Playlist #5 "Tea-Infused?"

DJ P.J. selections

James Taylor "Knockin Around the Zoo"



Morphine "Honey White"



Janis Joplin "Down on Me"



Scott Nolan "No Bourbon and Bad Radio"



The Guess Who "Dancing Fool"


Playlist #4 "Just for the Hell of it"

DJ P.J.  selections

Leonard Cohen "Faded Blue Raincoat"


Joni Mitchell "Songs for Aging Children"



Ray Lamontagne "Empty"



Beck "Paper Tiger"



Dave Van Ronk "Samson & Delilah"



Derek and the Dominoes "Thorn Tree in the Garden"



Townes Van Zandt "No Deeper Blue"



Tom Waits "Fish & Bird"







Playlist #3 "Fun"

DJ P.J.  Does not lead us wrong with these selections circa 2007

Joe Cocker "You Can Leave Your Hat On"



Michael Jackson "Don't Stop"


Otis Redding "Tramp"




The Black Keys "Your Touch"


Cream "Spoonful"


Crazy Ivans "Dip it in the Chocolate"

No video of the local band and this song can be found online 
so we'll have to see if we can remedy that 
sometime soon.  At any rate, it rocks or it would not be on the list.
If you rather see it live you can keep you eyes peeled for them on 


T Rex "Mambo"



Ryan Adams "Wish You Would"


Cat Power "Free"


Grass "Dome"
While I can't find this one either here's a link to Grass' Funky Funky website


Led Zeppelin "Boogie with Stu"







Playlist #2 "Boys with nice voices"

DJ P.J. circa 2007 selections continued 


Beatles "Old Brown Shoe"



TV On the Radio "I was A Lover"



Wilco "Impossible Germany"


Rod Stewart "Stay with Me"


Jeff Buckley "Yard of Blonde Girls"


Playlist #1 "Girls"

A playlist I once intended to publish in a physical paper zine to be title "Mullet" 
with illustrations, stories and playlists by my friends and I...
 but never got around to it.

I keep running into this playlist I had my friend Paula Jo Rodriguez write on a napkin.
I can't seem to throw it away as I'm sentimental and I feel uber guilty for not publishing it.

So here is the first play list of three by "DJ P.J."



Joni Mitchell "In France they Kiss on Main Street"



Nina Simone "Mississippi Goddamn"



Feist "Honey, Honey"



Jolie Holland "Faded Coat of Blue"


Heart "Dreamboat Annie"


Blue




"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see,
except standing there,
 leaning on the balcony railing,
holding the universe together."
 - J.D. Salinger




Hipsta-Addict


You are invited to attend a reception 
for the exhibit "Hipsta-Addict" 
photographs by
 Michelle Cate
at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas. 
Sunday, April 22nd,  2-4 p.m.

Who Do I Love?

... Sarah Vowell.  I never once heard of Sarah Vowell until the day my reporter friend scooped me up and said I had to come with her while she went to cover a lecture a writer was giving at the local university.  As riveting as that sounded, the tone in her voice let me know, perhaps this was some wordy rock star I'd yet to discover... "she had been on NPR" after all.

Her familiar voice is part of her claim to fame and lead to her being part of the Disney film "The Incredibles" as the Gothic-like daughter character, Violet. That all aside, her snarky, ironic fact finding mind amazes all.  I found myself relating to her point of view right away, perhaps naturally because I was rared in a similar fashion, in a super Christian household in a neighboring state.  Or perhaps, she's just that charming.  The most obscure things of my childhood she seemed also to take for-granted as installations as well.  Books, Church and strange bits of pop culture that somehow made their way to the mid-west-ish/south.

After the lecture I bought a book of her's and I must admit I've found myself reading the same 3 chapters of it over and over again, as I can't seem to find the time to really get going but they always make me laugh, and I always read with her voice in my head. I almost prefer to listen to her talk.  She's now like a "touchtone" to me, of what makes sense, how sad and funny it is that history will always repeat itself.  We think that things are always so bad now, worse than ever... but it's just not true.  Life is always good and bad and Whatever.

If I could have a fair god mother (although lets just say "sister" because shes way wise beyond her years) it would be her.  I took it as a sign that my current boyfriend on our first date offered me a scooter helmet that was autographed by her.  It was like her saying "LOOK, this guy has a thinking mind, and he would like to live life to the fullest, but he keeps that noggin safe while doing so!"  So, she might not know she was somewhat of a match maker, but I gotta love that Sarah Vowell.



P.s. Here's a video of her speaking on the day I saw her, which my bf took on the same day in the same room but I did not know him yet.

Hopeful for the Pig Stand


I know I've written a little about "The Pig Stand" in the past on this blog.  It certainly has been a character in my life since living in this neighborhood for years. It's set actually in a space between downtown and a "historic district" so it's clearly played a huge role since it was built, particular when it was a regular place for people to eat almost any hour of the day...8am to 2am I believe were their normal hours...  Perhaps it's a sign that my town's heyday is really "over" since I only know of two other 24/7 restaurants in town.

But there is a group trying to support the preservation and restoration of the this mid century gem. Please check out www.saveourpig.com  for more info.  We've already felt the ups and downs of many of the people who have worked on this project before now... but we ultimately feel that if the people of our community stand together... the logical and truly most profitable thing will be to save her.

I took these photos recently of the current state of her exterior and interiors.