I've finally achieved consistency in my life. Any person of average or above intelligence can predict what I will say next with unerring accuracy. And what I say will always be wrong.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

[ILoveIshtar] You've received a private message from a friend!

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[ILoveIshtar] Re: Cringworthies

Matt, I can't put a finger on it, but there's something about The Ishtar Blues that reminds me
of Hot Fudge Love. I <i>think</i> that's a compliment ; )

On an unrelated note, I saw the Iranian film "Baba Aziz" recently, and was comPLETEly
distracted by the use of the name Ishtar throughout the movie. I couldn't help
superimposing the so-bad-it's-good irony/hilarity of Ishtar (the movie) onto the somber,
serious epic that Baba Aziz is. `Course... I felt about Baba Aziz a lot like most of America felt
about Ishtar; damn near walked out. Maybe I just didn't get it ; )

Dave
--
http://www.daveelvin.com

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Friday, March 21, 2008

[ILoveIshtar] More on Isthar-related movies

First of all, a correction. What was I thinking?  I wrote that in the year Moes Haven did their 365 album marathon (has anybody contacted Guiness about this?) they  had already written 300 songs prior to tackling their Ishtar inspired November albums - but in fact since they were doing an album (not a song) a day, it must have been more like 2000 - 3000 (or even more) songs.  Yow!

Ok, back to me.  I'm sure I've shared part of this story before, but it has some new chapters.  When I was 20 or so, I was hanging out with my friend Dave a lot, writing songs. I played Lyle to his Chuck... I was separated from my then-wife, and in the pits... he was employed, he drove one of those mammoth size t-birds they had back then, and a double wide trailer with a piano. 

I'd go over Friday night and sometimes stay until Sunday morning, and we'd crank out the songs, all of which viewed from my 2008 perspective were hideously bad.  Actually, I've probably felt that way the last quarter of a century.  But they were an oasis of good times in a desert of dispair, and I had fond memories.

And of course, it was one of the things that made me an Ishtar fan; they really captured the camaraderie and the process of being part of an aspiring songwriting team.  In fact, after a viewing of Ishtar not so very long ago, I decided to get back in touch with Dave.  It took a while, I went through an intermediary who was easier to find on the web...

I was surprised and delighted to learn that Dave wanted to resume the songwriting partnership. I knew he'd gone on to trying to create musicals, and I don't have the attention span for that kind of long form - but he was still interested in popping out 3 minute pop songs.  It made me uneasy (extremely uneasy) that he still thought the stuff we'd done back in the day was great, and didn't understand why they weren't successful.  I felt I had a new perspective and new skills to bring to the process, and I assumed the same was true for him as well. It seemed less likely if he wasn't able to hear and see the flaws in the old material.

We got together for a songwriting session, and I brought up an old novelty song we'd done, apparently lost for good, "The Cairo Blues."  He said "you know, there's this movie with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty... it's supposed to be the worst movie ever made, but I don't think it's bad!"

So I told him about my huge love for the movie, this group, and John Mitchell's documentary Waiting For Ishtar.  Always one to sieze an opportunity, he said we should redo the Cairo Blues, submit it to John Mitchell, and see if we can get it in the movie. 

Which we did! John doesn't think he can use it, so I'm making it available to the world (which doesn't even know it needs this song yet) You can't really say it's a Cairo Blues makeover at all - it's an entirely different melody, and entirely new words - but I called it the Ishtar Blues as a nod to the origins of the idea (and the musical content has a nodding familiarity with the blues) and it can be heard or downloaded at:

www.soundclick.com/thecringeworthies

It's the first song on the list - the old stuff follows, good luck making it through very many of them!

PS.  Later I found the Cairo Blues lyrics I'd written, but Dave has been unsuccessful in recovering the melody.  I offer this as a gift to the world as well.

