Home

Firstly, no podcast this week, either. I had time. I was just too darn lazy. (Lazy = decorating  my apartment, cooking, drawing, writing, and catching up on e-mail.) But you will definitely have your weekly dose of 6cast back next week as several special guests have contributed their voices to this next one, and it’s oh-so-delightfully creepy. Tune in next Sunday for that.

Speaking of regularly-scheduled items I’m destined to delay, I’ve decided I need to get back into drawing. Like, more than I do. My daily schedule sometimes doesn’t afford me the time I’d like for working on more important projects, but there’s ALWAYS time for drawing in the margins. So, somewhat regularly (how regularly is to be determined), I’ll be posting a new doodle. It might not be a good one, but I reserve my right to an E-for-effort.

Accept this as a token of my gratitude for your visit:

Once again, no podcast today. I have some work to do over at skary.net which might make up for it, though. And next week’s podcast is going to be kind of a surprise. You’ll see! Or hear, that is.

6cast is taking a break until next weekend (the 20th). So, go shopping or something. Hey, aren’t you supposed to do something for your mom this Sunday?

I guess I write a lot about music on crookedsixpence, but hey, it’s important. Music is possibly the most popular storytelling medium and certainly the longest lasting. People have been telling stories through music since before the written word.

Since I’m on the subject of history now, it’s probably a good time to pay tribute to some of the musicians responsible for modern rock. Without blues artists such as these, our music would have completely different sound. Considering what’s on the radio these days, that’s not saying much, but think about your favorites. I don’t even want to think about my music library without Cave, Waits, PJ Harvey, Led Zeppelin, and so on, but that sound just wouldn’t be without these guys:

Son House

A former Baptist preacher and one of seventeen kids in Clarksdale, Mississippi, he probably had a lot to sing the blues about. Even more so after doing time in prison for killing a man in self defense back in ‘28. You’ve probably heard House’s music before. He’s been covered and sampled countless times since his heyday in the ’30s and blues revival of the ’60s.

Robert Johnson

One of the biggest names in delta blues. So influential was he that bands like Led Zeppelin owe credit to him for their entire schtick. He lived a short life, though - poisoned with strychnine at the age of 27, legend has it, for spending too much time with someone else’s woman.

“Love in Vain” (Internet Archive audio)

Mississippi John Hurt

He started out playing ragtime but eventually became one of the greatest blues performers of all time. A humble man to his death (he worked as a farmhand for most of his life), Hurt never ceased to be amazed by the crowds numbering in the thousands who’d turn out to see him play. The strange thing was, he made his original studio recordings in the late 20s. By the time he finally got the audience he deserved, those recordings were already around 40 years old.

Blind Willie Johnson

…is just awesome. Even some of the old blues greats owe him thanks. Blind Willie wrote such classics as “John the Revelator,” “In My Time of Dying (Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed),” and “Dark Was the Night — Cold Was the Ground.” Despite his impact on the music world, he was dirt poor his entire life and died of pneumonia in his once fire-ravaged home.

MySpace page

To our younger ears, these guys may take some getting used to. Even if it ain’t your cup of tea, listening to it all just once is enough to give you new perspective on what you listen to every day.

P.S. - I just bought the new NIN disc. Somebody tell me to stop playing WITH the disc and actually play it or something.

Today I thought I’d give up some blog space to a couple of my favorite storytellers. They are masters of the dark, the weird, and sometimes the hilarious. You know… in that way where you probably wouldn’t be laughing if you were a better person. These are people I highly respect - the kind of folks I’d have over and whip up a skillet of red beans and rice for. (See, that’s how you know you’re special.)

You taking notes? Okay. Here we go…

Nick Cave
and the Bad Seeds

He’s like some kind of mad preacher from bygone days. He’ll tell you in a deep voice about hellfire and damnation - murder and heartbreak, too. If there’s a tale you’ve heard, he’s sung it in a way you’ve never heard it. And heck, maybe you’re not so sure you wanted to hear, but it’s too late now.

You’ll want to get yourself a copy of Murder Ballads - it’s exactly what the title says. You might take a shine to Henry’s Dream, too. Abattoir Blues/Lyre of Orpheus, Tender Prey and From Her to Eternity are other favorites of mine, and I’d be a liar if I said Let Love In wouldn’t be worn to nothing but scratches if it were on vinyl.

Have some videos:

Tom Waits

I’d love to sit and just listen to this guy tell me stories for hours on end. Have you ever seen him on late night talk shows? For someone who’s written such mournful ballads, he’s an awfully funny man. He’s like everybody’s favorite uncle - the one your mother warned was a bad influence.

It’s not just the sad songs he writes. He’s got a backyard shed full of creepy monologues, prison yard anthems, and tunes so down, rough, and dirty your hips will shake like the spirit has been drawn right out of you at some crazy revival meet.

