Garu Was Our Favorite

We also loved Pucca.  Not that we were such big fans of the Korean anime series, but we really liked this bag.  

Sadly, time took its toll and eventually every time we'd use the bag, little red flecks would end up on whatever was inside it (and, frequently, whatever was outside in its general vicinity).  So Pucca, Garu, and the bag itself made the trip to the Giant Tote Bag in the Sky.

Thanks for taking care of us all those years...

Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Memories of English lefties adapting Maggie's Farm as a response to/indictment of Margaret Thatcher sent me down the Dylan rabbit hole once again. 

More on Baroness Thatcher later, but for now, shifting from one quicksilver song to another, I now pose the following query:

Was Dylan writing about someone in particular in the song Queen Jane Approximately?  I got pulled into the song (again) when listening to "Hwy 61 Revisited" the other day.  There's certainly no need to associate it with any particular person in the flesh & blood universe, but I wonder...

I've never held much truck with the notion that it was about Joan Baez.

The idea that it's about literal Queen Jane Seymour has struck me as even more farfetched, though there's something vaguely interesting about thinking that the "smell of roses" has something to do with the War of the Roses, and that he was being extra special clever referring to "all her children" starting to resent her (when she died of complications from the birth of her only child.)

Naaaaah, that's crazy talk.


I have thought that it might have more than a little to do with Edie Sedgwick.

But I am intrigued by the notion I came across while scouring the internets the other day that it might not be this Factory Girl, but actually the Boy who started the Factory, Andy Warhol himself, who's being addressed in the song.  I picked up the idea from one of the sites out there (cheese factories themselves, for the most part) devoted to picking apart song meanings, with a guy calling himself LuckyTown making the case.  Further steps down the rabbit hole led me to this interview Nora Ephron did with Dylan around the time the song came out - it is vintage Bob being random and chaotic and anything but serious or straightforward, but it does contain the quip "Queen Jane is a man."  And he offers this mini rant on art and accessibility:

Great paintings shouldn't be in museums. Have you ever been in a museum? Museums are cemetaries. Paintings should be on the walls of restaurants, in dime stores, in gas stations, in men's rooms. Great paintings should be where people hang out. The only thing where it's happening is on radio and records, that's where people hang out. You can't see great paintings. You pay half a million and hang one in your house and one guest sees it. That's not art. That's a shame, a crime. Music is the only thing that's in tune with what's happening. It's not in book form, it's not on the stage. All this art they've been talking about is nonexistent. It just remains on the shelf. It doesn't make anyone happier. Just think how many people would really feel great if they could see a Picasso in their daily diner. It's not the bomb that has to go, man, it's the museums.

SO - is it possible that this is an offer/invitation to the artist of plastic (inevitable) repetition who ran the Factory where his kinda sorta girlfriend spent a lot of her time?

When your mother sends back all your invitations
And your father to your sister he explains
That you're tired of yourself and all of your creations
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Now when all of the flower ladies want back what they have lent you
And the smell of their roses does not remain
And all of your children start to resent you
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Now when all the clowns that you have commissioned
Have died in battle or in vain
And you're sick of all this repetition
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Oh when all of your advisers heave their plastic
At your feet to convince you of your pain
Trying to prove that your conclusions should be more drastic
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Now when all of the bandits that you turn your other cheek to
All lay down their bandanas and complain
And you want somebody you don't have to speak to
Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?
Ah, Won't you come see me, Queen Jane?

Just askin'.

This Is a Public Service Announcement

PSA that evidently has been running on television in Scotland.





I dare say this falls into the category of "Things the Scottish are doing right."

Ave Atque Vale Alex

From the Box Tops to Big Star and beyond, Alex Chilton was one of the all time go-to guys for power pop and catchy hooks. [Do click on that link, if only to watch the video of "The Letter," with the Box Tops treating lip-synching like the ridiculous joke it is.] We lost him yesterday to a heart attack, and that's way too sad. 59 years old, in the midst of a Big Star reunion (which he may or may not have actually bothered to show up for) and a(nother) resurgence, complete with re-packaged/mastered discography. I had the great good luck to catch him sitting in with Yo La Tengo a couple years ago: one of my Great Moments in Music. I don't think I have any images of that event, but I'll scour the laptop at home to see for sure. Meanwhile, here's this one from the internets, showing the man we knew and loved.

Also, check out this tribute by Rob Sheffield for Rolling Stone. Beyond the obvious choices like the Replacements and R.E.M., I'd argue that Alex/Big Star had a huge influence on The Feelies, Let's Active, They Might Be Giants and other bands who extend the Chilton influence to an astounding proportion. And I'd wager that if there's an afterlife, Doug Fieger is now toasting with Alex and thanking him for paving the yellow brick road for the Knack. Hopefully, Chris Bell is in on that toast...

Now let me go home and dig up that copy of Like Flies on Sherbert.

Life Is Good

Yes, there will be naysayers (there are always naysayers.) You could mention how the Health Care Bill is selling out the working poor (again), delivering even yet still another affront to women's health, and a form of political suicide for the already unfathombly divided Democratic Party. And you'd have a point. You could refer to the Global Climate Conference ending in a toothless accord. And there'd be something to that. You might wonder: whither the American Left? When they're reduced to playing "gotcha" about commentators spatting over whether the First Family was polite at a Christmas Party? And you would very, very sadly be on to something.