The Cairo Blues

I was out drinking at the tavern
Saw you smiling like the sphinx
You brought twenty years bad luck
Cause girl, you're just a jinx

I'd walk a mile for a camel
To ride away from you
I haven't slept for 40 nights
Because you've been untrue

chorus:
I got the Cairo Blues
I've come all unglued
I'd fight crocodiles
On the Nile
To see the last of you

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

[ItsAllAboutMeMan] Re: [iChat] Vigil for Tibet, tonight (Wednesday) at 6:30

What little moral authority US citizens may have once been able to
claim in the world has been eradicated by our government's violent
oppression of the Iraqi people.

I haven't seen much discussion of that issue on this list - I'm sure
people expect some conflict over the topic, and simply avoid it.
Thank goodness we can all agree that other band of primates over there
sure behaves badly.

On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 6:27 PM, Benjamin J Schwabe
<bschwabe@u.washington.edu> wrote:
>
> Hello all:
>
> Tonight at 6:30 at Westlake Center (the corner of Pike and 4th)there will be a vigil/rally/protest thing for the people of Tibet. The Chinese government is currently implementing yet another violent oppression of the Tibetan people. It would be nice if we could, in our small way, show the world that this is not appropriate.
>
> Have a splendid evening:
>
> Ben Schwabe
>
> _______________________________________________
> iChat mailing list
> iChat@u.washington.edu
> http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/ichat
>

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Re: [ILoveIshtar] Howdy

Hey, Matt... no avoiding, just VERY little time. My 2nd apologies. I hear the comments from everybody... life is just too weird, though I'm glad I showed for it. What's your home number? Love to catch up that way...

Jef Leeson, Ishtar The Movie Webchef  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "People would rather suffer with what they have than try the unknown." http://www.ishtarthemovie.com http://www.lddonline.com


matt love wrote:
On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Ishtar The Movie Webchef <itmcontact@ishtarthemovie.com> wrote:    
Very cool to hear, Matt.  Jef Leeson, Ishtar The Movie Webchef  ---------------------------------------------------------- "People would rather suffer with what they have than try the unknown." http://www.ishtarthemovie.com http://www.lddonline.com     
 Hey Jef,  Thanks for the shout out - but I'm beginning to think you're avoiding me, this is the 2nd time I've been to Toronto and failed to connect with you - I hope the situation can be corrected in a future visit.  In more recent Ishtar related activity, I finally took the plunge and ordered Moes Haven's CD "November the 'Tar!" The significance of the name escapes me, though I wonder if the 'Tar might have something to do with Ishtar, since the lengthy cover blurb notes that the CD is:  "A collection of songs written in the tradition of the compositions of Rogers and Clarke, as portrayed by Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in the 1987 Columbia feature film, Ishtar, a much maligned production centered on the meteoric rise of an ill-received singer/songwriter duo, which in no way deserved the almost universal disparagement it received from critics who focused disproportionately upon the picture's lavish budget instead of its groundbreaking humor and ribald social commentary, which is only now, some two decades later, finally being recognized by a select few respected scholars and erudite theologians."  As an exercise in songwriting (and extreme obsessive compulsive behavior the group wrote and recorded a mind-boggling 365 albums one year - that's right, one for every single day.  They then selected the best songs from each month and issued 12 CDs.  The November CD is devoted to Ishtar. I ordered it from CDBaby a fair amount of time ago, and though I have always had great customer service from them in the past, a couple of days ago I found myself thinking,  "jeez it's been a long time since I ordered that Moes Haven CD from CDBaby - I pretty much paid a premium rate for the postage - postage from the US to Canada isn't nearly what they charged me!"  So then I checked my mailbox, and guess what was in it?  I've listened to it repeatedly (it's going head to head with Robert Plant and Allison Krauss for ear space, and it's pretty much a dead heat), I absolutely love it, it's just wonderful, wonderful music, containing perhaps the best couplet ever committed in popular song:  she does it so derisively, it's like she's dumping ice on me...  You would have thought that they'd be running pretty dry on inspiration, having already done 300+ songs that year, but that isn't the case at all.  You don't need to be an Ishtar fan to enjoy this album (though it helps) - I only heard one explicit Ishtar reference, when they singer invites a date to watch a movie, maybe even Ishtar! Who could resist that romantic invitation?  If you haven't checked them out yet, I urge you do so now.  Their website is http://www.moeshaven.com/    