It may be fashionable to like Tom Waits, these days, but there’s good reason, for once (and not just because he played Renfield in Bram Stoker’s Dracula). Check out Bone Machine, Mule Variations, Rain Dogs, Real Gone, and do not live out the rest of your days without having heard Swordfishtrombones. When you’re sure you’re up to it, help yourself to Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards.

Vids for the watchin’:

First of all, thanks, everyone, for listening to and commenting on the podcasts! I ‘ppreciate it, and I’m glad to hear ya like it.

And now I’m going to get political on your butts.

Seems the Copyright Royalty Board - at the behest of the RIAA’s Sound Exchange and others - has ruled in favor of nearly tripling the royalty rates on internet radio. This rates hike makes playing the music you love too expensive for many broadcasters. Worse still is that this ruling is retroactive to January, 2006, meaning that some of your favorite ‘net broadcasters are already bankrupt. Dead men walking as of May 15th of this year.

And this ruling effects everyone in the US - even the big guys like Yahoo and AOL. NPR and Clear Channel are fighting it, too. To say nothing of the smaller broadcasters! This also damages the artists. Without internet radio, major labels and indies alike are going to feel the sting.

Way to go, RIAA. That’s some smart thinking, there.

The CRB denied a rehearing on the matter, but we can still help. Visit http://www.savenetradio.org/ or click the banner below for more info. I’m, by the way, not associated with this organization whatsoever. I just really, really like Pandora and would be a cranky little bumblebee if it went away. I mean, internet radio is how I found some of my favorite artists, and these are people I’m never gonna hear on KROQ.

Help yourselves to some more info right here:

NPR

PC World

Digital Media Wire

Sorry, folks. 6cast will be late again, but should be posted Monday or Tuesday night. This is partly because I have no time and partly because the story for this next one has given me nightmares, and I don’t want to record it at night. Don’t tell anyone I told you that. I couldn’t bear the shame!

Hope everyone had a happy Easter!

Howdy, every peoples. 6cast is obviously going to be late. I’ve just finished moving and unpacking and all that jazz, so I’ll post it tomorrow (that’d be Tuesday for the confused).

So, CrookedSixpence is kind of bare these days. The way I figure, there’s no better way to shake the new place up than with a stupid gimmick. And what stupider gimmick is there than writing a novel… in two days?

I’ve always wanted to write a novel. I was pretty impressed with myself for covering five index card-sized scraps of construction paper with writing when I was 8. I wrote about 30 notebook pages of sci-fi drivel when I was 14. I got through 1,000 words during last year’s NaNoWriMo. And that’s about as far as I’ve ever gotten. At least, when I had a “novel” in mind.

My problem is that I’m a perfectionist. I edit and re-edit and never get past those first few pages because they just refuse to be perfect. Now, if I have a working period of just two days, I can’t do much editing, can I? I pretty much just have to sit down and type every word that forms a sentence and hope that each sentence relates to its predecessor somehow.
So there’s my challenge.

Actually, my next challenge is to figure out when I’ll be doing this. I don’t have any spare time until April. But I’m doin’ it, folks! I don’t guarantee it’ll be good, but it’s gonna happen either way. Your job is to tell me how sad I’ll make the kittens and puppies of the world if I chicken out. And… go.

The new crookedsixpence.com is finally up. Yes, there are lots of things not here anymore. This is because, well… I don’t really like much of my old stuff. My newer stuff is already on probation as it is. One toe over the line and it’s off to the rubbish bin for {insert file of choice}!

So, it’s tumbleweed territory around here. I’ll fill in the gaps when I get around to it.

This version of crookedsixpence is done up in a blog format because it’s a more personal site, and the word from Milan is that personal is all the rage this season.

Also hot on the runway (OF YOUR MOM’S BASEMENT) are podcasts, and I’ve got one of those now, too. It’s called 6cast (get it? Haha?), and every week on 6cast, I’ll tell you a story. They aren’t very nice stories. I might as well be upfront about that. No casserole recipes from me, no ma’am. And maybe sometimes I’ll have a guest or something. Anyway, you can go ahead and subscribe here (you need a feed reader or podcast player of some kind). As of this post, there are already two episodes waiting to frolic through your iTunes directory, though you already probably know one of them. You can also just listen to them right here, but that isn’t very 21st century now, is it? What would Orwell say? You should be ashamed of yourself! (That’s what he’d say.)

Don’t forget to take a peek at those little squares on the right (if you’re on the front page, that is). I’ve added one called “Best Thing Ever,” which will contain whatever I think is best at the time. It will change now and then, but I don’t know how often. You can click it, and it will take you to links about whatever’s in there, but I avoid linking to Amazon when I can. Not that there’s anything wrong with Amazon. I’d just rather send you to something more informative. Oh, and comics will rot your brain. Don’t sit so close to the TV.

Well, go on then. Observe the newness. And if there’s something I’ve forgotten that you reallyreally think I should bring back or add, there’s a comments box below.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cup of coffee that requires making.