But I maintain that in these days between Chanukah and Christmas, joy is alive and magic is afoot. Mike Daisey delivered an astounding show - I'm telling you, people: when this man is in town, drop what you're doing and go see his show. No kidding. Bob Dylan's Christmas record is amazing - irrationally fun (thanks for a great holiday present, Cory!) The Ailey Season is driving forth with full vigor. This past weekend's Snowgasm left us with a Winter Wonderland.

And as if that weren't enough, enjoy this video confection. It's latter-day Bad Lieutenant Cage, diving deep into translation on behalf of pinball gambling sensation Pachinko. And now, I present it for your comfort and joy.



You're welcome.

More Adventures in Video

Perhaps you enjoy the music of the Beatles.

It's possible that you harbor some fondness for the Muppets and their Show.

Maybe, just maybe, you like BOTH of those pop culture touchstones.

If so, look no further. The good people at Saturday Morning Central have put together a collection of the Muppets covering Beatles tunes on their TV show. Well worth a click.

Purple Rain, etc.

Cory and I met with a friend who was in from Western Mass (she lives in one of the smaller towns in the Berkshires; I can't remember the name right now) who had been to the Purple Rain singalong screening at Mass MoCA. She had a fantastic time (as much from making fun of the movie's sexism as anything else) but said that there wasn't much of a turnout. Which kind of broke my heart a little bit.

So I wanted to have a private singalong screening at Cory's place (Cory never having seen this movie, much to my shock), and I went to the video store in her neighborhood to get the DVD. I asked the clerk where the musical videos were and she said "We don't really have a musical section - what movie are you looking for?" Putting aside my disbelief that there would be no musical section in a video store (in Chelsea yet!) I told her Purple Rain, and she went off to search for it on the computer.

She came back in a few minutes with a puzzled expression on her face. "This musical, is it, like, a drama musical?"

She had never heard of Purple Rain. I once again swallowed back my disbelief and said "It's Prince!" Fortunately, she had heard of Prince. Not that that helped much, except to restore a very small fragment of my faith in humanity.

File under "Fame is Fleeting"

More fun with Mel & El

I know I just wrote about this yesterday, but I heard from Amy Groeschel at Ars Nova and wanted to follow up a little bit on Mel & El - Show and Tell.

First of all, she sent me some rad pix of the chix:


Dancing away in the Little Pink Box.


And here they are in full-out croon mode.

Also (and this is very exciting) she has offered to give away tickets to readers of Love Minus Zero who get in touch with her and mention that they heard about it here. That's right, I said 'give.' As in free.

So, THAT'S pretty cool!

If you want to see the show (and why wouldn't you?) shoot Amy an email at agroeschel@arsnovanyc.com and let her know you read about it on my blog. There's no catch, but there are a couple things to consider:

• She's not giving away unlimited tickets (duh) so don't try to claim a pack for you and 20 of your closest friends.


• You may want to request sooner rather than later - both in terms of asking soon (so they don't run out) and going soon (so you can spread the word.)

In other news - I just got cast as Claudius in a production of Hamlet up at Columbia. Too early to tell what kind of production we're looking at (other than short - the director claims it will come in under 2:30, which believe it or not is short for Hamlet) but rest assured I'll keep you posted.

Ok - that's it. I'll leave you with one last shot of the gals in their glory:

Mel & El

I'm interrupting the posts about Rome to bring you news of a show that just opened that you may want to go see: Mel & El {Show and Tell} Oh yes - it rhymes: that's kind of a theme for them. It's happening at Ars Nova (way west on 54th Street - by where they shoot Colbert) and it's running through May 30. I know, I know, I haven't given you enough notice. Leave me alone - things have been hectic.

The basic deal with this show is that Mel & El (Melanie Adelman and Ellie Dvorkin) have known each other since they were about 12 - for reals, yo. And they've been making up shows about it for a while now. If you are (or were) a girl, or happen to know any girls, you may be aware of this phenomenon wherein girls get together and sing and dance just for fun. They may reenact pop songs and/or tv commercials. They may even make up some of their own. And as they get a little older, the material they come up with gets a little... randier. This tends to happen in bedrooms but has been known to occur in other locales as well (the singing and dancing, silly - get your mind out of the gutter!) I haven't really done my homework on the subject, but I think this happens kinda all the time. Certainly it happened with Mel & El, and they're here to tell you all about it. And sing about it, and dance about it. I'm tempted to say they just started out making up these skits in their bedrooms and just never stopped, but that doesn't do them justice: they are trained singer/actors and have been developing this show for years. And it's really good! They have recreated that bedroom ('80s-style, dubbed the Little Pink Box, walls covered with photos and posters of all your favorite pop icons of the era. Well, maybe not all. I didn't see any Billy Idol, but the decade is well represented.) The show is witty and vibrant and clever and creative - and very funny. It is immediately engaging, even before they step on the stage: the set really is a blast, it establishes the scene and entertains you all on its own. And then the performers show up and blow the doors off the joint with their energy and talent.

Sadly, there aren't really any photos of the show, or any current ones of the duo, available online to speak of, so I can't offer up any visual stimulation. But I think you should consider checking this show out, especially if you have an affinity for musical theater and/or pop culture of the 80s. Ars Nova is a great spot too - good space, high quality original programming, I've done a bit of work there myself. Last but not least, if you're strapped for cash, I think there are some ticket discounts floating around out there too.

If you want an advance peek, here are Mel & El riffing backstage with the creative team.