A time to think of in honest cynicism...

I got to thinking like a non-U.S. citizen today...and I thought to myself, "Self, if you were in another country other than the US of mother-fuckin' finger lickin' good of A, would you be kinda wary of Americans if you knew that a little over half of the money that's paid into US tax revenues went to the US Department of Defense...to the Pentagon. Why if I were the ruler of said other country, I'd be kinda curious about the ramifications of xenophobing Americans from those countries all together."

Then I replied, "Well what kind of surrender monkey do you think I am!? Of course I would lock them out and throw away the key!"

Then I retorted, "Why, that's proposterous! What could you possibly know about Americans by seeing what their government uses their tax dollars for?"

Later, I responded, "Well...nothing really, I mean, hell, 57 million of us tried to vote against an administration that would prefer to give more money to war than it would give to peace."

Yeah, so if you are reading this and know folks in other countries, send them this messege, "We're not all a bunch of christo-facists over here. Most of us are really decent but simple people. The kind that you would find in any village along the Rhine or any farm in Provance. The point being, I ask my non-US citizen friends to please be patient with us. We're just going through that self-righteous age of empire that all the rest of you in Europe have experienced over the course of the past 2ooo years. To the Middle East and China, it's more like 6000 years or so.

Hmmm...well...I think it's important for us to note that most every Empire has been bred out of a dangerous dosage of patriotism which leads to an epidemic of Jingoistic proportions. The sooner you cut us away from your banks, and thus make us have to be responsible for our own spending, the sonner you'll see us go back to the ideals of America. Values like cheering for the underdog, believing that we must give our next generation more than what we had, believing that we are no stronger than the weakest link among us...and instead of breaking the chain we temper the weaker ones to make them stronger. We help them so we can help ourselves.

I guess this kinda talk makes me a damn fool idealistic hippie...a hopeless academic...a human being...human.

Some thoughts about quantum computing and cognition

When the first experimental psychology labs were established in the late 1800s, the experimental pioneers were interested in creating a science to understand the human condition. To that end, psychology was born to the proud mother of knowledge: philosophy and a stern but giving father: physics. As a cognitive psychology researcher, I understand the need for a combination of easy-breasy curiosity and intensly practiced methodology.

I was at Revolution last night and got into a conversation about the manner in which information could be stored on a single electron (i.e. a 1 or a 0 in binary) and how if you put one of these bits on each of the valence electrons of an atom that would give you 8 bits of information...or a byte. It's gotten me to thinking about the limiting factor in creating a human mind machine is not necessarily in the lack of resources we have but rather how we use said resources to store data more efficiently.

It's an interesting tangent, and right now it's kinda blowing my mind. If you think about atoms in terms of bytes of information...as data storage, then you can start to see how the electrochemical transfer of information between neurons brings with it a spectacular amount of information, and invariably, how this electrochemical transfer of information (a nativist part of the animal kingdom) could be influenced by the introduction of new chemicals (with a whole different set of atoms, different set of valence electrons, etc.) could alter the information bouncing around in the brain and between neurons throughout the body. Rarely have I brought myself to scale my thought process down this far. Let me tell you, it is just as fun to explore the inner spaces as it is to explore the outer spaces.

I know it sounds like I'm tripping or something, but I am writing this with a completely alert and sober state of mind. Sorry if this is boring to anyone, but you know it really shouldn't be. I mean, this is your brain! This is the part of your body that makes decisions about everything from what to eat to which candidate you should vote for in an election. It's amazing to me to think the whole of animal existance on this planet, and as far as we know, any other planet, could be summed up in a richly-complex interaction of electrons.

Setlist 2/24-25/05

This was the first time I had a coherent idea about how the show was going to go in quite some time. Leann called to ask if I could cover Brokedown Palace. Thanks to lot of great vinyl I won in an eBay auction, I had all the music I needed for Brokedown Palace. For this show, I played Terrapin Station and Anthem Of The Sun.


