I have so little, let me enthuse over this much

What could be better than seeing Mission of Burma at the Black Cat in DC? ("Sex without shame or consequence?") No, catching a show where they covered Pink Floyd's "Astronomy Domine" in tribute to Syd Barrett, as I did Saturday night. It was a hell of a show; Roger Miller even played without his headset that I thought he always had to wear while playing live, due to tinnitis. Tom Scharpling is right (as usual): lifers are where it's at in rock music. Pathetically, however, this show marked the second time this summer I've walked directly past a musician I admire without saying anything for fear of being a pest: in this case, Clint Conley; the previous time it was Thurston Moore. It makes me wonder if I'll ever have the gumption to put wrestling enthusiast Bob Mould in that full-nelson headlock like I've always dreamed. ("Sounds like you have some pretty homoerotic dreams") Shut up, parenthesis. That was a facetious comment anyway. I wasn't serious. ("Yeah? Methinks the lady doth protest too much"). Hey, bite me, asshole. Well, don't literally bite me or touch me in any way. I don't... uh... ("Yyyeesss?") SHUT UP!

Aaaaanyway, since I mentioned Syd earlier, probably billions of blogs posted this clip or a link to it last week after his death, but here it is again: The Floyd performing the aforementioned "A.D." on the BBC's "Look of the Week" in '67. Besides the performance, the clip is notable for the severely nonplussed introduction and interview of Syd and Roger by musicologist Hans Keller, in which he asserts he's "too much of a musician" to appreciate the band, calling them "boring" (ah, if only he could've heard "The Division Bell") and complaining mainly about the volume. You may scoff at Keller's take on the band - who were very far out by most people's criteria at that time - but you have to admit that kind of candor is sorely lacking in today's hype-driven, televised music coverage (no, Simon Cowell doesn't count). At least Keller diplomatically acknowledges he just might not be getting it, another increasing rarity in tv discourse. Also, it's good to see Syd come off so well-spoken in the interview.

On an unrelated note, you may recall (and fans of my blog tend to have encycolpediac memories of each post) that a few weeks ago I ranked "Deadwood" as the second-best HBO show overall, behind "The Wire." Well, this new season of "Deadwood" has already been so amazing that I'm (gasp) changing my tune: it is, in fact, the best, bar none. This year, the show's firing on all cylinders; the central plotline is riveting, and if we ever see a show with such an original, inventive language again on television (other than David Milch's next series I suppose) I'd be extrememly surprised. Each week I wonder more and more how HBO could see these episodes in advance and yet cancel the show anyway, budget concerns be fucked. A four-hour wrap up just won't do... although from recent comments from W. Earl Brown (aka Dan Dority, newly crowned Superheavyweight Champion of the Thoroughfare) apparently hope is not entirely lost for a fourth season, but it's unlikely. Also, I'm not aware if Gerald McRaney has done anything at all careerwise until now since fucking "Major Dad," but he's an incredibly convincing, scarily unpredictable evil bastard as George Hearst. Even better, since his character in real life was the father of William Randolph Hearst, that makes this show kinda an unofficial prequel of sorts to "Citizen Kane." Something tells me wherever the Hearst descendents are today, they're none too pleased that saloon owner Al Swearengen - in real life evidently a brutal, woman-beating scumbag - is the show's sympathetic character in comparison to old George. Where are the Pinkertons when you need them, anyway? ("Maybe they'll show up and put you in a headlock") That's it parenthesis, consider yourself murdered.