10/31/2005
Safeway Employee ringing up my groceries: "So are you visiting from out of town?"
Waist High: "Oh, are you wondering about the Vons club card, I've had this forever."
Safeway Employee ringing up my groceries: "No. I was wondering about the hat. Bakersfield Fire Department."
Waist High: "No I live here but I grew up there. Look away. It's a hideous place. People make fun of it."
Safeway Employee ringing up my groceries: "Nah. Modesto is worse!"
Waist High readers meet Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras, the 28 year old Argentinian professional polo player and the face of Ralph Lauren Polo's Polo Black fragrance. Ignacio "Nacho" Figueras: meet the Waist High readers.
Photo courtesy: polo.com
At the tender age of fourteen, Annabella was one of the most photographed, talked about and popular vocalists with her band, BOW WOW WOW. Her unique vocals, which swung between sweet fourteen and a banshee, defined the sound of a new and energetic pop culture, her memorable performances influencing and inspiring a brand new wave of up and coming artists such as the Chili Peppers and No Doubt. She continued to perform and develop her songwriting throughout the 90's, assembling her second band The Naked Experience, as well as collaborating with other musicians and songwriters.
As well as writing and recording original material as a solo artist, she has also been a featured vocalist on numerous transatlantic dance favourites. Her songwriting talents brought her into partnerships with Guy Chambers (songwriter for all of Robbie Williams' chart hits), and the well seasoned Michael Lattanzi.
Performing low key shows on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as large promoted concerts with Bow Wow Wow, the new millennium found Annabella also expanding and employing her talents as a songwriter in a commercial, as well as spiritual directions. She performed several concerts for global charities like UNICEF and Save the Children Fund, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for needy children. She has also recently worked on a Nike commercial, as well as writing songs for several movies such as Desperate But Not Serious (starring Claudia Shiffer and Henry Rollins).
Her current and ongoing Buddhist retreats continue to enhance and inform her artistic sensibilities, giving birth to new mature and romantic songwriting. This new solo direction still retains Annabella's familiar hard core dance groove, beat heavy anthemics married now to new harmonies and a hint of eastern tinged melodies. Her vocal range has never sounded better, and the spirit of her songs confirms her ongoing celebration of life and music.
All material quoted directly from: annabellalwin.com
10/27/2005
Proof That Waist High Is Indeed Crazy.
6. (from Waist High 7/15/05): "If you thought that the owner of the largest collection of West High School photographs in the world would be invited to be on the West High School Class of 1986 reunion committee, who is meeting for the first time Aug. 7, you would be wrong. If you happen to think that the creator of a website NAMED AFTER WEST HIGH SCHOOL would be invited to be on the West High School Class of 1986 reunion committee, you would also be wrong."
5. Waist High the website is the exact same color as West High the school. Check it out here.
4. Waist High's #1 irritant Bake Town suggesting that I am crazy (Bake Town is irritating, but smart): (From Bake Town 10/24/05): PROOF THAT WAIST HIGH IS CRAZY
Waist High has finally provided me with the irrefutable proof that she is certifiably insane and in serious need of heavy medication and strenuous therapy. Really people, I think we need to stage an intervention. This is an excerpt from a recent email sent to me from Waist High.
"I didn't tell you yesterday but as we were talking on the phone, I had 3 West High yearbooks in my purse." 3 WEST HIGH YEARBOOKS IN HER FRIGGIN PURSE!
Scary, huh? This woman is SO obsessed with her former high school she CARRIES HER YEARBOOKS AROUND WITH HER! Seriously, she needs to be studied.
3. Oh, and the matter of a full time reader wondering if I wanted him to go break some kneecaps while he was in the Southern California area on business (and me actually wondering if 4 hours would be too far for him to drive)
To: waisthigh@_________.com
From: ---------@___________.com
Will I be close to the original West High School and those ladies on the committee? You know, I know people who "take care of things." Or, I could always just ding dong ditch them. Let me know.
2. Look at my tag line.
1. After being Shunned From The Aforementioned Reunion Committee, I continue to work on the West High School Class of 1986 website, spending 25+ hours just this last week alone.
Might I present to you, my labour of love, the West High School Class of 1986.
Undead. Undead. Undead.
For the first time in the history of Waist High, we have lost our ability to effectively communicate in writing. (Hah!) No words can describe seeing Bauhaus. Or watching Peter Murphy sing "Hollow Hills." It's Peter Murphy singing "Hollow Hills" 40 feet in front of you.
Please allow Todd Downing to describe the Friday night show in Seattle.
