aerodeliria

[aerodeliria]

have a happier period

You may not know this about me, but I'm rather passionate about positive views on menstruation (as long as you're not talking to me on the first day of my period before I've taken my handful of Aleve), and what are considered to be "alternative menstrual products."  I discovered these wonderful things, namely cloth reusable pads, while browsing at the Whole Foods Co-Op, although I wish I'd learned about them from my grandmother or someone else who had actually experienced being 'on the rag' before it became 'on the chemically-laden diaper-like vag-burning panty-sticker thingy."   At first, I marveled at the concept of washing bloody pads (what the hell would I do when I wasn't at home?), getting blood stains out of said pads (ewww!), bleeding through onto my britches (I NEED my super-absorption blue strip to hold all the blue liquid I apparently pour forth from my ladyparts!)... And then I moved on to the research.  I'm a researcher at heart, and while I love to strike while the iron's hot, I also want all my facts straight. I quickly realized that traditional fem. hygiene products contained not only a bunch of nasty chemicals (did you know that those products expire?!), but that the xeno-estrogens (or false estrogens) that they contain are incredibly detrimental and are being...well, directly absorbed through your skin.  It's scary to think that 50% of the population, at one point in time or another during their childbearing years, have used these toxic products for an average of 84 days per year, not counting those who use panty-liners more frequently for regular vaginal discharge.   That, to me, was startling.  And that's just pads!  I'm not even a tampon user, but as I dug deeper into that particular issue, I discovered the correlation of TSS, or Toxic Shock Syndrome, with the use of super absorbency tampons.  As they began to tamper with and contaminate traditional 100% cotton tampons, adding absorbent chemicals and preservatives, leaving a tampon in for longer than 6 hours became a danger rather than just...well, messy.   All of this information enraged me.  It saddened me. It made me wonder what damage I might have been doing to myself in the 13+ years I'd been menstruating.   And so I bought my first box of 3 GladRags reusable pads, and I never looked back. Since switching to reusables, my periods have lessened in severity (both cramping and flow), my nether-regions have ceased to be irritated by constant pad contact, and my pocket-book has thanked me (breaking even from the initial investment came within the first 6 months, easily, and these pads will hold up for a long time).   With all of that said, I challenge you to reconsider "the norm."  Is it what's best for your body?  I can't answer that for you, but I know for me, the answer is almost always 'no.'  Most of what I learned growing up in this society I have chosen to deprogram from my way of living, because those practices were not for my highest good.  Menstrual products are just one of the many reconsiderations I've had, and I am much better for it.

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Triumvirat's 1974 album 'Illusions on a Double Dimple' has been a staple in my music collection for a long time.  Considered to be the German Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Triumvirat drew from a variety of progressive influences to shape their keyboard, bass and drum trio sound.  "Triangle" has remained one of my favorites from Illusions, and I'm glad to see that someone uploaded a copy on youtube that is, in fact, from vinyl--because it really is punchier that way. 

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This demo version of 'Wish I Could Stand or Have' by Scott Miller for Game Theory's album Two Steps from the Middle Ages was recently shared by on facebook among Scott's many fans by Robert Poor via Sue Trowbridge.  Listening to demos, I've found, is new and exciting because you can clearly see the raw vision for the song.  With Scott, especially Game Theory era tracks, unless you've heard them live (solo or unplugged), you never hear them without synth or 80s production values.  I'm certainly not bashing those aspects, by any means, but of course there is a timeless value to sticking with just guitar, bass and drums.  In the case of this song, the demo is very similar to the album track, aside from the vocals being mixed back a bit on the album. Scott's clarity from the beginning on what he wanted the song to be is just another reason I am a huge fan.

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This song, in the sea of prog produced by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, holds a special kind of...dare I say, sexiness.  I don't typically use the term sexy.  Really.  But you have to know that Greg Lake performs this in such a riveting way--so much better than the album track--that it's nearly sensual (moreso than the title would even suggest).  Anyone who listens to prog knows that 'sexy' is definitely not one of the descriptors used, especially in a genre mostly played by and listened to by dudes.  Perhaps that's why ELP successfully crossed over into mainstream, with songs like, "From the Beginning," and "Lucky Man."  Even my mother-in-law thought that Greg Lake was hot (but still couldn't beat Justin Hayward).

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Featuring Emitt Rhodes

I've read that Emitt Rhodes actually went on, after The Merry-Go-Round, to have a decently prolific solo career, but I can honestly say that I didn't have to go any further than 'The Merry-Go-Round- Listen, Listen: The Definitive Collection.'  Covering almost as much ground as an entire band's multi-decade discography, this album (of somewhere around maybe 18-20 tracks?) ranges in genre, instrumentation, and emotion.  Everyone always marvels at how such a reclusive guy from LA could sound like the most intelligent, well-refined British musician (Beatlesque, dare I say!) Perhaps I latched on so greatly because I discovered the album at a very difficult time in my life; regardless, the songs have carried me many times over the last 7 years.   Re: Gonna Fight the War--I always make the disclaimer before sharing this song that the views expressed  therein are merely representative of the Vietnam era, and should be regarded as such.  Sounds silly to need to state, but better safe than misconstrued.

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It's pretty safe to say that the first time I heard Juliana Hatfield sing, I had a similar reaction to the average person hearing Joanna Newsom's voice (more on her later...)  I wasn't deterred enough to resist buying almost all of her albums and having somewhat of a love affair with her discography.  I've never been much for female singers, but her singer-songwriter abilities and her guitar skills gave me good reason to step outside of my comfort zone.  This particular song, Supermodel, is one of her earlier tracks (as she says in this video--before she even recorded it).  

