meeting billy corgan

 

A long time ago, at a strip mall far, far away, Smashing Pumpkins played an intimate set @ Tower Records (r.i.p. Tower Records.. kinda doubt The Container Store will carry on the in-store tradition).  Anyway, it was a clusterphuk that would have made Beta nightclub proud.  Thousands of people milling about outside, hoping for the golden ticket of a wristband admitting them to the show.  No golden ticket for me.  My consolation prize though, was getting a good spot in line for the signing that was to occur after the show.

When I think I have a chance to meet someone I admire, especially a celebrity someone, I always come prepared.  I want to make an impression; say something they don’t always hear.  Something true.  Something important.  

On this particular night, I was ready to go.  I’d decided to share perhaps my all time favorite SP lyric with mr bald and brilliant himself.

Here’s how it went:

Cash: “despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage”.

Billy Corgan: The thing about that is, as soon as you Read more

makes cash happy: santigold - lights out

There are certain songs that have the innate power to put a smile on my face, almost regardless of circumstances.  Santigold’s “Lights Out” is defintiely in this category.  An effortless cross between 50’s bubble gum pop and hipster approved indie rock, Santigold’s soaring voice is Read more

cash life: the patron saint of teddy bears

Strange, wonderful surprises are commonplace in my life.  A recent discovery while walking home from work started in “typical” Cash life fashion, and then exploded with even more unexpected awesomeness later.  

Strolling home thru a crisp Denver twilight, the fleeting flames of sunset burning out against the glass and brick of highrises, I spied with my little eye Read more

saweet song of the day: m.i.a. - dollar

I have a love/hate relationship with M.I.A.  Much of her music is an impossibly catchy, sick-groove laden blend of organic instruments, electronics and sampled weirdness which appeals to a very core part of Cash’s musical taste.  On the other hand, her lyrics tend to be fevered rants against various Sri Lankan political injustices. For me, lyrics are the soul of a song. Being able to relate to them is important.  Growing up in white, middle class America doesn’t make it easy to relate to the struggles of the Tamil Tigers.

Still, there are times when M.I.A. hits the spot.

One song in particular has been getting a lot of Imeem love @ Casa de Cash lately.  “Dollar” is ridiculous.  Ridiculously great.  Borrowing a chord progression from New Order’s seminal “Blue Monday”, Dollar starts strong and gets stronger.  By the 1:52 mark or so, when she starts singing lines from the Pixie’s “Where Is My Mind?”, you get the sense she not only respects her influences, but finds ways of surpassing them; earning her merit badge in mash up along the way.

FULL SONG HERE - M.I.A. DOLLAR

or 30 second sample:

20 Dollar - M.I.A.

camel snus review

It’s been said (to my face and no doubt behind my back) that Cash never met a vice he didn’t love.  This is not far from the truth.  However, there is one vice that up to this point has positively disgusted me.  Me!  King of the non-disgustable.  That fix?  Chew.  Before starting my own love affair Read more

the informers - trailer

I’m a huge fan of Bret Easton Ellis.  For years, Less Than Zero was bar none my favorite movie.  Once I’d actualy read it (like being disturbed?  wait for the last 5 pages or so), even more so. Glamorama offered readers another volume of sheer debauched, phukked up fun.  

Celebrities?  Drugs?  Random acts of shocking violence & deviant sex galore?  

Oh, Ellis is famous for them.  

Most of his work is semi-biographical, drawing on his years growing up in Hollywood, living the American nightmare of uber-rich, absentee parents, fading morality and non-stop partying.   It’s like a car crash of entertainment; impossible to look away from.

Massive props to my dear Jillian then, for cluing me in on the upcoming big screen adaptation of Ellis’ “The Informers”.  Featuring Billy Bob Thorton, Mickey Rourke and an all star cast, it plays like a depraived 90210,  decadent and disarming in equal doses.  I can’t wait.

fatties: is there anything you CAN’T ruin?

First it was the nightclubs.  Then, the park.  Then, most of Atlanta, Georgia.  Now, scientists confirm:  fatties cause global warming.  I heart Drudge Report.  It’s the most Read more

cash peeve: compliment regurg

If there’s one thing that infuriates me, it’s people who don’t know how to take a compliment.  This weakness can take many forms, but no doubt the most annoying of all to me is the ‘compliment regurg’, or basically having the compliment thrown back in my face.

This is where the receiver of said kind words responds along the lines of:

“I get that a lot.”

or

“I hear that all the time”.

This to me translates thusly:

“Screw you, Cash.  I’ve heard that before, so from you?  It’s meaningless.”

It’s a slap in the face to someone trying to point out a trait of yours they find appealing.  In addition to being rude under any circumstances, it’s also rather short sighted if the compliment is coming from me.

A compliment from me is a gift.

I do not give them casually, nor without a genuine wish to highlight some quality of a person that means something special to me.

You get that a lot?  You hear that all the time?  Not from me you don’t.  I guarantee you my outlook, the way I perceive the world, and you, is unique.  If I choose to point out something about you I find attractive, it’s after careful consideration and thoughtful analysis.

Don’t cheapen my gift by comparing it to the words of another.  Don’t cheapen yourself by not graciously accepting it.

spreading the news around the world: tgoc in action

There is nothing on earth I take more pride in, feel more joy from, than someone using something they learned here in a positive way.  An incredibly pure, impossibly potent example of this?  This past weekend.  One of my most diligent disciples was on a trip.  His destination?  Read more

ogling etiquette

Embarrassing Cash stories?  How much time ya got?  I could go on all day.  Possibly into the night.  Okay, into tomorrow, TOPS.  This journey to my current Cashtastic state has been positively pickled with missteps and awkward moments of hilarity.  Well, hilarious for everyone but me.  One example?

Let’s call it ‘the Lucky Strike incident’.

I used to be a ‘world class’ ogler.  Oh yes.  If beautiful girls were present, I was uh, paying attention.  Very deep.. concentrated.. eyes transfixed ‘attention’.  Gawd.. just typing that gave me chills.

Add a healthy splash of booze to the mix?  Oh, I was even worse.

With ogling, if you haven’t guessed by now ‘world class’ loosely translates to ‘damn creepy’.

So on with the story.

I used to live downtown in the Read more

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