10/26/2005
Watch Out: Mary-Kate, Ashley, Hitler, And Fresyes.
Some good stuff going on over at Waist High's current favorite blog Fresyes about the Hitler youth of Bakersfield. Hey Fresyes: You are doing fabulous with the whole, "We're Back, Suckas" thing, but I've heard that before. PLEASE DON'T VANISH ON ME AGAIN because then Bake Town will become my favorite blog, AND WE CAN'T HAVE THAT HAPPEN!
10/23/2005
Happy Birthday Pauline Black.
As the lead singer of The Selecter, Pauline often had to disguise herself as a man in order to get gigs.
The Selecter specialized in 2 Tone ska music, which was an amalgam of Caribbean Ska, Rocksteady, and Reggae. Rocksteady is a slower, more intense version of ska. It was honed into the multi-racial sound of 2 Tone by bands such as The Specials and The Selecter, both of which came from Coventry, England. The expression arose from the name of the recording company, Two Tone Records. The band's name, The Selecter, references a Jamaican expression, which is known elsewhere as DJ.
The style is characterized by one person, the vocalist, singing, and the other person, the DJ/Selector, "Toasting" Jamaican style. "Toasting" is the act of talking (or chanting) over a rhythm or a beat. Initially developed in Jamaica during the 1960's, this led to the earliest forms of what is now known as dancehall in Jamaica, and rapping in the U.S.
The Selecter's first recording Too Much Pressure was released in 1980 and their second recording, Celebrate the Bullet was issued in 1981. They enjoyed great chart success with the singles "The Selecter," (flip side of The Special's "Gangsters") "On My Radio," "Three Minute Hero," and "Missing Words."
Material: nfo.net
Photo courtesy: mediatone.net
10/22/2005
I Say "Bow House." You Say "Bon Hoss."
OK kids so it's one more shift at work and then it's off to see Bauhaus, "whose song 'Bela Lugosi's Dead' is said to have created the gothic scene."
Or, as the nice lady selling me the ticket over the phone said, "OK. So that is one ticket for "Bon Hoss" at the Roseland Theatre at 9 p.m."
Material: wikipedia.org
10/20/2005
Open Letter To Andrew Fletcher, David Gahan, And Martin Gore.
Dear Sirs,
I purchased Playing The Angel Tuesday, which marked your quarter century anniversary. You, "Depeche Mode, the innovative, influential recording unit. The band (that has) sold upwards of 50 million records worldwide and (has) amassed a staggering 38 hit singles in the UK."
I am a 22 year fan and your music has always appealed to me because as you said about Playing The Angel Martin, your music appeals "to really dysfunctional people."
With this purchase, I now own all 11 of your studio albums.
It was after listening to Playing The Angel in it's entirety, that I had that moment where I realized that it is you that I have listened to the longest, you who I listen to the most, and you that I like the best.
I've been listening to alot of the old stuff lately, most frequently A Broken Frame and 101. The new album is brilliant, and "Precious" is amazing, taking it's place up there with all time favorites "In Your Room," "The Things You Said," "Shake The Disease," "Insight," and "The Sun And The Rainfall."
AND I NEVER PIRATED IT FROM THE INTERNET. I am the proud and rightful owner.
Please never go away. Please never stop doing what you do.
Much Love and Devotion,
Waist High
Material quoted directly from: emediawire.com
10/17/2005
Quote Of The Week.
"Tri-Tip": "In this situation, the best thing you can do is be silent. Silence is golden. It's understood in all languages. It is the universal language for 'I'm pissed off.'"
Best book find of the week: 602 Reasons To Be Pissed Off
10/16/2005
Bauhaus.
Waist High, one of the nation's eminent 1980s music scholars, secured her ticket yesterday to see the original lineup of Daniel Ash, David J, Kevin Haskins, and Peter Murphy, who have reunited for a North American tour which begins Oct. 16 in Mexico's capital city and ends Nov. 26 in Miami.
10-16 Mexico City, Mexico - World Trade Center
10-17 Guadalajara, Mexico - Teatro Diana
10-20 Vancouver, British Columbia - Vancouver Centre of Performing Arts
10-21 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre
10-23 Portland, OR - Roseland Theatre
10-25 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
10-26 San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre
10-28 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern LG
10-29 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern LG
10-30 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern LG
11-02 San Diego, CA - 4&B
11-03 Phoenix, AZ - TBA
11-05 Denver, CO - Paramount Theatre
11-07 Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre
11-08 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
11-09 Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre
11-11 New York, NY - Nokia Live Times Square
11-12 New York, NY - Nokia Live Times Square
11-13 Boston, MA - Orpheum Theatre
11-15 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
11-17 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus
11-19 Detroit, MI - Royal Oak Theatre
11-24 Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
11-25 Orlando, FL - House of Blues
11-26 Miami, FL - TBA
Material lovingly taken from: pitchforkmedia.com
Photo courtesy: bauhausmusik.com
Chief songwriter Spandau Ballet, actor.
