I think full contact St. Patrick’s Day would me more interesting, don’t you? Rather than simply pinching someone who wasn’t wearing green, you mow them down with your car. Because wearing green is so important, you see. It’s a good style.

Speaking of good styles, here’s a quick and dirty mix of music that traces the general trajectory of slamming car bombs all night – from the good time to the sickness. The picture above is, indeed, the Chicago River. I definitely recommend going to Chicago for St. Patty’s Day and also, surprisingly, Savannah, Georgia.  Savannah’s celebration is huge and amazing (with better weather), and if you can avoid pockets of brodeo, you’ll have a really good time.

MP3 :::
Roxy Music – A Really Good Time
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band – Endless Night
Times New Viking – My Head
Nothing People – Sickness
My Bloody Valentine – Swallow (band formed in Ireland – see what I did there?)

Before my annual New Year’s hedonism quest, I wanted to wish all of you, dear readers, a fine 2009, which coincidentally, will be the UN-declared year of astronomy and the Bono-declared year of Bono (both equally mystifying).  Should be a fine one, indeed.  And oh yeah, you have to wait one more second this time around for the next year…

Immediately before midnight a leap second — the first for three years — will be added to atomic clocks around the world by official timekeepers.

Peter Whibberley, a senior research scientist at Britain’s National Physical Laboratory, said the Earth’s erratic rotation meant an extra second needed to be added.

“The difference between atomic time and Earth time has now built up to the point where it needs to be corrected, so this New Year’s Eve we will experience a rare 61 second minute at the very end of 2008 and revelers… will have an extra second to celebrate.”

Traditionally time has been based on the passage of the Sun across the sky — a modern version of this is still used by astronomers to track distant stars and spacecraft.

However, since 1967, an atomic timescale — the extremely accurate Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) — has been the world’s official clock and is used for broadcasting time signals across the world.

The accuracy of UTC is essential for the smooth running of GPS and the Internet.

By comparison, the Earth is far less reliable. It does not rotate at a constant speed — it can even wobble — and disruptions to its core, extreme weather, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can influence the length of a day.

Therefore, leap seconds are occasionally added to align atomic time with astronomical time and ensure that the Sun remains overhead at noon.

Whibberley told British media anyone sober enough and who had a digital clock that picked up leap second information from a reliable source, would see the final seconds of 2008 as 57, 58, 59, 60, 00 — with 60 being the extra second.
Source: CNN

If anyone will be in the Highlands area of Louisville, look for the el guapo stumbling around in a top hat grippin’ some purple drank.  That’ll be ol’ Kenny Bloggins.  Say hi to me.  Happy new year.

MP3 :::
Wooden Shjips – Auld Lang Syne

Some of my holiday favorites from Kenny Bloggins to you and yours…

I was turned on to the made-for-TV Star Wars Holiday Special a couple of years ago, and always make a point to watch it around the holidays. It is truly strange, advanced, psychedelic. A long time ago in a galaxy far away, Wookies celebrate Life Day. And Life Day kicks ass.

To me, Aaron Neville and Christmas are synonymous. To celebrate the Reason for the Season, I’ve been posting myriad Neville videos for my Facebook friends to enjoy, including this one featuring a photo of some cats and shizz set to A-ronz, and an insane, brain-burnin’ duet between Ernie (sans Bert) and Aaron “Tha Block is Hott” Neville doing a concept number discussing why living on the Moon would not be righteous whatsoever. Aaron “Motherfuckin’” Neville never ceases to make me feel stoned. This is my favorite, though. Bow down to a true pimp.

Undoubtedly a classic, androgynous David Bowie and Greatest Generation favorite Bing Crosby yuck it up, hang tough, drank nog,and talk about what the kids are listenin’ to. I genuinely love this duet, though, but it’s still insane to consider that someone thought “dude, let’s get Bowie and Bing Crosby together.”

And finally… oh boy, Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, as annotated by Mystery Science Theater 3000. It’s only a segment, but you can follow the embedded links to keep viewing…

Alright, have a good holiday everyone. Lana says she’s getting me a pizza for DMX-mas. Stoked.

MP3 :::
Cocteau Twins – Winter Wonderland

X-mas is one week away.  I guess that rules.  Wal-Mart employees getting pancaked for some plasma TVs, the industrial-sized carbon footprint of the copious holiday-induced traffic, a general feeling of malaise, and not to mention the cliched but nonetheless important observations of the Santa Calus’ pervasive creepiness.  Christmas is weird, and I don’t know if I like it.

So instead, I celebrate DMX-mas, which adopts traditions such as enjoying “‘X Gon’ Give It to Ya,” watching some of his excellent films, and drankin’ malt liquor.  But since most of you don’t celebrate DMX-mas like Lana and I do, I’ll put together a poignant mix fit for the most “wonderful” time of the year.  Have yourself a brain burnin’ Christmas with these whispy sleigh-worn canticles that don’t make me want to stab someone in the face with a morning star.  Speaking of sleighs, remember that part in Citizen Kane when you find out that “Rosebud” was actually the name of Kane’s beloved sled as a child?  This mix fits that mood sorta perfect… 

The holidazed Super Swingin’ Mix kicks off with a muy bueno weed-hazed Christmas miracle. As expected (and totally refreshing), WFMU does ChRiStMaS correctly, with loads of weird photos and a yule-time gem from Wooden Shijps.  Do not listen whilst decorating the tree.  It’ll never get done.  Too baked, dood.

Next we move to shoegazing’s response to Enya, Cocteau Twins, offering a gorgeous, reverberated version of “Winter Wonderland.”  A less traditional version of the previous song comes to us from the much missed and consistently awesome Grandaddy.  The rest of the choices should be self-evident as to why they’re included on this mix, even a little crazy coked-up space age bachelor pad Esquivel was mixed in for good measure.  The Sonic Youth song is absolutely amazing.  Wanna bum out your holiday party guests?  Break this glass in case of emergency.

Finally, my favorite traditional Christmas song of all time… actually, the only traditional X-mas song I really like, is “Little Drummer Boy.”  And nobody, absolutely no one, is more poised to exalt this song on high with majesty and prowess than Low.  This version sleighs me… get it?  Sleigh?  Slay?

If anyone wants to get me a Christmas gift, b t dubs, I want Hootie’s country album and this ornament with Darth Vader treating the Death Star like a lady:

MP3 :::
Wooden Shjips – O Tannenbaum
Cocteau Twins – Winter Wonderland
Grandaddy – Alan Parsons in a Winter Wonderland
Sonic Youth – Santa Doesn’t Cop Out on Dope
The Sonics – Santa Claus
Daniel Johnston – Rock Around the Christmas Tree
Esquivel – White Christmas
Mogwai – Christmas Song
Low – Little Drummer Boy