Cheese seas

Sometimes dusting off an old album is the perfect elixir for a musical malaise. I never really listened to Primus' 1999 release, "Antipop," until the past few days though it's been sitting in my CD collection. I thought of Primus a lot during our trip to California. The Bay Area trio often references NoCal locales in their songs--places like San Pablo Bay, El Sobrante and Coddingtown. I realize now that frontman Les Claypool's Rancho Relaxo is in Wine Country. Especially when we drove past Dee's Diner in Sebastopol, Calif., during our trip. Les has a solo song that is a tribute to the diner.

I rediscovered "Antipop" when I was reading Primus' Wikipedia entry. The piece suggested that the album was well-received by longtime Primus fans. That surprised me since Primus' hey-day was in the early 1990s. Purists prefer the stripped down weirdness of 1990's "Frizzle Fry" whereas latecomers prefer the stained-out oddities of 1993's "Pork Soda." I love it all, even the mid-1990s stuff.

Despite its name, "Antipop" always seemed the most "pop" of Primus' albums. Several stars guest on songs and several even guest-produce. The list ranges from Tom Morello to James Hetfield to Fred Durst.

In giving it another listen, I am blown away.

Maybe it's the new affection for NoCal, I don't know, but what an album. It's heavier than the records they made in the mid-1990s (most of which were filled with trippy ditties, upright bass and fuzzed-out drums--fuzzed-out drums, only Primus could achieve that!). "Antipop" delivers a return to the sound of "Fry" and "Cheese"--lots of heavy riffs and even the use of small cymbals and other unusual additions to the drum kit. Primus even discovered a new sound--a distorted guitar that sort of sounds like someone waving a piece of sheet metal.

Claypool announces his return to rocking with a yell at the beginning of the opening song, "Electric Uncle Sam." The fifth track, "The Antipop," opens with a Pink Floyd/Rush freakout and climaxes with a wall of metal that would make Metallica blush. Same with "Eclectic Electric," which actually includes Hetfield (of Metallica) on the ax. Strangely, "Lacquer Head," the first single released off the album (the video was banned by MTV despite it's anti-sniffing message) is not one of my faves. Anyway, Primus still "sucked" as they will be the first to tell you, and they were still discordant (as my college dorm-mates used to say) in 1999.

Airport alienation

Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport

Wire walk

If you haven't seen "Man on Wire," rent it. Now. It's a movie anyone can enjoy.

"Man on Wire," which won the best documentary Oscar, is about Philippe Petit, a Frenchman who tightrope-walked between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. What's as amazing as the walk itself, is the level of planning that went into the stunt. Even standing outside, on top of a 1,300-foot-tall building and shooting an arrow across to the other one is absurd.

Light show

It's such a great feeling to happen across a band that blows you away. Inspired by the Sabaijai blog, here is a video by Battles. I heard about this band because the drummer used to be in Helmet, one of my favorites of alltime. I especially like the 2:50 mark or so when the guitar kicks in and the lights come on.

Economy pageant

When I was growing up, only a handful of young women participated in the Miss SNPJ Pageant. We would visit the SNPJ Recreation Center near Enon Valley, Pa., and gawk at the old photos of Miss SNPJs past. It seemed like dozens of teens signed up for the pageant back in the 1960s and 1970s. By the early 1990s, there were only about four or five contestants per year.

This week, I opened my issue of the newsletter Prosveta to discover nearly a dozen contestants signed up for this year's pageant. I have a theory that perhaps the surge in interest is due to the economy. Here's why: several Miss SNPJ contestants will receive generous scholarships for college.

And perhaps this was the case back in the 1960s and 1970s, too. The success of the market in the 1980s and 1990s may have kept participation low. What's more shocking is that membership in fraternal insurance societies like SNPJ (which stands for Slovene National Benefit Society, in Slovenian) is generally down. Yet the pageant is soaring.

I'm not an economist, nor do I play one on the radio, but I thought I'd share one of the odd theories I come up with from time to time.

Precious metal

Metallica ripped through its library of hits and a few new cuts in a two-hour performance at Allstate Arena last night. The California foursome took the stage at about 9:15 for the second of two shows in suburban Chicago. Despite the dysfunction evident in the brilliant documentary "Some Kind of Monster," the band has aged pretty well. They took the stage all smiles and enjoyed themselves right through the whole set. Their energy is unbelievable for a bunch in their mid-40s.

The stage show was impressive--massive coffins hanging from the ceiling, black beach balls bouncing around, lasers and pyrotechnics. The evening culminated with the band playing one of its old face-melters with the house lights on--the bloodshot-eyed crowd in full display. As noted by the Tribune's Greg Kot, the band has actually allowed its bassist to be heard--former Suicidal Tendencies bassist Robert Trujillo's low-rider approach rumbled through the arena loud and clear all night. The show was performed in the round--an egalitarian approach for sure.

I could grouse about the bizarre shuttle bus system at the arena (crowded with drunk metal-heads at midnight), but I am accentuating the positive this evening.

Cardinal crest

A couple notes on the Super Bowl...first, a much better name for the Arizona Cardinals would be the Arizona Pyrrhuloxia. The cardinal-like birds reside in scrubby areas of southeastern Arizona.

Second, a fun item from the New York Times. Several players share their "Welcome to the NFL" moments. I like Bryan Robinson's story the best.