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Re: [ILoveIshtar] Howdy

On Wed, Mar 19, 2008 at 9:02 AM, Ishtar The Movie Webchef
<itmcontact@ishtarthemovie.com> wrote:

> Very cool to hear, Matt.
>
> Jef Leeson,
> Ishtar The Movie Webchef
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------
> "People would rather suffer with what they have than try the unknown."
> http://www.ishtarthemovie.com
> http://www.lddonline.com

Hey Jef,

Thanks for the shout out - but I'm beginning to think you're avoiding
me, this is the 2nd time I've been to Toronto and failed to connect
with you - I hope the situation can be corrected in a future visit.

In more recent Ishtar related activity, I finally took the plunge and
ordered Moes Haven's CD "November the 'Tar!" The significance of the
name escapes me, though I wonder if the 'Tar might have something to
do with Ishtar, since the lengthy cover blurb notes that the CD is:

"A collection of songs written in the tradition of the compositions of
Rogers and Clarke, as portrayed by Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman in
the 1987 Columbia feature film, Ishtar, a much maligned production
centered on the meteoric rise of an ill-received singer/songwriter
duo, which in no way deserved the almost universal disparagement it
received from critics who focused disproportionately upon the
picture's lavish budget instead of its groundbreaking humor and ribald
social commentary, which is only now, some two decades later, finally
being recognized by a select few respected scholars and erudite
theologians."

As an exercise in songwriting (and extreme obsessive compulsive
behavior the group wrote and recorded a mind-boggling 365 albums one
year - that's right, one for every single day. They then selected the
best songs from each month and issued 12 CDs. The November CD is
devoted to Ishtar. I ordered it from CDBaby a fair amount of time ago,
and though I have always had great customer service from them in the
past, a couple of days ago I found myself thinking, "jeez it's been a
long time since I ordered that Moes Haven CD from CDBaby - I pretty
much paid a premium rate for the postage - postage from the US to
Canada isn't nearly what they charged me!"

So then I checked my mailbox, and guess what was in it?

I've listened to it repeatedly (it's going head to head with Robert
Plant and Allison Krauss for ear space, and it's pretty much a dead
heat), I absolutely love it, it's just wonderful, wonderful music,
containing perhaps the best couplet ever committed in popular song:

she does it so derisively,
it's like she's dumping ice on me...

You would have thought that they'd be running pretty dry on
inspiration, having already done 300+ songs that year, but that isn't
the case at all. You don't need to be an Ishtar fan to enjoy this
album (though it helps) - I only heard one explicit Ishtar reference,
when they singer invites a date to watch a movie, maybe even Ishtar!
Who could resist that romantic invitation?

If you haven't checked them out yet, I urge you do so now. Their
website is http://www.moeshaven.com/

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Re: [ILoveIshtar] Howdy

Very cool to hear, Matt.

Jef Leeson,
Ishtar The Movie Webchef

----------------------------------------------------------
"People would rather suffer with what they have than try the unknown."
http://www.ishtarthemovie.com
http://www.lddonline.com

matt love wrote:
> Hey folks,
>
> Last week I went to Canada Music Week in Toronto - it's the biggest Music
> Industry Event in Canada, something like SXSW in Austin. It was very
> educational. I learned a lot of inside dope... for example, (brace yourself)
> the music business isn't always very nice. For one thing, they want to
> separate you from your money, and the want to use your children as their
> agents in doing it.
>
> The guy from MTV crowed about the number of kids as young as nine years old
> who have their own cell phones (I don't remember the exact number, but it
> was something like "a lot.") Every kid with a cell phone is a potential
> customer for something called a "ring tone." I don't know about you, but I
> don't know many nine-year-olds with jobs. They have to get the money to buy
> these "ring tones" from somewhere, can you guess the most likely place?
> That's right.
>
> I felt sorry for the artists and producers who are scrambling to make a
> living while the record companies are resisting change and suing consumers,
> and targeting children with their vile product.
>
> So it was kind of disheartening, but in the middle of all this, I took an
> hour away from it to be interviewed on camera by John Mitchell for "Waiting
> for Ishtar", his film about Ishtar fandom (http://www.waitingforishtar.com/).
> He's one of the nicest guys I've had the privilege to meet in I don't know
> how long... he put me totally at ease, and I don't think I'll look like a
> kook or a moron, so I'm happy about how it went.
>
> He told me one thing that was fascinating - I don't think I've heard this
> before. The on screen snippets of songs Paul Williams wrote for the movie
> are only sections of complete songs. Furthermore, Williams wrote 55 songs
> for consideration!
>
> My gosh, what a treasure trove. I hope they become available to us some
> day.
>
>

