Project MERCATOR
The Weekend of 8-10 April
On Friday (8 April), I celebrated the first weekend since the end of the enlightening but arduous spring traveling season by reentering my life. What better way to do this than by seeing The Loose Ties at that increasingly dank & sketchy hole in the wall, Woobie's? I arrived strategically late & was greeted in the parking lot by my old chum Ska Army, who was fetching something out of his motorcar & of whom I had of late seen far too little. He told me that the band would be going on in mere minutes. Talk about timing! I entered through the front instead of sneaking in through the back & paid the cover (I loathe covers), figuring that doing so would encourage the owners to more often invite musical acts such as The Loose Ties to use the bar's performance space. I could say that I did it out of a respect for property values, but that's bollocks, I did it to support The Loose Ties. I did, however, buy a drink; I'm not claiming that I imbibe only as a way of paying my fare, because that's clearly not true, but that is a component of the calculation. On road trips, if I stop at a restaurant or a filling station to use the water closest I will also make a small purchase, my own way of compensating the water closet's owners for the use of their facility's facilities. Similarly, buying a drink is my way of paying the owners of a bar for my use of their facility (and, if I'm going to be there for several hours, almost certainly its facilities). I greeted those members of the band I saw & then made a pit stop. After that, I made for the bar, where I encountered Farr Afield. She squealed with delight & wrapped her arms around my neck. This is less an indication of any fondness she feels for me—though of course I am universally adored by The Loose Ties, having successfully if unwittingly made the jump from ardent fan to pal-of-all—than a clear sign that she was already three sheets to the wind.

The Loose Ties began their set as I was drinking the worst gin & tonic I've ever had, the last cocktail—or indeed the last non-prepackaged drink of any kind—I'll ever order at Woobie's. (There's no way they could screw up bottled beer, is there?) With my weak, sickly drink in my hand, I didn't skank through the first few songs. This is par for the course, as I it always takes a few songs for the rhythm to really grab me—the entire reason behind opening acts—, but this time holding off for a few songs afforded me the rare chance to have a drink in my hand when they played their ode to libations, "Let's Go Out Drinking." The pathetic G&T finished & an appropriate song on offer & I commenced the skanking that made me the band's first Super Fan. No sooner was that song concluded, however, than Phil the front man announced they had only more song to play that evening. I danced my heart out, but was still left feeling as if I was all dressed up with no place to go (in this case, dressed up in sweat). After the fireworks, I congregated with Nick Andopolis & Dick, the trombonist; Dick attends university in the Canadas & we engaged in a merry round of Canuck-bashing. (I do so hate our benighted neighbors to the north). This continued until the cacophony from the metal band that came on after The Loose Ties became too much to take, at which point I bade all farewell & disappeared into the night. I'd missed not one by two Loose Ties shows three weeks earlier (see: the forthcoming "Master Debating, 3 of 4: Wesleyan") & 'twas glorious to rejoin the preposterously fortune state of having regular access to live ska shows.

The next night (Saturday, 9 April), I attended Nick Andopolis's birthday party at the apartment of a married couple with whom he is close friends. The party was a beer tasting & the invitation invited invitees to bring a "unique beer to pass." I took advantage of my home's proximity to Oliver T's at brought a bottle of Delirium Nocturnum. (I was a little more impressed by Nocturnum than I was by its sister, flagship brew, Delirium Tremens, but I don't rate either very highly. To my palate, the Dutch still hold serve against the Belgians.) As is my custom in a group largely composed of strangers (a custom by both habit & inclination) I was quiet at first, trying to gauge the tenor of the conversation, but I soon tested the waters with a few sly, reactionary quips which received a very positive response. After that, my style properly attuned, I was humorous & charming. In addition to Nick Andopolis, I also knew Kevin—who once displaced me as Super Fan to The Loose Ties (though some in the band dispute that) before I won the title back with authority—& his longtime girlfriend Edina, & later arrival Ska Army. I met Ska Army's girlfriend Aja (read: Asia) for the first time & found her to be lovely company, quiet but funny. I was there for hours & had a good time, but not long after midnight the party seemed to be preparing to go all night long & I knew that wasn't in the cards for me. Not long after people began playing a dancing video game involving truly horrifying music I had the good fortune not to hear before (apparently, the top of the pop charts in recent months & years), I again wished Nick Andopolis a happy birthday, thanked my host & hostess for their hospitality in my own perhaps overly formal way, made my goodbyes to the rest of the company, laced up my Chuck Taylors, & ventured out to Lumi for the short drive home.

