for the 1980 album "Autoamerican" that must have left the general public -- and DJs -- scratching their heads. (It begins with "Here's Looking at You" and only gets weirder from there!) Today's pick is the quasi title track from said album, which set the tone for the band's most experimental work to date. 

Page 1 Roundup (08/31)





















Hot Cat of the Day: Everyone loves the new Blondie box set, which really has little to offer in the way of (new) music but plenty in packaging. 

Morning Wood

 

A mug this handsome, yet it's almost like he only wants us to look at HIS ASS.

Tuesday, August 30, 2022

Picture This: Debbie Harry and Gilda Radner

 

How am I just now seeing for the first time this photo of two of my favorite entertainers of all time? If anyone can tell me anything about it -- purportedly taken by Chris Stein in 1979 -- please speak up! Debbie Harry hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1981 during that off-brand season when Lorne Michaels wasn't at the helm and Gilda was gone. So my best guess is Debbie visited Gilda at the Winter Garden Theatre when she was doing her one-woman Broadway show, "Live From New York," the soundtrack to which I played nonstop after getting it for Christmas later that year!







We lost Gilda to cancer more than 30 years ago, while Debbie is still mesmerizing us at 77. Life is so strange. 

UPDATE: I reached out to Chris Stein to see what he remembered about the photo and here’s what he said:


Tennis Tuesday

 

And just like that ... Fabien Reboul is my new favorite player. More BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Going to Neon' by Romeo Void


Day 2 of my series of instrumentals I don't skip: Today's pick appeared on Romeo Void's third and final album, "Instincts." Saxophonist Benjamin Bossi had always been an integral part of the band -- his solo on "Never Say Never" is one of the most iconic music moments of the new wave. But on "Going to Neon" it was as producer David Kahne wrote the song just so Bossi could pretend he'd been commissioned to score a film noir throwback I most definitely would want to see. 

Page 1 Roundup (08/30)

 



















Hot Cat of the Day: I'm told this cutie is the official spokescat of Amsterdam.

Morning Wood

 

Shirt comes off BELOW.

Monday, August 29, 2022

Weekend Tennis Roundup


Adrian Mannarino picked on an orphan. Daria Kasatkina continued her winning ways since coming out. And Liudmila Samsonova and Aliaksandra Sasnovich proved they are not the same person. This plus all the action in the runup to the U.S. Open BELOW.


Ready for takeoff? 

Manspread Monday


Any relation

Song of the Day: 'The Loop' by KajaGooGoo


As a kid, nothing disappointed me more than realizing one of my groups had slipped an instrumental into the mix. Albums usually only had nine songs, so to "lose" one right off the bat was painful -- especially slinging popcorn for $3.35 an hour. Sometimes it was a hard-to-find B-side that turned out to be an instrumental, which made finally running it down that much more disappointing. (I'm looking at you, Romeo Void. You think it was easy for me to get my hands on a seven-inch single of "White Sweater"???!!!) Then there was Saint Etienne, a band that never shied away from putting out a lot of great material -- but overdid it with Sarah-less songs. And then there were singers who didn't play instruments who had instrumentals, which begged the question: How is this even your song!? Still, every so often I'd have to admit one of my artists did produce a winner. This week I'll reveal five that I never skip, starting with this unexpected jazzy treat from KajaGooGoo, which appeared on their first post-Limahl LP, "Islands." If only Swing Out Sister had continued to make music like this, with or without lyrics!

Page 1 Roundup (08/29)














Mug Shot MondayThe kink-shaming never ends














Morning Wood


More of this big boy BELOW.

Sunday, August 28, 2022

Sunday Comics


You can definitely walk and chew gum at the same time. But there's no question a preoccupation with things like the former by certain voters in 2016 led to the latter. In the words of the late-great Whitney Houston, didn't we almost have it all? And I won't live long enough to ever get over it.

See also:


This eating-disorder clinic specializes in every gender ... except cis males!

Speedo Sunday


Hope you're having a great weekend! 

Saturday, August 27, 2022

Saturday 'Stache

 

Handsome devil. He plays a little peek-a-boo BELOW.

Friday, August 26, 2022

It's the Chance I Had to Take


Chris Stein tweets: The Blondie "Against the Odds" material is out on all platforms today! Some great odd stuff. Here's my home tape rig, borrowed Teac 4 track, in my 1st Ave apartment c 1972.

Putting aside the fact that this is about 20 years too late, I was sorta bummed to see that the music is in fact streaming -- what's a streaming "box set"? shouldn't there be some reward for people who shell out the cash? -- mainly because I ordered the three-disc bonus tracks set (NO WAY am I paying for the first six albums for the 1,000th time!) and it still hasn't arrived, yet I can already listen to it online. Still, Blondie's my band so I'll get over it. (They cover Ike and Tina Turner's "Sexy Ida"! “Flight 45” with piano! It sounds like Jimmy's singing the "Angels on the Balcony" demo! The home demo of "The Hardest Part" is exhilarating! That alt take of "I'm on E"!) 


It started here on Aug. 6, 2016, at Chris Stein's place up in Woodstock. 

Via NYT: As Chris Stein searched for rare recordings to include in “Against the Odds: 1974-1982,” a handsome chronicle of the new wave band Blondie’s emergence from underdogs to pop stars, he rummaged diligently inside a packed barn on his property near Woodstock and -- “I don’t have a barn,” Stein exclaimed in a recent interview, in a tone that was exasperated but also comedic. “The boxed set says I have a barn?” He sighed. “It’s a garage.”


UPDATE:


It's here!