PPP = Platinum Pied Pipers, more on this later.
Been trying to quit smoking lately. What will I talk about at parties now? I’m not trying cold turkey or any other impossible insanity. I’m engaged in one long running effort to quit that has lasted years and through a number of false starts, but I think this time we got momentum. I’ve rolled my own for years. I thought, takes longer, more complicated I’ll end up smoking less. Not really, but I did enjoy it more and it saved me a hella chedda.
Platinum Pied Pipers, from Detroit, brand new debut that I’m listening to currently, I’ve heard some buzz, starting from Scott Z. who mentioned these guys to me 2 months ago after Kraftwerk played the State, like “Oh, that guy, yeah, now he’s in PPP,” like I’m supposed to know about ‘em. I didn’t then, but I’ve noticed the name bouncing around since.
Next came the experiment with the gum. Not my first time, mind you, I’d tried it on a plane a few years earlier, but never bought a box. But this was different . . . serious [three dots . . . elipses? . . . correct usage? . . . doubt it].
I’m a happy customer at emusic.com and saw in my email the debut was out, and available for download. . .[!!!!] . . .sweet. My monthly account renewed 2 days later and I had forgotten about it. I got JOE PASS - VIRTUOSO, 5 new (and pretty good!) JOSH WINK cuts, one 20 minute track by the DECEMBERISTS (a true emusic bargain at .25 per track), my long lost PRODIGY - EXPERIENCE, M.I.A.’s hit and three remixes, and one GLOBAL COMMUNICATION remix of somethin. emusic is really pretty sweet.
Then last week I was in Chicago with some friends and felt some mild bronchitis shit. Second time in 3 months, real mild then too, but that’s bad news. I decided, that’s it. I’m making some changes. I don’t think I’ve bought any cigarettes since, and I’m down now to 2 a day. Only 1 since I got up this morning, and now it’s almost 2 am.
But then today I remembered. I had 4 downloads left, so I got the three cuts mentioned in the enthusiastic writeup at emusic. I guess these guys are producers, and the vocals are all guest. It’s very good. At the moment I’m thinking Erykah Badu, but the it’s hard to tell if the music complemement the vocals or the other way around. I’m now listening to those 3 tracks for the 3rd time in a row. This is slick. Reminds me a little of Outkast - Aquemeni, which is one of my favorites. This will be impressing some people, I think. If I was really slick, I’d post a mp3 or something.
This nicotine withdrawl feels like some kind of science experiment. it’s not fun, really, but it’s very interesting to think about, and endure. I’ve been dealing in part by spending a lot more time writing; it guess it keeps the hands busy (no jokes you perverts). In a way, a state of withdrawl is like a whole altered mindstate as well, like the reverse of getting high - getting low. It’s almost a contest, really, your logic versus your conditioned craving. Its surely not as pleasing, but not necessarily any less interesting, if you happen to stop and think about it. Everyone should do it, really. It’s enlightening.
Something completely different:
I today discovered something called www.last.fm when I did a google search for “talking heads popular favorites.” I’m in the middle of molding my own personlized radio stream with every track I listen to (like PPP) on my itunes, whether I’m online or not, through a program called an audioscrobbler. Soon you will able to patch into my own personalized station. Joy!
This post is brought to you by the letters N I C and F I T
Here’s your prize at the bottom of the box. I hope you waited and didn’t dig like I did for any magical plastical fantastical toy in my Count Chocula. Yesterday.
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