the-flag-is-still-there

Have one!

Bonnie Jo Campbell, Women and Other Animals
Bruce Springsteen, The Promise
Kristian Hoffman, Fop
Jeremy Gluck, I Knew Buffalo Bill

Wow. An American Family --- CBGB's --- The Mumps --- The Contortions --- Bleeker St. anti-folker --- El Vez/Rufus Wainwright music director --- power pop gentleman. Kristian Hoffman has had quite the story which I would not have known had not Boogie Woogie Flu awoken this morning to tell it. Fop is affable grown-folks pop, piano ballads in the age of Radiohead which when you think about it, is what Radiohead really does: piano ballads with the piano found-and-replaced with not-pianos. And stuff like this.


Kristian Hoffman, "Hey Little Jesus, Get Out of That Hole"

This purports to be Kristian and his An American Family co-star Lance Loud sashaying through Dramarama's "Last Cigarette"



"The Promise" is worth the price of admission for The Promise.



The above live version is twilight's last gleaming, but the studio version on the boxed set with the strings and the full band and piano is the-flag-is-still-there. "Taxi Cab (City at Night)" is a winner too. It's making me wanna hear Bruce pop up on Lou Reed's "Street Hassle" again, so I will.


Lou Reed, "Street Hassle." One of my favorite things ever. The Boss staggers in at the 9:08 mark.

I'd like the whole of The Promise so much more if the band wasn't in jingle-bell mode the whole time. Jing...ja-jing...jing...ja-jing  that's like every Bruce Springsteen song it seems.


Jeremy Gluck, "Looking for a Place to Fall"

All I know about Jeremy Gluck (besides his being in the Barracudas) I learned from this article in Blurt this morning, but I'm going with it.