Evolving from The Makers, Spandau Ballet formed in 1979 with a line up comprising Gary Kemp, his brother Martin Kemp, Tony Hadley, John Keeble, and Steve Norman.
Spandau Ballet originally came to prominence as part of the new romantic scene revolving around a handful of fashionable London clubs, at which the habitues would dress in outlandish clothes and makeup. Such was the interest in this unknown band that the group was offered a contract by Island Records' proprietor Chris Blackwell. This was rejected, and instead the band set up their own label Reformation, ultimately licensing through Chrysalis Records. Their powerful debut, the harrowing "To Cut A Long Story Short," reached the UK Top 5.
"Chant Number 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" reached the UK Top 3, and was followed by "Paint Me Down," and "She Loved Like Diamond."
The band completed a couple of albums and employed various producers, including Trevor Horn for "Instinction" and Tony Swain and Steve Jolley for "Communication."
"True" was released in 1983 and topped the UK charts for several weeks. The album of the same name repeated the feat, while the follow up "Gold" reached number 2. The obvious international appeal of a potential standard like "True" was underlined when the song climbed into the US Top 5 the same year.
Material: oldies.com
10/15/2005
Would A Huge Fan Of Cha-Ka Be Considered A Cha-Kaholic?
Waist High has three requirements for her gentleman callers:
1. Nice teeth. No exceptions.
2. Six feet tall minimum. No exceptions.
3. Must know who Cha-Ka is. Exception made.
Dammit. I can not talk about my love life on the internet so goodnight.
Alex I'll Take "You Know Your Cramps Are Bad When" For $200.
You know your cramps are bad when you have to do Lamaze breathing until the Advil finally kicks in.
10/14/2005
Cast Of Characters Update.
The Kern County Drunkard:
No hide. No hair. Thank God.
"Rampart":
Alive and well and now collecting child support from this writer.
My Lovely Teenaged Daughter:
Waist High: Driving for 21 years without an accident? Check.
Lovely Teenaged Daughter: First car accident at 17? Check.
"Tri-Tip":
Currently pissed at Waist High.
Priscilla:
Waist High currently pissed at.
The Stranger:
Number one: I did not throw him "under the bus" like he claims.
Number two: He needs to stop using my saying.
Number three: I can not talk about my love life on the internet anymore cause it's bad so good night.
Happy Birthday Thomas Dolby.
The son of a British archeologist, Thomas Morgan Robertson originally attended college to study meteorology, but he was soon side tracked by electronics, specifically musical equipment, and began building his own synthesizers when he was 18 years old. Around the same time, he began to learn how to play guitar and piano, as well as how to program computers. Eventually, his schoolmates gave him the nickname "Dolby," which was the name for a noise reduction technology for audiotapes. He would eventually take the nickname as a stage name.
In his late teens, Dolby was hired as a touring sound engineer for a variety of post punk bands, including The Fall and The Members. On these dates, he would use a PA system he had built himself.
In 1979, he formed the arty post-punk band Camera Club with Bruce Woolley, Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Matthew Seligman. Within a year, he had left the group and joined Lene Lovich's backing band. Dolby gave Lovich his song "New Toy," which became a British hit in 1981. That same year, he released his first solo single, "Urges," on the English independent label Armageddon. By the fall, he had signed with Parlophone and released "Europa and the Pirate Twins."
Dolby started playing synthesizer on sessions for other artists in 1982. That year, he appeared on Foreigner's 4, Def Leppard's Pyromania and Joan Armatrading's Walk Under Ladders. Also in 1982, he wrote and produced "Magic's Wand" for Whodini. The single became one of the first million-selling rap singles. Even with all of these achievements, 1982 was most noteworthy for the release of Dolby's first solo album, The Golden Age of Wireless. "Windpower," the first single from the record, became his first Top 40 UK hit in the late summer.