Brokedown Logic Set: Dead Vinyl

Artist - Album

Songs

Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station

Side 1

Estimated Prophet
Dancin' In The Streets
Passenger
Samson & Delilah
Sunrise

Side 2

Terrapin Station

• Lady With A Fan
• Terrapin Station
• Terrapin
• Terrapin Transit
• At A Siding
• Terrapin Flyer
• Refrain

Grateful Dead - Anthem Of The Sun

Side 1

That's It For The Other One

• Cryprical Envelopment
• Quadlibet For Tenderfeet
• The Faster We Go, The Rounder We Get

New Potato Caboose
Born Cross-Eyed

Side 2

Alligator
Caution (Do Not Step On The Tracks)


Brokedown Logic Set: The Rest Of The Show

So after a tour through Grateful Dead Vinyl, I went to an acoustic Dead set from '78. This set was billed as Bob Weir & Friends.

Bill Weir & Friends - Layola University, Chicago, IL 11/17/78

Whinin' Boy Blues
Tom Dooley
This Time Forever
Deep Elam Blues
KC Moan
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Big Boy Pete
Jack A Roe
Dark Hollow
Oh Boy

After the acoustic Dead set, it was time for our dedication to Black History Month. Seeing as this was the last Thursday in Black History Month, I had to make it go out with a bang, so I played a couple of tracks from a show billed as B.B. King & Friends from New York City 4/15/68. Among the "Friends" were the following performers.

B.B. King (guitar & vocals),
Jimi Hendrix (guitar & vocals),
Elvin Bishop (guitar),
Buzzy Feiten (bass),
Paul Butterfield (harmonica),
Al Kooper (organ)
Philip Wilson (drums),
Stuart ? (piano),
Don Martin (guitar).

B.B. King & Friends - New York City 4/15/68

Like A Rolling Stone>Jam

Michael Franti & Spearhead - We Don't Stop - Bonnaroo 2003

After this, it was time for the Midnight Rant. Tonight's Rant was more or less a rave for two great journalists: Amy Goodman and the recently departed Hunter S. Thompson. Here are my notes from the Amy Goodman lecture on the University of Texas campus this past Saturday.



In honor of Dr. Gonzo, I played an excerpt from a town hall forum he held at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, VA 2/4/91

Then back to the music...

Artist - Song - Album (Show)

Particle - Ed & Molly - La Zona Rosa, Austin, TX 2/19/05
Kudzu Kings - Bound For Zion - Jubilee Jam, Jackson, MS 2001
Acoustic Syndicate - Pumpkin & Daisy - Charlottesville, VA 2/22/03
REM - Exhuming McCarthy - Document
Phish - Timber Ho! - Memphis, TN 11/18/96
Phil Lesh Quintet - Liberty - Chicago, IL 11/19/03
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Cortez The Killer - Alberquerque, NM 2/28/04
Edwin McCain, Warren Haynes, Kevn Kinney, Artimus Pyle, & Andy Hess - Straight To Hell - Warren Haynes Christmas Jam 2003
Grateful Dead - We Bid You Goodnight - Nighfall of Diamonds

________________________

So I think I might have used up all my trump cards on this show. Do I have anything else up my sleeve? Find out and tune in next week!

2005 Jammys...log in and vote!

Well, it's awards season...that time where the best of the entertainment industry come to self-congradulate one another will little gold statues of everthing from victrolas to gold men. Turns out that the jam band genre is no different and the nominees have been announced for this year's Jammys.

There are many good selections, some of which you have heard on your very own jam band show here in the Brazos Valley: The Loose Logic Set. Unlike some of those other award shows, the winner in each category is determined by you and I, the fans. So it's kinda like the People's Choice Awards except with kind choices vs. schwagg choices.

Take a look at the nominees and then vote for your favorites. After all, if you don't vote, you can't complain.

Fare Thee Well, Dr. Gonzo...