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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

[ILoveIshtar] Howdy

Hey folks,

Last week I went to Canada Music Week in Toronto - it's the biggest Music Industry Event in Canada, something like SXSW in Austin.  It was very educational. I learned a lot of inside dope... for example, (brace yourself) the music business isn't always very nice.  For one thing, they want to separate you from your money, and the want to use your children as their agents in doing it.

The guy from MTV crowed about the number of kids as young as nine years old who have their own cell phones (I don't remember the exact number, but it was something like "a lot.")  Every kid with a cell phone is a potential customer for something called a "ring tone."  I don't know about you, but I don't know many nine-year-olds with jobs.  They have to get the money to buy these "ring tones" from somewhere, can you guess the most likely place?  That's right.

I felt sorry for the artists and producers who are scrambling to make a living while the record companies are resisting change and suing consumers, and targeting children with their vile product.

So it was kind of disheartening, but in the middle of all this, I took an hour away from it to be interviewed on camera by John Mitchell for "Waiting for Ishtar", his film about Ishtar fandom (http://www.waitingforishtar.com/).  He's one of the nicest guys I've had the privilege to meet in I don't know how long... he put me totally at ease, and I don't think I'll look like a kook or a moron, so I'm happy about how it went.

He told me one thing that was fascinating - I don't think I've heard this before.  The on screen snippets of songs Paul Williams wrote for the movie are only sections of complete songs. Furthermore, Williams wrote 55 songs for consideration!

My gosh, what a treasure trove.  I hope they become available to us some day.


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Fwd: [It's All About Me, Man] New comment on [ItsAllAboutMeMan] Fwd: A Typical Matt Love Blog.

I'm very confused. This guy obviously recognizes a good blog when he sees one, but I'm not sure I'm so enthusiastic about his... it doesn't look like a blog so much as an ad... what's up with that?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: MP3 e MP4 <noreply-comment@blogger.com>
Date: Sun, Mar 16, 2008 at 6:01 AM
Subject: [It&#39;s All About Me, Man] New comment on [ItsAllAboutMeMan] Fwd: A Typical Matt Love Blog.
To: matt.mattlove1@gmail.com


MP3 e MP4 has left a new comment on your post "[ItsAllAboutMeMan] Fwd: A Typical Matt Love Blog":

Hello. This post is likeable, and your blog is very interesting, congratulations :-). I will add in my blogroll =). If possible gives a last there on my blog, it is about the MP3 e MP4, I hope you enjoy. The address is http://mp3-mp4-brasil.blogspot.com. A hug.



Posted by MP3 e MP4 to It's All About Me, Man at 6:01 AM

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Monday, March 17, 2008

[ItsAllAboutMeMan] A modest proposal

Dear Shop In Private:

I play bass in a modern rock band Dweebish (www.myspace.com/dweebishband).  We are looking for unique synergies with corporate sponsors for an upcoming tour. 

I am an enthusiastic consumer of your product, Yohimbe Erection Cream (see attached photo).  In fact, all of us are.  Somewhat long-in-the-tooth rockers such as ourselves sometimes need a little assistance in keeping up with the demands that touring and groupies create. We find Yohimbe Erection Cream gives us the edge that we need to be competitive in the rock marketplace.

We think it would be a mutually beneficial relationship.  Please let me know what you think.

Sincerely,

Matt Love
Dweebish Bassist

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