"The Beatles are totally overrated"

11.11.2005

I actually heard that at a bar last week. I was talking to some tattooed skeleton of a hardcore girl, feigning interest in her seven visible piercings and hoping to see more, when her male companion, mad about the ongoing flirtation, took drastic action. "Come Together" came on the jukebox; he looked up from his drink and stated defiantly, albeit out of nowhere, "The Beatles are totally overrated." I quickly went limp, stammered something about needing another drink, and stumbled off in shock.

Whoa, hey, King of Rock. You're out of your depth. So you don't like the late 60s hippie deal; that's fine. Neither do I, anymore. When someone says "The Beatles," everyone thinks peace, love & Apple Computers. Get over it. It's time you re-invented your perceptions.

Truth is, The Beatles were badass in the beginning. All-black, leather jacket-wearing, cigarette chain-smoking, savage rock & roll street punks. Okay, Paul was still a pussy. But John's early songs are pure pain. He's so jealous & bitter & angry at women for leaving and his mum for dying, it makes me want to cry. John doesn't want to hold your hand. John doesn't believe in yesterday. If you ever touch another man, John will hunt you down and kill you, bitch.

There's no way to counter the ignorance I met in the bar the other night. I can, however, rest easy knowing that that night was a fluke. It's the year 2005. The Beatles conversation is closed. I just had to show some Liverpool pride after that exchange. Here's four of John's early songs for your listening pain.



The Beatles - I'm A Loser | I'll Cry Instead | You Can't Do That | Run For Your Life

right-click, save target as | buy from Amazon

Mudsugar Magazine

11.09.2005

Hey everyone,

I'm going to be cutting back on my ryPod posts, for a number of reasons.

The first is that my server is dead, and until I can get it fixed or afford a new one, I have no way of easily hosting the mass amounts of pictures and mp3s that the ryPod requires.

The foremost is that I was hired Monday as a contributing writer for Mudsugar Magazine, a culture webzine based out of Washington, D.C. I'll be doing features & reviews of independent music, comix, and film. And whatever other crazy notions my editor lets me run with.

The ryPod was my first public experiment in telling the truth. I will continue to update with music I know you absolutely have to hear. And this is still a forum to host my more personal and creative writing.

But the fact of the matter is, Mudsugar is paying me to do what I do here for free.
And I'm okay with that.

Love,
Ryan

HIPS Benefit & CD Release Show!

11.04.2005

If you live within 50 miles of DC, I have your Saturday night plans. The HIPS Compilation Release show is going to be insane crazy, driving miss daisy. The album, including tracks from Mates of State, Pash, and Mirah among others, is a benefit for Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive, a DC-based organization dedicated to helping female, male and transgendered sex workers lead healthier lives.

The music starts at nine at the Warehouse Next Door. Here are tracks from a few artists on the comp, who will also be playing this Saturday night. So come on out, people. Rock stars & prostitutes.





Pash - Having A Ball
Bellafea - Thorn Bird

right-click, save target as | buy from Exotic Fever

death in the family

11.02.2005

My long faithful PC died today at 4:41 p.m. It's been coughing and sputtering all week, hard disk spinning noisily out of control. Thankfully I backed up all my important files, though I may have just lost about 10 gigs of great rare music. I'm taking her to the doctor tomorrow, but not hoping for much. Without a dedicated server to host mp3s on, my posting will be sporadic at best until this is figured out. Many of my photo links are also broken, as they were hosted on the server. Sorry about that. You faithful listeners stay tuned.

Shuggie Otis

I spent two years of my youth with no access to American news, television or music. When I got back I found I'd missed a lot - Chocolate Cream Oreos, Bush in the White House, and a little album called Kid A. I spent a whole day in Amoeba Music, catching up.

I bought Inspiration Information that same day, my first day back. Originally released in 1974, the album and it's creator disappeared for decades, until being re-released with a mess of hype on David Byrne's Luaka Bop label. Some reviewers called Shuggie Otis a musical genius on par with Coltrane or Hendrix. I'd say he's more along the lines of Curtis or Marvin. Regardless, I'll let the music speak for itself.




Shuggie Otis - Strawberry Letters 23
Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information

right-click, save target as | buy from Amazon