In January of 1983 Dolby released an EP, Blinded by Science, which included a catchy number called "She Blinded Me with Science." Blinded by Science was a minor hit in England, but the EP and the single became a major American hit in 1983, thanks to MTV's heavy airplay of the "She Blinded Me with Science" video. Eventually, the song reached number five on the US charts and was included on a resequenced and reissued version of The Golden Age of Wireless, which peaked at number 13 in America.
The Flat Earth, Dolby's second album, appeared in early 1984 and was supported by the single "Hyperactive." The single became his biggest UK hit, peaking at number 17. At the same time, Dolby was in demand as a collaborator and he worked with Herbie Hancock, Howard Jones, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton, and Dusty Springfield. During 1985, he produced Clinton's Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends, Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen (Two Wheels Good in the US), and Joni Mitchell's Dog Eat Dog, as well as supporting David Bowie at Live Aid.
Also in 1985, he began composing film scores, starting with Fever Pitch. In 1986, he composed the scores for Gothic and Howard the Duck, to which he credited himself as Dolby's Cube. That credit led to a lawsuit from the Dolby Labs, who eventually prohibited the musician from using the name "Dolby" in conjunction with any other name than "Thomas."
Aliens Ate My Buick, Dolby's long-delayed third album, appeared in 1988, and the single "Airhead" became a minor British hit.
For the rest of the late '80s and early '90s, Dolby continued to score films, producing, and building his own computer equipment. His fourth album, Astronauts & Heretics, was released in 1992 on his new label, Giant.
The following year, Dolby founded the computer software company Headspace, which released The Virtual String Quartet as its first program. For the rest of the '90s, Headspace occupied most of Dolby's time and energy. In 1994, he released The Gate to the Mind's Eye, a soundtrack to the videotape Mind's Eye. Also that year, Capitol released his greatest hits collection.
While Thomas continued to pursue his own creative endeavors, he was also courted by the developers of synthesizers, audio software and computer games to help them improve the audio capabilities of their products. Noticing that existing audio software was linear, Thomas sought to create software that would make music and sound truly interactive. With the advent of the Web, he found the perfect media for interactive audio.
Beatnik became the embodiment of Thomas' vision. He built the company around a team of musically savvy engineers and technically astute musicians, and secured top management and funding. Today, the same passion and vision that first drew a teenage Thomas Robertson to music and technology, is at the core of Beatnik.
Material quoted directly from: music.yahoo.com & thomasdolby.com
10/13/2005
Living In The Eighties News.
SPARKS will release a new album Hello Young Lovers in February next year, preceded by a single "Dick Around" on January 30th.
HEAVEN 17 have finally finished negotiating a new record deal for their forthcoming Before After album. The album will now be released on November 7th via BEF/Alpha Engineering.
MADNESS are to reissue their best-selling Divine Madness compilation as a special Sight & Sound release via EMI. The 21st of November release will see the CD and DVD versions of the album packaged together for the first time at a special price.
DEPECHE MODE are to do an instore signing session at Tower Records (4th & Broadway) in New York City. The signing session will take place on October 18th, the US release date of the Playing the Angel album.
SIOBHAN FAHEY will release her new single "Bad Blood" on October 17th via her own SF Records label.
ADAM ANT will publish an autobiography late next year. Stand & Deliver will be written by Adam himself and will cover the singers life from childhood through pop superstardom and his recent mental health problems.
All material courtesy of: remembertheeighties.com
Photo courtesy: randywillis.org
10/12/2005
Happy Birthday David Vanian.
The first British punk band to release a record, the first to have a hit single, and the first to tour America, The Damned have been fronted only by Dave Vanian since they formed in 1976. He is the only member that appears on every studio release, and to this day is still part of the new lineup. He is the voice, and without him it would and could never be The Damned. He's been widely credited as the Godfather of Goth.
Material courtesy: onewaylove.com
10/11/2005
I Love It When Readers Send Me Gifts.
Researchers in Portland Oregon last week discovered that placing such a gift as a 1 lb. box of Dewar's Chews in your work place is interesting. Especially when it is a small work place. The entire 1 lb. box will be gone within hours.
Photo courtesy: dewarscandy.com
Oregon: Come For The Fishing. Stay For So Much More.
Not too sure where to take your next vacation? Looking to get away for a while? Wanna show the kids a real good time?
Oregon is now the only state in the land where live sex shows are legal.
10/10/2005
10/08/2005
Of All The Headlines...
regarding Boy George's arraignment this morning, the one Waist High could most do without is "Boy George Tumbles For Drug Charge."
Photo: AP via Yahoo News
10/06/2005
Brusha. Brusha. Brusha.