From the AP: Hunter S. Thompson comitted suicide. Some might say that it was a wonder that this man made it to 67 without being a vegetable. This week's show will feature a forum with Dr. Thompson from the University of Colorado: Boulder from 10/13/77 in addition to the remainder of the news.

This will be the last Thursday>Friday show of Feb. so I will start the show off with a hour of African-American artists in honor of Black History Month. I finished tracking out the Particle & John Popper show today so I will feature some of the cuts from that show on the 3rd hour.

Until then, fare thee well...Dr. Gonzo

They just don't make days like this anymore...

This was as close to a perfect day, it was certainly one of those days that just makes you feel so fortunate to be alive...just a celebration of being human...human being...being human.

So what did I do, you ask?

Went to Austin, first listened to a lecture by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! and got her latest book: Exception to the Rulers: Exposion Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them signed by the news goddess herself!

Hold on, it gets better!

Went down 6th Street and had a great meal at this Irish pub called B. D. Riley's. The ambient noise in that place in the middle of the afternoon was perfect for me to get caught up on reading for the PSYC 345 class I am TAing for Heather. I am giving a review session tomrrow and Tuesday evenings so even though I knew most of what was in the book, I need to approach this review session from an undergrad's perspective, and that includes reading the text.

After swilling down a couple of Fat Tires along with my meal, I headed down to a little coffee shop on Lavaca St. in the warehouse district in Downtown Austin. The iced latte was just the caffeine rush I needed for the show that ended the night.

Drums & Tuba were supposed to open for Particle last night, but due to illness on one of the band member's families, they had to cancel. As a last minute replacement, John Popper filled played with Eric, Darren, and Charlie. Absolutely changes the energy of the show. They closed the set with a wicked Sco-Mule!

Throughout the show, Popper would sit in for a couple of songs. The place was really moving too. At the end of the show, got back to my car and drove back to good ol' boring and predictable College Station. Rolled in about 4:30 and got to bed about 6 am.

So yeah, it's been one hell of a weekend.

Why progressive ideals are struggling in the United States

Just doing some more thinkin' about cognition and how people are able to reason better with positive language than negative language. This is truly something to think about in context of the previous election. What was the liberal agenda? To remove the Bush Administration from power. We had the evidence...more than was ever needed to oust this guy and his lackeys, but what held the nation back from doing that...I think the answer lies in positive vs. negative language.

By this, I don't mean attack ads. Considering the number of attack ad's from both of the major parties, that would have never made a difference. What I mean by positive and negative language was in the manner that the language was phrased. So were the attacks phrased to be a committed attack (i.e. John Kerry first voted for the war, then voted against funding it) or a omittive attack (i.e. George W. Bush has not kept his promise for funding his No Child Left Behind education plan). My hypothesis is that if you tallied up the number of committive and omitive attacks in the past election, you would see that Bush's campaign had more positive attacks than John Kerry's campaign, and that might be why so many people had difficulty comprehending why progressives didn't see G. Dub in as favorable a light as the other 59 million Americans.

Until one could do that study, my advice to progressives is to emphasize the parts of our ideals that we already have, and committively affirm that their plans are better for the population as a whole. Start doing that, and we can start washing away the filth from Washington D.C. and the world as a whole.

A cognitive rambling...

So it's another Friday night...Woo...oh well. I'm just sitting here and reading up on the text for this cognitive psychology class that I'm taking and saw that one of the flaws with cognitive psychology is a difficulty with designing experiments that could be ecologically valid. That is, the lab is a place where reality is stunted...like a kid that drinks too much Coca-cola when he was 5 and is like a 3 foot tall 12 year-old...but I digress. We control for things in the lab, but the lab, you see, is not reality. It is what we make it. It is, for a brief moment that we hold those subjects in our experimental grasp, our Matrix.