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I knew early on, in spite of my progressive roots, that I had a love for creative melodies.  Even when I listened to metal and thrash, it hovered on the 'heavy melody' end of the spectrum.  But when I borrowed the album 'Big Plans for Everybody' by Let's Active from my dad at age 13, I realized that jangle and power pop were a huge part of me.  Of course, Let's Active was phenomenal inspiration for female musicianship, with Faye Hunter (RIP) on bass and Sara Romweber on drums, but it's Mitch Easter who I've followed all these years, through albums and lineups and [his] girlfriends/bandmates.   Most people if they even recognize the name Let's Active or Mitch Easter are only familiar because of REM and the publicity Mitch got through being their producer.  Of course, many great producers, once they finally get out from behind the board, have their own fantastic music to share, and Mitch is no exception.   Personal bizzare nostalgic anecdote:  for a long time, before the internet was really well-developed and teeming with google image pages and wikipedia sourcing, there was not a lot out there about Mitch Easter or Let's Active.  When I did research, as my teenage self was wont to do, I would always come across this same picture of Mitch sitting behind the mixing board with two other guys I didn't know.  I never really thought much of the picture back then, until earlier this year when I went to wikipedia, and on Mitch Easter's page, I saw it captioned:  Mitch Easter producing Game Theory's Lolita Nation.  DingDingDing! You see a picture for so long, before knowing who the people are,, that when you do know them, you can't even place them.  My regards to Michael Quercio and Scott Miller for my years of ignorance.

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Game Theory was an American rock band from 1981 to 1989. The group's lead singer, Scott Miller, went on to front the band The Loud Family. Game Theory is bes...

In a conversation with a friend last week, he mentioned that while everyone knows that Pearl Jam is his absolute favorite band--and he makes sure to let everyone know--he does keep some music just to himself;  Billy Joel is just for his personal enjoyment.  For some reason, this concept of what we share and what we keep private and special really resonates with me.  I've spent many years boasting my progressive fandom (because, hey--I'm a minority and am always on the lookout for other progheads, especially of the female variety [shoutouts to my KX sistahs]).   But, behind closed doors, I listen to a wide variety of genres. Within those genres, there is a small niche, yet a large part of my heart, that is reserved only for Scott Miller (Game Theory, Loud Family).  These are the songs that don't really need to be shared because the meaning I derive from them isn't meant to be echoed by anyone else--thus I share them in confidence here, knowing that I am likely the only one who reads my posts.

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Supergroups who are actually super (rather than just comprised of big-wigs) are few and far between, and Transatlantic is really super.  This is a gem from their debut album, SMPTe.  This is not exactly representative of their usually up-tempo, progressive numbers, but certainly showcases their passion and connection to the audience.  What a relief to hear that they have a new album coming out sometime next year!

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Fountains of Wayne could possibly be my favorite band of all time.  Ok, I know there's always a chance when you utter something like that that it will come back to bite you later, but I'm serious.  In fact, the only song in their entire discography that I truly dislike is "Stacy's Mom," and for good reason.  This band has unlimited songwriting potential, armed with the duo of Collingwood and Schlesinger, and honestly could have made a huge impact on the world had it not been for the pigeon-holing from that song.  I saw them last year for the first time at a fabulous, free concert and was truly bummed that most attendees were only there just to relive those sexy on-screen moments with Rachel Hunter. It's a familiar tale usually tied to one-hit-wonders (or one-ders, if you know what I mean) but it hurts nevertheless when talent and musicianship go unnoticed.  Needless to say, if Adam and Chris were able to write this song drunk in 1996, you can imagine what their musical trajectory might look like over the next 17+ years.

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I told you there would be more from Loud Family, though I didn't expect it so soon.  My namesake and seemingly one of the few songs I have entirely connected with in my life thus far, Aerodeliria is a song in a league of its own--if I could write music this perfect, I would; this would have been my work.  Alas, it is not, but I still listen to it rather frequently to fondly remember and be thankful for the music Scott Miller blessed us with.  

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My husband is entirely to blame for this one.  He played this song for me when we were dating, thinking that it was going to be a total turn-off and that I'd absolutely laugh at his musical taste (which seemed plausible--I was, afterall, the queen of progressive rock at that time: "Attention All Planets of the Solar Federation--We Have Assumed Control!")   Much to his chagrin, I was intrigued by this Boston-based, Guitar Hero famed group with such a quirky sound.  I went crazy about this song in particular.  Ringtone: engage!  Nearly six years later, this song still remains a bone of contention in the ipod DJing--only because he didn't expect it to be a permanent fixture in our music collection.

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This song launched a thousand ships in my mind on a conquest for Canadian music (beyond the scope of just Rush).  While this was one of a handful of singles from The Grapes of Wrath that reached US airplay in the late 80s, you'd be surprised to know that they have a fantastic discography spanning nearly 30 years, as well as various solo records.  Their latest album, High Road, just came out earlier this year, and is as fresh and innovative as Now and Again.  Known for their harmonies and folk rock tendencies, they are what I consider to be spectacular 'headphone music.'  

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After you get past The Rembrandts being synonymous with the Friends theme song, it's easy to see the pop-magic talent this duo possesses.  I was pleasantly surprised with their album, 'LP,' as one of my dollar-bin finds, and thus made it my mission to start tracking down their other albums to see what all they were made of.  Tight harmonies, quality musicianship, fabulous production, and intriguing chord progressions are just some of the reasons to give this group a fair shake.  But, in case you're not hooked on the first listen, don't worry--they'll be there for you. [pun intended]

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Let this be the video that kicks off my music video blogging journey.   Thanks, Scott, for all the incredible music.