Waist High would like to say a public CONGRATULATIONS to My Lovely Teenaged Daughter. NO CAVITIES TODAY! Good girl!
Photo courtesy of: The Lovely Teenaged Daughter Collection
10/05/2005
Living In The Eighties News.
THE JAM's former frontman PAUL WELLER will play an intimate show at London's Oxford Street HMV store on October 10th to mark the release of his new album All Is Now on the same day.
SOFT CELL singer MARC ALMOND will play twenty five UK shows as the special guest of former SQUEEZE mainman JOOLS HOLLAND. Almond, who is using the tour as a way of easing himself back into performing after last year's near fatal motorcycle accident, will provide guest vocals on the tour.
EURYTHMICS have made some changes to the release schedule of their new single and Ultimate Collection album as well as announcing the reissue of eight of their catalogue albums. The new single "I've Got A Life" will now be released on October 31st with the Ultimate Collection following on November 7th and the reissues on November 14th.
THE ALARM will release a brand new album in February. Under Attack, recorded at various times this year, will be released via EMI on February 20th. The band will also be playing a number of shows next year to promote the record, each one on the last Saturday of each month.
DURAN DURAN fans have organised an online petition to get the band nominated for a place in the prestigious Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2006.
VAN HALEN are said to be the next band to search for a singer via the TV reality show Rock Star. INXS recently launched the show and last week announced the winner of their series who will record and tour with the band and the series featuring Van Halen is expected to be along the same lines.
MORRISSEY has signed a new contract with Sanctuary Records, the label he fell out with over his cancellation of this year's Isle Of Wight Festival. The former SMITHS frontman has almost completed work on recording a new studio album in Rome and the follow up to the million-selling You Are The Quarry is reported to be shaping up to be a full-on rock album.
SPANDAU BALLET will release their first ever live album on October 3rd, Live From The NEC is the partner release to the DVD of the same name although the track listing is different and was filmed at Birmingham's NEC in December 1986 as part of the band's "Through The Barricades" tour.
All material courtesy of: remembertheeighties.com
10/04/2005
James Blunt.
Never is Waist High one to get excited about new music, but I got excited when I heard James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" for the first time.
Lookie What I Found Bake Town.
No silly, these are not hanging in front of my house, but now that you know what "shoes on the wire" means, I wonder if we would find more of these in your town or mine? Hmmm.
10/02/2005
Formed in Sheffield in 1977 by Martyn Ware, Ian Craig-Marsh and singer Adi Newton, former hospital porter Phil Oakey was invited to join The Human League, he says, just because he was tall. Their debut single, "Being Boiled," was voted NME's single of the week in the summer of 1978. It didn't chart then, but got to number 6 when reissued in 1982.
Their EP, Holiday '80', got them on Top Of The Pops, and a modestly successful debut album Reproduction was followed by Travelogue, which charted at 14 in May 1980.
Ego problems between Martyn and Phil worsened as Oakey naturally became the band's focus. So in October, Ware and Marsh jumped ship (to form Heaven 17) just ten days before a major tour was due to start. Within days, Oakey spotted Joanne Catherall and Susanne Sulley at Sheffield's Crazy Daisy Disco and asked them to join.
1981 was the year that the Human League went big time. "Boys and Girls" was the first single with the girls and another new face, Ian Burden, on bass and synth. It scraped into the charts at 48 in February. A couple of months later, "The Sound Of The Crowd" went to 12. Shortly after that, guitarist Jo Callis joined the band. "Love Action" went to number 3 in July. "Open Your Heart" reached 6 in October, and everybody's soundtrack for Christmas 1981 was the chart topper "Don't You Want Me Baby." These all came from the 5 million copies plus Dare album which made the band a mega act on either side of the Atlantic.
The hits kept coming in 1983 with "Fascination," "Mirror Man," and "The Lebanon," even though band members were feeling the pressure of trying to come up with a worthy follow up to Dare.
1984's Hysteria went Top 3 in May and October. That same year, Oakey also collaborated with his mentor and biggest influence, Eurobeat maestro Giorgio Moroder on the top 5 single "Together in Electric Dreams" (they subsequently cut a whole album called Chrome).
Burden and Callis left before 1986's Crash album. Produced by the Minneapolis R&B team Jam/Lewis, this duo, the band themselves acknowledge, saved the Human League. Off Crash came the "Human" single which got 8 in the UK but was a massive number 1 in America.
The Human League will release their recently announced compilation Original Remixes & Rarities on Nov. 7.
Material courtesy: secretrecordslimited.com
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