However, the greater study of the human mind does not depend on what happens in whatever reality that you might mold in the laboratory, but rather in the exploratory nature of the real world. Now here's the real question: Is the real world experience even ecologically valid? I mean, how are our realities stunted by all the rules and regulations that we experience throughout our lives, and I'm just talking about social rules here, including laws, taboos, sage advice on "getting' some", every little thing. So if all of those rules have led us to conform to one mold or another, then how ecologically valid are they? Just as we as cognitive psychologists mold and create a reality in our own labs, so do these social contracts mold everyone's reality.

So the only real way to be ecologically valid would be to be God, Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha, Allah, Zeus, Thor, Jehovah...oh yeah I already mentioned Him...and any other god you might want to throw into the mix...that manipulates mankind through organized religion (each insisting on its own slightly different, but not really unique), but not faith. Then we run into the same problem, the problem of ecological validity. So really, the only way to be truly and totally ecologically valid is to be a simple observer...the way that a art gallery patron is a observer...never touching, never interfering, just watching, and that is a very special thing.

Think about it, how often have you gone out and observed people...I mean really people watched. Every day is like a traveling menagerie of animals...because, after all, that's all a human being is at the end of the day: animal. A highly intelligent, often clumsy in its will, animal. And by us observing ourselves, we might get the idea of what it's like to be God, just watching, and enjoying ever minute of it...but a compassionate god would want to reach out of the observation bubble and try to make things good for everyone...pretty soon, this just means that any god, as a construct by people, is fallible...but a god of its own creation, now there's something. Think of it as existential hype. Now here's where it gets really interesting....Parallel what I just said about what's needed for a god and what is more desirable in a person. Do you want someone who's full of hype or someone who, by their own determination, made a mind that is ripe and willing to drink the juice of knowledge? Dunno about you, but I want the smart guy (or gal, it's an equal world, after all).

So there you have it, you are your own god in a sense, you are the master of your own destiny, you are the ultimate sealer of your own fate, and for what it's worth, I'm glad it's you and not me.

This week's setlists...

Man, it's been a hectic week for me. Between the shows, classes, and my research, this damn hippie has been working enough to almost be considered part of the establishment. So here's a week in review for the shows.

First up was this week's Sunday Morning Sidewalk. I traded with Leann so I could get this Sunday off to rest after the Drums & Tuba/Particle show I am going to tomorrow night.

I didn't really have a theme for this week's 'Sidewalk, other than just to play some high-energy tuneage to get people up and moving on Sunday Morning. After all, if you're on the Sidewalk, it must be Sunday.


Sunday Morning Sidewalk Setlist

Artist - Song (Interview) - Album (Show)

Jerry Garcia - What is a hippie? - Acid Test Reels
Galactic - The Beast - Ruckus
Allman Brothers Band - Instrumental Illness - Hittin' The Note
Hydra - Beamer - Hydra's Website
Kevn Kinney - (Welcome to the) Sun-Tangled Angel Revival - Sun-Tangled Angel Revival
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - The March - Montreal, Quebec 11/18/03
Phil Lesh Quintet - Blue Sky - San Francisco, CA 9/25/03
Afroskull - Layers - Monster For The Masses
Phish - Julius - West Palm Beach, FL 11/2/96
Gov't Mule - Slackjaw Jezebel - Deja Voodoo
Mofro - 6 Ways Till Sunday - Tampa, FL 11/7/03
Little Feat - All That You Dream - Boston, MA 10/31/75
Throwaway People - Chicken Fried Spank - While You Fly
Charlie Hunter Trio - Rhythm Comes in 12 Tones - Charlie Hunter Trio
Grateful Dead - Tennessee Jed - Dusseldorf, Germany 4/24/72
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Falling From Above - Greendale
Grateful Dead - Dear Mr. Fantasy - Without A Net

Loose Logic Set 2/17-18/05

Like I said, it was a busy week, and I didn't have the chance to do the necessary research for this week's Midnight Rant. So we kept that short this time around. Like every other Loose Logic Set in the month of February, the first hour is dedicated to Black History Month and showcases African-American artists. Next week, if I can find it, I will play a show from New York City in the late sixties featuring two of the greatest names to ever grace the history of the guitar: B.B. King & Jimi Hendrix!

