Hey Baybees!



Sorry for posting that whole flockin' article... Don't know what I was thinking. Actually, I was thinking, fuck I'm on two deadlines and I better not get involved in cutting this down like a proper blogger would do.



I stayed up till 4:30 last night finishing a couple articles. For the first time I found that the blog directly fed one of my columns. Hey, who knew? I guess now I have to offer a warning, though, to anyone who reads the blog and my column: major self-plagiarizing might occur at any time. Ben told me to think about slacking off on the blog for a while, and he has a point. But at the same time, it seems to be a good idea-generator for me, and god knows I need it.



OK enough writer shop-talk crap.



I've been digging a CD Jim gave me as I was leaving Minneapolis: The Best of Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band (from the late '60s/early '70s).



First of all, we have to talk about how heckin' cool that name is



Ain't it cool?



Also, the name of one of their albums: "In the Jungle, Babe."



Wanna steal it..



The CD has a kind of indelible weirdness that you just can't buy--or fake. A lot of it was recorded live, half-improvised--basically, street funk played like jazz. It's real fun. The best part is how many songs are about encouraging people to freak out and be creative: "Express Yourself," "Do Your Thing," et al.



"Whatever it is, do it good," he sings.



It's like what my hero Matt Welch once told me years ago in Prague: "Why would you ever write anything that wasn't great?"



I'm a lazy cat so I don't necessarily uphold the dictum at all times--but I do love it dearly.



snuffles,

Kate

















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