The Queue
The first of Len Deighton's novels I read was his sophomore effort, the disappointing Horse Under Water, starring the unnamed protagonist who was given the name of Harry Palmer in the films based on his literary exploits. But so full of promise was the heap of praise piled upon Deighton that I gave him a rare second chance, choosing Berlin Game precisely because it was not in the "Harry Palmer" series. Berlin Game was the first of the ten-part Bernard Samson series, the tenth of which, Charity, I have recently commenced. Deighton has more than proved his worth & I am eager for more, yet burned as I was by Horse Under Water I am reluctant to return to those earliest novels. So, I have selected XPD, which along with Horse Under Water & the alternate-history SS-GB deals with the legacy of the invasion scare of 1940, when Hitler's war machine had conquered Western Europe seemingly at a stroke & busily prepared to jump the English Channel & bring the Blitzkrieg to Britain. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. XPD is only third on the "Presently" list, after the third installment in the Tattoo Shop Mystery series & le Carré's supposed masterpiece. (I adore the television adaptations of Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy & Smiley's People—starring the late Sir Alec Guinness as George Smiley—, but I remain deeply antagonistic toward the author's viciously anti-American political views.)

Recently
Stella Rimington, Illegal Action
Len Deighton, Faith
Len Deighton, Hope

Currently
Len Deighton, Charity

Presently
Karen E. Olson, Driven to Ink
John le Carré, Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy
Len Deighton, XPD

The Rebel Black Dot Songs of the Day: SKApril
The Specials, "A Message to You Rudy" from The Specials (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: The overwhelming majority of my ska collection is by third wave "ska-punk" bands, mostly Americans recording in the late '90s & early '00s, but I do have a little music from the second wave of ska, "2 Tone," which was the revival of the original '60s Jamaican ska by British kids in the late '70s & early '80s. Ska didn't originate with 2-Tone, but Great Britain has much closer ties to Jamaica than does America; without the commercial success of 2 Tone bands such as The Specials & Madness far fewer Americans would ever have heard of ska & ska-punk might never have arisen. Original Jamaican ska was, like Jamaica itself, almost exclusively black; it was 2 Tone that gave the genre the biracial/multiracial face that has become so characteristic. Also, note the sociopolitical themes that are more prominent in 2 Tone than in either original flavor or ska-punk: "Rudy" isn't necessarily any specific individual, but any or all "rude boys" out there.

I can't let it pass: the title should be "A Message to You, Rudy." The comma is not optional!

Sonntag, 17 April
Unsteady, "Tokyo" from Mailorder is Still Fun!! (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: "Tokyo" is an instrumental piece, to my recollection the first of SKApril. The selection of "Tokyo" is by no means a slight against Unsteady's anything but unsteady vocals. I was sorely tempted by their song, "Stop Looking at Me (stoplooking@me.com)" from the album Double or Nothing, & it would have been a choice more representative of the band's body of work, but "Tokyo" was simply the right R.B.D.S.O.T.D. for Sunday.

Samstag, 16 April
Goldfinger, "Superman" via iTunes (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary: Goldfinger haven't been a ska band since the turn of the millennium, being one of the earliest bands to abandon their ska sound. This was a shame, but not a great loss, as "Superman" was far & away their best song. Goldfinger's is one of three separate songs I own titled, "Superman"; contrast this with not a single non-soundtrack song titled, "Batman." The Caped Crusader may sell more comic books, but the Man of Steel seems to have broader pop cultural resonance. The Loose Ties play a pretty bitchin' cover of "Superman," but 'twas not in their set this past Saturday night.