Until next week's show...here's the setlist from this week.




Jerry Garcia - What is a hippie? - Acid Test Reels
Galactic - The Beast - Ruckus
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Squeeze Segue Madness - Bonnaroo 2004
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Listener Supported - San Francisco, CA 11/5/03
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On - Marvin Gaye Live!
Gil Scott-Heron - Winter In America - The Best of Gil Scott-Heron Live!
Skatalites - Rockfort Rock - Steamboat Springs, CO 8/24/03
Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald - Tenderly - Ella & Louis
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - Apparently Nothing - Red Rocks, CO 9/19/03
Bill Hicks - The News & The War - Flying Saucer Tour Vol. I: Pittsburgh, PA 6/20/91
Trey Anastasio Band - Alive Again - Austin City Limits Music Fest 2004
Sound Tribe Sector 9 - What Is Love? - Bonnaroo 2003
Phil Lesh Quintet - Help On The Way>Slipknot!>Franklin's Tower - San Francisco, CA 9/25/03
Umphrey's McGee - Miss Tinkle's Overture - Anchor Drops
Particle - The Banker - Launchpad
Keller Williams - Victory Song - Home
Afroskull - Layers - Monster For The Masses
Allman Brothers Band - Intro>Statesboro Blues - Atlanta International Pop Festival 7/3/70
Gov't Mule - Slow Happy Boys - The Deepest End
Drop Trio - The Allen Smithee Show - Big Dipper
Calexico - Quattro - Bonnaroo 2004
David Grisman Quartet - Chili Dawg - Lyons, CO 7/26/03
Ahummin' Acoustic Accupuncture - It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) - Cafe Revolution, Bryan, TX 11/20/04
Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Christmas Song - Live At Luther College
Grateful Dead - We Bid You Goodnight - Nightfall of Diamonds

Well, that's it for this week. I'll catch you next week.

Setlist 2/10-11/05

Last Loose Logic Set will go down in the record books as the first digitally recorded show in KEOS Community Radio history. After reviewing the recording, I realize that the midnight rant is getting to be overbearing part of the show. Thus, I have decided to split the midnight rant into five minute segments and scatter them throughout the show instead of concentrating them into one large segment. Be listening for rant nuggets throughout next week's show.

Anyway...time to get into this week's setlist.


This week's setlist

Artist - Song (Interview) - Album (Show)

Jerry Garcia - What is a hippie? - Acid Test Reels
Galactic - The Beast - Ruckus
Gil Scott-Heron - Angel Dust - The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron, Live!
Skatalites - James Bond Theme - Steamboat Springs, CO 8/24/03
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe (w/ Warren Haynes) - Family Tree - Red Rocks, CO 9/19/03
Greyboy All-Stars - Check Out Your Mind - Snowmass Villiage, CO 8/29/03
Hydra - Beam Jam - Hydra's Website
Afroskull - Kill Whitey - Monster For The Masses
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Calypso - Montreal, Quebec 11/18/03
Paul Bullock - Carpool Mom - Promo CD
Acoustic Syndicate - Rainbow Rollercoaster - Charlottesville, VA 2/22/03
Kudzu Kings - Bound For Zion - Jubilee Jam, Jackson, MS 2001
Vida Blue & The DJ Spam All-Stars - Pick Up The Pieces - Bonnaroo 2004
Gov't Mule - Mr. Man - Deja Voodoo
Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Be The Rain - Greendale
REM - Country Feedback - Out of Time
Tea Leaf Green - Country Secuction - Vail, CO 7/9/04
Keller Williams - Dogs - Home
Allman Brothers Band - Firing Line - Hittin The Note
Nirvana - Plateau - Unplugged in New York
Grateful Dead - We Bid You Goodnight - Nightfall of Diamonds

Mickey Hart + Particle = Hydra

First Phil Lesh took a look at Particle's Steve Molitz to fill out the December Phil & Friends Shows. Now Mickey Hart does the same in a collaboration with the complete Particle band. Unfortunately, there are no dates scheduled for TX in the upcoming tour, but man this looks fuckin' sweet!


Your kind and friendly "Hippie From Mississippi" rockin' out at a Particle Gig

Setlist 2/3-4/05...a natural progression.

A couple of announcements before we go to the setlist.

1. For this week and the remainder of Black History Month, the first hour of the Loose Logic Set every Thursday this month will be dedicated to African and African-American artists.

2. Couple of awesome acts are coming to Austin in the coming months. Particle (with Drums & Tuba opening) will be at La Zona Rosa 2/19, and Umphrey's McGee will be there 4/1

3. The next day, 4/2, is the KEOS 10th birthday bash. Del Castillio, Willis Brownstone, The Handsomes, and Wish Found Nation have been confirmed as artists for that show...more details to come.

Now on to the setlist...


Setlist 2/3-4/05

Artist - Song (Interview) - Album (Show)

Jerry Garcia - What is a hippie? - Acid Test Reels
Galactic - The Beast - Ruckus
Gil Scott-Heron - Washington, D.C. - The Very Best of Gil Scott-Heron, Live!
Michael Franti & Spearhead - Bomb The World>We Don't Stop - Bonnaroo 2003
The Wailers - Jammin' - Austin City Limits Music Fest 2004
Robert Randolph & The Family Band - Voodoo Chile - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 11/18/03
Skatalites - Rivers of Babylon>Redemption Song>Wings of a Dove - Steamboat Springs, CO 8/24/03
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe - Elephants - Red Rocks, CO 9/19/03
George Carlin - Abortion - Beacon Theatre, NYC 1996
Bill Hicks - Pro-Lifers, Gays In The Millitary - Clean Edits For Radio...
Gov't Mule - Slackjaw Jezebel - Deja Voodoo
Chris Robinson & New Earth Mud - Mother of Stone - Bonnaroo 2004
Particle - Battle Without Honor Or Humanity - Wakarusa Music Festival 2004
Phish - Timber Ho! - Memphis, TN 11/18/96
Little Feat - Skin It Back>Fat Man In The Bathtub - Boston, MA 10/31/75
Allman Brothers Band - Dreams - Atlanta Pop Festival 7/3/70
Samuel L. Jackson & John Travolta - Royale With Cheese - Pulp Fiction Soundtrack



New super secret cd programming instructions...and the end of the setlist.

That's right, we have two brand new cd players in the control room bringing us back to the 3 cd players we had before. The only problem is that it's really difficult to program multiple tracks on the same disc. Oh well, I'll get the hang of it. Above is the rest of my setlist and the instructions.

Keller Williams - Bob Rules - Laugh
Afroskull - Space Chicken - www.afroskull.com
Grateful Dead - We Bid You Goodnight - Nightfall of Diamonds

_____________________________

See ya next week...

A Super Bowl Musing...

You know what I just realized today?

Sports teams in this country are little more than traveling manageries of interesting exemplars of the human form. Self admiration...as a species, we're always too busy to stop looking in the mirror and not at the soul.

We...we are the faint twinkle of humanity that see the greater problems and strive for greater solutions. The oceans should not separate us from our friends, but there they are...gettin in the way, so if man kind is a collective brain...then we're the inhibitory neurons trying to pry humanity away from the mirror and into a serious soul investigation.

It seems to me that humanity is a teenager right now. It's a very dangerous time; it has the capability to kill itsself, if it chooses, but for some reason, it doesn't.

Are we, peaceful people of the world who want equality for all? Is that the reason?

I think it is...because although things look bleak right now, they're gonna get better. Those of us who got passed teenage years in our own emotional maturity understand this.

And we will it so.